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CSENEALOGY 


COLLECTION 


PUBLIC  LIBRARY 

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3  1833  01066  7217 


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HISTORY  OF^ 


SOUTH  DAKOTA 


BY 


DOANE   ROBINSON 


TOGETHER  WITH 


PERSONAL  MENTION  OF  CITIZENS  OF  SOUTH  DAKOTA 


ILLUSTRATED 


VOL.   I. 


1904 

B.  F.  BOWKN  &  CO. 

PUBLISHERS 


-^ 


PUBLISHERS'  PREFACE 


1142443 

In  placing  the  "History  of  South  Dakota"  before  the  citizens  of  the  state,  the  piibHsh- 
'^j  ers  can  conscientiously  claim  that  they  have  carried  out  in  full  every  promise  made  in  the  pros- 
pectus.  Thev  point  with  pride  to  the  elegance  of  the  binding  of  the  volumes,  and  to  the 
beauty  of  the  typography,  to  the  superiority  of  the  paper  on  which  the  work  is  printed,  and 
the  truthfulness  depicted  by  its  portraits  and  the  high  class  of  art  in  which  they  are  finished. 
The  historical  chapters  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Doane  Robinson,  as  well  as  the  special  articles 
by  other  able  and  well-known  writers,  compose  a  valuable  collection  and  will  prove  not  only 
of  interest  to  the  present  generation,  but  of  inestimable  worth  to  future  historians,  being  the 
result  of  patient  toil  and  deep  research.  Every  biographical  sketch  in  the  work  has  been 
submitted  to  the  party  interested  for  approval  and  correction,  and  therefore  an)-  error  of 
fact,  if  there  be  any,  is  solely  due  to  the  person   for  whom  the  sketch  was  prepared. 

The  publishers  would  here  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity  to  thank  the  citizens  of 
South  Dakota  for  the  uniform  kindness  with  which  they  have  regarded  this  undertaking  and 
for  their  many  services  rendered  in  the  gaining  of  necessary  information.  Confident  that  our 
efforts  to  please  will  fully  meet  the  approbation  of  the  public,  we  are 

Respectfully, 

B.  F.  BowEN  &  Co.^ 

Publishers. 


INTRODUCTORY 


It  is  not  easy  to  determine  the  exact  date  for  the  beginning  of  the  history  of  South  Da- 
kota. In  the  examination  of  this  subject  I  have,  for  a  period,  adopted  one  date  after  another 
as  a  suitable  starting  point,  only  upon  fuller  examination  to  reject  each  in  turn  for  another 
more  remote.  Under  the  necessity  for  beginning  somewhere,  I  have,  for  the  purposes  of 
this  history,  adopted  the  Christian  era  as  the  most  convenient  base.  Not  but  that  many  cir- 
cumstances antedating  the  birth  of  Christ  have  sent  their  influence  down  the  ages  to  modify 
the  conditions  under  which  South  Dakota  is  peopled,  and  to,  in  a  degree,  shape  the  character 
of  the  people  of  South  Dakota.  The  coming  of  Girist,  however,  brought  into  the  world  a  new 
influence,  which  so  revolutionized  thought,  conduct  and  character  as  to  establish  a  distinct 
and  unmistakable  historical  landmark  from  which  it  is  natural  to  date  the  philosophy  of 
modern  development  and  justify  the  arbitrary  declaration  that  South  Dakota's  history  began 
when  Qirist  was  born. 

When  we  consider  the  slow  processes  by  which  mankind  has  been  brought  up  to  the 
present  state  of  civilization,  enlightenment  and  liberality  of  thought  and  action,  we  are  in- 
stantly brought  to  realize  the  admirable  scheme  of  Providence,  which  held  America  in  re- 
serve so  long,  for  the  uses  of  a  developed  people,  where  the  best  product  of  humanity  should 
find  its  opportunity  and  expression. 

The  first  intent  of  all  natural  selection  seems  to  be  the  development  of  character ;  the 
making  of  men  for  the  peculiar  needs  of  advancing  and  complex  social  relations  and  adapt- 
ing them  to  the  high  purposes  of  God's  plan  for  the  ultimate  perfecting  of  the  race. 

The  truth  of  the  foregoing  conclusion  is  readily  discerned  as  we  follow  the  spread  of 
Christianity  throughout  Europe  and  under  its  influence  forging,  shaping  and  mellowing  the 
barbarians  of  the  continent  into  the  Anglo-Saxon  freemen  who  in  the  progress  of  time  were 
called  to  carry  to  American  shores  the  civilization  which  has  come  to  be  the  wonder  of  the 
very  fields  whence  came  the  seed. 

We  can  only  at  this  time  suggest  the  alwavs  interesting  development  of  human  charac- 
ter through  dark  ages  on  the  continent,  during  which  the  wheels  of  time  and  of  progress 
seemed  to  be  almost  reversed,  and  the  slow  approach  to  more  ideal  conditions  in  after  years, 
while  war,  crusade  and  the  stern  ecessities  of  life  were  whipping  into  shape  those  elements 
in  character  which  tribulation  could  not  daunt,  nor  persecution  humble,  the  making  of  the 
spirit  which  was  in  the  fullness  of  time  to  conquer  the  barbarian,  subdue  the  forest  and  make 
the  American  wilderness  bloom,  the  while  planting  here  the  standard  of  a  freedom  to  the  in- 
dividual such  as  the  world  has  not  elsewhere  known. 

If  Europe  then,  through  two  thousand  years,  was  preparing  and  selecting  the  stock 
which  should  create  America,  so  too  from  that  noble  stock  has  another  selection  been  made  by 
the  tedious  but  certain  processes  of  the  later  centuries  which  have  produced  a  people  for  the 


IXTRODUCTORY. 


plains  and  mountains  of  Dakota.  Every  step  of  the  way  from  the  cradle  of  Christ  down  to 
the  founding  of  Dakota's  schools  and  churches  has  a  wise  providence  made  this  people  to 
walk  over  a  way  beset  with  character-perfecting  obstacles.  Scarcely  a  day  but  has  pre- 
sented difficulties,  before  which  a  weaker  people  would  have  turned  in  despair,  but  over  and 
through  it  all  they  have  pressed  steadily  forward  until  on  the  broad  prairies  of  America  a 
commonwealth  sustained  by  a  survival-selected  people  of  superior  character  crowns  their 
laborious  achievement.  Notwithstanding  this  great  general  truth,  it  must  not  be  supposed 
that  the  law  of  selection  which  has  operated  in  the  peopling  of  South  Dakota,  has  kept  out 
of  this  field  every  undesirable  element.  The  very  conditions  of  settlement  have  made  it  inev- 
itable that  the  adventurous  frontiersman,  given  to  taking  large  chances  and  thoroughly  im- 
bued with  the  gambling  spirit,  should  have  found  here  conditions  peculiarly  agreeable  to  his 
temperament.     Many  such  came,  but  they  were  men  of  strength  and  virility. 

The  development  of  Dakota,  since  the  period  of  actual  and  permanent  settlement  began 
in  1859,  has  presented  some  peculiar  and  unique  characteristics.  That  settlement  centered 
around  the  primitive  capital  at  Yankton.  "The  Mother  City,"  as  the  former  capital  proudly 
calls  herself,  gathered  to  her  heart  a  motley  throng.  The  merchant  and  the  gambler,  the 
devoted  missionary  and  the  brazen  prostitute,  the  adroit  politician  and  the  earnest  states- 
man, the  farmer,  the  miner,  the  trader  and  trapper,  the  steamboat  captain  and  his  reckless 
roustabouts,  the  half-breed  from  the  reservation  and  the  freedman  from  the  South,  all  con- 
gregated there.  While  Yankton  drew  into  herself  many  influences  which  were  evil  and 
degrading,  the  influences  which  came  out  from  that  place  were  very  largely  for  good,  for 
the  upbuilding  of  the  commonwealth,  for  the_  evangelization  of  the  natives,  for  the  planting 
of  schools,  the  building  of  churches,  the  enactment  of  good  laws  and  the  making  of  a  right- 
eous constitution  for  the  future  state.  There,  when  the  legislature  or  the  court  assembled, 
Father  Ingham,  Father  Hoyt,  Joseph  ^^■ard  and  James  S.  Foster  were  ever  on  the  alert  to 
inquire  out  the  points  in  the  territory  where  schools  and  churches  were  needed,  or  where 
the  word  of  God  could  be  preached,  and  promptly  they  supplied  the  need,  not  infrequently 
through  great  exertion  and  even  dire  hazard  and  extreme  suffering.  There,  too.  was  sown 
the  seed  of  the  sentiment  for  division  of  the  territory,  an  enterprise  which  will  redound  to 
the  benefit  of  generations  yet  vmborn.  There  General  Beadle  set  at  work  the  leaven  which 
spread  in  its  working  to  the  limits  of  the  territory  and  preserved  for  us  the  glorious  heritage 
of  our  school  fund  and  surrounded  it  with  the  safeguards  which  will  transmit  it  unimpaired 
to  posterity  forever.  It  will  therefore  be  apparent  that  the  history  of  a  large  portion  of  the 
territorial  period  must  necessarily  be  a  history  of  occurrences  at  Yankton  and  for  that  per- 
iod there  is  but  little  of  record  which  relates  more  than  casually  to  other  sections.  Neverthe- 
less it  has  been  the  constant  aim  to  preserve  everything  of  noteworthy  interest  relating  to 
every  portion  of  the  territory  comprised  within  the  present  state  of  South  Dakota. 

In  the  preparation  of  the  work  the  author  has  used  unreservedly  every  authority  within 
his  reach  and  has  drawn  largely  upon  the  recollections  of  pioneers,  but,  wherever  possible, 
fortifying  their  stories  with  something  from  the  contemporaneous  record.  For  the  sake  of 
brevity,  authorities  are  only  given  for  those  matters  likely  to  be  most  questioned. 

D0.\XE    ROBIXSON. 

Aberdeen,   S.   D.,    ^lay.    1904. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I.— The  Story  Revealed  bj-  Geo:o?y— The  Primeval  Ocean— The  First  Land— Black 
Hills  First  Appear  Above  the  Sea — Submerged  Again  and  Again — Erosion  Reduces 
Height  and  Provides  Soil  for  Western  Section  of  the  State — Eastern  Part  Appears — The 
Great  Valley  of  Dakota — The  Mis:ouri  Runs  Through  James  Valley — Preglacial  Climate 
— Wonderful  Reptiles  and  Monstrous  Animals— Flora  of  the  Early  Days— Professor 
Todd's    Studies— Osborn's    Story   of   the    South  Dakota  Lake  and  Its  Inhabitants 27 

CHAPTER  II. — The  Story  Told  by  the  Mounds— Little  of  Archaeological  Interest — No  Cer- 
tainty that  South  Dakota  was  Inhabited  'Prior  to  the  Coming  of  the  Indian— Old  For- 
tification at  Fort  Pierre  Most  Curious  and  Uncertain  of  Origin — Dr.  Robinson's  Opinion 
that  it  is  Prehistoric — Hardened  Copper — Ree  Indian  Fortificatious  of  Same  Character 
— Barrandt's  Folly — Burial  Mounds  Numerous— Certainty  of  Indian  Origin — Mounds  at 
Fort  Susseton — On  the  Sioux  and  the  James— Lewis   and   Clarke   Daceived ■.  .     35 

CHAPTER  III.— The  Aborigines— The  Rees  Occupy  Missouri  Valley— Cadoans'  Manner  of 
Life— The  Poncas— Omahas— lowas — Disease  the  Great  Arbiter  of  Indian  Destiny- The 
Dakotas  Wax  Strong — Omahas,  Poncas  and  Rees  Recede  Before  Their  Progress — Pos- 
session of  Missouri  Valley — Comparative  Recent  Date  of  Dakota  Occupancy — The  Win- 
ter   Counts 40 

CHAPTER  IV. — White  Explorations— Spanish  Adventurers — Coronado— Noithwood  Trip — Not 
Likely  the  Spaniards  Reached  South  Dakota  —  Radisson  and  Grosseillers,  1654  —  Then- 
Itinerary  Purely  Conjectural — Prof.  Kerr's  Conclusion  Against  Their  Visit  to  South 
Dakota— LeSueur  Probably  Visited  Sioux  Palls,  1690— Verendrye  Visits  Vicinity  of 
Pierre.  1742 — French  Voyageurs  and  Trappers  in  Eighteenth  Century — Early  Maps  and 
Charts     47 

CHAPTER  V. — Title  to  the  Soil — Spaniards'  Claim  Through  Coronado— Verendrye  Claims 
Country  for  France — Spanish  Title  Effaced.  1763 — France  Recedes  to  Spain  by  Secret 
Treaty,  1802— The  Louisiana  Purchase,  1S03— The  Stars  and  Stripes  Float  Over  the 
Purchase — Jefferson's  Foresight — Purchase  an  Unlooked-for  Stroke  of  Good  Fortune — 
The   President   Prepares   the   Waj' — Astute  Message  of  January,   1S03 52 

CHAPTER  VI.— Lewis  and  Clarke  Expedition,  1804— A  South  Dakota  Man  for  Guide— Ser- 
geant Floyd  Sees  the  Land  of  Promise  and.  Like  Moses.  Dies  Before  Entering- The  First 
Buffalo  Killed  at  Elk  Point— Visit  to  Spirit  Mound,  near  Vermillion— Council  at  Yank- 
ton— Stop  at  Bon  Homme  Island — The  Pawnee's  House — Prairie  Dogs — Around  the 
Big  Bend — Fort  aux  Cedres — Trouble  at  Pierre — Valle's  Post  at  Mouth  of  the  Cheyenne 
— Visit  with  Arickaras — Corn   and   Vegetables  Grown    58 

CHAPTER  VII.— Lewis  and  Clarke  Return  to  St.  Louis— Missouri  Fur  Company  Formed,  1807 
—Prior  Attempt  to  Return  Big  White  and  Family — Fight    with     the     Rees — Old     Pierre 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Choteau   in   it — Driven   Back — Expedition  a  Failure — Manuel    Lisa    Appears — Big    White 
Successfully   Returns — New   Fur   Trade 72 

CHAPTER  VIII.— The  Astoria  Expedition,  1811 — Washington  Irving  as  a  Historian — Pierre 
Dorion  Again  in  Evidence — Overtaken  by  Lisa — The  Fight  at  Pierre — Reach  the 
Rickara  Towns — Rickara  Homes  and  Customs — The  Story  of  Grey  Eyes — Great  Council 
with  the  Rees — Home  Coming  of  the  Warriors — Trade  and  Barter — Decide  to  Leave 
the  River — Movement  Up  Grand  River — Edward  Rose — Pass  Through  Black  Hills — 
Grizzly    Bears    Plenty 77 

CHAPTER  IX. — A  Period  of  Little  Progress  from  ISIO  to  1817 — The  War  of  1812 — South 
Dakotans  Take  a  Hand  in  it — Manuel  Lisa  Turns  the  Indians  to  American  Side — He 
Spends  Several   Years  in  the  Dakota  Country — His  Report  to  General  Clarke 88 

CHAPTER.  X.— Joseph  LaFramboise  Makes  Settlement  at  Fort  Pierre— First  to  Continue 
Without  Interruption — Reaches  Missouri  with  Trader's  Packs  from  Prairie  du  Chien — 
Builds  Trading  Post  from  Floating  Logs  at  Mouth  of  Bad  River — Winter  Counts  Men- 
tion it — His  Son  Joseph's   Story — Subsequent  Career  of   LaFramboise 93 

CHAPTER  XI. — Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  Enters  Dakota  Field — Fort  Tecumseh  Suc- 
ceeds Port  LaFramboise,  1822 — Ashley's  Expedition,  1823 — ^Massacre  by  Ree  Indians 
Near  Grand  River — List  of  Killed  and  Wounded — Hugh  Glass's  Letter — Leavenworth's 
Expedition — Conquest   of   the   Rees — Bad   Conduct  of  Pilcher — Story  of  Campaign 97 

CHAPTER  XII. — The  Atkinson-O'Fallon  Expedition,  1825— Many  Treaties  Made— July  Fourth, 
1S25,  Celebrated  at  Pierre— Edward  Rose  Again  in  Evidence — The  Rees  Still  Humble — 
Personnel  of  the  Expedition — A  Hot  Time — Tragedy  Averted  by  Diplomacy — Expedi- 
tion a  Great  Success 108 

CHAPTER  XIII.— The  American  Fur'  Company  Organized— It  Monopolizes  Dakota  Field,  1S27 
—Building  of  Fort  Pierre— The  First  Steamboat,  1831- The  Palmy  Days  of  the  Fur 
Trade    116 

CHAPTER   XIV.— Fort  Pierre   Finished— The   Post  Journal  Reveals  Much  of  Interest 120 

CHAPTER  XV.— Catlin,  the  Artist,  Visits  Fort  Pierre,  1832— His  Tramp  From  Yankton— An 
Observer  of  Form,  but  Not  of  Matter — Paints  Many  Indian  Pictures — Lively  Hunting 
Experiences — Graphic  Stories  of  the  Life  of  the  Traders — An  Authority  on  the  Primi- 
tive Indian  of  Dakota — His  Canoe  Voyage — Exciting  Experiences  with  Herd  of  Buffalo 
Below    Chamberlain— Catlin    Visits    Pipestone   Quarry,    1836 125 

CHAPTER  XVI.— Operations  on  the  James  and  at  Big  Stone  Lake — Fur  Settlement  in  Brown 
County — Killing  of  LeBlanc  at  Rcndell  by  Indignant  Yankton — Maj.  Joseph  R.  Brown 
at  Big  Stone — A  Post  at  Buffalo  Lake — Establishment  of  Fort  Vermillion — General  Re- 
view of  Conditions   in  Dakota  During  the  'Thirties     131 

CHAPTER  XVII.— Expedition  of  Dr.  Nicollet,  1838— Accompanied  by  John  C.  Fremont— 
They  Visit  Pipestone  Quarry — Joseph  Renville,  Guide — Mapping  the  Coteaus — Lakes 
Preston,  Abert,  Poinsett  and  Others  Visited  and  Named  by  Fremont — Mrs.  Renville's 
Story  of  the  Expedition— The  Expedition  of  1839— The  Start  from  Fort  Pierre— Fre- 
mont Lost — Hunting  Buffalo — Fourth  of  July  at  Blunt — Across  Faulk  County — Reach 
James  River — First  Formal  Religious  Worship.  1840 — Dr.  Riggs — Alexander  Huggins' 
Journey  from  Lacqui  Parle  to  Fort  Pierre — Several  Services  Enroute — Regular  Preach- 
ing and  Song  Service  at  the  Port — An  Enumeration  of  the  Dakota  Sioux — The  Home- 
ward   Trip 135 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XVIII.— Audubon,  the  Naturalist,  Visits  Dakota— Catalogues  the  Flora  and  Fauna, 
1843— Helps  Evade  the  Prohibition  Law — Interesting  Notes  from  His  Journal — The  Bad 
Lands  Attract  Attention,   1847 — Visited  by  Edward   Harris,   Geologist 138 

CHAPTER  XIX.— Father  DeSmet  Begins  His  Missionary  Work  in  Dakota,  1848— His  Devo- 
tion and  Sacrifice— A  Careful  Observer— Notes  on  Botany  and  Natural  History — The 
Cholera  Plague— Father  DeSmet's  Devoted  Care  for  the  Stricken — The  "St.  Ange" 
Leaves  Death  in  its  Wake — The  Plague  at  Fort  Pierre  and  Among  the  Rees— Father 
Heocken    Dies — Father    DeSmet    Continues  His    Work 145 

CHAPTER   XX. — Treaty   of  Traverse   de   Sioux— Description     of     the     Cession— Government's 

Subsequent    Injustice 148 

CHAPTER  XXI. — Government  Buys  Fort  Pierre,  1855 — Sharp  Bargain — Harney  Comes  Over 
from  Ash  Hollow  and  Takes  Possession — Twelve  Hundred  Troops  Winter  on  the  Mis- 
souri— Looking  for  a  Permanent  Building  Site — Camp  at  Mouth  of  the  Sioux — Fort 
Randall  Agreed  Upon — Abercrombie  and  Sully  Come  Across  from  Fort  Ridgley — The 
Line  of  March — Troops   at  Fort  Lookout — Fort    Randall    Occupied 150 

CHAPTER  XXII.— The  Warren  Explorations— Surveying  the  Military  Reservation— The  Trip 
Overland  to  Sioux  City — A  Reconnoisance  of  the  Missouri  River — New  Route  Surveyed 
to    the    South    Pass — Experiences    with    the  Dakotans — Captain    Reynolds'    Expedition...   156 

CHAPTER  XXIII.— The  Spirit  Lake  Captives  in  Dakota— Massacre  at  Spirit  Lake,  Iowa — 
Inkpaduta  and  His  Renegades — Rescue  of  the  Captives — Ineffectual  Attempts  to  Cap- 
ture the  Outlaws 161 

CHAPTER  XXIV.— Settlement  at  Sioux  Falls,  1857— The  Western  Town  Company  and  the 
Dakota  Town  Company — Conflicting  Interests — Indian  Scares  and  Indian  Raids — 
Judge  Brookings  Arrives — The  First  Winter  in  the  Settlement — Judge  Brookings  Loses 
His  Legs — Crude  but   Successful   Surgery— The  Sod  Fort  and  its  Defenders 166 

CHAPTER  XXV.— The  Yankton  Treaty  of  1858- Description     of     the     Cession— The     Indians 

Dissatisfied— Speech   of   Bear's   Rib — Final  Ratification 172 

CHAPTER  XXVI. — Political  Movement — Provisional  Government  Established — The  Legisla- 
ture Convenes — Alpheus  G.  Fuller  Sent  to  Congress — Admission  Refused — Governor 
Masters    Elected 175 

CHAPTER    XXVII.— Newspaper    Established— Some    Interesting    Items ITS 

CHAPTER  XXVIII.— The  Election  of  1859- Judge  Kidder  Arrives— Is  Elected  to  Congress 
and  Likewise  Turned  Down — Death  of  Governor  Masters — Albright  Elected — Brookings 
Acting   Governor 1><2 

CHAPTER  XXIX.— Coming  of  the  Settlers— Treaty  of  1858  Ratified— Reservation  Opened 
— Beginnings  in  Missouri  Valley — Settlement  at  Yankton.  Vermillion,  Bon  Homme  and 
Meckling — General  Todd — Many  Old-Timers  Make  Permanent  Plants — First  School  Estab- 
lished  at   Bon   Homme — Early   Religious    Services 185 

CHAPTER    XXX.— The    Territory    Created    by    Congress— Governor    Jayne    Appointed— Census 

Taken  and   Election  Called— Fight  for  Congress— General   Todd   Elected 188 


TABLE  OF  CONTEXTS. 


CHAPTER  XXXI.— The  First  Territorial  Legislature — Locating  the  Capitol— Speaker  Pinney 
Deposed  —  Jim  Somers  —  Stutsman — Some  Wise  Laws — Foolish  Measures — The  Horse 
Play  at  the  Close  of  the  Session 192 

CHAPTER    XXXII. — Campaign    ot    1862 — Jayne  and  Todd  for  Congress — Jayne  Gets  Certificate 

— Seat  Contested   by  Todd — The  Testimony  Reveals   Much   History 197 

CHAPTER  XXXIII.— Dakota  Cavalry  Organized— Major  Lyman's  Mistake— Captain  Miner  in 
Command— Troubles  About  Commissions— The  Minnesota  Massacre  Stampedes  Settlers 
— Massacre  at  Sioux  Falls — Stockade  at  Yankton — Sioux  Falls  and  Vermillion  Aban- 
doned— The  Home  Guards  Organized — Ziebach  in  Command — Life  in  the  Stockade — 
Incidents    of    the    Scare — Military    Operations    of    1862 202 

CHAPTER   XXXIV.— Captivity  and   Rescue   of   Shetak    Settlers— Heroic    Conduct    of   Friendly 

Settlers— Htimane    Efforts    of    People    of   Yankton- Rescue    of   Mrs.   Kelly 210 

CHAPTER  XXXV.— Campaign  of  1863— Sully  Expedition  up  the  Missouri— Dakota  Boys  on 
Scout  Duty — Battle  of  Whitestone  Hill — Fort  Sully  Built  Below  Pierre — Great  Storm 
in  October — Fort   Thompson  Built  and  Santees  Domiciled  There — Legislature  Convenes.   214 

CHAPTER  XXXVI.— Campaign  of  1864— Dakota  Cavalry  Goes  North  with  Sully— Episode  at 
Little  Cheyenne — Fort  Rice  Built — Junction  with  Second  Battalion  at  Swan  Lake — Off 
for  Bad  Lands — Battle  of  Deer  Mountain — -Battle  in  the  Bad  Lands — On  to  the  Upper 
Missouri — Wandering  Through  the  Northland — The  Homeward  March — Fort  Wads- 
worth    Erected — Political   Matters — Dr.   Burleigh — Legislature    Convenes 21S 

CHAPTER  XXXVII.— Happenings  of  the  Year  1865- Governor  Edmunds  and  War  Depart- 
ment Differ  in  Policj' — Sharp  Correspondence — Dakota  Cavalry  Spend  Winter  at  Ver- 
million— Captain  Miner  and  His  Men  Build  a   School   House — Immigration   Revived 223 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII.— After   the  War— Treaties  Proclaimed— Sam      Brown's      Ride— A      Mild 

Campaign — The    Legislature   Convenes — Attempt  to  Change  Location  of  the  State  Capitol  229 

CHAPTER  XXXIX.— Governor  Faulk's  Administration- Winding  up  the  Indian  War— Fort 
James  Abandoned — Settlers  Panic-Stricken — Militia  Reorganized  and  Equipped  with 
Arms — Confidence  Restored 233 

CHAPTER  XL. — The  Treaties  of  1868- Bountiful  Harvests — Women  Suffrage  Granted — Settle- 
ment in  the  Sioux  Valley 237 

CHAPTER  XIJ.— A  Time  of  Peace — Spotted  Tail  Agency  Established — A  General  Shake-up  in 
Politics — A  Good  Crop  Year — Newspaper  Items — The  Proposed  Irish-American  Colony 
and  the  Collapse  of  the  Scheme 241 

CHAPTER  XLII. — Events  of  the  Year  1870— Immigration  Strong — Contest  for  Congress — Arm- 
strong Elected — Legislature  Convenes — Governor  Burbank's  Message — The  Brules  and 
Poncas    Quarrel 244 

CHAPTER  XLIII. — Railway  Agitation  of  1871— Various  Items  ot  Interest — Artesian  Wells 
Suggested — Excitement  Over  the  Discovery  of  Diamonds — Prairie  Fires  do  Considerable 
Damage — A    Terrible    Blizzard — Efforts    to  Encourage  Agriculture  Among  the  Indians..   246 

CHAPTER  XLIV.— Some  Developments  of  1872— A  Notable  Year  in  Many  Respects— Rail- 
way  Construction   Begun — Great  Brookings-Moody   Fight — Armstrong   Re-elected  to  Con- 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


gress— The    Holland    Immigrants    Arrive — Yankton  Academy  Organized — The  Legislature 

in    Session 250 

CHAPTER  XLV. — Occurrences  of  1873 — General  Custer's  Command  Caught  in  a  Terrible  Storm 
— The  McCook-Wintermute  Affair — Russian  Mennonites  Settle  in  Bon  Homme  County — 
Governor  Burbank's  Unpopularity 254 

CHAPTER  XLVI.— Custer  Discovers  Gold  in  the  Black  Hills— Judge  Kidder  Elected  to  Con- 
gress— The  Grasshopper  Pest — A  Senseless  Indian  Scare — Mail  Routes  Established — 
Efforts  of  the  Gold-Seekers  to  Get  into  the  Black   Hills — Legislative    Happenings 258 

CHAPTER  XLVII. — A  Year  of  Sensations — Lively  Immigration — Excitement  Over  the  Exemp- 
tion Clause  of  the  Homestead  Law — Big  Fire  in  Vermillion — Wintermute  Granted  a 
New  Trial — The  Post-Trading  Scandal — More  Reports  of  Gold  in  the  Black  Hills— Many 
Efforts  to  Reach  the  Hills — Commission  Appointed  to  Treat  with  the  Indians  for  the 
Cession  of  the  Black  Hills — The  Commission  and  Indians  in  Session,  but  Fails  in  its 
Purpose — The  Government  Investigates  the  Mineral  Resources  of  the  Hills — Large  Influx 
to  the  New  Field 265 

CHAPTER  XLVIIL— Affairs  of  1876— The  Supreme  Court  Decision  Invalidates  Railroad 
Bonds — Republican  Territorial  Ticket  Successful — Civil  Government  Organized  in  the 
Hills — Exciting    Times 274 

CHAPTER  XLIX.— The  Homestead  Boom  in  1877  —  The  Legislature  Convenes  —  Territorial 
Route  Surveyed  from  Pierre  to  the  Hills — A  Severe  Winter — Principal  Items  of  Interest 
in  the  Hills  and  Elsewhere — Road  Agents  and  Indians  Continue  to  Enliven  Matters — 
Relations  With  the  Indians  Improved 285 

CHAPTER  L. — Events  of  1S7S — The  Immigration  Boom  Develops — Yankton  Insane  Hospital 
Founded — Counties  Organized — An  Interesting  Year  Politically — Territorial  Conventions 
— Road    Agents    Active 294 

CHAPTER  LI.— The  Flood  of  Immigration  in  1879  —  Railroad  Building  Active  —  Towns 
Spring  up  Like  Magic — State  Penitentiary  Established — Great  Prairie  Fires — Terrible 
Fire    in    Deadwood 299 

CHAPTER  LIL— The   Swell  of  the  Boom  in  1880— The    terrible     Storm     of    October     15th— A 

Lively   Political   Year — Death   of   Governor  Howard — Some  Notable  Crimes 302 

CHAPTER   LIIL— The  Hard   Winter   of  ISSO-Sl— A     Terrible     Blizzard- The     Missouri     Valley 

Devastated    by    Floods — Immigration    Unirap=ded — Yankton    College    Projected 306 

CHAPTER  LIV.— A  Year  of  Politics  and  Boom— Mining  Developments  in  the  Hills  Continue— 

The  Land   Scrip  Conspiracy— Spotted   Tail  Killed    310 

CHAPTER  LV.— 1883— A  Year  of  Great  Activity— Talk  of  Capitol  Removal— Territorial  Uni- 
versity Located  at  Vermillion — Agricultural  College  Located  at  Brookings — Delegate 
Convention  at  Canton  Looking  to  the  Division  of  the  Territory  and  Statehood — Eleven 
Counties   Organized — Much   Railroad    Construction — Judge   Kidder's   Death 313 

CHAPTER  LVI.— 1884— A  Featureless  Year— Homestead  and  Town  Booms  Continue— The 
Spink  County  War — The  Passing  of  Ordway — The  Methodist  University  Founded  at 
Mitchell     319 


TABLE  OF  COXTEXTS. 


CHAPTER  LVII.— The  Turn  of  the  Tide  in  1885— Legislature  Meets  at  Bismarck— Farmers' 
Alliance  Organized  —  Meeting  of  the  Territorial  Constitutional  Convention  —  State 
Tickets  Nominated — Republicans  Successful — Governor  Mellette's  Message  a  Notable 
State  Document — A  Sensational  Tragedy  at  Pierre    322 

CHAPTER  LVIII— The  Weary  Wait  for  Statehood  Begins— The  Land  Commissioner's  Policy 
Detrimental — A  Reign  of  Terror— Tecritorial  Party  Conventions — Governor  Pierce  Re- 
signs— Succeeded  by  L.  K.  Church 326 

CHAPTER  LIX. — The  First  Democratic  Governor — Legislature  in  Session— New  Railroad  Con- 
struction— Redfield  College  Founded — A  "One-State"  Convention  —  Division  Prevails  at 
the    November   Election 329 

CHAPTER  LX.— The  Great  Blizzard  of  January  12,    1888- A    Year    of    Politics— Natural    Gas 

Discovered — Good  Crops 332 

CHAPTER  LXI. — Statehood  at  Last,  with  Division— Fierce  Contest  Over  the  Location  of  the 
State  Capitol— Pierre  Successful — Drought  and  Other  Unfavorable  Conditions  Cause 
Great  Hardships — Relief  Measures 335 

CHAPTER  LXII.— The  First  Year  in  South  Dakota— Not  a  Very  Hopeful  Period— First  State 
Legislature — Contest  for  the  Relocation  of  the  State  Capitol— Pierre  Again  Successful — 
A  Great  Indian  Uprising — General  Miles  Assumes  Command  and  Restores  Peace 33S 

CHAPTER  LXIIL— The  Election  of  Senator  Ky'e— A     Unique     Situation —  Australian     Ballot 

Law   Adopted — A   Magniiicent   Harvest 343 

CHAPTER   LXIV.— The   Pettigrew-Mellette    Fight— State      Conventions— Sisseton      Reservation 

Thrown  Open  for  Settlement 347 

CHAPTER  LXV.— The  Struggle  for  Resubmission  of  the  Prohibition  Amendment— The  Na- 
tional Panic  Severely  Felt  in  South  Dakota 350 

CHAPTER  LXVL— 1894— Another   Year   of  Disaster— The  Free-Silver  Movement  Receives  Great 

Attention — Mining  Active   in  the  Black  Hills     353 

CHAPTER  LXVH.— The  Taylor  Defalcation— Senator  Pettigrew  Re-elected— Prohibition  Clause 

Resubmitted — Governor    Mellette's    Death 355 

CHAPTER  IXVIII.— The  Pettigrew  Silver  Fight— Many  Conventions— An  Excellent  Harvest- 

A   Severe   Storm 358 

CHAPTER   LXIX.— Senator   Kyle   Re-Elected— Good  Harvests  and  Better  Prices 361 

CHAPTER  LXX.— The  War  with  Spain— South  Dakota's  Quota— Volunteer  Organizations- 
Great  Enthusiasm — The  First  South  Dakota  Regiment  Makes  a  Magnificent  Record  in 
the  Philippines— Details  of  the  Campaign— Grigsby's     Cowboys 363 

CHAPTER  LXXr.— Civil  Affairs  of  1898  and  1899- An  Active  Political  Period— Huron  College 
Established — Governor  Sheldon  Dies  Suddenly— Growth  and  Prosperity — A  Fatal  Fire 
at  the  State  Insane  Asylum 386 

CHAPTER  LXXIL— The  End  of  the  Century— Great  Forward  Strides— Political  Affairs- 
Railroad     Extensions 388 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  LXXIII.— In  the  New  Century— The  Legislature   Passes   Several   Beneficial   Acts— 

The  State's  Productions  Steadily  Improve— A  Goodly  Land  and  a  Goodly  People 390 

CHAPTER  LXXIV.— Brief  Sketches  of  the  Counties    392 

CHAPTER  LXXV. — Territorial  and  State  Officers  1<  rom  the  Organization  of  Dakota  Territory.   408 

CHAPTER  LXXVL— Roster   of   Officers   and   Enlisted    Men    of    the    First    Infantry    Regiment, 

South    Dakota   Volunteers 426 

CHAPTER    LXXVII.— Third    United    States   Volunteer  Cavalry 455 

CHAPTER  LXXVII  I.— Bench  and  Bar  of  South  Dakota— McKenzie  and  Laidlaw  Early  Ob- 
servers of  the  Peace— Col.  Leavenworth  the  First  Regularly  Admitted  Lawyer — The  First 
Territorial  Judicial  Officers — W.  W.  Brookings — Enos  Stutsman — Judge  Kidder — Bart- 
lett  Tripp — The  Wintermute  Murder  Trial — Many  Strong  Men  in  the  Early  Period — 
State    Bar    Association — Notable    Publications   463 

CHAPTER  LXXIX.— Education— Zeal  for  Learning  a  Characteristic  of  the  State— The  First 
School  at  Fort  Randall — Yankton  Academy  the  First  Institution  for  Higher  Education 
— Fine  Progress  Along  Educational  Lines — Present  Progressive  and  Efficient  Methods — 
Statistics 470 

CHAPTER  LXXX.— Banks  and  Banking— The  Fur  Companies  the  First  Bankers— Pierre 
Narcelle's  Unique  Repository  and  His  Consequent  Loss — Fire  Bank  Laws  Safeguard  the 
People's  Deposits 473 

CHAPTER  LXXXI. — Physic'ans  and  the  Practice  of  Medicine — Medicinal  Practices  Among 
the  Indians — John  Gale  the  First  Doctor  in  the  State — Early  Physicians — Laws  Regu- 
lating   the    Practice    of    Medicine— Medical  Societies   477 

CHAPTER  LXXXIL— The  Dakota  Central  Telephone  Lines— A  Successful  Business  Propo- 
sition       481 

CHAPTER   LXXXIII.— Black   Hills   Forest  Reserve   484 

CHAPTER  LXXXIV.— Gold  Mining  in  the  Black  Hills— The  Precious  Metal  First  Discovered 
in  the  Hills  by  the  Custer  Expedition  in  1874 — First  Comers  a  Sterling  Class  of  Men 
— Geological  Formation  of  the  Black  Hills — Other  Physical  Features — Developments — 
Classification  of  the  Ores— Production  of  Gold  Since  1876- The  Homestake  Mine — A 
Marvelous    Career 487 

CHAPTER  LXXXV.— Odd  Characters  and   Incidents  of    the    Black    Hills— The    Hinch    Murder 

Trial — Lame    Johnny — The   Passing   of   Fly-Specked  Billy — A  Bloody  Good  Mount 496 

CHAPTER   LXXXVl.— Anecdotes    of   Judge   Kidder    503 

CHAPTER   LXXXVIL— Scandinavians   in   South  Dakota  and  Their  Work  in  Church  and  State.   506 

CHAPTER  LXXXVIIL— History  of  the  Holland  Colony  in  Douglas  and  Charles  Mix  Counties.   509 

CHAPTER   LXXXIX.— Ancient    Free   and   Accepted    Masons 512 

CHAPTER   XC— Independent   Order   of   Odd    Fellows   516 


TABLE  OF  CONTEKTS. 


CHAPTER  XCI.— Knights  of  Pythia= 526 

CHAPTER   XCII.— Benevolent   and   Protective   Order  of  Elks : 534 

CHAPTER  XCIII.— Mission  Work  Among  the  Teton    Indians 536 

CHAPTER   XCIV.— John   P.   Williamson,   Missionary     540 

CHAPTER  XCV.— The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  South  Dakota— Jedadiah  Smith— The 
First  Conference  Organization — The  First  Religious  Organization  —  Progress  of  the 
Church — Dakota   University — Methodism    in  the  Black  Hills 544 

CHAPTER  XCVI.— The  Presbyterian  Church— First  Missionary  Work— The  Old  Log  Church 
at  Vermillion — Rev.  Stephen  Riggs — Work  on  the  Sisseton  Reservation — Translation  of 
the  Bible  into  the  Sioux  Language — Organization  of  Presbyteries — Educational — Hu- 
ron College    552 

CHAPTER  XCVn. — The  Baptist  Church — Inauguration  of  Earliest  Protestant  Religious 
Movement  in  South  Dakota — Organization  of  Churches — German  Baptists— Work  Among 
the  Scandinavian,- The  Baptist  Young  People's  Union — The  First  Sunday  School — 
Education — Missionary   Work 559 

CHAPTER  XCVIII.— Congregationalism  in  South  Dakota— The  Church  Idea— First  Work  at 
Yankton — Dr.  Joseph  Ward — Early  Efforts  of  the  Church — The  Growth  of  the  Church 
Rapid— The  Yale  Dakota  Band— Sunday  School  Work — Work  Among  the  Gsrman  People 
— Redfield    College — Yankton    College— Ward    Academy 568 

CHAPTER  XCIX.— The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church— First  Religious  Services  Along  the 
Missouri  River — Bishop  Hare — Division  of  the  Territory  into  Missionary  Districts — 
Statistics — Personal    Mention 580 

CHAPTER   C— The  Reformed   Church   in   South  Dakota— Early  Hitory  of  the  Church— Brief 

Sketches  of  the  Churches  in  this  State 5SS 

CHAPTER  CI.— The  Roman  Catholic  Church— First  Catholic  Service  in  Dakota  in  1842— 
Father  DeSmet  and  His  Work  Among  the  Indian  Tribes — Early  Churches— Subsequent 
Growth   of   the   Church— Hospitals 593 

CHAPTER  CII.— History  of  the  Woman  Suffrage  Movement  in   South   Dakota 597 

■  CHAPTER   cm.— Personal    IMention   of   Citizens  of  South  Dakota . . , 605 


INDEX  TO  CHAPTER  CIII 


Abbott,   George   W 711 

Adams,  Edward  C,   M.   D...   950 

Adams,  George  S.,  M.  D 694 

Aikens,  Prank  R S94 

Anderson,    Hemming. 

Anderson,    Ole 

Ashley,    Rev.    Edward 

Atkins,  Charles  W 866 


650  , 
637  I 
715    I 


Bagstad,    Tver 635 

Bakewell,    Samuel    H 849 

Bancroft,    William    F 846 

Barron,    John 921 

Bartelt,    Chirles   H 701 

Bates,   Charles   P 897 

Baxter,  George  H 654 

Beadle.   William  H.  H 716 

B-3lk,    John    T. . 642 

Baaner,  John  A 762 

Bcntley.    Lester    H 685 

Bsrdahl,   Erick  J 614 

Booth,    Richard    H 626 

Borst,  Wil'.iam  R 825 

Bouck,  Thomas  L 680 

Bowen,    Frank     901 

Boylan,  B.  T 947 

Boynton,  Abraham    942 

Bradley,  James  B 632 

Bramble,  Downer  T 910 

Brannon.   James   H 691 

Bridgman,    Hosea 667 

Brockman,    Edward    P 686 

Brookings,  Wilmot  W 923 

Brown,    Thomas    H 838 

Brownson.    Frank    M 773 

Bullis,    A.    L 730 

Bullis.    Frederick    J 729 


Burbank,   John  A 881 

Byrne,    William 752 

C 

Cadwell,    Oryille    C 898 

Callesen,  Chris 785 

Camp,  Frederick    938 

Carpenter,  Cora  W.,  M.  D...   702 
Carson,   Rev.   Harlan.   D.   D.  872 

Case,    George    W 853 

Cassady,    George    709 

Cawood,    Seigal    B 769 

Cawood,   Thomas 919 

Cederstrum,  John 65  / 

Chladek,    Louis 792 

Church,   Louis   K 735 

.Clow,    Lester    H 824 

Cole,    Howard   \V 844 

Collins,    Charles    B 703 

Collins,   C.   Frank 733 

Cone,    James    W 712 

Conrick,  James  0 619 

Cook,    Charles    853 

Cook,    George    W 754 

Cooley,    James    P 797 

Copeland.   James  A 721 

Corson,    Dighton    903 

Countryman.  George  E..M.  D.  843 

Cramer.  E.  M 744 

Crisp,    Judge    Walter 631 

Cummins.   Burton  A 827 

Cuppett,  William  M 689 

Curtiss,   Asa   E 865 

Curtiss,    Charles   N 865 

Cutting,  Henry  E 828 

Cwach,    Mike 780 

D 

Davison,   Henry   M 663 

Dignan,  Thomas 752 


Dinneen,  Patrick  J 618 

Doering,   John    882 

DoUard,    Robert    802 

Donovan,    Edward    F 696 

Downie,   William   W 668 

Droppers,  Garrett,  B.  A 917 

Duncan,    John    786 

Dunham,   H.   A 903 

Dunmire,    J.    M 807 

Dye,    Ellsworth    E 789 

E 

Edmunds.   Newton    789 

Elliott.    James    D 804 

Epstien.    Ephraim 946 

Ericson,  Edward  C 632 

Eymer,    Conrad     665 

F 

Fales,   Charles  H 823 

Fanslow.   Frank   W 858" 

Farley,    John    S 684 

Farren,  Henry  B 620 

Farrington,  Henry  H 791 

Faulk,    Andrew    J 876 

Forsberg,  Nils    676 

Foster,    James    S 949 

Fowler,  DeWitt  C,  M.  D 845 

Fox.   Lewis   A 925 

Francis,   Charles    940 

Frawley,    Henry    847 

Freng,    Peder    746 

Friederich,  Christian   930 

Fry,   Gilmore    941 

Fuller,   Thad    L 679 

G 

Gamble,    John    R 897 

Gamble.   Hugh    S 672 


INDEX  TO  CHAPTER  CIII. 


Garrick,  Alexander  766 

Gaskin,    John    H 937 

Gerin,  Michael   720 

Gerin,    Patrick    J 662 

Gilman,  George  L 790 

Glass,    Wilbur    S 948 

Gold   Brothers 800 

Gold,    Frank    0 801 

Gold,   James  A SOI 

Gold,  John  T 801 

Gold,    Sidney    R 800 

Gold,   William   H 801 

Goldin,   Alfred    647 

Grace,    George    H .  ■  •   659 

Grebe,    Henry    818 

Gunderson,  Charles  J 723 

H 

Halbkat,  Charles  P 726 

Hall,    J.    C 669 

Hall,  Peter  H 693 

Hand,    George    A 922 

Handley,    William     902 

Haney,  Dick   936 

Hannett,    James    L 871 

Hansen,   Thomas  C 920 

Hayes,    R.    E 863 

Henley.  W.   S.   L 939 

Herman,  John  D.,  M.  D 768 

Herreid.  Charles  N 609 

Hildahl,   WoUert    890 

Hill,  Arthur  G 771 

Hill,    Charles    80S 

Hill.    Charles   E 708 

Himes,    Rev.    Joshua  V 916 

Hitt,    Martin    E 885 

Hollenbeck.    John    636 

Holmes,   Harry   A 649 

Hopkins,   Hollace  L 680 

Howard,  Charles  K 905 

Howard,   William   A 861 

Huber.  Frank  M 755 

Hutchinson,    Robert    M 916 

Hyde,"  Charles   L 829 

I 

Inch,    Thomas    740 

J 

Jacobson,   James   T 874 

James,    Harry    D 778 

James,    William    H 836 

Jandreau,  Mazar    882 

Jayne,  William 855 


Jezewski,   Alois    727 

Johnson,  Andrew 777 

Johnson,    Edwin    S 923 

Johnson,  Homer  W 934 

Johnson,    John    A 750 

Johnson,    M.   E 904 

Johnston.  George  A 851 

Jones.   David   F 653 

Josephson,    Svante    633 

K 

Kaberna,  Vincent 621 

Kelley,    Edgar    646 

Kennedy.   Edward  G 895 

Kidder.  Jefferson  P 893 

King.    August     783 

Kinyon.    Holden    D 709 

Kirk.   James    670 

Kittredge.  Alfred  B 830 

Kjeidseth.    Ole    772 

Knowles.    Edgar    S 909 

Krause,    Gustavus    R 923 

Kriesel,  William  A..  M.  D..  674 

Kyle.    James    H 612 

L 

Lacy,  Ernest  J 819 

Lampson,    William   C 742 

Lane,   Leander    758 

Langness,   J.   0 61* 

LaPlant.    Fred    723 

Larson.   John  M 737 

Lasell.   George   G 658 

Lathrop,  Willard  A 651 

Lavery,  Charles  J.,  M.   D...   821 

Lawrence.   Charles   L 810 

Leach,    Joseph    794 

Lee,    Andrew    E 901 

Lee.    John    T 837 

Lewis.    Ed    D SS8 

Livingston.  Henry  F..  M.  D.  854 

Loekhart,    John    L 826 

Lockhart.    Samuel    S 676 

Loffler,  Charles  L.,  M.  D....   707 

Long,     A.     D 931 

Lotze.    Charles    F 721 

Lowthian.    Nicholas    1 681 

Lucid.     Richard 905 

Lugg.     Charles    H 928 

Lumley.   George   W 820 

M 

Mclntyre.    William    938 

McLaughlin.    John    H 774 

McMartin.   Thomas  B 864 


McNutt,  Hiram  E.,  M.  D....  832 

Madsen,  George    739 

Major,  William  S 782 

Mead.   Leonard   C.    M.    D...  695 

Meehan,    Frank    W 677 

Meinzer.   Rev.  William   L. ..  747 

Melgaard.    Andrew 786 

Melham.  J.  0 664 

Mellette.    Arthur   C 913 

Mikkelson,     Soren     777 

Miles,   Edward   V 675 

Miller,    Eudell    J 873 

Miller,    Leroy    D 707 

Monfore,    Edward    J 748 

Moody,  Gideon   C 605 

Morehouse,   Eli   M..   M.   D...  817 

Morris.    Walter    D 914 

Mortensen.   Soren    743 

Mueller.    John    S 881 

Mullen.   Frank    700 

N 

Nash,    George   W 610 

Nedved,    Frank    780 

Nettleton,    Milo   E 944 

Nieland,  William  L 856 

Nilson,    Nils   B 918 

Noble,   Andrew  J 635 

Northrup,  Edgar  B 617 

Novak,  Vaclav    736 

O 

Olson,    Edward     898 

Olson,    Hans    C 618 

Olson,    Peter    O -728 

O'Meara,  Rev.  William  S..,  643 

Ordway,   Nehemiah   G 939 

Orr,    Alpha    F 891 

Owens,  John   904 

P 

Park,  Hiram  A 915 

Parker,    James   W : . .  736 

Payne.    Edward   C 660 

Payne,     Jason    E 720 

Peck,  Porter  P 907 

Pennington.  John  L 931 

Pettigrew.  Richard  F 640 

Pew.    Fred    S 661 

Pierce.  Gilbert  A 767 

Pinard.    Pierre   R..    M.    D...  944 

Pinckney.    George    H 679 

Platts.    Henry    H 745 

Porter,    William    G 624 

Powell,    David    M 883 


INDEX  TO  CHAPTER  CIII. 


Powers,  William  M 815 

Pritchard.  Thomas  H 913 

Pusey,   John    875 

Q 

Quale,    Albert    N 702 

Questad,    Ole   J 687 

Quigley,    John    , 644 

R 

Rabbitt,  William  F 678 

Raymond,    Charles    F 941 

Raymond.   Damose    922 

Raymond,  William  E 855 

Redding,    Martin    V 654 

Reed,    Newton    B 661 

Reeves,    James    D 666 

Reich,    John 768 

Reid.  Alfred    900 

Reiland.  Rev.  John  J 880 

Rempfer.  Christian  929 

Renner.    Leonard    893 

Reynolds.  Benjamin  F 779 

Rieder,    Gustave    776 

Rilling.   Fred    731 

Risling,    Philip    H 764 

Rix,   Theodore    735 

Robertson.   C.   Loran.   M.   D.  867 

Robinson.  Ambrose  B 715 

Robinson.  Doane   907 

Robinson.  Richard  F..  M.  D.  763 

Rockwell.    George    D 932 

Ross,    Charles    H 839 

Roth,    Henry    638 

Rounds,   William   W 755 

S 

Sagar,  George  R 645 

Sandvig,    Hans    H 616 

Saunders,  Walter  B 691 

Schaefer.   John   M 863 

Schamber,    John    896 

Schenck,  Peter   884 

Sehiager,   Simon    907 

Schliessmann,    Theodore    A.  930 

Schmidt.  Edward  W 892 

Scotchbrook,  George  P 850 

Scott,  Mark  D 698 


Lonson    623 

Semple,   William   H 622 

Shaw,    Alvin    M 850 

Sheafe,    Mark   W 704 

Sheldon,    Charles   H 611 

Sheppard,   William    J 840 

Sherman,  Edwin  A 834 

Sherrard,   William    B 624 

Shoemaker,    Alexander   A...  798 

Silsby,    George    A 878 

Simons.  Harry  A 937 

Slear.    Peter   K 741 

Smith.   Ellison   G 812 

Smith,  Ole  H 714 

Smith,    William    H 757 

SmuU,   John   D 684 

Solem,  EUef    936 

Solem,    Henry    G 687 

Sophy,    Hon.    John    F 952 

Southwick,    John    C 951 

Spink.    S.    L 885 

Steiner,  Jacob  D 788 

Stelle,    George   D 648 

Stewart,    D.    Grant S8S 

Still  well.  Victor  K 868 

Stover,    Col.    Lee 948 

Strass,    John   F 710 

Strevel,    Oren     920 

Sutherland,   John    825 

Swartout,  Floyd  E 652 

Sweet,  Roy  J 639 


Tarbell,  Hervey  A.,  M.  D...   862 

Tate,  Samuel  L fi27 

Tate,    William    701 

Taubman,    Edward   T 841 

Taylor,    Caleb    P 760 

Thogersen,    Robert     738 

Thompson.    Myron    D 724 

Thompson.   Torge    740 

Thomson.    Charles    784 

Tipton,    W.    E 879 

Tobey,    William    B 759 

Tripp,  Bartlett   917 

Trygstad,    Martin    N 760 

Turner,    James    P 756 

Turner,  Lyman 656 

Tuthill,    John    W 698 


U 

Uline,   Gustaf  A 713 

Ustrud,   Hans  A 703 

V 

VanOsdel.   William  T 906 

VanTassel,    Frank    M 814 

Victor,    Rev.    Hugo 869 

Volin.   Joseph   J 637 

W 

Waddell.    William    W 949 

Wagner,    George    C 857 

Wagner,    Joseph    V 806 

Ward,   David   E 630 

Watkins,    John    E 849 

Watson,   George   761 

Waxdahl,    S.   P 754 

Weeks,    David    H 774 

Wells.    .Tames    E 876 

Wells,  Rollin  J 889 

West,  Clark  S 734 

Wheelon,   Albert    833 

White,    Edwin    T 860 

Whitehouse,    Frederick   C...   899 

Whiting,    Joseph    W 809 

Wilber,   Henry    634 

Wilcox,    Edward    P 811 

Wildermuth,    Paul    926 

Wiley,    Cincinatus    0 750 

Wilson,    James    P 935 

Wilson,  Vilroy  T..  M.  D..  .  .  .■  699 

Winston,   George   P 725 

Wipf,   David   D 946 

Wiseman.  Merritt  B 682 

Wolf,  John  P 719 

Wood,  Guy  L 683 

Wood,    Levi    M 770 

Wumkes,   Weardus    H 689 

Y 

Young.   Joseph   C 765 

Z 

Zehnpfening,  Charles  927 

Zetlitz,    Arne,    M.   D 910 

Ziebach,  Frank  M 942 

Zollman,  Philip  A 870 


HISTORY   OF 


SOUTH    DAKOTA 


CHAPTER  I 


THE  STORY  GEOLOGY  TELLS. 


However  difficult  it  may  be,  from  the  stand- 
point of  philosophy,  to  determine  the  earliest 
events  which  modify  South  Dakota's  history,  the 
beginning  of  her  physical  history  is  unmistakably 
fixed,  and  the  record  thereof  is  ineffaceably 
written  in  every  lineament  of  the  fair  face  of 
the  splendid  midland  empire.  Nowhere  else, 
perhaps,  has  the  pen  of  passing  time  left  so 
definite  and  so  easily  deciphered  a  story  as  has 
been  engrossed  in  the  mountains  and  prairies, 
the  gulches  and  bad  lands  of  this  state,  and  here 
it  is  that  for  a  half  century  or  more  science  has 
come  to  read  its  most  satisfactory  messages  from 
the  remote  eons  of  the  perished  past.  In  brief 
and  in  popular  form,  stripped  of  the  incompre- 
hensible terminology  of  the  super-erudite,  that 
story  is  as  follows : 

In  the  beginning  the  area  now  comprising 
South  Dakota  was  deeply  engulfed  under  the 
primeval  ocean.  Through  what  eons  of  time  this 
condition  existed  may  not  be  known,  but  finally 
some  inward  convulsion  of  nature  threw  up  the 
Black  Hills,  above  the  waste  of  water.  It  must 
have  been  an  eruption  quite  eclipsing  Mount 
Pelee's  mighty  effort,  for  where  the  latter  dis- 
turbed a 'township  and  threw  its  ashes  over  a 
county,  the  Black  Hills  horror  threw  a  thousand 
square  miles  into  a  turmoil,  boiling,  heaving, 
steaming  and  bellowing,  until  the  floor  of  the 
ocean  was  broken  up  and  rugged  and  ragged 
mountains  of  rock  lifted  their  heads  high  above 
the  parted  waters. 


Through  what  countless  ages  the  ocean  beat 
upon  these  rocks  can  not  be  accurately  deter- 
mined, but  certain  it  is  that,  worn  by  the  winds 
of  heaven  and  washed  by  old  ocean's  wave,  the 
rocks  were  worn  and  ground  into  a  soil  which 
was  borne  far  down  across  the  floor  of  the  sea 
and  become  the  first  strata  above  the  igneous 
foundation  of  the  world,  the  archaen  period  and 
formation  of  the  geologists.  This  formation 
was  undoubtedly  laid  down  under  water  and  is 
free,  or  nearly  free,  from  evidences  of  organic, 
life,  only  the  most  elementary  forms  of  fossils 
being  found  in  its  upper  courses. 

Then  came  a  mighty  subsidence,  the  earth's 
surface  fell  away  and  the  great  rocks  drew  down 
their  crests  below  the  surging  waters  and  again 
the  mighty  ocean,  in  awful  grandeur,  rolled  and 
raged  and  laughed  and  smiled  and  smacked  its 
foamy  lips  above  the  land  of  the  Dakotas,  su- 
premely arrogant  in  its  monopoly  of  the  great 
northwest.  Nevertheless  it  was  but  a  temporary 
armistice  in  the  war  of  the  elements.  Again  the 
rocks  gathered  themselves  for  another  mighty 
struggle  for  supremacy  over  their  insolent  and 
merciless  enemy,  and  again,  with  the  rage  of 
\'esuvius  ten  thousand  times  multiplied,  they 
forced  the  ocean  back  and  held  their  heads  high 
in  the  sunlight  of  heaven,  and  though  the  waters 
tore  them  and  wore  them  and  stole  from  them 
the  material  for  the  next  great  formation, — the 
paleozoic, — they  never  again  quite  overcame 
the    hills,    though    the    latter    were    nearly    sub- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


merged  again  and  again,  and  were  worn  and 
reduced  to  provide  the  matter  for  the  several  suc- 
ceeding formations — the  mesozoic  and  the  ceno- 
zoic,  with  their  multifarious  stratum.  What 
transpired  to  the  Black  Hills  likewise  occurred 
to  all  of  the  great  mountain  region  of  the  west 
and  it  must  be  understood  that  the  whole 
mountain  region  contributed  the  material  for  the 
several  geologic  formations  underlying  the 
plains.      Finally,   however,    the   triumph   of   the 


hills  became  complete  and  the  vanquished  ocean 
abandoned,  not  only  the  hill  country,  but  as  well 
slunk  away  from  the  prairies,  leaving  the  land 
of  the  Dakotas  a  vast,  swampy,  tropical,  steaming 
desert  land. 

For  the  benefit  of  those  who  desire  to  know, 
scientifically,  the  various  formations  underlying 
South  Dakota  it  may  be  well  to  introduce  at  this 
point  Dr.  J.  E.  Todd's  table  of  geological  for- 
mations as  he  has  arranged  it  stratigraphically : 


Eons. 

Sy 9te  m  s.       Groups  and  Stages. 

Deposits. 

Thickness. 

Quaternary, 

Pleistocene, 

Feet. 

Terraces, 

Gravel,  loam,   etc., 

5-10 

2 

Loess, 

Buff   loam, 

5-100 

Drift, 

Boulder   clay   gravel, 

etc.. 

10-150 

o 

Tertiary, 

o    ■ 

Pliocene, 

2 

H 

Equus  Beds    (?) 

Loam,  sand  and  clay. 

5-30 

Miocene, 

Loup    Fork    Beds, 

Sand,    gravel    and    loam, 

25-75 

White    River    Beds, 

White  clay,  sandstone. 

grits,  etc 

250-400 

Eocene, 

Absent. 

Cretaceous, 

Later, 

Laramie, 

Sandstone,  shales  and  lignite. 

1,000-2,000 

Fox   Hills, 

Sandstone,  shales  and 

clays. 

100-150 

Colorado, 

O 

Fort  Pierre, 

Dark   clays  and   shales 

350-700 

o 

Niobrara, 

Chalkstone  and  shales. 

50-200 

i 

Ft.    Benton, 

Dark  clay   and   shales. 

50-200 

Dakota, 

Sandstones   and    clays, 

200-500 

Earlier, 

Absent. 

Jurassic, 

Sandstones,  marls  and 

clays. 

200-350 

Triassic, 

Red  clays  and  purple 
stone. 

lime- 

300-400 

''  Carboniferous, 

Limestones,    sandstones    and 

570-785 

shales. 

o 

Devonian, 

Absent    (?) 

0-25 

Silurian, 

o 

Upper, 

Absent    (?) 

Lower, 

Trenton, 

Bluff  limestone,  etc.. 

25-50 

Ol, 

Cambrian, 

Potsdam, 

Brown  sandstone,  etc., 

250-300 

Acadian, 

Absent   (?) 

Keweenian, 

Absent. 

z 

Huronian, 

a 

Upper, 

X 

Sioux  Quartzite, 

Lower, 

Quartzite,  etc., 

1,000-3000 

Black  Hills  Slates, 

Schists   and    granites. 

10,000-100,000 

Laurentian, 

Absent   (?) 

HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


If  we  could  get  a  birdeye  view  of  South 
Dakota  as  it  appeared  after  the  subsidence  of  the 
ocean  we  would  find  a  vast  nearly  level  stretch, 
lowest  at  the  center,  through  which  depression 
poured  the  most  tremendous  flood  of  all  the 
rivers  of  the  world.  Its  course  was  almost  if  not 
quite  identical  with  that  of  the  present  James 
river,  but  its  volume  and  force  were  beyond  com- 
prehension or  means  of  expression.  At  Rockport 
this  unparalleled  flood  poured  over  the  mighty 
barrier  of  granite,  producing  a  water  power 
which,  in  comparison,  makes  St.  Anthony  or 
Niagara  sink  into  insignificance.  Down  from  the 
west,  only  less  important  than  the  great  central 
stream,  poured  the  floods  of  the  Grand  river, 
then  worthy  of  the  name,  finding  its  way  into  the 
parent  stream  not  far  from  the  present  city  of 
Aberdeen,  probably  through  the  channels  of  Foot 
creek  and  the  Moccasin.  Farther  south  the 
silvery  Cheyenne  sent  its  broad  sweep  of  irresist- 
ible waters  into  the  great  trunk  stream  through 
the  Snake  creek  valley  near  Redfield,  and  White 
river  found  an  outlet  where  the  Firesteel  now 
makes  its  sluggish  course.  Another  great  con- 
vulsion of  nature  was  required  to  transform  the 
geography  of  South  Dakota  as  we  now  know  it. 
In  the  progress  of  time,  nature,  true  to  herself, 
as  she  ever  is,  evolved  for  the  land  a  dress  of 
verdure,  course  succulent  grasses,  reeds  and 
rushes,  broad-leaved  ferns  and,  later,  vast  forests 
of  palms  and  pines,  and  the  mighty  wilderness 
was  peopled  with  monstrous  reptiles  such  as  are 
unknown  to  the  modern  world.  All  these  things 
are  revealed  to  us  in  the  open  book  where  nature 
has  recorded  her  story  in  the  eroded  clay  banks 
of  the  bad  lands. 

Just  when  organic  life  first  appeared  may  be 
somewhat  uncertain,  but  it  is  clear  that  shell- 
fish, corals  and  the  first  strange  fishes  were  here 
in  the  early  portions  of  the  paleozoic  and  at  the 
same  time  various  tribes  of  labyrinthodonts  in- 
fested the  region  and  salamanders  or  lizards, 
armored  with  enameled  plates,  rendering  them 
impervious  to  attacks  from  any  of  their  contem- 
poraries, were  the  ruling  race  of  the  Dakota  of 
that  eon.  There  is  little,  if  any,  evidence  of 
animal    life    in    the   triassic    period,    but    in    the 


Jurassic,  which  succeeded  it,  came  the  develop- 
ment of  the  terrible  reptiles  before  mentioned. 
Dr.  Todd  describes  them  as  of  strange  forms, 
imitating  birds  and  animals,  living  on  vegetation, 
on  helpless  shellfish  and  upon  one  another,  crawl- 
ing and  tearing  each  other  in  primeval  slime. 
The  remains  of  one  of  these  monsters  was  found 
near  Piedmont,  on  the  eastern  margin  of  the 
Black  Hills.  It  is  called  scientifically  the  atlant- 
osaurus,  and  is  the  largest  land  animal  which 
has  yet  been  found.  It  is  in  the  form  of  a 
lizard,  eighty  feet  in  length  and  stood  about 
twenty-five  feet  high.  In  order  to  sustain  its 
gigantic  bulk,  without  unnecessary  weight,  the 
bones  are  very  porous  and  light,  somewhat  on 
the  principle  of  modern  iron  bridges.  The  best 
authority  believes  the  atlantosaurus  to  have  been 
a  land  animal,  though  some  scientists  assert  that 
it  would  have  been  impossible  for  it  to  sustain 
its  weight  on  land  and  therefore  conclude  that 
it  must  have  been  a  marine.  In  that  period  there 
were  a  few  small  animals,  none  of  them  larger 
than  rats. 

In  the  cretaceous  period  abundant  forms  of 
life  appeared,  some  of  them  bearing  beautiful 
shells  of  exquisite  form  which  were  even  more 
ornate  than  the  pearly  nautilus  of  today. 
Swimming  reptiles  appeared  of  the  form  and  size 
of  whales.  Then  there  were  the  mosasaurus  and 
the  plesiosaurus,  huge  sea-serpents  with  slender 
bodies,  covered  with  shining  scales,  equipped 
with  four  paddles  and  flattened  tail  and  with 
large,  formidably  armed  jaws.  Lewis  and 
Clarke  found  the  remains  of  one  of  these  mon- 
sters when  ascending  the  Missouri  in  1804,  in 
what  is  now  Charles  Mix  county,  and  they  pre- 
served it  and  sent  it  to  Washington  where  it 
may  still  be  seen  in  the  National  Museum. 
Many  others  have  since  been  unearthed,  one  of 
the  latest  being  found  in  Charles  Mix,  portions 
of  which  were  sent  to  Prof.  Todd,  our  state 
geologist,  and  are  preserved  by  him  at  the  State 
University.  With  the  cretaceous  the  reptiles 
almost  wholly  disappeared,  making  way  for  a 
race  of  giant  turtles.  These  turtles  were  large 
almost  be}ond  belief.  One  of  them  was  found 
on  the  eroded  banks  of  the  upper  Cheyenne  and 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


sent  to  tlie  Peabody  Aluseum  of  Yale  College 
by  its  finder,  Dr.  G.  R.  Weiland.  The  head  of 
this  creature  is  twenty-nine  inches  long  and  six- 
teen inches  in  depth.  The  size  of  the  turtle  in 
other  respects  may  be  judged  from  its  head.  It 
would  open  its  jaws  about  twenty-five  inches, 
which  would  enable  it  to  swallow  a  man  whole. 
In  fact  it  could  have  swallowed  him  whole,  or 
chopped  him  into  morsels  if  it  preferred,  for  it 
was  provided  with  terrific  cutting  jaws.  It  was 
built  on  the  plan  of  the  modern  hawkbill  turtle 
and  anyone  familiar  with  those  creatures  knows 
how  easily  they  can  chop  a  man's  ann  off.  Dr. 
Weiland"s  find  is  fourteen  feet  six  inches  from 
tip  to  tip  and  twelve  feet  wide  across  the  back 
and  four  feet  through  the  thickest  part.  He 
could  have  carried  a  two-ton  elephant  as  easily 
as  a  man  can  carry  a  seventy-five-pound  boy. 
We  can  imagine  a  sagacious  elephant  sitting  on 
the  turtle's  back  and  enjoying  the  ride.  The  en- 
tire senate  of  the  South  Dakota  legislature  could 
without  much  crowding  find  accommodations 
upon  his  back  for  a  pleasure  excursion.  Such  a 
turtle  would  furnish  soup  for  fifty-five  hundred 
persons.  He  would  be  able  to  tow  a  full-rigged 
ship.  It  would  take  eight  good  draught  horses 
to  haul  the  big  turtle  for  any  distance.  Follow- 
ing the  turtles  came  the  development  of  gigantic 
mammals.  The  largest  of  these  Dr.  Todd 
classifies  as  belonging  to  the  brontotherium 
family.  These  animals  rivaled  the  largest  mam- 
moths in  size,  though  they  were  lower  buUt  and 
much  in  form  like  the  rhinoceros  or  tapir. 
The  skulls  of  the  largest  are  over  three  feet  in 
length,  the  animal  being  five  or  six  times  that 
ler^th  and  half  as  high.  The  skull  is  very  pe- 
culiar. It  resembles  somewhat  that  of  the 
rhinoceros  and  with  a  high  occiput,  and  in- 
stead of  one  horn  over  the  nose  it  has  a 
pair  longer  than  those  of  any  living  rhi- 
noceros and  composed  largely  of  bone.  The 
upper  part  of  the  skull  reminds  one  of  a  large, 
rude  side-saddle.  The  lower  jaw  is  unusually 
deep  and  heavy.  It  has  very  wide  molar  teeth 
above,  seven  in  number,  with  canines  both  above 
and  below  of  very  moderate  length  and  very 
small  incisors.     The  lower  molar  teeth  are  about 


half  the  breadth  of  the  upper  and  made  to  work 
against  the  inner  side  of  the  upper,  leaving  the 
outer  edge  of  the  latter  overhanging  and  very 
sharp,  well  adapted  for  cutting  and  grinding  the 
course  marsh  and  water  plants  upon  which  it 
probably  fed.  These  creatures  had  four  long 
toes  in  front  and  three  behind,  like  the  tapir  of 
the  present  time,  and,  like  them,  they  probably 
had  a  long  flexible  nose  though  not  a  true  pro- 
boscis. Numerous  remains  of  these  animals  have 
been  found  in  the  bad  lands  and  in  the  vicinity 
of  Sioux  Falls.  Prof.  Fairfield  Osbom  calls 
this  animal  the  titanothere,  and  describes  them 
graphically:  "The  titanothere,  although  the 
reigning  plutocrat  of  the  South  Dakota  lake,  was 
no  feral  parvenu  or  upstart.  He  boasted  a  fam- 
ily tree  branching  back  to  a  small  tribe  which 
lived  in  a  modest  way  beside  the  Wasatch  lake, 
some  half  million  years  before.  These  hardy  an- 
cestors had  seen  the  uintatheres  (the  horrible 
rhinoceroses  of  the  Utah  lake  region)  swell  in 
size,  take  horns  and  disappear.  Apparently  no 
record  of  this  fact  was  preserved,  for  hardly 
had  the  uintatheres  gone  to  earth  when  the  titan- 
othere family,  unmindful  of  the  fate  attending 
horns  and  bulk,  began  to  develop  horns  which 
sprouted  like  bumps  over  the  eyes,  as  may  be 
seen  in  the  little  calf.  For  a  while  the  males  and 
females  had  bumps  of  the  same  moderate  size, 
but  as  the  premium  on  horns  rose  the  old  bulls 
made  great  capital  of  them,  fighting  each  other 
and  bunting  the  females  who  would  not  reciprc^- 
cate  their  protestations  of  affection — a  fact  at- 
tested by  many  broken  ribs.  Finally  these  horns 
attained  a  prodigious  size  in  the  bulls,  branching 
off  from  the  very  end  of  the  snout,  unlike  any- 
thing in  existing  nature.  In  the  meantime  this 
'titanbeast,'  as  Liedy  well  named  him,  acquired  a 
great  hump  on  his  back  fully  ten  feet  above  the 
ground,  while  he  stretched  out  to  a  length  of 
fourteen  feet  and  expanded  to  a  weight  of  two 
tons.  He  increased  in  numbers  also,  as  may  be 
attested  by  the  scores  of  petrified  bones.  This 
prosperity,  however,  was  fatal,  for  in  the  next 
geologic  stratum  not  a  trace  of  him  is  found. 
He  appears  to  have  died  out  at  the  very  climax 
of  his  greatness." 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Prof.  Osborn  also  describes  several  other  South 
Dakotans  of  that  pioneer  period.  Among  these 
are  the  aquatic  rhinoceros  as  well  as  manj'  of 
the  bona  fide  rhinoceroses  similar  to  the  present 
day  denizen  of  Africa.  Speaking  of  these,  Prof. 
Osborn  says :  "Leaving  the  swimming  rhi- 
noceroses at  the  lake  border  and  the  true  rhi- 
noceroses in  the  grasses  and  shrubbery  of  the 
lower  meadows  and  climbing  up  among  the 
lower  Black  Hills,  we  might  have  seen  a  large 
herd  of  hyracodons,  or  cursorial  rhinoceroses, 
galloping  by,  frightened  by  a  crouching  ancestor 
of  the  saber-toothed  tiger.  These  light-limbed 
animals  were  horselike  to  a  surprising  degree 
in  the  shoulders,  haunches  and  limbs.  They 
were  in  no  true  sense  a  horse,  for  the  teeth  prove 
them  to  be  rhinoceroses,  small,  light  and  swift- 
footed,  in  extreme  contrast  of  structure  with  the 
swimming  type." 

Still  further  up  in  the  Hills  we  startle  a 
pair  of  protecaras,  which  are  beautifully  graceful 
except  in  the  head  and  snout.  They  are  of  the 
deer  family  and  the  buck  proudly  displays  a  pro- 
fusion of  bony  horns ;  a  pair  between  the  ears,  a 
much  smaller  pa;ir  between  the  eyes  and  two 
very  prominent  bony  plates  behind  the  nostrils, 
below  which  spring  two  sharp  tusks  as  in  the 
musk  deer.  The  doe  lacks  the  tusks  and  all  the 
horns.  And  this  brings  us  to  the  palmy  days 
of  pig  culture  in  South  Dakota,  for,  returning 
from  the  mountain  climb  to  the  lakes  and  rivers, 
we  come  upon  the  giant  pig,  or  elothere.  He 
bristles  his  great  shaggy  mane,  the  dewlaps 
swinging  from  the  great  bony  knobs  under  his 
chin  and  jaws.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the 
elothere  was  a  pig  of  the  first  rank  and  thor- 
oughly cosmopolitan  in  his  range.  While  the 
titanotheres  were  extant  he  maintained  the  hum- 
ble size  of  the  tapir,  but  when  these  rivals  passed 
away  the  reign  of  the  giant  hogs  began.  They 
acquired  skulls  nearly  four  feet  long,  armed  with 
huge  cheek  bones  and  under  jaw  plates,  powerful 
upper  limbs  and  narrow  stilted  feet,  differing 
from  those  of  the  modern  pig  in  the  absence  of 
dew  claws.  The  shoulders  rose  in  a  hump,  but 
the  chest  was  narrow  and  feeble.  The  open 
mouth   displayed   a   row   of  pointed  front   teeth 


used  in  grubbing  and  digging.  Prof.  Osborn 
concludes :  "All  these  monsters  had  their  day 
while  the  sun  shone,  the  birds  warbled,  the  in- 
sects hummed  over  thousands  of  miles  of  water 
and  luxuriant  subtropical  bloom.  Meanwhile  the 
western  continent  slowly  rose,  the  Sierra  shut  off 
more  and  more  of  the  sweet  influences  of  the 
Pacific  and  before  the  arrival  of  man  this  splen- 
did assemblage  of  life  was  replaced  by  the  hardy 
animals  of  the  hills,  the  small  and  colorless 
denizens  of  the  desert  and  the  ruminants  of  the 
plains." 

There  was  another  influence,  however,  which, 
more  than  the  shutting  off  of  the  Pacific  influ- 
ence, appeared  to  modify  Dakota  conditions,  al- 
though it  may  be  that  the  lift  of  the  western 
country  made  the  other  influence  more  pro- 
nounced. I  refer  to  the  invasion  of  the  ice  field 
from  the  northeast.  It  may  be  well  to,  in  popu- 
lar and  understandable  terms,  state  how  this 
came  about.  It  must  be  understood  at  the  outset 
that  ice,  brittle  as  it  appears,  is  really  viscous ; 
that  is,  it  runs  under  its  own  weight  like  a  lump 
of  dough.  Now  through  countless  ages  the  ice 
had  been  fonning  and  piling  up  in  the  remote 
north  until  it  had  attained  many  thousands  of 
feet  of  thickness, — miles  of  depth, — and  under 
the  tremendous  weight  of  its  own  body  spread 
slowly  but  steadily  southward,  or  rather  to  the 
southwest,  irresistibly  moving  along,  crushing 
and  grinding  everything  in  its  path  until  finally 
it  reached  the  great  plain  of  South  Dakota.  It  is 
probable  that  had  the  western  country  remained 
level  so  that  the  warm  Pacific  breezes  could  have 
brought  their  tropical  influences  into  the  heart 
of  the  continent  the  ice  would  have  melted  before 
it  reached  our  section.  It  will  be  recalled  that  at 
the  period  in  question  South  Dakota  was  a  rela- 
tively level  plain,  falling  gently  dovra  from  the 
Black  Hills  to  the  James  river  on  the  west  and 
from  the  James  up  to  the  top  of  the  coteau  on 
the  east.  The  James  then  as  now  had  an  altitude 
of  about  one  thousand  two  hundred  feet,  while 
the  west  line  of  the  state  was  about  five  thousand 
feet  and  the  top  of  the  coteau  at  the  east  line  of 
the  state  about  two  thousand  feet  high.  Thus  it 
will   be   seen    that   the   great   valley   of   the   old 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Dakota  was  broad  and  shallow  and  that  the  then 
Missouri  river  running  through  it  was  such  a 
magnificent  stream  as  cannot  be  compared  with 
any  other  in  existence,  and  it  was  upon  such  a 
country,  peopled  with  such  beasts  as  have  before 
been  described,  that  the  great  ice  sheet  de- 
scended. Slowly  it  poked  its  terrible  nose  out 
across  the  Dakotaland.  When  it  reached  the 
great  river  there  was  a  struggle  of  the  giants. 
The  river  rushed  at  the  intruding  ice,  madly 
tearing  it  and  breaking  its  front  into  fragments. 
The  water  foamed  and  fretted  and  wore  the 
glistening  terror  which  persistently  pushed  on 
until  it  occupied  the  bed  of  the  mighty  stream 
and  all  the  valley  land  to  the  depth  of  hundreds 
of  feet,  and  the  vanquished  stream  was  forced  to 
turn  back  upon  itself,  sullen  and  hopeless,  a  vast 
dead  lake,  its  feet  resting  against  the  ice  in 
about  the  vicinity  of  Washburn,  North  Dakota, 
and  its  head  crowded  far  back  into  the  gulches 
and   fastnesses  of  the  mountains.     But  the  life 


OLD   AND   PRESENT    COURSE   OF   MISSOURI   RIVER. 


had  not  wholly  departed  from  the  sun.  A  tra- 
dition lingered  of  the  old  tropical  Dakota  days, 
and  occasionally  the  spicy  south  wind  returned  to 
visit  its  oldtime  haunts  and  when  the  icy  terror 
had  reached  a  point  one  hundred  miles  or  more 
west  of  the  bed  of  the  mighty  stream  which  it 


had  usurped  the  sun  and  the  south  wind  met  it 
and  there  it  was,  in  the  heart  of  South  Dakota, 
that  the  monster  was  arrested  in  its  course  and 
finally  vanquished.  The  river,  mindful  of  its 
former  grandeur  and  prowess,  hurried  to  the  aid 


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PREGLACIAL   PROFILE 


of  the  sun  and  the  wind  and  while  the  latter  was 
fighting  the  ice  backward  the  water  carved  a 
deep  ditch  along  the  frontier  of  the  ice  and  flow- 
ing through  it  finally  reached  its  old  bed  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Yankton.  So  it  was  that  the 
glacier  crowded  the  Missouri  river  from  its 
former  course  through  the  James  river  valley  to 
its  present  course  high  up  in  the  western  plain 
and  explains  why  the  present  Missouri  river 
buttes  in  the  Dakotas  are  so  abrupt,  broken  and 
clayey.  The  little  profile  printed  herewith  shows 
the  old  surface  of  South  Dakota  at  a  point  ap- 
proximately from  Elkton  to  Belle  Fourche, 
through  Huron  and  Pierre,  and  with  it  the  new 
surface  as  modified  by  the  glacier.  It  will  be 
noticed  that  the  Sioux  valley  is  also  shown  as  a 
depression  hung  up  on  the  eastern  slope.  It  was 
formed  much  as  was  the  Missouri  valley.  When 
the  ice  melted,  it  disappeared  from  the  top  of 
the  coteau  and  the  eastern  slope  first  and  as  the 
ice  receded  the  imprisoned  waters  in  the  upper 
country  trickled  around  the  eastern  side  of  the 
ice,  carving  out  the  Sioux's  course. 

This,  in  brief,  is  the  story  of  South  Dakota's 
early  history  as  revealed  to  us  in  the  story  nature 
has  written  in  the  soil,  the  rocks  and  the  topog- 
raph}. 


CHAPTER  II 


THE  STORY  TOLD  BY  THE  MOUNDS. 


From  the  evidence  at  hand  it  cannot  be  prop- 
trly  said  that  South  Dakota  has  an  archeology-, 
or  that  the  land  was  ever  occupied  by  human 
beings  prior  to  the  coming  of  the  Indian  tribes 
found  here  by  the  early  white  explorers.  There 
are,  however,  several  important  and  very  inter- 
esting earthworks  in  or  upon  the  border  of  the 
state,  the  origin  of  which  is  in  doubt  and  the 
presence  of  which  leads  some  competent  wit- 
nesses to  conclude  that  the  land  was  peopled  by 
a  prehistoric  race.  While  this  writer  is  not  pre- 
pared to  endorse  this  theory,  it  is  not  out  of 
place  to  describe  such  mounds  as  have  been  dis- 
covered and  to  leave  the  origin  of  them  to  be 
determined  by  future  students  of  archeological 
and  anthropological  studies. 

When  Lewis  and  Clarke  passed  up  the  Mis- 
souri river,  in  1804,  they  examined  and  described 
some  embankments  upon  Bon  Homme  island 
and  the  adjacent  shore  of  the  Missouri  which 
for  years  thereafter  were  accepted  by  scientific 
men  as  evidences  of  a  prehistoric  occupation. 
Their  somewhat  elaborate  description  is  worthy 
of  repetition  here: 

This  interesting  object  is  on  the  south  side  of 
the  Missouri,  opjKJsite  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 
of  earth  rising  immediately  from  the  bank  of  the 
river  and  running  in  a  direct  course  south,  seventy- 
six  degrees  west,  ninety-six  yards.  The  base  of  this 
wall   or   mound    is   seventy-five    feet   and    Its   height 


eight  feet.  It  then  diverges  in  a  course  south, 
eighty-four  degrees  west,  and  continues  at  the  same 
height  and  depth  fifty-three  yards,  the  angle  being 
formed  by  a  sloping  descent;  at  the  junction  of 
these  two  is  the  appearance  of  a  horn  work  of  the 
same  height  as  the  first  angle;  the  same  wall  then 
pursues  a  course  north,  sixty-nine  degrees  west,  for 
three  hundred  yards.  Near  its  western  extremity  is 
an  opening,  or  gateway,  at  right  angles  to  the  wall 
and  projecting  inward;  this  gateway  is  defended  by 
two  nearly  semi-circular  walls  '  placed  before  it, 
lower  than  the  large  wall,  and  from  the  gateway 
there  seems  to  have  been  a  covered  way  communi- 
cating with  the  interval  between  these  two  walls. 
Westward  of  the  gate  the  wall  becomes  much  larger, 
being  about  one  hundred  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  north, 
thirty-two  degrees  west.  It  then  runs  north,  twenty- 
three  degrees  west,  for  seventy-three  yards.  These 
walls  seem  to  have  had  a  double  or  covered  way. 
They  are  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  eight  inches  in 
height  and  from  seventy-five  to  one  hundred  and 
five  feet  in  width  at  the  base,  the  descent  inward 
being  steep,  while  outward  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  ex- 
tremity of  the  last  wall,  in  a  course  north,  thirty-two 
degrees  west,  is  a  distance  of  ninety-six  yards  over 
the  low  ground  where  the  wall  recommences  and 
crosses  the  plain  in  a  course  north,  eighteen  degrees 
west,  for  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty 
yards,  to  the  bank  of  the  Missouri.     In  this  course 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


its  height  is  about  eight  feet  till  it  enters,  at  the 
distance  of  five  hundred  and  eighty-three  yards,  a 
deep  circular  pond  of  seventy-three  feet  in  diameter, 
after  which  it  is  gradually  lowered  toward  the 
river.  It  touches  the  river  at  a  muddy  bar,  which 
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  one  thousand  one  hundred 
yards  distance  in  a  straight  line  from  this  wall,  is  a 
second  wall  about  six  feet  high  and  of  a  considerable 
width.  It  rises  abruptly  from  the  bank  of  the 
Missouri,  at  a  point  where  the  river  bends  and  goes 
straight  forward,  forming  an  acute  angle  with  the 
last  wall,  till  it  enters  the  river  again  not  far  from 
the  mounds  just  described,  toward  which  it  is  ob- 
viously tending.  At  the  bend  the  Missouri  is  five 
hundred  feet  wide.  The  ground  on  the  opposite 
side  highlands,  or  low  hills  on  the  bank,  and  where 
the  river  passes  between  this  fort  and  Bon  Homme 
island  all  the  distance  from  the  bend  it  is  constantly 
washing  the  banks  into  the  stream,  a  large  sandbar 
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  two  or  three  feet  in  diameter.  Im- 
mediately opposite  the  citadel,  or  the  part  njost 
strongly  fortified,  on  Bon  Homme  island  is  a  small 
work  in  a  circular  form,  the  wall  surrounding  it 
about  six  feet  high.  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  part 
between  the  long  walls  must  embrace  nearly  five 
hundred  acres. 

It  would  not  seem  that  observers  as  careful 
and  usually  accurate  as  were  Lewis  and  Clarke 
could  have  been  deceived  in  a  matter  so  impor- 
tant and  in  which  they  give  so  minute  and  cir- 
cumstantial examination,  but  it  is  the  opinion 
of  so  eminent  an  authority  as  Prof.  T.  H. 
Lewis,  who,  e.xcited  to  the  examination  by  the 
Lewis  and  Clarke  report  to  go  to  Bon  Homme 
island  and  examine  the  formation,  in  the  interest 
of  American  archeology,  after  most  painstaking 
investigation  gives  it  as  his  opinion  that  Lewis 
and  Clarke  were  wholly  in  error  and  that  the 
embankment  described  in  so  detailed  manner  by 
them  was  formed  b\-  the  action  of  the  river  and 
the  drifting  of  sand  by  the  wind.  This  report  prob- 


ably disposes  of  one  of  the  monuments  to  a  forgot- 
ten race  to  which  for  eighty  years  the  antiquarians 
were  wont  to  point.  There  are  some  writers  who 
refuse  to  accept  Prof.  Lewis's  dictum  and  still 
place  their  faith  upon  the  earlier  report.  The 
conditions  at  Bon  Homme  island  have  so  changed 
since  the  white  settlement  that  it  is  not  probable 
that  earthworks  of  very  great  antiquity  could 
have  occupied  that  site,  for  the  frequent  over- 
flows of  the  river  would  have  certainly  destroyed 
anything  weaker  than  the  most  massive  masonry. 
The  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for 
1872  contains  an  article  by  "A.  Barrandt,  Sioux 
City,  Iowa,""  descriptive  of  a  mound  in  South 
Dakota  which,  if  not  entirely  a  work  of  the 
imagination,  is  very  interesting.  This  story  is  as 
follows : 

This  mound,  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of 
archeological  remains  in  the  northwest,  is  situated 
in  Lincoln  county,  near  the  west  fork  of  the  Little 

i  Sioux  of  Dakota,  or  Turkey  creek,  nearly  eighty- 
five  miles  northwest  of  Sioux  City.  It  is  situated  on 
a  fine  bottom,  and  is  three  hundred  and  twenty-seven 

I  feet  in  length  at  the  base  on  the  northwest  side,  and 
two  hundred  and  ninety  feet  on  the  southeast  side 
and  one  hundred  twenty  feet  wide.  Its  sides  slope 
at  an  angle  of  fifty  degrees;  it  is  from  thirty-four  to 
forty-one  feet  in  height,  the  northeast  end  being 
the  higher.  To  the  summit,  which  is  from  twenty-six 
-to  thirty-three  feet  wide,  there  is  a  well-beaten  path. 
It  is  composed  of  calcined  clay  which  by  bVirning 
has  become  hard  and  of  a  dark  red  brick  color. 
Toward  its  base  on  the  northeast  side  there  is  a 
large  portion  of  the  side  built  of  sandstone  and 
limestone,  which  were  probably  extracted  from  the 
large  hill  lying  about  three  miles  and  a  half  in  a 
northwest  direction,  as  I  have  found  a  large  hole 
in  the  side  hill  partially  filled  up  by  the  caving  in  of 
the  bank.  At  first  I  thought  it  was  a  spur  of  the 
main  ridge  of  the  hill  that  had  been  isolated  by  the 
action  of  the  water,  which  in  former  ages  rushed 
down  that  valley,  as  the  cut  banks  on  both  sides  of 
the  creek  clearly  indicate,  but  on  close  examination 
I  found  it  was  built  of  the  above  mentioned  materials. 
What  led  to  the  making  a  part  of  the  mound  of 
stone  I  am  at  a  loss  to  conjecture.  While  examining 
the  mound  I  discovered  on  its  southeast  side  a  hole 
which  had  the  appearance  of  a  badger  hole;  it  was 
about  eighteen  feet  from  the  base  of  the  mound.  I 
determined  to  ascertain  if  it  were  a  ledger  hole  or 
some  inlet  which  in  the  course  of  time  might  have 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


been  filled  up  by  the  falling  of  debris.  I  accordingly 
tad  a  hole  dug  and,  after  reaching  a  distance  of 
twenty-three  feet  horizontally,  discovered  a  cavity 
Which  was  found  to  contain  the  part  of  the  vertebrae 
of  an  elk,  several  bones  belonging  probably  to  the 
same  animal  and  thirty-six  broken  fragments  of 
pottery,  together  with  a  pile  of  ashes  and  about  a 
half  bushel  of  charcoal  and  charred  wood.  This 
cavity  was  about  circular  and  about  seven  feet  in 
diameter.  I  conjectured  that  at  one  time  this  cavity 
must  have  reached  the  summit  of  the  mound  and 
consequently  ordered  that  a  hole  should  be  dug  as 
nearly  as  possible  above  it.  After  having  dug  to  the  | 
depth  of  nine  feet  we  came  within  two  feet  of  the  I 
cavity.  Here  we  found  several  large  stones  and  a  ! 
stick  of  oak,  very  well  preserved  and  projecting  into 
the  top  of  the  cavity.  This  stick  was  probably  used 
to  support  pots  hung  over  the  fire,  for  that  the 
culinary  art  was  practiced  in  this  hole  is  clearly  in- 
dicated by  the  ashes  and  bones  strewn  about,  but 
how  this  hole  got  filled  up  I  am  at  a  loss  to  de- 
termine. I  am  sanguine  that  if  the  mound  was  prop- 
erly explored  some  valuable  relics  of  this  industrious 
race  of  mound  builders  would  be  found;  owing  to  its 
being  distant  from  the  banks  of  the  Missouri  and  the 
generally  traveled  road  it  has  never  been  examined 
by  any  scientific  explorer.  From  afar  it  resembles 
a  haystack  and  hence  this  name  has  been  given  it 
by  the  immigrant.  A  A  ^A  0,^l  tl  '^ 

The  point  indicated  would  be  in  that  portion 
of  Turner  county  which,  prior  to  1872,  was  a 
part  of  Lincoln  county.  Turkey  creek  rises  near 
Idylwilde  postoffice  in  Turner  county  and  flows 
almost  south  to  the  vicnity  of  Volin,  in  Yankton 
county.  This  writer  has  diligently  searched  the 
locality  mentioned  and  has  found  no  trace  of 
the  mound  described,  nor  do  any  of  the  settlers 
or  land  surveyors  residing  in  that  section  have 
knowledge  of  it,  and  from  present  indications  Air. 
Barrandt's  interesting  contribution  to  science  has 
less  foundation  than  the  previous  contribution  of 
Lewis  and  Clarke.  I  am  almost  convinced  that 
it  is  purely  a  figment  of  the  imagination. 

There  are  other  earthworks,  some  of  which 
appear  to  have  better  credentials  to  antiquity 
than  those  mentioned  and  which  have  in  some 
instances  received  the  careful  attention  of  reliable 
observers.  One  of  the  most  interesting  of  these 
is  in  Hughes  county  and  has  been  investigated 
with  painstaking  care  by  Dr.  DeLorme  W. 
Robinson,  who  has  written  a  monograph  upon  it: 


This  interesting  fortress  is  situated  on  a  high 
terrace,  which  overlooks  a  long  sweep  of  the  valley, 
on  the  north  side  of  the  Misouri  and  seven  miles 
east  of  Pierre.  At  this  point  in  the  valley  a  suc- 
cession of  four  terraces  extended  from  the  present 
bank  of  the  river  to  the  high,  continuous  prairie 
lands  above.  The  first  begins  at  the  water's  edge,  is 
low  and  level  and  has  been  formed  by  the  current  of 
the  river  swinging  to  the  south  by  cutting  into  the 
high  bluffs  on  the  opposite  shore.  This  is  about  one- 
fourth  of  a  mile  wide  and  in  view  of  the  slow  process 
of  cutting  down  the  high  banks  across  the  stream 
has  been  a  long  time  in  formation.  The  second  bench 
is  slightly  elevated  above  the  first,  is  level  and  has 
also  been  formed  by  the  shifting  of  the  Missouri. 
The  third  blends  with  the  second  and  makes  up  the 
remaining  lowlands  and  extends  by  a  gradually  in- 
creasing elevation  to  the  base  of  the  bluffs.  Large 
cottonwoods  grow  in  this  portion  of  the  valley  and 
along  the  bank  of  the  river  as  it  flowed  in  the  old 
days  are  the  remains  of  villages  of  this  unknown 
people.  The  fourth  terrace  is  situated  about  two  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  present  banks  of  the  river.  From 
the  edge  of  the  bluff  it  extends  by  a  greatly  increasing 
slope  to  the  north  for  about  a  half  mile,  where  by  a 
distinct  swell  it  is  lost  in  the  prairie.  At  this  point 
the  terrace  is  narrowed  by  the  beginning  of  two 
gulches,  which  cut  their  way  from  the  summit 
through  the  glacial  drift,  becoming  deeper  as  they 
descend  until  they  reach  the  valley,  thus  cutting  the 
plateau  into  an  irregular  triangle  with  its  base 
directed  toward  the  river.  Within  the  boundaries 
as  outlined  by  these  gulches  are  about  two  hundred 
acres  of  almost  level  land.  On  this  irregular  plateau 
the  prehistoric  fortification  is  plainly  visible.  The 
location  is  a  most  commanding  one.  Nature  could 
not  have  provided  a  more  suitable  spot  for  refuge 
and  defence,  nor  a  spot  where  the  general  view  of 
the  surrounding  country  is  more  perfect.  For  miles 
either  way  may  be  seen  the  tortuous  Missouri,  with 
its  limber-skirted  banks,  its  islands,  and  its  long  ex- 
panse of  smooth  and  narrow  plateau  and  lowlands. 
On  the  opposite  side  and  about  two  miles  away  is  a 
line  of  dark  river  bluffs,  deep  and  rugged,  which 
follow  up  and  down  the  river  as  far  as  the  eye  can 
reach.  The  earthworks  themselves  are  somewhat 
irregular,  though  almost  circular  in  form  and  enclose 
about  one  hundred  thirty  acres.  They  occupy  the 
entire  base  of  the  triangle  and  conform  largely  to  its 
irregularities,  but  are  also  extended  when  necessary 
to  command  the  most  accurate  view  of  the  slopes  of 
the  steep  bluffs  and  the  valley  below.  Laterally  they 
approach  near  enough  to  the  two  gulches  to  defend 
their  descents  and  are  pushed  out  here  and  there  on 
promontories  and  encroachments  toward  the  gulches, 
thus    gaining   a   complete   flanking   position   to   any 


36 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


natural  ascent  to  the  works.  Toward  the  acute  angle 
of  the  triangle,  which  points  to  the  prairie  and  away 
from  the  river,  these  earthworks  extend  along 
the  gulches  a  sufficient  distance  to  form  a  somewhat 
elongated  circle  where,  at  well  fortified  angles,  they 
cut  the  plateau  across  from  gulch  to  gulch.  The  main 
parts  of  the  fortification  are  a  double  line  of  earth- 
works, consisting  of  an  outer  ditch,  which  is  still 
plainly  visible,  and  an  embankment  which  follows  the 
course  of  the  ditch  and  internal  to  it  and  which  was 
evidently  made  by  throwing  the  dirt  inward  to  the 
center  of  the  fortified  enclosure.  The  ditch  when 
dug  was  probably  from  three  to  six  feet  deep  and 
four  to  eight  feet  wide,  the  widest  and  deepest  places 
being  where  it  approaches  the  edge  of  the  bluffs. 
Some  portions  of  the  embankment  are  scarcely 
visible,  but  at  stragetic  points,  where  the  ditch  is 
wide,  it  is  still  three  or  four  feet  above  the  adjacent 
surface,  indicating  a  provision  for  a  double  line  of 
defenders,  the  front  line  in  the  trench  and  the  rear 
line  above  them  and  behind  the  embankments.  To 
further  strengthen  the  position  there  are  twenty- 
four  pear-shaped  loops,  which  extend  outward  from 
the  outer  line  of  the  works  from  twenty  to  forty 
feet.  The  distance  between  these  loops  along  the 
main  line  of  the  works  varies  from  one  hundred  to 
one  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  Their  location  is  such 
that  they  not  only  overlook  the  slopes  of  the  bluffs 
and  gulches,  but  serve  as  a  means  of  a  perfect  flank- 
ing position  in  either  direction  along  the  main  line. 
The  earthworks  from  these  loops  are  from  three  to 
six  feet  wide  and  many  places  are  still  three  feet 
above  the  surface.  Inside  of  them,  about  twenty  feet 
from  the  slope  of  the  bluffs  upon  which  the  earth- 
works are  built  on  the  side  facing  the  Missouri, 
springs  burst  from  a  strata  of  gravel,  from  which 
flows  an  abundance  of  clear,  cool  water.  Excavations 
have  been  made  into  the  hillside  and  large  earthern 
bowls  made  by  throwing  the  earth  to  the  outer  side. 
There  are  three  of  these  excavations  down  the  slope, 
which  would  indicate  that  a  succession  of  pools  for- 
merly existed  there.  To  these  springs  there  is  a 
deep  way  cut  through  the  hillside,  from  the  main 
fortification.  Where  the  fortification  approaches  the 
valley  there  is  a  still  further  projection  of  a  nar- 
row neck  of  land  which  widens  and  rises  higher  as 
it  lengthens  toward  the  river,  until  its  elevation  ex- 
poses the  high  earthworks  and  the  surrounding  hills. 
From  its  highest  point  the  immediate  surroundings 
and  the  entire  valley  of  the  Missouri  for  miles  can 
be  seen.  This  point,  though  largely  a  natural  for- 
mation, was  evidently  increased  in  height  and  used  as 
a  lookout.  It  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  features 
of  the  work.  There  is  little  doubt  that  on  this  point 
stood   the    watchman    of    the    signal    corps,    of  this 


vanished  people,  ready  to  signal  the  villagers  to  their 
place  of  refuge  at  the  approach  of  an  enemy.  As  one 
stands  on  the  top  of  this  weather-beaten  relic  it 
requires  but  a  short  flight  of  the  imagination  to  see 
the  cultivated  fields,  the  villages  and  the  people  as 
they  once  were;  and  see  the  smoke  as  it  rises  from 
their  pottery  kilns  and  hear  in  the  distance  the  sharp, 
quick  stroke  of  the  implement  maker.  What  sur- 
prises! What  sacrifices,  what  victories  and  defeats, 
what  deeds  of  violence  and  heroism  have  been  en- 
acted upon  these  fortifications,  slopes  and  valleys 
will,  no  doubt,  ever  be  enveloped  in  the  mystery  sur- 
rounding the  fate  of  the  builders,  whose  only  history 
is  written  in  broken  and  shattered  fragments.  There 
is  but  little  evidence  within  the  enclosed  fortress  to 
indicate  that  the  builders  ever  made  it  a  continuous 
residence.  The  surface  indications  seem  to  show  but 
sufficient  resident  population  to  guard  and  hold  the 
fortification.  The  pottery  shards,  spear  and  arrow 
heads  found  here  are  similar  to  those  found  in  relic 
mounds  and  village  sites  in  the  valley.  Within  easy 
distance  there  are  four  village  remains  which  cover 
several  acres  each.  The  population  of  these  must 
have  been  considerable.  Away  from  the  village  there 
are  many  isolated  lodge  mounds  scattered  throughout 
the  villa.ge  for  several  miles  in  either  direction,  indi- 
cating a  people  somewhat  given  to  agriculture  and  to 
use  this  fortress  as  a  place  of  refuge  and  last  defence. 
The  village  sites  and  relic  mounds  are  located  upon 
the  terraced  lands  of  the  valley,  near  the  edge,  looking 
toward  the  Missouri.  When  the  builders  occupied 
them  they  were,  no  doubt,  upon  the  immediate  banks. 
Large  numbers  of  fragments  of  pottery,  stone  and 
fiint  implements  have  been  found  and  picked  up  on 
or  near  these  village  sites  and  in  the  soil  between  the 
lodges  to  a  depth  of  several  feet.  Some  spots  that 
were  particularly  rich  in  fragments  are  found  near 
the  break  in  the  plateau  and  seem  to  have  been  used 
as  a  dumping  ground  for  the  general  refuse  and 
breakage  of  the  community. 

"Who  were  these  builders  of  forts  and  per- 
manent villages,"  Dr.  Robinson  enquires  as  he 
proceeds,  "and  what  manner  of  people  were 
they?  When  and  in  what  manner  and  at  whose 
hands  did  they  meet  their  final  fate?  Were  they 
the  ancient  ancestors  of  the  red  man  of  the  Co- 
lumbian time?  Were  they  the  red  man  himself 
as  known  in  present  history,  or  were  these 
wild  and  warlike  people  known  to  us 
as  Indians  the  conquerors  of  a  different 
race  of  men  now  extinct?  *  *  *  That 
he  did  not  belong  to  any  of  the  branches  of  the 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


red  race  who  occupied  the  valley  at  the  first  con- 
tract with  the  Europeans  is  probable,  since  the 
evidences  of  his  superiority  and  ability  over  the 
red  man  is  too  marked  and  the  results  of  his  in- 
dustry too  stupendous,  nor  is  it  certain  that  he 
belonged  to  an  era  directly  preceding  the  advent 
of  the  red  man,  since  there  is  no  reliable  tra- 
ditionary history  among  the  Indian  tribes  con- 
cerning the  various  earthworks  and  mounds  and 
those  who  built  and  occupied  them."  In  the 
course  of  his  study  Dr.  Robinson  elsewhere  more 
definitely  announces  his  conclusion  that  the  old 
fortification  at  Pierre  is  the  probable  work  of  an 
older,  vanished  race,  not  Indians.  With  this 
conclusion  this  writer  is  not  prepared  to  contend, 
neither  has  he  found  sufficient  evidence  to  con- 
firm him  in  its  acceptance.  Nothing  has  been 
shown  so  radically  different  from  the  known 
work  of  the  Ree  Indians,  w'ho  were  the  im- 
mediate and  recent  predecessors  of  the  Sioux 
in  the  Missouri  valley,  as  to  make  it  clearly  ap- 
parent that  they  did  not  build  the  fort.  The  Rees 
were  excellent  stragetic  engineers,  as  is  shown 
in  the  stockade  which  they  erected  to  protect  the 
villages  above  Grand  river  where  they  were  de- 
stroyed by  Leavenworth  in  1823.  They  made 
pottery,  and  the  shards  found  in  the  old  fortifica- 
tion are  similar  to  their  work.  All  of  the  arrow- 
jioints  found  in  and  about  the  old  fortification 
f'xscribed  by  Dr.  Robinson  arc  of  the  blunt, 
triangular  form  of  the  Ree  arrow.  It  is  possible 
that  these  mounds  and  fort  were  built  by  a  pre- 
historic people  of  greater  intelligence  and  in- 
dustry than  the  Indians,  but  the  evidence  is  not 
conclusive.  Prof.  Jacob  A^.  Brower,  whom  Dr. 
Robinson  quotes  as  an  authority  in  his  mono- 
graph as  having  traced  the  mound  builders  clear 
into  the  mountain  country  of  the  upper  Missouri, 
has  since  recanted  his  earlier  views  upon  the  sub- 
ject and  in  an  exhaustive  study  of  the  topic 
which  he  recently  contributed  to  the  collections 
of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society  he  takes 
strong  ground  in  support  of  the  position  that 
all  of  the  mounds  of  the  Western  states  are 
the  product  of  the  Indians.  I  am  myself  strongly 
ii-Klined  to  the  latter  view\  Almost  every  por- 
tion of  the  state  is  dotted  with  mounds  of  ac- 


knowledged Indian  origin.  Chiefly  these  are 
burial  mounds,  but  some  of  them  are  memorials 
and  others  pertain  to  the  heathen  religious  rites 
of  the  aborigines.  Most  of  the  memorials,  which 
have  been  the  source  of  much  speculation  among 
the  white  settlers,  are  really  commemorative  of 
some  event  which  the  Indians  regarded  as  un- 
usual or  worthy  of  permanent  record.     One  of 


REV.    DR.    S.    K.    KIGG8. 


these  is  explained  by  President  Riggs,  of  the 
State  Historical  Society,  in  his  first  biennial  ad- 
dress. Dr.  Riggs  has  spent  his  life  as  a  mis- 
sionary among  the  Sioux  and  no  witness  is  more 
competent  to  testify  as  to  their  customs  or  to 
any  other  fact  relating  to  these  aborigines.  Dr. 
Riggs  gives  this  example  of  an  Indian  monu- 
ment : 

Four  miles  north  of  Pierre  is  a  range  of  hills 
which  we  call  Snake  Buttes.  This  range  extends 
from  southeast  to  northwest  and  terminates  with  the 
river  bluffs  on  the  west.  To  the  north  of  these  hills 
at  their  western  end,  running  along  on  top  of  and 
nearly  parallel  to  the  edge  of  the  river  bluffs,  there 
is  a  row  of  stones  a  mile  or  more  in  length.  Small 
piles  of  stones  mark  off  irregular  spaces  in  the  long 
row  and  at  each  end,  to  mark  the  beginning  and  the 
ending,  there  is  a  larger  pile  of  stones.  The  story 
told  me  thirty  years  ago  by  an  old  Sioux,  as  we 
walked  over  the  ground  together,  is  this:  Long  years 
ago  a  venturesome  Ree  Indian  came  all  alone  to  the 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


southward  in  search  of  scalps  and  horses  which  he 
rnighl  take  from  his  enemies,  the  Sioux,  who  were 
encamped  in  this  locality.  As  he  scouted  among  the 
breaks,  he  was  discovered  at  earliest  dawn  by  a  Sioux 
doing  outpost  duty  and  lying  in  the  curious  dip 
there  is  between  the  main  range  and  a  little  sharp 
mound  there  is  to  the  north.  The  Sioux,  himself  un- 
seen, promptly  shot  his  enemy,  who  turned  and  ran, 
though  wounded  to  the  death.  The  arrow  had  en- 
tered the  hip  in  such  a  way  as  to  render  the  leg 
useless  and  an  encumbrance.  He  ran,  or  hopped 
rather,  with  marvelous  swiftness,  falling  to  the 
ground  again  and  again;  in  agony  and  desperation 
he  arose  and  continued  his  flight  until  overtaken  and 
slain.  The  victorious  Dakota  was  filled  with  wonder 
and  admiration,  and  that  such  astonishing  spirit  and 
power  of  endurance  should  have  fitting  memorial,  re- 
tracing his  steps,  he  carefully  placed  a  stone  over 
each  drop  of  blood  and  along  the  course,  where  the 
wounded  man  had  fallen,  he  gathered  small  piles 
of  stones  and  larger  piles  to  show  the  starting  in  the 
race  and  the  end;  and  as  my  informant  told  me  the 
story  he  added  with  deep  feeling,  "That  enemy  was 
truly  a  brave  man.  the  memorial  was  fittingly 
placed  and  the  generations  which  have  come  and  gone 
since  that  time  joined  in  honoring  him."  He  then 
stooped  down  and  picked  up  a  small  stone  and  set 
it  in  line  with  the  others.  We  build  monuments  for 
our  heroes  and  great  men  and  for  our  loved  ones. 
The  Indian  set  up  a  memorial  for  an  unknown  enemy. 

These  memorials  are  scattered  everywhere 
and  each  has  an  interesting  story,  but  one  which 
in  the  usual  case  does  not  throw  ^ny  light  upon 
the  origin  of  the  Indians  or  of  any  possible  prede- 
cessors. Among  the  Indian  memorials  those  best 
known  are  at  Medicine  Butte,  near  Blunt,  at 
Punished  Woman's  lake,  in  Codington  county, 
near  Ashton.  Spink  county,  north  of  Huron,  in 
Beadle  coiuity,  and  at  Turtle  Peak,  in  Jerauld 
county.  Capt.  A.  J.  Comfort,  a  surgeon  of  the 
regular  army,  stationed  at  Fort  Wadsworth 
(Sisseton)  aljout  1870,  contributes  to  the  report 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1871  some  in- 
teresting facts  about  a  large  number  of  mounds 
which  he  examined  near  the  Kettle  lakes, 
Marshall  county,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
the  fort.  These  were  all  burial  mounds,  very 
ancient  but  still  containing  the  remains  of 
Indians.  The  most  interesting  feature  of  Capt. 
Comfort's  report  relates  to  an  ancient  village 
which  he  describes  as  follows : 


To  an  elevation  or  knoll,  from  forty  to  sixty  feet 
high,  one-quarter  of  a  mile  in  diameter,  arising 
almost  perpendicularly  from  the  southern  shore  of 
one  of  the  Kettle  lakes  and  sloping  gradually  in 
every  direction  into  an  erosion  valley,  I  have  applied 
the  Dakota  name  of  Cega  lyeyapi,  a  name  by  which 
Fort  Wadsworth  and  the  surrounding  country  is 
familiarly  known  to  the  Inaians.  The  term  signifies 
in  their  language  "the  place  where  they  found  the 
kettle."  This  knoll  has  probably  been  for  a  long 
period  the  favorite  camping  ground  of  the  aborigines. 
The  valley  has  at  one  time  been  a  wide  and  deep 
ditch  communicating  with  the  Kettle  lake  and  some 
adjoining  sloughs,  converting  the  hill  into  an  island 
admirably  fortified  by  nature  for  defence.  On  the 
summit  of  this  knoll  was  an  artificial  mound  whose 
base  was  one  hundred  feet  in  diameter  and  the  per- 
pendicular height  of  its  superior  plane  above  the 
surface  of  the  prairie  immediately  surrounding  it 
was  from  one  foot  and  a  half  to  two  feet.  The  de- 
marcation of  the  circumference  of  the  base  of  the 
mound  is  somewhat  indistinct.  At  various  distances 
from  the  surface,  to  the  depth  of  four  feet,  I  found 
alternate  strata  of  clay  and  what  appears  to  be  dark 
vegetable  mould  such  as  is  found  on  the  prairie  else- 
where. The  strata  of  clay  are  each  about  three  inches 
thick,  very  hard  and  dry,  and  contain  in  their  com- 
position a  slight  admixture  of  lime,  forming  a  sort 
of  concrete.  It  would  appear  from  this  arrangement 
of  a  series  of  concrete  floors  that  this  locality,  so  ad- 
mirably situated  for  defence,  has  been  the  favorite 
camping  ground  of  one  band  of  aborigines  after 
another,  each  renovating  the  locality  of  the  former 
occupants  by  covering  it  with  a  layer  of  soil  from 
ei.2;ht  to  twelve  inches  thick  and  covering  the  whole 
with  a  new  concrete  floor.  On  these  floors  I  found 
the  bone^  of  birds,  fish  and  various  edible  animals. 
The  lowest  fioor  is  about  four  feet  deep  and  is  upon 
the  natural  clay  soil.  In  this  I  found  a  number  of 
hearths  formed  by  digging  an  evacuation  about  a  foot 
deep  and  three  and  a  half  or  four  feet  in  diameter. 
Upon  these  are  found  a  quantity  of  ashes  and  charred 
bones,  the  remains  of  the  feasts  of  men,  and  a  num- 
ber of  stones  from  three  to  six  inches  in  diameter, 
bearing  evidences  of  exposure  to  a  high  degree  of 
heat  and  having  probably  been  used  for  the  purpose 
of  boiling  water.  The  granitic  sand  entering  into  the 
composition  of  the  pottery  may  have  been  obtained 
from  this  source.  Intermixed  with  the  soil  at  various 
depths  I  found  fragments  of  pottery  of  different  sizes 
and  patterns.  The  undersurface.  or  most  dependent 
portion  of  each  is  encrusted  with  a  white  calcareous 
matter  deposited  no  doubt  from  the  leachings  of  the 
soil.  The  shards  are  evidently  from  some  vessel  no 
larger  than  a  small  jar  or  goblet,  from  others  whose 
capacity  must  have  been  four  or  five  gallons.     The 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


color  is  either  that  of  a  cream  or  Milwaukee  brick 
color,  such  as  clay  destitute  of  iron  assumes  when 
burned,  or  a  dim  or  slate  color  of  various  shades; 
indeed  in  some  instances  it  is  almost  black.  The  re- 
cently fractured  edges  of  some  of  the  pieces  show  a 
uniformity  of  color  throughout  the  whole  thickness; 
others  are  a  cream  color  one-third  of  the  thickness  be- 
tween either  surface  with  a  slate-colored  streak  run- 
ning through  the  middle.  One  of  these  colors  may  be 
seen  on  the  inside  of  a  shard  with  its  opposite  on  the 
outside,  and  vice  versa.  I  can  detect  no  pigmentary 
matter  upon  either  surface,  and  am  of  opinion  that 
whatever  has  been  used,  whether  for  ornament  or 
service,  though  probably  the  latter,  has  been  imparted 
by  use  has  disappeared  from  the  surface,  the  center 
retaining  it;  for  while  I  find  no  black  shards,  whose 
fractures  show  a  cream  colored  substance  within,  the 
converse  is  true. 

The  black  shards  are  least  brittle.  The  thickness 
of  these  shards  varies  from  an  eighth  to  three- 
eighths  of  an  inch,  according  to  the  size  of  the  vessel, 
though  few  exceed  one-fourth.  Sand  has  been  the 
only  substance  used  to  give  stiffness  to  the  mass 
during  the  process  of  moulding  and  prevent  the 
ware  from  cracking  while  burning,  and  has  prob- 
ably been  obtained  from  disintegrated  stones.  Some 
were  found  in  the  hearths  elsewhere  spoken  of.  I 
have  been  able  to  find  no  whole  vessels,  but  from  the 
fragments  of  the  rims,  sides  and  bottoms  it  is  not 
difficult  to  form  a  fair  conception  of  their  shape, 
which  for  aboriginal  art  was  wonderfully  symmetrical, 
gradually  widening  from  the  neck,  or  more  con- 
stricted portion  of  the  vessel  until  it  obtains  its 
greatest  diameter  at  a  distance  of  one-third  of  Its 
height  from  the  bottom,  which  is  analogous,  in 
curvature,  to  the  crystal  of  a  watch.  To  the  neck  is 
attached  the  rim,  about  one  inch  in  width  and  some- 
times two;  this  slopes  out  from  the  neck  at  an  angle 
of  about  twenty  degrees  from  a  perpendicular.  Of 
some  of  the  vessels  the  rim  stands  perpendicularly 
upon  an  offset  resting  upon  the  neck.  Some  patterns 
have  no  rim,  but  a  mere  lip  arises  from  the  neck 
of  the  vessel,  the  whole  distance  of  its  circumference 


serving  as  handhold  to  lift  it  by.  Some  small  vessels 
had  neither  rims  or  lips,  their  shape  being  spherical. 
I  found  no  pieces  containing  ears  or  handles,  though 
an  Indian  informant  tells  me  the  small  vessels  are 
supplied  with  ears.  That  the  aboriginal  potters  of 
the  lacustrin  village  of  Cega  lyeyapi  were  fond  of 
decoration,  and  practiced  it  in  the  ceramic  art,  is 
shown  by  the  tracings,  confined  to  the  rims,  which 
consist  of  very  smooth  lines  about  one-twentieth  of 
an  inch  in  width  and  as  deep,  drawn  quite  around  the 
vessels  parallel  to  the  margin,  terminating  at  the 
neck  of  the  vessel  and  the  margin  of  the  rim.  Lines 
drawn  obliquely  across  the  rim  of  the  vessel  and  re- 
j  turning  so  far  as  to  form  the  letter  V,  with  others 
I  parallel  to  the  margin  of  the  rim,  the  same  repeated 
j  as  often  as  space  permits,  constitute  the  only  tracing 
^  on  some  vessels.  The  inside  of  the  vessels  are  in- 
variably plain.  That  the  ancient  potters  failed  in  the 
delineatory  art,  as  modern  Indians  do,  may  readily  be 
inferred  since  no  object  of  nature  such  as  a  tree,  a 
plant,  a  flower  or  a  bird  has  been  attempted  in  their 
tracings.  To  the  art  of  glazing  the  aborigines  seem 
to  have  been  entire  strangers,  but  they  rendered  their 
ware  durable  and  impervious  to  moisture  by  thor- 
oughly incorporating  throughout  its  substance  a 
black  pigment. 

[  I  liave  quoted  very  fully  from  Captain  Com- 
fort's report  because  it  is,  so  far  as  I  have  ob- 
served, the  only  detailed  description  of  the  Ree 
pottery,  which  is  now  about  extinct,  though  vast 
quantities  of  the  shards  are  still  found  about  their 
old  villag-e  sites  on  the  Missouri,  but  the  report 
is  more  interesting  in  that  Capt,  Comfort  has 
undoubtedly  come  upon  the  pottery  kilns  where 
with  incantations  and  religious  rites  the  old  Ree 
medicine  men  "turned,  turned  the  wheel."  There 
is  nothing  in  the  report,  either  in  relation  to  the 
pottery  or  the  nearby  burial  mounds,  which  in- 
dicates anything  more  than  the  remains  of  the 
ancestors  of  the  Indians. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  ORIGIXAL  INDIANS. 


The  territor}^  comprised  within  the  present 
state  of  South  Dakota  was,  when  it  first  came  to 
the  knowledge  of  white  men,  peopled  by  Indians 
of  two  distinct  families,  having  little  in  common 
either  in  habits,  customs  or  language.  The  older 
of  these  in  point  of  residence  were  the  Aricara 
or  Ree  Indians,  who  belong  to  the  Cadoan  family, 
of  which  the  Pawnees  are  regarded  as  the  chief 
representatives.  The  Rees,  for  a  period  of  time 
which  had  outlived  their  most  ancient  tradi- 
tions, had  occupied  the  Missouri  valley  from  the 
naouth  of  the  Niobrara  northward,  and  the 
Omahas,  a  people  of  the  Siouan  stock,  occupied 
the  lower  valleys  of  the  Sioux,  Vermillion  and 
James  and  the  north  side  of  the  Missouri  from 
the  James  river  to  the  mouth  of  the  Platte.  The 
Sisseton  band  of  the  Dakotas,  a  Siouan  family, 
even  at  that  early  date  appeared  to  have  oc- 
cupied the  portion  of  Dakota  which  is  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  Big  Stone  lake. 

The  Rees  themselves  did  not  subscribe  to  the  I 
theory  that  they  were  an  offshoot  of  any  tribe,  but 
called  themselves  "sanish,"  or  "tanish,"  a  word 
signifying  that  they  were  the  people,  and  con- 
stantly asserted  that  they  were  the  parent  stock   I 
from  whom  all  of  the  other  Indians  sprung.    The 
landmarks  which  they  have  left  in  the  Dakota 
land,  however,  as  well  as  the  traditions  of  the 
Pawnees  very  clearly  indicate  that  they  were  in   I 
reality  a  party  of  Pawnees,  who  several  centuries 
ago  broke  away  from  the  parent  band,  down  in 
Nebraska,   and   established    themselves    on    the  I 


Missouri,  where  they  waxed  strong  and  prosper- 
ous through  a  long  period  and  then,  like  many 
another  vain  people,  declined  and  became  of  little 
consequence. 

The  villag-e  remains,  which  they  have  left 
to  mark  their  progress  and  decline,  start  in  feebly 
at  the  Niobrara,  constantly  expanding  and 
strengthening  as  they  move  northward  until  at 
Pierre  they  have  blossomed  out  into  their  full 
strength  and  opulence  and  thence  diminishing 
until  at  the  north  line  of  South  Dakota  they  are 
little  more  than  a  tradition.  Like  the  Pawnees, 
these  people  lived  in  permanent  villages  of  sub- 
stantial homes,  built  of  poles,  willows  and  earth, 
and  to  a  considerable  extent  cultivated  the  soil, 
growing  corn,  beans,  pumpkins  and  squashes-  in 
quantities  sufficient  to  base  a  considerable  com- 
merce with  neighboring  tribes.  It  was  their 
custom  to  build  their  homes  in  villages  in  the 
midst  of  some  rich  alluvial  bottom,  where 
gardens  thrive.  The  houses  were  placed  ir- 
regularly about  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  apart.  In 
building  the  home,  an  excavation  was  made  like 
a  cellar,  about  three  and  a  half  or  four  feet  deep, 
circular  in  form  and  for  the  average  house  about 
eighteen  feet  in  diameter.  Around  the  circum- 
ference of  this  cellar  crotched  poles  about  seven 
feet  high  were  set  and  another  about  two  feet 
higher  was  planted  in  the  center  of  the  excava- 
tion. Other  poles  were  placed  horizontally  from 
crotch  to  crotch  in  the  outside  circle  and  from 
these   still   others   were   extended   to   the   center 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


poles,  to  support  the  roof.  Willows  were  woven 
among  tlie  rafter  poles  and  the  whole  covered 
with  earth  except  an  opening  of  about  two  feet 
in  diameter  at  the  center  which  was  left  for 
the  purposes  of  ventilation  and  to  permit  the  es- 
cape of  smoke.  Sleeping  berths  were  cut  out 
of  the  banks  forming  the  walls,  before  which 
curtains  of  skins  were  suspended.  The  entrance 
to  the  house  was  invariably  from  the  south 
through  a  covered  ''cellarway."     In  the  yard,  at 


population  of  the  village  could  take  refuge  in 
case  of  attack  by  an  enemy.  The  village  itself 
was  stockaded  by  planting  small  poles  close 
together  entirely  around  it.  These  poles  were 
about  twelve  feet  high  and  the  tops  were  bound 
together  with  wallows.  The  adjacent  bottom 
lands  were  cultivated  to  corn  and  gardens,  the 
little  field  of  each  family  being  divided  off  with 
low  fences,  rushes,  or  small  willows.  All  of 
the  farm  work  was  done  bv  the  women  and  the 


REE   HOME. 


the  entrance  of  the  cellarway,  was  the  "cache" 
in  which  the  family  stores  were  kept.  This 
cache  was  constructed  by  digging  into  the  earth 
a  small  hole,  not  more  than  two  feet  across  but 
which  at  a  depth  of  three  feet  expanded  like  the 
inner  surface  of  a  jug  to  a  width  of  six  feet  and 
continued  at  the  expanded  width  to  a  depth  of 
ten  feet.  The  top,  after  storing  the  supplies,  was 
kept  closed  and  the  path  to  the  house  passed  over 
it  so  that  its  presence  would  not  be  detected  bv 
an  enemy.  Xear  by  on  an  eminence  was  con- 
structed a  fortress  or  heavy  earthwork  where  the 


hoe,  made  from  the  shoulder  blade  of  the  deer, 
was  the  sole  implement,  answering  for  plow, 
corn  planter  and  cultivator.  These  people  made 
a  very  serviceable  pottery,  and  showed  a  great 
deal  of  skill  and  taste  in  its  making.  It  was  well 
burned  but  not  glazed.  The  arrows  of  the  Rees 
were  the  neatest  and  most  delicate  of  those  made 
by  any  of  the  tribes.  They  were  true  triangles 
about  three-quarters  of  an  inch  on  each  side 
and  as  thin  and  sharp  as  a  blade  of  steel.  Small 
notches  were  made  on  two  sides  for  binding 
them  to  the  shaft,  into  which  thev  were  inserted 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


bv  splitting;  the  end  instead  of  binding  on  the 
side  of  the  shaft  as  do  the  Sioux.  The  ma- 
terial used  was  usually  obsidian,  obtained  from 
the  western  mountains,  although  native  flints 
were  also  utilized.  So  delicate  were  these  arrows 
that  it  is  not  unusual  'to  find  perfect  specimens, 
gold  mounted  and  used  for  jewelry,  among  peo- 
ple of  taste.  A  full  description  of  a  typical  Ree 
fort,  or  earthwork,  will  be  found  in  Chapter  H 
of  this  history. 

In  the  primitive  days,  Washington  Irving  de- 
scribes the  Rees  as  a  noble  ra-:e  of  men,  large 
and  well  formed  and  maintaining  a  savage  gran- 
deur and  gravity  of  demeanor.  Fuller  descrip- 
tions of  their  domestic  customs  will  be  given  in 
subsequent  chapters,  treating  of  the  visit  to  them 
of  Lewis  and  Clarke,  the  Astorians,  and  of  the 
Leavenworth  conquest.  Presumably  the  Rees 
reached  the  zenith  of  their  greatness  about  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  when,  with 
their  principal  seat  at  Pierre,  they  were  the 
masters  of  the  Missouri  valley  for  a  space  of 
two  hundred  miles. 

About  the  period  mentioned  the  Dakotas  of 
the  Mississippi,  having  enjoyed  a  long  period  of 
immunity  from  smallpox  and  other  epidemic  dis- 
eases, had  waxed  powerful,  arrogant  and  enter- 
prising and  demanded  more  room  for  the  chase, 
and  consequently  began  to  range  out  over  the 
prairie  of  South  Dakota  and  to  claim  title  to  its 
soil.  The  conflict  with  the  Rees  was  constant 
and  wearing,  but  finally  successful.  The  lower 
settlements  of  the  Rees  were  slowly  ex- 
tinguislied  and  the  people  compelled  to  take 
refuge  in  the  strong  villages  at  Pierre,  where  the 
Rees  maintained  their  footing  until  1792,  when 
they  were  compelled  to  abandon  this  hitherto 
impregnable  position  and  to  gradually  concen- 
trate their  strength  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mis- 
souri six  miles  north  of  the  Grand  river,  where 
they  remained,  constantly  harassed  by  the  Sioux, 
until  1823  when  they  were  defeated  by  Leaven- 
worth and  driven  off  of  the  soil  of  South  Dakota. 
At  that  date  the  tribe  numbered  not  more  than 
twenty-five  hundred  souls,  but  it  is  believed  that 
fifty  years  before  they  were  not  less  than  seven 
thousand   strong.    The    remnant    of    the    tribe. 


about  five  hundred  in  all,  are  now  incorporated 
with  the  Mandans  on  Fort  Berthold  military 
reservation. 

The  Omahas,  a  tribe  of  Siou.x,  distantly 
related  to  the  Dakotas,  were  principally  located 
in  southeastern  .South  Dakota  and  had  one  of 
their  strongest  settlements  at  Sioux  Falls,  but 
before  1750  had  been  driven  out  of  their  country 
by  the  Yanktons  and  compelled  to  fight  out  a 
home  for  themselves  in  the  territory  of  the 
Pawnees  in  northern  Nebraska.  In  habits, 
language  and  manner  of  life  the  Omahas  are 
Siouan,  living  in  tepees  and  existing  almost  ex- 
clusively by  the  chase  in  the  earlier  days, 
^larquette  saw  some  members  of  the  tribe  as 
early  as  1673,  when  they  resided  north  of  the 
Missouri,  and  ten  years  later  LeSeuer's  voy- 
ageurs  found  .  them  at  Sioux  Falls.  In  1699 
LeSeuer  traded  with  them  at  his  fort  on  the 
Blue  Earth,  near  Mankato,  but  they  then  still 
resided  on  the  .Sioux.  In  1766  Capt.  Johnathan 
Carver  found  some  of  them  on  the  Alinncsota, 
but  they  were  certainly  not  domiciled  there  at 
that  date,  but  were  doubtless  out  on  a  visit  or 
for  a  hunting  party.  They  left  no  remains  in 
Dakota  from  which  any  knowledge  that  they 
ever  occupied  the  land  could  be  determined. 
Until  1802  they  were  a  strong  and  independent 
people,  numbering  more  than  thirty-five  hundred 
persons,  but  that  year  they  were  afflicted  with  an 
epidemic  of  smallpox  which  so  reduced  them 
that  two  years  later  Lewis  and  Clarke  found  but 
six  hundred  of  them  remaining.  At  the  present 
time  they  have  increased  to  almost  twelve 
hundred,  living  on  lands  in  severalty  in  north- 
eastern Nebraska,  where  they  are  described  as 
steady,  sober  and  industrious  and  peculiarly  at- 
tached to  their  homes.  On  the  summit  of  every 
bluff  about  them  lie  whitening  the  bones  of  their 
ancestors  and  on  these  bluffs  they  hope  some 
day  to  lie  with  them. 

The  Poncas  are  a  small  band  of  about  eight 
hundred  Indians,  related  to  the  Omahas,  now 
residing  on  a  reservation  in  northern  Nebraska. 
Their  tradition  is  that  they  once  lived  on  Lake 
Traverse  in  South  Dakota,  but  there  is  no  con- 
firmatory   historical    record.      Thev    are     Sioux, 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


differing  little  from  the  Omahas  in  character- 
istics and  habits.  In  1700  LeSeuer  placed  them 
south  of  the  Platte  river  in  Nebraska.  If  they 
ever  resided  in  South  Dakota  they  failed  to  leave 
any  impression  upon  the  soil  which  affects  our 
history. 

So  far'  as  the  relations  between  white  men 
and  Indians  are  concerned  the  Dakotas  are  the 
aboriginal  inhabitants  of  South  Dakota.  These 
people  are  the  chief  representatives  of  the  Siouan 
family  and  for  centuries  occupied  the  valley  of 
the  Mississippi  from  Lake  Pipin  northward  to 
Sauk  Rapids  and  the  entire  valley  of  the  Min- 
nesota to  Bigstone  lake.  Early  in  the  eighteenth 
century  they  became  aggressive  and  pushed  out 
to  the  westward,  and,  as  has  been  above  stated, 
displaced  the  Omahas  and  the  Rees  who  pre- 
viously occupied  the  South  Dakota  country. 
The  Dakotas  were  divided  into  seven  principal 
bands,  as  follows : 

M'dewakantonwans,  living  on  the  Mississippi 
near  St.  Paul. 

Walvpekutas,  living  on  Minnesota  near  St.  Peter. 

Wahpetons,  living  on  Minnesota  near  Lacqui 
Parle. 

Sissetons,  living  on  Big  Stone  Lake. 

These  four  bands,  the  M'dewakontons,  Wakpeku- 
tes,  Wahpetons  and  Sissetons,  were  called  Santees, 
because  tradition  said  they  once  lived  on  Isantee,  or 
Knife  lake,  in  northern  Minnesota. 

Yanktonaise,  living  on  upper  James  river. 

Yanktons,  living  on  Missouri  at  mouth  of  James. 

Tetons,  living  west  of  Missouri. 

The  Tetons  were  also  divided  into  seven 
bands,  the  Minneconjous,  the  Blackfeet,  Oglalas, 
Brules.  Two  Kettles,  Sans  Arcs  and  Uncpa- 
pas.  The  Sissetons  already  claimed  a  portion  of 
South  Dakota  when  the  Dakota  invasion  oc- 
curred. The  Sisseton  claim  was  as  follows : 
From  the  foot  of  Lake  Traverse  to  the  head  of 
the  coteau,  thence  to  the  James  river  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Moccasin,  thence  to  Lake 
Kampeska,  thence  down  the  Sioux  to  the  bend 
at  Flandreau,  thence  east  into  Minnesota.  The 
Yanktonaise  laid  claim  to  all  of  the  country  east 
of  the  Missouri  from  a  line  drawn  from  Lake 
Kampeska  to  Pierre,  north  to  Devil's  Lake  and 


east  to  the  Red  river.  They  disputed  the  claim 
of  the  Sissetons  to  the  territory  between  the 
coteau  and  the  James  river  and  when  the  Sisse- 
tons finally  sold  it,  a  hundred  or  more  years 
later,  they  demanded  a  share  in  the  proceeds. 
The  Yanktons  claimed  all  of  the  country  between 
the  JMissouri  and  the  Sioux  as  far  north  as  Lake 
Kampeska  and  also  to  the  pipestone  quarry  in 
western  Minnesota  east  of  the  Sioux.  The  Te- 
ton bands  crossed  the  Missouri  and  occupied  that 
region  about  1760  and  have  since  occupied  the 
section.  The  Uncpapas,  Blackfeet  and  Sans 
Arcs  resided  on  Grand  river,  the  Minneconjous 
lived  south  of  the  Black  Hills,  the  Oglalas  along 
the  Niobrara,  the  Brules  along  White  river,  the 
Two  Kettles  on  Teton  river  near  Fort  Pierre. 
All  of  these  Dakotas  lived  wholly  by  the  chase 
and  consequently  required  large  ranges  for  their 
comparatively  small  population.  The  most  of 
these  people  still  reside  within  the  state.  In 
1840  Dr.  Stephen  R.  Riggs  visited  Fort  Pierre 
and  at  that  date  estimated  the  total  Indian 
population  of  the  South  Dakota  region  at  nine- 
teen thousand  five  hundred.  This  estimate  did 
not  include  the  Sissetons,  who  then,  as  now,  re- 
sided about  Big  Stone  lake.  The  last  census 
places  the  Indian  population  of  South  Dakota  at 
seventeen  thousand  six  hundred  and  eighty-three 
without  counting  the  Sissetons  nor  Yanktons,  so 
that  it  appears  that  there  has  been  little  or  no 
change  in  the  Indian  population  of  South  Dakota 
in  the  past  sixty-five  years. 

At  present  the  Yanktons,  living  on  lands  in 
severalty,  reside  in  Charles  i\Iix  county  and  num- 
I)er  about  nineteen  hundred.  The  Sissetons  re- 
side in  the  vicinity  of  Big  Stone  lake,  are 
civilized  and  number  nineteen  hundred.  That 
portion  of  the  Yanktonaise  who  were  South 
Dakotans  are  at  Crow  Creek  agency  in  Buffalo 
county.  The  Teton  bands,  as  above  stated,  are 
at  the  various  agencies  west  of  the  Missouri. 
They  are  more  or  less  mixed  in  the  assignment 
to  the  several  reservations,  but  in  a  general 
classification  may  be  found  as  follows:  Black- 
feet, divided  between  Cheyenne  and  Standing 
Rock ;  Brules,  at  Lower  Brule  and  Rosebud ; 
Minneconjous,     at     Cheyenne     and     Rosebud; 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Oglalas,  at  Pine  Ridge ;  Sans  Arcs,  at  Cheyenne ; 
Two  Kettles,  at  Cheyenne  river  and  Rosebud ; 
Uncpapas,  at  Standing  Rock. 

When  the  Yanktonaise  invaded  the  North 
Dakota  country  they,  after  a  good  many  hard- 
fought  battles,  displaced  the  Qieyennes,  who 
then  resided  along  the  stream  which  still  bears 
their  name,  the  Sheyenne  tributary  to  the  Red 
river.  Cheyenne  is  a  corruption  of  a  Sioux  word 
and  probably  means  "enemy,"  "sha,"  meaning 
red,  being  the  root  word.  The  name  has  stuck 
to  these  people.  When  they  were  driven  from 
their  North  Dakota  homes  and  hunting  grounds 
they  crossed  the  i\Iissouri  and,  after  a  short  stop 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Warreconne,  found  an  abid- 
ing place  near  the  Black  Hills,  on  the  Cheyenne 
'river,  and  for  a  long  period  of  time  they  occupied 
that  locality,  coming  down  to  the  Missouri 
river  occasionally,  to  trade,  but  for  the  most  part 
keeping  away  from  the  Sioux  and  the  traders 
who  came  into  the  country  within  a  few  _\ears  of 
their  western  emigration.  These  people  are 
neither  Siouan  nor  Caddoan,  but  are  of  the 
Algonquin  stock  of  the  east  and  their  traditions 
are  of  a  once  powerful  tribe  living  on  Lake 
Superior.  About  1830  the  band  divided,  a  por- 
tion going  south  and  located  in  Kansas  and  are 
known  as  the  Southern  Cheyennes.  The  North- 
ern, or  Dakota,  Cheyennes  took  an  active  and 
leading  part  in  the  wars  of  1875-6  at  the  period 
of  the  opening  of  the  Black  Hills  and  proved  to 
be  splendid  and  fearless  soldiers,  excelling  par- 
ticularly as  cavalrymen.  Dr.  Robinson  says  that 
as  a  body  they  are  superior  in  intellect  and 
physique  to  most  Indians.  The  Cheyenne  women 
have  always  been  noted  for  their  beauty  and  their 
chastity.  The  small  remnant  of  the  Northern 
Cheyenne  are  chiefly  at  Pine  Ridge  agency. 
They  number  about  five  hundred. 

About  the  year  1700,  according  to  the  De- 
Isle  map,  a  small  village  of  the  lowas — a  Sioux 
tribe — lived  upon  the  lower  James  river.  I  find 
no  other  historical  reference  to  the  lowas  having 
at  any  time  lived  in  this  state  and  have  some 
doubts  about  the  accuracy  of  Delsle's  chart.  At 
any  event  these  people,  like  the  Poncas,  left  no 
nnpress  upon  the  history  of  the  state. 


From  an  early  period  until  a  very  recent 
date  the  Chippewas,  of  northern  Minnesota, 
made  frequent  excursions  into  South  Dakota  for 
war  or  to  hunt  bulifalo,  but  I  find  nothing  to  in- 
dicate that  they  ever  made  a  home  here.  The 
Sisseton  Sioux  have  some  very  interesting  stories 
and  traditions  relating  to  these  forays  of  the 
Chippewas,  in  one  of  which,  within  the  nine- 
teenth century,  occurred  the  circumstance  which 
gave  the  unique  name  to  the  beautiful  wooded 
lake  of  the  coteau  in  Da>-  count}-  known  as 
Enemy  Swim.  The  story  is  that  a  party  of 
Dakotas — Sissetons — were  encamped  on  the  co- 
[  teau  a  short  distance  south  of  Enemy  Swim,  when 
they  were  surprised  and  attacked  by  a  band  of 
marauding  Chippewas.  Rallying,  the  Sissetons 
soon  put  the  Chippewas  to  flight  and  so  hard 
pressed  were  the  enemy  that  they  were  forced 
to  take  refuge  upon  the  peninsula  which  in- 
dents the  south  shore  of  the  lake.  Here  the 
Sissetons  felt  that  they  had  them  at  their  mercy 
and  that  they  could  proceed  to  take  revenge  upon 
them  at  their  leisure,  but  to  their  surprise  the 
Chippewas  instead  of  stopping  at  the  water's 
edge  plunged  into  the  lake  and  swam  to  the  op- 
posite side,  across  the  wide,  deep  and  cold  ex- 
panse of  the  water,  and  made  their  escape  Into 
their  own  country. 

This,  so  far  as  I  have  knowledge,  completes 
the  catalogue  of  the  Indian  tribes  who  inhabited 
South  Dakota  or  who  roamed  and  hunted  and 
fought  within  our  borders.  The  purpose  in  this 
chapter  has  been  to  treat  them  simply  as  the 
aboriginal  people  of  the  state.  \\'ith  the  ex- 
ception of  the  Poncas  and  lowas,  each  tribe 
mentioned  exerted  a  deep  significance  in  the  de- 
velopment of  South  Dakota  history  and  each 
will  be  more  fully  exploited  as  the  chronological 
development  of  South  Dakota's  story  brings 
them  within  our  perview. 

So  little  is  the  organization  of  the  Siouan 
family  understood  and  so  indiscriminately  are 
the  names  of  the  various  bands  misapplied  that 
it  mav  be  wise  at  this  point  to  introduce  a  chart 
which  completely  analyses  the  family,  showing 
all  of  its  groups  and  bands.  It  must  be  under- 
stood  that   the   one   tie   which   binds   the   entire 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


45 


Siouan  family,  and  by  means  of  which  their 
relations  are  determined,  is  their  language, 
which,  however  much  corrupted  by  its  unwritten 
use  by  widely  separated  and  non-communicating 
bands,  still  retains  those  fundamental  lines  of 
likeness  from  which  a  language  rarely  departs. 
The  chart  printed  herewith  is  an  elaboration  of 
one  prepared  by  the  writer  for  the  first  volume 
of  the  Collections  of  the  State  Historical  Society. 


are  of  the  Asiatic  Mongolian  stock,  and  more 
particularly  of  the  Ural-Altaic  family.  This 
group  embraces  a  very  wide  range  and  is  found 
scattered  in  manifold  ramifications  through  parts 
of  eastern,  northern  and  middle  Asia,  extending 
in  some  of  its  more  remote  branches  even  to  the 
heart  of  Europe,  where  the  Hungarian  and  the 
numerous  tongues  of  the  far-spread  Finnish 
tribes  offer  still  the  same  characteristics  and  an 


Winnebagos 
Omahas 
lowas 
Illinois 


iMissouris 

Osages 

Sacs  and  Foxes 

Possibly   some   other 


Santees    

( People    who    once    lived    on 
Lake) 


( M'dewakantons 

(People  of  Spirit  Lake) 
I  Wakpekutes 

J       (Leaf    Shooters) 

Knife  I  Wahpetons 

I       (People  of  the  leaves) 
i  Sissetons 
Yankton?  '      (People  of  the  swamp) 

( People  at  the  end,  referring  to  po- 
sition in  tribal  councils) 

(Upper  Yanktonaise 
I  Lower  Yanktonaise 

Yanktonaise    |  Assinaboines 

(People  near  the  end)  '       (The     Assinaboines      seceded 

I  from  the  Yanktonaise,  and  no 
longer  consider  themselves  Da- 
kotas) 


Tetons     

( People  of  the  Prairie) 


rBrules 
I  Blackfeet 
I  Minneeonjous 
.;  Oglalas 

Sans  Arcs 
I  Two  Kettle 
I  Uncpapas 


The  Sioux  were  not  onl}-  the  dominant  peo- 
ple of  South  Dakota  when  the  white  men  came 
for  purpose  of  trade,  and  therefore  exerted  a 
greater  influence  in  the  shaping  of  the  life  and 
history  of  that  interesting  period,  but  they  have 
as  well  handed  down  to  us  a  written  historical 
record  which  briefly  but  accurately  outlines  the 
important  events  on  South  Dakota  soil  for  a 
period  of  at  least  one  hundred  and  forty  years, 
dating  back  regularly  to  the  year  1764  and  by 
cycles  for  a  long  period  previous  to  that  date, 
and  this  record  furnishes  an  invaluable  aid  in  de- 
termining many  auxiliary  events.  It  is  done  in 
the  picture  writing  for  which  this  people  are 
famous  and  is  known  to  science  as  the  Winter 
counts  of  the  Dakotas. 

The  origin  of  the  Dakota  Indians  has  been 
a  subject  of  much  study  and  speculation  among 
scholars  and  the  general  conclusion  is  that  thev 


unmistakable  impress  of  the  old  Ural-Altaic  re- 
lationship. It  is  by  the  almost  infallible  lingual 
test  that  the  relationship  of  the  Dakotas  to  these 
Asiatic  progenitors  is  inferred,  if  not  conclusively 
established. 

Prof.  Frederick  L.  O.  Roehrig,  as  early  as 
the  autumn  of  1866,  came  to  Fort  Wadsworth 
(Sisseton)  to  take  up  the  comparative  study  of 
the  Dakota  language,  and  although  he  does  not 
arbitrarily  and  dogmatically  assert  that  he  has 
demonstrated  the  relationship  between  the  Dakota 
and  the  Ural-Altaic,  the  facts  which  he  es- 
tablished are  exceedingly  interesting  and  strongly 
suggestive. 

Grammatically,  the  structure  of  the  sentence 
in  the  Dakota  and  the  Asiatic  is  the  same,  being 
a  complete  inversion  of  the  order  in  which  we 
are  accustomed  to  think,  beginning  their  sen- 
tences where  we  end  ours.    Likewise,  neither  in 


46 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


the  Dakota  nor  the  Asiatic  are  there  any  prepo- 
sitions, that  convenient  part  of  speech  being  used 
invariably  as  a  postposition.  In  both  languages 
there  is  a  peculiar  poly-syllabic  and  poly-synthetic 
tendency  by  which,  through  an  intrinsic  blending 
of  various  parts  of  speech,  one  huge  word  is 
produced.  Probably  the  most  striking  resem- 
blance, however,  is  in  the  similarity  of  the  use  of 
a  reduplication  of  the  initial  syllable  of  a  word 
to  add  intensity  to  the  thought  expressed  by  it. 
Here  is  an  example  in  point : 

Mongolian:  Khara,  meaning  black;  Khap-khara, 
meaning  very  black. 

Dakota:  Sapa,  meaning  black;  Sap-sapa,  meaning 
very  black. 

Examples  of  this  peculiarity  might  be  in- 
definitely produced.  Another  peculiarity  of 
similarity  is  in  changing  the  meaning  of  a  word 
from  the  masculine  to  the  feminine,  or  to  dis- 
criminate between  strength  or  weakness,  or 
distance  or  proximity  by  changing  the  vowel 
without  changing  the  frame  work  of  the  word. 
Thus : 

Mongolian:  Father,  ama;  Mother,  eme;  Kaka, 
cock:  Keke,  hen. 

Dakota:     Second    son,    hepan;    second    daughter, 


hapan;    cinski,    son:    cunski,    daughter;    kon,    that; 
kin,  this. 

These  examples  will  illustrate  the  resemblance 
in  this  particular,  which  is  quite  general.  There 
is,  too,  a  distinct  resemblance  in  very  many 
words  having  the  same  meaning.  This  re- 
semblance is  quite  as  close  as  could  be  expected 
to  be  preserved  through  a  long  period  in  an  un- 
written language,  used  through  a  long  period  of 
time  in  situations  far  remote  from  each  other  and 
without  means  of  communication.  A  few  ex- 
amples will  serve  for  illustration : 

Mongolian:   Tang,  light,  dawn,  understanding. 
Dakota:    Tanin,  visible,  manifest,  clear. 
Mongolian:  Heme,  the  female  breast, 
Dakota:  Mama,  the  female  breast. 

This  list  might  be  quite  extensively  extended, 
but  probably  sufficient  has  been  shown  to  sug- 
gest strongly  the  derivation  of  these  people. 
There  are  too  many  physical  resemblances  be- 
tween the  two  families  which  gives  color  to  the 
theor}'  that  they  may,  at  no  very  remote  period, 
have  been  one.  I  make  no  pretension  to  knowl- 
edge upon  the  subject,  but  give  the  foregoing  as 
a  probable  theory  of  the  origin  of  this  interest- 
ing people. 


CHAPTER  IV 


EARLIEST  WHITE  EXPLORATIONS. 


The  very  earliest  white  explorations  of  South 
Dakota  are  matters  of  uncertainty  and  dispute 
and  perhaps  may  never  be  determined  beyond 
doubt.  It  is  a  matter  of  common  belief  that 
Spanish  adventurers  came  into  this  section  within 
the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  but  this  is 
a  matter  purely  of  conjecture,  no  record  having 
been  left  of  sufficient  certainty  to  prove  the  con- 
tention. It  is  only  known  that  these  men  made 
long  trips  into  the  heart  of  the  continent.  The 
story  of  Coronado  is  well  known  and  is  the  basis 
of  most  of  the  speculation  relating  to  an  e.xplo- 
ration  of  the  Black  Hills  region  by  the  Spaniards 
of  this  remote  date,  but  from  all  of  the  evidence 
obtainable  it  is  not  to.  be  presumed  that  Coronado 
came  north  further  than  the  Platte,  if  in  fact  he 
did  not  stop  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  south 
of  that  river.  The  most  that  can  be  said  of  the 
Spaniards  is  that  they  may  have  come  into  the 
Black  Hills  before  1550,  but  if  they  did  they 
neglected  to  make  a  record  of  the  fact  sufficiently 
definite  to  render  the  matter  more  than  doubtful. 

For  more  than  one  hundred  years  after  the 
days  of  Coronado  and  the  Spanish  adventurers 
tlitre  is  no  suggestion  from  any  source  that  a 
white  man  set  foot  upon  South  Dakota  soil,  but 
there  is  a  possibility  that  some  time  between  1654 
and  1665  two  well  known  French  Canadians, 
Pierre  Radisson  and  Giouart  Grosseillers,  broth- 
ers-in-law, did  ]Dass  through  South  Dakota. 
These  men  did  not  fail  to  leave  a  record  of  their 
travels,  but  unfortunately  it  is  so  confused  and 
indefinite  that  it  is  very  difficult  indeed  to  deter- 


mine from  it  precisely  where  their  adventures 
led  them.  They  appear  to  have  been  almost  un- 
educated in  French  and  with  scarcely  any  knowl- 
edge of  English.  Radisson,  however,  fell  out 
with  the  French  authorities  and  went  to  London, 
where  he  offered  the  knowledge  of  his  dis- 
coveries to  the  English.  Certain  promoters,  ap- 
preciating the  possibilities  of  a  vast  fur  trade  in 
the  heart  of  America,  induced  Radisson  to  write 
out  in  his  imperfect  English  an  account  of  his 
travels  in  America,  which  he  did,  and  the  product 
'-'f  his  literary  genius  is  more  difficult  to  interpret 
than  the  pictographs  of  the  Indians.  From  un- 
mistakable physical  features  of  the  country  some 
of  the  points  visited  by  them  are  ascertained,  but 
they  made  no  celestial  observations  and  much  of 
their  long  course  during  ten  years  in  the  wilder- 
ness is  left  to  guess  work.  However,  shrewd 
reckoning  is  constantly  clearing  up  more  and 
more  of  the  route.  This  much  is  certain  :  Radis- 
son and  Grossiellers  started  from  Montreal  in 
August.  1654,  and  passed  the  next  winter  with 
Hurons  and  Ottawas  upon  one  of  the  islands  in 
the  northern  part  of  Green  Bay.  The  next  sea- 
son they  went  into  a  land  which  they  describe 
so  accurately  that  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that 
they  were  far  down  the  Mississippi  valley. 
Rendered  as  comprehendable  as  possible,  here  is 
Radisson's  story  of  the  land  they  visited : 

The  farther  we  sojourned  the  delightfuller  the 
country  was  to  us.  I  can  say  that  in  all  my  lifetime 
I  never  saw  a  more  incomparable  countr>',  for  all 
that  I  have  been  in  Italy.    Being  about  the  great  sea. 


48 


HISTURY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


we  conversed  with  people  that  dwelleth  about  the  salt 
water  who  told  us  that  they  saw  some  great  white 
things  sometimes  on  the  water,  and  it  came  toward 
the  shore,  and  men  in  the  top  of  it  and  made  a  noise 
lilie  a  company  of  swans;  which  made  me  believe 
that  they  were  mistaken,  for  I  could  not  imagine 
what  it  could  be  except  the  Spaniards;  and  the  reason 
is  that  we  found  a  barrel  broken  as  they  use  in  Spain. 
Those  people  have  their  hair  long.  They  reap  twice 
a  year;  they  are  called  Tatarga,  that  is  to  say,  buff. 
They  are  generally  stout  men.  so  they  are  able  to 
defend  themselves.  We  were  everywhere  made  much 
of,  neither  wanting  victuals,  for  all  the  different  na- 
tions that  we  met  conducted  and  furnished  us  with 
all  necessities.  The  summer  passed  away  with  ad- 
miration by  the  diversity  of  the  nations  that  we  saw. 
As  Tor  the  beauty  of  the  shore  of  that  sweet  sea. 
Here  we  saw  fish  of  divers,  some  like  sturgeons  and 
have  a  kind  of  slice  at  the  end  of  their  nose,  some 
three  fingers  broad  In  the  end,  and  two  only  near  the 
nose,  and  some  eight  thumbs  long,  all  marbled  of  a 
blackish  color.  There  are  birds  whose  bills  are  two 
and  twenty  thumbs  long.  That  bird  swallows  a 
whole  salmon,  keeps  it  a  long  time  in  its  bill.  We 
saw  also  she  goats  very  big.  There  is  an  animal 
somewhat  less  than  a  cow  whose  meat  is  exceedingly 
good.  There  is  no  want  of  stags,  nor  buffs.  There 
are  so  many  turkeys  that  the  boys  throw  stones  at 
them  for  their  recreation.  As  for  the  buff  it  is  a 
furious  animal.  One  must  have  a  care  for  him,  for 
every  year  he  kills  some  Nadoneseronons.  He  comes 
for  the  most  part  in  the  plains  and  meadows  and 
feeds  like  an  ox.  The  horns  of  buffs  are  as  those  of 
an  ox,  but  not  so  long,  but  bigger  and  of  a  blackish 
color.  He  hath  a  very  long  hairy  tail,  he  is  reddish, 
his  hair  frizzed  and  very  fine.  All  the  parts  of  his 
body  are  much  like  unto  an  ox.  The  biggest  are 
bigger  than  any  ox  whatsoever. 

The  vines  grow  all  by  the  river  side.  The  lemons 
are  not  so  big  as  ours  and  sourer.  The  grape  is  very 
big,  green  and  is  seen  there  at  all  times.  It  never 
snows  or  freezes  there,  but  is  mighty  hot;  and  yet 
for  all  that  the  country  is  not  so  unwholsome,  for  we 
have  seldom  seen  infirm  people. 

We  were  four  months  in  our  voyage  without 
doing  anything  but  going  from  river  to  river.  We 
met  several  sorts  of  people.  We  conversed  with  them, 
being  long  in  alliance  with  them.  By  the  persuasion 
of  some  of  them,  we  went  into  the  great  river  that 
divides  itself  in  two,  where  the  Hurons,  with  some 
of  the  Ottawas  and  the  wild  men  that  had  wars  with 
them,  had  retired.  There  is  not  great  difference  in 
their  language,  as  we  were  told.  This  nation  had 
wars  against  those  of  the  forked  river.  It  is  so 
called  because  it  has  two  branches;   the  one  toward 


the  west,  the  other  toward  the  south,  which  we  be- 
lieve runs  toward  Mexico,  by  the  tokens  they  gave 
us.  Being  among  these  people,  they  told  us  the 
prisoners  they  take,  tell  them  they  have  wars  against 
a  nation,  against  men  that  build  great  cabins,  have 
great  beards  and  have  knives  as  we  have.  More- 
over they  showed  us  a  decad  of  beads  and  gilded 
pearls  that  they  have  had  from  that  people,  which 
made  us  believe  that  they  were  Europeans.  They 
showed  us  one  of  that  nation  that  was  taken  the 
year  before.  We  \inderstood  him  not;  he  was  more 
tawny  than  they  with  whom  we  were. 

We  were  informed  of  that  nation  which  lived  on 
the  other  river.  These  are  men  of  extraordinary 
height  and  bigness,  that  made  us  believe  that  they 
had  no  communication  with  them.  They  live  upon 
corn  and  citruUs  (pumpkins)  which  are  mighty  big. 
They  have  fish  in  plenty  throughout  the  year.  They 
have  fruit  as  big  as  the  heart  of  an  orinak  (elk), 
which  grows  on  vast  trees  which  are  three  armsfull 
in  compass.  When  they  see  little  men  they  are 
afraid  and  cry  out,  which  makes  many  come  to 
help  them.  Their  arrows  are  not  of  stone  as  ours 
are.  but  of  fish  bone  and  other  bones  which  they 
work  greatly  as  all  other  things.  Their  dishes  are 
made  of  wood.  I  have  seen  them  and  could  not  but 
admire  the  curiosity  of  their  work.  They  have  great 
calumets  of  great  stones,  red  and  green.  They  make 
a  store  of  tobacco.  They  have  a  kind  of  drink  which 
makes  them  mad  for  a  whole  day.  I  have  not  seen 
this,  therefore  you  may  believe  as  you  please.  Tend- 
ing to  these  people,  we  went  toward  the  south  and 
came  back  by  the  north.  We  had  not  yet  seen  the 
nation  Nadoneceronons  (Sioux).  We  had  Hurons 
with  us.  We  persuaded  them  to  come  along  to  see 
their  own  nation  that  fled  there,  but  they  would  not 
by  any  means.  We  thought  to  get  some  castors  there 
to  bring  down  to  the  French.  Seeing  it,  at  last,  im- 
possible to  us  to  make  a  circuit  in  twelve  months" 
time  we  come  to  the  straits  of  the  two  lakes  of  the 
Stinkings  and  the  upper  lakes  where  there  are  little 
islands  toward  the  northwest  and  a  few  toward  the 
southeast  very  small;  the  lake  toward  the  north  at 
the  side  is  full  of  rocks  and  sand,  yet  great  ships 
can  ride  on  it  without  danger,  we  being  three  nations 
arrived  there  with  booty. 

I  have  thus  quoted  at  a  good  deal  of  length 
from  the  Radisson  stoi-y.  for  it  is  upon  the  por- 
tions quoted  that  one  of  the  great  disputed  points 
in  .\merican  history  rests.  The  contention  that 
these  itinerant  Frenchmen  threaded  the  Missis- 
sippi to  the  gulf  twenty-si.x  years  before  the 
famous   discovery   of   LaSalle,   and   the   further 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


49 


contention,  held  with  something  less  of  tenacity, 
that  they  also  in  the  same  year  explored  the 
Missouri  and  so  passed  through  South  Dakota. 
Upon  this  portion  of  the  subject  Prof.  Robert  F. 
Kerr  contributed  a  monograph  to  the  first  volume 
of  the  Collections  of  the  State  Historical  Society 
in  which  he  concluded  that  Radisson  and  Grosseil- 
lers  did  not  reach  South  Dakota,  a  conclusion  in 
which  I  fully  concur.  My  own  interpretation  of 
the  story  is  that  they  did  pass  down  the  Missis- 
sippi and,  returning,  entered  the  mouth  of  the 
Missouri  for  a  distance  and  from  the  Indians 
learned  about  the  people  which  inhabited  that 
valley.  Those  first  mentioned  refer  to  the  Span- 
iards in  ^Mexico.  "That  nation  which  lived  on 
the  other  river"  was  undoubtedly  the  Pawnees 
'  and  Rees  of  the  South  Dakota  portion  of  the  Mis- 
souri, who  cultivated  corn  and  pumpkins,  and 
the  superstition  of  the  "little  devils  of  Spirit 
?\Iound,"  which  Lewis  and  Clarke  found  irradi- 
cably  imbedded  in  the  minds  of  all  the  Indians  of 
the  Missouri  valley,  accounts  for  the  reported 
terror  in  which  these  people  held  "little  men." 
It  was  the  desire  of  the  explorers  to  reach  the 
"Cristinos"  of  Hudson's  bay,  but  finding  the  sea- 
son so  far  advanced  that  they  could  not  hope  to 
make  the  circuit  that  year,  and  finding  their 
Huron  guides  unalterably  opposed  to  risking 
their  scalps  among  their  hereditary  enemies,  the 
.Sioux,  they  retired  from  the  Missouri  and  re- 
turned to  their  winter  rendezvous  at  Green  Bay, 
probably  by  way  of  the  jNIississippi  and  Wis- 
consin rivers,  though  the  latter  is  simply  a  sur- 
mise. Until  better  evidence  is  produced  it  may 
safely  be  concluded  that  Radisson  and  Groseillers 
did  not  visit  South  Dakota,  but  that  they  did 
learn  of  and  make  report  upon  the  Ree  Indians 
residing  here  and  also  shadowed  forth  the  tra- 
dition of  Spirit  Mound  and  its  reputed  "little 
devils."  Of  this  tradition  more  full  accounts  will 
be  given  in  the  subsequent  chapter  upon,  the 
visit  of  Lewis  and  Clarke. 

The  next  explorer  who  may  have  entered 
South  Dakota,  and  who,  if  he  did  not  come  him- 
self, was  almost  certainly  represented  by  white 
traders  here,  was  Pierre  Charles  LeSeuer,  a  na- 
tive of  Montreal.    LeSeuer  made  his  first  trip  to 


the  west  in  1683  and  is  known  to  have  at  that 
time  visited  the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin  river. 
An  unidentified  writer  in  the  Toronto  Globe, 
writing  in  1887,  tells  of  a  shrewd  scheme  by 
which  LeSeuer  and  his  relative,  Pierre  LeMoyne, 
afterwards  known  as  Iberville,  taking  advantage 
of  early  knowledge  of  LaSalle's  discovery  of  the 
Mississippi,  came  west  with  a  license  to  trade, 
and  sending  on  a  party  of  trappers  and  Indians  to 
a  stream  far  westward  from  the  Mississippi, 
where  they  traded  with  the  Indians  for  furs 
which  they  rafted  down  the  stream  to  the  Missis- 
sippi and  on  to  the  gulf,  where  LeMoyne  waited 
with  a  ship  and  took  the  furs  to  London  where 
he  disposed  of  them  at  vast  profit.  Meanwhile 
LeSeuer  secured  a  quantity  of  fur  in  Wisconsin, 
which  he  took  back  to  Canada  and  paid  the  ex- 
orbitant tribute  which  the  government  exacted. 
I  have  found  some  collateral  evidence  of  the  truth 
of  this  story  in  the  map  published  by  William 
DTsle,  member  of  the  French  Academy  in  1701, 
which  was  made  by  him  from  information  fur- 
nished by  LeSeuer.  This  map  shows  a  track  di- 
rectly west  from  the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin, 
passing  just  south  of  the  Spirit  lakes  in  northern 
Iowa  and  terminating  at  Sioux  Falls.  This  track 
is  marked  on  the  map  in  French,  "Chemin  des 
voyageurs."  An  Omaha  village  is  located  at  the 
termination  of  the  track.  It  is  therefore  not  im- 
possible that  LeSeuer's  vo3'ageurs  did  visit  Sioux 
Falls  in  1683. 

In  1695  the  Fox  Indians  became  hostile  to  the 
French  and  closed  up  the  Fox-Wisconsin  river 
route  to  the  Mississippi  river,  thus  cutting  off 
the  valuable  trade  of  the  Mississippi.  It  there- 
fore became  necessary  to  find  another  route  to 
the  west  and  a  way  was  opened  from  the  head 
of  Lake  Superior,  by  way  of  the  St.  Croix,  but 
the  perennial  warfare  between  the  Chippewas 
and  the  Sioux  rendered  this  route  almost  as 
dangerous  as  the  Fox  river.  Therefore  Fron- 
tenac  sent  out  LeSeuer  to  negotiate  a  peace  be- 
tween the  hostile  tribes  and  he  was  quite  suc- 
cessful in  his  mission.  In  company  with  Nicolas 
Perrault,  he  built  a  fort  near  the  mouth  of  the  St. 
Croix  and  another  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wis- 
consin.   It  was  at  this  time  that  he  learned  of  the 


"copper  mine"  at  Alankato,  on?^ccount  stating 
that  he  found  it  while  on  a  trip  to  the  Indians 
of  the  Missouri.  If  this  is  true  he  must  have 
visited  South  Dakota  at  this  time.  It  seems  to 
be  quite  clear  that  at  this  time  he  explored  the 
Minnesota,  to  which  he  gave  his  own  name,  "St. 
Pierre."  After  this  he  returned  to  France  where 
he  was  received  with  favor  by  the  King  and, 
under  the  patronage  of  L'Hullier,  the  farmer 
general  in  the  King's  household,  he  returned  to 
America  by  way  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and, 
passing  up  the  Mississippi  with  a  party  of  twenty 
men,  went  to  the  Blue  Earth  river,  near  where 
the  citv  of  Mankato,  Alinnesota,  now  stands,  and 
there  built  a  fort  which  he  named  for  his  patron 
and  for  two  years  traded  with  the  Indians  and 
mined  the  copper,  which  by  the  way  proved  to 
be  not  copper  at  all.  While  here  his  men  made 
trips  among  the  Indians  for  trade  and  in  his  ac- 
count he  particularly  speaks  of  trade  with  the 
i\Iahas  (Omahas),  who  at  that  time  are  known 
to  have  lived  on  the  Sioux,  particularly  at  Sioux 
Falls  and  Flandreau.  In  addition  to  the  Delsle 
map  above  mentioned,  two  other  maps  have 
been  preserved,  made  upon  the  authority  of  Le- 
Seuer.  Winsor  has  reproduced  them  in  his 
Critical  History  of  America,  one  as  of  1702,  the 
other  as  of  1763.  Both  of  these  maps  show  a 
route  westward  from  LeSeuer's  fort.  In  the  first 
the  route  is  marked  "Indian  track."  In  the  sec- 
ond "French  Track  to  the  West."  Bishop 
O'Gorman  says:  "The  account  made  by  him  to 
the  home  government  leaves  no  doubt  that  dur- 
ing his  stay  on  the  Blue  Earth  river,  LeSeuer 
held  intercourse  with  the  South  Dakota  Indians 
and  that  his  men  went  west  to  the  prairies  oc- 
cupied by  them." 

In  1742  the  Canadian  government  sent  out 
\^erendrye  to  find  a  route  to  the  Pacific.  He 
traveled  by  way  of  the  Great  Lakes  to  Lake 
Winnepeg  and  thence  by  the  Assinoboin  to  the 
Missouri  and  westward.  The  following  is 
Bishop  O'Gorman's  account  of  this  trip  of 
Verendrye's :  "January  i,  1743,  they  arrived  as 
far  as  the  Big  Horn  range,  an  outlaying  buttress 
of  the  Rockies,  about  one  hundred  miles  east  of 
Yellowstone  Park,  and  went  no  farther.     Park- 


man  thinks  it  likely  that  they  pushed  across  the 
Big  Horn  range  and  reached  the  Snake  river. 
Another  historian  thinks  they  may  have  reached 
the  site  of  Helena,  Montana.  The  description  of 
the  explorers  is  too  vague  for  exact  geographical 
verification.  At  any  rate  they  turned  homeward 
without  finding  the  object  of  their  search.  The 
direction  they  took  and  the  time  the}-  took  to 
travel  brought  them  within  two  days"  march  of 
Pierre,  South  Dakota.  Here  are  the  words  of 
their  account:  "We  arrived  March  15th  among 
the  band  of  the  Little  Cherry,  who  were  when  we 
found  them  two  da}-s'  march  from  their  camp  on 
the  Missouri.  We  left  them  on  the  2d  of  April 
to  their  great  regret.  Traveling  north  and  north- 
west, they  arrived  May  i8th  at  the  village  of  the 
Mandans,  which  is  supposed  to  have  been  on  or 
near  the  site  of  Fort  Berthold,  in  North  Dakota. 
Now  Fort  Berthold  is  northwest  of  Pierre  about 
two  hundred  and  forty  miles.  According  to  their 
account  they  did  not  go  in  a  straight  line,  but 
sometimes  headed  north,  now  east  and  then  again 
northeast.  They  were  forty-five  days  on  the  trip 
from  the  point  on  the  Missouri  where  they  stayed 
with  the  Little  Cherry  people  to  Fort  Berthold. 

"Not  far  from  Pierre  is  Cherry  creek.  Bands 
of  Indians,  then  as  now,  often  took  their  names 
from  some  physical  feature  of  the  country-  in- 
habited. "Les  gens  de  la  petite  Cerise,'  is  the 
French  name  given  in  the  account ;  "the  band  of 
the  Little  Cherry.'  I  believe  they  were  a  band 
of  the  Sioux  who  lived  on  Cherry  creek.  Some 
day  or  other  the  exact  spot  may  be  found,  for  in 
the  account  I  read :  'On  an  eminence  near  the 
fort  (camp)  I  placed  a  leaden  plate  engraved 
with  the  arms  and  inscription  of  the  king  and 
some  stones  in  the  shape  of  a  pyramid  in  honor 
of  the  general.'  "  I  have  no  doubt  of  the  correct- 
ness of  Bishop  O'Gorman's  conclusions  and  take 
it  as  a  settled  fact  that  Verendrye  is  a  duly  re- 
corded explorer  of  South  Dakota  of  1743  and 
that  he  then  claMiied  the  soil  for  the  King  of 
France. 

Two  years  later,  1745,  the  Canadian  govern- 
ment determined  to  put  a  stop  to  the  illegitimate 
trading  of  the  courier  du  boise,  who,  without 
license  and  without  paying  tribute,  were  carrying 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


51 


on  an  extensive  trade  with  the  western  Indians, 
and  to  that  end  one  DeLusigan  was  despatched 
to  the  Indian  country  to  call  in  these  "mendicant 
merchants."  In  pursuit  of  this  object  he  visited 
Big  Stone  lake,  and  it  is  a  fair  presumption  that 
he  entered  South  Dakota,  for  time  out  of  mind 
the  principal  Indian  camps  there  have  been  on 
the  South  Dakota  side.  It  may  be  noted  in  pass- 
ing that  DeLusigan,  after  investigation,  reported 
against  the  withdrawal  of  the  courier  du  boise 
on  the  ground  that  they  were  keeping  alive 
French  sentiment  among  the  Indians,  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  English,  and  thereupon  the  govern- 
ment not  only  adopted  his  view  but  actually  used 
its  influence  to  send  others  among  the  Indians. 

From  1764  the  French  at  St.  Louis  began 
trading  "up  the  Missouri."  There  is  very  little 
of  record  to  indicate  how  far  up  the  river  this 
trade  extended,  but  it  is  certain  that  long  before 
1800  they  were  trading  within  the  South  Dakota 
territory.  Loisell's  post,  a  strong  fortified  trad- 
ing house,  was  built  on  Cedar  island  in  the  Mis- 
souri river,  thirty-five  miles  below  Pierre  before 
1796.  Capt.  Henry  M.  Chittenden,  the  well- 
known  authority  upon  Missouri  river  history, 
considers  this  the  earliest  trading  house  in  the 
Sioux  country.     The  exact  date  of  its  establish- 


ment is  not  known.  In  the  fall  of  1796  Trudeau, 
a  St.  Louis  trader,  established  a  house  for  trade 
with  the  Pawnees  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Mis- 
souri and  a  little  above  the  site  of  Fort  Randall. 
This  was  also  a  strongly  palisaded  post  and  trade 
was  continued  in  it  for  twenty  years.  To  com- 
press then  into  a  paragraph  the  conclusions  re- 
lating to  the  exploration  of  South  Dakota  prior 
to  the  nineteenth  century  it  may  be  said  that  it 
is  highly  improbable  that  South  Dakota  was  ex- 
plored by  the  Spaniards  in  the  early  portion  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  or  that  any  white  man  saw 
our  land  during  that  century  at  all.  That  it  is 
equally  as  improbable  that  Radisson  and  Groseil- 
lers  visited  the  South  Dakota  territory  at  any 
time.  That  it  is  quite  possible  that  white  men, 
employes  of  LeSeuer  and  LeMoyne,  visited 
Sioux  Falls  in  1683.  and  very  probable  that  Le- 
Seuer's  men  were  here  to  trade  in  1700,  and  that 
it  is  also,  possible  that  LeSeuer  visited  South 
Dakota  in  person  about  1695.  That  Verendrye 
was  certainly  here  in  1742  and  that  DeLusigan 
visited  our  borders  in  1745.  That  the  French  had 
established  a  general  fur  trade  in  our  territory 
and  had  built  two  strong  posts  here  prior  to  1800. 
That  so  far  as  is  yet  developed  all  other  reputed 
explorations  are  based  on  conjecture. 


CHAPTER  V 


SUCCESSI\-E  SO\^EREIGNTIEi 


The  political  history  of  the  territory  com- 
prised within  South  Dakota  is  as  interesting  as  it 
is  diversified.  One  of  the  old  opera  bouffe 
kingdoms  of  the  continent,  kicked  about  like  a 
foot  ball  between  contending  monarchs  of  more 
powerful  neighbor  states,  could  not  have  had  a 
more  diverse  line  of  sovereigns  claiming  title 
to  the  soil.  Primarily  the  native  Indian  tribes 
were  as  tenacious  as  any  of  their  white  successors 
in  claiming  and  maintaining  their  rights  in  the 
ownership  of  the  land  and,  as  has  been  seen, 
these  rights  were  successively  asserted  by  the 
Rees.  Omahas  and  Dakotas,  the  latter  holding  on 
through  every  change  and  condition  until  thev 
made  relinquishment  to  the  United  States  in  very 
recent  years  through  regular  and  formal  treaties 
of  purchase  and  sale ;  while  to  this  day  they  hold 
and  occupy  large  sections  of  the  state  by  virtue 
of  their  never  relinquished  claims  dating  back 
to  a  time  when  the  memory  of  men  runneth  not 
to  the  contrary. 

All  of  the  Dakota  country  was  claimed  by  the 
Spaniards,  by  reason  of  the  discoveries  of  Co- 
lumbus, supplemented  and  confirmed  by  the  ex- 
pedition of  Coronado  in  1542.  Spain,  however, 
did  nothing  in  the  way  of  furnishing  exploration 
or  colonization  to  make  good  her  claim  and 
allowed  the  entire  Western  country  to  lie  vacant 
for  more  than  one  hundred  years,  when  the 
French  from  Canada  way  began  to  send  out 
traders  and  missionaries  and  had  by  the  be- 
ginning of  the  eighteenth  century  pushed  her  en- 
tcri)rises  clear  into  the  Dakota  field.     We  have 


seen  how  LeSeuer.  under  the  direct  patronage  of 
the  French  court,  had  in  1699  come  to  our 
frontier,  if  he  did  not,  as  he  most  probably  did, 
enter  wholly  upon  South  Dakota  soil.  We  have 
no  record  that  he  made  an  express  claim  of  our 
soil  for  France,  but  France  did  claim  a  general 
supervision  over  the  entire  Mississippi  valley  and 
such  enterprises  as  LeSeuer's  were  esteemed  to 
involve  ownership. 

On  September  17,  1742,  the  King  of  France 
made  an  express  grant  of  all  the  territory  lying 
between  the  Alleghany  and  the  Rocky  mountains 
to  Anthony  Crozat,  a  merchant  of  Paris,  for  a 
period  of  sixteen  years.  The  French  grant  to 
Crozat.  made  by  Louis  XT\',  is  as  follows :  "We 
did  in  the  year  16S3  give  our  orders  to  undertake 
the  discovery  of  the  countries  which  are  situated 
in  the  northern  part  of  America,  between  New 
France  and  Xew  Alexico,  *  *  *  and  whereas, 
upon  information  we  have  received  concerning 
the  disposition  and  situation  of  the  said  countries 
known  at  present  by  the  name  of  Province  of 
Louisiana,  we  are  of  opinion  that  there  mav  be 
a  considerable  commerce  established  therein,  we 
have  resolved  to  grant  the  commerce  of  that 
country  of  Louisiana  to  the  Sieur  Anthony 
Crozat,  and  do  appoint  the  said  Sieur  Crozat 
solely  to  carry  on  a  trade,  in  all  the  lands 
possessed  by  us  and  bounded  bv  New  Mexico 
and  by  the  lands  of  the  English  Carolina;  the 
river  St.  Lewis,  heretofore  called  Mississippi, 
from  the  edge  of  the  sea,  as  far  as  the  Illinois, 
together    with    the    river    St.    Philip,    heretofore 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


53 


called  the  Misourys ;  with  all  the  countries,  ter- 
ritories, lakes  within  land,  and  all  rivers  which 
fall  directly  or  indirectly  into  that  part  of  the 
river  St.  Lewis."  This  grant  indicates  that  at 
this  date  France  claimed  absolute  sovereig-nty  of 
the  entire  South  Dakota  country.  Crozat  soon 
found  that  he  Had  made  a  bad  bargain  and  five 
years  l^tcr  was  glad  to  relinquish  his  claim. 
Thereupon  the  King  made  the  land  over  to  John 
Law's  famous  Mississippi  Company  and  there 
was  a  good  deal  of  activity,  but  there  is  no  record 
that  it  reached  to  the  Dakota  country.  The 
French  activit>-,  however,  excited  the  Spaniards 
to  reassert  their  claim  and  an  expedition  was  sent 
from  Santa  Fe  against  the  French  on  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  lower  Missouri.  The  enterprise  was, 
however,  a  disastrous  failure.  The  Spanish  plan 
was  to  excite  the  Osage  Indians  to  make  war 
upon  the  Missouris,  the  latter  tribe  being  in  alli- 
ance with  the  French.  Through  a  mistake  the 
Spaniards  were  led  directly  to  the  Missouris  in- 
stead of  the  Osages  and  the  entire  party,  with 
one  exception,  were  massacred.  This  circum- 
stance led  the  French  to  build  a  fort  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Missouri  in  1720.  In  1732  the 
Mississippi  bubble  burst  and  the  French  sovereign 
then  reassumed  control  of  Louisiana  and  gov- 
erned it  directly  through  a  governor-general, 
who  resided  at  New  Orleans. 

L'p  to  this  date  the  possession  and  sovereignty 
of  the  Dakota  country  by  the  French  was  purely 
constructive,  but.  as  we  have  previously  seen,  on 
March  15,  1742,  Verendrye  entered  upon  the 
South  Dakota  soil  at  a  point  near  the  center  of 
the  state  and  took  actual  possession  of  the  same 
in  the  name  of  the  King  of  France  and  as  a 
testimonial  planted  a  leaden  plate  engraved  with 
the  arms  of  France.  From  that  event  there  is 
no  question  of  the  actual,  choate  right  of  sover- 
eignty, in  France,  over  the  Dakota  land  until  the 
same  was  relinquished  by  the  treaty  with  Spain, 
made  twenty  years  later. 

About  1762  France  was  having  difficulties 
which  were  keeping  her  ingenuity  taxed  to  main- 
tain her  position  among  the  nations.  It  was  a 
time  of  which  it  has  been  said,  "All  the  world 
was  at  war,"  and  France  was  getting  much  the 


worst  of  the  bad  bargain  which  Europe  was 
making,  and  in  which  all  America  was  involved. 
The  Seven  Years  war  was  drawing  to  a  close 
and  die  cas£,Qt.5fa:fl??'  nvas  desperate.  To  draw 
Spain  more  fully  to  her  support  she  entered  into 
a  secret  treaty  by  which  she  deeded  to  Spain 
New  Orleans  and  all  of  Louisiana  west  of  the 
Mississippi  river,  which  of  course  included  all 
of  South  Dakota.  In  consideration  of  this  session 
Spain  agreed  with  the  French  that  for  the  future 
she  would  consider  ever}-  power  her  enemy  which 
was  the  enemy  of  France.  So  it  was,  in  the 
language  of  Carlyle,  that  France,  "beaten,  stript, 
humiliated,  sinful,  unrepentant,  collapsed  like  a 
creature  whose  limbs  fail  vmder  it,"  and  gave  up 
the  soil  of  the  Dakotas  to  the  scarcely  less  pitiable 
dons  of  Spain.  The  description  and  boundaries 
ceded  by  France  to  Spain  were  indefinite  and  ob- 
scure and  have  never  been  defined.  This  treaty 
was  kept  secret  until  after  the  publication  of  the 
treaty  of  Paris,  two  years  later.  Its  boundaries 
were  assumed  to  be  the  same  as  those  of  the 
grant  to  Crozat  of  171 2,  so  far  as  the  west  line 
was  concerned.  Under  this  treaty  Spain  held 
possession  of  South  Dakota  for  forty-one  years, 
though  she  relinquished  her  rights  and  retroceded 
the  province  to  France  two  years  sooner,  that  is, 
in  1800.  It  was  during  this  period  and  probably 
about  1770  that  the  first  regular  trade  was  car- 
ried up  the  Missouri  as  high  as  South  Dakota, 
though  there  is  no  definite  record  of  such  trade 
until  about  1796,  when  the  Loisell  post  was 
found  in  operation  and  the'  Trudeau  post  was 
built. 

In  1800.  on  the  1st  day  of  October,  b}-  the 
treaty  of  San  Ildefonso,  Spain  retroceded  Louisi- 
ana— including  South  Dakota — to  France.  The 
consideration  for  this  trade  was  a  personal  one. 
The  Duke  of  Parma  married  the  daughter  of  the 
King  of  Spain  and  was  anxious  to  secure  for 
himself  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Tuscany,  that  he 
might  be  raised  to  the  dignity  of  a  king,  and  Na- 
poleon, then  First  Consul,  agreed  to  help  him  out 
if  Spain  would  give  up  Louisiana.  Now  the 
American  possessions  had  been  a  source  of  ex- 
pense and  endless  trouble  to  Spain,  and  the  King 
gladly  assented  to  this  arrangement  and  the  quit- 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


claim  was  made.  The  retrocession  is  in  the  fol- 
lowing words:  "His  Catholic  Majesty  promises 
and  engages  to  retrocede  to  the  French  Republic 
the  colony  or  province  of  Louisiana  with  -the 
same  extent  as  it  now  has  in  the  hands  of  Spain 
and  that  it  had  when  France  possessed  it."  This, 
it  will  be  seen,  is  no  more  definite  than  the  former 
description,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  South 
Dakota  was  a  part  of  the  property.  It  was  at- 
tempted to  keep  this  deal  a  secret,  but  it  soon 
leaked  out  and  in  his  message  to  congress,  in 
December,  1802,  Mr.  Jefferson  comments  upon  it 
and,  as  we  were  not  having  very  amicable  rela- 
tions with  France  at  that  time,  he  was  not  par- 
ticularly pleased  with  our  change  of  western 
neighbors. 

At  this  period  it  was  the  general  sentiment 
that  the  L'nited  States  should  have  joint  control 
with  Spain,  or  after  the  retrocession,  with  France, 
of  the  navigation  of  the  [Mississippi  and  that  we 
should  have  a  piece  of  ground  big  enough  to  ac- 
commodate a  commercial  city  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  our  first  hope  being  to  secure  New  Orleans 
for  that  city,  and  for  that  purpose  Messrs. 
Livingstone  and  Monroe  were  sent  to  France  as 
envoys,  to  negotiate  the  cession  desired.  Their 
instructions  did  not  exceed  power  to  pay  a  sum, 
not  more  than  two  million  dollars,  for  the  rights 
demanded,  including  the  cession  of  Florida. 

I  have  stated  that  Livingstone  and  Monroe 
were  sent  as  envoys ;  the  fact  is  that  Mr.  Living- 
stone was  the  regular  American  minister  to  Paris 
and  Mr.  Monroe  was  sent  to  assist  him  in  ne- 
gotiating for  the  session  of  New  Orleans  and  the 
right  to  navigate  the  Mississippi,  to  its  mouth. 
Sometime  during  the  winter  ]\Ionroe  sailed  for 
France,  where  he  arrived  about  the  middle  of 
April.  Neither  Monroe  or  Livingstone  dreamed 
that  they  could  accomplish  more  than  they  had 
been  commissioned  to  do,  but  to  their  surprise 
Barbe  Marbois,  Napoleon's  minister  of  the  treas- 
ury, and  a  strong  friend  of  America, — he  had 
rendered  us  valuable  aid  during  the  revolutionary 
struggle, — was  in  1779  secretary  of  the  French 
legation  to  the  confederated  government,  and 
while  here  had  married  an  American  girl, — came 
to  them  with  a  jirojiosition  to  sell  to  them  not  only 


N^ew  Orleans,  but  all  of  Louisiana  as  well.  In 
fact  Tallyrand  had  indicated  such  a  possibility  to 
Livingstone  some  days  earlier,  but  had  after- 
wards told  him  that  his  suggestion  was  un- 
authorized. At  this  lime  war  between  Napoleon 
and  England  was  inevitable,  Loixkiana  was  ex- 
posed and  it  appeared  probable  that  England's 
first  move  would  be  to  descend  upon  Nev.' 
Orleans  with  her  fleet  and  take  possession  of  the 
Mississippi  valley.  Napoleon,  too,  was  in  dire 
need  of  money.  He  considered  Louisiana  as 
good  as  lost  in  any  case.  If  he  could  get  any- 
thing out  of  it,  it  was  something  found.  If  he 
could  transfer  it  to  America  he  would  cut  Eng- 
land off  from  a  valuable  possession.  So  the 
treaty  was  made  and  our  envoys  engaged  to  pay 
France  in  six  per  cent,  bonds  of  the  L'nited 
States  the  sum  of  $11,250,000,  and  to  undertake 
to  satisfy  claims  of  American  citizens  against 
France  to  the  extent  of  approximately  $3,750,000, 
or  in  all  about  one-eighth  of  the  value  of  the 
annual  production  of  new  wealth  in  South  Dakota 
alone,  at  this  time.  This  treaty  was  signed  on 
April  30,  1803,  and  was  duly  ratified  by  congress 
the  next  October  and  in  due  course  the  land 
passed  into  our  possession. 

The  granting  clause  of  the  treaty  is  as  fol- 
lows: "Whereas,  By  the  article  the  third  of 
the  treaty  concluded  at  St.  Ildefonso,  the  ninth 
Vendimarre,  au  9  (ist  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  retrocede  to  the  French  Republic,  six 
months  after  the  full  and  entire  executions  of 
the  conditions-  and  stipulations  herein  relative  to 
his  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  have  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  Re- 
public has  an  incontestable  title  to  the  domain 
and  the  ]5ossession  of  the  saitl  territory  ;  the  First 
Consul  of  the  French  Republic  desiring  to  give  to 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


the  United  States  a  strong  proof  of  friendship, 
doth  hereby  cede  to  the  United  States,  in  the 
name  of  the  French  RepubHc,  forever  and  in 
full  sovereignty,  the  said  territory  with  all  its 
lights  and  appurtenances,  as  fully  and  in  the 
same  manner  as  they  have  been  accjuired  by  the 
French  Republic  in  virtue  of  the  above  named 
treaty  concluded  with  his  Catholic  Majesty." 

Livingstone  and  Monroe,  in  their  anxiety  to 
close  the  deal,  did  not  deem  it  wise  to  scrutinize 
the  title  too  closely,  but  after  the  papers  were 
signed  they  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
description  of  the  big  farm  they  had  purchased, 
as  set  down  in  the  deed,  was  a  little  obscure,  to 
say  the  least.  Marbois  admitted  this  fact  and 
took  the  treaty  to  Napoleon.  "Sire,"  he  said, 
"there  is  difficulty  in  reaching  a  definite  con- 
clusion as  to  the  boundary.  There  is  a  regrettable 
obscurity  in  the  description."  The  conscience  of 
Napoleon  was  in  no  wise  disturbed.  "If  an  ob- 
scurity does  not  already  exist  it  will  no  doubt 
be  good  policy  to  put  one  there,"  he  replied. 
Livingstone  then  went  to  Talleyrand :  "What  are 
the  eastern  boundaries  of  Louisiana?"  asked 
Livingstone.  "I  do  not  know,"  replied  Talley- 
rand. "You  must  take  it  as  we  received  it."  "But 
Avhat  did  you  mean  to  take?"  said  Livingstone. 
"I  do  not  know,"  replied  Talleyrand.  "Then  you 
mean  we  shall  construe  it  our  own  way?" 
said  Livingstone  again,  to  which  Talleyrand 
answered,  "I  can  give  you  no  direction.  You 
have  made  a  noble  bargain  and  I  su])pose  }ou 
will  make  the  most  of  it." 

Though  we  have  since,  'm  one  way  or  another, 
obtained  title  to  all  of  the  territory  adjoining 
Louisiana  both  east  and  west,  so  that  it  is  no 
longer  material,  it  is  still  an  interesting  fact  that 
to  this  day  we  do  not  know  what  we  got  when 
we  lx)ught.  Louisiana  from  Napoleon  Bonaparte. 
Our  troubles  too  were  not  over.  While  France 
declared  she  was  in  possession  of  the  property, 
as  a  matter  of  fact  Spain  still  was  in  possession 
and  promptly  protested  against  the  sale  to  the 
United  States,  as  being  in  contravention  of  an 
express  provision  of  the  treaty  of  St.  Ildefonso 
and  that  the  treaty  of  cession  was  void.  She  did 
not,  however,   do  anything  to  make  her  protest 


[  effective  and  meekly  gave  way  when  the  time  for 
the  transfer  came,  giving  over  the  possession  for- 

j  mally  to   l^'rance.  and   that  government  making 

I   formal  transfer    at  once    to    the    L'nited    States. 

j  While  the  people  only  expected  to  secure  the 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi  and  a  town  site  at 
the  mouth,  and  while  our  envoys  went  to  France 
with  no  other  idea  than  to  obtain  the  concessions 
named,  there  is  no  dorbt  that  the  far-seeing  mind 
of  Jefferson  was  contemplating  the  ultimate 
acquisition  of  all  of  Louisiana  and  he  commenced 
to  lay  plans  for  the  same  several  months  before 
the  suggestion  for  a  sale  came  from  Napoleon 
through  Marbois.  With  characteristic  astuteness 
he  concealed  his  real  purpose,  but  in  the  light  of 
subsequent  developments  there  can  be  scarcely 
any  doubt  of  his  object.  It  is  probable  that  he 
foresaw  the  very  conditions  which  induced 
Napoleon  to  transfer  the  great  province  to  us. 
On  January  i8,  1803,  fully  three  months  before 
any  suggestion  of  a  transfer  came  from  Napoleon, 
Jefferson  sent  a  special  message  to  congress 
relating  to  trade  among  the  western  tribes  of 
Indians,  in  the  Ohio  valley.  After  fully  discuss- 
ing this  subject  he  continues  : 

The  river  Missouri  and  the  Indians  inhabiting  it 
are  not  as  well  known  as  is  rendered  desirable  by 
their  connection  with  the  Mississippi,  and  consequent- 
ly with  us.  It  is,  however,  understood  that  the  country 
on  that  river  is  inhabited  by  numerous  tribes  who 
furnish  great  supplies  of  furs  to  the  trade  of  another 
nation  carried  on  in  a  high  latitude  through  an  in- 
finite 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  temperate  climate,  offering  according 
to  best  accounts  a  continued  navigation  from  its 
source  and  possibly  with  a  single  portage  from  the 
western  ocean,  and  finding  to  the  Atlantic  a  choice 
of  channels  through  the  Illinois,  or  Wabash,  the  lakes 
and  Hudson;  through  the  Ohio  and  Susquehanna,  or 
Potomac  or  James  rivers  and  through  the  Tennessee 
and  Savannah  rivers.  An  intelligent  officer  with  ten 
or  twelve  chosen  men.  fit  for  the  enterprise  and  will- 
ing to  undertake  it,  taken  from  our  posts  where  they 
can  be  spared,  without  inconvenience,  might  explore 
the  whole  line  even  to  the  western  ocean,  have  con- 
ference with  the  natives  on  the  subject  of  commercial 
intercourse,  get  admission  among  them  for  our  trad- 
ers  as   others   are  admitted,   agree   upon   convenient 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


deposits  for  an  interchange  of  articles  and  return 
with  the  information  acquired  in  the  course  of  two 
summers.  Their  arms  and  accoutrements,  a  tew  in- 
struments of  observation  and  light  and  cheap  articles 
tor  presents  for  the  Indians  would  be  all  the  ap- 
paratus they  could  carry  and  with  the  expectation  of 
a  soldier's  portion  of  land  on  their  return  would  con- 
stitute the  whole  expense.  Their  pay  would  be  going 
on  whether  there  or  here.  While  other  civilized  na- 
tions 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  to  our  own  interests  to  ex- 
plore this,  the  only  easy  line  of  communication  across 
the  continent  and  so  directly  traversing  our  own  part 
of  it.     The  interests  of  commerce  place  the  principal 


jealousy,  even  if  the  expiring  state  of  its  interests 
there  did  not  render  it  a  matter  of  indifference.  The 
appropriation,  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars, 
for  the  purpose  of  extending  the  internal  commerce 
of  the  United  Slates,  -while  understood  and  con- 
sidered by  the  executive  as  giving  the  legislative 
sanction,  would  cover  the  undertaking  from  notice 
and  prevent  the  obstructions  which  interested  indi- 
viduals might  otherwise  previously  prepare  in  its  way. 

In  this  message  is  the  first  suggestion  of  the 
great  historic  Lewis  and  Clarke  expedition 
through  the  valley  of  the  Missouri  to  the  Pacific, 
to  a  history  of  which  so  far  as  it  afifects  South 
Dakota  the  next  chapter  will  be  devoted. 
Congress  at  once  authorized  the  expedition  and 


INDinN  CESS/OIS/S,  SOUTH  OaKOTAT. 


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object  within  the  constitutional  powers  and  care  of 
congress  and  that  it  should  incidentally  advance  the 
geographical  knowledge  of  our  own  continent  cannot 
but  be  an  additional  gratification.  The  nation  claim- 
ing 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 


arrangements   were  well  under  Avay  when  news 
came  of  the  Louisiana  purchase  trcatv. 

Louisiana  having  now  come  under  the  juris- 
diction of  the  L^nited  States,  pursuant  to  the 
Livingstone- JMonroe-AIarbois  treaty,  congress, 
for  the  purposes  of  administration  and  legal  pro- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


57 


cedure.  attached  it  to  the  territory  of  Indiana.  At 
that  juncture  Gen.  William  Henry  Harrison  was 
governor  of  Indiana  and  consequently  became  the 
first  American  governor  having  jurisdiction  over 
South  Dakota. 

In  the  }ear  1805  the  territory  of  Louisiana 
was  regularly  created  and  a  full  set  of  officers 
appointed.  St.  Louis  was  made  the  capital. 
South  Dakota  was  included  within  the  territory. 
The  President  appointed  James  Wilkinson,  gov- 
ernor ;  Frederick  Bates,  secretary,  and  Return  J. 
Meigs  and  John  B.  C.  Lucas,  judges. 

In  1812  Louisiana,  with  its  present  bound- 
aries, having  been  admitted  as  a  state,  congress 
created  the  remainder  of  old  Louisiana  as  the 
territorv  of  Missouri  and  in  1821,  having  ad- 
mitted Missouri,  as  now  constituted,  as  a  state, 
no  govermnent  whatever  was  provided  for  the 
section  north  of  Missouri  and  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  South  Dakota  and  the  contiguous 
country  continued  unorganized  and  ungoverned 
until  1834,  in  which  year  the  territory  of  Michi- 
gan was  extended  west  to  the  Missouri  river  and 
so  included  the  eastern  half  of  South  Dakota  in 
her  embrace,  but  no  provision  was  made  for  the 
western  half  until  1854.  This  is  more  remarkable 
when  it  is  known  that  at  all  these  periods  there 
was  a  large  white  population  in  that  section. 
Two  years  after  we  had  become  a  part  of  Michi- 
gan, the  territory  of  \Msconsin  was  created  to 
include  all  of  Wisconsin,   Minnesota,   Iowa  and 


the  portion  of  South  and  North  Dakota  east  of 
the  Missouri,  but  this  condition  was  changed  in 
1838  when  Iowa  put  in  an  appearance,  claiming 
all  of  the  territory  between  the  Mississippi  and 
Missouri  from  the  north  line  of  Missouri  to  the 
national  boundary.  Eastern  South  Dakota  was  a 
portion  of  Iowa  for  eleven  years,  but  in  1849 
Minnesota  claimed  us  as  a  portion  of  that  ter- 
ritory, in  which  estate  we  continued  until  Min- 
nesota was  admitted  as  a  state,  in  the  spring  of 
1858,  when  the  few  citizens  then  residing  at 
Sioux  Falls  attempted  to  set  up  a  territory  to  be 
called  Dakota,  but  congress  refused  to  recognize 
it  and  by  a  resolution  of  the  house  of  represent- 
atives declared  that  the  portion  of  Minnesota  ter- 
ritory not  included  within  the  boundaries  of  the 
state  of  ^linnesota  continued  as  Minnesota  ter- 
ritory. In  1854  Nebraska  territory  was  created, 
to  include  the  portion  of  South  Dakota  lying 
west  of  the  Missouri  and  in  1861  the  territory 
of  Dakota  was  created,  to  include  all  of  the  sec- 
tion west  of  Minnesota  to  the  Rocky  mountains. 
In  1869  Montana  and  Wyoming  were  cut  off 
from  the  western  portion  of  Dakota.  In  1889 
Dakota  territory  was  divided  into  almost  ecjual 
portions  and  both  sections  were  admitted  as 
states  on  the  2d  day  of  November  of  that  year. 

The  foregoing,  in  brief,  is  the  history  of  the 
many  changes  in  the  sovereignty  over  the  soil  of 
South  Dakota.  Each  of  the  recent  movements 
will  be  treated  at  large  in  subsequent  chapters. 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE    LEWIS    AND    CLARKE    EXPEDITION. 


In  the  last  preceding  chapter  was  related  the 
storv  of  the  first  inception  of  the  Lewis  and 
Clarke  expedition,  in  the  mind  of  President  Jef- 
ferson, some  months  before  the  purchase  of 
Louisiana  was  consummated  or  even  officially 
suggested.  Congress  having  secretly  authorized 
the  expedition  and  provided  the  magnificent  sum 
of  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars — all  that 
was  asked — to  carry  it  out,  the  President  chose 
Captain  ^Merriweather  Lewis  and  William  Clarke 
to  execute  it.  Lewis  was  the  private  secretary  of 
Jeft'erson  and  was  in  the  enterprise  from  its  in- 
ception. He  had  grown  up  immediately  tender 
the  eye  of  Jefferson,  a  son  of  one  of  the  old 
Virginia  families  residing  very  near  to  Monti- 
cello.  Lewis  was  a  born  woodsman,  who  from 
childhood  had  been  renowned  for  his  absolute 
fearlessness  coupled  with  great  energy  and  good 
judgment. 

Immediately  after  the  provision  for  the  trip 
had  been  made  >  Jeff erson  hurried  Lewis  off  to 
Philadelphia  to  take  under  Dr.  Barton,  a  learned 
instructor  of  that  period,  a  short  course  in  natural 
science  and  in  taking  celestial  observations  and 
calculating  latitude  and  longitude.  By  the  first 
of  June  he  had  completed  this  work  and  was  back 
in  Washington.  It  now  occurred  to  Jefferson 
that  it  would  add  to  the  safety  and  success  of  the 
expedition  to  send  it  in  duplicate:  that  is,  that 
there  should  be  two  complete  organizations  mov- 
ing together,  so  that  in  the  event  of  an  accident 


there  would  be  less  likelihood  of  the  loss  of 
records  and  of  the  benefits  which  it  was  hoped 
would  be  derived  from  the  trip.  At  the  sug- 
gestion of  Lewis,  Jefferson  commissioned  William 
Clarke,  a  Mrginian  and  a  brother  of  the  re- 
nowned George  Rodgers  Clarke,  to  accompany 
Lewis  and  clothed  him  with  equal  powers.  Four 
intelligent  sergeants,  Floyd,  Pryor,  Gass  and 
Ordway,  were  also  selected  and  it  was  arranged 
that  each  should  keep  an  independent  journal  of 
the  events  and  discoveries  of  the  trip  so  that  it 
could  hardly  fail  that  from  some  one  of  them  a 
full  report  could  be  obtained.  All  along  Jeffer- 
son reiterated  the  suggestion  of  the  message  of 
January  i8th,  that  the  expedition  was  in  the 
interests  of  "commerce  and  literature." 

The  commandants  of  the  expedition  had 
reached  Pittsburg  on  their  way  to  the  Missouri 
before  the  news  of  the  purchase  of  Louisiana 
reached  them.  They  proceeded  to  St.  Louis, 
where -they  completed  their  preparations  and  pur- 
chased necessary  supplies  and  employed  river 
men  to  assist  them  on  the  arduous  trip.  They 
spent  the  winter  in  a  camp  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Mississippi  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Mis- 
souri. While  still  encamped  there  Lewis  and 
Clarke  went  down  to  St.  Louis  on  :\Iay  9,  1804, 
and  assisted  in  the  exercises  attending  the  formal 
transfer  of  Louisiana  to  the  United  States.  L'p  to 
that  time  the  actual  possession  and  government 
of  Louisiana  had  remained  in  the  hands  of  Spain. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


59 


First  the  flag  of  Spain  was  lowered  as  the  gov- 
ernor and  Spanish  garrison  marched  out  and  the 
French  flag  was  hoisted  to  the  mast  head.  It 
was  the  plan  to  take  this  down  at  once  and  hoist 
the  stars  and  stripes,  but  the  French  Creoles 
begged  to  be  allowed  to  keep  the  lilies  of  France 
afloat  for  one  day  and  the  request  was  acceded 
to.  All  night  of  the  9th  a  guard  of  honor,  con- 
sisting of  the  leading  citizens  of  St.  Louis,  among 
them  old  Pierre  John  Chouteau,  watched  the  old 
flag  which  was  permitted  to  float  until  sundown 
of  the  loth,  when  it  was  lowered,  never  since  to 
be  raised  over  the  soil  of  any  portion  of  North 
America.  "The  people  went  to  bed  Frenchmen 
that  night  to  arise  Americans  next  morning,"  for 
the  first  sight  that  greeted  their  eyes  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  nth  was  old  glory  floating  over  the 
citadel  of  St.  Louis. 

The  primitive  manner  of  the  equipment  may 
be  judged  from  a  circumstance  occurring  at  St 
Louis.  Dr.  Saugrin,  a  French  scientist  and  a 
refugee  from  the  French  revolution,  induced 
them  to  believe  their  equipment  was  not  complete 
without  a  thermometer.  Captain  Lewis  knew  as 
little  about  thermometers  as  he  did  about  tele- 
phones, but  was  willing  to  take  one  along.  Now 
in  all  St.  Louis  there  was  not  a  thermometer,  nor 
the  proper  material  to  make  one,  but  Dr.  Saugrin, 
nothing  dismayed,  scraped  the  quicksilver  from 
the  back  of  his  wife's  French  mirror  and  then 
melted  up  the  looking  glass  itself  and  so  obtained 
the  material  for  the  thermometer,  which  he  made 
and  presented  to  Captain  Lewis,  and  with  it  a 
fair  notion  of  the  temperature  was  kept  daily  until 
at  the  top  of  the  Rocky  mountains  an  accident  be- 
fell it  and  it  was  broken. 

The  members  of  the  party  comprising  the 
Lewis  and  Clarke  expedition  were  as  follows: 
Capt.  Merriweather  Lewis,  a  relative  of  Wash- 
ington's and  next  friend  of  Jeflferson's ;  Capt. 
William  Clarke,  brother  to  Gen.  George  Rodgers 
Clarke:  Sergeants  Charles  Floyd  and  Xathanial 
Pr}'or,  of  Kentucky,  cousins  and  both  of  dis- 
tinguished families :  Sergeant  John  Ordway,  of 
New  Hampshire,  uncle  of  Nehemiah  G.  Ordwav. 
governor  of  Dakota  territory,  1880-84 :  Sergeant 
Patrick    Gass :    Corporal    Warfington :  John   B. 


Thompson,  of  Vincennes,  a  surveyor ;  William 
Bratton,  blacksmith ;  John  Shields,  gunsmith ; 
John  Coalter,  Reuben  and  James  Shields,  William 
Warner  and  Joseph  Whitehouse,  of  Kentucky ; 
George  Shannon,  brother  of  Wilson  Shannon, 
twice  governor  of  Ohio  and  once  of  Kansas ; 
George  Gibson,  Hugh  McNeal,  John  Potts,  Peter 
Weiser,  all  of  Pennsylvania ;  Thomas  P.  Howard, 
of  Massachusetts ;  John  Collins,  of  Maryland ; 
Robert  Frazer,  of  Vermont ;  Silas  Goodrich, 
Richard  Winsor,  Hugh  Hall  and  Alexander  Wil- 
lard,  whose  state  is  not  known,  and  six  unnamed 
soldiers  enlisted  at  St.  Louis;  George  Druillard 
(Drooyar),  son  of  old  Pierre  Druillard,  of  Indi- 
ana fame  (there  are  many  of  George  Druillard's 
descendants  still  in  South  Dakota  and  Min- 
nesota), was  the  official  guide  to  the  expedition; 
York,  the  negro  servant  to  Captain  Clarke; 
Pierre  Dorion,  interpreter  to  the  Sioux  (Dorian's 
wife  was  a  Yankton  from  lower  Jim  river)  ; 
Pierre  Cruzatte  and  Labiche,  expert  canoemen 
from  Kaskaskia,  and  five  other  French  river 
men.  Patrick  Gass  was  the  carpenter  of  the  ex- 
pedition and  Captain  Clarke,  who  possessed  some 
rudimentary  knowledge  of  medicine,  being,  in 
the  fomiula  of  his  day,  "qualified  to  administer 
simples,"  was  given  charge  of  the  medicine  chest. 

The  Chouteaus  and  all  of  the  well-known 
pioneer  families  of  St.  Louis  appear  to  have 
e.xerted  themselves  to  assist  in  the  success  of  the 
enterprise,  except  Manual  Lisa,  the  Spanish 
trader,  who,  with  characteristic  perverseness,  op- 
posed it  and  used  his  influence  with  the  Indians  to 
hinder  it.  The  expedition  was  outfitted  with  two 
pirogues  and  one  bateau.  The  former  were 
painted  red  and  white ;  the  bateau  was  much 
larger  than  the  pirogues  and  was  fifty-five  feet 
long  and  had  twenty-two  oars.  All  of  the  boats 
were  equipped  with  sails.  In  addition  they  had 
several  light  canoes.  The  bateau  was  decked, 
had  cosy  cabins  and  was  quite  a  pretentious  craft. 

It  was  three  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  Mon- 
day, May  14,  1804,  when  the  expedition  finally 
got  under  way  and  the  stems  of  the  little  fleet 
turned  up  the  muddy  course  of  the  Missouri. 
They  moved  very  slowly,  critically  examining  the 
country  as  they  progressed,  especially  noting  the 


6o 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


conditions  of  the  Indians  and  holding  councils 
with  every  tribe  they  could  reach.  Nothing  hav- 
ing a  bearing  upon  the  histors"  of  South  Dakota 
occurred  for  several  weeks.  On  the  night  of  the 
19th  of  August  the  party  arrived  at  the  present 
site  of  Sioux  City  and  Sergeant  Floyd  was  suf- 
fering with  a  bilious  colic.  He  was  given  the 
best  of  care  and  attention  possible  in  the  circum- 
stances, but  Captain  Clarke's  simples  failed  to 
give  relief.  He  fully  realized  that  he  was  smitten 
with  death,  but  faced  the  inevitable  like  the  brave 
man  that  he  was.  Where  the  beautiful  Floyd 
monument  now  looks  down  upon  Sioux  City  he 
was  buried  with  military  honors,  and  the  little 
stream  which  washes  the  foot  of  the  bluff  below 
his  grave  was  named  for  him.  The  next  day, 
August  21,  1804,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
the  expedition  passed  the  Sioux  river  and  entered 
South  Dakota,  and  here  is  the  wonderful  fabric 
of  fact  and  fancy,  relating  to  the  Big  Sioux,  with 
which  the  loquacious  Pierre  Dorion  regaled  them 
and  which  story  the  Captains  gravely  set  down  in 
their  journals  for  the  enlightenment  of  the  world, 
or  as  Jefferson  put  it,  "to  increase  the  sum  of 
human  knowledge :" 

"Three  miles  beyond  Floyd's  we  came  to  the 
mouth  of  the  great  Sioux  river.  This  river  comes 
in  from  the  north  and  is  about  one  hundred  and 
ten  yards  wide.  Mr.  Dorion,  our  Sioux  inter- 
preter, who  is  well  acquainted  with  it,  says  that  it 
is  navigable  upwards  of  two  hundred  miles  to  the 
falls  and  even  beyond  them ;  that  its  sources  are 
near  those  of  the  St.  Peter's.  He  also  says  that 
below  the  falls  a  creek  falls  in  from  the  eastward, 
after  passing  through  cliffs  of  red  rock ;  of  this 
rock  the  Indians  make  their  pipes  and  the  neces- 
sity 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  even  among 
savages  certain  principles  deemed  sacred,  by 
which  the  rigors  of  their  merciless  system  of  war- 
fare are  mitigated.  A  sense  of  common  danger, 
where  stronger  ties  are  wanting,  gives  all 
the  binding  force  of  more  solemn  obligations.    A 


high  wind  that  day  filled  the  air  with  dust  from 
the  sand  bars.  They  camped  that  night  on  the 
Nebraska  shore,  twenty-four  miles  above  Floyd's 
grave." 

August  22d  they  made  some  remarkable  dis- 
coveries  in   geolog}",   minerolog}"   and   medicine. 
j  The  reference  in  the  journal  is  to  the  bluffs  on 
I  the  Nebraska  shore  midway  between  Sioux  City 
j  and  Elk  Point:     "The  bluffs,   which  reach  the 
!  river    at    this    place,    contain    copperas,    alum, 
cobalt,  which  had  the  appearance  of  soft  isinglass, 
I  pyrites  and   sandstone,  the  first  two  very  pure. 
j   Seven  miles  above  is  another  cliff,  on  the  same 
I  side,  of  alum  rock,  of  a  dark  brown  color,  con- 
taining in  its  crevices  great  quantities  of  cobalt, 
cemented  shells  and  red  earth.     From  this  the 
river  bends  to  the  eastward  to  within  three  or 
four  miles  of  the  Sioux.  We  made  nineteen  miles 
and  made  our  camp  on  the  north  side  (where  Elk 
Point  now  stands).     Captain  Lewis,  in  proving 
the  quality  of  some  of  the  substances  in  the  first 
cliff,  was  considerably  injured  by  the  fumes  and 
taste  of  the  cobalt  and  took  some  strong  medicine 
to  relieve  him  of  the  effects.     The  appearance  of 
these  mineral  substances  enable  us  to  account  for 
disorders  of  the  stomach  with  which  the  party 
had  been  affected  since  they  left  the  Sioux.    We 
had  been  in  the  habit  of  dipping  up  water  of  the 
river  inadvertantly  and  making  use  of  it,  until,  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  the  bluff's.    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  boils,  too,  which  had  afflicted  the  men, 
were  not  observed  beyond  the  Sioux  river.     In 
order  to  supply  the  place  made  vacant  b\-  the 
death  of  Sergeant  Floyd,  we  allowed  the  men  to 
name  three  men  and   Patrick  Gass.  having  the 
j  greatest  number  of  votes,  was  made  a  sergeant." 
I         The  next  day,  while  passing  the  prairie  be- 
I  tween   Elk   Point   and   Burbank,   Captain   Lewis 
killed  a  buffalo,  the  first  thev  had  seen  on  the 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


6i 


trip.  They  salted  two  barrels  of  beef  from  this 
animal.  From  the  circumstance  they  named  the 
region  Buffalo  prairie. 

On  the  24th  they  examined  "a  bluff  of  blue 
clay,  which  lately  had  been  on  fire,  and  even  now 
the  ground  is  so  warm  that  we  cannot  keep  our 
hands  in  it  at  any  depth ;  there  are  strong  ap- 
pearances of  coal  and  also  great  quantities  of 
cobalt  or  a  crystalized  substance  resembling  it." 
That  day  they  discovered  their  first  buffalo  ber- 
ries and  passed  the  mouth  of  the  A'ermillion, 
which  they  call  the  Whitestone,  and  were  vastly 
annoyed  by  mosquitoes. 

The  next  day  Captains  Lewis  and  Clarke  took 
ten  men  and  went  to  examine  Spirit  mound,  "an 
object  deemed  very  extraordinar}'  by  all  the 
neighboring  Indians."  They  dropped  back  down 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Whitestone,  which  they  found 
to  be  thirty  yards  wide,  where  they  left  the  boat 
and  at  the  distance  of  two  hundred  yards  as- 
cended a  rising  ground  from  which  a  plain  ex- 
tended itself  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  After 
walking  four  miles  they  crossed  the  creek  where 
it  is  twenty-three  yards  wide  and  waters  an  ex- 
tensive 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  until  after  four  hours'  march  that  we 
reached  the  object  of  our  visit.  This  was  a  large 
mound  in  the  midst  of  the  plain  about  twenty 
degrees  northwest  from  the  mouth  of  the  creek, 
from  which  it  is  nine  miles  distant.  The  base  of 
the  mound  is  a  regular  parallelogram,  the  longest 
side  being  about  three  hundred  yards,  the  shorter 
sixty  or  sevent}-.  From  the  longest  side  it  rises 
with  a  steep  ascent  from  the  north  and  south  to 
the  height  of  sixty-five  or  seventy  feet,  leaving 
on  top  a  level  plain  of  twelve  feet  in  breadth  and 
ninety  feet  in  length.  The  north  and  south  ex- 
tremities are  connected  by  two  oval  borders 
which  ser\-e  as  new  bases  and  divide  the  whole 
side  into  three  steep  but  regular  graduations  from 
the  plain.  The  only  thing  characteristic  in  the 
hill  is  its  extreme  symmetry  and  this,  together 
with  its  being  detached  from  other  hills,  which 
are  at  a  distance  of  eight  or  nine  miles,  would  in- 
duce a  belief  that  it  is  artificial ;  but  as  the  earth 


and  the  loose  pebbles  which  compose  it  are  ar- 
ranged exactly  like  the  steep  ground  on  the 
border  of  the  creek  we  concluded  from  this 
similarity  of  texture  that  it  might  be  natural. 
But  the  Indians  have  made  it  a  great  article  of 
their  superstition ;  it  is  called  the  "mountain  of 
little  people,"  or  little  spirits,  and  they  believe  that 
it  is  the  abode  of  little  devils  in  human  fomi,  of 
about  eighteen  inches  high  and  with  remarkably 
large  heads ;  they  are  armed  with  sharp  arrows, 
with  which  they  are  ver\'  skillful,  and  are  always 
on  the  watch  to  kill  those  who  have  the  hardi- 
hood to  approach  their  residence.  The  tradition 
is  that  many  have  suffered  from  these  little  evil 
spirits  and,  among  others,  three  Maha  Indians 
fell  a  sacrifice  to  them  a  few  years  since.  This 
has  inspired  all  the  neighboring  nations,  Sioux, 
Mahas  and  Ottoes,  with  such  terror  that  no  con- 
sideration could  tempt  them  to  visit  the  hill.  We 
saw  none  of  these  wicked  little  spirits,  nor  any 
place  for  them,  except  some  small  holes  scattered 
over  the  top ;  we  were  happy  enough  to  escape 
their  vengeance  though  we  remained  some  time  on 
the  mound  to  enjoy  the  prospect  of  the  plain, 
which  spreads  itself  out  until  the  eye  rests  upon 
the  northeast  hills  at  a  great  distance  and  those 
of  the  northwest  at  a  still  further  distance,  en- 
livened bv  large  herds  of  buffaloes.  The  soil  of 
these  plains  is  exceedingly  fine ;  there  is,  how- 
ever, no  timber  except  on  the  Missouri,  all  the 
wood  of  the  Whitestone  river  being  not  suf- 
ficient to  cover  one  hundred  acres  thickly.  The 
plain  which  surrounds  this  mound  has  con- 
tributed not  a  little  of  its  bad  reputation ;  the 
wind  driving  from  every  direction  over  the  level 
ground,  obliges  the  insects  to  seek  shelter  on 
its  leeward  side  or  be  driven  against  us  by  the 
wind.  The  small  birds,  whose  food  they  are,  re- 
sort of  course  in  great  numbers  in  quest  of  sub- 
sistence ;  and  the  Indians  always  seem  to  discover 
an  unusual  number  of  birds  as  produced  by  some 
supernatural  cause ;  among  them  we  observed 
the  brown  marten  employed  in  looking  for  insects, 
and  so  gentle  that  they  did  not  fly  until  we  got 
within  a  few  feet  of  them."  At  one  o'clock  they 
left  the  mound  and  rejoined  the  expedition, 
which    had    moved    slowly    up    stream,    at    nine 


62 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


o'clock  that  evening  at  the  encampment  on  the 
Meckling  Bottom. 

On  the  27th  they  passed  the  mouth  of  Jim 
ri-\-er.  which  they  inform  us  is  called  by  the 
French  both  Jacques  and  Yankton  river,  and  that 
it  may  be  navigated  a  great  distance  as  its  sources 
rise  near  those  of  the  St.  Peter's  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  the  Red  river  of  Lake  Winnipeg. 
At  the  mouth  of  the  river  an  Indian  boy  swam 
out  to  them  and  upon  landing  they  w-ere  met 
b}-  two  others  who  told  them  there  was  a  large 
body  of  Yanktons  camped  in  the  vicinity.  Two 
of  the  Indians  went  with  three  soldiers  to  invite 
the  camp  to  meet  the  captains  at  the  next  camp. 
They  camped  that  night  on  the  Dakota  shore 
somewhere  between  Yankton  and  the  mouth  of 
the  Jim,  but  next  morning  moved  up  to  the 
former  site  of  Green  island  where  they  went 
into  camp  to  meet  the  Yanktons.  Pryor,  one  of 
the  men  who  was  sent  to  invite  in  the  Indians, 
found  them,  twelve  miles  up  the  Jim.  He  re- 
turned to  the  camp  at  Green  island,  accom- 
panied by  young  Pierre  Dorion,  the  son  of  their 
old  interpreter,  whom  we  shall  hear  from  again 
as  the  guide  and  interpreter  of  the  Astoria  ex- 
pedition. They  were  attended  by  five  chiefs  and 
seventy  young  men  and  boys.  Pryor  was  sent 
back  to  the  Yankton  camp  with  some  small 
presents  and  an  invitation  for  the  Yanktons  to 
come  down  to  see  the  captains  and  hold  a  council 
next  morning.  The  Yankton  home  of  that  day 
is  described  as  follows :  The  camps  of  the  Sioux 
are  of  a  conical  form,  covered  with  bufifalo 
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. 

At  twelve  o'clock  on  Thursday,  the  30th  of 
August,  the  great  council  with  the  Sioux,  the 
first  ever  held  between  that  people  and  repre- 
sentatives of  the  United  States,  was  held  under  a 
big  oak  tree  on  the  Nebraska  shore  opposite 
Yankton.  The  stars  and  stripes  floated  over 
them  upon  a  high  pole  erected  for  the  purpose 
and  there  was  great  solemnity  observed.     Cap- 


tain Lewis  made  the  speech.  Shake  Hand,  the 
head  chief,  was  given  a  flag,  a  medal,  a  cer- 
tificate, a  string  of  wampum  and  an  officer's 
red  coat  richly  laced  with  gold :  three  subsidiary 
chiefs  were  given  medals  and  general  presents 
were  given  to  the  tribe.  That  night  the  entire 
party  indulged  in  a  great  dance,  continuing  to 
a  late  hour.  The  next  morning  the  chiefs  came 
in  to  reply  to  the  address  made  by  Captain 
Lewis  on  Thursday,  the  Indians  having  held  a 
council  among  themselves  in  the  meantime  to 
deliberate  upon  the  matter.  Shake  Hand  spoke, 
acknowledging  allegiance  to  the  new  power,  the 
President  of  the  United  States.  He  then  made 
a  t}T)ical  Sioux  plea,  parading  the  poverty  of  his 
people  and  begging  for  presents.  White  Crane. 
Half  J\Ian  and  Struck  by  the  Pawnee  then  spoke 
in  the  same  line.  Struck  by  the  Pawnee  has 
frequently  been  confused  with  Strike  the  Ree ; 
the  latter  was  but  a  child  nine  years  of  age,  but 
he  was  in  attendance  at  this  council  and  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  in  1887,  he  retained  a 
vivid  recollection  of  all  that  transpired  there. 
One  of  the  demands  of  the  chiefs  in  their  talks 
in  this  council  w"as  for  a  supply  of  their  "great 
Father's  milk,"  meaning  spirituous  liquors.  At 
this  camp  they  left  old  Pierre  Dorion  with  in- 
structions to  take  a  delegation  of  the  Sioux 
down  to  Washington. 

"These  Yanktons,"  says  the  journal,  "are 
about  two  hundred  men  in  number  and  inhabit 
the  Jacques,  Des  IMoines  and  Sioux  rivers.  In 
their  persons  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  nation  whom  we  saw.  They  are 
fond  of  decorations  and  use  paint,  porcupine 
quills  and  feathers.  Some  of  them  wore  a  kind 
of  necklace  of  white  bears'  claws,  three  inches 
long  and  closely  stnmg  together  around  their 
necks.  The}'  have  only  a  few  fowling  pieces, 
being  generally  armed  with  bows  and  arrows,  in 
which,  however,  they  do  not  appear  to  be  as  ex- 
pert as  the  more  northei^n  Indians,  and  what 
struck  us  most  was  an  institution,  peculiar  to 
them  and  to  the  Kite  (Crow)  Indians  farther  to 
the  westward,  from  whom  it  is  said  to  have  been 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


63 


copied.  It  is  an  association  of  most  active  and 
brave  young  men,  secured  by  a  vow  never  to  re- 
treat before  any  danger,  or  give  way  to  their 
enemies.  In  war  they  go  forward  without  shel- 
tering themselves  behind  trees  or  aiding  their 
natural  valor  by  any  artifice.  This  punctillious 
determination  not  to  be  turned  from  their  course 
became  heroic,  or  ridiculous,  a  short  time  since 
when  the  Yanktons  were  crossing  the  Alissouri 
on  the  ice.  A  hole  lay  immediately  in  their 
course  which  might  easily  have  been  avoided  by 
going  around.  This  the  foremost  of  the  band 
disdained  to  do,  but  went  straight  forward  and 
was  lost.  The  others  followed  his  example,  but 
were  forcibly  prevented  by  the  rest  of  the  tribe. 
These  young  men  sit  and  encamp  and  dance  to- 
gether distinct  from  the  rest  of  the  nation  ;  they 
are  generally  about  thirty  or  thirty-five  }ears  old. 
Such  is  the  deference  paid  to  their  courage  that 
their  seats  in  council  are  superior  to  those  of  the 
chiefs,  but,  as  may  be  supposed,  such  indiscreet 
bravery  would  soon  diminish  the  numbers  of 
those  who  practice  it ;  so  that  the  band  is  now  re- 
duced to  four  warriors  who  were  among  our 
visitors.  These  were  the  remains  of  twenty-two 
who  composed  the  society  not  long  ago,  but  in 
a  battle  with  the  Kite  Indians  of  the  Black 
Mountains  eighteen  of  them  were  killed,  and 
these  four  were  dragged  from  the  field  by  their 
companions.'" 

From  the  Yanktons  the  party  obtained  its 
first  idea  of  the  organization  of  the  Dakota 
Sioux :  crude  enough  it  was,  but  nevertheless 
somewhat  in  'line  with  what  we  now  know  about 
it.  (  See  the  analysis  of  the  Sioux  in  Chapter 
111  of  this  work.)  The  following  is  Lewis 
and  Clarke's  interpretation  : 

The  Sioux  or  Daeorta  Indians  originally  settled 
on  the  Mississippi,  and  called  by  Carver  Madowes- 
ians.  are  now  subdivided  into  tribes  as  follows: 

First,  the  Yanktons.  This  tribe  inhabits  the 
Sioux,  Desmoines  and  Jacques  rivers  and  numbers 
about   two  hundred   men. 

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  Te- 


ton 


Third,  the  Tetons  Okandandas,  a  tribe  consisting 


of  about  one  hundred  fifty  men,  who  inhabit  both 
sides  of  the  Missouri  l>elow  the  Cheyenne.  (I  am 
not  able  to  identify  this  band  with  any  of  the  modern 
bands  of  Tetons.  They  may  have  been  the  Oglallas 
or  Uncpapas. ) 

Fourth,  Tetons  Minnakennozzo  (Minneconjous), 
a  nation  inhabiting  both  sides  of  the  Missouri  above 
the  Cheyenne  river  and  containing  about  two  hun- 
dred fifty  men. 

Fifth,  Tetons  Saone.  (These  were  doubtless  the 
Blackfeet.)  These  inhabit  both  sides  of  the  Mis- 
souri, below  the  Warreconne.  (This  stream  is  now- 
called  Beaver  creek  and  falls  into  the  Missouri  from 
the  east,  through  Emmons  county.  North  Dakota.) 
They  consist  of  three  hundred   men. 

Sixth,  Yanktons  of  the  Plains,  or  Big  Devils 
( Yanktonais).  who  rove  on  the  headwaters  of  the 
Sioux,  Jaques  and  Red  rivers  and  number  five  hun- 
dred men. 

Seventh.  Wahpatone,  a  nation  residing  on  St. 
Peters,  just  above  the  mouth  of  that  river,  and  num- 
bering two  hundred  men. 

Eighth,  the  Mindawarcarton,  or  proper  Daeorta, 
or  Sioux  Indians  (M'dewakantonwan.)  These  pos- 
sess the  original  seat  of  the  Sioux  and  are  properly 
so  named.  They  rove  on  both  sides  of  the  Mississippi 
about  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  and  consist  of  two 
hundred  men. 

Ninth,  the  Wahpatopta.  or  Leaf  Buds  (Wakpeku- 
ta.)  This  nation  inhabits  both  sides  of  the  St.  Peters 
below  the  Yellowwood  (Yellow  Medicine),  amounting 
to  one  hundred  fifty  men. 

Sistasoone.  This  nation  numbers  two  hundred 
men  and  reside  at  the  head  of  the  St.  Peters. 

As  will  be  observed,  this  would  give  to  the 
Sioux  at  the  beginning  of  the  last  century  a  total 
fighting  strength  of  twenty-five  hundred  fifty 
men.  There  is  excellent  reason  for  the  belief 
that  Lewis  and  Clarke  underestimated  the 
strength  of  the  Sioux,  as  they  did  that  of  most 
of  the  tribes  with  which  they  came  in  contact. 

Having  remained  in  the  vicinity  of  Yankton 
from  Monday,  the  27th  of  August,  until  Satur- 
day, September  1st,  the  expedition  proceeded  up 
the  river.  They  speak  of  the  chalk  rock  bluflfs, 
just  west  of  Yankton,  as  White  Bear  cliffs,  from 
the  circumstance  that  a  White  Bear  was  recently 
killed  in  a  cave  in  the  side  of  the  precipice.  That 
night  they  camped  on  the  lower  end  of  Bon- 
Honime  island  and  the  next  day  remained  there 
to  examine  the  su])posed  prehistoric  earth-work, 
a  description  of  which  will  be  found  in  Chapter 


64 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


n  of  this  history.  They  went  on,  on  the  3d, 
without  noteworthy  incident,  camping  on  the 
Nebraska  side  and  on  the  4th  passed  the  Niobrara 
and  camped  on  the  west  side  just  above  that 
stream. 

Neither  did  the  5th  or  6th  bring  to  them  any 
adventure,  but  upon  Saturday,  the  8th,  at  a 
"round  mountain  on  the  south  side"  they  found 
their  first  prairie  dogs  and  enjoyed  great  sport 
in  attempting  to  capture  one.  Into  one  of  the 
holes  they  poured  five  barrels  of  water  without 
filling  it.  They  managed  to  secure  one  or  two 
specimens.  On  the  8th  they  reached  the  Pawnee 
House.  Trudeau's  trading  post,  which  was  lo- 
cated on  the  north  side  of  the  river  just  above 
Fort  Randall.  The  journal  says,  "We  reached 
a  house  on  the  north  side,  called  the  Pawnee 
House,  where  a  trader  named  Trudeau  wintered 
in  1796-7."  This  would  indicate  that  the  post 
had  been  abandoned,  but  it  is  pretty  certain  that 
it  was  again  occupied  and  trade  carried  on  with 
the  Poncas  and  Pawnees  from  that  point  for 
many  years.  The  house  is  said  to  have  been 
burned  in    1816. 

Sunday  they  made  fourteen  miles  through 
prairies  covered  with  bufitaloes  and  groves  filled 
with  elks  and  on  Monday,  when  near  Bijou  hills, 
they  found  the  petrified  remains  of  a  plesiosaurus. 
fort\-five  feet  long,  stretched  on  the  top  of  a 
knoll.  On  the  return  trip,  two  years  later,  they 
stopped  and  gathered  up  a  portion  of  it  and  sent 
it  to  \\'ashington  where  it  has  been  completely 
restored  and  is  still  kept  in  the  national  museum. 

Sunday.  August  26th,  while  encamped  on  the 
bottom  below  Meckling,  their  two  horses  strayed 
awa}-  and  the  boy,  George  Shannon,  was  sent 
in  pursuit.  Seventeen  days  had  elapsed  without 
word  from  him  and  the  captains  admit  that  they 
were  becoming  uneasy  about  his  safety.  On  Sep- 
tember nth,  when  just  above  the  Bijou  Hills, 
he  showed  up  with  one  of  the  horses,  the  other 
having  given  out  and  he  had  been  compelled  to 
abandon  it.  He  had  exhausted  his  supply  of 
nmmunition  and  was  almost  starved.  \\'hile  the 
party  was  encamped  at  Yankton  and  having  a  big 
carouse  with  the  Yanktons  he  had  passed  them 
and  kept  on  up  the  river.     Finally  coming  to  the 


conclusion  that  he  was  ahead  of  the  party,  he 
turned  back  and  found  them  as  stated.  They 
encountered  a  spell  of  bad  weather  on  the  12th, 
13th  and  14th  and  did  not  reach  the  mouth  of 
White  river  until  the  15th.  They  spent  the  14th 
searching  for  a  volcano  which  they  were  in- 
formed, when  down  at  St.  Charles,  Missouri, 
they  would  find  on  the  south  shore  at  about  this 
point,  but  were  disappointed. 

They  say  that  "at  the  confluence  of  the  White 
and  the  Missouri  is  an  excellent  position  for  a 
town,  the  land  rising  by  three  gradual  ascents 
and  the  neighborhood  furnishing  more  timber 
than  is  usual  in  this  country."  They  describe 
American  island,  at  Chamberlain :  "The  island 
bears  an  abundance  of  grapes  and  is  covered  with 
cedar ;  it  also  contains  a  number  of  rabbits."  The 
next  day.  Sunday,  the  i6th,  they  remained  in 
camp  at  the  site  of  old  Fort  Lookout  while  they 
repacked  their  goods  and  mended  their  boats. 
Monday  was  also  occupied  in  the  same  way  and 
on  Tuesday,  the  17th,  resumed  their  journey 
without  incident  until  the  19th  when  they  came 
to  three  streams  entering  the  river  near  to  e.ich 
other  called  "the  three  rivers  of  the  Sioux." 
]  Here  they  say  the  Sioux  generally  cross  the  river 
I  at  this  point  and  that  "it  is  neutral  ground  where 
j  enemies  may  meet  without  molestation  the  same 
as  at  Pipestone."  Crow  creek  must  be  one  of  the 
streams  referred  to  in  the  journal.  On  the  20th 
they  made  the  circuit  of  the  big  bend.  Captain 
j  Clarke  and  two  hunters  crossed  the  narrow 
gorge,  while  the  rest  went  around  with  the  Ixjats. 
;  They  found  it  to  be  two  thousand  yards  across 
the  gorge.  While  encamped  that  night  near  the 
north  side  of  the  throat  of  the  bend  they  had 
a  thrilling  experience.  "Between  one  and  twa 
o'clock  the  sergeant  on  guard  alarmed  us  by 
crving  that  the  sandbar  on  which  we  lay  was 
sinking,  ^^'e  jumped  up  and  found  that  both 
above  and  below  our  camp  the  sand  was  under- 
mined and  fast  falling  in :  we  had  .scarcely  got 
into  the  boats  and  pushed  oflf  when  the  bank 
under  wliich  we  had  been  lying  fell  in.  and  would 
have  certainly  sunk  the  two  pirogues  if  they 
had  remained  there.  By  the  time  we  reached  tjie 
opiwsite   shore   the  ground   of  our   encam]-)niont 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


65 


sunk  also."  On  the  22d  they  reached  Loisell's 
post,  located  on  Cedar  island,  thirty-five  miles 
below  Pierre.  The  journal  says :  "On  the  south 
side  of  this  island  is  a  fort  and  large  trading 
house  built  by  a  Mr.  Loisell  who  wintered  here 
during  the  last  year  in  order  to  trade  with  the 
Sioux,  the  remains  of  whose  camps  are  in  great 
numbers  about  this  place.  The  establishment  is 
sixty  or  seventy  feet  square  and  picketed  in  with 
red  cedar."  Patrick  Gass  describes  it  more 
minutely :  "There  was  a  stockade  built  of  upright 
posts  thirteen  feet  high.  This  stockade  was 
about  seventy  feet  square  and  enclosed  the  post 
proper,  which  was  a  log  building  forty-five  and 
a  half  by  thirty-two  and  a  half  feet,  one  story 
high.  The  post  was  equally  divided  into  four 
rooms,  one  for  a  wareroom,  one  for  trade,  one  a 
common  hall  and  the  last  for  residence  purposes." 
Captain  Chittenden  says :  "Loisell's  post  was 
probably  the  first  trading  establishment  built  in 
the  Sioux  country  along  the  Missouri  river.  It 
was  thirty-five  miles  below  Pierre.  Loisell  was 
in  possession  in  1 803-4.  *  *  *  This  was  prob- 
ably the  real  Fort  Aux  Cedres,  which  is  so  known 
in  the  narratives  of  the  times.  Several  authorities 
s])eak  of  it  as  an  old  ^Missouri  Fur  Company 
post,  but  if  so  it  was  possibly  the  one  which 
burned  in  the  spring  of  1810,  for  no  such  post  is 
mentioned  by  P>radbury  or  Breckenridge  in  181 1, 
or  by  Leavenworth  in  1823." 

On  the  24th,  while  out  hunting,  one  of  the 
men  had  the  only  remaining  horse  stolen  by  In- 
dians, Soon  the  party  was  joined  by  five  In- 
dians who  claimed  to  have  no  knowledge  of  the 
animal,  but  assured  them  that  it  should  be  re- 
turned. That  evening  they  arrived  at  the  Teton 
river,  the  present  site  of  Pierre.  The  next 
morning  a  council  was  held  with  the  principal 
chiefs.  Black  Buffalo  seems  to  have  been  the 
head  man.  They  had  left  Pierre  Dorion  at  Yank- 
ton and  were  therefore  unable  to  carry  on  a  very 
facile  conversation.  They,  however,  gave  the 
chiefs  some  medals  and  to  Black  Buflfalo  a  lace 
uniform  and  a  cocked  hat  and  feather.  "We  then 
invited  the  chiefs  on  board  and  showed  them  the 
lioat,  the  air  gun  and  such  curiosities  as  we 
thought  might  amuse  them.     In  this  we  succeeded 


too  well,"  says  the  captain's  journal,  "for  after 
giving  them  a  quarter  of  a  glass  of  whiskey, 
which  they  seemed  to  like  very  much,  and  sucked 
the  bottle,  it  was  with  much  difficulty  we  could 
get  rid  of  them.  They  at  last  accompanied  Cap- 
tain Clarke  on  shore  in  a  pirogue  with  five  men  ; 
but  it  seems  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 
round  the  mast ;  the  second  chief,  who  affected  in- 
toxication, then  said  that  we  should  not  go  on, 
that  they  had  not  received  presents  enough  from 
us.  Captain  Clarke  told  them  he  would  not  be 
prevented  from  going  on ;  that  we  were  not 
squaws,  but  warriors  ;  that  w'e  were  sent  to  them 
by  our  great  father,  who  could  in  a  moment  ex- 
terminate them.  The  chief  replied  that  he  too 
had  warriors,  and  was  proceeding  to  offer  per- 
sonal violence  to  Captain  Clarke,  who  im- 
mediately drew  his  sword  and  made  a  signal  to 
the  boat  to  prepare  for  action.  The  Indians,  who 
were  surrounding  him,  drew  their  arrows  from' 
their  quivers  and  were  bending  their  bows,  when 
the  swivel  gun  in  the  boat  was  instantly  pointed 
towards  them  and  twelve  of  our  most  determined 
men  jumped  into  the  pirogue  and  joined  Captain 
Clarke.  This  movement  made  an  impression  on 
them,  for  the  grand  chief  ordered  the  young  men 
away  from  the  pirogue  and  they  withdrew  and 
held  a  short  council  with  the  warriors.  Being 
unwilling  to  irritate  them.  Captain  Qarke  then 
came  forward  and  offered  his  hand  to  the  first 
and  second,  chiefs,  who  refused  to  take  it.  He 
then  turned  and  got  into  the  pirogue,  but  had 
not  gone  more  than  ten  paces  when  both  of  the 
chiefs  and  two  of  the  warriors  waded  in  after 
him  and  they  brought  them  on  board.  He  then 
proceeded  for  a  mile  and  anchored  off  a  willow 
island,  which  from  the  circumstances  that  had 
just  occurred  we  called  liad  Humored  island." 

Patrick  Gass  describes  the  foregoing  incident 
in  detail  and  says  Captain  Le\yis  got  the  Indians 
to  leave  the  bateau,  which  was  anchored  out  in 
the  river,  by  telling  them  that  he  had  a  large 
quantity  of  small  pox  in  the  hold.  This  tribe, 
the   captains'    journal    says,    were    Teton    Okan- 


66 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


dandas,  which  I  am  unable  to  identify  with  any 
of  the  present  day  bands.  All  of  the  traditions 
of  the  Siou.x  tell  us  at  that  period  the  Two  Kettle 
band  lived  about  the  mouth  of  the  Teton.  The 
Two  Kettles  call  themselves  the  Oohenopa.  and 
the  Lewis  and  Clarke  name  may  have  been  a 
misinterpretation  of  this,  as  we  have  seen  that 
they  misunderstood  many  of  the  Sioux  words, 
even  so  simple  a  one  as  Dakota  itself,  which  they 
spelled  Dacorta. 

The  courageous  conduct  of  the  white  men  on 
Tuesday'  seemed  to  have  made  an  excellent  im- 
pression upon  the  Indians,  for  the  chiefs  begged 
for  an  opportunit\-  to  show  their  good  will  and 
the  captains  complied.  The  tribe  was  therefore 
assembled  at  a  point  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
river  about  three  miles  north  of  the  Teton.  Cap- 
tain Lewis  first  went  ashore  and  assured  himself 
that  the  disposition  of  the  Indians  was  friendly, 
when  he  returned  to  the  boat  and  himself  and 
Captain  Clarke  then  landed  together.  At  the 
shore  they  were  met  by  a  committee  of  young 
Indians  with  gaily  decorated  bufTalo  robes  who 
took  them  up  separately  and  carried  them  to  the 
council  house  where  the\-  were  given  seats  b}-  the 
side  of  Black  BufTalo.  The  hall  or  council  room 
was  in  the  shape  of  three-quarters  of  a  circle, 
covered  at  the  top  and  sides  with  well-dressed 
skins  neatly  sewed  together.  Lnder  this  shelter 
sat  about  seventy  men,  forming  a  circle 
around  the  chief,  before  whom  were  placed 
a  Spanish  flag  and  the  United  States  flag 
given  them  the  previous  da\-.  This  left  a  vacant 
circle  of  about  six  feet  in  diameter  in  which  the 
pipe  of  peace  was  raised  on  two  forked  sticks 
about  six  or  eight  inches  from  the  ground  and 
under  it  the  down  of  the  swan  was  scattered. 
There  was  also  a  large  fire  over  which  about  four 
hundred  pounds  of  buffalo  meat  was  cooking 
as  a  present  to  the  white  men.  After  a  harangue, 
in  which  Black  Buflfalo  approved  the  conduct  of 
the  captains,  a  feast  was  spread,  preceded  by 
smoking  the  peace  pipe.  The  feast  consisted  of 
dog.  buflfalo  meat  and  a  kind  of  root  resembling 
the  potato.  Following  the  feast  the  hall  was 
cleared  and  a  grand  dance  ensued.  "The  or- 
chestra   was   composed    of   about   ten    men    who 


played  on  a  sort  of  tambourine  formed  of  skin 
stretched  across  a  hoop,  and  made  a  sort  of 
jingling  noise  with  a  long  stick  to  which  the 
hoofs  of  deer  and  goats  were  hung ;  the  third 
instrument  was  a  small  skin  bag  with  pebbles  in 
it :  these,  with  five  or  six  young  men  for  the  vocal 
part,  made  up  the  band.  The  women  then  caine 
forward  highly  decorated,  some  with  poles  in 
their  hands  on  which  scalps  were  hung,  others 
with  guns,  spears  or  different  trophies  taken  in 
war  by  their  husbands,  brothers  or  connections. 
Having  arranged  themselves  in  two  columns,  one 
on  each  side  of  the  fire,  as  soon  as  the  music 
began  they  danced  toward  each  other  until  they 
met  in  the  center,  when  the  rattles  were  shaken 
and  they  all  shouted  and  returned  to  their  places.  ' 
They  have  no  step,  but  shufile  along  on  the 
ground  ;  nor  does  the. music  appear  to  be  anything 
more  than  a  confusion  of  noises,  distinguished 
only  by  hard  or  gentle  blows  upon  the  buffalo 
skin  ;  the  song  is  perfectly  e.xtemporaneous.  In 
the  pauses  of  the  dance  any  man  of  the  company 
comes  forward  and  recites,  in  a  low  gutteral  tone, 
some  little  story  or  incident,  which  is  either 
martial  or  ludicrous,  or,  as  was  the  case  this 
evening,  voluptuous  and  indecent :  this  is  taken 
up  by  the  orchestra  and  the  dancers  who  repeat 
it  in  a  high  strain  and  dance  to  it.  Sometimes 
they  alternate,  the  orchestra  first  performing,  and 
when  it  ceases  the  women  raise  their  voices  and 
make  a  music  more  agreeable,  that  is,  less  in- 
tolerable than  that  of  the  musicians.  The 
dances  of  the  men,  which  are  always  separate 
from  those  of  the  women,  are  conducted  in  very 
nearly  the  same  way.  except  that  they  jump  up 
and  down  instead  of  shuffling,  and  in  the  war 
dances  the  recitations  are  all  of  a  military  cast. 
The  harmony  of  the  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  during  the  evening, 
put  himself  into  a  passion,  broke  one  of  the 
dnmis,  threw  two  of  them  into  the  fire  and  left 
the  band.  They  were  taken  out  of  the  fire  ;  a 
buffalo  held  in  one  hand  and  beaten  with  the 
other  by  several  of  the  company  sup])lied  the 
place  of  the   lost   drum  ami  tambourine  antl  no 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


67 


notice  was  taken  of  the  offensive  conduct  of  the 
man.  We  stayed  until  twelve  o'clock  at  night, 
when  we  informed  the  chiefs  that  they  must  be 
fatigued,  and  retired,  accompanied  by  four  chiefs, 
two  of  whom  spent  the  night  with  us  on  board. 
While  on  shore  we  saw  twenty-five  squaws  and 
about  the  same  number  of  children,  who  had 
been  taken  prisoners  two  weeks  ago  in  a  battle 
with  their  countrymen,  the  Mahas.  In  this  en- 
gagement the  Sioux  destroyed  forty  lodges, 
killed  seventy-five  men,  of  which  we  saw  many 
of  the  scalps,  and  took  these  prisoners  ;  their  ap- 
pearance is  wretched  and  dejected ;  the  woijien 
too  seem  low  in  stature,  course  and  ugly, 
though  their  present  condition  may  diminish 
their  beauty.  We  gave  them  a  variety  of  small 
articles,  such  as  awls  and'  needles,  and  interceded 
for  them  with  the  chiefs,  to  whom  we  recom- 
mended to  follow  the  advice  of  their  great  father 
to  restore  the  prisoners  and  live  in  peace  with 
the  jMahas,  which  they  promised  to  do." 

Then  follows  in  the  journal  an  extended  de- 
scription of  the  personal  characteristics,  habits 
and  dress  of  this  tribe,  being  c^uite  minute  and 
detailed.  The  journal  then  proceeds  :  "While  on 
shore  today  we  witnessed  a  quarrel  between  two 
squaws,  which  appeared  to  be  growing  every 
moment  more  boisterous,  when  a  man  came  for- 
ward, at  whose  approach  every  one  seemed  ter- 
rified and  ran.  He  took  the  squaws  and,  with- 
out any  ceremony,  whipped  them  severely.  In- 
quiring into  the  nature  of  such  summary  justice, 
we  learnt  that  this  man  w-as  an  officer  well  known 
to  this  and  many  other  tribes.  His  duty  is  to 
keep  the  peace  and  the  whole  interior  of  the 
village  is  confided  in  two  or  three  of  these  of- 
ficers, who  are  named  by  the  chief  and  remain 
in  power  some  days,  at  least  until  the  chief  ap- 
points a  successor ;  they  seem  to  be  a  sort  of 
constable  or  sentinel  and  guarding  the  camp  in 
the  night.  The  short  duration  of  their  office  is 
compensated  by  its  authority;  his  power  is 
supreme  and  in  the  suppression  of  any  riot  or  dis- 
turbance no  resistance  is  offered  to  him ;  his  per- 
son is  sacred  and  if  in  the  execution  of  his  duty 
he  strikes  even  a  chief  of  the  second  class  he 
can  not  be  punished  for  his  salutary   insolence. 


In  general  they  accompany  the  person  of  the 
chief,  and  when  ordered  to  any  duty,  however 
dangerous,  it  is  a  point  of  honor  to  die  rather 
than  to  refuse  obedience.  Thus,  when  they  at- 
tempted to  stop  us  yesterday  the  chief  ordered  one 
of  these  men  to  take  possession  of  the  boat.  He 
immediately  put  his  anns  around  the  mast  and, 
as  we  understood,  no  force  except  the  command 
of  a  chief  would  have  induced  him  to  release  his 
hold.  Like  the  other  men,  their  bodies  are  black- 
ened, but  their  distinguishing  mark  is  a  col- 
lection of  two  or  three  raven  skins  fixed  to  the 
girdle  behind  the  back  in  such  a  way  that  the 
tails  stick  out  horizontally  from  the  body.  On 
his  head,  too,  is  a  raven  skin  split  into  two  parts 
and  tied,  so  as  to  let  the  beak  project  from  the 
forehead." 

The  next  day  they  stayed  near  the  same 
place.  Their  guests,  the  two  chiefs,  according  to 
the  Indian  custom,  carried  oft'  the  blankets  upon 
which  they  had  slept  and  that  night  they  stayed 
for  another  dance.  Though  the  journals  assert 
that  the  men  did  not  indulge  in  lascivious  conduct 
until  they  arrived  among  the  Rees,  local  tradition, 
both  at  Yankton  and  at  Pierre,  among  the  Yank- 
tons  and  the  Tetons  respectively,  is  that  the  so- 
journs at  these  points  were  simply  debauches. 
There  are  mixed  bloods  still  on  the  river  who 
proudly  point  to  that  occasion  as  the  root  of  their 
family  tree.  Again  they  took  some  head  men 
to  the  boat  with  them  and  by  a  mishap  lost  their 
anchor  and  in  the  mix-up  which  followed  the 
Indians  became  greatly  alarmed. 

The  next  morning,  the  28th,  when  they  got 
ready  to  start  the  chiefs  refused  to  leave  the  boat 
and  when  finally  they  had  got  rid  of  all  but 
Black  Buffalo  and  were  ready  to  set  sail,  a  lot 
of  the  warriors  sat  down  on  the  rope  which  held 
the  boat  to  the  shore.  This  so  irritated  the  cap- 
tains that  they  were  about  to  fire  upon  them  when 
the  old  chief  explained  that  they  only  wanted 
more  tobacco.  "We  had  already  refused  a  flag 
and  tobacco  to  the  second  chief  who  had  de- 
manded it  with  great  importunity,  but  willing  to 
leave  them  without  going  to  extremities  we  threw 
him  a  carot  of  tobacco,  saying  to  him  'You  have 
told  us  that  you  are  a  great  man  and  have  in- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


fluence ;  now  show  your  influence  by  taking  the 
rope  from  those  men;  and  we  will  then  go  on 
without  any  further  trouble.'  This  appeal  to  his 
pride  had  the  desired  efifect.  He  went  out  of 
the  boat,  gave  the  soldiers  the  tobacco  and  pulling 
the  rope  out  of  their  hands  delivered  it  on  board 
and  we  then  set  sail."  That  day  and  for  several 
days  afterward  they  were  constantly  accosted  by 
the  Tetons,  who  wanted  to  ride  with  them  or  to 
secure  presents,  but  they  would  not  pay  any  at- 
tention to  them.  October  ist  they  arrived  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Cheyenne  and  there  came  upon  the 
trading  house  of  John  Valle  and  met  Valle  and 
a  }-oung  Frenchman  in  his  employ.  From  Valle 
they  got  some  infomiation  about  the  Cheyenne 
which  would  have  done  credit  to  Pierre  Dorion 
himself.  A'alle  told  them  he  had  passed  the  pre- 
vious winter  three  hundred  leagues  (nine  hun- 
dred miles)  up  the  Cheyenne,  under  the  Black 
mountains.  One  hundred  leagues  from  its  mouth 
it  branches,  one  Ijranch  coming  from  the  south, 
the  other,  at  a  distance  of  forty  leagues  from  its 
juncture,  entering  the  Black  mountains,  which 
are  very  high,  covered  with  great  quantities  of 
pine  and  in  some  parts  the  snow  remains  all  sum- 
mer. They  passed  along  up  the  river,  being 
almost  dail}'  hailed  by  Indians  and  noting  the 
abandoned  Ree  towns,  but  meeting  with  no  ad- 
ventures of  note.  On  the  4th  it  turned  very  cold 
and  the  next  morning  there  was  a  white  frost,  j 
On  the  6th  and  7th  they  passed  abandoned  Ree 
towns,  the  huts  in  perfect  preservation  and 
canoes  and  domestic  implements  lying  about  as 
if  ready  for  use  upon  return  of  the  owners.  One 
of  these  was  on  the  east  side  at  the  mouth  of 
what  is  now  called  Steamboat  creek  and  the 
other  on  the  west  at  the  mouth  of  the  Moreau. 
but  by  the  expedition  called  Pork  creek.  On  the 
8th  they  came  to  the  mouth  of  Grand  river,  which 
the  Rees  called  Wetawhoo,  and  also  the  Oak 
creek,  and  upon  Grand  River  island  encountered 
their  first  settlement  of  Rees.  "The  village  is 
situated  in  the  center  of  the  island  and  contains 
sixty  lodges.  The  island  itself  is  three  miles 
long  and  covered  with  fields  in  which  the  Indians 
raise  corn,  beans  and  potatoes.  Several  French- 
men living  among  these  Indians  as  interpreters 


came  back  (to  the  camp)  with  Captain  Lewis, 
and  especially  a  I\Ir.  Gravelines,  a  man  who  has 
acquired  the  language.  The  next  day  the  wind 
was  so  high  that  they  could  not  hold  a  council, 
but  some  of  the  party  went  to  the  village  and  the 
three  principal  chiefs  visited  the  camp.  These 
chiefs  were  Lightning  Crow,  Hay,  from  whom 
a  creek  in  the  vicinity  is  named,  and  Eagle's 
Feather.  "Notwithstanding  the  high  waves  two 
or  three  squaws  rowed  to  us  in  little  canoes 
made  of  a  single  buffalo  skin  stretched  over  a 
frame-work  of  boughs  woven  like  a  basket,  and 
witji  most  perfect  composure.  The  object  which 
seemed  to  astonish  the  Indians  most  was  Captain 
Clark's  servant,  York,  a  remarkabh-  stout,  strong 
negro.  They  had  never  seen  a  being  of  that  color 
and  therefore  flocked  around  him  to  examine  the 
extraordinary  monster.  By  way  of  amusement 
he  told  them  that  he  had  once  been  a  wild  animal 
and  was  caught  and  tamed  by  his  master,  and  to 
convince  them  showed  them  feats  of  strength 
which,  added  to  his  looks,  made  him  more  ter- 
rible than  we  wished  him  to  be. 

"Wednesday,  October  loth,  the  weather  being 
fine  and  as  we  were  desirous  of  assembling  the 
whole  nation  at  once,  we  despatched  Mr.  Grave- 
lines,  who,  with  iNIr.  Tabeau,  another  French 
trader,  had  breakfasted  with  us,  to  invite 
the  chiefs  of  the  two  upper  villages  to  a  con- 
ference, and  after  the  usual  ceremonies  we  ad- 
dressed them  in  the  same  \\-ay  in  which  we  had 
spoken  to  the  Ottoes  and  the  Sioux.  We  then 
made  or  acknowledged  three  chiefs,  one  for  each 
of  the  three  villages,  giving  to  each  a  flag,  a 
medal,  a  red  coat,  a  cocked  hat  and  feather,  also 
some  goods,  paint  and  tobacco,  which  they 
divided  among  themselves.  After  this  the  air 
gun  was  exhibited,  very  much  to  their  astonish- 
ment, nor  were  they  less  surprised  at  the  color 
and  manner  of  York.  On  our  side  we  were 
equally  gratified  at  discovering  that  these 
Arickaras  made  use  of  no  spirituous  liquors  of  any 
kind.  The  example  of  the  traders  who  bring 
it  to  them,  so  far  from  tempting  them,  has  in 
fact  disgusted  them.  Supposing  that  it  was 
agreeable  to  them  as  to  the  other  Indians,  we 
had  at  first  offered  them  whisker,  but  thev  re- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


69 


fused  it  with  the  sensible  remark  that  they  were 
surprised  that  their  father  should  present  to 
them  a  liquor  which  made  them  foolish.  On 
another  occasion  they  observed  to  Mr.  Tabeau 
that  no  man  could  be  their  friend  who  tried  to 
lead  them  into  follies.'  " 

At  one  o'clock  next  da}-  they  set  sail  and 
proceeded  to  the  upper  villages  of  the  Rees,  which 
they  reached  in  one  hour.  These  are  the  villages 
captured  and  destroyed  by  General  Leavenworth 
nineteen  years  later,  and  a  full  description  and 
map  will  be  found  in  the  account  of  the  Ree 
Conquest  in  Chapter  XI  of  this  work.  The 
journal  proceeds : 

"A\'e  visited  both  of  the  villages  and  sat  con- 
versing with  the  chiefs  for  some  time,  during 
which  the}-  presented  us  with  bread  made  of  corn 
and  beans,  also  corn  and  beans  boiled  and  a 
large  rich  bean  which  the}-  take  from  the  mice  of 
the  prairies,  who  discover  and  collect  it.  These 
villages  are  placed  near  to  each  other  on  a  high 
smooth  prairie,  a  fine  situation  except  that  they 
have  no  wood.  The  inhabitants  are  obliged  to 
go  for  this  across  the  river  to  a  timbered  low- 
land opposite  to  them."  The  next  forenoon  they 
remained  with  the  Rees  and  addressed  them  in 
both  villages.  The  Indians  presented  them  with 
a  large  quantity  of  corn,  beans  and  dried 
pumpkin.  One  of  the  chiefs  accompanied  the 
expedition  to  the  Mandans  as  an  emissary  of 
peace,  the  two  nations  being  at  war.  Lewis  and 
Clarke  contribute  the  following  information  to 
the  "sum  of  human  knowledge"  relating  to  the 
history,  nianner  and  custonis  of  these  primitive 
South  Dakotans : 

"The  three  villages  which  we  have  just  left 
is  the  residence  of  a  nation  called  the  Ricaras  ; 
they  were  originally  colonies  of  Pawnees,  who 
established  themselves  on  the  Missouri,  below  the 
Cheyenne,  where  the  traders  still  remember  that 
twenty  years  ago  the}-  occupied  a  number  of 
villages.  From  that  situation  a  number  of  the 
Ricaras  emigrated  to  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Mandans,  with  whom  they  were  then  in  alliance. 
The  rest  of  the  nation  continued  near  the  Chev- 
enne  until  the  year  1797,  in  the  course  of  which, 
distressed   by   tlieir   wars   with   the    Sioux,   thev 


joined  their  countrymen  near  the  Mandans.  Soon 
after  another  war  arose  between  the  Ricaras  and 
the  Mandans,  in  consequence  of  which  the 
former  came  down  to  their  present  location.  In 
this  migration  those  who  had  first  gone  to  the 
^landans  kept  together  and  now  live  in  the  two 
lower  villages,  which  may  now  be  considered  as 
the  Ricaras  proper.  The  third  village  was  com- 
posed of  such  remnants  of  the  villages  as  had 
survived  the  wars.  As  there  were  nine  of  these 
villages,  a  difiference  of  pronounciation  and  some 
difference  of  language  may  be  observed  between 
them  and  the  Ricaras  proper,  who  do  not  un- 
derstand all  the  words  of  these  wanderers.  The 
villages  are  within  four  miles  of  each  other,  the 
two  lower  ones  consisting  of  between  one 
hundred  fifty  and  two  hundred  men  each  and  the 
third  of  three  hundred.  The  Ricaras  are  tall  and 
well  proportioned,  the  women  handsome  and 
lively,  and,  as  among  other  savages,  to  them  falls 
all  the  drudgery  of  the  field  and  the  labors  of  pro- 
curing subsistence,  except  hunting ;  both  sexes  are 
poor,  but  kind  and  generous,  and  although  they 
receive  with  thankfulness  what  is  given  to  them, 
do  not  beg  as  the  Sioux  did,  though  this  praise 
should  be  qualified  by  mentioning-  that  an  axe 
was  stolen  last  night  from  our  cooks.  The  dress 
of  the  men  is  a  simple  pair  of  moccasins,  leggings, 
and  a  cloth  around  the  middle,  over  which  a 
bufifalo  robe  is  occasionally  thrown,  with  their 
hair,  arn-is  and  ears  decorated  with  difTerent 
ornaments.  The  women  wear  moccasins,  leg- 
gings, a  long  shirt  n-iade  of  goats'  skins,  gen- 
erally white  and  fringed,  which  is  tied  around 
the  waist ;  to  these  they  add,  like  the  men,  a 
buffalo  robe  without  the  hair  in  summer.  These 
I  women  are  handsomer  than  the  Sioux ;  both  of 
I  them  are,  however,  disposed  to  be  amorous,  and 
j  our  nien  found  no  difficulty  in  procuring  com- 
panions for  the  night,  by  means  of  the  in- 
terpreters. These  interviews  were  chiefly  clan- 
destine, and  were  of  course  to  be  kept  a  secret 
from  the  husband  or  relations.  The  point  of 
honor,  indeed,  is  completely  reversed  among  the 
Ricaras :  that  the  wife  or  sister  should  submit  to 
a  stranger's  embraces  without  the  consent  of  the 
husband  or  brother  is  a  cause  of  great  disgrace 


•JO 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


and  offense,  especially  as  for  many  purposes  of 
civility,  or  gratitude,  the  husband  and  brother  will 
themselves  present  to  a  stranger  these  females 
and  be  gratified  by  attentions  to  them.  The  Sioux 
had  offered  us  squaws,  but  while  we  remained 
there,  having  declined,  they  followed  us  with 
oft'ers  of  females  for  two  days.  The  Ricaras  had 
been  equally  accommodating ;  we  had  equally 
withstood  their  temptation;  but  such  was  their 
desire  to  oblige  that  two  very  handsome  young 
squaws  were  sent  on  board  this  evening,  and 
persecuted  us  with  civilities.  The  black  man, 
York,  participated  largely  in  these  favors,  for  in- 
stead of  inspiring  any  prejudice,  his  color  seemed 
to  procure  him  additional  advantages  from  the 
Indians,  who  desired  to  preserve  among  them 
some  memorial  of  this  wonderful  stranger. 
Among  other  instances  of  attention  a  Ricara  in- 
vited him  to  his  house,  and  presenting  his  wife 
to  him  retired  to  the  outside  of  the  door ;  while 
there  one  of  York's  comrades  who  was  looking 
for  him  came  to  the  door,  but  the  gallant  husband 
would  permit  no  interruption  before  a  reasonable 
time  had  elapsed.  The  Ricara  lodges  are  in 
circular  or  octagonal  fonn,  and  generally  about 
forty  feet  in  diameter ;  they  are  made  by  placing 
forked  posts  about  six  feet  high  around  the  cir- 
cumference of  a  circle ;  these  are  joined  by  poles 
from  one  fork  to  another,  which  are  also  sup- 
ported by  other  forked  poles  slanting  up  from 
the  ground :  in  the  center  of  the  lodge  are  placed 
four  higher  forks  about  fifteen  feet  in  length, 
connected  together  by  beams ;  from  these  to  the 
lower  poles  the  rafters  of  the  roof  are  extended 
so  as  to  leave  a  vacancy  in  the  middle  for  the 
smoke ;  the  frame  of  the  building  is  then  covered 
with  willow  branches,  with  which  is  interwoven 
grass  and  over  this  mud  or  clay;  the  aperture 
for  the  door  is  about  four  feet  wide  and  before  it 
is  a  sort  of  entry  about  ten  feet  from  the  lodge. 
They  are  very  warm  and  compact." 

"They  cultivate  maize  or  Indian  corn,  beans, 
pumpkins,  watermelons,  squashes  and  a  species 
of  tobacco  peculiar  to  themselves.  Their  com- 
merce is  chiefly  with  the  traders,  who  supply 
them  with  goods  in  return  for  peltries,  which  they 
procure  not  only  by  their  own  hunting,  but   in 


exchange  for  corn  from  their  less  civilized  neigh- 
bors. The  object  chiefly  in  demand  seemed  to 
be  red  paint,  but  they  would  give  anything  they 
had  to  spare  for  the  most  trifling  article.  One 
of  the  men  today  gave  an  Indian  a  hook  made  out 
of  a  pin,  and  he  gave  him  in  return  a  pair  of 
moccasins.  They  express  a  disposition  to  keep  at 
peace  with  all  nations,  but  they  are  well  armed 
with  fusils,  and  being  much  under  the  influence 
of  the  Sioux,  who  exchange  the  goods  they  get 
from  the  British  for  Ricara  com,  their  minds  are 
sometimes  poisoned  and  they  cannot  always  be 
depended  upon.  At  present  they  are  at' war  with 
the  Mandans." 

Mr.  Gravelines  here  contributed  something  to 
the  misinformation  relative  to  the  geography  of 
the  locality  which  Valle  and  Dorion  had  pre- 
viously given  them.  He  said  that  the  Jim  river 
rises  about  forty  miles  east  of  the  Ree  towns,  the 
Cheyenne  of  the  Red  river  twenty  miles  further 
and  the  St.  Peter  about  eighty  miles  away. 

The  next  morning  they  went  on  up  river, 
having  tarried  with  the  Ricaras  from  October 
8th  until  the  morning  of  the  13th.  They  were 
accompanied  by  a  brother  of  old  Lightning 
Crow's  whom  they  induced  to  go  with 
them  to  the  JNIandans  as  a  peace  envoy. 
That  day  they  passed  Spring  creek,  which  they 
named  Stone  Idol  river,  from  a  story  told  them 
by  the  Rees  that  a  short  distance  back  from 
the  river  are  two  stones  which  resemble 
human  beings  in  form  and  a  third  the 
shape  of  a  dog,  all  of  which  are  objects  of  great 
veneration  to  the  Rees.  "Their  history,"  says  the 
journal,  "would  adorn  the  matamorphoses  of 
Ovid.  A  young  man  was  deeph'  enamoured  with 
a  girl  whose  parents  refused  consent  to  their 
marriage.  The  youth  went  out  into  the  fields  to 
mourn  his  misfortunes ;  a  sympathy  of  feeling  led 
the  lady  to  the  same  spot  and  the  faithful  dog 
would  not  cease  to  follow  her  master.  After 
wandering  together  and  having  nothing  but 
grapes  to  subsist  on  they  were  at  last  converted 
into  stone,  beginning  at  the  feet  and  gradually 
invading  the  nobler  parts,  and  leaving  nothing 
unchanged  but  a  bunch  of  grapes  which  the 
female  holds  in  her  hands  to  this  dav.    Whenever 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


71 


the  Ricaras  pass  these  sacred  stones  they  stop  to 
make  some  offering  of  dress  to  propitiate  the 
deities.  Such  was  the  account  given  us  by  the 
Ricara  chief,  which  we  had  no  mode  of  examin- 
ing, except  that  we  found  one  part  of  the  story 
very  agreeably  confirmed,  for  on  the  river  near 
where  the  event  is  said  to  have  occurred  we 
found  a  greater  abundance  of  fine  grapes  than  we 
had  yet  seen."  With  this  fairy  tale  the  expedition 
passed  out  of  South  Dakota.  Going  on  to  the 
Mandan  towns,  which  were  situated  five  or  six 
miles  below  the  mouth  of  Knife  river,  they  en- 
camped for  the  winter  and  the  next  season,  1805, 
went  on  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  where  they 
arrived  November  5th  and  remained  there  until 
^larch  23,  1806,  when  they  began  the  return 
trip.  Their  adventures  during  this  portion  of  the 
long  trip  were  intensely  interesting  and  were  ac- 
companied by  a  good  deal  of  hardship,  but  do  not 
have  any  bearing  upon  the  history  of  South 
Dakota.  They  reached  the  north  boundary  of 
South  Dakota  on  August  21,  1806,  just  two  years 
from  the  day  they  entered  South  Dakota 
from  the  south  on  the  upward  trip.  That 
night  they  stopped  with  their  old  friends,  the 
Rees,  and  Lightning  Eagle,  the  chief  to  whom 
they  had  given  the  flag  and  medal  when  they  went 
out,  brought  to  them  another  chief  whom  he  said 
was  a  greater  man  than  himself  and  to  whom  he 
had  therefore  surrendered  the  flag  and  medal. 
This  new  chief  was  Grey  Eyes,  and  we  shall  have 
occasion  to  know  him  better  as  this  history 
progresses.  At  this  time  Captain  Clarke  de- 
scribed him  as  "a  stout,  well-looking  man.  thirty- 
five  years  old." 

There  was  a  party  of  Cheyennes  at  the  Ricara 
tfjv.-n  and  the  captains  availed  themselves  of  the 
occasion  to  hold  a  council  with  these  people  and 
infoTHi  them  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  United 
States  over  the  Cheyenne  country.  They  pro- 
cet'lcd  rapidly  down  stream  without  incident, 
passing  the  mouth  of  the  Teton  on  the  26th  and, 
though  they  were  prepared  for  trouble,  did  not 
see  a  single  Indian.  The  same  day  they  passed 
Loisell's  post,  which  this  time  they  call  "Louis- 


ville's." Down  stream  they  averaged  about 
fifty-five  miles  daily.  At  every  camp  their  rest 
was  destroyed  by  the  swarms  of  mosquitoes.  On 
the  29th  they  passed  White  river  and  on  the  30th, 
when  near  Fort  Randall,  run  upon  a  party  of 
Black  Buffalo's  Tetons,  the  fellows  who  had 
made  them  the  trouble  at  Fort  Pierre  when  they 
were  .going  up,  and  they  were  insolent  and  threat- 
ening but  were  easily  bluffed  out.  The  next  day 
they  passed  the  Xiobrara  and  when  near  Spring- 
field met  a  large  party  of  friendly  Yanktons.  They 
went  on  to  Bon  Homme  island  and  stopped  to  re- 
plenish their  stores  with  elk  meat.  At  Yankton 
they  found  the  flagstaff  which  they  erected  two 
years  before  still  standing.  The  morning  of  the 
2d  of  September  they  passed  Jim  river  and 
stopped  to  shoot  wild  turkeys.  The  next  morn- 
ing they  passed  the  Vermilion,  which  this  time 
they  call  "the  Redstone."  That  night,  a  'short 
distance  below  Elk  Point,  they  met  "a  Air.  James 
Airs,  a  partner  in  a  house  at  Prairie  du  Chien, 
who  had  come  from  Mackinaw,  by  way  of  St. 
Louis,  with  a  license  to  trade  among  the  Sioux 
for  one  year.  He  had  brought  two  canoe  loads 
of  merchandise,  but  lost  many  useful  articles  in  a 
squall  some  time  since.  After  so  long  an  interval 
a  sight  of  anyone  who  could  give  us  information 
of  our  country  was  peculiarly  delightful,  and 
much  of  the  night  was  spent  in  making  inquiries 
into  what  had  occurred  during  our  absence.  We 
found  Air.  Airs  a  very  friendly  and .  liberal 
gentleman  and  when  we  proposed  to  purchase  a 

:  small  quantity  of  tobacco,  to  be  paid  for  in  St. 
Louis,  he  very  readily  furnished  every  man  of 
the  party  with  as  much  as  he  could  use  during 

.  the  rest  of  the  voyage  and  insisted  upon  our  ac- 

!  cepting  a  barrel  of  flour.  This  last  we  found  very 
agreeable,  although  we  still  have  a  little  which 
we  had  deposited  at  the  mouth  of  Alarias  river. 

"The  next  morning,  being  Thursday,  Septem- 
ber 4th,  we  left  Mr.  Airs  at  eight  o'clock  and 

i  passed  the  big  Sioux  and  stopped  at  Floyd's  Bluff 
at  noon."  Passing  on  down  the  river  without 
adventure,  the  expedition  reached  St.  Louis  at 
noon  on  Tucsdax',  the  23d  dav  of  September,  1806. 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  STORY  OF  BIG  WHITE. 


When  Lewis  and  Clarke  were  coming  back 
from  the  trip  to  the  Pacific  coast,  in  the  summer 
of  1806,  they  induced  a  ]\Iandan  chief;  Shahaka 
by  name,  known  to  the  French  as  Gros  Blanc 
and  to  the  Americans  by  the  English  translation. 
Big  \\'hite,  to  return  with  them  and  visit  Wash- 
ington. Big  White  was  a  somewhat  remarkable 
man.  He  was  about  thirty-seven  years  of  age, 
was  six  feet  ten  inches  high  and  his  hair  was  as 
white  as  the  hair  of  an  Albino,  a  peculiarity  of 
some  types  of  the  jMandan.  His  great  height 
and  his  hair  were  combined  in  his  name.  He  was 
accompanied  by  his  wife  and  one  infant  son  and 
his  interpreter,  a  French  half-breed  named  Rene 
Jesseaumme,  and  wife  and  two  children. 

In  their  journal  Lewis  and  Qarke  relate  the 
circumstance  of  the  embarkation  of  his  royalty. 
They  were  particularly  anxious  to  take  back  with 
them  representative  men  from  the  several  Mis- 
souri river  tribes,  but  the  Mandans  and  Minne- 
tarees  were  reluctant  to  allow  any  of  their  men 
to  go,  1;hrough  fear  of  the  Rees  and  Sioux, 
through  whose  country  they  would  be  compelled 
to  pass.  The  captains,  however,  pressed  them 
hard  to  send  a  representative  and  finally  the 
chiefs  presented  a  young  man,  a  notorious  tliief 
and  a  general  bad  character.  Captain  Clarke  re- 
proached them  for  offering  such  a  man  as  their 
representative  to  the  great  father,  but  old  Black 
Cat,  the  chief,  said  that  the  risk  was  so  great 
that  they  dared  not  risk  a  better  man.  Finally 
Big  White,  in  a  spirit  of  self-sacrifice,  offered 
himself  to  go.     His  going  was  to  prove  an  in- 


teresting event  in  the  history  of  South  Dakota. 
The  captains  entered  into  an  engagement  with 
Black  Cat  to  safely  take  Big  White  to  Washington 
and  at  the  conclusion  of  his  visit  to  safely  escort 
him  back  to  his  home.  The  journal  says :  "We 
dropped  down  to  the  village  of  the  Big  White, 
attended  on  shore  by  all  the  Indian  chiefs  who 
went  to  take  leave  of  him.  We  found  him  sur- 
rounded by  his  friends,  who  sat  in  a  circle  smok- 
ing, while  the  women  were  crying.  He  im- 
mediately sent  his  wife  and  son  on  board,  ac- 
companied by  the  interpreter  and  wife  and  two 
children  ;  and  then,  after  distributing  among  his 
friends  some  powder  and  ball,  which  we  had 
given  to  him,  and  smoking  a  pipe  with  us,  went 
with  us  to  the  river  side.  The  whole  village 
crowded  about  us  and  many  of  the  people  wept 
aloud  at  the  departure  of  the  chief.  As  Captain 
Clarke  was  shaking  hands  with  the  principal 
chiefs  of  all  the  villages  they  requested  that  he 
would  sit  with  them  one  moment  longer.  Being 
willing  to  gratify  them,  he  stopped  and  ordered  a 
pipe  :  after  smoking,  the  Borge  requested  that  we 
should  take  good  care  of  this  chief,  who  would 
report  whatever  the  great  father  should  say,  and 
the  council  being  then  broken  up  we  took  leave, 
with  a  salute  from  a  gun."  The  next  morning, 
however,  August  19th,  as  they  were  breaking 
camp  an  Indian  came  running  down  to  the  beach 
who  appeared  to  be  very  anxious  to  speak  to 
them. 

■■\^'e  went  ashore  and  found  it  was  the  brother 
of  the  Tiig  Wliite,  who  was  encamped  at  no  great 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


distance  and  hearing  of  our  departure  came  to 
take  leave  of  the  chief.  The  Big  White  gave  him 
a  ]3air  of  leggings  and  they  separated  in  the  most 
atiectionate  manner."  The  circumstances  related 
will  indicate  something  of  the  esteem  in  which 
the  man  was  held  among  his  own  people  and  to 
show  a  side  of  Indian  life  not  usually  understood ; 
that  is  the  real  affection  existing  among  mem- 
bers of  the  family. 

\Mien  the  party  arrived  at  the  Ree  towns, 
within  South  Dakota,  liig  White  rather  in- 
discreetly mixed  into  a  trouble  between  the  Rees 
and  the  Cheyennes  in  which  he  told  them  that 
both  parties  were  at  fault ;'  apparently,  however, 
this  indiscretion  was  forgiven  by  the  Rees  who 
treated  him  thereafter  with  great  civility.  The 
captains  very  much  desired  to  take  some  of  the 
Ree  chieftains  to  Washington,  but  it  seems  that 
after  Lewis  and  Clarke  left  them,  Gravelines,  as 
he  had  agreed  to  do,  took  one  of  their  number 
down  the  river  and  presumably  to  Washington, 
and  he  had  not  returned.  They  were,  therefore, 
fearful  that  some  mishaj)  had  befallen  him  and 
refused  to  venture  out  until  his  safe  return  was 
assured.  Now  the  captains  were  already  in- 
formed by  three  traders  who  had  spent  the  winter 
of  1804-5  with  them  among  the  Alandans  and 
whom  they  had  met  midway  between  the  Rees 
'and  ;\Iandans  a  day  or  two  previously,  that  this 
Ree  chief  had  successfully  made  the  eastern 
liilgrimage.  but  that  while  returning  up  river  he 
had  been  taken  very  ill  and  had  died  at  the 
n:outh  of  the  Sioux.  It  does  not  appear  that  they 
saw  fit  to  communicate  this  to  the  Rees,  but,  fail- 
ing to  get  any  one  to  go  with  them,  left,  with 
apparent  good  feeling  on  both  sides.  When  they 
arrived  at  the  lower  village  on  Grand  River  island, 
however,  the  feeling  between  the  Rees  and  the 
Mandans  was  exhibited  by  the  second  chief  there  I 
who,  at  sight  of  Big  White,  began  a  tirade  of  , 
threatening  abuse  against  him,  but  was  promptly 
silenced  by  Captain  Clarke. 

Proceeding    down    river,    the    party,    as    de- 
scribed  in  the  previous  chapter,   arrived   in    St. 
Louis  and  thence,  along  the  next  January,  arrived  , 
in    Washington,    where    Big    \^''hite    was    made   I 
much  of :    Jefferson   and  his   cabinet   entertained 


him  and  his  tawny  wife  and  little  one.  They 
Vv'ere  guests  at  the  White  House  and  received 
special  attention  from  Dolly  IMadison  and  Airs. 
Gallitin. 

March  15th,  Captain  Clarke,  now  commis- 
sioner of  Indian  aft'airs  for  Louisiana,  with  Big 
White  and  his  retinue  in  charge,  set  out  from 
\\'ashington  to  St.  Louis  and  the  first  thing  he 
learned  ,when  he  arrived  at  St.  Louis,  a  month 
later,  was  that  Manuel  Lisa,  the  Spaniard,  Pierre 
Menard,  a  brother-in-law  of  the  Chouteaus.  and 
Geor'ge  Druillard,  guide  to  Lewis  and  Clarke, 
had  fonned  a  partnership  and  had  already  de- 
parted for  the  headwaters  of  the  Alissouri.  re- 
fusing to  wait  to  undertake  the  return  of  Big 
White  to  his  people,  as  they  were  requested  to 
do  by  Frederick  Bates,  the  secretary  of  the  ter- 
ritory. 

When  Lisa  arrived  at  the  Ree  towns,  having 
passed  through  the  Sioux  country  without 
molestation,  he  found  two  or  three  hundred  Rees 
awaiting  his  approach  and  they  were  evidently 
bent  on  mischief.  Tlicy  fired  a  volley  across  the 
bow  of  his  boat  and  indicated  to  him  where  he 
was  to  land.  He  took  the  hint  and  came  to.  A 
part}-  of  women  then  appeared  with  bags  of 
corn  as  if  for  trade,  but  a  warrior  rushed  forward 
and  slashed  the  bags  v,-ith  a  knife  and  the  women 
retreated.  Whatever  their  purpose  was  bv  this 
behavior  the\-  could  not  bluff  Lisa,  who  promptly 
trained  his  two  swivels  upon  them,  when  the 
chiefs  came  down  and  humbly  apologized  for  the 
bad  behavior  of  some  of  the  men,  for  whom  they 
denied  responsibility.  He  stayed  with  them  but 
a  few  minutes  and  hurried  along  up  stream.  The 
foregoing  is  Lisa's  version  of  the  affair. 

Finding  that  Lisa  had  gone  off  without  Big 
White,  although  he  had  faithfully  promised  Sec- 
retary Bates  that  he  would  take  him,  a  new  ex- 
pedition was  made  up  and  placed  under  com- 
mand of  Sergeant  Nathanial  Pryor.  who  had  ac- 
companied Lewis  and  Clarke  upon  their  famous 
expedition.  Pierre  Dorion,  acting  under  the 
authority  vested  in  him  two  years  before,  had 
finally  got  to  St.  Louis  with  a  party  of  Yanktons, 
and  the  government  had  these  people  on  its 
hands.     It  was  therefore  deemed  best  to  organize 


74 


HISTORY    OF    SOL'TH    DAKOTA. 


a  military  party  to  take  Big  White  and  the  Yank- 
tons  home.  Pryor  was  given  two  non-commis- 
sioned officers  and  eleven  jiien  to  handle  the  Big 
White  enterprise  and  a  separate  escort,  under 
Lieut.  Joseph  Kimball,  took  charge  of  the  Yank- 
tons,  but  the  two  parties  moved  together.  In  ad- 
dition to  this  military  party  Pierre  Dorion,  Jr., 
had  a  trading  party  of  ten  men  going  to  the 
Yanktons  and  Pierre  Chouteau  had  in  his  party 
of  traders  thirty-two  men.  making  in  the  expedi- 
tion seventy-two  white  men  in  all.  I  quote  Cap- 
tain Chittenden's  account  of  what  followed, 
which  he  informs  us  is  based  on  four  letters 
written  by  Captain  Clark  and  Nathanial  Pryor: 
■'The  departure  from  St.  Louis  took  place  late 
in  Mav,  1807.  The  expedition  proceeded  pros- 
perously, although  very  slowly,  passing  all  the 
lower  Sioux  bands  in  safety.  Here  Kimball's 
and  Dorion's  parties  left  the  expedition,  which, 
now  reduced  to  about  fift\-  men,  continued  the 
journey  and  reached  the  lower  Arickara  village 
at  nine  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  September  9th. 
The  Indians  fired  several  guns  in  the  direction  of 
the  boats.  Dorion,  the  interpreter,  asked  what 
was  the  matter  and  they  replied  by  inviting  the 
party  ashore  to  obtain  a  supply  of  provisions. 
The  hospitable  treatment  which  Lewis  and 
Clarke  had  received  from  these  same  Indians  the 
year  before  threw  the  party  oflf  their  guard  and 
the  boats  were  ordered  to  land.  Here  it  was 
learned  that  the  Arickaras  and  Mandans  were  at 
war  with  each  other  and  that  several  of  the  upper 
Sioux  bands  were  allied  with  the  Arickaras  and 
were  present  in  the  village.  There  now  came 
on  board  a  Mandan  woman  who  had  been  captive 
among  the  Arickaras  for  several  years  and  who 
imparted  some  interesting  and  important  in- 
formation, which  would  not  otherwise  have  been 
found  out.  *  *  *  According  to  the  story  of 
the  Mandan  woman,  when  Lisa  found  the 
Arickaras  disposed  to  stop  him,  he  told  them  that 
a  large  party  with  the  Mandan  chief  would  soon 
arrive  and.  after  giving  them  a  considerable  part 
of  his  goods,  including  some  guns,  he  was  al- 
lowed to  proceed.  The  Indians  determined  to 
kill  him  upon  his  return,  but  let  him  pass  for  the 
present  lest  rumors  of  their  acts  and   intentions 


might  reach  the  parties  below  and  cause  them 
to  turn  back.  Lisa's  account  of  this  'affair,  as 
related  by  Brackenridge,  has  already  been  given. 
Pryor  and  Chouteau  were  led  to  believe  that  Lisa 
had  secured  his  own  passport  through  these 
tribes  at  their  expense.  How  far  their  suspicions 
were  true  cannot  be  said.  It  is  not  the  only 
charge  of  the  kind  against  ]\Ianuel  Lisa,  but  it 
is  a  singular  fact  that  his  various  acts  of  alleged 
bad  faith,  such  as  here  related,  come  only  from 
those  who  claim  to  have  suffered  by  them.  The 
reputable  historians  of  the  time  make  no  mention 
of  them  and  they  are  evidently  to  be  taken  with 
caution. 

"The  fortunate  interview  with  the  Mandan 
woman  acquainted  Ensign  Pryor  with  the  true 
situation.  He  ordered  the  ^landan  chief  to  bar- 
ricade himself  in  his  cabin  and  prepared  his  men 
for  action.  After  considerable  parleying  and 
speech-making,  in  which  Ensign  Pryor  explained 
the  purpose  of  his  journey,  and  after  presenting 
a  medal  to  one  of  the  chiefs,  the  party  left  the 
Indians  at  the  lower  village  (on  Grand  River 
island)  and  proceeded  to  the  upper  villages.  The 
two  interpreters,  Dorion  and  Jesseaume.  went 
by  land  through  the  villages.  The  Indians  being 
clearly  bent  on  mischief,  Pryor  determined  to 
land  for  the  double  purpose  of  taking  his  in- 
terpreters on  board  and  of  seeing  the  chief  of  the 
upper  village,  whom  he  had  not  been  able  to 
communicate  with  in  the  village  below.  The 
Indians  ordered  the  boats  to  proceed  up  a  narrow 
channel  near  the  shore,  but  the  whites  discovered 
the  trap  in  time  and  refused  to  comply.  They 
now  made  known  their  intention  to  detain  the 
boats,  saying  that  Lisa  had  told  them  it  was  the 
intention  of  the  present  party  to  remain  and 
trade  with  them.  They  first  seized  the  cable  of 
CTlnouteau'.s  barge,  intending  to  first  attack  the 
party  in  which  there  were  no  soldiers,  and 
motioned  to  Pryor  to  go  on.  This  Pryor  refused 
to  do,  but  seeing  the  desperate  state  of  affairs, 
he  urged  Chouteau  to  offer  the  Indians  some 
concessions.  Finally  Chouteau  offered  to  leav- 
with  them  a  trader  and  half  of  the  goods  :  but  the 
Indians,  confident  in  their  ability  to  capture  the 
outfit,  refused  the  offer. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


75 


"Aleanwhile  the  chief  of  the  upper  village 
came  on  board  of  Ensign  Pryor's  boat  and  de- 
manded that  the  Mandan  chief  go  on  shore  with 
him.  The  request  was  peremptorily  refused. 
The  Indians  now  became  insolent  and  aggressive. 
They  demanded  a  surrender  of  all  the  arms  and 
ammunition.  The  chief  to  whom  the  medal  had 
been  given  threw  it  on  the  ground  and  one  of 
Chouteau"s  men  was  struck  down  with  a  gun. 
Raising  a  general  war  whoop,  they  fired  on  the 
boats  and  on  Chouteau  and  a  few  of  his  men  who 
were  on  the  shore  and  then  withdrew  to  a  fringe 
of  willows  along  the  bank,  some  fifty  yards  back. 
Ensign  Pryor  had  prepared  himself  for  this  con- 
tingency and  immediately  replied  with  the  fire 
of  his  entire  force.  The  willows  were  more  of 
a  concealment  than  a  protection  and  the  Indians 
probably  sufTered  considerably.  The  contest 
was  maintained  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  but  as 
the  number  of  Indians  was  so  great  as  to  threaten 
destruction  to  his  party  if  the  fight  was  con- 
tinued, Pryor  ordered  a  retreat.  This  in  itself 
was  a  difficult  thing  to  execute,  for  Chouteau's 
barge  had  stuck  fast  on  a  bar,  and  the  men  were 
compelled  to  get  into  the  water  and  drag  it  for 
some  distance,  all  the  while  under  the  fire  of  the 
Indians.  At  length  the  boats  were  gotten  off  and 
floated  down  the  current,  the  Indians  following 
along  the  bank  and  maintaining  the  fight  for  up- 
ward of  an  houf.  It  was  not  until  sunset  that 
the  pursuit  was  finally  abandoned,  and  then  only 
on  account  of  the  death  of  one  of  the  Sioux 
chiefs,  the  very  man  who  had  been  in  Ensign 
Pryor's  boat.  He  wore  a  white  bandage  around 
his  head  and  this  mark  served  to  distinguish  him 
among  his  followers,  with  whom,  to  the  number 
of  about  forty,  he  was  trying  to  reach  a  project- 
ing point  which  the  boats  must  pass.  He  was 
singled  out  by  those  in  the  boats  and  instantly 
killed.  His  followers  gathered  around  him  and 
abandoned  the  pursuit  of  the  boats,  which  soon 
passed  out  of  sight." 

This  was  the  first  engagement  between  troops 
of  the  United  States  and  the  Indians  upon  South 
Dakota  soil. 

"The  losses  in  the  conflict  were  three  of 
Chouteau's  men  killed  and  seven   wounded,  one 


mortally.  Three  of  Pryor's  men  were  wounded, 
including  the  interpreter,  Rene  Jesseaume. 

"Ensign  Pryor  now  proposed  to  Big  White 
that  they  attempt  to  make  the  rest  of  the  distance, 
about  three  days'  march,  by  land,  going  well 
back  from  the  river  into  the  prairies,  and  thus 
passing  around  the  hostile  Indians.  The  chief 
would  not  consent  on  account  of  the  wounded 
condition  of  the  interpreter  and  the  encum- 
brances of  their  wives  and  children."  George 
Shannon,  one  of  Lewis  and  Clarke's  men,  the 
same  who  was  lost  while  hunting  the  horses  from 
Heckling  to  Bijou  hills,  was  among  the  wounded 
in  the  fight  with  the  Rees  and  the  Sioux  chief 
killed  by  Pryor's  men  was  old  Black  Buffalo,  the 
man  who  had  made  Lewis  and  Clarke  trouble  at 
Pierre,  three  years  before,  when  they  were  going 
up  the  river." 

The  return  of  Pr\-or  and  Chouteau  to  St. 
Louis  with  Big  White  created  a  sensation 
throughout  the  country.  Not  only  had  the  Ameri- 
can flag  been  fired  upon,  but  it  was  the  firm  con- 
viction everywhere  that  the  hostility  among  the 
Rees  had  been  incited  by  the  British  and  at  that 
period  no  other  thing  would  so  greatly  excite 
America  as  English  interference.  Without  the 
slightest  proof  of  this  charge,  the  people  were 
ready  to  declare  war.  There  was  one  exception 
to  the  general  belief  of  English  duplicity ;  that 
was  in  the  mind  of  Pierre  Chouteau,  who  could 
always  find  a  reason  for  his  troubles  in  the 
duplicity  of  the  Spaniard,  Manuel  Lisa,  and  in 
this  instance  he  was  no  doubt  right.  To  every 
suggestion  of  English  interference  he  replied: 
"This  is  a  trick  of  Manuel  Lisa.  His  boats 
passed  in  safety ;  why  not  ours  ?" 

From  the  wound  which  George  Shannon  re- 
ceived at  the  Ree  fight.  Grand  river.  South 
Dakota.  September  9,  1807,  blood  poisoning  set 
in  and  when  the  expedition  returned  to  St.  Louis, 
October  i6th,  he  was  at  the  point  of  death.  His 
leg  was  amputated  at  the  thigh,  without  anes- 
thetics, by  old  Dr.  Saugrin,  the  man  who  made 
the  thermometer  for  Captain  Lewis,  and  a  young 
tloctor  named  Farrar,  the  first  operation  of  the 
character  in  the  Mississippi  valley.  Shannon's 
recovery  was   slow,  but  at   the  end  of  eighteen 


76 


HISTe)RV    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


months  he  was  out  and  went  to  Lexington,  where 
he  studied  law  and  became  an  eminent  lawyer 
and  judge  and  left  an  honored  line  of  posterity. 

"Thus  ended  the  first  attempt  to  return  Big 
\\'hite  to  his  people.  Ensign  Pryor  expressed 
the  opinion  that  it  would  require  a  force  of  not 
less  than  four  hundred  men  to  accomplish  the 
expedition  with  the  temper  of  the  Indians  as 
it  then  was."  At  any  rate  Big  White  was  still 
in  St.  Louis  and  the  government  had  upon  its 
hands  the  responsibility  of  getting  him  home. 
So  far  as  the  record  divulges,  the  year  1808  was 
spent  in  pondering  upon  the  problem,  for  when 
1809  came  Mr.  Big  White  was  still  the  guest  of 
his  great  father  at  St.  Louis  and  the  officials  were 
properly  worried  about  what  was  to  be  done 
with  him. 

It  will  be  recalled  that  ]\Ianuel  Lisa  succeeded 
in  passing  the  hostiles  in  1807,  whether  by 
fair  means  or  foul,  and,  arriving  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Big  Horn,  built  a  fort  and  engaged  in 
trade  and,  with  his  usual  facility  for  squirming 
out  of  tight  places,  got  back  to  St.  Louis  in 
August,  1808,  with  his  scalp  intact,  and  the 
reports  he  brought  back  were  so  glowing  that 
the  business  men  of  St.  Louis  flocked  to  join  him 
in  a  company  to  trade  up  the  Alissouri.  Thus 
was  formed  the  Missouri  Fur  Company,  which 
was  to  be  so  important  a  factor  in  the  trade  of 
the  Dakota  country  and  beyond.  •  Even  Pierre 
Chouteau,  probably  feeling  that  he  could  not  be 
worse  off  associated  with  Lisa  than  in  competi- 
tion with  him,  became  a  leading  partner  in  the 
new  company.  The  first  act  of  this  company 
was  to  enter  into  a  contract  with  IMerriweather 
Lewis,  our  old  friend,  the  captain,  then  governor 
of  Louisiana  territory,  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States,  for  safely  transporting  to  his  tribe  Big 
AMiite  and  his  family.  The  compan}'  by  this  con- 
tract agreed  to  engage  one  hundred  twenty-five 
men,  of  whom  forty  should  be  Americans  and 
expert  riflemen,  to  constitute  a  body  of  militia  of 
the  territory  of  Missouri,  for  the  specific  purpose 
of  escorting  the  Mandan  chief  home,  after  which 
they  were  to  be  discharged.  The  force  was  to 
be    suitably    equipped    with    firearms,    of    which 


there  should  be  not  less  than  fifty  rifles. 
The  command  of  the  escort  was  assigned  to 
Pierre  Qiouteau,  who  had  already  given 
evidence  of  his  determined  spirit  in  the  battle 
before  the  Arickara  villages  in  1807.  The  com- 
pany was  to  provide  suitable  quarters  on  the  boat 
for  the  chief,  his  wife  and  child,  the  interpreter, 
Jessaume,  and  his  wife  and  child  and  two  other 
interpreters.  It  bound  itself  to  protect  with  its 
utmost  care  and  power  the  chief  and  his  party 
from  all  danger  enroute  and  to  report  at  once 
their  safe  arrival  at  the  Alandan  villages.  It  was 
also  to  transport  the  necessary  presents  to  the 
Indians.  The  start  from  St.  Louis  was  fixed  for 
.\pril  20,  1809.  and  might  not  be  delayed  beyond 
May  loth  under  a  penalty  of  three  thousand 
dollars.  The  compensation  agreed  upon  for  this 
service  was  seven  thousand  dollars,  one-half  to 
be  paid  on  the  date  of  starting  and  the  balance 
when  a  report  was  received  of  the  satisfactory 
completion  of  the  journey.  Governor  Lewis  also 
agreed  that  before  the  departure  of  the  ex- 
pedition he  would  not  license  any  other  traders 
to  ascend  the  Missouri  higher  than  the  mouth 
of  the  Platte. 

The  expedition  actually  got  off  about  May 
15th,  though  it  may  have  been  as  late  as  June 
15th.  They  got  through  without  mishap.  Our 
old  friends,  the  Rees,  were  tickled  to  death  to  see 
them  and  fairly  exhausted  themselves  in  hos- 
pitality. They  reached  the  Mandans  on  Septem- 
ber 24th  and  Big  White  was  finally  at  home. 

The  Lewis  and  Clarke  expedition  cost  the 
government  the  sum  of  two  thousand  five  hun- 
dred dollars.  How  much  the  government  in- 
vested in  Big  White  has  never  been  computed. 
However,  the  expensive  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
government  to  carr\-  out  its  contract  was  most 
commendable  and  made  an  excellent  impression 
upon  the  Indians. 

Two  trading  posts  were  established  in  South 
Dakota  by  the  ?iIissouri  Fur  Company,  while 
passing  northward  on  this  trip,  one  on  Cedar 
island,  which  was  probably  but  the  remantling 
of  the  Loisell  post,  and  another  at  the  Ree 
towns. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  ASTORIANS. 


If  white  men  made  any  history  in  South 
Dakota  in  the  year  1810  the  record  of  it  is  so 
meager  as  to  be  scarcely  worth  mentioning.  It 
will  be  recalled  that  the  newly  incorporated  St. 
Louis,  ]Missouri,  Fur  Company,  when  it  went  up 
the  river  in  the  summer  of  1809  to  return  the 
Big  White  to  the  Mandans,  took  up  a  strong 
party  of  traders  and  trappers,  located  several 
trading  posts  and  engaged  energetically  in  the 
fur  business  on  the  upper  Missouri.  They  were 
not  very  fortunate,  had  many  serious  adventures 
with  the  Blackfeet,  in  one  of  which  George 
Druillard,  the  Lewis  and  Clarke  guide,  was  killed. 
All  of  this  occurred  far  above  South  Dakota,  but 
that  spring  Pierre  Menard  and  Auguste 
Chouteau  returned  down  the  river  to  St.  Louis, 
whether  together  or  singly  is  not  quite  certain, 
though  it  appears  that  they  may  have  gone  down 
at  different  times.  However  that  may  be, 
Auguste  was  entrusted  with  bringing  down  the 
small  amount  of  fur  secured.  He  had  gathered 
up  such  amounts  as  had  been  secured  at  the  up- 
river  points  and  expected  to  get  his  largest  con- 
tribution from  the  Loisell  post  on  Cedar  island, 
just  below  Pierre,  but  just  as  he  was  arriving 
there  that  historic  post  burned  down  and  with  it 
went  up  in  smoke  the  entire  year's  take  of  furs, 
estimated  to  have  been  worth  fifteen  thousand 
dollars.  This  single  circumstance  is,  so  far  as 
any  available  record  reveals,  the  sole  occurrence 
in  South  Dakota  history  for  1810,  except  that  the 
winter  counts  of  the  Dakota  Indians  recite  that 
'Little   Beaver,  a   white   trader,   was  burned   to 


death  in  his  trading  house  on  ^^'hite  river  ( one 
account  says  Teton  river),  which  was  blown  up 
by  an  accidental  discharge  of  powder,  the  de- 
struction of  the  house  by  fire  resulting."  Xo 
verification  of  this  statement  has  been  found. 

At  this  period  John  Jacob  Astor,  the  million- 
aire fur  merchant  of  New  York,,  resolved  to  ex- 
tend his  operations  into  the  far  west.  He  had 
previously  made  overtures  to  the  St.  Louis 
merchants  looking  to  co-operation  with  them,  but 
the  Missourians  were  resolved  to  keep  the  Mis- 
souri river  business  within  a  close  corporation 
and  they  seem  to  have  been  especially  fearful  of 
the  power  of  Astor,  and  therefore  refused  to  as- 
sociate with  him.  Astor,  however,  was  a  law 
unto  himself  and  determined  to  establish  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  river  a  great  fur-trading 
depot  from  which  he  could  not  only  command 
the  fur  trade  of  western  America,  but  ^s  well  the 
great  Chinese  market  for  furs,  at  the  same  time, 
from  his  ships,  supplying  the  Russian  establish- 
ments in  the  Alaska  country  ■  with  articles  of 
commerce.  According  to  the  custom  of  the  time, 
Mr.  Astor  made  all  of  the  men  who  were  to  be 
active  in  the  management  of  the  enterprise  part- 
ners. These  partners  were  as  follows :  John 
Jacob  Astor,  Wilson  Price  Hunt,  of  New  Jersey, 
Alexander  McKay,  Duncan  McDougal,  Donald 
McKenzie,  Ramsey  Crooks,  Robert  McLellan, 
Joseph  Miller,  David  Stuart,  Robert  Stuart  and 
John  Clarke.  To  carry  out  the  great  enterprise 
i\Ir.  Astor  fitted  out  two  expeditions,  one  to  go 
by  sea  around  the  cape  and  another  to  go  by  the 


78 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


route  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  across  the  continent,   j 
The  management  of  the  latter  was  entrusted  to 
\Mlson     Price    Hunt,    to    be    accompanied    by 
Donald  McKenzie,  Ramsey  Crooks,  Robert  Mc- 
Lellan  and  Joseph  Miller. 

The  recruiting  of  men  for  the  trip  was  begun 
at  ^Montreal,  continued  at  Mackinac  and  com- 
pleted at  St.  Louis.  At  every  point  the  partners 
e.xperienced  the  greatest  difficulty  in  securing  re- 
cruits, owing  to  the  opposition  of  rival  fur 
traders,  but  finally,  in  the  autumn  of  1810,  they  : 
set  out  from  the  latter  city  and  pushed  up  the 
■Missouri  to  the  vicinity  of  St.  Joe.  where  they 
spent  the  winter.  The  party  consisted  of  sixty 
men,  forty  of  whom  were  French  "engages." 
Their  guide  and  interpreter  was  Pierre  Dorion, 
the  half-breed  son  of  old  Pierre,  the  guide  and 
interpreter  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  as  far  as  Yank- 
ton. It  will  be  recalled  that  we  first  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  Young  Pierre  at  the  council  and 
carouse  which  the  captains'  company  indulged  in 
at  Yankton  the  1st  of  September,  1804.  They 
had  a  good  deal  of  difficulty  in  closing  the  con- 
tract for  the  services  of  this  enterprising  young 
South  Dakotan,  owing  to  the  interference  of 
!\Ianuel  Lisa,  who,  in  addition  to  his  outspoken 
hostility  to  the  Astorians,  claimed  that  Pierre 
owed  him  a  large  sum  for  whiskey  which  he  had 
consumed  during  his  visit  to  St.  Louis.  Pierre, 
however,  repudiated  the  debt  with  characteristic 
frankness  and  when  Manuel  was  about  to  arrest 
him  and  hold  his  body  in  payment  the  resourceful 
Dorion  took  to  the  woods  and  joined  the 
Astorians  far  up  the  river.  Dorion  was  ac- 
companied by  his  Yankton  wife  and  two  hopeful 
young  Dorions.  Washington  Irving  tells  of  a 
bit  of  domestic  infelicity  in  this  Dakota  house- 
hold which  was  not  settled  according  to  the  mod- 
ern custom,  in  the  divorce  court,  and  which  may, 
with  edification,  be  recited  here :  During  the 
winter  ;\Ir.  Hunt  returned  to  St.  Louis  to  en- 
deavor to  enlist  more  men ;  in  fact,  it  was  not 
until  this  time  he  secured  the  services  of  Dorion. 
In  the  spring  he  was  proceeding  up  the  river 
with  his  new  recruits  to  join  the  camp  at  St.  Joe 
and  stopped  for  three  days  at  Fort  Osage,  where 
they  secured  some  new  additions  to  the  company 


recruited  there  by  Ramsey  Crooks.  It  was  or 
the  loth  of  April  when  they  again  set  out.  "They 
had  not  proceeded  far,  however,  when  there  was 
a  great  outcr\-  from  one  of  the  boats :  it  was  oc- 
casioned by  a  little  domestic  discipline  in  the 
Dorion  family.  The  squaw  of  the  worthy 
interpreter  had  been  so  delighted  with  the  scalp 
dance  and  other  festivities  of  the  Osage  village 
that  she  had  taken  a  strong  inclination  to  remain 
there.  This  had  been  as  strongly  opposed  by  her 
liege  lord,  who  had  compelled  her  to  embark. 
The  good  dame  had  remained  sulky-  ever  since, 
whereupon  Pierre,  seeing  no  other  method  of 
exorcising  the  evil  spirit  out  of  her  and  being 
perhaps  a  little  inspired  by  whiskey,  had  re- 
sorted to  the  cudgel,  and  before  his  neighbors 
could  interfere  had  belabored  her  so  soundly 
that  there  is  no  record  of  her  having  shown  any 
.refractory  symptoms  throughout  the  remainder 
of  the  expedition." 

The  winter  camp  was  finally  broken  up  on 
the  27th  of  April,  181 1,  and  the  great  trip  begun. 
They  em.barked  in  four  boats,  one  of  which  was 
of  large  size  and  mounted  two  swivels  and  a 
howitzer.  All  were  equipped  with  masts  and 
sails,  to  be  used  when  the  wind  was  favorable. 
The  expedition  moved  along  prosperously  and 
without  incident  affecting  Dakota  history,  arriv- 
ing at  the  Omaha  village,  which  was  located 
across  the  river  almost  opposite  Sioux  City,  on 
May  15th,  where  they  were  visited  by  a  party  of 
Yanktons  who  warned  them  that  the  Tetons  were 
hostile  and  were  awaiting  the  approach  of  this 
party  with  the  avowed  intention  of  stopping  it. 

Washington  Irving  adopts  the  view  most 
popular  at  the  time  that  the  hostility  of  the 
Tetons  was  excited  by  the  English  and  there- 
may  have  been  reason  for  thinking  so.  This 
was  but  a  year  prior  to  the  outbreak  of  the  second 
war  with  England  and  all  of  our  relations  were 
strained,  and  it  is  certain  that  a  little  later 
the  English  did  have  emissaries  among  the 
Indians  of  South  Dakota  and  actually  induced 
some  of  them  to  take  up  arms  against  the  .Ameri- 
cans. Irving  says:  "The  Sioux  Tetons  were 
at  that  time  a  sort  of  pirates  of  the  ]\Iissouri.  who 
considered  the  well  freighted  bark  of  the  Ameri- 


HISTORY    Op-    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


79 


can  trader  fair  game.  They  had  their  own  traffic 
with  the  British  merchants  of  the  northwest, 
wlio  brought  them  regular  supplies  of  merchan- 
dise by  the  river  St.  Peters  (Minnesota).  Being 
thus  independent  of  the  Missouri  for  their  sup- 
plies, they  kept  no  terms  with  them,  but  plun- 
dered them  whenever  they  had  an  opportunity. 
It  lias  been  insinuated  that  they  were  prompted 
to  these  outrages  by  the  British  merchants,  who 
wished  to  keep  off  all  rivals  in  the  Indian  trade ; 
but  others  allege  another  and  deeper  policy.  The 
Sioux,  by  their  intercourse  with  the  British  trad- 
ers, had  acquired  the  use  of  firearms,  which  had 
given  them  vast  superiority  over  other  tribes 
higher  up  the  Missouri.  They  had  made  them- 
selves also,  in  a  manner,  factors  for  the  other 
tribes  higher  up  the  Missouri,  supplying  them 
at  second-hand  and  at  greatly  advanced  prices 
with  goods  derived  from  the  white  men.  The 
Sioux,  therefore,  saw  with  jealousy  the  American 
traders  pushing  their  way  up  the  ]\Iissouri,  fore- 
seeing that  the  upper  tribes  would  be  relieved 
from  all  dependence  on  them  for  supplies :  nay, 
what  was  worse,  would  be  furnished  w'ith  fire- 
arms and  elevated  into  formidable  rivals.'" 

I'suall}-  sound  and  correct  as  was  \\'ashing- 
ton  Irving-  in  his  historical  works,  he  was  un- 
mistakably wrong  in  his  conclusions  as  to  the 
commercial  reasons  assigned  for, the  hostility  of 
the  Dakota  Indians.  The  political  reason  is 
much  more  plausible.  The  Sioux  were  even 
more  remote  from  the  P)ritish  traders  than  were 
the  ujiper  Indians.  Lewis  antl  Clarke  found  the 
upper  tribes  well  supplied  with  firearms,  while 
the  Tetons  were  very  illy  furnished,  the  majority 
being  dependent  on  the  bow  and  arrow  only. 
The  fact  was  that  the  Sioux,  being  no  farmers, 
were  compelled  to  trade  their  furs  to  the  agri- 
cultural Rees  and  .Mandans  for  corn,  which 
doubly  equipped  the  upper  tribes  for  trade  with 
the  English,  who  reached  the  Missouri  from  the 
Hudson's  bay  region  by  way  of  the  Assinoboin. 
Xor  had  the  river  trade  suffered  among  the 
Sioux  in  previous  years  as  much  as  might  be 
inferred  from  the  extract  quoted  from  Irving's 
account.  \\'e  have  seen  how  the  Lisa.  Chouteau 
and   .Missouri  Fur  Company  expedition  of   i8of)- 


7-8-9  and  1810  had  passed  through  the  Sioux 
country  to  up-river  points  without  interference, 
while  they  had  met  with  constant  hostility  from 
the  Rees.  The  only  record  we  have  of  interfer- 
ence on  the  part  of  the  Sioux  at  any  time  is  the 
slight  trouble  the  Tetons  made  Lewis  and  Clarke 
j  at  Pierre  in  1804,  and  that  they  had  stopped 
McLellan  and  Crooks  in  an  up-river  trip  with 
goods  in  or  about  1808  and  had  demanded  that 
they  should  remain  and  trade  with  them,  but  that 
the  traders  by  a  subterfuge  had  g-otten  away  from 
them  and  returned  to  St.  Louis.  Irving  is  him- 
self the  authority  for  this  story,  which  sounds 
so  much  like  the  experience  of  the  Pryor-Giou- 
teau  set-back  by  the  Rees  in  1807,  that  it  is  prob- 
able that  Irving  has  the  two  propositions  mixed. 
At  any  rate  the  facts  do  not  seem  to  justify  the 
bad  distinction  which  Irving  gives  to  the 
Dakotas. 

For  the  main  facts  of  what  followed  we  are 
chiefly  indebted  to  Irving,  the  general  location 
being  determined  by  relation  to  certain  definite 
points  like  the  Little  Bend  at  Bon  Homme,  the 
mouth  of  the  Niobrara,  the  Big  Bend  and  such 
positive  locations  as  are  fixed  in  the  narrative 
supplemented  by  the  journal  of  Mr.  Brecken- 
ridge,  who  accompanied  Manuel  Lisa  up  that 
year  and  was  more  certain  in  his  geography  than 
is  Irving.  From  every  account  tiie  expedition 
entered  the  Sioux  country  in  great  apprehension, 
so  that  as  far  as  possible  they  camped  on  the 
islands  and  were  constantly  on  the  lookout  for 
lurking  Indian  foes.  Somewhere  between  the 
Sioux  and  the  Jim  they  met  Benjamin  Jones  and 
Alexander  Carson,  two  hunters  who  had  been 
at  the  head  of  the  Missouri  for  tw-o  years,  in  all 
likelihood  being  of  the  Missouri  Fur  Company 
party  who  went  up  with  the  Big  White  expedi- 
tion of  1809.  At  any  rate  Hunt  hired  them  and 
they  turned  back  and  were  deemed  a  great 
acquisition  to  the  force. 

Accompanying  the  expedition  were  two 
English  naturalists,  ?ilessrs.  Xuttall  and  lirad- 
bury,  who  had  availed  themselves  of  this  oppor- 
tunity to  study  nature  in  the  wilds  of  America. 
Xuttall  was  an  enthusiastic  botanist  and  the  flora 
of  the  region   filled  him   with  delight.     His  zeal 


8o 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


for  the  collection  of  botanical  specimens,  for 
which  he  would  make  long  and  dangerous 
tramps  upon  the  prairie,  gave  the  managers 
great  concern  and  filled  the  French  rivermen  with 
disgust,  ^^'hen  he  would  come  in  laden  with 
specimens  the}-  were  wont  to  make  merry  at  his 
expense,  regarding  him  as  some  whimsical  sort 
of  madman.  Bradbury  was  a  geologist,  but  was 
not  so  zealous  as  his  companion.  He  loved  sport 
and  was  a  great  hunter.  On  the  morning  of  INIay 
23d,  being  at  the  bend  between  Springfield  and 
Bon  Homme,  Bradbury  determined  to  hunt 
across  the  bend  while  the  boats  were  going 
around,  which  was  quite  against  the  judgment  of 
]\Ir.  Hunt,  who,  if  nothing  else,  was  a  very  care- 
ful man.  After  noon  he  was  accosted  by  an 
Indian  who  immediately  drew  his  bow  as  if  to 
shoot.  Bradbury  leveled  his  gun  at  the  savage, 
which  brought  them  into  a  position  where  they 
could  arbitrate  and  it  was  soon  discovered  that 
they  were  both  men  with  good  hearts  and  above 
guile.  The  Indian  was  a  Ponca.  While  they 
were  conversing,  three  other  Poncas  arrived  and, 
laying  violent  hands  on  Bradbury,  demanded  that 
he  should  accompany  them  back  into  the 
Nebraska  hills,  but  he  aroused  their  curiosity  by 
showing  them  a  pocket  compass — a  la  Captain 
John  Smith — and  when  they  tired  of  that,  ex- 
hibited to  them  a  small  microscope  and  so  en- 
gaged their  attention  until  the  boats  arrived 
when  he  cordially  invited  them  down  to  the 
river  to  take  something,  an  invitation  which  they 
were  prompt  to  accept,  thus  demonstrating  the 
aptitude  of  the  Ponca  for  the  ways  of  civilization. 
The  next  morning  they  re-appeared,  accompanied 
by  a  white  man  who  turned  out  to  be  an  express 
from  jManuel  Lisa,  with  a  message  imploring 
them  to  wait  his  arrival  that  they  might  join 
forces  for  mutual  protection  through  the  hostile 
country,  flannel  had  started  up  the  river  early 
in  the  spring,  probably  with  the  intention  of 
]jreceding  the  Hunt  party,  at  any  rate  of  getting 
into  the  Indian  country  as  soon  as  the  Astorians 
did.  Hunt  was  as  afraid  of  Lisa  as  he  was  of 
Satan  and  Lisa  hated  the  Astorians  and  feared 
they  would  secure  passage  through  the  Indian 
country  at  his  expense,  i)robably  reasoning  from 


his  own  conduct  under  like  circumstances.  Lisa 
passed  St.  Joe  nineteen  days  after  the  Astorians 
left  and  his  messenger  was  dispatched  from  the 
Omaha  village  opposite  Sioux  City  just  four 
days  behind  them.  Manuel  Lisa's  race  up  the  river 
is  one  of  the  sensational  events  in  early  Missouri 
river  history.  He  had  a  large  keel  boat, 
manned  with  twenty  oarsmen,  and  he  had  set  out 
with  the  determination  that  he  would  overtake 
the  Astorians  at  any  cost.  Hunt  sent  back  word 
that  he  would  proceed  a  short  distance  further  to 
the  Ponca  village,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Niobrara, 
where  he  would  wait  for  the  arrival  of  Lisa,  but 
no  sooner  had  the'  messenger  disappeared  than  he 
pushed  forward  with  redoubled  energy,  feeling 
that  he  had  less  to  apprehend  from  the  treachery 
of  the  Indians  than  from  the  strategy  of  the 
Spaniard. 

That  night,  ]\Iay  24th,  the}-  camped  just  north 
of  the  Niobrara.  The  Poncas  had  given  them 
further  information  relating  to  the  hostility  of  the 
Sioux.  They  said  five  bands  of  the  Sioux  had 
united  and  were  then  waiting  further  up  stream 
to  intercept  the  expedition.  So  terrorized  were 
the  men  over  this  report  that  two  men  deserted 
that  night,  a  general  pursuit  was  instituted  the 
next  day  and  although  precious  time  was  lost  no 
trace  of  the  deserters  was  secured.  The  loss 
was,  however,  made  good  on  the  morning  of  the 
26th  by  the  appearance  of  two  canoes  coming 
down  river  and  bearing  three  veteran  frontiers- 
men, Edward  Robinson,  John  Hoback  and  Jacob 
Rizner.  Robinson  was  a  well-known  Ken- 
tuckian,  sixty-six  years  of  age.  He  was  an  old 
Indian  fighter  of  the  George  Rodgers  Clarke  era 
and  had  been  scalped,  and  therefore  habitually 
wore  a  handkerchief  over  his  cranium  to  protect 
the  part.  They  had  been  at  the  headwaters  of 
the  Missouri  in  the  employ  of  the  Missouri  Fur 
Company  and  were  now  returning  to  Kentuck} , 
but  were  persuaded  by  the  generous  oflfer  of 
the  Astorians  to  turn  back.  It  may  be  noted  that 
the  impunity  with  which  these  canoemen  passed 
down  the  river  does  not  bear  out  the  suggestions 
of  the  extreme  hostility  of  the  Indians.  From 
the  advice  given  them  by  Robinson  and  Hoback. 
Hunt  decided  to  leave  the  ^Missouri  at  the  Ree 


HISTORY    UV    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


8i 


towns  and  proceed  westward  by  way  of  Grand 
river,  a  route  then  and  later  much  traveled  by 
the  furmen. 

On  the  morning  of  May  31st,  as  the  party 
was  seated  at  breakfast  at  a  point  somewhere 
near  old  Fort  Lookout,  they  felt  that  all  they 
had  feared  was  to  be  realized,  for  two  Indians 
actually  appeared  on  the  blufi'  across  the  river 
and  harangued  them  in  a  loud  but,  at  the 
distance,  unintelligible  voice.  Hunt  and  Pierre 
Dorion  went  across  to  see  what  the  fuss  was 
about.  The  two  Indians  proved  to  be  scouts  of 
a  large  war  party  encamped  about  three  miles 
away,  composed  of  about  six  hundred  warriors 
of  the  Yanktonais,  Brules  and  [Nlinneconjous. 
They  had  been  waiting  eleven  daiys  for  the  ar- 
rival of  the  traders,  whom  they  had  determined 
should  not  go  north  to  trade  with  their  enemies, 
the  Rees  and  Mandans.  Having  obtained  this  in- 
formation. Hunt  and  Pierre  returned  to  camp  to 
report.  It  now  appeared  that  they  were  certainly 
in  for  trouble,  but  they  resolved  to  put  on  a  bold 
face  and  started  along,  but  as  they  pulled  up  from 
behind  an  island,  which  at  first  obstructed  the 
view  of  the  opposite  shore,  they  were  appalled  to 
see  the  hillside  covered  with  savages  in  war  paint, 
who  were  pouring  down  to  the  river.  Their 
weapons  were  bows  and  arrows  and  a  few  short 
carbines,  and  most  of  them  had  round  shields. 
Altogether  they  had  a  wild  and  gallant  appear- 
ance and,  taking  possession  of  a  point  which 
commanded  the  river,  ranged  themselves  along 
the  bank  as  if  prepared  to  dispute  their  passage. 
When  the  voyagers  discovered  this  their  decision 
was  instantaneous :  they  could  not  afford  to 
temporize  nor  turn  back,  neither  could  they  hope 
to  go  on  without  a  fight  and  they  therefore  re- 
solved to  fight  at  once.  While  the  Sioux  were 
vastly  superior  in  numbers,  the  whites  were 
much  better  armed  and,  besides,  they  had  the  two 
swivels  and  howitzer.  Everything  was  placed 
in  fighting  trim  and  the  big  guns  were  discharged 
that  the  savages  might  hear  them  bark,  and  the 
fighting  men  stood  up  with  their  rifles  at  their 
slioulders.  This  warlike  display  and  the  awful 
thunder  of  the  little  cannon  were  too  much  for 
tlie    Sioux,    who    instantly    swung    their    buffalo 


robes  in  the  air  in  token  of  a  peaceful  disposition. 
A  council  was  arranged  and  the  peace  pipe 
smoked.  Hunt  told  the  chiefs  that  he  was  pre- 
pared to  force  his  way  up  river  and  they  believed 
him  and  said  that  they  only  intended  to  prevent 
the  taking  of  firearms  to  the  Rees,  with  whom 
thev  were  at  war,  and  that  they  were  now  con- 
vinced that  the  white  men  were  not  going  to  do 
anything  of  that  kind  anyhow,  and  that  they 
might  pass  unmolested.  Hunt  thanked  them  for 
their  condescension  and  gave  them  some  tobacco 
and  went  on  his  way. 

The  next  afternoon  they  arrived  at  the  Big 
Bend  and  on  the  morning  of  June  2d,  as  they 
were  proceeding  to  make  the  long  circuit,  they 
discovered  a  party  of  Indians  on  the  hills  making 
peaceful  overtures,  but  upon  approaching  them 
they  seemed  stricken  with  terror  and  supplicated 
mercy.  They  proved  to  be  the  chiefs  of  the  band 
who  had  stopped  Crooks  and  McLellan  two 
years  before  and  they  now  ran  to  greet  these  men 
as  if  they  were  long  lost  brothers.  They  smoked 
the  peace  pipe  and  Hunt  gave  them  some  presents 
and  they  went  on  their  way.  Soon  two  others 
appeared  and  demanded  presents  and  Hunt  per- 
ejnptorily  turned  down  the  request  and  threat- 
I  ened  if  any  others  of  the  tribe  came  begging  for 
presents  to  treat  them  as  enemies.  They  left 
in  a  furious  passion.  Fearing  that  he  might  have 
roused  them  to  resentment.  Hunt  arranged  his 
fleet  so  as  to  keep  watch  of  both  shores  and  the}- 
proceeded  on  their  way.  About  four  o'clock  that 
afternoon  Hunt's  big  boat  ran  in  back  of  a  sand- 
bar and  was  compelled  to  retreat  to  get  into 
the  open  river.  Jrst  at  the  moment  when  he  dis- 
covered he  was  in  a  pocket  he  was  appalled  to 
find  the  river  hills  above  him  covered  with 
Indians.  His  other  boats  were  some  distance 
above,  but  discovering  his  apparently  desperate 
situation,  hurried  to  his  assistance ;  in  the  mean- 
time the  Indians  flocked  to  the  river  bank  at  the 
mouth  of  the  pocket  in  which  Hunt  was  encaged. 
When  he  approached  the  Indians  all  cause  of 
alarm  was  at  once  dissipated,  for  the  Indians 
showed  their  friendliness  by  every  method  within  • 
tlieir  power.  They  were  a  war  party  of  Rees  and 
.Mandans  in  iiiirsint  of  the  Sioux,  hut  thev  now 


82 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


gave  up  their  belligerent  intentions  and  resolved 
to  return  to  the  Ree  towns,  where  they  hoped  to 
secure  from  the  Astorians  arms  and  ammunition 
which  would  put  their  enemies  more  readily  in 
their  power.  Soon  after  whites  and  Indians  went 
into  camp  together.  The  next  morning  the  Rees 
set  off  for  home,  which  was  three  days'  distant, 
to  inform  their  people  of  the  approach  of  the 
boats.  Hardly  had  the  Rees  departed  until  the 
party  of  ]\Ianuel  Lisa  appeared  in  sight,  for,  do 
his  utmost,  JMr.  Hunt  could  not  keep  in  the  same 
class  with  the  fleet  Spaniard.  The  whole  number 
in  ^Manuel's  party  was  twenty-six,  including  ]\Ir. 
Henry  Breckenridge,  who  came  along  as  a  sight- 
seer, and  who  later  wrote  an  entertaining  account 
of  the  voyage. 

According  to  Irving,  Crooks  and  McLellan 
held  a  secret  grudge  against  Lisa,  believing  that 
some  of  their  enterprises  had  been  ruined  by  his 
plotting  and  they  had  resolved  to  shoot  him  on 
sight  and  it  required  all  of  Hunt's  diplomacy  to 
prevent  the  fiery  Scotchman.  :McLellan.  from 
taking  summary  vengeance  upon  the  Spaniard. 
As  it  was  they  greeted  Lisa  civilly  and  they  con- 
tinued to  travel  together  for  a  couple  of  days. 
The  Astorians,  however,  believing  that  all  danger 
from  the  Sioux  was  over,  feared  that  Lisa  would 
hasten  on  and  set  the  Rees  against  them  and  Mc- 
Lellan  swore  if  Lisa  showed  bad  faith  in  any  wa}-  , 
that  he  would  shoot  him  instantly.  Lisa,  how- 
ever, showed  no  intention  of  leaving  them.  On 
June  5th,  while  encamped  at  Pierre,  an  outbreak  ' 
occurred  which,  though  more  amusing  than 
otherwise  in  the  outcome,  indicated  the  feeling 
and  how  easily  bloodshed  might  have  been  pro- 
voked. Lisa's  camp  was  on  the  north  side  of  the 
river  at  approximately  the  point  where  the  stock- 
yards at  Pierre  are  now  located,  while  Hunt 
was  camped  on  the  south  side  nearly  opposite. 
It  was  a  rainy  day  and  both  parties  had  been 
compelled  to  remain  in  camp  owing  to  the 
weather.  For  these  particulars  we  are  indebted 
to  the  storv  told  by  Breckenridge,  who  locates 
the  respective  camps  with  relation  to  the  Teton 
and  the  point  of  the  bluff  at  Pierre.  Ir\-ing  tells 
the  story  of  the  fracas  as  follows :  On  the  third 
(lay  an  explosion  took  place  and  it  was  produced 


by  no  less  a  personage  than  Pierre  Dorion.  the 
half-breed  interpreter.  This  worthy  had  been 
obliged  to  steal  a  march  from  St.  Louis  to  avoid 
being  arrested  for  an  old  whiskey  debt  which  he 
owed  to  the  Missouri  Fur  Company  and  by  which 
Mr.  Lisa  had  hoped  to  prevent  his  enlistment  in 
Mr.  Hunt's  expedition.  Dorion,  since  the  arrival 
of  Lisa,  had  kept  aloof  and  regarded  him  with 
sullen  and  dogged  aspect.  On  the  5th  day  of 
July  (June)  the  two  parties  were  brought  to  a 
halt  by  a  heavy  rain  and  remained  in  camp  about 
one  hundred  yards  apart.  In  the  course  of  the 
day  Lisa  undertook  to  tamper  with  the  faith  of 
Pierre  Dorion  and,  inviting  him  on  board  his 
boat,  regaled  him  with  his  favorite  whiskey. 
\\'hen  he  thought  him  sufficiently  mellowed  he 
proposed  to  him  to  quit  the  service  of  his  new 
employers  and  return  to  his  allegiance.  Finding 
he  could  not  be  moved  by  soft  words,  he  called 
to  mind  his  old  debt  to  the  company  and  threat- 
ened to  carry  him  oft"  by  force  in  payment  of  it. 
The  mention  of  this  debt  always  stirred  up  the 
gall  of  Pierre  Dorion,  bringing  with  it  the 
mcmorv  of  the  whiskey  extortion.  A  violent 
quarrel  arose  between  him  and  Lisa  and  he  left 
the  boat  in  high  dudgeon.  His  first  step  was  to 
repair  to  the  tent  of  INIr.  Hunt  and  reveal  the 
attempt  that  had  been  made  to  shake*  his  faith. 
While  Dorion  was  talking  Lisa  entered  the  tent 
under  the  pretext  that  he  had  come  to  borrow 
a  towing  line.  High  words  instantly  ensued  be- 
tween him  and  Dorion,  which  ended  in  the.  half- 
breed  dealing  him  a  blow.  A  quarrel  in  the 
Indian  country,  however,  is  not  settled  by  fisti- 
cuffs. Lisa  immediately  rushed  to  his  boat  for 
a  weapon.  Dorion  snatched  up  a  pair  of  pistols 
belonging  to  Air.  Hunt  and  placed  himself  in 
battle  array.  The  noise  aroused  the  camp  and 
everv  one  pressed  to  know  the  cause.  Lisa  now 
re-appeared  with  a  knife  stuck  in  his  girdle.  Mr. 
Breckenridge,  who  had  tried  in  vain  to  mollify 
his  ire,  accompanied  him  to  the  scene  of  action. 
Pierre  Dorion's  pistols  gave  him  the  advantage 
and  he  maintained  a  most  warlike  attitude. 
Meantime  Crooks  and  ilcLcllan  had  heard  of  the 
frav  and  were  each  eager  to  take  the  quarrel  in 
their  own  hands.     .\  scene  of  uproar  and  hubbub 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


83 


ensued  which  defies  description.  McLellan 
would  have  brought  his  rifle  into  play  and  settled 
all  old  and  new  grudges  together  had  he  not  been 
restrained  by  ]Mr.  Hunt.  That  gentleman  acted 
as  moderator,  endeavoring  to  prevent  a  general 
melee.  In  the  midst  of  the  brawl,  however,  an 
expression  was  made  use  of  by  Lisa  derogatory 
to  Air.  Hunt's  honor  and  in  an  instant  the  latter's 
tranquil  spirit  was  in  a  flame.  He  now  became 
as  eager  for  a  fight  as  any  on  the  ground  and 
challenged  Lisa  to  settle  the  dispute  on  the  spot 
with  pistols.  Lisa  repaired  to  his  boat  to  ann 
himself  for  the  deadly  feud.  He  was  ac- 
companied by  Messrs.  Bradbury  and  Brecken- 
ridge.  who  were  novices  in  Indian  life  and 
chivalry  of  the  frontier  and  had  no  relish  for 
scenes  of  blood  or  brawl.  By  their  earnest  medi- 
ation the  quarrel  was,  with  great  difficulty, 
brought  to  a  close  without  bloodshed ;  but  the 
leaders  of  the  rival  camps  separated  in  anger  and 
all  friendly  intercourse  ceased  between  them." 

The  next  morning  found  both  parties  again 
enroute,  skirting  along  opposite  sides  of  the  river 
and  jealously  watching  each  other.  Hunt  keeping 
slightly  ahead  lest  Manuel  should  get  away  to 
the  Rees  and  set  that  erratic  people  against  the 
Astorians.  Thus,  save  for  the  stoppage  of  the 
fleet  by  the  passage  of  a  vast  herd  of  buffaloes 
across  the  river  somewhere  above  Cheyenne 
river,  they  reached  Grai-\d  River  island  without 
incident.  The  lower  (island)  settlement  of  the 
Rees  appears  to  have  disappeared  by  this  time, 
for  neither  Irving,  Breckenridge  nor  Bradbur}' 
make  any  mention  of  it.  It  is  noteworthy  in  this 
connection  that  no  one  of  these  writers  mentions 
a  single  trading  house  located  within  South 
Dakota  on  this  trip  and  it  is  possible  that  not  one 
existed,  though  there  is  reason  to  believe  that 
tliere  were  houses  at  the  James  river,  for  the 
Yankton  trade  and  that  the  Pawnee  house  was 
still  standing.  When  the  two  parties  arrived  at 
the  island,  no  communication  having  passed  be- 
tween them  after  leaving  Pierre,  Manuel  sent 
Breckenridge  to  Hunt's  camp  to  make  arrange- 
ments for  meeting  the  Rees  with  due  ceremony, 
but  the  Astorians  could  not  sufficiently  over- 
come  their    resentment    and    suspicions    to    meet 


him  civilly,  though  Breckenridge  gave  them 
every  assurance  that  the  Spaniard  was  acting  in 
good  faith.  Communication  having  been  es- 
tablished with  the  Rees,  it  was  arranged  that 
both  parties  should  go  into  the  village  at  the 
same  time.  iVccordingly  they  moved  up  and 
camped  on  the  east  side,  opposite  the  towns,  to 
await  the  invitation  of  the  chiefs  to  come  over. 

At  this  time,  according  to  Breckenridge,  Left- 
Hand  was  the  hereditary  chief  and  Big  Man, 
a  ferocious-looking  giant,  was  the  war  chief, 
while  Grey  Eyes  held  subsidiary  rank.  The 
council  was  presided  over  by  Left-Hand.  Gar- 
reau,  whom  Lewis  and  Clarke  found  living  with 
the  Rees  and  who  at  the  time  of  the  present 
council  had  been  with  them  twenty  years,  and  is 
described  by  Irving  as  a  haphazard  wight  of 
Gallic  origin,  and  had  a  Ree  squaw  and  a  troop 
of  piebald  children,  officiated  as  interpreter. 
Garreau  was  undoubtedly  the  first  permanent 
and  continuous  white  inhabitant  of  South  Dakota. 
His  first  name  has  not  come  down  to  us  in  any 
of  the  records,  but  several  of  his  descendants 
are  still  living  among  the  Rees  at  Fort  Berthold, 
North  Dakota. 

Presently  Left-Hand  came  out  on  the  river 
bank  and,  in  a  voice  plainly  audible  across  the 
half  mile  of  water,  invited  the  visitors  over  to 
the  council.  At  two  o'clock  Hunt,  McKenzie 
and  McLellan,  representing  the  Astorians,  and 
Lisa  and  a  few  of  his  men  stepped  into  their  re- 
spective boats  and  were  rowed  over  to  the  Rees 
and  were  received  with  grave  courtesy  by  Left- 
Hand,  who  conducted  them  to  the  council  lodge, 
in  one  of  the  big  earth-covered  houses,  such  as 
were  described  in  the  chapter  devoted  to 
the  trip  of  Lewis  and  Clarke.  Fourteen 
white  men  in  the  two  parties  and  about  twenty 
Rees  sat  in  the  council.  A  unique  feature  of  the 
council  was  a  sort  of  public  crier  who  sat  at  the 
opening  in  the  roof  of  the  lodge  and  shouted  out 
each  step  of  the  proceedings  for  the  benefit  of 
the  villagers  who  stood  about.  They  smoked  the 
pipe  in  usual  form.  Left-Hand  made  a  speech  of 
welcome  and  Lisa  rose  to  reply.  The  Astorians 
were  on  nettles,  but  he  speedily  put  them  at  ease. 
He  explained  his  own  purpose  and  then,  turning 


84 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


to  Hunt,  said  that  he  represented  an  entirely 
different  party  bound  for  the  Pacific ;  but,  said 
he,  "though  we  are  separate  parties,  we  make  but 
one  common  cause  when  the  safety  of  either  is 
concerned.  Any  injury  or  insult  offered  to  them 
I  shall  consider  as  done  to  myself  and  shall  re- 
sent it  accordingly.  I  trust,  therefore,  that  you 
will  treat  them  with  the  same  friendship  that  you 
have  always  manifested  for  me,  doing  everything 
in  your  power  to  serve  them  and  help  them  on 
their  way."  Naturally  this  courteous  treatment 
made  a  good  impression  and  served  to  mollify  the 
relations  existing  between  the  parties.  }\Ir.  Hunt 
then  spoke  of  his  purpose  and  of  his  desire  to 
trade  with  them. for  horses  to  transport  his  party 
and  wares  across  the  mountains. 

Left-Hand.  in  reply,  pledged  his  friendship 
and  aid  to  the  traders,  but  said  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  spare  as  many  horses  as  the  Astorians 
wanted  :  whereupon  the  versatile  and  ingenious 
Grey  Eyes  declared  that  the  difficulty  could  be 
readily  bridged,  for  if  the  Rees  did  not  have  in 
stock,  and  to  spare,  as  many  horses  as  Mr.  Hunt 
desired,  they  could  easily  steal  enough  to  make 
up  the  deficiency.  Upon  the  suggestion  of  this 
honest  expedient  Left-Hand  thought  they  could 
accommodate  the  necessities  of  the  Astorians  and 
the  council  adjourned  and  the  traders  moved 
across  to  the  west  side  of  the  river,  or  rather  to 
the  north  side,  for,  at  the  point  where  the  Ree 
towns  were  located,  the  Missouri  river  runs 
almost  directly  west.  If  the  reader  will  refer  to 
the  map  of  South  Dakota  ho  will  observe  that  a 
few  miles  north  of  the  mouth  of  Grand  river  the 
Missouri  turns  sharply  from  a  southeast  course 
directly  west.  It  was  on  this  westward  tangent, 
facing  south,  that  the  two  Ree  towns  sat  side  by 
side.  The  traders'  camp  was  pitched  just  below 
the  towns  and  trading  began.  For  convenience 
Lisa  took  a  consignment  of  his  ware  to  the  lodge 
ci  Left-Hand  and  Hunt  set  up  shop  in  Big  Man's 
front  parlor.  Irving  says  :  "The  village  soon  pre- 
sented the  appearance  of  a  busy  fair,  and  as 
horses  were  in  demand  the  adjacent  plain  was 
like  the  vicinity  of  a  Tartar  encampment.  Horses 
were  put  through  all  of  their  paces  and  horsemen 
were  careering  about  with  all  the  grace  and  dex- 


terity for  which  the  Ricaras  are  noted.  As  soon 
as  a  horse  was  purchased  his  tail  was  cropped  to 
distinguish  it  from  the  Indian  property,  for  the 
Rees  never  mutilated  their  horses  in  any  w-ay. 
More  than  any  other  commodity  the  Indians 
wished  guns  and  ammunition  in  trade,  for  they 
were,  it  will  be  recalled,  at  war  with  the  Sioux, 
and  while  the  Astorians  were  here  there  were 
many  alarms  that  the  Sioux  were  coming,  which 
threw  the  whole  camp  into  indescribable  con- 
fusion. On  the  9th  of  July  a  large  war  party 
returned,  having  the  day  before  met  and  de- 
feated a  large  war  party  of  Sioux,  with  a  loss 
of  but  two  of  their  own  number.  No  one  of  the 
pretentious  cities  of  today  could  welcome  home 
from  the  wars  her  chosen  regiments  of  sons  with 
more  pomp  and  circumstance,  more  of  feasting 
and  rejoicing,  than  did  these  primitive  South 
Dakotans  the  return  of  their  victorious  braves." 
As  this  celebration  occurred  on  our  own  soil  it 
may  be  proper  to  recite  here  what  actually  took 
place :  "On  the  9th  of  July,  just  before  day- 
break, a  great  noise  and  vociferation  was  heard 
in  the  village.  This  being  the  usual  hour  for  an 
Indian  attack  and  surprise,  and  the  Sioux  being- 
known  to  be  in  the  neighborhood,  the  camp  was 
instantly  on  the  alert.  As  the  day  broke  Indians 
were  descried  in  considerable  numbers  on  the 
bluffs  three  or  four  miles  down  the  river.  The 
noise  and  agitation  in  the  village  continued.  The 
tops  of  the  lodges  were  crowded  with  the  in- 
habitants, all  earnestly  looking  to  the  hills  and 
keeping  up  a  vehement  chattering.  Presently  a 
warrior  galloped  past  the  camp  (of  [Mr.  Hunt) 
toward  the  village  and  in  a  little  while  the  legions 
began  to  pour  forth.  The  truth  of  the  matter 
was  now  ascertained.  The  Indians  on  the  distant 
hills  were  three  hundred  Aricara  braves  return- 
ing from  a  fora}-.  They  had  met  the  war  party 
of  Sioux  who  had  so  long  been  hovering  about 
the  neighborhood,  had  fought  them  the  day  be- 
fore— that  is  July  8,  181 1 — had  killed  several 
and  defeated  the  rest,  with  the  loss  of  but  two 
of  their  own  men  and  about  a  dozen  wounded ; 
and  they  w-ere  now  halting  at  a  distance  until 
their  comrades  in  the  village  should  come  forth 
to   meet   them   and   swell    the    parade    of    their 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


85 


triumphal  entry.  The  warrior  who  had  galloped 
past  the  camp  was  the  leader  of  the  party  hasten- 
ing home  to  give  tidings  of  his  victory.  Prepara- 
tions were  now  made  for  a  great  martial  cere- 
mony. All  of  the  finery  and  equipments  of  the 
warriors  were  sent  forth  to  them  that  they  might 
appear  to  the  greatest  advantage.  Those  too  who 
had  remained  at  home  tasked  their  wardrobes  and 
toilets  to  do  honor  to  the  occasion.  The  Rees 
generally  go  nearly  naked,  but,  like  all  savages, 
they  have  their  gala  dress,  of  which  they  are  not 
a  little  vain.  This  usually  consists  of  a  gray 
surcoat  and  leggings  of  the  dressed  skin  of  the 
antelope,  resembling  chamois  leather,  and  em- 
broidered with  porcupine  quills  brilliantly  dyed. 
A  buffalo  robe  is  thrown  over  the  right  shoulder 
and  across  the  left  is  a  quiver  of  arrows.  They 
wear  gay  coronets  of  feathers,  particularly  those 
of  the  swan,  but  the  feathers  of  the  black  eagle 
are  considered  most  worthy,  being  considered  a 
sacred  bird  among  the  Ree  warriors.  He  who 
has  killed  an  enemy  in  his  own  land  is  entitled 
to  drag  at  his  heels  a  fox  skin  attached  to  each 
moccasin  and  he  who  has  slain  a  grizzly  bear 
wears  a  necklace  of  his  claws,  the  most  glorious 
trophy  that  a  hunter  can  exhibit.  An  Indian 
toilet  is  an  operation  of  some  toil  and  trouble : 
the  warrior  often  has  to  paint  himself  from  head 
to  foot  and  is  extremely  capricious  and  difficult 
tT  please  as  to  the  hideous  distribution  of  streaks 
and  colors.  A  great  part  of  the  morning,  there- 
fore, passed  away  before  there  was  any  sign  of 
the  distant  pageant.  In  the  meantime  a  profound 
stillness  reigned  over  the  village ;  most  of  the  in- 
habitants had  gone  forth;  others  remained  in 
mute  expectation.  All  sports  and  occupations 
were  suspended,  excepting  that  in  the  lodges  the 
painstaking  squaws  were  silently  busied  in  pre- 
paring the  repasts  for  the  warriors.  It  was  near 
noon  that  the  mingled  sound  of  voices  and  rude 
music,  faintly  heard  from  the  distance,  gave 
notice  that  the  procession  was  on  the  march. 
The  old  men,  and  such  of  the  squaws  as  could 
leave  their  employment,  hastened  forth  to  meet  it. 
In  a  little  while  it  emerged  from  behind  a  hill 
and  had  a  wild  and  picturesque  appearance  as  it 
came  over  the  summit  in  measured  step  and  to 


the  cadence  of  songs  and  savage  instruments  ;  the 
warlike  standards  and  trophies  flaunting  aloft 
and  the  feathers  and  paint  and  silver  ornaments 
of  the  warriors  glaring  and  glittering  in  the 
sunlight.  The  pageant  had  really  something 
chivalrous  in  its  arrangement.  The  Rees  are 
divided  into  several  bands,  each  bearing  the  name 
of  some  animal  or  bird,  as  the  buffalo,  the  bear, 
the  dog,  or  the  pheasant.  The  present  party  con- 
sisted of  the  four  bands  named,  of  wdiich  the  dog 
was  the  most  esteemed  in  war,  being  composed 
of  young  men  under  thirty  and  noted  for  prowess. 
It  is  engaged  on  the  most  desperate  occasions. 
,  The  bands  marched  in  separate  bodies  under  their 
I  respective  leaders.  The  warriors  on  foot  came 
first,  in  platoons  of  ten  or  twelve  abreast;  then 
the  horsemen.  Each  band  bore  as  an  ensign  ;l 
spear  or  bow  decorated  with  beads,  porcupine 
quills  and  painted  feathers.  Each  bore  its  tro- 
phies of  scalps,  elevated  on  poles,  their  long  black 
locks  streaming  in  the  wind.  Each  was  ac- 
companied b}-  its  rude  music  and  minstrelsy.  In 
this  way  the  procession  extended  for  a  quarter 
of  a  mile.  The  warriors  were  variously  armed, 
some  with  guns,  others  with  bows  and  arrows 
and  war-clubs;  all  had  shields  of  buffalo  hide, 
a  kind  of  defense  generally  used  by  Indians  of 
the  open  prairie,  who  have  not  the  covert  of  trees 
and  forests  to  protect  them.  They  were  painted 
in  the  most  savage  style.  Some  had  the  stamp 
j  of  a  red  hand  across  their  mouths  to  indicate  that 
[  they  had  drunk  the  life  blood  of  an  enemv.  As 
they  drew  near  to  the  village  the  old  men  and 
the  women  began  to  meet  them,  and  now  a  scene 
ensued  that  proved  the  fallacy  of  the  old  fable  of 
Indian  apathy  and  stoicism.  Parents  and  chil- 
dren, husbands  and  wives,  brothers  and  sisters, 
met  them  with  the  most  rapturous  expressions  of 
jo\- ;  while  wailings  and  lamentations  were  heard 
from  the  relatives  of  the  killed  and  wounded. 
The  procession,  however,  moved  on  with  slow 
and  measured  step,  in  cadence  to  the  solemn 
chant,  and  the  warriors  maintained  their  fixed 
and  stern  demeanor.  Between  two  of  the 
principal  chiefs  rode  a  young  man  who  had  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  the  battle.  He  was  severelv 
;   wounded    so   as    with    difficulty    to    keep   on    his 


86 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


horse,  but  he  presented  a  serene  and  steadfast 
countenance,  as  if  perfectly  unharmed.  His 
mother  had  heard  of  his  condition.  She  broke 
through  the  throng  and,  rushing  up,  threw  her 
arms  around  him  and  wept  aloud.  He  kept  up 
the  spirit  and  demeanor  of  a  warrior  to  the  last, 
but  expired  shortly  after  he  had  reached  his 
home. 

"The  village  was  now  a  scene  of  the  utmost 
festivity  and  triumph.  The  banners  and  trophies 
and  scalps  and  painted  shields  were  elevated  on 
poles  near  the  lodges.  There  were  war  feasts 
and  scalp  dances,  with  warlike  songs  and  savage 
music;  all  of  the  inhabitants  were  arrayed  in 
their  festal  dresses;  while  the  old  heralds  went 
round  from  lodge  to  lodge,  promulgating  with 
loud  voices  the  events  of  the  battle  and  the  ex- 
ploits of  the  various  warriors. 

"Such  was  the  boisterous  revelry  of  the 
village,"  Irving  continues,  "but  sounds  of  another 
kind  were  heard  on  the  surrounding  hills  ;  piteous 
wailings  of  the  women  who  had  retired  hither  to 
mourn  in  darkness  and  solitude  for  those  who 
had  fallen  in  battle.  There  the  poor  mother  of 
the  youthful  warrior  who  had  returned  home  in 
triumph,  but  to  die,  gave  full  vent  to  the  anguish 
of  a  mother's  heart.  How  much  does  this  cus- 
tom of  the  Indian  women,  of  repairing  to  the 
hilltops  in  the  night  and  pouring  forth  their 
wailings  for  the  dead  call  to  mind  the  beautiful 
and  affecting  passage  of  scripture :  'In  Rama  was 
there  a  voice  heard,  lamentation  and  weeping  and 
great  mourning ;  Rachel  weeping  for  her  chil- 
dren, and  W'OuId  not  be  comforted  because  they 
were  not.'  " 

Those  of  the  readers  of  this  history  who  re- 
call the  great  festival  throughout  South  Dakota 
upon  the  return  of  the  First  Regiment  from  the' 
Philippine  war  will  appreciate  the  fact  that  it  was 
entirely  in  line  with  a  time-honored  precedent 
among  the  ]5eople  of  the  South  Dakota  land. 

Mr.  Hunt  finally  exhausted  the  Ree  horse 
market :  w  hether  or  not  it  had  been  replenished 
by  Grey  Eyes'  expedient  the  historian  does  not 
state,  but  when  it  appeared  that  the  Rees  actually 
could  not  supply  him  with  enough  horses  for  the 
journey      his      mistrusted      Spanish      associate 


promptly  came  to  his  relief.  Hunt  would  of 
course  have  to  abandon  his  boats  and  Lisa  pro- 
posed to  trade  his  horses  for  them.  He  would 
be  compelled  to  go  to  his  post  at  the  Mandan 
villages,  one  hundred  fifty  miles  above,  to  buy 
the  horses  to  effect  the  trade  and  the  arrangement 
was  eft'ected.  Lisa,  accompanied  by  Bracken- 
ridge  and  Nuttall,  left  by  boat  for  the  Mandans 
on  June  19th  and  on  the  same  day  Crooks  and 
Bradbury  started  by  land  ;  the  latter  party  arrived 
at  the  ]\Iandan  post  late  at  night  on  the  22d  and 
Lisa  got  there  on  the  26th.  The  next  day  Crooks 
started  back  with  the  stipulated  number  of 
horses  and  arrived  safely  with  them  at  Hunt's 
camp.    Lisa  got  back  to  the  Rees  on  July  7th. 

July  17th  Bradbury  and  Brackenridge  set 
out  for  St.  Louis,  where  they  arrived  August  ist 
without  serious  hindrance.  It  is  very  largely 
through  the  journals  which  they  kept  that  the 
history  of  South  Dakota  is  enriched  by  the  story 
of  the  events  recorded  in  this  chapter. 

The  i8th  of  July,  with  grave  apprehensions 
and  awful  doubts  both  in  the  minds  of  the  part- 
ners and  of  the  men,  the  Astorians  struck  camp 
and  left  the  JMissouri  for  their  perilous  overland 
trip  to  the  Pacific.  They  passed  over  the  inter- 
vening highland  to  the  Oak  Creek  valley  and 
followed  its  beautiful  course  for  some  distance, 
but  finding  that  it  led  too  much  to  the  northwest 
!  they  crossed  over  the  divide  to  the  Grand  river. 
There  were  in  the  party  sixty-four  persons,  in- 
cluding the  Dorion  family  and  the  new  in- 
terpreter to  the  Crows,  whom  they  had  picked 
up  at  the  Ree  village.  This  man  was  Edward 
Rose,  then  and  for  many  years  well  known  on 
the  river.  We  shall  know  more  of  him  in  the 
progress  of  this  story.  The)-  had  eighty-two 
horses,  but  so  enormous  was  the  quantity  of 
merchandise  and  supplies  which  they  carried  that 
only  six  of  them  could  be  used  for  saddle  pur- 
poses. On  the  23rd  they  fell  in  with  a  camp  of 
friendly  Cheyennes  on  Grand  river,  with  whom 
they  remained  until  August  6th;  and  from  whom 
they  obtained  thirty-six  additional  horses.  They 
also  made,  while  stopping  here,  a  large  supply 
of  buffalo  meat.  The  additional  horses  outfitted 
each  of  the  six  regular  hunters  with  -xn  animal  and 


HISTORY    OF    SOL'TH    DAKOTA. 


87 


jjrovided  one  horse  for  every  two  of  the  rest  of 
the  party  so  that  by  the  famihar  "ride  and  tie" 
process  they  got  along  with  reasonable  progress. 
Ramsey  Crooks  was  taken  very  ill  soon  after 
leaving  the  ^Missouri  and  for  a  long  period  had  to 
be  carried  on  a  litter  swung  between  two  horses 
and  shaded  by  a  canopy  of  boughs.  It  is  a 
testimonial  to  the  wonderful  vitality  of  his  con- 
stitution that  he  survived.  They  seemed  tc  have 
crossed  the  Grand  presently  and  dropped  down 
to  the  JMoreau,  but  later  they  got  back  onto  ti.e 
south  fork  of  the  Grand  and,  proceeding  west- 
ward, passed  through  the  Short  Pine  hills,  which 
they  mistook  for  the  Black  hills,  and  left  the 
state  a  few  miles  south  of  the  present  location  of 
Xashville.  Captain  Chittenden  fixes  the  point  at 
forty-five  degrees  twenty  minutes  north  latitude. 
It  seems  to  have  been  the  15th  of  August  when 
they  left  the  state.  Mr.  Hunt  calculated  they 
had  traveled  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  since 
leaving  the  }ilissouri,  which,  considering  the  in- 
direct course  pursued,  is  probably  about  right. 
By  a  direct  course  the  distance  is  not  more  than 
one  hundred  seventy-five  miles.  They  had  put 
in  sixteen  days  of  actual  travel,  averaging  about 
fifteen  miles  per  day.  While  they  were  still  in 
South  Dakota  Pierre  Dorion,  Alex.  Carson  and 
another  hunter  named  Gardpie,  sent  out  on  a 
hunt,  failed  to  return  to  camp.  Several  days 
elapsed  and  no  word  having  been  received,  the 
])arty  became  much  concerned  for  their  safety 
and  traveled  very  slowly  and  scouted  the  region 
thoroughly.  On  August  13th,  when  camped  at 
the  fix)t  of  the  Short  Pine  hills  on  the  east  side, 
the  stragglers  returned.  They  had  become  be- 
wildered and  were  quite  exhausted. 

Irving  tells  a  rather  amusing  bear  story  re- 
lating to  this  camp :  "Among  the  hired  men  of 
the  party  was  William  Cannon,  who  had  been  a 
soldier  at  one  of  the  frontier  posts  and  had 
entered  the  employ  of  Mr.  Hunt  at  Mackinaw. 
He  was  an  inexperienced  hunter  and  a  poor  shot, 
for  which  he  was  much  bantered  by  his  more 
adroit  companions.  Piqued  at  their  raillery,  he 
had  been  practicing  ever  since  he  joined  the  ex- 
jiedition,  but  without  success.     In  the  course  of 


the  present  afternoon  (August  13th)  he  had 
gone  forth  by  himself  to  take  a  lesson  in  venery 
and  to  his  great  delight  had  the  good  fortune  to 
kill  a  buffalo.  As  he  was  a  long  distance  from 
the  camp,  he  cut  out  the  tongue  and  some  of  the 
choice  bits,  made  them  into  a  parcel  and,  slinging 
them  onto  his  shoulders  by  a  strap  passing 
around  his  forehead  as  the  voyageurs  carry  a 
package  of  goods,  set  out  all  glorious  for  the 
camp,  anticipating  a  triumph  over  his  brother 
hunters.  In  passing  through  a  narrow  ravine 
he  heard  a  noise  behind  him  and,  looking  around, 
beheld,  to  his  dismay,  a  grizzly  bear  in  full  pur- 
suit, apparently-  attracted  by  the  scent  of  the 
meat.  Cannon  had  heard  so  much  of  the 
invulnerability  of  this  animal  that  he  never  at- 
tempted to  fire,  but,  slipping  the  strap  from  his 
shoulders,  let  go  the  buffalo  meat  and  ran  for 
his  life.  The  bear  did  not  stop  to  regale  himself 
with  the  game  but  kept  on  after  the  hunter.  He 
had  nearly  overtaken  him  when  Cannon  reached 
a  tree  and.  throwing  down  his  gun,  scrambled  up 
it.  The  next  instant  bruin  was  at  the  foot  of  the 
tree,  but,  as  this  species  does  not  climb,  he  con- 
tented himself  with  turning  the  chase  into  a 
blockade.  Night  came  on.  In  the  darkness  Can- 
non could  not  perceive  whether  or  not  the  enemy 
maintained  his  position  :  but  his  fears  pictured 
him  rigorously  mounting  guard.  He  passed  the 
night,  therefore,  in  the  tree,  a  prey  to  dismal 
fancies.  In  the  morning  the  bear  was  gone. 
Cannon  wearily  descended  the  tree,  gathered  up 
his  gun  and  made  his  way  back  to  camp,  without 
venturing  to  look  after  his  buflfalo  meat."  At 
this  juncture  the  party  became  very  suspicious 
of  Edward  Rose  and  conceived  that  he  was 
plotting  to  betray  them  to  the  Crow  Indians, 
with  whom  he  was  allied  by  marriage,  and  to 
steal  their  merchandise.  Rose  bore  a  bad  char- 
acter, but  there  is  no  proof  that  he  contemplated 
treachery  and  was  doubtless  most  agreeably  sur- 
])rised  when  Hunt  called  him  up  and  paid  him  a 
half  year's  salary  and  a  lot  of  goods  and  tra])s 
in  addition  to  his  regular  wages,  and  told  him  he 
might  stop  with  the  Crows.  The  future  history 
of  the  .\storians  does  not  afi-'ect  South  Dakota. 


CHAPTER  IX 


SOUTH    DAKOTA    AND    THE    WAR    OF    1812. 


\\'hen  the  second  war  with  England  came  on 
the  British  entrusted  their  interests  on  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  beyond,  in  the  hands  of  Col. 
Robert  Dickson,  a  well-known  trader.  Dickson 
was  a  Scotchman  whose  headquarters  at  this  time 
appears  to  have  been  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  but  he 
did  an  extensive  business  over  a  wide  range  of 
country.  Ramsey  Crooks,  writing  in  1857,  sa}s : 
"^^'hen  I  first  went  to  Mackinaw,  in  1805,  it  was 
as  a  clerk  to  Robert  Dickson  &  Co.,  who  were 
then  engaged  in  trade  withf  the  Indians  from  the 
lakes  to  the  Missouri  and  from  the  Wabash  to 
the  boundary  between  the  United  States  and  tlie 
British  possessions.  Dickson's  connection  with 
the  Indians  as  a  trader  was  almost  entirely  with 
the  Sioux."  This  generalization  would  extend 
his  business  over  South  Dakota  and  it  is  probable 
that  he  had  business  relations  with  the  South 
Dakota  Indians  at  the  time,  if  he  did  not  actually 
have  posts  among  them.  That  he  had  their  con- 
fidence and  great  influence  with  them  is  certain. 
Zebulon  Pike  met  him  in  1807  and  describes  him 
as  "a  gentleman  of  general  commercial  knowl- 
edge and  possessing  much  geographical  informa- 
tion of  the  western  country :  of  open,  frank  man- 
ners." He  certainly  very  frankly,  while  trading 
on  .American  soil,  entered  into  the  employment 
of  the  mother  country  and  did  what  he  could  to 
further  the  English  cause  at  our  expense.  There 
are  still  living,  among  the  Sissetons,  Indians 
who  recollect  Dickson,  whom  they  always  call 
"the  Red  Headed."  The  exact  nature  of  Dick- 
son's commission  from  the  English  government 


has  not  been  revealed,  but  judging  by  what  he 
accomplished  he  was  doubtless  empowered  to 
establish  friendly  relations  with  the  American 
tribes  and  to  enlist  as  many  as  possible  in  the 
British  army.  At  any  rate  he  set  out  promptly 
to  enlist  an  auxiliary  army  of  Indians  and  met 
with  considerable  success.  Wapashaw,  whose 
home  was  at  Winona,  and  the  elder  Little  Crow, 
whose  home  was  at  St.  Paul,  were  the  Indian 
leaders  in  the  enlistment,  but  Joseph  Renville,  a 
mixed-blood  Sisseton,  was  doubtless  most  in- 
fluential in  recruiting  the  Indians  and  was  given 
a  captain's  commission  and  pay  for  his  effort  and 
influence.  Renville  came  to  the  Sissetons  in 
South  Dakota,  residing  on  Big  Stone  lake,  and 
recruited  twenty-two  Sissetons  and  several 
Yanktonais  for  the  English  service  and  they 
went  east  and  engaged  in  several  skirmishes  and 
in  the  important  battle  before  Fort  Meigs  :  many 
descendants  of  these  men  are  still  among  the 
Sissetons.  The  most  famous  of  the  South 
Dakota  Indians  were  the  two  Wantotans,  father 
and  son,  chiefs  of  the  Yanktonais,  who  resided 
on  Elm  river  near  the  present  Frederick,  and 
claimed  the  country  on  both  sides  of  the  river. 
Major  Long  met  the  younger  A\'antotan,  at  Lake 
Traverse  in  1823,  and  says  of  him:  "The  most 
interest  which  we  experienced  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Lake  Traverse  was  from  an  acquaintance 
with  Wanotan,  the  most  distinguished  chief  of 
the  Yanktonais.  which  we  were  infomied  is 
subdivided  into  six  bands.  He  is  one  of  the 
greatest  '  men     of     the     Dakota     nation,     and. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


89 


although  but  twenty-eight  years  of  age,  has 
already  acquired  great  renown  as  a  warrior.  At 
the  early  age  of  eighteen  he  exhibited  much 
\alor  in  the  war  against  the  Americans,  and 
was  wounded  several  times.  He  was  then  in- 
experienced and  served  under  his  father,  who 
was  chief  of  his  tribe  and  bore  a  mortal  enmity 
to  the  Americans."  Major  Long  then  proceeds 
to  tell  much  of  the  personal  appearance,  habits 
and  manners  and  dress  of  this  eminent  South 
Dakotan.  He  tells  us  that  he  was  more  than  six 
feet  high  and  would  be  considered  handsome  in 
any  company.  On  this  occasion  he  was  dressed 
in  a  mixture  of  the  European  and  aboriginal 
costume :  he  wore  leggings  of  splendid  scarlet 
cloth,  a  blue  breech  cloth,  a  fine  shirt  of  printed 
muslin,  over  this  a  frock  coat  of  fine  blue  cloth 
with  scarlet  facings  somewhat  similar  to  the 
undress  uniform  of  a  Prussian  officer ;  this  was 
buttoned  and  secured  around  his  waist  with  a 
belt.  Upon  his  head  he  wore  a  blue  cloth  cap 
made  like  a  German  fatigue  cap.  A  very  hand- 
some Mackinaw  blanket,  slightly  ornamented 
with  paint,  was  thrown  over  his  person." ' 

Wanotan's  name  is  variously  spelled  in  the 
old  documents.  It  signifies  the  Rushing  Man,  in 
allusion  to  his  valor  in  battle.  It  is  frequently 
called  Waneta,  Waneton  and  Wahneta.  He  met 
the  Atkinson-O'Fallon  commission  of  1825  at 
Fort  Tecumseh  (Fort  Pierre)  and  signed  the 
treaty  there.  He  is  called  at  this  time  a  Sioune 
and  his  name  is  spelled  Wahneta.  He  continued 
to  grow  in  importance  among  his  people.  Shortly 
after  the  conquest  of  the  Rees,  by  Leavenworth 
in  1823,  Wanotan  removed  from  the  Elm  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Warreconne  on  the  Missouri,  where 
he  set  up  a  protectorate  over  the  Rees, 
protecting  them  from  their  Sioux  enemies, 
in  consideration  of  which  they  annually 
supplied  him  with  a  store  of  vegetables  and  furs. 
He  was  exceedingly  tenacious  of  the  territorial 
rights  of  his  people  and  denied  the  right  of  the 
Sissetons  to  the  "Buffalo  Republic,"  lying  be- 
tween the  Jim  and  the  coteau,  and  would  not 
permit  them  to  occupy  it  except  for  annual  hunts. 
The  facts  mentioned  relating  to  the  twenty-two 
Sissetons  and  the  band  of  Yanktonais  probably 


defines  the  actual  participation  of  South  Dakota 
Indians  in  the  war  of  181 2,  but  indirectly  the 
Indians  of  South  Dakota  were  involved  in  it  in 
many  ways. 

It  will  be  recalled  that  in  the  previous  chapter 
we  left  Manuel  Lisa  at  the  Ree  towns,  in  South 
Dakota,  on  July  18,  181 1,  the  day  the  Astorians 
struck  out  from  the  river  on  the  long  tramp  to 
the  Columbia.  He  spent  some  time  in  closing  up 
his  affairs  with  the  Rees,  but  by  October  was 
back  in  St.  Louis,  where,  during  the  ensuing 
winter,  he  reorganized  the  St.  Louis-Missouri 
Fur  Company  on  a  basis  which  added  to  his  im- 
portance and  influence  in  the  management.  May 
2,  1812,  six  weeks  before  the  .declaration  of  war, 
he  left  for  the  Dakota  country,  and  with  two 
barges  went  as  far  as  the  Mandans,  where  he 
spent  tlie  winter  and  on  June  i,  1813,  he  was 
back  in  St.  Louis  with  a  profitable  year's  business 
and  with  information  which  set  the  authorities  in 
a  furror.  "The  wampum  was  carrying  by 
British  influence  along  the  banks  of  the  Missouri 
and  all  the  nations  of  this  great  river  were  ex- 
cited to  join  the  universal  confederacy  then 
setting  on  foot,  of  which  the  Prophet  was  the 
instrument  and  the  British  traders  the  soul." 
Manuel  imparted  to  General  Clark,  then  Indian 
commissioner,  a  plan  by  which  the  British  scheme 
should  be  thwarted  and  "the  Indians  of  the  Mis- 
souri, which  are  to  those  of  the  upper  Mississippi 
as  four  to  one,  should  arm  not  against  the  re- 
public :  on  the  contrary  should  arm  against  Great 
Britain  and  strike  the  allies  of  that  power." 

General  Clark  was  pleased  with  the  scheme 
proposed  by  the  wily  Spaniard  and  he  was 
promptly  commissioned  agent  for  all  the  Indians 
who  inhabited  the  Missouri  river  above  the 
Kansas.  While  all  of  the  authorities  join  in  prais- 
ing Lisa  for  his  excellent  work  in  behalf  of  the 
American  interests,  there  is  really  little  of  record 
to  tell  us  precisely  what  he  did  do.  The  state 
papers  say,  "He  has  been  of  great  service  the  last 
year  in  preventing  British  influence  by  sending 
large  parties  to  war,"  which  is  beautifully  in- 
definite, and  it  does  not  appear  that  he  made  more 
than  one  written  report,  which  was  sent  in  with 
his  resignation,   in  July,   1817,  after  four  years 


90 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


of  service.  During  this  period  of  four  years 
that  he  held  the  commission  he  resided  at  Fort 
Lisa,  near  Omaha,  and  it  is  probable  that  he 
made  continued  visits  to  the  South  Dakota 
country,  though  we  have  knowledge  of  but  one 
trip  made  in  1814  when  he  brought  Tahama,  the 
"one-eyed  Sioux,"  to  the  mouth  of  the  James 
river,  whence  he  dispatched  him  to  Prairie  du 
Chien  to  obtain  infonnation  of  the  situation  there 
for  General  Clark.  ^Irs.  Dye  says  he  held  } 
councils  all  along  the  river  from  Omaha  to 
Mandan,  and  this  seems  probable.  In  any  event  ; 
through  his  influence  the  Missouri  river  Indians 
were  kept  lo>al  at  a  time  when  it  was  highly  im-  j 
portant  to  American  interests  that  her  foes  on  1 
the  rear  should  be  kept  occupied  with  their  own 
affairs.  Manuel's  letter  to  General  Clark,  re- 
signing his  commission  as  sub-agent,  is  unique 
and  characteristic  and  contains  much  which  i-s 
more  or  less  pertinent  to  our  subject.  It  is  dated 
at  St.  Louis,  July  i,  1817,  and  is  directed  to  "His 
excellency.  Governor  Clark :" 

Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  remit  to  you  the  com- 
mission of  sub-agent,  which  you  were  pleased  to  be- 
stow upon  me  in  the  summer  of  1813,  for  the  Indian 
nations  which  inhabit  the  Missouri  river  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Kansas,  and  pray  you  to  accept  my  res- 
ignation of  that  appointment. 

The  circumstances  under  which  I  do  this  demand 
of  me  some  exposition  of  the  actual  state  of  these  In- 
dians and  of  my  own  conduct  during  the  time  of  my 
sub-agency. 

Whether  I  deserve  well  or  ill  of  the  government 
depends  upon  the  solution  of  these  questions: 

1.  Are  the  Indians  of  the  Missouri  more  or  less 
friendly  to  the  United  States  than  at  the  time  of  my 
employment? 

2.  Are  they  altered  better  or  worse  in  their  own 
condition  at  this  time? 

1.  I  received  this  appointment  when  war  was 
raging  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain 
and  when  the  activity  of  British  emissaries  had 
armed  agains^t  the  republic  all  of  the  tribes  of  the  up- 
per Mississippi  and  of  the  northern  lakes.  Had  the 
Missouri  Indians  been  overlooked  by  British  agents? 

No.  Your  excellency  will  remember  that  more 
than  a  year  before  the  war  broke  out  I  gave  you  the 
intelligence  that  the  wampum  was  carrying  by  Brit- 
ish influence  along  the  banks  of  the  Missouri  and  that 
all  the  nations  of  this  great  river  were  excited  to 
join   the   universal   confederacy  now  setting  on   foot. 


of  which  the  Prophet  was  the  instrument  and  British 
traders  the  soul.  The  Indians  of  the  Missouri  are  to 
those  of  the  upper  Mississippi  as  four  is  to  one.  Their 
weight  would  be  great  if  thrown  into  the  scale 
against  us.  They  did  not  arm  against  the  republic: 
on  the  contrary,  they  armed  against  Great  Britain 
and  struck  the  lowas,  the  allies  of  that  power. 

When  peace  was  declared  more  than  forty  chiefs 
had  intelligence  with  me;  and  together  we  were  to 
carry  an  expedition  of  several  thousand  warriors 
against  the  tribes  of  the  upper  Mississippi  and  si- 
lence them  at  once.  These  things  are  known  to  your 
excellency. 

To  the  end  of  the  war,  therefore,  the  Indians  of 
the  Missouri  continued  friends  of  the  United  States. 
How  are  they  when  I  come  to  lay  down  my  appoint- 
ment? Still  friends,  hunting  in  peace  upon  their  own 
ground  and  we  trading  with  them  in  security,  while 
the  Indians  of  the  upper  Mississippi,  silenced  but  not 
satisfied,  give  signs  of  enmity  and  require  the  pres- 
ence of  a  military  force.  And  the  first  question  re- 
solves itself  to  my  advantage. 

2.  Before  I  ascended  the  Missouri  as  sub-agent 
your  excellency  remembers  what  was  accustomed  to 
take  place.  The  Indians  of  that  river  killed,  robbed 
and  pillaged  the  traders;  these  practices  are  no  more. 
Not  to  mention  the  others,  my  own  establishments 
furnish  the  example  of  destruction  then,  of  safety 
now.  I  have  one  at  the  Mahas,  more  than  six  hun- 
dred miles  up  the  Missouri,  another  at  the  Sioux,  six 
hundred  miles  further  still.  I  have  from  one  to  two 
hundred  men  in  my  employ,  large  quantities  of  horses 
and  horned  cattle,  of  hogs  and  domestic  fowls;  not 
one  has  been  touched  by  an  Indian;  for  I  count  as 
nothing  some  solitary  thefts  at  the  instigation  of 
white  men.  my  enemies;  nor  as  an  act  of  hostilities 
the  death  of  Pedro  Antonio,  one  of  my  people,  shot 
this  spring  as  a  man  is  sometimes  shot  among  us, 
without  being  stripped  or  mtitilated.  And  thus  the 
morals  of  the  Indians  are  altered  for  the  better  and 
the  second  question  equally  results  to  my  advantage. 
But  I  have  had  some  success  as  a  trader  and  this 
gives  rise  to  many  reports.  "Manuel  must  cheat  the 
government,  and  Manuel  must  cheat  the  Indians,  oth- 
erwise Manuel  could  not  bring  down  every  summer 
so  many  boats  loaded  with  rich  furs." 

Good.  My  accounts  with  the  government  will 
show  whether  I  receive  anything  out  of  which  to 
cheat  it.  A  poor  five  hundred  dollars,  as  sub-agent's 
salary,  does  not  buy  the  tobacco  for  them  who  call 
me  father.  Cheat  the  Indians!  The  respect  and 
friendship  which  they  have  for  me,  the  security  of 
my  possessions  in  the  heart  of  their  country,  respond 
to  this  charge  and  declare  with  voices  louder  than 
the  tongues  of  men  that  it  cannot  be  true. 

"But   Manuel   gets   so   much   cheap   fur!"     Well, 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


91 


I  will  explain  how  I  get  it.  First,  I  put  into  my  op- 
erations grPHt  activity;  I  go  a  great  distance  while 
some  are  '  onsidering  whether  to  start  today  or  to- 
morrow. I  impose  on  myself  great  privations;  ten 
months  of  the  year  I  am  buried  in  the  forest  at  a 
vast  distance  from  my  own  house.  I  appear  as  the 
benefactor  and  not  as  the  pillager  of  the  Indians.  I 
carry  among  them  the  seed  of  the  large  pompion, 
from  which  I  have  seen  in  their  possession  the  fruit 
weighing  one  hundred  sixty  pounds,  also  the  large 
bean,  the  potato,  the  turnip,  and  these  vegetables  now 
make  a  comfortable  part  of  their  subsistence.  And 
this  year  I  have  promised  to  carry  the  plow,  besides 
my  blacksmith's  work  incessantly  for  them,  charging 
nothing.  I  lend  them  traps — only  demanding  prefer- 
ence in  their  trade.  My  establishments  are  the  ref- 
uge of  the  weak  and  old  men  no  longer  able  to  follow 
their  lodges,  and  by  this  means  I  have  acquired  the 
confidence  and  friendship  of  these  nations  and  the 
consequent  choice  of  their  trade.  These  things  have 
I  done  and  propose  to  do  more.  The  Arikaras,  the 
Mandans,  the  Gros  Ventres,  and  the  Assiuibois  find 
themselves  near  the  establishments  of  Lord  Selkirk 
upon  the  Red  river.  They  can  communicate  with  it 
in  two  or  three  days.  The  evils  of  such  communica- 
tion will  strike  the  minds  of  all  persons,  and  it  is  for 
those  who  can  handle  the  pen  to  dilate  upon  them. 
For  me.  I  go  to  form  another  establishment  to  coun- 
teract the  one  in  question  and  shall  labor  to  draw 
upon  the  esteem  of  these  nations,  and  to  prevent  their 
trade  from  passing  into  the  hands  of  foreigners. 

I  regret  to  have  troubled  your  excellency  with 
this  exposition.  It  is  right  for  you  to  hear  what  is 
said  of  a  public  agent  and  so  to  weigh  it,  and  con- 
sider the  source  from  which  it  comes.  In  ceasing  to 
be  in  the  employment  of  the  United  States,  I  shall 
not  cease  to  be  less  devoted  to  its  interests.  I  have 
suffered  enough  in  person  and  property,  under  a  dif- 
ferent government,  to  know  how  to  appreciate  the 
one  under  which  I  now  live. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  greatest  respect, 
your  excellency's  obedient  servant, 

MANtrEL  Lisa. 

It  will  be  observed  that  Manuel  asserts  that 
at  the  date  of  this  letter,  Jtily  i,  1817,  he  has  a 
post  "at  the  Mahas,  more  than  six  hundred  miles 
up  the  river,  and  another  at  the  Sioux  (Indians), 
six  hundred  miles  further  still."  The  post  at  the 
Mahas  was  "Fort  Lisa,"  located  about  midway 
between  the  present  cities  of  Omaha  and  Calhoun, 
Nebraska,  which,  according-  to  the  reckoning  of 
that  time,  was  six  hundred  fifty  miles.  Accord- 
ing- to  the  Lewis  and  Clarke  schedule,  which  was 


accepted  for  many  years,  "the  upper  part  of  the 
Big  Bend"  was  twelve  hundred  and  two  miles 
and  the  mouth  of  the  Teton  river  (Pierre)  was 
twelve  hundred  and  sixty-nine  miles.  Therefore 
if  Manuel  meant  to  be  understood  with  exactness 
his  "establishment  at  the  Sioux"  was  somewhere 
between  the  Big  Bend  and  Pierre.  The  old 
Loisell  post  on  Cedar  island  was  at  twelve  hun- 
dred and  twenty-six  miles.  We  have  seen  that 
this  post,  which  came  into  the  possession  of 
Manuel's  company,  was  burned  in  1810,  but  it  is 
not  improbable  that  it  was  rebuilt.  No  other 
record  appears  to  exist  of  Manuel's  post  in  the 
Sioux  country  at  this  date,  but  from  this  letter 
it  is  manifest  that  at  that  time  he  did  maintain  a 
post  somewhere  in  the  central  portion  of  South 
Dakota  and  from  his  further  statement  of  the 
number  of  horses,  horned  cattle,  hogs  and  fowls 
I  he  safely  kept  in  the  heart  of  the  Indian  country, 
I  as  well  as  from  the  number  of  men  employed,  it 
I   must  have  been  an  important  establishment. 

Generally  speaking,  the  fur  trade  was  ruined 
by  the  war  of  181 2,  Lisa  being  about  the  only 
trader  who  seems  to  have  stuck  through  it ;  most 
of  the  operators  suspended  entirely  during  several 
years.  The  market  was  utterly  ruined  so  that 
even  the  great  Aster  felt  the  pinch  of  it.  The 
warehouses  of  St.  Louis  "were  filled  with  moth- 
eaten  and  rotting  furs."  By  1817,  however, 
there  was  something  of  a  revival.  As  we  have 
seen,  at  least  Lisa  was  trading  on  the  Missouri, 
within  South  Dakota,  and  our  old  friend,  Robert 
Dickson,  had  taken  up  his  home  on  Lake 
Traverse  and  was  confining  his  attention  to  the 
trade  with  the  Sissetons  and  neighboring  Indians. 
The  event  of  the  war  of  1812  had  been  disastrous 
to  Dickson's  fortunes ;  his  business  was  destroyed 
and  he  found  himself  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder  and 
compelled  to  start  over  again.  With  Scotch  dog- 
gedness.  he  went  at  it  and  settled  at  Brown's 
valley,  being  an  actual  resident  of  Minnesota, 
though  his  business  was  largely  on  the  South 
Dakota  side.  His  presence  in  the  Dakota  countn.- 
was  a  source  of  great  anxiety  to  the  American 
officers  at  Prairie  du  Chien.  The  United  States 
Indian  agent  at  that  place  reports :  "Two  en- 
tire bands  and  a  part  of  a  third  have  deserted  us 


9^ 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


and  joined  Dickson,  who  has  distributed  to  them 
large  quantities  of  Indian  presents,  together  with 
flags,  medals,  etc.  Knowing  this,  what  must  have 
been  my  feeling  on  hearing  that  his  lordship 
(Lord  Selkirk,  enroute  to  his  colony  on  the  lower 
Red  River)  had  met  with  a  favorable  reception 
at  St.  Louis.  The  newspapers,  announcing  his 
arrival  and  general  Scottish  appearance,  all  tend 
to  discompose  me  very  much,  believing  as  I  do 
that  he  is  plotting  with  his  friend,  Dickson,  our 
destruction — sharpening  the  savage  scalping 
knife  and  colonizing  a  tract  of  country  so  remote 
as  that  of  the  Red  river,  the  Missouri  and  their 
waters,  for  the  purpose,  no  doubt,  of  monopoliz- 
ing the  fur  and  peltry  trade,  a  trade  of  the  first 
importance  to  the  western  states  and  territories. 
A  courier,  who  had  arrived  a  few  days  ago, 
confirms  the  belief  that  Dickson  is  endeavoring 
to  undo  what  I  have  done,  and  secure  to  the 
British  government  the  affections  of  the  Sioux." 
"Dickson,  as  I  have  observed,  is  situated  at  the 
head  of  the  St.  Peters,  to  which  he  transports  his 
goods  from  Selkirk's  Red  river  settlement  in 
carts  made  for  the  purpose." 

The  American  newspapers  were  greatly 
aroused  at  the  time  over  Dickson's  supposed  at- 
titude and  painted  him  as  a  monster.  A  leading 
newspaper,  quoted  by  Niell  but  not  identified, 
says :  "How  will  the  English  government  and 
their  agent,  Robert  Dickson,  a  native  of   Scot- 


land, appear  when  it  is  announced  to  them  that 
he  employed  a  Sauk  warrior  to  assassinate 
Governor  Qarke  at  Prairie  du  Chien?  The 
Governor's  timely  shifting  of  the  sword  alarmed 
and  deterred  him  from  the  commission  of  the^ 
act."  This  characterization  of  Dickson  seems  to 
be  unfounded.  Every  one  who  associated  with 
him  and  his  letters,  collected  and  published  by  the 
Wisconsin  Historical  Society,  all  declare  him  to 
have  been  a  humane  man  who  restrained  the 
Indians  from  excesses.  Ramsey  Crooks  says  of 
him  :  "I  was  proud  to  call  Robert  Dickson  my 
friend  and  I  shall  ever  cherish  his  memory  as 
a  man  who  exerted  himself  in  restraining  natural 
ferocity  of  the  savages  on  the  frontier  in  the  war 
of  1812,  although  he  was  branded  as  the  worst 
of  savages  at  the  very  time." 

The  strong  probability  is  that  Dickson,  at  this 
period,  was  struggling  to  redeem  his  lost  fortune 
without  any  ulterior  motive.  He  was,  however, 
arrested  and  taken  to  St.  Louis  for  trial,  but  was 
dismissed  by  the  United  States  commissioner  be- 
fore whom  he  had  his  preliminan,-  examination 
and  returned  to  Lake  Traverse.  When  or  where 
his  death  occurred  I  have  not  learned.  He  left  a 
family  and  his  descendants  are  still  prominent 
in  Alinnesota  affairs.  A  daughter  married  Joseph 
LaFramboise,  the  well-known  trader  and  fron- 
tiersman who  made  the  first  settlement  at  Fort 
Pierre. 


CHAPTER   X 


THE  STORY  OF  JOSEPH  LaFRAMBOISE. 


The  winter  counts  of  the  Tetons  for  the  years 
1817-18  show  a  log  hut  with  a  chimney,  standing 
beside  a  dead  tree.  This  is  variously  interpreted, 
the  weight  of  opinion  being  that  it  signifies  that 
Joseph  LaFramboise  built  a  trading  store  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Teton  river  that  year  and  that  the 
house  was  built  of  dead  timber.  Another  in- 
terpretation is  that  Louis  LaConte  built  a  trading 
house  on  the  Missouri  just  below  the  big  bend. 
No  other  record  of  this  settlement  has  been  de- 
veloped, but  it  is  the  popular  impression,  sup- 
ported by  Indian  tradition,  that  LaFramboise  did 
really  settle  at  Fort  Pierre  in  November  or  De- 
cember, 1817.  In  confirmation  of  this  story 
Joseph  LaFramboise,  Jr.,  a  son  of  the  party  in 
question,  who  was  born  in  1829  and  who  recalls 
many  of  the  incidents  related  to  him  by  his  father 
regarding  his  movements  before  the  birth  of  his 
son,  recalls  that  his  father  told  him  that  at  one 
time  he  had  engaged  in  trade  on  the  Missouri 
at  Fort  Pierre,  that  he  was  at  the  time  represent- 
ing Joseph  Rolette  and  that  he  went  to  Fort 
Pierre  from  Prairie  du  Chien,  accompanied  by 
two  half-breed  Frenchmen  and  a  party  of  Sioux 
Indians,  who  packed  with  them  a  quantity  of  light 
merchandise  which  LaFramboise  traded  out  to 
the  Indians.  Joseph,  Jr.,  can  not  tell  anything 
about  the  date  of  this  settlement  except  that  it 
was  late  in  the  fall,  after  the  river  was  frozen, 
and  that  he  built  the  house  out  of  floatwood. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  LaFramboise  settled 
at  Fort  Pierre  at  about  the  date  mentioned, 
though  it  may  have  been  in  1818  or  1819.     He 


was  known  to  have  been  there  in  1819.  The  next 
year  he  was  trading  on  Big  Stone  lake,  and  in 
1822  was  sent  by  Rolette  to  the  big  bend  of  the 
Sioux,  where  Flandreau,  South  Dakota,  now  is 
located,  and  engaged  in  trade  there  for  five  years 
in  a  substantial  house.  He  then  moved  his  wares 
across  the  coteau  and  traded  on  the  headwaters 
of  the  Des  Moines.  Some  doubt  is  thrown  on 
the  early  movements  of  LaFramboise  by  evidence 
secured  by  the  Wisconsin  Historical  Society  that 
he  was  born  in  1805  and  presumably  was  too 
young  to  engage  in  these  pioneer  movements  at 
the  dates  first  mentioned.  His  son,  Joseph,  too, 
says  he  was  but  fifty  years  of  age  at  the  date  of 
his  death  in  1856,  which  would  tend  to  confirm 
the  date  fixed  by  the  Wisconsin  authority. 

The  first  ofificial  notice  of  LaFramboise  is 
that  he  obtained  a  license  to  trade  with  the 
Indians  on  the  waters  of  the  Minnesota  river, 
from  the  United  States  Indian  agent  at 
Mackinaw,  on  August  22,  1822.  To  have  traded 
on  the  Missouri  in  1817  he  must  have  had  a 
license  from  General  Clarke  at  St.  Louis,  but  no 
such  license  was  issued.  If  the  Wisconsin  record 
of  his  birth  is  correct,  the  license  which  he  se- 
cured in  1822  must  have  been  issued  when  he  was 
seventeen  years  of  age,  a  rather  precocious  age 
for  an  independent  trader.  Joseph,  Jr.,  says  his 
father  told  him  he  left  school  when  he  was 
fifteen  and  at  once  entered  the  employment  of 
Joseph  Rolette  at  Prairie  du  Chien.  The  fair 
conclusion  from  all  the  evidence  seems  to  be 
that  the  Wisconsin  date  is  mistaken  and  that  La- 


94 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Framboise  at  a  yen"  early  age  did  engage  in  trade 
on  the  ^lissouri  some  time  before  1820  and  did, 
ill  1822,  under  the  license  to  trade  on  the  waters 
of  the  Minnesota,  locate  and  trade  at  Flandreau, 
his  record  thereafter  being  well  established.  It 
is  fair  to  conclude  that  his  sojourn  on  the  Mis- 
souri was  very  brief  and  probably  unlicensed. 
Joseph,  Jr.,  says  that  many  times  in  his  child- 
hood he  visited  the  old  post  at  Flandreau  and 
when  he  was  a  young  man  portions  of  the  old 
building  still  remained.  This  testimony  is  cor- 
roborated by  Greyfoot  and  other  of  the  older 
Indians  who  also  were  familiar  with  the  ruins  of 
the  Flandreau  post.  It  appears  too  that  the  set- 
tlement made  by  LaFramboise  at  Pierre  was 
thereafter  continuous,  being  the  oldest  continuous 
settlement  within  the  state  and  that  fact  has 
given  to  its  founder  a  conspicuousness  which  is, 
save  for  that,  unjustified  by  anything  which  he 
really  accomplished.  As  the  founder  of  the  first 
continuous  settlement,  then,  it  is  worth  noting 
that  LaFramboise  came  of  a  family  long  noted 
on  the  frontier.  His  grandfather,  Alexis  La- 
Framboise, was  a  pioneer  at  Macinaw  as  early  as 
1780  and  his  father,  Francois,  was  trading  at 
^Milwaukee  in  1802.  Francois  was  a  man  of 
education,  refinement  and  great  piety.  He  mar- 
ried a  half  Ottawa  girl  named  Madaline  Marcotte. 
In  1809,  when  Joseph  was  but  a  young  boy,  the 
family  was  trading  near  Grand  Haven,  Michigan, 
when  one  evening,  as  the  father  was  on  his  knees 
engaged  in  his  prayers,  he  was  shot  and  killed 
by  a  treacherous  Winnebago.  The  Ottawa 
mother,  who  was  a  woman  of  unusual  detemiina- 
tion  and  strength  of  character,  took  up  the  busi- 
ness where  her  husband  left  it  and  carried  it 
forward  with  great  success  and  soon  became  the 
manager  of  the  great  Astor  interests  at  Macinaw. 
She  educated  her  children  and,  although  she  had 
been  without  early  opportunities  for  education, 
after  she  was  fifty  taught  herself  to  read  and 
before  her  death  became  proficient  in  French 
literature.  Her  highly  accomplished  daughter 
Josette,  sister  of  the  Dakota  frontiersman,  mar- 
ried Captain  Benjamin  K.  Pierce,  an  officer  of 
the  United  States  army  and  a  brother  of  Presi- 
dent Franklin   Pierce.     Of   the   subject   of   this 


sketch,  the  son  Joseph,  who  built  the  post  at 
Fort  Pierre,  the  Collections  of  the  Wisconsin 
Historical  Society,  which  deal  copiously  with  his 
parents,  give  very  little  information.  We  learn 
that  he  had  a  college  education  and  that  through 
all  of  his  sojourn  in  the  western  wilderness  he 
kept  with  him  a  small  but  choice  collection  of 
books  which  he  read  dilligently.  Catlin  speaks 
of  him  as  a  gracious  host  and  a  delightful  com- 
panion. Catlin  found  him  trading  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Lynd  woods  in  1836,  near  the  Red- 
wood river,  in  what  is  now  Lyon  counts^  Min- 
nesota, and  LaFramboise  accompanied  the  artist 
on  his  famous  pioneer  trip  to  the  Pipestone 
quarry. 

While  trading  on  the  Des  ]Moines  in  1828, 
LaFramboise  married  a  daughter  of  the  old  Sis- 
seton  chief  Walking  Day,  who  was  a  brother  of 
Sleepy  Eyes.  This  wife  became  the  mother  of 
Joseph,  Jr.,  who  was  born  at  Bear  Lake,  Murray 
county,  Minnesota,  in  1829.  She  soon  died  and 
thereafter  he  m.arried,  successively,  two  daughters 
of  Sleepy  Eyes  and  the  last  of  these  having 
previously  died  he,  in  1845,  married  Jane  Dick- 
son, a  daughter  of  Col.  Robert  Dickson, 

The  son  Joseph,  Jr.,  still  resides  at  Veblin, 
Marshall  county,  South  Dakota.  He  grew  up  as 
a  member  of  his  mother's  tribe  and  in  the  times 
of  the  great  massacre  of  1862  distinguished  him- 
self in  behalf  of  the  white  settlers  and  the 
prisoners  taken  by  Little  Crow. 

By  1820  the  Missouri  Fur  Company  had  at 
least  two  posts  in  South  Dakota,  one  of  which 
was  doubtless  on  American  island  and  the  other 
on  Cedar  island  ;  they  are  spoken  of  as  being  just 
above  and  just  below  the  big  bend.  That  year 
the  Ree  Indians  came  down  on  a  raid  and  robbed 
both  of  these  houses.  There  is  no  record  that 
they  engaged  in  any  bloodshed  at  this  time. 

It  was  not  until  about  1821  that  a  general 
revival  of  the  fur  trade  occurred  in  the  Dakota 
country.  This  was  largel}-  brought  about  by  the 
amalgamation  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and 
the  Nor' westers,  which  resulted  in  turning  loose 
a  large  number  of  experienced  hunters  and 
traders  who  drifted  down  from  the  British 
possessions    into    the    less    occupied    American 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


95 


cijiintrv,  and,  being  energetic  and  adventurous 
men,  they  soon  had  large  enterprises  in  operation. 
The  first  of  these  was  the  Columbia  Company, 
which  came  nearer  to  being  a  South  Dakota 
enterprise  pure  and  simple  than  any  other  which 
ever  operated  in  this  locality.  They  established 
their  chief  post  and  general  depot  of  supplies  on 
Lake  Traverse.  This  post  was  located  on  the 
^Minnesota  side  at  the  head  of  Lake  Traverse,  not 
very  far  from  the  present  site  of  Brown's  valley. 
Major  Long's  party  visited  it  in  1823  and  speak 
of  the  hospitalit}'  with  which  they  were  enter- 
tained. At  the  same  date  the  American  Fur 
Company  had  a  post  at  the  foot  of  Big  Stone 
lake  in  charge  of  Henry  Moers  ;  this  post  was 
established  soon  after  the  Columbia  entered  the 
field  and  was  intended  to  counteract  the  influence 
of  the  Columbia,  but  the  latter  from  the  very 
inception  was  too  large  and  too  energetic  to  be 
injured  bv  competition  ;  it  was  to  live  to  make 
its  opponents  wince,  for  in  1826  Ramsey  Crooks 
declared  that  the  Columbia  was  "injuring  the 
business  of  the  American  to  the  extent  of  ten 
thousand  dollars  per  annum  at  the  least." 

Joseph  Renville,  the  half-breed  captain  who 
enlisted  the  Sissetons  in  the  English  service,  was 
the  founder  of  this  company.  After  the  war 
England  gave  him.  a  pension  and  he  was  em- 
ployed by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  This 
compelled  him  to  live  north  of  the  national 
boundary,  for  he  could  not  live  on  American  soil 
and  draw  an  English  pension.  Rather  than  to 
be  exiled  from  his  loved  Dakota  land  he  gave  up 
his  pension  and  moved  home,  settling  on  Lake 
Traverse,  and  his  operations  were  so  successful 
that  by  1812  he  was  doing  a  large  business  all 
over  the  west.  When  the  amalgamation  of  the 
two  big  British  companies  threw  a  lot  of  his  old 
companions  out  of  employment  he  invited 
Kenneth  McKenzie  and  William  Laidlaw  to  join 
him  in  business  and  they  organized  the  Columbia 
Fur  Company,  as  before  stated.  Captain  Chit- 
tenden says :  "The  capital  of  the  Columbia  Fur 
Company  was  not  large,  but  the  partners  were 
all  bold,  experienced  and  enterprising  men.  They 
rapidly  extended  their  trade  over  a  large  tract 
of  country.     Their  ])rincipal  establishment  was  at 


Lake  Traverse,  almost  on  the  divide  between  two 
important  rivers,  the  St.  Peters  and  the  Red 
River  of  the  North.  Another  post  was  at  Prairie 
du  Chien,  on  the  Mississippi,  and  a  third  as  far 
east  as  Green  bay  on  the  western  shore  of  Lake 
Michigan.  The  most  important  outposts,  how- 
ever, were  on  the  Missouri  river.  In  1823  James 
I  Kipp  and  a  Air.  Tilton  visited  the  Maadans, 
where  they  conducted  trade  until  1827.  The 
necessary  supplies  were  brought  from  Fort 
Traverse."  The  most  important  of  the  Columbia 
Fur  Company's  posts  on  the  Missouri  was  just 
above  the  mouth  of  the  Teton  river,  or  Little 
Missouri  as  it  was  then  called.  It  bore  the  name 
of  Fort  Tecumseh.  At  the  same  time  the  Ameri- 
can Fur  Company  had  a  post  there,  but  its  name 
is  not  now  known.  Fort  Lookout,  eight  miles 
above  American  island,  was  another  Columbia 
Fur  Company  post  and  Fort  Kiowa,  the  Ameri- 
can Fur  Company's  post,  stood  very  near  to  it. 
The  Columbia  also  had  posts  at  the  mouths  of  the 
Niobrara,  James  and  ^^ermilion  rivers,  and  it  is 
very  probable  that  the  post  which  Joseph  La- 
Framboise  conducted  at  this  period  on  the  Sioux 
at  Flandreau,  was  really  an  outpost  of  the  Colum- 
bia's. At  this  time  too  the  Missouri  Fur  Com- 
pany, Manuel  Lisa  being  dead,  had  passed  into 
the  control  of  Joshua  Pilcher  and  had  built  at 
least  one  additional  post  in  Dakota,  Fort  Re- 
covery, on  American  island.  It  is  not  impossible 
that  Recovery  is  the  post  referred  to  by  Manuel 
Lisa  in  his  letter  of  resignation  as  being  "at 
the  Sioux,  six  hundred  miles  further  still."  It  is 
suggested  that  after  the  burning  of  the  Loisell 
post  on  Cedar  island  in  1810,  in  which  the  com- 
pany lost  fifteen  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  fur, 
that  they  rebuilt  on  American  island  and  for  an 
apparent  reason  called  the  new  plant  Recovery. 
On  this  point  the  record  is  obscure.  At  any  rate 
Fort  Recovery  was  built  by  the  Missouri  Fur 
Company  prior  to  1823. 

The  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  was  also 
in  the  South  Dakota  field  at  this  time,  with  at 
least  one  post,  which  was  situated  at  the  mouth 
of  White  river  and  called  Fort  Brasseaux.  The 
Rocky  Mountain  was  organized  in  1822  by  Gen. 
William  H.  Ashley  and  his  principal  partner  was 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


]\Iaj.  Andrew  Henry.  The  intention  of  the  com- 
pany was  to  trade  chiefly  at  the  head  of  the 
Missouri  and  beyond,  but  it  also  aspired  to  a 
portion  of  the  Sioux  trade.  Major  Henry  left 
St.  Louis  for  up-river  about  April  15,  1822.  He 
had  two  keel  boats  heavily  laden  with  merchan- 
dise, but  near  Franklin,  Missouri,  one  struck  a 
snag  and  was  lost  with  more  than  ten  thousand 
dollars'  worth  of  goods.  He  went  on  with  the 
other,  and  probably  left  a  party  with  goods  to 
build  Fort  Brasseaux  at  the  White  river.     He 


reached  the  headwaters  of  the  river  and  spent  the 
winter  there.  The  Missouri  Fur  Company  sent 
a  party  also  to  the  head  of  the  river  the  summer 
of  1822  and  from  all  accounts,  though  we 
have  little  detailed  information  that  is  definite 
about  the  South  Dakota  field,  it  must,  with  the 
Columbia,  American,  Missouri,  and  Rocky 
Mountain  Fur  Companies,  in  addition  to  several 
private  outfits  trading  here  at  that  time,  have 
been  an  exceedingly  active  year  in  primitive 
South  Dakota. 


CHAPTER  XI 


THE  COXOUEST  OF  THE  REE  INDIANS. 


It  is  noteworthy  that,  while  before  the  be- 
ginning of  the  nineteenth  century  the  Sioux  In- 
dians occupied  ahnost  the  entire  South  Dakota 
country  and  the  Rees  had  been  driven  to  occupy 
a  little  patch  near  the  north  line  of  the  present 
state,  not  more  than  a  single  township  in  extent, 
still,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  preceding  chapters, 
by  far  the  larger  portion  of  the  history  of  South 
Dakota  down  to  1825  had  to  do  with  this  little, 
fast  diminishing  band  of  Rees.  For  convenience, 
and  in  the  absence  of  a  better  name,  the  home  of 
the  Rees,  comprising  three  villages  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  ^Missouri,  about  six  miles  above  the 
nioi-th  of  Grand  river,  will  in  the  following  nar- 
rative be  called  Arickara,  thus  avoiding  the  con- 
stant repetition  of  the  term  "Ree  villages." 

As  will  be  seen  from  the  preceding  chapter, 
the  Rocky  !\Iountain  Fur  Company  was  organized 
at  St.  Louis  in  1822  and  that  summer  Maj. 
Andrew  Henn-,  representing  the  new  company, 
took  an  expedition  to  the  mountains,  where  he 
remained  over  winter  on  the  Yellowstone.  The 
same  summer  General  Ashley,  for  the  company, 
took  a  boat  load  of  goods  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Yellowstone  and  then  returned  to  St.  Louis  for 
the  winter  of  1S22-3.  That  winter  he  advertised 
in  the  ^Missouri  Republican  for  a  hundred  en- 
terprising young  men  to  accompany  him  to  the 
headwaters  of  the  Missouri  river.  Through  this 
advertisement  he  drew  about  him  ninety  young 
men.  many  of  whom  were  to  become  identified 
as  leading  spirits  in  Missouri  river  history  dur- 
ing a  long  term  of  years. 


Alarch  10,  1823,  General  Ashley  started  with 
this  expedition  up  river.  He  had  ninety  men  and 
the  large  keel  boat  "Yellowstone,"  loaded  with 
goods  for  the  Indian  trade.  About  the  time  he 
s'tarted  from  St.  Louis,  the  Rees  from  Arickara 
came  down  the  river  to  the  post  of  the  Missouri 
Fur  Company,  probably  Fort  Recovery,  though 
it  may  have  been  a  post  above  the  big  bend,  where 
they  robbed  a  party  of  traders,  and  finally,  one 
hundred  fifteen  strong,  attacked  the  trading 
house,  but  were  repulsed  with  the  loss  of  two 
killed,  including  the  son  of  a  principal  chief,  and 
several  others  severely  wounded. 

General  Ashley  had  been  on  the  river  more 
than  ten  weeks  when,  on  May  30th,  they  reached 
Arickara,  where  it  was  his  intention  to  buy 
horses  and  send  about  half  of  the  party  to  the 
mountains  by  the  Grand  river  route,  while  with 
the  remainder  he  intended  to  proceed  up  river 
with  the  boat.  The  Rees  met  the  General  in  the 
most  friendly  spirit  and  desired  him  to  stop  and 
trade  with  them.  He  communicated  his  purpose 
to  them  and  they  were  highly  delighted  and  at 
once  called  a  council  to  fix  upon  the  price  of  the 
thirty  or  forty  horses  which  Ashley  desired  to 
buy.  That  afternoon  they  met  Ashley  on  the  sand 
beach  before  the  town  and  having  agreed  on  a 
price  they  entered  into  a  trade.  The  Rees  alluded 
to  the  scrap  down  at  the  Missouri  Fur  Com- 
pany's post  and  expressed  deep  regret  for  the  oc- 
currence. They  said  that  they  considered  Ameri- 
cans as  their  friends  and  that  they  had  and  would 
furnish  as  manv  horses  as  Ashlev  wished  to  buv 


98 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


at  the  price  named.  All  day  the  31st  of  ;\Iay  and 
June  1st  the  trading  was  kept  up,  when  the  req- 
uisite number  of  horses  had  been  secured.  Ar- 
rangements were  then  made  for  forty  of  the  men 
to  go  across  country  with  the  horses  and  plans 
were  laid  for  an  early  start.  The  overland  party 
left  the  boat  and  camped  on  the  evening  of  the 
1st  about  forty  yards  from  the  boats.  The  re- 
lations with  the  Indians  continued  to  be  of  the 
most  cordial  nature. 

At  three  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  2d, 
just  as  the  sky  was  clearing  from  a  heavy  thunder 
storm.  General  Ashley  was  awakened  from  his 
bed  in  the  cabin  of  the  "Yellowstone"  with  the  in- 
formation that  the  Rees  had  attacked  the  land 
party  and  killed  one  man  and  that  they  were 
evidently  preparing  to  attack  the  boats.  He  arose 
to  find  the  men  already  under  arms,  in  which 
situation  they  waited  until  sunrise  when  the 
Indians  began  a  well-directed  fire  from  the  picket- 
ing of  the  town  and  from  the  adjoining  ravine. 
Their  shot  were  principally  directed  against  the 
men  on  the  beach,  who  were  making  a  desperate 
resistance,  using  the  bodies  of  the  horses  which 
had  already  been  killed  as  breastworks.  The 
Indians  were  so  well  protected  that  the  return 
shot  manifestly  did  little  execution.  General 
Ashley  then  laid  the  big  boats  well  up  to  the 
shore,  and  sent  of?  two  skiffs  for  the  purpose  of 
embarking  the  men,  but  they  were  fighting  stub- 
bornly and  refused  to  give  way  to  the  Indians 
and  therefore  did  not  promptly  avail  themselves 
of  the  opportunity  to  get  awa}'  afforded  them. 
The  fight  lasted  but  fifteen  minutes,  but  so  des- 
perate was  it  that  at  its  close  twelve  men  lay 
dead  and  eleven  others  severely  wounded,  at  least 
one  of  them  mortally.  The  killed  were  John 
^Matthews,  John  Collins,  Aaron  Stevens.  James 
}iIcDaniel,  Westley  Piper.  George  Flage,  Benja- 
min F.  Sweed,  James  Penn,  Jr.,  John  Miller, 
John  S.  Gardner,  Ellis  Ogle,  David  Howard. 
Stevens  was  killed  in  the  fort  at  the  time  General 
Ashley  was  first  aroused.  The  wounded  were 
Reece  Gibson,  who  died  next  day,  Joseph  Mouse, 
John  Lawson,  Abraham  Ricketts.  Robert  Tucker, 
Joseph  Thompson,  Jacob  Miller,  Daniel  McLain, 
Hugh   Glass,   August  Duffier,  Willis,  a  colored 


man.  General  Ashley  thought  that  not  more  than 
seven  or  eight  Indians  were  killed  by  the  white 
men. 

The  foregoing  is  in  effect  General  Ashley's 
account  of  the  facts  surrounding  the  massacre. 
Captain  Chittenden  throws  the  following  addi- 
tional light  upon  it :  "It  should  be  stated,  though 
Ashley  makes  no  mention  of  it,  that  he  was 
warned  at  this  time  (while  the  trading  was  still 
in  progress)  to  be  on  his  guard.  His  interpreter, 
the  noted  Edward  Rose,  cautioned  him  that  from 
1  signs  apparent  to  those  versed  in  Indian  wiles 
trouble  of  some  sort  was  brewing.  Ashley  seems 
to  have  been  about  as  suspicious  of  Rose  as  Hunt 
had  been  twelve  years  before  and  with  just  as 
little  reason.  He  rejected  Rose's  advice  to  moor 
the  boats  for  the  night  against  the  bar  at  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river  and  not  only  remained 
near  the  shore  next  to  the  villages,  but  even  left 
his  land  party  encamped  on  the  beach.  Among 
the  latter  were  Smith,  Sublette  and  Jackson :  this 
party  numbered  forty  men  and  had  with  them  all 
the  horses  they  had  purchased. 

"The  lower  village  where  Ashley  was  en- 
camped was  on  the  convex  bend  of  the  river  with 
a  large  sand  bar  in  front,  forming  nearly  two- 
thirds  of  a  circle.  Between  the  bar  and  the  shore 
on  which  the  village  stood  ran  the  river.  At  the 
head  of  the  bar  the  channel  was  very  narrow  and 
here  the  Indians  had  built  a  timber  breastwork 
which  entirely  commanded  the  ri^■er.  There  were 
indications  that  a  party  of  Indians  was  concealed 
on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river  at  a  point  where 
the  channel,  just  above  the  upper  river,  ran  near 
the  east  shore. 

"As  soon  as  the  firing  commenced  Ashley 
undertook  to  have  the  horses  swum  across  to  a 
submerged  sandbar  on  the  other  side  of  the  river, 
but  before  he  accomplished  anything  the  fire  be- 
came so  destructive  that  he  abandoned  the  at- 
tempt. He  then  undertook  to  move  his  keel  boats 
in  shore  a  distance  of  only  ninety  feet  in  order  to 
take  on  the  men.  but  the  boatmen  were  so  panic- 
stricken  that  they  refused  to  expose  themselves 
in  the  least  degree.  .Ashley  then  managed  to  get 
two  skiffs  ashore  capable  of  holding  about  thirty 
men,  but  the  land  party  was  so  determined  not  to 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


99 


yield  that  only  seven  men.  four  of  whom  were 
wounded,  took  advantage  of  the  opportunity. 
The  small  skiff,  with  two  men  wounded,  one 
mortally,  made  for  the  opposite  shore.  The  large 
skiff,  after  transferring  its  five  men  to  the  keel 
boat,  was  sent  back,  but  before  it  reached  the 
shore  one  of  the  men  handling  it  was  shot  down 
and  in  some  way  the  boat  got  adrift.  The  mien 
on   shore,   seeing  the  uselessness  of   further  re- 


in fact  the  men  promptly  joined  in  a  resolution  to 
desert,  but  Ashley  finally  induced  them  to  descend 
the  river  to  some  point  not  identified,  but  prob- 
ably about  the  mouth  of  the  Moreau,  where  they 
fortified  and  awaited  reinforcements.  It  is  prob- 
able that  the  dead  men  were  brought  to  near  this 
camp  for  burial. 

General   Ashley  at  once   sent   an   express   to 
Major  Henry,  on  the  Yellowstone,  with  informa- 


COL.    HEXKY   LEAVENWORTH. 


sistance,  returned  to  the  river  and  swam  to  the 
boats ;  several  who  tried  to  reach  the  boats  after 
being  wounded  drowned." 

General  Ashley's  first  purpose  was  to  push 
by  the  towns  and  go  on  to  join  Henry  on  the 
Yellowstone,  but  to  his  surprise  and  mortification 
he  found  his  men,  with  a  few  exceptions,  so  panic- 
stricken  that  they  positively  refused  to  attempt 
to  pass  the  towns  without  large  reinforcements. 


tion  of  the  massacre  and  to  warn  him  of  his 
danger.  This  despatch  was  carried  by  Jedediah 
S.  Smith,  a  boy  of  eighteen  at  the  time,  who  was 
on  his  first  trip  up  the  river.  Before  starting  he 
made  an  eloquent  prayer,  which  was  the  first 
recorded  act  of  worship  within  South  Dakota. 
Smith  made  the  trip  to  the  Yellowstone,  whence 
he  returned  to  St.  Louis  and  by  the  loth  of 
.•\u2'ust   was  back   at   Arickara,   having  doubled 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


the  Missouri  river  from  the  mouth  of  the  Yel- 
lowstone, a  distance  of  four  thousand  miles,  in 
seventy  da^-s,  at  a  time  when  there  was  no  mode 
of  traveling  faster  than  a  skiff  or  an  Indian  pony. 

Ashley  sent  another  express  to  Fort  Atkinson, 
near  Omaha,  infomiing  Colonel  O'Fallon,  the 
Indian  agent  on  the  Missouri,  of  the  outbreak  of 
the  Rees  and  asking  for  assistance  in  punishing 
the  miscreants.  He  must  have  suffered  desertions, 
for  he  says  he  has  but  twenty-three  effective  men. 
He  remained  in  the  vicinity  of  his  camp  until 
Major  Henry  arrived,  about  the  first  of  July. 
When  Henry  reached  Arickara,  when  coming 
down,  the  Indians  showed  every  evidence  of 
friendship  and  begged  him  to  stop,  but  he  was 
too  wary  to  be  caught. 

Ashley's  express  to  Fort  Atkinson  reached 
that  post  on  June  i8th.  It  is  hard  to  account  for 
this  long  delay  in  reaching  Atkinson,  when  the 
need  for  speed  was  so  urgent ;  it  is  very  manifest 
that  a  man  of  Jedediah  Smith's  energy  was  not 
entrusted  witli  it.  At  that  date  Colonel  Henry 
Leavenworth  was  in  command  at  Fort  Atkinson, 
which  was  garrisoned  by  the  Sixth  Infantry. 
Leavenworth,  being  far  from  any  superior  of- 
ficer, was  compelled  to  act  upon  his  own  judg- 
ment, and  leaving  the  fort  under  the  command  of 
Alajor  William  S.  Foster,  with  four  companies, 
gathered  up  companies  A,  B,  D,  E,  F  and  G,  and 
on  June  22d  started  up  river  with  three  keel  boats 
laden  with  subsistence,  ammunition  and  two  six- 
pound  cannon.  It  was  before  the  day  of  steam- 
boats. The  water  was  high  and  winds  unfavor- 
able, so  that  the  only  means  of  propelling  the  boat 
was  by  the  cordelle,  and  to  do  this  the  men  were 
compelled  to  wade,  much  of  the  time  in  deep 
water.  On  the  27th  they  were  overtaken  by 
Joshua  Pilcher,  who  after  the  death  of  Alanuel 
Lisa  became  the  manager  of  the  Missouri  Fur 
Company ;  Pilcher  was  upon  the  annual  up-river 
excursion  of  the  company,  with  two  loads  of 
merchandise.  At  Fort  Atkinson,  hearing  of  the 
Ree  outbreak,  he  had  taken  on  a  howitzer ;  after 
joining  the  Leavenworth  party  on  the  27th  he 
continued  in  company  with  it.  O'Fallon  also 
made  him  special  sub-agent  for  the  Missouri  river 
Indians.     ^Majors  Ketchum  and  \\'ooley  were  to 


follow  by  land  and  overtake  the  river  party  at 
some  upper  point. 

It  was  the  3d  of  July  when  the  expedition 
reached  Yankton,  where  a  distressing  accident 
occurred  resulting  in  the  drowning  of  Sergeant 
Samuel  Stackpole  and  six  privates,  through  the 
upsetting  of  a  boat  upon  a  submerged  tree.  They 
also  lost  all  of  the  pork  brought  for  subsistence 
and  fift}-seven  muskets.  The  boat  was  lost. 
Pilcher  came  to  their  assistance  and  took  on  such 
supplies  as  were  saved,  until,  on  the  6th,  they  met 
Bernard  Pratte  with  a  government  boat  which  he 
had  borrowed  to  bring  out  some  furs,  and  taking 
this  craft  they  were  able  to  relieve  the  other 
boats  and  proceed.  On  the  night  of  the  8th, 
again  they  met  with  misfortune  in  a  severe  gale 
which  came  suddenly  and  without  warning  at 
ten  o'clock  in  the  evening.  The  "Yellowstone" 
was  sunk  and  much  property  lost,  including  more 
muskets.  The  boat  was  little  injured  and  they 
righted  her  and  were  able  to  start  again  on  the 
nth.  At  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  July 
19th  they  reached  Fort  Recovery,  on  American 
island,  near  Chamberlain.  They  remained  there 
until  the  22d,  reorganizing  and  rearming  their 
men,  which  they  were  able  to  do  through  the 
kindness  of  the  fur  companies,  who  loaned  them 
rifles  from  their  stocks  kept  for  sale  to  the 
Indians.  At  Fort  Recovery  the  men  were  sub- 
jected to  regular  inspection  and  drill.  From  this 
point,  too,  Leavenworth  and  Pilcher  wrote'  ex- 
tended letters  reporting  upon  the  progress  of  the 
expedition  and  of  affairs  at  the  head  of  the  river 
respectively.  At  Fort  Recovery  about  six 
hundred  Yankton  and  Teton  Sioux  volunteered 
to  join  the  expedition  and  to  share  in  the  fast 
diminishing  rations. 

On  the  22d  the  expedition  proceeded  on  its 
way  and  that  day,  at  Fort  Kiowa,  eight  miles  up 
river,  they  were  joined  by  Majors  Ketchem  and 
Wooley.  On  the  31st  they  were  enabled  to  add  to 
their  supplies  two  thousand  pounds  of  buffalo 
beef  in  exchange  for  ten  gallons  of  whiskey.  It 
seems  that  this  whiskey  was  traded  to  the  Cnc- 
papas,  but  this  is  not  certain.  The  next  day  they 
arrived  at  General  Ashley's  camp,  where  he 
tendered    to    them    a    company    of    eighty    men. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Pilcher  also  tendered  the  services  of  forty  men. 
Each  tender  was  accepted  and  organized  in  a 
separate  company  with  officers  nominated  for  each 
by  Ashley  and  Pilcher  respectively.  The  officers 
of  Ashley's  company  were  Jedediah  Smith,  cap- 
tain ;  Hiram  Scott,  Hiram  Allen  and  George  C. 
(David  E.)    Jackson,  lieutenants:  Charles  Cmi- 

ningham  and  Edward  Rose,  ensigns  ;  

Fleming,  surgeon  ;  T.  Fitzpatrick,  quartermaster ; 
AMlliam  Sublette,  major.  The  Missouri  Fur 
Company  men  were  officered  as  follows,  upon 
nomination  of  Mr.  Pilcher :  William  H.  Vander- 
burgh, captain;  Angus  McDonald,  as  captain  for 
the  Indian  volunteers  ;  Moses  Carson  and  William 
Gordon,  lieutenants.  It  will  be  observed  that 
almost  every  one  of  these  men  became  famous  in 
the  annals  of  the  frontier.  The  united  parties 
were  denominated  the  Missouri  Legion.  Of 
course  this  auxiliary  force  was  not  amenable  to 
martial  law,  but  each  pledged  his  honor  to  obey 
the  orders  of  Colonel  Leavenworth. 

Thev  proceeded  up  the  stream  and  on  the 
night  of  August  8th  camped  fifteen  miles  below 
Arickara.  At  this  time  the  force  consisted  of 
officers  and  men  as  follows :  Leavenworth's  de- 
tachment of  the  Sixth  Regulars,  two  hundred 
and  fifteen  men ;  Missouri  Legion,  volunteers 
unrler  General  Ashley,  one  hundred  and  twenty 
men ;  Indian  volunteers,  under  general  super- 
vison  of  Joshua  Pilcher  as  special  sub-agent, 
seven  hundred  and  fifty  men  in  all,  making  a  total 
strength  of  one  thousand  and  eighty-five,  but,  as 
will  later  appear,  the  Indian  strength  was  worse 
than  useless.  The  effective  strength  of  Leaven- 
worth was  the  three  hundred  and  thirty-five  white 
men,  fairly  well  armed  and  provided  with  two  six- 
]>ounders  and  a  howitzer.  The  troops  were  now 
disembarked  to  go  by  land,  moving  up  the  west 
side  of  the  river,  Major  Wooley  being  detailed  to 
bring  up  the  boats. 

To  a  fuller  understanding  of  the  situation 
it  should  be  related  that  when  Joshua  Pilcher 
started  to  go  up  the  river  it  was  with  the  intention 
of  going  to  the  headwaters  with  goods  for  trade, 
l)ut  when  he  arrived  at  Fort  Recovery  he  learned 
that  his  men  on  the  upper  river  had  met  with 
awful  disaster  and  the  leaders.  Messrs.  Jones  and 


Immel,  and  five  others  had  been  massacred  by  the 
Blackfeet  and  all  of  their  property  destroyed. 
Pilcher  had  thereupon  decided  to  take  his  goods 
no  further  than  Fort  Recovery  and  to  confine  the 
future  operations  of  the  IMissouri  Fur  Company 
to  the  Sioux  Indians  and  those  further  down  the 
stream.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  Mr.  Pilcher's 
interest  was  confined  to  the  lower  river  and  that 
he  had  little  personal  interest  remaining  in  sub- 
duing the  Rees  and  keeping  the  river  open  to 
traffic  of  white  men.  With  the  intense  rivalry  ex- 
isting between  the  opposing  traders  at  that  period 
it  may  be  suggested  that  he  might  have  had 
some  interest  in  making  the  road  to  the  upper 
river  as  difficult  as  possible  to  his  competitors,  the 
Rocky  Mountain,  the  American  and  the  Columbia 
Fur  Companies.  These  observations  are  made  at 
this  time  as  a  possible  explanation  of  some  of  the 
complications  which  followed. 

Lentil  the  8th  of  August,  when  they  were  near- 
ing  the  scene  of  the  impending  military  opera- 
tions, Colonel  Leavenworth  found  Mr.  Pilcher 
exceedingly  obliging,  helpful  and  influential  with 
the  Sioux  Indian  volunteers,  who  appeared  to 
I  have  great  respect  for  him  and  who  were  wholly 
committed  to  his  command.  Mr.  Pilcher,  up  to 
this  time,  had  neglected  no  opportunity  to  be 
serviceable,  but  had  done  everything  in  his  power 
to  ensure  it  success. 

During  the  march  by  land  of  the  9th,  Leaven- 
worth was  disturbed  with  all  sorts  of  misleading 
and  contradictory  reports  in  relation  to  the 
enemy,  his  strength,  defenses  and  purposes.  The 
greatest  apprehension  was  lest  the  Rees  should 
escape  from  the  villages  before  the  military  should 
arrive  to  hold  them  in.  Pilcher  was,  therefore, 
ordered  to  advance  rapidly  with  his  large  force 
of  Indians  and  surround  the  villages  and  so  pre- 
vent the  escape  of  the  enemy  until  the  soldiers  and 
militani'  should  come  up.  The  Indians  made  a 
rapid  advance  forward  and  Leavenworth,  sup- 
posing that  Pilcher  was  leading  them,  pushed  to 
the  front,  then  found  that  Pilcher  was  more  than 
a  mile  in  the  rear,  where  he  had  halted  the 
Indians,  having  w-holly  failed  to  carry  out  his 
orders.  The  military-  having  come  up,  Leaven- 
worth ordered  Pilcher  to  keep  his  Indians  on  the 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


right  and  left  flanks  of  the  troops,  but  the  ad- 
vance was  no  sooner  begun  than  Pilcher  set  out 
and  was  with  the  Indians  far  out  of  sight  in  ad- 
vance. Presently  Pilcher  returned  and,  with 
much  ceremony,  turned  over  to  Leavenworth  an 
Indian  whom  he  said  was  a  Ree  that  he  had 
captured.  Leavenworth  disarmed  the  follow  and 
placed  him  under  guard  and  then  learned  that 
the  prisoner  was  one  of  Pilcher's  own  Sioux. 
When  Leavenworth,  moving  double  quick,  got  up 
on  the  flat,  two  or  three  miles  below  Arickara,  he 
heard  and  saw  an  engagement  in  progress  before 
the  towns  and  man}'  Sioux  returning  with 
captured  horses,  and  Pilcher  again  appeared  and 
reported  that  the  Rees  had  come  out  and  given 
battle  to  the  Sioux  a  short  distance  below  the  town 
and  had  put  up  a  hard  fight  and  driven  the  Sioux 
back.  A  battle  line  was  at  once  formed,  with 
Ashley  and  his  volunteers  of  the  Missouri  legion 
on  the  right,  his  right  resting  on  the  river;  next 
five  companies  of  the  regulars  commanded  by 
IMajor  Ketchem,  Captain  Armstrong's  company 
being  on  the  right  and  Captain  Riley's  on  the 
left.  Thus  formed  they  advanced  with  all  speed, 
but  the  Sioux  and  Rees  were  so  mixed  up  in 
front  they  did  not  dare  fire  until  their  allies  were 
called  to  the  rear,  when  the  Rees  broke  and  re- 
tired to  their  towns,  which  were  picketed.  The 
Sioux  claimed  to  have  killed  ten  of  the  Rees,  but 
Leavenworth  only  saw  three  or  four  bodies  which 
the  Sioux  had  horribly  mutilated.  The  artillen,' 
being  on  the  boats  and  not  yet  arrived,  Riley's 
company  was  sent  to  engage  the  enemy  and  keep 
him  inside  the  pickets,  Wooley  performed  his 
part  splendidly  and  was  up  with  the  boats  almost 
as  soon  as  the  regulars  arrived  and  before  sun- 
down the  guns  were  unloaded  and  placed  in  the 
hands  of  Vanderburgh,  Wooley  and  Morris.  The 
troops  then  went  into  camp  until  the  next  morn- 
ing, when  Captain  Riley  and  Lieutenant  Bradly, 
accompanied  by  Captain  Vanderburgh  with  a  six- 
pounder,  were  sent  to  invest  the  upper 
village,  while  Ashley  and  the  remainder  of  the 
regulars  formed  around  the  lower  town,  being 
supported  by  Morris  with  the  howitzer  and  other 
six-pounder,  Vanderburgh  took  his  first  position 
on  the  bluflf  back  of  the  town,  but  was  so  high  he 


could  not  depress  his  fire  sufficiently  to  strike  the 
town  and  so  moved  down  the  hill.  The  position 
of  the  troops  is  better  indicated  upon  the  accom- 
panying map,  which  was  drawn  by  Mr.  Har- 
graves  Kippax,  from  a  sketch  made  by  the  writer. 
When  everything  was  in  readiness  the  command 
to  fire  was  given  and  the  very  first  shot  from 
Lieutenant  JNIorris's  artillery  killed  the  mis- 
chievous Grey  Eyes,  who  was  considered  largely 
responsible  for  the  outbreak  in  June.  The  mo- 
ment the  villages  were  invested,  so  the  Rees 
could  not  come  out,  the  Sioux  entered  the  corn- 
fields, which  covered  the  adjacent  bottoms  and 
which  were  then  in  roasting  ear,  and  busied 
themselves  in  carrying  away  the  corn,  all  un- 
mindful of  military-  duty.  It  soon  became 
evident  that  the  artillery  could  not  dislodge  the 
Rees,  and  that  the}-  would  not  voluntarily  come 
out  and  it  was  determined  to  make  an  assault 
upon  the  upper  town,  when  Colonel  Leavenworth 
1  was  informed  by  Pilcher  that  he  could  expect  no 
assistance  from  the  Sioux,  and  from  many  cir- 
cumstances the  Colonel  was  led  to  believe  that 
the  Sioux  were  not  friendly  and  were  as  likely 
to  join  with  the  Rees  against  the  soldiers  as 
otherwise.  The  assault  was  not  therefore  under- 
taken and,  hearing  that  the  Rees  were  making 
preparations  to  leave  the  towns  in  skin  canoes. 
Colonel  Leavenworth  went  on  a  reconnoissance 
to  discover  the  facts.  \Miile  he  was  gone  a  few 
Ree  warriors  came  out  of  the  village  into  the 
brush  and  ravine  of  Cottonwood  creek  and  had 
opened  a  fire  upon  the  men  exposed  upon  the 
hill.  Ketchem  came  up  from  the  west  side  of 
the  creek  and  speedily  drove  the  enemy  back  o'f 
his  stockade.  Leavenworth  then  went  up  on 
the  hill  and  found  Pilcher  and  his  boatmen  oc- 
cupying a  safe  position  lying  in  a  hollow  on  the 
opposite  side.  A  desultory  fire  was  kept  up  until 
about  four  in  the  afternoon  when,  no  results 
being  obtained,  the  troops,  man}-  of  whom, 
especially  General  Ashley's  men,  had  been  with- 
out rations  since  the  previous  day,  were  with- 
drawn to  the  camp  below  town  and  rations  pro- 
cured for  them,  chiefly  roasting  ears.  Leaven- 
worth went  to  the  cabin  of  his  boat,  where 
almost    immediately    he    was    waited     upon     by 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


103 


Pilcher  with  the  information  that  Captain  Riley's 
company  had  been  attacked.  This,  too,  Hke 
much  of  the  information  coming  from  Pilcher, 
proved  to  be  unfounded.  Almost  at  once  after 
this  the  Colonel  found  the  Sioux  and  Rees  con- 
ferring together  and  a  few  minutes  later  Little 
Soldier,  cl'iief  of  the  Rees  since  the  killing  of 
Grev  Eyes,  approached  imploring  mercy  from 
the  soldiers  and  with  a  most  pitiful  story  of  their 


make  up  the  horses  they  had  killed,  which  they 
readily  agreed  to  do  and  they  sat  down  for  a 
peace  council.  The  pipe  was  passed  round  until 
it  reached  Pilcher,  who  refused  to  smoke  and 
also  refused  to  shake  hands  with  the  Indians. 
This  had  a  very  bad  etifect  on  the  Indians, 
especially  as  Colin  Campbell,  Pilcher's  in- 
terpreter, told  the  Rees  that  Pilcher  was  the  first 
chief  of  the  expedition.     After  persuasion  from 


VnHDSBURG'S 

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losses  and  suffering.  Leavenworth  sent  him 
back  to  the  village  to  bring  out  the  head  men, 
telling  him  that  if  they  were  sincerely  disposed 
to  peace  that  he  would  grant  them  terms.  He 
soon  brought  out  ten  or  twelve  men  who  said 
for  him  to  do  as  he  would  to  them,  but  begged 
the  soldiers  to  fire  no  more  guns  at  the  town. 
Leavenworth  conditioned  them  to  restore  to  Gen- 
eral Ashlev  all  the  goods  thev  had  taken  and  to 


Leavenworth  Pilcher  did  smoke,  but  in  bad 
grace,  declaring  that  by  so  doing  he  did  not 
assent  to  peace. 

Leavenworth  required  that  five  of  the  Rees 
remain  with  him  as  hostages  until  such  time  as 
Ashley's  losses  were  made  good  and  the  five  men 
were  selected  and  the  Colonel  arose  to  go  to  his 
boat.  Campbell  now  informed  the  Rees  that  the 
heart  of  the  "big  chief."  meaning   Pilclier,   was 


I04 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


verv  bad,  all  of  which  was  apparent  from  his 
looks  and  actions.  He  kept  his  thumb  on  the 
cock  of  his  rifle  and  in  every  way  attempted  to 
alarm  and  intimidate  the  Indians,  until  they  be- 
came alarmed  and  refused  to  go  further.  No 
persuasion  would  induce  them  to  go  to  the  boats, 
declaring  Campbell  had  informed  them  they  were 
to  be  kidnapped  and  killed.  Then  Leavenworth 
told  them  to  return  to  their  villages  and  there 
would  be  no  peace.  Campbell  caught  up  his  gun 
and  threatened  to  kill  one  of  the  Rees,  but  was 
prevented  by  Leavenworth.  Near  by  Pilcher 
told  Dr.  Gale  that  the  Rees  were  likely  to  seize 
Colonel  Leavenworth  and  carry  him  away  to 
the  village,  whereupon  the  Doctor  fired  his 
pistol  at  the  retreating  Indians.  Pilcher  ordered 
Campbell  to  fire,  which  he  did.  and  William 
\'anderburgh  also  opened  fire ;  the  Indians  re- 
turned to  their  village  and  the  soldiers  to  camp. 
The  next  morning  it  was  found  that  Pitcher's 
Sioux  braves  had  all  disappeared,  with  six  mules 
belonging  to  the  quartermaster  and  six  or  seven 
of  Ashley's  horses.  In  the  opinion  of  the  soldiers 
there  was  no  longer  doubt  of  an  understanding 
between  the  Rees  and  the  Sioux  and  a  joint  at- 
tack was  looked  for  and  to  provide  against  it 
the  camp  was  entrenched.  The  next  morning  the 
Little  Soldier  again  appeared  and  upon  sight  of 
him  Campbell,  who  over  night  had  boasted  that 
he  had  broken  up  the  treaty  of  the  previous  day, 
ran  toward  him  with  drawn  rifle.  Leavenworth 
called  him  back  and  ordered  a  sentinel  to  fire 
upon  him  if  he  refused.  Seeing  the  de- 
termination of  the  Colonel,  he  reluctantly  came 
back  and  was  put  under  guard  and  retained  in 
that  position  for  several  days.  Leavenworth 
then  went  to  the  Little  Soldier  and.  after  a  good 
many  explanations  relating  to  the  trouble  of  the 
previous  evening,  arrived  at  an  understanding 
with  him.  He  said  his  people  were  very  much 
alarmed  and  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  get  them 
to  come  out  again  after  the  event  of  the  night 
before.  He  wanted  some  of  the  soldiers  to  go 
into  the  village  and  Edward  Rose,  the  same  who 
had  been  the  Astorians'  guide  twelve  years  be- 
fore, agreed  to  go  in.  Upon  his  return  he' fully 
confirmed  all  the  Rees  had  said  about  the   de- 


struction wrought  by  the  artillery  and  his  story 
was  confirmed  by  Dr.  Gale  and  Lieutenant  Mor- 
ris, who  went  in  a  little  later.  Wishing  to  ascer- 
tain who  were  really  the  recognized  chiefs  and 
head  men  with  whom  it  would  be  safe  to  treat, 
Major  Wooley  was  sent  to  ascertain  the  fact. 
He  made  a  thorough  examination  of  the  village 
and  inhabitants  and  reported  that  they  were  un- 
questionably thoroughly  flogged  and  humbled, 
and  that  a  certain  list  of  men  were  the  chiefs 
having  power  to  treat  and  he  had  arranged  for 
them  to  come  out  and  sign  the  treaty.  Colonel 
Leavenworth  invited  sub-agent  Pilcher  to  draft 

j  this   treaty,   but   he   would   have  nothing  to   do 

i  with  it.  Lea^-enworth  then  drew  the  treaty  him- 
self and  it  was  dul}-  signed  by  the  chiefs.  The 
treaty  was  lost  in  transmission  to  Washington 
and  its  exact  terms  cannot  be  stated,  but  it  pro- 
vided that  they  should  restore  to  General  Ashley, 
as  far  as  possible,  the  property  taken  and  in 
future  to  treat  the  Americans  as  friends.  Copies 
of  the  treaty  were  at  once  sent  to  Pilcher  and 

I  Henry,  sub-agents,  and  Pilcher  took  occasion  to 
write  Leavenworth  that  two  of  the  principal 
chiefs  had  not  signed  the  treaty.  Leavenworth. 
however,  takes  pains  to  dispute  this  contention, 
declaring  that  he  had  ascertained  that  every  chief 
of  anv  standing  were  signers.  After  the  signing 
of   the    treaty   unrestrained    and    friendly   inter- 

i  course  between  the  Indians  and  the  soldiers  was 
opened,  but  Pilcher  and  his  men  took  the  ground 
that,  not  having  joined  in  the  treaty,  they  were 
not  bound  by  it,  and  in  every  way  acted  in  a 
manner  to  alarm  the  Indians  and  make  them 
suspicious.  Rose  reported  that  the  women  were 
packing  up  and  he  feared  that  they  were  going 
to  leave.  He  said  they  were  again  exceedingly 
alarmed  and  every  unusual  noise  filled  them  with 
terror.  Late  on  the  afternoon  of  the  12th  Little 
Soldier  came  to  the  boats  and  declared  that  three 
rifles,  sixteen  robes  and  one  horse,  which  they 
had  previously  delivered,  was  all  they  could  do 
toward  re-embursing  Ashley,  as  they  were  desti- 
tute. He  professed  the  utmost  friendship  for 
the  Americans  and  begged  in  the  case  of  the  re- 
sumption of  hostilities  because  of  their  inability 
to  restore  the  goods  to  Ashley,  to  be  permitted 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


105 


to  stay  with  the  Americans  and  cravenly  gave 
Leavenworth  some  vahiable  pointers  on  how  to 
most  effectively  attack  the  town.  A  council  was 
held  as  to  the  course  to  pursue  and.  though  the 
voice  of  the  officers  and  men  was  for  attacking 
the  towns,  Colonel  Leavenworth,  with  whom  the 
decision  lay,  concluded  not  to  do  so.  Little 
Soldier  was  told  that  he  must  bring  out  more 
goods  and  was.  dismissed.  He  returned  to  the 
town  and  returned  with  a  few  more  robes. 
Rose  reported  that  there  was  no  doUbt  that  they 
intended  to  leave  before  another  morning,  and 
in  this  he  was  right.  On  the  morning  of  the 
13th  the  villages  were  found  abandoned  and, 
though  messengers  were  sent  to  bring  them  back, 
they  could  not  be  found.  Major  Ketchem  was 
sent  at  once  with  two  companies  to  take  pos- 
session of  the  towns  and  protect  the  houses  and 
Indian  property.  They  found  that  the  artillery 
had  riddled  the  houses  and  there  were  thirty- 
one  new  graves,  showing  how  seriously  the  Rees 
had  suffered.  They  stayed  until  ten  o'clock  on 
the  morning  of  the  isth  when,  leaving  every- 
thing in  the  best  possible  shape  in  the  villages, 
Leavenworth  and  his  men  set  sail  down  river. 
Fifteen  minutes  later  they  discovered  the  villages 
in  flames.  They  had  been  fired  by  McDonald, 
the  Missouri  Fur  Company's  trader  at  Arickara, 
and  William  Gordon,  another  employe  of  Pil- 
cher's.  In  speaking  of  this  act  of  vandalism, 
Colonel  Leavenworth  says : 

If  the  nation  has  been  deprived  of  the  advan- 
tages which  might  have  resulted  from  the  magnanim- 
ity of  her  troops  toward  a  fallen  and  humbled  enemy, 
it  is  chargeable  to  that  company,  or  to  those  individ- 
uals who  set  the  town  on  fire.  Had  not  this  been 
done  there  is  no  room  to  doubt  but  that  the  Ricara 
Indians  would  in  the  future  have  been  as  well  be- 
haved as  any  other  Indians  on  the  river.  It  is  now 
my  deliberate  opinion  that  those  Indians  will  be  ex- 
cited to  further  hostilities  if  it  is  in  the  power  of 
the  Missouri  Fur  Company  to  effect  it.  It  is  under- 
stood that  this  company  have  withdrawn  their  trade 
from  above  the  Sioux  country.  Not  so  with  Messrs. 
Ashley  and  Henry:  they  have  a  small  number  of  men 
and  a  large  amount  of  property  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Yellowstone  river  and  they  were  deeply  interested 
in  the  correction  and  pacification  of  the  Ricaras. 
Their  zeal  and  efficiency  in  aiding  in  chastising  those 


Indians  was  conspicuous  and  highly  honorable  and 
could  have  been  excelled  by  nothing  but  the  zeal  of 
the  Missouri  Pur  Company  to  prevent  the  pacification 
of  them  after  they  were  chastised  and  humbled  into 
the  dust. 

On  the  27th  of  August  the  troops  returned 
to  Fort  Atkinson  without  further  incident.  The 
entire  cost  of  the  expedition  was  two  thousand 
thirty-eight  dollars  and  twenty-four  cents.  The 
importance  of  this  event  in  the  early  history  of 
South  Dakota  renders  it  necessary  that  some- 
thing of  the  lives  and  characters  of  the  men  en- 
gaged in  it  shall  be  here  divulged,  and  that  some 
further  light  be  shed  upon  the  purposes  and  ac- 
complishments of  the  expedition  than  is  revealed 
by  the  foregoing  brief  summary  of  the  facts. 
There  has  been  more  or  less  criticism  of  Leaven- 
worth's conduct.  Even  so  eminent  and  so  fair 
a  writer  as  Captain  Chittenden  says  the  affair 
was  considered  a  complete  fiasco.  Joshua  Pilcher, 
of  course,  was  violent  in  his  denunciation  of  the 
course  of  the  commandant.  Whether  or  not 
these  criticisms  are  just  must  be  determined  from 
an  impartial  review  of  the  circumstances.  Mani- 
festly, if  the  campaign  was  a  failure  it  could  not 
be  attributed  to  the  inexperience  of  Colonel 
Leavenworth.  He  was  a  native  of  Connecticut 
and  at  this  time  was  forty  years  of  age.  He  was  a 
distinguished  soldier  of  the  war  of  1812  and  won 
his  commission  as  colonel  for  distinguished 
bravery  at  the  battle  of  Chippewa  and  at  the 
battle  of  Niagara.  He  was  one  of  the  most  re- 
liable and  most  trusted  officers  in  the  army  and 
was  constantly  entrusted  by  his  superiors  with 
the  arduous  and  responsible  commands  of  the 
remote  frontier,  where  he  was  compelled  to  act 
in  grave  emergencies  upon  his  own  initiative  and 
without  communication  with  his  superiors,  as 
was  the  case  in  the  present  difficulty.  When  he 
learned  of  the  outrage  upon  General  Ashley  he 
did  not  hesitate  for  a  moment,  but  within  two 
days  had  his  little  army  equipped  and  was  mov- 
ing with  all  possible  celerity  a  distance  of  eight 
hundred  miles  into  a  savage  wilderness  to  reach 
a  powerful,  entrenched  enemy  with  a  force  so 
small  that  a  braver  captain  might  well  have  hesi- 
tated to  undertake  the  enterprise.     LTndismaved 


io6 


HISTORY    OF    SOL'TH    DAKOTA. 


bv  disasters  of  wind  and  water,  which  left  him 
almost  without  rations  for  his  men,  he  hurried 
alouff  and  reached  the  seat  of  the  disturbance  as 
earlv  as  could  possibly  have  been  hoped.  Thus 
far  there  is  no  evidence  of  lack  of  courage  or  of 
energy  upon  the  part  of  Colonel  Leavenworth. 
Even  before  he  engaged  the  enemy  he  discovered 
that  he  had  associated  with  him  an  auxiliary 
force  of  Indians,  under  a  white  leader  in  whom 
he  could  place  no  reliance  for  assistance,  and  in 
whom  there  was  much  reason  to  fear  treachery. 
\\"ith  a  known  enemy  of  vastly  superior  strength 
in  front,  with  a  possible  enemy  of  vastly  superior 
strength  in  his  rear,  in  the  heart  of  the  wilder- 
ness, without  supplies,  without  possibilit}-  of  re- 
cruits, practically  without  ammunition,  it  was  a 
situation  which  counciled  the  utmost  caution  and 
the  marvel  is  that  he  came  out  without  disaster. 
But  he  did  more  than  to  come  safelt  away ;  he 
really  accomplished' all  that  he  set  out  to  ac- 
complish :  he  destroyed  the  leader  of  the  insur- 
rection and  brought  the  insurgents,  severely 
chastised,  to  humble  subjection  and  it  is  no  fault 
of  Leavenworth's  that  these  Indians  were  ex- 
cited to  break  their  treaty  obligations  by  the 
provocation  of  white  traders  who  had  an  object 
in  stirring  them  to  hostility  to  the  injur}'  of 
business  competitors.  All  of  Leavenworth's  life, 
before  and  after  this  expedition  into  South 
Dakota,  refute  the  imputation  that  he  was  lack- 
ing in  decision,  courage,  activity  or  enterprise. 
It  is  the  conclusion  of  this  writer  that  for  the  loss 
to  the  nation  of  the  legitimate  results  of  his 
action  in  the  Ree  conquests,  that  he  rightly 
placed  the  blame  upon  Joshua  Pilcher  and  his 
Missouri  Fur  Company,  and  that  opinion  re- 
ceived the  hearty  endorsement  of  his  superior 
officers  and  was  fully  concurred  in  by  General 
Ashley.  Pilcher  was  not  slow  to  bring  to  the 
attention  of  the  war  departirient  his  criticisms 
upon  Leavenworth  and  with  a  full  knowledge 
of  these  charges  and  of  all  the  circumstances. 
Major  Cieneral  Edward  P.  Gaines,  commanding 
the  department  of  the  West,  refutes  Pilcher's  im- 
putations and  declares,  "I  am  decidedlv  of  the 
opinion  that  the  conduct  of  the  Colonel  (Leaven- 
worth ) .  with  that  of  his  officers  and  men.  was 


such  as  to  merit  marked  applause."  and  he  par- 
ticularly recommends  Leavenworth  for  promo- 
tion for  his  distinguished  services  in  the  Ree 
campaign.  Two  years  later  Gen.  Henry  Atkin- 
son, as  a  member  of  the  Indian  commission  to 
treat  with  the  Indians  of  the  ?*Iissouri  river, 
visited  these  Indians  and  in  his  report  to  congress 
says,  after  speaking  of  the  erratic  and  hostile 
tendencies  of  the  Rees  during  their  intercourse 
with  white  men:  "It  is  believed,  however,  that 
the  ofTensive  operations  against  them  by  our 
troops  under  Colonel  Leavenworth  has  brought 
them  to  a  full  sense  of  their  misconduct  and  that 
they  feel  chastised  and  chastened."  General 
Atkinson  was  an  experienced  Indian  fighter  and 
no  man  knew  the  characteristics  of  a  "licked" 
Indian  better  than  did  he.  Leavenworth  con- 
tinued to  enjoy  the  complete  confidence  of  the 
military  authorities  and  died  while  upon  duty 
in  the  Indian  territory  in  1834. 

General  William  H.  Ashley  was  at  the  time 
of  the  Ree  troubles  at  the  head  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Fur  Company  and  was  at  the  same 
time  lieutenant  governor  of  the  then  new  state 
of  Missouri.     He  was  a  native  of  \'irginia  and 

j  acquired  his  title  of  general  as  commander  of  the 
Missouri  territorial  militia.  He  accumulated  a 
fortune  in  the  fur  business.  He  was  second  only 
to  Thomas  H.  Benton  in  the  esteem  of  the  citi- 
zens of  St.  Louis  and  served  in  congress  from 
1831  to  1837.  His  business  extended  all  over  the 
west  and  he  was  among  the  first  to  visit  the  Great 
.Salt  Lake  country  of  Ltah  and  is  generally  con- 
sidered the  discoverer  of  the  lake,  though  as  a 
matter  of  fact  he  is  not  entitled  to  the  honor. 
Except  as  a  trader  he  had  no  other  connection 

I  with  the  Dakota  country  and  his  only  extended 
stay  on  our  soil  was  during  this  summer  of  1823 
when,  as  we  have  seen,  he  was  within  our  state 
from  early  in  May  until  the  end  of  August.  He 
was  a  man  of  large  ability,  resourceful  in  emer- 
gency, in  business  as  bloodless  as  the  modern 
trust :  there  is  strong  ground  for  the  inference 
that  throughout  his  late  years  he  enjoyed  a  large 
annual  revenue  from  a  contract  which  stipulated 
simply  that  he  should  not  engage  in  the  fur  busi- 
ness.    As  a  citizen  and  statesman  he  was  public- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


spirited  and  able.  His  death  occurred  shortly 
after  leaving  congress,  in  1838. 

Joshua  Pilcher  was  also  a  Virginian  by  birth 
and  was  thirty-three  years  old  when  the  Ree 
campaign  came  on.  While  his  conduct  upon  this 
occasion  appears  to  have  been  reprehensible  in 
the  highest  degree,  he  usually  bore  a  good  char- 
acter and  enjoyed  a  reputation  for  integrity.  His 
lapse  on  this  campaign  must  be  attributed  to  his 
zeal  for  his  business  and  his  is  not  the  only  case 
where  the  terrific  competition  of  the  fur  trade  led 
otherwise  true  and  honest  men  into  conduct 
which  cannot  by  any  stretch  of  charity  be 
justified.  He  enjoyed  high  social  standing  and 
business  relations  in  St.  Louis  and  after  retiring 
from  the  river  trade  became  superintendent  of 
Indian  affairs  for  the  west  in  1838,  a  position  he 
held  with  credit  until  his  death,  in  1847. 

One  other  gentleman  laid  the  foundation  of 
fame  and  fortune  in  this  campaign,  whom,  be- 
cause of  his  relation  to  the  beginnings  of  Chris- 
tian influence  in  South  Dakota,  deserves  special 
consideration  in  this  connection.  This  gentle- 
■  man  is  Jedediah  S.  Smith,  the  boy  who  made  the 
prayer  on  the  blood-smeared  deck  of  the  "Yel- 
lowstone," amid  his  dead  and  dying  companions, 
on  the  morning  of  June  2,  1823,  as  the  vessel 
drifted  down  the  ^Missouri  near  the  mouth  of 
Grand  river,  and  who,  as  he  rose  from  his  knees, 
took  up  hissBible  and  his  rifle  and  started  upon 
that  desperate  commission  to  the  men  of  Major 
Henry,  four  hundred  miles  away,  through  the 
savage  wilderness  on  the  Yellowstone  and  who, 
sixty  days  later,  having  in  the  meantime  doubled 
the  Missouri  river,  served  with  credit  as  a  cap- 
tain of  the  Missouri  Legion.  Smith  was  a  native 
of  northern  New  York,  where  before  coming 
west  he  had  become  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  He  came  to  St.  Louis  in  the 
winter  of  1823.  but  eighteen  years  of  age,  and 
promptly  joined  the  party  of  "one  hundred  en- 


terprising young  men,"  for  whom  General 
Ashley  was  advertising.  His  fearlessness,  char- 
acter and  energy  on  this  occasion  made  a  deep 
impression  upon  General  Ashley,  who  at  once 
took  him  into  his  full  confidence  and  four  years 
later  transferred  his  fur  business  to  the  firm  of 
Smith,  Sublette  &  Jackson,  of  whom  Jedediah 
S.  Smith  was  the  senior  partner,  being  but 
twenty-three  years  of  age.  Smith  extended  the 
enterprises  of  the  firm  clear  to  the  Pacific  coast, 
to  which  he  made  three  trips,  suffered  severely 
from  the  Indians  and  the  Spaniards,  but  in  spite 
of  many  losses  made  money,  and  finally  was 
killed  by  the  Comanches  while  endeavoring 
to  open  the  famous  Santa  Fe  trail.  During  his 
energetic  life  in  the  wilderness  he  never  forgot 
to  read  his  Bible  and  every  one  of  his  rough 
companions  regarded  him  as  he  was,  a  sincere, 
consistent  praying  Christian,  undaunted  by  any 
danger,  ever  ready  to  do  his  part  and  more,  a 
friend  upon  whom  the  utmost  reliance  could 
always  be  reposed.  He  was  more  than  a  woods- 
ranger  ;  though  with  little  training  in  the  schools, 
he  constantly  improved  every  opportunity  to  se- 
cure information  and  was  a  close  observer  of  all 
the  phenomena  of  the  new  land  and  found  time 
in  his  busy  life,  which,  it  must  be  borne  in 
mind,  ended  in  his  twenty-seventh  year,  to  pre- 
pare an  atlas  and  geography  of  the  Rocky  moun- 
tain region,  which,  though  never  published,  is 
found  to  he.  under  all  of  the  circumstances,  re- 
markably accurate.  The  manuscripts  for  these 
books  are  now  the  pro])erty  of  the  Kansas  His- 
torical Society. 

For  all  of  the  official  correspondence  relating 
to  the  expedition  of  Colonel  Leavenworth  into 
Soutli  Dakota  in  1823  for  the  conquest  of  the 
Ree  Indians,  together  with  notes  illuminating  the 
same,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  first  volume  of 
the  Collections  of  the  South  Dakota  Historical 
Society. 


CHAPTER  XII 


THE  STORY  OF  HUGH  GLASS  AND  OF  THE  TREATY  EXPEDITION  OF   1825. 


Immediately  after  the  fighting  at  Arickara 
was  over,  in  August,  1823,  Maj.  Andrew  Henry 
made  up  a  party  of  eighty  men,  being  the  rem- 
nant of  Ashley's  force  and  some  additions  which 
he  had  brought  down  from  the  Yellowstone,  in 
response  to  Ashley's  message  of  June  2d,  which 
had  been  carried  to  him  by  Jedediah  Smith. 
Ashley  and  Henry  had  a  few  men  and  a  large 
quantity  of  merchandise  and  property  on  the 
Yellowstone  and  it  was  important  that  they 
establish  communication  with  the  upper  river  at 
once.  Old  Hugh  Glass,  one  of  the  men  wounded 
at  Arickara  on  June  2d,  had  by  this  time  so  far 
recovered  from  his  wounds  as  to  be  able  to  hunt 
again.  The  route  was  up  the  valley  of  the  Grand 
river  and  as  it  was  necessary  to  subsist  the  men 
off  the  country  Glass  and  one  other  expert  hunter 
were  sent  ahead  of  the  main  party  to  beat  up  the 
valley  for  game.  The  Grand  river  flows  through 
a  deep  broad  valley  and  has  a  fair  growth  of 
timber  along  the  stream.  It  was  the  third  day 
out  from  the  Missouri,  when  Glass  forced  his 
way  through  a  thicket  to  find  himself  close  on 
to  a  grizzly  bear  which  had  stretched  itself  in  a 
plot  of  sand.  Before  he  could  "set  his  triggers," 
or  even  turn  to  fly,  the  bear  caught  him  by  the 
throat,  lifted  him  in  the  air  and  threw  him  to  the 
earth  and,  tearing  off  a  mouthful  of  flesh,  gave 
it  to  her  cubs.  When  she  turned  to  the  cubs  the 
old  man  tried  to  sneak  away,  but  she  was  in- 
stantly upon  him  again,  followed  by  the  cubs. 
She  seized  him  by  the  shoulder  and  inflicted 
dangerous  wounds  upon   his   shoulder,  arm  and 


hand.  His  hunting  mate  now  came  onto  the 
scene  and  attacked  the  cubs,  which  gave  battle. 
Man  and  cubs  rolled  into  the  river,  but  the  little 
fellows  were  killed.  By  this  time  the  main 
party  came  up  and  the  old  bear  was  speedily  dis- 
patched. Glass  was  found  to  be  in  a  horrible, 
and  presumably  hopeless,  condition.  His  body 
v/as  mangled  and  covered  with  wounds  and  he 
v/as  suffering  tormenting  pain.  The  urgency  of 
the  business  would  not  permit  the  party  to  camp 
with  him,  and  they  could  not  leave  him  alone. 
A  purse  of  eighty  dollars  was  therefore  made  up 
among  the  men  and  paid  to  two  volunteers,  said 
by  one  writer  to  have  been  Fitzgerald  and 
Bridger.  both  later  famous  frontiersmen,  who 
agreed  to  stay  with  him  until  his  death  occurred, 
for  no  one  dreamed  of  his  recovery.  They  re- 
mained with  him  five  days,  when,  seeing  no  hope 
of  his  immediate  death,  they  took  his  gun  and 
everything  he  possessed  except  a  razor,  and 
abandoned  him  to  his  fate  and  set  out  to  over- 
take Henry,  to  whom  they  reported  that  Glass 
died  and  that  they  had  decently  buried  him. 

When  the  old  man  discovered  the  treachery 
of  these  fellows  he  resolved  to  recover  and  call 
the  cravens  to  account,  and  though  he  had  no 
means  of  subsistence  except  a  few  buffalo  berries 
and  wild  cherries  which  grew  within  his  reach, 
he  carefully  nursed  back  his  strength  until  able 
to  travel,  when  he  left  his  dreary  surroundings 
and  started  for  Fort  Kiowa,  near  Chamberlain, 
one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  distant.  He  was 
still  unable  to  stand  and  with  scarcelv  strength 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


109 


to  drag  his  body.  He  was  without  provisions  or 
means  of  obtaining  any  and  the  country  was  in 
the  heart  of  the  hunting  ground  of  the  Rees,  who 
were  his  mortal  enemies,  who  had  already  come 
near  to  taking  his  life  but  two  months  before  and 
whom  he  had  fought  in  battle  only  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  present  journey.  He  persevered, 
however,  and  the  deep  purpose  of  revenge  held 
him  up  and  a  stroke  of  fortune  came  to  his  rescue 
and  supplied  him  with  food.  He  dragged  him- 
self along  until  he  discovered  a  pack  of  wolves 
harrying  a  buffalo  calf  and  he  managed  to 
frighten  them  away  and  so  secured  a  supply  of 
meat.  With  terrible  hardship  and  distress  he 
succeeded  in  reaching  Fort  Kiowa. 

Very  soon  a  party  of  trappers  appeared  with 
a  boat  bound  for  the  Yellowstone  and  Glass, 
though  still  weak,  his  wounds  unhealed,  shipped 
with  them,  determined  that  no  delay  should  inter- 
vene until  he  had  settled  with  the  men  who  de- 
serted him.  When  they  got  to  the  Mandans 
they  ran  upon  the  Rees,  who  killed  all  of  the 
others,  but  Glass  was  providentially  saved  and, 
proceeding,  reached  Henry  on  the  Yellowstone 
only  to  find  that  his  men  had  gone  to  Fort 
Atkinson.  Thinking  to  avoid  the  Rees,  he  at 
once  started  for  Council  Bluffs  by  way  of  the 
Powder  and  Platte  rivers.  He  was  accompanied 
by  four  men.  He  reached  the  latter  river  in 
safety  when  they  run  upon  a  portion  of  Grey 
Eyes'  band  of  the  Rees,  which  since  the  Leaven- 
worth fight  of  the  previous  summer  had  been 
wandering-  on  the  prairies.  The  new  chief  of 
this  band  was  named  Elk  Tongue.  Glass  knew 
him  well  and  they  had  been  fast  friends,  having 
spent  an  entire  winter  hunting  together,  and 
they  met  and  embraced  like  long  separated 
lirothers.  The  white  men  accepted  an  invitation 
to  the  chief's  lodge  and  as 'they  sat  smoking  the 
screaming  of  a  child  attracted  their  attention, 
and,  looking  out,  discovered  the  squaws  making 
away  with  their  effects.  Realizing  that  they 
were  trapped,  they  used  every  effort  to  eft'ect 
their  escape,  but  Glass  alone,  who  was  thor- 
oughly versed  in  the  arts  of  wild  life,  was  able 
to  get  away,  his  companions  being  scalped  within 
his  sight.     He  found  himself  stripped  of  every- 


thing but  a  knife  and  flint,  but,  he  said,  "I  felt 
quite  rich  when  I  found  my  knife  and  steel  in 
my  shot  pouch.  These  little  fixins  make  a 
man  feel  quite  pert  when  he  is  three  or  four 
hundred  miles  away  from  anybody  or  anywhere 
— all  alone  among  the  painters  and  the  var- 
mints." Undaunted,  he  struck  out  to  the  north- 
east and  again  reached  Fort  Kiowa  in  safety 
after  a  fifteen  days'  tramp,  during  which  he  sub- 
sisted on  the  flesh  of  buffalo  calves  which  he  was 
able  to  catch.  He  immediately  set  out  down 
river  and  reached  Fort  Atkinson  in  June,  1824. 
He  was  by  this  time  convinced  that  the  entire 
blame  for  his  desertion  on  Grand  river  in  his 
extremity  was  due  to  the  elder  man,  Fitzgerald, 
while  Bridger,  then  but  a  boy,  was  not  re- 
sponsible and  he  therefore  held  resentment  only 
against  the  former,  but  upon  his  arrival  at  Fort 
Atkinson  he  found  Fitzgerald  had  enlisted  in 
the  army  and  was  therefore  under  protection  of 
Uncle  Sam,  for  whom  the  old  hunter  had  the 
highest  respect,  and  he  therefore  gave  up  his 
determination  to  resort  to  extreme  measures. 
Glass  continued  to  be  heard  from  in  South 
Dakota  affairs  for  eight  or  nine  years  longer, 
when  he  was  killed  by  the  Rees,  while  crossing 
the  Yellowstone  river  on  the  ice  in  the  winter  of 
1832-3. 

There  was  no  noteworthy  incident  of  1824 
which  has  come  down  to  us,  the  trade  along  the 
river  being  kept  actively  up.  In  1825.  however, 
an  event  of  great  interest  happened,  this  being 
tlie  treaty-making  expedition  of  General  Atkin- 
son and  Benjamin  O'Fallon  through  South 
Dakota  to  the  Yellowstone,  in  which  the  first 
formal,  written  treaties  between  the  United 
States  and  the  South  Dakota  Indians  were 
entered  into. 

The  commissioners  left  St.  Louis  on  March 
20,  1825,  and  arrived  at  Council  Bluff's  on  April 
29th,  where  they  remained  until  the  14th  of 
May.  There  it  was  outfitted  with  eight  keel 
boats  which,  in  addition  to  the  usual  sails,  oars 
and  cordelles,  had  each  a  set  of  paddle  wheels, 
operated  by  hand.  The  boats  were  named  after 
the  game  animals  most  common  on  the  Mis- 
souri,   being    the    "Beaver."    "Buffalo,"    "Elk," 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


••.Mink,"  ••:\Iuskrat,"'  "•Otter,"  '•Raccoon"  and 
••White  Bear."  The  journal  of  this  expedition 
has  not  been  printed,  but  is  in  the  possession  of 
the  Missouri  Historical  Society. 

The  following  narrative  of  what  transpired 
upon  this  trip  is  mainly  taken  from  Captain 
Chittenden's  account.  Among  the  ofificers  of  the 
expedition,  in  addition  to  Messrs.  Atkinson  and 
O'Fallon,  the  commissioners,  were  A.  L.  Lang- 
ham,  -secretary  to  the  commission,  Col.  Henry- 
Leavenworth,  Majors  S.  W.  Kearney  and  Daniel 
Ketchem,  Captains  William  Armstrong,  Ben 
Riley.  John  Gantt,  G.  C.  Spencer,  R.  B.  J\Iason ; 
Lieutenants  William  S.  Harney,  S.  MacRee,  R. 
Holmes,  R.  H.  Stuart,  James  W.  Kingsbury, 
Levi  Xute,  Thomas  Xoel,  J.  Rodgers,  M.  W. 
Batman,  Thomas  P.  Gwynne,  George  C.  Huwer 
and  W.  Harris.  Dr.  John  Gale;  Adjts.  S.  Wragg 
and  R.  ^L  Coleman,  William  Day,  A.  S.  Miller 
and  G.  H.  Kennerly  and  P.  Wilson,  sub-agents ; 
and  Antoine,  Joseph  and  Pierre  Garreau.  inter- 
preters. Edward  Rose  was  guide  and  interpreter 
to  the  Ree.s  and  the  Crows ;  Colin  Campbell  to 
the  Rees  and  ]\'Iandans,  and  Touissant  Chab- 
oneau  to  the  JMandans.  Of  these,  at  least  Major 
Ketchem,  Captains  Amistrong  and  Riley,  Dr. 
Gale  and  Lieutenant  Noel  had  accompanied 
Leavenworth  upon  the  Ree  expedition  of  1823. 
Edward  Rose,  Colin  Campbell  and  Touissant 
Chaboneau  also  in  one  capacity  or  another  took 
part  in  the  Ree  conquest.  Rose  as  the  fearless 
interpreter  who  first  went  into  the  beleaguered 
towns,  Campbell  as  the  bellicose  interpreter  to 
the  recreant  Pilcher  and  Chaboneau  as  inter- 
preter to  ^lajor  Henry  and  he  it  was  who  was 
sent  after  the  escaping  Rees  with  conciliatory 
messages.  Lieutenant  Harney  too,  later  became 
identified  with  Dakota  as  commandant  at  Fort 
Pierre  in  1865-6  and  as  builder  of  Fort  Randall 
in  1857. 

The  escort  comprised  four  hundred  seventy- 
six  men.  a  formidable  army  compared  with 
Leavenworth's  little  band  of  1823.  Forty 
of  these  men  were  mounted  and  traveled 
by  land,  but  always  kept  in  touch  with 
the  boats.  Captain  Armstrong  and  Edward 
Rose  had  been  sent  in  advance  to  assemble  the 


Poncas  and  had  arrived  at  the  Ponca  village 
thirteen  days  in  advance  of  the  expedition.  The 
first  stop  for  a  council  was  at  the  Ponca  village 
near  the  Niobrara  and  was  on  the  Nebraska 
side.  The  first  stop  on  Dakota  soil  was  at  Fort 
Kiowa  near  old  Fort  Lookout.  They  were  de- 
layed here  for  some  days  waiting  for  the  Yank- 
tons  and  Yanktonais  to  come  in  and  on  the  20th  a 
council  was  held  and  a  treaty  made.  Except  the 
peace  treaty  which  Leavenworth  made  with  the 
Rees  two  years  earlier  and  which  was  lost  in 
transmission  to  Washington,  this  is  the  first 
written  and  signed  treat}'  ever  entered  into  be- 
tween any  of  the  Indians  of  the  Dakota  country 
and  the  government.  For  the  reason  stated,  and 
as  it  is  almost  identical  with  all  of  the  other 
treaties  made  by  this  commission  in  1825,  it  may 
be  profitable  to  reproduce  it  here : 

Treaty  with  the  Tetox,  Yaxkton  and  Yaxktoxies 
Bands  of  the  Sioux  Indians. 

No.  1.  For  the  purposes  of  perpetuating  the 
friendship  which  has  hitherto  existed,  as  well  also 
as  to  remove  all  future  cause  of  discussion  or  dis- 
sension as  it  respects  trade  and  friendship  between 
the  United  States  and  their  citizens  and  the  Teton, 
Yankton  and  Yanktonies  bands  of  the  Sioux  tribe  of 
Indians,  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  Amer- 
ica by  Brigadier  General  Atkinson,  of  the  United 
States  army,  and  Major  Benjamin  O'Fallon,  Indian 
agent,  with  full  powers  and  authority,  especially  ap- 
pointed and  commissioned  for  that  purpose,  of  the 
one  part,  and  the  undersigned  chiefs,  headmen  and 
warriors  of  the  Teton.  Yankton  and  Yanktonies  bands 
of  the  Sioux  tribe  of  Indians,  on  behalf  of  the  said 
bands  or  tribe,  of  the  other  part,  have  made  and 
entered  into  the  following  articles  and  conditions, 
which  when  ratified  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  sen- 
ate, shall  be  binding  on  both  parties,  towit: 

Article  1.  It  is  admitted  by  the  Teton.  Yankton 
and  Yanktonies  bands  of  Sioux  Indians,  that  they  re- 
side within  the  territorial  limits  of  the  United  States. 
acknowledge  their  supremacy  and  claim  their  protec- 
tion. The  said  bands  also  admit  the  right  of  the 
United  States  to  regulate  all  intercourse  and  trade 
with  them. 

Art.  2.  The  United  States  agree  to  receive  the 
said  Teton,  Yankton  and  Yanktonies  bands  of  Sioux 
Indians  into  their  friendship  and  under  their  protec- 
tion and  to  extend  to  them  from  time  to  time  such 
benefits  and  acts  of  kindness  as  may  be  convenient. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


and  seem  just  and  proper  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States. 

Art.  3.  All  trade  and  intercourse  with  the  Teton, 
Yankton  and  Yanktonies  bands  of  Sioux  Indians  shall 
be  transacted  at  such  place  or  places  as  shall  be  des- 
ignated and  pointed  out  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States  through  his  agents;  and  none  but 
American  citizens,  duly  authorized  by  the  United 
States,  shall  be  admitted  to  trade  or  hold  intercourse 
with  said  bands  of  Indians. 

Art.  4.  That  the  Teton,  Yankton  and  Yanktonies 
bands  may  be  accommodated  with  such  articles  of 
merchandise,  etc.,  as  their  necessities  may  demand, 
the  United  States  agree  to  admit  and  license  traders 
to  hold  intercourse  with  said  tribes  or  bands  under 
mild  and  equitable  regulations:  in  consideration  of 
which  the  Teton,  Yankton  and  Yanktonies  bands  bind 
themselves  to  extend  protection  to  the  persons,  and 
the  property  of  the  traders  and  of  the  persons  legally 
employed  under  them,  whilst  they  remain  within  the 
limits  of  their  particular  district  of  country.  And 
the  said  Teton,  Yankton  and  Yanktonies  bands  fur- 
ther agree  that  if  any  foreigner,  or  other  person  not 
legally  authorized  by  the  United  States,  shall  come 
into  their  district  of  country  for  the  purpose  of  trade 
or  other  views,  they  will  apprehend  such  person  or 
persons  and  deliver  him  or  them  to  some  United 
States  superintendent  or  agent  of  Indian  affairs  or 
to  the  nearest  military  post,  to  be  dealt  with  accord- 
ing to  law.  And  they  further  agree  to  give  safe  con- 
duct to  all  persons  who  may  be  legally  authorized  by 
the  United  States  to  pass  through  their  country;  and 
to  protect  in  their  persons  and  property  all  agents 
or  other  persons  sent  to  reside  temporarily  among 
them  by  the  United  States. 

Art.  5.  That  the  friendship  which  is  now  estab- 
lished between  the  United  States  and  the  Teton, 
Yankton  and  Yanktonies  bands  should  not  be  inter- 
rupted by  the  misconduct  of  individuals,  it  is  hereby 
agreed  that  for  injuries  done  by  individuals,  no  pri- 
vate revenge  or  retaliation  shall  take  place,  but  in 
place  thereof  complaint  shall  be  made  by  the  party 
injured  to  the  superintendent  or  agent  of  Indian  af- 
fairs, or  other  person  appointed  by  the  President; 
and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said  chiefs,  upon  com- 
plaint being  made  as  aforesaid,  to  deliver  up  the 
person  or  persons  against  v%-hom  the  complaint  is 
made  to  the  end  that  he  or  they  may  be  punished 
agreeably  to  the  laws  of  the  United  States.  And  in 
like  manner,  if  any  robbery,  violence  or  murder 
shall  be  committed  on  any  Indian  or  Indians  belong- 
ing to  said  bands,  the  person  or  persons  so  offending 
shall  be  tried  and  if  found  guilty  shall  be  punished 
in  like  manner  as  if  the  injury  had  been  done  to  a 
white  man.  And  it  is  agr?ed  that  the  chiefs  of  the 
said  Telon.  Yankton  and  Yanktonies  bands  shall,  to 


the  utmost  of  their  power,  exert  themselves  to  re- 
cover horses  or  other  property  which  shall  be  stolen 
or  taken  from  any  citizen  or  citizens  of  the  United 
States  by  any  individual  or  individuals  of  said  bands; 
and  the  property  so  recovered  shall  be  forthwith  de- 
livered to  the  agents  or  other  person  authorized  to 
receive  it,  that  it  may  be  restored  to  its  proper  owner. 
And  the  United  States  hereby  guarantee  to  any  In- 
dian or  Indians  of  said  bands  a  full  indemnification 
for  any  horses  or  other  property  which  may  be  stolen 
from  them  by  any  of  their  citizens:  provided  that 
the  property  so  stolen  cannot  be  recovered,  and  that 
sufficient  proof  is  produced  that  it  was  actually  stolen 
by  a  citizen  of  the  United  States.  And  the  said  Te- 
ton, Yankton  and  Yanktonies  bands  engage,  on  the 
requisition  or  demand  of  the  United  States,  or  of  the 
agents,  to  deliver  up  any  white  man  resident  among 
them. 

Art,  6.  And  the  chiefs  and  warriors  as  aforesaid 
promise  and  engage  their  bands  or  tribe  will  never 
by  trade,  exchange,  or  as  presents,  supply  any  na- 
tion or  tribe  of  Indians  not  in  amity  with  the  United 
States  with  guns,  ammunition  or  other  implements 
of  war. 

Done  at  Fort  Lookout,  near  the  three  rivers  of 
the  Sioux  pass,  this  22d  day  of  June.  A.  D.  1S25,  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  of  the  Teton,  Yankton 
and  Yanktonies  band  of  Sioux  tribe,  have  hereunto 
set  their  hands  and  affixed  their  seals. 

H.  Atkinson,  Br.  Gen.  U.  S.  Army, 
Benj.  O'Fallon,  U.  S.  Agt.  Ind.  Aff. 


the   black   bear.  • 
(Wakan),   the    flying    medi- 


Mawtoosabekia 
Wacanohignan 

cine. 
Wah-hah-ginga,   the  little   dish. 
Chaponka,  the  mosquito. 
Etakenuskean,  the  mad  face. 
Tokaoo,  the  one  that  kills. 
Ogatee,  the  fork. 
Youiasan,  the  warrior. 

Wahtakendo,  the  one  who  comes  from  wai . 
Toqui-intoo,  the  little  soldier. 
Hasashah,  the  loway. 

TETO.NS. 

Tatankaguenishquignan,  the  mad  buffalo. 
Matokendohacha.  the  hollow  bear. 
Eguemonwaconta.  the  one  that  shoots  at  ih 

tiger. 
Jaikankane,   the   child   chief. 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


Shawanon,  Oetakah,  the  brave. 
Mantodanza  (Mato).  the  running  bear. 
Wacanguela  sassa,  the  black  lightning. 
Wabelawacan,    the   medicine   -war   eagle. 
Campescahoranco,  the  swift  shell. 
Ehrakaehekala.  the  little  elk. 
Napeemuska.  the  mad  hand. 
Japee,  the  soldier. 
Hoowagahhak,  the  broken  leg. 
Cechahe,  the  burnt  thigh. 
Ocawseenongea,  or  the  spy. 
Tatungaseehahueka,    the    buffalo    with    the 

long  foot. 
Ahkeechehachegala,  the  little  soldier. 

The  document  was  witnessed  by  the  most  of 
the  ofiicers  above  mentioned  and  in  addition  by 
our  old  friend,  William  Gordon,  whom  Leaven- 
worth accused  of  burning  the  towns  of  Arickara, 
and  Jean  Baptiste  Dorion,  a  son  of  the  old  Lewis 
and  Clarke  guide  and  brother  of  that  Pierre 
Dorion  who  corrected  his  wife  on  the  Astoria 
trip.  Matosabekia,  who  was  the  head  man  or 
chief  of  the  Yanktons,  is  misinterpreted  "the 
black  bear:"  that  would  be  "Matosapa."  Mato- 
sabekia, or  as  it  was  later  spelled  "Matosabeche," 
was  literally  Smutty  Bear,  and  the  man  who  bore 
this  suggestive  cognomen  was  for  very  many  years 
chief  of  the  Yanktons,  and  to  this  day  his  name 
is  applied  to  the  beautiful,  wooded  bottom  land 
of  the  }>Iissouri,  under  the  chalkstone  clififs  above 
Yankton.  Although  chief  in  1825,  we  shall  find 
him  a  power  among  the  Yanktons  a  third  of  a 
century  later.  His  is  the  only  name  on  this  treaty 
which  appears  on  the  treaty  of  1858  by  which 
the  Yanktons  relinquished  their  title  to  their  vast 
territory  in  South  Dakota. 

Fort  Kiowa  at  this  time  was  in  charge  of 
Philip  Wilson,  of  the  American  Fur  Company, 
who  was  also  a  sub-agent  to  the  Indians,  as  the 
]iost  managers  and  traders  generally  were. 
\\n:ilc  waiting  for  the  assembling  of  the  Tetons 
and  "N'anktons,  Edward  Rose  was  sent  to  the 
western  country  near  the  Black  Hills  to  call  in 
the  Cheyennes.  It  was  the  intention  to  have  the 
Chevennes  go  to  Arickara,  but  they  came  to  Fort 
Pierre  instead.  On  June  20th,  at  Kiowa,  the 
Indians  having  arrived,  a  military  demonstration 
was  made.     The  brigade  was  reviewed  bv  Gen- 


eral Atkinson  on  horseback.  "The  display  was 
very  fine,  the  troops  being  in  fine  order,"  and  the 
impression  on  the  Indians  was  excellent.  It  was 
after  this  that  the  council  was  held  and  the  treaty 
above  given  entered  into.  Another  interesting 
event  took  place  also.  The  commission  had 
found  a  young  Yankton  girl  a  prisoner  among 
the  Otoes  and  had  rescued  her  and  brought  her 
to  her  own  people.  At  this  council  she  was 
formally  turned  over  to  her  tribe  and  this  cir- 
cumstance won  much  good  will  for  the  Ameri- 
cans. That  night  the  Indians  were  treated  to 
a  display  of  fireworks  and  rockets,  which  greatly 
impressed  them.  Many  presents  were  distributed 
to  the  Indians,  including  one  gun  to  each  chief. 
The  commissioners  were  highly  gratified  with 
the  appearance  and  conduct  of  these  Indians, 
whom,  they  say,  "deport  themselves  with  gravity 
and  dignity,  while  they  displayed  a  quality  of 
taste  in  their  dress  which  did  great  credit  to  the 
untutored  view  of  things." 

On  the  22d  the  expedition  proceeded  up 
stream  and  the  next  day  reached  the  big  bend. 
Here  a  portion  of  the  passengers,  as  usually 
happens  in  navigating  the  river,  crossed  the  neck 
of  land,  while  the  boats  went  around.  They  left 
the  flotilla  on  the  24th  and  were  again  taken  up 
on  the  26th.  At  Elk  island  the  party  had  their 
first  exciting  buffalo  hunt.  Majors  O'Fallon 
and  Ketchum,  while  walking  on  the  shore,  dis- 
covered three  buffaloes  on  the  island.  Major 
Ketchum  took  a  small  party  to  the  island  to  bag 
the  game.  The  journal  says :  "The  party  landed 
and  went  in  pursuit,  but  their  design  was  frus- 
trated by  the  impudence  of  Lieutenant  Wragg, 
who  crossed  over  to  the  island  shortly  after  and 
ran  forward  and  fired  upon  the  buffaloes."  This 
frightened  them  and  they  leaped  into  the  river. 
One  was  shot,  but  it  sank  and  did  not  rise  again ; 
the  others  came  back  to  the  island  and  one  was 
killed,  but  the  other  escaped.  The  troops  being 
greatly  in  need  of  fresh  meat.  Lieutenant  Wragg 
did  not  make  a  great  growth  in  popularity  by 
reason  of  his  performance  on  this  occasion. 

On  the  30th  of  June  they  arrived  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Teton,  near  which  Fort  Tecumseh  stood 
at  that  time.     Thcv  waited  several  davs  for  the 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


113 


arrival  of  the  Indians  and  on  July  ist  a  party 
imder  Lieutenant  Waters  secured  six  bufifaloes ; 
it  does  not  appear,  however,  that  Lieutenant 
Waters  and  his  military  friends  were  entitled  to 
much  credit,  for  it  appears  that  Edward  Rose, 
who  had  returned  from  his  jaunt  to  the  Chey- 
ennes,  covered  himself  with  bushes  and  crawled 
into  a  gang  of  eleven  bulls  and  succeeded  in 
shooting  down  the  six  "on  the  same  ground 
before  the  others  ran  off." 

On  July  4th  the  officers  decided  to  give  the 
Indians  an  object  lesson  in  genuine  American 
patriotism  and  they  arranged  a  typical  Fourth 
of  July  programme.  The  exercises  began  with 
firing  rockets  at  midnight  to  usher  in  the  day. 
At  sunrise  an  artillery  salute  was  fired  and  later 
in  the  morning  there  was  a  military  display  and 
a  procession,  in  which  the  Indians  took  part, 
Colonel  Leavenworth  acting  as  marshal  of  the 
da}-.  Gen.  William  S.  Harney,  then  a  lieutenant 
in  the  First  Infantry,  read  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  and  orations  were  delivered  by 
General  Atkinson  and  Major  O'Fallon  and  by 
Wahneta,  the  chief  of  the  Sounes,  and  Standing 
Buffalo,  chief  of  the  Oglalas.  After  the  exer- 
cises the  Indians  entertained  the  officers  at  a  dog 
feast.  "It  consisted  of  the  flesh  of  thirteen  dogs 
boiled  in  plain  water,  in  seven  kettles,  much 
done.  Our  drink  was  water  from  the  Missouri, 
brought  up  in  the  paunches  of  buffaloes,  which 
gave  it  a  disagreeable  taste.  *  *  *  We  were 
occupied  about  an  hour  and  a  half  at  the  feast, 
when  ourselves  and  the  officers  returned  to  camp 
and  sat  down  and  partook  of  wine  and  fruit  at  a 
table  provided  by  the  camp."  The  remainder  of 
the  day  was  spent  with  sports  and  races,  with 
a  display  of  fireworks  in  the  evening. 

On  the  5th  business  was  resumed  and  the 
treaty  entered  into.  It  was  identical  with  the 
Yankton  treaty,  copied  in  this  chapter,  in  all 
essential  features  and  was  signed  on  the  part 
of  tlie  Indians  as  follows : 

Siouncs — Chiefs,  A\'aheneta,  the  rushing 
man  ;  Cahrewecaca,  the  crow  feather ;  Marasea, 
the  white  swan  ;  Chandec,  the  tobacco ;  Okema, 
the  chief ;  Towcowsanopa,  the  two  lance,  and 
by    the     following     warriors :     Chantawaneecha : 


Hehumpee,  the  one  that  has  a  voice  in  his  neck  • 
Xumcahpah,  the  one  that  knocks  down  two. 

Oglalas — Chiefs,  Tatunkanashsha,  the  stand- 
ing buffalo ;  Healongga,  the  shoulder ;  Mato- 
weetco,  the  full  white  bear,  and  Wanarewag- 
shego,  the  ghost  boy,  and  by  the  following  war- 
riors :  Ekhahkasappa,  the  black  elk ;  Tatongish- 
nanna,  the  one  buffalo ;  Mahtotatongca,  the  buf- 
falo white  bear ;  Nahgenishgeah,  the  mad  soul. 


'.r#,^ 


Waheneta,  the  rushing  man,  above  mentioned, 
is  that  same  "Waneton"  whom  Major  Long 
found  at  Lake  Traverse  in  1820  and  who  served 
as  an  English  captain  in  the  war  of  1812. 

Later,  when  they  arrived  at  the  Little  Chey- 
enne (Hidden  Creek  they  call  it),  on  July  12th, 
they  ran  upon  a  band  of  Sioux  which  they  call 
the  Fire  Hearts  and  secured  the  same  treaty  to 
be  signed  by  the  following  distinguished  gentle- 
men :  Chiefs,  Chantapata,  the  fire  heart ;  ^^'ah- 
contamonee,   the   one   that   shoots   as   he   walks : 


114 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Keahashshapa,  the  one  that  makes  a  noise  as  he 
flies,  and  by  the  following  warriors  of  the  Fire 
Heart  band :  Matocokeepa.  the  one  that  is  afraid 
of  the  white  bear;  Hotoncokeepa,  the  one  that 
is  afraid  of  his  voice ;  Womdishkiata,  the  spotted 
war  eagle ;  Chalonwechacata,  the  one  that  kills 
the  buffalo  ;  Carenopa,  the  two  crows  ;  Caretimca, 
the  crow  that  sits  down ;  Tokeawechacata,  the 
one  that  kills  first. 

It  will  be  observed  that  great  and  inexcusable 
carelessness  lias  prevailed  in  the  spelling  of  the 
same  word  in  many  different  ways  in  these  sig- 
natures, which  of  course  is  attributed  to  the  of- 
ficer who  signed  the  names.  The  effort  appar- 
ently has  been  to  phonetically  spell  the  word,  as 
this  was  long  before  the  Riggs-Williamson 
orthography  was  adopted  for  the  Sioux 
language. 

On  July  6tli  a  similar  treaty  was  made  with 
the  Chevennes,  who  had  appeared  at  this  place, 
and  it  was  signed  by  four  chiefs  and  nine  war- 
riors, none  of  whom  ever  came  into  prominence 
in  South  Dakota  history.  It  is  noteworthy,  how- 
ever, that  the  names  of  all  of  these  Cheyennes 
were  pure  Sioux,  as  Tatoncapa,  a  chief,  whose 
name  means  buffalo  head ;  and  Xapatonka,  the 
big  hand.  This  is  somewhat  remarkable,  since 
the  Cheyennes  are  Algonkin  and  not  Siouan. 
The  head  chief  appeared  to  be  the  wolf  with  a 
high  back,  and  another  illustrious  citizen  of  South 
Dakota  who  subscribes  this  convention  labored 
under  the  impressive  cognomen  of  "the  pile  of 
buffalo  bones." 

C)n  the  /til  they  were  off  again,  after  Lieu- 
tenant Holmes  had  thrown  six  shells  from  the 
howitzer  in  the  ])resence  of  the  Indians.  "Tliey 
exploded  handsomely  and  made  a  deep  im- 
pression on  the  savages."  Before  leaving,  the 
cavalry  horses  were  sent  back  to  Fort  .Atkinson. 
.At  nine  in  the  morning,  the  wind  being  fair,  the 
boats  set  off  in  regular  procession  up  through 
the  Peoria  bottoms,  the  shores  being  lined  with 
more  than  three  thousand  Indians.  They  arrived 
at  the  Little  Cheyenne',  near  the  present  Forest 
Cit\",  on  the  nth,  where  they  met  the  Fire 
Hearts,  as  jireviously  stated,  and  while  here  Gen- 
eral  .\tkinson  and    ^lajor   O'Fallon   borrowed  a 


pair  of  Indian  ponies  and  rode  out  to  examine 
Medicine  Rock.  This  is  the  first  mention  of  this 
curiosity  which  appears  in  any  of  the  journals 
of  Missouri  river  exploration.  The  phenomenon 
has  changed  little  from  that  time.  The  descrip- 
tion they  give  is  as  follows  :  "We  found  the  im- 
pression of  three  tracks  of  the  foot  of  a  common- 
sized  man.  The  first,  near  the  upper  edge  of  the 
rock,  is  made  by  the  right  foot  and  is  about  an 
inch  deep,  making  a  full  impression  of  the  whole 
track,  with  the  full  impression  of  the  five  toes 
three-fourths  of  an  inch  deep.     The  next  track 


JOHN  CRASS.   SlOrX  CHIEF. 

is  of  the  left  foot  and  about  three  and  one-half 
feet  from  the  first.  The  next  footprint  of  the 
right  foot  is  not  visible,  but  at  about  six  feet 
from  the  second  track  an  impression  is  again 
made  by  the  left  foot  as  large  and  jjlain  as  the 
others.  This  is  near  the  lower  edge  of  the  rock, 
which  of  itself  is  about  eleven  feet  long  by  nine, 
lying  at  an  angle  of  about  thirty  degrees  of 
elevation."  Several  years  since  Prof.  Collester, 
superintendent  of  the  Pierre  schools,  made  plas- 
ter casts  of  these  footprints  and  submitted  them 
to   the    Smithsonian    Institution    and    thev    were 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


"5 


examined  by  some  of  the  scientific  bodies  con- 
nected with  the  institution  and  it  is  the  judgment 
of  these  that  they  are  petroglyphs,  that  is,  im- 
pressions cut  into  the  rocks  artificially  by  artistic- 
ally inclined  aborigines.  These  plaster  casts  are 
now  in  the  possession  of  the  State  Historical 
Society  at  the  capitol.  A  study  of  the  whole  sub- 
ject by  Prof.  H.  D.  Enoe  may  be  found  at  page 
162  of  the  fourth  volume  of  the  Monthly  South 
Dakotan. 

The  commission  arrived  at  Arickara  on  July 
15th.  The  Rees,  recovered  from  the  scare  which 
sent  them  wanderers  in  the  wilderness  im- 
mediately after  concluding  a  peace  agreement 
with  Colonel  Leavenworth,  had  gradually  re- 
turned and  re-established  themselves  in  the  old 
towns.  They  met  the  commission  on  the  friend- 
liest of  terms  and  readily  signed  the  treaty,  which 
is  similar  to  the  Sioux  treaties  except  that  in  the 
preamble  it  refers  to  the  A.shley  massacre  as  fol- 
lows :  "To  put  an  end  to  an  unprovoked  hostility 
on  the  part  of  the  Ricara  tribe  of  Indians  against 
the  United  States  and  to  restore  hannony  be- 
tween the  parties."'  The  first  article,  too,  is  an 
addition  to  the  other  treaties  and  provides :  Art. 
I.  Henceforth  there  shall  be  a  firm  and  lasting 
peace  between  the  United  States  and  the  Ricara 
tribe  of  Indians,  and  a  friendly  intercourse  shall 
immediately  take  place  between  them." 

The  treaty  was  signed  on  the  i8th  by  the  fol- 
lowing representatives :  Chiefs  Stanaupat,  the 
bloody  hand  :  Carcarweta,  the  little  bear ;  Scare- 
naus.  the  skunk ;  Chansonnah,  the  fool  chief ; 
Chanotenena,  the  chief  that  is  afraid,  and  Coon- 
canenossee,  the  bad  bear.  Fourteen  warriors  also 
appended  their  names  to  the  convention.  It  is 
to  be  noted  that  the  ofiicious  and  cowardly  Little 
Soldier,  who  negotiated  peace  with  Leavenworth, 
docs  not  appear  among  the  signers.  Catlin  saw 
Stanaupat  in  1832  and  painted  his  likeness.  The 
radical  difference  between  the  language  of  the 
Rees  and  the  Sioux  is  also  revealed  by  the  names 
of  the  signers.  As  the  Ree  language  is  not  easily 
available  for  comparative  study  it  may  be  proper 
to  transcribe  the  names  of  all  the  signers  of  the 
treaty  here  inasmuch  as  they  afford  a  pretty  full 
vocabulary.       They     are     Enhapctar,     the     two 


nights ;  Cacaneshow,  the  Crow  chief :  Pahcan- 
wah,  the  old  head;  Wahtaan,  the  light  in  the 
night ;  Honehcooh,  the  buffalo  that  urinates  and 
smells  it ;  Tahason,  the  lip  of  the  buffalo ;  Coo- 
woohwarescoonhoon,  the  long-haired  bear  ;  Nesh- 
anonnack,  the  chief  by  himself ;  Ahreesquish,  the 
buffalo  that  has  horns ;  Oucousnonnair,  the  good 
buffalo :  Xacksanouwees,  the  dead  heart :  Pahtoo 
carrah,  the  man  that  strikes  ;  Toon  highouh,  the 
man  that  runs  ;  Carcarweas,  the  heart  of  the  crow. 

On  the  i6th,  two  days  previous  to  the  making 
of  the  Ree  treaty,  a  treats-  was  made  with  the  Un- 
capas,  which,  as  was  the  case  with  many  of  the 
older  manuscripts,  calls  them  Hunkpapas,  and 
Leavenworth  two  years  before  calls  them  Anka- 
pats.  To  this  tribe  subsequently  belonged  Gall, 
Sitting  Bull  and  John  Grass.  The  treaty  is 
signed  by  seven  men,  but  whether  chiefs 
or  warriors  is  not  stated.  They  were  Mato  Che- 
gallah,  little  white  bear ;  Chasawaneche,  the  one 
that  has  no  name;  Tahhahneeah,  the  one  that 
scares  the  game;  Tawomeneeotah,  the  womb; 
Mahtoweetah,  the  white  bear's  face;  Pahsalsa, 
the  Auricara :  Hahahkuska,  the  white  elk.  Black 
]\loon,  afterward  the  leading  chief  of  the  Unc- 
papas,  at  this  time  a  young  man,  does  not  appear 
in  the  treaty. 

The  expedition  proceeded  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Yellowstone  and  further,  'where  they  picked  up 
General  Ashley,  who  was  returning  from  the 
Salt  Lake  country  with  one  hundred  packs  of 
iDeaver,  and  the\-  gave  him  accommodations  to  St. 
Louis  for  his  men  and  merchandise.  No  incident 
of  concern  is  noted  on  the  down  trip,  except  that 
when  three  miles  above  the  mouth  of  James  river 
the  "JNIuskrat,"  one  of  the  transports  upon  which 
was  embarked  a  portion  of  General  Ashley's 
beaver,  ran  upon  a  snag  and  was  wrecked. 
There  was  no  loss  of  life  and  the  beaver  was 
saved ;  the  boat  also  was  raised  and  repaired  and 
continued  the  voyage  safely.  The  result  of  the 
expedition  was  most  satisf actor)-.  The  treaties 
entered  into  with  the  South  Dakota  Indians  were 
so  well  observed  that  more  than  thirty  years 
elapsed  before  the  government  had  occasion  to 
send  its  niilitar_\-  into  South  Dakota  to  preserve 
peace  or  put  down  hostilities. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


A  QUIET  PERIOD  OX  THE  RIVER. 


A^ery  little  of  record  has  been  left  for  the 
period  extending  from  the  return  of  the  treaty- 
makers  in  the  autumn  of  1825  until  the  summer 
of  1 83 1  and  yet  it  is  certain  that  the  fur  and 
Indian  trade  was  being  carried  forward  with 
constantly  increasing  extent  and  profit.  By  this 
time  the  trade  was  thoroughly  established  on 
systematic  lines  and  in  the  hands  of  strong 
companies  who  had  secured  the  best  locations  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  Indian  population. 
The  rivalry  between  these  concerns  was  intense 
and  frequently  led  to  methods  savoring  of 
desperation. 

In  1826  there  were  strong  posts  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Sioux,  at  the  James,  at  Fort  Randall,  on 
American  island,  at  the  mouth  of  White  river, 
at  Forts  Lookout  and  Kiowa;  probably  one  at 
or  near  the  big  bend,  two  at  the  Teton  river  and 
at  Arickara.  It  is  also  probable  that  there  were 
many  auxiliary  posts  in  the  interior  of  which  no 
definite  record  has  been  left. 

The  two  strong  companies  contending  for 
the  South  Dakota  trade  at  this  period  were  the 
Columbia,  of  which  we  have  previously  learned, 
whose  chief  posts  were  at  Lake  Traverse  and  at 
Fort  Tecumsch,  near  Fort  Pierre,  and  the 
L'pi^er  Missouri  Outfit  of  the  American  Fur 
Company,  both  of  which  liegan  operations  in  this 
field  about  1822.  Both  companies  had  posts  at 
the  Sioux,  James,  Xiobrara  and  the  Teton.  Fort 
Lookout  was  a  Columbian  and  Furt  Kiowa,  but 
a  few  yards  away,  was  .American.  Wherever 
one  located  the  other  was  found  near  bv.     The 


rivalry  was  so  intense  that  Ramsey  Crooks, 
western  manager  of  the  American,  designated  it 
as  "a  species  of  civil  war,"  and  that  "this  com- 
petition costs  us  not  less  than  ten  thousand 
dollars  annually." 

Crooks  wisely  began  to  make  overtures  for 
consolidation  as  early  as  1825,  but  it  was  not . 
until  Jtdy,  1827,  that  this  consummation  was 
reached.  The  Columbia  Fur  Company  then 
passed  out  of  existence  and  the  business  was 
continued  as  the  L'pper  Missouri  Outfit  of  the 
American  Fur  Company,  or  in  common  usage 
simply  the  U.  M.  O.,  the  dividing  line  being  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Sioux  river,  and  Kenneth  ]\Ic- 
Kenzie,  William  Laidlaw  and  Daniel  Lamont,  of 
the  Columbia,  became  partners  of  the  American 
Fur  Company  and  the  absolute  managers -of  the 
LT.  M.  O.  The  transfer  of  Fort  Lookout  was 
made  on  November  28,  1827,  and  of  Fort  Te- 
cumseh  on  December  5th.  The  entire  property 
of  all  the  Columbia  posts  was  inventoried  at  this 
date  at  a  little  over  seventeen  thousand  dollars, 
I  while  Fort  Tecumseh  alone  made  up  fourteen 
thousand  four  hundred  fifty-three  dollars  of  this 
sum,  which  will  indicate  its  relative  importance, 
\\niilc  the  business  of  the  Dakota  region  was 
upon  a  steady  basis,  always  regular  and  depend- 
able, it  was  to  the  mountains  and  westward  that 
the  company  looked  for  profitable  adventures  and 
to  that  region  directed  its  greatest  energy. 

The  success  of  the  Columbia  not  only  as  an 
independent  business  venture,  liut  in  forcing  the 
great    .\mcrican    to    recognize    it    and    take    its 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


117 


managers  into  partnership,  encouraged  otliers  to 
take  up  the  same  tactics  and  with  more  or  less 
success.  In  fact  the  American  was  constantly 
harassed  by  this  sort  of  competition,  which  it 
first  attempt  to  crush  by  the  most  strenuous 
competitive  tactics,  and,  failing  to  remove  the 
opposition  by  this  method,  it  bought  out  the 
"parasites." 


Brothers,  Denis  Guion,  Louis  Bonfort  and 
Chenie  and  DeLaurier.  They  established  them- 
selves in  1828,  built  their  post  the  next  year  and 
by  October  14,  1830,  had  become  so  formidable 
that  the  American  was  compelled  in  self-defense 
to  take  them  in,  purchasing  the  property  of  the 
Frenchmen,  and  took  the  management  into 
partnership,  or  gave  them  employment. 


Almost  immediately  after  the  absorption  of 
the  Columbia  a  strong  opposition  came  into  the 
field  and  built  its  principal  post  on  the  south 
bank  of  the  Teton.  It  was  known  as  the  French 
Fur  Company,  a  soubriquet  given  it  by  Prince 
Maximilian,  but  which  was  technicallv  P.  D. 
Papin  &  Company.  The  members  of  the  com- 
pany   were    Pa]iin,    Honore    Picotte,    the    Cerre  ] 


For  the  first  two  years  after  the  consolidation 
with  the  Columbia,  Fort  Tecumseh  was  con- 
tinued as  the  principal  depot  of  the  U.  M.  O.,  and 
Kenneth  JMcKenzie  himself  was  in  immediate 
charge,  but  with  the  building  of  Fort  Floyd 
(Union),  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone  in 
1829,  AIcKenzie  went  there  where  he  could  have 
more   direct   control   of   his   ambitious   mountain 


ii8 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


schemes  and  William  Laidlaw  became  the 
manager  at  Tecumseh.  McKenzie  and  Laidlaw, 
who  were  so  active  in  South  Dakota  affairs  of 
three-quarters  of  a  century  ago,  came  onto  the 
river  from  Lake  Traverse  in  1822.  They  had 
formerly  been  in  the  employ  of  the  Hudson's 
Bav  Company,  but,  with  nine  hundred  others, 
lost  their  positions  when  the  Hudson  and  North- 
west companies  consolidated  in  1820.  ilcKenzie 
was  a  Scotchman  by-  birth,  came  of  a  good 
family,  was  a  relative  of  Sir  Alexander  Mc- 
Kenzie.  the  explorer.  He  came  to  America  in  his 
youth.  '"He  seemed  born  to  command,  was  a 
most  severe  disciplinarian  and  had  little  regard 
for  human  life  wiien  it  stood  in  his  way."  He 
liked  "to  throw  on  dog"  and  lived  in  a  kind  of 
state,  wearing  uniform  generally  and  proud  of 
his  title  as  "king  of  the  ^Missouri."  He  was 
hospitable  to  visitors  to  his  posts  He  had  an 
Indian  and  a  white  family.  He  was  killed  by 
^Malcolm  Clark  in  St.  Louis.  Alissouri,  April  6, 
1861. 

^^'illianl  Laidlaw  was  of  Scotch  descent  and. 
like  McKenzie,  was  a  hard  master,  but  was  a 
valuable  servant  of  his  company.  He  was  in- 
temperate in  his  habits.  He  retired  from  the  fur 
business  in  fair  circumstances  and  bought  a 
home  at  Liberty,  Missouri,  where  he  spent  his 
means  in  hos])itality  and  high  living  and  died  a 
poor  man. 

In  1829  the  I'.  AI.  O.  established  at  least 
three  important  auxiliary  posts  in  South 
Dakota.  Post  Oakwood  was  built  on  the 
James  river  in  the  northern  Spink  county, 
by  Colin  Campbell,  the  obstreperous  in- 
terjireter  to  Joshua  Pilcher  in  the  Arickara  cam- 
paign of  1823.  and  was  soon  placed  in  charge 
of  William  Dickson,  son  of  Robert  Dickson,  the 
"red-headed"  English  colonel  of  the  war  of  1812. 
Dickson  remained  in  charge  of  this  post  for 
spv*eral  years.  We  too,  have  record  of  posts  es- 
tablished on  the  Cheyenne,  at  tlie  moutli  of 
Cherry  creek  and  at  the  I'orks.  The  Cherry 
creek  plant  was  placed  in  charge  of  Frederick 
Lelieau  and  the  one  at  the  Forks  was  managed 
by  one  Qiadron.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that 
at  least  two  other  posts  were  planted  at  this  time 


on  the  James  river  but  no  definite  record  of  them 
is  obtainable.  Captain  Chittenden  sa>s  that  a 
post,  known  to  the  traders  as  old  Fort  George, 
existed  on  the  Missouri  just  below  the  mouth  of 
the  Cheyenne.  This  must  not  be  confused  with 
the  Fort  George  of  the  'forties,  which  stood 
twenty-one  miles  below  Pierre. 

The  foregoing  completes  about  all  that  is 
known  of  affairs  in  South  Dakota  from  1825  to 
1 83 1.  In  the  latter  year  occurred  an  event  which 
in  a  way  revolutionized  the  fur  trade.  That  was 
the  first  steamboat  trip  into  the  Dakota  country. 
The  enterprise  was  brought  about  by  the  ever 
alert  McKenzie  who,  after  extended  and  earnest 
argument,  succeeded  in  getting  the  company  to 
make  the  experiment.  A  boat  was  built  at  Louis- 
ville, Kentucky,  at  a  cost  of  about  seven  thousand 
dollars,  and  named  the  Yellowstone.  The  con- 
tract was  made  in  October,  1830,  and  the  finished 
boat  delivered  to  the  company  at  St.  Louis  be- 
fore April  first  following.  In  apprehension  of 
breakage  far  away  from  shops,  duplicate  parts 
of  most  of  the  machinery  were  supplied  and  the 
boat  carried  a  complete  blacksmith's  outfit.  The 
vessel  was  entrusted  to  Captain  B.  Young,  but 
Pierre  Chouteau,  Jr.,  who  had  seconded  Mc- 
Kenzie in  his  arguments  for  the  boat,  accom- 
panied the  vessel  on  its  maiden  trip.  Loaded 
with  merchandise,  she  left  St.  Louis  on  April 
16,  1831.  It  proceeded  very  slowly  and  was. six 
weeks  reaching  the  Xiobrara,  where  it  was  hung 
up  by  low  water  on  May  31.  Chouteau,  impatient 
of  delay,  sent  to  Fort  Pierre  for  lighters,  mean- 
while tramping  the  bluffs  to  give  vent  to  his 
pent-up  energ}-.  The  lighters  duly  arrived  and 
with  their  assistance  the  "Yellowstone"  was  got- 
ten over  the  bars  and  arrived  at  Fort  Pierre  on 
June  19th. 

While  at  the  fort  William  Laidlaw  called 
Mr.  Chouteau's  attention  to  the  manner  in  which 
the  Missouri  was  cutting  into  the  bank  and  im- 
periling Fort  Tecumseh.  Upon  examination 
Chouteau  determined  that  it  was  unsafe  to  leave 
the  ]iost  so  exposed  and  he  ordered  a  new  post 
constructed  in  a  safer  locality,  and  work  was 
immediately  begun  getting  out  material  for  the 
new  buildings  which  were  to  be  located  further 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


back  from  the  river  and  about  three  miles  north 
of  the  Teton. 

The  "Yellowstone"  took  on  a  cargo  of  buflfalo 
robes,  furs  and  peltries  and  ten  thousand  pounds 
of  buffalo  tongues  and  returned  to  St.  Louis, 
arriving  safely  there  on  July  15th.  The  success- 
ful voyage  gave  much  satisfaction  to  the  com- 
pany and  was  the  subject  of  wide  notoriety  in  thf 
newspapers  both  at  home  and  abroad.  Mr. 
Astor,  writing  to  Chouteau  from  Bellevue, 
France,  said:  "Your  voyage  in  the  "Yellow- 
stone" attracted  much  attention  in  Europe,  and 
has  been  noted  in  all  of  the  papers  here." 

But  it  was  upon  the  Indians  that  the  most 
profound  impression  was  made.    It  was  regarded 


as  something  supernatural  and  excited  feelings 
among  them  varying  from  the  keenest  astonish- 
ment to  absolute  peril.  It  greatly  increased  their 
respect  for  the  Americans  and  so  helped  the 
trade.  Captain  Chittenden  quotes  a  writer  in 
the  Missouri  Republican  of  that  date  as  follows : 
"Many  of  the  Indians  who  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  trading  with  the  Hudson's  Ba}-  Company, 
declared  that  the  company  could  no  longer  com- 
pete with  the  Americans,  and  concluded  there- 
after to  bring  all  their  skins  to  the  latter;  and 
said  the  British  might  turn  out  their  dogs  and 
burn  their  sledges  as  they  would  no  longer 
be  useful  while  the  fire  boat  walked  on  the 
water. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


FORT    PIERRE    FINISHED— THE    POST   JOURXAL. 


The  American  Fur  Company  required  that 
dailv  journals  of  leading  events  be  kept  at  each 
of  its  more  important  posts  and  some  of  these 
have  survived  and  are  among  the  best  authorities 
relating  to  the  affairs  of  the  times.  Captain 
Chittenden  has  secured  the  following  portion  of 
the  journal  kept  at  Fort  Tecumseh  and  its  suc- 
cessor. Fort  Pierre,  covering  the  time  of  the 
transfer  from  the  former  to  the  latter.  The 
running  comment  on  the  journal's  statements 
are  by  the  writer  of  this  history. 

Saturday.  March  3,  1S32.  Fair,  pleasant  weath- 
er. Mr.  Laidlaw  and  the  Indians  went  out  to  sur- 
round.   They  killed  meat  enough  to  load  their  horses. 

"To  surround."  This  expression  appears  to 
have  been  the  commonl}'  used  one  in  the  buffalo 
country,  signifying  the  manner  in  which  a  herd 
of  buffaloes  was  rounded  up  before  shooting 
began.  Ultimately  any  hunting  of  buffalo  was 
called  a  surround. 

Sunday.  4th.  Moderate  and  cloudy,  with  rain  at 
intervals.  Gabriel  V.  Fipe  and  five  Indians  arrived 
I'rom  White  River  post  with  seven  horses  and  mules 
and  two  hundred  buffalo  tongues. 

White  River  po.st  was  located  somewhere 
on  \Yhite  river,  southwest  of  Pierre.  That  it 
was  not  at  the  mouth  of  the  stream  is  evident 
from  the  entry  of  .\pril  5th.  which  relates  that 
Mr.  Papin  (commandant  of  \\']iite  River  post) 
had  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  White  river  with 
robes. 


Wednesday,  7th.  Several  Indians  of  the  Gens  de 
Poches  band  arrived  today  on  a  begging  visit.  The 
Blackfeet  Indians  who  arrived  yesterday  left  us  to- 
day. One  of  them  stole  a  kettle;  we  fortunately 
missed  it  before  the  fellow  had  proceeded  far.  Mr. 
Laidlaw  and  some  Indians  went  out  after  them  and 
succeeded  in  recovering  the  kettle.  The  Gens  de 
Poches  who  arrived  today  say  Baptiste  Dorion  has 
lately  been  killed  by  a  Sawon  Indian;  but  we  have 
reason  to  believe  the  story  to  be  fictitious. 

This  was  the  Jean  Baptiste  Dorion  who 
signed  the  Yankton  treaty  of  1825,  being  the 
half-breed  son  of  old  Pierre  Dorion,  Lewis  and 
Clarke's  giiide.  He  was  not  killed  at  the  time 
indicated,  but  later  was  killed  near  Fort  Pierre. 
I  have  not  been  able  to  precisely  determine  what 
Indians  were  meant  by  the  Sawons,  but  they 
were  probably  the  band  of  Sioux  which  Leaven- 
worth called  the  Sciones  and  Atkinsort  the 
Siounes.  They  ranged  along  the  Missouri  above 
Fort  Pierre.  Neither  do  I  know  whom  these 
mendicant  people  of  the  pocket  were. 

Friday,  9th.  Five  more  lodges  of  Yanktons  ar- 
rived and  camped.  There  is  now  about  three  feet  of 
water  on  top  of  the  ice  in  the  Missouri.  Two  men 
arrived  from  Cedar  Island.  They  were  obliged  to 
leave  their  plank  and  trains  on  the  way,  the  ice  be- 
ing so  bad  that  they  could  not  travel  on  it. 

It  has  frequently  been  stated  that  the  material 
for  Fort  Pierre  was  secured  from  Pann  island. 
The  above  indicates  that  the  plank  was  whip- 
sawed  down  upon  Cedar  island,  thirty-five  miles 
down    river,   while,  as   we   shall   see  in   another 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


entry,  the  pickets  for  the  stockade  were  cut  at 
the  Navy  Yard,  twenty  miles  above. 

Tuesday,  13th.  Still  continue  strong  gales  from 
north,  but  weather  is  now  clear  and  the  Indians  are 
crossing  on  the  Ice  in  great  numbers  with  robes  to 
trade. 

Friday,  16th.  Baptiste  Defond  arrived  last  even- 
ing from  Sawon  post  with  horses  and  mules. 

Sunday,  ISth.  Two  Indians  arrived  from  "White 
river  post  with  a  letter  from  Mr.  Papin,  the  comman- 
dant. 

Friday.  23d.  The  ice  broke  up  in  the  river  at  this 
place  today. 

Wednesday,  25th.  Mr.  Picotte  and  a  voyageur 
arrived  from  the  Navy  Yard  in  a  canoe. 

Friday.  30th.  Baptiste  Defond  departed  down 
stream  to  meet  the  steamboat  "Yellowstone." 

Tuesday,  April  3.  Last  evening  J.  Jewett  arrived 
here  from  Oglalla  post  with  horses  and  mules,  in  all 
sixteen. 

The  0,s:!ala  post  was  probably  at  the  forks 
of  the  Cheyenne.  In  any  event  it  was  on  the 
Cheyenne  river. 

Thursday,  5th.  Messrs.  Laidlaw  and  Halsey 
moved  up  with  their  baggage  to  the  new  fort. 

This  note  fixes  the  exact  date  of  the  first 
occupation  of  Fort  Pierre.  It  was  not  yet  com- 
plete and  it  was  some  weeks  later  before  the 
transfer  wes  completed. 

Friday,    6th.      Two    men    arrived    from    Yankton 
post  with   three  horses.     They  report  the  arrival   of 
Mr.  P.  D.  Papin  at  the  mouth  of  the  White  river  with    j 
two  skin  canoes  laden  with  buffalo  robes. 

Saturday,  7th.  Mr.  William  Dickson  arrived 
from  Riviere  au  Jacques  with  twelve  packs  of  furs. 

Dickson's  post,  on  the  Jim.  was  at  the  Tall 
Oaks,  or  Oakwood  settlement,  in  northern  Spink 
county. 

Sunday.  8th.  Two  men  arrived  from  the  Navy 
Yard  with  the  news  that  the  Indians  have  stolen  all 
of  the  company's  horses  at  that  place. 

Monday,  9th.  The  water  was  so  high  that  the 
old  fort  was  nearly  surrounded.  Employed  variously 
hauling  property  from  old  fort.  At  eleven  a.  m.  five 
skin  canoes  arrived,  loaded  with  buffalo  robes,  under 
charge  of  Colin  Campbell,  from  the  Oglalla  post  on 
Cheyenne  river.  They  bring  news  of  the  murder  of 
Francois  Querrel  by  Frederick  LaBoue,  the  company 
trader  at  Cherry  river.  LaBoue  arrived  in  the  ca- 
noes. 


This  is  the  same  Colin  Campbell  who,  nine 
years  previously,  cut  so  sorry  a  figure  at 
Arickara.  Frederick  LaBeau  was  an  uncle  of 
fhe  elder  LeBeau,  now  residing-  on  the  Moreau, 
and  whose  name  is  preserved  in  a  postoffice  in 
Walworth  county. 

Friday,  13th.  William  Dickson  left  for  Riviere 
au  Jacques.  (Evidently  William  was  not  afraid  of 
the  combined  evil  influence  of  a  Friday  and  a  thir- 
teen.) 

Saturday,  21st.  Sent  off  Campbell  to  Cherry 
river  to  bring  down  the  peltries  at  that  place.  Twen- 
ty-two men  accompanied  him. 

Friday,  27th.  At  five  o'clock  P.  M.  Messrs.  Mc. 
Kenzie,  Kipp  and  Bird,  with  nine  Blackfeet  Indians, 
arrived  in  a  bateau  from  Fort  Union.  McKenzie 
brought  down  one  hundred  and  eleven  packs  of 
beaver  skins. 

Wednesday,  May  2.  Mr.  Cerre  arrived  yesterday 
from  the  Yantonnais  with  ninety  odd  packs  of  robes. 
Hands  employed  making  and  pressing  them. 

The  location  of  this  Yanktonais  post  is  un- 
certain, but  it  is  supposed  to  have  been  on  Elm 
river,  in  northwestern  Brown  county,  where  the 
remains  of  a  post  are  still  visible. 

Monday,  7th.  Colin  Campbell,  with  eleven  skin 
canoes  laden  with  buffalo  robes,  arrived  from  Cherry 
river.  Mr.  Campbell,  while  at  Cherry  river,  disin- 
terred the  body  of  the  deceased  F.  Querrel;'"  and,  as 
seven  wounds  were  found  in  the  body,  Frederick  La- 
Boue was  put  in  irons  immediately  on  the  arrival 
of  the  canoes. 

I  have  been  unable  to  learn  anything  further 
about  this  matter,  or  how  Frederick  got  out  of 
the  irons  or  if  he  continued  in  them.  There 
was  at  this  date  no  legal  method  of  procedure, 
but  as  it  appears  that  Kenneth  McKenzie  was 
present  at  this  time  the  absence  of  a  statute  cut 
but  little  figure,  for  McKenzie  was  law  unto 
himself  and  all  of  the  other  denizens  of  the  upper 
Missouri. 

Friday,  11th.  Sent  off  two  men  to  the  Rees  with 
goods  for  trade  with  those  Inuians.  Pierre  Ortubize 
and  two  men  left  In  a  skiff  in  search  of  the  steam- 
boat. 

Monday,  21st.  Sent  off  twenty  men  to  the  Navy 
Yard  to  cut  timber  and  bring  it  down  on  rafts. 

Tuesday,  22d.  Mr.  Fontenelle  with  twenty  men 
and  a  number  of  horses  arrived  here  from  St.  Louis. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


They   bring    news   of    the   steamboat   "Yellowstone." 
She  is  now  between  this  place  and  the  Poncas. 

Wednesday,  23d.  Cloudy  with  rain  at  intervals. 
Eighteen  men  arrived  from  the  steamboat  "Yellow- 
stone." She  is  stopped  for  want  of  water,  sixty  miles 
below  White  river.  William  Dici;son  and  family  ar- 
rived from  Riviere  au  Jacques. 

It  is  probable  that  George  Catlin,  the  artist, 
was  among  the  men  who  arrived  this  day.  It 
has  been  stated  by  good  authority  that  they  left 
the  boat  just  west  of  Yankton.  This  is  the 
testimony  of  Thomas  Donaldson,  who  edited  the 
works  of  Catlin  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
and  the  time  employed  in  the  overland  joumey  to 
Fort  Pierre  and  the  direction  taken  would  justify 
the  belief. 

Friday,  25th.  Baptiste  Defond  arrived  from  the 
steamboat  at  the  big  bend.  Messrs.  McKenzie,  Fon- 
tenelle  and  others  left  in  a  keelboat  to  meet  her. 

Thursday,  31st.  Steamboat  "Yellowstone"  ar- 
rived at  5  P.  M. 

Tuesday,  June  5th.  Steamboat  "Yellowstone" 
left  here  for  Fort  Union. 

Wednesday,  6th.  Mr.  Fontenelle  left  for  Fort 
Union  with  forty  odd  men  and  one  hundred  ten  or 
fifteen  horses. 

Monday.  11th.  Keelboat  "Flora"  left  here  for 
Fort  Union  with  a  cargo  of  merchandise.  Keelboat 
"Male  Twin"  left  here  for  the  Navy  Yard  to  bring 
down  timber. 

Friday,  15th.  The  "Male  Twin"  and  four  ba- 
teaux arrived  from  Navy  Yard  loaded  with  pickets 
for  the  fort. 

Sunday,  17th.  Keelboat  "Male  Twin"  and  four 
bateaux,  conducted  by  Mr.  Honore  Picotte,  left  here 
for  St.  Louis  loaded  with  one  thousand  four  hundred 
ten  packs  of  buffalo  robes. 

Wednesday,  20th.  Joseph  Jewett,  who  left  here 
on  the  10th.  arrived  today  from  Oglallas  with  dry 
meat,  lodges,  etc.  Four  hundred  eighty  pounds  of 
dry  meat  was  left  here  in  the  spring,  but  the  wolves 
broke  into  the  house  and  ate  all  except  about  twenty 
pieces. 

Sunday,  24th.  Steamboat  "Yellowstone"  arrived 
from  Fort  Union.  Sent  down  six  hundred  packs  of 
robes  on  board  of  her. 

Monday,  25th.  Steamboat  "Yellowstone"  left  us 
for  St.  Louis  with  a  cargo  of  one  thousand  three  hun- 
dred packs  robes  and  beaver.  Mr.  Laidlaw  went  on 
board  of  her.  He  is  to  go  down  as  far  as  the  Sioux 
agency  and  return  by  land.  Ortubize  has  got  a  keg 
of  whiskey  and  is  continually  drunk  himself  and  he 


tries  to  make  as  many  of  the  men  drunk  as  will  drink 
with  him. 

Sunday,  July  1st.  Messrs.  Laidlaw  and  Dickson 
left  for  Lac  Traverse  in  quest  of  some  Canadian  pork- 
eaters  expected  here  this  summer.  Castorigi  sick 
and  off  duty. 

Pork-eaters  was  the  popular  name  for  new 
men  from  Canada,  and  came  to  be  used  in  the 
same  sense  as  tenderfoot  or  greenhorn  is  now 
applied.  The  French  call  them  mangeurs  de 
lard.  In  the  instance  mentioned  in  the  journal 
raw  recruits  from  Canada  are  meant.  They  were 
bound  for  a  period  of  five  years  under  most 
rigorous  engagement  and  at  wages  which  made 
it  impossible  for  them  to  arrive  at  the-  end  of 
their  term  without  being  in  debt  to  the  company. 
As  there  was  no  way  for  them  to  get  passage 
out  of  the  country  while  so  in  debt  they  were 
compelled  to  remain  and  keep  at  work.  Tlie 
name  arose  because  while  enroute  from  Canada 
they  were  fed  on  pork,  hard  bread  and  pea  soup, 
but  principally  pork. 

Sunday,  8th.  Messrs.  Brown,  Durand  and  two 
Americans,  all  beaver  trappers,  arrived  with  about  a 
pack  of  beaver. 

Monday,  9th.  At  six  A.  M.  Henry  Hart  arrived 
from  Fort  Union  with  three  batteaux  loaded  with 
robes,  etc.  Loaded  one  boat  with  one  hundred  twenty 
packs  beaver  and  other  skins  and  put  on  board  of  an- 
other thirty  packs  of  robes.  She  is  to  take  on  one 
hundred  twenty  or  one  hundred  thirty  packs  at  Yank- 
ton post. 

Thursday,  19th.  Jewett  and  Ortubize  returned 
from  hunting,  having  killed  two  bulls.  On  their  ar- 
rival on  this  side  of  the  river  we  discovered  two 
more  bulls  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  when 
we  immediately  recrossed  them.  At  night  they  re- 
turned, having  killed  one  more  bull. 

Friday,  20th.  Vasseau  and  two  men  belonging 
to  LeClerc  company  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Te- 
ton river  for  the  purpose  of  building  and  establishing 
a  trading  house  here.  LeClaire  and  a  few  men  ar- 
rived here  from  Fort  Lookout. 

The  LeCIerc  post  was  not  established. 
Narcisse  LeClerc  had  long  been  in  the  employ 
of  the  American  Fur  Company  and  had  made 
some  money  and  he  determined  to  organize  a 
company  and  trade  on  his  own  account.  He 
demonstrated  in  1831  that  he  was  no  mean  op- 
position   and    the    American    concluded    that    it 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


123 


would  be  wise  to  buy  him  off  from  entering  the 
Sioux  country.  The  business  was  entrusted  to 
J.  P.  Cabanne,  a  partner  and  manager  of  the 
company's  affairs  at  Council  Bluffs.  LeClerc 
started  just  as  word  came  of  the  passage  of  the 
act  of  July  9,  1832,  prohibiting  the  transporta- 
tion, use  or  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  in  the 
Indian  country.  General  Clark,  however,  hav- 
ing no  official  notice  of  the  passage  of  such  a 
law,  permitted  LeClerc  to  carry  in  his  outfit  two 
hundred  fifty  gallons  of  alcohol.  Immediately 
upon  the  arrival  of  the  "Yellowstone"  at  St. 
Louis  from  its  trip  to  Fort  LTnion,  Pierre  Chou- 
teau, fearful  of  -the  eft'ect  of  the  rumored  new 
law,  put  fourteen  hundred  gallons  of  liquor  on 
her  and  started  her  back  to  the  Indian  country, 
but  at  Fort  Leavenworth  the  spirits  were  seized 
and  confiscated.  LeClerc,  however,  had  gotten 
by  the  officers  with  his  whiskey.  This  would 
give  him  a  great  advantage  over  the  American 
if  something  was  not  done.  Cabanne  was,  how- 
ever, quite  equal  to  the  emergency.  When  Le- 
Clerc reached  Cabanne's  neighborhood  that 
worthy  was  horrified  to  learn  that,  contrary  to 
the  law  of  the  land  this  unscrupulous  trader  was 
about  to  carry- whiskey  into  the  Indian  country, 
no  doubt  with  the  express  intention  of  debauch- 
ing the  natives  and  defrauding  them  of  their 
property.  His  sense  of  justice  was  outraged  and 
he  was  virtuously  indignant.  Although  he  was 
but  an  ordinary  citizen,  without  any  legal  au- 
thority being  vested  in  him,  he  resolved  to 
compass  the  defeat  of  so  unholy  and  nefarious 
an  enterprise  and  he  sent  Peter  Sarpy  with  a 
force  of  men  and  a  small  cannon  to  capture 
LeClerc,  bag,  baggage,  whiskey  and  all.  Sarpy 
hastened  to  take  possession  of  a  point  which 
commanded  the  passage  of  the  river  and  when 
LeClerc  arrived  ordered  him  to  surrender  or 
he  would  blow  him  out  of  the  water.  LeClerc 
knew  a  good  thing  when  he  found  it  floating 
down  tlie  river  and  he  promptly  complied  with 
the  demand  and  hastened  back  to  St.  Louis, 
where  he  promptly  brought  suit  for  his  damages 
and  for  which  he  recovered  nine  thousand  two 
hundred  dollars.  The  American  people  were 
already  sufficiently  unpopular  and  the  report  of 


this  high-handed  outrage  created  a  demand  that 
the}-  be  driven  out  of  the  Indian  country  and  it 
required  all  of  the  diplomacy  of  the  entire  Astor- 
Crooks-Chouteau  combination  to  save  its  char- 
ter. So  it  was  that  the  LeClerc  post  was  not 
built  at  Fort  Pierre. 

Sunday,  29th.  At  10  A.  M.  Mr.  Laidlaw  arrived 
on  the  other  side  with  thirty-six  porlceaters.  He  lost 
two  on  the  road.  Employed  the  greater  part  of  the 
day  in  crossing  the  men  and  their  baggage.  At  12 
m.  Cardinal  Grant  arrived  from  the  Yankton  post. 

Thursday,  August  2d.  Plenty  of  buffalo.  Mr. 
Laidlaw  went  out  to  hunt  them  and  killed  three. 

Saturday,  4th.  Four  Brule  Indians  arrived  in 
search  of  a  trader.  They  are  encamped  five  days' 
march  from  this. 

Monday,  6th.  Baptiste  Dorion,  Charles  Primeau 
and  Hipolite  Niessel  left  here  this  morning  with  the 
four  Indians  who  arrived  on  the  4th,  with  merchan- 
dise to  trade.  Sent  Ortubize  to  the  Navy  Yard  to 
hunt  for  our  men  at  work  there. 

Tuesday,  14th.  Messrs.  Catlin  and  Bogart  ar- 
rived from  Fort  Union  on  their  way  to  St.  Louis. 

Wednesday,  15th.  Baptiste  Dorion  and  G.  P. 
Cerre  arrived  from  Brule  camp  with  dry  meats, 
robes,  etc. 

Thursday,  15th.  Mr.  Catlin  left  us  for  St.  Louis, 
accompanied  by  Mr.  Bogart  in  a  skiff. 

Friday,  17th.  In  the  early  part  of  the  day  news 
was  brought  of  a  band  of  buffalo  not  being  far  from 
the  fort.  Consequently  a  party  went  out  to  hunt 
them.  Baptiste  Dorion  was  one  of  the  party;  they  all 
returned  without  killing  any  buffalo;  but  Dorion  fell 
in  with  a  Stiaago  Indian  riding  off  with  one  of  the 
company's  horses.  After  a  little  scuffle  he  killed  the 
Indian  and  we  got  back  the  horse.  We  suppose  he 
was  a  Ree.  Dorion  did  not  fire  at  the  Indian  until 
he  had  fired  two  arrows  at  him. 

Tuesday,  21st.  At  eleven  A.  M.  Mr.  Brown  ar- 
rived from  the  lumber  yards.  Two  of  the  men  there, 
Louis  Turcot  and  James  Durant,  having  stolen  a 
canoe  and  deserted,  Mr.  Brown  with  one  man  left 
here  in  a  canoe  at  12  M.  in  pursuit  of  them.  Several 
lodges  of  Yanktons  and  Esontis  arrived  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Missouri  and  camped  there. 

The  "Esontis"  were  doubtless  Santees,  the 
real  name  being  Esantee,  meaning  "knife." 

Thursday,  23d.  Mr.  Brown  arrived  with  the  two 
deserters,  Turcot  and  Durant.  He  caught  them  in 
the  middle  of  the  big  bend. 

Friday,  24th.  Commenced  planting  the  pickets 
of  the  fort. 

Sunday.  September  9th.  The  prairies  are  on  fire 
in  every  direction. 


124 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


Monday,  24th.  Laidlaw,  Halsey,  Campbell,  De- 
maney  and  an  Indian  left  for  Sioux  agency,  near  old 
Fort  Lookout. 

Sunday,  30tli.  They  returned,  bringing  Dr.  Mar- 
tin, who  visits  this  place  to  vaccinate  the  Indians. 
Messrs.  McKenzie  and  Fontenelle  with  several  others 
arrived  from  Fort  Union  in  a  bateau,  having  on  board 
about  six  thousand  beaver  skins. 

The  foregoing  concludes  Captain  Chitten- 
den'.s  extracts  from  the  journal,  from  which  I 
have  excluded  the  daily  reference  to  the  weather 
conditions.  There  is  enough  in  the  eight  months 
covered  by  the  record  to  indicate  that  South 
Dakotans  of  1832  were  enterprising  and  there 
was   no  lack  of   incidents   to  make   up   a   lively 


season.  A  murder,  desertions,  two  Indian  raids, 
a  steamboat  trip,  Catlin  and  his  picture-making, 
the  excitement  of  a  flood,  besides  the  moving  to 
the  new  fort  and  the  every-day  grind  kept  the 
managers  and  the  mangeurs  de  lard  on  the 
qnivive  throughout  the  year. 

Though  no  mention  is  made  of  the  fact  in 
the  journal,  Pierre  Chouteau,  Jr.,  was  a  passenger 
on  the  "Yellowstone"  on  its  up-river  trip  this 
year  and  it  was  while  he  was  stopping  at  the 
fort  that  his  name  was  given  to  it.  Major  Wilson 
says  that  it  was  called  Fort  Pierre  Chouteau,  but 
if  that  is  true  it  was  not  regarded,  even  by  the 
men  who  named  it,  for  in  all  of  the  correspond- 
ence of  the  times  it  is  called  simply  Fbrt  Pierre. 


CHAPTER  XV 


GEORGE  CATLIN  IN  SOUTH  DAKOTA. 


Among  the  passengers  on  the  "Yellowstone" 
upon  her  second  up-river  trip  in  the  spring  of 
1832  was  George  Catlin,  the  artist,  who  was  on 
a  trip  to  the  wilderness  to  paint  wild  Indians 
and  describe  their  customs.  Mr.  Catlin  was  a 
native  of  Wilkes  Barre,  Pennsylvania,  and  was 
educated  as  a  lawyer,  but  early  abandoned  his 
profession  for  art.  He  was  an  enthusiast  about 
the  Indians,  and  gave  up  forty-two  years  of  his 
life  to  the  study  and  picturing  of  these  interest- 
ing people.  At  the  time  of  this  trip  he  was 
thirty-six  years  of  age  and  it  was  his  third  year 
in  the  Indian  work.  He  possessed  great  energy 
and  persistence  and  accomplished  much  for  the 
preservation  of  the  history  of  the  primitive  In- 
dians. He  arrived  at  St.  Louis  in  the  early 
spring  of  1832  and  was  so  fortunate  as  to  make 
the  acquaintance  of  Pierre  Chouteau,  Jr.,  who 
invited  him  to  accompany  the  "Yellowstone"  trip. 
Catlin  was  a  prolific  writer  and  he  has  left  to  us 
a  graphic  account  of  the  difficulties  attending 
Missouri  river  navigation  in  those  days.  He 
characterizes  the  river  as  "a  hell  of  waters."  "If 
anything  did  ever  literally  and  completely 
astonish  and  astound  the  natives  it  was  the  ap- 
pearance of  our  steamer,  puffing  and  blowing 
and  paddling  and  rushing  by  their  villages." 

"These  poor  and  ignorant  people,  for  the 
distance  of  two  thousand  miles,  had  never  before 
.'icen  or  heard  of  a  steamboat  and  at  some  places 
they  seemed  at  a  loss  what  to  do  or  how  to  act. 
They  could  not,  as  the  Dutch  did  at  Newburgh, 
take  it  fur  a  floating  saw-mill  and  thev  had  no 


name  for  it.  so  it  was,  like  everything  else  with 
them  which  is  mysterious  and  unaccountable, 
called  medicine.  We  had  on  board  one  twelve- 
pound  cannon  and  three  or  four  eight-pound 
swivels  and  at  the  approach  to  every  village  they 
were  all  discharged  several  times  in  rapid  suc- 
cession, which  threw  the  inhabitants  into  utter 
confusion  and  amazement.  Some  laid  their  faces 
to  the  ground  and  cried  to  the  great  spirit ;  some 
shot  their  horses  and  dogs  and  sacrificed  them 
to  appease  the  great  spirit  whom  they  conceived 
was  offended ;  some  deserted  the  villages  and 
ran  to  the  tops  of  the  bluffs,  several  miles 
distant ;  and  others,  as  the  boat  landed  in  front 
of  their  villages,  came  with  great  caution  and 
peeped  over  the  banks  of  the  river  to  see  the  fate 
of  their  chiefs,  whose  duty  it  was  from  the  nature 
of  their  offices  to  approach  us,  whether  friend  or 
foe,  and  go  on  board.  Sometimes,  in  this  plight, 
they  were  instantly  thrown  neck  and  heels  over 
each  other's  heads  and  shoulders,  men,  women, 
children  and  dogs, — sage,  sachem,  old  and  young, 
— all  in_  a  mass,  at  the  frightful  discharge  of 
steam  from  the  escape  pipe  which  the  captain  of 
the  boat  let  loose  upon  them  for  his  own  fun  and 
amusement.  There  were  many  curious  con- 
jectures amongst  their  wise  men  with  regard  to 
the  nature  and  powers  of  the  steamboat. 
Amongst  the  Mandans  some  called  it  the  'big 
thunder  canoe,'  for  when  in  the  distance  below 
the  village  they  saw  the  lightning  flash  from  its 
sides  and  heard  the  thunder  come  from  it. 
Others    called    it    the    'big   medicine   canoe    with 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


eves.'  It  was  medicine  because  they  could  not 
understand  it  and  it  must  have  eyes,  for,  said 
they,  'it  sees  its  own  way,  and  takes  the  deep 
water  in  the  middle  of  the  channel.'  They  had 
no  idea  of  the  boat  being  steered  by  the  man  at 
the  wheel." 

The  "Yellowstone"  left  St.  Louis  on   March 
26th   and   its  progress   was   woefully   slow   until 


it  had  passed  the  mouth  of  the  Niobrara,  where 
it  found  the  water  so  low  that  it  could  neither 
proceed  nor  return.  Chouteau,  while  waiting 
for  a  rise  in  the  river,  dispatched  a  party  of 
twenty  men  "to  Laidlaw's  fort  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Teton"  and  Catlin  accompanied  them,  car- 
rying with  him  his  painting  outfit.  They  left 
the  vessel  on  May  i6th  in  the  morning  and 
arrived  at  Fort  Pierre  May  23d.     The  "Yellow- 


stone" did  not  make  that  port  until  the  31st  and 
remained  there  six  days,  so  that  Catlin  remained 
at  Fort  Pierre  on  the  upward  trip  fifteen  days 
and  during  that  period  he  accomplished  a  great 
deal  of  work,  painting  the  likenesses  of  many  of 
the  leading  Indians  and  writing  much  descriptive 
matter.  He  found  Laidlaw,  McKenzie  and 
Flalsey  at  the  fort  and  they  hospitably  enter- 
tained him.  There  were  at  the  time  six  or  seven 
hundred  lodges  of  Sioux  Indians  encamped  about 
the  fort,  giving  him  splendid  opportunity  to  fill 
his  portfolio  with  likenesses.  Among  others 
whom  he  painted  here  was  a  Minneconjou  chief 
named  One  Horn,  who  induced  the  simple- 
minded  artist  to  believe  that  he  was  indeed  a  big 
injun,  for  he  notes  in  his  journal :  "The  Sioux 
have  forty-one  bands,  each  band  has  a  chief,  and 
this  man  is  head  of  all."  Had  he  been  inquis- 
itive he  might  have  found  forty-one  chiefs  who 
claimed  the  same  distinction.  He  also  found 
Waneton,  the  younger  of  that  name,  and 
]5ninted  his  likeness.  This  is  the  Indian  who 
fought  with  the  English  at  Fort  ]Meigs  and 
Sandusky  and  whose  appearance  is  described  by 
Major  Long  in  a  previous  chapter.  Catlin  calls 
him  a  "Susseton,"  but  he  was  in  fact  a  Yank- 
tonais.  He  is  said  by  McKinney  and  Hall,  at 
forty-five  years  of  age  to  command  more  influ- 
ence tlian  any  other  Indian  chief  on  the  con- 
tinent. Soon  after  the  defeat  of  the  Rees,  in 
1825,  he  removed  his  village  from  the  Elm  river 
over  to  the  Missouri  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Warreconne,  in  what  is  now  Emmons  county. 
North  Dakota,  where  he  established  a  sort  of 
protectorate  over  the  Rees  and  Mandans.  Among 
others  painted  here  were  Black  Rock,  a  famous 
Two  Kettle  Sioux  of  that  day,  and  also  the 
young  daughter  of  this  chief.  The  latter  like- 
ness he  gave  to  ]\Ir.  Laidlaw,  who  hung  it  in 
the  fort.  Black  Rock,  with  his  people,  went  out 
on  the  prairies  back  from  the  river  to  make 
meat  and  there  the  daughter  died.  The  old  chief 
returned  to  the  fort,  heav>-hearted.  but  when  he 
saw  the  likeness  of  his  daughter  he  was  greatly 
delighted  as  if  she  had  been  restored  to  him,  and 
he  at  once  offered  the  commandant  ten  horses 
and  his  wigwam  for  the  likeness.     Laidlaw  gen- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


127 


erously  gave  him  the  picture  without  price. 
While  at  Fort  Pierre  Catlin  secured  practically 
all  of  the  pictures  which  illustrate  "The  Sioux 
Nation."  He  certainly  made  the  most  of  his 
short  stay.  He  secured  a  number  of  sketches 
of  buffalo  hunts  and  of  various  Indian  dances, 
made  a  painting  of  the  fort  and  wrote  extensively 
of  his  surroundings.  Though  at  that  time  the 
buffalo  simply  covered  the  prairies,  he  plainly 
foresaw  the  early  extinction  of  that  noble  animal 
and  even  then  pleaded  that  the  government 
should  take  action  to  establish  a  great  park  in 
which  numbers  of  them  should  be  preserved. 
It  is  noteworthy  that  very  near  to  Fort  Pierre, 
upon  the  very  ground  where  he  hunted  and 
painted  these  animals,  private  enterprise  has 
established  the  park  for  which  seventy  years  be- 
fore he  had  prayed,  and  placed  in  it  the  largest 
remaining  herd  of  bison. 

The  "Yellowstone"  left  Fort  Pierre,  continu- 
ing its  trip  up  stream  on  June  5th  and  proceeded 
with  splendid  success  and  speed.  While  it  had 
been  more  than  two  months  in  reaching  Fort 
Pierre  from  St.  Louis,  it  made  the  round  trip 
from  Pierre  to  Union  and  return  in  twenty  days. 
Catlin  accompanied  the  boat  up  stream,  but  did 
not  return  with  it.  The  only  South  Dakota  point 
mentioned  on  the  up-trip  after  leaving  Pierre  is 
Arickara.  This  is  the  first  detailed  description 
of  this  village  after  the  Leavenworth  fight  in 
1823  and  we  learn  from  Catlin's  description  that 
it  was  very  little  changed.  Leavenworth  found 
one  hundred  forty-three  lodges  in  the  settlement. 
Catlin  says :  "The  Riccaree  village  is  beautifully 
situated  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river  two 
hundred  miles  below  the  Mandans,  being  con- 
stituted of  one  hundred  fifty  earth-covered 
lodges,  which  arc  in  part  surrounded  by  an  im- 
perfect and  open  barrier  of  pickets  set  firmly  in 
the  ground  and  ten  or  twelve  feet  high.  The 
village  is  built  upon  an  open  prairie  and  the 
gracefully  undulating  hills  that  rise  in  the 
distance  behind  are  everywhere  covered  with  a 
verdant  turf  without  a  bush  or  tree  anywhere  to 
be  seen.  This  view  was  taken  from  the  deck  of 
the  steamer  when  I  was  on  my  way  up  river :  and 
iirobablv   it   is   well   that    I   took   it   tlien.    for   so 


hostile  and  deadly  are  the  feelings  of  these  peo- 
ple toward  the  pale  faces  at  this  time  that  it  may 
be  deemed  best  for  me  to  pass  them  on  my  way 
down  the  river  without  stopping  to  make  them 
a  visit.  They  are  certainly  harboring  the  most 
resentful  feelings  toward  the  traders  and  others 
passing  on  the  river  and  no  doubt  there  is  great 
danger  of  the  lives  of  white  men  who  unluckily 
fall  into  their  hands.  They  have  recently  sworn 
death  and  destruction  to  every  white  man  who 
comes  in  their  way  and  there  is  no  doubt  that 
they  are  ready  to  execute  their  threats." 

Reaching  Fort  Union,  Catlin  spent  some  time 
as  the  guest  of  McKenzie  and  J.  Archdale 
Hamilton,  and  painted  many  Indians  of  the 
upper  tribes.  Concluding  his  work  at  this  point, 
he  purchased  a  canoe  and  employed  a  French- 
man named  Eaptiste  and  a  Yankee  named 
Piogart  to  accompany  him  and  returned  down 
the  river,  making  a  stay  of  several  days  with 
the  jMandans  and  painting  and  writing  ex- 
tensively of  them.  This  was  indeed  fortunate. 
Oi  no  other  tribe  did  he  write  more  fully  or 
more  understandingl}-  and  even  more  from  him 
ihm  from  Lewis  and  Clarke  do  we  know  of  this 
now  almost  extinct  people,  for  five  years  after 
his  visit  the  jMandans  were  reduced  by  smallpox 
from  more  than  sixteen  hundred  to  thirty-one 
souls.  At  the  Mandan  village  he  found  and 
painted  the  likeness  of  Stanaupat,  the  bloody 
hand,  chief  of  the  Rees,  the  same  who  was  the 
first  signer  of  the  Atkinson-O'Fallon  treaty  of 
1825.  He  also  obtained  the  likeness  of  another 
South  Dakotan,  Pahtoocara,  a  warrior,  as  well 
of  Kahbeca,  the  twin,  wife  of  Stanaupat,  and  of 
Pshanshaw,  the  sweet-scented  grass,  his  daugh- 

Leaving  the  Mandans,  Catlin's  story  con- 
tinues :  "Dropping  off  down  the  rolling  current 
again  from  day  to  day  until  at  length  the  curling 
smoke  of  the  Riccarees  announced  their  village 
in  view.  We  trembled  and  quaked,  for  all  boats 
not  stoutly  armed  steal  by  them  in  the  dead 
night.  We  muffled  our  paddles  and  instantly 
dropped  under  some  willows  where  we  listened 
to  the  yelping,  barking  rabble  until  sable  night 
had  drawn  her  curtain   round    (although  it  was 


128 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


not  sable,  for  the  moon  arose,  to  our  great 
mortification  and  alarm,  in  full  splendor  and 
brightness),  when,  at  eleven  o'clock,  we  put  out 
to  the  middle  of  the  stream,  silenced  our  paddles 
and  trusted  to  the  current  to  waft  us  by  them. 
We  lay  close  in  our  boat  with  a  pile  of  green 
bushes  over  us,  making  us  nothing  in  the  world 
but  a  floating  treetop.  On  the  bank  in  front  of 
the  village  was  being  enacted  at  that  moment  a 
scene  of  the  most  frightful  and  thrilling  nature. 
A  hundred  torches  were  swung  about  in  all 
directions,  giving  us  a  full  view  of  the  group  that 


they  looked,  there  were  some  hundreds  of  cack- 
ling women  and  girls  bathing  in  the  river  on  the 
edge  of  a  sandbar  at  the  lower  end  of  the  village, 
at  which  place  the  stream  drifted  our  small  craft 
in  close  to  the  shore,  till  the  moon  lit  their 
shoulders,  their  foreheads,  chins  and  noses  and 
they  stood  half  merged,  like  mermaids,  and 
gazed  upon  us  singing  'Cheenaseenun,  chenasee- 
nun.  kemonshoo,  keehe  nena,  hawaytah,  shesha, 
shesha.'  'How  do  you  do?  How  do  you  do? 
Where  are  ycni  going,  old  tree?  Come  here, 
come  here."     Then:     'Lahkeehoon.  Lahkeehoon! 


FORT  riKRRK. 


were  assembled,  and  some  fresh  scalps  were  hung 
on  poles,  and  were  then  going  through  the 
nightly  ceremony  that  is  performed  about  them 
for  a  number  of  nights,  composed  of  the  fright- 
iul  and  appalling  shrieks  and  yells  and  gesticula- 
tions of  the  scalp  dance. 

"But  a  few  weeks  before  I  left  the  mouth 
of  the  Yellowstone  the  news  arrived  that  a  party 
of  trappers  had  burnt  two  Riccarees  to  death 
on  the  prairies.  After  I  had  got  some  hundred 
miles  below  them  I  learned  that  they  were  danc- 
ing two  white  men's  scalps,  taken  in  revenge 
for  that  inhuman  act. 

"Tn  addition  to  this  multitude  of  demons,  as 


nath,  catogh."  'A  canoe,  a  canoe!  see  the  pad- 
dle." In  a  moment  the  songs  were  stopped :  the 
lights  were  out ;  the  village  in  an  instant  was  in 
darkness  and  the  dogs  were  muzzled,  and  nimbly 
did  our  paddles  ply  the  water  till  spyglasses  told 
us  at  morning  the  boundless  prairies  were  free 
from  following  footsteps  of  friend  or  foe." 

I  do  not  find  any  other  record  of  the  killing 
of  white  men  by  Rees  in  1832.  The  Fort  Pierre 
journal  does  not  mention  it  and  I  am  inclined  to 
believe  it  is  incorrect. 

On  Tuesday,  August  14th.  Catlin  arrived  at 
Fort  Pierre  and  remained  there  over  one  day. 
departing  down  stream  on  the   i6th.     From  the 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


129 


amount  of  work  which  he  reports  having  done 
at  this  time  he  must  have  put  in  a  busy  day.  The 
probabihties  are  that  he  made  notes  and  hurried 
sketches,  which  he  afterward  completed  at  his 
leisure. 

When  going  up.  Catlin,  at  Fort  Pierre, 
painted  a  profile  picture  of  a  chief  named  Little 
AVhite  Bear,  in  which,  of  course,  only  half  of  the 
Indian's  face  was  shown.  Little  White  Bear  was 
an  LTncpapa  and  was  the  first  chief  to  sign  the 
treaty  of  1825.  Catlin  calls  him  ]\Iatotcheega, 
but  the  treaty-makers  got  it  ]\Iatochegalla ;  the 
latter  is  more  nearly  the  phonetic  spelling.  Lit- 
tle White  Bear  was  on  bad  terms  with  another 
Indian  of  the  Casazsheeta  (  ?)  band,  named 
Shunka,  the  dog,  and  the  latter,  watching  the 
progress  of  the  painting,  made  slighting  remarks 
about  Little  ^^'^hite  Bear  being  but  half  a  man. 
due  to  the  fact  that  only  half  of  his  face  showed 
in  the  likeness.  A  violent  quarrel  ensued,  in 
which  Little  White  Bear  was  shot  and  killed  by 
the  Dog,  curiously  enough  the  shot  carrying  away 
the  entire  side  of  the  face  which  had  not  appeared 
in  the  picture.  The  Dog  and  his  band  instantly 
departed  across  the  prairies,  followed  by  the  now 
thoroughly  aroused  and  vengeful  Uncpapas,  and 
though  they  were  able  to  break  the  fellow's  arm 
in  the  chase  he  escaped  them.  Catlin  tells  the 
story  at  length  and  with  unnecessary  loquacity. 
The  traders,  expecting  trouble,  prepared  for  de- 
fense and  the  Indians  fixed  upon  Catlin  as  the 
cause  of  the  death  of  their  chief.  That  evening 
at  five  o'clock  the  "Yellowstone"  steamed  up 
river  with  Catlin  on  board.  The  death  of  Little 
White  Bear  bore  heavily  on  the  Indians  and  all 
summer  they  debated  it  and  the  more  they  con- 
sidered the  matter  the  more  convinced  they  were 
that  the  painter's  medicine  had  been  too  strong. 
Tom  Belly,  a  leading  Yankton,  voiced  the  usual 
sentiment  when  he  said :  "He  looks  at  our  chiefs 
and  our  women  and  makes  them  alive.  In  this 
way  he  has  taken  our  chiefs  away  and  he  can 
trouble  their  spirits  when  they  are  dead.  They 
will  be  unhappy.  If  he  can  make  them  alive  by 
looking  at  them  he  can  do  us  much  harm.  You 
tell  us  they  are  not  alive.  We  see  their  eyes 
move :    their    eyes    follow    us    wherever    we    go. 


That  is  enough."  They  started  out  to  find  and 
kill  the  Dog  and  failing  in  this  they  proposed  to 
"take  it  out"  of  Catlin  when  he  returned  down 
the  river.  When  he  did  arrive  at  the  fort  Laidlaw 
was  a  good  deal  concerned  about  his  safety  and 
it  is  probable  that  fact  had  a  good  deal  to  do  with 
the  brief  period  of  the  stay  there.  He  got  away 
all  right  and  the  Dog  was  later  overtaken  by  the 
friends  of  Little  White  Bear  near  the  Black  Hills 
and  killed. 

Only  one  other  noteworthy  incident  occurred 
upon  this  trip  within  South  Dakota.  This  was  an 
encounter  with  a  herd  of  buffaloes  at  the  mouth  of 
White  river.  Thousands  of  buffaloes  were  cross- 
ing the  river  when,  rounding  a  curve,  the  skiff 
was  among  them  before  its  progress  could  be  ar- 
rested. The}-  came  through  without  damage,  but 
were  badly  scared,  and  the  danger  was  really  im- 
minent. 

In  1836  Catlin  was  again  in  the  Dakota  coun- 
try, in  Minnesota,  and  visited  the  pipestone  C|uar- 
ry,  but  it  is  not  certain  that  he  was  within  the 
present  state  on  this  occasion. 

Few  writers  have  been  subjected  to  more  se- 
vere criticism  than  Catlin  and  it  is  even  yet  difiQ- 
cult  to  arrive  at  a  true  estimate  of  his  work.  Gen. 
Henry  H.  Sibley  says  of  him:  "His  letters 
abound  in  misstatements  and  the  voluminous 
work  subsequently  produced  b_\-  him  was  equal 
to  them  in  that  respect.  The  people  in  this  quar- 
ter were  absolutely  astonished  at  his  misrepre- 
sentations of  men  and  things.  There  is  but  one 
redeeming  feature  in  his  book  and  that  is  his 
sketches  of  faces  and  scenes,  which  are  suffi- 
ciently faithful,  as  he  was  skilled  in  that  line,  and 
his  pencil  could  not  therefore,  like  his  pen,  vary 
much  from  the  truth."  Dr.  Edward  S.  Niell  calls 
him  "an  artist  of  some  notoriety  who  made  many 
sketches  which  were  truthful  and  subsequently 
published  many  statements  which  were  unreli- 
able." Audubon  says,  "He  was  dishonest,"  and 
Parkman  calls  him  a  "garrulous  and  windy  writ- 
er." Perhaps  the  fairest  criticism  is  by  Captain 
Chittenden,  who  says :  "He  undoubtedly  did  "a 
great  work  in  preserving  in  pictorial  form  a  con- 
dition of  life  which  no  longer  exists  exccjn  in 
historv.     He  was  a  true  and  passionate  friend  of 


13° 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


the  Indian  and  an  ardent  worshipper  of  every 
thing  pertaining  to  aboriginal  life.  His  works, 
like  those  of  iNIaximilian,  will  always  be  resorted 
to  by  students  of  the  native  races  and  early  con- 
ditions of  the  Missouri  valley.  *  *  Catlin 
was  a  visionary  enthusiast  upon  a  single  theme, 
the  American  Indian.  He  saw  everything  per- 
taining to  the  natives  through  highly  colored 
glasses  and,  as  if  that  was  not  enough,  he  reck- 
lessly exaggerated  his  impressions  when  he  at- 
tempted to  record  them  with  pen  and  pencil.  He 
was  distrusted  by  those  who  knew  him  in  the 
west  and  was  more  than  once  taken  to  task  by 
his  contemporaries.  It  is  regrettable  that  one 
who  did  so  much  work  of  real  value  should  have 
marred  it  with  a  characteristic  which  throws 
doubt  upon  the  accuracy  of  all  of  it." 

\\"ith  Captain  Chittenden's  view  this  writer  is 
inclined  in  the  main  to  agree :  as  a  writer  Catlin 
was  careless  and  sensational ;  he  did  not  attempt 
to  portray  the  average  among  the   Indians  nor 


the  regular  routine  of  life,  but  sought  as  his  sub- 
jects both  for  pen  and  brush  the  unique  and  un- 
usual and  then  he  made  the  most  of  it.  He  saw 
the  form  of  things,  but  rarely  stopped  to  inquire 
about  the  substance.  His  paintings,  however, 
are  truthful  representations  of  the  exaggerated 
types  he  chose  to  paint.  On  this  point  we  have 
ample  evidence.  To  most  of  them  he  secured  the 
written  testimony  of  a  reliable  witness  at  the 
time  of  making  the  sketch.  For  instance,  to  his 
South  Dakota  pictures  he  secured  and  attached 
to  each  the  certificate  of  such  men  as  Kenneth 
AIcKenzie,  William  Laidlaw  or  even  Pierre  Chou- 
teau, Jr.  Before  coming  into  the  country  he  pro- 
vided himself  with  printed  blank  certificates  of 
authenticity  and  w-hich  he  had  signed  by  some 
competent  witness  as  to  almost  every  likeness.  A 
careful  examination  of  his  writings  reveals  a 
great  deal  that  is  incorrect  and  exaggerated,  but 
nothing  that  reveals  willful  and  groundless  false- 
hood. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


EVENTS  OF  THE  THIRTIES. 


I'ntil  1832  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors  was 
one  of  the  potent  instrumentahties  of  the  fur 
trade.  "Get  your  customer  drunk  first  and  then 
trade  with  him,"  was  a  fundamental  maxim  of 
the  business.  The  extent  to  which  this  abuse  was 
carried  is  almost  bej'ond  conception.  To  begin 
with,  the  Sioux  Indian  was  almost  insane  to  se- 
cure the  villainous  stuff  dealt  out  by  the  traders 
and  would  make  any  sacrifice  for  it.  The  British 
traders  had  an  unlimited  supply  of  liquor  and 
the  Americans  were  compelled  to  use  it  to  protect 
their  trade.  Yearly  the  debauchery  of  the  Indians 
became  more  and  more  of  a  science,  until  finally 
the  story  of  the  awful  conditions  drifted  out 
into  the  states  and  the  conscience  of  the  nation 
was  aroused.  Captain  Chittenden  says  of  the 
business:  "In  retailing  the  poisonous  stuff  (a 
pure  article  never  found  its  way  to  the  Indian) 
the  degree  of  deception  and  cheating  could  not 
have  been  carried  further.  A  baneful  and  nox- 
ious substance  to  begin  with,  it  was  retailed  with 
the  most  systematic  fraud,  often  amounting  to  a 
sheer  exchange  of  nothing  for  the  goods  of  the 
Indian.  It  was  the  policy  of  the  shrewd  trader  to 
first  get  his  victim  so  intoxicated  that  he  could 
no  longer  drive  a  good  bargain.  The  Indian  be- 
coming more  and  more  greedy  for  liciuor,  would 
yield  up  all  he  possessed  for  an  additional  cup  or 
two.  The  voracious  trader,  not  satisfied  with 
selling  his  alcohol  at  a  profit  of  many  thousand 
per  cent.,  would  now  begin  to  cheat  in  quantity. 
As  he  filled  the  little  cup  which  was  the  standard 
of  measure  he  would  thrust  in  his  hig  thumb  and 


diminish  its  capacity  one-third.  Sometimes  he 
would  substitute  another  cup  with  its  bottom 
thickened  up  by  running  tallow  in  until  it  was 
a  third  full.  He  would  also  dilute  the  liquor  un- 
til as  the  Indian's  senses  became  more  and  more 
befogged,  he  would  tr-eat  him  to  water  pure  and 
simple.  In  all  this  outrageous  imposition  bv 
which  the  Indian  was  virtually  robbed  of  his 
goods  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  tricks  of  the 
trader  had  at  least  this  in  their  favor,  that  they 
spared  the  unhappy  and  deluded  savage  a  por- 
tion of  the  liquor  which  he  supposed  he  was  get- 
i  ting.  The  duplicity  and  crime  for  which  this 
unhallowed  traffic  is  responsible  in  our  relations 
with  the  Indians  have  been  equalled  but  seldom 
in  even  the  most  corrupt  nations." 

It  is  said  that  the  first  to  raise  his  voice  against 
the  nefarious  practices  was  that  energetic  but 
conscientious  man,  Jedediah  S.  Smith,  whose  un- 
timely death  cut  him  off  before  the  refomi  for 
which  he  labored  was  accomplished.  By  1832  the 
public  sentiment  had  been  aroused  to  the  point 
that  congress  enacted  a  law  absolutely  prohibit- 
ing the  carrying  of  intoxicants  into  the  Indian 
country  and  from  that  date  forward  the  ingenu- 
ity of  the  trader  has  been  taxed  to  devise  means 
to  evade  the  law,  for  the  government  has  never 
for  a  moment,  since  that  year,  receded  from  the 
position  then  taken  and  its  efforts  to  protect  the 
savage  from  the  degrading  influence  of  intoxi- 
cants has  been  consistent  and  persistent.  The 
efforts  of  the  government  in  this  behalf  have 
never  been  more  than  partially  successful,  never- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


theless  the  conduct  of  the  traders  has  been  much 
less  flagrant  since  the  ban  of  the  law  has  been 
placed  upon  their  practices.  Much  that  is  amus- 
ing has  resulted  from  the  efforts  of  the  govern- 
ment to  enforce  the  law  and  the  counter  efforts 
of  the  traders  to  evade  it. 

The  Missouri  river  was  the  highway  to  the 
Indian  country  and  the  government  officials  at 
once  conceived  the  notion  that  by  thoroughly  po- 
licing the  river  at  Fort  Leavenworth  and  care- 
fully inspecting  every  up-river  cargo  the  traffic 
could  be  completely  suppressed,  but  they  reck- 
oned without  knowledge  of  the  resourcefulness 
of  the  enterprising  merchants  of  the  wilderness. 


pernicious  officiousness  of  J.  P-  Cabanne  a  little 
further  up. 

Kenneth  McKenzie,  the  ever  resourceful  man- 
ager of  the  Upper  IMissouri  Outfit,  with  head- 
quarters at  Fort  Union,  determined  to  avoid  the 
risks  of  passing  liquor  by  the  Leavenworth  offi- 
cials by  taking  a  distillery  into  the  country  for 
the  manufacture  of  alcohol  from  the  corn  abun- 
dantly produced  by  the  Rees  and  Mandans  and 
so  supply  his  trade  with  a  home-made  article.  In 
this  he  succeeded  for  a  time,  but  Tiext  year  he 
was  caught  at  it  by  Nathaniel  Wyeth,  a  rival 
trader,  who  made  complaint  to  the  authorities, 
who  made  so  strong  a  protest  that  the  govern- 


lES  PHILIPS-  BUFF.^I^OS  I>f  PASTURE  .\T  KORT  PIERRE. 


The  American  Fur  Company  had  advance  in- 
formation relating  to  the  passage  of  the  prohibi- 
tion act  of  July  9,  1832,  and  when  the  "Yellow- 
stone"' returned  from  its  successful  trip  to  Fort 
Union,  Pierre  Chouteau  promptly  placed  upon 
her  fourteen  hundred  gallons  of  liquor  and 
headed  her  back  to  Council  Bluflfs,  but  the 
policeman  had  already  arrived  at  Fort  Leaven- 
worth and  the  precious  booze  was  all  confiscated. 
As  we  have  seen,  Narcisse  LeClerc,  enroute  to  the 
new  post  at  Fort  Pierre,  had  successfully  evaded 
the  policeman  at  Leavenworth  a  few  days  earlier 
than  the  arrival  of  the  "Yellowstone,"'  only  to  lose 
his    lic|uor    and    other    equipments    through    the 


ment  was  near  to  forfeiting  the  charter  of  the 
company,  and  as  a  result  of  the  enterprise  ^Ic- 
Kenzie  was  compelled  to  withdraw  from  the  In- 
dian trade.  These  disasters  made  the  American 
Fur  Company  exceedingly  wary  in  its  proceed- 
ings, but  by  one  artifice  or  another  all  of  the  trad- 
ers managed  to  keep  more  or  less  liquor  in  their 
warehouses  at  the  trading  posts.  In  the  spring  of 
1833  two  steamboats,  the  "Yellowstone"  and  the 
"Assiniboine,"  started  up  the  river.  On  the  for- 
mer was  the  irrepressible  }\IcKenzie  and  his  still. 
He  also  had  a  svpply  of  liquor  to  last  until  he  had 
got  his  distillery _in  operation,  but  the  liquor  was 
prom])tl\-  confiscated  at   Leavenworth.     McKen- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


133 


zie  wrote  back  to  Chouteau :  "We  have  been 
robbed  of  all  our  liquors,  say  seven  barrels  shrub, 
one  of  rum,  one  of  wine,  and  all  the  fine  men's 
and  sailors'  whiskey,  which  was  in  two  barrels. 
They  kicked  and  knocked  about  everything-  they 
could  find."  Maximilian,  Prince  of  Weid,  was  a 
passenger  on  this  boat  enroute  up  river  upon  the 
trip,  during-  which  he  made  observations  which 
have  contributed  much  to  the  history  of  the  re- 
gion, and  he  complains :  "They  would  scarcely 
pern-lit  lis  to  take  a  small  portion  to  preserve  our 
fpecin-iens  of  natural  history."  The  loss  of  this 
liquor  cut  jNIcKenzie  to  the  heart,  for  he  had  evi- 
dence that  Sublette  &  Campbell,  his  most  formid- 
able rivals,  had  succeeded  in  passing  the  inspect- 
ors with  one  hundred  small  flat  kegs  of  alco- 
hol. On  this  trip  of  1833  the  "Yellowstone" 
turned  back  to  Fort  Pierre  and  the  "Assiniboine" 
went  on  up  river.  From  Fort  Pierre  McKenzie 
and  the  Prince  took  passage  on  the  "Assini- 
boine." The  distillery  was  a  success  from  the 
first.  McKenzie  wrote  to  Chouteau  that  "Our 
manufactory  works  admirably.  The  Mandan 
corn  yields  badly,  but  makes  a  fine  swett  liquor." 

Maximilian  examined  most  of  the  fur  posts 
in  South  Dakota  and  made  drawings  of  some  of 
them,  but  he  spent  very  little  time  within  the 
state,  being  detained  for  a  considerable  period  at 
Fo'-t  Union  and  at  the  Mandan  towns,  at  the  lat- 
t(  r  point  by  illness.  Not  more  than  two  copies 
if  his  exhaustive,  illustrated  work  are  in  Amer- 
ica and  I  have  been  unable  to  examine  it.  Cap- 
tain Chittenden,  who  made  the  trip  to  Montana 
to  examine  tlie  precious  copy  owned  by  Hon. 
Peter  Koch,  of  Bozeman,  informs  n-ie  that  it  has 
little  of  detailed  information  about  South  D.ikota. 
From  his  ground  plan  of  Fort  Pierre  we  obtain 
our  best  understanding  of  the  internal  arrange- 
ment of  that  famous  post.  Prince  Maximilian's 
works  are  entitled :  "Travels  in  the  Interior  of 
Xorth  America,  Maximilian,  Prince  of  Weid." 
It  is  imperial  folio  in  size,  contains  eighty-one 
colored  plates,  and  the  English  edition  was  trans- 
lated from  the  German  by  H.  Evans  Lloyd  and 
iniblished  in  London  bv  Ackermann  &  Co.,  in 
u^43. 

In   1833  Sublette  and  Canipbell  built  a  trad- 


ing post  near  Fort  Pierre  and  did  a  considerable 
business  in  opposition  to  the  American  Fur  Com- 
pany; so  much  indeed  that  the  Ai-nerican  bought 
them  out  and  took  the  partners  into  its  own  serv- 
ice as  partners. 

In  1834  Maj.  Joseph  R.  Brown  established 
a  trading  post  on  the  west  shore  of  Big  Stone 
lake  and  in  the  next  two  or  three  years  put  in 
several  auxiliary  stores,  one  at  Big  Ravine,  in 
Roberts  county,  one  at  Buflfalo  lake,  Day  county, 
and  one  on  the  Jim  river  near  the  present  village 
of  Rondell.  This  latter  was  established  in  the 
fall  of  1835  ^I'^d  was  under  the  direction  of  Pierre 
LeBlanc,  who  was  married  to  a  Sisseton  woman. 
LeBlanc  spent  the  winter  on  the  Jim,  but  in  the 
spring  he  returned  to  the  Alinnesota.  LeBlanc 
was  a  quarrelsome  fellow.  Catlin  met  him  that 
summer  at  Traverse  de  Sioux  (St.  Peter),  Min- 
nesota, and  prophesied  a  bad  end  for  him.  He  re- 
turned to  the  Jim  in  the  fall  of  1836.  It  was  a  hard 
winter  and  buffaloes  were  scarce  and  the  Indians 
became  greatly  distressed.  LeBlanc  showed  no 
sympath}-  for  them  and  when  Ohdinape,  a  starv- 
ing Yankton,  came  into  his  house  to  pick  up  a 
few  kernels  of  parched  corn  he  kicked  the  Indian 
out  of  the  door.  Next  day  Ohdinape  shot  and 
killed  the  Frenchman.  Major  Brown  brought 
the  body  back  to  Big  Stone  for  burial,  but  was 
unable  to  secure  the  murderer,  though  he  sent 
a  posse  of  Indians  after  him  who  followed  Ohdi- 
nape across  the  Missouri.  Brown's  stores  were 
tributary  to  the  northern  department  of  the 
American  Fur  Company. 

In  1835  our  old  friends  and  fellow  citizens 
of  South  Dakota,  the  Rees,  were  so  troublesome 
along  the  Oregon  trail  in  northwestern  Nebraska 
that  Colonel  Dodge,  in  command  at  Fort  Leaven- 
worth, with  a  regiment  of  dragoons,  made  a  sor- 
tie against  them  and  drove  them  back  to  the  ]\Iis- 
souri,  without  an  engagement. 

Fort  Vermillion,  which  was  previously 
located  near  the  mouth  of  the  James,  was  in  1836 
removed  to  its  final  location  at  Green  Point  near 
the  present  village  of  Burbank. 

In  1837  the  fur  trade  received  a  fearful  set- 
back froni  a  visitation  of  smallpox  more  terrible 
than  any  other  recorded  in  histor\-.     The  plague 


134 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


prevailed  from  Fort  Pierre  to  the  mountains,  but 
was  most  severe  among  the  Mandans.  that 
powerful  tribe  being  literal!}'  extinguished,  only 
thirty  souls  sur\-iving  the  awful  pestilence.  The 
smallest  estimate  of  deaths  on  the  river  from 
this  plague  is  fifteen  thousand,  but  most  writers 
place  the  death  roll  at  a  much  higher  figure. 
Audubon's  journal  places  it  at  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand,  but  this  is  probably  a  typograph- 


ical error,  at  any  rate  is  an  exaggeration.  Several 
years  elapsed  before  the  trade  recovered  its  nor- 
mal condition.  The  mortality  among  the  Fort 
Pierre  Indians  was  slight,  but  the  Grand  river 
Sioux  suflfered  terribly.  The  pestilence  was 
brought  into  the  country  by  one  of  the  American 
Fur  Company  boats  and  in  the  whole  matter  the 
weight  of  evidence  shows  that  the  company  was 
criminally  culpable. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


FREMOXT    AND    NICOLLET     VISIT     SOUTH     DAKOTA. 


In  1838  Joseph  N.  Nicollet,  a  French  savant, 
geographer,  geologist  and  all-round  scientist, 
was  in  the  employ  cf  the  government  and  en- 
gaged in  making  a  scientific  examination  of  the 
then  almost  unknown  northwest.  Geography 
and  geology  were  the  chief  interests  and  especial 
attention  was  given  to  cartography  and  particu- 
larly to  topography.  In  the  year  mentioned  John 
Charles  Fremont,  then  a  young  man  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  war  department,  accompanied  him 
as  topographer.  This  year  Nicollet,  who  had 
spent  some  seasons  upon  the  upper  Mississippi 
above  Fort  Snelling,  determined  to  visit  Pipe- 
stone quarry  and  the  coteau  region.  He  was  out- 
fitted at  Mendota,  by  General  Sibley,  with  one- 
horse  carts  and  drivers  for  the  trip  and,  passing 
iip  the  Minnesota  valley  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Cottonwood,  began  their  work  there  by  making  a 
topographical  map  of  the  section  through  which 
they  passed  until  they  reached  Pipestone,  where 
they  were  met,  by  previous  arrangement,  by 
Joseph  Renville,  son  of  that  Joseph  who  founded 
the  Columbia  Fur  Company,  and  a  party  of  his 
Indian  relatives  from  Lacqui  Parle.  Young 
Renville  was  to  be  the  guide  to  the  expedition. 
He  was  accompanied  by  his  young  wife,  who 
still  lives  on  the  Sisseton  reservation  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  eighty-six  years.  This  writer 
visited  the  old  lady  in  the  summer  of  igoo  and 
from  her  secured  an  interesting  account  of  the 
expedition  of  1838.  Her  recollection  of  that 
event  is  still  very  vivid.  In  addition  to  Nicollet 
and   Fremont  and    the    employes    provided    by 


General  Sibley,  there  was  in  the  party  ;\I.  de 
]\Iontmort,  an  attache  of  the  French  legation  at 
Washington,  and  Eugene  Flandin,  a  voung 
French  friend  of  Mr.  Nicollet's  from  New  York, 
and  Charles  Geyer,  a  German  botanist  employed- 
by  Mr.  Nicollet.  After  a  critical  and  exhaustive 
examination  of  the  quarry,  some  weeks  were 
spent  in  an  examination  of  the  region  from  the 
coteau  to  the  James.  The  lakes  were  all  visited 
and  named  by  Fremont,  and  many  of  them  still 
retain  the  names  given  at  that  time.  For  in- 
stance Lake  Preston  was  named  for  Senator 
Preston,  of  North  Carolina;  Lake  Benton,  for 
Thomas  H.  Benton,  who  a  year  later  became  Fre- 
mont's father-in-law ;  Lake  Poinsett,  for  J.  S. 
Poinsett,  secretary  of  war  and  Fremont's  patron  ; 
Lake  Abert,  for  Senator  Abert.  On  the  modern 
maps  "Abert"  has  been  corrupted  to  "Albert." 
Completing  this  work,  the  party  returned  to  St. 
Paul  by  way  of  the  Renville  settlement  at  Lacqui 
Parle  and  thence  to  St.  Louis,  where  a  more  ex- 
tended expedition  for  the  succeeding  year  was 
projected. 

In  the  early  spring  of  1839  the  party,  now 
consisting  of  Nicollet,  Fremont,  Geyer,  and  Cap- 
tain Beligny,  of  the  French  army,  who  was  a 
guest  of  Mr.  Nicollet's,  set  out  from  St.  Louis, 
on  an  American  Fur  Company's  steamboat  and 
at  the  end  of  IMay  reached  Fort  Pierre.  Here 
they  made  observations  and  spent  nearly  a  month 
in  getting  ready  for  the  final  start.  They 
determined  the  altitude  of  Fort  Pierre  to  be  1,456 
feet  above  sea  level.     The  actual   survevs  since 


136 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


made  b\-  the  railway  companies  have  determined 
it  at  1,442,  which  is  an  evidence  of  the  general 
accuracy  of  their  work.  At  Fort  Pierre'  they 
were  joined,  by  previous  arrangement,  by  Joseph 
Renville  and  a  party  of  friends  from  Lacqui 
Parle,  among  them  young  Dixon,  a  son  of  the  red- 
headed English  major  of  1812,  and  Louison 
Freniere,  who  was  a  well-known  half-Indian  of 
the     ^linnesota     frontier.       Barely    escaping    a 


lip  in  the  morning  not  much  the  worse  for  the 
experience.  They  got  off  on  the  3d  of  July  and 
that  evening  camped  on  Medicine  creek  at  the 
foot  of  Medicine  Butte  and  at  midnight  Fremont 
went  to  the  top  of  the  butte  and  fired  rockets  to 
usher  in  the  national  holiday.  From  Medicine 
Butte  they  followed  the  old  Indian  trail,  which 
had  the  appearance  of  a  well-worn  wagon-way, 
so  worn  by  the  trailing  lodge  poles  carried  by  the 


FRK:^IOi\'T. 


matrimonial  alliance  with  a  swell  Yankton 
damsel,  Fremont  left  Fort  Pierre,  to  engage  in 
a  buffalo  hunt  upon  the  very  site  of  the  present 
capitol,  and  in  his  enthusiasm  followed  a  bull  he 
had  singled  out.  so  far  that  he  found  himself  far 
nut  on  the  prairie  when  night  overtook  him  and, 
[iresently  losing  his  way,  was  compelled  to  sleep 
alone  in  the  open,  where,  being  something  of  a 
tenderfoot,  his  dreams  were  not  altogether  agree- 
able.    However,  Freniere  and  Dixon  picked  him 


Indians  across  countr\-  to  Scatterwood  lake  and 
thence  down  to  the  James  at  Armadale:  thence 
up  the  James  valley  to  the  Devil's  lake  and,  re- 
turning by  way  of  the  coteau,  passed  down 
to  Lacqui  Parle  and  home  by  way  of  St.  Paul. 
Their  work  resulted  in  the  first  reasonably 
accurate  map  of  Dakota  east  of  the  Missouri. 
Everything  considered,  the  Nicollet  map  of  1839 
is  a  remarkably  authoritative  contribution  to 
northwestern   geography.      Relatively    little   geo- 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


graphical   knowledge  of  the   section   visited   has 
since  been  developed. 

On  September  2,  1840,  Rev.  Stephen  R. 
Riggs,  the  well-known  missionary  to  the  Sioux, 
accompanied  by  Mr.  Alexander  Huggins,  the 
mission  farmer,  drove  from  Lacqui  Parle  by  way 
of  Chanopa  (Two  Woods),  in  Deuel  county, 
where  old  Limping  Devil,  an  incorrigible  Sisse- 
ton  leader,  with  a  band  of  his  own  ilk,  resided. 
He  threatened  dire  inflictions  upon  the  party  if 
they  proceeded,  but  did  not  carry  out  his  threat. 
From  Chanopa  they  made  their  way  by  the 
Indian  trail  to  Waubay,  thence  to  the  James 
river,  probably  at  Rondell,  but  may  be  further 
south,  at  Armadale,  thence  to  Scatterwood  and 
on  to  Pierre  by  the  Indian  trail.  The  mission- 
aries had  held  daily  prayer  service  on  the  wav 
and  at  .Fort  Pierre  held  regular  preaching  and 
song  service,  the  first  recorded  preaching  in 
South  Dakota,  and  the  first  religious  exercises 
of  any  kind  subsequent  to  the  prayer  made  by 
Jedediah  Smith  at  the  mouth  of  Grand  river  in 
1823.     At   Fort   Pierre   Mr.   Riggs   found   some 


valuable  testimony  as  to  the  history  of  the  Tetons. 
He  was  told  by  the  Indians  there  that  they  first 
crossed  the  Missouri  shortly  before  the  beginning 
of  the  century,  1800,  and  that  formerly  the 
Tetons  lived  on  the  Des  Moines  and  the  Yank- 
tons  lived  on  the  Mississippi  in  what  is  now 
the  state  of  Missouri.  From  careful  inquiry, 
made  at  that  time,  he  concluded  that  the  total 
Sioux  population  was  about  twenty-five  thousand 
people. 

In  the  summer  of  1842  Father  Ravoux,  a  de- 
voted Catholic  priest,  still  (1903)  living  at  St. 
Paul,  made  the  trip  across  the  country  to  Fort 
Pierre.  He  crossed  the  James  river  as  far  north 
as  Sand  lake,  in  northern  Brown  county,  where 
he  celebrated  mass.  In  1845  he  made  the  trip 
across  from  St.  Paul,  by  way  of  Sioux  Falls,  to 
Fort  Vennillion,  where  he  celebrated  mass  and 
made  several  baptisms  of  half-breed  children. 
Indeed  both  the  expedition  of  1842  and  1845 
were  made  at  the  request  of  fathers  of  such 
children  who  desired  that  they  should  be 
baptised. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


THE  VISIT  OF  AUDUBON. 


In  the  summer  of  1843  the  South  Dakota 
country  was  visited  by  John  James  DeForest 
Audubon,  the  famous  naturahst,  whose  specific 
object  in  making  the  trip  was  to  secure  material 
for  his  now  famous  work  upon  the  "Quadrupeds 
of  North  America."  He  kept  a  daily  journal  and 
so  left  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  natural 
history  and  to  the  history  of  South  Dakota.  It  may 
be  noted  that  this  journal  was  lost  in  the  recesses 
of  an  old  writing-  desk  in  the  home  of  the 
naturalist,  where  it  remained  undiscovered  for 
fifty-three  years,  when  it  was  unearthed  by  a 
.s^randdaughter  of  Audubon's. 

x\udubon  was  a  native  of  Louisiana  and  was 
a  son  of  the  well-known  French  admiral  and  a 
Spanish  mother.  He  was  educated  in  France, 
but  returned  to  America  in  his  early  manhood 
and  gave  up  his  life  to  natural  history,  particu- 
larly ornithology.  He  left  St.  Louis  April  25, 
1843,  on  the  American  Fur  Company's  boat,  the 
"Omega,"  Joseph  Sire,  captain,  and  Joseph  La- 
Barge,  pilot. 

An  incident  of  the  trip  iUustrates  the  ingenu- 
ity of  the  fur  traders  in  passing  liquor  up  river 
in  contravention  of  the  prohibition  law,  of  which 
mention  has  been  made  in  a  previous  chapter.  I 
cannot  do  better  than  to  quote  at  large  Captain 
Chittenden's  story  of  the  episode :  "There  was 
on  board  the  usual  amount  of  liquor,  which  was 
gotten  safely  past  Fort  Leavenworth.  The  point 
of  greatest  danger  was  that  time  at  Bcllevuc.  It 
happened,  however,  on  the  jiresent  occasion  that 
the  agent   was   absent    frnni    his   post    when   the 


boat  arrived  and  accordingly  there  was  no  in- 
spection. Elated  by  this  unexpected  good  for- 
tune. Captain  Sire  lost  no  time  in  getting  off  the 
freight  destined  for  this  point  and  getting  on 
his  way.  He  pursued  the  voyage  until  nine 
o'clock  that  evening  and  doubtless  felicitated 
himself  that  he  was  out  of  danger.  It  appears 
that  the  agent  had  delegated  the  duties  of  in- 
spector to  the  commander  of  the  United  States 
troops  in  the  vicinity.  The  boat  left  her  moor- 
ings next  morning  at  daylight,  but  had  scarcel}' 
gotten  under  way  when  a  couple  of  rifle  shots 
were  fired  across  her  bow  and  she  came  to  at  once 
and  made  for  the  shore.  There  they  found  a 
lieutenant  in  charge  of  a  few  dragoons  who  had 
come  from  the  camp,  four  miles  distant. '  The 
voung  officer  came  on  board  and  presented  to 
Captain  Sire  a  polite  note  from  Captain  Burgwin. 
who  commanded  the  detachment  of  troops, 
stating  that  his  orders  required  him  to  inspect 
the  boat  before  letting  her  proceed.  This  was 
like  a  dash  of  cold  water  on  the  buoyant  spirits 
of  Captain  Sire,  and  none  the  less  so  to  Audu- 
bon, to  whom  as  well  as  to  the  company  the  loss 
of  the  liquor  would  have  been  irreparable.  The 
naturalist  had  a  permit  from  the  government  to 
carry  with  him  a  quantity  of  liquor  for  the  use 
of  himself  and  his  party  and  upon  showing  his 
credentials  to  the  young  officer  he  was.  to  use  his 
own  words,  "immediately  settled  comfortably." 
But  in  the  moment  of  his  good  fortune  he  did 
not  forget  his  com]ianions  who  were  not  settled 
comfortably.      He    understood    that    time    would 


HISTORY    OF   SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


be  required  for  the  crew  to  prepare  for  the  ap- 
proaching function,  and  he  could  at  least  help  to 
secure  this  time  by  delaying  the  inspection  as 
long  as  possible.  He  accordingly  expressed  a 
desire  to  visit  the  camp  and  the  lieutenant  de- 
tailed a  dragoon  to  accompany  him.  The  great 
naturalist  rode  four  miles  to  camp  to  call  upon 
an  obscure  army  officer  whom  he  knew  he  could 
see  in  a  short  time  by  waiting  at  the  boat.  The 
officer  was  overwhelmed  at  the  honor  of  the 
visit  and  when  Audubon  offered  to  present  his 
credentials  he  politely  and  gallantly  replied  that 
his  name  was  too  well  known  throughout  the 
United  States  to  require  any  letters.  Audubon 
says  of  the  occasion,  "I  was  on  excellent  and 
friendly  terms  in  less  time  than  it  has  taken  me 
to  write  this  account  of  our  meeting."  Between 
his  entertaining  conversation  and  the  shooting  of 
some  birds  he  contrived  to  detain  the  captain 
for  a  good  two  hours  before  they  returned  to  the 
l)oat.  The  time  had  not  been  wasted  b}-  Captain 
Sire  and  his  men.  The  shallow  hold  of  a  steam- 
boat of  those  days  was  divided  lengthwise  by 
a  partition  running  the  full  length  of  the  boat. 
A  narrow-gauge  tramway  extended  down  each  j 
side  of  the  hold  its  entire  length,  the  two  sides  ! 
connecting  by  a  curve  which  passed  under  the 
hatchway  in  the  forecastle.  Small  cars  received 
the  cargo  let  down  through  the  hatchway  and 
carried  it  to  its  place  in  the  hold,  or  brought  it 
out  again  wlien  the  boat  was  being  unloaded.  A 
car  could  pass  from  the  stern  of  the  boat  on 
one  side  clear  around  to  the  stern  on  the  other. 
There  were  no  windows  in  the  hold.  Everything 
was  buried  in  blackness.  The  workmen  were 
lightened  in  their  labors  by  means  of  candles. 
During  the  absence  of  Audubon  the  crew  had 
loaded  all  the  liquors  on  the  cars  and  run  them 
down  one  side  of  the  hold  far  enough  from  the 
hatchway  to  be  entirel\-  concealed  in  the  dark- 
ness. They  were  carefully  instructed  in  the  part 
they  were  to  play  in  the  approaching  comedy  and 
very  likely  put  through  a  preliminary  rehearsal 
or  two.  When  Captain  lUirgwin  arrived  in 
Audubon's  com]iany  he  was  received  most  hospit- 
ably and  treated  to  a  luncheon,  in  which  was 
ir.cluded  as  a  matter  of  course  a  generous  por- 


tion from  the  private  store  embraced  within 
Audubon's  credentials.  By  this  time  the  young 
captain  was  in  excellent  temper  toward  his  hosts 
and  quite  disposed  to  forego  the  inspection 
altogether,  but  the  virtuous  Sire  would  not  have 
it  so.  'T  insisted,  as  it  were,"  says  the  worthy 
navigator  in  his  log  of  May  loth,  "that  he  make 
the  strictest  possible  search,  but  upon  the  con- 
dition that  he  would  do  the  same  to  the  other 
traders."  A  proposition  so  eminently  fair  was  at 
once  agreed  to  by  the  inspector,  whose  mellow 
faculties  were  now  in  a  most  accommodating 
condition.  The  shrewd  steamboat  captain,  who 
never  forgot  to  be  sober  when  his  company  in- 
terests were  at  stake,  escorted  the  officer  down 
the  hatchway  and  together  they  groped  their 
way  along  the  hold  by  the  not  too  brilliant  light 
of  a  candle.  It  may  be  imagined  with  what  zeal 
the  scrupulous  captain  thrust  the  candle  into 
every  nook  and  corner  and  even  insisted  that 
the  inspector  move  a  box  or  a  bale  to  assure 
himself  that  everything  was  all  right.  Arrived 
at  the  foot  of  the  hold  they  passed  through  an 
opening  in  the  partition  and  started  back  on 
the  other  side.  The  officer  was  doubtless  too 
much  absorbed  to  notice  the  glimmer  of  light 
under  the  hatchway  at  the  other  end  of  the 
boat  where  a  miniature  train  with  its  suspicious 
cargo  was  creeping  stealthily  around  the  curve 
and  disappearing  toward  the  side  they  had  just 
left.  The  party  finished  their  ins])ection  and 
found  everything  as  it  should  be." 

The  "Omega"  reached  the  mouth  of  the 
Sioux  late  on  Saturday  evening.  r^Iay  13th,  and. 
entering  a  short  distance  into  that  stream,  tied 
up  for  the  night.  The  next  morning  the  rain 
was  pouring,  preventing  Audubon  from  going 
ort  to  shoot  wild  turkeys,  as  he  had  contemplated 
doing.  They  started  on  at  daylight.  A  black 
bear  crossing  the  river  naturally  attracted  the 
interest  of  the  naturalist.  They  found  curlews, 
geese,  and  a  heronry,  with  thirty  nests,  during 
the  day,  but  there  were  few  incidents  worth  not- 
ing. While  cutting  wood  at  noon  Captain  Sire 
related  the  fact  that  at  tliat  point  on  a  previous 
voyage  he  had  arrested  three  deserters  from  the 
company's    employ    and    that    he    had    disarmed 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


them  and  destroyed  their  boat  and  left  them 
empty-handed  in  the  wilderness.  This  circum- 
stance well  illustrates  the  manner  in  which  the 
fur  company's  officers  treated  men  in  their  em- 
ploy, and  the  high-handed  brand  of  justice  dealt 
out  in  South  Dakota  sixty-five  years  ago.  The 
deserters  are  supposed  to  have  found  shelter  at 
Fort  \>miillion.  That  day,  shortly  before  reach- 
ing Fort  Vermillion,  Audubon  says:  "We 
reached  a  spot  where  we  saw  ten  or  more  In- 
dians who  had  a  large  log  cabin  and  a  field  under 
fence."  This  seems  to  have  been  in  the  exact 
locality  where,  three  years  later,  the  Mormons 
established  themselves.  They  had  now  been  in 
South  Dakota  two  days  and  the  scientist  enumer- 
ates the  following  animals  and  birds  he  found 
during  that  time:  Bears,  wolves,  buffaloes,  deer, 
elks,  hares,  curlews,  herons,  turkeys,  rails,  ravens, 
black-headed  gulls,  tern,  ducks,  geese,  swans, 
cliff  swallows. 

On  the  T6th  they  reached  Fort  Vermillion, 
"if  the  place  may  be  so  called,  for  we  found  it 
only  a  square,  strongly  picketed,  without  port- 
holes. It  stands  on  the  immediate  bank  of  the 
river  and  is  backed  by  a  vast  prairie,  which  is 
inundated  during  the  spring  freshet."  It  was  in 
the  keeping  of  "Mr.  Cerre,  called  usually  Pas- 
cal." That  day  they  added  to  their  collection 
wildcats,  woodcock  and  yellow-headed  troupial. 
Xext  day  they  added  to  the  inventor}'  ground- 
finches,  robins,  wood-thrushes,  blue-birds,  wrens, 
a  marsh-hawk  and  a  bunting,  an  antelope  and 
two  rattlesnakes.  On  the  i8th  they  met  William 
Laidlaw  and  Andrew  Dripps — Dripps  was  at  this 
time  Indian  agent  stationed  at  Fort  George,  and 
he  and  his  companions  were  from  Fort  Pierre, 
enroute  to  St.  Louis  with  four  barges  of  furs. 
"We  gave  them  six  bottles  of  whiskey,  for  which 
they  were  very  thankful."  Laidlaw  reported  that 
on  .May  5th  the  snow  fell  to  a  depth  of  two  feet 
on  the  level,  destroying  thousands  of  buffalo 
calves.  Laidlaw  was  taking  a  half-breed  daugh- 
ter to  St.  Louis  to  be  educated.  They  passed 
James  river  on  the  20th  and  the  next  day  reached 
Fort  Mitchell,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Niobrara. 
There  was  an  opposition  house  built  by  Narcisse 
LeClerc,  and  as  no  one  was  at  home  Captain  Sire 


exercised  the  American  Fur  Company  prerogative 
by  cutting  down  the  pickets  and  even  the  houses 
themselves  for  fuel  to  supply  his  boilers.  On  the 
22d,  while  the  vessel  was  passing  Handy's  Point 
(Fort  Randall),  a  party  of  eight  Indians  "came 
to  the  shore  and  made  signs  for  us  to  land.  The 
boat  did  not  stop  for  their  pleasure  and  after  we 
had  fairly  passed  them  they  began  firing  upon 
us  with  well-directed  rifle  balls,  several  of  which 
struck  the  'Omega'  in  different  places.  I  was 
standing  at  that  moment  by  one  of  the  chimneys 
and  saw  a  ball  strike  the  water  a  few  feet  be- 
yond our  bows  and  Michaux.  the  hunter,  heard 
it  pass  within  a  few  inches  of  his  head.  A 
Scotchman,  asleep  below,  was  awakened  and 
greatly  frightened  by  hearing  a  ball  pass  through 
the  partition,  cutting  the  lower  part  of  his  panta- 
loons and  deadening  itself  against  his  trunk. 
Fortunately  no  one  was  hurt.  These  rascals 
were  attached  to  a  war  party  of  Santees  who 
range  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Missouri.  I 
will  make  no  comment  upon  their  conduct,  but 
1  have  two  of  the  balls  that  struck  our  boat.  It 
seems  to  be  a  wonder  that  not  one  person  was 
injured,  standing  as  we  were  on  deck  to  the 
number  of  a  hundred  or  more."  The  next  day 
they  passed  Lower  Cedar  island,  where  they 
stopped  to  cut  cedar  trees  for  fuel,  and  later,  a 
short  distance  above,  got  stuck  on  a  sandbar, 
where  they  were  compelled  to  lay  for  twenty-four 
hours.  While  stuck  on  the  sandbar  "I  went  on 
shore,"  says  Audubon,  "with  Harris's  small 
double-barreled  gun  and  the  first  shot  I  had  was 
pretty  near  killing  me;  the  cone  blew  off,  passed 
so  near  my  ear  that  I  was  stunned  and  fell  down 
as  if  shot  and  afterwards  had  to  lie  down  for 
several  minutes."  Audubon  does  not  neglect  to 
add  his  contribution  to  the  mistaken  information 
relating  to  the  mineral  wealth  along  the  Mis- 
souri :  "We  passed  this  afternoon  bluffs  of  sul- 
phur almost  pure,  to  look  at,  and  a  patch  which 
has  burnt  for  two  years  in  succession."  ".-Mum 
was  found  strewn  on  the  shore." 

They  passed  White  river  on  the  25th  and 
spent  the  night  on  American  island  at  Cham- 
berlain, but  make  no  mention  of  Fort  Recovery, 
neither  do  thev  mention  anv  settlement  at  Old 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


141 


Fort  Lookout  nor  at  Kiowa.  On  the  26th  they 
came  to  the  big  bend  and  Audubon  and  his 
hunters  left  the  .boat  and  camped,  while  the 
steamer  was  making  the  grand  turn.  The  jour- 
nal is  naturally  much  taken  up  with  the  natural 
history  of  the  locality,  but  develops  nothing 
novel  to  the  citizen  of  the  state.  They  reached 
Fort  George  on  Sunday  afternoon  at  four  o'clock 
and  Major  Crisp,  Indian  agent,  came  on  board. 
Fort  George  at  this  time  was  a  new  post  erected 
but  a  few  months  previously  by  Ebbetts  &  Cut- 
ting, as  the  representatives  of  Fox,  Livingstone 
&  Company,  of  New  York,  who  had  previously 
undertaken  the  Missouri  river  fur  trade.  Major 
Hamilton,  acting  Indian  agent  in  absence  of 
Dripps,  pointed  out  to  Audubon  "a  cabin  on  the 
east  bank  where  a  partner  of  the  opposition  line 
shot  at  and  killed  two  white  men  and  wounded 
two  others,  all  of  whom  were  remarkable  mis- 
creants." The  fact  appears  to  be  that  this  new 
opposition  company  drew  about  them  renegades, 
fugitives  from  justice  and  desperate  men,  so 
evil  that  even  the  American  Fur  Company  re- 
fused them  employment.  When  the  opposition 
set  up  Fort  George  the  American  sent  Bonis,  a 
well-known  trader,  with  a  stock  of  goods  down 
to  the  locality,  but  the  toughs  hanging  about  Fort 
George  destroyed  his  tent  and  robbed  him  of  his 
goods.  The  renegades,  in  the  very  month  of 
Audubon's  visit,  had  stopped  a  boat  of  the 
American  Company  enroute  down  river  under 
control  of  William  P.  May,  compelled  it  to  land 
and  had  confiscated  his  furs.  The  conduct  of 
these  men  was  so  atrocious  that  Kelsey,  Ebbett 
and  Cutting's  representative  at  once  absolved 
himself  from  all  responsibility  from  them.  They 
took  possession  of  an  old  cabin  belonging  to  Fox, 
Livingstone  &  Company  on  Simoneau  island,  op- 
posite the  fort,  and  defied  Kelsey  and  all  comers. 
Kelsey  commanded  them  to  leave  the  island  and 
upon  their  refusal  shot  four  of  them,  two  fatally. 
Kelsey  left  the  country  at  once  and  presumably 
took  up  his  residence  in  Mexico. 

The  competition  of  the  rival  companies  led 
to  many  peculiar  complications.  The  American, 
being  the  most  powerful  and  ubiquitous,  had  se- 
cured the  appointment  of  one  of  its  own   men. 


Andrew  Dripps,  as  Indian  agent  at  Fort  George 
and  he  is  charged,  and  no  doubt  with  good  rea- 
son, with  using  his  official  position  to  advance 
the  interests  of  the  American  Company.  Audu- 
bon spent  three  days  at  George  and  passed  the 
time  examining  the  fauna  of  the  locality  and  dis- 
cussing the  same  with  Mr.  Cutting,  of  the  fur 
company,  and  ]\Ir.  Illingsworth,  an  intelligent 
young  Englishman  who  had  succeeded  Kelsey  as 
the  company's  trader  at  George.  While  at 
George,  Audubon  made  a  careful  study  of  the 
prairie  dog  and  learned  as  much  in  the  three 
days  as  subsequent  or  previous  observers  have 
been  able  to  find  out.  Audubon  was  pleased  to 
find  that  Mr.  Cutting,  who  at  the  time  was  laid 
up  with  a  lame  foot,  injured  by  being  thrown 
from  his  horse  in  a  buflfalo  chase,  was  an  ac- 
quaintance of  his  son  Victor's,  whom  he  had  met 
in  Cuba.  The  journal  also  says:  "Mr.  Taylor 
showed  me  the  petrified  head  of  a  beaver  which 
he  supposed  to  be  that  of  a  wolf,  but  I  showed 
him  the  diflference  at  once.  He  found,  while  at 
George,  a  magpie  and  a  black-headed  grosbeak. 
They  reached  Fort  Pierre  on  May  31st  and 
1  were  warmly  welcomed  by  Messrs.  Picotte  and 
Chadron.  Audubon  says  :  "More  kindness  from 
1  strangers  I  have  seldom  received.  I  was  pre- 
sented with  the  largest  pair  of  elk  horns  I  ever 
saw,  also  the  skin  of  the  animal  itself,  most  beau- 
tifully prepared,  which  I  hope  to  give  to  my 
beloved  wife."  He  spent  the  short  time  at  Pierre 
writing  letters,  which  were  dispatched  next  day 
down  river  by  the  steamboat  "Trapper."  A 
daughter  of  Captain  Sire's,  with  her  husband, 
1  was  at  Pierre  and  proceeded  to  Fort  Union  on 
j  the  "Omega."  Audubon  says :  "She  soled  three 
I  pairs  of  moccasins  for  me  as  skillfully  as  an 
!  Indian."  They  left  for  the  up-river  trip  June 
1st,  at  two  P.  ]\I.  After  they  got  under  way. 
"we  found  a  rascally  Indian  on  board  who  had 
hid  himself  for  the  purpose  of  murdering  Mr. 
Chardon.  The  latter  gave  him  a  thrashing  for 
thieving  last  year  and  Indians  never  forget  such 
things ;  he  had  sworn  vengeance  and  that  was 
enough.  IMr.  Chardon  discovered  him  below 
armed  with  a  knife:  he  talked  to  him  pretty 
freely  and  then  came  up  to  ask  the  captain  to  put 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


liim  ashore.  This  request  was  £::ranted  and  he 
and  his  bundle  were  dropped  overboard  where  the 
water  was  waist  deep;  he  scrambled  ashore  and 
we  heard  afterward  made  out  to  reach  Fort 
Pierre."  They  passed  Arickara  June  4th  and 
found  the  place  deserted,  and  next  day  left  the 
state  without  noteworthy  incident  after  getting- 
rid  of  the  Indian  at  Pierre.  Audubon  and  his 
party  of  assistants,  consisting  of  Messrs  Bell, 
Harris  and  Sprague,  and  some  hired  hunters, 
went  on  to  the  upper  river  where  they  remained 
until  noon  on  August  12th  when,  accompanied 
by  Alexander  Culbertson,  trader  at  Fort  Union, 
and  his  wife  and  child,  they  embarked  in  the 
Mackinaw  barge  "Union"  from  Fort  Union  and 
proceeded  leisurely  down  stream,  spending  much 
time  in  scientific  research  daily.  They  re-entered 
South  Dakota  on  September  ist  and  were  just 
one  month  in  passing  down  through  the  state, 
arriving  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sioux  on  October 
1st.  .At  Elk  Point  (this  is  the  first  time  that  the 
name  appears  in  any  of  the  writings  so  far  as 
my  observation  goes')  the  old  gentleman  stumbled 
while  entering  his  boat  and  injured  his  knee. 
He  says :  "I  am  getting  an  old  man,  for  this 
evening  I  missed  my  footing  on  getting  into  the 
boat  and  bruised  my  knee  and  elbow,  but  at 
seventy  and  over  I  cannot  have  the  spring  of 
seventeen."  The  next  day  he  says,  "My  knee  is 
too  sore  to  allow  me  to  walk." 

The  trip  resulted  in  the  accumulation  of  a 
vast  deal  of  scientific  information  as  well  as  the 
preservation  of  the  record  of  the  native  fauna  of 
this  region.  Captain  LaBarge  complains  in  his 
memoirs,  that  upon  this  trip  Audubon  was  ex- 
ceedingly irascible  and  difficult  to  get  along 
with. 

In  the  summer  of  1847  Captain  LaBarge 
made  his  first  voyage  up  the  river  as  master  of  his 
own  vessel,  the  "^Martha,"  though  for  many  years 
he  had  navigated  the  stream  as  pilot.  On  this 
trip  he  was  accompanied  by  his  wife,  who  was 
undoubtedly  the  first  white  woman  to  visit  the 
South  Dakota  country.  The  government  at  this 
time  made  it  a  practice  to  annually  send  agents 
to  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  Missouri  with  gifts 
of  goods  and  trinkets,  and  on  this  trip  a  new 


agent  named  Matlock  was  aboard  with  gifts  for 
the  Yanktons,  who  were  found  at  Crow  Creek. 
Matlock  appears  to  have  been  entirely  under 
control  of  the  American  Fur  Company  and  de- 
sirous of  promoting  their  interests.  When  the 
Yanktons  were  reached  he  gave  them  a  feast 
and  told  them  to  go  to  Fort  Pierre  to  receive 
their  presents.  This  was  done  in  the  interests 
of  the  trade  of  the  fur  company,  but  the  Indians 
protested  and  demanded  their  presents  to  be  given 
them  there.  Matlock  then  dealt  out  a  portion 
of  the  presents  at  Fort  Pierre.  Colin  Campbell, 
the  fur  company's  agent,  was  present  and  ex- 
ceedingly officious  in  the  entire  proceeding.  Cap- 
tain Chittenden  tells  the  story  as  follows :  "The 
Indians  w-ere  sharp  enough  to  see  that  they  had 
not  received  all  they  were  entitled  to  and  nat- 
urally could  not  understand  w'hy.  Campbell- as- 
sured them  they  would  receive  the  balance  at 
Pierre.  "Why  not  here,'  asked  the  Indians. 
"Why  make  this  long  journey  for  what  we  can 
just  as  well  get  right  here?'  Campbell  turned 
them  ofif  by  saying  the  Indian  agent  would  have 
better  facilities  for  distributing  the  goods  at  the 
fort.  The  Indians  sullenly  acquiesced,  appar- 
ently much  dissatisfied.  Campbell  had  cut  ten 
or  twelve  cords  of  wood  at  this  place  for  the 
use  of  the  boat,  but  it  was  not  needed  until  the 
down  trip.  Captain  LaBarge  feared,  however, 
that  if  it  was  left,  the  Indians,  in  their  present 
temper,  would  burn  it,  and  therefore  concluded 
to  take  it  along.  The  Indians  refused  to  allow 
the  wood  to  be  taken  without  pay  and  seated 
themselves  on  the  pile  so  the  men  could  not  take 
it.  The  captain  was  compelled  to  pay  for  the 
wood,  though  it  was  cut  by  company  men.  But 
the  matter  did  not  end  here.  Etienne  Provost, 
who  was  employed  on  these  trips  to  take  charge 
of  the  rough  and  turbulent  mountain  men,  was 
asked  to  attend  to  the  loading  of  the  wood,  as  it 
was- feared  there  might  be  trouble.  Provost  came 
up  on  the  boiler  deck  and  sat  down  by  Captain 
LaBarge,  saying,  'We  are  going  to  have  some 
fun  before  that  wood  is  loaded.'  He  then 
shouted,  'Woodpile,  woodpile,'  and  enough  men 
rushed  out  on  the  bank  to  take  the  whole  wood- 
pile at  once.     Provost  then  ordered  them  to  take 


i 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


up  as  much  wood  as  they  coulcl  carry  and  then  to 
move  onto  the  boat  one  after  the  other  so  as  to 
have  no  crowding  or  confusion  on  the  gangplank. 
Meanwhile  a  dozen  or  more  Indians  were  stand- 
ing bv  looking  on.  When  the  men  were  loaded 
up  and  were  jammed  closed  together  in  single 
file  on  their  way  to  the  boat,  the  Indians  jumped 
upon  them  and  began  to  belabor  them  with  the 
rawhide  horsewhips  which  they  always  had  fas- 
tened to  their  wrists.  The  men  were  frightened 
almost  out  of  their  wits  and,  dropping  the  wood, 
scrambled  on  board  the  best  way  they  could.  Pro- 
vost lay  back  roaring  with  laughter,  saying,  'I 
told  }ou  we  should  have  some  fun.'  He  then 
went  out  himself  onto  the  bank  where  the  Indi- 
ans were  and  said,  'Now,  men,  come  out  here 
and  get  the  wood.'  They  came  out  and  loaded 
up.  'Now  go  on  board,'  he  said,  and  the\-  went 
entirely  unmolested.  Provost  went  last,  and  be- 
fore descending  the  bank  turned  towards  the 
Indians  and  asked  them,  'Why  don't  you  stop 
them?  Are  you  afraid  of  me?'  The  truth  is 
the\'  were  afraid  of  him.  The}-  knew  him  well 
and  understood  he  would  stand  no  foolishness. 
La  Barge  thought  nothing  further  of  the  affair, 
for  the  Indians  soon  disappeared,  as  he  supposed 
for  good.  The  wind  was  too  high  to  proceed  and 
the  boat  remained  at  the  bank  nearly  all  the  after- 
noon, waiting  for  it  to  subside.  'Everything 
quieted  down,"  said  the  Captain  in  describing 
what  followed,  'and  I  was  sitting  in  my  cabin 
reading  a  paper,  when  all  of  a  sudden  there 
was  a  heavy  volley  of  firearms  and  the  sound 
of  splintered  wood  and  broken  glass.  This  was 
instantly  followed  by  an  Indian  yell  and  a  rush 
for  the  boat,  and  in  the  uproar  some  one  cried  out 
that  a  man  had  been  killed.  The  Indians  got 
full  possession  of  the  forward  part  of  the  boat 
and  flooded  the  boiler  grates  with  water,  putting 
out  the  fires.  They  had  learned  something  of 
steam  in  the  fifteen  years  that  boats  had  been 
going  up  the  river.  i\ly  first  act  was  to  rush  to 
my  wife's  stateroom,  where  I  found  l\Irs.  La- 
r.arge  unharmed.  I  told  John  B.  Sarpy,  who 
with  his  son  was  making  the  trip,  to  barricade 
her  door  with  mattresses  and  to  stay  there  until 
the   trouble   was  over.      I   then   hastened   to   the 


front  of  the  cabin,  but  was  met  at  the  door  bv 
the  Indians.  Returning,  I  met  Colin  Campbell 
and  asked  him  what  the  Indians  wanted.  Camp- 
bell replied  that  they  wanted  me  to  give  up  the 
boat;  that  if  I  would  do  so  they  would  let  the 
crew  go,  but  if  I  resisted  they  would  spare  no 
one.  After  the  rush  the  Indians  seemed  timor- 
ous and  uncertain,  evidently  fearing  some  sur- 
prise in  the  unknown  labyrinths  of  the  boat. 
This  gave  me  time  for  effective  measures.  I  had 
on  board  a  light  cannon,  of  about  two  and  a  half 
inch  calibre,  mounted  on  four  wheels.  Unluckily 
it  was  at  this  time  down  in  the  engine  room  un- 
dergoing some  repairs  to  the  carriage.  I  had 
in  my  employ  a  man  on  whom  I  could  absolutely 
rely,  a  brave  and  noble  fellow,  Nathan  Grismore, 
first  engineer.  Grismore  had  just  finished  work 
on  the  cannon  and  told  me  he  thought  he  could 
get  it  up  the  back  way  since  the  fore  part  of  the 
boat  was  in  the  possession  of  the  Indians.  He 
got  some  men  and  lines  and  soon  hoisted  the  gun 
on  deck  and  hauled  it  into  the  after  part  of  the 
cabin.  I  always  kept  in  the  cabin  some  powder 
and  shot  for  use  in  hunting.  I  got  the  powder, 
but  the  supply  of  shot  was  gone.  Grismore 
promptly  made  up  the  loss  with  boiler  rivets  and 
the  gun  was  heavily  loaded  and  primed  for  ac- 
tion. By  this  time  the  forward  part  of  the  cabin 
was  crowded  with  Indians,  who  were  evidently 
afraid  something  was  going  to  happen.  I  lost 
no  time  in  verifying  their  fears.  As  soon  as  the 
gun  was  loaded  I  lighted  a  cigar  and.  holding  the 
smoking  stump  in  sight  of  the  Indians,  told 
Campbell  to  tell  them  to  get  off  the  boat  or  1 
would  blow  them  all  to  the  devil.  .\t  the  same 
time  I  started  for  the  gun  with  the  lighted  cigar 
in  my  hand.  The  effect  was  complete  and  in- 
stantaneous. The  Indians  turned  and  fled  and  al- 
most fell  over  each  other  in  their  panic  to  get  off 
the  boat.  In  less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell  it  not 
an  Indian  was  in  sight.  I  had  the  cannon 
brought  to  the  roof,  where  it  remained  for  an 
hour  or  so.  As  soon  as  the  Indians  were 
off  the  boat  I  began  to  look  up  the  crew, 
who  had  ingloriously  fled  at  the  first  assault, 
leaving  the  boat  practically  defenseless.  They 
had  hidden,  some  here  and  some  there,  but  most 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


of  them  on  the  wheels  (it  was  a  side-wheel  boat), 
where  1  found  them  packed  thick  as  sardines  all 
over  the  paddles.  These  were  the  brave  moun- 
taineers who  were  never  slow  in  vaunting  their 
fcourage  and  valorous  performances.  I  was  so 
disgusted  that  I  was  disposed  to  set  the  wheels 
in  motion  and  give  them  all  a  good  ducking,  but 
the  fires  had  been  put  out  by  the  Indians.  The 
next  morning  we  buried  the  deck  hand,  Charles 


Smith,  who  had  been  killed  by  the  Indians.'  " 
The  Colin  Campbell  mentioned  by  Captain 
LaBarge,  who  by  this  time  had  risen  to  be  the 
burgoise  at  Fort  Pierre,  was  none  other  than 
that  Colin  Campbell  who,  twenty  years  before, 
had,  as  the  interpreter  to  Joshua  Pilcher,  been  so 
officious  and  so  troublesome  to  Colonel  Leaven- 
worth at  the  fight  before  the  villages  at  Aric- 
kara. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


FATHER  PETER  JOHX  DeSAIET. 


While  it  is  certain  that  Father  DeSmet  passed 
down  the  Missouri  river  prior  to  that  date  upon 
his  return  from  sojourns  among  the  tribes  of  the 
Rocky  mountains,  he  has  left  no  definite  record 
of  visits  to  the  South  Dakota  Indians  prior  to 
1848.  He  states  that  he  was  prompted  to  this 
trip  by  a  transient  visit  to  the  tribes  of  the  Sioux 
on  the  upper  Missouri,  made  upon  his  return 
from  the  Rocky  mountains  which  left  in  him 
an  "ardent  desire  to  see  those  poor  Indians." 
He  particularly  wished  to  learn  of  their  disposi- 
tion toward  the  establishment  of  a  permanent 
mission  among  them.  He  therefore  left  St. 
Louis  in  the  spring  of  that  year,  ascending  the 
river  on  the  American  Fur  Company's  steamer 
as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Platte,  whence  he 
proceeded  overland  to  the  mouth  of  the  Niobrara. 
He  traveled  on  horseback  and  spent  twenty-five 
days  upon  the  prairie,  but  strangely  enough  did 
not  see  a  single  Indian  in  all  of .  the  Nebraska 
region,  but  was  almost  driven  to  distraction  by 
mosquitoes,  gnats  and  gadflys.  At  the  mouth  of 
the  Niobrara  he  came  upon  the  entire  tribe  of 
the  Poncas,  whom  he  had  not  before  seen.  They 
received  him  cordially  and  he  was  able  to  dis- 
suade them  from  a  purpose  to  rob  and  kill  the 
post  trader  at  the  fur  post  nearby.  At  this  time 
the  Poncas  were  at  war  with  the  Pawnees  and 
they  accused  the  trader  with  favoring  their 
enemies.  They  took  Father  DeSmet  to  their  vil- 
lage, some  four  miles  away,  where  he  told  them 
the  gospel  story,  to  which  they  listened  most  re- 
spectfully and  with  declarations  of  belief  which 


misled   the  credulous  father  into  the  hope  that 
they  would  soon  become  a  Christian  nation. 

From  the  Poncas,  Father  DeSmet  made  an 
excursion  through  the   Bad    Lands,    where    he 
made  many  valuable  observations  in  science  and 
natural   history.      From   the   Bad   Lands  he   re- 
turned to  the  Missouri  and  visited  the  different 
tribes   of   the    Sioux,   particularly   visiting    Fort 
Pierre  and  Fort  Bouis,  the  latter  located  near  the 
big  bend.     At  the  time  of  this  visit  the  Sioux 
wer*  in   deep   disgrace  and  humiliation.     They 
had  made  a  foray  against  the  Crows,  but  had 
been  defeated,  a  dozen  of  their  warriors  killed 
and  the  remainder  driven  away  with  clubs,  the 
j  Crows   not   deeming   them    worth\-   the   wasting 
of    powder    and    ball    upon.      Father    DeSmet 
!  made   many    converts    among    the     Sioux    and 
I  baptized  several  hundred  of  them.     Late  in  the 
i  autumn  he  returned   to   St.   Louis,    from   which 
I  point  he  wrote  his  observations  upon  the  events 
j  of  the  trip   and  mentions  the   fact  that   Father 
I   Heocken  had  made  a  previous  visit  to  the  Sioux 
j  and  had  baptized  several  hundred  of  them. 

It  does  not  appear  that  Father  DeSmet  re- 
turned to  the  Dakota  country  until  the  summer 
of  185 1  when,  in  company  with  Father  Christian 
Heocken,  he  embarked  from  St.  Louis  on  the  7th 
of  June  on  the  American  Fur  Company  steamer 
"St.  Ange."  There  were  something  more  than 
,  eighty  passengers  on  the  vessel,  chiefly  engages 
of  the  company.  It  was  a  cold,  raw,  unhealthy 
season  and  six  days  out  from  St.  Louis  the 
.  cholera  broke  out  on  the  vessel.     The  first  victim 


146 


HISTORY    OF    SOL'TH    DAKOTA. 


was  a  clerk  of  the  fur  company's,  who  died  after 
a  few  hours"  ilhiess.  The  boat  became  a  floating 
hospital  and  within  a  few  days  there  .were 
thirteen  deaths.  The  two  priests  labored  inces- 
santly, nursing  the  sick  and  comforting  the  dying 
until  Father  DeSmet  himself  was  taken  wnth  the 
disease  and  at  one  time  was  considered  beyond 
cure,  but  he  rallied  just  at  the  moment  wdien 
Father  Heocken  was  smitten.  The  latter  died 
on  the  19th  of  June  and  was  buried  that  day  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Little  Sioux.  Five  other 
passengers  died,  making  nineteen  in  all,  or  more 
than    twenty    per    cent,    of    all    on    board.      The 


river  rpon  the  steamer,  which  ccnild  not  wait. 
During  the  subsequent  years  and  as  late  as  1866 
Father  DeSmet  spent  much  time  with  the  Dakota 
Indians,  and  became  a  powerful  influence  for 
good  among  them.  In  1858,  at  the  request  of 
General  William  S.  Harney,  he  w-as  appointed  a 
chaplain  of  the  United  States  army,  but  served 
without  pay.  Dr.  LeLomie  W.  Robinson  thus 
summarizes  his  work :  "During  his  ministry  of 
abort  a  half  century  he  traversed  and  retraversed 
the  land  from  the  ^Missouri  to  the  Pacific  and 
lived  in  the  most  friendly  intercourse  with  almost 
everv    wild    tribe,    whether    hostile    or    friendly. 


pestilence  abated  as  they  proceeded  up  river,  but 
when  they  reached  Fort  Bonis  they  found  a  great 
epidemic  of  cholera  in  progress.  Father  De- 
Smet, still  weak  from  the  cholera,  left  the  boat 
while  it  was  making  the  circuit  of  the  big  bend 
and  spent  the  time  nursing  and  comforting  the 
sick.  At  Fort  Pierre  the  smallpox  was  also  rag- 
ing and  cholera  added  its  terrors ;  it  is  creditably 
reported  that  more  than  thirteen  hundred  Sioux 
died  from  the  combined  ravages  of  the  small- 
pox and  cholera  that  season.  Father  DeSmet 
exerted  himself  for  the  comfort  of  the  stricken 
people,   but    was    soon    compelled    to    go    on    up 


Like  the  apostles  of  old,  he  went  without  money, 
without  w-eapon  or  guard.  He  took  with  him  only 
his  divine  mission  to  teach  and  to  preach.  With 
the  cross  and  the  sacrament  he  heralded  the 
gospel  to  the  remotest  bands.  The  hostile  and  the 
friendly  received  him  alike.  He  preached  to 
them,  taught  and  baptized  them.  He  learned 
their  dialects,  probed  their  secrets  and  touched 
the  mainsprings  of  their  affections.  \\'hen  in 
sorrow,  he  comforted  them  ;  when  in  distress,  he 
was  their  advisor  and  guide  :  when  wrong,  or 
when  wronged,  he  was  their  faithful,  honest 
allv  and   friend.      Xotwithslanding  his  affection- 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


ate  relations  with  them,  in  estimating  the 
influence  of  Father  DeSmet  on  the  Indian  char- 
acter, it  may  be  questioned  whether  the  per- 
manent effect  was  commensurate  with  his  in- 
dustry and  labor.  Father  DeSmet  met  the 
savages  as  savages  and  adjusted  himself  to  their 
savage  state,  baptized  and  received  them  into 
his  church  and  pressed  on  with  his  evangel  to 
new  fields.  Much  of  the  good  seed  sown  by  him 
seemed  to  have  been  sown  to  the  waste,  but  little 
character-changing  and  character-building  being 
the  result  of  his  mission.  *  *  *  Though  many 
years  have  passed  since  Father  DeSmet's 
ministry  came  to  an  end  among  them,  many  of 
the  older  Indians  and  earlier  white  settlers  of  the 
Dakota's  remember  him  and  speak  of  him  with 
affection." 

It  was  scarcely  to  be  expected  that  deep  and 
lasting  impressions  on  character  could  be  made 


upon  the  population  of  so  wild  a  field  bv  the  ef- 
forts of  one  man.  It  was  Father  DeSmet's  pur- 
pose to  blaze  the  way,  hoping  that  his  clmrch 
would  establish  permanent  missions  in  his  wake, 
but  the  authorities,  apparently  imbued  with  less 
of  enthusiasm  than  the  devoted  missionary,  did 
not  awaken  to  the  importance  of  the  work  as 
early  as  he  hoped.  His  name  will  forever  stand 
among  the  first  of  those  who  made  great  sacrifice 
of  comfort,  for  love  of  the  heathen.  There  are 
still  many  devout  Christians  in  Dakota  whose 
pride  it  is  that  they  received  baptism  from  his 
hands. 

Father  DeSmet  was  a  native  of  Belgium, 
where  he  was  born  in  the  year  1800.  He  im- 
migrated to  America  in  1821  and  thereafter  de- 
voted his  life  to  the  cause  of  Christianity,  and 
particularly  to  the  evangelization  of  the  western 
Indians. 


CHAPTER  XX 


TREATY  OF  TRAVERSE  DE  SIOUX. 


Until  1 85 1  the  title  to  the  soil  of  every  por- 
tion of  South  Dakota  was  still  vested  in  the 
several  tribes  of  Sioux  Indians  and  consequently 
all  of  the  traders  occupying  it  were  either  here 
by  sufferance  of  the  Indians  or  else  were  tres- 
passers pure  and  simple.  On  July  23,  1851, 
however,  Luke  Lea,  commissioner  of  Indian  af- 
fairs, and  Alexander  Ramsey,  then  governor  of 
Minnesota  territory,  at  Traverse  de  Sioux,  now 
St.  Peter,  Minnesota,  entered  into  a  treaty  with 
the  Sissetons  and  Wahpetons,  by  which  the 
Indian  title  to  a  portion  of  the  lands  now  em- 
braced within  South  Dakota  was  relinquished  to 
the  L^'nited  States  and  such  portion  at  once  be- 
came open  to  white  settlement. 

The  description  of  the  western  line  of  the 
cession  in  which  we  are  interested  begins  at  a 
point  on  the  Sioux  Wood  river  at  the  northern 
boundary  of  the  state,  "thence  south  along  the 
western  bank  of  said  Sioux  Wood  river  to  Lake 
Traverse ;  thence  along  the  western  shore  of  said 
I^ke  Traverse  to  the  southern  extremity  thereof ; 
thence  in  a  direct  line  to  the  junction  of  Lake 
Kampeska  with  the  Tchankasandata,  or  Sioux 
river ;  thence  along  the  western  bank  of  said  river 
to  the  point  of  its  intersection  with  the  northern 
line  of  the  state  of  Iowa,  including  all  the  islands 
in  said  river  and  lakes." 

The  foregoing  treaty  then  relinquished  and 
opened  to  white  settlement  a  portion  of  Roberts, 
Grant,'  Hamlin,  Brookings,  Moody  and  Minne- 
haha counties  and  all  of  Deuel  county.  The  con- 
sideration   for    this    cession    was    the    sum    of 


$1,665,000.  Of  this  sum,  $275,000  was  to  be 
paid  at  once,  and  an  additional  $30,000  was  to  be 
expended,  under  the  direction  of  the  President, 
for  the  erection  of  mills,  blacksmith  shops,  open- 
ing farms,  and  fencing  and  breaking  land  for  the 
Indians  and  all  of  the  balance,  being  $1,360,000, 
was  to  be  held  in  trust  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Indians  at  five  per  cent,  interest,  for  the  period 
of  fifty  years,  the  interest  to  be  applied  annually 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Indians  as  follows :  For 
general  agricultural  improvement  and  civiliza- 
tion, $12,000;  for  educational  purposes,  $6,000; 
for  goods  and  provisions,  $ro,ooo;  for  money 
I  annuity,  $40,000.  The  provisions  of  this  treaty 
i  were  carried  out  by  the  government  with  indif- 
ferent good  faith,  after  its  final  ratification  and 
proclamation,  in  February,  1853,  until  the  great 
massacre  in  1862.  On  February  16,  1863. 
following  the  outbreak,  the  public  mind  being 
inflamed  against  the  Indians  by  the  horrible  out- 
rages committed  by  them,  congress  passed  the 
following  act:  "That  all  treaties  heretofore 
made  and  entered  into  by  the  Sisseton,  Wahpe- 
ton.  Medawakonton  and  Wahpakoota  bands  of 
Sioux  Indians,  or  any  of  them,  with  the  United 
States  are  hereby  declared  to  be  abrogated  and 
annulled,  so  far  as  said  treaties  or  any  of  them 
purport  to  impose  any  future  obligation  on  the 
United  States,  and  all  lands  and  all  rights  of  oc- 
cupancy within  the  state  of  Minnesota,  and  all 
annuities  and  all  claims  heretofore  accorded  to 
said  Indians,  or  any  of  them,  to  be  forfeited  to 
the  United  States." 


HISTORY    OF   SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


149 


From  that  period  the  government  has  refused 
to  recognize  any  of  the  obHgations  imposed  by 
the  treaty  of  Traverse  de  Sioux,  and  in  so  doing 
has  unquestionably  done  a  great  injustice  to  the 
Sissetons  and  Wahpetons,  who  are  in  great  part 
citizens  of  South  Dakota.  The  fact  is  that  these 
Indians,  as  bands,  did  not  engage  in  the 
massacre,  but  on  the  contrary,  as  bands,  did  exert 
themselves  at  great  hazard  and  sacrifice  to  pro- 
tect the  white  prisoners  and  oppose  the  hostiles, 
and  that  the  fact  that  the  captives  were  rescued 
alive  was  in  great  measure,  if  not  wholly,  due  to 
the  exertions  of  the  Sissetons  and  Wahpetons. 
The  action  of  the  government  in  abrogating  its 
treaty  obligations  was  therefore  a  grave  injustice 
to  a  brave  and  friendly  people. 

At  this  time,  1903,  the  Sissetons  and  Wahpe- 
tons are  suing  the  government  for  the  trust  fund 


and  interest  due  them.  The  principal  sum  fell 
due,  by  the  expiration  of  the  fifty  j^ears  of  the 
trust,  on  February  i6th  last  and  a  more  just 
claim  against  the  federal  government  was  never 
prosecuted.  This  is  not  the  place  to  enter  into 
a  more  extended  discussion  of  the  merits  of  the 
matter,  but  no  fair-minded  person  can  examine 
the  facts  in  the  case,  learn  the  low  price  at  which 
the  Indians  originally  sold  their  lands,  of  their 
conduct  in  the  dark  days  of  the  massacre  and  in 
the  prolonged  Indian  wars  following  it,  during 
which  almost  every  able-bodied  Sisseton,  without 
pay,  entered  the  service  of  the  government,  to 
apprehend  their  own  people,  without  arriving 
at  the  conclusion  that  they  are  fully  and  justly 
entitled  to  even,-  cent  of  the  original  purchase 
price  according  lo  the  terms  of  the  treatv 
of  1851. 


c        ■ 


CHAPTER  XXI 


THE    GOYERXAIEXT    15UYS    FORT    PIERRE. 


In  the  spring  of  1855  the  government  decided 
upon  the  military  occupation  of  the  Sioux  coun- 
try. This  determination  was  based  upon  the 
frequent  descents  of  hostile  Sioux  upon  Cali- 
fornia immigrants,  but  chiefly  by  the  advance- 
ment of  settlement  as  far  west  as  Sioux  City  on 
the  Missouri,  and'  it  was  decided  that  a  military 
post  and  depot  on  the  Missouri,  in  the  Sioux 
coi-ntry,  would  have  the  double  effect  of  pro- 
tecting the  immigrants  on  the  western  trails  and 
at  the  same  time  the  frontier  settlements.  From 
the  first  the  war  department  seems  to  have  had 
Fort  Pierre  in  mind  as  the  natural  point  for  the 
military  settlement.  Early  that  spring  Gen.  W. 
S.  Harney  was  sent  from  Fort  Leavenworth'  to 
the  Platte  with  a  force  of  two  thousand  men  to 
chastise  the  Sioux  for  depredations  upon  im- 
migrant trains  and  he  spent  the  summer  in  pro- 
tecting the  Platte  trail.  In  the  meantime  nego- 
tiations for  the  purchase  of  Fort  Pierre  were 
carried  on  by  Ouartermaster  General  Jesup,  rep- 
resenting the  war  department,  and  General 
Charles  Gratiot,  representing  Pierre  Giouteau  & 
Company,  by  which  the  sale  of  the  fort  was 
effected  for  the  sum  of  forty-five  thousand 
dollars.  It  was  a  good  trade  for  the  Chouteaus, 
but  a  dear  one  for  the  government.  The  post 
was  buih  twenty-three  years  before.  The  fur 
trade  of  the  vicinity  had  constantly  diminished- 
until  little  or  any  was  left  and  consequently  the 
post  had  been  permitted  to  fall  into  disrepair  and 
from  all  evidences  it  was  in  a  tumble-down  con- 
dition in  1855.     Major  Wilson  says  the  property 


at  that  time  would  have  been  dear  at  forty-five 
hundred  dollars.  The  department  refused  to 
ratify  the  purchase  price,  but  took  possession  of 
the  property  and  caused  a  survey  to  be  made  by 
a  military  board  consisting  of  Majors  Howe, 
Cady  and  Wessells,  Surgeon  Madison  and  Cap- 
tains Van  Vliet  and  Turnley,  who  after  a  minute 
inspection  reported  that  it  would  require  the 
sum  of  twenty-two  thousand  twenty-two  dollars 
to  place  it  in  repair,  which  sum  they  recom- 
mended should  be  deducted  from  the  purchase 
i  price  of  the  fort.  Alaj.  Charles  E.  Galpin,  who 
!  was  at  Fort  Pierre,  watching  proceedings  in  the 
I  interest  of  P.  Chouteau  &  Company,  protested 
against  this  report  most  vigorously,  arguing  that 
j  the  government  did  not  mean  to  purchase  a  new 
j  fort  and  that  three  thousand  dollars  would  defray 
the  entire  expense  of  placing  the  post  in  the  state 
of  repair  contemplated  by  the  contract,  and 
agreed  that  the  latter  sum  be  deducted.  Xo 
agreement  was  reached  by  the  board  and  Galpin, 
and  the  entire  matter  was  referred  back  to  the 
principals  for  adjustment.  After  some  months 
of  dickering  the  government  finally  settled  with 
Pierre  Qiouteau  &  Company  by  the  payment,  on 
February  8,  1856,  of  the  sum  of  thirty-six 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  having  deducted 
eight  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  for  necessary 
repairs  to  bring  the  property  up  to  the  condition 
contemplated  by  the  contract  of  purchase  and 
sale. 

During   the   period   occupied   by   the   dispute 
over  the  condition  and  repairs  of  the  fort,  active 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


preparations  for  its  occupancy  were  being  made 
by  the  department.  Four  companies  of  infantry 
from  Carlisle  and  two  companies  from  Fort 
Riley  were  ordered  to  proceed  up  the  river  to 
Fort  Pierre  and  place  the  post  in  readiness  for 
the  arrival  of  General  Harney  with  his  forces 
from  the  Platte,  in  the  autumn.  The  Second 
Infantry,  from  Fort  Leavenworth,  started  on  the 
steamboat  "Australia,"  but  that  sank  in  nine  feet 


ort  on  the  vessels  during  the  long  voyage  and 
there  was  great  distress  and  many  deaths.  Maj. 
H.  W.  Wessells  was  first  in  command.  General 
Harney,  having  defeated  the  Sioux  in  the 
memorable  battle  at  Ash  Hollow,  brought  his 
forces  across  the  country  from  the  upper  Hatte, 
b\-  way  of  the  Upper  White  river  and  the  Qiey- 
enne  and  arrived  at  Fort  Pierre  on  October  19, 
1855.      ^^"hen    Harney    discovered    the    state    of 


PLAN  OF  OLD  fORT  PIERRE. 1855 


of  water  and  the  public  stores  were  lost,  though 
the  troops  and  baggage  were  saved.  The  govern- 
ment then  purchased  two  side-wheel  steamboats 
for  the  expedition,  the  "William  Baird"  and  the 
"Greycloud."  In  addition,  all  of  the  available 
craft  at  St.  Louis  was  chartered,  but  the  river 
was  so  low  and  navigation  so  difficult  that  they 
did  not  reach  Fort  Pierre  until  at  dates  ranging 
from  July  7th   to  .\ugust    lyth.      Cholera   broke 


affairs  at  I'ierrc  he  was  furious  and  delivered 
himself  with  characteristic  vigor  and  when 
Harney  became  vigorous,  subordinates  usually 
took  to  cover.  After  he  had  calmed  himself 
sufficiently  he  committed  his  views  to  writing: 
"In  conclusion,  it  is  unfortunate  that  the  steam- 
ers purchased  to  transport  the  troops  here  were 
entirely  too  large  for  the  purpose;  it  is  unfortu- 
nate that  my  orders  were  disobeyed  in  that  jnir- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


chase ;  it  is  unfortunate  that  the  troops  did  not 
arrive  in  this  country  earHer ;  it  is  unfortunate 
that  they  were  stopped  here ;  and  most  unfortu- 
nate of  all  was  the  absence  of  a  commander  of 
experience,  energy  and  industry."  However,  the 
best  must  be  made  of  a  bad  situation  and  Harney, 
with  great  energ}%  set  about  the  task.  He  had 
had  a  military  reservation  surveyed  by  Lieut.  G. 
K.  Warren,  topographical  engineer.  This 
reservation  lay  along  the  river  from  Chantier  to 


of  Chantier  creek.  Major  Cady  was  sent  ten 
miles  up  the  west  bank  with  four  companies  of 
the  Sixth  Regiment,  where  he  established  a 
winter  cantonment,  which  he  called  Camp  Bacon. 
Major  Howe  was  sent  down  to  the  present  site  of 
Fort  Randall  with  fifty  men,  where  he  passed  the 
winter  at  a  cantonment  named  Camp  Canfield, 
and  one  company  camped  on  Farm  island.  The 
total  force  was  eight  hundred  and  sixty-seven 
men.     The  motive  for  scattering  them  about  was 


R^ 


i^^_i?^N^^ 


OLD  fO/?r  P/£/fff£ 

V/C/N/TY 
SKErCȣD  BY  CM7S.  S.  OSUIMO 
/SOB 


Antelope  creeks  and  was  twenty-two  and  a  half 
miles  long  by  twelve  and  a  half  wide  and  con- 
tained one  hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand 
acres.  The  fort  would  not  begin  to  accommodate 
the  force  and  accordingly  four  companies  of  the 
Second  Regiment,  under  Major  Wessells,  were 
sent  to  establish  themselves  for  the  winter  on  the 
east  side  of  the  river  at  the  lower  end  of  Peoria 
bottom.  Two  other  companies  of  the  Second  and 
two  troops  of  dragoons  were  encamped  at  the 
upper  end  of  Peoria  bottom  opposite  the  mouth 


to  secure  a  sufficient  supply  of  forage  and  pastur- 
age and  fuel. 

Fort  Pierre  was  now  the  furthest  advanced 
of  any  that  had  been  thrown  into  the  Indian 
country.  It  was,  by  water,  one  thousand  five 
hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  from  St.  Louis. 
It  was  three  hundred  twenty-five  miles  from 
Fort  Laramie  and  three  hundred  fifty  miles  from 
Fort  Ridgely :  the  nearest  postoffice  was  at 
Sargeant's  Bluffs,  Iowa,  three  hundred  twenty- 
five    miles    distant.    The    following    were    the 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


153 


officers  and  troops  comprising  this  garrison.  It 
will  be  observed  that  many  men  prominent  in  the 
rebellion  of  a  few  }ears  later  were  here : 

COMMANDING. 

Brevet  General  William  S.  Harney,  colonel  Sec- 
ond Dragoons. 


Brevet  Major  0.  F.  Winship,  assistant  adjutant 
general. 

Captain  Alfred  Pleasanton,  Second  Dragoons,  as- 
sistant adjutant  general. 

Captain  Stewart  VanVliet,  assistant  quartermas- 
ter. 

Captain  P.  T.  Turnley,  assistant  quartermaster. 
Fort  Pierre. 

Captain  M.  D.  L.  Simpson,  subsistence  depart- 
ment. 

Lieutenant  Colonel  Timothy  P.  Andrews,  pay  de- 
partment. 

Major  Benjamin  F.  Harney,  surgeon. 

Captain  David  L.  Magruder,  assistant  surgeon. 

First  Lieutenant  George  T.  Balch,  ordnance 
corps. 

Second  Lieutenant  G.  K.  Warren,  topographical 
engineer. 

Second  Lieutenant  Marshall  T.  Polk,  Second  In- 
fantry, aide  de  camp. 

Second  Lieutenant  E.  McK.  Hudson,  Fourth  Ar- 
tillery, aide  de  camp. 

.SECOND    DRAGOONS. 

Lieutenant-colonel,  Philip  St.  Geo.  Cooke. 

Major,  M.  S.  Howe. 

Adjutant,  Thomas  Wright. 

Company  D. — Captain,  Lawrence  P.  Graham; 
first  lieutenant,  Samuel  H.  Starr;  second  lieutenant, 
John   Pegram. 

Company  E.— First  lieutenant,  William  D. 
Smith;  second  lieutenant,  Henry  B.  Livingstone; 
brevet  lieutenant,  James  Wheeler,  Jr. 

Company  H. — Captain,  Alfred  Pleasanton;  first 
lieutenant,  John  Buford  (R.  Q.  M.);  brevet  second 
lieutenant,  John  B.  Villipique. 

Company  K.— First  lieutenant,  William  Steele: 
first  lieutenant,  Beverly  N.  Robertson;  brevet  second 
lieutenant,  Thomas  Hight. 

SECO.VD    INFANTRY. 

Colonel,  Francis  Lee. 
Lieutenant-colonel.  John  J.  Abercrombie. 
Major,   Hannibal   Day. 
Major.  William  R.  Montgomery. 
Adjutant,  Nathaniel  H.  McDean. 
Regimental  Quartermaster,  George  H.  Paige. 
11 


Company  A. — Captain  C.  S.  Lovell;  first  lieuten- 
ant, Caleb  Smith;  second  lieutenant,  John  0.  Long. 

Company  B. — Captain,  Nathaniel  Lyon;  first 
lieutenant,  James  Curtis. 

Company  C. — Captain,  Nelson  H.  Davis;  first  lieu- 
tenant, Thomas  Wright;  second  lieutenant,  Marshall 
T.  Polk  (A.  D.  C). 

Company  D. — Captain,  William  M.  Gardner; 
first  lieutenant,  H.  M.  McLean  (regimental  adjutant); 
second  lieutenant,  John  D.  O'Connell. 

Company  G. — Captain,  Henry  W.  Wessels;  first 
lieutenant,  George  H.  Paige  (R.  Q.  M.) ;  second  lieu- 
tenant,  Alfred   E.   Latimer. 

Company  L — Captain,  Delozier  Davison;  first 
lieutenant,  Thomas  W.  Sweeney;  second  lieutenant, 
Henry   A. 


SIXTH     INFANTRY. 

Major,  Albemarle  Cady. 

Company  A. — Captain,  John  B.  S.  Todd;  second 
lieutenant,  Silas  P.  Higgins. 

Company  E. — Captain,  Samuel  Woods;  first  lieu- 
tenant. Darius  D.  Clark;  second  lieutenant,  James 
A.  Smith. 

Company  H. — Captain,  Thomas  Hendrickson; 
second  lieutenant,  Charles  G.  Sawtelle. 

Company  K. — Captain,  Richard  B.  Garnett;  sec- 
ond lieutenant,  R.   E.   Patterson. 

Company  C. — Second  lieutenant,  John  McCleary. 

TENTH    INFANTRY. 

Company  E.— Captain,  Henry  Heth;  first  lieu- 
tenant, Nathan  A.  M.  Dudley. 

FOURTH     ARTILLERY. 

Light  Battery  G.— Captain,  Albin  P.  Howe;  first 
lieutenant,  Richard  C.  Drum;  first  lieutenant,  Edward 
McK.  Hudson;   second  lieutenant,  John  Mendenhall. 

With  the  troops  once  disposed  for  the  winter. 
General  Harney  took  up  the  task  of  selecting  the 
point  for  the  permanent  post  to  be  erected.  His 
first  impression  was  that  it  should  be  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Sioux  and  he  established  a  camp 
there,  a  short  distance  below  where  the  Chicago, 
Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  railway  bridge,  entering 
Sioux  City  from  South  Dakota,  now  crosses  the 
Sioux.  The  site  of  old  Fort  Lookout  was  also 
in  his  mind,  but  finally  he  picked  upon  the  Fort 
Randall  site  and  built  the  permanent  post  there. 

The  selection  of  the  site  of  Fort  Randall  was 
approved  by  tlie  war  department  in  a  letter  ad- 
dressed to  General  Harney  by  .\djutant  General 
S.  Cooper,  on  June  20,  1856,  and  the  fort  was 
named  by  General  Harney,  who  in  a  letter  to  the 


154 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


adjutant  general  dated  June  30th,  written  from 
the  camp  on  the  Sioux  river,  says:  "If  the  secre- 
tary should  accord  with  me  in  the  position  I  have 
selected,  I  desire  to  suggest  the  name  of  Fort 
Randall  as  its  designation — it  being  a  token  of 
respect  to  the  memory  of  a  deceased  officer  of  our 
army — the  highly  esteemed  Colonel  Daniel 
Randall,  late  deputy  paymaster  general." 

While   the   site   for  the   permanent   fort  was 
under  consideration,  and  during  the  time  of  its 


construction,  the  troops'  were  scattered  along  the 
river  from  Fort  Pierre  to  the  mouth  of  the  Sioux, 
the  strongest  forces  being  at  Fort  Lookout  and 
the  Sioux  camp. 

()n  the  24th  of  October,  1856,  Lieut.  Col. 
J.  J.  Abercrombie  arrived  at  Fort  Pierre  with 
a  Iiattalion  of  the  Second  Cavalry,  consisting 
of  about  two  hundred  men.  He  came  across 
country  from  Fort  Ridgelv',  Atiiinesota.  his 
route     leading     him     up     the     Minnesota     river 


from  Ridgely  to  the  Lacqui  Parle,  thence 
entering  Dakota  just  north  of  Gary,  in  Deuel 
county,  to  the  Indian  village  of  Chanopa  (Two 
Woods  lakes,  near  Altamont).  Thence  just 
north  of  Lake  Kampeska,  through  Oak  Gulch  in 
Clark  county,  crossing  the  Jim  on  a  bridge  built 
for  the  purpose  at  Armadale,  thence  falling 
southwest  to  Snake  creek  at  the  mouth  of  the 
east  fork,  thence  making  a  circular  course  to  the 
northwest,  crossing  the  main  stream  west  of 
Faulkton  and  crossing  the  divide,  passed  down 
Medicine  creek  to  the  Knoll,  whence  they  struck 
straight  west  to  Snake  Butte,  where  they  crossed 
the  river  and  passed  down  the  west  side  to  old 
Fort  Pierre.  General  Sully,  then  a  captain,  ac- 
companied the  battalion  and  made  the  map  of  the 
route.  This  was  Sully's  first  introduction  to  the 
locality  where  he  was  eventually  to  win  fame 
and  where  his  name  was  to  be  permanently  pre- 
served in  the  geography  of  the  section.  In  this 
trip  he  mapped  some  of  the  streams  and  a  por- 
tion of  the  topography  of  the  county  which  no w 
bears  his  name.  Abercrombie  remained  at  Pierre 
but  a  day  or  two,  for  on  November  2d  he  reported 
with  his  force  at  Fort  Lookout. 

Captain  Lovell,  with  his  Company  A,  Second 
Infantry,  garrisoned  Fort  Pierre  during  the  win- 
ter of  1856-57.  brt  with  the  breaking  up  oi  the 
river  in  the  spring  the  steamer  "H.  D.  Morton" 
arrived  and  embarked  the  men,  together  with 
every  thing  movable  and  thought  to  be  valuable 
for  the  construction  of  the  new  fort,  and  Fort 
Pierre  was  abandoned.  IMajor  Charles  E.  Gal- 
pin  secured  the  contract  for  taking  down  and 
removing  the  cottages  to  Randall,  but  he  appro- 
priated so  much  of  the  material  to  his  own  use  that 
the  government  retained  more  than  half  of  the 
contract  price  for  the  work.  \\'hen  Galpin  com- 
pleted his  work  the  Indians  took  a  hand  at  it  and 
smashed  the  windows,  broke  down  the  doors  and 
left  the  premises  so  dilapidated  that  when  Cap- 
tain Paige  visited  the  post  the  merest  shell  only 
remained.  He  made  an  estimate  of  the  cost  of 
repairs,  but  the  war  department  decided  that  it 
was  not  worth  the  candle.  On  June  18,  1859, 
Captain  W.  F.  Reynolds  wrote  in  his  diary :  "As 
we  passed  old  Fort  Pierre,  I  noticed  that  but  little 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


was  left  of  the  structure ;  the  remains  consisting 
of  the  shell  of  one  row  of  houses."  And  so  the 
famous  old  post  became  a  matter  of  history  only, 
and  the  end  had  come  to  the  jirst  period  in  the 
development  of  the  great  Dakota  country,  a  period 
filled  with  tales  of  romantic  interest,  of  adven- 
tures such  as  the  vivid  imaginations  of  romanti- 
cists have  not  surpassed ;  of  valor  of  daring  do, 
of  persistent  progress  under  circumstances  which 
try  the  temper  of  heroes,  of  accomplishments  and 
of  failures  which  go  to  make  one  of  the  tragically 
interesting  pages  of  the  great  primitive  American 
record. 


The  story  of  the  period  which  we  have  now 
followed  down  to  its  termination  may  have  little 
philosophic  value  to  the  student;  it  may  have 
offered  but  little  to  point  the  way  to  future  suc- 
cesses to  the  South  Dakotan  of  today.  The  life 
and  environment  was  so  different  from  the  life 
and  surroundings  of  the  present  citizens  of  this 
commonwealth,  even  of  the  agriailtural  pioneers 
in  the  first  jears  of  the  soil  breaking,  that  it  has 
few  lessons  for  us.  Nevertheless,  it  possesses 
for  the  thoughtful  and  conscientious  student  of 
our  early  history  a  thrilling  interest  which  amply 
repays  the  study  of  it. 


CHAPTER  XXII 


THE  WARREN  EXPLORATIONS. 


\\'hen  General  Harney  started  up  the  Platte 
in  the  spring  of  1855,  with  the  intention  of 
ultimately  reaching  the  newly  acquired  military 
post  of  Fort  Pierre  in  the  next  autumn,  he 
ordered  his  topographical  engineer,  Lieutenant 
Gouvernor  K.  Warren,  to  proceed  up  the  Mis- 
souri to  Fort  Pierre,  and  there  survey  off  a  suit- 
able military  reservation.  It  is  a  pity  that  Gen- 
eral Harney  had  not  been  supported  by  other 
officers  of  the  skill  and  energy  of  Lieutenant 
Warren.  He  received  his  orders  on  the  4th  of 
June  and  thirty-nine  days  were  occupied  by  the 
steamboat  ■'Clara"  in  reaching  Fort  Pierre,  but 
the  Lieutenant  utilized  all  of  the  time  in  noting 
the  physical  features  of  the  Missouri  valley.  He 
had  by  the  7th  of  August  completed  the  survey 
of  the  military  reservation,  which  embraced 
three  hundred  ten  square  miles,  had  established 
its  boundaries  and  mapped  it  topographically  and 
was  ready  to  start  upon  his  return  to  Fort 
Leavenworth,  which  he  proposed  to  do  by  travel- 
ing overland  from  Fort  Pierre  in  a  southerly 
course  to  Fort  Kearney  on  the  Platte.  For  this 
enterprise  he  was  accompanied  by  eight  men 
only.  When  it  is  remembered  that  his  course 
lay  directly  through  the  country  of  the  hostile 
Brules,  against  whom  Harney  was  at  that  mo- 
ment waging  relentless  warfare,  something  of 
the  hazard  of  the  enterprise  may  be  understood. 
.So  hazardous  was  this  enterprise  considered  that 
iMajor  Montgomery,  who  had  recently  arrived  at 
Fort  Pierre  in  command  of  the  first  detachment 
of  troops  to  arrive  there,  threatened  to  forbid  it 


as  the  military  superior  of  the  lieutenant, 
for  he  could  see  nothing  but  inevitable 
destruction  in  so  rash  and  reckless  an 
adventure.  It  was  the  "th  of  August,  in  one 
of  the  dryest  years  Dakota  has  known,  and  War- 
ren reasoned  that  war  parties  of  Sioux  would 
keep  in  the  shade  while  such  heated  and  dry 
weather  prevailed,  and  too  that  at  that  particular 
season  they  would  be  confined  to  their  settlements 
making  sweet  corn.  Tie  therefore  took  all  risks 
and  started  out,  proceeding  a  few  miles  up  the 
Teton  and  thence  almost  south,  reached  the 
White  river  on  August  nth,  the  Niobrara  on  the 
14th  and  arrived  at  Fort  Kearney  on  the  24th 
without  noteworthy  adventure,  having  seen  not 
a  single  Indian  on  the  route,  and  having  a<:quired 
an  invaluable  fund  of  information  about  a 
hitherto  unknown  portion  of  the  country.  Har- 
ney determined  to  keep  Warren  with  him,  and 
he,  with  a  single  clay"s  rest,  started  up  the  Platte 
with  his  chief  and  was  with  him  at  the  battle  of 
Ash  Hollow  on  September  3d  and  made  a  map 
of  the  famous  battlefield.  Thence  they  proceeded 
up  the  river  to  Fort  Laramie,  whence  the  com- 
mand started  for  Fort  Pierre  on  September  29th, 
crossing  over  the  divide  and  the  headwaters  of 
the  Niobrara  to  White  river,  which  they  fol- 
lowed down  to  about  the  present  location  of 
Interior,  whence  they  crossed  over  to  the  Teton, 
in  the  vicinity  of  Midland  postoffice,  and  followed 
down  the  north  bank  of  that  stream  to  Fort 
Pierre,  where  they  arrived  on  October  ig,  1855. 
Remaining  at  the  fort  until  October  27th,  Lieu- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


tenant  Warren  started  overland  to  Sioux  City. 
The  river  was  very  low  and  it  was  found  neces- 
sary to  go  up  river  six  miles  to  make  a  crossing. 
From  that  point  he  followed  down  the  Missouri 
to  Crow  creek,  whence  he  struck  east  by  way  of 
Wessington  Springs  and  down  the  Firesteel  to 
near  its  mouth,  where  he  turned  south,  crossing 
the  site  of  the  city  of  Mitchell  and  forded  the 
James  at  Rockport  and  the  Vermillion  just  north 
of  Centerville  and  reached  Sioux  City  Novem- 
ber 9th. 

Thus,  in  the  short  period  of  three  months, 
forty-eight  \ears  ago.  Lieutenant  Warren 
traversed  more  of  South  Dakota  and  learned 
more  of  it  than  have  many  intelligent  citizens 
who  have  resided  here  almost  ever  since  that 
time.  During  all  of  these  tedious  trips  Lieu- 
tenant Warren's  pencil  was  constant  in  noting 
the  topography.  With  an  odemeter  he  measured 
the  miles  traveled.  With  a  barometer  he  took  the 
altitudes.  He  made  celestial  observations  for 
the  latitude  and  longitude.  With  a  thermometer 
he  took  the  temperature.  He  mapped  the  topog- 
raphy, studied  the  soil,  the  flora,  the  fauna  and 
the  native  inhabitants.  Nothing  appears  to  have 
escaped  his  alert  eye  or  failed  of  accurate  ob- 
servation and  record.  Considering  the  short 
time  involved,  the  distance  traveled  and  the  fact 
that  he  was  single-handed  in  the  work,  his  ac- 
complishment in  1855  is  unparalleled. 

In  the  spring  of  1856  General  Harney  ordered 
Lieutenant  Warren  to  make  a  reconnoissance  of 
the  Missouri  river  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the 
Yellowstone,  with  a  view  to  determining  the  most 
feasible  sites  for  military  posts.  He  was  given 
an  escort  from  Fort  Pierre,  consisting  of  two 
non-commissioned  officers  and  fifteen  men  of  the 
Second  Regiment,  and  was  assisted  bv  Dr.  F.  V. 
Hayden,  W.  H.  Hutton  and  J.  H.  Snowden. 
They  left  St.  Louis  the  middle  of  April  on  Cap- 
tain Thockmorton's  steamboat,  "Genoa."  During 
the  passage  up  the  river  they"  made  a  careful 
sketch  of  the  Missouri  by  means  of  compass 
courses  and  distances  estimated  by  the  rate  of 
travel  of  the  steamboat  and  by  astronomical  ob- 
servations for  latitude.  Captain  Thockmorton 
politely  allowed  them  to  take  possession  of  the 


pilot  house  as  a  coign  of  vantage.  As  far  as  the 
mouth  of  the  Jim  river  the  progress  was  quite 
rapid,  but  a  short  distance  above  that  point  they 
encountered  a  sudden  and  heavy  freshet  with  a 
current  so  rapid  that  the  boat  could  not  stem  it, 
but  was  compelled  to  tie  up.  The  river  fell  as 
rapidly  as  it  rose  and  a  few  days  later,  when  at 
Cedar  island  (near  Fort  Randall),  they  found 
their  progress  completely  blocked  by  a  bar  ex- 
tending clear  across  the  river.  Not  desiring  to 
wait  the  course  of  navigation.  Lieutenant  Warren 
and  his  assistants  left  the  boat  and,  with  two 
horses  borrowed  of  army  officers  at  the  camp 
near  where  Fort  Randall  was  built,  to  pack  their 
equipment,  walked  to  the  point  on  the  east  shore 
opposite  Fort  Lookout,  through  a  cold  and 
dreary  rain,  and  there  failing  in  all  their  efforts 
to  attract  the  attention  of  the  soldiers  at  the 
cantonment,  pushed  on  to  Fort  Pierre,  where 
they  arrived  on  the  20th  of  May,  completely  ex- 
hausted. General  Harney  was  just  then  com- 
pleting the  treaty  with  the  Sioux  which  ended 
the  war  of  1855.  By  this  treaty  convenient 
agencies  were  to  be  established  along  the  Mis- 
souri and  the  Indians  were  to  receive  certain 
goods  annually.  General  Harney  appointed 
Bear's  Rib,  an  L^ncpapa,  head  chief  of  all  the 
Missouri  Sioux,  and  a  general  good  time  was 
indulged  in. 

Captain  Joseph  LaBarge  relates  that  upon 
this  occasion  (he  places  the  date  at  1855,  but 
in  this  he  is  manifestly  mistaken)  General  Har- 
ney was  addressing  the  Sioux  endeavoring  to 
impress  them  with  the  power  of  the  whites  and 
the  uselessness  of  the  Sioux  attempting  to  op- 
pose them.  "Why,"  he  said,  "white  men  can 
kill  a  person  and  then  bring  him  to  life  again," 
referring  to  the  use  of  chloroform,  which  just 
then  was  being  introduced  into  general  use 
among  doctors.  "Here,"  he  said,  addressing  the 
post  surgeon,  "kill  that  dog  and  then  restore  him 
to  life."  The  surgeon  obediently  administered 
a  dose  of  chloroform  to  the  dog  and  when  it 
had  succumbed  to  the  influence  the  body  was 
passed  around  among  the  chiefs,  who  pronounced 
it  "plenty  dead."  "Now  restore  it,"  commanded 
Harney.     The  surgeon  applied  all  of  the  usual 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


means  of  resuscitation,  but  without  effect,  the 
clog  was  plenty  dead  beyond  mistake.  "Ugh, 
medicine  too  strong,"  grunted  the  chiefs,  who 
enjoyed  the  joke  as  fully  as  did  the  somewhat 
chagrined  general. 

They  remained  at  Fort  Pierre  more  than  a 
month  and  on  the  28th  of  June  embarked  for 
Fort  Union  on  the  "St.  Mary's,"  Captain  Joseph 
LaBarge.  Being  detained  at  Fort  Union  await- 
ing the  construction  of  Mackinaw  boats  for  the 
return  trip.  Lieutenant  Warren,  with  character- 
istic industr}-,  examined  the  Yellowstone  as  far 
as  the  mouth  of  Powder  river.  October  2d  the 
party  safely  reached  Fort  Pierre,  having  fully 
carried  out  the  purpose  of  the  expedition  and 
also  having  obtained  an  invaluable  fund  of  in- 
formation and  scientific  specimens.  Warren  and 
Hayden  proceeded  to  Washington,  where  they 
spent  the  winter  in  preparing  maps  and  reports 
and  mounting  the  rare  specimens  of  minerals  and 
birds  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

The  work  of  Lieutenant  Warren  the  next 
year,,  1857.  was  the  most  important  he  had  yet 
undertaken  and  was  under  the  direct  control  of 
John  B.  Floyd,  Buchanan's  secretary  of  war. 
The  ostensible  purpose  was  to  find  the  most 
feasible  extension  of  the  road  already  surveyed 
from  Fort  Ridgely  to  Fort  Lookout,  westward 
from  the  Missouri  river  to  the  South  Pass  in 
the  Rocky  mountains  and  incidentally  to  examine 
the  Black  Hills.  On  this  important  mission  J. 
H.  Snowden  and  P.  M.  Engel  were  assigned  as 
topographers ;  Dr.  Hayden  as  geologist,  W.  P. 
C.  Carrington  as  meteorologist.  Dr.  S.  Moffit,  sur- 
geon, and  Lieutenant  James  McMillan  was  de- 
tailed to  command  the  escort  of  twenty-seven 
men  and  two  non-commissioned  officers  of  the 
Second  Infantry.  After  endless  vexation  from 
loss  of  horses  by  theft,  desertion  of  men  and 
sickness  of  mules,  the  expedition  got  off  from 
the  cantonment  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sioux  on 
July  6th  and  passing  through  the  sandhill  coun- 
tr>-  of  northern  Nebraska,  reached  Fort  Laramie 
on  August  27th. 

There  dividing  into  two  parties.  Mr.  Snow- 
den, with  ten  men  and  Dr.  Moffit,  started  down 
the    Niobrara,    making    a    careful    topographical 


survey  as  they  proceeded.  Lieutenant  Warren, 
abandoning  his  wagons,  and  packing  his  outfit 
on  mules,  started  directly  into  the  Black  Hills, 
in  a  course  very  nearly  along  the  west  line  of 
South  Dakota,  making  a  careful  and  accurate 
map  of  the  country  as  far  north  as  Inyan  Kara 
peak.  Here  they  encountered  a  large  force  of 
Dakotans  who  so  earnestly  protested  against  the 
further  advance  of  the  expedition  that  they  did 
not  deem  it  prudent,  as  a  scientific  expedition,  to 
proceed  further  in  that  direction.  \Miat  ensued 
is  told  so  lucidly  and  graphically  by  Lieutenant 
Warren  that  his  story  is  given  with  only  the 
modernizing  of  the  names  of  the  Indian  tribes 
encountered: 

"Some   of  them   were   for  attacking  us   im- 
mediately, as  their  numbers  would  have  insured 
I   success :  but  the  lesson  taught  them  by  General 
j   Harney  in  1855  made  them  fear  they  would  meet 
with  retribution  and  this  I  endeavored  to  impress 
I   upon.     *    *     *     The  grounds  of  their  objections 
j  to  our  traversing  the  region  were  very  sensible 
I  and  of  sufficient  weight,  I  think,  to  have  justified 
them  in  their  own  minds  in  resisting  us.    *    *    * 
j   In  the  first  place  they  were  encamped  near  large 
herds  of  buffaloes  whose  hair  was  not  sufficiently 
grown  to  make  robes  ;  the  Indians  were,  it  may  be 
said,  actually  herding  the  animals.     No  one  was 
permitted  to  kill  any  in  the  large  bands  for  fear 
of   stampeding  the   others   and   only   such   were 
killed  as  straggled  away  from  the  main  herds. 
Thus  the  whole  range  of  buffaloes  was  stopped  so 
they   could    not   proceed   south,   which   was   the 
point   to   which   they   were   traveling.     The   in- 
tention of  the  Indians  was  to  retain  the  buffaloes 
in    their    neighborhood    until    their    skin    would 
answer  for  robes,  then  to  kill  the  animals  by  sur- 
rounding one  band  at  a  tim^  and  completely  de- 
stroying  each  member   of   it.     In   this   way   no 
alarm    was    communicated    to    the    neighboring 
bands,  which  often  remain  quiet,  almost  in  sight 
of  the  scene  of  slaughter. 

"For  us  to  have  continued  on  then  would 
have  been  an  act  for  which  certain  death  would 
have  been  inflicted  upon  a  like  number  of  their 
own  tribe  had  they  done  it :  for  we  might  have 
deflected  the  whole  range  of  the  buffalo  fifty  or 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


159 


one  hundred  miles  to  the  west  and  prevented  the 
Indians  from  laying  in  their  winter  stock  of 
provisions  and  skins,  on  which  their  comfort, 
if  not  their  lives,  depended.  Their  feelings 
toward  us,  under  the  circumstances,  were  not  un- 
like what  we  should  feel  toward  a  person  who 
should  insist  upon  setting  fire  to  our  barns.  The 
most  violent  of  them  were  for  immediate  resist- 
ance, when  I  told  them  of  my  intentions  and 
those  who  were  most  friendly  and  in  greatest  fear 
of  the  power  of  the  United  States  begged  that  I 
would  take  pity  on  them  and  not  proceed.  I  felt 
that  aside  from  its  being  an  unnecessary  risk  to 
subject  my  party  and  the  interests  of  the  expedi- 
tion to,  it  was  almost  cruelty  to  the  Indians  to 
drive  them  to  commit  any  desperate  act,  which 
would  call  for  chastisement  from  the  government. 

"But  this  was  not  the  only  reason  they  urged  ; 
against    our    proceeding.      They    said    that    the  i 
treaty    made    with    General    Harney    gave    the  [ 
whites   the  privilege   of  traveling  on   the    Platte   | 
and  along  White  river  between  Forts  Pierre  and  j 
Laramie,  and  to  make  roads  there  and  to  travel 
up    and    down    the    Missouri    in    boats :    but    it 
guaranteed  to  them  that  no  white  people  should 
travel  elsewhere  in  their  country  and  thus  drive 
away   the   buffalo   by   their   careless   manner  of 
hunting  them.     And  finally  that  my  party   was 
there  to  examine  the  country  to  ascertain  if  it 
was  of  value  to  the  whites,  and  to  discover  roads 
through   it   and    places    for  military   posts ;   and 
that  having  already  given  up  all  of  the  country 
to  the  whites  that  they  could  spare,  these  Black 
Hills  must  be  left  wholly  to  themselves.     More- 
over if  none  of  these  things  should  occur,  our 
passing  through   the   country   would   give   us   a 
knowledge  of  its  character  a«d  the  proper  way 
to  traverse  it  in  the  event  of  another  war  between 
themselves   and   the   troops.      I    was   necessarily 
compelled  to  admit  to  myself  the  truth  and  force 
of  these  objections. 

"The  Indians  whom  I  first  met  were  of  the 
Minneconjous,  to  the  number  of  forty  lodges, 
near  whom,  as  they  were  friendly,  we  encamped. 
They  were  soon  joined  by  the  warriors  of  a  large 
camp  of  Uncpapas  and  Blackfeet  Sioux  and  our 
position,  which  was  sufficiently  unpleasant  in  the 


presence  of  such  a  numerous  party  of  half 
avowed  enemies,  was  rendered  doubly  so  by  a 
stomi  of  rain  and  sleet  and  snow,  which  lasted 
two  days  and  against  which  he  had  little  pro- 
tection. A  young  Indian  who  had  accompanied 
us  from  Fort  Laramie  considered  the  danger  to 
us  so  imminent  that  he  forsook  our  camp  and 
joined  his  friends,  the  Mineconjous.  Under 
these  embarrassing  circumstances  my  associates 
evinced  the  most  resolute  bravery  and  deter- 
mination to  abide  the  result  like  true  men. 

"I  consented  to  wait  three  days  without  ad- 
vancing in  order  to  meet  their  great  warrior, 
Bear's  Rib,  appointed  first  chief  by  General  Har- 
ney's treaty,  merely  changing  our  position  to  one 
offering  better  facilities  for  defense.  At  the  ex- 
piration of  the  time  Bear's  Rib  not  making  his 
appearance,  we  broke  camp  and,  traveling  back 
on  our  route  about  forty  miles,  struck  off  to  the 
eastward  through  the  southern  part  of  these 
mountains.  The  point  where  we  turned  back 
is  well  marked  by  the  Inyan  Kara  peak  ( in 
eastern  ^^'yonling),  whose  position-  was  fixed 
by  us. 

"After  we  had  traveled  eastward  two  days  we 
were  overtaken  by  Bear's  Rib  and  one  other 
Indian  who  accompanied  him.  He  reiterated  all 
that  had  been  said  by  the  other  chiefs  and  added 
that  he  could  do  nothing  to  prevent  our  being 
destroyed  if  we  attempted  to  proceed  further.  I 
then  told  him  that  I  believed  that  he  was  our 
friend  but  that  if  he  could  do  nothing  for  us  he 
had  better  return  to  his  people  and  leave  us  to 
take  care  of  ourselves,  as  I  was  determined  to 
proceed  as  far  as  Bear  Butte.  After  a  whole  day 
spent  in  deliberation  he  concluded  to  accompany 
us  a  part  of  the  way  and  he  said  he  would  then 
return  to  his  people  and  use  influence  to  have  us 
not  molested.  In  return  for  this  he  wished  me 
to  say  to  the  President  and  to  the  white  people 
that  they  could  not  be  allow^ed  to  come  into  that 
countn.- ;  that  if  these  presents  were  to  purchase 
such  a  right  they  did  not  want  them.  All  they 
asked  of  the  white  people  was  to  be  left  to  them- 
selves and  let  alone :  that  if  the  presents  were  to 
induce  them  not  to  go  to  war  with  the  Crows  and 
their    other    enemies,    thev    did    not    wish    them. 


i6o 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


War  with  them  was  not  only  a  necessity  but  a 
pastime.  He  said  General  Harney  had  told  them 
not  to  go  to  w^ar,  yet  he  was  all  the  time  going  to 
war  himself.  Bear's  Rib  knew  that  when  Gen- 
eral Harney  left  the  Sioux  country  he  had  gone 
to  the  war  in  Florida  and  was  at  that  time  in 
command  of  the  army  sent  against  the  Mormons. 
He  said  moreover  that  the  annuities  scarcely  paid 
for  going  after  them,  and  if  they  were  not  dis- 
tributed while  they  were  on  their  visits  to  the 
trading  posts  on  the  Alissouri  to  dispose  of  their 
robes  they  did  not  want  them. 

"He  said  he  had  heard  that  the  Yanktons 
were  going  to  sell  their  land  to  the  whites.  If 
the}-  did  so  he  wanted  them  informed  that  they 
could  not  come  on  his  people's  lands.  They  must 
stay  with  the  whites.  Every  day  the  Yanktons 
were  coming  there,  but  were  always  turned 
back. 

"Whatever  may  have  been  Bear's  Rib's 
actions  after  leaving  us,  it  is  certain  that  we  saw 
no  more  Indians  in  the  Black  Hills.  We  com- 
pleted our  reconnoissance  along  the  eastern  por- 
tion of  these  mountains  as  far  as  Bear  Peak, 
which  forms  another  convenient  and  accurate 
point  with  which  any  future  reconnoissance  may 
connect  with  ours.  We  also  visited  the  north 
fork  of  the  Cheyenne  in  this  vicinity.  On  our 
return  we  took  a  southeast  course,  striking  the 
south  fork  of  the  Cheyenne  at  the  mouth  of  Sage 
creek,  ^^'e  then  proceeded  up  the  south  fork  to 
French  creek ;  thence  southeast  through  the  Bad 
Lands  to  White  river,  thence  along  the  sources 
of  White  Clay  creek  and  Porcupine  creek ;  thence 
to  the  Xiobrara,  striking  it  in  longitude  one 
hundred  and  two  degrees. 

"We  found  the  party  under  Mr.  Snowden 
about  forty  miles  down  below  where  we  struck 
the  stream.  This  distance  had  been  carefully 
mapped  by  Mr.  Snowden,  who  had  also  made 
some  side  excursions  to  examine  and  map  the 
country." 

On  the  first  day  of  November  tlie  partv 
reached  Fort  Randall,  and  thence  surveyed  a 
route  to  Sioux  Citv,  where  the\'  arrived  on  the 
i6th. 


Considering  the  short  time  involved  in  this 
reconnoissance  a  wonderful  fund  of  information 
and  specimens  were  obtained.  Surprise  has  been 
expressed  that  so  acute  an  observer  as  Dr.  Hay- 
den  did  not  find  gold  in  the  hills,  but  the  fact  is 
that  he  did  find  traces  of  gold,  but  they  did  not 
enter  the  really  auriferous  territory  at  all.  They 
skirted  up  the  western  side  of  the  hills  as  far  as 
Inyan  Kara,  some  forty  miles  southwest  of 
Deadwood,  where  they  were  turned  back  by  the 
Indians  to  the  southern  hills  which  they  crossed 
and  skirted  up  the  eastern  foot-hills  to  Bear 
Butte  and  did  not  explore  the  interior  of  the  hills 
at  all,  yet  Dr.  Hayden  did  get  a  very  accurate 
idea  of  the  structure  of  the  hills  and  his  stratig- 
raphy has  been  but  little  altered  by  all  of  the 
extensive  geologizing  done  there  in  the  past 
thirty  years. 

In  this  connection,  though  not  in  its  strict 
chronological  order,  it  may  be  well  to  mention 
the  expedition  of  Captain  W.  F.  Reynolds  in 
1859,  although  his  explorations  had  little  to  do 
with  South  Dakota.  Captain  Reynolds  was  ac- 
companied by  that  indefatigable  naturalist.  Dr. 
F.  V.  Hayden.  The  party  embarked  from  St. 
Louis  May  28,  1859,  on  the  "Spread  Eagle," 
belonging  to  Chouteau  &  Company,  and  arrived 
at  Fort  Pierre  June  18.  They  brought  with 
them  the  annuity  goods  for  the  Tetons,  provided 
by  the  Harney  treaty  of  1855,  and  spent  some 
time  in  distributing  the  goods  and  counciling 
with  the  Indians.  The  speech  of  Bear's  Rib,  made 
at  this  time,  is  found  in  the  chapter  relating  to 
the  Yankton  treaty,  in  this  volume.  On  the  28th 
of  June  the  party  got  ofF,  going  across  country 
to  the  Cheyenne,  which  they  reached  at  about  'the 
mouth  of  Cherry  creek,  where  they  proceeded  up 
the  river,  visited  Bear  Butte  and  from  there  fol- 
lowed up  the  Red  Water  to  the  state  line  and  on 
to  the  Yellowstone.  They  made  interesting  notes 
of  their  observations  along  the  route,  but  de- 
veloped nothing  of  extraordinary  moment.  They 
returned  by  way  of  the  Missouri  late  in  the  fall 
and  Captain  Reynolds  notes  the  dilapitated  con- 
dition of  Fort  Pierre,  of  which  little  then  re- 
mained. 


CHAPTER  XXI 


THE    SPIRIT    LAKE    CAPTIVES    IX    DAKOTA. 


On  }\[arch  8,  1857,  a  horrible  massacre  of 
white  settlers,  by  Sioux  Indians,  occurred  at 
Spirit  Lake,  Iowa,  committed  by  Inkpaduta,  a 
^^'akpekute,  and  a  small  band  of  eleven  lodges, 
having  about  sixteen  men.  All  of  the  whites  in 
the  settlement  were  killed  except  four  women 
who  were  dragged  away  in  captivity  into  the 
then  wilds  of  Dakota. 

Inkpaduta,  whose  name  is  translated  the 
Scarlet  Point,  or  Red  End,  which  latter  is  the 
literal  translation,  but  in  his  case  meaning  simply 
Red  Head,  from  a  red  ornament  worn  in  his 
hair,  and  his  followers  were  considered,  even  by 
his  Sioux  people,  as  bad  and  dangerous  men. 
They  did  not  join  in  the  treaty  of  1 85 1  and  the 
\\'akpekutes  considered  them  outside  the  law  and 
not  entitled  to  share  in  the  tribal  annuities.  They 
originally  ranged  on  the  Watonwan  in  western 
^Minnesota,  but  long  ago  had  retired  to  the  plains 
of  Dakota  and  made  forays  into  Iowa  and  Min- 
nesota. 

The  real  occasion  of  the  break  between 
Inkpaduta  and  the  Wakpekutes  was  due  to  the 
old  war  between  the  Sioux  and  the  Sacs  and 
Foxes.  The  head  men  of  the  tribe  had  made 
peace,  but  W'amdisapa,  the  father  of  Inkpaduta, 
would  not  bury  the  hatchet  and,  disregarding  the 
treaty,  ke]it  on  fighting  the  old  enemies  of  his 
tribe,  \\ith  his  family,  he  was  therefore  driven 
out  of  the  tribe  and  retired  to  the  \'ermillion 
valley  in  Dakota.  Naturally  the  renegades  and 
tough  characters  of  his  tribe  gathered  about  him. 
Wamisapa's  band  had  been   thus  ostracized   for 


about  fifteen  years  when  the  Spirit  Lake  mas- 
sacre occurred.  The  old  man  at  that  time  had 
been  dead  for  several  years  and  Inkpaduta  had 
become  established  as  the  leader. 

The  four  captives  taken  into  South  Dakota 
from  Spirit  Lake  were  three  young  married 
women,  J^lrs.  Alvin  Noble,  Mrs.  Joseph  M. 
Thatcher,  cousins,  and  Airs.  Margaret  Alarble, 
and  a  girl  of  fourteen  years  named  Abigail 
Gardner.  This  winter  of  1856-7  was  the  winter 
of  the  historic  deep  snow  and  the  captives,  with 
awful  hardship,  were  dragged  through  it  until 
the  Pipestone  quarry  was  reached  where  they 
camped  under  the  ledge  until  the  snows  melted, 
when,  -fearing  pursuit,  they  crossed  the  Sioux 
just  below  the  present  city  of  Flandreau  and 
proceeded  to  Skunk  lake,  near  Madison.  The 
crossing  of  the  Sioux  was  made  upon  a  fallen 
tree  which  spanned  the  freshet  and  at  this  point 
Airs.  Thatcher  was  cruelly  murdered  in  sight  of 
her  fellow  captives.  Mrs.  Thatcher  had  been  very 
ill  from  the  date  of  her  captivity  and  had  been 
unable  to  bear  the  burdens  which  the  savages 
tried  to  impose  upon  her.  Mrs.  Sharp  (Abigail 
Gardner)  thus  describes  the  cruel  death  of  Airs. 
Tliatcher : 

"As  we  were  about  to  cross  one  of  these  un- 
certain bridges  where  a  single  misstep  might 
plunge  us  into  the  deep  waters,  an  Indian  not 
more  than  sixteen  years  old,  who  had 
always  manifested  deep  contempt  for  the  whites, 
approached  us  and  taking  the  pack  from  Airs. 
Tliatcher's  shoulders  and  jilacing  it  on  his  own. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAK(3TA. 


ordered  us  forward.  This  seeming  kindness  at 
once  aroused  our  suspicions,  as  no  assistance 
had  ever  been  offered  to  any  of  us  under  any 
circumstances  whatever.  Mrs.  Thatcher  being- 
confident  that  her  time  had  come  to  die,  hastily, 
bade  me  goodbye  and  said :  'If  you  are  so  for- 
tunate as  to  escape,  tell  my  dear  husband  and 
parents  that  I  desired  to  live  for  their  sakes.' 
\\"hen  we  reached  the  center  of  the  swollen 
stream,    as    we    anticipated,    the    young    savage 


STRIKE  THE   REE. 


pushed  Mrs.  Thatcher  from  the  bridge  into  the 
ice  cold  water,  but  by  what  seemed  supernatural 
strength  she  breasted  the  dreadful  torrent  and, 
making  a  last  struggle  for  life,  reached  the  shore 
which  had  just  been  left  and  was  clinging  to  the 
root  of  a  tree  at  the  bank.  She  was  here  met 
by  some  of  the  other  Indians,  who  were  just 
coming  upon  the  scene ;  they  commenced  throw- 


ing clnbs  at  her  and  with  long  poles  shoved  her 
back  again  into  the  angry  stream.  As  if  nerved 
by  fear  or  dread  of  such  a  death,  she  made 
another  desperate  effort  for  life  and  doubtless 
would  have  gained  the  opposite  shore,  but  here 
again  she  was  beaten  off  by  her  merciless  tor- 
mentors. She  was  then  carried  down  by  the 
furious,  boiling  current  of  the  Sioux,  while  the 
Indians  on  the  other  side  of  the  stream  were 
running  along  the  bank  whooping  and  yelling 
and  throwing  sticks  and  stones  at  her  until  she 
reached  another  bridge.  Here  she  was  finally 
shot  by  one  of  the  Indians,  in  another  division 
of  the  band,  who  was  crossing  with  the  other 
two  captives  some  distance  below." 

After  the  death  of  Mrs.  Thatcher  the  other 
captives  were  more  than  ever  depressed  and 
hopeless.  They  went  on  to  Lake  Herman  and 
camped  on  the  east  side  of  that  body  not  far 
from  the  outlet,  where  a  fine  grove  of  cultivated 
cottonwoods  now  stands,  and  remained  quietly 
there  for  several  weeks. 

The  massacre  occurred  on  the  8th  of  March 
and  the  women  had  suffered  almost  two  months 
of  captivity,  with  its  unspeakable  abuses,  when, 
on  the  6th  of  May,  two  young  Indians  appeared 
at  the  camp  and  effected  the  rescue  of  Mrs. 
Marble,  whom  they  restored  to  civilization. 
These  Indian  liberators  were  brothers,  from 
Lacqui  Parle,  where  they  had  been  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  missionaries,  Drs.  Riggs  and  Wil- 
liamson. Their  names  were  Sehahota  (Grey- 
foot)  and  Makpeyahahotan.  Greyfoot  still  lives 
on  the  Sisseton  reservation  and  this  writer 
visited  him,  in  the  summer  of  1900,  when  he 
told  the  following  story  of  the  rescue  and  of 
the  motives  which  led  to  the  hazardous  under- 
taking : 

"Early  in  the  spring  of  1857.  with  my 
brother  Makpeyahahotan  and  Enoch,  an  educated 
Indian,  with  our  families,  I  left  Lacqui  Parle, 
Minnesota,  to  hunt  on  the  Sioux  river.  We 
pitched  our  camp  at  the  big  bend,  where  Flan- 
dreau  now  is.  Before  we  left  home  we  had  heard 
of  the  massacre  of  white  settlers,  by  Inkpaduta 
at  Spirit  Lake,  Iowa.  The  Sioux  on  the  Min- 
nesota were  very  much  concerned  for  fear  they 


I 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


163 


would  be  blamed  and  held  responsible  by  the 
government,  for  Inkpaduta  had  formerly  lived 
among  ns  and  was  a  Wakpekute  Sioux.  Late  in 
April  my  brother  was  hunting  west  of  the  Sioux 
river  when  he  met  one  of  Inkpaduta's  hunters 
and  learned  from  him  that  the  outlaw  was  camp- 
ing at  Skunk  lake,  and  that  he  had  three  white 
women  captives.  My  brother  returned  to  camp 
and  told  me  what  he  had  learned  and  told  me  to 
consider  the  matter.  That  evening  he  came  to 
me  and  asked  if  I  had  considered.  I  asked  him 
what  he  meant?  He  answered,  'The  rescue  of 
the  white  women.'  I  told  him  that  if  he  had  been 
plain  about  his  meaning  when  he  first  spoke  we 
would  have  been  by  this  time  in  Inkpaduta's 
camp.  We  started  the  next  morning  on  foot 
and  before  sunset  we  were  at  Inkpaduta's.  We 
went  to  his  tepee  and  he  was  much  displeased  at 
orr  visit.  (In  the  report  which  the  boys  made 
to  Agent  Flandreau  upon  their  return  to  Lac- 
qui  Parle,  a  few  days  later,  they  say :  'We  were 
met  at  some  distance  from  their  lodges  by  four 
men  armed  with  revolvers,  who  demanded  of 
rs  our  business;  after  satisfying  them  that  we 
were  not  spies  and  had  no  evil  intentions  in  re- 
gard to  them,  we  were  taken  into  Inkpaduta's 
lodge.)  He  demanded  to  know  if  we  were  guid- 
ing soldiers  to  him.  We  told  him  we  were  not ; 
that  we  had  seen  no  soldiers ;  but  he  did  not  be- 
lieve us  and  occasionally  a  cry  would  be  raised 
outside  that  the  soldiers  were  coming.  This  was 
done  to  test  us,  to  see  if  we  would  make  any 
sign  that  we  were  expecting  soldiers.  We  told 
Inkpaduta  that  he  had  done  a  very  bad  thing  and 
that  the  white  people  were  very  powerful  and 
would  make  all  of  the  Indians  suffer  for  it.  That 
we  had  come  to  get  the  white  women  and  take 
them  home,  so  that  the  Indians  who  were  not 
guilty  would  not  suffer  for  the  bad  things  which 
he  had  done,  but  as  for  him  he  would  have  to 
die  for  it  anyhow.  He  said :  'I  know  that  a  man 
who  does  a  small  wrong  will  have  to  suffer  for 
it,  but  I  cut  off  their  heads.  They  can't  punish 
me.'  I  then  told  him  the  white  people  care  more 
for  their  women  than  any  other  thing.  I  begged 
him  to  let  me  take  the  captives  back  to  proteci 
him  as   well   as  all  the  other  Indians   who  had 


done  no  wrong.  He  said :  "The  captives  arc 
not  mine ;  they  belong  to  my  oldest  son.  I  will 
talk  to  him  and  see  what  is  right  to  be  done.' 
\^'e  kept  up  a  talk  all  night.  Inkpaduta  would 
get  very  angry  and  threaten  us,  but  then  I 
would  tell  him  the  soldiers  would  surely  get  him, 
and  finally  at  nine  o'clock  next  morning  he  con- 
sented that  I  should  take  back  one  of  the  women. 
(Greyfoot's  recollection  of  the  time  was  evidently 
mistaken,  for  in  his  report  to  Colonel  Flandreau 
he  says,  'Much  time  was  spent  in  talking  and  it 
w^as  not  until  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  did  we 
obtain  their  consent  to  our  proposition.'  Mrs. 
Marble,  writing  of  the  event,  says :  'One  after- 
noon I  stepped  out  of  my  tent  and  saw  two  fine- 
looking,  well-dressed  Indians.  I  spoke  to  them 
and  soon  perceived  they  had  taken  a  fancy  to 
me  and  desired  to  buy  me.  The  trade  was  made 
in  guns,  powder,  blankets,  etc..  and  was  quickly 
done.  It  was  about  three  P.  M.  when  we 
started.)  Inkpaduta  said  one  woman  would  be 
enough  to  prove  to  the  soldiers  that  we  were 
good  Indians  and  not  responsible  for  what  he  had 
done.  We  tried  every  way  to  have  him  let  us 
take  all  of  the  women,  but  it  was  useless.  He 
said  one  or  none.  He  told  us  to  take  our  choice. 
The  W'hite  women  were  near  by  under  a  shelter 
tent,  baking  fish.  I  looked  into  the  tent  and  saw 
there  was  a  very  young  girl  and  I  thought 
they  would  be  good  to  her  and  I  would  take  one 
of  the  older  women.  I  could  not  speak  to  them, 
but  I  beckoned  to  one  of  them  to  come  with  me, 
but  she  turned  away  very  angry,  but  the  other 
women  nodded  to  me  pleasantly  and  when  I 
motioned  to  her  to  come  she  took  her  shawl  and 
followed  me  away.  We  reached  the  camp  on  the 
Sioux  that  evening.  (Again  it  appears  that  in 
the  long  space  of  forty-three  years  Greyfoot's 
recollection  had  failed  him,  for  Mrs.  Marble  says 
they  started  from  Lake  Herman  at  three  P.  M. 
and  camped  over  night,  getting  an  early  start  and 
reaching  the  Sioux  at  nine  o'clock  next  morn- 
ing.) Next  day  we  started  on  to  Lacqui  Parle, 
where  we  arrived  in  two  days.  I  took  the  woman 
first  to  my  father's  home  and  he  went  to  the 
agent.  Judge  Flandreau.  I  agreed  to  go  for  the 
other   women,    provided   the   government    would 


164 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


indemnify  my  family  in  case  I  was  killed,  but 
while  I  was  negotiating  John,  Paul  and  Iron 
Hawk  volunteered  to  go,  so  I  dropped  out  of  the 
arrangement. 

'Tnkpaduta's  camp,  when  we  visited  him,  was 
about  thirty  rods  south  of  the  outlet  to  Lake 
Hennan  and  about  sixty-five  feet  from  the  lake- 
shore,  not  far  from  the  creek  that  runs  out  of  the 
lake." 

Judge  Flandreau,  then  agent  for  the  Min- 
nesota Sioux,  took  Mrs.  Marble  to  St.  Paul  and 
thence  she  reached  her  relatives.  Later  she 
married  a  Mr.  Silbaugh  and.  at  the  age  of 
sixty-six  years,  still  resides  (1903)  at  Napa, 
California. 

As  soon  as  Judge  Flandreau  learned  of  the 
whereabouts  of  the  white  captives  through  the 
return  of  Mrs.  Marble,  he  moved  energetically 
to  effect  their  rescue.  In  this  he  was  most  ef- 
ficiently assisted  by  Drs.  Riggs  and  Williamson. 
They  handsomely  rewarded  Greyfoot  and  his 
brother  for  their  service  and  selected  three  well- 
know-n  Christian  Indians,  John  Otherday, 
president  of  the  Hazelwood  republic :  Paul 
IMazakutemane  and  Chetanmaza  (Ironhawk),  to 
go  upon  an  expedition  for  the  purchase  and  re- 
lease of  ]\Irs.  Noble  and  Abbie  Gardner,  at  the 
same  time  arranging  with  the  military  for  a 
vigorous  campaign  into  Dakota  for  the  punish- 
ment of  Inkpaduta  as  soon  as  the  release  of  the 
captives  was  effected.  Judge  Flandreau  provided 
the  envoys  with  the  following  property,  which 
they  were  authorized  to  exchange  for  the 
captives :  One  wagon,  four  horses,  twelve 
blankets,  thirty-two  yards  of  squaw  cloth, 
thirty-seven  and  a  half  yards  of  calico,  twenty 
pounds  of  tobacco,  one  sack  of  shot,  one  dozen 
shirts,  fifteen  pounds  of  powder,  four  dollars' 
worth  of  ribbon  and  quantities  of  flour,  corn, 
coffee  and  sugar. 

Immediately  after  the  release  of  Mrs.  Marble, 
on  May  7th,  Inkpaduta,  assured  that  communica- 
tion had  now  been  established  with  civilization, 
immediately  broke  camp  and  moved  of?  to  the 
northwest  through  the  present  Kingsbury,  Ham- 
lin, Clark  and  Spink  counties  to  the  James  river  at 
the  mouth  of  Snake  creek,  camping  on  the  west 


side  of  the  Jim  at  the  junction  of  the  two  streams, 
where  there  was  a  large  camp  of  Yanktons. 
\Miile  on  this  march  and  while  somewhere  near 
the  east  side  of  Spink  county,  ^Irs.  Noble  was 
brutally  killed  by  Roaring  Cloud,  the  eldest  son 
of  Inkpaduta,  who  pounded  her  over  the  head 
with  a  club  until  she  was  fatally  hurt  and  then 
leaving  her  to  die.  This  occurred  in  the  evening 
and  next  morning  the  band  gathered  about  and 
mutilated  her  body  in  the  most  terrible  manner. 
Shortly  before  the  death  of  ^Irs.  Noble  they  had 
come  upon  a  party  of  Yanktons  and  one  of  them, 
a  one-legged  man  named  End  of  the  Snake,  had 
purchased  the  captives  for  the  purpose  of  specu- 
lation, believing  the  whites  would  pay  him  a  good 
price  for  their  ransom.  He  was  present,  but 
olTered  no  protest  when  Mrs.  Noble  w-as  killed. 
The  usual  accounts  say  this  murder  occurred  one 
day  before  reaching  the  Jim,  but  Mrs.  Sharp  says 
that  several  days  elapsed.  It  must  be  recalled 
that  Mrs.  Sharp  was  but  a  child  at  the  time  and 
her  impressions  of  time  are  not  reliable.  In  fact 
she  was  in  captivity  but  eleven  weeks,  though  to 
her  it  was  an  eternity,  and  she  cannot  be  blamed 
for  overrating  the  length  of  time.  She  thinks  it 
was  four  weeks  from  the  rescue  of  Mrs.  Marble 
until  she  was  sold  to  the  Yankton,  while  in  point 
of  fact,  it  was  just  three  weeks  from  the  rescue 
of  Mrs.  ]\Iarble  until  she  herself  was  ransomed. 
There  is  good  reason  to  believe,  however,  that 
at  least  two  nights  were  passed  on  the  march, 
after  the  death  of  Mrs.  Noble  before  the  Jim  was 
reached. 

The  rescuing  party  drove  directly  to  Lake 
Herman  and  striking  the  hostiles"  trail  there 
had  little  difficulty  in  following  it  to  the  Jim. 
Before  reaching  the  Jim,  the  rescuers  had  the 
foresight  to  hide  one  span  of  horses  and  the 
wagon  and  a  portion  of  the  supplies.  When  the 
were  discovered  approaching  the  camp  the 
valorous  Inkpaduta  hastened  to  a  point  up  Snake 
creek,  three  or  four  miles  distant,  where  he  hid 
in  a  plum  thicket  in  a  bend  of  the  stream  and 
did  not  appear  during  the  negotiations.  A  day 
or  more  was  spent  in  the  negotiations  for  the 
release  of  Abbie  Gardner,  the  only  remaining 
captive.     The  Yankton  argued  that  he  could  get 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


165 


more  money  by  taking  her  to  the  white  settle- 
ments on  the  Missouri,  but  finally  a  trade  was 
effected,  the  consideration  being  two  horses, 
twelve  blankets,  two  kegs  of  powder,  twenty 
pounds  of  tobacco,  thirty-two  yards  of  squaw 
cloth,  thirty-seven  yards  of  ribbon  and  some  other 
small  articles.  The  release  was  effected  on  I\Iay 
30,  1857.  In  due  season  they  reached  Lacqui 
Parle,  Hazelwood  and  St.  Paul  and  eventually 
Miss  Gardner  reached  the  home  of  a  sister  at 
Hampton,  Iowa.  There  she  fell  in  with  a  young 
man  named  Casville  Sharp,  a  cousin  of  her  fellow 
ca])tives,  Mesdames  Xoble  and  Thatcher,  and 
though  but  fourteen  years  of  age.  she  was  per- 
mitted to  marr\'  him  within  a  month  of  her  first 
meeting,  on  the  i6th  of  August  of  the  year  of 
her  captivity  and  release.  Mrs.  Sharp  is  now 
living,  a  widow,  on  the  old  homestead  at  Spirit 
Lake  where  her  family  was  massacred  forty-si.x 
years  ago.  The  state  of  Iowa  has  restored  the 
log  cabin  and  has  erected  a  suitable  monument 
in  the  dooryard. 

The  South  Dakota  Historical  Society  has 
been  at  pains  to  ascertain  and  mark  all  of  the 
points  within  this  state  connected  with  this  tragic 
occurrence,  except  the  place  where  Mrs.  Noble 
was  killed.  This  place  possibly  cannot  be  ascer- 
tained with  any  certaintv. 

The   military   expedition   projected  bv  Judge 


Flandreau  for  the  punishment  of  Inkpaduta  did 
not  materialize,  owing  to  the  action  of  the  gov- 
ernment in  ordering  all  of  the  troops  away  from 
Fort  Ridgely  to  participate  in  the  Mormon  cam- 
paign. Inkpaduta  was  never  punished  for  this 
outrage,  nor  was  an}'  adequate  attempt  made  by 
the  government  to  do  so.  In  1859  Judge  Flan- 
dreau, learning  that  the  outlaw  and  his  band  were 
visiting  at  the  Yellow  Medicine,  undertook  his 
destruction,  but  he  effected  his  escape.  His  son. 
Roaring  Cloud,  who  so  brutally  murdered  Mrs. 
Noble,  was  however  killed.  After  that  Inkpa- 
duta established  himself  with  the  wild  trans- 
Missouri  Sioux,  by  whom  he  was  regarded  as  a 
great  hero.  Just  a  month  before  the  outbreak 
of  1862  he  was  reported  to  be  encamped  on  Lake 
Benton  and  a  detail  of  soldiers  were  hurried  out 
to  bring  him  in,  but  his  spies  were  more  fleet  than 
the  soldiers  and  he  again  escaped.  The  next  year 
the  redoubtable  Inkpaduta  was  the  leader  of  the 
hostiles  in  the  battle  of  Big  Mound,  near  Bis- 
marck. After  that  he  escaped  over  the  inter- 
national line  into  Canada  and  does  not  appear 
again  in  any  of  the  records  until  the  battle  of 
Ljittle  Big  Horn  on  June  25,  1876  (the  Custer 
battle),  where  he  was  in  command  of  the  camp 
of  Santees  and  Yanktonais  and  led  the  fierce 
fight  against  Reno.  He  again  escaped  into 
Canada,  where  he  died  in   1880. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 


BEGINNING  OF  SETTLEMENT. 


With  1857  begins  the  permanent  settlement 
of  South  Dakota  for  the  purpose  of  home-build- 
ing and  the  development  of  agriculture,  although 
it  may  be  truthfully  said  that  the  first  settle- 
ments were  really  speculative  ventures.  The 
organization  of  a  new  territory  offers  some  fair 
opportunities  for  profitable  public  contracts, 
official  positions  and  town-lot  speculation  at  the 
new  capital  and  at  points  where  public  institu- 
tions are  located.  Minnesota  was  about  to  be  ad- 
mitted to  the  union  of  states  and  its  proposed 
western  boundary  was  already  defined  at  the 
present  location,  leaving  open  to  settlement  that 
fine  strip  of  country  lying  between  Minnesota 
and  the  Sioux  river,  the  Indian  title  to  which  had 
been  extinguished,  as  we  have  seen  by  the  treaty 
of  1 85 1.  Exaggerated  stories  were  broadcast 
throughout  the  neighboring  states  of  the  great 
importance  of  the  water-power  at  the  falls  of  the 
Sioux  river.  These  considerations  made  their 
appeal  to  two  parties  of  young  and  adventurous 
men.  acting  independently  and  without  knowl- 
edge of  the  intentions  of  the  other,  the  one  party 
in  Dubuque.  Iowa,  the  other  in  St.  Paul,  Min- 
nesota. 

The  promoters  of  the  Dubuque  enterprise, 
which  was  known  as  the  Western  Town  Com- 
pany, were  Dr.  George  M.  Staples,  Meyer 
Hetherington,  Dennis  Mahoney,  Austin  Adams, 
or  two  others.  The  organization  was  perfected 
in  September,  1856,  and  Ezra  Millard,  of  Sioux 
City,  now  a  prominent  citizen  of  Omaha,  was 
S.  P.  Waldron,  \\'illiam  Tripp  and  possibly  one 


employed  to  visit  the  Falls  of  the  Sioux  river 
and,  locate  a  town  site.  Accompanied  by  D.  M. 
Mills  and  a  surveyor,  Millard  drove  up  the  east 
side  of  the  Sioux,  early  in  November,  and  se- 
lected three  hundred  twenty  acres  of  land  for  his 
employers,  at  the  Falls.  Mr.  Mills  also  located 
an  adjoining  quarter  section  and  built  -a  small 
house  of  logs  upon  it.  They  then  returned  to 
Sioux  City.  The  late  John  McClellan  was 
authority  for  a  story  that  the  party  were  driven 
away  by  hostile  Indians,  but  Judge  Bailey,  the 
historian  of  Minnehaha  county,  disputes  this 
and  he  is  doubtless  correct. 

In  May,  1857,  the  Western  Town  Company 
sent  Jesse  T.  Jarrett,  John  McClellan  and  two 
men  named  Olson  and  Farwell  to  occupy,  and 
hold  their  town  site  and  they  arrived  at  the  falls 
about  June  ist  and  made  improvements  on  the 
land  and  sat  down  to  wait  the  course  of  events. 
Meanwhile  the  Minnesotans  were  active.  Through 
their  influence  the  western  line  of  the  state  was 
located  so  as  to  leave  the  Sioux  river  and  falls  in 
the  proposed  new  territory.  They  secured  from 
congress  an  appropriation  for  the  building  of  a 
road  across  Minnesota  and  Dakota,  which  it  was 
proposed  should  become  the  great  highway  for 
emigration  to  the  far  west  and  ultimately  the  line 
of  a  great  trans-continental  railway  and  one  of 
their  party.  Col.  W.  H.  Nobles,  was  appointed  to 
build  the  road.  They  secured  a  charter  from  the 
legislature  of  the  territory  of  ^Minnesota  as  the 
Dakota  Land  Company.  The  incorporators 
named  in  the  charter  are  W.  H.  Nobles.  Joseph 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


167 


R.  Brown,  Alpheus  G.  Fuller,  Samuel  A.  Aledary. 
Samuel  F.  Brown,  James  W.  L\nd,  K.  R. 
Brown,  Franklin  J.  DeW^itt.  Baron  F.  Freiden- 
reich,  Byron  M.  Smith.  Artemas  Gale,  Parker 
Paine,  Thomas  Campbell  and  Charles  E.  Flan- 
dreau. 

Alpheus  G.  Fuller  and  Franklin  DeWitt  were 
selected  to  conduct  a  party  to  the  Sioux  river 
and  to  select  town  sites  wherever  thought  to  be 
available.  They  made  their  first  location  at 
Saratoga,  on  the  Big  Cottonwood,  and  at  the 
Great  Oasis,  in  western  Alinnesota,  where  they 
left  men  to  hold  their  claims  and  then  passing 
over  the  Couteau,  entered  South  Dakota  just  south 
of  the  present  village  of  Ward,  reached  the  Sioux 
river  at  Flandreau  and,  proceeding  down  the 
stream  to  the  falls,  found  that  desirable  site 
already  occupied,  as  we  have  already  seen,  by  the 
\\'estern  Town  Company's  location.  They,  how- 
ever, took  three  hundred  twenty  acres  adjoining 
the  \\'estern  people  on  the  south,  and  really  se- 
cured the  land  where  the  principal  portion  of  the 
present  city  is  located.  They  also  made  a  loca- 
tion at  the  niouth  of  the  Split  Rock,  which  they 
called  Eminija.  They  named  the  location  at  the 
falls,  Siou.x  Falls  City,  and  built  a  log  house  upon 
it,  near  where  the  Burlington  depot  now  stands, 
and  left  James  L,  Fiske  and  James  McBride  to 
look  after  their  interests.  Returning  up  river, 
Major  DeWitt  and  Mr,  Fuller  made  town-loca- 
tions at  Flandreau  and  ]\Iedary,  where  they  made 
slight  improvements  and  left  men  in  charge, 
DeWitt  and  Fuller  returned  to  St.  Paul  to  report 
upon  their  action. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  entire  white  set- 
tlement in  the  Sioux  valley  consisted  of  six  men 
at  Sioux  Falls  and  two  at  Flandreau  and 
Medary.  These  claim-holders  got  along  well 
enough  until  in  July  when  they  were  frightened 
away  by  an  invasion  of  Sioux  Indians,  Fiske  and 
McBride  and  the  up-river  representatives  of  the 
Dakota  Land  Company  returning  to  Minnesota 
and  the  Dubuque  representatives,  after  waiting 
one  day  longer,  deposited  their  belongings  in  a 
canoe  and  floated  down  the  Sioux  to  its  mouth 
.At  this  time  W.  H.  Nobles  was  prosecuting  his 
road-building  enterprise  across  Dakota.     He  had 


proceeded  from  l-'ort  Ridgely  to  Lake  Benton, 
where,  on  tlie  iSth  of  Jul}-,  he  was  met  by  a  large 
number  of  Yankton  Indians  who  warned  him 
from  entering  the  country,  intimating  that  if  he 
crossed  the  Sioux  rivtr  he  must  expect  resistance 
from  the  Yankton  tribe.  This,  it  must  be  re- 
m.embered,  followed  immediately  upon  the  Ink- 
paduta  massacre  and  there  were,  too,  most  dis- 
quieting rumors  from  Yellow  Medicine,  and 
messengers  were  going  through  the  country  pre- 
paring the  frontiers  in  anticipation  of  a  general 
Indian  war.  It  placed  Nobles  in  a  most  precarious 
situation  to  enter  the  country  of  hostile  Indians 
who  openly  threatened  him,  and  with  the  prospect 
of  a  general  Indian  war  in  his  rear.  Nobles, 
therefore,  retired  to  the  Cottonwood,  where  he 
employed  his  men  in  building  a  bridge,  while  he 
hastened  to  consult  Major  Sherman,  in  com- 
mand at  Fort  Ridgely,  and  Superintendent  Cul- 
len  of  western  Indian  affairs,  and  it  was  deter- 
mined to  equip  him  with  a  good  supply  of  arms 
and  ammunition  and  to  push  on  regardless  of 
the  Indians,  which  he  did  and  reached  the  Alis- 
souri  river  with  a  good  road  at  the  mouth  of 
Crow  creek.  Good  fords  were  made  across  the 
Sioux  at  Medary  and  the  James  near  the  present 
Forestburg,  by  grading  the  banks  and  filling  the 
bottom  of  the  stream  with  boulders  and  gravel. 
The  line  of  the  road  was  marked  by  mounds  of 
sod  from  three  to  five  feet  high  at  intervals  of 
one-quarter  of  a  mile.  The  engineering  was 
clone  by  Samuel  .\.  Medary,  who  that  year  was 
appointed  the  last  territorial  governor  of  i\Iin- 
ncsota  by  President  Buchanan.  Medary  made  i 
very  interesting  report  upon  the  progress  of  th<. 
work,  which  was  published  by  the  secretary  ot 
the  interior.  Notwithstanding  the  discourage- 
ment trom  the  Indian  situation,  the  town  pro- 
moters did  not  propose  to  be  driven  from  their 
holdings.  On  August  27th,  Jesse  T.  Jarrett, 
Dr.  J.  L.  Phillips,  W.  W.  Brookings,  S.  B. 
Atwood,  A,  L.  Kilgore,  Smith  Kinsey,  John 
McClellan,  D,  M,  Mills  and  two  others  named 
Callahan  and  Godfrey  arrived  at  Sioux  Falls  to 
protect  the  rights  of  the  Dubuque  people.  They 
brought  with  them  an  abundance  of  provisons, 
a  sawmill  autl  several  teams  and  wagons.     Ten 


168 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


days  later  Dr.  Staples,  himself,  arrived.  Each 
member  of  this  party  made  a  personal  location 
of  a  quarter  section  of  land. 

Up  to  this  date  Jarrett  had  been  the  author- 
ized manager  of  the  Dubuque  interests,  but  Dr. 
Staples  displaced  him  and  appointed  \Vilmot  W. 
Brookings  manager  in  his  stead.  A  stone  house 
was  first  erected,  then  a  store  building  and  a 
sawmill.  When  these  buildings  had  been  com- 
pleted all  of  the  party  except  Brookings,  Phillips, 
;\IcClellan,  Atwood,  Kilgore  and  Kinsey  returned 
to  Iowa.  Except  for  an  Indian  scare  on  October 
loth,  when  their  one  yoke  of  oxen  were 
stampeded  and  driven  off  in  broad  daylight,  they 
got  on  fairly  well.  They  were  soon  joined  by 
S.  D.  and  E.  M.  Brookings,  brothers  of  the 
manager,  and  Charles  McConnell  and  R.  B. 
McKinle} . 

October  15th  there  arrived  as  representatives 
of  the  Dakota  Land  Company,  James  L.  Fiske, 
James  AIcBride,  James  W.  Evans.  James  Allen, 
James  AlcCall,  \\'illiam  Little  and  Cyrus  Mer- 
rill. These  sixteen  men  passed  the  winter  at 
Sioux  Falls. 

The  section  was,  of  course,  still  under  the  ju- 
risdiction of  Minnesota  territory  and  the  particu- 
lar locality  was  a  portion  of  Big  Sioux  county  as 
constituted  by  the  Minnesota  legislature,  and 
upon  petition  of  these  settlers  and  through  the 
influence  of  the  land  company,  of  which  the 
governor  was  a  member.  Governor  Medary  or- 
ganized the  county  by  the  appointment  of  the 
following  officers,  who  it  will  be  observed  were 
chosen  about  equally  from  both  companies.  In 
fact,  it  does  not  appear  that  at  any  time  any 
hostility  existed  between  them,  but  on  the  con- 
trary they  acted  constantly  together,  particularly 
in  the  common  defense  against  possible  Indian 
attacks :  James  Allen,  register  of  deeds ;  James 
Evans,  sheriff :  James  L.  Fiske,  judge  of  pro- 
bate ;  W.  W.  Brookings,  district  attorney :  J.  L. 
Phillips,  justice  of  the  peace;  William  Little, 
James  Mcl^ride  and  A.  L.  Kilgore,  county  com- 
missioners. The  officers  qualified  and  the  or- 
ganization was  kept  up  until  the  creation  of  the 
territory,  but  the  records  were  not  preserved. 
Sam.   T.  Clover,  however,  has  in   his  collection 


several  documents  indicating  that  the  countv  was 
"doing  business,"  among  them  the  first  warrant 
for  the  payment  of  public  mone}-. 

Judge  Brookings  was  enterprising  in  the 
interest  of  his  company  and  in  January  of  1858, 
a  rumor  having  reached  him  that  the  Indians  had 
relinquished  title  to  the  land  between  the  Sioux 
and  the  Missouri,  set  out  to  scrip  some  of  the 
most  eligible  town  sites  on  the  Missouri,  having 
the  present  location  of  Yankton  chiefly  in  mind. 
He  was  accompanied  by  Smith  Kinsey,  and  their 
course  led  down  the  east  side  of  the  Sioux. 
There  had  been  a  thaw  and  the  streams  were 
swollen.  When  they  reached  the  Split  Rock  they 
found  it  out  of  banks  and  got  ver_\-  wet  in  cross- 
ing. They  were  horseback  and  proceeded  fifty 
miles  that  day,  being  constantly  experiencing 
difficulties  with  the  high  water.  That  night  a 
severe  blizzard  came  on  and,  wet  and  unprotected 
as  they  were,  they  attempted  to  return  to  the 
Falls,  as  the  nearest  place  of  safety.  At  the  Split 
Rock  Judge  Brookings  was  again  thoroughly 
drenched  and,  already  chilled  to  the  heart,  they 
hastened  on.  but  before  arriving  at  the  settlement 
his  feet  were  severely  frozen.  For  lack  of  at- 
tention and  lack  of  the  necessaries  for  prompt 
treatment,  mortification  resulted  and  as  a  last 
resort,  in  order  if  possible  to  save  his  life, 
amputation  of  both  legs  below  the  knees  was  re- 
sorted to.  This  was  done  by  Dr.  Phillips,  a 
young  but  very  intelligent  physican,  with  no 
other  instruments  than  a  large  butcher-knife  and 
a  small  tenon  saw,  and  without  anesthetics. 
Marvelous  as  it  may  appear,  the  patient,  lying  on 
a  bed  of  buffalo  robes,  in  his  floorless  cabin,  with 
none  of  the  surroundings  of  civilization  and  com- 
forts deemed  indispensable  to  the  sick  room,  not 
only  survived  the  shock  incident  to  the  harsh 
surgery,  but  entirely  regained  his  health  and 
afterwards  became  one  of  the  foremost  citizens 
of  Dakota. 

The  spring  of  1858  brought  many  new 
settlers,  including  several  women.  The  first 
woman  to  settle  in  the  state  was  a  Mrs.  Goodwin, 
but  a  few  days  later  she  was  joined  by  Mrs. 
Charles  White  and  her  daughter.  Almost  im- 
mediatelv    the     settlers     were    threatened     with 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


169 


hostilities  from  the  Indians,  but  luckily  were  on 
their  guard  and  so  saved  themselves.  Notice  of 
their  danger  was  promptly  sent  them  by  that 
sturdy  old  "missionary,  Thomas  S.  Williamson, 
who,  learning  of  the  purpose  of  the  savages,  dis- 
patched the  following  letter  from  his  mission 
home  on  the  Minnesota  : 

P.^.ji'TAZEE,  May  29,  1858. 
To  the  Americans  who  are  making  claims  at  Medary: 
We  are  informed  by  the  Dakotas  of  this  neigh- 
borhood that  a  large  party  of  Ihanktonwan  are  on 
their  way  to  the  pipestone  quarry  and  threaten  to 
drive  you  off  and  burn  your  houses  and  doubtless 
you  have  the  same  information  from  other  sources 
and  may  be  better  able  to  estimate  the  danger  than 
we  are. 

The'  bearer  of  this,  Hisayu,  I  have  known  for 
many  years.  He  is  brother  to  Upizaholuza,  chief  of 
the  Wahpetons  of  Lac  Qui  Parle,  and  son-in-law  of 
old  Limping  Devil,  who  died  about  a  year  ago,  and 
probably  better  acquainted  with  the  Ihanktonwan 
than  any  other  Wahpeton,  and  probably  can  exert 
more  influence  with  them  than  any  other  of  the  annu- 
ity Indians  and,  though  not  in  all  respects  a  reliable 
man,  is  desirous  of  preventing  an  outbreak  between 
the  Sioux  and  the  whites  from  interested  motives  and 
last  summer  when  these  same  Ihanktonwan  were 
in  this  neighborhood  and  some  of  them  caught  Major 
Sherman's  mules,  to  take  them  off,  he  persuaded 
them  to  let  them  go  again.  He  is  going  to  meet  the 
Ihanktonwan  and  expects  to  be  with  them  as  they 
approach  your  neighborhood.  By  giving  him  a  lib- 
eral supply  of  provisions  for  a  feast  and  talk  with  j 
the  principal  men  you  may  probably  prevent  trouble,  j 
Respectfully, 

Thos.  S.  Williamson.       ' 

Hisayu  faithfully  delivered  this  note  into  the 
hands  of  Maj.  Franklin  J.  DeWitt,  in  charge  of 
the  settlement  at  Medary,  and  then  hastened 
away  to  intercept  the  approaching  Yanktonais. 
Major  DeWitt  hastily  dispatched  a  messenger  to 
Sioux  Falls  and  prompt  action  ^as  taken  there 
to  prepare  and  ward  oflf  danger.  What  was  done 
there  was  so  comprehensively  told  in  a  letter 
written  by  James  M.  Allen  to  his  father  that  I 
reproduce  it,  together  with  an  introductory  note 
written  also  by  Mr.  Allen  many  years  later  to 
Gen.  Maris  Taylor: 

Cleveland,  Ohio,  March  8,  1875. 
Friend   Taylor:      In  looking  over  ancient  home 
letters  I  found  the  enclosed  to  my  father  which  will 


give  you  an  idea  of  what  trials  and  difficulties  the 
I  old  settlers  at  Sioux  Falls  labored  under  seventeen 
years  ago  when  they  tried  to  make  their  homes  there. 
Supplementary  to  the  letter  should  be  added  how 
we  were  confined  six  weeks  at  the  old  fort  and  how 
our  provisions  ran  out,  with  the  exception  of  a  bar- 
'  rel  of  caked,  musty  flour,  which  we  chopped  out  and 
then  pounded  for  use.  And  how  we  lived  on  fresh 
pickerel  and  pike  without  lard  or  salt;  and  how  we 
daily  grew  poor  in  flesh  and  weak  in  spirits;  and 
how  at  last  DeWitt,  and  a  companion  (Brown,  now 
at  Fort  Edwards,  New  York),  made  his  appearance 
with  a  horse  and  buggy,  bringing  a  sack  of  flour,  a 
half  bushel  of  beans,  some  pork,  sugar  and  coffee, 
having  circumvented  the  Indians  by  taking  a  rounda- 
bout route  from  northern  Iowa,  and  how  the  half 
starved  garrison  marched  out  in  battle  array,  rivaling 
Fallstaff's  army,  to  welcome  him.  Even  more  could 
be  said,  but  have  you  not  ex-Mayor  DeWitt,  as  a  fel- 
low citizen  of  yours,  to  apply  to  for  additional  facts, 
and  Major  Evans  to  corroborate  them. 

Fort  Sod,  Sioux  Falls,  D.  T., 

June  17,  1858. 
Dear  Father:  We  are  in  a  state  of  excitement 
at  the  present  time.  Last  Sunday  a  half  breed  who  . 
had  been  acting  as  an  interpreter  at  Medary,  reached 
here,  stating  that  one  hundred  lodges  of  Indians, 
Yanktonaise,  had  arrived  there  and  ordered  our 
townsite  men  away.  Mr.  DeWitt  was  at  first  dis- 
posed to  fight  them,  but  his  men,  a  dozen  or  so  in 
number,  thought  the  odds  were  against  them  and 
refused  to  do  so.  The  consequence  was  the  Indians 
forced  all  hands  out  of  the  houses,  took  what  provis- 
ions they  wanted  and  burnt  every  building  down. 
DeWitt  and  men  have  all  gone  to  the  agency  and  St. 
Paul.  The  Indians  sent  word  by  the  half  breed  for 
us  to  leave  the  country  forthwith,  and  that  they 
would  be  down  here  in  the  course  of  a  week  and  drive 
us  off  if  we  had  not  left.  Mr.  DeWitt  also  told  the 
half  breed  to  tell  us  to  go  to  St.  Paul,  or  any  other 
convenient  place,  at  once.  On  the  receipt  of  this  in- 
telligence we  called  a  meeting  of  all  the  other  settlers 
and  unanimously  determined  to  remain  and  defend 
ourselves  and  property.  As  some  doubted  the  cor- 
rectness, we  dispatched  two  mounted  men  toward 
Medary  to  reconnoitre.  The  next  day  they  reported 
the  Indians  to  be  within  thirty-five  miles  of  here  in 
great  numbers.  All  day  Monday  was  wasted  by  us 
to  decide  which  house  to  fortify.  The  DuBuque 
Company  were  determined  not  to  abandon  their  build- 
ings and  we  were  equally  determined  not  to  abandon 
ours.  The  DuBuque  Company's  houses,  being  under 
the  brow  of  the  hill,  could  not  be  fortified  to  much 
advantage,  whereas  our  house  is  on  an  open  plain, 
commanding  a   fine  prospect,   with   a  fine  spring  of 


I70 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


water  adjoining.  Therefore  the  settlers,  knowing  ! 
that  there  must  be  unanimity  of  action  in  the  matter, 
decided  with  us  and  on  Tuesday  morning  we  began 
building  our  fort.  We  have  erected,  of  sod  and  logs, 
a  perpendicular  wall,  eighty  feet  square,  ten  feet 
high,  and  four  feet  thick,  with  a  deep  ditch  surround-  | 
ing  the  exterior  base;  port  holes  are  arranged  every  j 
few  feet  in  the  walls  and  an  inner  platform  to  stand 
upon.  Also  have  an  enclosure  of  three  acres  securely 
fenced  for  the  herding  of  cattle.  We  now  feel  safe 
and  are  determined  to  resist  the  Indians  and  if  ne-  \ 
cessary  to  fight  them.  We  want  to  teach  them  that 
they  cannot  every  season  drive  off  the  settlers  on 
this  disputed  land.  The  new  settlers,  Mr.  Goodwin 
and  his  wife,  have  moved  into  our  old  cabin,  which 
is  now  a  wing  of  the  store  house,  and  Mrs.  Goodwin 
has  made  a  large  flag  out  of  all  the  old  flannel  shirts 
we  could  find  and  we  now  have  the  stars  and  stripes 
proudly  waving  over  Fort  Sod.  All  the  property  of 
the  place  is  now  deposited  with  us,  including  the 
movable  portions  of  the  sawmill  machinery. 

We  are  on  a  military  basis,  having  organized  a 
military  company,  the  undersigned  first  lieutenant. 
Sentries  and  scouting  parties  do  duty  day  and  night. 
All  told,  we  number  thirty-five  men  for  defense,  not 
including  the  woman,  who  can  shoot  as  well  as  any 
man. 

The  Dubuque  Company's  agent,  Brookings,  whose 
feet  were  frozen  off  last  winter,  will  be  brought  to  our 
house  as  soon  as  the  Indians  are  reported  in  sight. 
We  feel  secure  now  and  could  fight  six  hundred  In- 
dians and,  even  if  the  walls  could  be  scaled,  which 
is  almost  impossible,  we  could  retreat  to  our  store 
house,  which  is  impregnable. 

These  Yanktonaise  occupy  the  country  northwest 
towards  the  British  possessions  and  pretend  ro  claim 
an  interest  in  all  the  country  owned  and  ceded  by  the 
Sioux  nation.  The  chiefs  who  were  in  Washington 
last  winter  are  not  with  then.  They  have  been  told 
that  a  treaty  has  been  made  with  the  Yanktons,  but 
they  will  not  recognize  it  until  the  first  payment  has 
been  made,  and  they  even  threaten  to  kill  the  chiefs 
for  making  it. 

All  the  troops  in  this  section  of  the  country 
(Forts  Randall  and  Ridgley)  are  on  the  Mormon  ex- 
pedition and  the  result  is  the  settlers  are  left  to  pro- 
tect themselves. 

The  news  of  this  Indian  difficulty  will  travel  all 
over  the  country  and  we  cannot  expect  any  more  im- 
migration this  way  before  next  spring;  and  from 
all  accounts  there  were  large  numbers  enroute  to 
settle  in  the  Big  Sioux  valley  who  will  now  turn 
back.  I  fear  immigration  will  be  retarded  for  sev- 
eral years. 

Four  Sissetons  came  in  last  night,  but  hurried 
oft  when  they  heard  of  the  Yanktonaise  coming.     We 


sent   letters  by   them  to  the   agency.     Weather  hot, 
ninety  odd  degrees  in  the  shade. 

James  M.  Au.en. 

There  is  little  left  to  tell  not  covered  by  the 
above  letter.  Hisayti  was  unable  to  accomplish 
more  with  his  Yanktonais  friends  than  to  induce 
them  to  forego  bloodshed,  provided  the  settlers 
left  at  once.  This  Major  DeWitt  and  his  party 
at  Medary  were  compelled  to  do.  as  we  have  seen. 


SPOTTED  T.\II.. 


first  going  east  into  Minnesota  and  then  the 
Major,  with  characteristic  courage  and  tenacity 
of  purpose,  hurrying  around  the  Indians  into 
Iowa  and  thence  reaching  Sioux  Falls  with 
needed  supplies.  The  Indians  did  not  carry  out 
their  threat  of  visiting  Sioux  Falls,  doubtlessl 
learning  of  the  arrangements  for  defense  there] 
and  feeling  that  they  would  be  unable  to  prevail! 
against  it.  The  scare,  however,  not  only  retarde 
immigration  but  discouraged  many  who  were  in! 
the  settlement  so  that  thev  went  awav  and  the! 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


that  the  country  was  his  and  he  would  give  them 
autumn  of  1858  found  conditions  anything  but 
prosperous. 

H.  L.  Back,  of  Couer  d'Alene,  Idaho,  in  a 
recent  letter  to  Prof.  Robert  F.  Kerr,'  contributes 
some  additionallight  upon  affairs  at  Medary  at 
the  date  named:  "The  party  of  us  immigrants 
from  Minnesota  camped  on  a  small  lake,  we 
called  it  Cottonwood  lake,  sixteen  miles  east  of 
Medary.  A  man  came  in  and  reported  Indians 
at  Medary.  Several  of  our  party,  myself  in- 
cluded, left  our  camp  and  went  to  Medary  that 
night.  We  found  fifteen  hundred  Indians  hold- 
ing a  talk  with  Mr.  Dewitt  and  his  men.  DeWitt 
had  sixteen  men  who  intended  to  trap  there  and 
hold  the  town  site.  Two  brothers  named  Mc- 
Carty  were  interpreters.  They  were  from  St. 
Peter,  Minnesota.  Lean  Dog,  the  chief,  told 
them  he  and  his  band  never  signed  any  treaty. 


until  sundown  to  get  out.  The  squaws  were 
turning  the  sod  back  on  several  acres  of  potatoes 
and  eating  the  seed.  The  plow  was  thrown  in 
the  well  and  only  grub  enough  for  four  days 
allowed  to  be  taken  away.  We  left  before  sun- 
down. Mr.  DeWitt  received  the  next  year  six 
thousand  dollars  from  Indian  payment  in  pay- 
ment of  losses.  There  was  no  fight  at  Medary ; 
the  Indians  had  no  guns ;  all  bows  and  arrows. 
Many  of  them  never  saw  white  men  before. 
They  were  wild  and  wooly,  dressed  in  buffalo 
skin  complete.  Lean  Dog  and  Smutty  Bear 
made  brilliant  speeches,  answered  very  boldly 
by  a  red-headed,  undersized  lad  about  twenty, 
who  offered  to  fight  any  six  Indians  there, 
at  which  offer  the  braves  smiled.  Our  party 
broke  up  at  Cottonwood  lake,  some  going 
south  to  Yantkon  City  and  some  to  Redwood 
agency." 


CHAPTER  XXV 


THE  YAXKTOX  TREATY  OF  i8= 


The  spirit  for  speculation  and  the  oppor- 
tunities offered  in  a  new  territory  induced  a 
powerful  pressure  to  be  brought  to  secure  the 
rehnquishment  of  the  Indian  title  to  the  soil  in 
southern  South  Dakota  and  this  motive  was  sup- 
plemented by  the  reasonable  argument  that  the 
safety  of  the  Minnesota  and  Iowa  frontiers  de- 
manded that  the  Indians  be  brought  under 
reservation  control  in  localities  near  to  military 
posts.  Yielding  to  this  pressure,  the  Indian 
office,  in  1857,  appointed  Capt.  J.  B.  S.  Todd  to 
negotiate  a  treaty  with  the  Yanktons  for  the  sale 
of  their  lands.  The  Indians  appeared  reluctant 
to  trade  and  sent  for  Charles  F.  Picotte,  an  in- 
telligent half-Indian  son  of  Honore  Picotte,  one 
of  the  best-known  Missouri  river  traders  of  the 
old  days,  to  appear  in  their  behalf,  but  Todd  re- 
fused to  recognize  him  as  the  counsel  for  the 
Indians.  Picotte  then  sent  the  Indians  away  and 
himself  repaired  to  Fort  Pierre,  where  he  re- 
mained until  Todd,  in  despair,  sent  for  him  to 
come  down  to  Yankton  and  help  him  out. 
Picotte  and  Zephyr  Recontre  induced  a  party  of 
fifteen  of  the  head  men,  including  the  famous  old 
chiefs.  Struck  by  the  Ree  and  Smutty  Bear,  to 
accompany  them  to  Washington,  where  a  treaty 
was  negotiated  on  April  19,  1858,  by  which  the 
Yanktons  relinquished  all  of  their  lands  except 
four  hundred  thousand  acres  reserved  for  their 
own  occupancy  in  Charles  Mix  county.  The 
description  of  the  lands  relinquished  is  as  fol- 
lows: "Beginning  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tchan- 
kasandata,  or    Calumet,    or    Big    Sioux    river; 


thence  up  the  ^Missouri  river  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Pahahwakan  or  East  ^ledicine  Knoll  river; 
thence  up  said  river  to  its  head ;  thence  in  a 
direction  to  the  head  of  the  main  fork  of  the 
Wandushkahfor,  or  Snake  river ;  thence  down 
said  river  to  its  junction  with  the  Tchan-sansan, 
or  Jacques,  or  James  river;  thence  in  a  direct 
line  to  the  northern  point  of  Lake  Kampeska, 
thence  along  the  northern  shore  of  said  lake  and 
its  outlet  to  the  junction  of  said  outlet  with  the 
Big  Sioux  river;  thence  down  the  Big  Sioux 
river  to  its  junction  with  the  Missouri  river." 

The  foregoing  cession  excepted  from  the 
lands  described  the  Yankton  reservation  in 
Charles  Mix  county,  which  was  described  as 
follows :  "Beginning  at  the  mouth  of  Nawizi- 
wakoopah,  or  Chouteau,  river  and  extending  up 
the'  Missouri  river  thirty  miles ;  thence  due 
north  to  a  point,  thence  easterly  to  a  point  on  the 
said  Chouteau  river,  thence  down  said  river  to 
the  place  of  beginning,  so  as  to  include  the 
quantity  of  four  hundred  thousand  acres." 

The  treaty  price  for  the  cession  was  the  sum 
of  one  million  six  hundred  thousand  dollars,  to 
be  paid  in  annuities  during  the  ensuing  fifty 
years.  There  were  stipulations  requiring  the 
Indians  to  remove  within  one  year  to  the  reser- 
vation and  thereafter  to  reside  there,  and  pro- 
vision for  the  establishment  among  them  of 
schools,  mills,  stores  and  the  opening  of  farms 
for  their  use.  Charles  Picotte  and  Zephyr  Ren- 
contre, "in  consideration  of  their  valuable  services 
and  liberality  to  the  Yanktons,"  were  each  per- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


^72, 


mitted  to  select  a  section  of  land  which  was  to 
them  granted  in  fee,  and  Paul  Dorion,  grandson 
of  that  Pierre  who  guided  Lewis  and  Clarke  up 
the  Big  Muddy,  and  to  Mrs.  Charles  Reulo,  Mrs. 
Eli  Bedaud  and  Mrs.  Augustus  Traverse,  a  half 
section  each.  The  treaty  contained  the  following 
provision,  which  is  a  matter  of  controversy  to 
this  day : 

Article  8.  The  said  Yanktons  shall  be  secured 
in  the  free  and  unrestricted  use  of  the  red  pipestone 
quarry  or  so  much  thereof  as  they  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  frequent  and  use  for  the  purpose  of  secur- 
ing stones  for  pipes;  and  the  United  States  hereby 
stipulate  and  agree  to  cause  to  be  surveyed  and 
marked  so  much  thereof  as  shall  be  necessary  for 
that  purpose  and  retain  the  same  and  keep  it  open 
and  free  to  the  Indians  to  visit  and  procure  stone 
for  pipes  so  long  as  they  shall  desire." 

Under  this  provision  the  Indians  claim  to 
believe  that  they  actually  reserved  the  quarry  to 
themselves  in  fee  and  have  a  good  right  to  sell 
and  convey  the  same,  a  right  which  the  govern- 
ment disputes  and  the  matter  is-  the  subject  of 
much  discussion.  Senator  Robert  J.  Gamble,  in 
the  senate  for  1902,  prepared  a  brief  upon  the 
subject  in  which  he  ably  sustained  the  contention 
of  the  Yanktons. 

This  treaty  led  to  much  dissatisfaction  among 
the  Yanktons,  who  claim  the  chiefs  and  delegates 
had  exceeded  their  powers  in  making  it  and 
fifteen  months  elapsed  before  the  tribe  came  to 
formally  ratify  it.  The  opposition  ran  so  high 
that  at  times  it  is  said  the  lives  of  the  signers 
were  imperiled. 

The  other  tribes  too  took  exceptions  to  it 
and  asserted  an  interest_  in  the  soil  which  the 
Yanktons  could  not  alienate ;  this  was  particu- 
larly true  of  the  Yanktonais  and  the  Tetons.  As 
we  have  seen,  the  Yanktonais  had  entered  upon 
a  portion  of  the  ceded  lands  and  driven  away  the 
settlers  at  Medary  and  Sioux  Falls  who  were 
stopping  on  the  border  lands.  It  is  somewhat 
difficult  to  arrive  at  the  real  contention  of  these 
outside  tribes,  but  it  appears  that  from  their 
traditions  the  Yanktons  were  the  last  of  the 
Dakotas  to  come  into  the  Dakota  territory.  That 
they  had  lost  their  original  lands  on' the  Mis- 
sissippi and,  coming  up  the  Missouri,  they  were 


given  a  right  of  occupancy  of  the  ceded  lands 
by  the  other  Sioux  tribes  who  were  joint  pro- 
prietors. The  best  statement  of  this  proposition 
is  found  in  a  speech  by  the  intelligent  old 
Uncpapa,  Bear's  Rib,  made  at  Fort  Pierre  in 
June,  1859,  and  is  reported  by  Captain  W.  F. 
Reynolds,  who  heard  it  and  took  it  down  from 
the  interpreter,  Jean  LaFrambois.  Captain 
Reynolds,  by  way  of  preface,  says  that  nine  bands 
of  the  Sioux  contend  that  the  treaty  was  made 
without  their  consent  and  deny  the  right  of  the 
Yanktons  to  sell  the  lands  without  their  per- 
mission.   Bear's  Rib  said : 

My  Brother:  To  whom  does  this  land  belong? 
I  believe  it  belongs  to  me.  Look  at  me  and  at  the 
ground.  Which  do  you  think  is  the  oldest?  The 
ground,  and  on  it  I  was  born.  I  have  no  instruction; 
I  give  my  own  ideas.  I  do  not  know  how  many  years. 
It  is  much  older  than  I.  Here  we  are.  We  are  nine 
nations.  Here  are  our  principal  men  gathered  to- 
gether. When  you  tell  us  anything  we  wish  to  say 
"yes"  to  what  we  like,  and  you  will  do  the  same. 
There  are  none  of  the  Yanktons  here.  Where  are 
they?  It  is  said  I  have  a  father  (agent),  and  when 
Jie  tells  me  anything  I  say  "yes."  And  when  I  ask 
him  anything  I  want  him  to  say  "yes."  I  call  you 
my  brother.  What  you  told  me  yesterday  I  believe 
is  true.  The  Yanktons  below  us  are  poor  people.  I 
don't  know  where  their  land  is.  I  pity  them.  These 
lower  Yanktons,  I  know,  did  own  a  piece  of  land, 
but  they  sold  it  long  ago.  I  do  not  know  where  they 
got  any  more.  Since  I  have  been  born  I  do  not  know 
who  owns  two,  three,  four  more  pieces  of  land. 
When  I  get  land  It  is  all  in  one  piece  and  we  were 
born  and  still  live  on  it.  These  Yanktons,  we  took 
pity  on  them.  They  had  no  land;  we  lent  them  what 
they  had,  to  grow  corn  on  it.  We  gave  them  a  thou- 
sand horses  to  keep  that  land  for  us.  But  I  never 
told  them  to  steal  it  and  go  and  sell  it.  I  call  you 
my  brother  and  I  want  you  to  take  pity  on  me,  and 
if  any  one  steals  anything  from  me  I  want  the  privi- 
lege of  calling  for  it.  If  those  men  who  did  it  se- 
cretly had  asked  me  to  make  a  treaty  for  its  sale  I 
should  not  have  consented.  We  who  are  here  all  un- 
derstand each  other,  but  I  do  not  agree  that  they 
should  steal  the  land  and  sell  it.  It  the  white  people 
want  my  land  and  I  should  give  it  to  them  where 
should  I  stay.  I  have  no  place  else  to  go.  •  ♦  • 
*  *  *  I  hear  that  a  reservation  has  been  kept 
for  the  Yanktons  below.  I  will  speak  again  on  this 
subject.  If  you  were  to  ask  me  for  a  piece  of  land 
I  would  not  give  it.  I  cannot  spare  it  and  I  like  it 
very  much.  All  this  country  on  each  side  of  the 
river  belongs  to  me.     I  know  that  from  the  Missis- 


HISTORY    OF   SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


sippi  to  this  river  the  country  all  belongs  to  us  and 
that  we  have  traveled  from  the  Yellowstone  to  the 
Platte.  All  this  country,  as  I  have  said,  is  ours.  If 
you,  my  brother,  was  to  ask  me  for  it  I  would  not 
give  it  to  you,  for  I  like  it  and  I  hope  you  will  listen 
to  me. 


Luckily  no  serious  trouble  grew  out  of  the 
counter-claim  of  the  "nine  bands,"  but  among 
themselves  the  Yanktons  were  sorely  wrought 
up.  With  characteristic  inconsistency,  Old 
Smutty  Bear,  now  an  old  man  who  had  for  fifty 
years  or  more  enjOyed  distinction  as  a  head  man 
(he  signed  the  treaty  of  1825  and  was  present 
at  the  Grand  Traverse  in  1815,  when  the  Chou- 
teau-Edwards treaty  was  negotiated  at  the  in- 
stance of  Captain  Clarke),  although  he  was  one 
of  the  delegates  to  Washington  and  helped  make 
and  sign  the  treaty  of  1858,  took  up  the  cause 
of  the  malcontents  and  led  in  the  opposition  to 
the  ratification.  In  1858  he  was  in  the  party  of 
Yanktonaise  who  drove  Major  DeWitt  away 
from  JMedary  and  there  openly  repudiated  the 
treaty.  Council  after  council  was  held  over  the 
matter  in  the  tribe,  Smutty  Bear  opposing  and 
Struck  by  the  Ree  favoring  ratification.  The 
Yanktons  were  gathered  at  Yankton  in  July, 
1859,  ready  to  remove  to  the  reservation,  but 
still  discussing  and  fighting  the  treaty,  when 
Smutty  Bear,  understanding  the  power  of  long 
association  over  the  Indian  mind,  was  harangue- 


ing  his  people  against  giving  up  the  hunting 
grounds  of  their  fathers  and  the  graves  of  their 
relatives,  when  Major  Redfield,  the  agent  for  the 
Yanktons,  came  along  upon  the  steamboat 
"Wayfarer,"  which  was  loaded  to  the  guards 
with  goods  for  the  Indians,  and  proceeded  along 
up  river  to  the  reservation  and  the  present  lo- 
cation of  the  Yankton  agency.  This  was  an 
argument  which  quite  overbalanced  the  eloquence 
of  Smutty  Bear ;  the  tribe  followed  along  the 
banks  and  arrived  at  the  agency  as  soon  as  did 
the  agent  with  the  goods,  and  so  the  ratification 
of  the  treaty  was  complete,  and,  to  the  great 
credit  of  the  Yanktons,  it  must  be  said  that  its 
terms  were  never  broken  by  them  as  a  tribe,  but 
were  faithfully  observed,  and  to  the  fidelity  and 
friendliness  of  these  people  the  settlers  of  South 
Dakota  owe  a  large  debt  of  gratitude. 

Whatever  injustice  to  the  other  tribes  may 
have  been  involved  in  the  action  of  the  Yanktons 
in  disposing  of  their  lands,  the"  others,  after  a 
good  deal  of  growling,  as  has  been  indicated, 
acquiesced  in'the  sale  a"nd  there  is  no  record  that 
the  question  was  ever  again  raised.  Later  all  of 
the  other  bands  accepted  specific  reservations  and 
relinquished  all  outlying  lands  or  claims  thereto 
and  so  it  came  about  that  the  title  to  all  of  South 
Dakota  from  the  state  line  to  the  Missouri  river, 
as  far  north  as  Pierre  and  Watertown,  was 
quieted  in  the  general  government. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 


THE  BEGINNING  OF   POLITICS. 


It  is  fair  to  assert  that  the  settlement  at  Sioux 
Falls  was  very  largely  actuated  by  political 
motives.  This  is  essentially  true  of  the  St.  Paul 
party,  represented  in  the  Dakota  Land  Company, 
which  was  composed  almost  exclusively  of 
politicians  who  had  enjoyed  the  perquisites  of 
territorial  patronage  in  Minnesota  and  sought 
enlarged  opportunities  in  the  Dakotaland. 

Minnesota  was  admitted  to  statehood  May  29, 
1858,  and  on  that  very  day  Alpheus  G.  Fuller 
presented  his  credentials,  signed  by  the  officers 
of  "Midway  county  in  Dakota  territory,"  con- 
stituting him  the  delegate  to  congress  from 
Dakota  territory,  and,  as  such  delegate,  de- 
manded a  seat.  This  demand  was  contested  by 
W.  W.  Kingsbury,  the  regularly  elected  dele- 
gate to  congress  from  Minnesota  territory,  and 
the  whole  matter  was  referred  to  the  committee 
on  elections  and  privileges  and  was  the  subject 
of  majority  and  minority  reports.  Chairman  T. 
L.  Harris,  on  behalf  of  the  majority,  reported 
that  the  admission  of  Minnesota  state  had  not 
destroyed  Minnesota  territory  so  far  as  it  per- 
tained to  that  portion  thereof  not  within  the 
boundaries  of  the  state  of  Minnesota,  and  there- 
fore that  Kingsbury  was  entitled  to  the  seat. 
Representative  Gilmer,  for  the  minority,  reported 
favorably  to  the  claims  of  Fuller,  but  the  majority 
report  was  promptly  adopted,  thus  determining  ; 
the  political  status  of  the  Dakota  country  during 
the  period  from  the  admission  of  Minnesota,  on  ! 
May  29,  1858,  to  the  creation  of  Dakota  ter-  < 
ritory,  on  March  2,  1861.     Fuller,  however,  re-   ' 


mained  at  Washington  during  the  winter  of 
1859-60,  lobbying  for  the  creation  of  Dakota  as  a 
territory. 

The  ambitious  settlers  at  Sioux  Falls,  how- 
ever, were  too  active  and  too  persistent  to  permit 
their  political  ardor  to  be  subdued  by  any  ad- 
verse action  of  congress ;  therefore  they  called  a 
mass  convention  of  the  citizens  of  Dakota  to 
meet  at  Sioux  Falls  on  September  18,  1858. 
This  convention  was  duly  held,  but  unfortunately 
the  record  of  its  proceedings  has  been  lost.  Its 
important  action,  however,  was  the  calling  of 
a  general  election.  The  notice  for  this  election 
is  said  to  have  been  the  first  piece  of  printing  ever 
executed  in  Dakota,  and  was  in  the  following 
form : 

ELECTION    NOTICE. 

At  a  mass  convention  of  the  people  of  Dakota 
territory  held  in  the  town  of  Sioux  Falls,  in  the  coun- 
ty of  Big  Sioux,  on  Saturday,  September  18,  1858,  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   fourth   day   of   October 

next,    at    the    house    of In    the 

town  of in  the  county  of 

an    election    will    be   held    for 

members  of  the  council,  and .... 

members  of  the  house  of  representa- 
tives for  said  legislature. 

The  polls  will  open  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing and  close  at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  said 
day. 

Dated    at this    20th    day 

of  September,  A.  D.  1858. 

(Dakota  Demo<r»t  Print,  Sioux   Falls  City.) 


176 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Judge  Bailey,  in  his  History  of  Minnehaha 
County,  thus  describes  the  manner  of  holding 
and  conducting  this  momentous  election :  "With 
the  thirty  or  forty  souls  who  composed  the  popu- 
lation at  that  time,  it  required  considerable 
ingenuity  to  arrange^  matters  and  the  elections 
were  conducted  in  a  somewhat  peculiar  manner. 
We  learn  from  one  of  the  members  that  on  the 
morning  of  the  election  the  whole  population 
organized  into  parties  of  three  or  four,  elected 
each  other  judges  and  clerks  of  election,  and  then 
started  off  with  their  teams  for  a  pleasure  trip, 
and  wherever  a  rest  was  taken,  which  occurred 
frequently,  an  election  precinct  was  established 
and  the  votes  not  only  of  the  party,  but  of  their 
uncles,  cousins,  relatives  and  friends  were 
cast,  until  as  a  result  of  the  election  the  total  of 
several  hundred  votes  was  rolled  up  and  properly 
certified  to." 

Unfortunately  no  record  of  the  membership 
or  transactions  of  the  legislature  so  elected  has 
been  left  to  us.  We  only  know  that  a  session 
was  held,  that  it  was  conducted  "with  dignity 
and  decorum,"  and  that  it  elected  Samuel  J. 
Albright  speaker  of  the  house  and  Henry 
Masters  president  of  the  council  and  at  the  close 
of  the  session  Henry  Masters  was  duly  elected 
and  inaugurated  "Governor  of  Dakota  Terri- 
tory." The  session  also  memorialized  congress 
for  the  recognition  of  the  territory.  It  has  been 
stated  that  Alpheus  G.  Fuller  was  elected  dele- 
gate to  congress  by  this  session,  but,  as  has  been 
seen,  he  derived  his  title  from  an  appointment 
made  months  before  by  the  officers  of  "Midway 
county." 

Samuel  J-  Albright  had  been  chief  clerk  of 
the  last  session  of  the  legislature  of  Minnesota 
territory,  which  concluded  its  sessions  just  as  the 
state  was  admitted,  and  when  he  came  to  the 
speakership  of  the  Dakota  legislature  that 
illustrious  body  found  themselves  in  the  wilder- 
ness without  a  manual  of  parliamentary  pro- 
cedure until  Speake'r  Albright,  in  digging  over 
his  bag  of  "perquisites"  inherited  from  his  re- 
lations with  the  Minnesota  solons,  came  upon  a 
copy  of  Jefferson's  Manual,  indelibly  inscribed: 
"Property    of    Minnesota    Territory,"    which    he 


brought  into  the  Dakota  body  and  it  was  duly 
adopted  to  govern  the  deliberations  of  that 
august  assembly.  This  copy  of  Jeft'erson's 
Manual  has  come  into  the  collections  of  the  State 
Historical  Society  and  may  now  be  seen  at  the 
capitol. 

"Congressman"  Fuller,  if  he  failed  of  his 
mission  to  create  Dakota  territory,  at  least  was 
successful  in  getting  a  postoffice  established  at 
Sioux  Falls,  the  first  in  Dakota.  James  M. 
Allen  was  appointed  postmaster  and  he  opened 
the  office  in  the  stone  building  of  the  Dakota 
Land  Company. 

Two  elements  militated  against  the  organiza- 
tion of  Dakota  territory  at  this  time,  the  first 
being  the  slavery  question.  The  determination 
of  the  South  to  so  arrange  matters  that  they 
could  carry  their  slaves  into  any  new  territory 
and  the  determination  of  the  North  to  keep  all 
new  territory  as  free  soil ;  and  the  second  being 
the  more  potent  opposition  of  the  Missouri  river 
traders,  particularly  represented  by  Frost,  Todd 
&  Company  to  prevent  the  organization  of  the 
territory  until  the  Yankton  treaty  was  ratified 
and  the  land  opened  to  settlement,  that  they 
might  have  a  chance  at  the  capital  location.  The 
election  of  1858  had  resulted  in  returning  a  Re- 
publican congress.  Captain  J.  B.  S.  Todd,  the 
political  end  of  Frost,  Todd  &  Company,  was 
a  non-partisan,  while  the  entire  Sioux  Falls  con- 
tingent was  Democratic,  and  this  situation  prob- 
ably had  something  to  do  with  the  defeat  of  their 
long  and  v^^ell-laid  plans. 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  election  notice  above 
reproduced  purports  to  have  been  printed  by  the 
Dakota  Democrat.  Now  it  was  part  of  the  plan  of 
St.  Paul  men  to  establish  a  newspaper  in  Dakota 
that  it  might  secure  the  territorial  printing,  but 
in  point  of  fact,  while  the  material  was  already 
on  the  ground,  the  Dakota  Democrat  was  not 
established  for  more  than  nine  months  after  the 
printing  of  the  notice  of  the  election  mentioned. 
It  is,  however,  worth  while  to  state  that  a  com- 
plete printing  plant  was  brought  to  Dakota  as 
early  as  the  summer  of  1858  and  too  that  the 
press  in  question  enjoyed  a  most  unique  history. 
The  press  was  a  Washington,  of  the  Smith  pat- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


177 


tern,  manufactured  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  by- 
Charles  Mallett.  It  was  purchased  of  the  manu- 
facturer in  1834  by  John  King.  In  the  spring 
of  1836  King  brought  it  to  Dubuque,  Iowa,  and 
the  first  paper  in  Iowa,  "The  Visitor,"  was  es- 
tabHshed  and  printed  upon  it.  In  1842  Gen. 
H.  A.  Wiltse  bought  the  press  and  removed  it 
to  Lancaster,  Grant  county,  Wisconsin,  where  he 
estabHshed  the  first  newspaper  in  western  Wis- 
consin, the  Grant  County  Herald,  and  it  was 
printed  upon  this  press.  Wiltse  sold  the  press  to 
J.  M.  Goodhue,  who,  in  the  spring  of  1849,  re- 
moved it  to  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  and  established 
and  printed  upon  it  the  Minnesota  Pioneer,  the 
first  newspaper  in  Minnesota,  and  which  has  been 
continued  to  this  day  in  the  well-known  St.  Paul 
Pioneer  Press.  In  1858  Samuel  J.  Albright, 
Samuel  Medary,  late  governor  of  Minnesota  ter- 
ritory, and  Col.  John  Harmon,  of  Detroit, 
Michigan,  purchased  the  press  and  a  full  printing 
outfit  and  removed  it  to  Sioux  Falls  where  it 
was  kept  about  one  year,  that  is  until  July  2, 
1859,  when  the  Dakota  Democrat  was  established 
and  printed  upon  it.  It  continued  in  this  service 
with  more  or  less  regularity  until  the  Indian  out- 
break of  1862  drove  the  settlers  from  Sioux 
Falls,  when  the  old  press  was  abandoned.  The 
Indians,    during    the    absence    of    the    settlers, 


amused  themselves  by  breaking  it  up  as  far  as 
they  could  do  so  without  too  great  efifort  and  left 
the  fragments  lying  on  the  rocks  where  they  were 
found  by  the  soldiers  in  1865.  The  platen  was 
not  broken  and  when  Hon.  R.  F.  Pettigrew  came 
to  the  Falls  in  1870  he  appropriated  it  for  a  door- 
step to  his  house,  but  during  his  absence  one  day 
some  one  carried  it  off.  Many  years  later,  while 
out  in  the  county  upon  a  political  campaign,  he 
discovered  it  doing  service  as  a  doorstep  to  the 
home  of  Mr.  Hiram  Caldwell,  a  few  miles  from 
Sioux  Falls,  and  he  paid  Mrs.  Caldwell  five 
dollars  to  induce  her  husband  to  return  it  to  him. 
Mr.  Caldwell  delivered  the  platen  at  Senator  Pet- 
tigrew's  house  in  Sioux  Falls  and  he  still  has  it 
in  his  possession.  Judge  F.  W.  Pettigrew  se- 
cured the  spindle  to  the  old  press  and  that  is  in 
the  extensive  collection  of  specimens  and  curios 
which  he  made  and  left  to  his  children.  There 
has  been  much  contention  as  to  the  identity  of 
this  press,  several  claims  being^  made  for  its 
possession  by  publishers  in  Minnesota  and  Wis- 
consin, but  the  facts  above  stated  have  been 
established  by  this  writer  beyond  any  question  of 
doubt  and  are  given  as  the  true  history^  of  this 
historic  press.  The  story  of  the  first  Dakota 
newspaper  venture  is  of  sufficient  interest  to 
merit  a  seperate  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 


THE  FIRST  NEWSPAPER. 


On  July  2,  1859,  the  first  issue  of  the  Dakota 
Democrat  made  its  appearance.  It  was  a  five- 
column,  four-page  publication,  well  edited  and 
well  printed.  The  two  outside  pages  were  de- 
voted to  stories,  anecdotes  and  verses,  very  much 
of  the  character  of  the  patent  pages  of  the  present 
day  country  paper,  and  the  two  inside  pages  were 
devoted  to  editorial  and  local  news.  So  far  as 
known  no  complete  copy  of  the  first  issue  is  in 
existence.  The  writer,  however,  has  a  copy 
which  is  printed  only  on  the  outside  and  con- 
tains no  matter  of  local  interest  except  a  poem 
by  Gov.  Henry  Masters,  and  as  it  was  probably 
the  first  purely  literary  production  in  Dakota  and, 
too.  one  of  the  few  scraps  of  evidence  as  to  the 
bent  of  Governor  Masters'  mind  it  is  here  re- 
produced : 

SIOUX    FALLS. 

Thou  glidest  gently,  O  thou  winding  stream. 
Mirroring  the  beauty  of  thy  flowery  hanks, 

Now  yielding  to  our  soul's  Elysian  dreams, 
For  which  we  offer  thee  our  heartfelt  thanks. 

O.  tell  us  why  thou  tarriest  here  so  long. 

Oft  curving  back  upon  thy  flower-decked  path, 

Loitering  as  if  an  angel's  song, 

Where  once   was   heard   the   warwhoop's  sound   of 
wrath. 

Tchankasondata,  is  the  sunset  land 

Thou  rivalest  in  beauty  all  thy  own, 
Sporting  the  waters  of  a  merry  band 

Of  lakelets  that  support  thy  Naiad  throne. 


Oft  has  the  Indian  maiden  spell-bound  stood. 
With  her  enamoured  lover  near  thy  side. 

Breaking  the  silence  with  a  "washta" — good, 
As  loving  they  watched  thy  onward  tide. 

Their  vows  of  love  still  dimple  on  thy  faca. 
Which  oft  are  spoken  in  thy  watery  ear, 

The  vows  of  Nature's  children,  told  with  grace, 
And  with  a  loving  trust,  devoid  of  fear. 

Then  roll  along,  thou  bright  and  lovely  Sioux, 
And  whilst  thou  dalliest  with  each  favored  spot. 

Peninsulas   of   beauty  spring  to  view. 
Reflecting  each  a  happy  Eden  lot. 

But  tell  me  what  arrests  thy  progress  now? 

Thou  tremblest  like  a  culprit  doomed  to  pain, 
An  isle  of  beauty  sits  upon  thy  brow, 

Then  fear  not — hope;  resume  thy  course  again. 

Tchankasondata,  thou  hearest  now  the  shout. 
Ha-ha,  proclaiming  that  the  falls  are  here. 

Beauty  has  hither  marked  thy  course  throughout. 
Now  grandeur  woos  thee  for  his  consort  peer. 

Solemnity  and  loveliness  unite. 

As  o'er  thy  rocky  bed  thou  strugglest  forth. 
Telling  with  foaming  crest  from  many  a  height. 

In  voice  of  many  waters  of  thy  worth. 

Here  at  thy  falls  ere  many  moons  shall  wane, 

A  city  full  of  busy  life  shall  rise. 
And  thou,  O  Sioux,  shall  learn  that  seeking  gain 

Is  not  what  sons  of  men  most  prize. 

The  name  of  Samuel  J-  Albright  appears  as 
editor  and  proprietor  and  also  the  declaration 
that   the   paper   is   published    in   the   "Democrat 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


179 


building,  northeast  corner  of  Bridge  and  Main 
streets."  No  copy  of  the  second  issue  has  been 
found  and  presumably  there  is  none  in  existence. 
Number  3  did  not  appear  until  August  26th, 
which  indicates  the  irregular  dates  of  its  issue. 
This  third  number  contains  a  three-column 
editorial  setting  forth  the  advantages  of  Dakota 
as  a  place  of  settlement.  This  statement  is  really 
conservative  in  its  general  tone,  though  whoever 
relied  upon  -the  proposition  that  "soundings  of 
the  Big  Sioux  made  during  the  present  summer, 
b}-  a  gentleman  from  the  east  who  designs 
placing  a  steamboat  upon  it,  proved  entirely  satis- 
factor}',  that  good  navigation  may  be  obtained  as 
high  up  as  Sioux  Falls,"  was  no  doubt  more  or 
less  disappointed.  The  following  political  notices 
appear  in  this  issue  : 

TERRITORIAL    CONVENTION. 

A  convention  of  the  citizens  of  Dakota  Territory 
will  be  held  at  the  Dakota  House,  Sioux  Falls  City, 
on  Saturday,  the  third  day  of  SeptemT)er  next,  for 
the  purpose  of  nominating  a  candidate  for  delegate 
to  represent  the  said  territory  in  the  congress  of  the 
United  States  during  the  ensuing  two  years. 

Sioux  Falls  City,  August  10,  1859. 

ELECTION     NOTICE. 

Notice  is  hereby  given  that  on  Monday,  the  12th 
day  of  September,  1859,  at  the  several  election  pre- 
cincts in  the  county  of  Big  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  territorial  house 
of  representatives,  two  members  of  the  territorial 
council,  a  judge  of  probate,  a  district  attorney,  three 
county  commissioners,  a  sheriff,  a  register  of  deeds, 
a  county  treasurer,  a  coroner,  two  justices  of  the 
peace,  two  county  assessors  and  two  constables,  elec- 
tion to  be  held  in  the  first  precinct  at  the  Dakota 
House,  second  precinct  at  the  house  of  Henry  Mas- 
ters, third  precinct  at  the  house  of  Charles  Philbrick. 
J.  M.  Allen, 
Clerk  Board   County  Commissioners. 

Dated  this  6th  day  of  August,  A.  D.  1859. 


is  mentioned.  Here  arc  a  few  samples :  "The 
saw  and  grist-mills  are  again  in  operation  after 
a  suspension  of  a  couple  of  weeks.  The  atmos- 
phere of  late  has  been  drier  than  the  parched 
throat  of  a  wassailer  after  a  night's  debauch. 
The  prairies  have  been  burning  to  the  north  and 
west  of  the  falls  during  the  present  week.  The 
grain  crop  is  well  harvested  hereabouts,  the  hay 
is  cut  and  the  corn  and  potatoes  will  soon  be 
ready  to  gather  in.  A  good  road  is  now  marked 
out  leading  from  Sioux  Falls  City  to  the  mouth 
of  the  James  on  the  Missouri.  Two  emigrant 
teams  arrived  over  it  last  week." 

Among  the  advertisements  in  this  issue  are 
those  of  Albright  &  Allen,  real  estate,  who  also 
offer  four  shares  of  stock  in  the  Dakota  Land 
Company  for  sale  at  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars 
each ;  J-  W.  Evans,  carpenter  and  builder ;  J. 
McCall,  stone-mason  ;  Albert  Kilgore,  blacksmith  ; 
John  Rouse,  shoemaker,  and  J.  L.  Phillips,  M.  D., 
physician  and  surgeon.  The  St.  Paul  &  Min- 
nesota Packet  Company  advertise  that  they  will 
run  steamers  regularly  to  St.  Peter,  Mankato, 
New  Ulm  and  the  Lower  Agency,  "as  long  as  the 
stage  of  water  will  permit  any  boat  on  the  river 
to  run." 

The  fourth  number  came  along  on  November 
8th  and  the  editor  heads  his  columns  with  an 
apology  for  the  "hiatus."  This  is  the  most 
interesting  issue  of  the  Democrat  which  has  been 
preserved  in  that  it  contains  a  full  report  of  the 
doings  of  the  Dakota  Land  Company  for  the 
previous  year  and  its  estimate  of  the  several 
points  occupied  by  it.  In  addition  to  Saratoga, 
Mountain  Pass,  Lynd  and  Redwood  Center,  in 
R'linnesota,  reports  are  made  on  the  following 
Dakota  properties : 

Renshaw.  at  the  mouth  of  the  Upper  Couteau 
Percee,  connecting  with  the  Sioux  at  the  Big  Walnut 
timber,  twenty  miles  north  of  Medary  and  near  Lake 
Preston.  This  location  embraces  three  hundred 
twenty  acres  of  land,  well  improved. 


There  is  also  an  editorial  notice  of  the  ap- 
proaching convention  which  is  noteworthy  as  an 
attempt  to  avoid  saying  anything  and  a  column 
of  locals  in  which  not  a  single  name  of  a  citizen 


The  site  of  Renshaw  was,  according  to 
Byron  E.  Pay,  who  visited  the  place,  a  short 
distance  north  of  the  present  location  of  Estelline 
in  Hamlin  countv. 


i8o 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Medary,  the  county  seat  of  Midway  county,  the 
first  organized  county  in  Dakota,  situated  on  the  Big 
Sioux  at  the  crossing  of  the  government  road  and 
twenty-flve  miles  due  west  of  Mountain  Pass.  Two 
hundred  twenty  acres  were  script  here. 

Flandkau  is  the  county  seat  o£  Rock  county,  at 
the  junction  of  Couteau  Percee  with  the  Sioux,  fif- 
teen miles  south  of  Medary.  Six  hundred  forty 
acres. 

Sioux  Falls  City,  established  seat  of  govern- 
ment of  Big  Sioux  county  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  one  hundred  miles  up  from  the  Missouri. 
Three  hundred  twenty  acres. 

Emini.ja  is  the  county  seat  of  Vermillion  county, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Split  Rock  river  and  Pipestone 
creek,  on  the  Big  Sioux,  thirteen  miles  below  the 
Falls  and  at  the  more  practicable  head  of  navigation 
for  large  steamers.     Six  hundred  forty  acres. 

CojiMERCE  City  is  situated  at  the  great  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  timber  plenty.  At  a  point  to  which 
steamers  of  any  class  may  ply  in  any  stage  of  water. 
Three  hundred  twenty  acres. 

The  ambitions  of  the  Dakota  Land  Company, 
however,  were  not  satisfied  with  these  ehgible 
town  sites  and  thriving  cities ;  they  wanted  the 
earth.     The  report  continues  : 

The  expedition  in  charge  of  Messrs.  Brawley  and 
Smith,  which  left  this  city  in  June,  have  ere  this 
time  planted  the  flag  of  the  Dakota  Land  Company 
on  each  valuable  site  as  may  be  found  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Sioux  to  old  Fort  Lookout  on  the  Mis- 
souri and  on  the  James,  Vermillion  and  Wanari  riv- 
ers. They  have  sounded  to  the  points  to  which 
steamers  may  practically  run  and  there  have  also 
commenced  the  nuclei  of  towns.  Their  movements 
will  be  seconded  by  the  more  timid  and  adventurous 
and,  the  way  being  paved,  a  lively  emigration  will 
follow  up.  This  party  went  down  the  river  from 
Sioux  Falls  City  by  boat  in  the  latter  part  of  June 
on  their  way  to  the  upper  Missouri. 

There  are  more  than  two  thousand  miles  of  nav- 
igable waters  bordering  and  within  the  ceded  por- 
tions of  Dakota  and  this  company  will  hav^  already 
secured  the  most  desirable  centers  for  trade  and  com- 
merce and  governmental  organization  on  all  these 
rivers. 

This  fourth  edition  of  the  Democrat  also 
contains    a    report   of    the    death     of     Governor 


Masters,  which  occurred  from  an  attack  of 
apoplexy,  at  his  home  on  his  farm,  which  was 
located  at  what  is  now  the  corner  of  Duluth  and 
Eighth  avenue  in  Sioux  Falls.  The  Governor 
was  a  native  of  Bath,  Maine,  and  was  fifty-three 
years  of  age  at  his  death.  His  son  Henry  was 
with  him  at  his  death.  The  Democrat  pays  a 
high  tribute  to  his  worth. 

The  still  existing  jealousy  between  the  two 
Sioux  is  indicated  in  the  I'ollowing  derogatory 
comment: 

A  party  recently  returned  from  Sioux  City  (on 
the  Missouri  in  Iowa)  reports  a  large  proportion  of 
the  inhabitants  of  that  town  are  becoming  thoroughly 
disheartened  with  their  future  prospects  and  large 
numbers  are  leaving  for  the  more  flourishing  points 
in  Dakota.  The  blighting  frost  which  came  upon 
them  before  their  grain  was  matured  and  destroying 
in  one  night  the  labor  of  an  entire  season,  together 
with  the  fact  that  the  towns  on  the  Sioux  and  Mis- 
souri are  beginning  to  take  away  the  tra4e  which 
heretofore  has  been  their  almost  entire  means  of 
support,  has  been  the  principal  cause  of  the  higeria 
which  has  taken  place  recently.  Almost  every  house 
is  said  to  be  tenantless  and  of  the  three  hotels  built 
to  improve  surrounding  property,  not  one  is  occupied. 
The  chills  and  fever,  which  prevailed  among  them 
very  generally  during  the  past  summer,  has  somewhat 
abated  since  the  commencement  of  cold  weather,  we 
are  happy  to  learn,  so  that  at  least  one  of  their 
troubles  have  partially  ceased  for  a  time.  We  com- 
miserate the  people  in  and  about  our  sister  city  and 
hold  out  to  them  the  glorious  Eden  of  the  Sioux  val- 
ley as  a  spot  to  which  they  can  flee  from  sickness, 
stagnation  and  starvation — a  country  at  once  free 
from  miasmatic  Missouri  bottoms  or  bleak  and  ster- 
ile Missouri   mountains. 

In  this  issue  the  editor  was  anticipating  the 
early  arrival  of  G.  P.  Waldron  jnd  family  from 
Dubuque  and  of  Henry  Masters,  Jr.,  who  had 
gone  east  to  bring  out  his  father's  family.  Wil- 
mot  W.  Brookings'  card  as  attorney  and  coun- 
selor at  law  appears,  and  the  editor  mildly  sug- 
gests that  cord  wood  or  grain  will  be  thankfully 
received  on  subscriptions.  The  proceedings  of 
the  legislature  are  reported  in  this  issue. 

No  copy  of  the  fifth  issue  is  available  and  it 
is  probable  that  it  is  not  in  existence.  Number 
six  was  published  December  15th  and  continues 
the  report  of  the  doings  of  the  legislature,  a  con- 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


i8i 


densation  of  which  will  be  given  in  the  following 
chajjler.  The  probability  of  congressional  action 
in  behalf  of  Dakota  at  the  then  convening  session 
is  discussed  at  length,  and  shows  the  helpless 
condition  of  the  settlers  without  the  protection  of 
law.  The  hangingof  John  Brown  is  reported  on 
the  local  page,  but  there  are  no  local  stories  of 
consequence. 

The  only  other  copy  of  this  publication  which 
has  come  under  notice  is  number  nine,  printed 
February  i8,  i860,  in  which  nothing  of  historic 
interest  is  developed,  if  we  may  except  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  county  commissioners  of  Big 
Sioux  county,  at  which  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed  to   confer   with   a    like   committee    from 


Buchanan  county  relating  to  the  construction  of 
a  bridge  across  the  Sioux  near  the  Falls,  and  a 
bridge  was  ordered  built  across  Slip  Up  creek. 
The  following  resolution,  introduced  by  Mr. 
Greenway,  passed :  "Resolved,  that  the  board 
will  receive  sealed  proposals  for  the  erection  of 
a  court  house  and  jail  up  to  the  first  day  of  June 
next." 

It  is  probable  that  this  was  the  last  issue  of 
the  Democrat.  Congress  failed  to  create  the  ter- 
ritory and  Mr.  Albright,  becoming  discouraged 
over  the  delay,  left  for  the  South  sometime  in 
the  spring.  Later  the  publication  was  revived 
for  a  brief  period,  as  the  Independent,  by  a  Mr. 
Stewart. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 


THE  ELECTION  OF  1859. 


As  will  be  noted  from  the  previous  chapter, 
the  ambitious  statesmen  of  Sioux  Falls  City 
had  called  a  second  territorial  convention  to  con- 
vene at  the  Dakota  House  in  Sioux  Falls  Cit\'  on 
Saturday,  September  3,  1859,  for  the  purpose  of 
nominating  a  candidate  for  delegate  in  congress 
and  on  the  day  mentioned  almost  the  entire  popu- 
lation met  in  solemn  conclave  to  perform  this 
grave  duty.  Alpheus  G.  Fuller,  the  first  repre- 
sentative, was  over  at  the  newly  established 
Yankton  agency  when  this  momentous  event  took 
place,  never  doubting,  however,  that  the  honor  of 
a  renomination  awaited  him,  but  the  wise  men 
behind  the  movement  at  St.  Paul  had  other  plans. 
A  few  days  before  the  convention  Judge  Jef- 
ferson P.  Kidder,  a  citizen  of  St.  Paul,  was  dis- 
patched to  the  Sioux  for  the  purpose  of  accepting 
this  nomination  to  congress.  He  arrived  in  Sioux 
Falls  less  than  a  week  before  the  convention  oc- 
curred.' but  the  advantage  of  having  a  gentle- 
man of  Judge  Kidder's  ability  and  wide  acquaint- 
ance for  their  representative  at  Washington  was 
so  apparent  that  he  was  promptly  and  unani- 
mously chosen.  At  the  same  time  Henry  Masters 
was  nominated  for  governor,  James  M.  Allen  for 
secretary  of  state  and  a  full  legislative  ticket 
])laced  in  the  field.  Judge  Kidder  was  nominated 
on  Saturday  and  on  the  following  Tuesday  morn- 
ing he  returned  to  St.  Paul  and  was  not  again  in 
Dakota  for  several  years. 

On  Monday,  September  5th.  Hehrv  Masters, 
acting  governor  and  candidate  for  re-election, 
died.     The  name  of  Sanuiel  J.  Albright  was  sub- 


stituted for  that  of  Masters.  Before  the  election 
came  oflt  Alpheus  G.  Fuller  returned  and  when 
he  learned  that  he  had  failed  of  a  re-nomination 
he  was  filled  with  righteous  indignation  and  re- 
solved to  bolt  the  convention  and  run  as  an  in- 
dependent candidate,  which  resolution  he  put 
into  practice  with  such  success  as  to,  it  is  declared 
by  Judge  W.  W.  Brookings,  secure  a  large 
majority  of  the  votes  actually  cast  at  the  election, 
which  occurred  on  September  12th.  The  new 
settlers  on  the  Missouri  did  not  vote.  Samuel  J. 
Albright  visited  the  Pembina  country  to  conduct 
the  election  there.  After  the  election  Mr.  Fuller 
returned  to  his  employment  at  Yankton  agency. 

The  actual  result  of  the  election  made  very 
little  difference,  for  it  was  fully  determined  by 
the  powers  that  Judge,  or  rather  Governor  Kid- 
der, as  he  was  then  called,  for  he  had  been  lieu- 
tenant governor  of  Vermont,  should  be  the  con- 
gressional representative,  but  it  was  important 
that  there  should  be  no  dissension,  for  as,  in  order 
to  make  out  a  case  favorably  to  the  creation  of 
a  new  territory,  before  congress,  it  was  absolutely 
necessary  to  make  a  fraudulent  return  of  the 
voting  strength  of  the  people,  they  could  not 
afford  to  have  a  contest  among  themselves,  which 
would  reveal  the  true  state  of  affairs  to  out- 
siders. Consequently  a  council  was  called  and 
it  was  decided  to  call  Alpheus  G.  Fuller  off.  The 
delicate  mission  was  entrusted  to  Maj.  Franklin 
J.  DeWitt,  who  set  out  to  visit  Mr.  Fuller  at  the 
Yankton  agency.  Precisely  what  occurred  is  not 
recorded,  but  it  is  certain  that  the  Major  was  sue- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


183 


cessful  in  his  undertaking  for  he  soon  returned 
with  a  very  plausible  letter  from  Mr.  Fuller  in 
which  he  pledged  hearty  co-operation  with  Gov- 
evnor  Kidder,  whose  election  he  conceded.  With 
Mr.  Fuller  harmonized,  it  only  remained  to  make 
a  proper  showing  of  the  vote,  and  Secretary  of 
State  Allen  was  quite  equal  to  the  emergency. 
Under  date  of  March  2,  i860,  he  issued  the  fol- 
lowing certificate : 

Office  of  Secretary  of  Dakota  Territory. 

Abstract  of  votes  cast  at  the  general  election  held 
September  12,  1859,  for  the  election  of  delegate  to 
congress  as  per  returns  from  the  various  counties 
now  on  file  in  this  office: 

Kidder  Puller  Kidder  Fuller 
Big  Sioux  County — 

First   Precinct 287         28 

Second    Precinct 198  5 

485  33         485           33 

Vermillion    county 52 

Midway   county 973         114 

Rock  county 69         ... 

Pembina  county — 

Precinct   of  Pembina...    110 


359 


359 


I  hereby  certify  to  the  above  returns  as  being 
correct.  J.  M.   Allen, 

Sec'y  of  Terr. 

From  all  accounts,  Samuel  J.  Albright, 
although  duly  elected  governor,  did  not  qualify, 
but  soon  left  the  territory  and  the  onerous  duties 
of  that  place  fell  upon  the  capable  shoulders  of 
Judge  Wilmot  \V.  Brookings,  president  of  the 
senate.  Predicated  upon  this  certificate  of  the 
vote  cast.  Judge  Brookings  issued  a  certificate  of 
election  to  Governor  Kidder    in    the    following: 

This  is  to  certify  that  at  an  election  held  In  the 
several  precincts  in  that  part  of  the  territory  of 
Minnesota  without  the  limits  of  the  state  of  Minne- 
sota, and  in  that  part  of  said  territory  west  of  the 
western  boundary  of  said  state  (now  by  common 
consent  called  Dakota),  on  the  12th  day  of  Septem- 
ber, A.  D.  1859,  Jefferson  P.  Kidder  was  duly  elected 
a  delegate  to  the  house  of  representatives  of  the 
United  States,  he  having  received  the  highest  num- 
ber and  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast  at  said  elec- 
tion for  said  office,  for  two  years  from  the  fourth 
day  of  March  last. 


In  testimony  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my 
hand  at  Sioux  Falls  City  this  first  day  of  December, 
1859.  W.  W.  Brookings. 

Acting  governor  of  that  portion  of  the  territory  of 

Minnesota  without    the   state   limits   now   called 

Dakota. 

These  certificates  were  sent  to  Governor 
Kidder,  who  was  not  satisfied  with  them.  The 
abstract  of  the  alleged  vote  cast  was  so  preposter- 
ous that  he  felt  that  he  could  not  go  before 
congress  without  some  explanation  of  it,  so  Sec- 
retary Allen,  at  his  suggestion,  prepared  the  fol- 
lowing certificate : 
Office  of  Secretary  of  Dakota  Terr., 

March  2,  1860. 

This  is  to  certify  that  at  the  election  for  dele- 
gate held  September  12,  1859,  wherein  J,  P.  Kidder 
was  elected,  that  the  returns  from  the  counties  of 
Midway  and  Big  Sioux  also  included  the  returns 
from  the  counties  lying  west  of  the  Big  Sioux  and 
extending  to  the  Missouri  river,  comprising  the  coun- 
ties of  Buchanan,  Vermillion,  Douglas  and  Stephens, 
the  said  counties  having  been  attached  to  the  coun- 
ties of  Midway  and  Big  Sioux  for  judicial  purposes, 
they  having  no  permanent  organization. 

J,  M.  Allen,  Sec'y  of  Dakota  Terr. 

Governor  Kidder  also  wrote  out  in  his  own 
hand  the  following  as  a  substitute  for  the  cer- 
tificate of  election  issued  by  Judge  Brookings  and 
sent  it  out  to  be  signed  by  Brookings  and  the 
latter  obligingly  attached  his  signature  to  it. 

This  is  to  certify  that  at  an  election  held  in  that 
portion  of  the  former  territory  of  Minnesota  not  in- 
cluded in  the  present  state  of  Minnesota  (known  as 
Dakota),  on  the  12th  day  of  September,  1859,  J.  P. 
Kidder  received  the  largest  number  of  votes  cast  for 
delegate  to  congress  from  said  territory  and  is  conse- 
quently entitled  to  recognition  as  such  delegate. 
W.  W.  Brookings,  Governor  Ex-Offlcio. 

Armed  with  these  certificates.  Judge  Kidder 
appeared  before  congress  on  the  12th  day  of 
April,  i860,  and  presented  a  memorial  from  the 
provisional  legislature  asking  that  he  be  seated 
and  also  a  strong  personal  petition,  backed  by  a 
very  convincing  brief  showing  all  of  the  prec- 
edents in  similar  cases.  He  had  abandoned  the 
idea  that  a  new  territory  of  Dakota  existed  and 
adopted  the  view  of  the  committee  of  elections  in 
the  Fuller-Kingsbury  contest  of  the  prevbus 
session,  that  the  portion  of  Minnesota  territory 


[84 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


not  included  within  the  state  of  Minnesota  still 
existed  as  Minnesota  territory  and  as  the  duly 
elected  delegate  from  that  section  was  entitled  to 
recognition.  His  memorial  and  brief  were  i 
ordered  printed  and  occupy  eight  pages  and  con- 
clude as  follows : 

The  precedents  from  the  admission  of  Ohio  to 
the  admission  of  Minnesota  have  all  been  alike.  Mr. 
Fearing,  from  the  Northwestern  territory,  was  per- 
mitted, after  the  admission  of  Ohio  into  the  Union, 
to  retain  his  seat.  Mr.  Jones,  elected  by  that  portion 
of  the  people  of  the  territory  of  Michigan  who  resided 
without  the  limits  of  the  state,  held  his  seat  after 
Michigan  was  admitted.  Mr.  Sibley,  elected  after 
Wisconsin  was  admitted,  by  the  people  of  the  terri- 
tory who  resided  outside  of  the  limits  of  the  state,  , 
was  admitted  to  a  seat  before  the  territory  of  Minne- 
sota was  organized.  Mr.  Kidder  was  elected  by  that 
portion  of  the  people  of  the  territory  of  Minnesota 
who  reside  outside  the  limits  of  the  state  precisely  and 
under  the  same  circumstances  as  was  Mr.  Sibley,  aft- 
er the  admission  of  the  state  into  the  Union.  Why 
then  should  he  not  be  admitted  to  a  seat?  Do  this 
and  there  would  not  seem  to  be  a  distiuction  without 
a  cause;  then  you  will  have  concluded,  so  far  as  this 
tiervof  territories  is  concerned,  a  long  line  of  safe 
precedents,  extending  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Mis- 
souri river. 

Every  foot  of  our  public  domain  is  now  repre- 
sented on  the  floor  of  the  house  except  this  portion. 
And  our  citizens  are  now  supplicating  congress  and 
pleading  by  their  representative  that  they  may  not 
be  deprived  of  all  civil  government  and  thrust  from 
its  doors  by  a  forced  and  constructive  interpretation 
of  law. 

They  have  been  within  the  bounds  of  a  civil  gov- 
ernment and  legal  jurisdiction.  They  ask  that  what 
has  solemnly  been  secured  to  them,  under  which  they 
have  operated  for  years,  having  good  reason  to  be- 
lieve the  same  should  be  perpetual,  should  not  with- 
out  sufficient   cause   be   taken   from  them. 

May  they  have  an  advocate  on  the  floor  of  Con- 
gress? 

Judge  Kidder's  labors  were  unavailing.  He 
continued  the  fight  for  recognition  until  the  ter- 
ritory of  Dakota  was  created  by  law,  on  the  2d' 
of  March,  1861  ;  then  he  made  a  last  appeal  for 
justice  to  the  extent  of  his  expense  incurred,  but 
was  refused.  This  appeal,  now  in  the  possession 
of  the  State  Historical  Society,  is  in  Judge  Kid- 
der's handwriting  and  is  about  the  only  record 
of  what  he  actually  did  in  his  efforts  to  gain 
recognition : 


To  the  Honorable,  the  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  United  States  of  America,  now  in  session: 

Your  memorialist,  Jefferson  P.  Kidder,  of  the 
territory  of  Dakota,  respectfully  showeth: 

That  he  was  elected  as  a  delegate  to  the  thirty- 
sixth  congress  of  the  United  States  to  represent  that 
portion  of  the  territory  of  Minnesota  not  included 
within  the  limits  of  the  state  of  Minnesota  (then  by 
common  consent  called  Dakota)  by  the  voters  there- 
of. That  he  appeared  before  the  Honorable  House 
of  Representatives  of  said  congress  and  asked  to  be 
admitted  to  a  seat  therein,  as  will  more  fully  appear 
by  a  House  Miscellaneous  Document  No.  73,  of  the  1st 
session  of  said  congress,  hereto  attached  and  made  a 
part  of  this  memorial. 

That  said  Kidder  was  before  said  house  and  its 
honorable  committee  on  elections  during  the  first 
session  thereof  five  months  and  was  before  the  same 
during  the  second  (2d)  session  of  said  congress  two 
months;  and  on  the  2d  day  of  March  during  said  last 
session  the  territory  of  Dakota  was  created  by  act 
of  congress;  but  said  Kidder  was  not  admitted  to  his 
seat,  nor  did  he  ever  receive  any  compensation  for  his 
travel,  per  diem,  time  spent,  or  expenses  Incurred 
therein. 

Wherefore  for  which  he  claims  that  he  is  entitled 
to  compensation;   and  states: 

That  he  traveled  from  his  home  a  distance  of  one 
thousand  four  hundred  miles  twice,  to  appear  before 
said  congress  and  that  he  spent,  paid  out  a  large  sum 
of  money  in  prosecuting  his  claim  to  said  seat  to- 
wit:  the  sum  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars,  and  your 
memorialist  will  ever  pray. 

Jefferson   P.   Kidder. 

This  memorial  is  not  dated,  but  was  probably 
presented  the  last  days  of  the  thirty-sixth  con- 
gress, about  March  3,  1861. 

As  before  indicated,  politics  had  most  to  do 
with  the  failure  of  the  Sioux  Falls  men  to  gain 
recognition.  The  movement  was  inaugurated  by 
ardent  Democrats,  the  ramifications  of  whose 
organization  ran  into  all  of  the  departments  of 
government.  Never  were  plans  better  laid,  by 
more  acute  men,  but,  to  their  misfortune,  the  Re- 
publican party  was  born  and  within  four  years 
swept  the  land.  It  was  agreat  revolution,  in 
which  party  spirit  ran  high  and  it  was  not  to  be 
expected  that  the  young  Republicans,  flushed 
with  their  first  victories,  would  be  particularly 
magnanimous  to  their  enemies.  Hence  the 
Democratic  Sioux  Falls  movement  came  to 
naught. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  SETTLERS. 


When,  as  has  been  elsewhere  indicated,  the 
Yankton  Indians,  on  the  loth  day  of  July,  1859. 
finally  accepted  and  ratified  the  treaty  of  1858  b\ 
removing  to  the  reservation  there  were  a  large 
number  of  immigrants  waiting  upon  the  Ne- 
braska shore  to  come  over  and  possess  the  goodly 
land.  Promptly  with  the  removal  of  the  Indians 
they  thronged  across  the  river  and  made  loca- 
tions, the  more  speculative  settling  upon  the 
town  sites,  as  at  Elk  Point,  Vermillion,  Yankton 
and  Bon  Homme,  while  the  sturdy  Norwegian 
farmers  selected  the  rich  bottom  lands  between 
the  James  and  the  Vermillion,  the  chief  settle- 
ment being  made  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Meckling. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  a  complete  roster  of 
those  who  entered  that  day  has  not  been  kept, 
but  at  this  date  it  is  in  evidence  that  many  whose 
names  have  been  most  honorably  distinguished 
in  Dakota  territory  and  state  entered  upon  that 
(lay,  or  immediately  afterward.  At  Bon  Homme 
we  find  John  H.  Shober,  S.  G.  Irish.  George  M. 
Pinney,  the  Rounds  and  Rufners.  At  Yankton, 
Moses  K.  Armstrong,  A.  T.  McLees,  Enos 
Stutsman,  J.  S.  Presho,  FVank  Chappell,  David 
I.  Fisher,  Downer  T.  Bramble,  J.  M.  Stone, 
William  P.  Lyman,  Sam  Mortimer,  George  Pike, 
Jr.,  L.  M.  Griffith,  Joseph  R.  Hanson,  Henry  C. 
Ash,  William  Bordeno,  William  H.  Werdebaugh, 
George  D.  Fiske,  Sam  Jereau,  A.  Alauxsch,  W. 
N.  Collamer,  Henry  T.  Bailey  and  James  Wither- 
spoon  were  among  those  who  entered  upon  the 
town  sites  on  fulv  loth.    Mrs.  Henry  C.  Ash  was 


the  first  woman  to  take  up  her  home  in  Yankton, 
but  her  arrival  is  modern,  as  she  did  not  get 
there  until  Christmas,  1859.  The  pioneers  of 
Vermillion  are  the  Browns,  Robinsons,  Jewells, 
Phelps,  McHenrys,  Miners,  \'an  Meters,  Deuels, 
Boyles,  Taylors,  Dr.  Caulkins,  the  Woods  and 
the  Benedicts.  Among  the  Meckling  farmers  we 
find  the  familiar  names  of  Olson,  Bottolfson. 
Myron,  Sampson,  Nelson,  Jacobson  and  Jessen. 
At  Elk  Point,  Eli  B.  Wickson  appears  to  have, 
single-handed,  held  the  boards. 

There  was  already  a  well-established  stage 
road  from  Sioux  City  to  Fort  Randall,  and  each 
of  the  points  indicated  afforded  convenient  stage 
stations  along  this  route,  where  hotels  were 
established  and  trade  with  the  settlers  and  In- 
dians made  a  demand  for  stores.  There  was  no 
■sawmill  nearer  than  Sioux  City,  so  that  most  of 
the  structures  were  rudely  built  of  logs  with  roofs 
of  swale  hay,  thatch  or  earth,  but  they  were  warm 
and  comfortable.  It  was  too  late  to  make  any 
sort  of  crop  in  1859,  but  hay  was  abundant  for 
stock  and  every  possible  preparation  was  made 
for  a  crop  the  next  year  and  from  ever_\-  report 
the  settlers  went  into  their  first  winter  contented, 
comfortable  and  hopeful.  They  were  chiefly 
voung,  hardy  and  vigorous  people  and  it  is 
always  to  be  remembered,  to  their  great  credit, 
that,  notwithstanding  the  stern  demands  upon 
them  to  provide  shelter  and  food,  that  from  the 
beginning  they  were  not  unmindful  of  the  higher 
demands  of  religion  and  education.  On  the 
very   first   .Sabbath   in   the   new   land     the     Nor- 


i86 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


wegians  about  ^leckling  gathered  for  prayer  and 
religious  counsel  and  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  succeeding  winter  a  school,  taught  by  Dr. 
Caulkins  in  the  upper  story  of  McHenry's  hotel, 
was  provided  and  most  of  the  children  of  the 
settlement  gathered  into  it. 

The  only  newspaper  published  in  Dakota  at 
that  time  was  the  Dakota  Democrat  at  Sioux 
Falls,  and  it  studiously  refrained  from  any  men- 
tion of  the  Missouri  river  settlements  and  in  fact 
said  very  little  of  local  affairs  at  the  Falls.  How- 
ever it  reveals  enough  to  let  us  know  that  the 
settlers,  in  addition  to  the  necessarily  rough  liv- 
ing of  the  pioneer  period,  indulged  in  many  social 


Lin. 

.^S 

ocHae    tJcTt- 

Auzy 

Si  m 

^ 

Brnms 

ALLEY 

f^ 

Cmi  Sr. 

STOCKADE  AT  YANKTON.   l852. 


diversions  and  found  much  of  real  enjoyment. 
A  side  light  on  one  of  the  diversions  of  this 
first  winter  is  thrown  by  a  letter  written  by  T.  B. 
Greenway  to  the  Sioux  City  Register  of  January 
6,  i860.  The  Dakota  Democrat  had  mentioned 
with  some  eclat  a  cotillion  party  given  at  the 
Dakota  House,  Sioux  Falls,  on  the  New  Year 
eve.  Greenway  had  not  been  invited  and  sought 
solace  for  his  injured  feelings  by  showing  the 
function  up  in  the  print  of  the  newspaper  of 
the  hated  rival  city.  Relieved  of  its  somewhat 
picturesque  orthography,  Greenway's  letter  is  as 
follows : 


Dear  Sir:  You  will  see  in  our  Sioux  Falls  City 
eight-by-ten  a  publication  of  a  cotillion  party  at  the 
Dakota  House  on  Friday,  the  30th  of  December,  1859, 
given  by  Mr.  Cooper.  Mr.  S.  J.  Albright  did  not  say 
to  you  in  his  publication  that  he  occupied  the  Dakota 
House  with  Mr.  Cooper  and  was  foreman  in  the 
above  mentioned  shindig  and  also  Mr.  Stuart,  a  print- 
er in  S.  J.'s  employ.  But  we  do  not  wonder  at  S.  J. 
and  Stuart  withdrawing  their  names  from  the  party, 
for  the  facts  are  it  was  a  beggar  dance.  They  first 
went  round  to  the  neighbors  and  begged  the  provis- 
ions. These  are  facts.  Mr.  James  Allen  gave  the 
flour  and  spice;  J.  B.  Jarrett  gave  the  lard  to  shorten 
the  pound  cake.  Their  pound  cake  was  shortened 
with  fat  and  sweetened  with  coarse  brown  sugar  and 
their  doughnuts  were  fried  in  tallow.  With  coffee, 
that  was  their  supper.  They  had  not  an  egg  nor  a 
drop  of  milk,  nor  a  pound  of  butter.  There  were  but 
three  ladies  present.  I  presume  they  had  a  consider- 
able of  a  stag  dance,  for  it  was  but  a  short  time  after 
supper  that  those  two  married  ladies  and  also  Mrs. 

's  hired  girl  left  them  to  have  a  stag  dance 

of  it. 

Occasional  letters  from  Yankton  and  \'er- 
million,  also  published  in  the  Sioux  City  Register 
at  this  period,  tell  of  pleasant  social  affairs  along 
the  Missouri.  In  one  of  these  letters  is  given  a 
list  of  the  periodicals  and  newspapers  received 
regularly  by  Yankton  subscribers,  the  list  com- 
prising most  of  the  standard  newspapers  and 
magazines  of  that  date. 

Early  in  January,  i860,  the  first  regular 
minister  arrived  in  Dakota  and  held  services  in 
the  settlements  along  the  river.  This  minister 
was  Rev.  Charles  D.  Martin,  of  Nebraska  City, 
Nebraska,  a  Presbyterian.  He  held  his  first 
service  in  Bramble's  store.  His  pulpit  was  a 
barrel  of  whiskey  and  his  text  Proverbs  11  ;  13, 
"Wealth  gotten  by  vanity  shall  diminish ;  but 
he  that  gathereth  by  labor  shall  increase."  The 
first  hymn  was  "Old  Hundred,"  and  Maj.  Joseph 
R.  Hanson,  Moses  K.  Armstrong  and  L.  M. 
Griffiths  led  the  singing.  It  does  not  appear  that 
he  organized  a  church  at  Yankton,  but  a  few  days 
later  he  preached  in  Vennillion  and  met  with 
such  encouragement  that  he  conducted  a  series 
of  meetings  there  and  organized  a  church  society 
and  in  the  following  June  erected  the  first  church 
edifice  in  Dakota  on  the  bottom  at  Vermillion. 
Tliis  was  a  very  humble  affair,  built  of  logs,  with 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


187 


a  roof  of  poles  and  earth,  but  the  people  were 
proud  of  it  and  especially  so  when  the  in- 
defatigable pastor  secured  a  bell  for  it.  This 
bell,  however,  was  not  mounted,  but  was  placed 
beside  the  church  where  it  was  rung  for  services, 
but  unfortunately  was  broken  so  that  its  voice 
was  not  particularly  musical.  Except  the  bell  at 
Fort  Pierre,  this  was  probably  the  first  in  Dakota 
and  certainly  the  first  for  church  purposes. 

In  October,  i860,  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  came  as  a  pioneer  into  the  Dakota  field. 
The  territor)-  was  attached  to  the  Upper  Iowa 
conference  and  was  placed  under  the  supervision 
of  Rev.  George  Clifford,  presiding  elder  of  the 
Siou.x  City  district.  Elder  Clifford  assigned 
Rev.  S.  W.  Ingham,  a  young  minister,  to  ride 
the  South  Dakota  circuit.  Mr.  Ingham  entered 
upon  his  work  October  12,  i860,  equipped  in  true 
old-fashioned  Methodist  style,  with  horse  and 
saddle-bags.  He  notes  that  at  that  date  Elk  Point 
consisted  of  two  log  cabins  of  inferior  construc- 
tion and  two  of  a  better  class  in  course  of  con- 
struction. On  the  next  Sunday  Mr.  Ingham 
preached  in  the  dining  room  of  MulhoUand's 
tavern,  Vermillion,  to  a  congregation  of  twenty 
persons  from  the  text,  Romans  i :  16,  "For  I  am 
not  ashamed  of  the  gospel  of  Christ."  The  next 
Sunday  he  preached  the  first  Methodist  sermon, 
in  Yankton,  occupying  Gen.  J.  B.  S.  Todd's 
office.  His  congregation,  which  promised  to  be 
large,  dwindled  to  seven  persons  owing  to  the 
fact  that  a  steamboat  whistled  into  port  just  as 
the  services  began.  Mr.  Ingham  tells  us  that  at 
this  time,  when  Yankton  was  more  than  a  year 
old,  that  it  consisted  of  three  log  cabins  with  dirt 
roofs  and  two  frame  buildings. 

On  the  succeeding  Wednesday  Mr.  Ingham 
journeyed  to  Bon  Homme,  where  he  united  Miss 
Bradford  and  Samuel  Grant  in  marriage.  This 
was  the  first  marriage  in  the  territory  west  of 
James  river  and  the  second  in  the  territory,  the 
first  having  been  that  in  which  Minor  Robinson, 
of  Vermillion,  was  the  groom. 

In  the  month  of  ^lay,  i860,  the  settlers  at 
Bon  Homme  village  erected  a  small  school  build- 


ing in  which  Miss  Emma  J-  Bradford  taught  the 
children  of  the  neighborhood.  This  was  the  first 
schoolhouse  built  in  Dakota.  It  was  fourteen 
by  sixteen  feet  in  size  and  had  a  rail  and  dirt 
roof.  The  desks  were  made  from  lumber  01  an 
old  wagon  box.  The  seats  were  log  puncheons 
with  sticks  stuck  in  auger  holes  for  legs.  John 
H.  Shober  was  at  the  head  of  the  movement  for 
the  building  and  maintenance  of  the  school. 

The  weather  during  this  first  year  of  settle- 
ment was  freaky  and  much  of  it  unpleasant. 
High  water  and  continuous  rains  made  the  roads 
on  the  IMissouri  bottom  very  difficult.  There 
were  several  storms  of  unusual  severity  during 
the  first  winter,  during  one  of  which,  occurring 
in  January,  i860,  George  D.  Fiske,  the  local 
manager  for  Frost,  Todd  &  Company,  was 
frozen  to  death,  his  being  the  first  death  to  occur 
among  the  Missouri  valley  settlers. 

No  difficulty  was  experienced  with  the 
Indians.  The  Yanktons  observed  their  treaty 
with  reasonable  care  and  when  they  left  the 
reservation  their  association  with  the  whites  was 
friendly.  Inkpaduta  hovered  about  in  the  in- 
terior of  Dakota  and  occasionally  made  a  raid  on 
some  of  the  more  exposed  settlements  to  run  off 
stock,  but  there  was  no  blood  shed.  The  Santees, 
from  Minnesota,  were  the  most,  usual  visitors, 
but  relations  with  them  were  pleasant.  About 
seventy-five  of  these  Santees  under  Hisayu,  the 
Indian  whom  Dr.  Williamson  sent  with  the  warn- 
ing to  the  settlers  at  Medary  in  1858,  wintered 
at  Elk  Point  and  Eli  Wixson  carried  on  a  profit- 
able trade  with  them.  The  old  Indian  died  be- 
fore spring  under  circumstances  which  led  Mr. 
Wixson  to  believe  he  had  been  poisoned. 

Trapping,  Indian  trade  and  land  surveying 
were  the  common  pursuits.  Except  for  the  Nor- 
wegians of  the  Missouri  flats  between  the  Jim 
and  the  Vermillion,  there  was  little  real  farming. 
Nevertheless  the  settlers  were  plodding  along 
with  high  hopes  for  the  development  of  the  ter- 
ritory and  the  genuine  Dakota  spirit,  which  has 
come  to  be  recognized  as  a  dominant  force  in  tlu- 
Northwest,  had  already  taken  a  firm  hold. 


CHAPTER  XXX 


DAKOTA  TERRITORY  CREATED. 


While  the  representati\-es  of  the  Sioux  Falls 
government  were  making  so  strenuous  efforts  to 
break  into  congress,  citizens  of  other  portions 
of  the  Dakota  land  were  not  idle.  Xo  sooner 
was  the  reser\-ation  opened  and  settlement  under- 
taken in  the  Missouri  valley  than  Captain  J.  B.  S. 
Todd — v\ho  two  years  before  had  resigned  his 
commission  in  the  regular  army,  where  he  had 
done  acceptable  ser\nce,  particularly  at  the  battle 
of  Blue  river  on  September  3.  1855.  where  he  led 
his  troops  with  commendable  gallantry,  to  take 
up  a  commercial  and  political  career.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  firm  of  Frost,  Todd  &  Company, 
who  had  secured  the  right  from  government  for 
th.e  exclusive  trade  with  the  Yanktons — began  to 
systematically  agitate  for  the  erection  of  a  ter- 
ritorial government.  He  promoted  public  meet- 
ings to  memorialize  congress  upon  the  subject 
and  in  November,  1859,  held  such  meetings  at 
Bon  Homme,  Yankton  and  \"ermillion  where 
strong  pronunciamentos  were  promulgated. 
.Armed  with  these  memorials  Captain  Todd,  who 
by  this  time,  through  the  courtesy  by  which  civil- 
ians on  the  frontier  obtained  promotion  in  mili- 
tary honors,  had.  anticipating  the  title  he  was  to 
earn  in  the  first  years  of  the  Civil  war,  become 
■General"  Todd,  proceeded  to  Washington  and 
besieged  congress  for  the  creation  of  the  territory. 
When  lie  returned  at  the  close  of  the  long  term, 
in  August,  i860,  the  Sioux  City  Register,  which 
appears  to  have  been  his  particular  newspaper 
exponent,  says  that  he  succeeded  in  placing  the 
matter  before  congress   in   so   favorable  a   light 


that  the  passage  of  the  bill  at  an  early  date  was 
already  assured.  This  assurance  seems  justified, 
for  before  the  close  of  the  ensuing  short  term  the 
bill  did  pass,  though  how  much  Captain  Todd 
liad  to  do  in  bringing  about  that  consummation 
is  not  revealed  by  the  record. 

\\'hat  does  api>ear  reveals  the  following  facts : 
On  December  30.  1859.  Senator  Henry  M.  Rice, 
of  Minnesota,  gave  notice  that  it  was  his  inten- 
tion to.  on  some  future  day  of  the  session,  ask 
leave  to  introduce  a  bill  for  the  temporary  gov- 
ernment of  the  territor}-  of  Dakota  and  for  es- 
tablishing the  office  of  sur\-eyor  general  therein. 
On  January  24.  i860.  Senator  Rice  introduced  a 
resolution  instructing  the  committee  on  terri- 
tories to  report  a  bill  for  the  organization  of 
Dakota,  etc.  On  February  15.  1861.  Senator 
James  S.  Green,  of   Missouri,  chairman  of  the 

j  committee  on  territories,  reported  senate  bill  Xo. 

i  562,  which  passed  both  houses  with  some  amend- 
ments and  was  approved  by  James  Buchanan, 
President  of  the  United  States,  on  March  2, 
1861.  and  by  its  provisions  Dakota  territory  was 
created. 

Dakota  territory  as  so  created  extended  from 
the  present  eastern  boundaries  of  Xorth  and 
South  Dakota  to  the  main  range  of  the  Rocky 
mountains,  with  the  provision  that  all  unre- 
linquished Indian  lands  within  such  boundaries 
should  comprise  no  part  of  such  territory,  so  tliat 

'  in  point  of  fact,  while  the  boundaries  embraced 
a  vast  empire.  Dakota  territory  at  the  date  of  its 
creation  really  comprised  only  the  small  portion 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


189 


of  southeastern  South  Dakota  rehnquished  by  the 
Sisseton  and  Yankton  treaties.  The  bill  pro- 
vided for  the  appointment  by  the  President  of  a 
governor,  secretary,  supreme  court  and  marshal 
and  surveyor  general.  The  governor  was  em- 
powered to  take  a  census,  make  a  legislative  ap- 
portionment and  appoint  an  election  for  legisla- 
ture and  delegate  to  congress.  The  legislature 
was  to  consist  of  nine  councilmen  and  thirteen 
representatives.  The  legislature  was  to  convene 
at  such  time  and  place  as  the  governor  might  ap- 
point, and  the  legislature  and  governor  were  em- 
powered to  fix  by  law  a  permanent  seat  of  gov- 
ernment. The  governor  was  made  ex-officio 
superintendent  of  Indian  aflfairs  and  received 
fifteen  hundred  dollars  per  year  as  governor  and 
one  thousand  dollars  as  Indian  superintendent. 
The  act  further  provided  that  every  free  white 
male  who  resided  in  the  territory  at  the  time  of 
the  passage  of  the  act  should  be  entitled  to  vote. 
The  jurisdiction  of  the  several  courts  were  de- 
fined, particularly  as  to  the  exercise  of  the  writ 
of  habeas  corpus.  The  bill  created  the  sur^^eyor 
general's  office  and  also  the  "Yankton  land  dis- 
trict." and  concluded  with  this  piece  of  legislation, 
which  has  been  studiously  disregarded  ever  since : 
"And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  the  river  in  said 
territory  heretofore  known  as  the  'River  aux 
Jacques.'  or  'James  river,'  shall  hereafter  be 
called  the  'Dakota  river.'  " 

\'er}-  promptly  upon  his  accession  to  office 
President  Lincoln  appointed  the  officers  for 
Dakota  territory  provided  by  the  organic  act. 
For  governor  he  selected  his  friend  and  neighbor, 
and  family  physician  at  Springfield,  Dr.  William 
Jayne.  Dr.  Jayne  was  at  that  date  but  thirt\-five 
years  of  age,  but  he  had  strongly  impressed  him- 
self upon  Lincoln. 

In  addition  to- Lincoln's  own  predisposition 
in  relation  to  Jayne,  his  appointment  was  also 
strongly  supported  by  Dr.  Jayne's  brother-in- 
law.  Senator  Trumbull. 

For  secretary.  John  Hutchinson,  of  Min- 
nesota, a  member  of  the  famous  family  of  singers, 
was  chosen.  Philomen  Bliss,  of  Ohio,  an  emi- 
nent lawyer,  whose  name  is  still  familiar  to  the 
profession  everywhere,  as  the  author  of  a  stand- 


ard work  on  code  pleading,  was  appointed  chief 
justice,  and  L.  P.  Williston,  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
J.  L.  Williams,  of  Tennessee,  were  made  the 
associate  justices.  The  other  appointments  were 
W.  E.  Gleason,  of  Maryland,  attorney  general ; 
G.  D.  Hill,  of  Michigan,  surveyor  general ;  W.  F. 
Shaffer,  of  New  York,  marshal ;  Walter  A.  Bur- 
leigh, of  Pennsylvania,  agent  of  the  Yanktons ; 
H.  A.  Hofifman,  of  New  York,  agent  of  the 
Poncas ;  H.  A.  Kennerly,  register,  and  Jesse 
Wherry,  receiver  of  the  land  office.  By  pre- 
arrangement,  these  appointees  rendezvoused  at 
Chicago  and  arrived  in  the  territory  early  in 
June. 

The  people  of  Dakota  were  on  the  quivive  in 
anticipation  of  their  arrival,  for  not  only  were 
they  honestly  anxious  to  again  be  under  the  pro- 
tection of  a  duly  organized  government,  but  like- 
wise the  action  of  these  officials  would  have  a 
powerful  influence  in  determining  the  seat  of  the 
territorial  government.  Therefore  it  was  in- 
cumbent that  every  civility  be  shown  them  by  the 
respective  aspiring  communities.  It  does  not  ap- 
pear that  Sioux  Falls  longer  aspired  to  capital 
honors,  but  Vermillion.  Yankton  and  Bon 
Homme  were  eagerly  in  the  contest  and  when  it 
was  announced  that  Governor  Jayne  was  en- 
route  and  would  pass  through  X'ermillion  upon 
a  certain  day  an  elaborate  banquet  was  prepared 
in  his  honor  and  his  coming  anxiously  awaited. 
Presently  a  dignified  looking  gentleman,  driven 
in  a  carriage,  arrived  from  Sioux  City  way  and 
he  was  received  by  the  committee  and  escorted 
to  the  banquet  hall  where  feasting,  toasts  and 
speeches  were  the  order  and  high  good  feeling 
abounded.  While  the  banquet  was  in  progress 
the  carriages  bearing  the  Federal  officials  passed 
through  the  village  and  on  to  Yankton.  The  gen- 
tleman whom  the  citizens  of  Vermillion  were  so 
elaborately  entertaining  was  a  newcomer,  Mr. 
Bigelow,  who,  appreciating  the  humor  of  the 
situation,  did  not  give  himself  away.  So  pleased 
was  he  with  his  reception  that  he  concluded  to 
remain,  and  he  spent  the  remaining  years  of  his 
life  in  Vermillion,  where  he  died  in  1900,  univer- 
sally esteemed  and  by  every  one  hailed  as  "Gov- 
ernor" Bigelow.    Governor  Jayne.  quite  oblivious 


I  go 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


of  the  ovation  which  his  constituents  at  \'er- 
million  intended  for  him,  passed  on  to  Yankton, 
which  he  made  the  seat  of  his  operations.  His 
first  act  under  the  powers  vested  in  him  by  the 
organic  act  was  to  take  a  census.  This  count  re- 
vealed a  total  white  population  of  two  thousand 
four  hundred  and  two  people.  Next,  on  the  13th 
of  July,  he  issued  a  proclamation   dividing  the 


territory  into  judicial  districts.  The  division  was 
made  so  as  to  leave  Vermillion,  Yankton  and 
Bon  Homme  in  different  districts.  Chief  Justice 
Bliss  was  assigned  to  the  \''ermillion  district,  and 
Justices  Williston  and  Williams,  respectively,  to 
Yankton  and  Bon  Homme.  On  July  29th 
Governor  Jayne  issued  his  second  proclamation, 
subdividing  the  territory  into  legislative  districts 
and  appointing  a  general  election  to  take  place  on 


September  i6th  for  delegate  to  congress  and 
members  of  the  legislature. 

\\'hile  giving  attention  to  these  preliminary 
matters  in  the  organization  of  the  territory. 
Governor  Jayne  and  Attorney  General  Gleason 
took  up  their  abode  in  an  unpretentious  log 
cabin  located  on  the  east  side  of  Broadway, 
midway  between  Third  and  Fourth  streets.  Hon. 
George  W.  .Kingsbury,  in  writing  of  this  period, 
says :  'Tt  is  a  tradition  handed  down  by  the 
early  dwellers  of  the  soil  that  the  joint  tenants 
did  not  dwell  together  in  peace  and  unity.  Glea- 
son was  a  young  and  delicate  }ilarylander  and 
rebelled  somewhat  because  he  was  required  to 
keep  the  executive  mansion  in  order  and  also 
to  furnish,  from  the  river,  water  for  toilet  pur- 
poses for  himself  and  the  Governor.  The  Gov- 
ernor felt  that  this  much  was  due  from  a 
subordinate  official,  while  it  afforded  the  attorney 
general,  whose  salary  was  but  two  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars  per  year,  an  opportunity  to  pay  in 
part  for  such  respectable  accommodations  and 
high  social  connections,  features  of  the  case 
which  the  high-born  ;\Iar}Iander  was  inclined 
to  think  had  been  overestimated.  Other  and 
more  appropriate  accommodations  for  the 
officials  were  fitted  up,  the  first  executive  mansion 
was  abandoned,  and  a  source  of  exquisite  amuse- 
ment to  the  fun-loving  pioneers  of  the  rough 
and  read\-  school  who  then  predominated,  was 
abruptly  terminated." 

Almost  immediately  Dakota  found  herself  in 
the  throes  of  a  desperate  political  conflict  over 
the  delegateship.  Two  newspapers  had  already 
been  established ;  the  Weekly  Dakotian,  at  Yank- 
ton, was  first  issued  on  the  6th  of  June,  by 
Frank  M.  Ziebach  and  William  Feeney  under 
the  name  of  the  Dakotian  Company.  Early  in 
July  the  Dakota  Republican  was  established  at 
Vermillion  by  Bedell  &  Qark,  for  this  purpose 
borrowing  the  material  which  had  fomierly  been 
used  in  the  publication  of  the  Dakota  Democrat 
at  Sioux  Falls  City. 

Captain  J.  B.  S.  Todd  had  long  been  a  can- 
didate for  the  position.  As  early  as  September 
15,  1859,  the  Sioux  City  Register  announced: 
"Captain  J.  B.  S.  Todd,  of  Dakota  Territorj-,  is 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


sojourning  in  the  city.  We  are  glad  to  find  him 
in  the  enjoyment  of  good  health  and  manifesting 
his  usual  energy  in  behalf  of  the  interests  of 
Dakota.  He  will  probably  be  a  candidate  at 
the  approaching  election  for  delegate  to  congress 
and,  if  so,  will  undoubtedly  be  elected.  He  is 
just  the  man  for  the  place,  under  whose  super- 
vision the  interests  of  the  territory  and  welfare 
of  the  settlers  would  be  greatly  enhanced."  With 
the  proclamation  for  the  election  he  announced 
himself  as  an  independent  candidate  and  began 
his  campaign,  supported  by  the  Dakotian.  On 
June  1st  a  mass  convention  of  the  Union  party 
met  in  Vermillion  and  placed  in  nomination  A. 
J.  Bell,  who  was  supported  by  the  Dakota  Re- 
jniblican.  This  made  a  very  symmetrical  layout, 
but  when  Charles  P.  Bouge,  of  Sioux  City,  Iowa, 
announced  his  independent  candidacy  the  fun  be- 
gan in  earnest.  Bouge  had  no  newspaper  organ, 
but  he  was  energetic  and  drove  a  great  deal 
among  the  voters.  It  is  said  that  his  wife,  who 
was  a   somewhat  spirited   woman,  was  strongly 


opposed  to  his  candidacy  and  being  a  good 
horsewoman  followed  her  husband  when  out 
campaigning  and  undid  his  work  as  fast  as  he 
accomplished  it.  The  settlers  were  generally 
strangers  to  each  other,  but  all  were  more  or 
less  acquainted  with  the  reputation  of  Captain 
Todd  and  the  election  proved  his  popularit)'.  Of 
the  585  votes  cast,  Todd  received  397,  Bouge 
110  and  Bell  but  78.  After  the  election  the 
newspapers  suspended  publication  and  the 
federal  officers  returned  to  their  homes  for  the 
winter. 

Early  in  1862  Rev.  Melanchthon  Hoyt,  an 
Episcopal  clergyman,  removed  to  Yankton  and 
erected  a  building  at  the  corner  of  Fourth  and 
Linn,  for  church  purposes.  Mr.  Hoyt  had  pre- 
viously lived  in  Sioux  City  and  had  from  early 
in  i860  held  occasional  services  in  the  Dakota 
river  towns.  On  one  of  these  trips  in  the  sum- 
mer of  i860  he  was  accompanied  by  Right  Rev. 
Joseph  C.  Talbot,  missionary  bishop  for  the 
Northwest  Territory.    . 


CHAPTER  XXXI 


FIRST  TERRITORIAL  LEGISLATURE. 


The  organization  of  the  territory  by  congress 
in  the  spring  of  1861  had  served  to  attract  wide 
attention  to  the  new  land  of  the  northwest  and 
with  the  assurance  of  a  stable  government  a  new 
immigration  set  in,  so  that  before  the  ensuing 
winter  settled  down  there  was  a  good  fringe  of 
settlers  along  the  lower  river  and  the  Sioux  and 
with  the  opening  of  the  spring  of  1862  the  inflow 
of  homeseekers  was  renewed.  There  was  a  good 
deal  of  steamboating  on  the  river,  but  a  re- 
markably few  settlers  came  in  that  way,  by  far 
the  larger  numl^er  driving  in  with  their  own 
conveyances. 

Governor  Jayne  had  called  the  legislature  to 
convene  on  St.  Patrick's  day,  March  17,  1862, 
and  was  himself  on  the  ground  for  that  event. 
The  council  of  this  first  legislature  consisted  of 
the  following  gentlemen,  whom  we  have  seen 
were  elected  on  the  i6th  of  the  previous  Septem- 
ber :  Henry  D.  Betts,  John  W.  Boyle  and  Jacob 
Deuel,  of  \'ermillion  :  Downer  T.  Bramble  and 
Enos  Stutsman,  of  Yankton ;  W.  W.  Brookings, 
of  Sioux  Falls  ;  A.  Cole,  of  Brule  Creek  ;  J.  Shaw 
Gregory,  of  Fort  Randall,  and  John  H.  Shober, 
of  Bon  Homme,  nine  in  all.  The  house  was  com- 
posed of  thirteen  members  as  follows :  Bon 
Homme,  George  M.  Pinney  and  Reuben  Wal- 
lace; Elk  Point,  Christopher  jMaloney  and  John 
C.  McBride:  Vermillion.  A.  W.  Puett,  Lyman 
Burgess,  J.  A.  Jacobson  and  Bligh  E.  Wood ; 
Yankton,  Moses  K.  Armstrong  and  John 
Stanage :  Pembina,  Hugh  S.  Donaldson ;  Fort 
Randall.  John  L.  Tiernon  ;  Sioux  Falls,  George 


I'.  Waldron.  The  house  was  provided  with  quar- 
ters in  the  building  erected  by  Rev.  Melanchthon 
U.  Hoyt,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  Episco- 
pal ilock,  at  the  comer  of  Fourth  and  Linn 
streets,  and  the  council  being  quartered  in  the 
residence  of  William  Tripp,  at  Fourth  and 
Broadway.  To  the  settlers  the  convening  of  this 
body  was  a  momentous  event  and  the  destiny  of 
ambitious  men  and  aspiring  communities  hung 
upon  its  action  and  much  depended  upon 
the  preliminary  organization.  In  this  re- 
spect the  Yanktonians.  by  reason  of  their 
environment  and  local  influence,  had  a  distinct 
advantage,  as  it  also  had  perhaps  in  represent- 
atives more  trained  in  public  aflfairs. 

Long  before  the  legislature  convened  the 
active  brains  of  the  Yankton  men  were  busy  with 
schemes  for  the  organization  which  should  re- 
dound to  the  advantage  of  that  town  in  the  con- 
test for  the  location  of  the  capital.  Sioux  Falls 
was  ambitious  for  the  honor,  but  Bon  Homme 
and  Vermillion  were  the  most  formidable  op- 
ponents. As  will  be  seen,  Yankton  and  Ver- 
million each  had  two  councilmen,  while  Bon 
Homme  had  but  one,  while  in  the  house,  by 
reason  of  the  division  of  the  section  into  the 
districts  of  East  and  West  Vennillion,  that  place 
had  four  representatives,  while  Yankton  and  Bon 
Homme  had  but  two  each.  The  Yankton  men 
at  once  saw  the  necessity  for  an  alliance  with  the 
Bon  Homme  people.  Therefore  they  adroitly 
proposed  to  make  John  H.  Shober  president  of 
the  council   and   George   M.   Pinney  s(>eaker  of 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


193 


the  house,  thus  gfiving;  to  Bon  Homme  the  chief 
positions  in  both  bodies.  The  Bon  Homme  men 
were  highly  flattered  by  this  proposal  and  ac- 
cepted it,  though  its  consummation  was  predi- 
cated upon  a  written  agreement  that  Yankton 
should  be  made  the  capital,  but  coupled  with  this 
was  a  further  agreement  that  the  penitentiary 
should  be  located  at  Bon  Homme.  The  slate  so 
agreed  upon  went  through. 

The  men  who  composed  this  legislature  were 
well  suited  for  the  occasion,  all  of  them  frontiers- 
men of  the  rough-and-ready  type,  but  many  of 
them  possessing  keen  intellects  and  several  of 
them  were  trained  and  successful  law\"ers.  There 
was  a  freedom  and  lack  of  conventionality  in  the 
situation  which  appealed  strongly  to  the  wild 
side  of  men  and  led  them  to  do  and  to  tolerate 
many  things  which  they  would  have  almost 
unanimously  discountenanced  under  other  cir- 
cumstances ;  nevertheless  the  enactments  of  the 
session  were  in  the  main  wise  and  resulted  in  the 
general  good. 

In  a  series  of  letters  contributed  to  the  Sioux 
City  Register  during  this  session  by  Hon.  Moses 
K.  Armstrong,  under  the  soubriquet,  "Log- 
roller,"  this  legislature  was  called  the  "Pony 
Congress,"  and  the  name  has  clung  to  it. 

Early  in  the  session  an  incident  occurred 
which  created  a  sensation  and  which  to  this  day 
is  recalled  with  interest  by  the  old-timers.  It 
grew  out  of  the  location  of  the  capital.  Although 
Speaker  Pinney  held  his  office  through  the  writ- 
ten agreement  upon  which  he  entered  to  support 
Yankton  for  the  capital,  he  weakened  when  the 
bill  came  up  for  final  action  and,  leaving  the 
speaker's  chair,  took  the  floor  and  moved  that 
the  word  "Yankton"  be  stricken  from  the  bill  and 
"Bon  Homme"  be  inserted  in  lieu  thereof.  This 
motion  failing,  he  then  moved  that  Vermillion 
he  substituted  for  Yankton  and  the  motion  pre- 
vailed and  the  bill  which  originated  in  the  council 
passed  the  house  with  the  Vermillion  amend- 
ment. The  council  refused  to  concur  and  after 
a  bit  of  parliamentary  skirmishing,  out  of  which 
the  X'emiillion  men  secured  the  location. of  the 
Territorial  University  at  that  place,  the  house 
receded    from    its   amendment   and    Yankton    se- 


cured the  capital.  In  the  light  of  events  it  is 
thought  that  the  N'ermillion  men  made  a  pretty 
fair  trade. 

The  conduct  of  Speaker  Pinney  exasperated 
the  Yankton  men  beyond  endurance.  At  that 
period  the  test  of  honesty  in  a  statesman  was  to 
stay  bought  and  they  justly  felt  tliat  Pinney  had 
violated  the  very  rudiments  of  political  honor. 
They  resolved  to  visit  summary  punishment  upon 
him.  The  plan  of  operations  adopted  was  as 
follows :  Jim  Somers,  the  noted  desperado,  was 
sergeant-at-arms  of  the  house,  and  Jim  was  to 
seize  Pinney  and  throw  him  bodily  from  the 
window ;  the  speaker's  chair  was  then  to  be 
declared  vacant  and  a  new  speaker  elected.  It 
was  a  good  plan,  but  unfortunately  some  of  the 
conspirators  leaked  and  information  came  to  the 
ears  of  Pinney,  who  immediately  appealed  to 
Governor  Jayne  for  protection.  A  company  of 
militia  had  been  recruited  the  previous  winter 
at  Yankton,  by  Captain  Nelson  Miner,  but  had 
not  yet  been  mustered  into  the  service  of  the 
I'nited  States.  It  had,  however,  been  authorized 
by  acting  Governor  Hutchinson,  who  had  com- 
missioned its  officers,  and  Governor  Jayne  called' 
upon  Captain  Miner  for  a  detail  to  keep  the 
speaker  in  his  chair.  Captain  ;\Iiner  ordered 
Second  Lieutenant  Plughoft'  and  ten  men,  of 
whom  Sergeant  A.  M.  English  was  one,  to  pro- 
ceed to  the  house  of  representatives  with  loaded 
guns  and  there  preserve  order.  This  order  was 
obeyed,  to  the  utter  indignation  of  the  house, 
which  august  body  refused  to  do  business  while 
the  soldiers  were  present.  The  house  members 
left  the  hall.  The  council  took  the  matter  up  and 
by  resolution  demanded  of  the  Governor  an  ex- 
planation of  his  conduct.  This  reply  of  the 
Governor's  was  referred  to  a  committee  of  which 
Downer  T.  Bramble  was  chairman,  who  reported 
on  April  yth  that  the  action  was  taken  by  the 
Governor  upon  the  requisition  of  "one  G.  M.  Pin- 
ney, who  had  cowardly  and  scandalously  re- 
ported that  he  feared  violence  from  the  people." 
The  matter  was  settled  by  the  resignation  of 
Pinney,  the  withdrawal  of  the  soldiers  and  the 
election  of  John  L.  Tiernon  speaker.  This 
latter   selection    was    made    from    the   humorous 


194 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


conception  that  it  would  be  a  good  joke  to 
elect  a  man  speaker  who  knew  absolutely  nothing 
of  parliamentary   law. 

Though  Pinney  had  been  disposed  of  as 
speaker,  Jim  Somers  and  his  crowd  did  not  pro- 
pose to  be  deprived  of  their  fun.  "Gov."  Frank 
AI.  Ziebach  relates  the  following  story,  sup- 
plementary to  the  legislative  proceedings : 
"Shortly  after  the  Pinney  episode  in  the  house,  I 
saw  the  ex-speaker  enter  a  saloon  on  Broadway 
a  short  distance  from  my  printing  office.  I  knew 
that  a  party  of  legislators  were  congregated 
there  and  I  expected  a  demonstration  and  kept 
an  eye  out  from  the  window,  which  op'ened  be- 
side the  case  where  I  was  working.  Pinney  had 
barely  time  to  walk  from  the  door  to  the  bar 
when  a  crash  came  and  I  saw  the  former  speaker 
come  forcibly  through  the  window  of  the  saloon 
bearing  the  sash  with  him.  The  sardonic 
countenance  of  Jim  Somers  appeared  through  the 
opening  behind  him." 

The  Pony  congress  did  not  escape  from  a 
boisterous  consideration  of  the  slavery  question. 
At  that  date  the  nation  was  in  the  first  throes 
of  the  Civil  war  and  everywhere  the  slavery  ques- 
tion was  the  paramount  topic.  Governor  Jayne 
was  an  uncompromising  abolitionist,  and  among 
the  flowers  of  rhetoric,  prophecies  of  future 
greatness  for  the  territory  and  practical  recom- 
mendations for  local  government  which  char- 
acterized his  first  message,  the  Governor  had 
earnestly  recommended  that  the  legislature  pass 
an  inviolable  act  forever  prohibiting  slavery  in 
every  form  in  Dakota.  The  legislature  was  very 
largely  Democratic  and  had  but  little  sympathy 
with  the  Governor's  abolition  views,  and  the 
Democratic  leaders  resolved  to  see  him  and  go 
him  one  better,  so  they  prepared  and  introduced 
a  bill  which  was  seriously  considered  and  the 
subject  of  much  heated  argument,  providing  that 
it  should  be  a  felony  for  a  colored  person  to  enter 
the  territor\-  and  further  providing  for  the 
prompt  removal  of  any  who  should  set  foot  upon 
Dakota  soil. 

In  other  respects  the  political  feeling  of  the 
times   was   demonstrated   in   the   legislative  pro- 


ceedings. The  school  law  passed  at  this  session 
permitted  only  white  children  to  attend  the 
public  schools.  The  "governor's  bill."  prohibit- 
ing slavery-  and  voluntary  servitude,  was  defeated 
in  both  houses. 

Dr.  Wallace,  of  Bon  Homme,  was  pulled  up 
at  tine  instance  of  the  Governor  for  uttering  dis- 
loyal sentiments  and  a  legislative  investigation 
followed.  IMore  than  thirty  witnesses  were  ex- 
amined. It  was  proved  that  the  Doctor  had  in 
the  course  of  an  argument  used  the  language : 
"The  war  is  unjust.  It  was  brought  on  by  Re- 
publicans and  should  be  fought  by  Republicans. 
If  I  were  to  fight  I  would  fight  with  the  South." 
In  the  course  of  the  proceedings  it  developed 
that  Dr.  Wallace  was  an  incessant  debater,  ever 
seeking  opportunity  for  argument,  and  it  mat- 
tered little  to  him  upon  which  side  he  spoke.  He 
would  take  the  other  side  anyway  and  usually 
was  able  to  take  care  of  himself.  That  the 
offensive  language  was  used  in  one  of  these  im- 
promptu debates.  While  the  investigation  was 
in  progress,  he  addressed  the  committee  with 
trembling  voice  and  tearful  eyes :  "I  have  in  my 
life,"  he  continued,  "taken  the  oath  of  allegiance 
in  four  different  states  and  territories  of  the 
Union  and  I  am  now  ready  to  renew  that  oath 
every  morning  and  evening."  He  was  at  once 
vindicated  by  acquittal.  He  then  insisted  in 
again  taking  the"  oath  of  allegiance,  which  was 
administered. 

Another  matter  of  great  concern  related  to 
the  enactment  of  a  bill  extending  tlie  right  of  citi- 
zenship to  all  half-breeds  who  could  read,  write  or 
speak  the  English  language.  The  half-breeds 
outnumbered  all  the  other  voters  in  the  territory 
and  to  the  passage  of  the  bill  Governor  Jayne 
was  verv  strongly  opposed  and  made  a  desperate 
and  effective  fight  against  it.  In  his  opposition 
to  the  bill  he  came  in  conflict  with  Hon.  Jesse 
Wherry,  receiver  of  the  land  office,  a  Kentuckian, 
who  favored  it.  They  got  into  a  personal  alter- 
cation at  the  Ash  Hotel  on  the  evening  of  May 
7th  and  engaged  in  a  hair-pulling,  choking, 
striking  game  of  fisticuffs  in  which  the  Governor 
had  rather  the  better  of  the  argument,  as  he  had 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


195 


before  the  legislature.  The  bill  passed  the  house 
bv  one  majority,  but  was  defeated  in  the  council 
b}-  the  same  vote. 

Ninety-one  general  laws  were  passed  at  this 
session,  among  them  a  code  of  civil  procedure, 
adapted  from  New  York,  of  six  hundred  and 
seventeen  sections,  and  a  code  of  criminal  pro- 
cedure of  two  hundred  sixty-two  sections. 
Twenty-five  special  laws  were  passed.  These 
conferred  citizenship  on  a  number  of  half-breeds, 
including  among  them  Frank   LaFramboise,   J. 

B.  LaPlant,  Frank  Chadron  and  Charles  F. 
Picotte.  Divorces  were  granted  to  Sarah  Tripp 
from  William  Tripp,  and  jMinnie  Omeg  from  C. 
Omeg.  These  special  divorces  were  strenuously 
opposed  by  Bligh  Wood  and  the  Norwegian 
members,  who  were  opposed  to  divorces  upon 
principle  and,  having  provided  a  general  court 
procedure  by  which  a  divorce  could  be  regularly 
procured,  they  felt  that  it  was  altogether  outside 
the  province  of  the  legislature  to  grant  divorces 
directly  and  without  judicial  investigation. 
Thirteen  ferry  charters  were  granted.  An  act 
passed  chartering  the  Missouri  &  Niobrara 
^'alley  Railroad  Company,  with  two  million  dol- 
lars capital,  with  power  to  build  a  railroad  from 
the  Sioux  river  by  way  of  the  Niobrara  to  the 
South  Pass  in  the  Rocky  mountains.  In  addition 
to  Erastus  Corning  and  a  dozen  other  eastern 
capitalists,  every  member  of  the  legislature  was 
included  among  the  incorporators  and  first  board 
of  directors.  It  may  be  wise  to  indicate  that  the 
road  was  not  built.  The  following  towns  of 
South  Dakota  were  incorporated :  Elk  Point, 
with  John  R.  Wood  as  president  and  Eli  Wixson 
recorder:  Richland,  witli  Chief  Justice  Philomen 
Bliss  as  president  and  M.  M.  Rich  as  recorder ; 
Yankton,  William  Miner  as  recorder  and  Henr)' 

C.  Ash,  Qiarles  S.  White  and  Justus  Townsend 
as  trustees,  the  president  to  be  one  of  the  trus- 
tees ;  Bon  Homme,  Reuben  Wallace,  president, 
Daniel  Gifford,  recorder ;  Springfield,  with 
Charles  M,  Cooper,  president,  and  Richard  M. 
Johnson,  recorder. 

At  this  session  the  counties  of  Bon  Homme, 
Brughier,  Clay,  Cole,  Gregory,  Hutchinson, 
Jayne,    Lincoln,    Minnehaha,    Brookings,    Deuel, 


Sheyenne,  Todd  and  Yankton  were  created  and 
county  governments  provided  for  several  of 
the  more  populous  of  them.  Sheyenne  county 
occupied  a  section  lapping  over  into  North 
Dakota,  but  approximately  what  is  now  Roberts 
county ;  Deuel  was  the  equivalent  of  the  present 
Deuel  and  Grant ;  Brookings  and  Minnehaha 
divided  Moody  between  them ;  Lincoln  was  ap- 
proximately as  at  present ;  Cole  was  the  present 


RED  ci,our). 


Union ;  Cla}-,  Yankton  and  Bon  Homme  were 
little  different  from  the  present  boundaries ; 
Charles  Mix  included  the  present  Douglas,  while 
the  upper  portion  and  Brule  were  included  in 
Brughier ;  Hutchinson  and  Jayne  were  approxi- 
mately the  present  Hutchinson  and  Turner. 
Brookings,  Minnehaha  and  Lincoln  were  in- 
cluded in  one  county  government  at  Sioux  Falls. 
The  county  seat  of  Cole  county  was  fixed  at 
Victoria,  on  the  claim  of  Joseph  Chapillion,  on 


L96 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


section  lo,  town  89,  rang;e  48.  which  would  place 
it  somewhere  near  the  present  village  of  McCook. 
but  it  was  provided  that  at  the  next  general 
election  the  county  seat  might  be  permanently 
located  by  popular  vote.  We  shall  have  occasion 
to  know  more  of  this  election.  Vennillion  was 
made  county  seat  of  Clay ;  Yankton  and  Bon 
Homme,  respectively,  of  their  namesake  counties ; 
Papineau,  on  the  claim  of  Mr.  Papineau,  on  the 
^Missouri  river,  was  made  the  county  seat 
of  Charles  ]\lix,  and  Mixville,  on  the 
Niobrara,  of  Todd  county ;  Gregory  was  attached 
to  Todd,  Brughier  to  Charles  Mix,  Hutchinson 
to  Bon  Homme,  Jayne  to  Yankton  and  Deuel 
to  Brookings  counties. 

The  session  lasted  from  the  17th  of  March 
until  the  15th  of  May  and  the  closing  scenes 
beggered  everything  in  the  way  of  hilarity  which 
have  characterized  the  many  wild  and  woolly  ses- 
sions of  succeeding  years.  The  weather  was  fine 
and  for  three  days  and  nights  before  the  finish 
the  members  indulged  in  an  open-air  carousal 
which  was  a  continuous  performance.  Hon. 
I\  loses  K.  Armstrong  thus  describes  it,  leaving 
out  all  reference  to  the  fair  charmers  who  were 
a  prominent  feature  of  the  festivities :  "For 
three  nights  before  the  adjournment  camp  fires 
could  be  seen  in  the  streets  from  dark  until  day- 


light around  which  were  seated,  wigwam  style, 
electioneering  parties  of  councilmen  and  rep- 
resentatives, all  happily  drinl<ing,  eating,  singing, 
snoring,  speechmaking  and  milking  cows.  I 
happened  to  cross  tlie  street  one  morning  at  the 
peep  of  day  and  there  I  beheld,  beside  a  smould- 
ering camp  fire,  two  lusty  legislators,.  Maloney 
and  McBride,  holding  a  kicking  cow  by  the 
horns,  and  a  third,  John  Stanage,  pulling  his  full 
weight  at  the  cow's  tail.  On  either  side  of  the 
milkless  heifer  sat  Councilmen  Bramble  and 
Stutsman,  flat  upon  their  unfailing  foundations, 
with  pails  in  hand,  making  sorrowful,  but  vain 
attempts  at  teasing  milk  enough  from  the  farrow 
quadruped  to  make  their  final  pitcher  of  eggnog. 
Off  on  one  side  lay  the  corpulent  Representative 
Donaldson  sprawled  upon  his  belly  and  convulsed 
with  laughter  and  in  front  of  the  scene  stood  the 
eloquent  Lawmaker  Boyles,  with  hat  and  coat 
and  boots  ofif,  making  a  militan-  speech  and  im- 
ploring the  cow  to  give  down  in  behalf  of  her 
country." 

Notwithstanding  the  wild  ways,  the  coarse 
fun  and  horseplay  of  these  primitive  legislators, 
both  pride  and  regret  are  mixed  with  our  amuse- 
ment as  we  recall  the  men  and  their  work.  All 
in  all,  the  good  vastly  outweighed  the  evil  in  the 
work  of  the  Pony  congress. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 


THE  POLITICS  OF  1862. 


The  year  1862,  notwithstanding  various  other 
diversions,  including  the  Indian  war,  was  a  year 
of  poHtics  in  Dakota  Territory.  While  the  first 
legislature  was  in  session  the  political  game  was 
played  to  the  limit.  As  early  as  March  it  was 
understood  that  Governor  Jayne  was  to  contest 
with  Captain  Todd  for  the  delegateship  to  con- 
gress and  had  perfected  an  organization  which 
included  the  major  portion  of  the  federal  of- 
ficials. It  will  be  recalled  that  at  his  first  election 
Captain  Todd  ran  as  an  independent  candidate, 
upon  his  own  motion  and  without  a  convention 
nomination.  He  was  of  Democratic  proclivities, 
though  a  strong  Union  man,  and  many,  it  may 
be  said  that  most,  of  the  men  prominent  in  the 
territory  were  of  the  same  political  faith.  Be- 
fore the  close  of  the  first  session  politics  were 
at  a  white  heat.  General  conditions  at  this 
juncture  were  very  promising.  In  his  Log- 
roller  letttr  of  July  ist  Hon.  Moses  K.  Arm- 
strong thus  pictures  the  rosy-hued  outlook : 
■'C)ur  territory  begins  to  put  on  her  robe  of 
brightness.  Farmers  are  joyous  over  their  pros- 
perous fields,  which  promise  a  bountiful  harvest. 
The  roads  are  lined  with  immigrant  teams  and 
our  green  hills  and  plains  are  covered  with  the 
droves  of  cattle  of  new  homeseekers.  On  every 
hand,  by  every  grove  and  brooklet  can  be  seen 
the  smoke  arising  from  the  newly-erected  cabin 
of  some  hardy  immigrant  who  has  come  to  open 
a  farm  under  the  homestead  act." 

In  the  same  letter  Mr.  Armstrong  lets  a  little 
light    in    upon    the    political    situation    from    the 


standpoint  of  the  ajiti-administration  party:  "The 
official  organ  of  the  officials  at  Yankton  is  weekly 
opening  assaults  upon  our  present  delegate  for 
not  attending  to  the  'interests  of  the  people.' 
Yes,  'the  people,"  the  'dear  people,'  all  at  once. 
We,  the  people,  hold  a  dear  place  in  the  aflfections 
of  our  truant  and  aspiring  officials.  But  the 
people  know  their  business  and  they  know  by 
whom  they  have  been  well  treated.  They  know 
too  that  not  a  government  official  has  built  a 
house,  fenced  a  lot,  or  expended  two  hundred 
dollars  in  the  territory  since  its  organization. 
However,  some  of  them  occasionally  have  the 
nerve  and  daring  to  take  their  families  across 
the  line  of  Iowa,  venture  into  the  territory  and 
then  hastily  return  to  the  states  to  snivel  about 
the  slow  growth  of  towns,  lack  of  enterprise  and 
isolation  from  dear  society  on  the  frontier. 

"Not  many  years  ago  the  wife  of  Governor 
Ramsey,  of  one  of  our  western  territories,  was 
living  in  a  little  cabin  and  at  the  same  time  was 
recognized  as  one  of  the  most  accomplished 
ladies  in  the  northwest.  Are  our  officials  too 
proud,  too  good,  or  too  rich  to  live  with  us  ?  Do 
they  tliink  that  the  pioneers  of  the  west  were 
born  full  grown  and  wild  upon  the  plains  and 
must  therefore  bow  at  the  dash  of  broadcloth  and 
the  swell  of  dignity  and  set  to  and  build  houses 
and  donate  property  to  induce  salaried  officials  to 
enter  the  territory  in  the  discharge  of  their  duty? 
If  they  need  houses,  let  them  build  them.  If  they 
want  property,  let  them  buy  it.  The\-  have 
mone\',  we  have  none." 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Both  nominations  were  made  at  mass  con- 
ventions held  at  VermilHon.  Governor  Jayne, 
by  the  RepnbHcan  and  Union  convention  of  July 
i6th,  in  which  "every  one  who  supports  the  ad- 
ministration of  Abraham  Lincoln  and  approves 
of  his  policy  and  principles  and  who  are  in  favor 
of  the  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war  until  the 
rebellion  is  crushed  out  and  the  supremacy  of  the 
constitrtion  and  law  completely  established," 
was  invited.  The  party  was  unorganized  and  the 
call  for  the  convention  was  signed  by  seventy- 
three  citizens,  among  whom  were  most  of  the 
federal  officials  and  many  others  still  prominent 
in  Dakota.  Captain  Todd  received  his  nomina- 
tion from  a  "people's  union  convention,"  held  on 
the  25th  of  July,  called  "for  the  purpose  of 
nominating  a  candidate  for  delegate  to  congress 
in  opposition  to  the  candidate  to  be  nominated 
by  the  Repv.blican  I'nion  convention  on  Julv 
i6th." 

The  campaign  was  vigorously  prosecuted. 
Governor  Jayne  having  the  support  of  the  Yank- 
ton Dakotian  and  of  the  Dakota  Republican, 
while  Captain  Todd  was  without  local  newspaper 
support.  Outside  of  the  "ring"  talk,  the  real 
argument  of  the  campaign  was  the  pull  which 
the  respective  candidates  were  presumed  to  have 
with  the  President.  Jayne  was  "Lincoln's 
neighbor,  friend  and  physician."  Todd  was  "the 
cousin  of  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  everybody  knew  that 
Mrs.  Lincoln  was  the  real  president,"  and  so  the 
fight  went  on.  The  election  took  place  on  Mon- 
day, September  ist,  right  in  the  very  heat-  of 
the  Lidian  excitement,  only  two  days  after  Gov- 
ernor Jayne  had  called  every  able-bodied  man  to 
arms.  1 

Even  an  Indian  uprising,  with  all  its  attend- 
ant and  prospective  horrors  and  dangers,  could 
not  deprive  the  primitive  Dakotan  of  his  political 
diversion  and  he  voted  early,  late,  often,  vocif- 
erously and  muscularly.  Then,  in  addition  to 
open  and  glaring  frauds,  there  were  irregularities 
which,  coupled  with  the  frauds,  should  have 
vitiated  the  entire  proceedings.  In  Cole  county 
there  was  a  county-seat  fight  on  between  Elk  j 
Point  and  Richland.  At  the  election  held  in  the  \ 
Brule  creek  precinct  there  appears  to  have  been 


both  fraud  and  irregularity.  Governor  Jayne's 
proclamation,  calling  out  the  militia,  was  issued 
on  Saturday,  August  .30th,  and  was  carried  to 
Brule  Creek  the  next  day,  when  the  settlers  as- 
sembled to  organize  a  militia  company  on  Sunday 
evening  at  the  house  of  a  settler,  Timothy 
Andrews.  Great  excitement  prevailed  and  many 
of  the  settlers  were  talking  of  leaving  Dakota  at 
once  for  safety.  Some  one  suggested  that  it  was 
too  bad  to  leave  before  the  election  and  then  it 
was  proposed  that  as  the  election  was  called  for 
JMonday  that  they  wait  until  after  midnight  and 
then  proceed  to  vote.  This  was  done  and  about 
thirty  votes  were  cast.  Next  morning  it  was 
found  that  many  of  the  settlers,  in  their  alarm, 
had  left  without  voting,  so  their  votes  were  cast 
for  them  by  proxy,  running  up  a  return  of 
seventy-one  votes  in  the  precinct,  sixty-three  of 
which  were  for  Governor  Jayne.  In  Bon  Homme 
precinct  the  election  was  held  at  the  house  of  G. 
M.  Pinney,  who  was  a  strong  Jayne  man.  John 
H.  Shober  led  the  Todd  contingent  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. At  noon  Moses  Herrick  took  the  ballot 
box  home  with  him.  When  the  polls  closed 
thirty-nine  votes  had  been  cast,  a  majority  of 
which  were  for  Jayne.  Twenty-six  open  ballots 
had  been  cast  for  Todd.  John  H.  Shober  called 
upon  all  of  the  voters  present  who  had  voted  for 
Todd  to  stand  in  a  line.  Twenty-two  lined  up. 
They  then  raised  so  much  of  a  ruction  that  the 
judges  abandoned  the  ballots  and  boxes-  and 
Shober  and  his  friends  obtained  possession  of 
them  at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  appointed  a 
new  set  of  judges  and  clerks  and  held  a  new 
election,  twenty-two  votes  being  cast  for  Todd 
and  none  for  Jayne.  This  second  vote  was  re- 
turned to  the  territorial  canvassers.  At  the 
Charles  Mix  polls,  about  one  hundred  Iowa 
soldiers  from  Fort  Randall  voted.  Everywhere 
there  w^ere  charges,  sustained  by  testimony,  of 
voting  by  non-residents  and  of  the  corrupt  use 
of  money. 

The  territorial  returning  board  consisted  of 
Governor  Jayne,  Secretary  Hutchinson  and 
Chief  Justice  Bliss ;  Hutchinson  and  Bliss  acted, 
Jayne  taking  no  part,  owing  to  his  own  candi- 
dacy.    The  vote  was  canvassed  on  October  22d, 


i 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


199 


Brule  precinct  being  counted  and  Bon  Homme 
and  Charles  Mix  thrown  out  as  fraudulent  and 
irregular.  The  vote  cast  in  the  three  precincts 
so  in  question  was  as  follows : 

Todd.  Jayne. 

Brule  Creek   S  63 

Bon  Homme 22 

Charles   Mix 7         138 

Minnehaha    23 


37 


224 


According  to  the  return  of  the  board, 
counting  Brule  and  disregarding  Bon  Homme, 
Charles  Mix  and  Minnehaha,  and  without  Pem- 
bina, from  which  at  this  time  no  return  had  been 
received,  the  board  found  two  hundred  and 
thirty-seven  votes  for  Jayne  and  two  hundred 
and  twenty-one  for  Todd,  giving  Jayne  a 
majority  of  sixteen  and  consequently  the  cer- 
tificate of  election.  Todd  at  once  began  a  con- 
test, serving  notice  of  the  same  upon  Jayne  in 
November  and  the  taking  of  the  testimony  oc- 
cupied most  of  the  following  winter,  and  was 
taken  into  congress  by  Captain  Todd,  where  it 
dragged  along  far  into  the  second  year  of  the 
term.  The  legislature  of  1863-4  took  the  matter 
up  and  reviewed  the  action  of  the  returning  board 
and  in  a  report  made  and  adopted  on  January 
12.  1864,  found  that  the  vote  of  Charles  Mix 
should  have  been  counted,  making  a  net  majority 
for  Ja}ne  of  one  hundred  forty-seven  votes. 
This  action  of  the  legislature  led  Oiief  Justice 
Bliss  and  Secretary  Hutchinson  to  unite  in  send- 
ing to  congress  the  following  somewhat  re- 
markable paper,  which  as  it  epitomizes  the  entire 
matter  is  here  reproduced : 

To  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States: 
The  undersigned,  chief  justice  and  secretary  of 
the  territory  of  Dakota  and  canvassers  of  the  vote 
of  1862  for  delegate  to  congress  and  territorial  audi- 
tor and  treasurer,  respectfully  represent: 

That  the  legislative  assembly  of  said  territory 
just  closed  have  passe'd  joint  resolutions  relative  to 
our  action  as  canvassers  of  said  vote  *  *  which 
we  understand  have  been  forwarded  to  your  body. 
We  would  have  preferred  the  silence  we  have  hither- 
to observed,  but  inasmuch  as  the  same  is  designed 
to  impeach  before  your  honorable  body  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  undersigned  as  such  canvassers,  we  are 


compelled  in  vindication  of  our  action,  and  not  to 
influence  yours,  in  the  contested  election  case  of 
Todd  and  Jayne,  now  before  you,  we  respectfully  sub- 
mit: 

1st.  While  we  regard  the  supervision  of  our  pro- 
ceedings as  impertinent  and  intermeddling,  we  might, 
nevertheless,  respect  their  acts  as  evidence  at  least 
of  popular  opinion  were  we  not  fully  aware  that  they 
in  no  just  sense  represent  the  people  of  Dakota  in  this 
thing;  because  in  those  counties  where  the  members 
voting  for  said  resolutions  were  really  elected,  they 
would  have  been  easily  defeated  had  it  been  believed 
that  they  would  identify  themselves  with  the  ballot 
box  stufBng  and  election  frauds  of  1862.     *     *     * 

2d.  The  proceedings  of  the  canvassing  board 
were  carefully  considered  and  designed  to  do  justice 
and  rebuke  fraud  and  protect  our  young  territory 
from  the  political  crimes  which  had  disgraced  the 
early  history  of  some  of  our  neighbors.  Secondary  to 
this,  yet  deeply  impressing  to  us,  we  felt  that  the 
honor  of  the  great  Republican  party,  in  a  limited 
sphere,  was  in  our  keeping.  We  had  voted  for  and 
desired  the  election  of  Governor  Jayne,  as  delegate; 
but  we  also  desired  to  protect  him  and  us 
from  the  dishonor  of  schemes  principally  en- 
gineered by  the  Buchanan  Democrats  he  had 
to  the  exclusion  of  earnest  Republicans  ad- 
mitted to  his  confidence.  We  then,  before 
looking  at  the  returns,  determined  upon  the  course 
to  pursue.  The  law  provided  that  we  should  canvass, 
i.  e.,  search  into  the  count,  the  votes  as  returned  by 
the  county  registers.  We  had  no  means  of  examin- 
ing ar.d  taking  testimony  in  relation  to  individual 
voters  and  hence  determined  to  hear  testimony  in  re- 
lation to  the  election  in  the  several  precincts; 
and  if  its  general  character  and  conduct  was 
grossly  and  intentionally  fraudulent  and  illegal, 
we  would  consider  the  whole  poll  as  tainted 
and  reject  the  precinct.  We  regretted  that  we 
had  not  the  means  of  separating  the  honest 
votes  from  the  fraudulent  ones,  but  in  the  absence 
of  that  power  felt  it  our  duty,  when  the  votes  clearly, 
and  upon  system  fraudulent,  outnumbered  the  hon- 
est ones,  to  treat  the  whole  poll  as  a  fraud.  We  were 
confirmed  in  this  view  by  our  position  and  that  of 
our  political  friends  in  relation  to  the  first  election 
in  Kansas.  We  had  both,  one  in  Kansas  and  one  in 
Washington,  been  active  participants  in  the  exciting 
scenes  that  to  some  extent  initiated  the  present  rebel- 
lion. *  *  *  *  What  we  believed  the  law  then, 
we  considered  so  now,  and  felt  no  hesitation,  though 
we  greatly  regretted  the  necessity  of  applying  the 
rule  to  frauds  in  Dakota.  We  held  our  canvass  pub- 
licly and  announced  the  rules  that  would  govern  us. 
Evidence  only  was  submitted  pertaining  to  the  two 
precincts  of  Charles  Mix  and  Bon  Homme.     At  the 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


former  precinct  it  was  shown  that  about  one  hundred 
Iowa  soldiers  were  allowed  to  go  plumming.  That 
they  crossed  the  Missouri  river  from  Fort  Randall 
and  went  in  squads  to  the  Charles  Mix  precinct  and 
voted.  Many  acts  of  rowdyism  were  proved  which 
did  not  affect  the  main  fact  that  more  than  two- 
thirds  of  the  whole  vote  was  cast  hy  citizens  of  Iowa. 
The  attention  of  Governor  Jayne  was  called  to  this 
evidence  and  he  was  told  that  the  board  would  give 
him  time  to  rebut  it;  but  he  replied  that  he  consid- 
ered that  the  Iowa  soldiers  had  a  right  to  vote  if 
they  chose.  The  law  expressly  provides  that  no  sol- 
dier, officer  or  private,  other  than  those  who  resided 
in  this  territory  previous  to  and  at  the  time  of  their 
enlistment,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  in  any  election 
in  said  territory.  *  *  *  We  therefore  rejected  the 
return  of  Charles  Mix. 

In  relation  to  the  return  from  Bon  Homme,  in- 
correctly charged  as  having  been  counted  by  us,  evi- 
dence was  submitted  on  behalf  of  Governor  Jayne 
that  the  vote  returned  was  not  cast  between  the  hours 
fixed  by  law;  but  that  at  the  close  of  the  regular  poll 
the  ballot  box  was  forcibly  taken  possession  of,  the 
ballots  destroyed  and  a  new  poll  opened.  To  rebut 
this,  evidence  was  offered  on  behalf  of  General  Todd 
that  no  force  was  used;  but  a  new  polling  was  de- 
manded by  his  friends  from  the  fact  that  on  count- 
ing the  ballots  at  night  but  thirteen  of  thirty-nine 
ballots  found  in  the  box  were  for  him,  when  twenty- 
six  out  of  the  thirty-nine  persons  voting  claimed  that 
they  voted  for  him.  That  the  box  had  during  the  re- 
cess at  noon  been  in  the  possession  of  his  enemies  and 
they  were  charged  with  changing  the  ballots;  but  we 
held  that  even  if  his  claim  was  true  that  a  new  poll 
after  the  hour  was  not  the  remedy  and  we  rejected 
the  return. 

The  return  from  Brule  Creek  in  Cole  county — the 
only  county  where  there  was  more  than  one  precinct 
— was  made  separate  from  the  others  and  it  was 
claimed  by  General  Todd  that  the  poll  was  grossly 
fraudulent,  in  that  a  majority  of  the  tickets  against 
him  were  secretly  put  into  the  box  the  night  previous 
to  the  election,  by  and  on  behalf  of  non-residents  and 
minors  and  he  asked  time  to  obtain  evidence  to  sub- 
stantiate the  fact.  We  refused  his  request,  both  be- 
cause he  already  had  sufficient  time  and  because  we 
did  not  then  believe  the  facts  to  be  as  since  proven. 

General  Todd  also  asked  the  board  to  adjourn 
for  a  month  to  receive  the  return  from  Pembina  in- 
asmuch as  its  receipt  was  supposed  to  be  delayed  in 
consequence  of  the  Minnesota  Indian  outbreak.  This 
request  was  refused  inasmuch  as  we  interpreted  the 
requirement  to  "proceed  to  canvass"  to  require  a  con- 
tinuous session  until  the  work  was  completed.  We 
did,  however,  adjourn  from  day  to  day  for  a  few 
days,  but  the  return  did  not  arrive  and  the  result  was 
declared. 


Thus  in  brief  were  our  proceedings  and  now  we 
believe  that  if  the  friends  of  either  party  had  any 
right  to  complain  of  our  action  it  is  those  of  General 
Todd  and  not  those  of  Governor  Jayne. 

We  should  also  add,  perhaps,  that  shortly  after 
the  close  of  the  canvass  the  return  from  Pembina  was 
received  and  giving  a  majority  for  General  Todd  of 
one  hundred  six  votes;  also  a  return  from  Minnehaha 
county,  giving  a  majority  of  twenty-three  votes  for 
Governor  Jayne.  Of  the  former  we  know  nothing 
only  that  gross  frauds  are  charged  upon  it  by  the 
friends  of  Governor  Jayne,  but  of  the  latter  we  know 
that  at  the  time  when  the  election  purports  to  have 
been  held,  not  a  person  was  in  the  county  except  hos- 
tile Sioux  Indians,  and  its  fraud  was  so  apparent — 
knowing  as  did  the  secretary  that  not  even  the  form 
of  an  election  was  held  there — it  was  never  treated  as 
a  return.     *     *     *     * 

May  we  not  hope  that  your  honorable  body  will 
decide  the  question  before  you  according  to  the  rules 
of  law  and  arithmetic.  The  body  of  our  small  people 
are  peaceable  and  honest  and  earnestly  loyal,  even 
many  of  those  who  have  been  put  to  fraudulent  uses. 
It  is  less  consequence  to  them  who  shall  get  his  seat 
than  that  such  a  decision  shall  be  made  as  shall  vindi- 
cate the  honor  of  our  national  administration,  pro- 
tect our  young  territory,  assailed  and  almost  depop- 
ulated by  hostile  Indians  on  one  side,  but  more  vitally 
attacked  by  politicians  on  the  other,  from  the  system 
of  election  frauds  initiated  among  us. 

P.  Bliss.  Chief  Justice  of  Dakota  Territory, 
John  Hutchinson,  Secretary  Dakota  Territory. 

About  March  i,  1863,  Governor  Jayne  re- 
signed his  office  in  time  to  go  to  Washington  and 
take  his  seat  as  delegate  and  John  Hutchinson 
continued  as  acting  governor,  as  in  fact  he  had 
been  a  large  portion  of  the  time  since  the  first 
organization  of  the  territory.  Captain  Todd 
pressed  his  contest  and  in  the  end  was  successful, 
Jayne  being  ousted  in  1864.  He  did  not  return 
to  Dakota.  To  this  day  the  people  of  Dakota 
have  not  found  out  whether  Todd  or  Javne  had 
the  strongest  pull  with  President  Lincoln. 


THE  SECOND  LEGISL.VTURE, 


1862-3. 


The   second   session   of   the   territorial    legis- 
lature   convened   at   Yankton    on    Monday.    De- 
cember I,  1862.    There  were  nine  councilmen  and 
j  fourteen  members  of  the  house.     The  legislature 
I  had  been  chosen  on  the  lines  of  the  Todd-Javne 
[  fight  and  there  were  contests  from  the  counties 
where  the  election  frauds  had  been  most  flagrant. 


I 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


The  council  promptly  organized  by  electing  Enos 
Stutsman  president  and  James  Tufts  secretary, 
but  the  house  fought  sixteen  days  before  effect- 
ing an  organization.  On  the  fifth  day  a  split 
occurred  and  six  members,  regularly  elected,  of 
the  Jayne  faction  withdrew  and,  recognizing 
three  of  the  contestants,  made  up  a  quorum  and 
elected  A.  W.  Puett,  of  Vemiillion,  speaker,  and 
R.  AI.  Hagaman,  chief  clerk.  The  Todd  party 
remained  in  the  regular  hall  •  and- elected  Moses 
K.  Armstrong,  speaker,  and  B.  M.  Smith,  chief 
clerk.  The  council  recognized  the  Todd  party 
as  regular  and  the  governor  recognized  the 
seceders,  so  that  a  deadlock  existed  and  no  busi- 
ness was  transacted.  On  the  sixteenth  day  a 
compromise  was  effected,  taking  the  Todd 
speaker  and  the  Jayne  chief  clerk  and  Governor 
Jayne  delivered  his  message  to  the  joint  legis- 
lative body. 

This  session  was  held  in  the  "capitol,"  on 
Capitol  street.  This  was  a  small  building 
erected  for  the  purpose,  by  Moses  K.  Armstrong 
and  Charles  F.  Picotte  and  leased  to  the  govern- 
ment for  a  term  of  years.  It  was  large  enough 
to  accommodate  all  of  the  territorial  departments 
at  that  date  and  was  used  for  capitol  purposes  for 
twenty  years,  and  until  the  capitol  was  removed 
to  Bismarck. 

Governor  Jayne's  message  was  chiefly  de- 
voted to  a  recital  of  the  Indian  situation.  He 
apprehended  trouble  from  the  Sioux  of  the  upper 
Missouri  and  blamed  the  government  for  failure 
to  protect  the  Rees  and  Gros  Ventres  against  the 
aggressions  of  the  Sioux  and  stated  that  ex- 
perience had  taught  the  Indians  that  the  greatest 
safety  is  to  be  found  in  hostilit)^  to  the  whites. 
He  uttered  an  epigram  much  quoted  in  that  day : 
"Protection  to  Dakota  is  protection  to  the  entire 
northwest."     He  recommended  that  congress  be 


memorialized  to  establish  strong  military  posts  at 
Sioux  Falls,  Fort  Benton  and  Fort  Berthold. 
Aside  from  this,  the  message  is  almost  devoid  of 
practical  suggestion  and  altogether  it  is  a  very 
commonplace  paper. 

After  the  compromise,  the  house  got  on  fairly 
well,  but  the  council  was  torn  up  throughout  the 
session  over  the  political  morals  of  the  man 
whom  the  august  body  had  elected  to  the  position 
of  fireman.  On  the  first  day  of  the  session  Ole 
Halverson,  of  Brule  Creek,  was  elected  to  the 
place.  On  the  19th  jMr.  Cole,  reciting  in  a 
whereas  that  "Ole  Halverson  was  one  of  the 
prominent  participants  in  the  Brule  Creek  frauds 
and  that  the  council  does  not  intend  to  counte- 
nance or  reward  one  who  has  abused  the  sacred 
privilege  of  the  elective  franchise  and  polluted 
the  ballot  box,"  offered  the  following  resolution: 
"Resolved,  That  the  council  dispense  with  the 
services  of  our  present  fireman,  Ole  Halverson, 
and  his  place  be  immediately  supplied."  The 
resolution  went  to  a  special  committee,  evidence 
taken,  majority  and  minority  reports  filed,  it 
was  recommitted,  a  new  investigation  made, 
emissaries  sent  to  Union  county  to  obtain 
evidence,  new  minority  and  majority  reports 
offered  and  action  filibustered  off  while  Ole 
sturdily  stoked  the  big  stove  in  the  council  cham- 
ber until  seven  o'clock  of  the  evening  of  the  last 
day  of  the  session,  when,  having  put  on  a  rousing 
fire,  which  set  all  of  the  reverend  senators  in  a 
perspiration,  Mr.  Brookings  moved  that  he  be 
excused  from  further  service,  and  at  ten  o'clock 
the  council  tendered  him  a  vote  of  thanks  and 
the  session  adjourned.  This  and  a  few  memorials 
to  congress,  the  most  important  of  which  was 
a  prayer  for  the  establishment  of  military  posts 
at  frequent  intervals  along  the  frontier,  were  the 
chief  fruits  of  the  session. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 


THE  INDIAN  WAR  OF 


The  great  wave  of  patriotism  which  swept 
over  the  American  people  following  the  secession 
of  the  southern  states  did  not  escape  the 
Dakotans  and,  although  there  were  but  a  handful 
of  them,  they  early  began  to  agitate  for  the  or- 
ganization of  a  regiment  of  soldiers  for  the  war. 
\Mien  we  recall  that  the  total  voting  population 
of  the  territory  was  but  five  hundred  eighty-five 
men,  such  a  proposition  appears  almost  pathetic. 
Nevertheless  Nelson  ;\Iiner,  of  \'ermillion,  and 
\\'illiam  P.  Lyman,  of  Yankton,  were  both  en- 
thusiastic in  such  a  movement.  JMr.  Miner  in  the 
winter  of  1861-62  began  actively  to  recruit  a 
company  of  cavalry  at  Yankton  and  \'ermillion, 
but  3.1r.  Lyman,  more  ambitious,  set  out  to  get 
an  appointment  from  the  war  department  as 
major  of  such  cavalry.  He  was  a  close  friend 
and  former  employe  of  J.  B.  S.  Todd,  then 
delegate  to  congress,  and  the  latter,  in  January-, 
1862,  secured  for  Lyman  a  nomination  as 
"Major  of  the  First  Dakota  \'olunteer  Cavalry," 
and  he  received  the  usual  notification  of  such 
nomination,  subject  to  ratification  by  the  senate, 
from  the  war  department,  stating  if  so  confirmed 
by  the  senate  he  would  be  commissioned.  Armed 
with  this  notice  of  nomination,  Major  Lyman, 
accompanied  by  our  belligerent  friend,  Jesse 
Whenry,  and  Charles  P.  Bogue  and  some  other 
citizens  of  Yankton,  proceeded  to  Fort  Randall, 
where  they  took  up  quarters  at  the  residence  of 
Alpheus  G.  Fuller,  beef  contractor  for  the  fort, 
on  February  4,  1862.  The  fort  at  that  time  was 
under  the  command  of  Captain  John  Pattce,  Com- 


t  pany  A,  Fourteenth  Iowa  \'olunteer  Infantry, 
and  was  garrisoned  by  Companies  A.  B  and  C 
of  said  regiment.  Major  Lyman  promptly  sent 
to  Captain   Pattee  a  fomiaJ  notice  that  he  was 

I  ordered  to  assume  command  of  the  fort.  Cap- 
tain   Pattee   at   once   called   upon   the   Major   at 

I  Fuller's  and  after  paying  his  respects  to  him  and 
being  again  informed  that  Lyman  was  to  at  once 

I   assume   command.    Captain    Pattee   asked   to   be 

1   shown  the  Major's  authority  in  the  matter.    After 

I  some  delay  and  being  prompted  by  Wherry,  who 
appeared  to  be  a  sort  of  attornev  for  Lyman,  the 

j  latter  produced  his  notice  of  nomination  above 
mentioned.     This  notice  Pattee  carefullv  exam- 

i  ined  and  found  it  interlined,  altered  and  bearing 
evidence  of  erasures,  and  he  at  once  informed 
L\-man  that  the  paper  was  so  irregular  and  un- 
certain that  he  should  refuse  to  surrender  the 
command.  This  ended  the  interview  and  Pattee 
returned  to  his  quarters.  Lyman  then  went  to 
the  post  adjutant  and  with  the  same  representa- 
tions he  made  to  Pattee,  secured  possession  of 
the  post  order  book  and  issued  an  order  assuming 
command  of  Fort  Randall  and  another  order 
placing'  Pattee  under  arrest.  .\  third  order  pro- 
hibited Pattee  from  going  more  than  one  mile 
from  the  garrison. 

Pattee  at  once  reported  the  situation  to  Gov- 
ernor Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  and  Senator  James 
A.  Harlan,  of  Iowa,  who  took  the  matter  before 
the  war  department  and  on  the  19th  of  April, 
1862,  Major  Lyman  received  a  notice  from  the 
adjutant  general   informing  him  that  his  nomi- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


203 


nation  as  major  of  the  First  Dakota  Volunteer 
Cavalry  had  been  revoked  and  he  relinquished 
the  coinmand  of  Fort  Randall  to  Captain 
Bernard  IMahana.  of  Company  B,  Fourteenth 
Iowa  Regiment,  and  left  Pattee  under  arrest. 
Pattee  at  once  demand'ed  that  the  command  be 
restored  to  him,  but  Mahana  refused  because 
Pattee  was  under  arrest.  ;\Iahana,  however, 
made  a  statement  of  the  whole  matter  to  the 
general  commanding  the  district  of  Kansas,  of 
which  the  Dakota  country  was  then  a  portion, 
and  on  May  21st  was  informed  by  that  officer, 
through  his  adjutant,  Thomas  Moonlight,  that 
"no  charges  nor  specifications  are  in  this  office 
against  Captain  Pattee.  He  is  therefore  released 
from  arrest  and  will  resume  his  command." 
Pattee  thereupon  again  assumed  command  of 
Fort  Randall  and  continued  iiv  that  capacity  for 
a  year  or  more.  Thus  ended  what  appears  to 
have  been  a  most  high-handed  proceeding  and 
one  which  it  is  very  difficult  .to  explain.  Possibly, 
general  ignorance  of  military  rules  and  dis- 
cipline affords  the  best  explanation,  but  it  is 
evident  that  Lyman,  backed  by  a  coterie  of 
Dakota  friends,  were  attempting  a  mighty  bluff 
against  the  Iowa  captains,  though  just  how  they 
expected  to  square  themselves  with  the  au- 
thorities at  Washington  is  not  so  manifest.  It 
is  presumable  that  Lyman  took  the  view  that  a 
major  ranked  any  captain  in  the  baliwick.  It 
is.  however,  noteworthy  that  the  department  took 
no  other  action  in  the  matter  than  to  revoke 
Lyman's  nomination,  which  does  not  appear  to 
I'.ave  been  confirmed  by  the  senate,  and  that  he 
did  not  have  at  any  time  more  than  a  nomination 
to  the  position.  However  that  may  be,  as  the 
ostensible  major  of  a  regiment  of  Dakota  cavalry 
which  never  existed  he  actually  did  exercise 
command  of  the  United  States  stronghold.  Fort 
Randall,  from  Fel)ruary  4  to  April  19,  1862. 

Captain  Miner  fared  better  than  Major 
Lyman  in  the  long  run.  He  continued  recruit- 
ing, and  when  he  had  secured  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  men  a  company  organization  was  effected 
and  John  Hutchinson,  acting  governor,  com- 
missioned the  following  officers,  who  had  first 
been    elected    by    the    recruits:    Cajitain,    Xelson 


Miner :  first  lieutenant,  John  K.  Fowler ;  second 
lieutenant,  Frederick  Plughoff,  the  latter  an  old 
soldier  of  the  regular  army  and  well  versed  in 
military  tactics.  This  was  toward  the  close  of 
January  and  the  company  at  once  went  into 
quarters  at  Yankton  where  the  boys  were  put 
through  a  severe  drill  by  Lieutenant  Plughoff, 
but  they  were  not  mustered  into  the  service  of 
the  L^nited  States,  nor  paid  for  service,  until 
April  30th,  when  they  were  mustered  in  by 
Lieutenant  Luce,  of  Company  B,  Fourteenth 
Iowa  Infantry,  the  physical  examination  being 
made  by  Dr,  Justus  Townsend,  of  Yankton, 
The  day  of  the  muster  was  made  a  great  holi- 
day in  Yankton,  the  legislature  adjourned  and 
Governor  Jayne  delivered  an  eloquent  address  to 
the  young  soldiers,  who  were  drawn  up  in  a 
crescent  line  to  listen  to  the  Governor.  At  the 
conclusion  the  oath  was  administered  and 
Dakota's  first  soldiers  had  entered  the  service  of 
the  country.  Governor  Jayne  at  once  secured 
from  the  war  department  an  order  placing  the 
Dakota  boys  under  the  immediate  direction  of 
the  governor,  as  a  home  guard.  At  the  time 
this  was  thought  to  be  a  useless  and  expensive 
arrangement,  intended  to  add  to  the  power  of 
the  governor  and  keep  some  money  in  the  terri- 
tory as  well  as  to  afford  a  home  market  for  a 
portion  of  the  products  of  the  country.  No  one 
took  the  quartering  of  soldiers  in  the  villages  of 
the  territory  as  a  serious  necessity.  While  the 
Governor  was  securing  this  order,  the  company 
was  ordered  to  Fort  Randall,  where  it  remained 
until  July,  when  it  was  returned  to  the  Governor 
at  Yankton  under  the  order  above  mentioned. 
Captain  ]\Iiner  then  took  twenty-five  men  and 
went  to  Sioux  Falls,  Lieutenant  Plughoff  re- 
signed, and  J.  M.  Bacon  succeeded  him  and 
soon  relieved  Captain  Miner  in  command  of  the 
squad  at  Sioux  Falls,  taking  with  him  fifteen 
more  men.  Captain  Miner  then  took  another 
squad  to  \'ermillion,  leaving  Sergeant  .\.  M. 
English  in  command  of  a  S(|uad  of  twenty  in 
a  camp  near  Yankton. 

The  following  is  a  complete  roster  of  the 
men  who  served  in  Comjiany  A  at  the  time  of 
muster   or   later.      Some   of   those    who   enlisted 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


later  were  transferred  to  Company  B  to  serve  out 
their  time  when  Company  A  was  finall}-  mus- 
tered out : 

Officers :  Nelson  Miner,  captain ;  J.  K. 
Fowler,  first  lieutenant,  resigned ;  Frederick 
Plughofif,  second  lieutenant,  resigned ;  James  M. 
Bacon,  first  lieutenant ;  DeWitt  C.  Smith,  second 
lieutenant,  resigned ;  David  Benjamin,  second 
lieutenant ;  A.  M.  English,  first  sergeant ;  Patrick 
Conway,  second  sergeant ;  Kerwin  Wilson,  com- 
missary sergeant;  Peter  F.  Holden,  sergeant; 
William  Newman,  sergeant ;  Benjamin  F.  Estis, 
sergeant ;  Jesse  B.  Watson,  sergeant ;  Horace  J. 
Austin,  sergeant ;  Charles  B.  Stager,  sergeant ; 
Joseph  Ellis,  corporal ;  William  Young,  corporal ; 
George  Falkenburg,  corporal ;  Christian  H.  Bru- 
rud,  corporal ;  Amos  Shaw,  corporal ;  Adolph 
iSIauksch,  corporal ;  Charles  Wright,  corporal ; 
Amund  Hanson,  bugle;  Edwin  Wilkins,  bugle; 
Ananias  Jones,  farrier;  Robert  Burckhart,  black- 
smith. 

Privates :  Richard  Alderson,  Edward  Ander- 
son, John  E.  Allen,  John  Betz,  Henry  Bellows. 
Benjamin  Bellows,  David  Campbell,  John 
Claude.  Nelson  W.  Cuseck,  John  Bell,  Neils  El- 
lingson,  Nicholas  Felling,  Herman  P.  Fjeltvet, 
Louis  Frick,  Josiah  Gray,  Zachariah  Haggin, 
George  Hosick,  James  Kinney,  Ole  B.  Larson, 
Cornelius  Andrews,  Michael  Anderson,  William 
Benedict,  John  Bell,  George  Bellows,  John 
Bradley,  Joseph  Cramer,  John  Collins,  James 
Cummings,  Sahil  Deloney,  Julius  Floeder,  John 
O.  Ford,  Thomas  Frick,  Benjamin  F.  Gray,  John 
Gibson,  Benjamin  Hart,  John  Johnson,  Ole  Lew- 
esson,  Qiarles  Long,  Merrit  G.  Lathrop,  John 
Maskell.  John  McClellan,  John  D.  Morse,  James 
McBee,  Ole  Olson,  Peter  Omeg,  James  E. 
Peters,  Henry  M.  Pierce,  Timothy  Prindle,  Peter 
A.  Ramsey,  Philip  Sherman,  John  B.  Snow, 
William  Snyder,  Abraham  J.  Trucks,  John 
Trumbo,  Thomas  H.  Weeks,  Henry  Woodruff, 
Jacob  Ludwig,  Thomas  A.  McLeese,  Mathias  J. 
Minde.  Albert  Munson,  Andrew  Oleson,  Chris- 
tian Oleson,  Ole  N.  Orland,  Loeman  E.  Phelps, 
George  Pike,  Oscar  Phelps,  Fred  Robeart,  John 
Solberger.  Henry  Snow,  Thomas  J.  Tate,  John 


Tallman,  Charles  \\'ambole,  Joachine  \\'ill,  Buck- 
lin  H.  A\'ood. 

The  harvest  of   1862  was  bountiful  and  the 
settlers    were    busily    engaged    in    gathering    it 
when,   late   in   August,   the   story   of  the   awful 
massacre  of  the  white  settlers  on  the  ]\linnesota 
river    reached    Yankton    and    threw    the    entire 
population  into   a   state  of  terror.     In   fact   the 
situation  was  truly  desperate.     The  little  hand- 
ful of  settlers  between  the  hostiles  of  Minnesota 
and  the  wild   tribes  of  the   Missouri  river  had 
every   reason   to  apprehend   annihilation.      Gov- 
ernor Jayne  acted  with  the  utmost  promptness 
and  dispatched  couriers  to  all  the  outlying  set- 
tlements' with  orders  for  the  population  to  con- 
centrate at  Yankton.    His  courier  reached  Sioux 
Falls  on  August  27th,  finding  the  people'  there  in 
total  ignorance  of  the  outbreak  in  Alinnesota.  but 
wildly  excited  over  the  massacre  of  Joseph   B. 
Amidon,    probate   judge    and    count}'    treasurer, 
and   his   son,   by  unknown   hostiles,   on   August 
25th,    while    haying    upon    their    farm,    which 
I   was  located  on  the  hill  north  of  town,  just  north- 
I   west  of  the  present  location  of  the  penitentiary. 
t  Judge   Amidon   was    found    lying   on    his    face, 
with   a  bullet   hole   through   his   body :   the    son 
was    found   nearby,   in   a   field   of   corn,   shot   to 
death    with    a    dozen    or    more    arrows.      While 
j   haying    near   the    cornfield    their    attention    had 
evidently   been   attracted   among   the   corn,   and 
1   going  into  the  field  to  see  what  was  the  matter, 
!  the  boy  had  been  shot  with  arrows.    Hearing  the 
j  cries    of    his    son,    Judge    Amidon    had    appar- 
I   ently   started   to   his   assistance,   but    seeing  the 
Indians,  Jie  had  turned   and   fled  toward   town, 
when  he  was  brought  down  with  a  bullet  in  the 
back  which  instantly  killed  him,  there  being  no 
evidence  of  a  struggle.    The  boy,  though  almost 
covered   with    the    arrows   of   the    savages,    had 
survived   for  some  time  as  the  grass  and  corn 
about  him  were  beaten  down  and  he  had  taken 
some  of  the  arrows  from  his  wounds  and  laid 
them   by   his   side.      Hon.    George    B.    Trumbo, 
still  a  resident  of  Tyndall,  then  in  the  employ 
I  of  George  P.  Waldron,  went  out  with  a  wagon 
and  brought  in  the  bodies.     These  murders  were 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


205 


committed  by  the  young  men  of  the  band  of 
White  Lodge,  a  Sisseton,  whose  home  was  at 
Lake  Shaokatan,  to  whom  Little  Crow  had  as- 
signed the  task  of  destroying  the  outlying  set- 
tlements west  of  the  Minnesota.  Lieutenant  Bacon 
and  his  men  immediately  took  up  the  search  for 
the  Indians,  but  were  unsuccessful,  but  were 
planning  another  and  more  extensive  campaign 
when  the  messenger  arrived  from  Governor 
Jayne  to  immediately  report  at  Yankton  with  his 
force,  and  to  bring  with  him  all  of  the  settlers. 
Hastily  caching  such  goods  as  they  could 
not  carry  with  them,  the  settlers  gathered  up 
their  stock  and,  under  escort  of  the  soldiers,  pro- 
ceeded to  Yankton,  where  they  arrived  about 
September  ist,  and  for  the  second  time  since 
the  ambitious  pioneers  had  made  their  plant  there, 
the  Sioux  valley  was  abandoned  by  the  white 
settlers  to  the  primitive  redmen. 

Many  settlers  fled  precipitately,  panic- 
stricken,  from  the  territory,  but  by  far  the 
greater  majority  sturdily  remained  to  defend 
their  homes.  Certain  it  is  that  stories  of 
the  depopulation  of  Dakota  at  this  time  have 
been  greatly  exaggerated.  Only  five  hundred 
eighty-five  votes  were  cast  at  the  election  of 
September  16,  1861,  one  hundred  forty-eight  of 
which  were  cast  in  the  Pembina  district,  leaving 
but  four  hundred  thirty-seven  votes  in  the 
south  part  of  Dakota.  In  compliance  with  the 
proclamation  issued  by  Governor  Jayne,  com- 
manding every  able-bodied  man  in  the  territory 
to  at  once  enroll  himself  for  service  in  the 
militia,  three  hundred  ninety-nine  promptly  re- 
sponded and  ninety-nine  were  already  serving  in 
Company  A,  Dakota  Cavalry.  All  of  these  came 
from  the  southern  counties  and  accounts  for 
four  hundred  ninety-eight  out  of  four  hundred 
thirty-seven,  or  in  other  words  Dakota  had 
sixty-one  more  men  bearing  arms  than  had  voted 
at  the  last  previous  election.  Of  course  all  of 
the  soldiers  were  not  of  voting  age,  but  it  is 
clear  that  only  a  fraction  of  the  population  were 
driven  out  by  the  threat  of  Indian  hostilities. 
When  the  Sioux  Falls  people  arrived  in  Yank- 
ton with  news  of  the  massacre  of  Judge  Amidon 
and   son.    Governor   Jayne    was    convinced    that 


further  delay  was  dangerous  and  he  at  once, 
on  August  30th,  "ordered  that  every  male  citizen 
of  the  territory  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and 
fifty  shall  at  once  enroll  himself  in  a  company 
for  home  defense  in  his  respective  county,  with 
such  arms  as  he  may  have  in  his  possession." 

The  citizens  of  Cole  (Union)  county  were 
ordered  to  meet  at  Elk  Point ;  those  of  Clay 
county  at  Vermillion  ;  Yankton,  at  Yankton  ;  Bon 
Homme,  at  Bon  Homme;  of  Todd,  at  the  settle- 
ment opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Running  Water, 
and  of  Charles  Mix,  at  the  Pease  settlement. 
A  requisition  was  made  ^on  Fort  Randall  for 
arms  and  ammunition,  but  that  post  being  unable 
to  comply,  a  supply  was  ultimately  secured  from 
Fort  Leavenworth. 

Immediately,  ugh*  rumors  were  received 
from  the  Yankton  agency  which  increased  the 
terror  of  the  inhabitants.  It  was  stated  that  the 
Yanktons  had  agreed  to  join  with  the  Santees  in 
a  war  of  extermination  against  the  whites  and 
the  organization  of  the  militia  was  hastened  and 
it  was  resolved  to  fortify  the  central  points  to 
afford  protection  to  all  who  remained.  The 
sparse  population  of  the  upper  county  (Charles 
Mix  and  Todd)  went  to  Fort  Randall  for  pro- 
tection. Bon  Homme  was  abandoned,  the  set- 
tlers coming  into  Yankton  for  safety,  where  the 
most  formidable  works  were  erected.  Stock- 
ades were  also  built  at  Vermillion,  Elk  Point 
and  Brule  Creek,  the  latter  under  the  direction 
of  Mahlon  Gore,  the  well  known  editor. 

It  was  of  the  first  moment  to  know  what 
attitude  the  Yanktons  proposed  to  pursue  and 
a  volunteer  committee,  consisting  of  W.  P. 
Lyman,  Joseph  Frank  and  John  K.  Fowler, 
were  sent  to  the  agency  to  ascertain.  They  found 
Strike  the  Ree  friendly  and  determined  to  stand 
by  his  treaty  obligations,  but  doubtful  of  his 
ability  to  keep  his  young  men  from  joining  with 
the  Santees.  but  pledging  all  of  his  influence  to 
keep  them  in  line.  The  committee  was,  how- 
ever, informed  by  Mad  Bull,  a  Yankton,  that 
there  were  already  five  hundred  hostile  Santees 
hanging  about  the  Dakota  settlements  and  they 
hastened  back  to  report.  During  their  absence 
the  organization  of  the  militia  had  been  effected 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


and  as  the  list  of  officers  and  men  comprises 
almost  a  complete  roster  of  all  the  men  in  Dakota 
at  this  time  it  is  important  that  it  be  preserved 
and   it   is  therefore   herewith   inserted. 

COMPANY   A,  DAKOTA   JIILITIA. 

Captain,  F.  M.  Ziebach ;  first  lieutenant, 
David  Fisher ;  second  lieutenant.  John  Law- 
rence :  first  sergeant,  G.  W.  Kingsbury ;  duty 
sergeants,  A.  Robeare,  Samuel  Mortimer, 
Samuel  Grant,  H.  C.  Ash  ;  corporals,  Obe  Foote, 
Henry  Bradley,  W.  H.  Weidebaugh,  J.  C.  Trask. 
H.  T.  Bailey,  D.  T.  Bramble,  John  Rouse,  N. 
Edmunds ;  privates,  Henry  Arend,  J.  M.  Allen, 
John  E.  Allen,  M.  K.  Armstrong.  William 
Bordeno,  George  Brown,  Parker  V.  Brown,  T. 
J.  Bradley,  W.   N.  Collamer,  Bowiet  Coisac,  J. 

W.  Evans, Egleberson,  A.  D.  Fisher.  James 

Fosset,  B.  C.  Fowler.  Nicholas  Filling.  James 
Falkinburg,  J.  B.  Grecnway.  D.  M.  Griffith, 
George  Granger,  J.  R.  Hanson,  William  High, 
Augustus  High.  Peter  Johnson.  Samuel  Jevor, 
John  Johnson,  John  Keltz,  George  W.  Lamson, 
"W.  P.  Lyman.  Charles  ?iIcKinley,  William 
]\Iiner,  John  !\IcGuire,  Charles  Xolan,  L.  Lleson, 
George  X.  Propper,  Thomas  C.  Powers,  J.  S. 
Presho.  C.  Philbrick.  Charles  F.  Picotte.  Ole 
Peterson,  Lewis  Peterson,  Chas.  Rossteucher, 
P.  H.  Risling,  D.  W.  Reynolds,  J.  :\L  Reed.  J. 
J.  Reed.  Washington  Reed.  William  Stevens,  J. 
JNI.  Stone,  .\.  B.  Smith.  John  Smart,  Henry 
Strunk.  John  Stanage.  F.  Shayger,  William 
Thompson.  A.  Van  Osdel.  Rudolph  Von  Ins. 
BHght  Wood,  C.  S.  White,  Charles  Wallace, 
James  Witherspoon,  O.  B.  Wheeler,  Barre  Ole- 


COMPANY    B,    DAKOTA    MILITIA. 

Captain,  Daniel  Gififord :  first  lieutenant,  S. 
G.  Irish ;  second  lieutenant,  N.  McDonlards ; 
first  sergeant,  William  H.  Shober ;  duty  ser- 
geants. M.  Metcalf.  L.  Gates ;  corporals,  W. 
W.  Waford.  Morris  Metcalf;  privates.  John 
Bradford,  John  Brown.  Ira  Brown.  Charles 
Cooper,  Hugh  Fraley,  Benton  Fraley.  Croel 
Giflford.  E.  W.  Gifford.  D.  C.  Gross,' William 
Hammond,    Henrv    liartsough,    Samuel    Hardv, 


:\I.  F.  Hook.  R.  M.  Johnson,  Jacob  >'.  Keil. 
Daniel  McDonald,  George  Moxsherson.  Sterling 
S.  Parker.  George  Rounds,  James  Skinner. 
Joseph  Stager,  D.  M.  Smith,  George  L.  Tackett, 
Reuben  Wallace. 

COMPANY   C,  DAKOTA   MILITIA. 

Captain,  A.  W.  Puett :  first  lieutenant.  A.  A. 
Patridge ;  second  lieutenant,  John  W.  Boyle : 
first  sergeant,  L.  Bethun ;  duty  sergeants.  F.  B. 
Jewell,  George  Demmick,  F.  M.  Thompson ; 
privates,  A.  Anderson,  Ole  Anderson.  P.  Ander- 
son, J.  M.  Allen,  Ole  Bottolfson,  J.  P.  Burg- 
man,  John  Burt,  A.  Bruyier,  G.  B.  Bigelow,  H. 
Burgess,  Lyman  Burgess,  John  Bruyier,  E.  M. 
Bond.  B.  Bothune,  Brisber  Chaussee,  Charles 
Chaussee,  Jr.,  Charles  Chaussee.  Sr..  Frank 
Chaussee,  Sr.,  C.  V.  Cordier.  B.  W.  Collar.  J. 
Carpenter,  A.  Carpenter,  H.  Compton,  Alexander 
Dombrouse,  Jacob  Deuel,  C.  Ellefson,  E.  Elling- 
son,  P.  Eckman.  A.  Garzon.  John  Gedvass,  H. 
Gurderson,  T.  Halverson.  A.  Halverson.  A. 
Iverson,  Erick  Johnson,  Timon  Johnson,  P.  H. 
Jewell,  Gustave  Jacobson.  J.  A.  Jacobson.  H.  A. 
Kennerly.  H.  Knudson.  J.  Knudson.  O.  B.  Lar- 
son, Lewis  Larson,  C.  Larson,  Iver  Larson,  M. 
Larson,  Samel  Lyon,'  M.  McCue.  S.  B.  Mul- 
holland.  J.  P.  :\Iulholland.  Xels.  Nelson,  Peter 
X"^elson.  Erick  Oleson,  Henry  Omeg.  H.  Ole- 
.=on.  Otto  Oleson,  A.  Peterson,  George  A\'.  Pratt, 
H.  Peterson,  X".  Ross,  L.  D.  Robinson.  T. 
Russell,  L.  R.  Silrahson.  Jesse  Shiner.  Minor 
Robinson,  Silver  Strik. '  M.  Severson,  \\'illiam 
Shiner,  R.  Thorson,  Samuel  Thompson,  Frank 
Taylor,  Frank  \'erzine,  H.  K.  \'ick.  A.  C.  \'an 
Meter,  J.  W.  Tawney.  James  W'hilehorn.  M. 
Wilkinson.  H.  Wangras. 

COMPANY    E,    DAKOTA    MILITIA. 

Captain,  Mahlon  Gore ;  first  lieutenant,  S.  M. 
Crooks ;  second  lieutenant,  M.  M.  Rich ;  first  ser- 
geant, X^els  Oleson :  duty  sergeants,  Lawrence 
Dignan.  Ole  Kettleson.  William  H.  Fate.  Jr. ; 
privates.  T.  Andrews.  A.  Anderson,  Thad. 
Andrews,  William  Anderson.  Benjamin  An- 
drews, W.  E.  Bonney,  E.  Christenson.  Hans 
Christian.  F.   Furlong,  Joseph   Furlong,   W.  W. 


i 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


207 


Frisbie,  Thomas  Fate,  James  Fate,  Albert  Gore, 
( )le  Halverson,  S.  Horton,  Lewis  Johnson,  Carl 
Kingsley,  Ole  Kettleson,  E.  B.  Lamoure,  Henry 
Lowe,  Matthias  Larson,  \l.  Munson,  H.  Mitti- 
son,  Sarge  Alichelson,  Halve  Nelson,  Rufus 
Mead,  Theodore  Oleson,  Mens  Oleson,  Ole  Ole- 
son,  Thomas  Oleson,  James  Oleson,  A.  R.  Phil- 
lips, Peter  Peterson,  Russel  Phillips,  D.  Ross, 
Ole  Thompson,  L.  O.  Taylor,  Andrew  Tervis, 
Bamy  Verwick,  Thomas  J.  Watson,  T.  C. 
Watson. 

When  the  committee  returned  from  the 
Yanktons  they  found  the  Yankton  stockade 
about  half  completed  and  the  news  they  brought 
threw  the  community  into  another  panic.  Cap- 
tain Ziebach  sent  a  messenger  with  the  news  to 
Captain  Miner  at  Vermillion  and  the  latter  ar- 
rived at  sundown  with  reinforcements  for  the 
militia  and  Sergeant  English's  squad  of  cavalry 
at  Yankton.  During  that  day  English  had  been 
scouting  through  the  bottoms  for  a '  party  of 
Sioux  who  had  fired  on  J.  B.  Greenway,  the  Jim 
river  ferryman,  that  morning.  He  overtook 
them  on  the  bank  of  the  little  lake  at  Gayville 
and  in  a  sharp  skirmish  one  Indian  was  killed. 

Mahlon  Gore  gives  this  account  of  the  oc- 
casion of  the  stampede :  When  the  detachment 
of  Company  A  discovered  the  band  of  Indians 
and  rovmded  them  up  in  the  log  cabin  on  the 
lake  at  Gayville  a  soldier  named  Bell  was  de- 
tailed to  go  express  to  \'ermillion  and  secure 
assistance.  "What  insane  freak  possessed  Bell  was 
never  satisfactorily  explained.  Instead  of  obey- 
ing orders  onlv,  he  rode  down  through  the  set- 
tlements and  everywhere  sounded  the  note  of 
alarm.  He  stated  that  the  whole  Yankton  tribe, 
with  Mad  Bull  at  their  head,  had  taken  the  war 
path  and  had  cleaned  out  the  upper  settlements. 
That  Captain  Miner  had  bade  a  stand  at  James 
river  and  was  holding  them  in  check  until  the 
settlers  could  save  themselves  by  flight. 

"Such  a  message,  coming  at  such  a  time, 
could  have  but  one  effect.  The  people  were  panic- 
stricken  and  in  an  hour  after  Bell  had  come 
with  his  false  alarm  there  was  in  progress  one 
of  the  most  complete  stampedes  ever  known. 
Teams    were   hastilv   hitched,   a    few    easilv    se- 


cured eft'ects  gathered  up,  and  the  family,  or  in 
some  cases  two  or  three  families,  tumbled  in 
and  away  to  Sioux  City.  The  exodus  began  in 
the  afternoon  and  all  night  long  the  road  leading 
out  of  the  territory  was  alive  with  a  living 
stream  of  humanity,  going  they  knew  not  where, 
onlv  intent  upon  self  preservation.  It  was  at 
the  season  of  the  year  when  fall  crops  were  just 
ripening.  All  was  left.  Many  farmers  who  had 
pens  of  hogs  opened  the  doors  and  turned  the 
swine  loose  in  their  fields.  Cattle  were  left  to 
take  care  of  themselves.  In  twelve  hours  from 
the  time  of  the  alarm  the  entire  region  from 
the  Dakota  to  the  Big  Sioux  river  was  de- 
populated. A  few  hardy  men  remained  at  Ver- 
million, but  the  women  and  children  and  nearly 
all  of  the  men  left  the  town  with  the  tide.  The 
few  that  remained  provided  themselves  with  a 
boat  and  provisions  and  prepared  at  a  moment's 
notice  to  flee  to  the  island  for  protection.  Most 
of  the  settlers  who  fled  the  country  returned  to 
their  homes  within  the  week." 

After  the  arrival  of  Captain  IMiner  the  ex- 
citement subsided  some  and  all  hands  set  to 
work  to  complete  the  stockade.  This  structure 
was  about  three  hundred  feet  square  and  was 
built  so  that  the  crossing  of  Third  street  and 
Broadway  was  in  the  center  of  it.  Ash's  Hotel, 
where  the  Merchants'  now  stands,  the  Dakotan 
printing  office,  directly  in  front  of  the  hotel  on 
the  east  side  of  Broadway,  the  Powers  and 
Burkhart  buildings,  north  of  the  printing  office, 
and  Robert's  building,  on  the  west  side  of 
Broadwa}',  south  of  Third,  were  within  the  en- 
closure. The  north  side  of  the  defense  was  con- 
structed of  sod,  three  feet  thick  and  five  and 
one-half  high ;  the  east  and  west  sides  were 
constructed  by  setting  posts,  six  by  six.  in  the 
ground  and  planking  up  both  sides  and  filling 
the  space  between  with  earth ;  the  south  side 
was  built  stockade  fashion,  by  setting  a  double 
row  of  posts  in  a  trench.  The  gate  was  on  the 
south  side  in  the  middle  of  Broadway. 

For  a  few  days  an  Indian  attack  was  hourly 
anticipated  and  the  population  of  two  counties, 
gathered  within  this  narrow  enclosure,  were  in 
a  constant  state  of  terror,  but  with  the  passage  of 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


time  without  attack  the  excitement  gradually 
died  out  and  the  people  began  to  go  out  to  look 
after  their  farms  and  stock;  at  first  the  men, 
armed  to  the  teeth,  going  out  in  squads,  but  be- 
fore winter  most  of  the  families  were  back  in 
their  own  homes. 

On  the  7th  of  October  Governor  Jayne  deter- 
mined to  call  out  the  militia  for  active  service 
and  commissions  as  recruiting  officers  were 
issued  to  Lieutenant  T.  Elwood  Clarke,  Alpheus 
G.  Fuller,  A.  J.  Bell,  M.  H.  Somers,  William 
Tripp,  John  R.  Woods  and  W.  W.  Adams.  As 
stated  by  Governor  Jayne  in  his  proclamation  of 
October  7th,  it  was  his  intention  to  raise  eight 
companies  of  from  thirty  to  forty  men  each  and 
tender  them  to  General  Pope  for  service  on  the 
Dakota  frontier  for  the  term  of  nine  months. 
By  the  13th  of  December,  it  having  become  ap- 
parent that  it  would  be  impossible  to  secure  so 
many  men,  the  various  parties  of  recruits  were 
consolidated  by  an  order  of  the  Governor  into 
Company  B,  Dakota  Volunteer  Cavalry,  with 
William  Tripp  captain  and  John  R.  Wood  first 
lieutenant.  Recruiting  continued  all  winter, 
active  service  being  required  of  the  recruits  until 
March  31st,  when  the  company  was  mustered 
into  the  United  States'  service  as  follows :  Oliver 
Allen,  John  E.  Allen,  Henry  Arend,  Christopher 
Arend,  Thomas  H.  Armstrong,  Gilbert  B.  Bige- 
low,  John  Bradley,  George  Bellows,  Benjamin 
Bellows,  Leander  Cirtier,  Miles  Cowan,  Samuel 
M.  Crooks.  Sherman  Clyde,  James  Dormidy, 
Lawrence  Dignan,  Louis  H.  Desy,  George  W. 
Dimick,  John  R.  Ealy.  William  F.  Furlong, 
Nicholis  Felleng,  John  Fitzgibbons.  James  J. 
Furlong,  Harmon  Z.  Fjeltvet,  Antoine  Fleury, 
Louis  Frick.  William  H.  H.  Fate.  Samuel 
Farnsworth,  Hugh  Gaughran,  Lewis  Gates, 
William  R.  Goodfellow,  John  Gregory,  Wil- 
liam C.  Homer,  Melancthon  Hoyt,  Thomas 
J.  Hamilton,  John  L.  Hall,  Stephen  Hor- 
ton,  James  T.  Hammond,  John  Hough,  Ul- 
rick  Jarvis,  Trobridge  R.  Jewell,  Alexander 
Keeler,  Daniel  Keely,  Mathias  Larson,  Charles 
Leonard,  John  B.  Lavvie,  Ole  B.  Larson,  Octave 
Lavvie,  Joseph  Lionat,  Cornelius  McNamarow, 
John  McDonough,  Henry  McCumber.  Daniel  W. 


]\IcDaniels,  Jacob  J.  McKnight,  William  Mc- 
Dermott,  Nathan  McDaniels,  Geo.  D.  Mathieson, 
Richard  W.  Mathieson,  Martin  D.  }iletcalf, 
William  Metcalf,  Robert  :\Iarmon,  John  Xieft", 
Anthony  Nelson,  Bringle  Oleson,  Colburn  Ole- 
son,  Theodore  Oleson,  James  Oleson,  Ferman 
Pattee,  Abel  R.  Philips,  Sterling  L.  Parker,  James 
A.  Phelps,  Thomas  Reandeau,  Elijah  K.  Robin- 
son, Baptise  Reandeau,  Fred  Roberts,  George 
Rose,  Miles  Rimer,  General  M.  Reese.  John 
Rouse,  Joseph  Stinger,  Josiah  R.  Sanborn, 
Dempster  Sprague,  Louis  St.  Onge,  William 
Searles,  Myron  Sheldbn,  John  Sorrick,  Louis 
St.  Onge,  John  B.  Snow,  William  W.  Snider, 
William  Trumbo,  Ferdinand  Twigeon,  Alexis 
Travercie,  Paul  Travercie,  Hezekiah  Townsend, 
Joseph  W.  Vandevier,  Bernard  Varwyk,  William 
VanOsdal,  Samuel  VanOsdal,  Lorenzo  Wood. 
Norris  J.  Wallace,  Uriah  Wood,  Eli  B.  \\'ixson. 
John  J.  Welsh,  Josiah  Whitcomb,  Henry  Will, 
Thomas  Wilson. 

Late  in  November  Captain  ^liner,  with 
forty  of  his  men,  escorted  some  of  the  settlers 
back  to  Sioux  Falls  to  recover  the  goods  cached 
there  when  they  left  so  abruptly  in  August.  They 
secured  the  goods,  but  ran  upon  a  band  of  In- 
dians who  showed  fight.  The  Indians  were 
quickly  repulsed  by  the  soldiers  and  one  was 
killed  by  Charles  Wright,  still  of  Yankton,  in 
the  slough  known  as  Covell's  lake,  just  west  of 
Sioux  Falls.  This  was  the  band  of  Ink- 
paduta  and  the  savage  killed  was  an  ex- 
!  ceptionally  vicious  young  fellow  by  tlie  name  of 
Wakeyandoota.  After  the  capture  of  the  Indians 
by  General  Sibley  at  Camp  Release  in  jMinnesota, 
a  party  of  Wahpetons  struck  out  for  the  dirt 
lodges  of  the  band  located  on  the  Jim  near  Red- 
field,  but  they  were  overtaken  and  captured  by 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Marshal,  at  Lake  Nicholson 
in  Codington  county,  and  were  returned  to 
Minnesota. 

This  is  the  story  of  the  Indian  war  of  1862. 
so  far  as  South  Dakota  is  concerned.  Its  net 
results  were  the  massacre  of  Judge  Amidon  and 
his  son  at  Sioux  Falls  in  August  and  the  killing 
of  one  Indian  near  Gayville  by  Sergeant  English's 
squad  and  the  killing  of  another  at  Sioux  Falls 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


by  Charles  Wright,  of  Captain  Miner's  company, 
at  Sioux  Falls,  in  November.  Nevertheless  the 
danger  was  imminent  and  the  settlers  fearfully 
exposed.  That  they  were  not  all  destroyed  is 
due  to  the  fact  that  General  Sibley  was  giving 
Little  CroW  more  business  than  he  could  well 
attend  to  on  the  Minnesota. 


Not  only  did  the  disturbances  drive  away 
many  of  the  settlers,  particularly  those  who 
had  come  during  the  summer  of  1862,  but  it 
j  efifectually  stopped  immigration  for  several  years 
I  to  come.  One  event  connected  with  the  Indian 
troubles  of  that  year  will  be  reserved  for  the 
next  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 


RESCUE    OF    THE    SHETAK    CAPTI\-ES. 


On  the  2ist  of  August,  1862,  \\'hite  Lodge, 
a  headman  of  the  Santees,  fell  upon  an  exposed 
settlement  of  whites  at  Lake  Shetak,  ]Murray 
county,  [Minnesota,  and  massacred  many  of  the 
inhabitants  and  took  prisoner  nine  persons,  Mrs. 
John  Wright  and  two  children,  a  boy  of  six  and 
an  infant  in  amis ;  Mrs.  William  J.  Duly  and  two 
girls,  the  eldest  twelve  years  of  age ;  Lillie 
Everett,  eight  years  old,  and  two  little  girls, 
daughters  of  Thomas  Ireland.  These  captives  he 
leisurely  conveyed  to  the  Missouri  river,  arriving 
in  November  at  a  point  not  far  from  the  present 
location  of  Fort  Yates.  Shortly  after  their  ar- 
rival Charles  E.  Galpin,  the  well  known  trader 
for  the  American  Fur  Company,  was  passing 
down  the  river  with  a  part}-  of  trappers  and  [ 
miners,  in  a  iMackinaw  boat.  \\'hen  he  arrived 
at  White  Lodge's  camp  he  was  hailed  and  asked 
to  come  ashore  to  trade.  There  are  varying  ac- 
counts of  what  happened  there,  but  the  weight 
of  testimony  seems  to  be  that  they  did  draw  up 
to  the  river  bank  and  some  of  the  men  landed 
when  Major  Galpin"s  wife,  a  half-blood,  sister 
of  Charles  F.  Picotte,  discovered  that  the  Indians 
were  hostile  and  warned  her  husband.  By  this 
time  the  men  had  returned  to  the  boat  and  about 
fifty  Indians  were  standing  on  the  rope  by  which 
it  was  moored.  Major  Galpin  told  the  men  to 
throw  themselves  flat  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat, 
while  with  an  axe  he  cut  the  rope  at  a  single 
blow  and  the  craft  swung  out  into  the  stream. 
The  Indians  sent  a  shower  of  arrows  after  it, 
but  without  effect.     As  the  boat  got  out  into  the 


current,  a  white  woman  ran  down  to  the  shore 
and  called  to  the  boatmen  that  the  Shetak  cap- 
tives were  in  the  camp  and  imploring  them  to 
take  steps  to  secure  their  release.  Fort  Pierre 
was  the  first  trading  post  below  the  hostile  camp 
and,  arriving  there  a  few  days  later.  Major 
Galpin  told  of  the  episode,  as  he  did  at  each  post 
he  passed  in  the  voyage  down  the  river. 

Immediately  after  the  beginning  of  hostilities, 
Little  Crow  had  sent  his  runners  to  the  tribes  of 
the  [Missouri  to  solicit  their  co-operation  in  the 
war  and  the  Two  Kettle  Tetons,  at  Fort  Pierre, 
had  held  a  formal  council  and  determined  not 
to  take  any  part  in  it.  They  were  not  feeling 
very  friendly  toward  the  Minnesota  Sioux  for 
the  reason  that  the  latter  were  annually  trespass-  » 
ing  upon  the  buffalo  preserves  of  the  western 
Indians.  This  was  a  very  delicate  subject  with 
the  Indians  and  they  had  long  considered  a 
forcible  protest  against  it  and  many  of  the  young' 
men  considered  this  an  Opportune  time  to  even  ■ 
up  scores  with  the  eastern  neighbors,  but,  as 
stated,  the  more  conservative  council  of  the  old 
men  prevailed.  A  party  of  eleven  boys,  under  X 
the  leadership  of  Martin  Charger,  who  is  reputed 
to  have  been  a  grandson  of  Capt.  Merri weather 
Lewis,  the  famous  explorer,  however  had  re- 
solved that  they  would  disregard  the  councils  of 
the  tribe  and  exert  themselves  in  the  interest  of 
the  whites  whenever  opportimity  presented  itself. 
To  this  end,  they  organized  themselves  into  a 
society  and  took  upon  themselves  sacred  pledges 
confirmed  bv  all  sorts  of  Indian  mummerv.  Their 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


action  brought  upon  themselves  .the  ridicule  of 
the  tribe,  who  ironically  dubbed  them  the  "The 
Fool  Soldiers."  This  ridicule  only  excited  them 
to  greater  tenacity  of  purpose  and  when  Major 
Galpin  gave  notice  of  the  presence  of  white 
captives  upon  the  river  they  resolved  to  act.  The 
names  of  this  Fool  Soldier  Band  were  Martin 
Charger.  Kills  and  Comes,  Four  Bear,  Mad 
P.ear,  Pretty  Bear,  Sitting  Bear,  Swift  Bird,  One 
Rib,  Strikes  Fire,  Red  Dog  and  Charging  Dog. 
It  was  about  the  15th  day  of  November  when 
Major  Galpin  brought  the  news  to  Fort  Pierre, 
and,  gathering  up  their  peltry,  they  traded  with 
Primeau  for  sugar,  coffee  and  other  portable 
food  and  crossed  the  river  that  evening  and  made 
their  first  camp  on  the  Okobojo.  The  next  day 
they  reached  the  Little  Cheyenne  at  Forest  City 
and  before  night  of  the  third  day  had  come  to  a 
camp  of  Yanktonaise  on  Swan  Lake  creek,  who 
informed  them  that  the>-  would  find  X^Hiite  Lodge 
and  the  captives  not  far  away.  They  pushed 
on,  but  did  not  find  the  hostiles  until  they 
reached  the  timber  in  the  bend  of  the  Missouri, 
opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Grand  river,  very  near 
the  northwest  corner  of  Walworth  county.  I 
have  been  at  great  pains  to  learn  precisely  what 
occurred  in  the  conference  looking  to  the  release 
of  the  captives,  and  from  the  testimony  of 
Charger,  Swift  Bird,  Strikes  Fire,  Four  Bear 
and  Pretty  Bear,  taken  separately  and  without 
opportunity  for  collusion,  can  give  a  very  full 
account  of  it. 

When  the  boys  had  arrived  and  pitched  their 
camp  in  the  edge  of  the  timber  they  asked  for  a 
council  and  White  Lodge  and  his  head  men 
came  out.  Each  of  the  hostiles  had  a  short  gun 
cached  under  his  blanket.  Charger  took  the  lead 
in  everything  on  behalf  of  the  boys.  He  began 
with  a  talk  about  their  hearts  being  good  and 
finally,  coming  down  to  the  real  motive  of  their 
visit,  he  said :  "You  see  us  here.  We  are  only 
young  boys.  Our  people  call  us  crazy,  but  we 
want  to  do  something  good.  If  a  man  owns  any- 
thing he  likes  it  and  he  will  not  part  with  it  for 
nothing.  We  have  come  here  to  buy  the  white 
captives  and  give  them  back  to  their  friends.  We 
will  give  the  horses  for  them ;  all  the  horses  we 


have.  That  proves  that  we  want  the  captives 
ver\-  much,  for  our  hearts  are  good  and  we  want 
to  do  a  good  thing."  Each  of  the  other  boys  re- 
peated this  proposition.  White  Lodge  replied: 
"We  come  from  the  east  where  the  sky  is  made 
red  by  the  fires  that  burn  the  homes  of  the 
whites,  and  the  earth  is  red  with  the  blood  of 
the  whites  whom  the  Santees  are  killing.  Tliese 
white  captives  I  have  taken  after  killing  many 
of  their  people.  I  will  not  again  be  a  friend  of 
the  whites.  I  have  already  done  a  bad  thing,  and 
now  I  will  keep  on  doing  bad  things.  I  will  not 
give  up  the  captives.  I  will  fight  until  I  drop 
dead." 

After   this    ultimatum    Charger   proposed    to 
give  the  hostiles  a  feast,  saying :    "Here  is  food, 
eat  what  you   want  and  go  home  and  we   will 
take  the  captives  and  go  home."     The  hostiles 
were  not  averse  to  accepting  the  boy's  hospitality, 
but  when  the}-  had  gorged  themselves  they  were 
}   still    obdurate    and    insultingly    resented    the    at- 
tempt of  the  Tetons  to  interfere  in  their  affairs. 
j   A  period  of  great  excitement  ensued,  in  which 
all  sorts  of  threats  of  evil  were  directed  at  the 
hovs.     Whenever  they  would  quiet  down  Charger 
I  would  renew  his  ofifer  to  trade  the  horses  for  the 
I  captives.     Finally  he   changed  his   tactics.      Se- 
!  curing   the   attention   of   White   Lodge   and   his 
']  braves,  Charger  said :     "White  Lodge,  you  talk 
I  verv  brave.     You  kill  white  men  who  have  no 
I  guns  and  you  steal  women  and  children  and  run 
away   with   them   where   there   are   no   soldiers. 
If  you  are  brave  why  did  you  not  stay  and  fight 
the   soldiers   who   had   guns?     Three   times   we 
have  offered  you  our  horses  for  the  captives  and 
you   have   refused   us.      Now   we   will   take   the 
captives   and   place   them   upon   the    horses   and 
take   them   to   their   friends.      If    you    make    us 
trouble   the   soldiers   who  have  guns   will   come 
against  you   from  the  east  and  our  people,  the 
Two   Kettles,   will   come   against   you    from   the 
west  and  we  shall  then  see  how  brave  you  are." 
At  this  a  Santee  from  the  outside,  who  did 
not  sit  in  the  council,  cried  out  to  Black  Hawk, 
a  son  of  White  Lodge's:  "Black  Hawk,  why  do 
you  not  speak  ?    Why  sit  so  still  ?"    Black  Hawk, 
thus  adjured,  arose  and  after  complimenting  the 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


boys  admitted  that  they  were  starving.  That  he 
owned  one  of  the  children  and  that  he  would 
give  it  up  and  advised  the  others  to  do  likewise. 
After  another  protracted  period  of  bullying  it 
was  agreed  that  the  captives  should  be  exchanged 
for  the  horses  and  a  council  for  the  purpose 
would  be  held  on  the  following  morning. 

The  next  morning  a  large  lodge  was  erected 
in  the  center  of  the  village,  under  the  trees,  and 
the  boys  were  invited  to  come  into  the  camp 
with  their  horses.  When  they  entered  they 
found  there  a  large  number  of  Indians,  and  Mrs. 
Duly  and  six  children.  Mrs.  Wright's  baby  had 
been  brutally  murdered  some  weeks  before. 
Though  the  exchange  had  been  agreed  upon,  the 
details  of  it  was  a  more  complicated  proposition 
than  the  boys  had  counted  upon.  Each  captive 
was  claimed  by  some  Indian  as  his  personal 
chattel  and  each  was  bent  upon  driving  the  best 
possible  bargain.  The  smallest  child  was  first 
offered  and  after  a  tedious  period  of  dickering 
was  secured  for  one  horse  and  some  additional 
property.  Then  a  bargain  was  made  for  the  next 
child,  and  so  continuing  through  the  greater  por- 
tion of  the  day  until  Mrs.  Duly  was  finally  pur- 
chased. The  boys  then  found  that  they  had 
traded  themselves  out  of  all  of  their  property 
except  one  horse  and  four  guns.  White  Lodge, 
who  up  to  this  time  had  grudgingly  assented  to 
the  proceedings,  now  utterly  refused  to  give  up 
Mrs.  Wright  upon  any  terms.  There  was  re- 
newed excitement  and  threats  of  annihilation  of 
both  Tetons  and  captives,  but  finally  Black 
Hawk  and  his  brother.  Chased  by  the  Ree,  who 
were  the  leaders  of  a  peace  faction  among  the 
hostiles,  agreed  in  consideration  of  the  remaining 
horse  to  go  to  their  father's  lodge  and  take  the 
woman  by  force,  if  need  be.  The  proposition 
was  agreed  to  and  Red  Dog  and  Strikes  Fire 
were  entrusted  to  carry  out  the  negotiation. 
They  soon  returned  with  Mrs.  Wright  and  the 
boys,  with  their  helpless,  naked  captives,  started 
on  the  homeward  march  that  evening,  of  Novem- 
ber 20th.  They  were  utterly  destitute  of  pro- 
visions, or  horses.  A  November  blizzard  was 
blowing.  Mrs.  Duly  had  an  unhealed  gunshot 
wound,  inflicted  by  a  jealous  Indian  woman,  in 


her  foot,  and  could  scarcely  hobble  along.  In 
this  desperate  situation  they  traveled  two  or 
three  miles  and  went  into  camp  for  the  night. 
The  women  and  children  were  huddled  in  the 
one  small  tepee.  The  boys  gave  them  their 
blankets  to  keep  them  from  freezing  and  them- 
selves marched  round  and  round  the  tepee 
throughout  the  stormy' night.  Early  next  morn- 
ing, without  a  morsel  of  food,  they  again  took 
up  their  dreary  march.  Shortly  after  daylight 
they  met  Don't  Know  How,  a  young  Yanktonaise 
who  had  come  up  from  the  camp  on  Swan  Lake 
creek  to  learn  how  tliey  were  succeeding  in  their 
quest.  He  was  mounted  and  they  traded  one 
gun  for  his  horse  and,  hastily  rigging  a  travoix 
I  with  the  lodge  poles,  mounted  the  children  upon 
it  and  proceeded  to  the  Yanktonaise  camp  where 
they  obtained  food  and  remained  until  the  fol- 
lowing morning.  They  traded  another  gun  here 
for  an  old  cart,  into  which  they  stuffed  the  chil- 
dren, while  Mrs.  Duly,  unable  to  walk  further, 
!  mounted  the  horse.  The  horse  was  so  over- 
I  loaded  that  they  were  compelled  to  help  him  out 
j  by  pushing.  They  reached  Forest  City  that  night 
!  and  next  morning  climbed  the  hill  and,  leaving 
the  river,  crossed  the  axbow.  That  night  they 
did  not  camp  at  all  and  at  daylight  on  the  morn- 
j  ing  of  the  24th  (there  is  some  question  about 
this  date  ;  it  may  be  that  this  was  the  morning 
of  the  20th  and  that  the  rescue  was  effected  on 
the  evening  of  the  i6th)  they  arrived  at  Fort 
Pierre.  Here  they  were  assisted  across  the  now 
slightly  frozen  river  by  their  friends  and  Prim- 
eau,  LaPlant  and  DuPree  and  taken  to  Primeau's 
store,  where  they  were  clothed  as  well  as  could 
be  from  his  course  stock  of  Indian  goods.  Then 
they  were  taken  to  DuPree's  house,  where  they 
rested  for  three  days,  when  Dupree  and  La- 
Plant  started  with  a  heavy  wagon  to  convey  them 
to  Fort  Randall. 

When  Major  Galpin  passed  down  the  river, 
spreading  information  of  the  whereabouts  of  the 
Shetak  captives,  he  arrived  at  Fort  Randall, 
probably  on  the  i8th  day  of  November.  Captain 
Pattee,  now  promoted  to  be  lieutenant  colonel 
of  the  Forty-first  Iowa,  was  still  in  command,  but  J 
at  that  time  was  absent  from  the  post.     Galpin] 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


213 


left  a  note  for  him  and  hurried  on.  Pattee  re- 
turned to  the  post  on  the  2ath  and  at  once  set 
about  organizing  an  expedition  looking  to  the 
rescue  of  the  captives,  but  several  days  were 
consumed  in  effecting  arrangements.  Finally  on 
the  25th  day  of  November  Colonel  Pattee,  with 
seventeen  men  of  Company  A  and  all  of  Com- 
pany B  of  the  Forty-first  Iowa  and  seventy  men 
of  Company  A,  Dakota  Cavalry,  started  for  Fort 
Pierre.  They  made  eighteen  miles  the  first  day 
and  camped  on  Wilson  creek,  where  the}-  were 
overtaken  by  a  messenger  from  the  fort  with 
information  that  the  paymaster  had  arrived. 
X'ow  the  Dakota  boys  had  been  in  the  service 
since  the  30th  day  of  the  previous  April  and  had 
not  yet  seen  the  color  of  Uncle  Sam's  gold  and 
the  Iowa  boys  were  six  months  behind,  so  the 
cavalry  returned  to  the  fort  to  draw  the  money. 
Colonel  Pattee  and  the  infantry  remaining  in 
camp  on  Wilson  creek.  On  the  evening  of  the 
27th  the  cavalry  returned  to  camp  and  next 
morning  the  march  was  again  taken  up.  The 
weather  was  extremely  cold  and  slow  progress 
was  made,  and  after  only  twenty  miles  camp  was 
made  for  the  night  on  Ponca  creek.  The  next 
morning,  when  out  two  miles  from  camp,  they 
met  LaPlant  and  Dupree  with  the  captives. 
Colonel  Pattee  turned  back  with  them  to  Ponca 
creek,  where  he  had  his  cook  prepare  a  dinner 
for  them,  and  while  the  meal  was  in  progress  the 
generous  soldier  boys  made  up  a  purse  for  their 
benefit,  which,  with  some  additions  made  at  the 
fort,  amounted  to  five  hundred  dollars.  The 
captives  remained  in  this  camp  with  the  soldiers 
until   the  morning  of  the  30th,   when  they  pro- 


ceeded to  the  fort,  where  they  arrived  at  four 
o'clock  that  afternoon,  and  Colonel  Pattee  and 
his  command  went  on  to  Fort  Pierre,  arriving 
there  on  December  5th.  While  at  the  camp  on 
Ponca  creek  Colonel  Pattee  wrote  a  letter  to  the 
newspapers  in  Sioux  City,  and  also  to  the  Cedar 
Rapids  pape'rs,  telling  of  the  rescue  of  the  cap- 
tives and  requesting  that  the  story  be  given  the 
widest  possible  circulation  to  the  end  that  the 
living  relatives  of  the  captives  might  gain  knowl- 
edge of  it.  The  wife  and  daughter  of  Colonel 
Pattee  and  seven  other  ladies  were  at  the  fort 
and  they  exerted  themselves  to  make  the  new- 
comers comfortable,  making  clothing  for  them 
and  treating  them  with  the  utmost  kindness. 
Airs.  Duly  took  to  her  bed  as  soon  as  she  ar- 
rived at  the  fort  and  remained  bedfast  for  fifteen 
days.  They  remained  at  Fort  Randall  until  De- 
cember 29th,  when  General  Cooke,  commanding 
the  district,  arrived  and  started  with  them  to 
Sioux  City,  but  at  the  Yankton  agency  was 
storm  bound  and  they  remained  there  for  a  week 
longer.  At  Yankton  they  were  met  by  Mr. 
Wright,  who  learned  from  the  papers  of  the  res- 
cue and  was  hurrying  to  Fort  -Randall.  At 
Sioux  Cit}-  Mr.  Everett  met  them,  also  hurrying 
out  to  secure  his  little  daughter,  and  finally  at 
I-'ort  Dodge,  Mr.  Duly  reached  his  family. 

.-\.s  the  news  of  the  whereabouts  of  the  cap- 
tives spread  several  other  rescuing  parties  were 
fitted  out..  The  people  of  Yankton  made 
notable  efTort  in  their  behalf,  sending  Frank  La- 
Framboise  up  river  for  the  purpose,  but  be- 
fore he  started  the  captives  were  in  safety  at 
Randall. 


CHAPTER  XXXV 


OCCURRENCES   OF  1863.  CI\'IL    AXD    AIILITARY. 


Before    its    close    the    legislative    session    of   1 
1862-3  passed  an  act  appointing  a  commissioner 
to  audit  the  accounts  of  the  territory,  incurred   \ 
in    calling   out   the   militia   by   Governor  Jayne. 
James  Tufts  was  appointed  commissioner  and  he 
allowed    each   man     for    two    months'     service, 
which,  together  with  the  commissary  and  other  ; 
expenses,    he   audited   at   $28,137.17,   and   terri- 
t(3rial  warrants  were  issued  for  the  amount.     No  I 
provision  by  way  of  taxation  was  made  for  the  ; 
payment  of  the  warrants,  but  congress  was  pe- 
titioned to  make  provision  for  their  redemption. 
Manv  years,  however,    elapsed    before    congress 
acted  in  the  matter;  finally,  in  1874,  Gen.  James 
A.  Hardie,  inspector  general  of  the  army,  was 
sent  out  to  re-audit  the  claims.     He  determined 
that  each  man  was  entitled  to  but  one  month's 
pay,  but  he  found  three  hundred  ninety-nine  men 
entitled  to  payment  in  addition  to  Company  A, 
of  the  Dakota  Cavalry,  while  Tufts  had  allowed 
compensation    to    but    two    hundred    sixty-six. 
Hardie  audited  the  whole  account  at  $26,976.22, 
which  was  paid  by  the  government. 

As  before  stated.  Governor  Jayne  resigned, 
after  the  close  of  the  legislature,  in  time  to  take 
his  seat  in  congress  on  March  4th.  A  consider- 
able number  of  the  federal  ofificials  within  the 
territory,  and  a  number  of  gentlemen  from 
abroad,  aspired  to  the  position  made  vacant  by 
Governor  Jayne's  resignation,  including  Chief 
Justice  Bliss  and  Secretary  Hutchinson ;  mean- 
while Secretary  Hutchinson  performing  the 
duties   of   the   office.      The    President,   however. 


took  no  action  until  August,  when  he  appointed 
Xewton  Edmunds  to  the  position.  Mr.  Ed- 
munds had  at  that  time  been  a  citizen  of  Dakota 
for  more  than  a  \-ear,  having  come  to  the  terri- 
tory at  the  time  of  the  establishment  of  the 
surveyor  general's  office  as  chief  clerk  to  Sur- 
veyor General  Fessenden.  He  had  voted  at  the 
election  of  1862,  for  Governor  Jayne,  and  the 
legality  of  his  vote  was  ciuestioned  in  the  contest 
on  the  ground  that  his  family  still  resided  in 
Michigan.  He  took  hold  of  the  administration 
of  his  office  with  the  practical  business  sense 
which  is  strongly  characteristic  of  his  whole 
career. 

Only  a  legislature  was  elected  that  fall  and 
though  the  excitement  was  something  less  than 
in  the  previous  year,  the  Todd-Jayne  alignment 
was  observed.  There  were  contests  from  Cole 
and  Bon  Homme  counties.  The  Jayne  men  con- 
trolled the  organization  and  admitted  the  Jayne 
members,  giving  them  a  working  majority 
throughout  the  session.  No  delegation  came 
from  the  Pembina  country.  Pembina  was  un- 
relinquished Indian  land  which  the  organic  act 
clearly  cut  out  of  the  territory,  and  this  session 
repealed  the  provision  giving  to  them  represent- 
atives in  the  legislature  and  leaving  the  in- 
habitants of  that  section  where  congress  had 
placed  them  as  trespassers  upon  Indian  lands. 

The  season  had  been  in  every  way  a  most  de- 
pressing and  discouraging  one  for  the  pioneers. 
Drouth  rendered  the  crops  almost  a  failure.  Im- 
migration   was    entirely    stopped    by   the    Indian 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


troubles  and  some  settlers  left  the  territory.  In- 
deed there  was  little  to  attract  anyone  to  the  land 
and  the  futttre  of  Dakota  looked  gloomy  indeed. 

The  Dakota  cavalry  Company  A  having  spent 
the  winter  in  garrison  duty  and  scenting  about 
I'ort  Randall,  were  in  the  spring  ordered  to  pro- 
ceed to  the  mouth  of  Crow  creek  and  there  pre- 
pare a  post  and  agency  for  the  reception  of  the 
captured  IMinnesota  Santees,  who  were  brought 
around  by  Col.  Clark  Thompson,  their  agent, 
upon  steamboats.  When  the  outbreak  came  on 
the  principal  agency  of  the  Winnebagoes  had  but 
recently  been  removed  from  a  point  near  Long 
Prairie  in  the  borderland  between  the  Dakotas 
and  the  Chippewas  to  a  location  in  Blue  Earth 
county  near  ]\Iankato  and  it  was  claimed  that 
some  of  these  Winnebagoes  were  concerned  in 
the  outrages  at  New  Ulm  and  Redwood.  The 
sentiment  of  the  white  iieople  in  Minnesota  be- 
came so  hostile  to  all  Indians  after  the  outbreak 
that  in  compliance  to  the  universal  demand  that 
Minnesota  be  cleared  of  Indians  the  Winne- 
bagoes were  removed  at  the  same  time  with  the 
remnant  of  the  hostiles  to  Fort  Thompson. 
After  completing  the  buildings  the  Dakota 
boys  remained  for  a  time  and  garrisoned 
the  post  and  herded  the  Indians,  who  had 
become  tame  enough  to  suit  the  most  timid. 

The  government  had  determined  to  deliver  a 
crushing  blow  to  the  hostiles  and  had  provided 
to  send  two  expeditions  after  them.  One,  under 
General  Sibley,  to  cross  Dakota  to  the  Missouri 
river,  the  other,  under  General  Sully,  to  pass  up 
the  river  and  make  a  junction  with  Sibley  with 
the  hope  of  catching  the  Sioux  between  the  two 
divisions  and  crushing  them  at  one  blow.  Ac- 
cordingly Sully  was  sent  up  river  in  the  spring 
in  command  of  the  Sixth  and  Seventh  Iowa  In- 
fantry and  the  Second  Nebraska  Cavalry.  They 
made  slow  progress  and  it  was  July  before  they 
reached  Fort  Pierre,  with  the  troops,  marching 
overland.  It  was  the  intention  to  send  up  pro- 
visions by  steamboat,  but  the  prolonged  drouth 
rendered  the  river  so  low  that  navigation  was 
seriously  interfered  with  and  great  delay  caused 
from  this  reason ;  coiisequently  when  Sibley 
reached  the   ^Missouri  near  F>isniarck.  .^iillv  had 


not  yet  arrived,  and  after  defeating  the  hostiles  in 
the  battle  of  Big  Mound,  on  July  26th,  and  driv- 
ing them  across  the  river,  Sibley,  getting  no  word 
from  Sully,  retired  toward  the  Minnesota  line. 
Ultimately  Sully  got  up  and  learning  from  a 
Sioux  prisoner  of  Sibley's  fight  he  turned  toward 
the  southeast  and  passed  over  the  divide  into  the 
James  valley,  where,  he  had  learned,  a  portion  of 
the  hostiles  had  recrossed  the  Missouri  river  and 
gone  to  make  buffalo  meat. 

He  came  upon  them  September  3d,  at  White 
Stone  hill,  a  point  about  twelve  miles  west  of  the 
present  village  of  Ellendale,  in  Dickey  county, 
North  Dakota,  and  administered  to  them  a  disas- 
trous whipping.  His  own  loss  was  considerable. 
Thirteen  men  were  killed  outright  and  nine  others 
mortally  wounded ;  thirty-three  others  were 
wounded  more  or  less  seriously.  The  Indian  loss 
was  much  heavier  and  has  been  estimated  as  high 
as  three  hundred  killed.  One  hundred  fifty  pris- 
oners were  taken,  chiefly  women,  and  all  the 
camp  equippage  and  tents  were  destroyed,  to- 
gether with  all  the  meat  they  had  made  for  their 
winter's  supply.  The  captives  were  taken  down 
to  the  new  agency  at  Crow  creek. 

When  the  returning  troops  arrived  at  Peoria 
bottom  a  camp  was  made  which  shortly  was 
moved  down  to  four  or  five  miles  below  Pierre 
and  a  post  was  built  just  opposite  the  upper  end 
of  Farm  island,  which  was  named  in  honor  of  the 
commander.  Fort  Sully.  The  fort  was  built  the 
latter  part  of  September  from  logs,  cut  by  the 
soldiers  on  Farm  Island.  It  was  not  a  verv  pre- 
tentious establishment,  but  it  was  comfortable  and 
well  stockaded.  Several  log  buildings  were  built 
ortside  the  stockade,  and  the  traders  set  up  their 
establishments  as  near  by  as  permissible,  and  all 
of  the  Indians  residing  in  that  locality  at  once 
took  up  their  quarters  about  the  post. 

A  portion  of  the  Iowa  boys  went  down  to 
Crow  creek  and  to  Randall,  while  the  Nebraska 
boys  were  mustered  out,  their  time  having  ex- 
pired. Fort  Thompson,  at  Crow  Creek,  was  a 
more  pretentious  post  than  Sully.  Sergeant  J.  H. 
Drips,  of  the  Sixth  Iowa,  who  has  printed  a  his- 
tory of  the  campaign,  gives  the  following  descrip- 
tion of  the  post  at  Crow  creek  :  "It  is  laid  out  in  a 


2l6 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


square  some  three  hundred  feet  each  way.  Around 
the  whole  square  was  dug  a  ditch  three  feet  deep 
arid  the  same  width.  In  this  ditch  were  set  cedar 
pickets  fifteen  feet  long  which  leaves  twelve  feet 
above  the  ground.  On  the  west  side  are  two 
stores  and  one  warehouse  coming  out  flush  with 
the  pickets.  On  the  north  side  is  the  Winnebago 
schoolhouse,  the  interpreters'  quarters,  the  agent's 
quarters  and  the  doctor's  quarters.  On  the  cor- 
ner were  barracks  for  soldiers.  On  the  east  side 
are  the  boarding  house,  blacksmith's,  carpenter's 
and  wagonmaker's  shops.  On  the  south  side  are 
the  Sioux  buildings,  one  doctor's  quarters,  two 
agent's  quarters,  three  interpreters'  quarters  and 
four  school  houses  and  on  the  corner  barracks  for 
soldiers.  On  the  northwest  and  southwest  cor- 
ners there  are  barracks  outside  of  the  pickets. 
The  pickets  are  sawed  on  three  sides,  -the  outside 
being  left  rough.  Holes  for  guns  were  made 
some  eight  feet  from  the  ground  and  about  twelve 
feet  apart.  On  the  north  and  south  sides  are 
gates  made  of  the  same  kind  of  stuff  as  the  pick- 
ets. The  saw  mill  is  on  the  west  side  of  the  fort 
and  about  fifteen  rods  from  it  in  the  edge  of  the 
timber.  Still  further  on  in  the  timber  are  the 
Indians'  wigwams.  The  river  is  about  half  a 
mile  from  the  fort  and  pretty  heavy  timber." 

On  the  night  of  the  i6th  of  October  a  fearful 
blizzard  came  on,  which  piled  down  drifts  of 
snow  to  the  depth  of  fifteen  to  twenty-five  feet 
and  the  soldiers  and  the  horses  suffered  a  good 
deal,  being  quite  unprepared  for  so  unseasonable 
a  storm.  This  storm  is  noteworthy  because  of 
the  recurrence  of  it  on  the  anniversary  of  the 
date  seventeen  years  later  and  again  in  1896. 
(^en.  Zebulon  Pike  notes  that  a  severe  snow 
storm  enveloped  the  Northwest  on  October  16, 
1807. 

Aside  from  garrison  duty  and  scouting  about 
the  forests  the  only  other  military  operations  of 
the  early  summer  of  1863  in  South  Dakota  con- 
sisted of  a  scout  from  Fort  Randall  to  the  Dirt 
lodges  in  Spink  county  by  Capt.  T.  W.  Burdick, 
of  the  Sixth  Iowa,  with  sixty  men,  and  another 
later  from  Fort  Randall  to  the  mouth  of  the  Fire- 
steel  by  Captain  Pell  with  a  detachment  of  lo- 


wans  and  South  Dakotans.  Both  scouts  were 
made  with  the  hope  of  intercepting  parties  of  ma- 
rauders reported  to  be  passing  down  the  Jim 
toward  the  settlements,  but  if  such  parties  were 
in  the  vicinity  they  escaped  apprehension.  Cap- 
tain Moreland,  of  the  Sixth  Iowa,  with  fifteen 
men,  five  of  whom  were  Dakotans,  engaged  a 
party  of  Sioux  at  the  mouth  of  the  Keya  Paha 
and  killed  seven  of  the  hostiles. 

Lieutenant  John  K.  Fowler,  of  Company  A, 
resigned  and  DeWitt  C.  Smith,  a  Wisconsin  man, 
was  appointed  to  the  position,  to  the  great  disgust 
of  the  Dakota  people. 

On  the  night  of  May  5,  1863,  Messrs.  Jacob- 
son  and  Thompson,  of  Vermillion,  camped  at 
Greenway's  ferry  across  James  river  east  of 
Yankton.  At  daylight  next  morning  Jacobson 
was  killed  and  Thompson  severely  wounded  by 
prowling  Indians.  A  few  days  later  Sergeant 
Trask,  of  the  Fourteenth  Iowa,  was  killed  at 
Tacket's  Station,  on  Chouteau  creek,  while 
traveling  by  stage  from  Fort  Randall  to  Sioux 
City.  These  circumstances  so  alarmed  the  peo- 
ple and  the  authorities  that  it  was  deemed 
prudent  to  station  more  troops  in  the  settled  por-  I 
tions  of  the  territory  and  a  strong  detachment  of  J 
the  A  Company,  under  Lieutenant  Bacon,  were 
ordered  to  ^''ermillion  to  scout  that  section.  A 
regular  patrol  was  established  between  Ver- 
million and  Brule  creek,  a  detail  leaving  each 
point  each  morning  and  traveling  to  the  other, 
to  return  over  the  road  next  day. 

During  the  summer  Sioux  Indians  from 
Dakota  crossed  over  into  Nebraska  and  attacked 
the  family  of  Henson  Wiseman,  a  soldier  in  the 
Second  Nebraska,  who  was  in  Dakota  with  his  . 
regiment.  Mrs.  Wiseman  was  that  day  in  Yank- 
ton, twelve  miles  distant,  leaving  her  five  chil- 
dren at  home  and  all  of  whom  were  brutally- 
murdered.  A  detachment  of  the  Dakota  cavalry, 
under  Sergeant  English,  was  sent  to  apprehend 
the  Indians  and  found  their  trail  where  they 
had  crossed  the  river  back  into  Dakota  and  fol- 
lowed it  to  within  five  miles  of  Sioux  Falls 
where  they  lost  it  and  could  not  again  pick  it 
up.     It  is  now  known  that  the  Indians  concerned 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


in  the  killing  of  both  Jacobson  and  the  Wiseman 
family  were  a  few  men  of  the  bands  of  Inkpa- 
duta  and  White  Lodge. 

In  October  the  Dakota  boys  were  returned  to 
Fort  Randall,  where  they  were  divided  into 
squads  to  protect  the  stage  road  from  Randall 
to  Bon  Homme  and  spent  the  following  winter 
in  scouting  along  this  line.  It  was  at  this  time 
that  the  name  Kiote  was  first  applied  to  the 
Dakotans,  and  that  is  doubtless  the  true  story  of 
the  origin  of  the  name  as  a  state  nickname.  It 
grew  out  of  a  horse  race  between  a  horse  owned 
by  JNIajor  House,  of  the  Sixth  Iowa,  and  one 
owned  by  Charles  Wambole,  of  the  Dakotas. 
Wambole's  horse  won  and  William  Trusedell,  of 
the  Fourteenth  Iowa,  remarked  that  the  Dakota 
horse  ran  like  a  coyote.  Immediately  the  name 
was  taken  up  and  applied  to  the  Dakotans,  and 
when  the  next  summer  General  Sully,  speaking 
in  commendation  of  the  Dakotans,  said,  "see  my 
damned  coyotes,"  the  name  was  fastened  in- 
delibly. 

As  above  stated,  the  government  had  es- 
tablished the  captured  hostiles  and  a  party  of 
Winnebagoes  at  Crow  creek,  but  had  made  no 
provision  for  their  subsistence.  The  awful 
drouth  of  the  year  had  completely  destroyed  any- 
thing in  the  shape  of  crops  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  reservation  and  by  the  time  winter  had  ar- 
rived the  Indians  were  at  the  point  of  starvation. 
Owing,  too,  to  the  dry  weather,  the  Missouri 
had  dwindled  to  a  point  where  navigation  was 
utterly  impracticable.  It  was  therefore  deter- 
mined by  General  Pope  to  attempt  to  transport 
supplies  to  them  from  Minnesota.  Mankato  was 
adopted  as  the  depot  of  supplies.  To  start  at 
that  season  of  the  year  across  country  to  the 
^lissouri  was  deemed  extraordinarily  hazardous  | 


and  the  soldiers  were  at  the  point  of  insubordina- 
tion, particularly  as  details  had  to  be  made  for 
oxteamsters,  it  being  impossible  to  hire  trained 
bull-whackers  for  the  trip.  They  got  off  on 
November  5th  with  one  hundred  thirty  loaded 
wagons,  six  oxen  to  the  wagon,  under  escort  of 
Companies  D,  E  and  H,  of  the  Sixth  Minnesota 
Volunteers,  and  arrived  at  Fort  Thompson  in 
good  condition  on  December  2d,  having  traveled 
by  way  of  the  Nobles  road  of  1857,  passing 
through  Medary,  ]\Iadison,  Howard,  Woon- 
socket  and  Wessington  Springs. 

Two  days  later  they  started  home  by  way  of 
Sioux  City,  but  when  they  got  to  the  James 
river  below  Yankton  they  were  overtaken  by  an 
officer  from  Colonel  Pollock,  in  command  at 
Fort  Randall,  commanding  them  to  go  into 
winter  quarters  where  they  were.  The  Minne- 
sota boys,  who  had  volunteered  to  fight  Indians 
in  Minnesota,  and  who  knew  very  little  of  mili- 
tary discipline  and  nothing  whatever  of  Colonel 
Pollock,  paid  no  attention  to  the  order,  but 
pushed  along  and  reached  Mankato  January  ist. 
Captain  Whitney  was  court-martialed  for  dis- 
obedience, but  was  excused  under  the  circum- 
stances. 

The  legislature  convened  December  ist. 
Governor  Edmunds'  first  message  was  a  patriotic 
document  becoming  the  times.  He  also  had  prac- 
tical suggestions  for  education,  revenue,  im- 
migration and  railway  legislation,  in  addition  to 
suggestions  relating  to  the  defense  from  the  In- 
dians by  means  of  a  line  of  small  posts  along  the 
frontier.  He  gives  a  hint  of  the  coming  New 
York  colony  as  due  to  the  efiforts  of  Surveyor 
General  Hill.  The  session  of  the  solons  was  har- 
monious and  the  legislation  enacted  by  them  was 
practical. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 


EVENTS  OF  THE  YEAR  1864. 


The  year  1864  opened  with  better  promise 
for  the  people  of  the  territory.  The  campaigns 
against  the  Indians  the  previous  year  had  not 
been  particularly  decisive,  but  they  had  driven 
the  hostiles  further  away  and  stragglers  were  no 
longer  found  skulking  about  the  settlements. 
Besides  there  were  rumors  of  new  immigration 
to  the  lower  river  settlements.  The  previous 
year,  amid  the  terrors  and  discouragements  of 
1863,  Prof.  James  S.  Foster,  of  Syracuse,  New 
York,  had  visited  Dakota,  in  the  interests  of  a 
large  number  of  his  neighbors  who  were  looking 
for  a  western  location,  and  with  the  opening  of 
the  new  year  a  report  came  that  he  had  decided 
favorably  to  the  Missouri  valley  and  would  con- 
duct a  large  colony  hither.  There  were  also 
tidings  that  a  Michigan  colony  was  looking  this 
way  and  hope  revived  by  leaps. 

With  the  first  of  April  Professor  Foster  ar- 
rived and  contracted  for  the  erection  of  fifty 
temporary  cottages  for  the  accommodation  of  his 
colonists  and  eventually  sixty  families  arrived 
and  became  permanent  settlers,  many  of  whom 
are  still  reckoned  among  South  Dakota's  most 
valued  citizens. 

The  harvest,  however,  did  not  bear  out  the 
promise  of  the  spring  time.  Mr.  Armstrong 
thus  describes  the  situation :  "Unremitting 
drouth  and  clouds  of  grasshoppers  swept  the 
bloom  of  the  fields  and  the  verdure  of  the  plains, 
and  with  the  approach  of  autumn  the  despondent 
farmers  repaired  with  their  teams  to  the  neigh- 
boring states  to  bring  in  a  supply  of  subsistence 


until  another  seed  time."  It  is  a  wonder  that 
under  all  of  the  discouragements,  of  floods  and 
drouths,  grasshoppers  and  Indians,  any  one  re- 
mained at  all,  much  less  that  new  settlers  could 
have  been  attracted  to  the  territory.  Of  all  the 
bad  conditions  with  which  the  Dakota  country 
has  had  to  contend  at  any  time,  1864  was  the 
worst,  but  the  undaunted  pioneers  fought  it  out 
and  found  their  due  reward  for  their  courage 
and  persistence. 

A  new  campaign  against  the  Indians  was 
planned  by  General  Pope  and  General  Sully 
placed  in  command.  Two  battalions  were  to 
move  to  the  front ;  the  first,  under  Sully  himself, 
from  Sioux  City,  up  the  river,  and  the  second, 
under  Colonel  M.  T.  Thomas,  of  the  Minnesota 
cavalry,  from  Fort  Ridgely,  on  the  Minnesota, 
across  the  central  portion  of  the  territory  to  join 
Sully  on  the  Missouri,  where  a  fort  was  to  be 
built.  The  Dakota  cavalry  joined  the  First  Bat- 
talion. Captain  Miner's  company,  after  spend- 
ing the  winter  at  outposts  near  Fort  Randall, 
having  gone  in  the  spring  to  garrison  Fort 
Thompson,  at  Crow  creek,  where  it  joined  Sully 
as  he  came  up  on  the  20th  of  June. 

Sully  left  Sioux  City  on  the  8th  of  June  with 
a  few  troops,  gathering  force  as  he  went  along. 
At  Vermillion  he  found  Company  M,  Sixth 
Iowa,  and  at  Yankton  Company  F  of  the  same 
regiment,  these  troops  having  wintered  at  the 
points  named.  As  finally  organized,  by  acces- 
sions at  Randall,  Crow  Creek  and  Sully,  the 
First  Battalion  consisted  of  the  following  troops  : 


i 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


The  Sixth  Iowa  Cavalry,  under  command  of 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Pollock;  three  companies  of 
the  Seventh  Iowa  Cavalry,  under  Lieutenant 
Colonel  John  Pattee ;  four  companies  of  Min- 
nesota cavalry  known  as  Brackett's  Batallion ; 
two  companies  of  Dakota  cavalry  under  Captain 
Nelson  Miner  and  a  battery  of  four  howitzers 
under  command  of  Captain  Pope.  The  expedi- 
tion moved  along  without  noteworthy  incident 
until  the  Little  Cheyenne  was  reached,  when 
Captain  Fielner,  of  the  regular  army,  topo- 
graphical engineer  and  naturalist  to  the  expedi- 
tion, in  company  with  two  soldiers,  started  off  to 
examine  Medicine  Rock,  for  the  purpose 
going  a  long  way  in  advance  of  the  command. 
Having  examined  the  rock  and  made  a  sketch 
of  it.  Captain  Fielner  and  his  escort  mounted 
their  horses  and  started  to  a  camp  some  distance 
up  the  creek  which  Captain  Miner's  men  had 
established  and  where  they  were  waiting  for 
the  main  force  to  come  up.  They  were  about  a 
mile  from  this  camp  when  they  picketed  their 
horses  and  started  down  to  the  creek  for  a  drink. 
There  was  a  heavy  clump  of  bushes  near  by  on 
the  creek  and  as  they  came  within  range  of  it 
a  rifle  rang  out  and  Captain  Fielner  fell,  shot 
through  the  lungs.  Tlnree  Indians  dashed  from 
the  thicket  and  made  for  the  horses.  The  sol- 
diers were  too  spry  for  them,  however,  and,  se- 
curing the  animals,  brought  the  captain  into 
camp,  the  Indians  meanwhile  having  taken  to 
their  heels.  Captain  Miner  was  immediately  in 
pursuit,  himself  and  Sergeant  English  in  the 
lead,  and  the  balance  of  the  coyotes  followed, 
their  position  being  determined  by  the  speed  of 
their  horses,  until  they  were  scattered  over  the 
prairie  like  a  flock  of  sheep,  as  General  Sully 
expressed  his  view  of  the  scene.  They  chased 
them  for  fifteen-  miles,  when  the  Sioux  took 
refuge  in  a  buffalo  wallow.  Without  hesitation 
the  Dakotans  advanced  upon  the  ambush,  to  be 
met  by  a  volley  which  miraculously  did  no  dam- 
age, and  soon  had  the  satisfaction  of  finishing 
each  of  the  three  Indians.  They  returned  to 
canip  at  dusk  and  General  Sully  at  once  dis- 
patched a  detail  to  go  out  and  bring  in  the  heads 
of  the  savages,  which  was  done,  and  next  morn- 


ing, at  the  command  of  Sully,  Sergeant  English 
mounted  the  three  heads  upon  long  poles  set  on 
the  highest  point  in  the  vicinity  as  a  warning 
to  the  Indians  of  the  neighborhood.  This  oc- 
curred on  the  28th  of  June  and  on  the  30th  a 
junction  was  made  with  the  Second  Battalion, 
under  Captain  Thomas,  at  Swan  Lake  creek. 
Captain  Thomas  had  nine  companies  of  Min- 
nesota infantry,  six  companies  of  the  Second 
Minnesota  Cavalry,  two  howitzers  and  two 
twelve-pounders.  He  had  escorted  Captain 
Fiske's  train  of  emigrants  bound  for  Idaho,  con- 
sisting of  one  hundred  and  fifty  wagons.  The 
course  of  this  battalion  had  been  up  the  Minne- 
sota to  the  Lacqui  Parle,  thence  entering  Dakota 
at  the  Crow's  Nest,  north  of  Gary  by  way  of 
Chanopa  (Two  Woods),  thence  crossing  the 
Sioux  ten  miles  north  of  Kampeska  and  through 
the  Oak  Gulch  to  the  Jim  river  plains,  thence 
north  to  the  vicinity  of  Tacoma  Park  and  thence 
in  a  southwest  direction,  passing  very  near  Aber- 
deen to  Swan  Lake  in  Walworth  county,  where 
the  junction  was  made  seven  miles  from  the 
Missouri.  They  then  proceeded  up  river,  cross- 
ing it  and  building  Fort  Rice,  and  getting  trace 
of  the  hostiles,  followed  them  up  Hart  River 
and  giving  them  battle  and  a  disastrous  whipping 
at  Deer  Mountain,  near  the  Bad  Lands,  on  July 
28th,  and  gave  them  a  hard  running  fight  again 
on  August  7th  and  8th  in  the  Bad  Lands  of  the 
Little  Missouri,  but  the  Indians  no  longer  had 
any  stomach  for  a  standing  fight  and  kept  mostly 
out  of  reach.  The  Dakota  boys,  being  trained 
frontiersmen,  and  having  in  the  battalion  about 
twenty  Indian  scouts,  were  usually  kept  on  the 
scout  and  General  Sully  was  unsparing  of  his 
praise  of  their  conduct  throughout  the  tedious 
campaign,  which  lasted  until  winter.  They 
scouted  through  the  northern  portion  of  the  ter- 
ritory, but  did  not  again  come  upon  the  savages 
in  force.  Toward  fall  the  Dakota  boys  returned 
to  the  settlements,  B  Company  wintering  at 
Yankton  agency  and  Tackett's  station  and  A 
Company  at  Vermillion. 

In  August,  Major  Clowney,  with  four  com- 
panies of  the  Thirtieth  Wisconsin,  built  Fort 
Wadsworth,  afterwards  known  as  Fort  Sisseton. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


It  was  the  intention  of  General  Pope  to  have 
this  post  erected  on  the  James  river  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Elm,  but  an  examination  deter- 
mined the  fact  that  no  suitable  building  material 
existed  in  that  vicinity  and  General  Sibley  or- 
dered the  post  to  be  built  at  the  head  of  the  cou- 
teau  as  the  nearest  available  point.  The  location 
was  an  ideal  one  and  General  Sibley  declared  in 
his  report  of  the  year's  operations  that  "Fort 
Wadsworth  is  one  of  the  most  important  mili- 
tary stations  of  the  northwest  and  will  exercise 
a  powerful  effect  upon  the  wild  bands  of  the 
Sioux,  who  for  the  past  two  years  have  oc- 
casioned so  much  mourning  and  alarm  among 
the  white  border  settlers,  by  their  ruthless  deeds 
of  massacre  and  desolation."  Before  the  fort 
was  fully  completed  the  Thirtieth  Wisconsin 
was  ordered  south  and  were  relieved  at  Fort 
Wadsworth  by  four  companies  of  the  Second 
[Minnesota  Cavalry,  under  Major  Rose,  who 
completed  the  post  and  continued  to  garrison  it 
for  a  long  period. 

Politically  1864  produced  an  average  Dakota 
crop.  Dr.  Walter  A.  Burleigh,  who  from  the 
creation  of  the  territory  had  been  agent  of  the 
Yankton  Indians  and  who  had  shown  his  politi- 
cal finesse  in  the  Jayne-Todd  campaign  of  1862, 
had  been  mentioned  as  a  candidate  for  the  gov- 
ernorship to  succeed  Jayne,  became  the  Republi- 
can candidate  for  this  year  for  delegate  to  con- 
gress against  Captain  Todd,  who  this  year,  for 
the  first  time,  appeared  as  the  regular  Demo- 
cratic candidate.  (])ut  in  the  world  the  great  Lin- 
coln-McClellan  campaign  was  diverting  popular 
interest  from  the  greater  war  raging  in  the 
South,  but  in  Dakota  the  people,  unmoved  by 
national  politics  and  having  no  crops  to  harvest, 
devoted  themselves  to  the  election  of  a  delegate 
to  congress.  In  a  wa}'  the  campaign  was  a 
godsend  to  the  destitute  settlers.  The  candidates 
attempted  to  ingratiate  themselves  among  the 
voters  by  distributing  provisions  among  them.  It 
is  said  this  was  done  indiscriminately  and  with- 
out exacting  pledges  of  support.  There  were 
but  about  six  hundred  votes  in  the  territory, 
counting  those  of  the  soldiers  in  the  field,  and 
it   is  said  that    Dr.    Burleigh    distributed    more 


than  one  thousand  sheep  and  half  as  many  bar- 
rels of  flour  among  them.  The  election  occurred 
on  October  12th  and  Burleigh  received  three 
hundred  eighty-six  and  Todd  two  hundred 
twenty-two  votes.  The  legislature  likewise  was 
strongly  Republican. 

Dr.  Walter  A.  Burleigh,  who  then  came  to 
represent  Dakota  territory  in  congress  for  a 
period  of  four  years,  was  one  of  the  most  strik- 
ing characters  of  the  early  days.  Possibly  no 
one  of  the  prominent  men  of  the  'sixties  was  so 
popular,  so  able,  so  big-hearted,  so  unscrupu- 
lous. As  agent  for  the  Yankton  Indians,  upon 
a  small  salary,  he  succeeded  in  amassing  a  for- 
tune in  four  years.  His  methods  are  clearly  ex- 
hibited in  a  report  made  by  a  special  examiner 
of  the  Indian  bureau,  in  1865,  while  the  genial 
doctor  was  a  member  of  congress,  and  which  is 
published  in  the  report  of  the  commissioner  for 
1866.  This  special  agent,  Alexander  Johnston, 
succeeded  in  getting  at  some  of  the  facts  in  the 
absence  of  Dr.  Burleigh,  which  it  is  most  likely 
would  not  have  come  to  light  had  the  former 
agent  been  at  home.  Ever  fertile  in  expedients, 
Dr.  Burleigh  was  especially  facile  in  diverting 
special  examiners.  It  is  related  that  information 
came  to  him  at  an  earlier  date  in  his  career  that 
an  examiner  was  enroute  to  overhaul  him.  He 
at  once  dispatched  a  trusted  henchman  to  inter- 
cept the  examiner  on  the  road.  The  parties  met 
at  Sioux  City.  In  conversation  it  soon  developed 
that  the  examiner  needed  an  interpreter  and  he 
was  delighted  to  find  a  man  who  thoroughly  un- 
derstood the  Indian  language,  who  was  remote 
from  the  influence  of  the  suspected  agent,  and 
who  reluctantly  consented  to  accompany  him  to 
the  agency.  Arrived  among  the  Yanktons, 
Strike  the  Ree  and  his  head  men  poured  out  a 
tale  of  wrongs  and  woes  which  the  ingenious 
interpreter  promptly  converted  into  unbounded 
eulogies  of  the  agent  and  the  manner  in  which 
he  conducted  the  affairs  of  the  Indians,  and  the 
special  returned  to  \\'ashington  with  glowing 
accounts  of  the  condition  of  things  on  the  reser- 
vation. Alexander  Johnston  was  not  so  credu- 
lous, and  he  was  pretty  thorough  in  his  methods, 
though  he  experienced  great  difficulty  in  getting 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


any  one  to  testify.  Jacob  Rufner,  of  Bon 
Homme,  expressed  the  general  sentiment  when 
he  said  to  the  agent :  "I  want  to  know  what  you 
want,  because  if  it's  any  slur  on  Dr.  Burleigh,  I 
ain't  a  going  to  have  anything  to  do  with  it.  If 
I  do  he'll  fix  it  so  I'll  never  get  anything  in  the 
world,  and  he  will  drive  me  out  of  the  country." 

Nevertheless  the  persistent  special  examiner 
kept  at  it  until  he  wormed  out  about  all  he 
wanted  to  know.  Dr.  Burleigh's  strongest  graft 
consisted  in  securing  from  the  head  men  of  the 
tribe  a  receipt  for  all  of  the  goods  which  came 
into  his  hands  in  the  following  form :  "We,  the 
chiefs  and  head  men  of  the  tribe  of  the  Yankton 
Sioux,  hereby  acknowledge  to  have  received 
from  W.  A.  Burleigh,  our  agent,  all  of  the  goods 
and  property  hereinafter  mentioned,  and  we 
authorize  our  said  agent  to  retain  in  his  posses- 
sion for  our  use  and  benefit,  as  he  may  deem 
best  for  our  interests,  and  to  actually  deliver  to 
us  for  our  use  and  consumption  such  portions 
from  time  to  time  as  he  may  judge  proper  for 
us."  "Under  these  receipts,"  says  IMr.  Johnston, 
"all  farming  implements,  all  work  cattle,  all 
stock,  all  tools  for  the  shops  and  mill,  all  medi- 
cines, all  property  of  every  description,  from  the 
horses  he  drove  to  the  penknife  in  his  pocket, 
were  dropped  from  the  agent's  return  as  'issued 
to  the  Indians'."  Of  the  cattle  so  receipted  for 
he  had  one  hundred  eleven  head  driven  down  to 
his  farm  at  Bon  Homme,  remarking  to  his 
farmer,  "We  have  a  fine  lot  of  cows  here,  and 
we  can  keep  them  until  we  can  get  a  calf  or  two 
apiece  from  them." 

But  these  were  not  the  worst  of  the  Doctor's 
delinquencies.  He  made  false  vouchers  and 
stuffed  all  vouchers  as  a  regular  thing.  A  more 
deplorable  and  scandalous  business  has  not  at 
any  time  appeared  in  the  public  accounts.  And 
although  these  things,  were  a  daily  jest  among 
his  colleagues  in  'the  house.  Dr.  Burleigh's  in- 
fluence with  the  Johnson  administration  was  so 
strong  that  no  prosecution  was  ever  even  threat- 
ened. Notwithstanding  his  lack  of  moral  in- 
tegrity, Dr.  Burleigh  possessed  many  admirable 
qualities,   and   was  a  very   effective   delegate   in 


congress.  He  had  a  faculty  of  securing  and 
holding  the  affections  of  his  associates,  and  there 
are  many  good  citizens  in  the  southern  portion 
of  the  state  who  will  yet  fight  as  quickly  in  de- 
fense of  Dr.  Burleigh  as  they  would  were  an 
aspersion  cast  upon  their  own  good  name. 

The  legislature  convened  on  December  5th 
and  elected  Enos  Stutsman  president  of  the 
council  and  George  N.  Proper  secretary.  In  the 
house  W.  W.  Brookings  was  speaker  and 
George  I.  Foster  chief  clerk.  Governor  Ed- 
munds' message  was  very  largely,  as  before,  de- 
voted to  a  discussion  of  the  Civil  and  Indian 
wars.  He  strongly  urged  that  the  time  had  come 
when  Dakota  must  undertake  to  provide  a 
revenue  by  taxation  and  recommended  a  revision 
of  the  laws.  Governor  Edmunds  at  that  early 
date  declared  his  conviction  that  the  Black  Hills 
abounded  in  the  precious  metals  and  asked  the 
legislature  to  memorialize  congress  to  build  a 
road  into  the  Hills.  He  again  advocated  the 
erection  of  a  chain  of  small  military  posts  along 
the  frontier  as  the  best  protection  against  the 
hostile  Indians.  He  announced  the  appointment 
of  James  S.  Foster,  leader  of  the  New  York 
colony,  as  territorial  superintendent  of  public  in- 
struction. Major  Joseph  R.  Hanson  was  at  this 
period  territorial  auditor.  There  were  no  inci- 
dents of  the  session  of  noteworthy  importance 
and  the  legislation  was  perfunctory. 

Rev.  L.  P.  Judson,  a  Baptist  missionary,  ap- 
peared in  the  Dakota  field  that  summer  and 
established  a  Baptist  church  in  Yankton. 

The  Dakota  Republican,  at  Vermillion,  was 
suspended  during  the  Indian  troubles  of  1862, 
but  was  revived  for  some  time  immediately  by 
Mahlon  Gore,  but  was  suspended  again  in  1863. 
so  that  at  this  time  the  Dakotan  was  the  only 
newspaper  in  the  territory  until,  in  the  heat  of 
the  Burleigh-Todd  campaign,  Messrs.  G.  W. 
Kingsbury  and  Moses  K.  Armstrong  established 
the  Dakota  Union  in  June,  to  support  Captain 
Todd.  It  appeared  in  ten  successive  issues,  when 
it  was  absorbed  by  the  Dakotan  and  the  merger 
was  called  the  Union  and  Dakotan. 

A  toll  bridge  was  built  across  the  James  river 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


this  season,  on  the  Sioux  City  road,  which  was 
an  enterprise  considered  of  great  value  to  the  de- 
velopment of  the  section. 

Political  and  personal  feelings  were  allowed 
to  run  high  in  those  days  and  reflection  of  this 
state  of  affairs  was  frequently  carried  into  the 
public  records.  In  the  closing  days  of  the  legis- 
lature of  1864  the  house  and  council  found  them- 
selves at  loggerheads.  When  the  last  day  of  the 
session  came  the  usual  committee  was  appointed 
on  behalf  of  the  council  to  visit  the  house  and 
agree  upon  an  hour  for  final  adjournment.  J. 
Shaw  Gregory,  George  W.  Kingsbury  and 
Franklin  Taylor  having  been  appointed  to  per- 
form this  arduous  service,  the  council  journal 
tells  the  story  as  follows: 

After  a  brief  absence  the  committee  returned 
and  reported  as  follows:  "Mr.  President:  Your  com- 
mittee appointed  to  wait  upon  the  house  of  represent- 
atives and  to  inform  that  body  that  the  council  had 
concluded  its  labors  and  was  ready  to  receive  from 
the  house  notification  of  the  hour  when  the  legisla- 
ture should  adjourn  sine  die,  have  performed  their 
duty  so  far  as  to  wait  on  the  house  and  announce 


themselves  ofBcially.  Mr.  Speaker  informed  them 
that  there  was  no  house  in  session;  and  upon  inquir- 
ing as  to  the  cause,  and  at  what  hour  the  house 
would  be  in  session  they  were  informed  that  it  was 
none  of  the  council's  business." 

Mr.  Kingsbury  offered  the  following  resolution, 
which  was  unanimously  agreed  to: 

"Whereas,  a  committee  of  the  council  to  com- 
municate a  necessary  and  respectful  message  to  the 
house  of  representatives,  have  in  endeavoring  to  per- 
form that  duty  received  from  W.  W.  Brookings, 
speaker  of  that  body,  a  flagrant  and  unprovoked  in- 
sult which  reflects  no  less  upon  that  committee  than 
upon  the  body  they  represented;  be  ft  therefore 

"Resolved,  that  the  council  cannot  but  regard 
the  ungentlemanly  and  unwarrantable  conduct  of  Mr. 
Brookings  not  only  insulting  to  themselves  but  highly 
reprehensible  and  beneath  the  dignity  and  respect  of 
private  life  and  much  more  so  emanating  as  it  does 
from  the  honorable  position  of  speaker  of  the  house 
of  representatives;  attaching  odium  and  disgrace  to 
that  position  and  the  house  over  which  he  presides." 

It  is  a  rather  remarkable  circumstance  that  at 
the  present  time  no  one  of  the  living  participants 
in  the  foregoing  event  can  relate  what  provoked 
the  conduct  of  Speaker  Brookings. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 


HAPPENINGS  OF  THE  YEAR 


With  the  closing  days  of  1864  and  the  open- 
ing ones  of  1865  occurred  an  event  which  is 
worthy  of  perpetuation.  This  was  the  building 
at  \'ermillion,  by  Captain  Miner  and  his  men,  of 
the  historic  log  school  house  which  stood  at  the 
foot  of  the  ravine,  and  in  which  Amos  Shaw, 
one  of  the  soldiers  of  Company  A,  gathered  and 
taught  the  few  children  of  the  settlement.  It 
will  be  recalled  that  a  school  was  taught  in  Ver- 
million in  the  winter  of  1859-60  by  Dr.  Caulkins 
and  another,  matching  onto  it,  by  Miss  Hoyt 
(Mrs.  Dr.  Livingstone)  the  next  spring,  in  fact 
that  regular  terms  were  held  from  the  first  set- 
tlement until  the  outbreak  of  1862.  At  Bon 
Homme  a  regular  building  was  erected  for 
school  purposes  in  the  spring  of  i860,  the  first 
school  house  in  Dakota,  and  Miss  Bradford 
taught  a  school  of  ten  pupils  in  it.  At  Fort 
Randall  a  private  school  was  taught  in  a  build- 
ing erected  for  officers'  quarters  in  the  winter  of 
1858. 

The  coming  of  the  New  York  colony  had  en- 
couraged the  people  to  believe  that  the  legislature 
would  make  provision  for  a  regular  bureau  of 
immigration  and  when  it  adjourned  without  tak- 
ing any  action  in  this  direction  there  was  a  good 
deal  of  disappointment.  The  Sioux  City  Jour- 
nal of  January  21,  1865,  commenting  upon  this 
failure  to  take  action,  remarks :  "As  near  as  we 
can  learn,  no  need  exists  and  no  inducements 
are  held  out  to  emigration  to  Dakota  territory. 
Enough  are  already  there  to  fill  the  offices  and 
consume  all  of  the  government  patronage.     No 


more  people  are  needed  until  the  hand  of 
Providence  is  laid  upon  some  of  the  officers." 

The  fact  is  the  situation  was  not  particularly 
encouraging.  To  attempt  to  promote  immigra- 
tion meant  the  expenditure  of  mone)^  and,  in 
view  of  the  repeated  failures  of  crops,  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  raise  money  through  tax- 
ation. 

On  the  9th  of  the  previous  December  a  band 
of  Indians  appeared  at  Fort  Sully  with  a  white 
captive,  Mrs.  Frances  Kelly,  of  Kansas.  She  had 
been,  with  her  husband  and  little  girl,  with  a 
party  of  emigrants  enroute  to  Idaho,  when  she 
was  captured  by  the  Indians,  Blackfoot  Sioux, 
on  the  Platte  river.  Her  little  girl  was  killed. 
Her  husband  escaped  and  came  to  Fort  Sully  to 
meet  her  on  February  9th.  She  had  received 
better  treatment  from  the  Indians  than  was  gen- 
erally accorded  captives.  She  has  detailed  her 
experiences  in  an  interesting  volume. 

Before  the  legislature  adjourned  it  memorial- 
ized the  President,  asking  for  the  reappointment 
of  Governor  Edmunds  and  Secretary  Hutchin- 
son. Also  for  the  appointment  of  Messrs. 
J.  W.  Boyle  and  W.  W.  Brookings  for 
judges  of  the  supreme  court  and  J.  M. 
Stone  for  provost  marshal.  Both  the  peo- 
ple of  the  territory  and  the  neighbors  outside 
found  a  constant  .source  of  complaint  and  of 
amusement  in  the  conduct  of  the  federal  officials. 
On  February  i8th  the  Sioux  City  Journal  re- 
marked that,  "Dakota  Territory  is  now  entirely 
free  from  all  restrictions,  all  of  the  officials  of  the 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


territory  having  gone  to  Washington  to  secure 
promotion  or  reappointment,  and  no  one  is  left 
at  home  to  run  the  machine.  They  have  gobbled 
all  of  the  pap  and  have  gone  to  solicit  more." 

On  JNIarch  4th  two  trappers  by  the  names  of 
Phillips  and  Conley  found  the  remains  of  two 
white  men  on  the  Split  Rock  near  the  mouth  of 
Pipestone  creek.  A  hatchet  was  found  near 
them  with  the  name  of  James  P.  Lindsey  carved 
on  the  handle.  I  have  not  learned  thai  anything 
further  was  learned  of  the  parties  or  how  they 
came  to  their  fate. 

During  the  winter  congress  appropriated 
forty  thousand  dollars  to  construct  road  and 
bridges  from  Sioux  City  to  the  forks  of  the 
Cheyenne.  Ten  thousand  was  allowed  for  the 
bridge  across  the  Big  Sioux;  ten  thousand  for 
the  road  from  the  Big  Sioux  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Cheyenne,  and  twenty  thousand  for  the  road 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Cheyenne  to  its  forks. 
Colonel  Gideon  C.  Moody  was  made  su- 
perintendent of  the  southern  divison,  that  is  the 
Sioux  bridge  and  the  road  to  the  Cheyenne,  and 
Judge  Wilmot  W.  Brookings  was  entrusted  with 
the  supervision  of  the  northern  (Cheyenne 
river)  section.  Colonel  Moody  at  once  took  hold 
of  the  bridge  proposition  and  had  it  completed 
before  winter.  From  the  first  he  was  attacked 
with  all  the  malignance  of  which  the  Dakotan 
politician  of  the  war  days  was  master.  He,  at 
about  that  time,  made  a  purchase  of  a  flock  of 
sheep  and  it  was  at  once  charged  that  he  had 
bought  them  with  bridge  money.  Enos  Stuts- 
man was  a  strong  opponent  of  Mr.  Moody's  at 
this  time  and  he  carried  the  matter  into  the  next 
legislature  and  persistently  pursued  the  subject 
throughout  the  session.  He  introduced  a  resolu- 
tion, early  in  the  session,  requiring  Mr.  Moody 
to  make  a  statement  of  the  disbursements  of  the 
bridge  money,  and  it  passed  both  houses,  and 
upon  its  presentation  to  Mr.  Moody  he  replied 
in  a  communication  of  December  27th  that  he 
would  take  pleasure  in  doing  so  at  his  earliest 
convenience,  but  not  having  complied  by  January 
5th  Mr.  Stutsman  introduced  another  resolution 
strongly  condemning  Colonel  Moody's  conduct. 
On  Tanuarv  8th  Colonel  Moody  sent  to  the  coun- 


cil a  statement  showing  that  he  had  received 
from  the  government  the  sum  of  $9,500.  That 
he  had  expended  $9,516.99,  giving  the  general 
items  of  disbursement,  of  which  the  sum  of 
$706.81  was  his  own  compensation  as  superin- 
tendent. Much  the  larger  portion  of  the  appro- 
priation had  been  paid  out  for  labor  and  the  next 
item  was  for  material,  chiefly  cottonwood  and 
oak  logs  and  lumber  purchased  of  the  settlers. 
In  transmitting  this  statement  Colonel  Moody 
was  unable  to  refrain  from  indulgence  in  that 
irony  of  which  he  has  always  been  master.  He 
said :  "Having  complied  with  your  request,  per- 
mit me  to  remark  that  I  have  been  informed  cer- 
tain members  of  the  honorable  council  have  taken 
exceptions  because  I  did  not  furnish  this  state- 
ment earlier,  and  one  of  them  has  introduced  into 
that  body  a  resolution  based  upon  that  fact. 
Allow  me  to  say  that  until  instructed  to  the  con- 
trary by  the  distinguished  mover  of  that  resolu- 
tion I  had  supposed  it  was  not  usual  to  request 
a  favor  and  then  dictate  either  the  time  or  man- 
ner of  its  being  granted.  Since  the  receipt  of 
that  request  I  have  had  other  duties  to  perform, 
more  consistent  with  my  position  as  an  employee 
of  the  United  States  government  under  the 
direction  of  the  secretary  of  the  interior.  If  this 
information  had  been  desired  earlier  an  earlier 
request  should  have  been  made  so  that  I  could 
have  furnished  it  without  interfering  with  my 
duties  at  the  close  of  the  month  when  my  re- 
ports are  required  to  be  made  and  at  this  time 
additional  duties  were  required  of  me  by  my  in- 
structions. Permit  me  to  say  further  that  I 
think  I  have  the  right  to  complain  that  the  hon- 
orable assembly  should  by  the  adoption  of  the 
resolution  have  given  countenance  to  the  false 
and  slanderous  reports,  with  regard  to  the  dis- 
bursements here  detailed,  so  industriously  cir- 
culated by  designing  persons.  I  do  not  believe 
the  majority  of  the  house  or  council  intended 
any  wrong.  Of  course  I  do  not  question  the 
motives  of  the  distinguished  mover  of  that  reso- 
lution. It  cannot  be  possible  that  he  was  actu- 
ated by  any  personal  or  selfish  motives :  by  any 
mean  desire  for  a  petty  revenge  because  of  a 
fancied  injury.    Oh  no !    His  motives  must  have 


WHITE  BEAR. 

Uorn  on  the  James  River,  on  the  present  site  of  Huron,  S.  D. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


been  of  the  highest  and  most  patriotic ;  he  must 
have  had  the  most  ardent  desire  for  the  pubHc 
good." 

Upon  receiving  this  communication  the  com- 
mittee on  federal  relations,  to  whom  had  been 
referred  the  Stutsman  resokition  condemning 
Moody's  conduct,  at  once  reported  the  same 
favorably,  accompanying  the  report  with  an  ex- 
tended review  of  the  case,  concluding  as  follows  : 
"Had  Mr.  Stutsman  declined  to  move  in  the 
matter,  some  other  gentleman  would  certainly 
have  introduced  a  resolution  upon  the  subject 
with  far  less  regard  to  the  feelings  of  Mr. 
Moody.  We  therefore  desire  that  said  Moody 
and  all  others  concerned  to  know  that  we  cor- 
dially supported  the  resolutions  referred  to  and 
do  endorse  every  word  therein  contained.  Be- 
lieving as  we  do  that  if  any  fault  can  be  justly 
found  thereto  it  should  be  that  it  is  far  more 
mild  than  the  facts  in  the  case  seem  to  warrant. 
And  we  will  further  state  that  it  is  our  can- 
did opinion  the  insinuation  by  said  Moody  that 
the  mover  of  the  resolution  was  prompted  by  any 
improper  motives  is  malicious  and  unwarranted, 
for  we  have  yet  to  learn  that  G.  C.  Moody  has 
attained  such  social,  political  or  official  eminence 
that  would  be  likely  to  produce  envy  in  the 
breast  of  any  rational  being." 

The  resolution  passed  both  houses,  but  after 
its  passage  through  the  house  and  while  in  the 
hands  of  George  I.  Foster,  chief  clerk,  it  dis- 
appeared and  was  not  again  found.  Council  and 
house  then  agreed  to  certify  a  copy,  but  Foster 
refused  to  sign  the  copy  and  it  was  in  this  con- 
dition deposited  with  the  secretary  of  state. 

This  matter  has  constantly  been  before  the 
people  of  Dakota  for  nearly  forty  years  and  has 
only  recently  been  a  factor  in  a  political  cam- 
paign. This  writer  has  been  over  the  whole  sub- 
ject with  painstaking  care  and,  stripped  of  all 
prejudices,  it  seems  that  if  Colonel  Moody  erred 
in  the  disbursement  of  this  large  bridge  and 
road  fund  it  was  in  the  interests  of  the  half- 
starving,  drouth  and  grasshopper-stricken  pio- 
neers of  Dakota.  That  he  paid  liberal  wages  to 
the  needy  farmers,  and  bought  their  timber  at 
good  round  prices,  hundreds  of  his  beneficiaries 


along  the  Missouri  are  still  ready  to  testify. 
From  the  standpoint  of  strict  economy  the 
monc}"  may  have  been  improvidently  used,  but 
no  evidence  has  been  found  that  any  of  it  was 
used  corruptly,  dishonestly  or  for  the  pecuniary 
profit  of  Colonel   Moody. 

In  keeping  the  foregoing  coherent  we  have 
progressed  somewhat  in  advance  of  the  regular 
and  chronological  order  of  events.  The  yield  of 
grain  in  the  harvest  of  1865  was  excellent,  but 
the  discouragements  of  the  two  previous  years 
had  prevented  the  farmers  from  putting  out 
large  fields. 

On  the  9th  of  May,  1865,  Company  A, 
Dakota  cavalry,  having  served  out  its  time,  was 
mustered  out  of  the  service  at  Vermillion.  Com- 
pany B,  under  Captain  Tripp,  accompanied  Gen- 
eral Sully  on  a  third  expedition  against  the  In- 
dians. It  was  the  intention  to  take  this  expedi- 
tion west  of  the  river  in  the  direction  of  the 
Black  Hills  and  the  ever  restless  and  enterpris- 
ing Byron  M.  Smith  set  about  to  raise  a  party 
of  gold  hunters  to  accompany  it  into  the  hills. 
He  got  out  a  great  deal  of  interesting  advertis- 
ing matter  relating  to  the  proposed  trip,  but  be- 
fore he  had  gathered  a  very  large  party,  the 
plans  of  the  military  were  changed  and  the 
scheme  was  dropped.  The  circumstance,  how- 
ever, indicates  how  confidently  the  early  settlers 
believed  that  gold  was  abundant  in  the  hills  if 
that  locality  was  only  made  accessible.  General 
Sully,  instead  of  going  west  of  the  river,  turned 
to  the  northwest  from  Fort  Sully  and  passed 
over  to  Devil's  lake,  scouting  the  whole  coun- 
try thoroughly  without  finding  any  hostiles  and 
returned  to  Sioux  City  in  the  autumn. 

Twenty-five  men  of  Company  B  were  de- 
tailed that  spring  to  escort  Colonel  Sawyer, 
superintendent  of  the  "Montana  road,"  from 
Sioux  City  to  Helena,  by  way  of  the  Niobrara 
and  a  course  through  the  present  Wyoming  and 
Montana  west  of  the  Black  Hills.  They  met 
with  constant  opposition  from  the  Indians  when 
the  Montana  country  was  reached  and  were  on 
two  occasions  surrounded  and  held  in  siege  for 
a  considerable  period  until  the  Indians  voluntar- 
ily withdrew.     \\'hen  the  country  of  the  friendiv 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Crows  was  reached  Colonel  Sawyer  dismissed 
his  escort  and  the  Dakota  boys,  under  Lieutenant 
John  R.  Wood,  inarched  back  to  Sioux  City, 
where  they  joined  the  main  body  of  the  com- 
pany in  time  to  be  mustered  out  that  fall. 

On  May  i,  1865,  in  response  to  a  memorial 
from  the  Dakota  legislature,  the  war  department 
established  a  post  at  Sioux  Falls,  called  Fort 
Dakota,  and  suitable  log  buildings  for  its  ac- 
commodations were  erected.  Company  E,  Sixth 
Iowa  Cavalry,  garrisoned  it  until  June,  when 
they  were  relieved  by  Company  D,  Twenty- 
second  Infantry.  A  small  post  was  at  the  same 
time  established  at  Rockport  on  the  James  river 
and  a  detachment  of  soldiers  stationed  there. 
With  the  protection  of  these  posts,  in  addition  to 
Forts  Sully  and  Randall,  the  settlers  felt  com- 
paratively safe  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  ter- 
ritory. 

In  July,  1865,  a  most  sanguinary  engagement 
between  Indian  scouts,  under  the  well  known 
Sisseton,  Solomon  Two  Stars,  and  a  party  of 
hostiles  occurred  near  the  present  site  of  Webster 
in  Day  county.  A  party  of  Santees  under  the 
famous  freebooter  half-breed,  Jack  Campbell, 
had  evaded  the  scouts  and,  passing  down  to 
Mankato  the  previous  spring,  murdered  the 
Jewett  family.  Campbell  was  apprehended  but 
his  Indians  escaped  and  were  making  their  way 
back  to  the  Missouri  when  they  were  detected  by 
Two  Stars'  scouts,  who  were  keeping  a  station 
near  the  present  site  of  Bristol.  They  pursued 
and  overtook  the  hostiles  and  interpreting  their 
instructions  to  permit  no  guilty  man  to  escape 
to  mean  that  every  hostile  must  die,  they 
promptly  opened  fire  upon  them.  Two  Stars 
had  but  twelve  men  and  there  were  sixteen  of 
the  hostiles  and  the  arms  of  the  two  parties  ap- 
pear to  have  been  about  the  same,  but  success 
was  with  the  scouts  from  the  first  shot.  They 
killed  fifteen  of  the  hostiles  and  the  sixteenth 
man  who  escaped  was  taken  prisoner  at  Fort 
Wadsworth.  Two  Stars  lost  no  men.  Among 
the  hostiles  slain  was  a  son  of  Two  Stars'  sister, 
who  begged  for  mercy,  but  the  old  scout,  believ- 
ing his  orders  required  him  to  put  all  of  the 
enemies   of   the   government   to   death,    was    re- 


lentless. Notwithstanding  the  protection  af- 
forded by  the  military,  in  August  Edward  La- 
Moure,  a  brother  of  the  renowned  Judson  La- 
Moure,  of  North  Dakota,  was  killed  by  Indians 
near  the  mouth  of  Brule  creek  in  Union  county. 
Mr.  LaMoure  was  haying  in  company  with 
Thomas .  Watson  and  Julius  Fletcher  and  his 
wife.  The  object  of  the  Indians  seemed  to  be 
the  theft  of  LaMoure's  team  of  horses,  with 
which  he  was  mowing,  and  which  they  secured. 
Thomas  Watson  received  an  arrow  wound  in  the 
back,  but  recovered.  A  party  soon  started  in 
pursuit  of  the  Indians,  but  were  unable  to  find 
them  nor  has  it  been  learned  whence  they  came 
nor  to  what  band  they  belonged.  The  killing  of 
LaMoure  was  the  last  Indian  trouble  in  the 
Sioux  valley.  This  was  another  and  the  final 
raid  of  Inkpaduta's  upon  the  border  settlements. 
While  Sully  was  hunting  for  him  on  the 
Canadian  border  he  ran  down  to  let  the  settlers 
know  he  was  still  in  commission. 

The  election  of  1865,  which  occurred  on  the 
first  Monday  in  October,  involved  only  the  choice 
of  a  legislature  and  party  lines  were  not  drawn. 
This  body  convened  on  December  4th  and  or- 
ganized with  George  Stickney,  of  Elk  Point, 
president,  and  J.  R.  Hanson,  chief  clerk  of  the 
council ;  and  G.  B.  Bigelow,  the  same  who 
usurped  the  honors  intended  for  Governor  Jayne, 
at  Vermillion,  as  speaker,  and  George  I.  Foster, 
chief  clerk  of  the  house.  Except  for  the  Moody 
Bix  Sioux  bridge  incident  before  recorded,  the 
session  was  a  quiet  one.  Governor  Edmunds' 
message  to  the  legislature  was  the  strongest  state 
paper  which  had  yet  appeared  in  Dakota.  It 
opened  with  a  masterful  appreciation  of  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  and  his  work  and  commended  his 
successor,  Andrew  Johnson.  It,  in  modest  and 
impersonal  terms,  referred  to  the  securing  of  the 
appropriation  for  and  appointment  of  a  commis- 
sion to  go  to  the  hostile  Indians  and  treat  directly 
with  them,  and  scathingly  rebuked  the  military 
authorities  for  having  arbitrarily  prevented  the 
commission  from  entering  the  Indian  country  to 
carry  out  the  object  for  which  it  was  appointed. 
One  would  not  gather  from  the  message  that  this 
wise  measure  was  the  immediate  fruit  of  Gov- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


227 


ernor  Edmunds'  own  efforts.  That  the  previous 
spring  he  had  visited  Washington  and  represent- 
ing to  the  President  and  congress  his  beHef  that 
a  discreet  commission  could  at  once  secure  peace 
from  the  Indians,  and  had  so  impressed  himself 
upon  the  authorities  that  congress  promptly  gave 
the  small  sum  asked  for,  twenty  thousand 
dollars,  to  carry  on  the  work.  He  urged  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  commissioner  of  immigration  to 
co-operate  with  the  national  commissioner,  dis- 
cussed public  revenues,  education,  and  wagon 
and  prospective  railroads,  and,  most  important  of 
all,  condemned  the  passage  of  private  laws, 
recommending  that  general  procedures  be  pro- 
vided and  that  all  persons  seeking  relief  be  re- 
quired to  proceed  in  a  statutory  manner  to  se- 
cure it.  In  furtherance  of  this  view  he  vetoed  a 
bill  granting  a  divorce  to  Rachel  J.  Rowley  from 
her  husband,  Charles  S.  Rowley,  although  the 
learned  committee  to  whom  the  bill  was  referred 
had  reported:  "The  committee  are  of  the  opin- 
ion that  if  Charles  S.  Rowley  is  not  already,  he 
ought  long  since  to  have  been  an  inmate  of  a 
state's  prison."  Governor  Edmunds  did  not  dis- 
cuss the  merits  of  the  case,  but  after  remark- 
I'ng  that  "contracts  of  this  character,  by  en- 
lightened communities,  are  justly  considered  of 
a  most  sacred  and  binding  character ;  the  higher 
the  civilization  the  more  sacred  are  the  contracts 
held,"  he  stated  that  a  general  statute  provided  a 
means  by  which  any  worthy  plaintiff  could  se- 
cure a  divorce  upon  proper  evidence  and  that  he 
therefore  could  not  approve  the  bill.  An  effort 
to  pass  the  bill  over  his  veto  failed,  but  three 
members  voting  for  it. 

In  accordance  with  a  suggestion  which  Gov- 
ernor Edmunds  had  long  held  in  mind,  he  visited 
Washington  in  February,  1865,  just  as  congress 
was  drawing  to  a  close,  and,  calling  upon  Presi- 
dent Lincoln,  told  him  that  he  believed  that  with 
a  very  small  sum  of  money  a  commission  could 
go  into  the  Indian  country  and  effect  a  treaty 
of  peace  with  all  of  the  hostile  tribes.  President 
Lincoln  was  so  impressed  with  the  soundness  of 
the  scheme  that  he  gave  Governor  Edmunds  a 
note  to  the  committees  of  congress  upon  Indian 
affairs   recommending  that  they   take   the   Gov- 


ernor's advice  in  the  matter.  A  bill  was  promptly 
passed  providing  for  such  a  commission  and  ap- 
propriating twenty  thousand  dollars  for  its  ex- 
penses and  the  Presid'ent  a  few  days  later,  ap- 
pointed Governor  Newton  Edmunds ;  Edward 
B.  Taylor,  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs ; 
Major  General  S.  R.  Curtis ;  Brigadier  General 
Henry  H.  Sibley,  and  Messrs.  Henry  W.  Reed 
and  Orrin  Guernsey,  as  such  peace  commission- 
ers. To  the  surprise  and  chagrin  of  Governor 
Edmunds  and  his  colleagues,  General  Pope 
would  not  permit  the  commission  to  enter  the 
Indian  country,  or  to  engage  in  any  negotiations 
for  peace.  An  acrimonious  correspondence  fol- 
lowed and  Hon.  James  A.  Harlan,  secretary  of 
the  interior,  took  the  matter  up  and  finally  se- 
cured a  revocation  of  the  military  order  against 
the  commission,  but  it  was  not  until  October  that 
the  latter  met  the  hostile  tribes  at  Fort  Sully,  the 
old  post  of  that  name  below  Pierre,  where,  upon 
dates  ranging  from  the  14th  to  the  29th  of  that 
month,  treaties  of  peace  and  friendship  were 
signed  with  the  Yanktonaise  and  each  of  the 
seven  bands  of  the  Tetons.  It  is  noteworthy  that 
with  the  exception  of  Hump,  who  signed  for  the 
Two  Kettles,  none  of  the  Sioux  of  prominence 
joined  in  these  treaties.  One  looks  in  vain  for 
the  names  of  such  men  as  Red  Cloud,  Spotted 
Tail,  Crazy  Horse,  Young  Man,  Black  Moon, 
Rain  in  the  Face,  or  Sitting  Bull,  or  any  other 
man  who  during  the  next  decade  was  accepted  as 
a  leader  of  the  Dakota  Sioux.  The  omission  of 
these  names  leads  to  the  inquiry  if  the  commis- 
sion did  not  negotiate  with  the  wrong  people? 
The  history  of  the  next  fifteen  years  would  seem 
to  point  to  the  conclusion  that  they  certainly  did. 
Each  treaty  was  uniform  with  all  of  the  others 
except  as  noted.  In  the  first  section  it  was  stipu- 
lated that  peace  and  friendship  should  be  ob- 
served between  the  Indians  and  the  United 
States  and  that  the  bands  contracting  would  dis- 
courage hostilities  on  the  part  of  any  other  band, 
even  to  the  extent  of  using  force  to  keep  their 
neighbors  peaceful.  The  Indians  withdrew  all 
opposition  to  the  use  of  any  roads  now  estab- 
lished, or  that  thereafter  might  be  established, 
and  in  consideration  of  such  rights-of-way  across 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


their  land  they  were  to  receive  annuities,  in  mer- 
chandise as  follows :  The  Brules,  six  thousand 
dollars ;  Blackfeet,  seven  thousand  dollars ;  Up- 
per Yanktonaise,  Minneconjous  and  Oglallas, 
each  band,  ten  thousand  dollars.  The  Two  Ket- 
tles, six  thousand  dollars,  and  one  thousand  ad- 
ditional for  the  killing  of  Chief  Puffing  Eyes,  by 
United  States  soldiers ;  the  Yanktonaise,  Sans 
Arcs  and  Uncpapas,  thirty  dollars  per  family  for 
the  period  of  twenty  years.  The  Lower  Brules 
accepted  a  permanent  reservation  extending 
from  old  Fort  Lookout  to  White  river  and  ten 
miles  back  from  the  river,  and  for  a  period  of 


five  years  were  to  have  twenty-five  dollars  per 
family  in  agricultural  implements  and  stock  to 
assist  them  in  getting  established.  Each  of  the 
other  bands  were  likewise  to  receive  a  like  bonus, 
in  case  they  were  to  elect  to  accept  a  reservation. 
The  treaties  were  ratified  by  the  senate  and  were 
proclaimed  by  President  Johnson  on  March  17, 
1866,  and  are  therefore  known  as  the  treaties  of 
1866.  So  rapidly  do  the  Indians  carry  important 
news  that  in  one  month  from  the  date  of  the 
proclamation  of  the  treaty  the  most  remote 
camps  in  the  Indian  country  had  notice  of  it  and 
the  war  was  at  an  end. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 


AFTER   THE  WAR. 


In  March,  1866,  President  Johnson  pro- 
claimed the  ratification  and  effect  of  the  treaties 
signed  at  Fort  Sully  in  October,  1865,  and  in 
less  than  thirty  days  the  remotest  Indian  camps, 
from  Yankton  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Missouri 
and  all  through  the  Coteau  regions,  were  in- 
formed that  peace  had  come.  It  is  marvelous 
how  rapidly  the  Indian  runners  convey  news  that 
is  deemed  of  sufficient  importance  to  be  given 
general  circulation.  The  treaty  was  proclaimed 
on  the  I2th  of  March  and  we  have  evidence  that 
the  Indians  in  the  camp  on  Elm  river,  near  the 
present  site  of  the  village  of  Ordway,  had  re- 
ceived full  intelligence  of  it  on  the  14th  day  of 
April. 

In  connection  with  this  peace  occurred  an 
event  which  is  worthy  of  preservation  in  the 
history  of  Dakota.  Samuel  J.  Brown,  now  a 
resident  of  Brown's  Valley,  Minnesota,  and  son 
of  the  noted  Indian  trader,  Joseph  R.  Brown, 
was  in  the  spring  of  1866  chief  of  scouts,  with 
headquarters  at  Fort  Wadsworth  (Sisseton). 
On  the  14th  day  of  April,  1866,  word  came  to 
young  Brown  that  Indian  tracks  had  been  dis- 
covered at  the  crossing  of  the  James  river,  not 
far  from  Jamestown,  North  Dakota,  which  indi- 
cated that  the  hostiles  were  making  their  wa}' 
back  toward  the  settlements.  It  was  Brown's 
business,  as  chief  of  scouts,  to  keep  all  of  the 
scouting  stations  on  the  qui  vivc  and  to  notify 
the  military  of  any  suspicious  movements. 
Hastily  writing  a  note  to  the  commandant  at 
Fort  Abercrombie,  he  left  it  at  Fort  Wadsworth 


to  be  dispatched  the  following  morning,  and  at 
sundown  mounted  an  Indian  pony  and  started 
for  Joe  Ruillard's  (Rooyar's)  scouting  camp  at 
Ordway,  fifty-five  miles  distant.  It  was  a  beau- 
tiful but  moonless  evening  and  he  made  good 
progress,  reaching  the  camp  at  midnight,  to  be 
informed  by  Ruillard  that  the  peace  treaty  had 
been  proclaimed  by  the  President  and  accepted 
by  the  Indians  and  that  the  hostilities  were  at  an 
end.  Fearing  that  the  information  which  he  had 
directed  to  be  sent  to  Fort  Abercombie  would 
mislead  the  military  and  cause  unnecessary  anx- 
iety among  the  settlers  along  the  frontier,  Brown 
determined  to  return  to  Fort  Wadsworth  and 
secure  the  message  before  it  left  for  Fort  Aber- 
crombie in  the  morning.  Changing  ponies  with 
Ruillard,  he  started  back  within  a  few  minutes 
after  his  arrival,  but  when  he  had  crossed  the 
James  river  and  was  proceeding  across  the  broad 
flats  he  was  overtaken  by  a  terrific  blizzard,  one 
of  the  phenomenal  old-time  spring  storms  which 
have  become  historic.  He  kept  steadily  on 
through  the  storm,  but  was  driven  from  his 
course  and  at  daylight  discovered  that  he  was 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  Waubay  lakes.  Thus  far 
the  storm  had  been  at  his  back,  but  now  he  was 
compelled  to  turn  and  face  it.  His  plucky  little 
pony  seemed  to  feel  the  responsibility  which  was 
jMaced  upon  it  and  made  its  way  in  the  teeth  of 
the  storm,  and  before  nine  o'clock  deposited  its 
exhausted  rider  at  the  fort.  In  a  period  of  less 
than  fifteen  hours  Brown  had  ridden  one  hun- 
dred and  fiftv  miles.     He    fell    from    the    pony 


230 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


paralyzed  and  continues  in  that  condition  to  this 
day.  Of  all  the  great  rides  recorded  in  history, 
not  one  exceeds  this  in  endurance,  heroism  or 
fidelity  to  duty. 

Pursuant  to  the  provision  of  the  treaty  of 
1865,  the  government  established  an  Indian 
agency  with  headquarters  at  Fort  Sully  and  ap- 
pointed Joseph  R.  Hanson,  of  Yankton,  as  agent, 
provisionally,  of  all  of  the  Yanktonaise  and 
Teton  Sioux,  and  early  in  May  he  set  up  his 
headquarters  at  Crow  Creek.  That  month 
the  peace  commission  returned  up  river, 
making  the  first  dispensation  of  the  an- 
nuity goods  provided  for  in  the  treaty  and  to 
make  additional  treaties  with  some  of  the  other 
tribes.  They  held  councils  with  the  Santees  at 
Crow  creek  and  with  all  of  the  tribes  assembled 
at  Fort  Pierre.  It  is  claimed  that  nearly  ten 
thousand  Indians  gathered  at  Fort  Pierre  to  meet 
them.  Red  Cloud,  Crazy  Horse  and  other  head 
men  were  there  who  had  not  signed  the  treaty 
of  the  previous  year  and  who  refused  to  be  bound 
by  its  terms,  and  it  is  said  that  old  Red  Cloud 
steadfastly  refused  to  participate  in  the  dispensa- 
tion of  the  annuities.  The  peace  commission 
proceeded  to  the  head  waters  of  the  Missouri 
and  made  treaties  with  the  Rees,  Mandans, 
Blackfeet  and  other  headwater  tribes,  and  re- 
turned to  Yankton  in  August. 

Dr.  Burleigh  was  re-elected  to  congress  in 
September  and  the  political  campaign  of  this  year 
seems  to  have  been  the  least  exciting  of  any  in 
the  history  of  the  territory.  It  was  notable  only 
for  the  fact  that  General  Todd,  former  delegate 
to  congress,  accepted  an  election  to  the  legis- 
lature from  Todd  county. 

It  was  another  bad  crop  year,  drouth  and 
grasshoppers  combining  to  make  the  path  of  the 
homesteader  anything  but  flowery.  As  in  former 
years,  the  military  was  still  in  opposition  to  set- 
tlement and  it  appears  to  have  been  the  desire  of 
the  military  officers  to  discourage  any  attempt  to 
settle  Dakota,  and  prominent  army  officers  openly 
advised  the  settlers  to  get  out  and  give  up  the 
land  to  the  Indian,  for  whom  they  believed  it  was 
intended.  Under  all  of  the  discouragement  of 
Indian    troubles,    wars,    drouth,    floods,    fire    and 


grasshoppers,  it  is  surprising  that  any  remained. 
At  this  period  no  single  individual  did  so  much 
to  inspire  the  people  of  the  community  with  con- 
fidence in  the  future  of  Dakota  as  did  Governor 
Newton  Edmunds.  By  precept  and  example  he 
taught  them  that  a  great  commonwealth  could 
be  made  to  blossom  from  the  untoward  seeding. 
In  the  face  of  all  discouragement  he  steadfastly 
plowed  and  sowed  his  lands,  introduced  live 
stock,  diversified  his  crops  and  encouraged  oth- 
ers to  do  so.  Alyays  sane,  practical  and  per- 
sistent, he  inspired  many,  who  otherwise  would 
have  given  up,  with  something  of  his  own 
courage. 

The  legislative  session  which  convened  on  the 
first  Monday  in  December,  but  for  one  circum- 
stance would  have  been  exceptionally  common- 
place. General  Todd  was  elected  speaker  of  the 
house  and  for  some  reason  not  recorded,  and 
for  which  his  colleagues  can  at  this  time  give  no 
reasonable  account,  he  turned  in  hatred  on  Yank- 
ton, the  town  he  had  so  long  claimed  as  his  own 
offspring,  and  endeavored  to  remove  the  capital 
from  it  to  the  ambitious  village  of  Bon  Homme, 
twenty  miles  up  the  river.  Supported  by  the 
delegation  from  Bon  Homme,  Charles  Mix, 
Todd  and  Clay  counties,  he  had  a  solid  and  im- 
movable majority  in  the  house  to  support  his 
action.  There  is  nothing  in  the  record  to  indicate 
what  led  up  to  this  movement,  but  on  Oiristmas 
day,  1866,  he  called  H.  J.  Austin,  of  Vermillion, 
to  the  speaker's  chair  and,  taking  the  floor,  served 
j  notice  that  on  a  future  day  he  would  introduce  a 
bill  to  remove  the  capital  from  Yankton  to  some 
other  point  within  the  territory.  Nothing  further 
is  heard  from  the  movement  until  the  8th  day  of 
January  when  he  again  surrendered  the  chair  to 
Franklin  Taylor,  of  Qay  county,  and  introducetl 
a  bill  providing  for  removal  from  Yankton  to 
Bon  Homme.  Hon.  Downer  T.  Bramble,  of 
Yankton,  was  the  leading  member  of  the  Yank- 
ton county  delegation  of  the  house  and  he  at 
once  began  a  filibuster  such  as  found  its  counter- 
part in  two  or  three  of  the  recent  legislatures  of 
the  state  of  South  Dakota  where  a  similar  topic 
was  under  consideration.  He  promptly  moved 
that  the  further    consideration    of    the    bill    be 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


231 


indefinitely  postponed  and  his  motion  was  as 
promptly  tabled.  He  proposed  to  make  it  a 
special  order  for  the  succeeding  4th  of  July  and 
went  down  under  an  overwhelming  majority. 
He  tried  to  have  it  made  a  special  order  for  the 
next  Friday  (the  legislature  would  adjourn  sine 
(lie  by  limitation  of  law  on  Thursday  night).  He 
moved  to  strike  out  Bon  Homme  and  insert  Ver- 
million. He  made  various  other  motions,  ap- 
peals from  the  rulings  of  the  chair,  etc.,  but 
without  avail.  The  bill  received  its  first  and 
second  reading  and  on  the  next  day,  the  9th, 
passed  the  house  by  a  vote  of  seventeen  to  seven. 
While  the  bill  was  pending  in  the  house  the 
Yanton  men  in  the  council  were  not  idle.  On  the 
day  on  which  the  bill  went  to  final  passage 
George  W.  Kingsbury  introduced  a  resolution  in 
the  council  reciting  that  a  bill  to  remove  the 
capital  was  pending  in  the  house  and  "resolved 
that  we  are  opposed  to  any  change  in  the  seat  of 
government  of  this  territory,  believing  that  j 
Yankton  is  the  most  central,  convenient  and  de- 
sirable point  that  can  be  selected.  Mr.  Turner, 
who  was  of  the  Bon  Homme  party,  raised  the 
point  of  order  that  the  resolution  must  go  over 
under  the  rules,  but  the  president  of  the  council, 
a  Yankton  man,  very  promptly  ruled  the  point 
not  well  taken.  Turner  appealed,  but  the  chair 
was  sustained,  and  the  test  vote  showed  that  the 
council  stood  eight  for  Yankton  to  five  for  re- 
moval. The  house,  having  passed  the  bill,  ad- 
journed while  the  council  was  still  in  session.  Dr. 
Frank  Wixson  was  the  chief  clerk  of  the  house, 
a  Yankton  man.  Intimation  of  the  action  of  the 
council  having  come  to  the  ears  of  General  Todd, 
he  desired  to  delay  the  proceeding  until  he  could 
get  out  to  log-roll  the  council  a  bit,  but  Wixson, 
working  in  collusion  with  the  Yankton  men. 
hastily  had  the  bill  engrossed  and  that  day,  the 
council  remaining  in  session  for  the  purpose, 
messaged  the  bill  to  the  council  against  the 
strong  protest  of  the  speaker  of  the  house.  Im- 
mediately upon  its  receipt  in  the  council  Mr. 
Kingsbury  moved  that  it  be  read  the  first  and 
second  times  and  referred  to  a  special  com- 
mittee consisting  of  the  Yankton  county  delega- 
tion.    His   motion   prevailed   and   Yankton   had 


possession  of  the  bill.  The  next  morning  when 
the  house  reconvened  General  Todd  again  left 
the  speaker's  chair  to  introduce  the  following 
resolution:  "Resolved,  That  the  chief  clerk  be 
requested  to  wait  on  the  honorable  council  and 
request  the  delivery  of  house  file  28,  as  the 
same  has  been  transmitted  in  direct  violation  of 
the  house  and  its  presiding  officer."  Chief  Clerk 
Wixson  carried  this  resolution  down  to  the  coun- 
cil, whereupon  Mr.  Kingsbury  moved  that  the 
secretary  of  the  council  be  instructed  to  inform 
the  house  that  the  bill,  the  return  of  which  has 
been  requested  by  the  house,  has  been  referred  to 
a  special  committee  of  the  council  and  will  be  re- 
turned to  the  house  after  the  report  of  the  said 
committee.  Mr.  Turner  filibustered  the  passage 
of  this  motion  a  bit,  but  only  succeeded  in  having 
it  copper-riveted  by  the  addition,  "and  final 
action  of  the  council  has  been  taken."  Later  that 
day  Mr.  Kingsbury,  from  the  special  committee, 
made  his  report  on  the  bill  as  follows :  "Your 
special  committee,  composed  of  the  Yankton 
county  delegation,  to  whom  was  referred  house 
file  No.  28,  have  had  the  same  under  consider- 
ation, and  respectfully  report  that  the  said  docu- 
ment appears  to  have  been  carefully  prepared  by 
some  enemy  of  the  present  capital  of  Dakota, 
with  the  design  merely  of  injuring  tlie  prosperity 
of  the  said  city,  but  with  no  intention  of  carrying 
out  the  malicious  design  as  intimated  in  the  cap- 
tion of  said  document.  The  author  of  the  same 
has  omitted  the  enacting  clause,  which  is  neces- 
sary to  give  any  force  or  effect  to  any  bill ;  and, 
judging  from  the  subject  matter  of  the  document 
under  consideration,  we  are  forced  to  the  con- 
clusion that  some  evil  disposed  person  has  sought 
to  impose  upon  this  legislative  assembly,  merely 
for  the  gratification  of  malice  or  prejudice,  and 
having  no  regard  whatever  for  the  general  in- 
terests of  our  territory.  Your  committee  recom- 
mend that  the  said  document  be  rejected."  The 
report  was  signed  by  George  W.  Kingsbury, 
Alpheus  G.  Fuller  and  Abraham  Van  Osdel.  Tlie 
report  was  adopted  with  but  one  dissenting  vote, 
that  of  Canute  Weeks,  of  Clay  county,  and  so 
the  capital  for  the  time  being  remained  in  Yank- 
ton.    However,  General  Todd  did  not  end  his 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


light  there,  but  on  the  next  clay  of  the  session 
introduced  a  resolution,  which  prevailed  in  the 
house  by  a  vote  of  seventeen  to  six,  severely  criti- 
cising the  action  of  the  council  in  passing  the 
resolution  of  the  9th  as  "anticipatory  of  the  final 
action  of  this  house  upon  a  bill  before  it,  and  was 


calculated  to  unduly  influence  or  intimidate  the 
opinion  of  its  members,  thus  imposing  upon  the 
rights  of,  dignities  and  franchises  of  the  house, 
violating  its-  privileges,  and  unwarrantably  and 
unparliamentary  interfering  with  its  preroga- 
tives." 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 


THE    STORY    OF    1867. 


Following  the  excitement  relating  to  the  re- 
moval of  the  capital  scheme,  which  failed  in  the 
legislature,  1867  presented  very  little  of  note- 
worthy interest.  The  government  carried  out  its 
plan  of  abandoning  Fort  James,  at  Rockport,  and 
for  a  time  the  excitement  of  the  people  reached 
the  panic  point,  but  upon  the  requisition  of  CIov- 
ernor  Faulk  arms  and  equipment  for  ten  com- 
panies of  militia  were  sent  to  Yankton.  The 
citizens  organized  into  military  companies,  and 
a  feeling  of  security  settled  down  again. 

The  irrepressible  Byron  M.  Smith,  im- 
mediately after  the  adjournment  of  the  legis- 
lature, set  out  to  organize  an  expedition  to  enter 
and  explore  the  Black  Hills.  He  extensively  ad- 
vertised his  plan  and  secured  many  recruits,  but 
the  military,  taking  cognizance  of  his  movements, 
absolutely  prohibited  any  attempt  to  go  upon  the 
Indian  lands,  and  in  consequence  his  enterprise 
was  abandoned.  The  conviction  appears  to  have 
from  the  beginning  of  settlement  firmly  fixed  in 
the  minds  of  Dakotans  that  the  Black  Hills 
abounded  in  gold  and  rich  minerals.  Almost 
every  governor  mentioned  it  in  his  message  and 
the  legislative  committees  on  the  state  of  the 
territory  elaborated  exhaustively  upon  this  topic. 

Governor  Faulk's  appointment  as  governor, 
which,  through  some  of  the  political  deals  of  the 
period,  was  held  up  for  a  time,  was  finally  con- 
firmed on  March  i6th.  His  was  a  recess  ap- 
pointment and  he  had  acted  under  it  from  the 
previous   October. 

Dr.     Burleigh     organized     a     congressional 


party  of  some  thirty  members,  headed  by  Ben. 
F.  Wade,  Zachariah  Chandler,  Lot  U.  Morrill 
and  many  others  of  national  prominence  to  come 
to  Dakota  upon  a  buflr'alo  hunt.  He  got  them  as 
far  as  Omaha,  when  their  courage  oozed  out  in 
anticipation  of  Indian  hostilities  and  the-  hunt 
was  abandoned. 

That  spring  a  plan  was  discussed  and  came 
near  to  being  adopted  to  remove  the  Santees 
from  their  new  reservation  in  Nebraska  to  Sioux 
Falls.  But  for  the  hostility  of  the  people  of 
Minnesota  to  having  these  people  again  upon 
their  borders,  the  scheme  would  doubtless  have 
been  approved. 

In  May,  Colonel  Moody,  who  was  rapidly 
becoming  a  political  factor  in  his  new  home,  pur- 
chased the  plant  of  the  Dakota  Republican,  at 
Vermillion.  At  this  time  the  Republican  was 
enjoying  one  of  its  periodical  seasons  of  rest, 
which  characterized  its  earlier  years.  On  June 
6th  the  revived  paper  appeared  with  Lucien 
O'Brien  as  editor.  It  is  difficult  at  this  time  to 
follow  the  fortunes  of  the  Republican.  Its  files 
for  the  early  years  have  all  been  destroyed,  and 
the  recollections  of  the  pioneers  are  variable.  It 
appears  to  have  been  established  early  in  August, 
1861,  by  Bedell  and  Clarke,  the  latter  Lieutenant 
Clarke  of  the  Dakota  cavalry.  They  do  not 
seem  to  have  continued  it  after  the  election, 
which  occurred  in  September  of  that  year,  but 
the  following  year  it  was  revived  and  published 
by  John  B.  Gleze  until  the  outbreak  in  August. 
.After  the  return  of  the  settlers,  after  the  Indian 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


panic  that  fall,  the  paper  was  again  revived  and 
for  some  time  was  under  the  control  of  Mahlon 
Gore.  He  was  in  charge  of  it  on  the  ist  of 
January,  1863,  when  he  made  his  famous  first 
homestead  filing  at  twelve  o'clock  and  one  minute 
in  the  morning  of  that  day,  being  the  first  home- 
stead filed  upon  in  the  United  States  under  the 
Galusha  A.  Grow  free  homestead  act. 

From  the  first  settlement  a  contest  had  been 
continued  for  the  possession  of  a  portion  of  the 
townsite  of  Yankton,  between  James  Wither- 
spoon  and  Gen.  J.  B.  S.  Todd.  As  delegate  in 
congress  and  a  man  of  wide  experience  in  busi- 
ness and  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  public 
officials,  the  advantage  appeared  to  be  with  Gen- 
eral Todd,  but  in  spite  of  all  this  it  dragged 
along.  In  defending  his  rights  it  is  said  that 
Witherspoon,  who  was  a  somewhat  erratic  char- 
acter, walked  the  entire  distance  from  Yankton 
to  Washington.  The  contest  was  this  spring  de- 
cided finally  in  Witherspoon's  favor  and  he  came 
into  possession  of  a  very  valuable  property. 

On  June  ist  the  herder  at  Fort  Sully  was  shot 
by  Indians  and  the  event  again  threw  the  com- 
munity into  a  panicky  state,  and  for  a  few  days 
an  uprising  was  looked  for.  The  killing  seems 
to  have  been  done  by  an  irresponsible  young  man 
and  was  deplored  by  all  of  the  chiefs.  The  ter- 
ror following  the  tragedy  at  Fort  Sully  was  aug- 
mented a  few  days  later  when  a  false  report  got 
into  circulation  that  Henry  W.  Granger,  who 
claimed  a  Spanish  grant  of  twenty-five  thousand 
acres  at  Bijou  Hills,  had  been  killed  by  Indians 
while  exploring  his  "estate." 

On  the  13th  of  April,  while  Governor  Faulk 
was  absent  from  the  territory,  S.  L.  Spink,  sec- 
retary and  acting  governor,  issued  his  proclama- 
tion, calling  upon  the  people  to  organize  into 
military  companies  for  home  protection  against 
a  threatened  Indian  invasion.  The  appeal  met 
with  a  prompt  response  as  above  stated.  The 
organization,  as  eflfected,  was  as  follows :  Com- 
mander in  chief,  Andrew  J.  Faulk :  adjutant 
general,  James  L.  Kelly ;  quartermaster  general. 
Brig.  Gen.  D.  M.  Mills  :  paymaster  general.  Col. 
John  L.  Jolley :  aid  de  camp  to  governor.  Col. 
}ohn  Lawrence. 


Company  A,  Bon  Homme,  fifty-two  men.  W. 
A.  Burleigh,  captain ;  Xathan  \V.  Daniels  and 
George  W.  Owens,  lieutenants. 

Company  B,  \'ermillion.  one  hundred  men. 
Nelson  Miner,  captain ;  Frank  Denison  and  John 
L.  Jolley,  lieutenants. 

Company  C,  Yankton,  ninety  men.  George 
A.  McLeod,  captain;  A.  M.  English  and  C.  B. 
Wing,  lieutenants. 

Company  D,  Yankton,  sixty  men.  C.  W. 
Batchellor,  captain ;  H.  H.  Smith  and  C.  H. 
Brured,  lieutenants. 

Company  E,  Todd  county,  thirty  men.  J.  A. 
Lewis,  captain ;  Fred  W.  Edgar  and  John  Col- 
lins, lieutenants. 

Company  F,  Yankton,  forty-one  men.  W. 
W.  Benedict,  captain ;  C.  G.  Irish  and  W.  Lean- 
ing, lieutenants. 

Company  G,  Elk  Point,  eighty-five  men. 
Harvey  Fairchild,  captain. 

Company  H,  Brule  Creek,  eighty  men. 
Thomas  C.  Watson,  captain ;  W.  H.  H.  Fate  and 
H.  J.  Coykendall,  lieutenants. 

Since  the  outbreak  of  1862  the  Sisseton  and 
Wahpeton  Indians  had  been  without  an  abiding 
place,  or  means  of  support,  except  the  precarious 
chances  of  the  chase,  save  that  until  the  close 
of  the  war  a  large  number  of  them  were  em- 
ployed by  the  government  as  scouts.  During  the 
winter  of  1866-7  Gabriel  Renville  and  others  of 
the  head  men  visited  Washington  and  on  the 
19th  of  February  entered  into  a  treaty,  which 
was  proclaimed  on  the  2d  of  the  following  May, 
by  the  terms  of  which  they  secured  the  "fiatiron" 
reservation  on  the  coteau  lietween  Lake  Kamp- 
eska  and  Lake  Traverse.  The  treaty  provided 
that  the  Sissetons  and  W^ahpetons  should  entirely 
give  up  the  chase  and  subsist  themselves  by  agri- 
:  culture,  the  government  agreeing  to  supplement 
their  efforts,  if  found  necessary,  with  provisions, 
j  and  also  agreed  to  supply  schools.  The  Indians 
were  to  receive  no  goods,  money  or  supplies 
j  from  the  government  except  in  payment  for  labor 
!  performed.  An  agency  was  to  be  established  and 
I  maintained  for  their  benefit.  The  majority  of  the 
j  tribe  were  already  residing  upon  the  reservation 
I  tract  or  at  Fort  Wadsworth.  adjoining,  and  they 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


235 


at  once  entered  upon  their  lands.  They  made 
good  progress  in  the  schools,  but  accomplished 
very  little  in  an  agricultural  way,  nor  have  they 
done  much  to  cultivate  their  lands  to  this  day. 

It  required  but  little  in  those  days  to  create 
an  Indian  scare  and  when,  on  August  17th,  seven 
Yankton  Indians  visiting  Yankton  were  killed  in 
their  tepee  by  a  bolt  of  lightning  many  of  the 
timid  ones  confidently  expected  the  tribe  would 
visit  its  vengeance  upon  the  whites  for  the  loss 
of  its  fellows. 

That  summer  the  historic  International 
Hotel  at  Yankton,  which  was  opened  by  Henry 
C.  Ash  on  Christmas  day,  1859,  passed  into  the 
possession  of  James  Witherspoon.  He  had  be- 
come opulent  upon  the  turning  of  the  land  con- 
test in  his  favor.  He  paid  seven  thousand  dollars 
for  the  property,  which  was  the  largest  private 
trade  which  up  to  that  date  had  been  made  in  the 
settlement. 

The  grasshoppers  made  another  raid  upon  the 
harvest  and  what  had  promised  to  be  the  best 
crop  yet  produced  was  very  nearly  destroyed  in 
a  day.  From  a  "boom  letter,"  written  by 
Thomas  C.  Watson,  of  Brule  Creek,  and  pub- 
lished by  direction  of  the  legislature,  we  get  an 
idea  of  the  extent  to  which  farming  was  car- 
ried on  at  that  period.  The  presentment  is 
really  pathetic  when  viewed  by  the  acreage  of 
modern  days.  Mr.  Watson  himself  boasts  a 
spread  of  thirteen  acres  of  wheat.  He  seems  to 
have  placed  his  eggs  all  in  one  basket,  but  his 
neighbor,  Ira  Seward,  was  a  diversifier.  He  had 
three  and  one-half  acres  of  wheat,  the  same  of 
oats  and  twelve  acres  of  corn.  Julius  Fletcher 
was  likewise  a  corn  man,  with  one  of  his  thirteen 
acres  devoted  to  that  cereal,  the  remainder  being 
in  wheat.  John  Reams  and  Caleb  Cummings 
were  the  bonanza  farmers  of  the  locality,  with 
twenty-eight  and  twenty  acres  of  wheat,  respect- 
ively. Hopkins  Lutes  had  five  acres  of  wheat 
and  four  of  oats,  and  so  the  crops  of  the  district 
ranged.  The  legislative  committee,  to  gather 
agricultural  statistics,  announces  that  "Governor 
Edmunds  has  the  largest  flock  of  sheep  in  the 
territorv.     He  has  about  seventeen  hundred  of 


the  best  kind  of  fine  wooled  sheep,  brought  three 
years  ago  from  Michigan." 

Notwithstanding  the  hardships  through 
which  the  people  had  come,  educational  interests 
were  not  neglected.  There  were  now  twenty- 
nine  organized  school  districts  in  the  territory 
and  seven  private  schools.  Five  hundred  eighty- 
one  children  were  regularly  attending  school. 
The  first  teachers'  institute  held  in  the  territory 
was  opened  at  Elk  Point  on  November  nth  and 
continued  five  days.  The  instructors  were  Rev. 
Thomas  Stuart,  E.  C.  Collins  (father  of  the  late 
superintendent  of  public  instruction  of  South 
Dakota),  Henry  W.  McNiell  and  James  S.  Fos- 
ter; Hon.  W.  W.  Brookings  and  S.  L.  Spink 
delivered  lectures.  The  attendance  is  not 
given,  but  Superintendent  Foster  says  it  was 
not  large. 

The  report  of  the  territorial  auditor  shows  in 
detail  the  warrants  issued  during  the  year,  the 
total  being  three  hundred  seventy-two  dollars 
and  sixty  cents.  The  auditors  and  treasurers' 
annual  salaries  were  fifty  dollars  each  and  the 
hard-working  superintendent  of  public  instruc- 
tion, who  really  was  exerting  himself  to  perfect 
the  school  system  and  was  tireless  in  behalf  of 
the  schools,  received  twenty  dollars  per  year. 

Too  much  credit  cannot  be  given  to  the  legis- 
lators of  those  early  days  for  their  conservatism 
in  the  matter  of  finances.  They  had  it  in  their 
power  to  have  involved  Dakota  in  debts  which 
would  have  been  a  tax  upon  the  people  even  to 
this  day,  but  they  paid  as  they  went  along  and 
at  the  end  of  the  first  fifteen  years  of  territorial 
life  it  was  the  proud  boast  of  the  people  that 
Dakota  territory  did  not  owe  any  one  a  cent. 
Listen  to  the  ring  of  the  boast  in  the  concluding 
item  in  the  report  of  Moses  K.  Armstrong,  ter- 
ritorial treasurer  for  1867:  "Assets  in  treasury 
above  all  outstanding  indebtedness,  $14.85." 
The  outstanding  indebtedness  to  which  he  refers 
is  the  sum  of  $13.89,  due  upon  a  warrant  issued 
and  not  yet  presented  for  payment. 

The  year  1867  was  an  off  one  in  politics,  onlv 
a  legislature  being  elected,  and  that  without  ex- 
citing any  special  interest.     Colonel  Moodv  and 


236 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Colonel  Jolly  appeared  as  members  of  the  house, 
their  first  elective  offices  in  the  territory.  The 
session  convened  December  2d  and  organized 
with  Horace  J.  Austin  and  George  I.  Foster  as 
president  and  secretary  of  the  council  and  Enos 
Stutsman  and  Pack  Hainan  as  speaker  and  chief 
clerk  of  the  house.  The  session  was  uneventful, 
the  only  feature  of  particular  interest  being  the 
amendment  of  the  election  law,  bv  striking  out 


the  word  white,  in  conformity  to  the  fifteenth 
amendment  to  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States. 

A  good  deal  of  time  was  devoted  to  consider- 
ing the  eligibility  of  delegates  who  appeared  from 
Laramie  county  (Wyoming).  They  had  been 
irregularly  elected  by  mass  meetings  of  citizens 
and  in  the  end  one  delegate  was  admitted  to  a 
seat  as  a  matter  of  courtesv. 


CHAPTER  XL 


THE    TREATIES    OF    1868— OTHER    EVENTS. 


Since  the  ratification  of  the  Yankton  treaty  of 
1858  there  had  been  no  change  in  the  land  tenure 
in  South  Dakota,  the  Indian  title  continuing 
unbroken  to  all  that  portion  north  of  the  line 
from  Pierre  to  Watertovvn,  as  well  as  all  west  of 
the  Missouri.  The  treaties  of  1865,  as  we  have 
seen,  did  not  undertake  to  deal  with  land  rights 
at  all,  except  so  far  as  the  Indians  relinquished 
rights  of  way  over  their  country.  In  the  early 
spring  of  1868,  however,  what  was  known  as  the 
General  Sherman  peace  commission  undertook  to 
assemble  the  headmen  of  all  the  Sioux  tribes  at 
Fort  Laramie,  where,  on  the  29th  of  April,  the 
signing  of  a  new  treaty  was  concluded.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  Red  Cloud  had  refused  to 
sign  the  Edmunds  treaty  at  Fort  Sully  in  1865, 
and  had  declared  to  the  peace  commissioners  of 
1866  that  he  would  not  consent  to  the  building 
of  the  Montana  road  from  Fort  Laramie  through 
eastern  Wyoming.  He  immediately  thereafter 
took  the  warpath  to  drive  the  white  men  out  of 
his  country  and  rallied  to  his  standard  practically 
all  of  the  western  Indians,  except  a  small  party 
who  adhered  to  Spotted  Tail,  and  who  abided 
by  the  treaty  of  1865.  Red  Cloud  conducted  a 
masterful  campaign  against  the  military  and 
against  immigrants  on  the  Montana  trail.  Col- 
onel Fetterman  and  his  command  met  a  disas- 
trous defeat  on  the  Powder  river  and  Major 
Powell  suffered  a  long  and  severe  attack,  from 
which  he  emerged  something  less  than  a  victor. 
Red  Cloud's  position  was  that  the  building  of  the 
road  would  frighten  away  all  of  the  game,  the 


redman's  last  hope  for  sustenance.  After  two 
years  of  this  warfare  General  Sherman  and  his 
commission,  consisting  of  himself  and  Generals 
Harney,  Terry,  Sanborn  and  Messrs.  Nathaniel 
G.  Taylor,  S.  F.  Tappan  and  C.  C.  Augur,  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  Red  Cloud  to  come  into  a  gen- 
eral council  of  all  the  Sioux  and,  as  above  stated, 
an  agreement  was  reached  on  the  29th  of  April 
which  is  known  as  the  treaty  of  1868.  It  pro- 
vided in  the  first  instance  for  a  perpetual  peace 
between  the  whites  and  Indians.  It  defined  as  a 
permanent  reservation  all  reservations  hitherto 
set  apart  on  the  east  of  the  Missouri  and  in  ad- 
dition thereto  all  the  territory  between  the  north 
line  of  Nebraska  and  the  forty-sixth  parallel 
(the  line  dividing  North  and  South  Dakota)  and 
from  the  east  bank  of  the  Missouri  river  to  the 
one  hundred  fourth  meridian,  the  Indians  re- 
linquishing all  claim  to  all  other  lands.  Thus  it 
was  that  the  lands  in  the  northern  part  of  east- 
ern South  Dakota  became  public  property.  In 
this  connection  it  may  be  well  to  call  attention  to 
what  is  known  as  the  Drifting  Goose  lands  in 
the  James  valley.  Drifting  Goose  was  the  chief 
of  a  considerable  band  of  Yanktonaise  whose 
chief  camp  was  on  the  James  river  at  Armadale 
in  Spink  county  and  claiming  all  of  the  adjacent 
country.  He  was  not  invited  to  the  Laramie 
council  and  had  no  knowledge  of  what  action 
was  taken  there  for  a  long  time  afterward.  He 
disputed  the  right  of  anyone  assuming  to  rep- 
resent the  Yanktonaise  to  relinquish  and  give 
awa_\-  his  lands  without  his  knowledge  or  con- 


238 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


sent  and  refused  to  vacate.  For  fourteen  years 
he  clung  to  his  lands,  but  finalh'  yielded  to  force 
of  circumstances  and  permitted  the  military  to 
escort  him  and  his  band  to  the  Crow  Creek  reser- 
vation where  he  still  (1903)  resides,  but  still 
claiming  title  to  his  lands  on  the  Jim,  to  which 
by  no  act  of  his  has  the  government  obtained 
title.  The  government  in  the  new  treaty  agreed 
to  establish  an  agency  for  all  of  the  Indians  on 
the  ^Missouri  and  to  provide  them  with  schools, 
and  to  provide  physicians,  and  in  lieu  of  all  an- 
nuities provided  for  in  an\-  previous  treaty  to 
give  them  annually  the  following  goods,  for  a 
period  of  thirty  years :  Each  male  person  over 
fourteen  a  complete  suit  of  clothes  and  to  each 
woman  the  cloth  for  a  complete  outfit  of  clothing ; 
each  child  was  to  be  provided  with  goods  for  one 
complete  suit.  Each  Indian  over  four  years  of 
age  was  to  receive  for  the  period  of  four  years 
one  pound  of  meat  and  one  pound  of  flour  per 
day,  and  each  family  was  to  be  given  one  good 
American  cow  and  one  well-broken  yoke  of 
American  oxen. 

The  government  abandoned  all  claim  to  the 
i^Iontana  road  and  withdrew  the  military  from 
that  section,  while  the  Indians  bound  themselves 
not  to  interfere  with  immigrants  or  railroads  on 
the  plains  outside  of  the  reservation  above  de- 
fined. Another  important  advantage  secured  by 
the  Indians  was  a  stipulation  that  in  the  future 
no  treaty  should  be  deemed  valid  unless  it  was 
signed  by  at  least  three-fourths  of  the  adult  male 
Indians  interested  in  the  same.  In  every  respect 
the  treaty  was  a  victory  for  Red  Cloud  and  his 
party.  To  his  great  credit,  it  must  be  said  that 
the  old  warrior  has  faithfully  abided  by  its  terms 
ever  since  and  has  ever  advised  his  people  to  ob- 
serve its  requirements. 

The  harvest  of  1868  was  bountiful  and  there 
was  a  marked  increase  in  immigration  and  a 
hopeful  spirit  pervaded  the  settlements.  The 
Indian  trade  readily  absorbed  any  surplus  of 
products  which  the  people  might  have,  though  in 
fact  up  to  this  time  little  more  than  enough  for 
home  consumption  in  the  way  of  crops  were 
grown,  and  consequently  the  question  of 
markets  was  not  a  very  material  one.   The  schools 


increased  in  number  and  efficiency  and  in  every 
way  the  outlook  was  more  favorable  for  the 
hardy  pioneers  who  had  stuck  it  out  in  the 
Dakota  land. 

It  was  a  presidential  year.  General  Grant 
was  the  Republican  candidate  for  the  presidency 
and  patriotic  feeling  ran  high.  Dr.  Burleigh, 
who  had  united  his  fortunes  with  the  Johnson 
wing  of  the  part}',  suffered  in  consequence  and 
when  the  Republican  territorial  convention  con- 
vened at  Elk  Point  the  straight  Republicans  were 
largely  in  the  majority.  S.  L.  Spink,  whom 
President  Lincoln  had  appointed  secretary  of 
Dakota,  one  of  the  last  appointments  made  by 
the  martyred  President,  was  chosen  candidate  for 
delegate  to  congress.  Dr.  Burleigh  ran  as  a 
Johnson  Republican,  with  the  Democratic  en- 
dorsement, but  Spink  was  elected  by  a  large  ma- 
jority, and  this  time  a  contest  was  not  even 
threatened. 

The  legislature  convened  in  its  last  annual 
session  on  the  7th  of  December.  Judge  Brook- 
ings was  president  of  the  council  and  Amos  F. 
Shaw,  the  pioneer  school  teacher,  was  secretary. 
Judge  Moody  was  speaker  of  the  house  and 
George  I.  Foster  was  chief  clerk. 

Governor  Faulk's  message  dwelt  upon  the 
improved  outlook,  the  excellent  crops,  and  pro- 
tested against  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  of 
1868,  which  entirely  cut  off  any  immediate  hope 
of  entering  the  Black  Hills  and  therefore  re- 
duced us  to  a  simply  agricultural  community.  In 
this  connection  he  spoke  of  Wyoming,  then 
about  to  be  made  a  territory,  whose  advantages 
he  compared  with  those  of  Dakota,  and  con- 
cluded: "Under  such  auspicious  circumstances, 
in  view  of  the  railroad  facilities  possessed  by  that 
territory,  and  the  vast  beds  of  coal  and  deposits 
of  precious  metals,  which  have  already  been  de- 
veloped, we  may  reasonably  anticipate  for  Wyo- 
ming a  career  of  prosperity  which  eastern 
Dakota,  with  all  its  advantages,  might  well  envy." 
The  message  was  general  in  its  terms  and  con- 
tained no  specific  recommendations  for  legisla- 
tion, except  that  provision  be  made  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  public  arms  which  the  government 
had  provided   for  the  use  of  the   militia.     The 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


239 


total  receipts  into  the  territorial  treasury  for  the 
year  were  $920.65,  and  the  disbursements  were 
$915.40,  leaving  a  net  $5.25  to  the  good. 

The  striking  feature  of  the  session  was  the 
passage  of  a  bill  by  the  house,  granting  to  women 
the  full  right  of  suffrage  and  to  hold  office.  The 
bill  was  introduced  on  December  19th  by  Enos 
Stutsman,  who,  if  not  gallant,  was  nothing  at 
all ;  it  was  referred  to  the  committee  on  elections, 
which  the  next  day  reported :  "While  your  com- 
mittee favor  the  bill,  they  believe  that  a  measure 
so  far  in  advance  of  'old  fogy'  notions  should  be 
submitted  to  general  discussion,"  and  therefore 
recommended  that  it  be  committed  to  general 
orders  on  the  23d.  On  that  day  it  was  taken  up 
in  committee  of  the  whole  and  its  passage  recom- 
mended and,  on  motion  of  Col.  John  L.  Jolley, 
the  report  was  adopted  and  the  bill  was  placed 
upon  final  passage.  There  were  fourteen  ayes 
and  nine  noes,  receiving  the  support  of  such 
prominent  men  as  Colonel  Jolley,  Colonel  Moody, 
Enos  Stutsman,  and  was  opposed  by  Jacob 
Brouch,  Jimmie  Keegan  and  M.  H.  Somers.  The 
bill  failed  of  favorable  consideration  in  the  coun- 
cil. 

Though  there  was  no  open  rupture  between 
the  legislature  and  the  executive,  still  they  were 
not  in  accord.  Governor  Faulk  being  a  Johnson 
man,  while  the  legislature  was  strongly  straight 
out.  Governor  Faulk  sent  in  three  vetoes 
during  the  session,  the  most  important  being  the 
bill  for  the  repeal  of  the  charter  of  the  Dakota 
&  Northwestern  Railway.  This  proposed  line 
conflicted  with  another  enterprise,  the  Dakota 
Southern.  The  Governor's  objection  to  the  re- 
peal was  based  on  the  ground  that  the  company 
had  vested  rights,  had  complied  with  all  the  re- 
quirements of  its  charter  and  had  already  se- 
cured and  recorded  in  Union,  Clay  and  Yankton 
counties  deeds  to  right  of  way.  He  is  severe  in 
condemnation  of  the  action  of  the  legislature, 
concluding:  "Shall  individual  interests  and  jeal- 
ousies drive  us  to  the  extreme  of  trampling  upon 
vested  rights  of  an  organized  company,  and  by 
endless  litigation,  which  is  all  I  apprehend  that 
can  be  accomplished  by  the  repeal  of  this  charter, 
delay  for  years  the  improvement  of  the  Missouri 


valley?  This  would  not  be  worthy  of  the  legis- 
lative power  and  authority  of  the  territory,  but 
would  be  most  disastrous  to  our  best  hopes 
formed  for  our  universal  growth  and  prosperity 
as  a  people."  The  veto  was  sustained  by  reason 
of  not  securing  a  two-thirds  vote  against  it.  Col- 
onel Moody  voting  against  the  veto  and  Colonel 
Jolley  and  Enos  Stutsman  to  sustain  it,  though 
Jolley,  Moody  and  the  Missouri  valley  men 
usually  voted  together.  The  vote  stood  fourteen 
against  sustaining  the  veto  and  twelve  for  it. 
The  feeling  was  shown  also  by  the  passage  of  a 
joint  resolution  requesting  President  Grant  to 
appoint  W.  W.  Brookings  governor,  which  was 
supported  by  the  entire  house,  except  Colonel 
Aloody  and  Jacob  Branch,  who,  though  opposed 
to  Faulk,  were  equally  opposed  to  Brookings. 

Fort  Dakota  being  no  longer  needed  for  the 
protection  of  the  southern  territory,  the  legis- 
lature requested  the  war  department  to  remove 
it  to  Medary.  The  protection  afforded  by  this 
post  had  been  the  means  of  bringing  a  consider- 
able population  into  the  Sioux  valley  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  post.  As  early  as  June,  1866, 
John  Nelson,  John  Thompson,  William  Melvin, 
Sylvester  Delaney  and  several  other  families 
settled  on  the  Sioux  north  of  the  falls  and  with 
their  families  made  permanent  homes  on  the  fer- 
tile soil  where  some  of  them  still  reside  in  the 
midst  of  abounding  plenty  and  surrounded  by 
every  comfort.  In  1867  Ole  Foster,  Martin 
Gunderson,  John  Larson,  Ole  Arnson  and  others 
joined  the  colony  and  in  1868  John  J.  Langsness, 
after  visiting  the  valley,  led  a  large  colony  from 
Minnesota  and  the  fatherland  to  settle  in  the 
Baltic  country  on  the  Sioux.  Among  these  set- 
tlers were  many  of  the  sturdy  Norwegians  who 
have  made  names  for  themselves  in  county  and 
state  history.  The  same  year  John  Anderson  and 
Ole  and  Gunder  Thompson  settled  north  of  Dell 
Rapids. 

The  Indians  still  roamed  through  the  valley 
upon  hunting  and  visiting  trips  and,  though  they 
were  not  at  all  hostile,  their  presence  was  far 
from  welcome  and  it  is  not  at  all  surprising  that 
the  women  and  children  lived  in  something  of 
terror  of  them  and  occasionallv  an  able  bodied 


240 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


man  found  his  pulse  beating  rather  above  the 
normal  at  sight  of  a  band  of  painted  redskins. 
John  Thompson  relates  how  the  trail  from  Pipe- 
stone to  Yankton  agency  crossed  his  land  and  one 
day  when  his  first  splendid  crop  of  wheat  was 
nearing  the  harvest  he  observed  a  very  large 
delegation  of  Indians  coming  down  the  river 
bluff  toward  his  field.  He  was  at  a  loss  to  know 
how  to  prevent  them  from  passing  through  and 
destroying  the  crop  upon  which  he  set  so  much 
store,  but  in  his  desperation  seized  his  gun  and 
started  for  the  point  where  the  trail  had  for- 
merly entered  the  field.  There  he  stood  with  the 
gun  cocked  waiting  the  approach  of  the  band, 
and  when  they  came  near  he  motioned  them  to 
go  around  the  wheat.  This,  to  his  great  relief, 
they  good  naturedly  did,  but  when  all  the  circum- 
stances are  considered  there  was  an  exhibition 
of  physical  and  moral  courag-e  in  his  action 
which  must  excite  high  admiration,  for  he  was 


practically  alone  in  the  country  where  the  Indians 
still  enjoyed  the  bad  reputation  they  had  acquired 
in  the  days  of  the  outbreak  of  five  years  before. 
The  end  of  1868  found  a  substantial  settle- 
ment along  the  river  from  Dell  Rapids  to  the 
Missouri  and  up  the  latter  as  far  as  Fort  Ran- 
dall. Lincoln  county  had  been  settled  by  A.  I. 
Linderman.  near  Fairview,  in  1866  and  he 
seems  to  have  been  the  sole  occupant  of  the 
county  until  the  following  summer  when,  in 
June,' J.  Q.  Fitzgerald,  Ben  and  William  Hill. 
Jacob  Sorter,  the  Hydes,  Weaklies  and  others 
arrived  and  settled  about  the  Canton  townsite. 
The  Halters  came  in  the  fall  and  some  time  dur- 
ing that  A'ear  William  Cuppett  became  a  townsite 
proprietor  at  Canton.  The  next  year  there  was  a 
large  influx  of  settlers  into  the  locality.  On  the 
30th  of  December,  1867,  the  county  of  Lincoln 
was  duly  organized,  being  the  first  to  organize 
after  the  original  countits  of  1862. 


CHAPTER  XLI 


A  TIME  OF  PEACE— EVENTS  OF  i^ 


In  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  treaty  of 
1868,  which  was  ratified  and  proclaimed  on  Feb- 
ruary 24,  1869,  the  government  established  an 
agency  on  the  Missouri,  at  the  mouth  of  Whet- 
stone creek,  about  ten  miles  above  Fort  Ran- 
dall, which  was  known  as  Whetstone,  or  Spotted 
Tail's  agency.  Red  Cloud  did  not  like  to  come  to 
the  Missouri  and  accordingly  an  agency  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  Oglalas  was  established  in 
northwestern  Nebraska,  close  by  Fort  Robinson, 
which  was  known  as  Red  Cloud's  agency,  and  the 
Indians  settled  down  to  a  life  of  ease  and  peace 
which  was  not  broken  until  the  Black  Hills  agi- 
tation precipitated  the  troubles  of  the  middle 
'seventies. 

This  year  saw  a  general  shaking  up  in  politics 
and  federal  officers.  The  election  of  General 
Grant  naturally  made  hard  lines  for  the  adherents 
and  appointees  of  Johnson,  and  this  was  particu- 
larly true  in  Dakota  where  the  Johnson  ap- 
pointees were  deprived  of  the  assistance  in  con- 
gress of  delegate  Burleigh.  One  of  the  last 
official  acts  of  Dr.  Burleigh  was  to  secure  the 
appointment  of  George  W.  French,  of  Maine,  as 
chief  justice,  to  succeed  Ara  Bartlett,  whose  term 
had  expired.  French  was  not  learned  in  the  law, 
and  though  he  held  the  position  for  the  full  four 
years  he  naturally  did  not  distinguish  himself  for 
great  learning  upon  the  bench.  S.  L.  Spink,  dele- 
gate-elect and  secretary  of  the  territory,  gave  up 
the  latter  office  at  the  end  of  his  term,  which 
ended  just  in  time  to  permit  him  to  enter  upon 
his  new  office,  and  Turney  M.  \\'ilkins  was  ap- 


pointed to  the  position  of  secretary.  Governor 
Faulk  was  removed  and  John  A.  Burbank,  of 
Indiana,  succeeded  him,  and  Wilmot  W.  Brook- 
ings, whom  the  legislature  had  nominated  to 
General  Grant  for  governor,  was  appointed  as- 
sociate justice  of  the  supreme  court  to  succeed 
Judge  Boyle,  of  \'ermillion,  whose  term  expired. 
George  H.  Hand,  a  citizen  of  Yankton,  by  choice, 
had  been  appointed  to  fill  out  the  unexpired  term 
of  W.  E.  Gleason,  United  States  district  attorney, 
who  had  resigned  in  1865  to  become  a  justice  of 
the  supreme  court,  a  place  he  had  again  resigned 
to  accept  a  foreign  consulate.  ^Ir.  Hand's  term 
expired  in  1869  and  Warren  Coles  was  appointed 
to  succeed  him.  General  Tripp,  United  States 
surveyor,  was  also  retired  from  office  at  the  close 
of  his  term  and  Gen.  W.  H.  H.  Beadle,  of 
Indiana,  came  as  his  successor.  Of  the  strictly 
territorial  offices,  Moses  K.  Armstrong,  treasurer, 
was  succeeded  by  T.  K.  Hovey,  and  James  S. 
Foster,  who  for  a  brief  period  had  given  up  the 
superintendency  of  the  department  of  education 
to  T.  M.  Stuart,  was  re-appointed  to  the  position 
in  which  he  had  done  so  efficient  work. 

It  was  the  first  year  in  the  history  of  the  ter- 
ritor\'  without  an  election,  congress  having  pro- 
vided that  in  the  future  the  legislature  should 
meet  biennially.  It  was  another  good  crop  year 
and  the  settlers  had  begun  to  increase  their 
acreage  and  to  build  better  homes.  There  was  a 
vast  deal  of  railroad  talk,  1)ut  the  actual  approach 
of  the  "iron  stallion"  seemed  a  long  wav  off. 

There  was  a  great  increase  in  immigration ; 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


in  fact,  it  is  the  opinion  of  many  of  the  old  timers 
that  the  white  population  was  doubled  in  the 
season.  Among  those  who  this  year  made  their 
first  plant  in  the  territory  in  addition  to  the 
federal  officers  before  enumerated  were  Richard 
F.  Pettigrew,  Nye  E.  Phillips  and  Clark  G. 
Coates,  of  Sioux  Falls,  Martin  Trygstad,  of 
Brookings  county,  and  some  sixty  families,  many 
of  them  now  prominent  at  Canton  and  in  the  im- 
mediate vicinity.  On  June  i8th  Fort  Dakota, 
at  Sioux  Falls,  was  finally  abandoned  and  it  has 
not  since  been  necessary  to  call  military  into  the 
Sioux  valley  for  the  protection  of  life  or  prop- 
erty. About  this  time  a  regular  line  of  trade  and 
immigration  was  established  for  ^lontana  busi- 
ness across  the  northern  portion  of  the  state  by 
way  of  Bigstone  lake,  Fort  Wadsworth,  the  Elm 
river  to  Fort  Rice  on  the  INIissouri,  being  in  the 
main  the  route  laid  out  bv  the  Fiske  expedition  of 
1865. 

John  Otherday,  the  Christian  Sioux,  who  res- 
cued Abbie  Sharp  from  the  Indians  in  Spink 
county  in  1857  and  who  had  been  so  effective  in 
assisting  the  whites  in  the  territorial  days  of  the 
massacre  of  1862,  died  from  consumption  at  Fort 
Wadsworth  on  October  29th  and  was  buried  near 
Big  Coule  creek,  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the 
couteau,  where  his  grave  still  lies,  neglected  and 
unmarked. 

During  the  summer  Colonel  Moody  and 
others  made  a  settlement  at  Swan  lake,  in  Turner 
county,  which  is  notable  as  being  the  first  settle- 
ment for  agricultural  development  in  an  inland 
county. 

Up  to  the  time  of  this  chapter  no  files  of 
Dakota  newspapers  were  preserved  and  the  out- 
side newspapers  paid  very  little  attention  to 
Dakota  matters.  Even  the  Sioux  City  papers 
only  rarely  published  an  item  of  interest  to  their 
neighbors  across  the  line.  The  following  items 
are  taken  from  the  columns  of  the  Sioux  City 
Times   for  the  various  dates   given  in  the  vear 


June  3.  Eight  hundred  Norwegians  are  enroute 
between  Chicago  and  Sioux  City,  bound  for  Dakota. 

Brink  &  Sales'  steamboat  blew  up  near  Vermil- 
lion last  week. 


Claims  are  being  rapidly  taken  above  Blooming- 
dale  and  about  Canton  in  Lincoln  county. 

Governor  Burbank  has  assurances  that  there 
will  be  no  Indian  troubles  In  Dakota  this  year. 

A.  W.  Pratt,  of  Vermillion,  is  in  the  city. 

F.  J.  DeWitt,  sutler  and  Indian  trader  at  Fort 
Thompson,  is  in  town. 

June  8.  C.  H.  True,  editor  of  the  Vermillion 
Republican,  and  Gen.  W.  H.  H.  Beadle,  surveyor  gen- 
eral of  Dakota,  arrived  here  from  their  homes  on 
Sunday  and  on  Wednesday  left  for  the  east.  We 
found  these  gentlemen  to  be  the  living  embodiments 
and  ideal  representatives  of  western  men;  courteous, 
independent,  well  posted  and  with  an  unflinching 
super-abundance  of  confidence  in  the  future  growth 
and  development  of  the  country  which  they  represent. 
The  General  informed  us  that  the  government  land 
is  being  settled  up  rapidly  by  farmers  and  others 
who  design  making  permanent  homes. 

June  15.  We  learn  from  parties  just  returned 
from  up  the  river  that  settlements  now  extend  fifty 
miles  above  Fort  Dakota. 

Several  correspondents  from  Elk  Point,  Vermil- 
lion and  Yankton  discuss  the  unparalleled  growth 
and  prosperity  of  the  territory. 

Hon.  George  H.  Hand  has  been  ousted  from  the 
otfice  of  Attorney  General  of  Dakota. 

Judge  Boyles  of  Dakota  has  gone  to  Washington 
to  see  Grant  about  continuing  in  oflice. 

July  4.  There  is  a  rush  of  immigration  to  the 
Fort  Dakota  Reservation. 

July  14.  Crops  in  Dakota  are  In  excellent  condi- 
tion. Vegetation  is  the  most  luxuriant  ever  wit- 
nessed, even  in  Dakota. 

Beginning  with  the  following  year,  newspaper 
files  of  Dakota  papers  are  accessible  and  the 
accuracy  of  reported  events  can  be  to  a  large 
degree  checked  by  the  contemporaneous  record 
of  the  press. 

Charles  Collins,  the  proprietor  of  the  Sioux 
City  Times,  an  Irishman  of  the  most  undaunted 
courage  and  energy,  not  always  practically  ap- 
plied, but  possessed  with  an  enthusiasm  which 
never  recognized  defeat,  had  established  a  paper 
city  on  the  Missouri  opposite  the  mouth  of  White 
river  in  the  present  Brule  county,  which  he  called 
Brule  City.  True  to  his  native  temperament,  his 
views  enlarged  as  he  progressed  and  he  deter- 
mined to  establish  there  a  colony  for  the  op- 
pressed Irish  from  every  section.  His  plan  em- 
braced the  foundation  of  an  Irish-American  em- 
pire.    He  proposed  to  organize  in  different  parts 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


of  the  country  colonies  of  Irish-Americans  who 
should  come  to  Dakota  and  homestead  the  lands 
east  of  the  Missouri,  "so  that  when  England's 
difficulty  and  Ireland's  opportunity  came  a 
patriotic  army  of  Irish-Americans  could  be  at 
once  and  without  interference  thrown  into  the 
British  dominions,  and  wipe  out  root  and  branch 
the  English  oppressors  from  the  American  con- 
tinent." He  quietly  secured  the  endorsement  of 
his  scheme  by  the  Fenian  convention  of  1869  and 
got  a  charter  from  congress,  naming  as   incor- 


porators among  others  A.  T.  Stewart,  Jim  Fiske, 
Ben  Butler  and  Wendall  Phillips.  A  committee 
was  appointed  to  visit  Dakota  and  report  upon 
the  feasibility  of  the  location.  They  came  out, 
but,  being  tenderfeet,  saw  nothing  of  merit  m 
the  scheme  and  a  majority  reported  against  it 
and  it  collapsed.  Collins,  however,  held  on  to  the 
scheme  for  years.  He  removed  to  Brule  City, 
which  he  for  a  time  called  Limerick,  and  estab- 
lished a  newspaper  there.  Nothing,  however, 
came  of  the  enterprise. 


CHAPTER  XLI 


EVENTS  OF  THE  YEAR  1870. 


The  year  of  1870  was  one  of  unusual  prog- 
ress and  prosperity  in  the  territory.  Immigra- 
tion swarmed  in  and  crops  were  very  good  in- 
deed. The  census,  taken  as  of  June  ist,  that  year, 
showed  a  total  population  of  fourteen  thousand 
one  hundred  eighty-one  souls,  in  addition  to  the 
large  Indian  population.  The  building  improve- 
ments made  in  the  city  of  Yankton  were  estimated 
at  two  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Vermillion, 
Elk  Point,  Springfield,  Sioux  Falls,  Canton  and 
Dell  Rapids  made  a  corresponding  growth.  Not- 
withstanding the  general  prosperity,  the  year  was 
given  up  almost  wholly  to  politics. 

The  straight-out  Republicans  felt  that  Mr. 
Spink,  who  had  served  acceptably  as  delegate  to 
congress,  was  entitled  to  a  re-election.  Colonel 
Moody  was  talked  of  for  the  position,  but  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  especially  ambitious  and 
his  interests  were  allied  with  those  of  delegate 
Spink.  Dr.  Burleigh,  as  ever,  had  an  ardent  fol- 
lowing, though  his  political  integrity  was  ques- 
tioned by  reason  of  the  Democratic  endorsement 
he  had  received  two  years  previous,  and  his 
record  as  a  Johnson  Republican. 

The  Union  and  Dakotaian,  then  under  the 
control  of  Arthur  Linn,  was  an  ardent  supporter 
of  Dr.  Burleigh.  The  Dakota  Republican,  pub- 
lished at  \'ermillion.  and  the  Elk  Point  Courier 
gave  their  adherence  to  delegate  Spink.  It  was 
considered  absolutely  essential  that  there  should 
be  a  good  straight-out  Republican  newspaper  at 
the  territorial  capital  and  on  the  loth  of  August 
the   Yankton    Press   appeared,    with    George   H. 


Hand  as  editor;  the  publishers  were  George  W. 
Kingsbury  and  J.  M.  Stone.  The  Press  threw 
itself  with  all  the  force  of  its  able  editor  into 
the  fight  in  behalf  of  delegate  Spink,  giving  Col- 
onel Moody,  who  was  Hand's  business  partner, 
secondary  consideration. 

It  is  worth  while  to  consider  the  character  of 
the  newspapers  of  that  date.  From  every  point 
of  view,  except  possibly  for  the  heat  of  their  ex- 
pressions, they  were  highly  creditable  to  the  com- 
munity in  which  they  were  published.  In  fact  it 
is  a  matter  of  astonishment  that  papers  so  ably 
edited  and  containing  such  a  variety  of  informa- 
tion and  news  and  so  well  printed  could  have 
been  produced  in  the  sparsely  settled  territory  of 
so  many  years  ago.  There  never  has  been,  in 
Dakota,  more  forceful  editorial  writing  than  in 
those  days,  but  they  were  partisan  almost  beyond 
belief.  Nothing  was  too  hideous  or  too  ridicu- 
lous to  charge  to  a  political  opponent.  Dr.  Bur- 
leigh, who  had  been  a  lifelong  abolitionist,  was 
charged  with  having  declared  in  a  public  speech 
that  "the  American  people  will  yet  regret  the 
abolition  of  slavery."  To  have  charged  him  with 
murder  or  larceny  would  have  been  much  less 
hideous  in  that  day.  but  be  assured  that  his 
friends  did  not  fail  to  charge  him  with  larceny. 
It  was  claimed  that  he  stole  an  ox  of  Mr.  Den- 
man  and  gave  it  to  Peter  Swenson,  of  Clay 
county,  in  consideration  of  the  political  support 
of  the  latter.  Swenson,  it  was  said,  killed  the  ox 
and  hung  its  hide  over  the  fence,  when  Denman 
came  along  looking  for  his  property,  identified 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


the  hide  and  compelled  the  thrifty  Swede  to  pay 
him  its  value.  Such  statements  as  these  were 
freelv  current  and  were  openly  published  in  the 
newspapers,  and  of  course  had  as  little  founda- 
tion in  fact  as  had  the  Colonel  Moody  sheep  stor)' 
which  was  as  freely  exploited.  When  Colonel 
Moody  would  go  out  to  make  a  political  speech 
his  enemies  would  stand  outside  of  the  hall  and 
bleat  in  chorus.  It  does  not  appear  from  the 
prints  that  any  crime  was  imputed  to  Colonel 
Spink,  though  he  was  openly  abused  on  general 
principles. 

The  nominating  convention  was  held  in  \'er- 
million  on  September  6th.  There  were  the 
usual  number  of  contests  on  the  face  of  the  re- 
turns. Burleigh  controlled  the  convention.  The 
straight  Republicans  thereupon  withdrew  from 
the  cortvention  and  placed  Spink  in  nomination, 
which  placed  them  in  the  position  of  bolters,  Bur- 
leigh taking  the  nomination  from  the  convention 
proper.  Four  days  later  the  Democratic  con- 
vention convened  at  Yankton  and  refusing  a 
proposition  to  again  endorse  Dr.  Burleigh,  nomi- 
nated Aloses  K.  Armstrong  as  a  straight  Demo- 
cratic candidate.  About  thirty  days  ensued  be- 
fore the  election^took  place,  and  never  has  a  more 
vigorous  campaign  been  waged  upon  Dakota  soil 
or  elsewhere.  Armstrong  boasts  to  have  spent 
one  thousand  dollars  a  day  and  Dr.  Burleigh's 
expenditures,  first  and  last,  must  have  been  fully 
equal  to  .-Vrmstrong's.  Burleigh  established 
markets  in  all  of  the  principal  towns  where  he 
advertised  to  buy  and  did  buy  all  that  the  farmers 
had  to  sell,  at  advanced  prices.  It  mattered  not 
what  the\'  brought  in,  the  genial  Doctor  was 
ready  to  pay  a  good  round  price  for  it.  The 
papers  were  full  of  vote  buying,  vote  stealing 
and  general  corruption  charges  and  the  vitupera- 
tion was  not  confined  to  the  candidates,  but  every- 
body, whether  a  candidate  or  canvassing  or  not, 
came  in  for  a  full  share  of  the  abuse.  Colonel 
Moody  and  General  lieadle  appear  to  have  been 
the  leading  speakers  and  most  active  in  the  con- 
duct of  the  campaign  of  the  interested  candidates. 
As  might  have  been  expected,  the  election  re- 
sulted in  giving  a  plurality  to  Armstrong,  Bur- 
leigh being  second.  Contests  against  Armstrong 
were   instituted  by  both    Burleigh    and    Spink, 


though  tlie  latter  did  not  prosecute  his  claim,  but 
Armstrong  was  sustained  by  the  house  of  rep- 
resentatives and  held  the  seat.  The  Republicans, 
however,  elected  a  majority  of  the  legislature 
and  organized  both  houses. 

On  November  2d  George  H.  Hand  retired 
from  the  editorship  of  the  Press,  to  which  place 
he  had  come  simply  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the 
campaign,  and  Messrs.  Kingsbury  and  Stone  con- 
tinued the  publication. 

On  November  29th  the  telegraph  reached 
Yankton,  being  the  first  line  to  enter  the  ter- 
ritory, its  construction  from  Sioux  City  to  Yank- 
ton having  occupied  but  a  very  brief  period  of 
time. 

The  legislature  convened  on  the  25th  of  De- 
cember and  organized  by  the  election  of  Emory 
Morris  and  George  T.  Rea  as  president  and  sec- 
retary of  the  council  and  George  H.  Hand  and 
George  I.  Foster  as  speaker  and  chief  clerk  of 
the  house.  Dr.  Joseph  Ward  makes  his  first  ap- 
pearance in  Dakota  in  a  public  way  as  chaplain 
of  this  legislature.  There  is  nothing  in  the  record 
of  the  legislature  that  indicates  that  any  par- 
ticular factional  feeling  actuated  its  conduct  and 
in  fact  there  is  nothing  noteworthy  about  the 
session.  The  most  notable  business  of  legislation 
was  the  passing  of  a  bill  fixing  the  qualifications 
of  physicians,  the  first  law  of  the  kind  enacted  in 
Dakota  territory. 

Governor  Burbank's  message  contained  little 
beside  the  usual  common  generalities  character- 
istic of  the  times  and  such  papers  of  those  days, 
except  a  proposition  to  regulate  the  furnishing 
of  Indian  supplies  for  the  various  agencies  within 
the  territory  for  the  benefit  of  the  people  of 
the  territory.  He  thought  that  Dakota  could 
furnish  all  of  the  grain  and  live  stock  necessary 
for  the  purpose  and  thus  create  a  good  home 
market. 

During  the  month  of  December  the  Brules 
and  Poncas  got  into  a  quarrel  among  themselves 
which  resulted  in  a  scrimmage  in  which  three  of 
the  Brules  were  killed.  They  showed  no  hostility 
to  the  whites  and  the  military  was  not  involved  in 
the  trouble.  After  this  fight  they  seem  to  have 
settled  down,  with  no  other  disturbances,  for  the 
winter. 


CHAPTER  XLII 


RAILWAY  AGITATION   OF   1871. 


The  year  1871  opened  up  with  great  excite- 
ment over  the  prospective  building  of  a  railroad 
into  Dakota  territory.  It  is  somewhat  amusing 
at  this  late  day  to  read  some  of  the  various  argu- 
ments put  forth  at  that  date  to  prove  that  the 
coming  of  railroads  would  be  advantageous  to 
the  territory.  The  agitation  led  to  a  proposition 
from  the  Dakota  Southern  Railway  Company  to 
build  from  Sioux  City  to  Yankton  providing  cer- 
tain bonuses  were  granted  them  by  Union,  Clay 
and  Yankton  counties.  There  was  no  authority 
in  law  for  voting  bonds  to  aid  railroads  and  the 
agitation  culminated  in  a  proclamation,  issued  on 
March  30,  1871,  by  George  A.  Bachelder,  sec- 
retary and  acting  governor,  calling  a  special  ses- 
sion of  the  legislature  to  meet  on  April  iBth  to 
take  action  to  provide  the  territory  with  railroad 
facilities.  This  proclamation  was  issued  upon  a 
petition  signed  by  Nathan  Adams,  S.  L.  Spink, 
J.  M.  Stone,  W.  W.  Brookings,  J.  Shaw  Gre- 
gory and  George  \V.  Kingsbury,  who  were  the 
directors  of  the  Dakota  Southern  Railway.  Gov- 
ernor Burbank  was  at  that  time  absent  from  the 
territory,  but  when  he  returned,  two  or  three 
days  later,  he  at  once  telegraphed  to  Hamilton 
Fish,  secretary  of  the  interior,  asking  him  if  such 
a  special  session  was  authorized  and  could  be 
legally  held.  The  legislature  convened  in  special 
session  on  April  i8th.  Within  an  hour  or  two 
after  its  assemblage  a  telegraphic  dispatch  was 
received  from  the  secretary  of  the  interior,  Ham- 
ilton  Fish,  which  stated  that  the  attornev  gen- 


eral held  such  session  was  authorized.  The  legis- 
lature remained  in  session  from  Tuesday  until 
Friday  and  passed  a  conservative  bill  authorizing 
counties  to  vote  aid  to  railroads.  Just  as  they 
had  completed  the  session  a  corrected  dispatch 
was  handed  to  the  governor  from  Fish  saying 
that  the  attorney  general  held  such  a  session  was 
unauthorized.  An  uproar  followed  and  the  pro- 
moters of  the  railroad  were  accused  of  having 
manipulated  the  first  dispatch.  Investigation 
proved,  however,  that  the  mistake  was  made  by 
a  telegraph  agent  at  IMissouri  Valley,  Iowa, 
where  in  transferring  the  dispatch  to  the  Yank- 
ton line  he  had  omitted  the  letters  "un."  Not- 
withstanding the  illegality  of  the  action  of  the 
legislature,  the  railroad  promoters  proceeded 
under  the  assumed  authority  of  the  act  passed, 
trusting  in  congress  to  legalize  the  action,  and 
elections  were  called  in  each  of  the  counties  to 
vote  the  required  aid.  Union  and  Clay  county 
were  each  asked  for  sixty  thousand  dollars  and 
Yankton  county  for  the  vast  sum  of  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  but  in  consideration  of  this  aid 
Yankton  was  to  have  division  headquarters  and 
the  shops  of  the  company.  The  campaign  for 
the  bonds  was  vigorously  pushed  throughout  the 
summer.  The  papers  talked  of  little  else  and  all 
sorts  of  rumors  were  afloat  about  the  prospect  for 
the  immediate  completion  of  the  railroad.  On 
October  3d  Judge  Brookings  telegraphed  from 
Sioux  City,  "We  shall  have  a  railroad  in  Yank- 
ton in  twelve  months."    His  declaration  was  pro- 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


247 


phetic.  The  election  was  held  in  Yankton  county 
early  in  September  and  the  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars  of  bonds  were  almost  unanimously  voted, 
but  Vermillion  voted  down  the  proposition  to 
issue  sixty  thousand  dollars  worth  of  bonds  in 
aid  of  the  railroad  by  a  vote  of  six  hundred  one 
to  one  hundred  sixty-eight.  Union  county  ap- 
pears to  have  voted  no  aid,  but  the  citizens  of 
Elk  Point  did  make  up  a  fund  in  aid  of  the  rail- 
road. 

T.  M.  Wilkins,  secretary  of  the  territory,  to 
succeed  S.  L.  Spink,  never  was  able  to  stand  pros- 
perity and  it  became  necessary  to  remove  him 
from  office  after  about  one  year  of  service.  He 
was  succeeded  by  George  A.  Batchelder,  a  son- 
in-law  of  Hannibal  Hamlin,  and  it  is  the  uniform 
testimony  of  all  of  the  citizens  of  Yankton  that 
Mrs.  Batchelder  was  a  most  excellent  lady. 

General  Beadle  had  been  a  supporter  of  Dr. 
Burleigh  in  the  campaign  of  1870  and  after 
Moses  K.  Armstrong  took  his  seat  as  a  dele- 
gate in  congress  Beadle  was  removed  and  Lott 
Bayless,  of  Pennsylvania,  was  appointed  to  suc- 
ceed him. 

Crops  this  season  were  excellent,  immigra- 
tion very  satisfactory,  and  everyone  was  hopeful. 

On  Thursday,  August  13,  1871,  Judge 
Brookings,  in  the  district  court,  sentenced  Emiel 
Gallino  to  be  hung  on  November  7th  for  the 
murder  of  a  half-breed  named  Brogue,  at  Pease 
Island  on  June  7th.  This  was  the  first  capital 
sentence  ever  passed  in  Dakota  and  was  after- 
wards commuted  on  the  fith  of  September  of  that 
year. 

James  Xewman  was  mysteriously  drowned  in 
the  Missouri  river  at  Yankton,  probably  mur- 
dered for  a  sum  of  money  which  he  had  in  his 
l)ossession,  the  first  crime  of  this  nature  which 
had  occurred  in  that  community. 

On  the  20th  of  September  Mrs.  Batchelder 
was  visited  by  her  renowned  father  and  the  visit 
was  made  an  event  in  the  social  history  of  the 
territory.  A  reception  was  tendered  him,  to 
Avhich  there  was  an  extraordinary  attendance,  all 
vieing  with  each  other  to  do-  honor  to  the  dis- 
tinguished visitor. 


On  September  20,  1871,  there  appeared  in  the 
Yankton  Press  a  leading  editorial  written  by 
George  W.  Kingsbury,  suggesting  the  possibility 
of  securing  artesian  water  by  boring  at  Yankton. 
At  that  time  artesian  wells  were  being  ex- 
tensively experimented  with  all  over  the  United 
States  and  Mr.  Kingsbury  only  could  suggest 
that  if  artesian  water  could  be  obtained  else- 
where it  might  be  obtained  there  and  it  was  worth 
while  to  make  the  experiment.  This  was  the 
first  artesian  well  suggestion  made  in  Dakota  ter- 
ritory and  after  that  time  the  press  had  a  good 
deal  to  say  on  the  subject.  It  probably  may  be 
safely  assumed  that  Mr.  Kingsbury  is  entitled  to 
the  credit  of  being  the  first  agitator  for  artesian 
water. 

A  rather  remarkable  cause  of  excitement  oc- 
curred this  season.  Some  one  picked  up  in  the 
glacial  drift  near  Maxwell's  mills  on  the  James 
river,  about  thirty  miles  north  of  Yankton,  a 
brilliant.  Soon  after  several  garnets  were  found, 
which  led  to  the  conclusion  that  the  James  river 
valley  was  a  vast  diamond  field.  The  eastern 
papers  talked  with  the  ordinary  exaggeration 
about  it  and  several  expeditions  visited  the  valley 
for  the  purpose  of  exploring  the  extent  and  worth 
of  the  diamond  district.  It  may  as  well  be  stated 
here  as  elsewhere  that  the  entire  glacial  area  of 
eastern  Dakota  and  particularly  in  the  terminal 
moraines  all  yield  more  or  less  of  gold  and 
precious  stones.  Both  gold  and  precious  stones 
have  been  found  in  small  quantities  at  very  many 
points,  but  nowhere  in  a  quantity  to  justify  work- 
ing. The  fact  is  the  drift  was  brought  here  from 
a  long  distance  over  auriferous  sections  and  con- 
sequently only  small  quantities  of  the  precious 
metals  were  carried  along  with  the  ice.  It  is 
not  to  be  expected  that  anywhere  the  prairie  can 
contain  the  precious  stones  in  sufficient  quantities 
to  justify  working. 

In  the  fall  of  1871  a  prairie  fire  burned  out 
a  great  many  citizens  north  and  west  of  Yankton. 
It  was  particularly  hard  on  the  Bohemian  settlers 
who  came  in  1869  and  '70  and  who  had  not  yet 
become  sufficiently  advanced  in  their  new  homes 
to  be  fortified  against  such  a  calamity.    It  was  re- 


248 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


ported  that  the  fire  was  set  by  a  party  of  young 
Yankton  Indians  who  were  hunting  in  the 
vicinity.  \Vhen  tliis  report  came  to  old  Strike- 
the-Ree  at  the  Yankton  agency  he  was  deeply 
grieved  to  learn  that  his  people  were  held  re- 
sponsible for  the  calamity  which  had  befallen  his 
white  neighbors.  He  called  a  council  of  the  head 
riien  and  after  questioning  all  of  the  young  men 
who  had  been  away  from  home  he  became  con- 
vinced that  his  people  had  not  set  the  fire  :  how- 
ever he  was  extremel}-  anxious  to  show  his  good 
will,  so  he  gathered  up  from  among  the  Yank- 
tons  a  purse  of  one  hundred  dollars  and  carried 
the  same  to  agent  Webster,  saying  that  he  had 
come  to  deny  that  the  Yanktons  were  the  ones 
who  had  set  fire  to  the  prairies.  "But,"  he  con- 
tinued, "I  am  sorry  that  anyone  should  suffer 
and  so  I  wish  for  my  tribe  to  have  something 
sent  to  relieve  them.  I  am,  clothed  and  have 
something  to  eat.  I  want  the  money  sent  that 
they  may  have  food  and  to  show  that  I  feel  for 
them.  The  Yanktons  wish  to  be  good  neigh- 
l)ors."  And  he  wished  the  agent  to  receive  the 
money  he  had  brought  and  have  it  expended  for 
the  benefit  of  the  fire  sufferers.  This  unexpected 
generosity  of  the  Indians  was  characteristic  of 
old  Strike  and  his  memory  is  entitled  to  the  re- 
spect and  reverence  of  all  of  the  people  of  South 
Dakota.    He  never  failed  them  in  time  of  need. 

On  November  25th  a  terrible  blizzard,  coming 
almost  out  of  the  clear  sky,  overwhelmed  the 
northwest.  It  entailed  great  suffering  and  some 
loss  of  life,  but  the  Dakota  settlers  suffered  less 
from  it  than  did  their  neighbors  in  Minnesota. 

There  "was  no  legislature  and  very  little  of 
))olitics  in  this  year.  The  railroad  question  oc- 
cupied almost  the  entire  attention  of  the  public. 

At  this  date  there  were  five  Indian  agencies 
within  South  Dakota.  The  Yankton  agency  was 
under  the  charge  of  Major  S.  D.  Webster.  The 
several  drouths  and  grasshopper  years  preceding 
1870  had  discouraged  the  Indians  in  agriculture, 
Init  Major  Webster  encouraged  them  to  under- 
take farming  and  agriculture  this  year,  which 
they  carried  on  with  reasonable  success,  harvest- 
ing about  nine  thousand  bushels  of  wheat  besides 


their  other  crops.  There  were  three  schools  on 
this  reservation,  with  three  hundred  sixty-six 
regular  attendants. 

The  Crow  Creek  agency,  where  were  as- 
sembled the  lower  Yanktonaise,  and  also  the 
lower  Brule  agency,  directly  across  the  river  from 
it,  were  under  the  control  of  Dr.  Henry  F.  Liv- 
ingston. There  were  about  one  thousand  of  the 
Yanktonaise  and  fifteen  hundred  of  the  Brule. 
They  were  at  that  time  little  inclined  to  agri- 
cultural work  and  in  fact  the  restdts  of  their 
efforts  in  that  behalf  were  not  such  as  to  en- 
courage them  to  much  exertion.  The  Indians, 
particularly  the  Brules,  were  intractable  and  un- 
ruly and  required  the  presence  of  a  military  force 
to  keep  them  in  order. 

The  Grand  River  agency  was  under  the 
direction  of  J.  C.  O'Connor.  They  seem  to  have 
been  well  disposed  during  this  season  and,  under 
the  lead  of  the  well-known  John  Grass,  did  some 
farming,  growing  two  hundred  acres  of  corn, 
squash  and  pumpkins  which  yielded  a  most 
abundant  crop.  A  few  soldiers  only  were  re- 
quired to  preserve  order. 

On  the  1st  of  June  that  year  the  Whetstone 
agency  was  removed  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Whetstone  creek,  adjacent  to  the  Fort  Randall 
military  reservation,  back  onto  the  Big  White 
Clay  creek,  farther  up  the  White  river.  This  re- 
moval was  made  at  the  request  of  Spotted  Tail  to 
enable  him  to  better  protect  his  Indians  from  the 
extensive  liquor  traffic  carried  on  along  the  Mis- 
souri river.  They  had  but  one  school,  which  was 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Episcopal  church. 

The  Cheyenne  River  agency,  under  Theo.  M. 
Koues,  was  the  home  of  the  Two  Kettles  and  a 
portion  of  the  Minneconjou.  They  seem  to  have 
given  but  little  trouble  and  were  reasonably  in- 
dustrious, producing  a  good  crop  of  corn  and 
cutting  a  good  deal  of  hay.  There  were  six 
thousand  Indians  tributary  to  this  agency,  but 
some  of  them  roved  back  on  Cherry  creek  and 
never  came  in  to  the  agency.  The  agent 
recommended  to  the  department  that  his  agency 
he  removed  from  the  Cheyenne  down  to  Peoria 
I'ottom,  near  Pierre. 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


249 


The  Sisseton  agency  was  under  the  control  of 
Dr.  J.  W.  Daniels  and  he  reports  them  well  be- 
haved, industrious  and  reasonably  prosperous. 
They  raised  seven  hundred  twenty  acres  of 
wheat  that  year.  The  Good  Will  school  was  in 
its  first  year  under  the  charge  of  Prof.  Wyllys 
K.  Alorris,  a  member  of  the  Riggs  family,  and 
father  of  the  well-known   Harrv   S.   Morris,  of 


Sisseton,  and  was  a  success  from  the  beginning. 
In  addition  to  these  agencies  mentioned 
within  the  state,  the  Red  Cloud  agency,  located 
at  Fort  Crawford,  Nebraska,  was  a  rendezvous 
for  a  large  number  of  South  Dakota  Indians. 
Everywhere  the  Indians  were  inclined  to  accept 
the  treaty  of  1868  as  final  and  to  abide  by  its 
provisions. 


CHAPTER  XLIV 


SO:\IE   DE\^ELOPMEXTS    OF    187; 


The  year  of  1872  is  in  many  respects  a  notable 
one  in  the  history  of  Dakota  territory.  It  is  the 
year  of  the  first  railway ;  the  year  of  the  com- 
ing of  tlie  Hollanders ;  the  year  of  the  earth- 
quake :  the  year  of  the  founding  of  the  first  col- 
lege, and  the  year  of  the  great  ]Moody-Brook- 
ings  contest. 

This  remarkable  year  opened  with  the  death, 
on  January  5th.  of  Gen.  John  Blair  Smith  Todd, 
first  delegate  in  congress  and  for  several  years 
the  territory's  most  prominent  citizen. 

On  February  8th  the  President  removed  G.  A. 
Batchellor,  secretary  of  Dakota,  and  appointed  to 
the  positioM  Gen.  E.  S.  iNIcCook,  a  member  of 
the  celebrated  "Fighting  AlcCook"  family. 
General  McCook  arrived  at  the  capitol  on  March 
8th  and  next  day  assumed  the  office. 

In  April  of  this  year  the  postoffice  was  es- 
tablished at  .Scotland,  indicating  the  spread  of 
population  back  into  the  interior,  naturally  of 
course  keeping  near  the  James  river. 

Congress  had  legalized  the  railway  bond  act 
which  was  passed  at  the  special  session  of  the 
previous  year  and  railway  construction  from 
Sioux  City  was  undertaken  early  in  the  season. 
The  settlers  were  also  deeply  interested  to  learn 
that  the  Winona  &  St.  Peter  Railway  was  push- 
ing into  the  territory,  with  Lake  Kampeska  as 
its  objective  point,  and  hopes  for  a  general  boom 
which  would  at  once  convert  the  great  prairie 
wastes  into  a  prosperous  commonwealth  were 
indulged.  Little  could  the  hopeful  settlers  of  that 
day  anticipate  the  plan  of  Providence  to  test  and 


sift  the  people  who  were  to  become  the  stock 
from  which  the  permanent  population  was  to 
spring,  by  the  soul-trying  wager  of  fire,  frost, 
flood  and  drought,  which  should  save  to  the 
state  only  those  whom  the  most  unpropitious  con- 
ditions could  not  daunt.  It  was  God's  plan  that 
Dakota  should  not  be  peopled  by  any  race  of 
weaklings,  and  with  lash  of  hail  and  sting  of 
blizzard  and  bite  of  blistering  drought  he  drove 
out  the  fair  weather  faint  hearts,  preserving  his 
splendid  inheritance  in  the  new  land  for  the 
men  and  women  with  iron  in  their  blood  who  had 
the  courage  and  persistence  to  stick  it  out  until 
Providence  in  its  own  good  time  gave  them  their 
reward. 

The  Republican  territorial  convention  to 
nominate  a  delegate  for  congress  and  two  dele- 
gates to  the  national  Republican  convention  at 
Philadelphia  was  called  to  meet  in  Canton  on 
May  2 1  St.  The  fact  that  Canton,  a  town  far  up 
the  Sioux  river,  was  selected  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  this  convention  is  a  witness  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  two  or  three  preceding  years.  There 
were  fifty-six  delegates  provided  for  in  the  call. 

The  feeling  between  the  friends  of  Colonel 
IMoody  and  Judge  Brookings  was  intense  from 
the  outset,  and  the  moon  was  wading  through 
blood  long  before  the  nominating  convention  was . 
reached.  Half  of  the  counties  sent  contesting 
delegations.  At  this  distance  it  is  impossible  to 
discover  the  real  merits  of  the  situation.  From 
all  the  available  testimony  it  may  be  safely  con- 
cluded that  "purity  was  not  paramount"  in  either 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


camp.  The  "organization"  appeared  to  be  with 
Brookings.  The  inevitable  and  perrenial  fight 
over  the  power  of  the  central  committee  to  make 
up  a  roll  of  delegates  who  prima  facia  had  a 
right  to  participate  in  the  organization  of  the 
convention  was  the  splitting  point.  The  Brook- 
ings men  predominated  in  the  central  committee 
and  consequently  they  were  jubilant  over  their 


house  Colonel  Moody  was  nominated  for  con- 
gress and  J.  H.  Babcock,  of  Yankton,  and  Alex. 
Hughes,  of  Elk  Point,  were  sent  to  the  national 
convention.  At  Philadelphia  both  delegations 
were  admitted  with  half  a  vote  each,  the  conven- 
tion declining  to  attempt  to  settle  the  Dakota  fight 
so  far  from  the  scene  of  action.  The  county  dele- 
gations returned  from  Canton  with  a  feeling  of 


/?7 1. 


M.\P  SHOWING  COl'NTIES.    1S72 


enemies.  The  convention  was  called  to  meet  at 
Windsor's  drug  store  and  at  the  appointed  hour 
Brookings'  followers  assembled  there,  feeling  that 
they  had  the  organization  cinched,  when  they 
discovered  the  Moody  party  wending  its  way  to 
the  school  house.  Two  conventions  were  held, 
each  with  approximately  the  maximum  number 
of  delegates  in  their  seats.  At  Windsor's  Judge 
Brookings  was  nominated  for  congress  and  Judge 
Jefferson  P.  Kidder  and  Xye  E.  Phillips  were 
elected  delegates  to  Philadelphia.     At  the  school 


beligerancy  which  has  not  been  ]5aralleled  in 
another  Dakota  campaign. 

Of  the  old  established  newspapers,  the 
Dakotian  supported  Colonel  Moody  and  the  Press 
Judge  Brookings.  The  Dakota  Republican  was 
a  Brookings  paper  and  the  Elk  Joint  Courier  was 
lor  Moody.  Union  county  had  supported  Moody 
in  the  convention  without  a  contest. 

Early  in  July  -Alex  Hughes,  in  the  role  of 
peacemaker,  attempted  to  bring  about  a  settle- 
ment  of   the   difficulty   in    which   the   ]5arty   was 


252 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


involved  and  wrote  an  agreement  providing  that 
the  central  committee  should  call  a  new  conven- 
tion and  all  parties  should  abide  by  the  result. 
Judge  Brookings  put  his  name  to  this  agreement, 
but  when  it  was  presented  to  Colonel  Moody  he 
countered  with  a  proposition  that  the  old  conven- 
tion should  be  reconvened  and  that  it  should  be 
organized  by  the  uncontested  delegates,  who 
should  determine  the  merits  of  the  various  con- 
tests. This  would  have  placed  the  entire  propo- 
sition into  the  hands  of  the  friends  of  Colonel 
Moody  and  Brookings  would  not  accede  to  it ; 
so  the  effort  at  settlement  failed. 

The  Democratic  convention  was  held  on  July 
i8th  at  Bon  Homme.  Here  we  have  another 
testimony  to  the  geography  of  thirty  }'ears  ago. 
It  is  likely  that  many  intelligent  citizens  of  the 
state  who  count  themselves  old  residents  could 
not  locate  the  city  in  which  this  august  territorial 
convention  was  assembled.  Moses  K.  Armstrong 
was  renominated  without  opposition.  The  cam- 
paign was  prosecuted  with  the  utmost  vigor  and 
acrimony  until  election,  which  occurred  on  Oc- 
tober Sth.  Armstrong  was  re-elected,  receiving 
2.305  votes,  to  2,150  for  Brookings  and  1,507  for 
Moody.  The  next  day  came  the  earthquake.  It 
was  not  very  severe,  but  set  things  trembling  for 
a  short  time  to  the  great  alarm  of  the  timid  ones. 
It  was  felt  throughout  all  of  the  settled  portion 
of  the  territory  and  in  northern  Nebraska. 

At  the  middle  of  June  of  this  year  the  first  of 
the  Holland  immigrants  arrived  and  began  the 
settlement  in  Charles  Mix  county.  A  new  land 
office  vras  established  in  Yankton  in  July,  making 
three  in  the  territory,  one  at  Vermillion  and  the 
original  one  at  Springfield.  A  correspondent  of 
the  Yankton  Press  on  a  trip  up  the  James  river 
writes  of  "Old  Fort  James,  with  its  towering 
massive  walls."  We  have  not  elsewhere  found  a 
description  of  this  stronghold,  which  we  believe 
was  built  of  the  granite  native  to  the  Rockport 
locality,  but  it  is  probable  that  there  was  little  in 
the  abandoned  post  to  justify  the  impressive 
language  of  the  correspondent. 

On  July  31st  Yankton  Academy  was  or- 
ganized, with  Joseph  Ward,  president.  James  S. 


Foster,  secretary,  and  Josiah  R.  Sanborn,  treas- 
urer. The  board  of  trustees  consisted  of  James 
S.  Foster,  Joseph  Ward,  Josiah  R.  Sanborn, 
Franklin  J.  DeWitt,  J.  A.  Potter,  W.  H.  H. 
Beadle,  Newton  Edmunds  and  E.  P.  Wilcox. 
This  was  the  foundation  of  Yankton  College  and 
was  the  first  beginning  of  an  institution  for 
higher  learning  in  Dakota,  a  monument  to  the 
industry,  devotion  and  self  sacrifice  of  Joseph 
Ward.  Nathan  Ford  was  selected  principal  of 
the  academy  and  on  August  26th  he  organized 
the  first  classes  in  a  building  on  Second  street, 
between  Walnut  and  Douglas.  Work  upon  a 
permanent  building  for  the  academy  was  under- 
taken at  once  and  was  completed  that  fall  and  was 
duly  dedicated  with  great  eclat  on  the  evening  of 
January  i,  1873.  The  new  building  was  at  Sixth 
and  Walnut,  where  the  high  school  now  stands. 

Even  the  political  convulsions  of  the  year  did 
not  affect  the  railroad  boom  and  on  October  23d 
the  construction  train  reached  Elk  Point  and 
on  November  25th  it  was  at  Vermillion.  Yank- 
ton made  every  preparation  to  give  it  a  grand 
reception  by  New  Year,  but  the  inclemency  of  the 
weather  prevented  its  completion  for  some  weeks. 
This  railroad  was  distinctly  a  Dakota  project 
and  under  all  of  the  conditions  its  projectors  de- 
serve great  credit.  Judge  Brookings  appears  to 
have  been  the  most  active  among  its  promotors. 
The  first  board  of  directors  were  J.  M.  Stone, 
W.  W.  Brookings,  Joseph  R.  Hanson,  Newton 
Edmunds,  Downer  T.  Bramble,  George  Whet- 
more  and  W.  A.  Burleigh,  with  Stone  president 
and  Hanson  secretary.  The  board  for  1871-2, 
the  year  the  road  was  built,  consisted  of  Brook- 
ings, Stone,  Burleigh,  \\nietmore.  Bramble  and 
a  Mr.  Weston,  who  was  the  superintendent. 
Judge  Brookings  was  the  president,  and  Hanson 
continued  as  secretary. 

In  the  fall  of  1872  the  Winona  &  St.  Peter 
division  of  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Rail- 
way was  completed  to  Gary,  on  the  state  line  in 
Deuel  county,  and  the  grading  completed  to  Lake 
Kampeska,  to  which  point  the  iron  was  laid  the 
following  spring.  The  road  was  not  operated, 
however,  until  si.x  vears  later. 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


253 


The  Dell  City  (Rapids)  Journal  was  es- 
tablished in  February  of  this  year  by  J.  C.  Ervin 
and  the  Sioux  Valley  News  of  Canton  made  its 
appearance  in  July. 

The  Sioux  Falls  Pantagraph  was  established 
in  February,  1872,  by  William  F.  Kiter  and  the 
Sioux  A^alley  News  at  Canton  made  its  first  ap- 
pearance in  July,  which,  with  the  Springfield 
Times  and  the  Dell  City  (Rapids)  Journal,  which 
were  established  the  previous  year,  made  a  total 
of  eight  newspapers  in  the  territory  at  the  end 
of  1872. 

During  this  year  Levi  Hain  and  John  Head 
made  the  first  settlement  in  Davison  county  at 
Firesteel. 

On  September  27th  Laban  H.  Litchfield, 
L'nited  States  marshal,  died  at  Yankton.  Mr. 
Litchfield  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Dakota 
and  had  served  as  marshal  since  1865. 

This  was  the  year  of  the  great  epizootic  which 
swept  the  country,  a  sort  of  influenza  which  at- 
tacked the  horses,  weakening  them  very  seriously 
and  incapacitating  them  for  work.  It  is  said  not 
a  horse  in  Dakota  escaped.  It  was  of  short 
duration,  but  caused  great  inconvenience  and 
alarm  while  it  lasted.  The  animals  wholly  re- 
covered from  its  effects. 

The  tenth  session  of  the  legislature  convened 
in  December.  The  legislative  campaign  preced- 
ing the  election  was  onlv  second  in  excitement  to 


the  congressional  fight.  The  new  settlements  had 
introduced  new  elements  into  territorial  politics. 
Richard  F.  Pettigrew  had  already  become  a 
political  factor.  A  legislative  district,  comprising 
the  entire  Sioux  valley,  including  Turner  county, 
had  been  organized  and  Moody  and  Brookings 
tickets  had  been  placed  in  nomination.  The  dis- 
trict had  six  members  of  the  house  and  a  council- 
man. Senator  Pettigrew  was  a  house  candidate 
on  the  Moody  ticket.  The  ticket  upon  which 
Mr.  Pettigrew  ran  received  a  majority  of  the 
votes  upon  the  face  of  the  returns,  and  was  given 
the  certificate  of  election.  This  majority  was 
predicated  upon  the  vote  from  Deuel,  then  un- 
organized. The  railroad  was  built  into  Gary  that 
fall,  and  Mr.  Pettigrew  had  secured  a  large  vote 
from  the  railway  builders,  who  were  not  legal 
citizens  of  the  state.  There  was  not  a  single 
qualified  citizen  of  Deuel  county  at  that  date. 
The  Brookings  candidates  contested  the  election 
and  were  successful  in  securing  the  seats,  but 
later  in  the  session,  the  votes  of  the  Pettigrew 
men  being  considered  necessary  to  carry  a  meas- 
ure, the  Brookings  men  were  thrown  out  and  the 
Pettigrew  party  re-admitted,  but  as  soon  as  their 
votes  had  been  duly  recorded  for  the  particular 
measure  the}'  were  again  bounced  and  the  Brook- 
ings delegation  restored.  The  entire  session 
was  occupied  with  petty  politics  and  undignified 
conduct. 


CHAPTER  LXV 


OCCURRENCES  OF  1873— THE  ^IcCOOK-WINTER.AIUTE  AFFAIR. 


The  spring  of  1873  opened  up  unusually  early 
and  before  the  first  of  April  seeding  was  well  in 
progress  and  for  some  weeks  the  most  delightful 
weather  prevailed. 

The  war  department  had  determined  to  open 
a  post  on  the  upper  ^Missouri  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  crossing  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railway  and 
had  detailed  the  Seventh  Cavalry,  General  George 
A.  Custer,  for  the  duty  of  locating  and  building 
its  post  as  well  as  for  general  scouting  services 
among  the  plains  Indians.  On  the  20th  of  April 
the  General  and  his  command  arrived  by  rail- 
way at  Yankton,  and  disembarking  established  a 
military  camp  on  the  flat  just  northeast  of  the 
city.  It  was  late  when  they  arrived  and  they 
hastily  made  preparation  for  their  first  night.  At 
midnight  there  came  down  upon  them  one  of  the 
most  terrific  springtime  storms  in  the  history  of 
Dakota — a  most  impenetrable  blizzard,  driven  by 
a  fierce  wind,  created  great  suffering  in  the  camp. 
General  Custer  was  accompanied  by  his  wife, 
sister  and  some  female  servants  and  they  had 
taken  quarters  in  an  open,  tumble-down  shanty 
adjoining  the  camp.  The  storm  continued  for 
thirty-six  hours  without  abatement  and  but  for 
the  heroic  efforts  of  the  citizens  of  Yankton,  who 
carried  supplies  to  them,  the  results  might  have 
been  even  more  serious  than  they  were.  Mrs. 
Custer,  in  her  excellent  book  "Boots  and  Sad- 
dles." devotes  two  chapters  to  the  experiences  in 
this  camp.  The  people  of  Yankton  exerted  them- 
selves for  the  comfort  of  the  General  and  his 
command  during  the  storm  and  afterwards  enter- 


tained them  royally.  They  remained  in  Yankton 
for  three  weeks  or  more  before  advancing  up  the 
river  upon  that  enterprise  which  three  years  later 
resulted  in  the  complete  annihilation  of  the  com- 
mand at  the  battle  of  Little  Big  Horn. 

There  were  no  politics  this  year,  the  harvest 
was  abundant  and  the  people  generally  prosper- 
ous and  contented. 

In  Yankton  and  Yankton  county,  however, 
there  was  great  dissatisfaction  over  the  conduct 
of  the  Dakota  Southern  Railway  Company  in  its 
failure  to  establish  shops  and  do  other  things 
consistent  with  its  contract  with  the  citizens 
through  which  they  had  been  given  the  bonus  of 
two  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  bonds  in  Yank- 
ton county,  and  there  was  open  talk  of  repudia- 
tion. 

For  several  years,  beginning  about  1870,  there 
had  been  constantly  increasing  friction  between 
the  two  ends  of  the  town  known  as  the  Broad- 
way faction  at  the  west  and  the  Capitol  street 
faction  at  the  east.  These  streets  are  four  blocks 
apart  and  the  rivalry  between  them  was  intense. 
It  was  contended  by  the  Broadway  faction  that 
the  contract  of  the  Dakota  Southern  Railway  re- 
quired that  the  terminus  of  that  line  should  be 
upon  Broadway,  whereas  the  builders  had  stopped 
construction  and  erected  their  depot  at  Capitol 
street.  This  feeling  and  disagreement  resulted 
in  the  calling  of  a  mass  meeting  to  be  held  in 
Morrison's  hall  on  the  corner  of  Capitol  and 
Third  streets  on  the  evening  of  Septemlier  11, 
1873.     Almost  the  entire  male  population  of  the 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


255 


capital  city  were  congregated  at  that  time  and 
place.  Among  the  partisans  of  the  Broadway 
faction  was  Peter  P.  Wintermute,  a  young  man, 
a  banker  by  profession.  General  Ed.  S.  McCook, 
secretary  of  the  territory,  had  come  to  be  deemed 
an  adherent  of  the  Capitol  street  faction.  When 
the  meeting  was  called  to  order  McCook  was  not 
present,  but  Wintermute  took  an  active  interest 
in  the  organization  and  through  his  activity  se- 
cured the  election  of  Governor  Newton  Edmunds, 
who  resided  on  Broadway,  as  chairman  of  the 
meeting.  Shortly  after  the  meeting  was  or- 
ganized Wintermute  stepped  out  and  into  the 
saloon  in  the  basement  of  the  St.  Charles  to  pur- 
chase a  cigar.  There  he  met  McCook  and,  find- 
ing that  he  had  no  change  in  his  pocket,  asked 
McCook  for  the  loan  of  a  coin.  McCook 
answered  him  irritably,  refusing  the  loan,  where- 
upon Wintermute  declared  he  had  been  insulted 
and  threatened  to  punish  the  big  secretary.  Win- 
termute himself  weighed  about  one  hundred 
thirty-five  pounds  ;  McCook.  a  born  fighter,  about 
tv,-o  himdred  pounds.  Some  words  followed  in 
which  Wintermute  threatened  to  shoot  the  sec- 
retary and  shook  his  fist  in  his  face,  if  he  did  not 
strike  him.  McCook,  losing  control  of  himself, 
took  hold  of  the  little  fellow  and  threw  him  to 
the  floor,  striking  his  head  against  a  pitcher, 
Avhich  was  broken  by  the  contact,  and  then  catch- 
ing him  by  the  head  bumped  his  head  upon  the 
floor  several  times  and  wiped  it  in  the  filth  ac- 
cumulated before  the  bar.  Wintermute  arose 
from  this  brawl  frantic  with  rage.  He  was  an 
exceedingly  fastidious  man  and,  passing  into 
the  hotel  wash  room,  cleansed  his  person  and 
then  returned  to  the  hall  where  the  meeting  was 
in  progress.  As  he  entered  the  hall  he  met  Billy 
Powers  in  the  door,  called  attention  to  the 
bruised  and  bleeding  condition  of  his  face  and 
declared  that  he  would  shoot  McCook  on  sight. 
Intense  feeling  had  been  engendered  in  the  public 
meeting.  Hot  words  had  passed  among  leading 
citizens.  Burleigh,  Moody,  Brookings  and  Spink 
were  engaged  in  a  violent  war  of  words  and 
general  disorder  prevailed.  In  the  midst  of  this 
\\'intermute  arose  to  a  point  of  order  and  asked 
if  the  meeting  was  to  be  broken  up  by  rowdyism. 


He  then  called  attention  to  his  own  bruised  con- 
dition and  remarked  that  General  McCook  had 
just  "whipped  him  out  of  his  boots"  and  made 
further  allusion  to  the  Capitol  street  methods. 
He  then  sat  down  where  he  could  watch  the  en- 
trance to  the  room.  A  moment  later  General  Mc- 
Cook, accompanied  by  Charles  Rossteucher,  ap- 
peared in  the  doorway.  Wintermute  arose,  drew 
a  revolver  from  his  pocket,  and  stepping  forward 
began  to  fire  at  the  General.  His  first  shot, 
however,  did  not  take  eflfect.  Rossteucher  and 
McCook  rushed  forward  to  wrest  the  revolver 
from  Wintermute's  grasp.  Three  other  shots 
were  fired.  McCook  threw  himself  upon  Winter- 
mute, crushing  him  to  the  floor.  In  doing  so 
they  knocked  over  the  stove,  which  fell  upon 
them.  Ageneral  melee  followed.  There  was  a 
panic  in  the  hall  and  the  weaker  and  more  timid 
made  a  rush  for  shelter,  while  the  more  coura- 
geous tried  to  separate  the  assailants  and  prevent 
further  bloodshed.  Peter  Hackney,  in  trying  to 
wrest  the  revolver  from  the  two  men,  for  Win- 
termute had  it  by  the  handle  and  McCook  had 
grasped  it  b}-  the  barrel,  was  shot  through  the 
hand.  Major  Hanson  set  his  knee  upon  Winter- 
mute's  hands  and  succeeded  in  wresting  the  re- 
volver from  the  men.  McCook  then  caught  Win- 
termute, rushed  him  across  the  hall  and  at- 
tempted to  throw  him  from  the  window,  but  his 
strength  failed,  and  he  was  himself  carried  out 
into  another  room  of  the  hotel.  He  was  im- 
mediately examined  by  Drs.  Burleigh  and  Moore, 
who  informed  him  that  his  wounds  were  fatal. 
"I  am  not  afraid  to  die."  he  said;  "the  McCooks 
die  game,"  and  asked  to  have  his  wife  and  boy 
sent  for.  They  were  at  once  brought  to  his  bed- 
side and  he  talked  with  them  freely,  advising 
them  of  the  fatal  character  of  his  wounds,  and 
giving  them  directions  in  relation  to  his  affairs, 
and  advice  for  their  future  course.  He  lingered 
until  the  next  day.  when  death  came  to  his  relief. 
Winternuite  was  promptly  arrested  by  Charles 
Rossteucher,  who  was  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and 
guarded  in  his  own  home,  there  being  much  talk 
of  violence.  At  the  October  term  of  the  court. 
Judge  Barnes  presiding,  he  was  indicted  for 
manslaughter  and  the  trial  set  for  an  adjourned 


256 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


term  in  Januar_v,  in  the  meantime  being  released 
on  fifty  thousand  dollars  bonds,  which  he 
furnished.  No  event  in  the  entire  history  of  the 
territory  produced  so  pronounced  a  sensation  as 
this.  The  high  standing  of  the  parties,  the  fac- 
tional fight  in  the  city  and  the  general  political 
situation  in  the  territory  made  it  an  affair  of 
much  more  than  local  interest. 

It  may  as  well  be  stated  here  as  elsewhere  that 
the  indictment  for  manslaughter  was  quashed  at 
the  adjourned  term  in  the  winter,  but  he  was  re- 
indicted at  the  April  term  for  murder,  his  trial 
beginning  on  the  nth  of  May,  1874,  and  con- 
tinuing for  more  than  three  weeks.  He  was 
prosecuted  by  Phil.  K.  Faulk,  county  attorney  of 
Yankton  county,  assisted  by  George  H.  Hand  and 
Jason  Brown,  and  was  defended  by  Moody  and 
Cramer,  Bartlett  Tripp,  William  Tripp  and 
Leonard  Sweet,  of  Chicago.  He  was  convicted 
of  manslaughter  in  the  first  degree,  appealed  the 
case  to  the  supreme  court  where  it  was  reversed, 
a  change  of  venue  granted  to  Clay  county,  where 
he  was  again  tried  and  finally  acquitted.  Oscar 
Whitney,  the  father-in-law  of  General  McCook, 
was  appointed  the  secretary  of  the  territory  to 
fill  out  the  unexpired  term. 

In  1873  word  came  to  the  Dakota  settlements 
that  a  large  colony  of  Russian  Mennonites  were 
looking  for  a  place  to  locate  in  America,  and 
James  S.  Foster,  then  commissioner  of  immigra- 
tion, with  creditable  energy,  set  about  to  secure 
communication  with  them.  The  Russians,  how- 
ever fell  into  the  hands  of  the  land-grant  rail- 
ways and  they  were  hustled  about  from  point  to 
point  by  the  officers  of  these  roads  and  kept  en- 
tirely away  from  the  commissioners  of  immigra- 
tion in  those  localities  having  free  public  lands, 
and  their  representatives  returned  to  Europe, 
having  kept  entirely  out  of  the  reach  of  Mr. 
Foster.  He,  however,  kept  his  eyes  open  and 
securing  information  of  the  arrival  of  immigrants 
for  a  location  in  Kansas  he  intercepted  them  at 
Elkhart,  Indiana,  and  influenced  them  to  stop 
there  and  send  three  of  their  representative  men 
into  South  Dakota  to  examine  the  free  lands  here. 
Three  of  the  commission  came  up.  were  satisfied, 
and  went  back,  making  a  satisfactory  report,  and 


j  so  came  about  the  settlement  of  Mennonites  on 

[  the  James  river  and  in  Bon  Homme  county.    The 

I   German   Russians   also   made   their   preliminary 

1  plant  in  South  Dakota  this  year. 

I  On  the  23d  of  November  a  great  prairie  fire 
started    in    the    meadows    of   the    Missouri    and 

[  James  rivers  and  was  driven  by  a  terrific  wind  in 
the  direction  of  Vermillion.  The  citizens  felt  that 
the   salvation   of  the  town   was  impossible   and 

j  loaded  as  many  of  their  movables  as  possible  upon 
a  train  of  the  Southern  Dakota,  which  was  for- 
tunately standing  at  the  depot,  and  prepared  to 

I  leave  before  the  flames.  But  providentially  the 
wind  fell  as  the  fire  reached  the  Vermillion  river 
and  they  were,  by  heroic  efforts,  able  to  prevent 
its  crossing  that  stream. 

I  Governor  Burbank  had  succeeded  in  making 
himself   exceedingly  unpopular   in   Dakota.      In 

I  fact  he  was  left  almost  entirely  without  a  con- 
stituency.    Something  of  the  feeling  against  him 

I  may  be  noted  from  the  following  remark  of  the 
Press  and  Dakotaian.  The  Sioux  City  Journal 
had  cited  the  fact  that  Governor  Burbank  had 
gone  to  Hot  Springs,  Arkansas,  and  suggested 
that  it  apparently  was  not  necessary  for  the  gov- 
ernor to  go  south  for  a  warmer  climate  as  it 
certainly  was  hot  enough  for  him  in  Dakota.  To 
this  suggestion  the  Press  and  Dakotaian  said. 
"If  things  are  disagreeable  for  our  governor  here 
no  one  is  to  blame  for  it  but  himself.  No ,  ex- 
ecutive officer  should  pervert  his  office  to  per- 
sonal ends  and  should  not  expect  to  find  things 
to  his  taste  unless  he  likes  it  hot."  Governor 
Burbank  was  a  brother-in-law  of  Oliver  P.  I\Ior- 
ton  and  made  much  of  his  pull  through  this  re- 
lationship. Burbank  Station,  in  Union  county, 
was  nicknamed  "Morton's  brother-in-law."  a 
name  which  clung  to  it  for  man}-  )-ears.  The 
people  made  it  so  disagreeable  for  the  Governor 
that  he  sent  in  his  resignation  in  November  and 
the  Dakotans  immediately  united  in  recommend- 
ing Judge  Shannon  to  be  appointed  to  the 
vacancy,  but  before  their  recommendation  had 
reached  Washington  John  L.  Pennington,  of 
Alabama,  received  the  appointment. 

On    November   20th    the   proprietors    of   the 
Yankton     Press    bought    the    Dakotaian     from 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


257 


Arthur  Linn  and  the  merger  was  thereafter 
known  as  the  Press  and  Dakotaian.  George  W. 
Kingsbury  was  the  business  manager,  while  Col- 
onel E.  M.  Brown,  father  of  the  well-known  W. 
C.  Brown,  of  Hurley,  and  of  Mrs.  Linn,  of 
Canton,  became  the  editor  in  chief. 

Li  the  autumn  of  this  year  the  granger  move- 
ment ran  like  wildfire  among  the  farmers  of  the 
territory  and  in  a  brief  period  more  than  fifty 
granges  were  organized.  N.  J.  Wallace,  a  well 
known  lawyer-farmer  of  that  period,  became 
master  of  the  "state  grange,"  as  it  was  called, 
and  shortly  afterwards  a  state  newspaper  organ 
known  as  the  "Dakota  Gleaner"  was  established 
at  Elk  Point  to  represent  the  principles  of  the  [ 
grangers,  the  first  class  paper  to  be  published  in 
South  Dakota. 

With  the  fall  of  1873  the  burning  of  anthra- 
cite coal  was  tried  as  an  experiment  in  the  Dakota 
towns.  The  Press  and  Dakotaian  devoted  a  full 
column  to  the  topic  and  announced  with  great 
pride  that  it  had  supplied  its  office  with  an  an- 
thracite base  burner  with  windows  in  it. 

The  first  eleven  months  of  the  operation  of 
the  Dakota  Southern  Railway  was  most  satis- 
factory. The  total  earnings  were  one  hundred 
sixty-two  thousand  dollars,  while  the  total  cost  of 
running  was  less  than  eighty  thousand  dollars. 
More  than  a  half  million  bushels  of  wheat  were 
shipped  to  market  out  of  Dakota  territory. 
Puft'ed  up  by  their  prosperity,  the  directors  of  the 
railway    company    announced    that    they    would 


place  "a  smoking  car  on  their  regular  passenger 
train  for  the  accommodation  of  their  patrons." 

The  Indians  seemed  to  be  peaceful  this  year 
and  made  good  progress  in  their  relations  with 
their  white  neighbors.  The  Sissetons  are  re- 
ported by  their  agent  to  have  been  prosperous,  to 
have  received  good  returns  from  their  labor,  and 
to  have  given  up  many  of  their  old  tribal  customs. 
Under  date  of  September  20,  the  agent  says,  "All 
are  now  working  industriously,  cutting  and  haul- 
ing their  hay,  repairing  up  their  houses  and  barns 
for  the  winter  during  the  week  and  resting  on 
the  Sabbath,  and  the  large  majority  regularly  at- 
tending religious  worship  on  the  Sabbath  day." 
"In  view  of  this  state  of  things  at  this  agency,  we 
mav  well  exclaim,  'Behold  what  God  hath 
wrought.'  "  Of  the  outpost  at  Flandreau,  Agent 
Adams  denominates  "that  noble  band  of  natives, 
who,  through  faith,  have  escaped  the  pollutions 
and  thralldom  of  tribal  and  annuity  arrange- 
ments, and  are  struggling  against  poverty  and 
want  with  a  heroism  and  zeal  truly  commend- 
able." The  agency  for  the  Uncpapas  was  re- 
moved in  June  of  this  year  from  its  location  at 
the  mouth  of  Grand  river  to  Standing  Rock,  in 
North  Dakota,  though  a  very  large  percentage  of 
these  people  still  continued  to  reside  within  the 
portion  of  the  reservation  within  South  Dakota. 
The  reports  from  the  other  agents,  including 
reports  from  Crow  Creek  and  Yankton  agencies, 
are  all  favorable,  but  recite  no  circumstances  of 
particular  interest. 


CHAPTER  XLVI 


CUSTER  DISCOVERS  GOLD  IN  THE  BLACK  HILLS. 


The  year  1874  opened  under  most  hopeful 
conditions.  The  excellent  crops  of  the  previous 
year,  the  great  success  of  the  railroad,  and  pros- 
pect that  it  would  be  at  once  extended  up  both 
the  Missouri  and  Sioux  valleys,  and  the  flocking 
in  of  the  new  immigrants,  filled  the  people  with 
the  belief  that  at  last  the  reward  for  which  they 
had  so  long  struggled  had  come  to  them  and 
that  for  the  future  the  way  was  clear. 

The  scandalous  proceedings  of  the  previous 
campaign  as  well  as  in  the  legislative  session  of 
1872-3  had  disgusted  the  sober  and  decent  better 
element  and  they  resolved  that  such  conditions 
should  not  longer  prevail,  and  early  in  the  spring 
a  movement  was  undertaken  looking  to  decency 
in  politics  and  public  affairs.  A  harmonious  un- 
derstanding was  brought  about  betweeiv  the  ter- 
ritorial central  committees  representing  the 
Moody  and  Brookings  factions  of  the  Republican 
party  and  a  single  convention  was  called  to  meet 
at  Elk  Point  on  July  i6th.  The  committee  ac- 
companied the  call  for  the  convention  with  an 
address  to  the  Republican  voters  counseling  con- 
servative and  dignified  action,  and  the  result  was, 
that  when  the  convention  met  there  was  not  a 
single  contesting  delegation  in  the  body  and 
Judge  Kidder  was  nominated  delegate  to  con- 
gress without  opposition. 

The  Democratic  convention  met  at  Elk  Point 
on  the  27th  of  August.  .\t  the  same  time  and 
place  an  anti-monopoly  convention,  growing  out 
of  the  granger  movement,  also  convened.  Dr. 
Burleigh  was  the  choice  of  the  anti-monopolists 


and  by  skillful  management  the  Democratic  con- 
vention was  also  won  over  to  him,  against  Father 
Turner,  who  had  a  majority  of  its  votes  at  one 
time,  but  was  defeated  under  a  two-thirds  rule. 
After  Turner  had  failed,  Burleigh's  friends  pro- 
posed to  endorse  him  and,  abrogating  the  two- 
thirds  rule,  nominated  Burleigh  by  a  majority. 
There  was  strong  protest  from  many  old-line 
Democrats  and,  though  Dr.  Burleigh  accepted 
the  dual  nomination  and  entered  upon  the  cam- 
paign, it  soon  became  manifest  that  he  could  not 
have  the  support  of  any  considerable  number  of 
the  Democrats,  while  the  Republican  grangers 
adhered  to  Judge  Kidder's  support.  Burleigh 
therefore,  on  September  8th,  formally  declined  to 
continue  in  the  race  and  a  mass  convention  was 
called  at  A'ermillion  on  September  19th.  At  this 
convention  Burleigh  was  again  nominated  amid 
great  enthusiasm  and  again  accepted,  but  after 
a  day  or  two  finally  withdrew  his  candidacy  and 
the  Democrats  adopted  Moses  K.  Armstrong  and 
his  name  was  published  as  the  candidate  and 
printed  upon  the  ticket.  As  early  as  June  i8th 
Armstrong,  then  serving  as  delegate,  had  pub- 
lished a  card  declining  a  renomination  and  when 
the  aimouncement  of  his  candidacy  was  made 
in  September  he  published  another  card  stating 
that  if  the  party  wished  to  vote  for  him  he  had  no 
objections ;  that  the  people  knew  his  record  and 
he  would  stand  upon  it,  but  that  he  should  not 
attempt  to  make  a  campaign.  The  election  natur- 
ally resulted  in  a  fair  majority  for  Judge  Kidder, 
though,  all  circumstances  considered,  Armstrong 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


received  a  surprisingly  large  vote,  carrying 
several  of  the  most  populous  counties.  The  gran- 
ger movement  seems  to  have  cut  little  figure 
politically  in  Dakota  that  year. 

The  trial  of  Wintennute  came  on  at  Yank- 
ton on  the  nth  of  Alay  and  resulted  in  his  con- 
viction for  manslaughter.  He  was  sentenced  to 
ten  years  in  the  penitentiary,  but  appealed  the 
case  and  was  released  on  bond. 

The  railroad  had  given  Yankton  a  great  im- 
pulse. It  at  once  became  the  initial  depot  for 
the  entire  upper  river  steamboat  traffic,  at  this 
period  very  extensive  and  emplo\ing  more  than 
twenty  boats.  There  was  much  building.  Gov- 
ernor Pennington,  departing  from  the  traditions 
of  his  predecessors,  except  Edmunds,  made  con- 
siderable investments  of  money  and  erected  the 
large  block  at  the  corner  of  Third  and  Douglas 
streets  which  still  bears  his  name. 

On  the  14th  of  June,  this  year,  R.  E.  Pierce, 
of  Sioux  City,  shot  a  large  buflfalo  bull  on  the 
headwaters  of  the  Brule,  not  far  from  the  present 
town  of  Alcester ;  this  was  the  last  of  the  buffalo 
in  the  lower  Missouri  country. 

In  August  the  grasshoppers  in  countless 
hordes  swept  down  upon  the  almost  matured  crop 
and  in  some  sections  utterly  destroyed  it.  The 
alarm  was  general  and  Governor  Pennington, 
taking  official  notice  of  it,  traveled  over  the  entire 
settled  portion  of  the  territory  to  learn  the  real 
condition.  The  new  settlements  in  the  upper 
Sioux  valley  seem  to  have  got  the  worst  of  it. 
The  governor's  report  was  reassuring.  He  esti- 
mated that  the  territory  would  produce  three 
million  three  hundred  thousand  bushels  of  wheat, 
which,  after  providing  for  the  home  consumption, 
would  leave  two  million  bushels  for  export.  Still 
the  crop  was  not  evenly  distributed  and  there  was 
real  hardship  in  some  localities.  Minnehaha 
county  was  especially  hard  pressed  and  the  citi- 
zens found  it  necessary  to  appeal  to  the  public 
for  relief.  Col.  Thomas  H.  Brown  went  east  and 
secured  a  sufficient  amount  of  clothing  and  food 
and  about  six  hundred  dollars  in  cash,  which 
bridged  the  people  over  and  but  few  gave  up 
their  homesteads. 

During   the   same   month   there    was   one   of 


those  senseless  Indian  scares  which  periodically 
alarmed  the  frontier,  and,  as  usual,  when  the  ex- 
citement was  over  it  was  difficult  to  tell  what  it 
had  all  been  about.  The  air  seemed  to  be  filled 
with  the  terror  while  it  lasted  and  few  settlers, 
however  remote,  seemed  to  escape  its  influence. 
All  along  from  Sioux  City  up  to  the  ]\Iinnesota 
frontier  the  alarm  spread  and  many  homesteaders 
packed  up  their  effects  and  started  for  havens 
of  safety.  It  was  said  that  the  farmer  Indians 
at  Flandreau  had  taken  to  the  war  path,  that  the 
always  peaceable  Sissetons  had  become:  hostile, 
and  that  the  Mis.souri  river  tribes  were  sweeping 
down  upon  the  settlements.  The  fact  seems  to  be 
that  a  small  band  of  horse-stealing  Uncpapas 
from  the  Grand  river  country  did  make  a  raid 
upon  Fort  Wadsworth  and  stampeded  and  es- 
caped with  a  few  horses.  There  was  no  other 
ground  for  the  scare  and  long  before  the  settlers 
heard  of  any  disturbance  whatever  the  disturbers 
were  safely  ensconced  in  their  tepees,  west  of  the 
Missouri. 

The  government,  anticipating  the  spread  of 
population  along  the  prairie  streams  and  lakes, 
established  mail  routes  all  over  Dakota  this  sea- 
son and  a  preliminary  survey  of  the  James  river, 
with  a  view  to  its  navigation  by  small  steamers, 
was  undertaken.  The  survey  was  entrusted  to 
Captain  Ainsworth,  who  did  little  except  to  pass 
up  the  river  to  the  vicinity  of  IMitchell  in  a  canoe 
and  upon  his  return  made  a  report  of  his  ob- 
i  servations,  in  which  he  declared  the  navigation 
of  the  stream  in  small  flat-bottomed  steamers 
practicable. 

Xow  and  again  we  get  a  glimpse  of  the 
primitive  customs  still  obtaining  among  the 
Dakotans  of  that  period  and  of  the  devices  to 
which  by  necessity  they  were  compelled  to  resort ; 
for  instance,  the  Methodists  at  Elk  Point,  in  lieu 
of  a  church  bell,  which  they  could  not  afford, 
had  a  triangle,  made  by  a  blacksmith,  with  which 
they  called  the  flock  to  worship,  and  at  Spring- 
field a  loud-voiced  trumpet  was  used  for  the  same 
purpose. 

Armstrong  county  was  organized  in  August, 
with  the  county  seat  at  ^Maxwell's  Mills  on  the 
James. 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


As  soon  as  horses  could  live  by  grazing,  in 
the  spring  of  1874  General  Custer  set  out  from 
the  new  post,  Abraham  Lincoln,  to  make  a  re- 
connoisance  in  force  in  the  Black  Hills  country. 
In  addition  to  the  Seventh  Cavalry,  he  had  two 
companies  of  infantry  and  a  large  force  of  white 
and  Indian  scouts,  teamsters,  etc.,  in  addition  to 
several  scientific  men  and  practical  miners. 
Though  ostensibly  going  to  establish  a  road  and 
locate  posts  on  a  line  connecting  Lincoln  with 
Laramie,  it  was  the  real  intention  of  the  govern- 
ment to  determine  once  for  all  if  the  long- 
established  belief  of  gold  mines  in  the  Hills  had 
a  real  foundation  in  fact.  The  expedition  moved 
without  noteworthy  incident  across  north  of  the 
Hills  with  Inyan  Kara  as  its  objective.  The  first 
South  Dakota  description  of  interest  in  the  re- 
port is  the  account  of  the  Belle  Fourche  valley, 
contained  in  General  Custer's  official  report  to 
the  assistant  adjutant  general  department  of 
Dakota,  at  St.  Paul,  to  whom  all  of  his  reports 
of  this  expedition  were  made.  He  says :  "Every 
step  of  the  way  (through  Belle  Fourche  valley) 
was  amid  flowers  of  the  most  exquisite  color  and 
perfume  and  so  luxuriant  in  growth  that  the  men 
plucked  them  from  the  saddle.  It  was  a  strange 
sight  to  glance  back  at  the  advancing  columns  of 
cavalry  and  behold  the  men  with  beautiful  bo- 
quets  in  their  hands,  while  the  headgear  of  the 
horses  was  decorated  with  wreaths  of  flowers  fit 
to  adorn  a  queen  of  May.  General  Forsythe 
plucked  seventeen  different  varieties  of  beautiful 
flowers  within  an  area  of  twenty  feet.  That  even- 
ing at  mess,  some  one  called  attention  to  the 
carpet  of  flowers  under  our  feet  and  I  found  I 
could  pluck  seven  varieties  without  leaving  my 
seat."' 

Passing  from  Inyan  Kara  down  the  western 
side  of  the  Flills.  the  expedition  finally  cut  across 
to  Harney  Peak,  where  it  arrived  about  the  first 
of  August  and  then  moved  into  Custer  park.  On 
the  evening  of  August  2d,  William  F.  McKay 
(the  same  Billy  McKay  who  cut  a  figure  in  the 
previous  legislature  as  a  contestant  for  the  legis- 
lative seat  from  Buffalo  county),  who  accom- 
panied the  expedition  as  a  gold  expert,  took  a  pan 
and  going  down  to  French  creek  shoveled  it  full 


of  gravel  from  the  bed  of  the  stream ;  he  washed 
it  out  and  found  about  two  cents  worth  of  dust 
in  the  bottom.  He  took  another  pan  out  about 
twenty  feet  further  down  the  stream  and  found 
three  'cents  worth  of  dust  in  it.  He  carried  the 
results  into  General  Custer  and  General  Forsythe 
and  he  says  in  his  journal  that  they  were  two 
as  pleased  generals  as  he  ever  saw  in  his  life. 

General  Custer  at  once  reported  the  find  to 
the  assistant  adjutant  general  at  St.  Paul  by  a 
special  courier  by  way  of  Bismarck,  and  a  few 
days  later  the  world  was  on  fire  with  the  Black 
Hills  gold  excitement. 

"I  have  on  my  table,"  said  General  Custer,  in 
his  dispatch  of  the  2d  of  August,  sent  from  the 
camp  of  French  creek,  "forty  or  fifty  small  par- 
ticles of  gold  in  size  averaging  a  small  pin  head, 
arid  most  of  it  obtained  from  one  pan,"  Again  on 
the  15th,  when  the  expedition  had  arrived  at  Bear 
Butte  and  was  leaving  the  hills,  he  wrote,  "In  a 
former  dispatch  I  referred  to  the  discovery  of 
gold.  Subsequent  examinations  at  numerous 
points  confirm  and  strengthen  the  existence  of 
gold  in  the  Black  Hills,  On  some  of  the  water 
courses  gold  was  found  in  almost  every  panful 
of  earth,  in  small  but  paying  quantities.  The 
miners  report  that  they  found  the  gold  in  the 
grass  roots  and  from  the  surface  to  the  greatest 
depth  reached.  It  has  not  required  an  expert  to 
find  gold  in  the  Black  Hills,  as  men  without  for- 
mer experience  have  found  it."  The  expedition 
returned  to  Bismarck  (Lincoln)  without  coUision 
with  the  Indians.  It  has  frequently  been  stated 
by  writers  upon  the  Black  Hills  that  there  was 
nothing  in  the  dispatches  of  Custer  to  justify  the 
gold  excitement  which  followed  their  publication, 
but  it  would  appear  from  the  foregoing  extracts 
that  nothing  could  have  been  better  calculated  to 
inflame  the  public  mind,  for  every  one  reasoned 
that  an  official  dispatch  would  take  the  most  con- 
servative view  and  the  best  was  not  revealed.  On 
August  13th  the  news  of  the  dispatch  of  the  2d 
reached  Yankton  and  that  town,  which  had  been 
the  headquarters  of  at  least  three  abortive  at- 
tempts to  send  expeditions  to  the  hills,  felt  that 
its  opportunity  had  at  last  come.  Two  pre- 
dominating motives   for  action   were  conceived. 


1 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Many  of  the  adventurous  ones  wished  to  go  at 
once  into  the  Hills  and  be  first  on  the  ground  to 
profit  by  the  gold  discoveries,  while  the  substan- 
tial business  men  could  see  the  opportunity  to 
make  Yankton  the  gateway  to  the  diggings, 
which  were  sure  to  attract  immense  immigration 
at  once.  A  great  mass  meeting  was  assembled 
that  evening  to  discuss  the  situation  and  all  the 
leading  citizens  took  part.  It  was  shrewdly  ar- 
gued in  response  to  the  objection  that  the 
Hills  were  embraced  within  the  reservation 
and  therefore  not  accessible  to  white  men, 
tnat  Uncle  Sam  would  not  have  sent  an 
expedition  to  prospect  the  hills  and  have  of- 
ficially proclaimed  the  existence  of  rich  deposits 
there,  if  the  government  did  not  propose  to  pro- 
tect miners  who  should  follow  the  example  of 
the  military  and  enter  the  hills  to  dig  gold.  It 
was  therefore  resolved  at  this  meeting  to  or- 
ganize an  expedition  of  from  three  to  five 
hundred  men  and  get  them  off  for  the  hills  at 
once,  over  the  "Yankton  route,"  which  was  to  be 
by  way  of  steamboat  to  Fort  Pierre  and  thence 
overland  to  the  hills.  Also  to  immediately  ex- 
tensively advertise  to  the  world  the  superiority 
of  the  Yankton  route  to  the  hills  over  any  other 
which  could  be  taken.  In  glowing  terms  the 
all-rail  route  to  Yankton  was  pictured,  a  trip  on 
a  palatial  steamer  up  the  Missouri  river,  whence 
a  pleasant  little  jaunt  of  three  days  over  the  de- 
lightful Dakota  prairies  would  land  the  argonaut 
in  the  Eldorado  of  his  dreams.  Sioux  City  was 
also  moving  in  the  same  line  and  advocating  the 
Niobrara  route,  while  the  irrepressible  Charles 
Collins,  who  already  had  a  considerable  plant  on 
the  Missouri  river  opposite  the  mouth  of  White 
river,  was  engaged  upon  his  own  account,  and 
more  successfully  than  any  other  agency,  in  pro- 
moting Black  Hills  expeditions  by  way  of  Brule 
City.  Everything  moved  along  in  the  most  en- 
couraging way  until  August  27th,  when  General 
Sheridan,  in  command  of  the  department  of  the 
Northwest,  issued  his  famous  order  to  General 
Terry,  in  command  of  the  department  of  Dakota  : 
"Should  companies  now  organizing  at  Sioux  City 
and  Yankton  trespass  upon  the  Sioux  reservation, 
you  arc  herebv  directed  to  use  the  force  at  vour 


command  to  burn  their  wagon  trains,  destroy 
the  outfits  and  arrest  the  leaders,  confining  them 
at  the  nearest  military  post  in  the  Indian  country. 
Should  they  succeed  in  reaching  the  interior  you 
are  directed  to  send  such  force  of  cavalry  after 
them  as  will  accomplish  the  purposes  above 
named." 

The  receipt  of  the  above  order  in  Yankton 
precipitated  an  incipient  rebellion.  In  a  moment 
all  of  their  mighty  hopes  were  dashed  ;  the  dream 
of  gold  and  of  the  building  of  a  mighty  city  at 
the  threshold  of  the  diggings  were  to  be  dis- 
solved ;  boomers,  promoters  and  argonauts  alike 
understood  this,  but  it  was  not  to  be  done  without 
a  protest:  A  mass  meeting,  that  mighty  and  often 
invoked  instrument  of  the  capital  city,  was  as- 
sembled and  was  presided  over  by  A.  M.  English, 
who  was  one  of  the  most  active  among  the  pros- 
pective argonauts,  and  after  relieving  the  public 
mind  of  Yankton  by  fulminating  against  the 
tyranny  of  the  military,  the  matter  was  settled 
by  the  adoption  of  the  following  resolution : 
"Resolved.  That  we  shall  exercise  our  rights  as 
American  citizens,  to  go  and  come  when  and 
where  we  please,  without  asking  the  consent  of 
General  Sheridan  or  any  other  military  chief- 
tain." 

Then  the  good  people  of  the  law-abiding  capi- 
tal went  about  their  affairs  and  awaited  the  course 
of  events.  Just  as  they  were  becoming  reconciled 
to  the  inevitable,  however,  Richard  Mathieson, 
now  of  Fort  Pierre,  a  Yankton  boy  who  had  ac- 
companied Custer  into  the  Hills,  returned  home 
and  the  tales  he  brought  of  the  wealth  of  the 
diggings  again  set  the  boys  wild  and  a  small 
party  determined  to  take  all  of  the  chances  and 
undertake  to  get  into  the  Hills.  They  slipped 
quietly  awa}'  and  were  making  their  course  up 
the  Niobrara  when  they  found  themselves  beset 
by  a  hostile  band  of  Brules  and  one  of  the  party, 
John  \V.  Lowe,  was  shot  and  killed  and  two 
others  wounded.  They  at  once  returned  to  the 
settlements  and  this  ended  all  attempt  to  enter 
the  Hills  by  South  Dakotans  in  1874. 

Charley  Collins,  however,  could  not  be  re- 
pressed by  so  slight  an  impediment  as  the  military 
power  of  the  United  States.     He  had  opened  a 


262 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


recruiting  office  in  Chicago,  and  upon  the  issuing 
of  the  Sheridan  order  he  had  closed  this  and  re- 
turned to  Sioux  City  where  he  caused  a  dispatch 
to  be  sent  out  to  the  associated  press  papers  that, 
owing  to  the  hostiHty  of  the  military,  the  Collins 
expedition  had  been  abandoned,  but  in  fact  he 
never  gave  up  but  continued  to  recruit  and  by 
the  6th  of  October  saw  a  party  consisting  of 
twenty-six  men.  one  woman  and  a  nine-year-old 
boy  prepared  to  start.  They  had  six  canvas- 
covered  wagons,  drawn  by  two  pair  of  oxen  to 
the  wagon,  and  five  saddle  horses.  They  were 
ostensibly  bound  for  O'Xiell.  where  they  repre- 
sented they  were  going  to  homestead  lands. 
They  were  well  supplied  with  provisions.  Col- 
lins, who  was  the  publisher  of  the  Sioux  City 
Times,  did  not  accompany  the  party.  Those 
who  did  go  were  Captain  Tom  Russell,  Lyman 
Lamb,  Eaf  Whitcher,  Angus  McDonald,  (Red) 
Dan  McDonald  and  (Black)  Dan  McDonald, 
James  Dempster,  James  Powers,  J.  J.  Williams. 
Thomas  Quiner.  John  Gordon,  J.  W.  Brockett, 
Xewton  \\'arren.  H.  Bishop,  Charles  Long, 
Charles  Cordeiro,  Moses  Aarons.  R.  Whitney, 
Harry  Cooper,  David  Aken,  John  Boyle,  Charles 
Blackwell,  Thomas  McLaren,  Henry  Thomas, 
David  G.  Tallent  and  IMrs.  Annie  D.  Tallent  and 
Robert  E.  Tallent.  wife  and  son  of  David.  Mrs. 
Tallent  afterward  became  the  historian  of  the  en- 
terprise and  of  the  Black  Hills. 

The  expedition  was  under  the  direction  of 
Captain  Russell,  the  business  partner  of  Charley 
Collins,  and  was  guided  b}-  John  Gordon,  who 
had  some  previous  knowledge  of  the  country,  and 
it  is  generally  spoken  of  as  the  Gordon  expedi- 
tion. 

It  is  now  a  little  difficult  to  determine  the 
exact  line  of  travel.  They  appear  to  have  passed 
up  the  valley  of  the  Keya  Paha  to  its  head  and, 
crossing  the  White  through  the  Bad  Lands, 
passed  the  headwaters  of  the  Bad,  or  Teton,  and 
reached  the  Cheyenne  at  the  mouth  of  Elk  creek. 
When  at  the  headwaters  of  the  Teton,  Moses 
Aarons  died  and  was  buried  in  a  coffin  made  of 
hewed  timbers  fastened  together  with  wooden 
pins.     His   death   occurred  on  the  27th   dav  of 


November.  1874.  He  was  a  well  liked  young 
man  of  thirty-two  years. 

On  the  3d  of  December,  at  the  crossing  of 
the  Cheyenne,  they  were  visited  by  five  Cheyenne 
Indians  who  were  friendly  and  made  no  effort  to 
detain  them.  They  did  not  see  a  Sioux  Indian 
upon  the  entire  trip.  On  the  9th  of  December 
they  reached  the  Hills  at  a  point  four  miles  south 
of  Sturgis.  They  had  followed  up  Elk  creek, 
which  had  carried  them  much  farther  north  than 
they  desired  to  go.  Here  they  struck  the  trail 
left  by  the  Custer  expedition  of  the  previous 
August  which  the}-  followed  back  through  the 
magnificent  scenery  of  the  hills  to  a  point  on 
French  creek,  two  and  a  half  miles  below  the 
present  village  of  Custer,  where  they  arrived  on 
December  23d  and  set  about  to  get  ready  for 
Christmas. 

They  at  once  began  to  construct  a  stockade 
which  would  protect  them  from  the  wild  beasts 
and  possibly  prowling  Indians.  Pine  timber  was 
plentiful  and  in  a  few  days  they  were  comfortably 
located.  The  stockade  was  eighty  feet  square 
and  the  posts  were  ten  feet  out  of  the  ground. 
Bastions  were  built  at  each  corner  and  within 
seven  comfortable  cabins  were  erected.  By  the 
first  of  the  year  the  enterprising  miners  were 
prepared  to  begin  prospecting  for  the  shining 
metal  which  had  tempted  them  to  defy  the  mili- 
tary, and  with  great  hardship  enter  upoai  the 
lands  of  the  savage  Sioux  who  unquestionably 
would  resent  the  trespass  at  the  first  information 
of  it. 

At  the  election  in  October  A.  S.  Jones,  of 
Olivet,  was  chosen  territorial  auditor,  John 
Clementson,  of  Union  county,  treasurer.  Rev. 
J.  J.  Mclntyre.  of  Turner  county,  superintendent- 
of  public  instruction,  and  Fred  J.  Cross,  of  Sioux 
Falls,  immigration  commissioner. 

Oscar  Whitney,  who  had  been  appointed  to 
fill  out  the  unexpired  term  of  his  son-in-law, 
Edward  S.  McCook,  was  an  elderly  gentleman, 
lacking  in  executive  abilit}'  and  as  the  position  of 
acting  governor  frequently  devolved  upon  him  it 
was  felt  by  citizens  and  the  government  as  well 
th.at  it  was  ur.wise  to  continue  him  in  the  position. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


263 


Nevertheless  it  was  not  desired  to  humiliate  him 
with  a  dismissal.  Finally  a  happy  solution  of 
the  -difficulty  was  thought  out.  George  H.  Hand 
was  then  register  of  the  land  office.  Wheeler  S. 
Bowen  thus  describes  the  arrangement :  "Because 
of  the  bitter  factional  feeling  following  the 
sanguinary  death  of  Colonel  [NlcCook  it  soon  be- 
came evident  that  the  appointment  of  Colonel 
Whitney  as  his  .successor  was  a  serious  mistake. 
He  was  a  man  of  advanced  years,  of  a  nervous 
temperament,  affectionately  devoted  to  the  cause 
which  had  brought  death  and  suffering  to  liis 
family  and  he  was  unable  to  separate  himself 
in  his  official  capacity  from  the  prejudices  en- 
gendered by  the  anguish  of  his  loved  ones.  Out 
of  this  condition  came  the  conclusion  of  the 
general  government  to  transfer  Mr.  Hand  from 
tb.e  land  office  to  the  position  of  territorial  sec- 
retary and  to  bestow  upon  Colonel  Whitney  the 
])lace  occupied  by  Mr.  Hand,  that  of  register  of 
the  Yankton  land  office." 

The  legislature  was  almost  wholly  Republi- 
can. John  L.  Jolley  was  chosen  president  of  the 
council  and  Gideon  C.  JMoody  speaker  of  the 
house.  Governor  Pennington's  message  to  this 
legislature  was  the  most  practical  yet  produced 
by  any  of  the  territorial  governors,  being  notice- 
ably free  from  the  platitudes  and  generalities 
which  had  characterized  those  of  his  predecessors 
and,  while  more  lengthy  than  any  which  had  gone 
before,  it  was  replete  with  practical  suggestions 
and  definite  recommendations  for  the  considera- 
tion of  the  legislature. 

In  this  session  Gen.  Alark  W.  Sheafe,  now 
of  Watertown  but  then  a  resident  of  Elk  Point, 
made  his  first  appearance  in  Dakota  politics. 

Our  friend  Billy  ^IcKay  (William  T.  Mc- 
Kay), who,  the  previous  August,  had  won  world- 
wide fame  as  the  discoverer  of  gold  in  the  Black 
Hills,  again  appeared  in  this  session  with  a  con- 
test on  his  hands.  He  claimed  the  election  to  the 
house  from  the  fifth  district,  popularly  spoken  of 
as  the  Bismarck  precinct,  which  extended  from 
Charles  Mix  county  to  Fort  Buford,  and 
his  right  to  the  seat  was  contested  by  Edmund 
Hackett.  The  record  does  not  reveal  that  there 
was  anything  ])articularly  corrujit  in  the  election 


but  there  was  much  irregularity.  Wherever  there 
was  a  considerable  body  of  voters  assembled 
there  was  an  election  held  and  returns  made,  some 
times  without  complying  with  the  formalities  of 
law,  and  it  was  a  difficult  proposition  to  determine 
the  exact  merits  of  the  case.  It  will  be  recalled 
that  Billy,  along  with  Jim  Somers  and  other 
up-river  characters,  had  been  indicted  for  the 
hanging  of  Hartert  in  Charles  Mix  county 
several  years  before.  His  political  enemies 
deemed  their  case  safer  with  Billy  under  lock  and 
key  than  with  him  running  at  large,  so  they  again 
secured  his  arrest  for  his  complicity  in  the 
Hartert  murder  and  he  was  committed  to  the 
Yankton  jail.  The  house,  though  there  was  daily 
a  motion  for  that  purpose,  steadily  refused  to 
excuse  him  from  attendance  upon  that  meeting, 
and  Speaker  Moody  ordered  him  brought  in  daily 
in  custody  of  the  sheriff.  The  case  dragged  along 
until  when  the  end  of  the  session  drew  near  it 
was  finally  decided  in  his  favor.  On  the  7th  of 
January,  the  day  upon  which  he  was  finally 
seated,  Billy  was  turned  over  to  the  custody  of  the 
sheriii'  of  Bon  Homme  county,  who  immediately 
released  him.  He  was  active  in  the  Black  Hills 
movement  during  the  succeeding  summer  and 
tlien  dropped  out  of  sight. 

President  Jolley  of  the  council  tendered  his 
resignation  on  the  28th  day  of  December,  but 
the  council  refused  to  accept  it  and  he  continued 
to  preside. 

On  the  13th  day  of  January  Hon.  Ole  Bot- 
tolfson  died  at  his  home  at  Meckling.  l\Ir.  Bot- 
lolfson  had  served  in  the  legislature,  as  judge  of 
probate  and  as  treasurer  of  Clay  countv  and  was 
one  of  the  most  active  of  the  Scandinavian  ])io- 
neers.  He  came  into  the  territory  on  the  loth 
day  of  August,  1859.  He  was  a  man  of  great  in- 
telligence, sound  judgment  and  rugged  honestv 
and  had  strongly  impressed  himself  upon  the 
people  of  the  territory. 

On  February  27th  Xorman  Bruce  Campbell, 
the  only  son  of  General  Charles  T.  Campbell,  of 
Scotland,  a  young  man  in  his  twenty-second 
year,  died  at  the  family  homo  at  Scotland.  He 
had  been  a  member  of  the  previous  legislature 
and    Camjibell    county   was   named    in  his  honor. 


264 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


He  was  a  young  man  of  strong  character,  pos- 
sessing many  of  the  rugged  virtues  which  had 
distinguished  his  father  and  had  won  a  large 
measure  of  pubhc  esteem. 

During  the  spring  of  this  year  sixty  famihes, 
known  as  the  Army  and  Navy  Colony,  settled  at 
Rockport  in  Hanson  county.  They  came  from 
the  vicinity  of  Chicago  and  among  them  were 
manv  families  who  have  been  distinguished  in 
tlie  history  of  Dakota. 


The  Dakota  Freie  Presse  was  established  in 
March,  1874,  the  first  German  newspaper  in 
Dakota.  At  that  time  there  were  thirteen  news- 
papers in  the  territory  among  which  were  the 
Press  and  Dakotaian  and  Dakota  Herald  at 
Yankton,  the  Courier  at  Elk  Point,  the  Register 
and  Dakota  Republican  at  Vermillion,  the  Sioux 
Falls  Independent  and  Sioux  Falls  Pantagraph 
at  Sioux  Falls,  and  the  Sioux  Valley  News  at 
Canton. 


CHAPTER  XLVI 


r875— A  YEAR  OF  SENSATIONS. 


The  legislature  continued  in  session  until  the 
14th  day  of  January  and  accomplished  some 
startling  legislation.  A  bill  was  passed,  intro- 
duced by  Hon.  A.  L.  Van  Osdel,  repudiating  the 
payment  of  the  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  in 
bonds  issued  by  Yankton  county  in  behalf  of  the 
Southern  Dakota  Railroad.  This  bill  was  vetoed 
by  Governor  Pennington,  who  accompanied  his 
veto  with  a  message  which  severely  rebuked  the 
legislature  for  its  attempt  at  repudiation.  An 
attempt  to  pass  the  bill  over  the  Governor's  veto 
failed  by  one  vote,  though  it  was  ably  cham- 
pioned by  Colonel  Moody,  Mr.  Van  Osdel  and 
the  entire  Yankton  county  delegation.  In  this 
action  the  Yankton  county  delegation  had  the 
cordial  support  of  practically  the  entire  popula- 
tion of  the  county  who  felt  that  the  railroad 
company  had  failed  to  meet  its  obligations  and  to 
carry  out  the  provisions  of  the  contract  upon 
which  the  bonds  were  based.  This  may  be  called 
the  first  sensation  of  the  sensational  year. 

The  legal  rate  of  interest,  which  up  to  this 
time  had  been  eighteen  per  cent.,  was  reduced  to 
twelve  per  cent. 

An  effort  was  made  in  this  legislature  to  se- 
cure an  appropriation  for  the  establishment  and 
maintenance  of  the  territorial  university  at  Ver- 
million, but  it  failed. 

An  attempt  was  made  to  repeal  the  herd  law, 
and  it  excites  a  smile  to-day  to  observe  that  forty- 
five  of  the  thrifty  farmers  of  Union  county 
joined  in  a  protest  against  its  repeal,  declaring 


pathetically,  "If  this  law  is  repealed  we  cannot 
sow  any  grain.'' 

Despite  the  loss  of  crops  by  grasshoppers  the 
previous  year,  there  was  an  excellent  immigra- 
tion and  the  legislature  was  fully  alive  to  the 
necessity  for  active  promotion  of  immigration  to 
Dakota's  fertile  lands.  A  comprehensive  immi- 
gration law  was  passed  and,  in  addition  to  Com- 
missioner Cross,  three  district  commissioners 
were  appointed  and  ample  provision  made  for 
an  active  campaign  to  secure  settlement.  These 
three  commissioners  elected  by  the  legislature 
were  J.  M.  Wall,  \"ale  P.  Thielman  and  S.  G. 
Roberts. 

A  bill,  introduced  by  Mark  W.  Sheafe,  pro- 
viding that  the  conveyance  of  a  homestead  should 
be  absolutely  invalid  unless  the  wife  joined  in 
the  conveyance,  was  passed  with  a  considerable 
modification  in  the  house.  Shortly  after  the  close 
of  the  session  Hon.  S.  L.  Spink  was  checking  up 
his  volume  of  the  statutes  by  the  enactments  of 
the  recent  legislature  when  he  discovered  that 
one  section  of  the  new  homestead  law  repealed 
the  personal  property  exemption  law  of  1862, 
and  as  he  interpreted  it,  left  the  settlers  without 
any  personal  property  exemption  whatever.  He 
at  once  called  public  attention  to  this  repeal  and 
it  is  probable  that  no  other  event  in  the  history 
of  Dakota  territory  created  such  a  sensation  as 
did  this.  Everybody  was  in  debt  and  the  repeal 
of  the  exemption  law  exposed  all  of  their  prop- 
erty to  execution  sale.     An  indigiiation  meeting 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


assembled  and  was  addressed  by  many  of  the 
leading  citizens  of  the  territory.  Spink,  Brook- 
ings, Bartlett  Tripp,  Beadle,  Hand,  Burleigh 
and  others  made  exciting  talks  upon  the  subject. 
Dr.  Burleigh  expressed  the  sense  of  the  meeting 
when  he  said,  "To  get  up  some  morning  and 
find  that  several  of  Dakota's  counties  had  been 
suddenly  swallowed  up  by  an  earthquake  would 
be  of  but  passing  consequence  to  me  when  com- 
pared to  the  surprise  and  indignation  occasioned 
by  the  discovery  of  the  passage  of  this  bill  repeal- 
ing the  personal  property  exemptions."  An  ex- 
amination of  the  subject  developed  the  fact  that 
Mr.  Sheafe's  bill,  as  originally  introduced,  con- 
tained but  three  short  sections  providing  specific- 
ally that  the  wife  must  join  in  the  conveyance  of 
the  homestead.  That  in  its  passage  through  the 
house  the  bill  was  amended  and  re-drafted  by 
Colonel  Moody,  who  extended  it  into  nineteen 
sections,  defining  a  homestead  and  prescribing 
the  method  by  which  it  could  be  claimed  and  ex- 
empted from  execution.  One  of  the  last  of  these 
sections  provided  that  a  section  of  the  exemption 
law  of  1862  should-  be  repealed.  The  public 
at  once  jumped  to  the  conclusion  that  there  was  a 
conspiracy  between  Moody,  Sheafe,  Jolley  and 
others  to  deprive  the  people  of  their  exemption 
rights  in  the  interest  of  the  money  sharks,  and 
after  the  public  meeting  had  abused  them  to 
their  heart's  content  the  excited  crowd  went  out 
and  hung  ]\Ioody,  Sheafe  and  Jolley  in  effigy. 

Colonel  Moody,  in  an  extended  argument, 
which  was  published  in  the  Press  and  Dakotaian, 
held  that  the  law  of  1862  had  been  enlarged  upon 
by  a  law  in  1866,  which  was  whole  and  complete 
in  itself,  and  therefore  the  exemption  law  was 
not  repealed  nor  in  any  wise  affected,  but  no  one 
of  the  other  lawyers  agreed  with  him. 

The  meeting  above  referred  to  sent  Governor 
Pennington  posthaste  to  Washington  to  secure 
a  revocation  of  the  act  of  the  legislature  by  con- 
gress. He  left  Yankton  on  the  morning  of  the 
i6th  of  February  and  on  the  26th  day  of  Febru- 
ary was  able  to  telegraph  from  the  national  capi- 
tal that  the  revocation  had  passed  both  houses  of 
congress.  The  incident,  however,  had  spread 
concern  and  perturbation  thmughout  the  territory 


and  indignation  meetings  were  held  in  almost 
every  precinct.  Even  for  weeks  after  congress 
had  revoked  the  bungling  clause  reports  came 
in  from  outlying  precincts  of  violent  demon- 
strations against  the  so-called  perpetrators  of  the 
outrage. 

At  this  distance  it  appears  that  no  one  was 
wilfully  blameworthy  in  the  matter,  though 
doubtless  the  repeal  of  the  law  of  1862  did  carry 
with  it  the  repeal  of  the  amendments  made  in 
1866.  On  this  proposition,  however,  lawyers 
still  differ.  It  is  hard  npw  to  comprehend  fully 
how  vital  the  exemption  law  was  to  the  debt- 
ridden  settlers  of  thirty  years  ago.  In  fact  the 
very  existence  of  many  of  them  depended  upon 
it,  and  it  would  have  been  a  courageous  man  in- 
deed who  should  knowingly  have  voted  for  this 
abrogation.  But  with  the  political  bitterness 
which  existed  at  that  time  it  is  not  surprising 
that  the  action  of  Colonel  Moody  in  the  matter, 
for  upon  him  finally  all  of  the  blame  centered, 
should  have  been  regarded  with  great  suspicion. 

Notwithstanding  the  proud  boast  which  had 
been  made  throughout  the  previous  season  that 
Dakota  was  but  little  hurt  by  the  grasshoppers 
and  that  the  people  could  take  care  of  themselves 
and  still  have  a  million  bushels  of  grain  to  export 
by  the  beginning  of  the  new  year,  it  became  ap- 
parent that  thousands  of  the  scattered  settlers 
were  in  dire  destitution.  The  first  public  recog- 
nition of  this  condition  came  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Southern  Dakota  Relief  Society,  who 
emphatically  declared  that  territorial  pride  and 
moral  heroism  had  thus  far  kept  the  people  from 
making  their  necessities  known,  but  that  actual 
starvation  was  staring  many  in  the  face  and  that 
only  through  the  generosity  of  the  public  could 
they  subsist  themselves  until  another  harvest.  By 
the  22d  of  January  the  necessity  had  become  so 
apparent  that  Governor  Pennington  was  com-  . 
pelled  to  make  an  urgent  appeal  to  the  general 
public  for  aid.  A  territorial  relief  association 
was  formed  of  which  ex-Governor  Edmunds 
was  made  chaimian,  and  a  systematic  canvass 
for  assistance  and  a  careful  and  systematic  dis- 
tribution of  the  contributions  to  the  needy  was 
insured.     General   Beadle   was  conunissioned   to 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


267 


go  east  and  collect  such  amounts  as  he  could. 
He  made  a  trip  through  the  eastern  country  and 
secured  three  thousand  six  hundred  dollars  in 
cash.  The  National  Grange  sent  nine  hundred 
dollars  to  the  Dakota  Grange,  and  Colonel 
Thomas  H.  Brown,  of  Sioux  Falls,  secured 
something  more  than  five  hundred  dollars.  In 
addition  to  this,  large  donations  of  clothing  and 
food  supplies  were  sent  in  and  distributed  among 
the  needy,  so  that  no  one  was  reduced  to  starva- 
tion. Lincoln  county  voted  five  hundred  dollars 
out  of  the  public  treasury  for  the  needy  of  that 
county  and  the  general  government  issued  much 
clothing  and  military  rations  to  the  people.  No 
locality  was  able  to  maintain  itself  independent  of 
these  benefactions.  Bon  Homme,  Yankton, 
Clay,  Union,  Turner,  Hanson,  Lincoln,  Minne- 
haha, all  of  the  great  wealthy  communities,  were 
dependent  upon  public  charity  in  this  awful 
crisis. 

On  the  13th  of  January,  1874,  Vermilion, 
then  largely  located  on  the  bottom  under  the  hill, 
suffered  a  seventy-thousand-dollar  fire,  destroy- 
ing the  ten  principal  business  buildings  of  the 
town.  Among  the  sufferers  were  Prentis  & 
Newton,  bankers ;  Thompson  &  Lewis,  John  L. 
Jolley's  law  office,  Robinson's  abstract  office, 
Hanson's  furniture  store,  the  Dakota  Republican 
and  the  Clay  County  Register,  Gunderson's 
store.  Dr.  Burdick's  office  and  other  minor  insti- 
tutions. The  office  of  the  county  treasurer  and 
judge  of  probate  was  burned,  destroying  the 
records,  and  two  thousand  seven  hundred  dol- 
lars of  school  money  was  burned  u]).  In  conse- 
quence there  were  no  schools  in  Clay  county  the 
succeeding  year. 

C.  H.  True,  editor  of  the  Dakota  Republican, 
had  for  several  months  been  a  sufferer  from  con- 
sumption and  the  excitement  and  exertion  occa- 
sioned by  the  fire  resulted  in  his  death  three  days 
later.  ;\Jr  True  was  one  of  the  ablest  of  the  pio- 
neer Dakotans.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Bowdoin 
College,  1838,  was  afterward  professor  of  lan- 
guages in  Westbrook  Seminary,  later  editor  of 
the  New  York  Times.  He  was  private  secretary 
to  Governor  Coburn,  the  war  governor  of  Maine, 
after   which   he   purchased   and    was   editor  and 


publisher  of  the  Portland  Advertiser,  which 
property  he  lost  through  a  fire,  and  this  loss  in- 
duced him  to  immigrate  to  Dakota  in  1868,  when 
he  became  the  editor  of  the  Dakota  Republican. 
He  was  a  genial,  benevolent  gentleman,  true  as 
steel  to  his  friends,  forgiving  to  his  enemies  and 
an  ornament  to  his  profession,  and  his  death 
occasioned  a  loss  long  felt  in  the  Missouri  val- 
ley. He  was  succeeded  as  editor  of  the  Dakota 
Republican  by  Dr.  F.  W.  Burdick. 

On  the  4th  day  of  February,  1874,  the  su- 
preme court  granted  to  Peter  P.  Wintermute, 
convicted  of  the  murder  of  the  territorial  secre- 
tary. General  Edward  S.  McCook,  a  new  trial 
on  the  ground  of  an  error  of  the  trial  court  in  not 
allowing  Wintermute's  challenge  to  a  grand 
juror.  To  this  Judge  Shannon  dissented,  the  opin- 
ion in  the  case  being  written  by  Judge  Jefferson 
P.  Kidder  and  concurred  in  by  Judge  Barnes. 
This  action  of  the  supreme  court,  clearly  founded 
on  good  law,  created  a  ferment  in  Yankton,  par- 
ticularly among  those  who  were  known  as  the 
Capitol  street  faction,  and,  true  to  the  tradition 
of  the  town,  an  indignation  meeting  was  imme- 
diately assembled  for  the  purpose  of  "express- 
ing our  indignation  and  contem))t  for  Judges 
Kidder  and  Barnes."  L.  D.  Parmer  was  chair- 
man of  the  meeting  and  Joseph  R.  Hanson  sec- 
retary. Dr.  Burleigh.  Dr.  Moon  and  Judge 
Brookings  were  the  principal  speakers,  and  they 
were  not  sparing  in  their  denunciations  of  the  as- 
sociate justices.  Chief  Justice  Shannon  wrote  an 
extended  dissenting  opinion,  which  led  Justice 
Barnes  to  also  file  a  separate  opinion,  which  fully 
concurred  in  the  opinion  of  the  court,  as  deliv- 
ered by  Justice  Kidder,  and  was  really  written 
in  refutation  of  the  points  made  by  the  Chief 
Justice  in  his  opinion. 

Wintermute  was  arraigned  at  the  spring 
temi  before  Judge  Shannon,  who  upon  proper 
showing  gave  him  a  change  of  venue  to  the  Clay 
county  term.  Judge  Kidder  having  resigned  his 
position  on  the  bench  to  take  his  seat  in  congress, 
on  the  1st  of  March,  Judge  Granville  G.  Ben- 
nett was  appointed  his  successor  and  assigned  to 
the  Vermillion  district,  and  Wintermute's  second 
trial  was  hear<l  by  Judge  Bennett.     It  began  on 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


the  igth  day' of  August  and  occupied  about  two 
weeks'  time.  In  this  trial  Colonel  Moody  chiefly 
conducted  the  defense,  and  he  secured  an  ac- 
quital  from  the  jury.  The  verdict  of  the  jury 
was  severely  condemned  by  the  peojile  both  at 
home  and  abroad.  The  case  had  attracted  na- 
tional attention,  owing  to  the  prominence  of  the 
McCook  family,  and  all  of  the  eastern  papers 
took  occasion  to  comment  upon  it  and  to  deplore 
the  action  of  the  jury. 

Many  events  of  noteworthy  interest  occurred 
during  the  year.  The  legislative  session  of 
1872-3  had  authorized  C.  J.  B.  Harris  to  codify 
the  laws  and  to  present  to  the  legislature  of 
1874-5  his  draft  of  the  new  code,  but  this  legisla- 
ture had  other  plans  and  refused  to  adopt  the 
Harris  code,  and  authorized  the  governor  to  ap- 
point a  commission  to  revise  and  codify  the  laws 
of  the  territory.  Governor  Pennington  therefore 
appointed  Chief  Justice  P.  C.  Shannon,  Gran- 
ville G.  Bennett  and  Bartlett  Tripp  as  such  com- 
mission. 

( )n  the  1st  of  January,  1875,  Hon.  John  R. 
(Gamble  made  his  first  appearance  in  Dakota 
politics  as  county  attorney  for  Yankton  county. 

Immigration  Commissioner  Foster  in  his  re- 
port, as  of  January  ist,  stated  that  there  were 
five  thousand  German-Russian  immigrants  in 
Dakota. 

In  March  2d  congress  passed  a  bill  to  pay 
the. Dakota  war  claims  as  awarded  by  James  A. 
Hardie,  so  that  at  the  end  of  thirteen  years  the 
))eople  who  had  sprang  to  arms  in  defense  of 
their  homes  and  had  spent  their  money  for  sup- 
plies and  ammunition  and  for  the  building  of 
defenses,  secured  a  partial  remuneration  for  their 
outlay  of  time,  property  and  money. 

This  spring  the  spelling-school  epidemic 
swept  Dakota  in  a  peculiarly  virulent  form,  and 
everyone  from  the  governor  down  to  the  hum- 
blest homesteader  engaged  in  the  national  game 
of  spelling-down. 

In  May  a  new  sensation  was  sprung.  It  was 
of  those  things  which  brought  disgrace  to  the 
administration  of  Secretary  Belknap  and  which, 
rightly  or  wrongly,  he  was  believed  to  be  impli- 


cated in  for  his  personal  profit.  A  syndicate,  of 
which  Orvil  D.  Grant,  a  brother  of  the  President, 
was  a  member,  had  practically  secured  a  monop- 
oly of  the  Indian  trade.  They  secured  all  of  the 
post  traders'  stores  at  the  agencies  and  very 
many  of  the  citizens  of  the  territory  who  had 
found  profitable  occupation  in  this  trading  were 
compelled  to  retire  from  business.  Many  of  these 
forthwith  crossed  the  river  and  opened  new 
stores  upon  the  ceded  lands,  thus  dividing  the 
trade  which  the  s}-ndicate  monopoly  claimed  for 
their  own.  It  was  therefore  necessary  that  some 
hurried  action  should  be  taken  to  drive  them 
out  of  the  country.  To  accomplish  this  the  Presi- 
dent was  induced  to  believe  that  the  protection 
of  the  Indians  from  the  licjuor  traffic  rendered 
it  necessary  that  the  lands  on  the  eastern  side 
of  the  river  should  be  receded  to  the  Indians 
that  the  government  might  exercise  jurisdiction 
over  them.  Therefore  an  executive  order,  is- 
sued on  the  i6th  day  of  March,  1875,  proclaimed 
that  all  that  land  lying  on  the  east  bank  of  the 
Missouri  river,  now  comprised  in  McPherson, 
Campbell.  Walworth,  Edmunds,  Potter,  Faulk, 
Sully,  Hughes,  Hand,  Hyde,  Buffalo  and  Brule 
counties,  should  be  withdrawn  from  settlement 
and  again  become  Indian  lands.  This  left  a  lit- 
tle patch  at  the  north  end  of  the  Yankton  reser- 
vation, thrown  on  the  east  side  of  the  Missouri, 
still  open  to  settlement  and  upon  the  discovery 
of  this  fact  the  syndicate,  through  the  secretary. 
Belknap,  for  the  same  ostensible  reason,  secured 
a  further  order  from  President  Grant  withdraw- 
ing this  portion  from  settlement,  so  that  the  trad- 
ing syndicate  had  absolute  control  of  the  trading 
posts  on  both  sides  of  the  Missouri  river,  from 
Chauteau  creek  to  Standing  Rock  agency.  This 
action  was  a  great  hardship  to  many  Dakota  men 
and  subjected  General  Grant  to  a  great  deal  of 
possibly  unjust  criticism,  for  no  one  at  this  time 
believes  that  he  was  wilfully  a  party  to  the  cor- 
rupt action  of  the  secretary  and  the  St.  Louis 
syndicate. 

The  winter  of  1874-5  was  an  extraordinarily 
severe  one,  with  deep  snows,  and  was  naturally 
followed   bv   great   floods   on   the    James,    ?^ioux 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


269 


and  Missouri  in  the  spring.  The  people  antici- 
pating the  high  water,  however,  were  well  pre- 
pared and  suffered  no  very  material  damage. 

On  the  22d  of  June  the  Masonic  grand  lodge 
of  Dakota  territory  was  organized  at  Elk  Point. 

In  June  the  grasshoppers  passed  over  Dakota 
in  immense  swarms,  which  for  days  at  a  time 
darkened  the  sun,  but  fortunately  they  did  not 
alight  to  do  any  damage  in  the  farming  section, 
and  the  crops  of  this  year  were  superb,  much  the 
most  extensive  and  prolific  of  any  yet  produced 
in  the  history  of  the  teritory.  This  year  the  new 
Russian  settlers  introduced  the  cultivation  of 
flax  in  Dakota  and  they  produced  for  export 
more  than  three  car  loads,  besides  providing  seed 
for  the  succeeding  season. 

In  July  a  large  excursion  train,  loaded  with 
hundreds  of  visitors  from  Chicago  and  other 
eastern  points,  visited  Lake  Kampeska.  They 
came  over  the  then  recently  completed  Winona 
&  St.  Peter  Railway.  This  is  probably  one  of 
the  exceptional  instances  where  a  town  has  not 
sprung  up  at  the  terminal  of  the  railway  as  soon 
as  completed,  but  there  was  a  dispute  between 
the  government  and  the  railway  companv  as  to 
where  the  limit  of  the  land  grant  was.  The  gov- 
ernment claimed  that  the  land  grant  had  expired 
at  the  state  line,  while  the  railway  company 
claimed  it  to  the  Sioux  river.  While  tlie  ques- 
tion was  in  dispute  the  government  withdrew  all 
of  the  lands  from  settlement  between  the  state 
line  and  the  Sioux  river,  and  consequently  there 
was  no  room  for  the  development  of  a  town  there 
and  this  condition  continued  for  a  long  time. 

At  Sioux  Falls  heroic  efforts  were  put  forth 
to  secure  the  construction  of  a  railroad  to  that 
point,  which  was  rapidly  growing  in  impor- 
tance. Their  nearest  railroad  point  was  at  this 
time  at  Sibley,  Iowa,  and  C.  K.  Howard  had 
upon  the  line  between  Sibley  and  Sioux  Falls  a 
train  of  twenty-two  wagons  constantly  employed 
in  bringing  in  freight  and  carrying  out  produce. 

.\t  this  time  Mr.  Howard  was  the  most  prom- 
inent and  the  most  progressive  and  active  citi- 
zen of  the  Sioux  valley.  At  Sioux  Falls  he  was 
pre-eminent  and  practically  the  "whole  thing." 
He  owned  the  freight  line,  the  stage  and  express 


line,  the  brewery,  the  store  and  a  large  furniture 
and  supply  establishment.  He  trusted  everybody 
and  everybody  trusted  him,  and  it  is  said  that 
during  the  period  of  destitution  following  the 
grasshopper  raid  of  1874  he  kept  starvation 
away  from  many  a  home,  and  that  no  worthv 
man  ever  was  refused  credit  for  necessities  at 
his  store  during  that  time. 

The  first  territorial  fair  was  held  at  Yank- 
ton on  September  29th  and  30th  and  in  every 
way  was  a  success. 

Up  to  this  time  Yankton  was  supplied  with 
water  from  the  Missouri  river,  but  an  agitation 
began  for  a  system  of  water  works.  Pursuant 
to  a  suggestion  made  several  years  before  by  Mr. 
Kingsbury,  it  was  determined  to  try  to  secure 
water  by  sinking  an  artisian  well,  and  in  Decem- 
ber, 1875,  the  services  of  I.  T.  Farrand,  of  Chi- 
cago, were  secured  to  come  to  Yankton  and  sink 
an  artesian  well.  Ferrand  came  out,  examined 
the  country  and  declared  it  as  his  belief  that  both 
coal  and  water  might  be  secured  under  the 
Yankton  formation.  A  contract  was  made  with 
him  to  sink  a  well  at  least  one  thousand  feet  and 
to  put  in  the  necessary  tubing  at  the  rate  of  three 
dollars  per  foot.  Difficulty,  however,  was  found 
in  securing  the  money  for  the  enterprise  and  it 
was  dropped  for  the  present  and  not  taken  up 
again  for  several  years. 

It  will  be  recalled  that  in  the  last  chajiter  we 
left  the  Gordon-Russell  party  at  the  new  stock- 
ade which  they  had  erected  at  Christmas  time 
at  French  Creek,  a  few  miles  below  the  present 
village  of  Custer.  As  soon  as  the  prospectors 
had  become  comfortably  situated  in  their  new 
stockade,  although  the  weather  was  very  severe, 
they  started  out  to  prospect  the  creek  for  gold, 
for  they  were  well  aware  that  they  could  not  long 
maintain  themselves  in  their  isolated  situation 
without  recruits  and  supplies  from  outside,  and 
it  was  necessary  for  them  to  demonstrate  that 
gold  dust  really  existed  and  then  by  some  kind  of 
communication  with  the  outside  world  let  the 
good  news  be  known.  A  few  weeks  of  prospect- 
ing had  produced  quite  an  accumulation  of  dust 
and  with  this  as  an  evidence  of  good  faith,  John 
Gordon  and  Eph.  Witcher  mounted  their  horses 


270 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


and  started  east  on  an  extraordinarily  cold  morn- 
ing, the  6th  day  of  February.  It  was  a  most 
hazardous  undertaking  to  ride  from  the  Black 
Hills  to  the  settlements  through  the  deep  snows 
of  that  winter  and  through  a  hostile  Indian  coun- 
try, and  the  little  band  whom  they  left  behind  had 
many  misgivings  lest  they  should  not  reach  the 
settlements. 

Only  a  suspicion  existed  in  the  minds  of  the 
people  of  Dakota  that  any  prospectors  were  in 
the  Hills,  though  reports  had  come  in  from  the 
Indians  that  now  and  again  parties  of  miners 
had  been  seen  making  their  way  westward. 
Therefore,  when  Witcher  and  Gordon  dropped 
into  Yankton  on  the  evening  of  the  1st  day  of 
Afarch,  1875,  and  actually  exhibited  a  consider- 
able quantity  of  gold  taken  from  the  prospect 
holes  of  French  creek,  the  town  was  thrown  into 
indescribable  excitement.  The  returned  miners 
were  the  heroes  of  the  hour. 

Charley  Collins  came  hot-foot  from  Sioux 
City  to  meet  them  and  to  escort  them  from  Yank- 
ton to  Sioux  City  upon  a  train  over  the  South- 
ern Dakota  Railroad,  decorated  with  flags  and 
with  Collins  sitting  upon  the  pilot  waving  his 
arms  and  howling  like  a  maniac. 

With  the  return  of  these  miners  immediate 
preparations  were  made  for  sending  an  expedi- 
tion into  the  Hills  and  to  establish  a  thorough- 
fare by  way  of  Yankton.  Immediately  the  most 
intense  jealousy  sprang  up  between  Yankton  and 
Sioux  City  over  the  more  feasible  route.  Yank- 
ton could  make  the  best  showing  in  speed,  dis- 
tance and  convenience  in  travel,  but  Sioux  City, 
undaunted,  hustled  together  a  new  expedition 
and,  placing  them  under  the  leadership  of  John 
Gordon,  started  them  back  over  the  Nebraska 
and  Niobrara  route. 

Early  in  February  Walter,  William  and 
George  Owens,  George  McDaniels  and  William 
Newton,  a  party  of  young  men  from  Springfield, 
had  started  out  ostensibly  for  a  hunting  trip,  but 
meeting  Witcher  and  Gordon  they  determined 
to  go  on  to  the  Hills,  which  they  did,  making  a 
speedy  and  successful  trip,  found  good  prospects 
and  sent  Walter  and  William  Owens  back  to 
carry   the  news   to  their   friends   in    Springfield. 


They  arrived  at  home  on  April  2d,  being  the 
second  messengers  to  bring  news  from  the  Hills. 
Their  success  in  making  the  trip  over  the  so- 
called  Yankton  route  in  so  short  a  period  did 
much  to  encourage  the  promoters  of  the  enter- 
prise above  mentioned,  and  transportation  com- 
panies were  organized  at  Springfield,  Yankton, 
\'ermilion  and  Elk  Point. 

On  Monday,  ]\Iarch  22d,  William  Tillotson 
and  Seth  Huggins,  of  Union  county,  and  John 
AA'oodruth,  of  Clay  county,  left  for  the  Hills  in  a 
covered  wagon  expecting  to  go  in  by  the  White 
river  route.  This  was  the  first  Dakota  expedi- 
tion into  the  Black  Hills  organized  and  equipped 
for  that  purpose. 

Gordon  and  his  party,  after  a  good  deal  of 
hardships  in  getting  through  the  sandhills  of 
Nebraska,  reached  the  Niobrara,  where  they 
were  taken. in  by  a  detachment  of  United  States 
troops,  their  outfits  destroyed  and  the  party  taken 
into  custody  and  lodged  in  the  military  prison 
at  Fort  Laramie.  After  being  kept  in  duress  for 
several  months  they  were  taken  to  Omaha  for 
trial,  where  Gordon  was  finally  discharged  upon 
the  order  of  Judge  Dundy  of  the  United  States 
court.  The  fate  of  the  Gordon  party  rather 
dampened  the  ardor  of  the  Dakota  gold  hunters 
and  no  further  expeditions  were  fitted  out  from 
Yankton  or  Sioux  City  or  any  other  Dakota 
points  that  season.  The  military  was  particularly 
active  in  cutting  off  any  one  that  came  in  •  from 
the  Dakota  way,  while  there  was  a  suspicion  that 
they  were  discriminating  against  the  Dakota 
routes  and  in  favor  of  the  Union  Pacific  Rail- 
road. 

In  April  the  government  sent  Prof.  \\\  P. 
Jenny,  a  United  States  geologist,  to  the  Hills 
under  the  escort  of  Gen.  R.  I.  Dodge,  with  three 
companies  of  cavalry.  Jenny  remained  in  the 
Hills  until  late  in  the  season,  making  a  careful 
prospect  of  many  of  the  gold  bearing  creeks,  and 
his  reports  were  not  at  all  encouraging. 

Nevertheless  enterprising  prospectors  work- 
ing on  their  own  account,  slipping  through  the 
lines  and  returning  with  considerable  quantities 
of  dust,  were  much  more  convincing  to  the  pub- 
lic  that  gold   existed  there  in  paying  quantities 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


than  any  report,  however  discouraging,  from 
tlie  government  officers;  for  there  was  a  deep- 
seated  conviction  in  the  public  mind  that  the 
government  was  conspiring  to  keep  the  people 
out  of  the  gold  mines. 

General  Crook  reported  in  August  that  in 
his  judgment  there  were  from  eight  hundred 
to  one  thousand  five  hundred  miners  in  the  Black 
Hills  mines  who  had  surreptitiously  found  their 
way  there,  and  the  Black  Hills  excitement  pos- 
sessed the  people  throughout  the  entire  country. 

The  pressure  was  so  great  upon  the  govern- 
ment to  open  up  the  Hills  to  settlement  as  to  be 
irresistible,  and  early  in  the  year,  a  commission 
consisting  of  Senator  Allison,  of  Iowa ;  Bishop 
E.  R.  .\mes,  of  Baltimore,  ^Maryland  :  Judge  F. 
^^^  Palmer,  of  Chicago,  Illinois ;  Gen.  A.  H. 
Terry,  of  St.  Paul,  Minnesota ;  Hon.  A.  Co- 
mingo,  of  Independence,  Missouri ;  Rev.  S.  D. 
Hinman,  of  Santee  agency,  Nebraska;  G.  P. 
lleauvais,  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri;  W.  H.  Ashby, 
of  Beatrice,  Nebraska,  and  A.  G.  Lawrence,  of 
Rhode  Island,  were  appointed  by  the  President  to 
treat  with  the  Sioux  for  the  relinquishment  of 
the  Black  Hills  country.  The  place  selected  for 
the  council  was  eight  miles  north  of  the  Red 
Cloud  agency  on  \\'hite  river,  directly  north  of 
Crow  Butte,  and  fully  twenty  thousand  Sioux 
were  assembled  there  for  council  on  the  17th 
day  of  September,  when  the  council  opened. 
Brules,  Oglalas,  Minneconjous,  LTncpapas,  Black- 
ftet.  Two  Kettles,  Sans  Arcs,  Lower  Brules, 
Yanktons,  Santees,  Northern  Cheyennes  and 
.\rapahoes,  all  claiming  an  interest  in  the  Black 
Hills,  were  represented  in  the  council..  The 
council  remained  in  session  twelve  days  and 
listened  to  the  propositions  of  the  Sioux,  which 
became  more  and  more  exacting  as  time  passed. 
.\t  first  they  were  willing  to  accept  a  price  "to 
be  agreed  upon"  for  the  Hills,  but  daily  their 
idea  of  what  the  Hills  were  worth  to  them  ad- 
vanced until  they  were  claiming  as  much  as  sev- 
enty million  dollars  as  a  reasonable  price.  They 
also  wanted  provision  made  to  provide  protec- 
tion and  HTaintenance  to  at  least  seven  genera- 
tions yet  unborn.  Finally,  on  the  29th  day  of 
September,  arriving  at  the  conclusion  that  it  was 


hopeless  to  continue  the  council  longer  they  ad- 
journed without  action.  The  failure  of  the  gov- 
ernment to  secure  the  relinquishment  of  the  In- 
dians' title  to  the  Black  Hills  was  a  very  great 
disappointment  to  the  nation  at  large  and  espe- 
cially so  was  it  to  the  ambitious  settlers  of  Da- 
kota. 

In  the  foregoing  we  left  the  brave  little  band 
of  pioneer  gold  hunters  at  the  Gordon  stockade 
on  French  creek  on  the  morning  of  the  6th  of 
February,  when  Gordon  and  Witcher  started  out 
to  spread  the  news  of  the  gold  find.  Eight  days 
later  Blackwell  and  McLaren  rigged  up  an  ox- 
sled  and  through  sheer  homesickness  deserted 
and  made  their  way  out  to  Cheyenne.  And 
again  on  the  6th  of  March  four  others  deserted 
the  stockade.  These  were  Newton  Warren,  Red 
Dan  McDonald,  J.  J.  Williams  and  Henry 
Thomas.  This  reduced  the  entire  remaining 
force  of  whites  in  the  Black  Hills  to  eighteen 
persons,  including  Mrs.  Tallent  and  Rob.  Dur- 
ing the  month  of  March  these  pioneers  surveyed 
and  platted  the  town  of  Harney  City  at  the  point 
on  French  creek  where  the  stockade  was  located. 
To  accomplish  this  they  had  but  a  small  pocket 
compass  and  a  picket  rope. 

The  brave  little  band,  however,  were  soon 
to  find  that  their  exertions,  heroism  and  priva- 
tions were  to  be  brought  to  naught,  for  on  the 
4th  of  April  a  party  of  military  under  the  com- 
mand of  Captain  Mix,  of  the  Second  United 
Cavalry,  arrived  and  marched  the  entire  company 
away  to  Fort  Laramie.  And  so  we  find  that  in 
the  early  spring  of  1875  the  Black  Hills  country 
was  again  abandoned,  there  probably  being  no 
single  human  being,  white  or  Indian,  within  their 
confines. 

As  we  ha\e  seen,  the  government  at  once 
took  up  a  more  careful  survey  of  the  mineral 
resources  of  the  Hills  imder  the  direction  of 
Professor  Jenny,  and  in  the  very  month  in  which 
the  military  had  taken  out  the  Gordon  party,  an- 
other party,  consisting  of  W^ade  Porter,  Alfred 
Gay,  Robert  Kenyon,  Thomas  Monahan  and  oth- 
ers re-entered  the  Hills  and  made  their  way  di- 
rectly back  to  the  deserted  blockade.  We  have  seen 
how  John  Gordon  and  Eph.  \\'itcher  fought  their 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


\va\"  through  to  Yankton  and  started  back  on  the  | 
26th  day  of  April  through  the  sandhills  of  Ne-  j 
braska  and  how  they  were  overtaken  by  the  mili- 
tary out  on  the  Xiobrara  and  taken  captive  to 
Fort  Laramie.  From  even,^  direction  from  that 
time  forward  adventurous  miners  filtered  into 
the  Hills,  dodging  the  military  and  the  Indians, 
hiding  in  the  canyons  and  prospecting  up  and 
down  all  of  the  creeks.  Contemporaneous  with  ; 
the  attempt  of  the  government  to  treat  with  the 
Sioux  in  1875  ^'^^  the  cession  of  the  Black  Hills, 
General  Crook  was  sent  into  the  Hills  country 
for  the  ostensible  purpose  of  removing  the 
trespassing  miners.  It  is  doubtful  if  the  military 
ever  in  good  faith,  after  the  removal  of  the  Gor- 
don party  in  April,  attempted  to  evict  the  miners 
from  the  Black  Hills,  but  it  was  necessary  to 
make  a  show  of  doing  so  to  pacify  the  Indians 
and  thus  assist  in  securing  the  cession.  Ex- 
amples, however,  were  made  of  a  few  of  the 
miners. 

On  the  loth  day  of  August  General  Crook, 
by  proclamation,  called  all  the  miners  in  the 
Hills  to  assemble  at  Custer.  He  asked  them 
there  to  voluntarily  leave  the  Hills  until  such 
time  as  the  Indian  title  to  the  land  could  be  ex- 
tinguished. They  were  pemiitted  to  leave  a 
committee  of  six  men  in  charge  of  their  inter- 
ests and  they  agreed  upon  certain  rules  and  regu- 
lations to  protect  the  claims  which  they  had  al- 
ready staked  out.  They  were  permitted  to  or- 
ganize a  town  site  company  and  to  locate  the 
town  of  Custer.  The  blocks  were  divided  into 
lots,  which  were  numbered  up  to  one  thousand 
two  hundred.  Tickets  bearing  these  numbers 
were  deposited  in  a  box,  from  which  on  that  day 
several  hundred  miners  drew  slips  and  became 
the  owners  of  lots  corresponding  in  number  with 
those  drawn  from  the  receptacle.  The  commit- 
tee chosen  to  remain  in  the  Hills  to  protect  the 
rights  of  the  miners  were  Samuel  Shankland, 
Thomas  Hooper,  A.  D.  Trask,  Robert  Kenyon, 
W.  H.  Wood,  Alex.  Thompson,  Alfred  Gav  and 
H.  F.  Hull. 

After  completing  these  arrangements  the 
great  body  of  miners,  from  eight  hundred  to 
one  thousand  one  hundred  in  all,  voluntarilv  left 


the  Hills,  going  out  to  Laramie  and  Cheyenne. 
Many,  however,  hiding  about  in  the  g^ilches  and 
forests,  refused  to  obey  the  proclamation  to  come 
into  Custer  and  remained  constantly  in  the  Hills, 
and  others  came  in  daily  from  the  Alissouri 
river  points  and  by  any  route  by  which  they 
could  escape  the  attention  of  the  military  and  the 
Indians. 

During  the  month  of  August,  old  Spotted 
Tail,  taking  with  him  twelve  of  his  most  trusted 
men,  visited  the  Hills  as  a  committee  of  investi- 
gation on  the  part  of  the  Indians  to  enable  them 
to  know  positively  what  the  miners  were  doing 
there  and  to  gain  such  other  knowledge  as  would 
be  of  advantage  to  his  people  in  the  approaching 
council  with  the  Indian  commission.  They 
moved  about  in  a"  businesslike  way,  examining 
the  improvements  and  obtaining  such  informa- 
tion as  they  could,  and  evidently  attained  a  very 
exalted  idea  of  the  value  of  the  countn,-,  as  was 
demonstrated  by  the  value  they  set  on  the  Black 
Hills  before  the  commission  upon  their  return. 

The  Jenny  expedition  completed  its  work  and 
left  the  Hills  about  the  ist  of  October.  After 
,  the  failure  of  the  treaty  the  military  made  little 
pretense  of  attempting  to  exclude  the  miners 
from  the  hills,  and  on  the  ist  of  December  the 
military  force  was  entirely  withdrawn.  The 
prospectors  flocked  into  the  Hills  as  never  before. 
It  is  estimated  that  before  the  first  day  of  the 
succeeding  March  there  were  eleven  thousand 
miners  in  the  vicinityof  Custer. 

In  September,  1875,  John  B.  Pearson,  a  citi- 
zen of  Yankton,  made  his  way  into  the  Dead- 
wood  gulch  and  there  finding  indications  of  rich 
diggings  returned  to  the  camp  of  William  Lard- 
ner,  on  Little  Rapid  creek,  and  reported  the  pros- 
pect. Needless  to  say  the  entire  party,  consist- 
ing of  William  Lardner,  Ed  McKay,  Joseph  En- 
glesby,  James  Hicks,  William  and  Alfred  Gay,  J. 
B.  Pearson,  Dan  Muskle  and  a  man  named  Hag- 
gard, nine  in  all,  immediately  struck  camp  and 
made  their  wa\'  through  the  forests  and  moun- 
tains, knee  deep  with  snow,  through  the  Bald 
Mountain  region  to  the  new  diggings  on  Dead- 
wood  gulch,  where  a  little  below  the  mouth  of 
r.lacktail  "Discoverv"  claim  was  located  in  Xo- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


273 


vember,  1875.  Others  drifted  into  the  locaHty 
and  in  December  a  mining  district  was  organized 
named  the  "Lost  Mining  District,"  of  which 
WilHam  Lardner  was  chosen  recorder.  And  so 
began  the  development  of  that  portion  of  the 
northern  Hills  which  since  attained  and  still 
holds  a  world-wide  reputation  for  its  fabulous 
wealth. 

This,  in  brief,  comprises  the  stor\'  of  the  ex- 
ploration and  development  of  the  Black  Hills  up 
to  January  i,  1876.  It  will  be  understood  that  all 
of  these  pioneers  were  trespassers  upon  Indian 
lands.  That  the  laws  of  Dakota  territory  had 
no  effect  there  and  that  the  United  States  govern- 
ment could  only  regard  them  as  trespassers. 
Therefore  they  were  wholly  without  the  law  and 
<lependent  upon  their  own  action  for  civil  gov- 


ernment and  the  protection  of  life  and  property. 
It  was  an  unique  situation.  The  reported  wealth 
of  the  Hills  had  attracted  thither  not  only  the 
gold  hungry  of  the  world,  but  naturally  the  ad- 
venturer, the  desperate  and  lawless  from  every 
corner  of  the  earth.  It  must  ever  stand  to  the 
honor  and  glory  of  the  sturdy  pioneers  of  the 
Black  Hills  that  they  were  equal  to  the  emer- 
gency. That  everywhere  their  first  action  was 
the  organization  of  a  civil  government  and  that 
in  every  community  the  predominating  voice  of 
the  public  was  for  law  and  order  and  the  prompt 
and  vigorous  suppression  of  outlawry  and  vio- 
lence. This  condition — the  remaining  outside 
of  territorial  and  federal  law — continued  until 
the  spring  of  1877  and  we  shall  have  more  to 
say  of  it  in  succeeding  chapters. 


CHAPTER  XLVIII 


AFFAIRS  OF  1876. 


The  Black  Hills  gold  excitement  overshad- 
owed almost  every  other  issue  or  event  in  Da- 
kota in  the  Centennial  year.  An  examination  of 
the  newspapers  of  the  time  indicates  that  the 
Black  Hills  were  the  all-absorbing  topic  and  every 
column  teemed  with  stories  of  that  section,  while 
other  matters  of  local  interest  were  passed  over 
with  the  briefest  mention.  It  was  a  political  year, 
but  in  Dakota  there  was  relatively  little  politics. 
The  Democratic  committee  met  at  Yankton  on 
April'  loth  and  appointed  L.  D.  Palmer,  of  Yank- 
ton, and  Mark  W.  Sheafe,  of  Elk  Point,  dele- 
gates to  the  national  convention  at  St.  Louis.  On 
]May  24th  a  Republican  territorial  convention 
was  held  at  Yankton  which  elected  Alexander 
Hughes,  of  Elk  Point,  and  Alex  McHench,  of 
Fargo,  delegates  to  the  national  Republican  con- 
vention at  Cincinnati. 

The  event  of  the  greatest  interest,  however, 
excepting  matters  pertaining  to  the  Black  Hills, 
was  the  decision  of  the  supreme  court  invalidat- 
ing the  Yankton  county  railroad  bonds  granted  in 
favor  of  the  Southern  Dakota  Railroad.  This 
decision  was  based  upon  the  fact  that  the  original 
bill  authorizing  the  bonds  was  passed  at  an 
unauthorized  session  of  the  territorial  legisla- 
ture, and  that  congress  in  attempting  to  validate 
the  action  of  this  legislature  had  changed  the 
terms  of  the  contract  between  the  citizens  of 
Yankton  county  and  the  railroad  company  by 
extending  the  charter  of  the  railroad  from  Yank- 
ton to  the  western  line  of  Bon  Homme  county. 

Congress  this  spring  passed  an  act  prohibit- 


j  ing  the  President  from  appointing  nonresidents 
I  to  offices  in  territories,  an  action  which  created 
very  great  delight  and  rejoicing  among  the  citi- 
zens of  Dakota  territory  who  had  experienced 
the  humiliation  and  mismanagement  attendant 
upon  carpetbag  government. 

The  senate,  in  August,  passed  a  bill  creating 
Pembina  territory  from  the  north  part  of  Da- 
kota territory,  but  the  house,  being  Democratic, 
defeated  the  proposition. 

The  territorial  Republican  convention  was 
held  at  \'ermilion  on  July  24th  and  Judge  Kid- 
der was  renominated  to  congress  with  very  little 
opposition,  a  very  few  complimentary  votes  be- 
ing cast,  however,  for  Alexander  Hughes.  Fred 
J.  Cross  was  chosen  for  immigration  commis- 
sioner; W.  E.  Caton,  of  Union  county,  for  su- 
perintendent of  schools ;  John  S.  Sands,  of  Lin- 
coln county,  for  auditor,  and  E.  A.  Sherman,  of 
Sioux  Falls,  for  treasurer.  The  Democrats 
nominated  Hon.  S.  L.  Spink  for  congress.  The 
entire  Republican  ticket  was  elected. 

Governor  Pennington  appointed  Gen.  ^^^  H. 
H.  Beadle  and  Closes  K.  Armstrong  to  repre- 
sent Dakota  territory  at  Philadelphia  and  deliver 
addresses  there.  General  Beadle  declined  to 
serve.  JNIr.  Armstrong,  however,  prepared  and 
delivered  an  address  at  Philadelphia  which  very 
comprehensively  presented  the  resources  and  ad- 
vantages of  Dakota  to  the  world. 

Crops  promised  splendid  returns  and  the 
earlier  grains  were  gathered  without  loss,  but 
on  the  25th  of  July  the  grasshoppers  again  came 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


275 


in  appalling  numbers  and  in  a  day  destroyed  all 
of  the  uncut  grain,  the  fields  of  corn  and  gardens. 
Enough  of  the  crop,  however,  had  been  pre- 
served in  advance  of  their  coming  to  render  the 
people  comparatively  comfortable,  and  except  in 
a  few  instances  was  there  necessity  for  an  ap- 
peal to  the  public  for  assistance.  The  grasshop- 
per scourge  was  wide  spread,  'covering  Minne- 
sota, Iowa,  northwestern  Missouri,  Kansas,  Ne- 
braska and  Colorado,  and  so  alarming  was  the 
situation  that  Governor  Pillsbury,  of  Min- 
nesota, called  a  convention  of  the  gov- 
ernors of  the  grasshopper  scourged  states 
to  meet  at  Omaha  and  consider  the  situation  and 
if  possible  provide  means  for  fighting  the  pest. 
Governor  Pennington  accepted  the  invitation  and 
represented  Dakota  territory  in  this  convention. 
Little,  if  anything,  of  a  practical  nature  resulted 
from  their  deliberations. 

In  connection  with  the  Black  Hills  movement 
the  greatest  concern  of  the  people  of  the  west- 
ern section  of  the  territory  was  the  opening  of  a 
direct  route  from  the  settlements  by  way  of  Fort 
Pierre  into  the  Hills.  This  was  manifestly  the 
the  shortest  route  and  it  was  vital  to  the  settle- 
ments that  it  should  become  the  established  high- 
way to  the  Hills,  but  to  accomplish  this  it  was 
necessary  to  successfully  combat  the  powerful  in- 
fluence of  the  Union  Pacific  Railway.  Yankton, 
as  the  capital  of  the  territory,  was  naturally  the 
chief  center  of  activity  on  these  lines  and  on  Feb- 
ruary nth  sent  out  a  party  of  citizens  to  make 
a  preliminary  examination  of  the  route.  This 
party  consisted  of  Major  Lyman,  Henry  C.  Ash, 
A.  M.  English,  M.  A.  Baker,  G.  W.  Smith, 
George  Henkle,  A.  F.  Wood,  Will  Brisbine, 
Xelson  Smith  and  Harry  Ash.  They  were 
equi]iped  with  four  teams,  went  to  Pierre  and 
passed  over  the  road  practically  upon  the  lines 
of  the  well  known  Black  Hills  road.  They 
reached  Rapid  City,  where  they  fell  in  with 
]\Iajor  John  R.  Brennan,  where  on  the  29th  of 
February  they  organized  a  town-site  company 
and,  with  the  assistance  of  C.  H.  Bates,  of  Yank- 
ton, a  civil  engineer,  platted  the  town.  They  then 
returned  by  what  was  then  known  as  the  Fort 
Randall  route,  that  is  in  a  line  running  practically 


direct  from  Rapid  City  to  Fort  Randall,  but  find- 
ing this  route  impracticable  they  reported  in  fa- 
vor of  the  Pierre  route.  They  reached  Yankton 
on  the  return  trip  March  30th,  having  been  gone 
about  six  weeks,  which,  considering  that  it  was 
mid-winter  and  therefore  their  progress  had 
necessarily  been  slow  and  they  had  been  exam- 
ining the  course  over  which  to  complete  a  route, 
was  remarkably  quick  time. 

The  people  at  home,  however,  did  not  await 
their  return,  but  were  active  in  the  matter  of  the 
establishment  of  a  stage  line  with  the  intention 
of  supplementing  it  with  a  freight  line  eventu- 
ally. Gen.  Charles  T.  Campbell  and  John  Dil- 
lon organized  a  stage  line  of  four  Concord 
coaches  and  the  first  party  left  Yankton  on  the 
morning  of  the  gth  of  March,  while  there  were 

!  still  fourteen  inches  of  snow  on  the  ground  and 
a  northwest  blizzard  blowing.  The  route  was 
by  Scotland,  Rockport  and  Firesteel,  thence  to 
Fort  Thompson  and  Fort  Pierre.  They  carried 
out  eighteen  passengers. 

Things    were    progressing   satisfactorily    and 

I  the  Yankton-Pierre  route  was  meeting  with  pop-^ 
ular  approval  when,  on  June  ist  President  Grant, 
by  executive  order,  closed  the  Pierre  route  and 
ordered  the  military  at  Fort  Sully  to  enforce 
the  order.  This  action  the  people  of  Dakota  be- 
lieved was  brought  about  by  the  influence  of  the 
L'nion  Pacific  Railroad,  and  created  a  feeling  of 
great  hostility  against  that  corporation.  Gov- 
ernor Pennington  was  appealed  to  by  the  trans- 
portation people  to  assist  in  getting  the  provisions 
enroute  through  to  the  Hills  and  he  appealed 
to  General  Sheridan  for  military  protection  for 
provision  trains  then  enroute,  but  the  General 
was  forced  to  decline  to  render  the  assistance 
desired.  Governor  Pennington  and  ex-Governor 
Edmunds  then  visited"  Washington  to  secure  a 
modification  of  the  order  closing  the  Pierre 
route  and  it  was  modified  to  the  extent  that  pro- 
vision trains  were  allowed  to  go  through  at  their 
own  risk  and  without  military  protection,  and  on 
the  22(1  of  June  the  route  was  again  thrown 
open.  By  this  time,  however,  the  Indian  trou- 
bles, coincident  with  the  Custer  battle  of  Little 
Big  Horn,  had  become  so  decided  that  few  peo- 


276 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


pie  cared  to  venture  into  the  Indian  country  with- 
out  mihtary  protection. 

With  the  opening  of  the  new  year,  1876,  the 
military  opposition  to  the  occupation  of  the  Hills 
seems  to  have  been  withdrawn,  and,  as  stated 
in  a  previous  chapter,  miners  and  adventurers 
flocked  to  the  new  Eldorado  by  thousands.  This 
action  of  course  greatly  e.xcited  and  incensed 
the  Indians,  who  were  the  owners  of  the  soil, 
and  coupled  with  this  the  government  undertook 
the  removal  of  the  agencies  back  to  the  Missouri 
river.  It  was  decided  to  relocate  Spotted  Tail 
back  at  the  mouth  of  the  Whetstone  creek  and 
Red  Cloud  was  to  be  located  near  old  Fort  Look- 
out. This  proposed  action  increased  the  resent- 
ment of  the  Indians  and  very  many  of  the  young 
men  and  warriors  deserted  the  agencies  and 
again  took  up  the  wild  life.  Depredations  were 
of  almost  daily  occurrence.  On  May  4th  Wil- 
liam Henry,  of  Gardner,  Iowa,  John  Harrison, 
of  Albion.  Wisconsin,  J.  St.  Clair,  of  Texas,  and 
Edward  Sadler  were  killed  on  the  north  fork  of 
Bad  river,  near  the  Fort  Pierre  trail,  and  stock 
stealing  was  of  daily  occurrence.  Steamboating 
on  the  Missouri  river  was  at  its  height  at  this 
period  and  was  particularly  hazardous,  Indian 
attacks  on  the  boats  being  so  frequent  that  it  was 
necessary  to  protect  the  pilot  houses  with  boiler 
plate.  Spotted  Tail  and  Red  Cloud  both  re- 
ported all  their  Indians  at  home,  but  this  was 
simply  a  subterfuge  to  secure  the  full  supply  of 
rations. 

The  Reverend  Air.  Ffennell.  of  the  Protes- 
tant Episcopal  church  at  Cheyenne  river  agency, 
fell  a  victim  to  the  Indians  at  this  time.  A  fuller 
account  of  his  death  will  be  found  in  the  sketch 
of  the  Episcopal  church  in  this  volume. 

To  understand  the  real  situation  as  relating 
to  the  Dakota  Indians,  one  must  go  back  to  the 
spring  of  1858,  when  it  will  be  found  that  the 
Sioux  Indians  of  the  Alissouri  river,  generally 
denominated  as  the  Tetons  and  comprising  the 
Yanktons.  Yanktonaise,  Brule,  Oglalas,  Mini- 
conjous.  Two  Kettles,  Sans  Arcs,  P.lackfeet  and 
Uncpapas,  owned  and  occupied  all  of  the  country 
from  the  Sioux  and  Red  rivers  on  the  east  west- 
ward  to  the  mountains  and   from  the  Missouri 


and  Platte  rivers  on  the  south  to  Devil's  lake  and 
the  ^Missouri  river  on  the  north.  By  successive 
treaties  they  had  been  induced  to  give  up  all  of 
the  Dakota  country  east  of  the  Alissouri  and  the 
Nebraska  country  south  of  the  Niobrara  and  all 
of  the  upper  Missouri  country  north  of  the  Can- 
non Ball.  They  had  seen  the  game  upon  which 
they  had  subsisted,  particularly  the  buffalo,  de- 
stroyed by  the  invading  hordes  of  white  hunters. 
They  had  seen  forts  established  in  their  country 
and  garrisoned  with  soldiers.  They  had  seen  an 
attempt  to  establish  a  great  highway  through 
their  lands  and  to  protect  it  with  a  line  of  forts. 
This  latter  they  had  forcibly  and  successfully  re- 
sisted in  the  famous  Red  Cloud  wars,  terminat- 
ing in  the  treaty  of  1868,  by  the  terms  of  which 
the  government  abandoned  the  iMontana  trail. 
Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  with  the  treaty 
of  1868  they  had  been  confirmed  in  the  absolute 
possession  and  in  absolute  freedom  from  tres- 
pass in  their  reservation  west  of  the  Missouri, 
including  the  Black  Hills,  they  had  seen  a  great 
military  invasion  of  their  lands  under  General 
Custer  for  the  exploration  of  the  Hills,  to  deter- 
mine whether  or  not  there  were  gold-bearing 
quartz  there.  They  had  seen  the  miners  flock 
into  the  Hills  following  the  reports  of  the  dis- 
covery of  gold  by  the  Custer  expedition.  They 
had  seen  the  government  send  a  second  scien- 
tific expedition  under  a  military  escort  upon  their 
lands.  The  previous  year  they  had  met  with  a 
commission  sent  out  by  the  government  to  treat 
with  them  for  the  cession  of  the  Black  Hills  and 
had  failed  to  agree  upon  terms.     They  had  seen 

1  the  government  withdraw  all  semblance  of  mili- 
tary protection  for  their  lantls  against  the  occu- 
pancy and  use  of  the  white  miners.  They  had 
seen  every  preparation  made  to  forcibly  remove 
them  from  their  chosen  homes  back  on  the  plains 
distant  from  the  ^Missouri  river  to  the  new  agen- 
cies on  the  Missouri,  where  they  would  come  im- 

;  mediately  under  the  influence  of  the  military  and 

I  of  the  degrading  influence  of  the  white  venders 
of  liquors  and  of  evil  practices.     And  against  all 

I  of  these  invasions  of  their  rights  they  rose  in 
open  rebellion.  Not  all  of  them,  to  be  sure :  a 
few  who  had  long  been  under  white  and  civiliz- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


2/7 


ing  influences  and  who  appreciated  the  advan- 
tages of  special  favors  granted  them  by  the 
agency  ofificers,  a  few  there  were  of  the  more 
timid  and  unmanly,  and  a  few  of  the  chiefs  who 
had  been  flattered  into  submission  through  the 
promise  of  honors,  distinction  and  emoluments, 
and  a  few  there  were  like  old  Red  Cloud,  who 
felt  bound  by  the  treaty  of  1868,  remained  at  the 
agency  and  made  a  semblance  of  submission  to 
the  powers  that  be,  but  the  young  men,  the  war- 
riors, the  braves  and  the  great  chieftains,  Black- 
Moon,  Crazy  Horse,  Afraid  of  His  Horses,  Sit- 
ting Bull,  Rain  in  the  Face,  and  many  others 
were  resolved  to  avenge  the  wrongs  which  the\- 
felt,  with  good  reason,  the  whites  had  visited 
upon  their  people,  and  they  assembled  in  great 
hostile  camps  under  the  general  command  of 
Black  Moon,  far  back  in  the  interior  on  the 
Tongue  and  Big  Horn,  choosing  an  excellent 
position,  where  under  stress  they  could  flee  into 
the  mountain  vastnesses,  or  if  need  be  into  Can- 
ada. One  cannot  examine  into  the  disposition 
of  the  Indians  engaged  in  this  rebellion  without 
admiration  for  the  military  genius  of  the  men 
who  planned  it,  as  he  must  also  admire  the  splen- 
did generalship  displayed  by  them  in  the  cam- 
l)aigns  which  followed. 

The  government  determined  to  move  against 
these  hostiles  in  three  columns.  One  from  the 
south,  under  Cook,  was  to  come  up  from  Lara- 
mie. Terry,  under  whom  Custer  served,  was  to 
r  jme  up  from  Fort  Abraham  Lincoln.  And  one 
from  the  west,  under  Gibbons,  coming  down 
from  Fort  Ellis  on  the  Yellowstone,  the  plan  be- 
ing to  surround  the  Indians  and  crush  them  be-  ' 
tween  the  three  columns.  Pursuant  to  this  plan, 
about  the  first  of  .March,  General  Crook,  in  com- 
mand of  the  first  column,  consisting  of  ten  com- 
panies of  the  Third  Cavalry  and  two  of  the 
Fifth  Infantr}-,  moved  out  from  Fort  Laramie. 
He  went  into  camp  on  the  Powder  river,  near  old 
I'ort  Reno,  where  he  remained  for  several  weeks. 
General  Reynolds  proceeded  down  the  Powder 
river  about  fifty  miles  below  Reno,  where  he 
was  met  by  Crazy  Horse  with  four  hundred  war- 
riors, who  administered  to  him  a  severe  whip- 
ping  and    compelled    him    to    retreat    hastily    to 


Crook's  camp.  This  victory  wonderfully  elated 
and  encouraged  the  Indians  and  news  of  it  being 
carried  by  runners  to  the  agencies,  hundreds, 
possibly  thousands,  of  young  men  hastened  as 
recruits  to  the  hostile  camps. 

In  the  latter  part  of  May  Crook  removed  his 
camp  to  Goose  creek,  a  branch  of  Tongue  river, 
where  he  made  a  permanent  station.  The  hos- 
tiles had  their  spies  watching  his  every  move- 
ment and  they  set  out  to  create  a  diversion  to 
decoy  Crook  out  of  his  camp  and  precipitate  a 
conflict.  In  this  they  succeeded.  General  Crook 
moved  out  of  his  camp  on  the  17th  of  June, 
encountered  the  Indians  at  the  headwaters  of  the 
Rosebud.  He  was  repulsed  by  the  Indians  and 
compelled  to  retreat.  His  loss  was  not  serious, 
but  his  defeat  and  repulse  practically  put  him 
out  of  commission. 

The  Indians  being  advised  of  the  approach 
of  Custer,  now  took  up  their  position  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  Little  Big  Horn,  choosing  an  ad- 
mirable location,  where  they  could  easily  retreat 
into  the  Big  Horn  mountains  if  at  any  time  their 
location  became  untenable. 

Terry's  column  left  Fort  Abraham  Lincoln 
on  the  15th  of  May.  He  had  about  one  thousand 
two  hundred  men  and  one  thousand  four  hun- 
dred animals.  The  expedition  moved  northwest 
and  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Missouri, 
where  they  found  awaiting  them  supplies  which 
had  been  sent  around  by  steamboat.  General 
Terry  embarked  the  cavalry  upon  the  steam- 
boats and  took  passage  by  the  Yellowstone,  and 
Custer,  at  the  head  of  si.x  companies  of  cavalrv, 
moved  on  to  the  mouth  of  the  Rosebud,  which  he 
reached  on  the  20th  of  June.  Reno,  who  on  the 
1 2th  had  been  sent  out  on  a  scout,  returned  and 
reported  that  the  trail  and  deserted  camp  of  a 
force  of  not  less  than  one  thousand  two  hun- 
dred in  all  had  been  discovered.  At  noon  on  the 
22d  Custer  moved  up  the  valley  of  the  Rosebud, 
it  being  the  plan  that  Terry  and  Gibbons  should 
come  as  far  as  practicable  1\v  the  Yellowstone 
and  then  march,  making  a  junction  with  Custer. 
Soon  striking  the  trail  which  Reno  had  discov- 
ered, at  eleven  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the  24th 
the\-  found  that  they  were  close  to  the  camp  of 


278 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


the  enemy.  By  one  o'clock  of  the  following  day 
they  had  advanced  to  a  position  where  it  was 
necessary  to  make  disposition  of  the  troops  for 
the  attack  upon  the  camp.  First  there  was  Cap- 
tain Benteen's  battalion  of  three  troops,  consist- 
ing of  Troop  H,  Captain  Benteen;  Troop  D, 
Captain  Wier;  Troop  K,  Lieutenant  Godfrey. 
Thev  were  ordered  to  a  line  of  high  bluffs  on 
the  left  of  the  trail  three  or  four  miles  distant 
to  reconnoiter  the  field  and  prevent  the  escape 
of  the  Indians  in  that  direction  and  to  fight  if 
necessary.  jNIajor  Reno  was  placed  in  command 
of  the  advance  battalion,  composed  of  Troop  M, 
Captain  French;  Troop  A.  Captain  Moylan; 
Troop  G,  Lieutenants  ]\IcIntosh  and  Wallace, 
and  was  ordered  to  charge  the  village.  They 
crossed  the  ford  and  marched  down  toward  the 
enemy,  who  were  massed  along  the  west  bank 
of  the  Little  Big  Horn.  General  Custer  himself 
had  five  troops.  Troop  I,  Captain  Keogh  and 
Lieutenant  Porter:  Troop  F,  Captain  Yates  and 
Lieutenant  Riley ;  Troop  C,  Captain  Tom  Custer 
and  Lieutenant  Harrington:  Troop  E,  Lieuten- 
ants Smith  and  Sturgis :  Troop  L,  Lieutenants 
Calhoun  and  Crittenden.  There  were  about 
seven  hundred  and  sixty-one  men  in  Custer's  bat- 
talion. 

The  disposition  of  the  Indian  forces  was  as 
follows:  The  general  command  devolved  on 
Black  Moon,  who  made  the  plans  and  directed 
the  method  of  procedure.  It  must  be  understood 
that  their  spies  had  kept  them  perfectly  informed 
of  the  movement  of  the  military.  The  Indians 
were  divided  into  seven  bands,  and  commencing 
from  the  lower  end,  where  Custer's  attack  was 
made,  they  were,  first,  the  Uncpapas,  under 
Black  Moon,  the  hereditary  chief  of  that  band. 
Black  Moon  was  then  an  old  man  and  he  called 
to  his  assistance  the  most  dashing  chief  of  the 
band.  Gall,  who  was  on  this  occasion  his  first 
lieutenant.  Second,  the  Oglalas.  under  Crazy 
Horse;  third,  the  Miniconjous,  under  Fast  Bull; 
fourth,  the  Sans  Arcs,  under  Bad  Bear;  fifth, 
the  Cheyennes.  under  Ice  Bear;  sixth,  the  San- 
tees  and  Yanktonaise,  under  Inkpadutah  (the  old 
villain  who  perpetrated  the  Spirit  Lake  massacre 
in      1857)  ;      seventh,      the      Blackfeet,      under 


Scabby  Head.  The  village  consisted  of  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  lodges.  Each  of  these 
chiefs  and  bands  had  agreed  to  obey  the  direc- 
tion of  Black  Moon,  the  chief  of  the  Uncpapas. 

Reno,  after  crossing  the  ford,  started  to  at- 
tack the  Indians.  The  Blackfeet  and  Santees, 
being  in  his  front,  they  immediately  fell  back  as 
if  to  retreat,  thus  drawing  Reno  on;  suddenly  de- 
veloping great  strength  at  the  opportune  time, 
they  made  a  bold  dash  on  Reno's  flank,  forcing 
his  command  back  into  the  timber  on  the  river 
bank  and  putting  the  Rees  to  flight.  Finding 
himself  on  the  defensive,  Reno  ordered  his 
troops  to  dismount  and  fight  the  enemy  on  foot. 
His  position  was  a  good  one  and,  it  is  the  opin- 
ion of  military  men,  might  have  been  maintained 
for  a  long  time  without  serious  loss,  but  finding 
himself  surrounded  by  the  warriors,  whose  mis- 
siles were  flying  fast  and  furious  among  his 
ranks,  he  seems  to  have  lost  his  head  and  gave 
the  order  to  mount  and  get  to  the  bluffs.  His 
command  mounted  and  made  a  hasty  retreat, 
crossing  the  river  at  a  lower  ford.  Captain  Hod- 
son  being  killed  in  the  retreat.  In  this  retreat 
Captain  French  distinguished  himself  by,  almost 
single-handed,  protecting  the  rear.  He  had  long 
hair,  much  resembling  Custer's  and  rode  a  sor- 
rel horse  with  white  feet,  and  by  his  bravery  and 
superb  bearing  won  the  admiration  of  the  In- 
dians, who  for  a  long  time  believed  him  to  be 
Custer  himself.  He  was  the  only  officer  who 
seems  to  have  kept  his  head  and  his  conduct  in 
every  way  was  really  heroic.  It  may  be  noted 
that  in  his  report  Reno  meanly  omitted  to  say 
one  word  about  French's  gallantry. 

The  Indians  did  not  pursue  Reno  at  this  time, 
having  other  and  more  important  business  on 
their  hands.  Custer  with  his  battalion'  had 
struck  the  Indian  camp  directly  in  front  of  the 
Uncpapas  and  they  had  promptly  centered  their 
strength  for  his  annihilation.  No  white  man  has 
lived  to  report  exactly  what  occurred  in  the  Cus- 
ter fight.  Crazy  Horse,  however,  made  a  some- 
what detailed  report  of  it.  When  the  attack  was 
made  the  squaws  and  children  were  directed  to 
hurry  off  in  a  northerly  direction.  Custer,  mis- 
taking these  flying  non-combatants  for  the  main 


HISTORY ^OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


279 


Ijody  of  the  warriors  in  full  retreat,  made  a  dash 
for  them.  The  warriors  in  the  village,  seeing  this, 
divided  their  forces  into  two  parties,  and  when 
he  had  reached  the  river  they  caught  him  be- 
tween the  two  bodies.  The  smoke  and  dust  was 
so  great  that  foe  could  scarcely  be  distinguished 
from  friend,  the  horses  were  wild  and  vmcon- 
trollable  and  the  young  Indians  in  their  excite- 
ment and  fury  killed  each  other,  as  was  proven 
by  the  fact  that  Indians  were  found  there  killed 
by  arrow  shots.  Custer  was  simply  overcome 
by  the  overwhelming  number  of  the  enemy  and 
not  one  of  his  men  came  out  from  the  terrible 
experience. 

The  main  attack  on  Custer  was  led  on  the 
jiart  of  the  fierce  Uncpapas  by  old  Black  Moon, 
who  fought  with  all  the  valor  for  which  he  was 
distinguished  in  the  days  of  his  early  youth,  but 
at  the  very  onset  the  old  man  fell  dead  from  his 
saddle,  one  of  the  first  victims  on  the  Indian  side. 
Call  sprang  to  the  leadership  with  the  fury  of  a 
demon  and  the  military  genius  of  a  Caesar.  It  is 
the  prevailing  opinion  among  the  Indians  of 
South  Dakota  that  Sitting  Bull  sneaked  out  of 
the  fight  and  took  no  part  in  it.  The  probabili- 
ties, however,  are  that  while  he  did  not  lead  in 
it  he  was  so  mixed  up  in  the  dust  and  confusion 
and  blinding  smoke  that  he  could  not  be  distin- 
guished from  the  other  warriors.  While  he  was 
in  no  sense  the  equal  of  Gall  or  Crazy  Horse  as 
a  military  leader,  he  was  not  a  coward  and  it  is 
altogether  improbable  that  he  kept  out  of  the 
fight. 

From  the  other  side  of  Custer's  column  Crazy 
Horse  led  the  fighting  Oglalas  and.  while  all  of 
the  other  bands  swooped  into  the  melee,  it  was 
really  between  the  Oglalas  and  Uncpapas  that 
Custer  was  crushed.  There  were  two  hundred 
and  sixty-one  men  lost  in  Custer's  battalion.  The 
Indians  lost  fifty-eight  killed  and  over  sixty 
wounded. 

When  Custer  discovered  the  strength  of  the 
Indian  camp  he  sent  for  Benteen,  who  had  been 
placed  on  the  hills  above  the  village,  to  come  post- 
haste to  his  assistance  and  Benteen  was  obeying 
this  order  when  he  came  upon  Reno  in  his  re- 
treat to  the  bluflfs. 


The  moment  the  annihilation  of  Custer  and 
his  men  was  accomplished  the  Indians  turned  to 
the  attack  upon  the  bluflfs  to  wipe  out  the  resi- 
due of  the  regiment.  In  a  brief  time  they  gained 
the  points  of  vantage  and  began  to  pour  deadly 
shot  into  the  ranks  of  the  soldiers,  who  being  on 
the  defensive  could  do  little  more  than  to  main- 
tain their  position.  The  joint  battalions  of  Ben- 
teen and  Reno  were  thus  completely  surrounded 
and  when  night  came  it  appeared  almost  certain 
that  they  would  share  the  fate  of  Custer.  Still 
they  had  no  knowledge  of  the  fate  of  Custer. 

The  Indians  spent  the  night  in  the  most  un- 
bounded and  exultant  celebration.  Scouts  sent 
out  from  the  beleaguered  camp  found  the  coun- 
try full  of  Indians  and  were  unable  to  get  through 
to  apprise  either  Crook  or  Terry  of  their  haz- 
ardous situation.  All  night  long  at  frequent  in- 
tervals guns  were  fired  and  stable  calls  blown  in 
the  hope  that  it  might  attract  the  attention  of 
their  friends.  All  the  night  was  spent  in  prep- 
aration for  defense.  The  soldiers  were  put  to 
work  digging  trenches  and  as  there  were  few 
shovels  in  the  regiment  all  kinds  of  implements, 
axes,  hatches,  halves  of  canteens,  tin  cups,  and 
even  table  knives  and  forks  were  brought  into 
service. 

At  the  first  dawn  of  day  the  Indians  resumed 
the  attack.  At  one  time  Benteen  made  a  bold 
sortie  against  an  aggressive  band  of  Indians, 
driving  them  to  the  river.  At  about  one  o'clock, 
when  the  situation  was  the  most  critical,  the  am- 
munition being  almost  exhausted,  the  Indians  for 
the  main  part  withdrew.  Though  the  beleag- 
uered soldiers  did  not  know  it,  the  Indians'  am- 
munition was  6y  this  time  exhausted.  Late  that 
evening  a  few  of  the  Indians  returned  to  the 
valley  below  the  beleaguered  camp  and  set  fire 
to  the  grass  and  at  seven  o'clock,  protected  by 
the  great  column  of  smoke,  the  entire  Indian 
force  moved  across  the  plateau  toward  the  Big 
Horn  mountains.  Reno  and  Benteen,  fearing 
that  this  was  a  ruse  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  to 
draw  them  out,  remained  in  camp  that  night 
and  until  about  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
27th  when  they  were  joined  by  Terry,  who  had 
come  up  from  the  steamboats.    And  so  the  great 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


Custer  fight  was  ended.  The  Indians,  finding 
their  ammunition  exhausted,  had  escaped  into 
the  mountains  and  later  made  their  way 
into  British  territory.  Terry  buried  the  dead 
and,  taking  the  remnant  of  the  command  back- 
to  the  steamboat,  proceeded  down  to  Fort  Abra- 
ham Lincohi. 

This  appaUing  catastrophe  only  concerns  the 
history  of  South  Dakota  in  that  the  Indians  en- 
gaged in  it  were  almost  exclusively  South  Da- 
kotans  and  because  of  its  relation  to  the  opening 
of  the  Black  Hills.  Xot  until  the  loth  of  July 
did  the  full  news  of  the  annihilation  of  Custer's 
command  and  the  total  defeat  of  the  militarv 
expedition  against  the  hostiles  reach  Deadwood, 
and  its  effect  upon  the  unprotected  population 
of  the  Black  Hills  can  be  readily  surmised. 

For  a  detailed  and  exhaustive  examination 
into  the  lives  of  the  men  who  were  brought  to  the 
front  as  leaders  in  this  last  struggle  of  the  great 
Sioux  nation  to  preserve  the  lands  and  customs 
inherited  from  their  ancestors,  the  reader  is  re- 
ferred to  the  copious  notes  of  Dr.  Delorme  W. 
Robinson,  published  in  the  first  volume  of  the 
Collections  of  the  South  Dakota  Historical  So- 
ciety. When  everything  is  considered,  it  must 
be  conceded  that  among  the  great  military  lead- 
ers which  have  sprung  from  American  soil  few 
have  surpassed  in  ingenuity  and  patriotic  sac- 
rifice for  home  and  Fatherland  these  aboriginal 
South  Dakota  warriors. 

While  the  war  was  in  progress,  and  particu- 
larly after  its  close,  the  Indians  passing  from  the 
agencies  to  the  battk  grounds  northwest  of  the 
Black  Hills  constantly  harassed  and  annoyed  the 
miners,  and  straggling  miners  almost  daily  fell 
under  their  relentless  tomahawks  Major  Bren- 
nan  has  compiled  an  extended  list  of  these  atroc- 
ities which  came  under  his  personal  observation. 

We  quote  almost  literally  from  Major  Bren- 
nan's  notes:  "On  March  14,  1876,  Indians  made 
their  first  attack  on  Rapid  City.  No  deaths  re- 
sulted, but  the  Indians  on  this  occasion  ran  oi? 
twenty-eight  head  of  horses,  the  losers  being 
Robert  Burleigh,  Dan  ^^"illiams,  William  Jud, 
John  Dugdale,  Ben  Worthington  and  John  R. 
Brennan.    .Another  raid  was  made  bv  the  Indians 


on  April  12th  in  which  their  chief  medicine  man 
was  killed.  Some  animals  were  lost.  This  fight 
started  about  a  mile  and  a  half  north  of  town 
where  some  of  our  people  were  cutting  fire  wood 
in  a  small  canyon  where  they  were  surprised 
by  about  forty  Indians  coming  from  Box  Elder 
creek.  The  party  discovered  the  Indians  just  in 
time  to  cut  their  horses  loose  from  their  wagons 
and  make  a  run  for  it  to  town.  There  was  a  hot 
fight  on  the  trail,  but  they  succeeded  in  standing 
the  Indians  off  until  aid  reached  them.  William 
Linn  and  an  Indian  had  a  gun  and  pistol  duel 
all  the  way  down.  At  times  they  were  within 
ten  yards  of  each  other.  Finally  Linn's  horse  got 
away  from  him  and  he  tumbled  into  a  wash-out, 
and  the  Indian,  thinking  he  had  killed  him,  rode 
off  after  the  horse  until  he  came  within  reach  of 
the  rescuing  party  from  town,  and  here  he  met 
his  Waterloo.  Linn  reached  town  without  a 
scratch.  He  was  the  tallest  man  in  the  Hills  at 
that  time,  being  six  feet  and  six  inches  in 
height,  and  was  a  relative  of  William  McKin- 
ley,  afterwards  President.  He  was  made  of  the 
right  kind  of  stuff  for  a  pioneer  and  later  became 
one  of  the  treasure-coach  messengers  running 
between  Deadwood  and  Sibley,  Nebraska.  His 
death  occurred  near  Deadwood  in  1901.  After 
this  Indian  raids  were  of  almost  daily  occurrence. 
"On  the  first  of  August  a  rush  was  made  on 
the  town  and  this  time  they  succeeded  in  running 
off  about  every  head  of  stock  in  the  town.  They 
drove  them  through  the  gap  on  the  Pierre  road 
and  then  returned  and  attacked  the  town,  there 
being  only  about  twenty  whites  in  the  village. 
We  gave  them  a  warm  reception,  however,  and 
several  of  the  Indians  were  wounded  and  two 
horses  killed.  They  were  repulsed  and  a  party 
consisting  of  J.  M.  Leedy,  William  Johnson, 
Noah  Newbanks,  Hugh  McKay,  James  Shephard 
snd  John  R.  Brennan  followed  the  Indians  some 
twelve  miles  down  the  divide  between  Rapid  and 
Box  Elder  creeks  in  the  hopes  to  recover  the 
stock  taken.  We  failed  in  the  enterprise  and 
were  lucky  to  get  back  with  our  scalps.  On  .Au- 
gust 24th  the  country  was  full  of  Indians  return- 
ing from  the  Little  Big  Horn.  J.  W.  Patterson, 
an  old  veteran  of  the  Mexican  war,  from  AUe- 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


281 


gheny  City,  Pennsylvania,  and  Thomas  Pendle- 
ton, from  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  were  killed, 
scalped  and  their  ears  cut  off  on  Rapid  creek 
near  Big  Springs,  four  miles  from  Rapid  City. 
Patterson's  shot  gun  and  gold  watch  were  after- 
wards found  in  the  possession  of  a  Cheyenne 
River  agency  Indian.  On  the  very  dav  and  at 
nearly  the  same  hour  G.  W.  Jones,  of  Boulder, 
Colorado,  and  John  Erquert,  of  Kansas  City, 
Missouri,  were  murdered  at  Limestone  Springs 
about  four  miles  from  Rapid  on  the  road  to 
Deadwood.  They  were  scalped  and  their  ears 
cut  off.  The  four  persons  were  brought  in  the 
next  day  and  were  buried  in  a  single  grave  on 
the  north  edge  of  the  plateau.  We  made  rough 
pine  boxes  and  wrote  their  names  on  the  inside 
lid  of  each  cofifin.  While  the  burial  was  taking 
place  Indians  showed  up  and  interfered  with  the 
ceremonies.  On  August  25th  Howard  Worth, 
enroute  from  Hill  City  to  Rapid,  found  the  body 
of  a  man  on  the  trail  about  ten  miles  from  Rapid 
Cit}-.  He  had  been  killed  and  scalped  by  the 
Indians.  We  went  out  and  buried  him,  but  were 
unable  to  determine  his  identity. 

"These  atrocities  decided  us  to  erect  a  block- 
house in  Rapid  City  for  the  better  protection  of 
the  town  against  Indian  raids.  Just  at  this  time 
the  government  ordered  us  to  leave  the  Black 
Hills,  but  at  Rapid  we  counted  noses  and  found 
that  there  were  but  nineteen  of  us  left.  We 
took  a  vote  as  to  whether  we  should  give  up  the 
ship  and  go  out  or  remain.  The  vote  was  unan- 
imous in  favor  of  remaining  and  the  building  of 
a  block  house  was  placed  under  the  supervision 
of  Captain  Grace,  a  veteran  of  the  Mexican  war 
and  well  known  in  Vermillion,  and  in  a  few  days' 
time  we  had  a  two-story  blockhouse  up  and  en- 
closed. The  upper  story  projected  out  over  the 
lower  story  two  feet  all  around.  Loop  holes 
were  provided  and  a  good  well  inside  the  build- 
ing. We  removed  all  the  surplus  provisions  in- 
to it.  We  had  a  number  of  brushes  with  the 
Indians  after  that,  but  fortunately  were  never 
compelled  to  use  the  blockhouse  for  protection." 
^lajor  Brennan  adds  the  following  list  of  names 
of  people  killed  by  Indians  in  1876:  "'On  May 
4th,    William    Cogan,    of    Watertown,    Wiscon- 


sin, was  killed  three  miles  north  of  Rapid  on 
Pierre  road.  He  was  enroute  from  Pierre  to 
the  Hills  with  \'an  Meter's  freight  train.  He 
left  the  train  at  Washta  Springs,  eighteen  miles 
from  Rapid,  saying  he  would  go  on  ahead  of  the 
train.  He  was  cautioned  by  Van  Meter  not  to 
do  this,  but  he  did  not  heed  the  caution.  On 
May  6th  Edward  Saddler,  William  H.  Gardiier, 
St.  Clair,  and  John  Harrison  were  killed  on  the 
Ft.  Pierre  road  at  the  head  of  Bad  river  a  few 
miles  north  of  Peno  Springs.  They  were  in  the 
employ  of  John  Dillon,  freighter,  and  were  re- 
turning from  the  Hills.  Thev  were  buried  where 
they  fell. 

"On  May  7th  J.  C.  Dodge,  of  Bismarck,  was 
killed  and  scalped  on  the  road  twelve  miles  north 
of  Rapid,  near  the  present  Piedmont.  He  was 
m  company  with  a  party  coming  in  from  Bis- 
marck with  some  stock.  They  missed  a  calf 
and  Dodge  said  he  would  go  back  and  round  it 
up.  The  next  morning  we  went  out  and  found 
his  body  showing  every  evidence  that  he  had 
made  a  desperate  fight  for  his  life.  We  brought 
the  body  in  to  Rapid  and  buried  it,  but  after- 
ward it  was  taken  up  and  removed  to  Bismarck. 
Later  that  month  Henry  Herring  and  C.  Nelson 
were  killed  above  Cleghorn  Springs  on  Rapid 
Creek. 

"In  June  one  Metts  and  his  wife,  Mrs.  Har- 
rington, and  Brown,  the  stage  driver,  were  mur- 
dered on  Cheyenne  road  in  Red  Canyon.  On  Au- 
gust 15th  the  mail  carrier  from  Pierre  was  mur- 
dered eight  miles  south  of  Crook  City,  on  the 
Rapid  and  Deadwood  road,  and  on  the  same  day 
Charles  Holland,  of  Sioux  City,  was  killed  near 
Sparfish.  On  the  next  day,  August  i6th,  Rev.  W. 
H.  Smith,  the  pioneer  minister  of  the  gospel  in 
the  Black  Hills,  while  enroute  from  Deadwood  to 
Crook  City  on  foot  to  keep  a  preaching  appoint- 
ment, was  murdered  two  miles  above  Crook  City 
on  Centennial  Prairie.  The  Indians  took  his 
scalp  and  his  bible.  He  was  buried  at  Mt.  Mo- 
riah  cemetery,  Deadwood,  where  a  statue  cut 
from  the  red  sandstone  of  the  Black  Hills  has 
been  erected  to  his  memory." 

On  August  18,  1876,  the  President  appointed 
a  new  commission  to  treat  with  the  Indians  for 


282 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


the  cession  of  the  Black  Hills.  This  commission 
consisted  of  H.  C.  Bullis,  of  Iowa,  George  W. 
]\Ianypenny,  of  Ohio,  Bishop  H.  B.  Whipple,  J. 
W.  Daniels,  A.  G.  Boone,  of  Colorado.  ex-Gov- 
err.or  Xewton  Edmunds,  of  Dakota,  and  A.  S. 
Gaylord,  of  Michigan.  The  Rev.  'Sir.  Hinman 
was  again  appointed  interpreter.  Twenty-nine 
thousand  dollars  was  appropriated  for  the  ex- 
pense of  this  commission.  The  commission  or- 
ganized at  Omaha  on  August  28th,  but  owing  to 
ill  health  General  Sibley  was  unable  to  accom- 
pany them.  They  sent  runners  to  the  Indians 
and  held  a  council  with  the  Northern  Cheyennes 
and  Arapahoes  at  the  Red  Cloud  agency  on  the 
7th  day  of  September,  having  abandoned  the  plan 
adopted  the  previous  year  of  assembling  all  of 
the  tribes  in  a  single  council.  After  counciling 
until  the  20th  of  the  month,  they  succeeded  in  get- 
ting the  signatures  of  a  majority  of  the  Indians 
of  this  tribe  to  the  agreement  to  open  the  Hills. 
From  there  they  proceeded  to  Spotted  Tail's 
agency,  and  after  two  days  secured  the  signa- 
ture of  the  Brules  to  the  agreement.  Thence 
they  proceeded  up  the  river  to  Standing  Rock  and 
iaid  the  proposition  before  the  upper  and  lower 
Yanktonaise,  Uncpapas  and  Blackfeet.  They  ar- 
rived there  on  the  9th  and  on  the  nth  the  treaty 
was  duly  signed.  On  the  return  they  reached 
Cheyenne  agency  on  the  13th  and  secured  the  j 
signing  by  the  evening  of  the  i6th.  The  20th 
and  2 1  St  they  spent  at  Crow  Creek,  where  the 
agreement  was  readily  accepted.  On  the  '24th 
it  was  agreed  to  by  the  Lower  Brule  and  on  the 
27th  the  Santees  had  affixed  their  signatures. 

The  treaty  was  very  simple  in  its  provisions. 
It  simply  provided  that  the  government  should 
in  consideration  of  the  cession  of  the  Black  Hills 
provide  them  with  sufficient  provisions  to  keep 
them  until  they  were  able  to  subsist  themselves. 
The  government  to  provide  them  with  schools 
and  that  the  rations  for  the  children  should  be  | 
issued  to  them  at  the  schools.  That  whenever 
an  Indian  took  his  land  in  severalty  in  good  faith 
the  government  should  provide  him  a  house. 
In  addition  to  the  cession  of  the  Black  Hills, 
three   roads   were   provided   for   from   the   Mis- 


souri river  upon  lines  to  be  selected  by  the  gov- 
ernment. 

The  success  of  the  commission  was  almost 
whollv  due  to  the  influence  of  two  of  its  mem- 
bers and  the  interpreter.  The  influential  mem- 
bers were  Ex-Governor  Edmunds,  of  Dakota, 
and  Bishop  Whipple,  of  Minnesota.  It  in  effect 
provided  amnesty  to  the  hostiles,  who  had  only 
to  come  in  and  submit  to  the  government  and 
accept  the  conditions  existing  at  the  agencies, 
though  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  was  signed  by  rela- 
tively few  of  the  head  men  who  had  not  been 
out  on  the  war  path.  After  the  battle  of  Little 
Big  Horn  most  of  the  Indians  returned  to  the 
reservations  while  the  leaders  and  the  irrecon- 
cilable hostiles  escaped  first  through  the  moun- 
tains and  then  made  their  way  into  Canada. 
.Among  those  who  thus  expatriated  themselves 
were  Gall  and  Sitting  Bull  and  Ink-pa-du-ta. 
Crazy  Horse  returned  to  the  Red  Cloud  agency 
through  the  influence  of  Spotted  Tail,  who  went 
to  visit  him  in  the  hostile  camp,  and  soon  made 
peace  with  the  government.  Sitting  Bull  and 
Gall  remained  intractable  for  some  years  and 
Ink-pa-du-ta  is  supposed  to  have  died  in 
the  autumn  of  1880  in  the  northern  coun- 
try. The  signing  of  the  treaty  was  nominally  the 
end  of  the  last  great  Sioux  war. 

The  news  of  the  great  placer  strikes  in  the 
Deadwood  gulch,  which  were  made  in  the  later 
days  of  1875,  did  not  at  once  get  out  to  attract 
very  wide-spread  attention  and  all  of  the  rush 
in  the  early  days  of  1876  was  in  the  southern 
hills  centering  at  Custer  and,  as  before  stated, 
it  was  estimated  there  were  from  eight  thousand 
to  eleven  thousand  people  around  that  thriving 
camp. 

Here  a  complete  civil  government  was  set  up, 
with  city  and  county  organizations,  police  offi- 
cers, sheriffs  and  courts,  all  of  which  were 
founded  simpl)-  in  the  good  sense  of  the  com- 
munity and  without  any  sanction  of  statute  law. 
either  territorial  or  federal.  Judge  Hooper  was 
elected  judge  of  the  supreme  court  at  a  miners' 
convention.  Dr.  Bemis  was  mayor,  E.  P.  Kief- 
fer.    justice   of   the    peace,    John    Burrows,    citv 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


283 


marshal.  All  of  the  city  council,  consisting  of 
twelve  members,  cannot  now  be  recalled,  but 
among  these  aldermen  were  Captain  Jack  Craw- 
ford, D.  K.  Snively,  S.  R.  Shankland.  Cyrus 
Abbey,  D.  Wright  and  Emil  Faust.  This  was 
the  balmy  period  in  the  history  of  Custer  City. 

About  the  first  of  May,  after  the  snows  be- 
gan to  melt,  however,  reports  came  down  from 
the  northern  hills  of  the  vastly  rich  placer  dig- 
gings there  and  almost  in  a  day  Custer  faded 
and  the  trails  leading  to  the  north  were  thronged 
with  the  erstwhile  Custerites  in  a  wild  stampede 
for  the  new  diggings. 

In  the  Deadwood  district  the  Custer  method 
was  not  followed  in  the  first  instance.  Mining 
districts  were  organized  and  recorders  provided 
for  them,  but  outside  of  this  there  was  no  civil 
organization  for  several  months.  A  brief  civil 
code,  however,  was  adopted  by  a  mass  meeting 
and  posted  up  about  the  town  on  the  8th  of 
June.  Whenever  there  was  need  for  the  admin- 
istration of  justice  through  a  murder  or  other 
emergency,  a  miners'  meeting  was  at  once  called, 
a  judge  appointed,  a  sheriff  elected,  a  venire  is- 
sued, a  jury  summoned  from  among  the  regis- 
tered miners  of  the  three  districts,  a  counsel  pro- 
vided, and  a  regular  trial  held,  but  when  this 
court  had  performed  its  mission  it  dissolved  and  \ 
performed  no  further  functions.  A  new  emer- 
gency called  for  a  new  court. 

Early  in  May,  1876,  the  first  newspaper  was 
established  in  the  Black  Hills  at  Custer.  \.  W. 
Merrick  and  W.  A.  Laughlin  brought  it  from 
Cheyenne  and  set  it  up  in  Custer  and  got  out 
one  issue  of  the  Black  Hills  Pioneer.  Before  the 
time  came  for  their  next  issue  the  stampede 
came  and  with  it  they  stampeded  their  paper 
over  into  the  Deadwood  gulch.  Here,  on  the  8th 
day  of  June,  the  Black  Hills  Pioneer  was  re- 
established and  has  from  that  time  appeared  reg- 
ularly as  a  newspaper.  Six  days  later  the  Trib- 
une was  established  at  Crook  City  by  K.  Burt. 
On  the  24th  of  June  Captain  C.  V.  Gardner 
bought  out  Mr.  Laughlin  and  associated  himself 
with  Mr.  Merrick  in  the  publication  of  the  Pio- 
neer. In  the  great  fire  which  overwhelmed  Dead- 
wood  a  few  years  later  the  Pioneer  was  uestroyed. 


but  fortunately  Joseph  R.  Gosage,  of  Rapid  City, 
had  preserved  almost  a  complete  file  of  it  for  the 
first  year  of  its  publication  and  it  is  undoubtedly 
the  most  authentic  record  of  the  stirring  events 
of  the  most  unique  period  in  the  most  unique 
community  in  the  history  of  the  state. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  these  pioneers 
were  trespassers,  defying  the  laws  of  the  gen- 
eral government,  they  were  a  patriotic  people 
and  provided  a  grand  Fourth  of  July  celebration 
for  that  centennial  anniversary.  Judge  ■Mills 
was  the  orator  of  the  day  and  Gen.  A.  Z.  R.  Daw- 
son read  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
While  the  citizens  were  assembled  for  this  cele- 
bration they  took  occasion  to  memorialize  Con- 
gress to  extinguish  the  Indian  title.  In  that  day 
Rev.  W.  H.  Smith  performed  what  was  prob- 
ably the  first  marriage  in  the  Black  Hills,  that 
of  Edward  Williams  to  Miss  Anna  Card. 

These  pioneer  miners  found  many  evidences 
that  Deadwood  gulch  had  been  previously  occu- 
pied and  prospected.  On  the  nth  of  May,  upon 
bed  rock,  six  feet  below  the  surface,  a  grindstone 
of  native  rock,  eighteen  inches  in  diameter,  was 
found  embedded  in  the  solid  earth,  the  wooden 
journals  being  in  part  preserved.  On  claim  num- 
ber fifteen  below  Whitewood  district,  nine  feet 
below  the  surface,  a  miner's  hatchet  was  found, 
the  wooden  handle  being  somewhat  mineralized. 
This  hatchet  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the  State 
Historical  Society.  On  the  29th  of  May,  on 
claim  number  fourteen  below,  in  solid  clay  two 
feet  below  the  surface,  a  pair  of  silver  bowed 
spectacles  were  dug  up.  There  were  many  other 
circumstances  which  confirmed  the  miners  in 
their  belief  that  they  were  not  upon  primitive 
soil. 

The  town  of  Deadwood  was  laid  out  April 
1 8th.  The  first  school  meeting  was  held  there 
on  July  29th,  but  it  was  several  months  later 
before   school   was  finally  established. 

On  July  9th  the  first  murder  occurred  in  the 
gulch.  This  was  the  killing  of  one  Hinch  by 
two  men  named  McCarty  and  Carty.  McCarty 
was  arrested  and  tried  by  a  miners'  jury.  He 
was  acquitted,  but  the  miners  took  possession  of 
the    valuable    claims    of    Carty    and    McCarty, 


284 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


which  were  worth  from  twenty-tive  dollars  to 
fifty  dollars  per  day  and  gave  them  to  the  widow 
of  Hinch,  the  murdered  man.  Carty  was  after- 
ward arrested  by  a  United  States  marshal  and 
brought  to  Yankton  for  trial,  but  was  finally  ac- 
quitted. 

A  few  days  later,  August  2,  1876,  Wild  Bill 
Hicock  was  shot  in  a  gambling  house  in  Dead- 
wood  by  John  AlcCall.  ^NlcCall  was  promptly 
arrested  and  a  court  organized  for  his  trial  by 
the  election  of  W.  L.  Kuykendall  as  judge, 
Isaac  Brown,  sheriff,  Colonel  May  being  chosen 
for  the  prosecution  and  Judge  jMills  for  the  de- 
fense. A  venire  was  issued  and  the  court  ad- 
journed until  the  next  day,  when  the  sheriff  re- 
turned the  following  jury:  Charles  Whitehead, 
foreman,  J.  J.  Burk,  L.  K.  Bukkaw,  J.  H. 
Thompson,  S.  S.  Hopkins,  J.  F.  Cooper,  Alex. 
Traverse,  K.  T.  Towle,  J.  E.  Thompson,  L.  A. 
Judd,  E.  Burke  and  John  Mahan.  The  trial  was 
conducted  in  an  orderly  manner,  the  defense  be- 
ing that  Bill  had  killed  IMcCall's  brother  in  Kan- 
sas some  years  before.  To  the  surprise  of  ev- 
eryone, the  jury  brought  in  a  verdict  of  not 
guiltv  and  McCall  was  released.  Afterward  he 
was  re-arrested  by  a  deputy  United  States  mar- 
shal at  Cheyenne,  brought  to  Yankton,  tried, 
convicted  and  hanged,  on  the  ist  of  March,  1877. 
The  hanging  took  place  on  the  present  site  of  the 
state  insane  asylum. 

There  were  a  great  many  adventurers  and 
politicians  among  those  who  thronged  into  the 
Hills  in  1876  and  they  could  not  long  remain 
inactive.  Having  appealed  to  Governor  Penning- 
ton to  set  up  a  civil  government  in  the  Hills,  an 
appeal  which  necessarily  the  governor  was  com- 
pelled to  refuse  inasmuch  as  under  the  organic 
law  an  Indian  reservation  was  not  deemed  a  por- 
tion of  the  territory,  they  opened  up  on  him 
in  August.  Their  first  movement  was  the  agita- 
tion for  the  organizatiort  of  a  new  territory, 
which  was  to  include  the  area  lying  between  the 
one  hundredth  and  one  hundred  and  ninth  merid- 


ian. They  held  mass  meetings  and  conventions 
and  passed  resolutions  and  elected  representatives 
to  congress,  continuing  the  agitation  until  after 
the  ratification  of  the  treaty  for  the  opening  of 
the  Hills,  but  of  course  it  came  to  nothing  except 
to  afford  the  pioneer  lawyers  and  adventurers 
an  opportunity  to  exercise  their  gifts  of  oratory. 

On  September  nth  Deadwood  City  was  or- 
ganized. E.  B.  Farnum  was  elected  mayor  and 
justice,  the  council  consisting  of  A.  Pearto,  K. 
Kurtz,  Sol  Star  and  H.  C.  Filbrook.  The  city 
government  was  sustained  by  a  license  tax  on 
every  business  in  town  ranging  from  five  dollars 
to  twenty-five  dollars  per  quarter  each. 

The  miners  called  a  regular  election  the  first 
Tuesday  in  February  to  vote  for  President  and 
vice-President,  members  of  the  legislature  and 
members  of  congress.  The  election  resulted  in 
the  choice  of  Dr.  Meyers  and  General  .A^.  Z.  R. 
Dawson  to  represent  the  Black  Hills  country  be- 
fore  the   territorial   legislature   at   Yankton. 

On  the  whole  the  Deadwood  gulch  was  an 
orderly  community  during  the  season  of  1876: 
when  we  consider  the  character  of  the  men  who 
had  assembled  there,  it  was  extraordinarily  so. 
Of  course  there  were  thousands  of  men  who 
came  into  the  Hills  too  late  to  secure  claims  in 
the  bonanza  district  and  who  went  out  disap- 
pointed and  heart-broken,  but  those  who  were  for- 
tunate enough  to  secure  claims  generally  made 
a  fair  stake  and  a  few  real  fortunes  were  real- 
ized. No  suggestion  was  secured  during  this 
year  of, the  vast  wealth  lying  under  the  feet  of 
the  miners  in  the  inexhaustible  stores  of  free 
milling  quartz  and  refractory  ores  from  which 
the  great  mining  industry  of  the  Black  Hills  has 
since  been  developed. 

.A.  surprisingly  large  number  of  the  men  who 
have  since  made  the  Black  Hills  famous  are 
found  among  the  pioneers  of  1876.  Sketches 
of  the  most  of  these,  with  the  date  of  their  arrival 
in  the  Hills,  will  be  found  in  the  department  ot 
this  history  devoted  to  biographical  sketches. 


CHAPTER  XLIX 


IMPORTANT  EVENTS  OF 


The  homestead  boom  began  in  1877.  With  [ 
the  year  1877  a  new  era  opened  in  the  history  j 
of  Dakota.  Founded  in  the  vast  extent  of  our 
fertile  and  free  lands,  it  had  its  impulse  in  the 
results  of  the  great  financial  panic  which  swept 
the  land  in  1873  and  continued  to  depress  the 
people  during  the  years  of  liquidation  which 
followed.  jMany  thousands  of  families  all  over 
the  United  States  had  been  reduced  to  bank- 
ruptcy by  the  great  panic  and  by  1877  had  gath- 
ered themselves  together  and  were  looking  for  an 
opportunity  again  to  begin  life  anew.  They 
found  their  opportunity  in  Dakota  and,  despite 
the  discouraging  state  of  agriculture,  the  flood 
of  immigration  set  this  way.  Not  all  of  course 
\\-ho  were  looking  Dakotaward  at  this  period 
were  bankrupts.  Strong  men  of  energy  and 
action  and  means  saw  their  opportunity  in  this 
field  and  availed  themselves  of  it.  And  proba- 
bly young  men  just  starting  in  life  were  the 
preponderating  element  in  the  movement.  Nev- 
ertheless Dakota  was  to  be  the  haven  and  salva- 
tion of  thousands  of  families  who  had  gone  to 
the  wall  in  the  panic  of  1873.  Still  they  did  not 
come  all  at  once  in  this  year.  They  simply  sent 
forward  their  representatives  to  spy  out  land 
and  make  ready  for  the  great  rush  which  was 
to  come  in  the  years  immediately  following. 

The  greatest  enterprise  for  the  development 
of  Dakota  had  its  inception  in  the  spring  of 
1877.  It  originated  in  the  fertile  mind  of  }ilar- 
vin  Hughitt,  president  of  the  Chicago  &  North- 
western Railway.    Up  to  this  time  railroads  had 


been  built  either  to  accommodate  settlements  al- 
ready made  or  else  to  secure  and  hold  valuable 
land  grants.  No  railroad  had  ever  pioneered 
and  invaded  a  wholly  unsettled  country  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  attracting  settlement  that  way. 
Mr.  Hughitt  conceived  the  idea  that  by  projecting 
his  roads  into  the  unoccupied  territory  of  Da- 
kota east  of  the  ^Missouri  river  he  would  thereby 
induce  a  large  settlement  to  come  in  and  occupy 
the  lands  and  that  ultimately  his  company  would 
find  profitable  business  in  the  field.  He  has  lived 
to  see  the  wisdom  of  his  action  splendidly  justi- 
fied. 

On  the  27th  day  of  March.  1877,  ^Ir.  Hughitt, 
in  company  with  ^[r.  W.  H.  Stennett  and  other' 
officers  of  the  road,  made  their  first  visit  into 
Dakota.  They  came  then  for  the  ostensible  pur- 
pose of  establishing  a  stage  road  into  the  Black 
Hills  to  connect  with  their  lines,  but  later  ]\Ir. 
Hughitt  personally  inspected,  by  overland  trips, 
the  entire  Dakota  country  east  of  the  Missouri, 
and  at  once  began  the  plans  which  resulted  in 
the  construction  of  several  hiuidred  miles  of  the 
Northwestern  road  across  the  unsettled  Dakota 
prairies. 

The  legislature  convened  the  second  Tuesday 
of  January  and  organized  with  Dr.  Burleigh 
and  Major  Hanson,  respectively,  the  chairman 
and  secretary  of  the  council,  and  D.  C.  Hagle.  a 
new  man  in  the  territory,  a  resident  of  Hutchin- 
son county,  as  speaker  of  the  house,  to  which 
Theodore  A.  Kingsbury  was  elected  chief  clerk. 
Governor   Pennington's  message  was   character- 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


istically  practical  and  was  devoted  largely  to  a 
discussion  of  the  financial   situation   and  a  rec- 
ommendation   for   a    reform   in   the   methods   of  ; 
raising   revenue  and   managing  the   finances   of 
the  territory.  He  dealt  upon  the  importance  of  ■ 
immigration  and  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  i 
system  adopted  by  the  legislature  of  the  previous 
session  had  been  unsuccessful  and  that  the  former 
single  commissioner  system  should  be  re-adopted. 

One  of  the  first  actions  of  the  legislature  was 
to  appoint  a  committee  to  examine  and  report 
on  the  territorial  finances.  They  went  carefully 
over  the  books  of  the  auditor  and  treasurer  and 
reported  gross  carelessness  and  irregularity  in  the 
methods  of  accounting.  In  fact  the  confusion 
was  such  that  they  found  it  quite  impossible  to 
determine  the  exact  condition  of  affairs.  Noth- 
ing criminal  was  developed,  though  they  found  j 
that  one  warrant  for  one  hundred  dollars  had  ! 
been  paid  twice,  simply  through  carelessness. 

There  were  one  or  two  contests  for  seats, 
the  most  important  coming  from  the  Fargo  dis- 
trict in  North  Dakota  where  P.  M.  McHench 
contested  the  seat  of  Mr.  Back.  One  day  when 
only  a  quorum  was  present,  the  15th  day  of 
February,  and  the  session  was  almost  ended, 
jMcHench's  friends  saw  their  opportunity. 
IiIcHench  was  seated  and  the  contest  ended, 
whereupon  Dr.  Burleigh  resigned  as  president 
of  the  council  and  C.  B.  \'alentine,  of  Turner 
county,  was  elected  to  fill  out  the  term. 

Dr.  C.  W.  Meyer  and  Gen.  A.  Z.  R.  Dawson 
were  admitted  to  seats  on  the  floor  and  permitted 
to  present  measures  favorable  to  the  Black  Hills 
districts,  which  they  represented. 

Judson  La^Moure  injected  a  little  fun  into  the 
session  by  introducing  a  bill  to  remove  the  capi- 
tal from  Yankton  to  Jamestown.  After  some 
filibustering  the  bill  was  indefinitely  postponed. 

Railroad  rate  legislation  showed  up  for  the 
first  time  in  the  legislature  of  this  session  by  a 
bill  introduced  by  Eric  Iverson,  of  Union 
count}-,  regulating  the  freight  and  passenger 
rates.    The  bill  died  in  committee. 

One  or  two  funnyisms  crept  into  the  proceed- 
ings. The  house  sessions  were  held  in  Stone's 
hall   over   the  music   store   of   W.   H.   \\'hite,   a 


somewhat  erratic  old  gentleman  well  known  to 
the  old  residents.  White  persisted  in  playing 
his  fiddle  in  his  store,  much  to  the  annoyance  of 
the  legislators.  A  legislative  committee  was  sent 
to  reprimand  him  for  his  conduct,  but  he  insisted 
that  it  was  his  business  to  sell  fiddles  and  that  he 
could  not  conduct  his  business  without  exhibit- 
ing his  instruments  and  the  character  and  tone 
of  his  goods,  and  he  kept  on  fiddling.  He  then 
was  arrested  and  brought  before  the  bar  of  the 
house  and  reprimanded  for  his  obstreperous  con- 
duct. He  promised  to  reform,  but  kept  on  fid- 
dling, and  not  until  he  was  called  in  another 
time  were  the  solons  able  to  abate  the  nuisance. 

T.  i\I.  Fulson,  a  citizen  of  Union  county  and 
a  gentleman  in  whom  the  Governor  had  reposed 
trust  and  confidence  and  commissioned  a  notary 
public,  conceived  the  opinion  that  he  was  by  vir- 
tue of  his  oiiiice  authorized  to  solemnize  mar- 
riages, and  for  a  long  time  carried  on  a  large 
business  in  this  industry.  When  the  real  situa- 
tion dawned  upon  his  customers  there  was  a 
good  deal  of  consternation  among  the  citizens 
of  his  bailiwick,  but  the  legislature  made  it  right 
by  legalizing  his  action. 

Congress  having  early  in  February  approved 
the  Black  Hills  treaty,  the  legislature  provided 
for  an  immediate  survey  of  a  territorial  road  from 
Ft.  Pierre  to  Rapid  City  and  Deadwood.  The 
bill  became  a  law  on  February  loth  and  on  that 
day  the  secretary  appointed  Ed.  Palmer  and 
Frank  D.  Wyman  to  make  the  survey.  They 
started  out  promptly,  and  though  the  weather 
was  extremely  severe  and  they  suflfered  great 
hardships  in  consequence,  they  succeeded  in  com- 
pleting the  survey  within  the  next  forty  days. 
After  a  great  deal  of  discussion  the  legislature 
adjourned,  having  repealed  the  immigration  law 
and  without  having  provided  an  immigration 
commissioner. 

The  Black  Hills  counties  were  created  by  this 
session,  Custer  taking  its  name  from  the  princi- 
pal camp,  which  had  been  named  for  General 
Custer,  Pennington  named  in  honor  of  Governor 
Pennington  and  Lawrence  for  John  Lawrence,  an 
enterprising  early  citizen  of  the  territory.  Judge 
Granville  G.  Bennett  was  at  once  assigned  to  the 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


287 


courts  of  the  Black  Hills  district  and  that  section 
of  Dakota  threw  ofi:  the  anomalous  condition 
which  existed  from  its  settlement  and  came  un- 
der the  jurisdiction  of  duly  enacted  civil  law. 

The  winter  of  1877  was  an  exceptionally 
severe  one.  Early  in  January  Captain  Miner,  of 
the  Twenty- second  Infantry,  regular  army,  (not 
the  well  known  Captain  Nelson  Miner),  started 
out  with  a  detail  of  fifty  men  for  a  scout  over  the 
prairie  west  of  the  ^Missouri  river.  They  were 
caught  in  a  fearful  blizzard  and  the  Captain  and 
eleven  of  his  men  perished ;  the  remainder  were 
rescued  after  sufifering  incredible  hardships. 

The  severe  losses  which  the  settlers  had  en- 
coiuitered  the  previous  years  led  to  an  attempt 
tliis  year  to  destroy  the  young  grasshoppers  im- 
mediately after  hatching.  It  was  conceived  that 
if  the  prairie  grass  was  kept  until  the  new  grass 
started  and  the  young  grasshoppers  had  hatched 
and  then  burned  that  it  would  destroy  the  pests 
which  had  caused  so  much  hardship  among  the 
settlers.  A  convention  was  held  at  Canton  on 
the  first  of  March,  attended  by  representatives 
trom  all  of  the  southern  parts  of  the  territory  and 
a  day  agreed  upon  when  the  prairies  should  be 
burned.  The  plan  was  carried  out  with  some 
success. 

\\'.  H.  Pelton,  a  reputable  citizen  of  Lincoln 
county,  brought  great  censure  upon  himself  by 
going  out  on  an  independent  enterprise  to  Chi- 
cago and  other  eastern  points  to  secure  aid  for  the 
destitute  of  Lincoln  county.  His  action  was  very 
^■everely  condemned  and  he  was  advertised  as  an 
imposter  by  the  immigration  agents,  though 
there  is  no  doubt  that  he  was  acting  in  good  faith 
and  there  was  some  destitution  which  he  helped 
lo  relieve. 

Early  this  spring,  in  the  month  of  March, 
N.  C.  Xash  became  the  proprietor  of  the  Sioux 
\  alley  News,  which  he  has  conducted  continu- 
ously from  that  time.  At  about  the  same  time 
Robert  r.uchanan  became  editor  of  the  Sioux 
I'alls  Pantagraph. 

The  Black  Hills  immigration  had  given  a 
great  impetus  to  the  river  trade.  Some  notion  of 
its    extent    ma\-    be    deri\'ed    from    the    fact    that 


thirty-si.x  steamboats  regularly  cleared  from  the 
port  of  Yankton  for  the  up-river  trade. 

Under  the  direction  of  W.  H.  Claggett,  from 
Montana,  a  new  territorial  movement  had  a  great 
impulse  in  the  Black  Hills  and  for  a  time  ap- 
peared to  be  formidable.  To  offset  this  a  state- 
hood movement  was  instituted  in  Yankton.  A 
mass  convention  was  held  on  April  19th  upon  a 
call  signed  by  a  very  large  number  of  the  citi- 
zens of  the  territory.  It  convened  at  the  court 
!  house  in  Yankton,  Captain  Caleb  E.  Brooks  being 
chairman  and  George  W.  Kingsbury,  secretary. 
Proper  resolutions  proposing  statehood  for  the 
south  half  of  Dakota  territory  were  prepared  by 
General  Beadle  and  unanimously  adopted.  An 
executive  committee  was  ajjpointed.  consisting 
of  George  W.  Kingsbury,  General  Beadle,  Dr. 
Burleigh.  O.  C.  Stein,  C.  E.  Brooks  and  George 
H.  Hand,  and  an  agitation  for  immediate  state- 
hood assumed  territorial  wide  proportions,  but, 
with  the  deadlock  between  the  Republican  sen- 
ate and  Democratic  house,  it,  of  course,  came  to 
nothing. 

The  harvest  of  this  \-ear  was  a  very  excel- 
lent one  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  some  of 
the  localities  were  again  visited  by  the  grasshop- 
per scourge. 

The  settlement  had  become  quite  general  up 
the  Sioux  valley  as  far  as  Lake  Kampeska. 
Messrs.  Montgomery  and  Keeler  had  settled  on 
Lake  Kampeska  two  or  three  years  before  and 
this  year  they  took  with  them  James  Riley,  Cin- 
cinnatus  C.  Wiley  and  O.  S.  Jewell.  They  drove 
up  from  Yankton  to  their  claims  at  Kampeska 
on  May  6th  and  for  the  first  time  in  their  ex- 
perience were  able  to  find  regular  stopping  places 
at  the  homes  of  settlers  along  the  route. 

The  Oakwood  lake  country  had  begun  to  at- 
tract attention.  Byron  E.  Pay  had  resided  there 
for  some  years  and  during  this  season  a  large 
number  of  claims  were  located  in  this  section 
and  several  new  settlers  established  themselves 
there. 

Among  the  engineers  who  assisted  in  the 
location  of  the  Northwestern  Railway  to  Kam- 
peska in   1872  was  one  Robert  Pike,  an  enthusi- 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


ast.  a  sort  of  scientific,  philosophical  communist 
with  free-love  tendencies.  He  was  delighted 
with  the  beautiful  country  surrounding  Lake 
Kampeska  and  conceived  the  plan  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  community  there  which  should 
become  an  exponent  of  his  peculiar  social  no- 
tions. He  interested  his  brother,  W.  C.  Pike, 
a  gentleman  who,  if  possible,  was  more  erratic 
than  Robert.  In  1873  they  had  visited  Lake 
Kampeska  and  settled  on  a  considerable  body  of 
land  on  the  west  side  of  the  Sioux  river  between 
the  present  location  of  Watertown  and  the  lake 
and  had  erected  a  number  of  dugout  claim 
shanties  upon  it.  During  the  succeeding  winter 
the  Pikes  lectured  throughout  the  east  and  in- 
terested a  considerable  number  of  people  in  the 
enterprise.  In  the  spring  of  1874,  while  enroute 
to  Lake  Kampeska.  Robert  Pike  died.  This 
checked  the  enterprise  for  the  time  being,  but 
in  1876  it  was  again  taken  up  by  his  brother, 
William  C.  Pike,  who  visited  Lake  Kampeska 
and  took  some  action  toward  perfecting  the 
claims  of  the  community  there.  He  returned  to 
Chicago,  where  he  conceived  an  inordinate 
jealousy  for  Colonel  Jones,  editor  of  the  Religio 
Philosophical  Journal,  who  was  one  of  the  pro- 
moters of  the  community  scheme  and  a  shining 
light  in  the  Pike  Free-Love  Society,  and  one 
morning,  meeting  Jones  on  the  stairs  of  his 
office,  he  shot  him  dead.  He  escaped  hanging  on 
the  plea  of  insanity  and  was  incarcerated  in  the 
Illinois  Insane  Asylum,  where  he  remained  many 
years,  and  so  the  great  "Kampeska  Co-operative 
Free-Love  Community"  proved  a  campaign  that 
failed. 

The  year  in  the  Black  Hills,  while  continu- 
ing profitable  from  a  mining  point  of  view, 
started  off  in  somewhat  discouraging  circum- 
stances. On  the  evening  of  February  25th  the 
freight  train  of  Horick,  Evans  &  Dunn  was 
camped  on  Centennial  Prairie  near  Crook  City. 
Ted  jMcGonnigle  was  in  charge  of  the  cattle 
herd  when  a  band  of  Oglalas,  presumably  under 
the  lead  of  Young  Man  Afraid  of  His  Horses, 
dashed  down  upon  them,  killed  McGonnigle  and 
ran  oflf  the  entire  drove  '  of  cattle  and  a  con- 
siderable number  of  horses.     On  the  same  dav 


Riley  and  Jones,  two  prospectors  near  Rapid 
City,  were  killed  and  scalped. 

There  was  a  great  deal  of  agitation  in  the 
early  spring  about  the  opening  of  the  Pierre 
route.  One  faction  determined  to  start  from 
Chantier  creek,  while  still  another  favored  Fort 
George  as  the  official  point.  After  a  good  many 
vacillating  orders  the  government  ordered  the 
opening  of  the  Fort  Pierre  route  along  the  sur- 
ve}-  which  had  been  made  b\-  Palmer  and  \\'}'man 
earlier  in  the  spring. 

On  Saturday,  April  7,  1877,  the  Black  Hills 
Daily  Times  was  established  by  Warner  &  Xew- 
hard.  It  started  off  with  intense  antagonism  to 
the  territorial  government  and  was  an  advocate 
of  the  "new  territorial"  movement.  On  the 
evening  of  the  very  day  of  its  establishment  a 
great  mass  meeting  to  agitate  for  Black  Hills 
territory  was  held  in  Deadwood,  of  which  Judge 
Kuykendall  was  chairman  and  J.  H.  Burns  sec- 
retar}-,  and  the  well  known  Sol  Star  was  chair- 
man of  the  committee  on  resolutions.  The  pre- 
amble set  out  a  long  line  of  grievances  to  which 
the  miners  had  been  subjected  and  then  "Re- 
solved, that  the  only  remedy  left  us  is  the  or- 
ganization of  a  new  and  independent  territory." 
The  ])aper  next  day  said  that  "the  general  tenor 
of  the  meeting  portrayed  a  fixed  determination 
to  throw  oft"  the  yoke  of  Yankton  servitude  and 
to  enroll  our  names  on  the  roll  of  freemen,  not 
serfs  of  the  governor  of  Dakota,  but  citizens  of 
the  L'nited  States."  The  same  meeting  took  oc- 
casion to  pass  a  resolution  eulogizing  Seth  Bul- 
lock, sheriff,  "for  his  unswerving  bend  to  duty." 

In  reading  the  daily  occurrences  of  that  period 
when  there  were  more  than  six  thousand  people 
gathered  in  Deadwood  gulch  one  is  struck  wnth 
the  remarkable  freedom  from  acts  of  violence. 
Shootings  were  very  rare,  though  it  is  noted 
that  in  the  first  number  of  the  Times  there  is 
mention  made  of  the  shooting  of  Dave  Finnigan 
by  Henry  Porter.  Finnigan,  however,  recovered 
and  there  was  no  official  action  taken  in  the 
matter. 

From  the  first  issue  of  the  Times  we  learn 
that  there  were  five  first-class  breweries  in  the 
vicinity  of  Deadwood.  and  the  following  prices 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


289 


current :  Xails,  eighteen  cents ;  butter,  twenty- 
five  cents ;  dried  apples,  forty  cents ;  coal  oil, 
two  dollars ;  eggs,  seventy-five  cents,  and  flour, 
twelve  dollars  per  hundred  weight.  Freight  was 
hauled  from  the  Missouri  river  to  Deadwood  for 
three  cents  a  pound. 

The  Times  declared  in  this  issue  for  "An 
independent  territory,  one  and  inseparable,  now 
and  forever."  Governor  Pennington  was  se- 
verely censured  for  appointing  A.  W.  Lavender, 
Fred  Evans  and  John  Walzmuth  county  com- 
missioners for  the  county,  on  the  theory  that 
through  these  commissioners  he  was  implicated 
in  a  county  seat  steal. ' 

On  the  26th  the  paper  notes  that  the  arrivals 
averaged  more  than  one  hundred  daily,  chiefly 
b\-  the  Fort  Pierre  route,  but  on  the  27th  the 
Times  says :  "One  hundred  tenderfeet  have  left 
because  they  could  see  no  gold  on  the  sidewalks." 

On  April  30th  Jack  Farrell  was  arraigned 
before  Judge  Gooding,  charged  with  uttering 
counterfeit  "dust."  Judge  Burns,  who  had  been 
appointed  public  prosecutor,  appeared  for  the  ter- 
ritory and  said  that  although  he  w-as  ignorant 
of  the  present  law  respecting  such  act,  still  as 
"dust"  is  the  actual  currency  of  this  country  he 
had  no  doubt  that  a  penalty  as  severe  as  that 
for  uttering  counterfeit  bank  bills  was  prescribed 
ly  the  statutes.  He  therefore  asked  that  the  case 
be  continued  ten  days  so  that  full  information 
could  be  obtained  and  that  the  accused  be  held  on 
at  least  five  thousand  dollars  bail.  Judge  HoUins 
appeared  for  the  prisoner  and  entered  a  plea  of 
not  guilty.  The  case  was  continued  for  a  week, 
with  the  understanding  that  should  the  statutes 
arrive  before  that  time  the  case  should  be  called 
for  trial.  Judge  Hollins  considered  five  thousand 
dollars  an  excessive  bail,  but  the  court  placed  it 
at  that  amount. 

After  the  massacre  of  W.  H.  Smith,  the  pio- 
neer Methodist  minister,  it  is  probable  that  there 
was  not  a  minister  of-  the  gospel  in  the  Black 
Hills  for  some  months,  but  in  that  autumn  C. 
E.  Hawley,  a  Congregationalist,  arrived  and  held 
preaching  services  in  Deadwood  and  at  other 
points.     On   November  26,    1876,  the  Reverend 


L.  P.  Xorcros,  a  Congregational  minister,  came 
from  Denver  and  held  services  at  the  Inter-ocean 
hotel.  On  January  he  organized  the  first  reli- 
gious organization  of  the  Black  Hills,  the  First 
Congregational  church  of  Deadwood,  with  nine 
members.  On  May  17th  Father  John  Lonergan, 
?.  Catholic  priest,  arrived  and  at  once  organized  a 
Catholic  church. 

On  INIay  loth  Judge  Bennett  arrived  and  held 
court  in  chambers  at  Deadwood,  the  first  exer- 
cise of  statutory  judicial  authority  in  the  Black 
Hills.  On  May  25th  he  convened  the  first  regu- 
lar term  of  district  court  at  Hayward,  in  Custer 
county. 

Charles  Collins,  the  irrepressible  citizen  of 
Dakota,  and  Black  Hills  promoter,  early  in  May 
embarked  a  first-class  printing  outfit  on  the 
steamer  "Carroll,"  bound  for  the  Black  Hills,  to 
establish  a  newspaper  at  Gayville.  When  fifty 
miles  from  Randall  the  "Carroll,"  with  the  com- 
plete printing  outfit,  was  burned.  Undaunted, 
however,  he  returned  to  Chicago,  purchased  a 
new  outfit  and  in  a  very  short  time  established 
his  printing  plant  and  newspaper  at  Gayville. 

At  a  reconvened  "new  territorial  convention" 
on  May  19th,  two  factions  appeared  in  the  meet- 
ing, one  headed  by  Clagget,  the  other  by  Dr. 
Mayer.  ]\Iayer  made  a  violent  attack  on  Pen- 
nington and  Dr.  Clagget  and  most  everybody 
of  prominence  in  the  territory.  The  meeting  was 
convened  to  elect  a  delegate  to  represent  the 
Hills  at  Washington.  Clagget  and  Mayer  were 
candidates  and  after  great  confusion  and  intense 
excitement,  almost  resulting  in  riot,  Mayer  was 
chosen. 

On  ;\Iay  25th  the  Times  notes  that  there 
were  three  churches  and  seventy-three  saloons 
in  Deadwood. 

Early  in  June  a  party  of  United  States  sur- 
veyors set  out  to  establish  the  line  between  Da- 
kota and  Wyoming  and  caused  great  excitement 
in  Deadwood  by  announcing  that  that  enterpris- 
ing burg  was  located  four  miles  over  into  Wy- 
oming, that  is  that  the  line  run  four  miles  east  of 
Deadwood.  This  renewed  the  excitement  and 
demand  for  the  organization  of  a  now  territory. 


290 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


It  was  several  weeks  before  it  was  finally  deter- 
mined that  Deadwood  was  actually  in  Dakota 
End  not  across  the  line. 

On  May  12th,  in  a  fight  over  a  mining  claim, 
two  Bohemians  named  Dan  Obrodovich  and 
Steve  Kroack,  who  had  jumped  the  claims  of 
John  Blair  and  Samuel  F.  ]\Iay,  were  shot  by  the 
latter.  On  May  i6th  May  and  Blair  were  con- 
victed and  sentenced  to  five  years  at  Fort  ]\Ion- 
roe. 

On  ]\Iay  25th  William  Blatt  instituted  the 
first  lodge  of  Masons  there. 

Gold  dust  at  this  time,  by  common  consent, 
was  legal  tender  in  the  Black  Hills  at  twenty  dol- 
lars per  ounce.  The  merchants  maintained  that 
this  price  was  exorbitant  and  that  they  main- 
tained a  loss  of  two  dollars  on  every  ounce  they 
received.  This  caused  a  good  deal  of  discussion 
and  on  June  25th  a  meeting  was  called  "to  con- 
sider the  currency  question."  After  extended 
discussion  the  price  was  fixed  at  eighteen  dollars. 

About  July  first  a  United  States  postofifice 
was  established  in  Deadwood.  When  it  was  first 
opened  a  line  extending  for  many  blocks  was 
formed  by  the  miners  desiring  to  secure  their 
mail.  Those  who  were  more  fortunate  in  getting 
their  places  in  the  front  line  were  offered  and 
often  accepted  from  one  to  two  dollars  for  their 
places. 

The  subject  of  issuing  bonds  to  pay  the  or- 
ganizing expenses  and  current  expenses  of  Law- 
rence county  caused  a  good  deal  of  agitation  at 
that  time.  John  Lawrence,  who  had  been  ap- 
pointed county  treasurer,  bitterly  opposed  these 
early  bond  issues,  but  his  judgment  was  over- 
ruled and  the  great  debt  which  has  been  upon 
the  people  of  Lawrence  county  even  down  to  the 
present  time  was  created. 

There  were  many  Indian  depredations  about 
this  time  and  many  persons  were  killed  in  and 
about  the  Hills.  On  July  26th  the  county  com- 
missioners of  Lawrence  county  offered  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars  for  the  body  of  an  Indian, 
dead  or  alive.  This  notice  was  signed  by  John 
Walzmuth    and    Fred    Fvans,    countv    commis- 


sioners. 
On  Tuh 


;5tli  Seth  I'.uUnck  notified  Governor 


Pennington  that  "Agency  Indians  are  destroying 
property  and  murdering  citizens.  Several  ranch- 
men have  already  been  murdered.  We  shall  call 
out  the  force  of  the  county  for  protection.  We 
lack  arms  and  ammunition.  Can  you  assist  us?" 
To  this  Governor  Pennington  replied,  "We  have 
no  arms  or  ammunition  here.  You  may  organ- 
ize one  or  more  companies  of  militia,  under  the 
laws  of  the  territory,  for  self-protection,  to  arm 
themselves.  I  will  commission  the  officers  elected 
bv  them.  I  have  telegraphed  the  secretary  of 
war  for  aid."  A  militia  company  was  therefore 
organized  on  the  28th  day  of  July,  with  \\'.  H. 
Parker  captain,  John  INIanning.  first  lieutenant, 
Noah  Siever,  second  lieutenant,  and  Dr.  ^^Ic- 
Kowen,  first  surgeon. 

On  August  4th  there  occurred  at  the  theater 
in  Deadwood  an  incident  which,  owing  to  the 
prominence  of  the  parties  connected  with  it,  is 
worthy  of  preservation  here.  It  will  be  recalled 
that  William  F.  Cody  (Buffalo  Bill)  achieved 
his  first  great  prominence  as  a  scout  by  the  kill- 
ing of  the  Oglala  chief.  Yellow  Hand,  in  1876. 
and.  in  company  with  Captain  Jack  Crawford, 
he  had  dramatized  this  event  and  was  to  play  it 
on  August  4th.  In  order  to  give  genuine  eclat 
to  the  scene  where  Buffalo  Bill  scalps  Yellow 
Hand  it  was  determined  to  enact  it  on  horseback. 
Accordingly  in  the  afternoon  two  very  gentle 
horses  were  brought  upon  the  stage  from  ]\Ioon- 
ey's  livery  stable  and  trained  to  familiarize 
themselves  with  the  explosion  of  firearms.  In  an 
hour  they  became  so  accustomed  to  it  that  pistol 
shots  could  be  fired  in  rapid  succession  under 
their  very  noses  without  giving  them  the  slight- 
est concern.  When  the  curtain  rose  for  the 
grand  equestrian  scene.  Buffalo  Bill,  mounted 
on  a  snow-white  charger,  galloped  across  the 
stage.  A  moment  later  Captain  Jack  Crawford. 
as  Yellow  Hand,  trotted  out  from  the  wings  and 
then  the  trouble  began.  Bill  raised  his  Henry 
rifle  and  began  to  fire,  while  Jack  pulled  his  re- 
volver, firing  one  shot  in  doing  so.  He  fell 
heavilv  to  the  stage,  with  his  foot  clinging  for  a 
moment  in  the  stirrup.  The  horse,  relieved  of  its 
rider,  rushed  about  wildly,  confused  by  the  sud- 
den   fall   and   continued   firing,  and   at  one  time 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


rushed  toward  the  footlights  and  seemed  about 
lo  jump  into  the  auditorium.  Captain  Jack  rose 
to  his  feet  and  limped  off  the  stage,  but  a  mo- 
ment later  made  his  appearance  again  in  a  hand- 
to-hand  encounter  with  Buffalo  Bill.  He  stood 
on  one  leg,  with  blood  streaming  down  the  other, 
and  seemed  to  be  in  great  pain,  all  of  which  was 
construed  by  the  audience  as  a  part  of  the  per- 
'ppaABj^  ssI7,^J■  poojq  aqj  jo  jqSis  ;y  -aouBuuoj 
occupying  a  box  on  the  right,  fainted.  The  cur- 
tain fell  abruptly  and  there  was  a  rush  to  the 
stage  to  learn  what  was  the  matter.  Jack  was 
found  unable  to  rise  and  bleeding  from  the  groin. 
He  was  taken  to  the  dressing  room  and  a  physi- 
cian summoned.  When  his  leggings  were  re- 
moved an  ugly  wound  was  found  in  his  left 
groin  from  which  the  blood  was  flowing  freely. 
The  wound  was  caused  by  the  premature  explo- 
sion of  Jack's  revolver. 

On  August  5th,  1877,  Prof.  Henry  Newton, 
a  grandson  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  who  was  in  the 
Hills  with  the  Jenny  expedition,  died  from 
mountain  fever. 

On  August  17th  the  village  of  Gayville,  a 
mile  or  two  above  Deadwood.  was  burned. 

On  July  28th  a  holdup  by  road  agents  took 
place  at  the  water  holes  near  the  Cheyenne  on 
the  Pierre  road.  The  stage,  loaded  with  passen- 
gers, was  coming  out  from  the  Hills  and  when 
they  stopped  to  water  the  stock  at  the  water  holes 
the  road  agents  arose  out  of  the  grass  and,  in  a 
gentlemanly  way,  informed  the  passengers  they 
desired  to  relieve  them  of  all  surplus  money  in 
excess  of  three  hundred  dollars  each.  An  ac- 
count of  stock  was  taken  and  it  was  found  that 
no  gentleman  in  the  stage  possessed  so  much  as 
three  hundred  dollars,  whereupon  the  agents  told 
them  to  throw  off  their  baggage  and  leave  it  for 
their  examination  and  then  to  drive  on  to  a  safe 
distance.  The  road  agents  then  went  through  the 
baggage,  but  found  nothing  that  suited  their 
fancy  and  they  signaled  the  coach  to  return, 
when  they  disappeared.  The  coach  returned,  the 
passengers  gathered  up  their  baggage  and  pro- 
ceeded on  their  way  without  being  further  mo- 
lested. 

During  that  season  the  road  agents  became 


quite  active  and  there  were  numerous  holdups. 
As  early  as  the  night  of  March  25th  they  made 
an  attack  on  the  stage-coach  as  it  was  approach- 
ing Deadwood  and  was  in  the  immediate  vicin- 
ity of  the  present  village  of  Pluma.  The  stage 
was  in  charge  of  John  Slaughter,  driver,  and 
contained  eleven  passengers,  ten  men  and  one 
woman.  Among  these  was  Harry  Lake,  who 
had  in  his  charge  fifteen  thousand  dollars  in  cash 
for  the  Stebbins,  Wood  &  Company's  bank,  now 
the  First  National  Bank  of  Deadwood.  About 
eleven  o'clock  at  night  five  men  were  noticed 
approaching  the  stage  in  the  middle  of  the  road, 
and  as  the  stage  came  up  they  separated  into  two 
parties.  Just  as  the  vehicle  got  abreast  of  them, 
one  of-  the  men  on  the  left  suddenly  thrust  his 
gun  into  the  stage  and  fired.  Harry  Lake  quick- 
ly grasped  the  gun  with  both  hands,  and  held  on 
to  it  with  such  desperate  tenacity  that  he  was 
pulled  out  of  the  stage  on  the  left.  The  advance 
agent  had  fired  at  the  driver,  who  fell  dead  from 
the  box  on  the  right.  The  horses  becoming 
frightened  at  the  shooting,  started  on  a  wild  run 
toward  Deadwood  with  the  stage  and  its  five 
terrified,  white-faced  passengers,  followed  by  a 
vollev  from  the  guns  of  the  robbers,  who  then 
made  good  their  escape  without  any  booty.  The 
passengers  arrived  at  Deadwood  at  midnight  and 
the  story  they  told  created  intense  excitement. 
A  partv,  led  by  A.  G.  Smith,  John  Manning  and 
West  Travis,  hastened  to  the  scene  of  the  en- 
counter in  search  of  Slaughter's  body.  They 
soon  found  it  where  it  fell.  The  road  agents 
were  never  found. 

The  Sidney  coach  was  again  stopped  about 
four  miles  south  of  Battle  Creek  in  July  of  that 
year  and  robbed  of  the  treasure-box,  and  the 
passengers  relieved  of  their  money,  watches,  jew- 
elry and  baggage.  These  were  the  only  out- 
rages of  the  character  which  occurred  in  1877, 
tliough  in  later  years  they  were  even  more  fre- 
quent. 

While  most  of  the  history  of  the  Black  Hills 
for  1877  centers  around  Deadwood  gulch,  other 
points  were  active,  particularly  is  this  true  of 
Rapid  City,  the  gateway  to  the  Hills  by  the 
Pierre  route.     There,  on    Tune  20th,  three   men 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


were  arrested  accused  of  horse  stealing  and  that 
night  was  taken  from  the  sheriff  and  hanged  by 
the  citizens.  The  men  were  Lewis  Curry,  James 
Hall  and  A.  J.  Allen.  The  action  of  the  citizens 
was  considered  high-handed  and  unjustified,  as 
there  was  some  doubt  of  the  guilt  of  the  parties. 
Governor  Pennington  promptly  offered  a  reward 
of  one  thousand  dollars  for  evidence  which 
would  lead  to  the  conviction  of  the  guilty  parties, 
but  no  further  action  was  ever  taken  in  the  mat- 
ter. 

On  August  nth  of  that  year  Charles  E. 
Hedges,  a  well-known  citizen  of  Sioux  City,  who 
had  the  beef  contract  for  supplying  the  Lower 
Brule  agency,  located  across  the  river  from 
Chamberlain,  was  killed  by  Indians  near  that 
agency. 

Officially  the  relation  with  the  Indians  was 
somewhat  improved  this  year.  Sitting  Bull,  who 
had  taken  refuge  in  Canada,  soon  placed  himself 
in  communication  with  the  Canadian  police  and 
through  them  with  the  L'^nited  States  authori- 
ties. By  this  time  General  I\Iiles  had  been 
placed  in  general  command  of  the  northwest. 
General  Miles,  through  a  commission,  made 
overtures  to  Sitting  Bull  for  peace,  which  did 
not  result  in  anything  effective  that  year,  for  the 
reason  that  communication  was  established  with 
the  hostiles  too  late  in  the  season,  though  Sitting 
Bull  declared  that  had  he  received  earlier  offer 
of  amnesty  he  would  have  come  into  the 
agency.  Late  in  the  fall  of  1876  the  government 
forcibly  disarmed  and  dismounted  the  agency 
Indians.  General  Terry,  with  a  large  force  of 
troops,  visited  the  agencies  and  caused  the 
seizure  of  all  guns,  pistols  and  arms  belonging 
to  the  Indians.  This  was  considered  by  the  In- 
dians as  a  particular  hardship,  as  the  weight  of 
it  fell  upon  the  few  friendlies  who  had  remained 
at  the  agency,  and  of  course  did  not  affect  the 
hostiles,  who  were  back  in  the  field.  From  the 
Cheyenne  agency  two  thousand  horses  were 
taken,  which  at  a  large  discount  were  taken  to 
St.  Paul  and  other  eastern  points  and  disposed 
of.  The  net  proceeds,  being  little  more  than 
fourteen  thousand  dollars,  were  distributed  to  the 
Indians. 


In  February  General  Crook  succeeded  in  in- 
ducing Spotted  Tail  to  go  out  north  with  two 
hundred  and  fifty  of  his  sub-chiefs  and  head  men 
on  a  mission  of  peace  to  the  hostiles.  Spotted 
Tail  found  large  camps  of  the  hostiles  on  the 
Little  Missouri  and  Little  Powder  rivers  and 
through  his  earnest  efforts  and  continuous  coun- 
cils he  succeeded  in  inducing  them  to  "bury  the 
hatchet"  and  come  in  to  the  agencies.  He  re- 
turned on  April  6th,  after  an  absence  of  over 
fifty  days,  and  announced  that  his  mission,  un- 
dertaken and  carried  out  in  midwinter,  through 
hardships  and  sufferings  from  cold  and  hunger, 
had  been  successful ;  that  one  hundred  and  five 
lodges,  crowded  with  the.  late  hostiles,  were  on 
their  way  in.  He  had  previously  succeeded  in 
sending  in  twenty-five  lodges,  which  he  came 
across  on  his  way  out.  On  April  14th  the  late 
hostile  camp  arrived,  and  numbered  by  actual 
count  nine  hundred  and  seventeen  souls,  under 
Roman  Nose  and  Touch  the  Clouds,  of  the  ^li- 
niconjous,  and  Red  Bear  and  High  Bear,  of 
the  Sans  Arcs. 

This  was  the  first  break  in  the  firm  ranks  of 
the  hostiles,  and  Spotted  Tail  felt  assured  that 
the  Cheyennes  would  soon  come  into  Red  Cloud, 
and  that  Crazy  Horse,  with  about  two  hundred 
lodges,  would  not  be  far  behind.  These  predic- 
tions were  soon  verified.  The  Indian  war  had 
been  ended.  All  the  hostiles  came  in  except  a 
remnant  under  Lame  Deer  and  Fast  Bull,  of  per- 
haps sixty  lodges  of  Miniconjous  and  Sans  Arcs, 
who  refused  to  accept  terms  of  peace,  and,  of 
course,  Gall  and  Sitting  Bull,  with  their  Unc- 
papas,  who  had  taken  refuge  in  Canada. 

In  consideration  of  this  successful  mission 
by  Spotted  Tail,  who,  though  an  Indian,  un- 
tutored and  uncivilized,  had  been  the  means  of 
saving  hundreds  of  lives  and  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  dollars  of  government  treasure,  he  was 
by  General  Crook  made  the  chief  of  all  the  Sioux 
tribes,  and  given  a  commission  as  a  first  lieu- 

!  tenant  in  the  army. 

I  ]\Iaj.  William  Pond,  United  States  district 
attorney  for  Dakota  territory,  while  enroute 
home  from  Bismarck,  where  he  had  been  on  of- 
ficial business,  died  on  the  cars  at  Adkin,  ]\[inne- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


293 


sota,  on  October  24th.  ;\Iajor  Fond  was  born  at 
Salem,  Ohio,  in  1840,  and  came  to  Dakota  as 
private  secretary  to  Governor  Burbank.  He 
afterward  served  as  postmaster  at  Yankton  for 
four  years.  Upon  receiving  advice  of  the  death 
of  Alajor  Pond,  Judge  Kidder,  delegate  in  con- 
gress, called  upon  President  Hayes  to  notify  him 
of  the  death  and  to  say  that  at  the  proper  time 
he  would  recommend  a  successor,  but  to  his  as- 


tonishment President  Hayes  told  him  that  he  had 
already  appointed  Hugh  J.  Campbell,  of  Louis- 
iana, to  the  position.  General  Campbell  had  been 
an  active  Republican  during  the  troublous  re- 
construction and  subsequent  days  in  the  south 
and  had  been  especially  helpful  in  securing  the 
support  of  Louisiana  for  Hayes  and  the  President 
had  naturally  taken  this  first  opportunit}'  to  re- 
ward him. 


CHAPTER  L 


THE  BOOAI  DE\'ELOPS  IX   1878. 


The  immigration  boom,  which  had  its  gene- 
sis in  1877,  developed  in  vohime  in  1878.  In  that 
year  the  whole  of  the  Sioux  valley,  practically, 
was  occupied  by  homesteaders,  and  there  began 
to  be  an  overflow  into  the  James  valley,  in  fact 
the  lower  James  was  by  this  time  pretty  well 
filled  up,  as  far  north  as  Mitchell.  The  Winona 
&  St.  Peter  division  of  the  Northwestern  system, 
it  will  be  recalled,  was  completed  to  Lake  Kam- 
peska  in  1873.  It  had  not  been  operated,  how- 
ever, and  had  fallen  into  disrepair,  most  of  the 
bridges  having  been  consumed  by  prairie  fires. 
It  was  rebuilt  during  1878.  The  line  now  known 
as  the  Omaha,  then  called  the  Worthington  & 
Sioux  Falls,  was  completed  to  Sioux  Falls  on 
July  .^oth.  The  present  Alilwaukee  line  north 
from  Sioux  City,  then  Pembina  division  of  the 
Dakota  Southern,  was  completed  as  far  north 
as  Beloit,  two  miles  below  Canton,  dur- 
ing the  season.  Mr.  Hughitt.  of  the 
Northwestern,  in  furtherance  of  his  plan 
to  pioneer  the  territory  with  railways,  made  a 
careful  reconnoisance  of  the  field  personally  this 
year  and  consummated  his  plans  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  extensions,  practically  upon  the 
lines  since  occupied.  This  year,  too,  the  ^lilwau- 
kee  railway  began  to  evince  a  lively  interest  in 
I>akota  affairs.  Its  Hastings  &  Dakota  division 
was  extended  to  Montevideo,  its  Southern  Min- 
nesota to  Pipestone  and  its  Northern  Iowa  to 
Sheldon  and  surveys  completed  to  Eden  and 
Hudson  upon  a  projection  intended  to  strike 
Yankton,   so  that  at  the  close  of   1878  both  of 


these  great  systems  stood  at  the  threshold  of  Da- 
kota ready  to  enter  upon  and  occupy  the  land. 

The  new  settlers  who  came  in  this  season  came 
to  stay  and  to  farm  upon  a  larger  scale  than  had 
ever  been  contemplated  by  the  average  earlier 
settler.  They  had  bonanza  ideas  and  lived  up 
to  them.  Wheat  was  king  in  those  days  and  Da- 
kota was  just  coming  into  its  reputation  as  a 
producer  of  No.  i  hard,  and  it  was  the  ambi- 
tion of  every  settler  to  get  as  many  acres  of  sod 
as  possible  broken.  In  Codington  county  alone 
fifteen  thousand  acres  were  broken  this  season 
and  in  Brookings  probably  more.  It  was  a  time 
of  abounding  hope  and  energetic  action.  Thus 
far  the  motif  was  chiefly  agricultural.  The  town 
booms  were  to  follow. 

At  the  beginning  of  this  new  development 
it  is  well  to  take  our  bearings  and  learn  upon 
what  foundation  they  were  building.  At  the  be- 
ginning of  1878  there  were  in  all  of  Dakota  terri- 
tory about  eleven  thousand  voters  and  as  many 
school  children.  Twenty-four  newspapers  were 
published  within  the  bounds  of  the  two  Dakotas. 
The  only  railway  in  operation  was  from  Sioux 
City  to  Yankton. 

During  this  season  Deuel  county  was  organ- 
ized, on  April  26th;  McCook  county  on  ^lay 
i6th.  Grant  County  upon  June  5th,  Codington 
county  on  July  igth  and  Hamlin  county  on  Au- 
gust 1 2th. 

Watertown  is  the  only  considerable  city 
which  dates  from  this  year. 

The   State   Insane  Hospital   at  Yankton  had 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


its  foundation  this  year.  The  territory  had  in  its 
charge  thirty  insane  patients.  Five  of  these, 
from  the  Black  Hills,  were  cared  for  at  Lincoln, 
Nebraska,  and  twenty-five  at  St.  Peter,  Minne- 
sota, npon  contract  with  the  authorities  of  these 
states.  The  Nebraska  and  ^Minnesota  institu- 
tions were  both  crowded  to  their  full  capacity 
and  could  not  renew  the  contracts.  Governor 
Howard  visited  several  neighboring  states,  en- 
deavoring to  secure  accommodations,  and  fail- 
ing, returned  home  and  turned  his  attention  to 
providing  an  asylum  at  Yankton.  The  territory 
owned  a  large  building  erected  during  the  days 
of  the  Russian  immigration  for  the  temporary 
accommodation  of  these  people  and  the  city  of 
Yankton  had  a  similar  building.  These  two 
buildings  Governor  Howard  caused  to  be  re- 
moved from  the  levee  to  the  present  site  of  the 
asylum  and  at  his  own  expense  had  them  made 
habitable  for  the  accommodation  of  the  insane, 
though  they  were  not  occupied  until  the  ist  of 
April.  1879,  the  legislature  having  in  the  mean- 
time reimbursed  the  Governor  for  his  outlay  and 
given  sanction  of  legal  enactment  to  the  estab- 
lishment. 

Politically  1878  was  an  interesting  year. 
There  was  strong  home  indorsement  for  the  re- 
appointment of  Governor  Pennington,  while 
many  individual  Dakotans  had  ambitions  in  that 
direction.  The  President,  however,  had  other 
plans,  and  on  February  21st  sent  the  name  of 
William  A,  Howard,  a  distinguished  congress- 
man from  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan,  to  the  sen- 
ate. Through  the  opposition  of  Governor  Pen- 
nington's friends  the  nomination  was  not  con- 
firmed until  April  12th,  in  the  meantime  a  com- 
promise having  been  reached  by  which  Penning- 
ton accepted  appointment  as  collector  of  inter- 
nal revenue  for  the  district  of  Dakota,  with  head- 
quarters at  Yankton, 

The  Republican  territorial  convention  was 
held  at  Yankton  on  August  22d,  with  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-nine  delegates.  The  Black  Hills 
had  alx)Ut  one-third  of  the  entire  representation. 
Judge  Kidder  was  a  strong  candidate  for  re- 
nomination     and    Judge     Moody     and     General 


Dewey  were  also  candidates  from  the  east  side 
and  in  the  Hills  Judge  Granville  G.  Bennett  con- 
tested with  William  H.  Claggett  for  the  Hills 
support.  Bennett  carried  the  Hills  and  Chggett 
dropped  out.  In  the  convention  a  red-hot  con- 
test developed.  Kidder  had  about  sixty  reliable 
votes  and  Bennett  and  Moody  each  about  thirty, 
with  twenty  scattering.  Seven  ballots  were 
taken  without  result,  when  a  recess  was  forced 
and  during  the  intermission  an  arrangement  was 
made  by  which  Bennett  was  to  at  once  resign 
the  judgeship ;  Moody  was  to  throw  his  strength 
to  Bennett  and  secure  him  the  nomination  and  in 
turn  Moody  was  to  be  appointed  to  the  vacant 
place  upon  the  bench.  The  scheme  was  carried 
out  and  on  the  eighth  ballot  Bennett  received 
seventy-five  votes.  Despite  the  opposition  of 
Kidder,  Moody  was  a  few  days  later  appointed 
judge  of  the  Black  Hills  circuit. 

The  Democrats  met  at  Y''ankton  in  territorial 
convention  on  August  28th  and  nominated  Bart- 
lett  Tripp  for  congress  without  opposition.  Ex- 
cept the  Dakota  Herald,  then  conducted  by 
Maris  Taylor,  at  Yankton,  there  was  no  Demo- 
cratic newspaper  in  the  territory,  but  arrange- 
ments were  made  by  which  Mr,  Tripp  received 
the  support  of  the  Veniiillion  Republican,  the 
Sioux  Falls  Independent  and  the  Roscoe  (Egan) 
Express,  the  later  paper  having  been  established 
the  previous  June  by  George  Lanning.  A  vigor- 
ous campaign  v^'as  made,  resulting  in  the  choice 
of  Bennett  by  a  vote  of  10,455  to  8,493,  the  vote 
of  the  territory  having  much  more  than  doubled 
since  the  previous  election.  In  this  election 
Judge  Brookings,  who  had  hitherto  been  the 
stanchest  spoke  in  the  Republican  wheel,  and  the 
organizer  of  the  party  in  the  territory,  gave  his 
support  to  Judge  Tripp,  and  was  thereafter  a 
Democrat.  The  legislature  had  made  the  offices 
of  auditor,  treasurer  and  superintendent  of  pub- 
lic instruction,  hitherto  elective,  appointive,  but 
at  the  same  time  had  provided  for  the  election  of 
a  prosecuting  attorney  in  each  judicial  circuit. 

The  new  territory  movement,  inaugurated  in 
the  Black  Hills,  became  .so  formidabio  at  this 
time  that  meetings  to  protest  against  it  were  held 


296 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


at  Yankton,  \'ermillion  and  Elk  Point  and  at 
various  country  places. 

A  great  temperance  revival  swept  the  terri- 
tory this  year  and  hundreds  of  drinking  men  be- 
came teetotalers.  A  prominent  feature  of  the 
movement  was  organizations  of  clubs  of  former 
drinking  men,  which  were  known  as  reform 
clubs.  This  movement  was  particularly  effective 
in  Yankton,  where  most  of  the  prominent  citi- 
zens were  enrolled. 

Gov.  A.  C.  Mellette  came  to  Dakota  this  year 
as  register  of  the  land  office  at  Springfield. 

The  Black  Hills  received  their  share  of  the 
development  of  the  year,  although  the  excite- 
ment of  the  earlier  days  had  abated.  The  Home- 
stake  Mining  Company,  which  had  organized  in 
the  autumn  of  1877,  added  to  its  holdings  the 
Old  Abe  and  Highland  mines  and  erected  an 
eighty-stamp  mill,  and  its  history  as  a  wonder- 
ful producer  dates  from  this  time. 

The  First  National  Bank  of  Deadwood,  really 
the  first  regular  banking  institution  of  the  Hills, 
dates  from  September  i.  1878.  ]\Iajor  Brennan 
built  the  well-known  Harney  Hotel  at  Rapid 
City  this  year.  It  was  the  first  and  for  many 
years  the  only  commodious  and  comfortable 
hotel  in  western  Dakota. 

A'ery  late  in  1877  Red  Cloud  and  Spotted 
Tail,  in  conformity  to  the  treaty  of  1876,  brought 
their  respective  bands  to  the  Missouri.  Red 
Cloud  located  at  the  mouth  of  Medicine  creek, 
near  Big  Bend,  and  Spotted  Tail  took  possession 
of  the  abandoned  Ponca  agency,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Niobrara.  Neither  were  satisfied.  Their 
jjeople  were  not  contented,  the  yoimg  men  were 
constantly  subjected  to  the  evil  influences  of 
vicious  whites,  and  within  easy  access  to  intoxi- 
cants and  both  chiefs  petitioned  the  government 
to  permit  them  to  return  to  the  interior.  Their 
recjuests  were  granted  and  Spotted  Tail  located 
permanently  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rosebud,  where 
his  people  still  reside,  and  Red  Cloud  chose  his 
present  home  at  Pine  Ridge. 

The  zeal  for  reform  which  possessed  Hon. 
Carl  Schurz,  secretary  of  the  interior,  worked 
a  great  sensation  in  Dakota  and  irreparable  in- 


jury to  several  worthy  citizens.  Schurz  entered 
the  public  service  prepossessed  with  the  notion 
that  every  officer  and  trader  in  the  Indian  serv- 
ice were  necessarily  corrupt,  and  he  consequently 
presumed  them  all  guilty  until  their  innocence 
was  established.  He  appointed  Hon.  J.  H.  Ham- 
mond inspector  of  the  Indian  department,  a 
man  if  possible  more  violent  in  his  predisposed 
opinions  than  Schurz  himself.  Together  they 
set  out  to  cleanse  and  reform  the  service  accord- 
ing to  their  own  views.  Hammond  spent  much 
time  in  his  preliminary  campaign,  patiently  go- 
ing through  the  vouchers  on  file  at  Washington 
and  then  coming  on  to  the  Missouri  he  set  out 
to  Pinkerton  the  agencies.  In  a  short  time  he 
seized  three  agencies,  Crow  Creek,  Lower  Brule 
and  Standing  Rock,  ousted  the  agents,  seized  the 
stocks  of  the  post  traders  and  drove  agents  and 
officials  away  from  the  agencies.  He  gave  out 
to  the  press  that  he  had  unearthed  the  most 
damning  evidence  of  corruption.  At  Crow 
Creek  Dr.  H.  S.  Livingstone  was  agent  and  Maj. 
Everitt  E.  Hudson  was  post  trader.  Both  were 
summarily  driven  from  the  post  and  for 
months  the  newspapers  of  the  country  held  them 
up  to  execration  as  villains  of  the  deepest  dye. 
No  definite  and  formal  charges  had  been  filed 
against  them,  though  they  were  most  urgent  to 
know  with  what  crimes  they  were  charged. 
Major  Hudson's  stock  of  goods,  aggregating 
some  thirteen  thousand  dollars,  was  arbitrarily 
seized  and  held  from  him  for  months  and  threat- 
ened with  libel.  Finally  the  United  States  grand 
jury  assembled  at  Yankton,  in  December. 
Neither  official  had  been  arrested,  but  Hammond 
made  his  case  before  the  jury.  Livingstone  and 
Hudson  were  charged  with  falsifying  vouchers. 
The  case  against  Hudson  was  so  trivial  that  the 
grand  jury  refused  a  bill.  He  had  simply  in  the 
regular  course  of  business  certified  vouchers,  in 
the  name  of  Franklin  J.  DeWitt  and  of  H.  D. 
Booge  &  Company,  his  employers,  who  wefe'ib- 
sent  from  the  agency  and  had  authorized  him  to 
act  in  their  behalf.  Dr.  Livingstone  was  indicted 
and  tried  for  falsifying  a  voucher,  but  promptly 
acquitted  when  the  facts  were  presented  to  the 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


jury.  He  had  employed  five  Indians  to  do  cer- 
tain teaming  for  the  government,  for  which,  at 
three  dollars  per  day,  there  was  due  them  one 
hundred  and  eleven  dollars.  By  agreement  they 
authorized  one  of  their  number  who  could  write 
to  make  a  single  voucher  for  the  whole  sum, 
which  Dr.  Livingstone  duly  certified,  and  upon 
receipt  of  the  warrant  distributed  the  proceeds 
to  the  several  Indians  according  to  the  rights  of 
each.  Dakota  has  not  had  two  more  honorable 
citizens  than  Messrs.  Livingstone  and  Hudson ; 
they  had  been  appointed  to  the  respective  posi- 
tions upon  the  recommendation  of  Bishop  Hare, 
and  the  treatment  they  received  at  the  hands 
of  the  Schurz  administration  created  a  sensation 
which  can  scarcely  be  understood  at  this  dis- 
tance. 

Another  victim  of  the  officiousness  of  Ham- 
mond was  Rev.  Thomas  L.  Riggs,  the  honored 
president  of  the  the  State  Historical  Society,  a 
member  of  the  renowned  missionary  family,  and 
who  had  devoted  his  life  to  the  welfare  of  the 
Indians  without  selfish  thought.  He  had  been 
with  the  Indians  at  his  present  home  since  1872. 
Hammond  secured  his  indictment  for  the  theft 
and  conversion  of  a  span  of  mules,  which  had 
come  into  his  possession  in  the  most  regular 
manner. 

On  the  22d  of  May,  this  year,  occurred  the 
first  great  flood  in  Deadwood.  The  melting 
snows,  followed  by  heavy  rains,  filled  the  gulch 
with  a  torrent  which  swept  away  many  buildings, 
entailing  great  loss,  but  no  lives  were  sacrificed. 

On  July  23d  a  cloud-burst  swelled  the  waters 
of  the  Little  Vermillion  in  the  northwestern  por- 
tion of  Turner  county,  drowning  seven  Russian 
settlers. 

The  crops  of  this  season  gave  splendid  prom- 
ise until  the  harvest  was  in  progress,  when  they 
were  struck  with  a  blight  which  seriously  in- 
jured the  quality  and  reduced  the  yield. 

The  banking  house  of  Mark  M.  Parmer,  at 
Yankton,  failed,  with  liabilities  of  sixty  thou- 
sand. He  settled  later  for  forty  cents  on  the  dol- 
lar. This  was  the  first  bank  failure  in  the  ter- 
ritory. 


The  famous  Deadwood  treasure  coach  was 
robbed  at  Cold  Springs,  by  five  road  agents, 
named  Blackburn,  Wall,  Brookes,  Price  and 
"Red  Headed  Mike."  The  coach,  six  in  hand, 
driven  by  a  man  known  as  Big  Gene,  carrying 
forty-five  thousand  dollars  in  gold,  drove  up  to 
Cold  Springs  station  at  noon.  It  was  in  charge 
of  three  messengers,  Scott  Davis,  Gale  Hill  and 
a  man  named  Campbell.  As  they  were  about  to 
dismount,  careless  of  any  danger,  the  bandits  fired 
upon  them  from  the  stage  barn.  Campbell  was 
instantly  killed  and  Davis  wounded.  He,  how- 
ever, was  able  to  find  cover  in  the  timber  near 
by,  from  where  he  opened  a  fusilade  upon  the 
robbers,  who  at  once  seized  Big  Gene  and  forced 
him  before  them  in  the  direction  of  Davis,  who 
no  longer  dared  to  shoot  lest  Gene  be  killed. 
They  then  took  the  gold  and  made  away.  They 
started  for  the  Missouri  river  by  the  Pierre 
route  and  were  speedily  followed  by  a  posse  un- 
der Seth  Bullock  and  E.  T.  Pierce,  who  in  the 
end  recovered  most  of  the  treasure  and  brought 
the  bandits  to  justice. 

At  Deadwood  Christian  Hofifman  was  shot 
and  killed  in  his  place  of  business  bv  Edward 
Durham.  Durham  was  protected  from  mob  vio- 
lence, tried  in  circuit  court  and  sentenced  to 
eleven  years  in  the  penitentiary.  Mrs.  Hoffman, 
the  wife  of  the  murdered  man,  subsequentlv  be- 
came the  wife  of  Judge  Dighton  Corson,  of  the 
supreme  court. 

Gen.  Wiliam  Tripp  died  at  his  home  in  Yank- 
ton on  March  31,  1878.  General  Tripp  had  been 
distinguished  in  the  history  of  Dakota,  both  in 
civil  and  military  life,  having  commanded  Com- 
pany B  of  the  Dakota  cavalry  during  the  Indian 
war.  Prior  to  coming  to  Dakota  he  had  been  a 
member  of  the  legislature  and  also  lieutenant 
governor  of  his  native  state,  Maine.  He  was 
fifty-seven  years  of  age  at  his  death. 

On  September  19th  Rev.  G.  S.  Codington, 
for  whom  Codington  count\-  was  named,  and 
who  had  served  in  two  legislatures,  from  Minne- 
haha county,  died.  Mark  W.  Baily,  also  a  dis- 
tinguished member  of  the  legislature  of  1877, 
from  Lincoln  county,  died  that  year. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


During  this  summer  there  was  a  general  In- 
dian scare,  the  impression  taking  root  that  the 
Oglalas  and  Uncpapas  were  again  going  upon 
the  warpath.     It  was  happily  unfounded. 

In  consideration  of  the  assistance  he  had  ren- 
dered in  bringing  in  the  hostiles,  Spotted  Tail 
was  made  a  lieutenant  in  the  regular  army,  with 
pay  fixed  at  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  per 
month.  His  appointment  was  made  to  date 
back   for  six  months  and  he  requested  that  the 


nine  hundred  dollars  coming  to  him  be  paid  in 
one  and  two-dollar  bills.  The  great  package  of 
bills  were  brought  to  him  and  he  at  once  divided 
them  up  among  his  friends. 

A  detachment  of  military  from  Fort  Thomp- 
son was  sent  to  the  James  valley  to  bring  into 
Crow  Creek  agency  Drifting  Goose  and  his  band, 
who  continued  to  make  their  home  at  Armadale. 
They  came  in  without  opposition,  but  almost  im- 
mediatelv  returned  to  their  old  haunts. 


CHAPTER  LI 


THE  RAILWAYS  BREAK  IN. 


With  1879  the  flood  of  immigration  increased 
quite  beyond  the  wildest  hope  of  the  old-time 
Dakotans.  By  the  end  of  this  year  there  was 
scarcely  any  desirable  land  left  in  the  Sioux 
valley  untaken  and  the  flood  was  pouring  across 
the  middle  coteau  and  settling  along  the  Jim. 
The  general  plans  of  the  railway  companies  had 
taken  form  and  in  the  prosecution  of  them  the 
Milwaukee  Railway  had  extended  its  Hastings 
and  Dakota  division  as  far  west  as  Big  Stone. 
Its  Northern  Iowa  division  was  completed 
through  Canton  to  Marion  Junction  and  its  sur- 
veys made  west  from  that  point  to  Chamberlain 
and  south  to  Running  Water. 

The  Northwestern,  with  its  restored  Winona 
&  St.  Peter  line  resting  at  Watertown,  had  pro- 
jected the  Dakota  Central  division  west  from 
Tracy.  Minnesota,  to  Pierre,  and  the  line  was 
completed  by  November  1 5th  to  Volga,  in  Brook- 
ings county.  Along  all  of  these  lines  new  towns 
had  sprung  up  over  night.  Elkton,  Brookings, 
Volga,  the  latter  at  the  time  of  vastly  the  great- 
est importance,  and  Goodwin  and  Kranzburg, 
were  the  northwestern  towns  dating  from  1879. 
On  the  Milwaukee  road  Lennox.  Parker,  Mar- 
ion. Mitchell,  Scotland  and  Tyndall  resulted' 
from  the  year's  building,  or  surveys,  the  three 
latter  being  laid  out  by  the  railway  land  com- 
pany, and  acquiring  a  good  deal  of  importance 
long  before  the  roads  were  constructed.  | 

It  was  unquestionably  the  plan  of  the  North- 
western at  this  time  to  push  its  Pierre  extension 
on  to  the  Black  Hills,  as  it  doubtless  also  was 


the  design  of  the  Milwaukee  to  extend  the 
Chamberlian  line  to  the  same  terminus. 

The  Worthington  and  Sioux  Falls  (Omaha) 
Railway  extended  its  lines  west  as  far  as  Salem 
this  year,  and  the  Pembina  division  of  the  Da- 
kota Southern  built  from  Beloit  to  Sioux  Falls, 
and  the  Southern  Minnesota  reached  Flandreau. 
the  first  train  coming  through  on  January  i, 
1880.  Within  a  few  months  the  Dakota  South- 
ern and  Southern  Minnesota  passed  into  the  pos- 
session of  the  Milwaukee. 

Boom  was  in  the  atmosphere,  and  that  hope 
which  has  ever  characterized  the  true  Dakotan — 
hope  that  no  untoward  circumstances  could 
blight — everywhere  carried  the  people  into  new 
enterprises  for  development  and  growth. 

The  legislature  convened  in  January.  George 
H.  Walsh,  of  Grand  Forks,  was  made  president 
of  the  council  and  John  R.  Jackson,  of  Minne- 
haha, speaker  of  the  house.  Governor  Howard's 
message  was  exhaustive  and  practical.  It  was 
chiefly  devoted  to  the  condition  of  territorial 
finances,  which  were  not  prosperous.  In  this 
connection  he  presented  some  tables  of  figures 
which  were  construed  to  reflect  upon  Hon.  E.  A- 
Sherman,  of  Sioux  Falls,  territorial  treasurer. 
Hon.  Richard  F.  Pettigrew,  councilman  from 
Minnehaha,  made  a  vigorous  fight  in  behalf  of 
Mr.  Sherman,  and  though  Governor  Howard 
disclaimed  any  intention  of  doing  Mr.  Sherman 
an  injury,  and  by  appointing  him  at  once  terri- 
torial auditor  showed  his  absolute  confidence  in 
Mr.    Sherman's   integrity,   still   a   situation   grew 


300 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


up  which  interfered  with  legislation  and  was 
more  or  less  embarrassing  to  all  concerned.  New- 
ton Edmunds  was  a  member  of  this  council  and 
earnestly  supported  Governor  Howard  and  par- 
ticularly urged  the  passage  of  the  bill  author- 
izing the  insane  asylum. 

Senator  Pettigrew  promoted  the  passage  of 
a  bill  locating  the  penitentiary,  which  passed 
late  in  the  session  without  much  opposition.  Im- 
mediately after  the  passage  of  this  bill  he 
brought  in  a  new  bill  to  issue  forty-five  thousand 
dollars  of  territorial  bonds  for  the  erection  of  the 
penitentiary  and  insane  asylum.  The  bill  was 
fought  b}-  Hon.  John  R.  Gamble,  of  Yankton, 
and  the  entire  Yankton  and  Bon  Homme  dele- 
gations, the  latter  lead  by  Maj.  James  H.  Steph- 
ens, of  Springfield.  In  the  light  of  subsequent 
developments  the  issue  of  so  small  a  sum  in 
bonds  appears  to  have  been  a  very  innocent  prop- 
osition, but  the  conservative  men  of  January, 
T879,  saw  only  bankruptcy  in  it.  By  a  combina- 
tion with  members  from  North  Dakota  and  with 
Hon.  Alfred  Brown,  of  Hutchinson  county, 
Senator  Pettigrew  was  able  to  make  his  point 
and  force  the  passage  of  the  bond  bill.  Yankton 
influence,  however,  prevailed  and  Governor 
Howard  vetoed  it. 

Mr.  Brown,  of  Hutchinson,  was  deeply  inter- 
ested in  the  consolidation  of  Hutchinson  and 
Armstrong  counties  and,  incidental  to  this  ob- 
ject, he  had  a  bill  which  completely  changed  the 
map  of  the  territory.  In  1872  the  entire  unset- 
tled portion  of  the  territory  was  divided  up  into 
counties,  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  compliment- 
ing prominent  citizens  by  applying  their  names 
to  the  respective  counties  so  created.  Under  the 
former  arrangement  the  present  Hutchinson 
county  approximately  constituted  Hutchinson 
and  Armstrong,  divided  by  an  east  and  west 
line.  Davison  and  Hanson,  also  divided  by  an 
east  and  west  line,  Davison  occupying  the  north 
half  of  the  present  territory  of  the  two  counties. 
Miner  and  Sanborn  were  then  Bramble  and 
Miner.  Aurora  was  Cragin  and  Jerauld  was 
Westmore.  Eastern  Kingsbury  was  Wood 
county.  Kingsbury  itself  extended  west  to  Hu- 
ron,   and    west    of    that    lav    Burchard    countv. 


Hyde  and  Hand  divided  east  and  west.  Coding- 
ton and  Hamlin  was  Adair  county.  The  south 
half  of  Spink  was  called  Spink  and  the  north 
half  Thompson.  The  north  half  of  Brown  was 
Beadle  and  the  south  half  Mills.  Marshall  was 
Stone  and  Day,  Greeley  county.  Potter  was  then 
called  Ashmore. 

Brown's  bill,  said  to  have  been  prepared  by 
Senator  Pettigrew,  arranged  the  counties  about 
as  they  at  present  exist,  and  also  remodeled  the 
map  of  North  Dakota.  Brown's  only  interest 
was  the  consolidation  of  Hutchinson  and  Arm- 
strong, but  to  accomplish  this  he  found  he  could 
secure  support  by  the  general  consolidation 
scheme,  and  so  it  was  brought  about.  By  con- 
solidating the  strength  centered  upon  Brown's 
bill  with  the  penitentiary  scheme  sufficient  force 
was  acquired  to  dominate  legislation. 

The  first  legislative  railway  lobby  appeared 
before  this  legislature.  Charles  S.  Simmons  rep- 
resented the  Northwestern  and  G.  W.  San- 
born the  Milwaukee.  Their  demands  were  emi- 
nently proper,  being  simply  safeguards  for  the 
large  investments  with  which  these  lines  pro- 
posed to  build  at  once  through  the  territory. 
These  were  gladly  granted. 

A  bill  to  tax  the  net  products  of  the  mines 
was  presented,  but  was  intended  simply  as  a 
club  over  the  Black  Hills  members.  Captain 
Miner  introduced  a  bill  giving  the  right  of  suf- 
frage to  women,  which  passed  the  council,  but 
got  no  further. 

Mr.  Gray,  of  Burleigh,  presented  a  bill  re- 
moving the  capital  to  Bismarck,  but  it  was  in- 
definitely postponed  upon  first  reading. 

An  elaborate  school  code,  drafted  by  Prof. 
Amherst  W.  Barber,  was  passed,  which,  under 
the  administration  of  Gen.  W.  H.  H.  Beadle, 
whom  Governor  Howard  appointed  superintend- 
ent of  public  instruction,  brought  about  many  de- 
sirable educational  reforms. 

By  a  bit  of  characteristic  satire  Senator  Pet- 
tigrew killed  a  bill  to  require  a  certain  number  of 
laws  to  be  printed  in  the  German  language.  Mr. 
Pettigrew  said  he  favored  the  bill,  but  would 
like  it  better  if  it  were  more  far-reaching.  There 
were  more  .Sioux  than  Germans  in  Dakota  and 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


he  would  like  it  if  a  large  number  of  the  laws 
were  printed  in  the  Sioux  tongue.  "Then,"  he 
baid,  "when  the  fierce  buck  follows  the  war  path 
with  butcher  knife  in  one  hand  and  reeking  scalp 
in  the  other,  he  will  have  full  knowledge  of  the 
herd  law  and  will  not  lay  himself  liable  to  an- 
noyance for  violating  its  provisions." 

During  the  winter  the  legislature  accepted  the 
mvitation  of  the  Dakota  Southern  Railway  to 
make  an  excursion  to  Beloit  and  thence  by  car- 
riages to  Canton,  where  an  elaborate  banquet 
was  tendered  them  by  the  citizens. 

It  was  not  a  political  year.  As  before  stated. 
Governor  Howard  appointed  E.  A.  Sherman  au- 
ditor, and  General  Beadle  superintendent  of  edu- 
cation. He  also  named  W.  H.  IMcVey,  of  Yank- 
ton, for  treasurer.  Congress  having  having  pro- 
vided for  a  fourth  judge  for  Dakota,  Judge  Kid- 
der, whose  term  as  delegate  in  congress  expired 
on  March  4th,  was  appointed  to  the  new  judge- 
ship about  April  1st. 

The  coteau  region  along  the  Sioux  valley  is 
covered  with  glacial  drift  which  has  been  car- 
ried down  from  the  auriferous  region  about  the 
Rainy  lake,  and  consequently  contains  more  or 
less  gold,  though  necessarily  always  in  small 
quantities.  During  the  early  spring  of  1879  a 
gravel  bar  in  Lake  county  was  found  to  show  the 
color  of  gold  and  the  find  being  noised  about 
there  was  a  stampede  to  the  locality  and  for  a  few 
days  Lake  county  mining  stock  commanded  a 
premium.  The  truth  soon  became  apparent  and 
the  whole  matter  resolved  itself  into  a  good  joke. 

For  the  better  protection  of  the  agencies  and 
the  control  of  the  Indians  it  was  deemed  wise 
to  place  small  forts  at  Cheyenne  river  and  Lower 
Brule,  and  consequently  Forts  Bennett  and  Hale 
were  located  this  spring  at  the  respective  agen- 
cies. Fort  Bennett  was  named  for  Capt.  Andrew 
S.  Bennett,  of  the  Fifth  Cavalry,  who  was  killed 
by  Bannock  Indians  at  Charles  Fork,  Montana, 
on  September  4,  1878,  and  Fort  Hale  for  Capt. 
Owen  Hale,  of  the  Seventh  Cavalry,  who  was 
killed  September  30,  1877,  by  the  Nez  Perces. 


Two  years  of  the  administration  of  civil  law 
in  the  Black  Hills  had  produced  a  very  great 
change  for  the  better  and  the  Hills  country  had 
settled  down  to  as  orderly  a  community  as  the 
west  afiforded.  The  blockhouse  at  Rapid  was 
found  no  longer  to  be  of  service  and  it  was 
torn  down.  Schools  and  churches  were  estab- 
lished in  every  town  and  camp ;  the  road  agents 
disappeared,  order  prevailed  and  prosperity 
abounded. 

It  was  during  this  year  that  H.  N.  Ross,  one 
of  the  miners  who  accompanied  Custer  in  1874. 
discovered  the  hot  springs  in  Fall  River  county. 
Returning  to  Custer  from  the  springs,  he  in- 
formed Prof.  Jenny  and  Col.  W.  J.  Thornbv  of 
his  find  and  they  at  once  went  down  to  examine 
the  healing  waters.  Colonel  Thornbv  located 
a  claim  covering  the  now  famous  Minnekahta 
spring. 

Two  great  disasters  came  upon  the  territory 
during  this  year.  Great  prairie  fires  swept  the 
Sioux  valley  at  the  end  of  IMarch.  From  Sioux 
City  to  Canton  the  valley  was  aflame  and  many 
homesteaders  lost  all  of  their  improvements. 
Only  with  the  utmost  exertion  were  the  villages 
saved  from  the  fires.  This  disheartening  event 
was  a  severe  blow  to  the  newcomers,  but  they 
went  energetically  to  work  to  repair  the  loss, 
and  by  the  following  winter  they  were  again 
mostly  recovered. 

The  great  fire  in  Deadwood  occurred  on  Sep- 
tember 25th.  The  town  was  practically  de- 
stroyed. The  deep,  narrow  gulch,  filled  as  it 
was  with  buildings  of  pine,  became  a  veritable 
furnace.  No  accurate  estimate  of  the  loss  can 
be  given,  but  the  people,  who  had  come  through 
fire  and  snow,  across  the  hostile  lined  wiles,  in 
defiance  of  the  government  and  its  military  arm 
to  make  homes  in  the  Hills,  were  not  daunted 
by  the  loss  of  their  savings  and  their  homes. 
The  ground  was  cleared  for  better  building  and 
they  earnestly  set  to  work  to  build  a  cit\-  not  so 
liable  to  go  up  in  smoke  and  the  substantial  mod- 
ern Deadwood  is  the  result. 


CHAPTER  LIl 


THE  SWELL  OF  THE  BOOM  IX  i J 


By  the  spring  of  1880  the  boom  in  immigra- 
tion and  railroad  building  in  the  Dakota,  country 
had  .reached  its  great  height  and  though  it  did 
not  abate  for  several  years,  it  still  did  not  at  any 
time  reach  greater  proportions.  During  that 
year  the  Dakota  Central  division  of  the  North- 
western was  built  from  Volga  to  Pierre,  giving 
rise  to  Huron,  Desmet,  Miller,  Highmore  and  all' 
of  the  bright  towns  along  that  line.  The  Mil- 
waukee was  extended  from  Marion  to  Chamber- 
lain, and  Mitchell,  Alexandria,  Plankington  and 
the  towns  along  that  railway  came  into  being. 
Its  Hastings  and  Dakota  division  was  con- 
structed from  Big  Stone  to  Webster,  giving  birth 
to  ]\Iilbank  and  Webster.  The  road  from  Egan 
to  Sioux  Falls  was  constructed  and  the  South- 
ern Minnesota  extended  from  Flandreau  to 
Madison.  In  the  early  spring  of  this  year  the' 
directors  of  the  Dakota  Southern  Railway,  rep- 
resenting a  bare  majority  of  the  stock,  sold  the 
road  to  the  Chicago,  ^lihvaukee  &  St.  Paul,  but 
John  I.  Blair,  of  St.  Louis,  the  owner  of  forty- 
eight  per  cent,  of  the  stock  of  the  road  and  its 
financial  sponser  and  its  creditor  for  a  large  sum, 
attempted  to  restrain  the  sale  by  injunction.  The 
matter  dragged  in  the  courts  for  several  months, 
preventing  the  ^Milwaukee  from  making  exten- 
sions in  the  southern  portion  of  the  territory, 
which  it  had  in  contemplation.  The  suit  was 
compromised  in  July  and  the  ^Milwaukee  took 
the  road. 

At   this   time   every   prospect   pointed   to   the 


early  construction  of  both  the  Pierre  and  Cham- 
berlain extensions  to  the  Hills,  and  it  was  un- 
doubtedly the  intention  of  the  management  of 
both  lines  to  do  so.  Through  the  promotion  of 
the  railways  the  head  men  of  the  Tetons  went 
to  Washington  to  consider  the  means  of  selling 
the  right  of  way  for  the  railways  through  the 
reservation,  and  an  agreement  was  reached  and 
both  companies  paid  a  large  sum  of  money  for 
the  concession.  The  Northwestern  bought  out 
the  squatters  upon  the  section  of  land  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Missouri,  opposite  Pierre,  and  cov- 
ered the  land  with  "Valentine  script."  Alore- 
over  extensive  surveys  were  made  and  the  imme- 
diate building  of  the  extensions  announced. 
There  is  reason  to  believe  that  at  this  juncture 
the  Northwestern  contemplated  extending  the 
Pierre  line  to  the  Pacific.  Both  the  Northwest- 
ern and  Milwaukee  this  year  began  the  construc- 
tion of  the  north  and  south  lines  in  the  Jim 
valley. 

Immigration  everywhere  flowed  in  the  wake 
of  the  railways  and  not  infrequently  preceded  it. 
There  is  no  record  of  the  numbers  who  came, 
but  the  ordinary  estimates  of  the  newspapers  of 
the  day  placed  the  new  arrivals  of  the  year  at 
one  hundred  thousand. 

Governor  Nehemiah  G.  Ordway,  who  was 
appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  b\-  the 
death  of  Governor  Howard,  arrived  on  the  24th 
of  June  and  at  once  set  out  upon  a  personal  ex- 
amination  of   the    territory.      He    delivered    the 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


303 


Fourth  of  July  oration  at  Mitchell  and  went 
thence  to  the  Black  Hills  and  Bismarck,  across 
to  Fargo  and  Grand  Forks  and  in  a  short  time 
had  familiarized  himself  with  the  entire  terri- 
tory and  made  many  acquaintances.  He  gath- 
ered up  a  car  load  of  Dakota  grains  and  vegeta- 
bles and  made  an  extended  trip  through  the  east 
exhibiting  them  and  induced  much  additional 
immigration  from  the  New  England  region.  The 
harvest  of  the  year  proved  excellent. 

Beginning  on  the  15th  of  October  of  this 
year,  when  the  new  settlers,  many  of  them,  had 
not  completed  their  houses  and  stables,  and  were 
therefore  illy  provided  for  such  a  visitation,  a 
terrific  snow  storm  set  in  and  continued  for  four 
days.  The  storm  was  unprecedented  in  its  fury, 
when  the  season  is  considered ;  the  snow  fell  to 
a  great  depth,  blockading  all  of  the  railways  for 
a  long  period  and  causing  much  sufifering.  Much 
stock  perished  and  a  few  human  lives  were  lost 
in  South  Dakota.  This  was  the  beginning  of  a 
winter  which  has  become  historic,  a  date  line 
from  which  all  pioneers  reckon  time.  The  hard 
winter  of  1880  has  become  a  proverb. 

The  1st  day  of  May,  1880,  the  United  States 
land  office  was  removed  from  Springfield  to  Wa- 
tertown.  Arthur  C.  Mellette  was  register  and 
L.  D.  F.  Poore  receiver.  On  September  21st 
the  land  office  at  Sioux  Falls  was  removed  to 
Mitchell,  the  lands  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Falls 
having  all  been  taken,  and  the  convenience  of  the 
homeseekers  requiring  that  the  office  be  brought 
nearer  the  point  of  general  new  settlement. 

During  this  season  there  was  a  general  dis- 
cussion of  the  possibility  of  obtaining  water  from 
sinking  artesian  wells.  This  was  a  topic  of  the 
first  interest  to  the  prairie  to\\ms  and  the  boomers 
took  up  the  exploitation  of  it  with  a  will,  but  it 
remained  for  conservative  old  Yankton  to  make 
the  first  attempt  and  the  first  demonstration  of 
its  practicability.  This,  however,  was  not  ac- 
complished until  the  next  year. 

The  total  assessed  valuation  of  the  territory 
this  year  was  eleven  million  eight  hundred  and 
light  thousand  dollars.  The  population  by  the 
census  on  the  first  of  June  was  one  hundred  and 


thirty-five  thousand  and  for  the  portion  now 
South  Dakota  eighty-six  thousand. 

This  was  a  political  year.  Governor  How- 
ard died  on  April  loth  and  the  appointment  of 
a  successor  was  a  matter  of  great  interest.  A 
strong  movement  was  started  favorable  to  the 
appointment  of  George  H.  Hand,  the  secretary. 
He  did  not  find  favor  with  the  administration. 
President  Hayes  offered  the  position  to  Judge 
Kidder,  but  the  latter  preferred  to  continue  upon 
the  bench.  Finally  Nehemiah  G.  Ordway,  of 
New  Hampshire,  was  chosen.  Ordway  had  been 
sergeant-at-arms  of  the  house  of  representatives. 
He  was  a  gentleman  of  large  means,  and  as 
sergeant-at-arms  he  had  become  a  sort  of  private 
banker  to  a  very  large  number  of  the  impecuni- 
ous congressmen,  and  in  this  way  viras  enabled 
to  bring  to  his  support  an  almost  irresistible  de- 
mand for  his  appointment.  It  may  be  noted  as 
an  interesting  coincident  that  he  was  a  nephew 
of  the  Sergeant  Ordway,  who,  in  1804,  accom- 
panied Lewis  and  Clarke  through  Dakota. 

The  first  convention  of  the  season  was  held 
at  Fargo  May  19th  by  the  Republicans  for  the 
purpose  of  electing  delegates  to  Chicago  for  the 
national  convention.  There  was  a  very  full  at- 
tendance, indicating  the  interest  the  newcomers 
took  in  public  affairs.  Charles  T.  McCoy,  then 
of  Bon  Homme  county,  and  Porter  Warner,  of 
Dead  wood,  were  chosen  as  delegates,  and  they 
were  instructed  to  support  Newton  Edmunds 
for  national  committeeman,  but  no  choice  was 
expressed  by  the  convention  as  to  the  candi- 
date for  President,  the  sentiment  of  the 
territory  being  apparently  divided  about 
equally  between  Grant  and  Blaine.  At 
Chicago  Mr.  McCoy  supported  Grant  and 
they  united  in  support  of  Garfield.  Mr.  Warner 
did  not  understand  that  he  was  under  instruc- 
tions for  Governor  Edmunds  for  national  com- 
mitteeman and  supported  Seth  Bullock.  As  a 
result  of  this  disagreement  no  committeeman 
was  appointed  at  the  time  for  Dakota,  but  later 
in  the  season  ]\Ir.  McCoy  was  chosen  for  the 
position  by  the  territorial  committee.  The  Dem- 
ocrats (lid  not  hold  a  spring  convention,  but -the 


304 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


committee  selected  gentlemen  to  represent  that 
])artv  in  the .  convention  at  Cincinnati,  which 
nominated  Hancock. 

The  Republicans  made  a  red-hot  pre-conven- 
tion  campaign  for  delegate  in  congress.  Senator 
Pettigrew,  Delegate  Bennett  and  John  B.  Ray- 
mond were  active  candidates.  Alex  Hughes, 
chairman  of  the  central  committee,  called  his 
committee  to  meet  at  Elk  Point  on  July  24th  to 
fix  the  time  and  place  for  holding  the  nominat- 
nig  convention,  but  found  that  Mr.  Pettigrew 
had  already  secured  from  a  majority  of  the  com- 
mittee a  call  for  a  convention  to  meet  at  Sioux 
Falls  without  consulting  Hughes.  A  serious 
split  was  threatened,  but  a  compromise  was 
reached  and  the  convention  called  to  meet  at  Ver- 
million September  ist.  In  that  convention  seven 
ballots  were  taken  before  a  choice  was  made,  the 
original  strength  'being  Bennett  and  Pettigrew, 
fifty-five  each.  Raymond  thirty-one.  On  the  sev- 
enth ballot  a  break  was  made  to  Pettigrew  and 
he  received  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  votes. 

The  Democratic  convention  met  in  Sioux 
Falls  in  September  and  Capt.  M.  L.  McCormack, 
of  Grand  Forks,  was  nominated  without  opposi- 
tion. The  only  contest  was  over  the  selection 
of  the  chairman  of  the  central  committee,  the 
result  of  the  election  in  Maine  having  encour- 
aged the  Democrats  to  hope  that  Hancock  might 
be  elected,  in  which  event  the  position  of  state 
chairman  would  carry  a  great  deal  of  power  in 
the  matter  of  patronage.  D.  M.Inman  was  finally 
agreed  upon  as  chairman.  The  election  of 
course  resulted  in  a  great  Republican  victory,  as 
the  new  immigration  was  almost  entirely  Repub- 
lican. 

The  administration  of  aflfairs  in  Lawrence 
"county  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  corrtipt  ring  which 
resulted  in  the  almost  bankruptcy  of  the  county. 
Bonds  for  more  than  three  hundred  thousand 
dollars  were  issued.  Colonel  Moody,  as  judge 
of  the  district  court,  took  a  strong  position  in  op- 
position to  the  methods  in  operation  there  and 
was  for  a  time  deeply  involved  in  a  political-ju- 
dicial turmoil,  but  came  out  with  such  credit  that 
he  was  at  once  discussed  as  one  of  the  United 


States  senators  to  represent  the  new  state,  which 
at  that  time  was  thought  to  be  near  at  hand. 

Brown  county  was  organized  July  20th,' 
Beadle  July  9th,  Clark  December  21st,  Hughes 
November  20th  and  Miner  November  8th.  The 
last  named  county  then  included  Sanborn  county 
and  the  county  seat  was  located  at  Forestburg. 

Among  the  notable  deaths  of  the  year  was 
that  of  Governor  Howard,  which  occurred  at 
Washington  on  April  loth.  Gov.  William  A. 
Howard  was  a  native  of  Vermont,  where  he  was 
born  in  1812.  He  was  a  member  of  congress 
from  Detroit.  Michigan,  from  1856  to  1862,  after 
which  he  was  postmaster  at  Detroit  for  eight 
years.  As  an  executive  he  ranks  among  the  wis- 
est and  best  Dakota  has  known.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded during  the  interregnum  before  the  ap- 
pointment of  'Ordway  by  George  H.  Hand,  sec- 
retary and  acting  governor. 

Dr.  Frank  Wixson,  a  pioneer  of  i860  and  sur- 
geon of  Company  B.  of  the  Dakota  Cavalry,  died 
?Jay  13th.  He  was  also  secretary  of  the  coun- 
cil in  1867.  Judge  E.  G.  Wheeler,  a  lawyer  of 
prominence,  long  a  citizen  of  Yankton  but  re- 
cently removed  to  Beadle  county,  died  Julv  25th. 
]Mrs.  ]\Iary  A.  Kidder,  wife  of  Judge  Kidder, 
died  in  October.  The  great  storm  of  October 
has  already  been  mentioned.  The  entire  season 
was  characterized  by  storms  of  unusual  violence. 
On  May  17th  a  storm  somewhat  cyclonic  struck 
the  vicinity  of  Ashton  and  destroyed  many  home- 
steaders' improvements.  Another  of  similar 
character  wrought  havoc  in  the  vicinity  of 
Mitchell  and  still  later  a  violent  storm  devastated 
a  portion  of  Lake  county.  Fortunately  no  lives 
were  lost  from  this  cause. 

While  the  public  health  was  in  general  very 
good,  an  epidemic  of  smallpox,  exceedingly  vir- 
ulent and  fatal,  occurred  at  Jefiferson,  in  I^nion 
county,  in  December. 

A  few  notable  crimes  are  recorded  for  the 
year.  William  E.  Gleason.  first  United  States 
attorney  for  Dakota  territory  and  later  a  judge 
of  the  territorial  supreme  court,  for  which  he  re- 
signed to  accept  a  consulate  in  Italy,  had  taken 
up  the  practice  of  law  at  his  former  home  in  Bal- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


timore,  Maryland,  where  during  this  summer  he 
was  convicted  of  perjury  and  disbarred  from 
practice. 

John  D.  Cameron,  a  somewhat  notorious  resi- 
dent of  Sioux  Falls,  was  indicted  for  subornation 
of  perjury  in  the  United  States  court,  growing  out 
of  an  attempt  to  secure  title  to  forty-five  quarter 
sections  of  government  land  near  Huron, 
through  fraudulent  entries.  Cameron  was  for 
r.  long  period  almost  constantly  under  indictment 


for  fraudulent  practices  relating  to  the  public 
lands. 

Silas  F.  Beebe  was  sentenced  by  Judge  Shan- 
non to  be  hanged  for  the  murder  of  George  Lan- 
phere,  near  Crow  creek  agency  on  July  4,  1879. 
He  was  reprieved  and  his  sentence  commuted  to 
life  imprisonment  by  the  President. 

Arkansas  Bill,  a  notorious  desperado,  was 
shot  to  death  by  a  sheriff's  posse  at  Pierre  on 
November  i8th. 


CHAPTER  LIll 


THE  HARD  WINTER  OF  1880-81. 


The  great  blizzard  of  the  middle  of  October, 
1880,  was  the  initial  performance  of  a  winter 
unprecedented,  and  never  succeeded  in  severity, 
in  the  history  of  Dakota  or  the  northwest.  Heavy 
snows  and  severe  storms  came  at  frequent  inter- 
vals, rendering  train  service  unreliable  and  un- 
certain, hindering  the  removal  of  crops  and  the 
shipment  into  the  countr)'  of  supplies  of  fuel  and 
groceries.  Early  in  January  on  many  lines  train 
service  became  utterly  impracticable.  It  was  be- 
fore the  invention  of  the  rotary  snow  plow,  and 
the  constantly  accumulating  masses  of  snow 
blown  back  and  forth  by  violent  winds  filled  the 
cuts  to  a  vast  depth.  More  than  eleven  feet  of 
snow  fell  during  the  season  and  all  of  it  remained 
in  the  country,  there  being  no  thawing  weather. 
Hundreds  of  snow-shovelers  were  employed  by 
the  railways  leading  to  Dakota.  They  would 
attack  a  drifted  cut,  and  shovel  the  snow  out  and 
into  great  banks  upon  either  side.  The  winds 
of  that  night  would  possibly  fill  the  enlarged  cut 
to  the  brim,  and  another  day's  work  would  sim- 
ply result  in  raising  the  banks  higher,  making 
place  for  deeper  drifts.  In  this  way  mountains  of 
snow  were  built  up  over  the  tracks  in  the  very 
places  where  the  greatest  effort  was  made  to  open 
them.  Even  in  the  open  places  it  was  no  un- 
common thing  to  find  the  telegraph  wires  buried 
under  the  snow. 

On  the  2d  of  February,  when  it  appeared  that 
nature  had  exhausted  all  of  her  resources  in 
supplying  material  for  drifts,  a  snow  storm  set 
in    which   continued   without   cessation    for   nine 


days.  In  the  towns  the  streets  were  filled  with 
solid  drifts  to  the  tops  of  the  buildings  and  tun- 
neling was  resorted  to  to  secure  passage  about 
town.  Farmers  found  their  homes  and  their 
barns  completely  covered  and  were  compelled 
to  tunnel  down  to  reach  and  feed  their  stock. 
Among  the  homesteaders,  ''straw  barns''  were 
very  popular,  affording  a  cheap  and  comfortable 
protection  for  stock  and  these  became  hidden 
under  the  general  level  of  the  snow  on  the 
prairies  and  a  favorite  method  of  reaching  stock 
stabled  in  this  way  was  through  a  well  sunk  di- 
rectly down  from  above,  through  which  proven- 
der was  carried  in.  The  supply  of  fuel  and  ne- 
cessities for  living  were  soon  exhausted.  There 
were  few  mills  in  the  country  and  flour  soon  was 
not  obtainable,  but  there  was  wheat  in  abun- 
dance and  it  was  ground  into  a  sort  of  graham  in 
coffee  mills.  The  farmers  burned  hay  and  in  the 
towns  the  lumber  from  the  yards,  small  buildings, 
bridges,  fences,  particularly  the  snow  fences 
along  the  railways,  were  burned.  One  of  the 
great  inconveniences  was  the  lack  of  oil  for 
lighting.  The  country'  was  new  and  the  produc- 
tion of  lard  and  tallow  only  as  yet  nominal.  The 
kerosene  at  the  stores  lasted  but  a  few  days  after 
the  trains  stopped,  and  many  families  were  com- 
pelled for  several  months  to  sit  in  darkness.  In 
ever}-  town  the  business  men  organized  them- 
selves into  relief  committees  to  see  that  there 
was  an  equitable  distribution  of  such  supplies  as 
could  be  secured,  and  they  extended  their  relief 
work  over  all  of  the  adjacent  territory  so  that  all 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


307 


were  supplied,  and,  while  there  was  great 
hardship,  there  was  very  little  real  suffering. 
Several  families  would  colonize  in  one  habitation 
to  save  fuel.  The  people  were  as  a  rule  voung 
and  healthy,  and  it  is  the  almost  universal  testi- 
mony of  the  pioneers  that  they  have  never  gotten 
more  real  enjoyment  out  of  a  winter  thaji  they 
did  from  the  winter  of  the  big  blockade.  Shortly 
after  the  big  snow  of  February,  a  thaw  came  of 
sufficient  power  to  soften  the  surface  of  the 
drifts  and  an  immediate  freeze  followed  fomiing 
an  impenetrable  crust  and  thereafter  sleighing 
was  superb.  This  condition  continued  until  the 
26th  of  April.  Up  to  this  time  it  seemed  as  if 
the  spring  sun  made  no  impression  whatever, 
but  upon  the  day  mentioned  the  break  came  and 
in  twenty-four  hours  the  snow  was  resolved  into 
water  and  the  prairies  became  one  vast  lake.  As 
it  drained  away  the  streams  became  torrents, 
sweeping  everything  before  them.  Fortunately 
in  the  new  settlements  there  were  few  valuable 
improvements  along  the  streams  to  be  lost,  but  in 
Sioux  Falls  the  loss  was  great,  aggregating 
about  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  thousand  dol- 
lars. Previous  to  this,  however,  a  great  disaster 
from  floods  had  befallen  the  Missouri  valley, 
wreaking  its  greatest  damage  upon  Yankton  and 
\'ermilion.  While  the  drifts  and  the  ice  re- 
mained unbroken  by  the  spring  sunshine  in  the 
Dakota  region  the  breakup  occurred  at  the  usual 
season  in  the  upper  country,  thus  precipitating 
upon  the  lower  region  a  winter  flood.  About 
the  20th  of  March  the  high  water,  bearing  the 
broken  ice  from  the  upper  river,  reached  the  vi- 
cinity of  Yankton,  but  it  was  not  until  the  even- 
ing of  March  26th  that  it  had  affected  the  deeply 
frozen  ice  bridge  at  Yankton,  which  then  gave 
way  with  scarcely  a  moment's  warning.  At 
once  the  water  rose  with  incredible  rapidity  and 
in  a  few  moments  the  banks  were  full.  The  vast 
stream  of  grinding  ice  continued  to  sweep  by 
upon  a  constantly  raising  tide  until  the  evening 
of  March  29th,  when  the  ice  gorged  at  Hagin's 
bend,  a  dozen  miles  below  Yankton,  and  the 
pack  was  held  back  as  far  as  Springfield.  It  re- 
mained stationarv  until  after  eleven  o'clock  next 


moming,  when  the  river  of  ice,  rods  in  height, 
seemed  to  tower  over  the  levee.  At  that  time 
a  shiver  agitated  the  vast  mass  and  with  a  mighty 
roar  it  moved  down  the  stream.  At  the  same  time 
the  water  began  to  rise.  Faster  and  faster  it 
came  until  it  could  be  seen  to  creep  up  the  banks. 
Fifteen  steamboats  were  on  the  ways  at  Yank- 
ton. Great  cakes  of  ice  went  hurtling  against 
them,  crushing  holes  in  their  sides,  snapping  im- 
mense hawsers  and  tossing  the  "Black  Hills," 
the  "Helena"  and  the  "Butte"  into  a  common 
jumble.  The  water  poured  over  the  railroad 
track  and  hurled  the  "Livingstone"  clear  across 
that  barrier  and  carried  the  "Nellie  Peck"  and 
"Penina"  far  inland.  Finally  it  broke  all  bounds 
and  poured  into  the  city.  All  of  lower  Yankton 
was  instantly  flooded,  and  the  flourishing  village 
of  Green  Island,  just  across  the  -narrow  channel 
from  Yankton,  on  the  Nebraska  side,  was  utter- 
ly destroyed,  and  for  the  past  twenty-two  years 
the  main  channel  of  the  Missouri  has  swept  over 
the  spot  where  Green  Island  formerly  prospered. 
To  persons  even  who  are  familiar  with  the 
awful  power  of  the  mighty  river  in  ordinary 
seasons,  the  irresistible  majesty  of  its  action  on 
this  occasion  is  beyond  comprehension.  After 
the  rise  above  described  the  river  rapidly  sub- 
sided and  on  Thursday,  the  31st,  Friday  and 
Saturday,  it  remained  within  its  banks  and  the 
residents  regarded  the  trouble  as  over  and  many 
began  to  move  back  into  their  deserted  and  flood- 
swept  homes.  On  Sunday  morning  another 
gorge  formed  at  the  bend  and  immediately  the 
imprisoned  ice  filled  the  stream  from  bank  to 
bank  and  piled  up  in  places  to  a  height  of  ninety 
feet.  The  gorge  held  firmly  until  the  evening 
of  Tuesday,  April  5th,  when  it  again  broke  and, 
as  before,  was  followed  by  the  flood  which  this 
time  reached  the  great  height  of  forty-one  feet 
I  above  low  water.  Ij^rom  Yankton  the  entire  bot- 
I  tom  eastward  to  Vermilion  and  below  was  a 
scene  of  awful  desolation.  The  citizens  of  Yank- 
ton, under  the  lead  of  Captain  A.  W.  Lavender, 
;  an  experienced  sea-captain,  organized  boating 
:  parties  and  invaded  the  ice-packed  ocean,  res- 
i  cued  the  inundated  people  and  fortunately  not  a 


3o8 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


single  life  was  lost.  At  Meckling  the  settlers 
gathered  in  a  grain  elevator  and  were  imprisoned 
there  for  several  days. 

But  while  the  suffering  and  the  loss  at  Yank- 
ton were  so  aggravated,  it  was  at  \'ermilion 
that  the  great  weight  of  the  disaster  fell.  The 
original  town  was  built  below  the  hill,  a  few- 
hundred  feet  below  where  the  Milwaukee  depot 
now  stands.  At  about  midnight  on  Sunday  even- 
ing. March  27th,  the  ice  broke  up  at  Vermilion, 
but  almost  immediately  gorged  at  the  bend  five 
miles  below  town.  The  rapidly  accumulating 
water  began  almost  instantly  to  pour  through 
the  streets  and  a  fire  alarm  was  turned  in  to 
arouse  the  people,  and  every  one  escaped  to  the 
higliland  with  such  eflfects  as  they  could  gather 
up.  The  water  then  subsided  somewhat  and  no 
further  fear  was  felt  until  Thursday  morning, 
the  31st,  when  it  again  rose  rapidly  and  by  nine 
o'clock  the  buildings  began  to  float  away.  That 
day  and  night  forty  buildings  floated  off.  At 
this  time  a  fierce  blizzard  was  blowing,  making 
it  almost  impossible  to  handle  the  boats  in  rescu- 
ing property.  For  two  weeks  the  town  site  was 
flooded.  The  Standard's  account  of  the  visitation 
concludes :  "Vermilion  and  the  farmers  on  the 
bottom  lands  in  Clay  county  were  probably  the 
worst  sufferers  in  Dakota.  The  tract  of  country 
lying  between  Vermilion  and  Gayville  was  swept 
clean  of  everything.  Houses,  barns,  fences,  cat- 
tle, horses,  hogs  and  sheep  were  destroyed,  leav- 
ing the  farmers  and  their  families  little  else  than 
the  clothing  upon  their  backs  and  their  bare  lands 
without  teams,  farming  implements  or  a  grain 
of  seed  to  commence  farming  operations  with. 
Three-fourths  of  the  town  of  Vermilion  was  de- 
stroyed. One  hundred  thirty-two  buildings  were 
totally  destroyed  and  many  others  wrecked. 
The  total  value  of  the  property  destroyed  was 
about  one  hundred  and  forty  thousand  dollars." 
Fortunately  no  lives  were  lost. 

It  would  seem  that  the  terrible  winter  and 
the  great  disasters  following  would  have  had 
the  effect  of  suspending  immigration  to  Dakota, 
but  no  such  result  followed.  Everywhere  the 
prospective  settlers  were  gathered,  awaiting  the 
raising  of  the  blockade  that  they  might  floCk  in 


and.  except  in  the  flooded  section  along  the  Mis- 
souri, the  territory  was  blessed  with  an  abun- 
dant harvest. 

The  railroads  continued  the  work  of  gridiron- 
ing  Dakota.  The  Milwaukee  completed  its  line 
from  Webster  to  Aberdeen,  reaching  the  latter 
town  on  Jidy  5th.  Its  Southern  ^linnesota  line 
was  extended  west  as  far  as  Howard.  The 
James  valley  line  of  this  road  was  built  south 
from  Aberdeen  to  Ashton.  The  Northwestern 
was  finished  from  Huron  to  Ordway,  and  work 
was  begun  on  the  Sioux  A'alley  line  north  from 
Brookings. 

On  September  8th  of  this  year  the  first  ar- 
tesian flow  was  struck  in  Dakota,  at  Yankton. 
The  subject  had  been  long  under  discussion  but 
to  Isaac  Piles  belongs  the  credit  of  having  been 
first  to  take  active  steps  to  bring  the  matter  about. 
After  spending  a  Sunday  afternoon  at  the  home 
of  Judge  Samuel  A.  Boyles,  in  company  with 
Judge  Ellison  G.  Smith,  now  of  the  first  circuit, 
the  artesian  well  proposition  having  been  talked 
over  in  a  speculative  way,  Mr.  Piles  returned  to 
his  home  and  that  night  resolved  to  undertake 
to  interest  enough  of  the  business  men  of  Yank- 
ton in  the  matter  to  make  an  experimental  trial. 
'  He  went  in  the  morning  to  Gen.  ^^'.  P.  De\\-ey. 
who  wrote  a  stock  subscription  paper  for  the 
proposed  organization  of  the  Yankton  Artesian 
[  \\'ell  and  T^Iining  Company,  fixing  the  shares  at 
1  five  hundred  dollars  each,  and  ]\Ir.  Piles  started 
out  with  it.  Judge  E.  T.  White  became  inter- 
ested at  once  and  with  'Sir.  Piles  they  obtained 
about  eight  thousand  dollars  in  stock  subscrip- 
tions. The  company  was  organized,  a  contract 
entered  into  on  January  4,  1881,  with  Mai's  & 
Miller,  of  Chicago,  to  sink  a  well  to  the  depth 
of  one  thousand  five  hundred  feet  if  necessary, 
for  which  they  were  to  receive  four  dollars  per 
foot.  The  success  of  this  enterprise  induced  the 
Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railway  to  undertake  a 
well  at  Aberdeen  and  a  good  flow  was  secured 
at  nine  hundred  and  eighty  feet,  being  the  sec- 
ond of  the  thousands  of  wells  which  now  spout 
all  over  South  Dakota. 

The  legislature  convened  early  in  January 
and  organized  with  George  H.  Walsh,  of  North 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


309 


Dakota,  and  E.  B.  Dawson,  of  W'rmilion,  as 
president  and  clerk  of  the  council,  and  J.  A. 
Harding,  of  Deadwood,  and  Frank  J.  Mead,  of 
IHsmarck,  speaker  and  clerk  of  the  house.  It 
was  an  uneventful  session.  The  penitentiary 
was  located  at  Sioux  Falls  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars  of  bonds  issued  for  its  construction,  being 
the  first  Dakota  bonds  offered  for  sale. 

Aurora  county  was  organized  August  8th  and 
Day  county  on  December  5th. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Association  of  Congrega- 
tional churches  of  Dakota  held  at  Canton  in  June, 
it  was  resolved  to  establish  a  college  at  Yankton. 
This  action  was  the  result  of  the  strong  advo- 
cacy of  Dr.  Josph  Ward,  of  Yankton,  who  ten 
years  before  had  founded  Yankton  Academy, 
which  subsequently  became  the  foundation  of  the 
pplendid  city  school  system  of  Yankton.  The 
college  was  duly  established  in  conformity  with 


this    resolution   and   opened    for   classes   in    Sep- 
tember of  that  \ear. 

Gall  and  Sitting  Bull,  it  will  be  recalled,  fled 
to  Canada,  and  had  continued  to  hang  along  the 
border,  tantalizing  the  soldiers  of  General  Miles, 
who  were  constantly  on  the  watch  for  them. 
In  the  spring  of  1881  Gall  returned  to  the  Ameri- 
can side  and  after  a  sharp  encounter  with  the 
troops  on  Poplar  river  he  surrendered  and  was 
taken  to  Standing  Rock  agency,  where  he  was 
paroled  and  returned  to  the  home  where  he  was 
born,  on  Oak,  or  Rampart  creek,  where  he  re- 
mained until  his  death,  a  friendly  Indian.  Sitting 
Bull,  learning  of  the  surrender  of  Gall,  appeared 
at  Fort  Buford  and  surrendered.  He  was  taken 
prisoner  to  Fort  Randall,  where  he  was  kept  un- 
der surveillance  until  the  summer  of  1883,  when 
he  was  returned  to  his  people  at  Standing  Rock, 
making  his  home  on  Grand  river,  South  Dakota. 


CHAPTER  LIV 


1882— A  YEAR  OF  POLITICS  AND  BOOM. 


The  terrible  winter  of  1880-81  was  followed 
by  the  other  extreme  in  1881-82.  There  was  sim- 
ply no  winter  at  all.  Day  after  day  and  week 
after  week  Dakota  was  flooded  by  the  glorious 
sunshine.  In  every  month  plowing  was  done. 
Alen  drove  throughout  the  winter  without  over- 
coats, the  cattle  fed  in  the  open  and  waxed  fat 
upon  the  luxuriant,  sun-cured  grasses.  In  Feb- 
ruary seeding  began  and  by  the  middle  of  March 
the  most  of  wheat  seeding  was  completed. 

At  the  time  of  the  vernal  equinox  a  flurry 
of  snow  came,  but  it  disappeared  in  a  few  days 
and  spring  broke  in  full  beauty  before  April. 
All  through  the  winter  the  inflow  of  immigrants 
continued  and  with  the  advent  of  spring  the 
flood  of  immigration  became  a  deluge.  It  is 
probable  that  more  Dakotans  date  their  residence 
here  from  1882  than  from  any  other  single  year. 
The  available  public  lands  were  well-nigh  ex- 
hausted this  season  and  the  prairie  villages  rap- 
idly became  metropolitan.  A  curious  situation 
grew  up.  At  that  date  the  most  astute  could  not 
tell  with  certainty  where  the  chief  centers  of 
population  were  to  be,  and  in  everv  village 
were  gathered  a  band  of  strong  men  de- 
termined to  make  that  village  the  ulti- 
mate metropolis  of  the  section,  and  in  conse- 
quence the  rivalry  was  intense.  No  place  was  so 
inconsequential  but  that  it  aspired  to  be  the 
county  seat,  and  frequently,  likewise,  the  capital 
of  the  future  state.    As  illustrations  of  the  condi- 


tion then  existing,  Ordway,  now  only  a  flag  sta- 
tion, was  supposed  to  possess  vast  advantages 
over  Aberdeen,  and  Bigstone  City  patronized 
Milbank  as  a  promising  suburb. 

Out  of  these  conditions  there  grew  up  fierce 
contests  for  advantage,  and  county  seat  fights 
were  precipitated  which  in  some  instances  nearly 
disrupted  the  community.  Men  of  power,  who 
were  capable  of  meeting  the  great  captains  of 
industry  upon  equal  terms,  or  who  would  have 
graced  the  senate  of  the  United  States,  threw 
themselves  with  all  the  spirit  of  their  strong  per- 
sonality into  these  figths  for  urban  supremacy. 
During  this  period  Milbank  won  the  county  seat 
from  Big  Stone,  Chamberlain  from  Brule  and 
Salem  from  Bridgewater,  in  each  instance  the 
fight  resulting  in  the  utmost  ill  feeling  and  heat 
of  passion. 

The  development  of  the  mining  interest  in 
the  Black  Hills  kept  pace  with  the  agricultural 
development  on  the  east  side.  For  the  month 
of  August  of  this  year  the  Homestake  mine  alone 
produced  three  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  it 
may  be  stated  that  it  has  not  produced  less  in 
any  subsequent  month  down  to  the  date  of  this 
writing. 

At  Huron,  on  the  27th  of  July,  the  Southern 
Dakota  Press  Association  was  duly  organized, 
with  John  Cain,  of  the  Huron  Times,  president, 
and  George  W.  Hopp,  of  the  Brookings  Press, 
secretary.     Among  those  taking  part  in  the  or- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


ganization  were  N.  C.  Nash,  still  with  the  Can- 
ton News ;  J.  F.  Stahl,  of  the  Madison  L-eader ; 
Gen.  S.  J.  Conkhn,  then  editor  of  the  Watertown 
News,  and  Porter  Warner,  now  deceased,  editor 
of  the  Deadwood  Times. 

Three  Dakota  men,  John  D.  Cameron,  the 
Sioux  Falls  banker,  E.  E.  Carpenter,  a  railroad 
promoter  of  Canton,  and  William  D.  Russell,  of 
Yankton,  entered  into  a  conspiracy  to  defraud 
the  government  by  the  issue  of  a  large  amount 
of  land  scrip,  known  as  Santa  Fe  scrip.  They 
got  their  stock  issued  all  right,  but  were  appre- 
hended and  imprisoned.  They  were  tried  at 
Yankton  and  again  at  St.  Louis,  but  finally  es- 
caped conviction.  The  conspiracy  created  a  na- 
tion-wide sensation  and  had  much  to  do  in  injur- 
ing the  reputation  of  Dakota  securities. 

On  the  2d  of  October  United  States  land  offi- 
ces, were  opened  at  Aberdeen  and  Huron.  About 
one  thousand  filings  were  made  at  each  office 
upon  the  opening  day. 

On  November  15th,  Brave  Bear,  the  Indian 
who  killed  Joseph  Johnson,  of  Cheyenne  river 
agency,  while  enroute  to  the  home  of  his  broth- 
ers in  Brown  county  in  April,  1879.  was  hanged 
at  Yankton. 

The  politics  of  the  year  centered  around  the 
delegate  nominations.  Senator  Pettigrew  was 
a  candidate  for  renomination  and  was  opposed  by 
George  H.  Hand,  of  Yankton.  The  pre-con- 
vention  campaign  was  a  most  exciting  one.  John 
R.  Raymond,  of  North  Dakota,  was  also  a  can- 
didate and  when  the  convention  assembled  at 
Grand  Forks  on  September  6th  it  was  found  that 
Raymond  held  the  balance  of  power.  There 
were  many  contests,  but  upon  the  face  of  the 
returns  Hand  appeared  to  be  the  leading  candi- 
date. After  a  good  deal  of  milling  Senator  Pet- 
tigrew made  a  quick  turn,  throwing  his  strength 
to  Raymond  and  giving  him  the  nomination. 

The  Democrats  met  at  Mitchell  on  Septem- 
ber 27th  and  nominated  William  R.  Steele,  of 
Deadwood,  who  had  formerly  been  the  delegate 
from  Wyoming.  After  the  adjournment  of  the 
convention,    Mr.    Steele,    who   was    not   present. 


telegraphed,  declining  the  honor,  whereupon 
Judge  Brookings  obligingly  consented  to  the  use 
of  his  name  for  the  thankless  position.  The  elec- 
tion resulted  in  the  election  of  Raymond  by  more 
than   thirty  thousand   majority. 

The  legislative  elections  developed  a  good 
deal  of  hard  feeling  and  several  contests.  At 
that  time  all  of  the  north  half  of  South  Dakota 
constituted  a  single  legislative  district,  with  one 
councilman  and  two  representatives,  and  here  a 
split  occurred  among  the  Republicans  and  a  con- 
test before  the  legislature. 

In  September  the  Sioux  Falls  Daily  Press 
was  born. 

Near  the  beginning  of  this  year  Spotted  Tail, 
the  renowned  Brule  Sioux  chief,  was  shot  and 
killed  at  Rosebud  agency  by  Crow  Dog,  a  sub- 
chief  of  the  Oglalas.  Spotted  Tail,  with  all  his 
good  qualities,  was  in  his  private  life  a  lecherous 
rake.  He  had  seduced  the  wife  of  Crow  Dog, 
who  promptly  shot  him.  Dr.  DeLorme  W.  Rob- 
inson, the  biographer  of  Spotted  Tail,  says  of 
him:  "From  the  standpoint  of  civilized  opinion. 
Spotted  Tail  was  in  many  respects  one  of  the 
greatest  red  men  of  the  past  century.  *  *  *  Dur- 
ing the  turbulent  and  exciting  period  of  first  oc- 
cupancy of  the  Black  Hills  by  the  whites.  Spot- 
ted Tail  proved  himself  a  reliable  friend  of  the 
government  and  a  judicious  adviser  of  his  own 
race.  *  *  His  fine  intelligence,  rare  tact  and 
courageous  leadership  had  much  weight  in  lim- 
iting the  influence  of  the  more  hostile  chiefs,  and 
secured  for  the  Sioux  nation  the  best  possible 
terms  for  the  relinquishment  of  their  claim  to  the 
coveted  region.  He  was  not  a  hereditary  chief, 
but  rose  from  the  ranks.  *  *  He  became  a 
much  beloved  leader  of  his  band  and  a  power 
among  all  the  branches  of  his  Dakota  kindred. 
*  *  *  In  the  midwinter  of  1876-7  he  made 
a  long  tour  to  the  camp  of  his  nephew.  Crazy 
Horse,  on  the  Powder  river,  and  finally  prevailed 
upon  him  to  abandon  the  war  path  and  come  to 
the  agency.  *  *  *  As  an  orator,  diplomat  and 
acute  and  powerful  reasoner  few  Indians  have 
excelled  him.     He  is  said  to  have  been  dignified 


312 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


and  commanding,  and,  for  one  of  his  race,  pos- 
sessed great  kindness  of  heart  and  mature  judg- 
ment. *  *  With  the  probable  exception  of  his 
great  Oglala  contemporary.  Red  Cloud,  Spotted 
Tail's  career  is  more  conspicuous  for  conscien- 
tious and  intelligent  loyalty  and  devotion  to  what 
he   considered   the    interests   of   his   people   than 


any  other  chief."  Captain  Burke,  in  his  well 
known  work,  "On  the  Borders  with  Crook," 
says  of  Spotted  Tail :  "Spotted  Tail  was  one  of 
the  great  men  of  this  century,  bar  none,  red, 
white,  black  or  yellow.  When  Crow  Dog  mur- 
dered him  the  Dakota  nation  had  good  cause  to 
mourn  the  loss  of  a  noble  son." 


CHAPTER  LV 


[883— A  YEAR  OF  GREAT  ACTIVITY. 


Eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-three  will  al- 
ways be  remembered  as  one  of  the  periods  of 
greatest  activity  in  the  history  of  Dakota,  not 
only  for  the  great  extent  of  railroad  building, 
of  homesteading  and  town  booming,  but  for  great 
political  movements  which  have  left  their  im- 
press upon  the  fundamental  organization  of  the 
commonwealth.  In  that  year,  too,  the  capital  was 
removed  from  South  Dakota  to  North  Dakota, 
an  event  which  disturbed  the  relations  of  the  two 
sections  and  did  much  to  strengthen  the  senti- 
ment for  division.  As  vital  as  was  the  necessity 
for  division;  a  necessity  which  was  rooted  in  the 
inherent  rights  of  generations  yet  to  live :  a  ne- 
cessity which  looked  ahead  for  hundreds  of  years 
and  involved  the  equilibrium  of  the  nation  in  the 
upper  house  of  congress  in  the  future  time  when 
the  west  shall  equal  the  east  in  population ;  still 
it  is  most  probable  that  but  for  the  antagonisms 
which  grew  out  of  the  capitol  removal,  the  people 
would  have  grown  wear\-  of  the  long  wait  for 
recognition  and  accepted  statehood  as  a  whole. 

The  season  opened  with  the  legislative  session. 
Even  before  this  the  conviction  had  become  deep 
seated  among  the  people  that  Governor  Ordway 
was  "on  the  make."  That  he  proposed  to  use  his 
official  position  to  further  his  own  pecuniary  in- 
terests and  that  conviction  was  strengthened  al- 
most every  da>'  he  remained  in  office.  In  the  or- 
ganization of  the  many  new  counties,  rumor.s 
had  gained  currency  that  the  Governor  was  ap- 
pointing boards  of  commissioner,  foreordained 
to  locate  county  seats  at  villages  or  upon  lands 


in  which  his  excellency's  friends,  relatives  or  busi- 
jiess  associates  had  a  large  interest.  Therefore 
when  the  legislature  convened  and  capitol  re- 
moval began  to  be  agitated,  the  belief  that  Gov- 
ernor Ordway  would  exert  his  official  influence 
to  direct  legislation  upon  lines  which  would 
prove  personally  remunerative  found  general 
lodgment  in  the  minds  of  the  residents  of  the 
southern  portion  of  the  territory  who  were  con- 
versant with  the  trend  of  afifairs.  The  legisla- 
ture was  largely  composed  of  adventurous  and 
ambitious  men,  many  of  them  but  newly  arrived 
in  the  territory  and  all  of  them  exceedingly  loyal 
to  their  home  commimities  and  feeling  in  duty 
bound  to  bring  home  something  in  the  way  of  ter- 
ritorial institutions.  One  must  take  into  account 
the  unnatural  condition  which  possessed  the  pub- 
lic mind  in  the  Dakota  of  that  day.  due  to  the 
un]jrecedented  development.  Established  ideas 
of  the  relation  of  things  were  quite  overthrown. 
Conservatism  simply  did  not  e.xist.  Hope,  al- 
ways a  dominant  factor  in  Dakota,  was  at  that 
boom  period  simply  boundless :  and  it  was  witji 
these  hopeful,  adventurous,  ambitious  men  that 
the  thrifty  governor  apparently  found  his  best 
opportunity. 

From  the  first  day  of  the  session  there  was 
talk  of  capital  removal,  and  it  was  thought  that 
Grand  Forks  would  make  a  strong  fight  for  the 
prize,  but.  to  the  surprise  of  everyone,  George 
H.  Walsh,  the  member  from  Grand  Forks,  intro- 
duced a  bill  removing  the  capital  to  Huron,  and 
he  made  a  persistent  and  consistent  fight  for  its 


314 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


passage.  For  some  days  it  seemed  that  he  might 
meet  with  success,  but  presently  the  other  ambi- 
tious communities  puUed  themselves  together  and 
sent  embassies  to  the  capital  to  protect  their  in- 
terests. Bismarck,  Fargo,  Pierre,  Mitchell  and 
Sioux  Falls  were  all  represented  and  it  soon  be- 
came apparent  that  unless  an  equivalent  in  the 
way  of  the  distribution  of  territorial  institutions 
was  made  that  no  single  town  could  get  a  capital 
removal  bill  through.  At  this  juncture  Governor 
Ordway  proposed  that  a  bill  be  passed  providing 
for  the  appointment  of  a  commission  to  locate  the 
capital  at  the  town  ofifering  the  greatest  induce- 
ments in  the  way  of  cash  bonus  and  land.  This 
appeared  to  be  an  eminently  fair  proposition, 
placing  all  of  the  towns  upon  an  equality.  The 
bill  left  the  naming  of  the  commission  to  the  Gov- 
ernor, but  it  was  amended  upon  passage  to  name 
the  members,  which  were  as  follows :  John  P. 
Belding,  of  Deadwood;  H.  H.  DeLong,  of  Can- 
ton ;  Alex.  Hughes,  of  Elk  Point ;  Alex.  McKen- 
zie,  of  Bismarck ;  George  A.  Mathews,  of  Brook- 
ings ;  C.  H.  Meyers,  of  Redfield ;  B.  F.  Spalding, 
of  Fargo ;  Dr.  Scott,  of  Grand  Forks ;  M.  D. 
Thompson,  of  Vermilion.  The  bill  provided 
that  they  were  to  consider  no  bid  unless  in  cash 
or  land  it  should  be  worth  one  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars,  which  sum  should  constitute  a  build- 
ing fund.  There  should  be  not  less  than  twenty 
pcres  of  land  for  a  capitol  site  and  the  commission 
were  empowered  to  locate  the  permanent  capital 
and  then  proceed  to  erect  a  capitol  building.  A 
great  legislative  combine  was  formed  which  re- 
sulted in  the  passage  of  the  bill,  but  with  it  and 
incident  to  it  a  new  penitentiary  was  located  at 
Bismarck  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  appropri- 
ated for  it ;  a  deaf  mute  school  at  Sioux  Falls,  at 
twelve  thousand  dollars;  agricultural  college  at 
Brookings,  thirty  thousand  dollars ;  North  Da- 
kota University  at  Grand  Forks,  thirty  thousand 
dollars ;  Hospital  for  the  Insane,  Jamestown,  fif- 
ty thousand  dollars  ;  endowment  of  the  territorial 
university  at  Vermilion,  thirty  thousand  dollars; 
improvements  at  the  Sioux  Falls  penitentiary, 
thirty  thousand  dollars ;  and  at  the  Yankton  asy- 
lum, seventy-seven  thousand  five  hundred,  for  all 
of  which  bonds  were  authorized,  making  a  total 


of  three  hundred  and  four  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars.  When  we  recall  that  but  four  years 
earlier  the  public  had  arisen  in  indignation  and 
had  almost  compelled  the  governor  to  veto  a  bill 
authorizing  forty-five  thousand  dollars  of  bonds 
for  the  penitentiary  and  insane  asylum  some  idea 
of  the  progress  of  Dakota  may  be  obtained.  In 
addition  to  the  foregoing  this  legislature  located 
normal  schools  at  Madison,  Springfield,  Spear- 
fish  and  Watertown,  but  did  not  make  appropria- 
tions therefor.  The  law  expressly  provided  that 
the  capital  commission  was  to  meet  at  Yankton 
for  organization  and  that  the  location  should  be 
made  before  July  1st.  It  will  be  observed  that 
the  commission  consisted  of  five  men — a  majori- 
ty— from  eastern  South  Dakota,  three  from 
North  Dakota  and  one  from  the  Black  Hills.  It 
was  the  purpose  of  the  people  of  Yank'ton  to  en- 
join the  commission  and  attack  its  legalit}-  on 
the  ground  that  the  legislature  had  attempted 
an  unauthorized  delegation  of  power.  All  of 
the  able  members  of  the  Yankton  bar  joined  in 
the  preparation  of  the  case  and  the  temporary 
injunction  was  obtained  from  Judge  Edgerton, 
who  had  but  recently  been  appointed  chief  jus- 
tice of  the  territory.  The  problem  for  the  com- 
mission to  solve  was  how  to  avoid  the  service 
of  this  summons  and  at  the  same  time  comply 
with  the  requirements  of  the  law  to  meet  at 
Yankton  for  organization. 

About  the  first  of  April  the  commission  met 
in  Sioux  City,  where  it  remained  in  consultation 
for  a  couple  of  days.  Aleanwhile  the  officers 
fr-om  Yankton,  armed  with  the  injunction,  were 
warily  watching  for  an  opportunity  to  catch  the 
members  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Dakota 
court.  On  the  morning  of  the  3d  of  April,  the 
members  boarded  a  Milwaukee  special  train  and 
made  a  quick  run  to  Yankton,  arriving  there 
at  5:15  a.  m.  When  the  train  arrived  within  the 
corporate  limits  of  Yankton  it  made  a  short  stop, 
when  Alex.  Hughes  called  the  board  to  order 
and  an  organization  was  promptly  effected  by 
electing  Hughes  president,  Scott,  treasurer,  and 
Ralph  W.  Wheelock,  secretary,  and  an  adjourn- 
ment was  taken  to  meet  at  Canton  that  afternoon 
at  two  o'clock.    The  train  then  rushed  on  through 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


Yankton  at  thirty  miles  an  hour  and  the  law  had 
been  complied  with  without  interference.  Thev 
went  on  by  way  of  Scotland  and  Marion  Junc- 
tion to  Canton,  where  they  met  and  opened  the 
bids  from  the  several  towns.  They  were  as  fol- 
lows :  Aberdeen,  one  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
and  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  ;  Bis- 
marck, one  hundred  thousand  dollars  and  three 
hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land,  guaranteed 
to  net  three  hundred  thousand  dollars ;  Canton, 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars  and  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  of  land ;  Frankfort,  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  and  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  land ;  Huron,  one  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars and  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land : 
^litchell,  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  dol- 
lars and  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land ; 
Pierre,  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  and  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land ;  Ordway,  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars  and  four  hundred  and 
eighty  acres  of  land ;  Odessa,  two  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  and  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of 
land ;  Redfield,  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  and 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land ;  Steele,  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars  and  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  land. 

After  opening  the  bids  and  being  banqueted 
b}'  the  citizens  of  Canton,  the  commission  set  out 
to  visit  the  various  candidates.  It  was  a  glorious 
junket.  The  board  was  banqueted  and  wined, 
speechified  and  shown  every  consideration  by  the 
towns  and  interested  railroads  until  the  2d  of 
June,  when  they  stopped  at  Fargo  to  take  the 
final  vote.  At  first  Belding  supported  Pierre; 
Belong,  Canton ;  Thompson  and  Hughes,  Mitch- 
ell ;  Mathews,  Huron ;  Myers  and  Spaulding, 
Redfield ;  McKenzie,  Bismarck,  and  Scott,  scat- 
tering. Balloting  continued  about  on  this  line 
for  a  long  time,  when  Scott  cast  in  his  vote  with 
McKenzie  and  Belding  and  Delong  joined  them. 
Bismarck  now  lacked  but  one  vote  and  Hughes 
was  not  slow  in  providing  it.  To  the  end  Meyers 
and  Spaulding  supported  Redfield,  Mathews, 
Huron,  and  Thompson  Mitchell.  Belding,  as  a 
Black  Hills  man,  desirous  of  having  the  capital 
at  the  most  available  point  on  the  Missouri  river, 
was  not  blamed  for  supporting  Bismarck,  but  the 


people  of  South  Dakota  were  violently  indignant 
at  Delong  and  Hughes,  who  they  felt  had  be- 
trayed them.  Later  when  it  became  known  that 
Governor  Ordway's  immediate  associates  had 
large  interests  in  Bismarck  the  conviction  forced 
itself  upon  the  South  Dakotans  that  the  plan 
from  the  outset  had  been  engineered  by  Ordway 
and  McKenzie  in  the  interest  of  Bismarck  and 
that  Hughes  and  Delong  had  been  placed  upon 
the  commission  with  the  express  understanding 
that  they  were  to  give  Bismarck  the  prize.  Ord- 
way had  already  lost  all  respect  from  the  South 
Dakotans,  and  to  this  day  no  other  man  is  so 
thoroughly  despised  among  the  old  timers  of  the 
southern  part  of  the  state  as  is  Alexander 
Hughes,  who  at  once  took  up  his  residence  in 
Bismarck. 

It  will  be  recalled  as  an  incident  in  the  loca- 
tion of  the  capital  at  Yankton  in  1862  that  the 
Territorial  University  was  located  at  Vermil- 
ion by  act  of  the  first  legislature.  It  is  one  of  the 
ironies  of  history  that  the  first  legislative  endow- 
ment of  the  Territorial  University  was  an  inci- 
dent or  the  removal  of  the  capital  from  Yank- 
ton. 

The  history  of  the  university  after  its  location 
really  dates  from  April  30,  1881,  though  ten 
years  earlier  an  attempt  to  get  a  legislative  ap- 
propriation for  its  support  had  failed.  On  the 
date  above  named,  April  30,  1881.  a  meeting  of 
the  citizens  of  Vermilion  was  held  at  the  office 
of  Judge  Kidder  to  form  an  association  for  the 
erection  of  a  building  in  which  to  open  the  Uni- 
versity of  the  Territory  of  Dakota,  and  for  the 
purpose  of  conducting  such  university  after  the 
building  is  erected.  This  meeting  elected  a  board 
of  trustees,  consisting  of  Jefferson  P.  Kidder, 
president,  John  L.  Jolley,  Darwin  M.  'Inman, 
Frank  N.  Burdick,  Richard  F.  Pettigrew.  Bart- 
lett  Tripp  and  John  R. .  Wilson,  the  latter  of 
Deadwood.  The  meeting  adjourned  to  May  9th 
of  the  same  year,  when  articles  of  incorporation 
were  adopted.  Though  a  good  deal  of  investiga- 
tion was  done  and  an  unsuccessful  attempt  made 
to  secure  a  land  grant,  nothing  was  accomplished 
until  the  Qth  of  February,  1882,  when  the  county 
commissioners  of  Clay  county  passed  a  resolution 


3i6 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


submitting  to  the  people  of  Clay  county  the  prop- 
osition to  vote  ten  thousand  dollars  in  bonds  for 
the  purpose  "of  aiding  in  the  construction  and 
business  of  the  University  of  Dakota."  The  elec- 
tion was  held  ^Nlarch  i8th  after  a  hard  campaign, 
and  the  bonds  carried  by  a  vote  of  eight  hundred 
and  eleven  to  four  hundred  and  nineteen,  and 
the  bonds  were  sold  for  a  net  proceeds 
of  nine  thousand  dollars.  With  this  money 
the  first  building  was  erected  upon  plans 
made  by  \V.  L.  Dow.  the  well-known 
architect,  and  was  completed  in  the  spring 
of  1883.  The  academic  department  of  the  univer- 
sity, however,  was  opened  on  October  15,  1882, 
under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Ephraim  Epstien,  a 
former  Jewish  rabbi  of  great  learning,  but  at  that 
time  affiliating  with  the  Baptist  church,  with 
thirty-five  students  in  attendance. 

With  this  plant — a  building  under  construction 
and  a  school  actually  in  operation — the  people 
of  Vermilion  went  before  the  legislature  of  1883 
and  asked  for  an  appropriation.  Dr.  F.  N.  Bur- 
dick  was  the  Clay  count}-  councilman  and  Darwin 
M.  Inman,  representative.  They  devoted  all  of 
their  attention  to  the  interests  of  the  university, 
and  while  it  is  probable  that  they  would  have 
obtained  recognition  in  any  event,  the  capital  re- 
moval proposition  made  their  work  easier  and 
the  appropriation  of  thirty  thousand  dollars  was 
an  incident  of  that  memorable  combination. 
Thus  it  came  about  that  the  project  received 
that  public  recognition  which  made  it  a  child  of 
the  state. 

In  the  same  wise  was  the  Agricultural  College 
founded  at  Brookings.  James  O.  B.  Scoby,  pres- 
ident of  the  council,  was  the  representative  of 
Brookings  county  in  that  famous  last  legislature 
at  Yankton,  and  early  identified  himself  with  the 
removal  proposition  and  as  the  fruit  of  his  effort 
obtained  the  appropriation  for  thirty  thousand 
dollars,  which  became  the  foundation  of  the 
Brookings  institution,  which  was  opened  a  year 
later.  1883,  too.  stands  as  the  initial  year  of  the 
great  movement  for  the  division  of  Dakota  ter- 
ritory, although,  as  we  have  seen,  the  subject 
had  been  continually  agitated  since  1872.  How- 
ever, it  was  not  until  the  capital  removal  iniquitx- 


aroused   the   people   of   South   Dakota   that   any 

positive  state-wide  movement  was  undertaken. 

1  The  movement  for  division  and  statehood  had 

I  its   conception  at   a  Thanksgiving  dinner  given 

j  at  the  home  of  Rev.  Stewart  Sheldon,  in  Yank- 

I  ton,    in    November,    1879.      Among    the    guests 

were  Governor  Howard,  Hugh  J.  Campbell,  W. 

H.  H.   Beadle  and  Dr.  Joseph  Ward,  and  they 

j   were  aroused  to  begin  an  active  propaganda  for 

I   division  and  statehood  by  a  proposition  then  be- 

I   ing  quietly  agitated  to  sell  all  of  the  school  lands 

to  a  great  syndicate  for  about  two  dollars  and 

twenty-five  cents  per  acre.    General  Beadle  then 

announced  his  belief  that  every  acre  of  the  school 

land  should  be  held  until  it  brought  at  least  ten 


dollars  per  acre,  and  a  tacit  agreement  was  then 
made  that  the  subject  should  be  agitiated  until  a 
thorough  ten-dollar  sentiment  was  impressed  up- 
on the  people.  From  that  time  General  Beadle 
devoted  himself  to  this  work,  while  General 
Campbell  and  Joseph  Ward  agitated  for  the  di- 
vision of  the  territory  to  the  end  that  a  more 
compact  and  therefore  a  more  representative 
commonwealth  be  created  where  the  tendency 
and  temptation  to  corruption  and  graft  in  gov- 
ernment should  not  be  so  possible.  They,  witli 
others,  were  tireless  in  this  work  from  that  date 
and  many  citizens'  meetings  were  held  at  Yank- 
ton and  various  other  localities  where  the  matter 
was  discussed.  Finally  the  agitation  resulted  in 
the  calling  of  a  delegate  convention  which  met  in 
Canton  June  21,  1882.  Ten  counties  were  rep- 
resented and  strong  division  and  admission  reso- 
lutions passed  and  an  executive  committee,  con- 
sisting of  Joseph  Ward,  Newman. C.  Nash,  Wil- 
mot  Whitefield,  S.  Fry  Andrews,  Willis  C.  Bow- 
er, F.  B.  Foster  and  J.  V.  Himes,  was  appointed 
to  direct  the  movement.  This  committee  secured 
the  passage  of  an  act  by  the  legislature — the  last 
at  Yankton^of  a  bill  providing  for  a  constitu- 
tional convention  for  the  south  half  of  Dakota 
territory,  but  Governor  Ordway,  who  had  no  no- 
tion of  permitting  his  opportunities  to  be  cur- 
tailed in  this  manner,  promptly  vetoed  the  bill. 
.A.t  this  date  probably  seventy-five  per  cent,  of 
the  inhabitants  of  South  Dakota  had  not  resided 
in  the  territory  to  exceed  three  vears  and  half  of 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


317 


them  only  from  one  to  two  years  and  they  had 
not  vet  become  imbued  with  the  poHtical  necessi- 
ties of  the  situation,  but  the  action  of  the  Gov- 
ernor and  the  action  of  the  capital  commission 
aroused  even  the  newcomers  and  when  the  ex- 
ecutive committee,  appointed  at  Canton,  issued 
a  call  for  a  delegate  convention  to  meet  at  Hu- 
ron on  June  19th,  to  devise  a  plan  of  action,  the 
response  was  general,  every  county  being  repre- 
sented with  an  able  and  enthusiastic  delegation. 
One  hundred  eighty-eight  delegates  were  pres- 
ent. B.  G.  Caulfield,  of  Deadwood.  was  presi- 
dent and  Philip  Lawrence,  now  of  Huron,  secre- 
tary. This  was  one  of  the  strongest  bodies  of 
men  ever  assembled  in  Dakota.  It  acted  with 
calm  deliberation  and  sagacity  which  encouraged 
all  the  friends  of  the  movement.  Its  deliber- 
ations resulted  in  the  adoption  of  an  address  to 
the  people  and  the  passage  of  an  ordinance  call- 
nig  a  constitutional  convention  to  meet  in  Sioux 
Falls  in  September. 

This  convention  consisted  of  one  hundred 
fifty  delegates  duly  elected  at  a  regular  election 
held  on  Wednesday,  the  ist  day  of  August,  and 
j)ursuant  to  the  Huron  ordinance  met  at  Sioux 
Falls,  at  noon  on  September  4,  1883.  Judge  Bart- 
fett  Tripp  was  elected  president.  It  embraced  in 
its  membership  most  of  the  names  of  South  Da- 
kotans  who  are  best  known  for  wisdom  and  pub- 
lic spirit.  It  adopted  an  excellent  constitution, 
which  was  submitted  to  the  people  at  the  election 
in  November  and  was  carried  by  a  vote  of 
twelve  thousand  three  hundred  thirty-six  to  six 
thousand  eight  hundred  fourteen.  An  executive 
committee  was  elected  to  press  admission  upon 
congress  consisting  of  such  men  as  Bartlett 
Tripp,  Hugh  J.  Campbell,  Gideon  C.  Moody. 
.\rthur  C.  Mellette  and  many  other  representa- 
tive men  who  carried  the  constitution  to  Wash- 
ington and  urgently  presented  the  claims  of  Da- 
kota to  statehood,  but  without  avail. 

Eleven  counties  were  organized  by  Governor 
Ordway  during  1883  and  there  was  more  or  less 
scandal  connected  with  each  case.  They  were 
Butte,  July  nth;  Campbell,  November  6th;  Ed- 
munds, July  14th;  Faulk,  October  25th ;  Jer- 
auld,   October    ist;   ^IcPherson.    November   3d; 


Potter,  November  6th  ;  Roberts,  August  ist :  San- 
born, June  23d ;  Sully,  April  4th ;  and  Walworth, 
May  Sth.  It  was  claimed  that  the  Governor 
made  corrupt  bargains  for  the  location  of  county 
seats  and  an  indictment  was  found  against  him  ' 
for  the  offense  in  the  federal  court,  but  he  suc- 
ceeded in  having  the  information  quashed  and 
the  case  never  came  to  trial.  The  pro- 
cedure in  these  cases  was  about  as  fol- 
lows :  An  application  and  petition  for  or- 
ganization would  be  presented  to  the  Governor 
for  organization,  by  the  settlers  within  a  county, 
when  some  gentleman  would  appear  in  the 
county  claiming  to  have  great  influence  with  the 
Governor.  He  would  look  the  county  over  first 
ostensibly  to  satisfy  himself  that  the  petition  was 
bona  fide.  Then  he  would  examine  into  the  eli- 
gibility of  the  various  sites  for  the  county  seat. 
After  some  days  he  would  begin  to  hint  to  in- 
terested parties  that  he  might  be  able  to  assist 
them  in  landing  the  prize  if  sufficient  inducement 
was  offered.  This  hint  would  be  offered  to  each 
of  the  candidates  and  then  he  would  play  one 
against  the  other  for  the  best  offer.  This  usually 
consisted  of  a  certain  number  of  town  lots  ad- 
jacent to  the  court  house  site.  In  several  in- 
stances half  of  the  entire  town  site  was  secured. 
When  the  best  possible  bargain  had  been  struck 
he  would  recommend  to  the  governor  three  men 
for  countv  commissioners,  known  to  be  favorable 
to  the  town  offering  the  best  terms,  and  invaria- 
bly the  virtuous  governor  appointed  the  men  rec- 
ommended by  this  trusted  advisor. 

This  season  there  was  a  general  rounding  out 
of  the  railroad  systems.  The  Northwestern  built 
its  line  from  Iroquois  to  Hawarden  and  from 
Brookings  to  Watertown.  The  Milwaukee  com- 
pleted its  line  between  Mitchell  and  Aberdeen  and 
began  operations  on  from  Aberdeen  to  Ellendale. 
and  from  Milbank  to  Wilmot  and  beyond.  The 
harvest  was  ver>'  satisfactory,  but  the  market  was 
unspeakable.  The  price  in  the  general  market 
was  very  low,  but  in  the  new  markets  of  Dakota, 
unregulated  by  law,  and  many  of  them  in  the 
control  of  unscrupulous  dealers,  imposition  in 
both  grade  and  price  as  well  as  in  dockage  and 
weight  were  common  practices  until   frequently 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


the  homesteader  received  practically  no  return 
for  his  hard  labor.  These  abuses  led  to  organi- 
zations among  the  farmers  which  eventually  led 
to  the  organization  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  and 
the  enactment  of  stringent  railway  and  warehouse 
laws. 

The  only  noteworthy  political  change  of  the 
year  was  the  appointment  of  James  M.  Teller,  of 
Chicago,  to  succeed  George  H.  Hand  as  secre- 
tary. 

Of  course  Yankton  did  not  give  up  the  capi- 
tal without  a  struggle.  In  an  action  brought  to 
test  the  legality  of  the  commission  Judge  Edger- 
ton  held  the  commission  invalid  and  all  of  its 
acts  void,  on  the  ground  that  the  legislature  had 
no  power  to  delegate  such  functions  to  a  commis- 
sion, but  he  was  overruled  by  the  supreme  court 
upon  appeal  and  so  the  capital  was  permanently 
located  at  Bismarck.. 

On  the  2d  day  of  October  Judge  Jefferson 
P.  Kidder  died,  while  on  a  visit  to  St.  Paul.  He 
was  one  of  the  strongest  men  of  the  territory. 
He  was  a  native  of  Orange,  Vermont,  where  he 
was  born  June  4,  1818.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  legislature  and  lieutenant  governor  of  his  na- 
tive state,  and  while  yet  a  young  man  removed 
to  St.  Paul.  His  hasty  trip  to  Dakota  and  his 
election  to  represent  the  Sioux  Falls  govern- 
ment in  congress  in  1859  will  be  recalled.  He 
held  commissions  from  President  Lincoln,  John- 
son, Grant,  Hayes  and  Arthur  as  judge  of  the  su- 
preme court  of  Dakota  territory,  covering  the 
period  from  1865  to  his  death,  exce])t  four  years, 
from  1874  to  1878,  which  he  served  as  delegate 
in  congress.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  principle, 
sympathetic  nature,  strongly  attached  to  his 
friends  and  to  his  family.  His  ability  as  a  fair 
and  incorruptible  judge,  together  with  his  other 
qualities,  won  for  him  a  high  position  in  the  his- 
tory of  Dakota. 

Stephen  W.  Duncombe,  register  of  the  Aber- 
deen land  office,  died  on  October  8th.  Mr.  Dun- 
combe was  appointed  to  the  position  from  Michi- 
gan the  previous  winter  and  had  made  few  ac- 
quaintances in  Dakota.  He  was  forty-three 
years  of  age  at  his  death.  The  President  ap- 
pointed Charles  T.  McCoy,  of  Bon  Homme 
county,  to  the  position  made  vacant  by  Mr.  Dun- 


combe's  death,  which  was  a  variation  from  the 
carpet-bag  rule  then  prevailing.  The  appoint- 
ment of  McCoy  was  particularly  offensive  to 
Governor  Ordway,  who  made  a  vigorous  fight 
against  his  confirmation  and  succeeded  in  hold- 
ing the  nomination  up  for  several  months.  Ord- 
way claimed  great  influence  with  the  senate, 
openly  declaring  that  he  had  personal  knowledge 
of  compromising  matters  affecting  enough  of  the 
senators  to  determine  their  action  upon  any  mat- 
ter in  which  he  was  interested,  but  in  spite  of 
his  pull  McCoy  was  confirmed,  after  a 
thorough  investigation  by  a  senatorial  committee. 
The  particular  charge  urged  against  McCoy  was 
complicity  in  one  of  Ordway's  county  organiza- 
tions in  Douglas  county.  In  1880,  when  Gover- 
nor Ordway  was  new  to  the  territory,  a  man 
named  Brown  from  Iowa,  upon  false  representa- 
tions about  the  population  of  Douglas  county, 
obtained  from  Ordway  commissions  for  county 
commissioners  to  organize  said  county.  There 
probably  at  that  date  was  not  a  single  bona  fide 
resident  of  Douglas  county.  Ordway  always 
claimed  he  was  imposed  upon  and  it  is  doubtless 
true.  Brown  and  one  or  two  fellow  conspirators 
went  into  Douglas  county  and  organized  the 
county  and  also  school  districts,  and  issued  a 
large  amount  of  bonds  ostensibly  in  payment  of 
supplies,  for  building  bridges,  school  houses,  etc. 
This  was  at  a  period  when  a  county  was  settled 
up  in  a  night  and  by  next  week  was  living  like 
an  old  settled  community  with  all  the  activities 
of  society  thoroughly  organized.  At  this  time 
]\IcCoy  was  conducting  a  bank  in  Springfield  and 
a  considerable  quantity  of  these  fraudulent  Doug- 
las county  warrants  were  offered  to  him  and  he 
negotiated  the  sale  of  them  to  his  customers.  As 
soon  as  the  fraudulent  nature  of  these  warrants 
was  discovered  and  exposed  through  the  efforts 
of  Maj.  Robert  Dollard,  McCoy,  to  protect  his 
customers,  recalled  every  dollar's  worth  which 
he  had  sold,  in  so  doing  bankrupting  himself. 
Ordway  urged  before  the  senate  that  McCoy 
was  a  partner  to  the  fraudulent  transaction,  but 
he  was  vindicated  by  the  senate  committee  and 
confirmed.  This  victory  was  magnified  beyond 
its  merits  by  the  people  of  Dakota  and  was  the 
subject  of  general   rejoicing. 


CHAPTER    LVI 


A  FEATURELESS  YEAR. 


Dakota  territory  held  its  own  in  1884.  The 
homestead  and  town  boom  continued  with  little 
abatement,  but  boom  had  become  the  normal 
condition  and  attracted  little  attention.  By  this 
time  the  Northwestern  and  Milwaukee  Railway 
systems  were  completed  essentially  as  they  are 
today.  The  Milwaukee  had  extended  west  from 
Aberdeen  to  Ipswich,  the  gap  on  the  Jim  valley 
line  had  been  closed  the  previous  year,  and  there 
remained  to  construct  only  the  Madison-Harlem 
line  and  the  recent  extensions.  The  Northwest- 
ern was  even  more  complete  that  the  Milwaukee 
and  has  since  done  little  east  of  the  river  ex- 
cept the  Gettysburg  and  the  Yankton  extensions. 
In  the  year  under  discussion  the  Burlington,  Ce- 
dar Rapids  &  Northern,  now  a  part  of  the  Rock 
Island  system,  built  into  Watertown.  making  a 
junction  there  with  the  Pacific  division  of  the 
.Minneapolis  &  St.  Louis. 

Pierre  had  become  the  chief  entry  way  to  the 
hills  and  the  traffic  by  means  of  stages  and  bull 
trains  was  very  great.  In  the  hills  placer  mining 
had  begun  to  subside,  but  the  mother  lode  had 
been  uncovered  and  the  substantial  beginnings 
had  commenced  in  the  modern  process  of  manu- 
facturing gold,  though  as  a  matter  of  fact  the 
most  sanguine  had  not  realized  the  great  possibil- 
ities of  this  industry  as  it  has  since  been  devel- 
oped. Nevertheless  the  Hills  were  then,  as  they 
have  been  at  all  times  since  1876,  one  of  the  reli- 
able and  unfailing  elements  in  the  upbuilding  and 
])r()S|ierity   of   Dakota. 

This  was  only  a  fairly  good   season   for  the 


farmer,  the  first  season  since  the  beginning  of 
the  boom  whence  the  pinch  of  drought  had  been 
felt.  There  was  as  yet  little  diversity  of  crops. 
Wheat  was  the  main,  and  in  most  cases  the  sole, 
dependence.  There  was  very  little  live  stock. 
Markets  continued  bad,  and  had  tlie  new  Dako- 
tan  ever  learned  the  trick  of  despondencv  the  au- 
tumn of  1884  afforded  him  an  opportunity  to  put 
it  into  practice,  but  the  all-abounding  Dakota 
hope  tided  him  over  and  there  was  no  real  hard- 
ship. 

This  was  the  year  of  the  great  Spink  county 
war.  The  county  seat  was  located  at  "Old  Ash- 
ton,"  near  the  Dirt  lodges  east  of  the  Jim  river. 
Redfield  and  Ashton  were  rival  candidates  for 
the  permanent  location.  The  election  showed  that 
F.edfield  had  a  majority  of  the  votes,  but  Ash- 
ton contested  the  point,  and  on  the  night  of  De- 
cember 6th  citizens  of  Redfield  visited  old  Ash- 
ton and  breaking  into  the  vault  at  the  court  house 
carried  away  the  county  records.  This  high- 
handed proceeding  inflamed  the  people  of  the 
Ashton  country  and  some  six  hundred  of  them 
proceeded  to  Redfield  to  recover  the  records. 
They  were  armed  and  the  people  of  Redfield 
prepared  for  defense,  at  the  same  time  securing 
from  Judge  Seward  Smith,  of  the  third  circuit, 
an  injunction  restraining  the  removal  of  the  rec- 
ords from  Redfield.  An  agreement  was  reached 
by  which  Ashton  and  Redfield  maintained  a  joint 
guard  over  the  precious  documents  and  a  few 
days  later  Judge  Smith  dissolved  the  injunction 
and  ordered  the  records  returned  to  old  Ashton. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


When  the  excitement  was  at  its  height  Governor 
Pierce  ordered  a  company  of  mihtia  from  Fargo 
to  proceed  to  Redfield  and  maintain  the  peace. 
The  trouble  was  over  before  the  mihtia  arrived. 

It  was  a  political  year  from  the  beginning. 
The  feeling  against  Governor  Ordway  was  in- 
tense and  early  in  January  a  petition  to  the  Presi- 
dent was  circulated  and  generally  signed  asking 
for  his  removal  for  corrupt  practices. 

On  February  21st  Cornelius  S.  Palmer,  of 
Yankton,  was  appointed  judge  of  the  third  dis- 
trict to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of 
Judge  Kidder.  Congress  created  a  new  circuit 
and  Judge  Seward  Smith,  of  Des  Moines.  Iowa, 
was  appointed  to  preside  over  it. 

The  territorial  Republican  convention  to  elect 
delegates  to  the  national  convention  at  Chicago 
was  held  at  Huron  on  April  23d.  It  was  filled 
with  contesting  delegates,  for  Dakota  was  simply 
swamped  with  a  wealth  of  statesmen,  whose  fit- 
ness had  to  be  tried  out  at  each  occasion.  The 
proceeding  bordered  upon  the  disgraceful,  but  the 
final  result  was  very  satisfactory.  Col.  John  L. 
Jolley.  of  A'ermilion,  and  N.  E.  Nelson,  of  Pem- 
bina, were  chosen  as  delegates,  and  Byron  E. 
Pay,  of  \'olga,  and  W.  J.  Wallace,  of  James- 
town, as  alternates.  They  were  instructed  to  sup- 
port James  G.  Blaine  for  the  presidency  and 
Robert  T.  Lincoln  for  vice-president.  John  E. 
Bennett,  of  Clark,  was  chosen  national  commit- 
teeman. 

The  Democratic  convention  also  met  at 
Huron  and  elected  Frank  'M.  Ziebach  and  J\l. 
L.  IMcCormack  as  delegates  to  Qiicago  to  the 
convention  that  nominated  Cleveland  for  his  first 
term.  Merritt  H.  Day  was  chosen  national  com- 
mitteeman. In  the  territorial  condition  great 
importance  was  attached  to  these  committeeships 
as  in  a  large  measure  they  were  the  dispensers 
of  party  patronage. 

On  the  25th  of  June  the  President  appointed 
Gilbert  A.  Pierce  to  succeed  Governor  Ordway, 
and  the  rejoicing  in  Dakota  was  unbounded.  The 
celebration  of  the  Fourth  of  July  immediately 
following  was  made  an  occasion  of  thanksgiving 
and  general  jubilation  over  the  deliverance. 
Nineteen  years   which   have   since   elapsed  have 


done  little  to  alter  the  bad  opinion  in  which  Gov- 
ernor Ordway  was  held  by  the  people  he  gov- 
erned. It  was  the  prevailing  opinion  that  he  was 
a  man  of  some  ability,  thoroughly  unscrupulous. 
For  months  leading  newspapers  had  opened  their 
editorial  paragraphs  with  the  exclamation,  "Ord- 
way must  go !"  and  when  the  welcome  news  came 
that  his  successor  was  appointed  they  exclaimed : 
"Thank  God  ;  Ordway  has  gone  !" 

The  Republican  convention  for  the  nomina- 
tion of  delegate  to  congress  was  held  at  Pierre, 
September  17th.  John  B.  Raymond  was  a  candi- 
date for  re-election,  supported  by  North  Dakota 
delegates,  generally.  South  Dakota  presented 
four  candidates,  Oscar  S.  Gifford,  of  Canton, 
Arthur  C.  J\Iellette,  of  Watertown,  Samuel  'Slc- 
IMasters,  manager  of  the  Homestake  mine,  and 
Junius  W.  Shannon,  of  Huron.  The  first  ballot 
showed  their  relative  strength  to  be :  Raymond, 
one  hundred  seventy-three ;  Gifford,  eighty-nine ; 
Mellette,  forty-eight,  and  Shannon,  nineteen,  with 
twenty-eight  scattering  votes.  On  the  eighth  bal- 
lot the  South  Dakota  men  under  the  lead  of  Mel- 
lette threw  their  strength  to  Gifford.  nominating 
him  by  a  vote  of  two  hundred  twenty-six  to  one 
hundred  sixtj'-five.  j\Iellette  was  made  chairman 
of  the  committee. 

The  Democrats  held  a  harmonious  convention 
at  Sioux  Falls  on  October  ist  and  nominated 
John  R.  Wilson,  of  Deadwood.  Mark'  W. 
Sheafe  and  Maris  Taylor  received  complimentary 
votes.  Darwin  M.  Inman  was  re-elected  chair- 
man of  the  committee,  which  was  really  the  im- 
portant feature  of  the  convention's  action. 

This  year  saw  the  first  electric  lighting  in 
Dakota,  a  street  system  having  been  inaugurated 
in  Sioux  Falls. 

On  September  3d  the  cornerstone  of  the 
]\Iethodist  Dakota  University  was  laid  at  Mitch- 
ell and  on  September  nth  the  foundations  were 
laid  for  the  Episcopal  .A.ll  Saints'  School  at  Sioux 
Falls. 

The  abuses  of  grain  grading  and  transporta- 
tion, together  with  the  unprecedented  low  price, 
led  to  active  organization  among  the  farmers. 
At  this  time  the  movement  called  the  Farmers' 
Protective   Union   had   no   political   significance. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


321 


In  addition  to  the  grading  and  transportation 
questions  matters  of  farm  economy  were  dis- 
cussed in  the  meetings  which  were  held  very  gen- 
erally throughout  the  state. 

The  treaty  for  the  opening  of  the  great  Sioux 
reservation  which  had  been  negotiated  the  previ- 
ous year  by  a  commission  headed  by  Governor 
Edmunds  was  rejected  by  congress,  delaying  the 
opening  for  several  years.  Possibly  no  one  other 
tvent  has  done  so  much  to  retard  the  develop- 
ment of  South  Dakota  as  the  failure  to  ratify  the 
Edmunds'  treaty.  The  two  great  railways  then, 
a.s  now,  were  at  the  Missouri,  waiting  to  cross 
over  as  soon  as  the  lands  were  open  to  settle- 
ment.   In  that  era  of  boom  and  railroad  building, 


there  is  scarcely-  a  question  that,  had  the  reserva- 
tion been  opened,  the  Northwestern  and  Mil- 
waukee would  both  have  crossed  the  prairies  to 
the  Hills  before  the  end  of  the  year,  and  the  story 
of  South  Dakota  would  have  been  quite  altered. 
Failing  in  this,  the  X'orthwestern  sought  an  en- 
[  trance  to  the  Hills  by  the  Nebraska  route  and 
by  the  time  the  lands  were  opened  in  1890  the 
boom  was  over  and  gentlemen's  agreements  and 
mergers  of  interests  had  quite  changed  conditions 
with  the  result  that  at  this  late  date  the  two 
ends  of  South  Dakota  lack  direct  connection 
by  rail. 

Isaac  Stockwell,  an  old  and  prominent  resi- 
dent of  Yankton,  died  on  Christmas  eve. 


CHAPTER  LVII 


THE  TURN  OF  THE  TIDE  IN  li 


^Vith  1885  the  high  level  of  the  boom  was 
passed.  Naturally  this  fact  was  not  realized  at 
the  time.  Ever)-  Dakotan  believed  that  this  fa- 
vored land  was  to  go  forward,  ever  mounting 
higher  and  higher,  advancing  materially  and 
morally,  without  let  or  reaction,  but  as  we  look 
back  upon  the  course  of  events  from  this  dis- 
tance of  time  we  realize  that  the  palmy  days  of 
the  great  boom  were  over  and  that  the  territory 
was  entering  upon  a  long  reactionary  period 
which  was  to  try  out  the  timid  and  the  weak- 
lings. 

The  legislature  met  in  its  first  session  at  the 
new  capital  at  Bismarck  on  January  13th  and  or- 
ganized by  electing  South  Dakota  men  to  both 
chairmanships,  J.  H.  Westover,  of  Hughes  coun- 
ty, being  made  president  of  the  council  and 
George  Rice,  of  Flandreau,  speaker  of  the  house. 
The  choice  turned  clearly  upon  the  North  and 
South  Dakota  issue  and  the  South  Dakotans  had 
a  walkaway.  Upon  all  of  the  committees  the 
idea  was  carried  out.  South  Dakota  having  a 
working  majority  upon  each.  It  was  a  particu- 
larly strong  legislature  from  the  Soiith  Dakota 
standpoint.  Among  the  prominent  South  Da- 
kota memtjers  were  Senator  Pettigrew,  John  R. 
Gamble,  John  A.  Pickler,  Eben  W.  Martin,  A. 
M.  Bowdle  and  A.  Sheridan  Jones.  It  was  the 
intention  of  the  South  Dakotans  to  promptly  re- 
move the  capital  back  to  South  Dakota,  Pierre 
being  the  chief  candidate  for  the  honor,  but  local 
jealousies  prevented  the  carrying  out  of  the  proj- 
ect, even  could   it  have  been   passed  bv  the  al- 


most certain  veto  of  Governor  Pierce.  Bills  were 
passed  for  the  establishment  of  a  Central  Dakota 
University  at  Ordway  and  a  reform  school  at 
Plankinton,  which  were  vetoed  by  the  Governor. 
The  county  seat  of  Spink  county  was  located  at 
Ashton,  subject  to  a  vote  at  the  next  general 
election. 

Through  the  efforts  of  Major  Pickler,  a  bill 
passed  both  houses  conferring  the  right  of  suf- 
frage upon  women,  but  it  was  vetoed  by  the 
Governor  because  it  did  not  submit  the  question 
to  the  people,  holding  that  such  an  act  was  in 
the  nature  of  a  constitutional  amendment  and 
should  not  become  binding  without  the  referen- 
dum. .  The  appropriation  bills  were  rather  large, 
aggregating  more  than  four  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  On  the  whole  very  little  was  accom- 
plished by  the  session.  Governor  Pierce  ap- 
pointed Ernest  W.  Caldwell,  of  Sioux  Falls,  ter- 
ritorial auditor,  George  Rice,  attorney  general, 
and  Joseph  Ward,  superintendent  of  public  in- 
struction. The  legislature  provided  for  a  consti- 
tutional convention  for  South  Dakota. 

At  Huron,  in  February,  the  Farmers'  Alliance 
was  formally  organized  with  J.  L.  Carlisle,  of 
Brown  county,  president,  and  William  F.  T. 
Bushnell,  of  Huron,  secretary.  This  organiza- 
tion, which  was  destined  to  exert  a  powerful  in- 
fluence upon  the  affairs  of  South  Dakota,  was 
the  outgrowth  of  two  years'  agitation  for  better 
grain  markets.  It  was  entirely  non-partisan  in 
its  origin. 

Under  the  provision  made  by  the  legislature 


HISTORY    OF   SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


323 


for  a  constitutional  convention  for  that  portion 
of  the  territory  south  of  the  forty-sixth  parallel, 
an  election  was  held  for  delegates  on  June  30th 
and  the  convention  assembled  at  Sioux  Falls,  in 
Germania  Hall,  at  noon  on  September  8th.  Hon. 
Alonzo  J.  Edgerton,  of  Yankton,  was  chosen 
president  and  his  presence  gave  added  dignity  to 
the  deliberations  of  a  body  of  dignified  men.  All 
of  the  counties  were  represented,  but  a  few  of 
the  delegates  from  counties  adjoining  the  pro- 
posed division  line  were  opposed  to  division. 
Accordingly  as  soon  as  the  convention  was  or- 
ganized, Henry  Niell,  a  delegate  from  Grant 
county,  moved  that  the  convention  adjourn  sine 
(lie.  Theodore  D.  Kanouse  at  once  moved  to 
table  the  motion  to  adjourn,  which  prevailed,  but 
twelve  votes  being  favorable  to  adjournment, 
four  of  which  came  from  Brown  county,  where 
it  was  hoped  the  capital  of  an  undivided  Dakota 
might  be  located.  The  convehtion  proceeded 
with  calm  deliberation,  the  only  deviation  from 
this  rule  being  in  the  discussion  of  a  paragraph 
of  the  bill  of  rights,  proposed  by  Hugh  J.  Camp- 
bell, the  leader  of  the  most  revolutionary  of  the 
delegates.  This  paragraph  recited  that  govern- 
ments are  founded  in  the  will  of  the  governed, 
who  have  the  inherent  rights  to  change  the  form 
of  government  at  their  pleasure.  Judge  Edger- 
ton took  the  floor  to  oppose  this  suggestion  and 
with  that  ponderous  eloquence  for  which  he  was 
renowned  declared :  "I  protest  against  the  dec- 
laration. It  is  not  my  declaration.  I  desire  that 
we  shall  present  to  congress  a  constitution  which 
will  receive  the  approbation  of  congress ;  to  ap- 
peal to  them ;  not  to  declare  that  we  have  an  ab- 
solute right  to  establish  a  different  form  of  gov- 
ernment. We  should  appeal  to  congress  for  our 
rights,  and  not  come  before  it  as  rebels,  with  the 
statement  that  we  have  the  absolute  right  to  abol- 
ish our  territorial   form  of  government." 

Judge  Edgerton  ever  spoke  with  an  impress- 
iveness  which  always  makes  his  simple  words, 
independent  of  his  personality,  appear  tame  and 
colorless  and  there  was  an  intensity  in  his  elo- 
quence at  this  time  which  held  every  hearer  witli 
bated  breath.  General  Campbell  replied  with 
some  excitement :     "There  was  a  time  when  such 


sentiments  as  were  just  now  presented  to  us  from 
the  lips  of  our  president  Were  considered  loyal 
and  the  opposition  doctrine  was  considered  re- 
bellion. There  was  a  time  when  it  was  consid- 
ered revolutionary  to  assert  that  the  power  of  the 
government  rested  upon  the  consent  and  author- 
ity of  the  people,  but,  sir,  from  the  time  that 
Patrick  Henry  made  his  speech  for  Virginia; 
from  the  time  the  constitution  was  adopted  by 
the  people;  from  the  time  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence was  framed,  in  which  our  forefa- 
thers did  not  hesitate  to  say  that  government 
was  based  upon  the  authority  of  the  people ; 
from  that  time  to  this  I  have  never  heard  that 
authority  disputed.  I  hope  the  time  will  never 
come  when  the  people  of  Dakota  will  have  less 
spirit  than  did  their  fathers.  There  are  men 
here  whose  beards  are  turning  gray,  who  were 
boys  in  i860,  who  remember  when  the  Demo- 
cratic congress  to  whom  some  men  would  have 
us  bow  as  before  demigods ;  to  whom  they  would 
have  us  bend  the  knee  and  bow  the  head  as  if  they 
were  czars,  as  if  we  were  not  people  of  the  Amer- 
ican government — said  to  the  people  of  Kansas, 
'You  have  no  power  to  act  until  we  grant  that 
power."  And  the  people  of  Kansas  replied  by 
turning  out  the  legislature  set  up  by  congress 
and  thrust  down  its  throat  the  iniquitous  Le- 
compton  constitution,  and  when  that  congress 
ended  the  Democratic  party  went  out  of  power 
not  to  return  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  The 
people  of  Kansas  hurled  back  at  the  Democratic 
congress  the  declaration  that  they  must  wait  for 
congress  to  confer  the  power  to  act.  If  this  dec- 
laration is  treason,  I  pray  God  that  I  may  always 
be  a  rebel." 

These  addresses  well  illustrate  the  two  ex- 
tremes of  opinion  represented  in  the  convention 
and  the  popular  opinion  of  the  state  as  well. 
The  fact  is  that  the  situation  was  well  nigh  in- 
tolerable and  it  required  all  the  wisdom  of  the 
conservatives  to  prevent  an  open  revolution. 

The  constitution  as  adopted  contained  all  of 
the  salutary  provisions  of  the  present  document 
embodying  General  Beadle's  long-contended-for 
ten-dollar  minimum  price  for  the  school  lands 
with  the  wise  provision  for  the  protection  of  the 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


funds.  Prohibition  of  the  hquor  traffic  and  mi- 
nority representation  were  submitted  as  separate 
articles.  Provision  was  made  for  the  submis- 
sion of  the  constitution  to  the  people  at  the  elec- 
tion in  November  and  for  the  election  of  a  full 
complement  of  state  officers.  After  the  election 
the  legislature  was  to  be  assembled  and  United 
States  senators  were  to  be  elected,  when  the  leg- 
islature should  adjourn  and  everything  held  in 
abeyance  until  admission  was  accomplished.  Da- 
kota was  to  be  the  name  of  the  state. 

The  Republican  state  convention  met  at  Hu- 
ron on  the  2 1st  of  October  and  placed  in  nomi- 
nation a  full  state  ticket,  as  follows :  For  con- 
gress, Oscar  S.  Gifford  and  Theodore  D.  Ka- 
nouse ;  governor,  Arthur  C.  Mellette ;  lieutenant 
governor,  A.  E.  Frank,  of  Deadwood;  secretary 
of  state,  Hugh  S.  IMurphy,  of  Elkton;  auditor, 
Frank  Alexander,  of  Mound  City ;  Treasurer,  D. 
W.  Diggs,  of  Milbank;  attorney  general,  Robert 
Dollard,  of  Scotland :  superintendent  of  schools, 
A.  Sheridan  Jones,  of  Olivet ;  commissioner  of 
school  lands,  \Y.  H.  H.  Beadle;  judges  of  the 
supreme  court,  A.  G.  Kellam,  of  Chamberlain, 
Dighton  Corson,  of  Deadwood,  and  John  E.  Ben- 
nett, of  Clark.  There  was  a  large  attendance  at 
the  convention  and  a  determined  campaign  for 
the  nominations. 

The  Democratic  state  committee  met  at  i\Iitch- 
ell  on  the  25th  and  resolved  to  ignore  the  consti- 
tution and  take  no  part  in  the  election.  This 
was  in  accord  with  the  policy  of  the  administra- 
tion of  President  Cleveland,  which  opposed  both 
division  and  admission  for  political  reasons,  as 
the  Dakota  representatives,  whether  from  one  or 
two  states,  would  presumably  oppose  the  admin- 
istration. 

The  election  occurred  November  3d  and  of 
course  resulted  in  the  election  of  all  the  Repub- 
lican candidates  for  state  and  legislative  offices, 
there  being  no  opposing  tickets.  The  temporary 
seat  of  government  was  also  at  issue  in  this  elec- 
tion, and  Huron,  Pierre,  Alexandria,  Sioux  Falls 
and  Chamberlain  were  candidates.  31,652  votes 
were  cast.  The  constitution  received  25,132, 
with  6,522  opposed.  Prohibition  prevailed  by  334 
majority    and    minoritx'    representation    was    lost 


by  more  than  five  thousand  votes.  For  the  capi- 
tal Huron  won  with  twelve  thousand  one  hun- 
dred forty-six  votes.  Pierre  received  10.305: 
Chamberlain,  3,167;  Sioux  Falls,  3,337,  and  Al- 
exandria,  1,374. 

The  legislature  convened  according  to  the 
terms  of  the  constitution  at  Huron  on  Decem- 
ber 15th  and  organized  with  Thomas  \'.  Eddy, 
of  Watertown,  speaker  of  the  house. 

The  message  of  Governor  ^Mellette  was  de- 
clared to  be  without  a  peer  as  a  state  document 
in  Dakota.  Its  most  significant  sentence  de- 
clared :  "The  people  of  Dakota  are  a  state  by 
the  supreme  right  of  creation.  They  have  carved 
the  new  state  out  of  the  wilds  of  the  prairie  in 
a  half  decade  of  years  at  a  touch  of  the  magical 
wand  of  progress.  The  state  is  the  creature  of 
the  people,  not  of  congress.  While  congress 
alone  can  endow  with  life,  the  people  alone  can 
create.  *  *  *  Kansas  struggled  to  state- 
hood through  blood,  but  her  course  can  never 
excite  the  sympathy  of  intelligent  statesmanship, 
as  has  the  contempt  so  persistently  shown  to  the 
people  of  Dakota.  The  state  has  not  only  shown 
herself  capable  of  administering  and  maintain- 
ing government,  being  a  very  hive  of  industry 
and  thrift,  presenting  throughout  her  domain  a 
model  of  law  and  order,  sustained  virtually  -with- 
out courts,  the  admiration  of  right  minded  and 
liberty  loving  people.  While  constitutional  liberty 
is  still  against  the  steel  hand  of  the  invader,  it  is 
as  delicate  as  the  petal  of  the  rose  to  the  touch 
of  injustice  from  within.  Robbed  of  justice  it 
is  robbed  of  respect;  robbed  of  respect  it  is  rob- 
bed of  power;  robbed  of  power  it  is  robbed  of 
life.  'Outrage,  contempt  and  death'  is  the  epi- 
taph inscribed  upon  the  tablets  of  liberty  adown 
the  mausoleum  of  time.  A  wrong  to  the  state 
is  a  wrong  to  the  Union.  While  injustice  in- 
jures her  directly,  the  gangrene  of  her  wounds 
is  absorbed  into  every  fiber  of  the  body  politic  of 
■\yhich  she  is  a  member.  Amputation  is  deform- 
ity. The  only  remedy  is  to  heal  and  the  only 
ointment,  righteous  justice.  She  no  longer  solic- 
its a  favor  within  the  power  of  congress  to  grant 
or  to  withhold.  She  demands  a  right  granted 
bv  law  which  congress  cannot  legally  refuse.     If 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


3^5 


her  people  are  content  with  less  than  justice, 
thev  are  unworthy  to  be  free.  If  the  nation  offers 
less  it  is  unworthy  to  exist  under  the  name  of 
constitutional  liberty.  Dakota  is  a  state  with  ev- 
ery prerequisite  fulfilled,  a  fact  which  she  knows 
and  will  cause  congress  to  know." 

The  legislature  effected  a  complete  organi- 
zation and  elected  Judge  Alonzo  J.  Edgerton  and 
Col.  Gideon  C.  Moody  United  States  senators. 
Hugh  J.  Campbell  was  the  only  opposing  candi- 
date. The  legislature  then  adjourned  subject 
to  the  call  of  the  Governor. 

Governor  Mellette's  message  and  declaration 
that  'AVe  are  a  state,"  subjected  him  to  much 
criticism  from  the  Democrats  and  from  the  con- 
servative Republicans,  but  when  congress  ig- 
nored our  claims  to  admission  year  after  year  the 
revolutionary    spirit    well    nigh   prevailed. 

Judge  Edgerton  having  resigned  as  chief  jus- 
tice of  the  territory,  Bartlett  Tripp  was  appointed 
by  President  Cleveland  to  fill  the  vacancy.  Cleve- 
land to  a  large  e.xtent  filled  the  appointive  posi- 
tions in  the  territory  with  Dakotans.  In  Octo- 
ber, however,  Seward  Smith,  judge  of  the  third 
district,  was  removed,  and  Louis  K,  Church,  of 
Xew  York,  was  appointed  to  the  place.  Smith 
was  elected  by  the  divisionists  judge  of  the  Ab- 
erdeen circuit ;  he  was  in  poor  health  and  some- 
whit  erratic  and  to  the  surprise  of  every  one  an- 
nounced himself  a  candidate  for  the  senate. 
Even  then  the  true  state  of  his  mind  was  not 
ppprehended,  but  soon  he  showed  unmistakable 
signs  of  insanity  and  he  was  taken  by  his  Iowa 
friends  to  a  sanitarium  where  he  died. 

Aside  from  the  constitutional  movement,  the 
year  was  not  especially  eventful.  On  February 
25th.  seven  days  before  the  close  of  his  term. 
President  Arthur  had  by  executive  order  opened 
to  settlement  all  of  the  Crow  Creek  reservation  ' 
lying  on  the  east  side  of  the  Missouri,  above 
Chamberlain,  which  had  not  been  taken  in  sev- 
eralty by  the  Indians.  A'er}-  many  settlers 
thronged  in  and  located  upon  these  lands.  On 
.\pril  17th  President  Cleveland,  deeming  that 
.\rthur's  order  opening  the  lands  conflicted  with 
the  treaty  rights  of  the  Indians,  revoked  the  same 
and   ordered   the   settlers   to   vacate.     This   was 


deemed  by  the  people  a  very  great  hardship  and 
was  one  of  the  grievances  against  the  Cleveland 
administration  to  which  Dakotans  of  the  period 
were  wont  to  point.  The  Cleveland  order,  how- 
ever, was  really  founded  in  justice.  If  the  lands 
were  to  be  opened  the  Indians  were  entitled  to 
the  accruing  benefits  and  should  have  been  paid 
for  them  as  were  the  Sissetons  and  Yanktons 
for  their  surplus  lands  in  after  years.  After 
several  years,  during  the  Harrison  administra- 
tion, the  government  did  reimburse  the  Crow 
creek  settlers  for  their  losses. 

On  September  29th  a  great  territorial  fair 
was  held  at  Huron,  the  first  to  be  held  after  the 
great  development  of  the  northern  and  central 
portions.  It  was  considered  a  success,  largely 
due  to  the  energy  of  Secretary  W.  F.  T.  Bushnell. 

At  Pierre  on  the  15th  of  April,  a  sensational 
tragedy  occurred.  On  the  4th  of  the  preceding 
December  Forrest  G.  Small,  a  young  lawyer  of 
Harrold,  had  been  foully  murdered  by  another 
lawyer  of  the  village.  J.  W.  Bell.  Small  had 
been  elected  county  attorney  of  Hughes  county, 
a  fact  which  made  Bell,  his  business  competitor, 
inordinately  jealous  and  upon  the  date  named 
he  met  Small  on  the  road  between  Harrold  and 
Blunt  and  killed  him  with  a  hatchet  and  buried 
the  body  in  a  field  of  breaking.  Bell  had  an  ac- 
complice who  confessed  the  crime  and  both  were 
arrested  and  lodged  in  the  jail  at  Pierre,  where 
on  the  morning  of  April  13th,  Bell  was  taken 
from  the  jail  by  a  party  of  Small's  neighbors 
from  Blunt  and  Harrold  and  hanged  to  the  flag 
pole  in  the  front  yard. 

On  July  15th  a  terrific  storm,  approaching  a 
c\clone  in  character  and  intensity,  swept  over 
the  country  from  Holabird  to  Ree  Heights.  Hola- 
bird,  then  a  village  of  two  hundred  inhabitants, 
was  practically  destroyed  and  great  damage  was 
wrought  at  Highmore  and  to  the  farms  through- 
out the  region.     Fortunately  no  lives  were  lost. 

Peyler  H.  Acton,  editor  of  the  Sioux  Falls 
Leader,  died  on  March  25th.  He  was  a  writer 
of  brilliance,  and  had  achieved  a  WMde  reputation 
for  his  writing,  both  in  newspaper  work  and  as  a 
contributor  to  the  standard  periodicals,  being  one 
of  the  first  Dakotans  to  win  literarv  notice. 


CHAPTER  LVIII 


THE  WEARY  WAIT  FOR    STATEHOOD    BEGINS. 


With  the  opening  of  the  new  year,  ^Messrs. 
]\Ioocly,  Edgerton,  Kanouse  and  ^lellette  joined 
delegate  Gifford  in  Washington  to  urge  the  ad- 
mission of  the  new  state.  They  were  given  re- 
spectful hearings  by  the  congressional  commit- 
tees and  the  senate,  which  was  Republican, 
promptly  passed  the  bill,  but  the  Democratic 
house  could  not  be  induced  to  give  up  the  political 
advantage  accruing  to  its  party  by  granting  state- 
hood, thus  cutting  off  a  considerable  amount  of 
patronage  and  at  the  same  time  adding  several 
votes  in  congress  to  the  Republican  side.  All 
sorts  of  temporizing  expedients  were  resorted 
to.  No  less  than  five  bills  were  under  consider- 
ation by  the  committee,  one  for  the  recognition 
of  the  Sioux  Falls  constitution,  one  for  admission 
as  a  whole,  one  for  division  without  admission, 
one  for  division  on  the  Missouri  river.  It  early 
became  manifest  that  it  was  not  the  intention  to 
take  any  action  whatever.  On  May  4th  the  con- 
stitutional convention  met  and  adjourned  until 
July  1 2th,  serving  notice  that  unless  at 
that  time  congress  had  acted  favorably 
that  the  section  of  the  constitution  re- 
straining the  state  from  exercising  its 
power  to  govern,  would  be  submitted  to  the 
people  for  its  repeal,  but  Senator  Benjamin  Har- 
rison, who  had  the  interests  of  the  new  state  in 
charge  in  the  senate,  at  once  wrote  discouraging 
such  action  as  likely  to  prejudice  the  cause  of 
Dakota  before  the  people  of  the  nation,  to -whom 
Dakota  must  look"  for  ultimate  justice.  At  this 
juncture  Hon.  Abraham  Boynton,  now  of  Mitch- 


ell, but  then  a  citizen  of  Lenox,  came  into 
great  prominence  in  relation  to  the  Dakota  move- 
ment. Mr.  Boynton  was  a  strong  Democrat  and 
had  formerly  been  a  leader  in  the  movement  for 
division,  having  been  a  member  of  the  constitu- 
tional convention  of  1883.  In  common  with 
many  Democrats,  he  had  changed  his  views  on 
this  subject,  and  at  this  time  spent  several 
months  in  Washington  where  among  his  Demo- 
cratic partisans  he  acquired  great  influence  and 
was  accepted  by  them  as  authority  upon  all  ques- 
tions relating  to  the  admission  of  Dakota. 
!  Among  the  large  element  of  adventurous  men 
which  the  boom  had  landed  in  Dakota,  there  were 
many  who,  not  being  firmly  fixed  in  principle, 
made  expediency  the  test  of  every  political  action 
and  this  class  seeing  that  congress  was  not  likely 
to  admit  South  Dakota  at  once,  were  ready,  for 
expediency's  sake,  to  take  up  with  anything 
which  might  be  offered,  and  they  soon  began  to 
weaken  in  their  loyalty  to  the  division  movement, 
forgetting  the  interests  of  posterity  and  ready  to 
accept  statehood  upon  any  terms  that  might  be 
offered.  There  were,  however,  thousands  of  di- 
visionists  who  never  faltered  in  their  loyalty  to 
the  cause  and  they  were  sufficient  to  dominate 
the  policy.  Leaders  among  them  were  the  officers 
chosen  by  the  new  state,  though  their  motives 
were  constantly  assailed,  but  deep  in  the  hearts 
of  the  rank  and  file  the  principle  involved  held 
dominance,  as  was  demonstrated  at  every  oppor- 
tunity for  expression.  Again  there  were  a  few 
entirely      unselfish     propagandists     surrounding 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


327 


Yankton  College,  in  which  Joseph  Ward  was  the 
leading  spirit  who  never  allowed  the  agitation  to 
flag.  Another  strong  incentive  among  the  rank 
and  file  people  was  the  protection  which  the 
Sioux  Falls  constitution  threw  about  the  school 
funds.  It  is,  in  the  light  of  conditions  then  exist- 
ing in  Dakota  and  the  large  number  of  adventur- 
ers who  projected  themselves  into  politics,  a  real- 
ly marvelous  thing  that  a  constitution  not  only  lit- 
erally without  a  job  in  it,  should  have  been 
framed,  but  one  on  the  other  hand  which  ren- 
dered jobbery  so  almost  impossible.  The  people 
were  exceedingly  loathe  to  give  up  this  document, 
especially  its  provisions  for  the  future  of  the 
school  lands  and  school  funds,  fearing  that  the 
freebooters  might  get  control  of  another  con- 
vention and  prevent  the  framing  of  another  char- 
ter so  desirable,  and  therefore  they  gave  quiet 
but  constant  and  tenacious  support  to  the  divi- 
sion movement  as  embodied  in  the  state  already 
erected.  The  Huron  contingent  of  course,  hav- 
ing already  secured  the  temporary  seat  of  govern- 
ment, was  anxious  to  retain  whatever  advantage 
she  possessed  and  was  therefore  a  constant  agi- 
tator for  the  South  state,  and  so  from  all  these 
sources  came  sufficient  vitality  to  keep  the  move- 
ment alive  in  spite  of  the  temptations  held  out 
for  a  different  course. 

One  great  hardship  visited  upon  the  settlers  at 
this  time  was  the  policy  adopted  by  Land  Com- 
missioner Sparks.  Of  course  in  the  vast  move- 
ment of  settlers  upon  the  public  lands  through 
which  title  could  be  secured  through  home- 
steads, pre-emptions  and  timber  claims,  there 
was  a  certain  amount  of  fraud,  though  on  the 
whole  it  may  be  stated  at  this  distance  of  time, 
the  percentage  of  those  who  acted  in  bad  faith 
was  marvelously  small.  The  people  as  a  rule 
came  out  filled  with  hope  and  a  desire  to  make 
homes  and  they  settled  upon  the  soil,  broke  the 
sod,  built  to  the  extent  of  their  means  and  in  ev- 
ery way  showed  the  good  faith  of  their  action. 
Commissioner  Sparks,  however,  reversed  the 
common  law  rule  and  assumed  that  every  action 
was  in  bad  faith  and  placed  the  burden  upon  the 
settlers  to  show  their  honest  intentions.  Thou- 
sands of  claims  were  cancelled  arbitrarily ;   the 


borrowing  of  money  upon  a  proved-up  claim, 
before  the  issue  of  a  patent,  was  held  to  be  an 
evidence  of  bad  faith ;  the  commutation  of  a 
homestead  was  held  to  be  an  abandonment  of  the 
right  of  pre-emption.  A  reign  of  terror  fell  upon 
the  homesteaders,  who  felt  that  they  had  no  cer- 
tainty of  tenure  in  their  lands.  A  convention 
was  held  at  Huron,  largely  represented  from  ev- 
ery section  in  the  state,  to  protest  against  this 
policy.  The  annual  meeting  of  the  Territorial 
Farmers'  Alliance,  in  session  at  Watertown,  sent 
an  earnest  protest  to  Secretary  Lamar  against 
the  course  being  pursued  by  the  land  department, 
and  influential  Dakotans  hastened  to  Washing- 
ton and  besieged  the  President  and  the  secretary 
of  the  interior  for  relief.  Secretary  Lamar  was 
soon  avyakened  to  the  injustice  of  the  commis- 
sioner's conduct  and  took  action  to  modify  the 
harsh  feature  of  his  policy  and  the  settlers 
breathed  free  once  more. 

The  Republican  territorial  convention  con- 
vened at  Yankton,  on  September  22d  and  Oscar 
S.  Gifford  was  renominated  by  acclamation  for 
delegate.  The  platform  uncompromisingly  up- 
held the  Sioux  Falls  constitution  and  the  plea  of 
the  anti-divisionists  for  a  submission  of  the  ques- 
tion to  the  people  of  the  whole  territory  was  un- 
ceremoniously tabled.  The  matter  had  so  long 
I  gone  unchallenged,  had  been  so  frequently  and 
I  unanimously  supported  by  the  people  that  it  was 
felt  to  be  but  a  temporary  expedient  to  ask  that 
it  be  submitted.  Harrison  Allen,  of  Fargo,  was 
made  chairman  of  the  committee. 

The  Democrats  met  at  Aberdeen  on  Septem- 
ber 29th.  The  anti-division  Republicans  of  cen- 
tral Dakota  held  out  strong  inducements  of  sup- 
port to  them  if  they  would  declare  unequivocally 
for  one  state,  but  in  spite  of  these  inducements 
and  the  influence  of  the  administration  and  of  its 
representatives  in  the  territory,  the  sentiment  for 
division  in  the  rank  and  file  could  not  be  over- 
come and  Merritt  H.  Day,  a  strong  divisionist. 
was  nominated  upon  a  platform  that  would  con- 
cede no  more  than  to  favor  submitting  the  ques- 
tion to  the  people.  A.  W.  Bangs,  of  Grand 
Forks,  was  made  chairman  of  the  committee. 
The  election  in   November  returned  Judge  Gif- 


328 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


ford,  the  Republican,  with  a  majority  of  thirty 
thousand,  out  of  a  total  vote  of  one  hundred  five 
thousand,  sixty-six  thousand  of  which  were  cast 
in  South  Dakota. 

In  July  Judge  William  E.  Church,  Repub- 
lican, who  had  been  appointed  three  years  before 
to  succeed  Judge  Moody  in  the  Black  Hills  dis- 
trict, resigned,  and  was  succeeded  by  Charles  M. 
Thomas,  of  Kentucky. 

Governor  Pierce  tendered  his  resignation  in 
the  summer,  but  it  was  December  before  the 
president  found  a  successor  for  him,  at  that  time 
appointing  Judge  Louis  K.  Church,  of  the  Cen- 
tral Dakota  circuit,  to  the  position,  James  Spen- 
cer, of  New  York,  being  after  a  lapse  of  some 
months  sent  out  to  succeed  Judge  Church  on  the 
bench. 

Railroad  building  was  revived  during  the 
season  and  a  large  amount  constructed.  The 
Northwestern  built  its  line  from  Centerville  to 
Yankton,  from  Redfield  to  Faulkton,  from  Do- 
land  to  Groton  and  from  Columbia  to  Oakes. 
The  Milwaukee  extended  from  Ipswich  to  Bow- 
die  and  from  Roscoe  south  for  a  distance  of  thirty 
miles ;  from  Scotland  to  ]\Iitchell  and  from  Tripp 
to  Armour,  from  Andover  to  Newark,  and  from 


^Madison  north  to  near  Lake  Preston.  The  Oma- 
ha extended  from  Salem  to  Alitchell  and  the  Elk- 
horn  reached  Rapid  City  in  the  Black  Hills.  This 
latter  had  cut  off  the  cross  country  freighting 
and  staging  from  Pierre  some  months  before,  as 
the  end  of  the  track  approached  the  hills,  and 
quite  changed  the  commercial  relations  of  the 
two  ends  of  the  state.  The  Great  Northern,  then 
called  the  Manitoba,  built  its  lines  from  Benson 
to  Watertown  and  from  Hankinson  to  Aberdeen, 
and  the  Burlington,  Cedar  Rajiids  &  Northern 
built  from  Sibley  to  Sioux  Falls. 

A  great  drought  accompanied  by  hot  winds 
cut  the  crop  in  many  sections  and  the  price  con- 
tinued very  low,  facts  which  tended  to  accel- 
erate the  political  movement  among  the  farmers 
and  a  considerable  number  of  Farmers'  Alliance 
legislators  were  returned. 

W.  H.  Lyon,  of  Sioux  Falls,  this  year  brought 
out  a  little  book  entitled  "The  People's  Problem," 
a  sociological  study,  and  which  is  said  to  have 
been  the  first  private  bookmaking  enterprise  in 
Dakota. 

The  public  health  continued  excellent  and  no 
death  of  any  person  who  had  acquired  distinction 
in  .South  Dakota  is  noted  for  the  vear. 


CHAPTER  LIX 


THE   FIRST   DEMOCRATIC   GOVERNOR. 


Dakota  territory  was  twenty-six  years  old 
and  for  the  first  time  a  Democratic  governor  sat 
in  the  capitol.  On  February  5,  1887,  Louis  K. 
Church  reheved  Gilbert  A.  Pierce  in  the  execu- 
tive office.  Governor  Church  was  a  native  of 
New  York  and  as  a  member  of  the  legislature 
during  his  incumbency  of  the  gubernatorial  chair 
Mr.  Church  had  attracted  the  notice  of  President 
Cleveland  and  they  had  become  fast  friends. 
Giurch  was  an  enthusiastic  reformer  in  his  New 
York  legislative  days,  and  was  a  colleague  of 
Theodore  Roosevelt  in  their  first  legislative  ex- 
periences and  they  had  worked  hand  in  glove  for 
a  common  purpose.  When  Cleveland  became 
President  he  sought  an  early  opportunit\-  to  re- 
ward his  young  friend  and  sent  him  to  Dakota  as 
;i  district  judge.  In  this  capacity  Judge  Church 
made  a  good  name  and  won  the  approbation  of 
his  fair-minded  political  opponents.  His  district 
was  extremely  large,  rendering  it  impossible  to 
jierform  all  of  its  duties,  but  he  exerted  himself 
to  the  utmost  and  the  public  was  as  well  satis- 
fied as  they  could  have  been  with  the  work  of  any 
one.  He  was  a  fair  lawyer  and  his  decisions 
were  considered  fair  and  wise  by  the  bar.  The 
bench  provided  the  atmosphere  to  which  he  was 
best  adapted.  He  was  somewhat  dictatorial  in 
temperament  and  also  very  nervous,  but  these 
traits  were  not  often  exhibited  in  the  performance 
nf  judicial  functions.  But  as  governor  he  was 
frefjuently  provoked  into  violent  outbursts,  which 
detracted  from  his  dignity  and  usefulness.  His 
hnnesty  was  not  seriously  questioned.     It  must  | 


in  fairness  be  admitted  that  there  was  little  ef- 
fort upon  the  part  of  his  constituents  to  make  his 
pathway  easy  or  pleasant.  In  the  first  instance, 
the  Republican  politicians  flattered  him  with  a 
view  to  using  him,  but  finding  that  policy  was  not 
likely  to  bear  fruit,  they  turned  against  him  with 
virulence.  The  legislature  as  well  as  the  public 
were  overwhelmingly  opposed  to  his  political 
views,  and  to  add  to  the  difficulties  of  his  admin- 
istration a  large  element  of  his  party  turned 
against  him,  with  even  greater  hostility  than  was 
shown  by  the  Republicans.  Probably  the  worst 
that  can  be  said  of  him  was  that  he  was  impol- 
itic. Through  it  all  President  Cleveland  stead- 
fastly supported  him,  and  he  drew  to  himself  a 
cabinet  of  the  strongest  Democrats  in  Dakota 
who  sustained  him  loyally. 

President  Cleveland  appointed  to  succeed 
Judge  Church  upon  the  third  district  bench 
James  Spencer,,  also  a  young  New  Yorker  and  a 
reformer  of  the  Church  school.  Spencer  ar- 
rived and  took  up  the  work  in  May.  Up  to  this 
time  it  had  been  the  general  policy  of  President 
Cleveland  to  fill  Dakota  offices  with  Dakotans, 
but  at  this  date  he  changed  his  methods.  Dele- 
gate GifTord,  a  Republican,  called  upon  the  Pres- 
ident to  urge  him  to  appoint  Dakota  Democrats 
to  the  home  offices,  but  the  President  replied : 
"Mr.  GifTord,  every  Democrat  in  your  territory, 
who  amounts  to  anything,  is  arrayed  on  one  side 
or  the  other  of  your  territorial  fight,  or  is  charged 
with  being  in  some  corrupt  transaction.  The)*' 
are  mixed  up  in  your  quarrels  and  are  not  fit  to 


330 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


hold  office."  Judge  Spencer  created  a  great  sen- 
sation almost  immediately.  There  was  of  course 
an  intense  feeling  among  the  Dakotans  against 
the  importation  of  office  seekers.  Judge  Spencer, 
though  considered  a  fair  lawyer,  possessed  an 
irascible  temper  and  was  rather  arbitrary  upon 
the  bench.  On  the  17th  of  June  he  was  hold- 
ing court  in  Watertown  when  a  man 
named  James  Harkness  was  upon  trial  for 
the  forgery  of  a  real  estate  mortgage. 
He  had  confessed  his  fault  to  the  sheriff 
and  other  witnesses,  but  upon  the  trial 
his  counsel,  at  the  close  of  the  testimony  for  the 
prosecution,  moved  a  dismissal  upon  the  ground 
that  the  body  of  the  crime  was  not  proven.  Judge 
Spencer  advised  the  jury  that  a  prima  facia  case 
had  not  been  made  and  that  they  might  find  for 
the  defendant.  The  jury,  however,  asked  to  re- 
tire and  remained  out  for  a  long  time  when  the 
Judge  ordered  them  brought  into  court,  where 
the  foreman  reported  that  they  had  not  agreed, 
whereupon  they  were  dismissed.  Hon.  Frank 
Crane,  then  a  resident  of  Watertown,  tele- 
graphed the  fact  to  the  Huronite  newspaper. 
The  next  day,  after  Judge  Spencer  had  dis- 
missed the  Watertown  term  and  his  court  was  not 
in  session,  the  Huronite  published  the  news  item 
under  the  head  "God  Bless  the  Jury.  A  Water- 
town  Jury  Defies  the  Carpetbagger."  A  few  days 
later,  upon  the  affidavit  of  George  Cooper,  a 
young  Democratic  lawyer  of  Huron,  the  pub- 
lishers of  the  Huronite,  Augustine  Davis,  Her- 
bert Crouch  and  John  Longstafif,  and  the  edito- 
rial writer,  Junius  W.  Shannon,  were  arrested 
for  contempt  of  court  in  the  matter  of  said  pub- 
lication. 

The  case  was  tried  before  Judge  Spencer 
himself  on  July  12th,  the  prosecution  being  con- 
ducted by  A.  B.  Melville  and  A.  W.  Burtt,  and 
the  defense  by  Hugh  J.  Campbell  and  Robert  B. 
Tripp,  of  Yankton,  and  Josiah  Mellette,  of  Wa- 
tertown. The  testimony  was  taken  from  a  large 
number  of  witnesses  and  the  court  was  mani- 
festly convinced  that  the  state  had  a  good  case. 
While  the  case  was  pending  the  Fourth  of  July 
celebration  took  place  and  this  case  was  made 
the  subject  of  comment  in  very  many  public  ad- 


dresses as  an  attempt  to  throttle  free  speech 
and  popular  liberty  in  Dakota.  There  was  gen- 
uine indignation  everywhere,  and,  groundless  as 
it  appears  from  this  distance  of  time,  there  was 
some  unfeigned  alarm.  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
testimony  Judge  Spencer  summed  up  the  matter 
by  reciting  the  facts  in  the  case,  dwelling  upon 
the  point  that  the  jury  had  not  defied  the  court, 
and  then  gave  the  Huronite  an  opportunit\-  to  cor- 
rect the  false  impression  occasioned  by  its  head- 
lines. This  the  Huronite  did  and  the  matter 
ended  there.  The  entire  matter  was  rather  puer- 
ile and  unworthy,  at  another  time,  of  the  atten- 
tion which  it  attracted,  but  in  the  tense  situation 
which  already  existed  in  Dakota  affairs  it  was 
magnified  into  an  incident  of  the  first  importance 
and  furnished  matter  for  oratory  and  editorial 
fulminations   for  weeks. 

The  legislature  convened  at  Bismarck  on  the 
nth  of  January,  and  elected  George  A.  ;\Iat- 
thews,  of  Brookings,  president  of  the  council, 
and  T.  A.  Kingsbury,  of  Watertown,  clerk. 
George  G.  Crose,  of  Highmore,  was  elected 
speaker  and  W.  G.  Eakins,  of  Gary,  chief  clerk. 
John  Cain,  IMelvin  Grigsby.  Charles  H.  Sheldon, 
A.  W.  Campbell,  Frank  Washabaugh,  E.  G. 
Smith,  John  D.  Lawler,  Jacob  Schnaidt,  Frank 
R.  Aikin,  E.  C.  Ericson,  Frank  A.  [Morris  were 
some  of  the  strong  and  well  known  South  Dako- 
tans who  were  in  that  body. 

After  the  nomination  of  Governor  Church 
there  was  some  delay  pending  his  confirmation 
and  the  first  of  February  having  arrived.  Gov- 
ernor Pierce  desiring  to  enter  into  a  business 
engagement,  turned  the  office  over  to  Secretar\- 
M.  L.  McCormack,  who  acted  as  governor  until 
the  confirmation  of  Mr.  Church,  on  the  5th. 
During  this  time  a  bill  which  had  passed  both 
houses  extending  the  time  of  residence  before 
divorce  proceedings  could  be  commenced  to  one 
entire  year  was  presented  to  him  and  he  vetoed  it. 
Much  of  the  divorce  scandal  which  has  stained 
the  good  name  of  Dakota  is  attributable  to  that 
veto.  The  important  features  of  the  session 
were  the  passage  of  laws  submitting  the  question 
of  division  of  the  territory  to  a  vote,  at  the  elec- 
tion in  November,  and  a  county  option  bill,  to  also 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


331 


be  voted  upon  at  the  November  election.  Gov- 
ernor Church  vetoed  all  bills  for  additional  state 
institutions  e.xcept  the  reform  school  at  Plankin- 
ton.  The  most  important  of  the  additions  con- 
templated by  the  legislature  was  the  Central  Da- 
kota University  at  Aberdeen.  During  the  previ- 
ous winter  the  Madison  Normal  School  burned 
and  was  rebuilt  by  the  citizens ;  Governor  Church 
permitted  the  citizens  to  be  reimbursed,  but 
would  not  allow  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  for 
additions. 

The  total  appropriations  reached  eleven  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars. 

Governor  Giurch  appointed  the  following 
South  Dakotans  to  leading  territorial  positions : 
Auditor,  James  A.  Ward,  of  Sioux  Falls;  treas- 
urer, John  D.  Lawler,  of  Mitchell;  superinten- 
dent of  schools,  Eugene  A.  Dye,  of  Mellette ;  pub- 
lic examiner,  Charles  N.  Harris,  of  Aberdeen; 
railway  commissioners,  Abraham  Boynton,  of 
Lennox,  and  N.  T.  Smith,  of  Huron;  emigration 
commissioner.  P.  F.  McClure,  of  Pierre.  He  re- 
posed great  confidence  in  these  appointees  and 
advised  with  them  constantly.  No  other  gov- 
ernor has  called  to  his  assistance  such  a  cabinet 
of  advisors. 

During  this  season  a  line  now  owned  by  the 
Sault  Railway,  then  known  as  the  Aberdeen, 
Bismarck  &  Northwestern,  graded  a  road  from 


.Aberdeen  to  Bismarck,  and  the  Great  Northern 
was  located  and  graded  from  Watertown  to 
Huron.  The  Illinois  Central  built  into  Sioux 
Falls. 

On  July  1st  the  first  free  delivery  of  mail  in 
Dakota  was  established  by  the  postoffice  depart- 
ment at  Sioux  Falls. 

The  cornerstone  of  Redfield  College  was  laid 
on  July  4th. 

(Jn  July  1 2th,  at  a  special  election,  the  county 
seat  of  Brown  county  was  removed  from  Colum- 
bia to  Aberdeen. 

In  July  natural  gas  was  struck  on  the  Rath- 
man  farm,  five  miles  from  Pierre,  but  its  value 
was  not  apprehended. 

A  lively  campaign  was  made  for  division  and 
for  local  option.  The  former  prevailed  at  the 
election  in  November  by  twenty  thousand  ma- 
jority and  a  majority  of  the  counties  voted  liquor 
selling  out. 

On  the  15th  of  December  a  "one  state"  con- 
vention was  held  at  Aberdeen  by  the  anti-divi- 
sionists.  There  was  a  fair  attendance  and  strong 
one-state  resolutions  passed,  but  it  was  not  the 
purpose  of  congress  to  make  either  one  or  two 
Dakotas  at  that  time. 

Hon.  Frank  I.  Fisher,  of  Frankfort,  a  strong 
man  and  a  member  of  the  constitutional  conven- 
tion of  1885,  died  this  autumn. 


CHAPTER  LX 


THE  GREAT  BLIZZARD  OF  JANUARY  12, 


The  vear  1888  will  always  be  borne  in  mind  by 
Dakotans  as  well  as  by  the  people  of  the  entire 
west  as  the  year  of  the  great  blizzard.  It  fell 
unannounced  on  January  12th  with  a  ferocity 
before  undreamed  of  by  the  denizens  of  the  plain. 
In  the  northern  portion  of  the  territory  it  began 
early  in  the  morning,  but  in  the  central  and 
southern  portions  it  did  not  arrive  until  later  in 
the  day  when  people  were  scattered  in  their  avo- 
cations, children  were  in  school,  farmers  out 
with  their  stock,  or  enroute  to  or  from  market, 
and  the  resulting  fatalities  were  fearful.  It  was 
a  beautiful  winter  morning,  warm  and  gracious, 
with  soft,  variable  breezes — just  such  a  morning 
as  was  calculated  to  draw  the  people  into  the 
open.  One  moment  it  was  bright,  warm,  glori- 
ous ;  the  next  moment,  and  without  the  slightest 
premonitory  warning,  the  terror  fell  with  unex- 
ampled rage.  All  attempt  at  description  must  be 
weak  and  inadequate.  For  fifteen  hours  it  con- 
tinued, blinding,  impenetrable,  intensely  cold, 
the  atmosphere  filled  with  needles  of  ice  driven 
by  a  furious  gale,  accompanied  by  a  deafening- 
roar  ;  then  it  was  gone  and  nature  smiled  out 
again  as  bright  and  innocent  as  a  morning  in 
May.  One  hundred  twelve  citizens  of  .South 
Dakota  perished  in  the  storm  and  many  others 
suffered  extreme  peril.  Minnesota,  Nebraska  and 
western  Iowa  suffered  equally. 

Xotwithstanding  the  gathering  of  a  good 
cro)).  a  fair  growth  in  po]nilation  and  the  con- 
struction of  the  Elkliorn  to  W'hitcwood.  the 
("ireat  Northern  into  Sinux  l"alls  and  Huron  and 


the  great  Sioux  Falls  boom,  which  eclipsed  any- 
thing which  had  _\et  come  to  the  new  west  in 
the  way  of  town  booming,  the  year  was  essen- 
tially a  year  of  politics.  General  Harrison  had, 
above  all  others,  been  a  friend  of  Dakota  in  con- 
gress and  the  leading  men  of  South  Dakota  de- 
sired to  show  their  appreciation  for  his  efforts  in 
our  behalf,  by  giving  him  Dakota's  support  in 
the  national  convention,  and  in  consequence  a 
Harrison  propaganda  was  undertaken  in  January. 
Colonel  Moody  of  Deadwood,  and  Governor  Mel- 
lette, of  W'atertown,  were  entrusted  with  the 
management  of  affairs  by  the  Harrison  mana- 
gers, for  Dakota  as  well  as  in  adjacent  states, 
and  their  work  bore  most  effectively  upon  the  re- 
sult. The  Republican  territorial  convention  for 
the  election  of  delegates  to  Chicago  was  held  at 
Jamestown.  North  Dakota,  on  May  i6th.  The 
divisionists  dominated  the  convention  absolutely. 
It  was  argued  that  if  Dakota  had  her  rights 
South  Dakota  would  have  two  senators  and  two 
representatives,  entitling  her  to  eight  votes  in 
the  national  convention,  and  that  Xorth  Dakota 
would  be  a  territory  with  two  votes,  and  it  was 
therefore  determined  to  elect  ten  delegates  and 
send  them  to  the  Qiicago  convention  and  make 
a  fight  for  their  recognition.  Ten  delegates  were 
therefore  selected,  whom  it  was  known  among  ' 
the  initiated  would  be  for  Harrison  when  wanted, 
but  lest  antagonisiu  to  their  recognition  be  cre- 
ated by  other  candidates  no  reference  to  their 
views  was  made,  nor  was  it  possible  to  get  an 
expression  upon  the  subject  prior  to  the  ballot- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


333 


ing'  at  Chicago.  The  South  Dakota  men  upon  this 
(leleg-ation  were  Gideon  C.  Moody,  J.  M.  liailey, 
T.  C.  Bogart,  B.  H.  SulHvan,  George  W.  Hopp 
and  Colonel  Plummer,  then  a  resident  of  Brown 
county.  The}-  were  promptly  recognized  at  Chi- 
cago and  ten  votes  accorded  to  Dakota,  where  but 
two  were  anticipated  in  the  call.  The  national 
platform  also  declared  unequivocally  for  the  di- 
vision of  Dakota  and  the  admission  of  both  sec- 
tions. Pursuant  to  the  non-committal  policy  pre- 
viously arranged,  the  Dakotans  divided  their  vote 
equally  among  the  candidates  in  the  earlier  bal- 
lots, but  at  the  opportune  moment  united  upon 
Harrison  and  gave  weight  to  the  impulse  which 
soon  resulted  in  his  choice.  Governor  jNIellette 
was  chosen  national  committeeman.  The  sec- 
tion of  the  national  Republican  platform  relating 
to  the  Dakota  question  was  its  most  extended 
expression  upon  any  topic,  and  among  other 
things  said :  "South  Dakota  should  of  right  be 
immediately  admitted  as  a  state  in  the  Union  un- 
der the  constitution  framed  and  adopted  by  her 
people." 

The  action  of  the  Chicago  convention  put  an 
end  to  all  one-state  talk  from  any  source.  That 
utterance  that  "Dakota  should  be  divided"  was 
accepted  as  the  inevitable  and  early  action. 

The  Democratic  convention  for  the  election 
of  delegates  to  the  national  convention  at  St. 
Louis  was  held  at  Watertown  on  May  3d.  It 
was  the  conclusion  of  a  campaign  for  suprem- 
acy between  Governor  Church  and  his  friends 
and  ;\Iorritt  H.  Day,  the  representative  of  the 
old-line  Democracy  of  tke  territory.  It  was  the 
most  intense  of  all  the  political  movements  Da- 
kota had  known  and  was  as  furious  in  its  way 
as  was  the  January  blizzard.  With  all  of  the 
territorial  and  federal  patronage  at  his  control, 
Governor  Church  possessed  an  advantage  which 
rendered  him  invulnerable,  but  the  Day  people 
did  not  give  up  the  fight  until  repudiated  by  the 
national  convention.  At  Watertown  there  were 
so  many  contesting  delegations  that  it  is  even 
now  impossible  to  determine  which  faction  had 
the  legitimate  organization.  Prior  to  the  con- 
vention the  central  committee  met  and  while 
Judge  Bangs,  the  chairman,  sided  with  Day,  the 


majorit}'  of  the  committee  favored  the  Gover- 
nor's cause.  The  committee  resolved  to  make  a 
roll  of  the  delegates  and  to  pass  upon  the  prima 
facia  qualifications  of  contestants  for  seats.  This 
would  place  the  control  of  the  convention  abso- 
lutely in  the  hands  of  the  Church  men.  The  call 
for  the  convention  provided  that  the  meeting 
should  be  held  at  Watertown,  but  did  not  an- 
nounce where  the  convention  should  be  held  at 
Watertown.  The  local  committee  had  arranged 
to  meet  in  the  Armory.  Promptly  at  the  hour 
the  Church  men  assembled  at  the  Armon,-,  but 
Day  had  passed  the  word  around  among  his 
friends  and  they  met  at  Music  Hall,  where  they 
were  called  to  order  by  Chairman  Bangs.  An- 
other member  of  the  committee  called  the  x\r- 
mory  convention  to  order.  Intense  excitement 
pervaded  both  meetings,  crimination,  and  recrim- 
ination, villification  and  personal  abuse  filled  the 
air:  for  hours  chaos  reigned.  The  address  to 
the  people  issued  by  the  Day  meeting,  an  ar- 
raignment of  Governor  Church  and  his  admin- 
istration, was  a  philippic  which  may  be  regarded 
a  classic  in  political  literature.  Aside  from  pat- 
ronage, the  dividing  principle  between  the  faction 
was  the  question  of  the  division  of  Dakota,  but 
in  the  excitement  both  factions  left  all  reference 
to  that  vital  subject  out  of  their  platforms.  The 
Church  convention  sent  Col.  William  R.  Steele, 
of  iDeadwood,  and  George  H.  Megguire,  of  North 
Dakota,  as  delegates  and  the  Day  faction  chose 
Mr.  Day  and  Judge  Bangs.  At  St.  Louis  the 
Church  men  were  admitted,  as  a  matter  of  course. 

The  Democrats  held  their  congressional  con- 
vention at  Jamestown  on  July  iith.  The  Day 
faction,  by  this  time  thoroughly  humbled,  made 
no  disturbance  and  James  W.  Harden,  of  Jerauld 
county.  South  Dakota,  was  nominated  for  dele- 
gate practically  without  opposition. 

The  Republican  congressional  convention  met 
at  Watertown  on  August  22d.  Judge  Giflford 
was  a  candidate  for  renomination.  At  Sioux 
Falls,  Melvin  Grigsby  and  Cornelius  S.  Palmer 
were  candidates.  Senator  Pettigrew  favored 
Grigsby  and  he  secured  the  support  of  Minne- 
haha county.  Hugh  J.  Campbell  was  the  candi- 
date of  the  radical  "We  are  a  state"  element  and 


334 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


George  A.  Mathews,  of  Brookings,  was  the  can- 
didate of  the  element  in  the  party  who  had  been 
hikewarm  in  support  of  division.  North  Dako- 
ta supported  Harrison  Allen,  of  Fargo.  Judge 
Palmer,  having  a  few  votes  outside  of  Minne- 
haha coimty,  continued  in  the  race.  Judge  Gif- 
ford  was  much  the  strongest  of  any  single  can- 
didate and  in  a  way  the  situation  resolved  itself 
into  Giflord  against  the  field.  There  was  a  con- 
test from  Lawrence  count}'  between  what  were 
known  as  the  Moody  faction  and  the  \'anCise- 
Bullock  faction,  and  the  organization  of  the 
convention  was  dependent  upon  the  settlement 
of  this  contest.  After  the  temporary  organiza- 
tion two  days  were  occupied  by  the  credentials 
committee  in  taking  testimony  in  this  contest  and 
their  report  was  finally  made  favorable  to  the 
A'loody  faction,  but  the  VanCise  people  carried 
the  fight  upon  the  floor  of  the  convention  where, 
after  a  long  session,  occupied  by  the  most  excited 
and  eloquent  speech  making  which  ever  enter- 
tained a  Dakota  convention,  the  result  was  ren- 
dered in  favor  of  Moody's  delegation.  Seven- 
teen ballots  were  required  to  make  the  nomina- 
tion, which  fell  to  George  A.  Mathews  by  a  con- 
solidation of  the  central  and  north  Dakota 
strength.  In  the  campaign  which  followed  the 
moral  influence  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  was 
thrown  to  Mr.  Harden,  upon  the  tariff  issue,  nev- 
ertheless Mr.  Mathews  was  elected  by  more  than 
thirty-five  thousand   majority. 

The  result  of  the  national  election  was  a 
source  of  great  rejoicing  in  Dakota  and  was  her- 
alded with  fireworks,  booming  cannon  and  gen- 
eral jollification.  Dakota  had  been  one  of  the 
issues  in  the  nation,  discussed  from  every  stump 
and  the  people  at  home  realized  that  the  end  of 
serfdom,  as  it  was  called,  was  near  at  hand. 

During  the  year,  a  bill  having  passed  con- 
gress to  give  South  Dakota  an  additional  judge, 
L.  W.  Crofoot,  of  Aberdeen,  was  appointed  to  the 
position  and  John  E.  Garland,  of  Bismarck,  was 
chosen  to  succeed  Cornelius  S.  Palmer. 


In  the  month  of  March  a  sensation  was  cre- 
ated by  the  marriage  of  Cora  Belle  Fellows,  a 
young  lady  of  good  family  from  Washington, 
D.  C,  to  a  half-blood  Indian  named  Chaska,  at 
the  Cheyenne  river  agency.  Chaska,  or  Sam 
Campbell,  was  uneducated  and  bore  a  not  very 
good  character  and  the  marriage  was  a  seven- 
days"  wonder  throughout  the  land.  The  yellow 
journals  of  the  cities  gave  up  columns  of  space 
to  it.  As  might  have  been  expected,  no  happi- 
ness came  of  it  and  Mrs.  Campbell  died,  heart- 
broken, a  few  years  later,  Chaska  having  for- 
saken her  to  take  up  with  a  dusky  belle  of  the 
tribe. 

In  February  a  vein  of  natural  gas  was  opened 
at  a  deptli  of  one  hundred  feet  at  Ashton.  It 
was  piped  into  the  hotel  owned  by  Samuel  W. 
Bowman  there  and  it  gave  a  satisfactory  heat  and 
attracted  wide  attention,  yet  the  possibiHties  of 
it  were  not  realized  and  no  effort  made  to  further 
utilize  it.  Presently  the  hole  caved  in  and  no 
attempt  was  made  to  reopen  it,  but  in  the  light  of 
later  developments  in  the  state  it  is  probable  that 
supplies  sufficient  for  heating  and  lighting  pur- 
poses exist  there. 

The  crop  was  very  good  and,  all  things  con- 
sidered, 1888  was  one  of  the  good  years  which 
the  territory  enjoyed.  Prices  were  improved  and 
the  people  were  contented  and  prosperous,  and 
the  prospect  for  division  and  immediate  admis- 
sion to  statehood  made  them  feel  as  if  a  new 
lease  of  life  had  been  given  them. 

In  December  President  Olson,  who  had  made 
a  grand  success  of  the  State  University  at  Ver- 
milion, came  to  his  death  in  the  fire  which  de- 
stroyed the  Minneapolis  Tribune  building.  He 
was  calling  upon  the  editor  in  the  fifth  story 
when  the  alarm  of  fire  was  given  and  found 
egress  by  the  stairs  or  elevator  cut  off.  With 
others,  he  hastened  to  the  fire  escape  at  the  end 
of  the  hall  and  while  descending  it  was  struck 
by  the  falling  body  of  another  victim  and  hurled 
to  the  pavement. 


CHAPTER  LXI 


STATEHOOD  AT  LAST,  WITH  DIMSION. 


The  new  year  dawned  with  statehood  near  at 
hand.  The  country  had  spoken  in  unmistakable 
terms  upon  this  topic  and  congress  hastened  to 
do  tardy  justice.  On  the  14th  of  February  the 
omnibus  bill  passed,  granting  enabling  acts  to 
South  Dakota,  North  Dakota,  Montana  and 
Washington.  South  Dakota  was  to  adopt  the 
Sioux  Falls  constitution,  with  such  changes  as 
the  progress  of  time  had  rendered  necessary,  but 
it  was  not  to  be  altered  in  any  vital  part.  Prohibi- 
tion, minority  representation  and  capital  location 
were  to  be  resubmitted  to  the  people  at  an  elec- 
tion to  be  held  October  ist.  The  protection  pro- 
vided for  the  school  lands  were  not  only  kept  in- 
tact, but  the  South  Dakota  idea  was  enjoined 
upon  each  of  the  other  proposed  states.  The 
passage  of  the  enabling  act,  while  received  with 
great  satisfaction  by  the  people,  was  not  the  oc- 
casion of  much  celebration.  It  came  as  a  matter 
of  course  and  the  fireworks  had  been  expended 
when  the  result  of  the  election  was  known  the 
previous  autumn. 

The  legislature  convened  on  the  second  Tues- 
tlay  of  January  and  remained  in  session  sixty 
days.  Smith  Stimmel,  a  North  Dakota  man  and 
cousin  of  James  G.  Blaine,  was  president  of  the 
council  and  Hosmer  H.  Keith,  of  Sioux  Falls, 
speaker  of  the  house.  Among  the  strong  and 
well  known  South  Dakotans  in  this  session  were 
Coe  I.  Crawford,  E.  C.  Ericson.  Robert  DoUard, 
James  Halley,  A.  L.  \'anOsdel,  Frank  R.  Aiken, 
Joseph  M.  Greene,  S.  P.  Howell,  Harry  Hunter, 
Frank  A.  Morris  and  A.  W.  Campbell.    Tlie  ses- 


sion was  a  constant  fight  between  the  legislature 
and  Governor  Church,  who  exercised  his  veto 
power  upon  most  of  the  bills  which  came  to  him, 
but  which  were  passed  over  his  head  by  the  so- 
lons.  In  anticipation  of  immediate  statehood, 
very  little  was  accomplished. 

President  Harrison  was  inaugurated  upon  the 
4th  of  March  and  seven  days  later  he  appointed 
Arthur  C.  Mellette  governor  of  Dakota  territory. 
During  the  winter  a  good  many  prominent  Da- 
kotans were  assembled  in  Washington  and  a  com- 
bination was  entered  into  between  Messrs. 
]\Ioody,  Mellette,  Pettigrew,  Edgerton  and  Gif- 
ford  on  these  lines :  Mellette  was  to  be  governor 
of  the  territory  and  state.  Moody  and  Petti- 
grew were  to  be  senators,  Gifford,  one  of  the 
congresi5men,  and  Edgerton,  judge  of  the  fed- 
eral court  for  the  newly  created  district  of  South 
Dakota.  The  agreement  extended  also  to  the 
principal  appointive  officers  in  the  territory. 
Mellette  speedily  relieved  Church  and  his  famous 
cabinet  and  appointed  J.  M.  Bailey,  treasurer; 
J.  C.  McManima,  auditor;  Johnson  Nickeus,  of 
Jamestown,  attorney  general;  superintendent  of 
schools,  A.  Sheridan  Jones ;  railway  commission- 
ers, Judson  LaMoure,  Harvey  J.  Rice  and  John 
H.  King;  public  examiner,  T.  E.  Blanchard,  all 
of  whom  continued  in  office  until  the  admission 
on  the  2d  of  November. 

The  election  for  constitutional  delegates  was 
held  the  second  Tuesday  in  May  and  the  Sioux 
Falls  constitution  was  ratified  by  a  large  majority 
so   that    it    only    devolved    upon    the    convention 


336 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


which  assembled  at  Sioux  Falls  upon  July  4th  to 
chai\e:e  the  name  from  Dakota  to  South  Dakota, 
make  a  new  legislative  and  judicial  apportion- 
ment and  arrange  for  the  division  of  the  terri- 
torial property  and  debts  with  North  Dakota. 

Xo  sooner  was  the  enabling  act  passed  than 
a  fierce  contest  grew  up  for  the  location  of  the 
temporary  seat  of  government.  Chamberlain, 
Huron,  Mitchell,  Sioux  Falls,  Redfield  and  Wa- 
tertown  entered  the  race,  but  Redfield  withdrew 
before  the  election  in  favor  of^Huron.  This  fight 
was  carried  to  the  point  of  desperation  and  intro- 
duced a  line  of  corrupt  practices  which  was  most 
demoralizing  and  from  which  the  state  was  long 
in  recovering.  Each  town  exerted  itself  to  the 
utmost  and  spent  money  lavishly,  involving  heavy 
debts  which  are  in  some  instances  a  handicap  to 
this  day.  Governor  Mellette  headed  the  Repub- 
lican ticket  and  P.  F.  McClure,  of  Pierre,  who 
had  won  prominence  as  immigration  commis- 
sioner, was  the  Democratic  candidate,  Mellette 
winning  by  a  majority  of  thirty  thousand. 

A  vigorous  campaign  for  prohibition  was 
made  and  the  separate  article  became  part  of  the 
constitution  by  a  majority  of  5,724. 

Pierre  was  the  successful  aspirant  for  the 
temporary  seat  of  government,  receiving  27,096 
votes  against  14.914  for  Huron,  11,970  for  Wa- 
tertown,  7,506  for  Mitchell,  11,765  for  Sioux 
Falls,  and  2,414  for  Chamberlain. 

On  the  15th  of  October  the  legislature  assem- 
bled at  Pierre  and  elected  Gideon  C.  Moody  and 
Richard  F.  Pettigrew  senators  and  adjourned  to 
await  the  proclamation  of  admission,  which  was 
made  by  President  Harrison  on  November  2d 
and  that  day  all  of  the  state  machinery  was  set 
in  operation.  A  few  days  later  President  Harri- 
son appointed  Alonzo  J-  Edgerton  judge  of  the 
federal  district  court  for  the  district  of  South 
Dakota,  a  position  he  held  with  honor  until  his 
death  in  August,  1896. 

Eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-nine,  the  year 
of  statehood,  was  probably  the  hardest  year  in 
the  history  of  Dakota,  not  excepting  the  great 
grasshopper  year  of  1875.  With  that  year  began 
the  period  of  reverses  which  cut  our  population, 
destroyed  our  credit  and  for  a  time  made  Dakota 


a  name  of  ill  repute.  Several  causes  contributed 
to  this  situation.  A  great  drought  came  upon 
the  land,  practically  destroying  the  crop.  In 
some  localities  the  people  who  were  depending 
solely  upon  the  wheat  crop  were  left  absolutely 
destitute  and  dependent  upon  public  charity. 
The}'  were  beginners  in  a  new  land,  had  not  yet 
accumulated  a  surplus,  and  on  the  reverse  were 
as  a  rule  deeply  involved  in  debt.  The  mistaken 
liberality  of  our  exemption  laws  deprived  them 
of  credit,  for  as  a  rule  they  were  among  strangers 
and  had  not  >et  established  credit  through  the 
proven  rectitude  of  their  lives  and  therefore  had 
been  compelled  to  mortgage  their  personal  prop- 
erty to  obtain  money  and  if  they  had  obtained 
title  to  their  homesteads,  in  most  cases  they,  too, 
were  mortgaged.  iMoreover  a  very  large  per- 
centage of  the  homesteaders  were  not  practical 
farmers,  but  had  left  professional  life  or  positions 
in  shops  and  stores  to  take  the  free  land  of  Da- 
kota. Their  sole  dependence  was  the  crop,  and 
when  that  failed  their  situation  was  truly  pa- 
thetic. Thousands  abandoned  their  homesteads, 
surrendered  their  mortgaged  chattels  and  left  the 
state,  carrying  with  them  a  tale  of  woe  which  was 
disseminated  throughout  the  country.  The  opin- 
ion everywhere  was  that  Dakota  was  a  failure. 
Of  course  interest  upon  farm  mortgages  \vas  de- 
faulted, bringing  bankruptcy  to  the  trust  and 
mortgage  companies  who  had  negotiated  them 
and  in  turn  loss  to  the  eastern  banks  and  lend- 
ers. During  the  palmy  days  of  the  boom  many 
enterprises  were  undertaken  in  the  progressive 
towns  supported  by  eastern  capital  and  these 
came  tumbling  about  the  ears  of  the  projectors. 
All  of  these  conditions  contributed  to  bring  about 
a  situation  of  utter  demoralization. 

The  first  necessity,  however,  was  to  provide 
food  for  the  starving,  and  to  this  task  Governor 
Mellette  devoted  himself  with  the  utmost  energy. 
To  satisfy  himself  of  the  real  need,  he  drove  for 
many  da}-s  among  the  destitute  homesteaders, 
visiting  them  in  their  homes  and  drawing  from 
them  the  reluctant  story  of  their  awful  need. 
Learning  of  the  necessity  from  his  own  observa- 
tion, he  called  the  people  together  in  the  larger 
towns  and  appealed  to  them  to  provide  succor. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


337 


It  was  little  that  could  be  done  at  home.  Even 
the  ordinarily  well-to-do  found  their  means  taxed 
to  the  utmost  to  provide  for  their  own.  Governor 
Mellette  then  went  to  Chicago  and  other  eastern 
points  and  appealed  for  assistance  for  the  desti- 
tute, pledging  himself  that  every  dollar  donated 
.should  go  directly  to  the  relief  of  the  needy  and 
that  not  one  cent  should  be  used  for  the  admin- 
istration of  the  fund.  The  response  was  gener- 
ous and  all  actual  suffering  was  averted.  The 
cost  of  administering  this  relief  fund,  amounting 
to  several  thousand  dollars,  Governor  Mellette 
paid  from  his  own  purse. 

Governor  Mellette's  conduct,  highly  praise- 
worthy as  it  was,  called  down  upon  him  the  male- 
dictions of  the  boomer  element  of  the  towns,  who 
held  him  responsible  for  the  ills  that  had  befallen 
the  state,  and  he  was  made  the  subject  of  shame- 


ful abuse,  but  he  was  not  fleterred  from  the  per- 
formance of  his  plain  duty,  though  it  cost  him 
his  political  standing  in  the  state. 

Aside  from  the  statehood  accomplishment  and 
its  incidental  political  features  and  the  drought 
and  its  consequences,  1889  was  uneventful.  Rail- 
road building  was  at  a  standstill  and  no  new 
building  of  any  kind  was  projected  after  the 
harvest  time.  The  general  health  of  the  people 
was  excellent,  a  blessing  that  was  duly  appre- 
ciated in  that  year  of  the  beginning  of  the  dark 
age  in  South  Dakota. 

On  November  2,  1889,  the  very  day  of  the 
admission  of  South  Dakota,  a  proposition  for 
which  he  had  unwearily  labored.  Joseph  Ward, 
president  of  Yankton  College,  died.  No  other 
man  has  more  strongly  impressed  himself  upon 
South  Dakota  for  good  than  he. 


CHAPTER  LXII 


THE  FIRST  YEAR  IN  SOUTH  DAKOTA. 


As  will  be  apprehended  from  the  previous 
chapter,  the  first  year  of  South  Dakota's  existence 
as  a  state  was  not  a  very  hopeful  period.  Not 
only  were  the  people  laboring  under  the  despond- 
ency of  the  crop  failure  and  its  incident  hard- 
ships of  the  previous  year,  but  the  crop  of  1890, 
too,  was  but  little  improved  over  the  disastrous 
failure  of  1889.  Prices  were,  however,  very 
good  and  even  in  the  single  year  the  effort  to  find 
other  dependence  than  wheat  growing  had  re- 
sulted in  a  beginning  in  dairying  and  poultry, 
which  helped  out  many  a  larder  which  otherwise 
would  have  been  destitute.  It  is  the  testimony 
of  many  who  passed  through  that  awful  experi- 
ence that  poultry  was  the  first  resource  that 
brought  something  of  comfort  and  better  living. 
"Everything  on  the  place  was  mortgaged  and  had 
to  go,  except  the  chickens,"  has  been  declared  to 
the  writer  by  so  many  of  the  pioneers  who  stuck 
it  out,  that  he  is  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
hen  was  a  large  factor  in  the  salvation  of  Dakota 
from  utter  collapse.  But  it  required  several 
years  to  recover  and  to  discover  the  means  of 
permanent  prosperity,  through  diversified  crops, 
live  stock  and  dairying.  Even  those  who  clearly 
saw  the  way  were  unable  from  lack  of  means 
to  do  more  than  make  a  small  start  in  the  right 
direction  and  gradually  grew  into  better  things. 

The  census  taken  as  of  the  first  of  June  gave 
the  state  328,808  people.  The  loss  of  population 
for  the  previous  year  must  have  been  consider- 
able. 

This  vear  the  Elkhorn  division  of  the  North- 


western Railway  completed  its  line  into  Dead- 
wood,  and  the  Burlington  &  Alissouri  River, 
which  had  entered  the  state  from  the  southwest 
corner  the  previous  year,  pushed  its  line  up  into 
the  central  hills  as  far  as  Custer,  and  its  branch 
to  Hot  Springs  was  completed. 

The  first  state  legislature,  which  convened  in 
January,  1890,  was  the  strongest  body  of  solons 
the  state  has  had.  The  ablest  men  in  each  com- 
munity felt  something  of  pride  in  sitting  as  mem- 
bers of  this  first  body  and  we  find  in  the  roll  the 
names  of  a  surprisingly  large  number  of  individ- 
uals who  stand  at  the  very  front  in  the  state's 
citizenship  to  this  day.  The  session  was  largely 
devoted  to  providing  the  necessarj'  legislation 
to  facilitate  the  operations  of  the  new  state,  and 
give  life  to  the  provisions  of  the  constitution. 
The  powers  and  duties  of  the  regents  of  educa- 
tion and  the  board  of  charities  were  prescribed, 
the  manner  of  Bringing  actions  against  the  state 
defined  and  the  duties  of  the  constitutional  offi- 
cers limited  in  a  greater  or  less  degree.  The 
old  territorial  laws  which  were  not  repealed  were 
made  applicable  to  state  conditions  and  the  neces- 
sary appropriations  made  to  maintain  the  state 
and  institutions.  The  power  of  the  state  to  pro- 
vide directly  for  the  destitute  was  discussed,  but 
the  weight  of  opinion  was  that  the  state  had  not 
the  power  under  the  constitution  and  Governor 
Mellette  was  strongly  of  that  mind.  The  draft- 
ing and  passage  of  a  prohibition  law  to  make  the 
constitutional  provision  effectiye  was  one  of  the 
most  serious  tasks  and  occupied  a  great  deal  of 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


339 


time.  Three  new  offices  were  created,  commis- 
sioner of  labor  and  statistics,  engineer  of  irriga- 
tion and  mine  inspector.  Sutton  E.  Young,  of 
Sioux  Falls,  was  speaker  of  the  house. 

The  crop  failure  from  drought  brought  the 
^ubject  of  irrigation  into  great  prominence  and 
many  meetings  were  held  at  different  points  to 
discuss  the  topic  and  devise  the  best  means  of 
utilizing  the  artesian  waters  for  that  purpose. 
Congress  appropriated  twenty  thousand  dollars 
to  make  an  irrigation  survey  of  South  Dakota 
and  the  work,  by  Prof.  Darton,  was  the  means 
of  gathering  a  vast  amount  of  information  relat- 
ing to  the  probable  extent  and  supply  of  artesian 
water. 

In  July  the  State  Editorial  Association,  as  the 
guests  of  the  city  of  Pierre,  made  the  overland 
trip  from  Pierre  to  the  Black  Hills,  returning 
by  the  Elkhorn  Railway. 

Under  the  constitution  the  state  officers  are 
elected  bienially  upon  the  even  numbered  years 
and  in  consequence  a  new  election  fell  in  the  au- 
tumn of  1890. 

The  Farmers'  Alliance  movement  had  pros- 
pered and  during  the  hard  times  had  taken  a 
strongly  political  cast.  It  was  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Henry  L.  Loucks,  a  most  skillful  propa- 
gandist and  by  this  time  had  become  a  genuine 
ground-swell.  The  discouraged  farmers,  over- 
whelmed with  reverses,  were  easily  led  to  look 
for  comfort  in  proposed  political  reforms  and  on 
the  9th  of  July  a  convention  met  at  Huron  to  con- 
sider the  political  situation.  There,  after  some 
deliberation,  it  was  resolved  to  project  a  third 
party  movement  to  be  known  as  the  Independent 
party,  but  popularly  known  as  the  People's  party, 
or  Populists.  Air.  Loucks  was  nominated  for 
governor,  and  F.  A.  Leavitt  and  Fred  Zipp  for 
congress.  The  Democrats  met  in  Aberdeen  and 
nominated  Maris  Taylor  for  governor  and  F.  A. 
Clark  and  W.  Y.  Quigley  for  congress. 

The  hostility  to  Governor  Alellette,  engen- 
dered by  his  efforts  to  provide  for  the  destitute, 
led  to  an  active  campaign  against  his  nomination, 
but  this  oppositon  was  wthdrawn  before  the  con- 
vention assembled  at  Mitchell  on  .August  20th. 
Mellette  was  renominated  for  governor  and  John 


R.  Gamble  and  John  A.  I'ickler  for  congress. 
At  this  convention  W.  W.  Taylor  received  his 
first  nomination  for  state  treasurer.  The  cam- 
paign that  followed  these  nominations  was  spir- 
ited and  owing  to  the  demoralization  incident  to 
the  coincident  and  the  previous  capital  campaigns 
was  exceedingly  uncertain  and  difficult  to  accu- 
rately measure.  At  the  admission  of  the  state 
Mr.  Moody  had  drawn  the  short  term  in  the  sen- 
ate, and  consequently  a  senatorial  campaign  was 
also  involved. 

Pierre  and  Huron  were  engaged  in  a  furious 
contest  for  the  permanent  seat  of  government. 
W'atertown  had  essayed  to  enter  the  fight,  but 
had  been  subsidized  by  Huron  to  remain  out  of 
the  race.  Corruption  was  carried  to  the  limit 
in  securing  votes  in  this  contest. 

The  election  in  November  resulted  in  the 
choice  of  the  Republican  ticket  by  thirty-five 
thousand,  to  twenty-five  thousand  for  the  Popu- 
lists and  eighteen  thousand  for  the  Democrats, 
the  Populist  strength  having  been  drawn  from 
both  of  the  old  parties,  the  Republicans  contrib- 
uting four-fifths  and  the  Democrats  one-fifth. 

In  the  choice  of  the  legislature,  however,  the 
Republicans  were  not  so  fortunate.  On  the  face 
of  the  returns  the  Democrats  and  Populists  com- 
bined had  an  even  show,  with  one  Republican 
elected  upon  an  independent  ticket  holding  the 
balance  of  power.  Several  contests  were  inaug- 
urated on  both  sides  which  the  legislature  was 
called  upon  to  decide. 

Pierre  won  over  Huron,  by  a  vote  of  forty 
thousand  against  twenty-seven  thousand  for  Hu- 
ron. 

As  if  drought  and  famine  were  not  enough  to 
try  out  the  pioneers  of  the  new  state,  the  fall  of 
1890  brought  to  our  very  door  a  great  Indian 
uprising  which  resulted  in  a  vast  tragedy.  In 
a  degree,  this  uprising  was  an  incident  of  the 
drought,  though  it  was  in  a  greater  measure 
predicated  upon  other  circumstances.  The  ex- 
tremely dry  weather,  however,  had  destroyed  all 
the  Indians'  little  efiforts  at  agriculture  and  gar- 
dening with  which  they  had  for  several  years 
supplemented  the  rations  issued  to  them  by  the 
government.     Uncle  Sam  is  not  quick  to  adjust 


340 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


himself  to  changed  conditions  and  it  was  diffi- 
cult to  make  him  understand  at  once  why  the 
rations  which  were  sufficient  in  1888  were  not 
adequate  in  1889  and  1890.  The  Indians  had 
feh  the  pinch  of  hunger  and  were  restive  under 
the  situation.  At  this  juncture  the  South  Dakota 
Sioux  were  visited  by  emissaries  of  tribes  west 
of  the  Rocky  mountains  who,  inspired  by  fanat- 
ical superstitions,  represented  to  them  that  the 
Messiah  of  the  Indians  was  about  to  return  to 
earth  and  restore  the  old  free  life,  with  game 
and  buffalo  in  abundance,  while  the  whites  were 
to  be  driven  from  the  earth.  Early  in  November 
delegates  were  sent  by  the  South  Dakota  bands 
to  attejid  a  gathering  of  choice  spirits  at  Pyramid 
lake  in  Utah,  where  it  was  represented  that  the 
Messiah  was  to  appear.  These  delegates  stole 
away  from  the  agencies  and  made  remarkable 
progress  to  Pyramid  lake,  where  they  met  repre- 
sentatives of  sixteen  other  tribes,  some  of  them 
having  traveled  fourteen  hundred  miles  to  reach 
the  rendezvous.  It  almost  surpasses  belief,  but 
it  is  nevertheless  true  that  these  delegates,  called 
without  telegraph  or  written  message,  had  started 
from  points  a  thousand  miles  remote  from  each 
other  and  had  arrived  at  the  rendezvous  at  the 
appointed  time.  There  the  pretended  ^Messiah  ap- 
peared to  them  and  made  to  them  great  promises. 
The  }outh  of  all  the  older  Indians  was  to  be  re- 
newed so  that  no  man  among  them  would  be 
more  than  forty  years  old.  Everything  was  to 
be  restored  as  it  was  in  former  times  before  the 
white  men  came.  That  medicine  men  would  be 
sent  among  them  to  cure  with  a  touch  all  of 
thtir  wounds  and  sickness  so  that  they  would 
live  forever.  He  then  taught  them  to  dance  the 
ghost  dance  and  sent  them  back  to  their  tribes. 

Short  P)ull,  an  Oglala.  was  the  leader  of  the 
Dakota  delegates.  His  home  was  at  Pine  Ridge. 
He  was  a  hostile,  or  heathen  Indian,  as  distin- 
guished from  the  friendly  fellows  who  thronged 
about  the  agency.  He  came  home  and  at  once 
began  to  teach  the  doctrines  of  the  new  Mes- 
siah to  the  chiefs  and  the  dance  to  the  young  men. 
At  first  he  told  him  all  the  mysterious  changes 
would  come  in  two  seasons,  but  as  the  Indians 
took  up  the  new  doctrine  and  became  frenzied  in 


the  dance,  which  they  carried  to  the  extreme, 
dancing  for  days  in  succession  without  rest  or 
food  until  dropping  down  from  sheer  exhaustion, 
Short  Bull,  who  at  first  was  but  a  John  the  Bap- 
tist, announcing  the  coming  of  the  IMessiah,  grew 
I  bolder  and  proclaimed  his  own  divine  and  mirac- 
(  ulous  power.  His  first  act  was  to  set  ahead  the 
'  date  of  the  uprising,  which  was  to  be  a  prelimi- 
nary to  the  grand  restoration,  one  year,  that  is 
to  the  fall  of  1890.  which  by  this  time  was  al- 
ready- at  hand.  He  then  commanded  all  the  war- 
riors to  assemble  in  the  Bad  Lands  on  White 
river  in  November.  While  the  dancing  and  ex- 
citement was  largely  confined  to  Pine  Ridge,  the 
Sioux  at  the  other  agencies  were  uneasy  and  in- 
clined to  listen  to  Short  Bull's  runners  who  were 
constantly  among  them.  This  is.  particularly  true 
of  the  wild  Indians  belonging  to  the  Cheyenne 
river  agenc}-,  who  lived  back  on  Cherry  creek, 
j  and  the  Uncpapas  on  upper  Grand  river.  Al- 
most immediately  the  Indians  started  for  the  Bad 
I  Lands,  looting  the  homes  of  the  farmer  Indians 
'  as  they  went  and  forcing  many  peaceably  inclined 
ones  to  join  them.  They  made  a  camp  near  the 
mouth  of  Pass  creek,  where  in  a  short  time  three 
thousand  of  the  dancers  were  assembled.  Dr. 
D.  F.  Royer,  the  agent  at  Pine  Ridge,  first  be- 
came alarmed  about  the  middle  of  the  month  and 
General  Miles,  in  command  of  the  department  of 
the  Northwest,  had  sent  strong  detachments  of 
troops  under  General  Brooke  to  Pine  Ridge  and 
I  Rosebud,  but  no  general  alarm  was  felt  in  the 
'  state  until  the  24th  of  November  when  Scotty 
Philip  came  in  from  his  ranch  on  Bad  river  to 
inform  Governor  ^lellette  that  an  outbreak  was 
imminent  at  any  moment.  Governor  Mellette 
telegraphed  tliis  information  promptly  to  General 
?ililes,  who  at  once  strengthened  the  force  at  the 
agencies  and  a  cordon  of  troops  were  placed 
along  the  Cheyenne  from  the  Forks  up  to  the 
Elkhorn  railway  crossing  and  down  that  line 
toward  Chadron  as  a  protection  to  the  Black 
Hills,  and  strong  garrisons  were  posted  at  Forts 
Bennett  and  Sully  and  at  Fort  Yates.  Little 
danger  was  apprehended  from  the  Indians  at 
Cheyenne  river  agency  proper.  In  fact  the  lead- 
I   ing  Indians  there  could  confidently  be  depended 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


upon  to  assist  in  the  protection  of  the  frontier; 
but  there  was  some  cause  for  apprehension  that 
the  L'ncpapas  on  Grand  river  who  came  under  the 
direct  personal  influence  of  Sitting  Bull,  might 
make  a  dash  across  the  river  among  the  settlers, 
the  force  at- Fort  Yates  was  kept  on  the  qui  vivt 
and  Governor  Mellette  armed  the  militia  in  Wal- 
worth and  Campbell  counties  and  they  were  some 
time  kept  under  marching  orders  under  the  com- 
mand of  Col.  Thomas  Orr.  General  Miles  estab- 
lished his  headquarters  at  Rapid  City.  The  pol- 
icy of  the  army  was  to  force  the  Indians  back  to 
the  agency  without  a  conflict.  To  this  end  ef- 
forts were  put  forth  to  create  dissensions  among 
the  Sioux  themselves  and  so  weaken  their 
strength. 

Among  the  Uncpapas  it  was  believed  that 
the  chief  disturber  was  old  Sitting  Bull  himself 
and  that  if  he  could  be  placed  under  arrest,  his 
followers  would  remain  quietly  at  the  agency,  or 
at  least  upon  the  reservation  and  the  excitement 
would  soon  die  out.  Sitting  Bull  had  spent  a 
season  or  two  as  an  attraction  in  the  Wild  West 
show  of  "Biiitalo  Bill"  Cody  and  General  Miles 
was  of  the  opinion  that  Cody  would  have  greater 
influence  with  him  than  any  other  white  man. 
Cody  was  therefore  sent  to  Standing  Rock  to 
coax  the  old  medicine  man  to  come  in  on  the 
25th  of  November,  but  the  Indians,  suspecting  his 
mission,  sent  the  showman  off  on  a  fool's  errand 
to  find  Sitting  Bull  at  a  point  a  long  distance 
from  where  he  actually  was,  and  after  chasing 
about  in  a  vain  hunt  for  him,  Cody  gave  up  the 
mission.  This  attempt  to  draw  off  the  old  dis- 
turber having  failed,  the  war  department,  being 
unduly  fearful  of  Sitting  Bull's  power,  it  was  de- 
termined to  arrest  him  at  all  hazards  and  the 
commandant  at  Fort  Yates  was  instructed  to  ef- 
fect his  arrest  without  delay.  Consequently  on 
the  evening  of  December  loth  Major  McLaugh- 
I  lin,  the  agent  at  Standing  Rock,  selected  a  body 
'  of  Indian  police  in  whom  he  had  confidence,  to 
go  out  and  make  the  arrest.  The\'  were  to  be 
.^ujDported  by  Captain  Fechet  with  a  detail  of 
troops.  Sitting  Bull's  home  was  in  a  substantial 
I  log  house  located  on  Grand  river,  in  South  Da- 
7         kota,  not  far  from  the  mouth  of  Rock  creek  and 


about  thirty-five  miles  southwest  of  Standing 
Rock.  The  police,  closely  followed  by  the  troops, 
left  the  agency  about  midnight,  on  the  night  of 
the  loth  and  made  a  rapid  drive  to  Sitting 
liull's  where  they  arrived  about  four  o'clock  in 
the  morning.  The  police  arrived  first  and  going 
directly  to  the  house  found  the  old  man  asleep  in 
bed :  they  awakened  him  and  told  him  their  busi- 
ness and  advised  him  to  submit  peaceably.  He 
was  indignant  and  raised  a  cry  of  revolt  which 
speedil}-  drew  about  him  a  strong  force  of  his 
followers,  who  opened  fire  upon  the  police  and  a 
desperate  fight  ensued  in  which  six  of  the  police- 
men and  Sitting  Bull  himself  were  killed.  The 
hostiles  were  vastly  in  the  majority  and  it  is 
probable  that  the  entire  body  of  policemen  would 
have  been  wiped  out  had  not  Captain  Fechet 
arrived  at  the  moment  the  fight  was  at  its  height 
and,  quickly  mounting  a  Hochkiss  gun,  soon 
drove  back  the  hostiles  and  rescued  the  remain- 
ing policemen.  Most  of  the  remaining  hostiles 
gave  up  at  once,  but  some  of  them  started  for  the 
Short  Bull  camp  in  the  Bad  Lands,  but  were  in- 
tercepted on  the  Oieyenne,  and,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  thirty,  who  made  their  wa)-  to  the  White 
ri\er,  were  placed  under  arrest  and  in  a  short 
time  returned  to  Standing  Rock.  The  hostile 
element  among  the  Cheyenne  rivpr  Indians  were 
chiefly  in  the  band  of  Hump,  out  on  Cherry 
creek.  Hump  was  considered  to  be  particularly 
formidable  and  his  location  too  was  such  that  he. 
made  a  strong  link  in  the  line  of  communication 
between  the  hostile  Oglalas  and  the  Uncpapas. 
Captain  Ewers,  of  the  Fifth  Infantry,  had  dur- 
ing his  residence  at  Fort  Bennett,  became  a 
strong,  friend  of  Hump's.  At  this  time  Ewers 
was  stationed  in  Texas,  but  he  was  sent  for  and, 
proceeding  to  Fort  Bennett,  drove  at  once  out  to 
Hump's  camp,  sixty  miles  away,  on  Cherry 
creek,  without  troops  and  unarmed.  Hump  was 
twenty  miles  from  home,  but  a  runner  went  to 
him  and  he  at  once  came  in  to  see  his  old  friend. 
Captain  Ewers  explained  the  situation  to  him 
and  asked  him  to  accompany  him  to  Fort  Ben- 
nett. To  this  Hump  at  once  assented  and  took 
his  people  down  to  the  fort,  where  they  remained 
peaceably  until  the  troubles  were  over,   Hump 


342 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


himself  joining  General  ]\liles'  forces  and 
rendering  effective  service  as  a  scout.  One 
of  the  sub-chiefs,  however,  did  not  come  in,  but 
started  to  join  Short  Bull.  This  was  Big  Foot, 
who  with  certain  scattered  hostiles  from  the 
Cheyenne  and  Grand  River,  rounded  up  one  hun- 
dred and  sixteen  men  and,  though  once  appre- 
hended by  Captain  Summers,  they  by  a  subter- 
fuge evaded  him.  When  Colonel  Sumner  had 
intercepted  Big  Foot  near  the  Cheyenne  on  De- 
cember 22d,  he  promised  to  return  with  his  peo- 
ple to  the  Cheyenne  river  agency,  but  on  that 
night  escaped  and  started  south  to  join  Short 
Bull.  This  fact  was  at  once  communicated 
to  headquarters  and  orders  were  tele- 
graphed to  General  Brooke  at  Pine  Ridge 
to  intercept  Big  Foot  and  place  him  and 
his  warriors  under  arrest.  In  the  mean- 
time Short  Bull  had  become  more  reason- 
able and  had  determined  'to  return  to 
the  agency,  and  on  the  night  of  December  29th 
had  arrived  within  six  miles  of  Pine  Ridge.  On 
the  28th  of  December  Major  Whiteside,  under 
orders  from  General  Brooke,  met  Big  Foot  and 
his  band  near  Porcupine  creek  and  demanded 
his  surrender.  Big  Foot  and  his  band  of  one 
hundred  and  six  warriors  and  their  women  and 
children  submitted  without  resistence.  Ten 
others  of  Big  Foot's  warriors  were  out  on  a  scout 
attempting  to  locate  the  camp  of  Short  Bull. 
After  the  arrest  they  moved  over  on  to  Wounded 
Knee  creek  and  went  into  camp.  At  this  camp 
Major  Whiteside  was  joined  by  Colonel  Forsythe 
and  Lieutenant  Taylor  with  details  of  troops, 
so  that  in  the  aggregate  they  had  four  hundred 
and  seventy  fighting  men.  The  next  morning 
the  scouting  party  of  hostiles  returned  to  camp 
and  immediately  the  Indians  opened  fire  upon  the 
troops  from  short  guns,  which  they  had 
cached  under  their  blankets,  and  a  fight  ensued 
in  which  in  a  few  minutes'  time  thirtv  soldiers 


were  killed  and  two  hundred  Indians,  more  than 
half  of  them  women  and  children.  This  most 
deplorable  affair,  while  directly  the  result  of  the 
treachery  of  the  Indian  prisoners,  was  in  its  aw- 
ful fatalities  attributable  to  the  fact  that  the  sol- 
diers lost  their  heads  and  seeing  their  compan- 
ions falling  about  them  spared  nothing  that  wore 
a  blanket. 

When  Short  Bull  and  his  band  of  three  thou- 
sand Indians,  who  were  about  to  resume  peacea- 
ble relations  at  the  agency,  heard  from  Wounded 
Knee,  they  at  once  tumed  back  toward  the  Bad 
Lands,  where  they  were  joined  by  about  as  many 
more  of  the  Indians  who  hitherto  had  been  peace- 
able, so  that  there  were  from  five  to  six  thousand 
in  his  camp,  which  he  established  seventeen  miles 
from  the  agency.  On  the  next  day  a  party  of 
seventy  of  the  young  warriors  made  a  sally  in  the 
direction  of  the  agency  and  at  the  Catholic  mis- 
sion, about  six  miles  west  of  Pine  Ridge,  set  fire 
to  one  of  the  out-buildings.  They  were  here  at- 
tacked by  Colonel  Forsythe,  who  was  sent  out 
with  eight  troops  of  cavalry  to  drive  them  away. 
He  soon  found  himself  surrounded  by  the  In- 
dians and  in  a  perilous  situation,  but  was  re- 
lieved by  Major  Henry,  who  with  four  troops  of 
cavalry  and  a  Hotchkiss  gun  soon  had  them 
flying.  Lieutenant  Mann  and  one  private  of  Col- 
onel Forsythe's  force  were  killed.  On  the  3d  of 
January,  1891,  an  attack  was  made  on  Colonel 
Carr's  troops  of  the  Sixth  Cavalry,  but  ■  was 
handsomely  repulsed.  At  this  juncture  General 
Miles  took  personal  command  in  the  field  and, 
securing  coiTununication  with  the  leaders,  estab- 
lished terms  of  peace  with  them,  and  on  January 
1 6th  they  came  in  and  camped  about  the  agency 
and  the  trouble  was  at  an  end. 

During  all  of  this  time  the  state  militia  from 
the  Black  Hills  rendered  effective  service,  under 
Col.  Merritt  H.  Day,  scouting  along  the  upper 
Gievenne  and  White  rivers. 


CHAPTER  LXIII 


THE  ELECTION  OF  SENATOR  KYLE. 


With  the  first  of  January,  1901,  with  the 
Sioux  uprising  still  in  progress,  the  legislature 
convened  to  divide  the  attention  of  the  people 
and  divert  their  thoughts  from  the  possibility  of 
a  general  massacre.  A  unique  situation  pre- 
vailed. In  the  senate,  consisting  of  forty-five 
senators,  the  Republicans  had  a  majority  of  one 
over  the  combined  vote  of  the  Democrats  and  In- 
dependents. The  house  consisted  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-four  members.  There  were 
sixty-one  Republicans,  nineteen  Democrats, 
forty-three  Independents  and  Mr.  Charles  X. 
Seward,  of  Watertown,  a  Republican,  but  elected 
upon  a  ticket  which  bolted  the  regular  nomina- 
tion and  was  not  therefore  bound  by  party  action. 
On  the  day  of  the  organization  of  the  house,  Mr. 
Beach,  an  Independent,  from  Clark  county,  was 
absent,  and  the  Democrats  and  Independents 
having  agreed  to  fuse  upon  the  organization,  Mr. 
Seward  held  the  balance  of  power  upon  the  or- 
ganization and  when  all  of  the  members  of  both 
houses  were  present  upon  the  joint  ballot  as 
well.  Both  parties  were  quick  to  see  the  im- 
portance of  Mr.  Seward's  position  and  made 
overtures  to  him  for  support,  but  some  hostili- 
ties had  been  engendered  in  the  campaign,  which 
set  his  sympathies  more  to  the  support  of  the 
fusion  and  he  accepted  from  the  Democrats  and 
Independents  the  nomination  for  speaker  and 
was  elected  by  a  vote  of  sixty-two  to  sixty-one. 
The  capital  campaign,  co-incident  with  the  legis- 
lative election,  had  led  to  a  good  many  irregu- 


larities at  the  polls,  upon  which  it  was  easy  to 
base  contests  and  party  supremacy  demanded 
that  the  majority  of  the  prevailing  jjarty  should 
be  increased  sufficiently  to  give  the  fusion  a 
working  number,  and  accordingly  about  ten  Re- 
publicans were  unseated  and  their  places  filled 
with  Independents.  Naturally  intense  feeling 
was  engendered  and  the  proceedings  were  tense 
and  exciting.  Gideon  C.  Moody  was  chosen  as 
the  candidate  of  the  Republicans  for  re-election  : 
the  Democrats  nominated  Bartlett  Tripp  and  at 
the  beginning  the  Independents  did  not 
make  a  caucus  nomination,  the  verv  many  states- 
men of  that  party  preferring  to  take  their  chances 
in  an  open  contest  upon  the  floor.  The  first  joint 
ballot  was  taken  on  Wednesday,  January  21st, 
and  resulted  in  giving  Mr.  Moody  seventy-six 
votes ;  Bartlett  Tripp,  twenty-four ;  J.  W. 
Harden,  twenty:  George  G.  Crose,  fifteen;  Al- 
onzo  Wardall,  ten ;  S.  W.  Cosand,  nine ;  Hugh  J. 
Campbell,  five;  Z.  D.  Scott,  two;  Eugene  A.  Dye, 
one;  the  speaker  cast  his  vote  for  J.  F.  Nor- 
ton, a  Republican,  and  six  other  Republicans 
voted  for  other  than  the  caucus  candidate,  as 
follows:  H.  C.  Preston,  three;  A.  B.  Melville, 
one ;  John  A.  Pickler,  one ;  G.  C.  Lake,  one ;  mak- 
ing the  vote  on  that  day  eighty-six  fusion  to 
eighty-two  Republican,  only  one  being  absent. 
With  all  votes  present,  eighty-five  were  required 
to  elect.  On  no  succeeding  day  were  there  so 
many  members  present.  The  next  day  J.  H.  Kyle 
appeared  with  seven  votes:  E.  W.  Martin,  F.  M. 


344 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Hopkins  and  B.  F.  McCormick  with  one  each. 
In  the  earHer  days  of  the  session  the  speaker  con- 
stantly cast  his  vote  for  some  unaspiring  Repub- 
Hcan  and  after  a  day  or  two  the  RepiibHcans  at- 
tempted to  create  a  diversion  by  scattering  their 
votes  among  prominent  party  leaders,  but  return- 
ing to  Air.  Aloody  whenever  the  tide  appeared 
to  turn  that  way.  On  the  4th  of  February  JMr. 
Moody  released  the  Republican  caucus  from  fur- 
ther support  and  it  was  deemed  wise  to  endeavor 
to  give  another  candidate  an  opportunity  to  draw 
strength  enough  from  the  opposition  to  land  an 
election.  The  friends  of  Senator  Americus  B. 
Melville,  of  Beadle  county,  thought  he  could  ac- 
complish this  and  he  was  given  the  party  nomi- 
nation. On  the  ne.xt  day  Mr.  Melville  received 
thirty-five  votes,  without  making  any  inroads 
upon  the  fusion  strength.  The  entire  Republican 
strength  was  at  his  command  had  it  been  possi- 
ble to  elect  him.  On  the  6th  Mr.  Melville  had 
fifty-one  votes,  all  Republican,  and  on  that  day 
the  Independents  largely  united  upon  Hugh  J. 
Campbell,  giving  him  fifty-three  votes. 

Mr.  Melville  touched  his  high  water  mark 
upon  this  day  and  having  secured  no  assistance 
from  the  fusion  ranks  the  Republicans  gave  him 
up  and  on  the  9th  scattered  the  vote  so  that  the 
highest  number  received  by  any  one  Republican 
was  thirteen  for  Mr.  Moody.  On  the  nth  the 
Republicans,  having  failed  to  make  gains 
through  any  of  the  other  aspirants,  swung  back 
to  Mr.  Moody  and  on  that  day  the  Independents 
concentrated  upon  Mr.  Kyle  with  fiftv-nine 
votes.  On  the  12th  the  entire  vote  present  were 
for  the  first  time  concentrated  upon  candidates 
representing  the  three  parties,  Mr.  Moody  re- 
ceiving sixty-nine,  Mr.  Tripp  twenty-five  and 
Mr.  Kyle  fifty-eight.  That  night  the  Republi- 
cans concluded  to  try  an  entirely  new  man  who 
had  not  yet  been  at  all  considered.  Thomas 
Sterling,  of  Redfield,  it  was  though  might  bring 
out  a  few  Independent  votes  and  lie  was  give!i 
the  i:)arty  nomination  and  on  Friday,  the  13th, 
received  the  entire  vote  of  the  partv  present, 
sixty-nine  in  all. 

On  this  dav  a  few  of  the  Democrats  for  the 


first  time  left  Mr.  Tripp  to  vote  for  Air.  Kyle, 
giving  the  latter  sixty-three  votes  out  of  a  total 
of  one  hundred  and  forty-eight  cast.  A  change 
of  six  votes  would  have  been  required  that  day 
to  have  given  Mr.  Sterling  the  election,  he  being 
nearer  the  prize  than  any  other  Republican  dur- 
ing the  session,  but  he'  had  failed  to  secure  any 
I  opposition  strength.  The  next  day,  Sunday,  was 
a  busy  one.  Up  to  this  date  the  fusion  organiza- 
tion had  been  held  intact,  but  that  day  certain 
members  of  the  Brookings  county  delegation  de- 
clared that  in  the  event  of  the  failure  to  elect 
upon  the  next  ballot  the>-  should  vote  for  Gov- 
ernor Mellette  and  the  Republicans  secured  other 
pledges  of  support  for  Governor  Mellette,  which 
made  it  appear  possible  to  elect  him.  This  sit- 
uation frightened  the  Democrats  into  action  and 
upon  the  first  ballot  all  but  eight  of  the  Demo- 
crats abandoned  Mr.  Tripp  and  voting  for  Air. 
Kyle,  gave  him  the  election. 

Aside  from  the  senatorial  election,  which  at- 
tracted widespread  interest,  the  legislature's 
most  important  action  was  the  adoption  of  the 
.Vustralian  ballot  law  and  a  stringent  corrupt 
practices  act.  The  abuses  and  corrupt  practices 
incident  to  the  capital  election  of  the  previous 
autumn  had  awakened  the  people  to  the  neces- 
sity for  strong  legislation  to  secure  clean  elec- 
tions and  the  bills  upon  this  subject  were  care- 
fully drawn  and  introduced  in  the  senate  by 
.Senator  Preston,  Republican,  and  Senator 
Sheafe,  Democrat,  and  the  two  bills  combined 
in  committee  and  passed  with  but  one  dissent- 
ing vote.  Complete  codes  of  law  relating  to  rev- 
enue, education  and  irrigation  were  passed  at 
this  session ;  by  the  latter  the  water  in  the  irriga- 
tion basin  underlying  the  state  being  declared 
to  be  public  property. 

Near  the  close  of  the  session  four  deaths 
occurred,  which  threw  a  gloom  over  the  legis- 
lature and  made  the  hotels  and  capital  appear 
more  like  a  house  of  mourning  than  the  rendez- 
vous of  legislators  and  lobbyists.  Hon.  David 
Clark,  a  senator  from  Pennington  county,  and 
Alessrs.  Horace  J.  Austin,  member  from  Clay 
comity,  and  J.  C.  Hielman,  a  representative  from 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


345 


Hand  county,  and  Hon.  George  A.  Hand,  the 
legislative  representative  of  the  Northwestern 
Railway,  were  the  stricken.  Each  was  a  man  of 
integrity  and  high  standing,  Mr.  Hand  and  iMr. 
.\ustin  being  especially  prominent  in  South  Da- 
kota affairs.  The  former  was  a  native  of  Akron, 
Ohio,  where  he  was  born  August  9,  1837.  He 
served  in  the  Civil  war  as  a  private  in  the  Chi- 
cago Board  of  Trade  Battery,  and  located  in 
Yankton  in  1865.  In  1867  he  was  appointed  by 
President  Johnson,  United  States  attorney  for 
Dakota,  and  from  1874  to  1882  he  was  secretary 
of  the  territory,  having  been  during  the  long  in- 
terregnum from  the  beginning  of  the  fatal  ill- 
ness of  Governor  Howard  until  the  appointment 
of  Governor  Ordway  acting  governor.  He  was 
a  high-minded  gentleman  and  a  splendid  citizen. 

Mr.  Austin  was  among  the  early  citizens  of 
the  territory  and  had  been  active  in  the  surveying 
of  the  public  lands.  He  had  served  as  register 
of  the  Vermilion  land  office  and  had  been  a 
member  of  the  territorial  legislatures  of  1865, 
1866,  1867,  1868  and  1875.  Like  Mr.  Hand,  he 
had  the  high  esteem  of  the  people. 

On  March  nth,  only  four  days  after  the  ad- 
journment of  the  legislature,  Frank  A.  Gale,  for- 
merly president  of  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Canton,  and  a  Democratic  politician  who  had 
been  especially  prominent  and  active  during  the 
administration  of  Governor  Church,  committed 
suicide  by   shooting  himself. 

r)n  the  14th  of  August  Hon.  John  R.  Gamble, 
member  of  congress,  died  at  his  home  in  Yank- 
ton. He  was  elected  the  previous  year  and  had 
rot  yet  take  his  seat.  Mr.  Gamble  was  a  native 
of  Xew  York  and  settled  at  Yankton  in  1873. 
He  was  a  lawyer  of  great  power  and  a  citizen 
of  incorruptible  integrity.  Governor  Mellette  at 
once  called  an  election  to  fill  the  vacancy.  This 
was  the  first  election  under  the  Australian  ballot 
law.  Col.  John  L.  Jolley  was  nominated  by  the  | 
Republicans,  Vv'.  H.  Smith  by  the  Independents  j 
and  Col.  James  M.  \\'ood.  of  Rapid  City,  by  the 
Democrats.  Jolley  won  by  a  plurality  of  three 
thousand  over  Smith.  Judge  Xowlin.  of  the 
Seventh   circuit,   resigned  his  position    owing  to 


ill  health,  and  in  October  Governor  Mellette  ap- 
pointed William  Gardner  to  the  vacancy. 

Following  the  death  of  President  Olson,  of 
the  State  University,  there  was  a  good  deal  of 
difficulty  in  getting  the  institution  running  on 
a  satisfactory  basis  again  and  President  Roach 
having  resigned.  Rev.  S.  G.  Updyke,  of  Aber- 
deen, was  called  to  become  acting  president.  His 
selection  was  very  distasteful  to  the  members  of 
the  faculty,  who  felt,  as  they  say  in  the  army, 
that  they  had  "been  ranked  by  a  civilian.""  The 
student  body  was  incited  to  rebellion  and  after 
a  few  weeks  of  warfare  President  Updyke,  of  his 
own  motion,  closed  the  institution,  but  a  few 
weeks  before  the  graduation  would  have  taken 
place.  Matters  were  not  adjusted  for  some 
weeks,  when  Dr.  Joseph  W.  Mauck  was  called 
to  the  presidency,  since  which  time  the  institu- 
tion has  constantly  done  good  work  and  with 
relatively  little  friction. 

The  sugar  bounty  feature  of  the  McKinley 
tariff  bill  promoted  great  interest  in  the  beet 
growing  possibilities  of  South  Dakota  and  thp 
matter  was  industriously  agitated  for  a  couple 
of  years.  About  the  latter  part  of  1891  it  was 
the  chief  topic  of  interest  in  the  state,  but  no 
substantial  results  followed. 

The  harvest  of  1891  was  a  bumper  one  and 
the  courage  of  the  people  revived  by  leaps  and 
bounds.  It  is  a  fact  that  in  spite  of  two  crop 
failures  the  people  who  had  stuck  to  their  lands 
had  steadily  reduced  their  obligations  and  had 
made  few  new  ones  and  the  good  crop  of  this 
year  placed  many  of  them  in  very  comfortable 
circumstances.  It  was  widely  published  that  the 
wheat  crop  alone  had  returned  to  the  counties 
east  of  the  river  an  average  of  a  million  dollars 
each.  This  was  no  doubt  an  exaggeration,  but 
nevertheless  a  very  large  return  was  realized. 
Irrigation,  however,  was  still  a  subject  of  in- 
vestigation and  experiment,  and  about  this  time 
a  great  sensation  was  made  by  the  announce- 
ment that  the  art  of  rain  making  had  been  dis- 
covered, and  parties  claiming  to  possess  the  se- 
cret went  about  attempting  to  sell  the  right  to  use 
it  to  the  various  counties.     .Several  of  the  lead- 


346 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


ing  counties  of  the  state  were  induced  to  make 
experimental  tests  of  the  invention,  always  at  a 
very  large  expense,  and  of  course  no  results  were 
secured. 

Gen.  J.  B.  Pattee,  a  native  of  Vermont,  and 
famous  as  commander  of  the  celebrated  Penn- 
sylvania '"Buck  Tail"  Regiment  in  the  Civil  war. 


died  at  his  home  in  Canton  in  November.  He 
was  fifty-five  years  of  age  and  had  resided  at 
Canton  since   1871. 

David  D.  Jewett,  father  of  the  well  known 
wholesalers,  Jewett  Brothers,  died  at  Sioux  Falls 
October  13th.  He  was  a  native  of  Ohio,  born 
in    1815. 


CHAPTER  LXIV 


THE  PETTIGREW-^IELLETTE  FIGHT. 


From  the  begining  of  statehood  a  feeling  of. 
distrust  had  been  growing  up  between  Senator' 
Pettigrew  and  Governor  Mellette  and  by  the  time 
now  under  consideration  had  arrived  they  were 
dividing  the  Republicans  into  two  well  defined 
factions.  It  will  be  recalled  that  at  Washington 
at  the  very  time  of  the  passage  of  the  enabling 
act  Pettigrew,  Moody,  Mellette,  Edgerton  and 
Gifford  had  entered  into  a  combination  which 
apportioned  to  each  of  them  a  high  place  in  the 
new  state.  There  has  always  been  some  question 
as  to  what  was  expected  of  Judge  Edgerton  in 
the  interim  before  the  final  admision  of  the  state, 
but  in  any  event  he  became  an  ostensible  candi- 
date for  the  United  States  senate  and  a  large 
following  flocked  to  his  standard.  So  strong 
was  his  following,  indeed,  that  when  the  solons 
gathered  at  Pierre  on  the  15th  of  October.  1889, 
to  elect  the  first  senators  his  strength  was  so 
great  that  it  required  some  management  to  pre- 
vent his  friends  from  giving  him  a  senatorial 
nomination  at  the  expense  of  either  Pettigrew 
or  Moody.  The  situation  was  really  somewhat 
alarming  as  to  the  integrity  of  the  combine. 
Judge  Edgerton  himself  felt  that  he  owed  an 
obligation  to  his  followers  which  he  could 
scarcly  repay  by  drawing  out  of  the  race  after 
they  liad  won  the  victory.  He  also  felt  some 
concern  lest  Senator  Pettigrew  should  fail  to 
land  the  federal  judgeship  for  him  in  case  he 
should  withdraw  from  the  senatorial  race.  Of 
course  he  was  hard  pressed  to  withdraw  by  the 
adherents  of  Messrs.  Moody  and  Pettigrew.     In 


this  state  Judge  Edgerton  placed  his  fortunes  in 
the  hands  of  Governor  Mellette  to  do  with  as  he 
thought  best.  Governor  Mellette  called  Sena- 
tors Pettigrew  and  Moody  into  his  room  and 
after  consultation  with  them  they  gave  to  him 
a  writing,  the  text  of  which  was  written  by  the 
Governor  and  by  the  senators  signed,  in  which 
they  agreed  in  the  case  of  Edgerton's  withdrawal 
and  their  election  to  the  senate  that  they  would 
secure  the  appointment  of  Edgerton  as  federal 
judge  for  South  Dakota  and  his  confirmation 
to  such  position,  and  in  the  event  of  their  failure 
so  to  do  that  they  would  promptly  resign  their 
seats  in  the  senate.  Edgerton  then  notified  his 
friends  that  he  was  no  longer  to  be  considered 
a  candidate  for  the  senate  and  Moody  and  Petti- 
grew were  unanimously  nominated  and  elected. 
The  newly  elected  senators  proceeded  to 
Washington,  but  there  was  some  delay  about  the 
appointment  of  the  federal  judge  and  Mellette 
received  intimation  from  the  capital  that  Edger- 
ton was  likely  to  be  turned  down.  Whether  or 
not  there  was  any  ground  for  apprehension,  Mel- 
lette, armed  with  the  written  agreement  into 
which  the  senators  had  entered,  hastened  to 
Washington  and  threatened  to  make  the  whole 
matter  public  in  case  Edgerton  was  not  at  once 
recommended  to  the  President  for  the  position. 
This  was  done,  but  Mellette  refused  to  leave 
Washington  until  Edgerton's  nomination  had 
been  made  and  confirmed.  This  last  action  was 
offensive  to  both  Pettigrew  and  ]\loody,  who  re- 
srardcd  it  as  meddlina:  i"  their  business,  but  Mel- 


348 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


lette  was  obdurate  and  stuck  it  out  until  the  mat- 
ter was  put  through.  This  was  the  beginning  of 
the  breach,  which  constantly  widened.  Harrison 
was  an  especial  friend  of  the  Governor's  and  was 
inclined  to  favor  him  in  every  way  possible  with- 
out offending  the  senators,  and  he  threw  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  patronage  into  Mellette's 
hands,  especially  through  the  interior  depart- 
ment. This  situation  was  no  doubt  a  factor  in 
the  creation  of  the  growing  antipathy  of  Sena- 
tor Pettigrew  for  the  President,  which  by  the 
time  the  Republican  state  convention  met  at 
Chamberlain  on  March  25,  1892,  to  elect  dele- 
gates to  the  national  convention,  then  called  to 
meet  in  Minneapolis  in  June,  he  was  in  open  hos- 
tility to  the  Harrison  administration.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  was  the  determination  of  Governor 
Mellette  and  his  friends  that  the  delegates  from 
South  Dakota  should  be  instructed  for  the  re- 
nomination  of  Harrison.  There  has  been  no 
prettier  fight  in  the  political  history  than  was 
this  struggle  for  supremacy  in  the  Chamberlain 
convention.  It  resulted  in  the  adoption  of  the 
resolution  of  instruction  by  a  fair  majority,  after 
a  prolonged  struggle  upon  the  floor  of  the  con- 
vention. The  following  delegates  were  elected : 
E.  C.  Ericson,  Nye  E.  Phillips,  A.  C.  Johnson,  J. 
M.  Green,  C.  B.  Alford,  M.  T.  Lightner,  James 
Halley,  G.  C.  Moody.  The  fight  for  instructions 
resulted  in  a  clear  victory  for  the  Mellette  men, 
while  a  majority  of  the  delegates  elected  were 
friends  and  adherents  of  Senator  Pettigrew.  No 
fight  whatever  was  made  in  the  matter  of  the  del- 
egates, Mellette  considering  that  the  passage 
the  instructions  settled  the  whole  proposition. 
The  resolution  of  instructions  was  in  the  follow- 
ing words :  "Resolved,  That  the  delegates 
chosen  by  this  convention  use  all  honorable  en- 
deavor to  secure  the  renomination  of  Mr.  Har- 
rison, with  a  view  to  assuring  a  continuance  of 
his  wise  and  progressive  administration."  Sena- 
tor Pettigrew,  however,  was  not  a  man  to  give 
up  in  a  fight  as  long  as  he  had  a  foot  to  stand 
rpon  and  he  continued  to  aggressively  oppose 
Harrison's  nomination,  and  at  ^Minneapolis  used 
his  influence  to  induce  the  delegation  to  disre- 
gnrd    the   instructions   of    the    convention,    with 


such  success  that  he  induced  a  majority  of  the 
delegates  to  believe  that  in  the  absence  of  the 
express  word  "instruct"  in  the  resolution  above 
quoted  that  they  were  not  bound  and  so  they 
cast  their  votes  with  two  exceptions  in  the  or- 
ganization of  the  convention  and  in  all  of  the 
preliminary  tests  of  strength  against  the  inter- 
ests of  President  Harrison. 

The  Democrats  met  in  Yankton  on  the  25th 
of  May  and  sent  a  solid  Cleveland  delegation  to 
St.  Louis,  without  opposition. 

The  Republican  convention  for  the  nomina- 
tion of  state  officers  met  at  Madison  on  July  20th. 
The  friends  of  Senator  Pettigrew  were  in  the 
majority  from  the  beginning,  and  named  the  en- 
tire ticket,  except  W.  V.  Lucas,  of  congress, 
who,  though  not  slated  for  the  position,  was 
stampeded  into  the  nomination.  At  this  conven- 
tion Giarles  H.  Sheldon,  of  Day  county,  was 
nominated  for  governor  and  Lucas  and  IMajor 
Pickler  for  congress.  At  this  convention,  too, 
W.  W.  Taylor  was  renominated  for  state  treas- 
urer. 

At  the  Minneapolis  convention  A.  P..  Kitt- 
redge  was  made  national  committeeman  and  J. 
M.  Green,  of  Chamberlain,  was  chosen  chairman 
of  the  state  committee  at  Madison. 

At  a  great  wigwam  convention  held  at  Red- 
field  the  Independents  nominated  Abraham  L. 
\'an  Osdel  for  governor  and  William  Lardner 
and  John  E.  Kelly  for  congress  and  the  Demo- 
crats at  Yankton  named  Peter  Couchman  foi 
governor  and  Chauncey  L.  Woods  and  Lewis  E. 
Whicher  for  congress.  At  the  end  of  a  vigorous 
cimpaign  Harrison  received  3^1,888  votes,  Cleve- 
land, 9,081,  and  Weaver,  26,5-14.  The  Repub- 
lican congressmen  and  state  ticket  were  elected 
by  approximately  the  same  vote. 

On  the  15th  of  April,  1902,  the  Sisseton  In- 
dian reservation  was  thrown  open  to  settlement. 
The  Indians  had  agreed  to  sell  their  sur]ilus 
lands  after  their  own  people  had  taken  their  allot- 
ments and  had  received  from  the  government 
two  dollars  and  twenty-five  cents  per  acre  there- 
for. The  opening  had  been  long  anticipated  and 
the  rush  to  occupy  the  lands  was  tremendous. 
Filings  were  required  to  be  made  at  the  Water- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


349 


town  land  office,  and  in  a  few  days  more  than 
one  thousand  five  hundred  claims  were  filed. 

Notwithstanding  several  severe  storms  and 
an  excessive  amount  of  rain,  the -crops  of  the 
year  were  excellent,  prices  were  good,  labor  in 
strong  demand  and  the  people  were  exceedingly 
prosperous.  The  city  of  Pierre,  as  an  incident 
of  the  last  fight  for  the  location  of  the  permanent 
capital,  had  undertaken  the  construction  of  a  rail- 
way from  Aberdeen  to  Rapid  City  and  had 
graded  the  line  for  a  portion  of  the  way  between 
Pierre  and  Aberdeen.  This  year  they  entered 
into  a  contract  with  the  Northern  Pacific  Rail- 


way and  pursuant  thereto  practically  completed 
the  grade  between  the  points  named,  with  every 
prospect  of  its  early  completion,  but  the  North- 
ern Pacific  became  bankrupt  in  the  panic  of  1903 
and  passed  into  the  hands  of  receivers,  who  were 
not  in  position  to  carry  out  the  contract  for  the 
extension. 

In  the  latter  portion  of  March  Hon.  Charles 
G.  Williams,  receiver  of  the  Watertown  land 
office,  died  at  his  home  in  that  city.  Mr.  Wil- 
liams had  been  a  member  of  congress  from  the 
first  Wisconsin  district  for  ten  years  and  was 
an  orator  of  national  reputation. 


CHAPTER  LXV 


THE    STRUGGLE    FOR    RESUBMISSION. 


Through  three  campaigns,  as  we  have  seen, 
South  Dakota  had  declared  for  prohibition  of  the 
liquor  traffic.  Under  the  direction  and  unflag- 
ging zeal  of  such  men  as  W.  F.  T.  Bushnell,  Wil- 
liam Fielder,  Joseph  Ward  and  of  the  ladies  of 
the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union  the 
people  were  carried  into  a  fine  enthusiasm  for  re- 
form, which  was  reflected  in  the  platforms  of  the 
Republican  and  Independent  parties  and  the  vic- 
tory for  prohibition  was  won  for  the  last  time 
in  the  success  of  the  separate  article  of  the  con- 
stitution in  the  election  of  1889.  The  legisla- 
ture, in  good  faith,  passed  the  law  which  gave 
life  to  the  constitutional  provision  and  on  March 
I.  1890,  the  law  went  into  operation.  Governor 
Mellette,  himself  a  prohibitionist  and  a  teetotaler, 
strongly  advocated  the  reimbursement  by  the 
state  of  the  owners  of  the  breweries  whose  busi- 
ness had  been  ruined  by  the  prohibition,  but  he 
received  little  support  in  the  proposition. 

With  the  constitutional  article  adopted  and  the 
law  enacted, the  most  of  the  reformers  went  about 
their  business  serene  in  the  consciousness  that  evil 
had  been  put  away.  Of  course,  there  were  many 
self  sacrificing  people  who  at  once  organized  to 
secure  the  enforcement  of  the  law,  but  as  a  rule 
those  who  had  voted  the  law  into  being  did  not 
care  to  concern  themselves  with  its  enforcement. 
In  a  considerable  portion  of  the  state  the  law  was 
well  observed,  but  in  large  sections  and  impor- 
tant towns  little  attempt  to  observe  it  was  made 
by  the  officers.    This  was  especially  true  of  Siou.x 


Falls,  Yankton  and  the  Black  Hills  section. 
Everywhere  it  was  the  subject  of  litigation,  for 
naturally  its  enemies  were  not  content  to  accept 
its  dictum  without  testing  the  legality  of  every 
provision  and  the  courts  were  overwhelmed  with 
test  cases.  These  conditions  lead  to  a  reactionary 
feeling,  which  by  the  time  the  legislature  of  1893 
was  elected  was  taken  advantage  of  by  the  liquor 
men  to  signify  a  demand  for  resubmission  of  the 
prohibition  article.  Accordingly  the  resubmis- 
sionists,  under  the  leadership  of  Moses  Kaufif- 
man,  of  Sioux  Falls,  established  a  strong  lobby 
at  Pierre,  upon  the  assembling  of  the  legislature 
and  promptly  began  a  propaganda  for  resubmis- 
sion. To  combat  this  movement  the  Woman's 
Christian  Temperance  Union  sent  a  lobby '  to 
Pierre  under  the  lead  of  Mesdames  Ella  A. 
Cranmer  and  Annie  D.  Simmons. 

The  resubmission  bill  was  introduced  by  Mr. 
Fowler,  of  Lawrence  county,  on  the  first  day  of 
the  session  and  its  passage  was  confidently 
looked  for  by  its  friends.  All  of  the  important 
legislation  of  the  session  was  made  contingent 
upon  it,  as  far  as  it  was  in  the  power  of  the  re- 
submissionists  to  do  so.  The  committee  on  tem- 
perance, having  charge  of  the  bill,  made  a  ma- 
jority neport  favoring  the  bill  and  a  minority  re- 
port unfavorable  to  it  on  February  ist  and  on 
the  next  day  Mr.  Fowler  moved  that  the  major- 
ity report  be  adopted.  ]\Ir.  Ashley,  of  Clark, 
moved  that  the  minority  report  be  substituted  for 
the  majority  and  so  substituted  to  be  adopted,  and 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


351 


the  substitute  prevailed  by  a  vote  of  forty-three 
to  thirtv-nine  and  so  the  first  attempt  at  resub- 
mission failed. 

Immediately  the  resubmissionists  gathered 
themselves  for  a  new  attack,  and  on  the  6th  of 
February  introduced  a  new  bill  so  amending  the 
prohibition  clause  of  the  constitution  as  to  allow 
local  option  and  the  sale  of  the  monopoly  to  sell 
liquors  in  any  community  voting  in  favor  of  the 
sale,  somewhat  after  the  Swedish  plan.  It  was  ex- 
pected to  secure  the  support  of  Stuverud,  of  Cod- 
ington, Patten,  of  Beadle,  and  Douglas,  of  Miner, 
for  this  bill,  who  had  voted  against  straight  re- 
submission. The  bill  came  on  for  passage  on  the 
28th.  The  prohibitionists  had  given  up  all  hope 
of  defeating  the  passage  except  by  a  filibuster 
which  would  crowd  it  over  the  term.  There- 
fore, when  it  came  up  on  the  morning  of  the 
28th,  four  days  before  the  session  would  end, 
the  opponents  of  the  measure,  under  the  lead  of 
Air.  Hooper,  of  Spink  county,  with  grim  deter- 
mination to  do  or  die,  began  the  fight  which  they 
did  not  suppose  would  end  until  midnight  of  the 
3d  of  March.  By  motions  to  adjourn,  to  table, 
appeals  from  the  chair  and  interminable  roll  calls 
the  day  was  worn  out  until  late  in  the  evening, 
when  the  resubmissionists,  becoming  desperate, 
Speaker  Lawson  permitted  an  heroic  amendment 
of  the  rules,  which  permitted  the  bill  to  come  up 
upon  its  merits.  In  all  the  tiresome  test  votes 
of  the  day  the  resubmissionists  had  had  ample 
strength  to  handle  the  proposition.  Forty-three 
votes  were  necessary  to  pass  the  bill  and  fifty 
were  voting  with  them.  Finally  the  crucial  vote 
came  and  the  resubmissionists  were  exulting  and 
the  prohibitionists  were  in  the  depth  of  despair. 
The  situation  was  most  tense  and  public  senti- 
ment throughout  the  state  was  aroused  as  it 
seldom  has  been.  The  roll  call  proceeded  and 
from  the  first  it  was  apparent  that  resubmission 
was  not  holding  the  strength  which  had  helped 
it  through  the  filibuster.  When  half  through  it 
was  manifest  that  Patten  and  Stuverud  were  es- 
sential if  the  bill  passed.  Patten  was  called  and 
voted  aye,  but  Stuverud  shouted  "no"  and  the 
vote  was  tied.  An  emissary  of  the  resubmision- 
ists  rushed  to  Stuverud"s  seat  and  was  laboring 


with  him  to  change  his  vote,  when  Patten  stag- 
gered to  his  feet  looking  like  a  corpse,  but  with 
determination  in  his  face.  If  the  fate  of  South 
Dakota  had  depended  upon  his  action  greater  in- 
terest could  not  have  been  manifested.  Mem- 
bers and  lobbyists  half  rose  from  their  seats  and 
craned  their  necks  toward  the  man  from  Beadle, 
while  it  seemed  that  every  one  stopped  breath- 
ing: "I  change  my  vote  to  no,"  he  said.  Re- 
submission had  failed  in  its  second  attempt. 
From  the  standpoint  of  1903,  it  is  hard  to  under- 
stand the  deep  seated  feeling  and  interest  mani- 
fested by  both  parties  in  this  fight,  which  two 
years  later,  was.allowed  to  go  through  by  default. 

Governor  Mellette  delivered  his  final  message 
to  this  legislature  and  surrendered  the  office  to 
Governor  Charles  H.  Sheldon.  This  was  the 
conclusion  of  Governor  Mellette's  public  life  in 
the  state  and  thereafter  he  was  hardly  a  factor  in 
public  afifairs.  South  Dakota  never  had  a  more 
sincere,  more  able  or  more  self-sacrificing  serv- 
ant. 

The  legislature  was  organized  by  the  election 
of  James  M.  Lawson  as  speaker.  Mr.  Lawson 
was  chosen  upon  an  understanding  that  a  ma- 
jority of  the  temperance  committee  should  be  fa- 
vorable to  resubmission,  but  without  other 
pledges.  After  the  adjournment  of  the  first  ses- 
sion, at  which  he  was  chosen,  Mr.  Lawson  re- 
tired to  his  room  and  was  not  again  seen  until  he 
appeared  at  the  opening  of  the  session  the  fol- 
lowing day,  when,  to  the  consternation  of  the 
lobby  and  of  "the  organization,"  he  announced 
his  committees.  He  had  consulted  with  no  one 
and  of  course  had  not  received  advice  from  atiy 
one.  Aside  from  the  resubmission  matter,  the 
chief  interest  of  the  campaign  centered  around 
the  passage  of  an  appropriation  for  a  state  exhibit 
at  the  Columbian  World's  Fair  at  Chicago.  An- 
ticipating the  action  of  the  legislature,  a  com- 
pany of  citizens  had  been  organized  and  funds 
had  been  raised  and  a  building  constructed  at 
Chicago  and  a  considerable  exhibit  prejiared.  A 
very  loosely  drawn  bill  had  been  prepared,  car- 
rying sixty  thousand  dollars.  Speakei'  Lawson 
determined  that  this  fund  should  be  thoroughly 
safeguarded  before  the  bill  should  pass.     In  the 


352 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


progress  of  events  some  hostility  between  the 
speaker  and  Governor  Sheldon  arose,  and  the 
speaker  found  himself  in  the  minority,  but  still 
with  sufficient  support  to  prevent  the  passage  of 
the  bill,  which  would  require  a  two-thirds  vote. 
A  very  strained  situation  arose,  in  which  there 
was  a  detennined  movement  to  unseat  the 
speaker,  which  was  only  prevented  by  the  latter's 
acute  power  of  action,  which  fairly  intimidated 
enough  of  his  enemies  to  prevent  drastic  action 
against  him. 

The  World's  Fair  bill  finally  passed  with  all 
of  the  safeguards  for  its  expenditure  which  the 
speaker  proposed.  It  carried  sixty  thousand  dol- 
lars, ten  thousand  of  which  was  devoted  to  the 
women's  exhibit,  and  the  state  was  very  credit- 
ably represented  in  the  exposition. 

In  June  the  great  national  panic  fell  upon  the 
country  and  was  severely  felt  by  the  Dakotans, 
who  were  just  beginning  to  recover  from  the 
troubles  incident  to  the  reaction  from  the  boom 
and  the  poor  crops  of  1889  and  1890.  Banks 
everywhere  went  down  and  values  shriveled  up 


like  corn  blades  in  a  fierce  draught.  Many  enter- 
prises which  were  in  a  way  to  do  much  for  state 
development  were  swallowed  up  and  in  spite  of 
a  very  good  crop  the  people  of  South  Dakota 
felt  that  the  hand  of  every  man  was  against 
them  and  great  dispondency  followed.  About 
the  only  progress  made  during  the  season  was 
the  completion  of  the  Great  Northern  from 
Sioux  Falls  to  Yankton.  Judges  Bennett,  Cor- 
son and  Kellam  were  re-elected  to  the  supreme 
court  that  fall.  On  the  last  day  of  the  year 
Judge  John  E.  Bennett  died  very  suddenly,  leav- 
ing a  vacancy,  which  was  filled  by  Governor  Shel- 
don by  the  appointment  of  Howard  G.  Fuller, 
of  Faulkton,  then  judge  of  the  sixth  circuit. 
Governor  Sheldon  also  appointed  Loren  G. 
Gafifey,  of  Pierre,  to  succeed  Judge  Fuller  as  cir- 
cuit judge. 

President  Cleveland  conferred  a  most  dis- 
tinguished honor  upon  South  Dakota  by  the  ap- 
pointment of  Judge  Bartlett  Tripp  to  be  ambas- 
sador to  the  court  of  Austria,  a  position  he  held 
with  great  credit  for  four  years. 


CHAPTER  LXVI 


ANOTHER  YEAR  OF  DISASTER. 


As  if  1889  and  1890  had  not  been  sufficient 
to  try  the  souls  of  the  strongest  Dakotans,  and 
sort  out  and  drive  away  every  man  who  did  not 
possess  the  courage  of  a  Christian  martyr,  1894 
presented  to  the  people  of  the  young  state  the 
poorest  average  crop  yet  produced.  No  locality 
was  favored  above  another,  but  everywhere  but 
little  more  than  the  return  of  seed  was  secured. 
Nevertheless  there  was  no  real  destitution. 
Every  section  produced  something,  and  the  pre- 
vious experiences  had  taught  the  people  not  to 
place  the  sole  dependence  upon  wheat.  The  live 
stock  interest  had  been  expanded,  dairying  was 
in  vogue  and  the  ever  reliable  hen  contributed 
largely  to  keeping  the  wolf  from  the  door.  Out 
of  these  awful  experiences  of  the  early  'nineties 
came  the  wisdom  and  the  methods  which  in  ten 
years  has  made  South  Dakota  one  of  the  most 
reliable  producers  among  the  states  and  the  first 
in  production  in  proportion  to  effort  expended. 
The  revolution  in  methods  dates  from  1894. 
Then  the  agriculturist  became  convinced  that 
methods  however  well  adapted  to  Ohio  or  New 
York,  were  not  the  best  for  South  Dakota,  and 
he  was  not  long  in  evolving  the  lines  of  opera- 
tion, the  kinds  of  crop,  the  method  of  preparing 
the  soil  and  planting  the  seed,  which  the  condi- 
tions peculiar  to  South  Dakota  demanded.  Since 
1894  South  Dakota  farms  have  produced  regu- 
larly and  abundantly  without  one  approach  to 
failure. 

During    this    period    a    distressing    factional 


trouble  in  the  faculty  of  the  Agricultural  College 
at  Brookings  well  nigh  disrupted  the  school  and 
became  an  issue  in  state  politics.  Even  yet  it  is 
difficult  to  place  the  blame.  It  seemed  to  grow 
out  of  conflicting  ambitions  of  otherwise  good 
men,  but  who  allowed  themselves  to  forget  the 
interests  of  the  college  in  the  personal  rivalries. 
This  bad  condition  was  intensified  by  the  dual 
board  system  provided  by  the  constitution.  That 
is,  the  board  of  regents  held  general  jurisdiction, 
while  the  local  board  of  trustees  had  special 
jurisdiction,  and  there  was  a  constant  conflict  of 
authoritv  and  a  working  at  cross  purposes.  The 
bad  conditions  continued  until  the  abolition  of 
the  local  boards  by  a  constitutional  amendment. 

The  movement  for  the  free  coinage  of  silver 
^vhich  swept  the  west  found  many  advocates  in 
South  Dakota,  under  the  leadership  of  Senator 
Pettigrew.  At  this  time  the  movement  was  re- 
ceiving its  first  great  popular  attention  and  the 
sentiment  of  the  people  of  all  parties  seemed  to 
favor  it.  The  Republican  state  convention  met 
in  Yankton  August  20th  and  the  position  upon 
this  topic  was  of  first  interest.  A  compromise 
platform  was  adopted  declaring  for  the  free  coin- 
age of  the  American  product.  Charles  H.  Shel- 
don was  renominated  for  governor  and  Robert 
J.  Gamble  and  John  A.  Pickler  were  selected  as 
candidates  for  congress. 

The  Populist  convention  met  at  Mitchell  and 
nominated  Isaac  Howe  for  governor  and  the 
Democrats  selected  Tames  A.. Ward.    Three  con- 


354 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


stitutional  amendments  had  been  proposed  by  the 
previous  legislature :  Permitting  county  super- 
intendents to  serve  more  than  two  successive 
temis ;  for  equal  suffrage,  and  limiting  the 
homestead  exemption.  Each  was  defeated, 
equal  suffrage  by  22,682  to  17,010.  The  Repub- 
lican ticket  prevailed  by  40,401  to  26,598.  Mr. 
\\'ard  receiving  but  8,756  votes. 

It  should,  in  this  connection,  be  noted  that 
during  all  of  this  time  of  agricultural  depression 
the  gold  mines  of  the  Black  Hills  were  turning 
out  their  golden  harvest  with  uninterrupted  reg- 
ularity and  annually  increasing  value.  The  vast 
number  of  men  employed  there  were  receiving 
the  same  high  wages  which  have  always  pre- 
vailed in  the  Hills  and  have  determined  the  wage 
rate  in  all  of  the  mining  states.     Never  has  the 


advantage  to  the  state  of  the  mining  interests 
been  so  apparent  as  at  this  juncture. 

The  financial  depression  of  the  previous  year 
was  if  anything  augmented  throughout  1894  and, 
together  with  the  crop  failure,  utterly  precluded 
anything  in  the  form  of  public  enterprise,  build- 
ing or  other  development.  Conditions  told  per- 
ceptibly upon  the  state  educational  institutions, 
reducing  the  attendance.  It  was  a  time  when  in 
all  of  its  activities  and  prospects  South  Dakota 
had  struck  the  low  water  mark. 

There  is  a  sublimity  and  pathos  in  the  cour- 
age with  which  the  pioneer  struck  out  for  better 
and  higher  things  at  this  time,  when  discour- 
agement lay  heavy  upon  the  land.  They 
demonstrated  that  all  things  wait  upon  him 
who  sticks. 


CHAPTER  LXVII 


THE  TAYLOR  DEFALCATIOX. 


The  troubles  of  South  Dakota  were  not  yet 
over.  WilHam  Walter  Taylor,  state  treasurer, 
was  a  man  who  had  from  his  first  residence  in 
the  state  secured  and  held  the  absolute  confidence 
of  all  of  the  people.  He  came  to  Redfield  and 
engaged  in  the  banking  business  in  the  early 
'eighties.  His  father  was  a  wealthy  banker  at 
LaFayette.  Indiana.  All  of  his  personal  and 
business  relations  were  of  the  highest  character. 
He  exhibited  sound  and  conservative  judgment 
in  all  matters  of  business,  was  public  spirited 
and  popular.  He  was  first  nominated  for  state 
treasurer  at  the  Mitchell  convention  of  the  Re- 
publicans in  1890,  elected  that  fall  and  renom- 
inated at  Madison  in  1892  and  re-elected.  In 
the  fall  of  1894  his  successor.  Kirk  G.  Phillips, 
was  elected  and  upon  the  second  Tuesday  of 
January,  1895,  Taylor  was  to  surrender  the  of- 
fice and  account  for  the  funds.  It  was  known 
that  he  had  suffered  some  losses  from  the  bank 
failures  during  the  panic,  but  that  he  had  ample 
funds  to  meet  every  demand  upon  him  never  was 
suggested  to  any  mind,  except  to  a  few  of  his 
bondsmen,  to  whom  he  had  communicated  the 
fact  that  he  was  short  and  they  were  making  up 
the  amount  to  enable  him  to  settle.  The  shock 
then  which  came  to  the  people  on  the  8th  of  Jan- 
uary, 1895,  when  it  was  announced  that  Taylor 
was  three  hundred  and  sixty-seven  thousand  dol- 
lars in  default,  and  that  he  was  a  fugitive  from 
justice,  can  scarcely  be  realized.  The  legisla- 
ture was  just  assembling  and  Governor  Sheldon, 


voicing  the  universal  appreciation  of  Taylor,  had 
included  a  paragraph  in  his  message  paying  him 
the  highest  praise  for  the  masterly  manner  in 
which  he  had  administered  the  treasur\-  during 
the  years  of  adversity. 

Examination  of  the  situation  revealed  the 
fact  that  Taylor  had,  through  bank  failures,  met 
with  legitimate  losses  aggregating  about  one 
hundred  and  forty-five  thousand  dollars.  In  the 
previous  November  he  had  apprised  Governor 
Mellette  and  John  T.  McChesney  of  the  situatioi^ 
and  they,  together  with  Taylor,  were  engaged  in 
making  every  effort  to  secure  this  sum  of  money 
to  enable  him  to  settle  honestly.  The  entire 
amount  of  cash  required  was  being  provided  and 
as  the  sequel  showed  was  actually  provided  by 
Taylor's  father,  McChesney  and  Mellette.  While 
engaged  in  securing  this  money  Taylor  fell  in 
with  the  law  firm  of  Tenney  &  Wells,  of  Chi- 
cago, and  upon  learning  the  situation  advised 
Taylor  that  a  compromise  could  be  readily  ar- 
ranged with  the  state  by  which  the  money  avail- 
able would  settle  demands  and  relieve  both  him- 
self and  his  bondsmen.  Without  consulting  with 
any  of  his  friends,  Taylor  placed  himself  in  their 
hands.  They  had  him  withdraw  all  of  the  state 
money  and  place  it  in  their  hands  and  to  make  to 
a  member  of  their  firm  deeds  of  all  the  property 
he  possessed  and  then  to  drop  out  of  sight  while 
they  arranged  the  compromise,  for  they  argued, 
with  the  state  treasury  absolutely  empty,  the 
state    would   be   compelled    to   make   terms   and 


356 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


accept  what  it  could  get.  Taylor  disappeared  on 
the  2d  of  January,  though  his  defalcation  and 
elopement  was  not  known  until  the  8th.  The 
Chicago  lawyers  had  quite  misapprehended  the 
temper  and  character  of  the  people  of  South  Da- 
kota. While  they  would  have  probably  been 
very  willing  to  have  forgiven  Taylor  for  honest 
losses,  they  were  a  unit  in  the  declaration  that  no 
stress  of  circumstances  would  induce  them  to 
compromise  with  a  criminal.  A  legislative  inves- 
tigation was  at  once  instituted,  which  brought 
'out  all  of  the  facts  surrounding  the  case.  The 
banks  of  Deadwood  advanced  seventy-five  thou- 
sand dollars  to  bridge  the  emergency  and  the 
legislature  promptly  authorized  the  issuance  of 
funding  warrants  to  raise  revenue,  the  legalitv 
of  such  action  being  determined  by  an  ex-parte 
decision  of  the  supreme  court.  A  large  reward 
was  offered  for  the  apprehension  of  Taylor  and 
Attorney  General  Crawford  moved  with  great 
energy  to  secure  possession  of  the  property  which 
Taylor  had  deeded  away  at  the  time  of  his  de- 
parture. Every  suggestion  of  compromise  was 
scouted  and  action  was  begun  against  the  bonds- 
'men  to  recover  the  amount  of  the  money  lost. 

Taylor  had  escaped  to  South  America  and  for 
several  months  moved  about  in  the  effort  to 
avoid  detection,  but  learning  that  compromise 
was  not  to  be  considered  came  back  and  delivered 
himself  up  to  justice.  In  the  escapade  he  had 
frittered  away  in  attorneys'  fees,  personal  ex- 
penses and  in  other  ways  not  revealed,  an  ad- 
ditional hundred  thousand  dollars,  so  that  he  had 
only  one  hundred  thousand  remaining  to  pay 
into  the  treasury.  This  he  did  and  also  made 
over  to  the  state  all  of  his  property.  He  was 
convicted  of  embezzlement  and  sentenced  to 
twenty  years  in  the  penitentiary,  but  owing  to  a 
defect  in  the  statute  under  which  he  was  sen- 
tenced, the  supreme  court  reduced  the  sentence 
to  two  years,  which  time  he  served  and  has  not 
since  resided  in  the  state.  Nothing  in  the  an- 
nals of  crime  is  more  inexcusable  than  the  flight 
of  Taylor.  He  had  no  criminal  instincts.  He 
was  in  a  position  to  settle  with  the  state  in  full, 
retain   his   financial   credit   and   his   good  name. 


and  but  for  the  bad  advice  to  which  he  listened 
might  today  have  been  a  self  respecting  and  hon- 
orable citizen. 

The  legislative  session  of  1895,  which  opened 
with  the  news  of  Taylor's  default,  was  largely 
occupied  with  straightening  out  the  snarl  in 
which  the  state  finances  had  been  involved. 
Among  the  moneys  taken  by  Taylor  were  about 
one  hundred  thousand  of  school  money,  for 
which  the  legislature  issued  bonds  to  supply  the 
loss,  thus  keeping  the  school  fund  intact. 

A  determined  attempt  was  made  to  amend  the 

divorce  law,  which   was  bringing  scandal  upon 

!  the  state,  but  it  failed.     The  school  for  the  blind 

was   located   at   Gary  by  this    session,   and    the 

1  school  for  feeble  minded  at  Redfield. 

The  legislature  was  very  largely  Republican 
and  Senator  Richard  F.  Pettigrew  was  re- 
elected by  the  unanimous  Republican  vote. 

The  prohibition  clause  of  the  constitution  was 
resubmitted  almost  without  opposition  at  the 
very  beginning  of  the  session. 

By  this  time  the  rotary  cream  separator  had 
been  perfected  and  a  great  agitation  for  dairying 
resulted  in  the  building  of  very  many  separator 
creameries,  which  in  turn  contributed  very 
largely  to  the  prosperity  of  the  state. 

The  mailed  hand  of  the  financial  depression 
still  lay  heavy  upon  the  people  and  there  was  ab- 
solutely no  general  progress  except  in  creamery 
building.  A  censiis  taken  June  ist  showed  but 
three  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  inhabitants, 
an  increase  of  but  fifteen  hundred  in  five  years. 

The  crops  of  this  year  were  excellent,  but  the 
price,  beaten  down  by  the  panic,  was  so  small 
that  very  little  cash  could  be  realized  from  it. 
Few  new  debts,  however,  were  made  and  the 
people  were  more  hopeful  than  a  year  earlier. 

On  May  25th  Governor  Arthur  C.  Alellette 
died  from  Bright's  disease  of  several  years' 
standing.  He  was  one  of  the  noblest  and  ablest 
men  who  had  been  called  into  public  life  in  South 
Dakota.  All  of  his  effort  was  devoted  to  the  up- 
building of  the  commonwealth.  As  the  first  ex- 
ecutive he  had  given  great  labor  to  the  establish- 
ment of  the  practices  of  the  executive  office  upon 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


357 


lines  which  would  be  followed  as  safe  precedents. 
He  was  the  principle  bondsman  for  W.  W.  Tay- 
lor, and  when  the  default  was  known  he  prompt- 
ly paid  over  to  the  state  all  of  his  property.  He 
was  the  soul  of  honor,  generous  and  self  sacri- 
ficing, a  profound  scholar,  whose  attainments 
covered  a  broad  field  of  study  and  reflection.  He 
held   some  bold  opinions  in  relation  to  electrical 


and  magnetic  science,  and  believed  it  posible  to 
harness  the  earth's  magnetic  currents  and  make 
them  the  servants  of  men  for  motive  power  of 
the  first  magnitude.  He  was  a  native  of  Indiana 
and  was  fifty-two  years  of  age  at  his  death.  At 
his  request  he  was  buried  at  Watertown,  his 
ashes  being  those  of  the  first  of  Dakota's  gov- 
ernors to  be  committed  to  the  soil  of  the  state. 


CHAPTER  LXVIll 


THE  PETTIGREW  SILX'ER  FIGHT. 


Immediately  after  the  re-election  of  Senator  | 
Pettigrew,  during  the  legislative  session  of  1895,  [ 
a  tacit  understanding  was  reached  by  Republican  I 
leaders  that  he  did  not  longer  represent  Repub- 
lican sentiment  in  the  state.  This  feeling  was 
made  manifest  by  reason  of  the  reception  ac- 
corded a  telegram  sent  by  the  Senator  to  the 
legislature,  which  was  construed  as  a  command 
to  pass  a  free  silver  resolution  then  pending. 
Though  but  a  few  days  previous  this  legisla- 
ture had  almost  unanimously  re-elected  Mr.  Pet- 
tigrew, it  at  once  became  manifest  that  his  inter- 
ference in  the  matter  of  the  resolution  was 
strongly  resented,  and  the  fate  of  the  resolution 
was  sealed.  It  was  the  unexpressed,  but  never- 
theless well  understood,  sentiment  of  such  lead- 
ers as  Alfred  B.  Kittredge,  William  B.  Sterling 
and  many  others  that  Mr.  Pettigrew's  political 
usefulness  was  over. 

In  this  legislature  of  1895  the  Iowa  railway 
ma.ximum  rate  law  was  introduced  bv  Mr. 
Wheeler,  of  Minnehaha  county,  at  the  instance 
of  the  Sioux  Falls  Jobbers'  Association,  but  the 
legislature  declined  to  pass  it.  During  the  hard 
times  and  as  an  incident  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance 
movement  a  good  deal  of  opposition  to  railways 
had  grown  up  and  at  the  close  of  this  session  its 
failure  to  act  was  the  subject  of  a  great  deal  of 
criticism  bordering  upon  indignation.  Before 
the  session  closed  an  active  anti-Pettigrew 
propaganda  was  on  foot.  It  was  agreed  to  make 
William  B.  Sterling  a  candidate  for  United  States 
senator  against  James  H.   Kyle  and  about  him 


build    up    an    organization    which    should    wrest 
Republican  dominance  from  ]\Ir.  Pettigrew. 

Despite  this  anti-Pettigrew  movement  the 
sentiment  for  free  coinage  of  silver  continued  to 
grow.  The  Sioux  Falls  Press,  the  chief  Repub- 
lican newspaper,  and  many  others  of  the  more 
influential  ones  were  enthusiastically  supporting 
the  dogma  and  out  of  all  the  publications  in  the 
state  but  four  had  the  temerity  to  oppose  it. 
Against  this  apparently  impregnable  dogma,  the 
friends  of  Sterling  resolved  to  make  their  fight, 
and  in  a  quiet  way  the  word  went  out  to  the 
party  leaders  in  every  county,  but  in  the  midsum- 
mer of  1895  this  movement  was  thrown  into 
confusion  by  the  removal  from  the  state  of  ^Ir. 
Sterling  to  accept  a  very  lucrative  position  in  the 
employ  of  the  Northwestern  Railway  Company. 
Without  a  senatorial  candidate  the  opposition  of 
free  coinage  went  quietly  on  and  soon  centered 
itself  about  the  candidacy  of  William  McKinley 
for  president.  To  Mr.  McKinley  Senator  Petti- 
grew was  violently  opposed,  and  as  the  time  for 
holding  the  state  convention  to  elect  delegates 
to  the  St.  Louis  convention,  in  the  spring  of 
1896,  approached  the  campaign  in  South  Dakota 
became  spectacular.  Minnehaha  county  was  the 
seat  of  war  and  Senator  Pettigrew  came  on  from 
Washington  to  personally  conduct  the  fight.  To 
the  surprise  of  the  opposition,  he  made,  not  free 
silver,  but  the  maximum  rate  bill  the  issue.  The 
battle  was  intensely  exciting  and  resulted  in  a  de- 
cided victory  for  Mr.  Pettigrew.  When  the  state 
convention   met   at   Huron,   however,   it   was   at 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


359 


once  apparent  that  the  Senator  was  in  the  mi- 
nority. Pettigrew,  rather  than  silver,  had  been 
the  issue ;  nevertheless  it  was  by  this  time  un- 
derstood that  the  national  convention  would 
adopt  a  gold  platform  and  it  was  the  determina- 
tion of  the  Dakota  Republican  managers,  op- 
posed to  Senator  Pettigrew,  to  keep  in  accord 
with  national  Republican  sentiment.  A  caucus 
of  the  opponents  of  ^Ir.  Pettigrew  was  held  and 
a  large  majority  of  the  delegates  were  repre- 
sented. Senator  Pettigrew  desired  to  go  to  St. 
Louis  as  a  delegate,  and  it  was  quite  in  the  hands 
of  his  political  enemies  to  defeat  that  ambition. 
A  peculiar  situation,  however,  was  presented. 
Senator  Pettigrew  had  made  his  campaign  for 
the  maximum  rate  law  and  if  he  was  now  turned 
down  his  friends  would  construe  it  as  a  repudia- 
tion of  the  railway  legislation  by  the  Republic- 
ans. The  entire  situation  was  canvassed  and  it 
was  resolved  to  let  the  Senator  go  as  a  delegate, 
but  that  first  he  was  to  be  required  to 
pledge  himself  to  the  convention  to  sup- 
port the  nomination  of  Mr.  McKinley,  for 
whom  the  delegates  were  instructed,  and 
also  to  accept  the  platform  adopted  by  the 
national  convention,  whatever  that  might  be. 
This  programme  was  carried  out.  When  the  con- 
vention was  ready  to  elect  delegates  a  motion 
prevailed  that  each  candidate  should  be  required 
to  stand  and  pledge  himself  to  obey  the  instruc- 
tions of  the  convention  and  abide  by  the  national 
platform.  One  delegate  was  apportioned  to  eacli 
judicial  district.  Levi  B.  French  was  presented 
as  the  candidate  from  the  first  district  and  he 
arose  and  in  strong  and  unequivocal  language 
gave  the  pledge  required.  Mr.  Pettigrew  was 
the  choice  of  the  second  district  and  he  took  the 
floor  and  in  a  few  remarks  reviewed  the  situa- 
tion, saying  that  it  was  well  known  that  he  had 
not  agreed  with  all  of  the  views  expressed  by 
the  majority  of  the  convention,  but  that  the  will 
of  the  Republican  party  in  South  Dakota  was 
law  to  him.  This  was  accepted  by  the  convention 
in  good  faith  as  a  pledge  to  abide  by  the  instruc- 
tions and  he  was  at  once  elected  a  delegate  by  a 
large  majority.  Each  of  the  other  delegates  in 
turn    gave,    imequivocallv,    the     desired     pledge. 


They  were  Carl  G.  Sherwood,  David  Williams, 
David  Misener,  H.  B.  Aleachem,  James  Holley. 

Immediately  after  the  adjournment  the 
friends  of  Senator  Pettigrew  announced  in  great 
glee  that  he  had  secured  the  election  without 
pledging  himself  to  obey  instructions.  His  op- 
ponents could  not  believe  that  a  double  con- 
struction could  be  placed  upon  his  action  at 
Huron,  but  it  was  apparent  from  the  first  that 
he  did  not  deem  himself  bound  and  at  St.  Louis, 
in  the  national  convention,  he  refused  to  accept 
the  gold  standard  platform  adopted  or  the  nomi- 
nation of  Mr.  McKinley  and  walked  out  of  the 
convention  and  assisted  in  the  organization  of 
the  Silver  Republican  party  and  endorsed  the 
nomination  of  Mr.  Bryan,  whose  active  sup- 
porter he  became.  Returning  to  South  Dakota, 
he  attempted  to  organize  a  Silver  Republican 
party  here  and  succeeded  in  taking  a  few  Repub- 
licans with  him,  but  the  rank  and  file  stood 
sturdily  by  the  St.  Louis  platform  and  Mr.  Mc- 
Kinlev. 

The  South  Dakota  Democratic  delegates  to 
Chicago  were  for  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Bryan 
and  his  endorsement  by  the  Populists  was  popu- 
lar with  the  partisans  of  that  faith  in  South  Da- 
kota. 

The  Republicans  nominated  Annmd  O. 
Ringsrud  for  governor,  and  Robert  J.  Gamble 
and  Coe  I.  Crawford  for  congress  and  adopted 
the  St.  Louis  platform  and  declared  for  the  max- 
imum rate  law.  A  party  of  Senator  Pettigrew's 
friends  from  Minnehaha  county  withdrew  from 
the  convention,  which  was  held  at  Aberdeen. 

The  Populists,  Democrats  and  Silver  Repub- 
licans united  in  the  choice  of  Andrew  O.  Lee 
for  governor  and  of  John  E.  Kelly  and  Freeman 
Knowles  for  congress.  The  campaign  following 
was  a  most  vigorous  one  and  no  stone  was  left 
unturned  by  either  party  to  win  success.  The 
legislature  to  be  elected  at  the  same  time  would 
elect  the  successor  to  Senator  Kyle,  so  that  every 
place  was  hardly  contested  for.  The  result  gave 
the  presidential  electors  to  Mr.  Bryan  by  one 
hundred  forty-two  votes.  Messrs.  Kellv  and 
Knowles  were  elected  to  congress  and  ]\Ir.  Lee 
chosen  governor,  his  majority  over  Mr.  Ringsrud 


36o 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


being  six  hundred  eighty-one.  At  this  election 
the  prohibition  plank  was  stricken  from  the  con- 
stitution by  a  majority  of  six  thousand  nine  hun- 
dred ninety. 

An  excellent  crop  was  harvested  in  1896,  but 
the  prices  of  all  sorts  of  farm  produce  was  low 
and  the  proceeds  were  promptly  applied  to  the 
payment  of  existing  debts,  leaving  the  farmers 
hard  up  and  discouraged.  There  %yas  little  gen- 
eral progress,  no  building  to  speak  of  and  a  gen- 
eral state  of  stagnation  continued. 

At  the  middle  of  October  a  severe  snow 
storm  prevailed,  not  so  severe  as  the  historic 
storm  of  the  same  date  in  1880,  but  of  sufficient 
force  to  make  it  a  dater.     Again  on  the  26th  of 


that  month  a  very  severe  storm  came  in  the 
northern  portion,  approximating  in  severity  the 
the  great  1880  performance.  From  that  date  the 
winter  was  continuous  and  increasing  in  sever- 
ity. At  the  Thanksgiving  season  an  overwhelm- 
ing snow  fell,  blockading  the  railways  and  gen- 
erally contributing  to  discomfort  and  inconven- 
ience. The  people  were  of  course  comfortably 
housed  and  supplied  with  provisions  so  that  they 
did  not  suffer  as  in  the  awful  season  of  1880 
when  the  pioneers  had  not  yet  provided  comfort- 
able homes  nor  accumulated  provisions.  The 
snow  fell  to  a  very  great  depth,  so  that  highways 
were  impassable  and  in  the  towns  the  streets 
were  filled  to  the  level  of  the  second  stories. 


CHAPTER  LXIX 


KYLE'S   SECOND   ELECTION. 


Amid  the  howling  blizzards  and  drifting 
snows  of  1897  the  fifth  biennial  session  of  South 
Dakota's  legislature  convened  at  Pierre.  In  the 
flection  of  the  previous  year  the  fusion  had  se- 
cured the  governor,  attorney  general  and  a  ma- 
jority in  the  legislature,  while  the  Republicans 
secured  the  remainder  of  the  state  officers.  The 
legislature  stood  nine  Democrats,  fifty-three  Re- 
publicans and  seventy  Populists  and  Silver  Re- 
publicans. John  Colvin,  of  Mitchell,  was  elected 
speaker  of  the  house.  The  great  interest  cen- 
tered about  the  election  of  a  United  States  sena- 
tor. 

The  Democrats  in  caucus  nominated  Irving 
^^'eeks,  of  Kimball,  the  Republicans  nominated 
John  A.  Tickler,  but  the  Populists  and  Silver 
men  were  unable  to  agree  upon  a  caucus  nomina- 
tion. As  the  result  of  the  first  joint  ballot,  Mr. 
Pickler  received  fifty-three  votes ;  Mr.  Kyle, 
thirty-three ;  H.  L.  Loucks,  fourteen ;  A.  J.  Plow- 
man, eleven ;  F.  M.  Goodykoontz,  six ;  A.  J.  Kel- 
lar,  three ;  Irving  Weeks,  three :  C.  S.  Palmer, 
one :  John  A.  Bowler,  one.  After  two  or  three 
ballots  Mr.  Loucks  withdrew,  his  friends  divid- 
ing their  votes  among  the  other  Populist  candi- 
dates and  Senator  Hinkley,  of  Huron,  received 
for  a  time  the  Democratic  votes.  With  little  va- 
riation the  balloting  continued  daily  until  the 
18th  day  of  February  when  Alfred  B.  Kittredge, 
national  Republican  committeeman,  and  other 
leading  Republicans  entered  into  an  arrangement 
with  yiv.  Kyle  by  which  the  latter  agreed  to  in 
the  main  support  Republican  policies  in  the  sen- 
ate and  particularly  to  do  so  upon  all  of  the  great 


principles  of  the  party,  and  he  thereupon 
was  given  the  entire  Republican  vote  with 
one  exception  and  he  held  to  him  a  sufficient 
number  of  his  friends  so  as  to  secure  sixty-five 
votes  and  the  re-election.  A  period  of  great  ex- 
citement prevailed  in  the  joint  session  when 
the  action  of  the  Republicans  was  revealed  and 
extraordinary  attempts  made  without  avail  to 
concentrate  the  vote  to  defeat  the  Kyle  pro- 
gramme. Probably  no  other  L'nited  States  sen- 
ator has  had  so  unique  a  political  history  as  Sen- 
ator Kyle.  He  was  a  Republican  when  he  re- 
ceived the  Populist  nomination  for  the  state  sen- 
ate in  1890,  but  accepting  the  election  adopted 
the  Populists'  views  on  political  questions.  In 
fact,  he  was  already,  by  a  Fourth  of  July  speech, 
committed  to  the  Populist  views  before  his  nom- 
ination, but  up  to  that  date  had  not  renounced 
Republicanism.  During  this  first  legislative  ses- 
sion he  was  elected  to  the  United  States  senate 
by  a  fusion  of  the  Independent  and  Democratic 
votes,  having  first  agreed  with  Bartlett  Tripp 
and  the  leading  Democrats  to  support  leading 
Democratic  measures  during  his  incumbency  of 
the  office,  a  pledge  to  which  he  faithfully  ad- 
hered. Now  he  was  returned  to  the  senate  upon 
a  pledge  to  support  Republican  policies  and  to 
this  pledge  he  was  also  perfectly  true  until  his 
death  cut  him  oflF  in  1901. 

All  parties  had  declared  for  a  maximum  rate 
law  in  their  platforms  and  after  a  good  deal  of 
sparring  for  advantage  a  drastic  law  was  enacted 
and  a  liberal  appropriation  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the   railvvav  commissioners  to  secure  its  en- 


362 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


forcement,    the    commissioners    being    Populists,   j 
Great    difficulty    had    been    experienced    in  se-  I 
curing  a  proper  listing  of  personal  property  for 
taxation  in  the  range  country,  much  of  the  open  j 
territory   being   without   any    organized    county. 
In  the  hope  to  reform  this  abuse,  all  of  the  relin- 
quished range  lands  were  included  within  Pen- 
nington,   Meade,    Butte,    Stanley,     Lyman     and 
Gregory  counties. 

At  the  previous  election  a  constitutional 
amendment  had  been  adopted  reducing  the 
board  of  regents  of  education  to  five  members 
and  abolishing  the  local  boards  at  each  institu- 
tion, conferring  upon  the  regents  direct  control 
of  all  matters  relating  to  the  educational  institu- 
tions. 

The  executive  office  having  passed  from  the 
Republicans  to  the  Populists,  that  party  of  course 
asserted  a  strong  desire  to  secure  control  of  the 
state  institutions,  both  educational  and  charitable, 
and  a  large  part  of  the  session  was  devoted  to 
schemes  on  the  part  of  the  Republicans  to  defeat 
such  action.  The  constitutional  amendment 
providing  for  the  reduction  of  the  board 
of  regents  gave  Governor  Lee  full  con- 
trol of  the  educational  institutions  and  it 
is  much  to  his  credit  that  he  appointed  an  imus- 
ually  strong,  non-partisan  board  and  there  has 
since  been  no  question  of  competency  in  the  man- 
agement of  those  institutions.  The  matter  of  se- 
curing control  of  the  charitable  institutions,  how- 
ever, depended  upon  the  passage  of  a  bill  reor- 
ganizing the  board  of  charities  and  the  fight  for 
this  purpose  was  the  most  desperate  that  has  been 
waged  in  Dakota  politics  and  approached  the 
point  where  bloodshed  was  imminent.  The  fus- 
ion majority  was  very  slight  in  the  senate.  The 
bill  had  passed  the  house  and  came  up  for  final 
consideration  in  the  senate  on  the  last  evening 
but  one  of  the  session.  Twenty-three  votes  were 
necessary  to  pass  the  bill  and  but  twenty-one 
could  be  mustered  for  it  and  so  the  bill  failed. 
As  there  was  but  one  vacancy  upon  the  board 
of  charities.  Governor  Lee  appointed  George  W. 
Kingsbury  to  fill  it,  but  the  control  for  two  years 
more  was  left  with  the  Republicans. 

This  legislature  submitted  to  the  people  an 
amendment  to  the  constitution  providing  for  the 


state  sale  of  liquors  known  as  the  dispensary 
system,  the  question  of  granting  suffrage  to 
women  and  the  initiative  and  referendum.  The 
latter  provision  meaning  that  upon  a  petition  of 
five  per  cent,  of  the  voters  the  legislature  must 
enact  any  law  desired  and  submit  it  to  the  people 
for  ratification  and  that  any  law  passed  b}-  the 
legislature,  unless  it  contains  an  emergency 
clause  and  is  passed  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  both 
houses,  must  upon  a  five  per  cent,  petition  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  people  for  ratification. 

The  year  1897  yielded  a  good  harvest  and  bet- 
ter prices  were  realized.  Live  stock  had  become 
a  leading  industry  and  the  creamery  and  dairy  in- 
dustry made  rapid  advancement.  Debts  were  rap- 
idly reduced  and  paid  oft  and  the  state  entered 
upon  the  career  of  prosperity  which  continues  to 
this  writing.  Little  building,  however,  was  done 
this  season,  but  the  people  began  to  take  a  more 
hopeful  view  and  to  assert  pride  in  the  state. 

The  winter,  which  set  in  so  severely  in  the 
early  autumn  of  1896,  continued  with  unabated 
fury  up  till  April.  The  snowfall  was  very  great 
and  naturally  produced  very  high  water  the  fol- 
lowing spring,  but  while  much  incon^'enience 
was  sufifered  there  were  no  great  disasters  as  in 
i88i. 

On  February  2d  a  serious  accident  occurred 
on  the  Northwestern  Railway  at  Arlington  by 
which  a  train  was  wrecked  and  four  persons 
killed :  Conductor  Addington  and  Frank  L. 
Hoosac,  of  Huron,  and  W.  L.  Harrison  and  John 
Loftus,  farmers  of  Arlington. 

On  October  6th  the  girls'  dormitory  at  the 
Reform  School  at  Plankinton  burned  and  the 
lives  of  six-  inmates  were  lost. 

On  the  15th  of  October,  1897,  William  P.. 
Sterling  died  from  typhoid  fever.  He  was  but 
thirty-four  years  of  age,  but  he  had  made  a  deep 
impress  upon  the  people  of  South  Dakota.  He 
was  universally  esteemed  as  one  of  the  state's 
ablest  and  truest  young  men,  giving  promise  of 
a  life  of  extraordinary  brilliance  and  usefulness. 

In  November  Louis  K.  Church,  former  terri- 
torial governor  and  judge  of  the  district  court,  ■ 
died  while  upon  a  trip  to  Alaska.  He  was  a  man 
of  ability  and  honesty.  He  was  born  in  New 
York  in  1850. 


CHAPTER  LXX 


THE  WAR  WITH  SPAIN. 


Por  the  following-  account  of  the  war  with 
Spain  and  South  Dakota's  part  in  it  the  editor  is 
under'  obligations  to  Hon.  ]Marion  L.  Fox,  of 
A'ermilion,  who  went  to  the  Philip])ines  in  the 
summer  of  1899  and  secured  at  first  hand  the 
story  of  the  important  campaigns  of  the  First 
South  Dakota  Infantry  there.  The  facts  were 
approved  to  [Mr.  Fox  by  Colonel  Frost  and  Lieu- 
tenant Colonel  Stover  and  have  been  supple- 
mented by  the  recollections  and  diaries  of  Major 
Howard,  Captain  Englesby,  Chaplain  Dale}-  and 
others.  In  the  main  the  story  is  as  it  came  from 
the  pen  of  Mr.  Fox,  and  has  not  before  been  pub- 
lished : 

PREF.VTORV    NOTE. 

"In  the  spring  of  1899,  while  enroute  from 
Chicago  with  Congressman  C.  H.  Burke,  a  con- 
versation arose  as  to  the  Philippine  situation,  lack 
of  information  about  the  islands  and  the  oppor- 
tunity of  a  voyage  there  on  a  governiiient  trans- 
port. Mr.  Burke  informed  me  that  permission 
for  such  transportation  was  readily  granted  to 
civilians  by  the  war  department,  provided  al- 
ways that  there  was  no  interference  with  the 
government  service  and  that  such  civilian  pay  the 
expense  of  board  and  service  while  aboard  the 
ship.  I  asked  Mr.  Burke  to  get  such  a  permit 
tor  me.  He  made  application.  At  the  sanie  time 
I  asked  Senator  R.  F.  Pettigrew  to  make  a  simi- 
lar request.  The  permit  was  given  on  the  ground 
that  I  was  going  to  the  Philippines  commissioned 
to  n-iark  the  graves  of  the  South  Dakota  volun- 


teers, who  had  fallen  in  battle  or  who  had  died 
from  disease.  Of  such  provision  I  had  no  knowl- 
edge until  advised  by  Senator  Pettigrew,  which 
was  followed  by  a  commission  by  Governor  Lee. 

"Both  Senator  Pettigrew  and  Governor  Lee 
had  been  informed  that  little  attention  had  been 
paid  to  marking  the  graves  of  the  South  Dako- 
tans  who  had  fallen  in  battle.  Such  stories  were 
common  in  the  presidio  in  San  Francisco,  where 
I  had  my  first  opportunity  to  make  inquiry. 

"I  found,  however,  on  arriving  in  the  Phil- 
ippines that  the  dead  had  been  brought  to  ^Ma- 
nilla  and  carefully  interred,  their  vaults  num- 
bered and  a  record  of  numbers,  names  and  dates 
kept  by  the  chaplain  of  the  regiment. 

"The  permit  for-  transportation  would  have 
been  given  me  just  as  readily  as  a  journalist,  as 
there  were  three  newspaper  men  aboard  and  elev- 
en other  civilians. 

"We  all  paid  our  pro  rata  of  the  expenses  in- 
curred on  account  of  our  jiresence  aboard  the 
transport  'Sherman.'  I  returned  by  the  'Centen- 
r.ial'  under  the  sanie  conditions. 

"M.  L.  Fox." 


Cnder  the  President's  first  call  for  volunteers 
for  the  war  with  Spain,  South  Dakota's  quota 
would  have  been  about  eight  hundred  fifty  men. 
llut  owing  to  the  outrages  perpetrated  by  Spain 
on  the  Cubans,  and  the  blowing  up  of  the  bat- 
tleship "Maine,"  while  on  a  friendly  visit  to  Ha- 
vana harbor,  the  people  of  South  Dakota  were 


364 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


blazing  with  anger  and  filled  with  patriotic  fer- 
vor. Through  the  earnest  requests  of  Governor 
Andrew  E.  Lee,  ably  seconded  by  the  South 
Dakota  delegation  at  Washington,  the  war  de- 
partment was  induced  to  call  upon  South  Da- 
kota for  a  full  regiment  of  volunteer  infantry. 
In  communicating  the  call,  Adjutant  General 
Corbin  suggested  that  the  state  militia  organiza- 
tions be  utilized  as  far  as  possible. 

Recognizing  the  fact  that  politics  had  been 
the  bane  of  volunteer  organizations  in  the  past. 
Governor  Lee  determined  that  party  affiliation 
should  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  South  Da- 
kota volunteers,  and  that  the  men  who  were  to 
experience  the  actual  hardships  of  war  should 
choose  their  officers,  so  far  as  practicable,  al- 
though the  act  of  congress  authorizing  the  call 
for  volunteers  had  vested  in  the  governors  of 
the  states  the  power  to  appoint  all  officers  of  the 
line. 

The  officers  of  the  state  militia,  without  ex- 
ception, asked  that  Lieutenant  Alfred  S.  Frost, 
of  the  regular  army,  be  made  colonel  of  the  reg- 
iment. No  sooner  had  Governor  Lee  signified 
his  purpose  to  comply  with  this  request  than 
Lieutenant  Frost,  who  had  been. on  detailed  duty 
in  South  Dakota,  was  ordered  to  join  his  regi- 
ment at  Chattanooga.  Enroute  he  received  an 
order  to  report  to  the  Governor  of  South  Dakota, 
which  order  was  revoked  before  he  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  board  the  west-bound  train.  He  was 
aboard  a  Chattanooga-bound  train  in  compliance 
with  the  original  order  when  he  received  an- 
other telegram  directing  him  to  report  to  the 
Governor  of  South  Dakota.  Quitting  his  south- 
ward journey  he  boarded  the  first  train  for  the 
west  and  had  traveled  only  a  few  hours  in  that 
direction  when  he  received  another  telegram 
from  the  war  department  ordering  him  to  join  his 
regiment  at  Chattanooga.  Boarding  the  next 
south-bound  train,  he  was  allowed  to  reach  his 
regiment  before  the  war  department  had  another 
opportunity  to  change  its  mind.  But  the  waiting 
was  not  long.  Before  he  had  time  to  settle  down 
to  duty,  another  telegram  from  the  war  depart- 
ment directed  him  to  report  to  the  Governor  of 
South  Dakota.     This  order  was  final  and  Frost 


was  commissioned  colonel  of  the  First  South 
Dakota  Volunteer  Infantry.  The  contradictory 
orders  were  the  result  of  a  fight  by  Senator  Kyle 
to  have  Colonel  Mark  W.  Sheafe  retained  as 
colonel  of  the  regiment. 

The  state  militia  were  ordered  to  mobilize  at 
Sioux  Falls  April  30,  i8g8,  and  a  recruiting  of- 
ficer from  Fort  Meade  arrived  to  muster  them 
in.  Rigid  medical  examinations  were  insisted 
upon  and  only  the  strongest  and  most  healthy 
officers  and  men  were  allowed  to  enlist.  The 
wisdom  of  this  course  was  fully  justified  by  time. 
In  the  arduous  campaign  in  the  Philippines  the 
most  perfect  manhood  w-as  required  to  endure 
the  long  marches,  through  jungle  and  bog  under 
the  suffocating  heat  of  a  tropical  sun. 

When  completed  the  organization  of  the  regi- 
ment was  as  follows :  Colonel,  A.  S.  Frost :  lieu- 
tenant colonel,  Lee  Stover,  commanding  First 
Battalion;  major,  Chas.  A.  Howard,  command- 
ing Second  Battalion;  major,  William  F.  Alli- 
son, commanding  Third  Battalion ;  major  and 
surgeon,  R.  C.  Warne,  chief  surgeon;  first  lieu- 
tenant and  adjutant,  Jonas  H.  Lien ;  first  lieu- 
tenant and  quartermaster,  Henry  IMurry :  cap- 
tain and  assistant  surgeon,  A.  H.  Bowman ;  cap- 
tain and  assistant  surgeon,  Fred  W.  Cox;  chap- 
lain. Charles  ;\I.  Daley;  sergeant  major,  Roy  W. 
Stover:  quartermaster  sergeant,  ^I.  D.  Mc^Ma- 
hon ;  chief  musician,  F.  'M.  Halstead ;  principal 
musician,  F.  A.  Schroeder;  second  principal  mu- 
sican,  C.  E.  Mulineux;  hospital  stewards,  H.  J. 
Booker,  C.  F.  Clancey  and  H.  M.  Fletcher. 

The  company  organizations  were  as  follows : 
!  Company  A — A.  L.  Fuller,  captain  ;  E.  A.  Hart- 
ing.  first  lieutenant;  M.  M.  Zell,  Guthrie,  second 
lieutenant;  Company  B — A.  B.  Sessions,  captain; 
J.  C.  Fox,  first  lieutenant;  E.  E.  Hawkins,  sec- 
ond lieutenant;  Company  C — William  S.  Gray, 
captain ;  Leo  F.  Foster,  first  lieutenant ;  Sam  T. 
Larsen,  second  lieutenant;  Company  D — C.  P. 
Van  Houten,  captain;  L.  V.  Dynna,  first  lieuten- 
ant: George  G.  Jennings,  second  lieutenant; 
Company  E — George  W.  Lattin,  captain:  J.  H. 
Hubbard,  first  lieutenant;  Sidney  E.  Morrison, 
second  lieutenant ;  Company  F — C.  L.  Brockway, 
captain:    Palmer    D.    Sheldon,   first    lieutenant; 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


365 


Fred  G.  Huntington,  second  lieutenant ;  Com- 
pany G — R.  R.  McGregor,  captain;  O.  AI.  Fisk, 
first  lieutenant;  Wm.  A.  Hazel,  second  lieuten- 
ant; Company  H — C.  H.  Englesby,  captain;  F. 
H.  Adams,  first  lieutenant;  F.  L.  Burdick,  sec- 
ond lieutenant;  Company  I — Charles  L.  Denny, 
captain;  P.  D.  McClellan,  first  lieutenant;  FI.  L. 
Bates,  second  lieutenant ;  Company  K — H.  A. 
Hegeman,  captain;  Geo.  W.  Roskie,  first  lieuten- 
ant ;  O.  F.  Smith,  second  lieutenant ;  Company 
L — ^^'m.  }iIcLaughlin,  captain ;  J.  O.  A.  Braden, 
first  lieutenant;  George  A.  Crabtree,  second  lieu- 
tenant; Company  M — F.  W.  r^Iedbery,  captain; 
Chas.  S.  Hunt,  first  lieutenant;  E.  E.  Young, 
second  lieutenant. 

The  organization  of  the  volunteer  regiment 
from  the  state  militia  was  not  accomplished  with- 
out difficulty.  During  long  years  of  peace  the  peo- 
ple of  the  state  had  come  to  regard  the  militia  as 
useless,  and  maintained  purely  for  the  sake  of  pa- 
rade, therefore,  no  money  had  been  appropriated 
for  its  maintenance  by  the  legislature  of  1897 
nor  for  the  year  before.  To  bring  one  thousand 
men  together  from  the  extremes  of  a  state  like 
South  Dakota  required  a  large  outlay  of  money 
for  railroad  fare  and  for  rations  and  other  sup- 
plies while  enroute  and  in  camp. 

Not  one  dollar  was  available  to  meet  such 
expenditure,  and  many  well  meaning  people  be- 
lieved an  extra  session  of  the  legislature  indis- 
pensable. To  call  the  legislature  in  extraordinary 
session  would  require  time  and  entail  a  large  ex- 
penditure of  public  money  beyond  whatever 
might  be  appropriated  for  the  expense  of  organ- 
izing the  volunteers.  To  meet  the  emergency 
C.  A.  Jewett,  of  the  wholesale  grocery  firm  of 
Jewett  Bros.  &  Jewett,  B.  H.  Lien,  the  State 
Bank  &  Trust  Company,  the  Sioux  Falls  National 
Bank,  the  Sioux  Falls  Savings  Bank  and  the 
Minnehaha  National  Bank,  all  of  Sioux  Falls, 
advanced  one  thousand  dollars  each  to  Governor 
Lee.  The  example  was  followed  by  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  and  the  American  National  and  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Deadwood,  the  Pierre  Na- 
tional Bank  and  the  Bank  of  Commerce  of  Pierre, 
aggregating  from  all  sources,  eleven  thousand 
dollars.     The  total  expenditure  falling  immedi- 


ately upon  the  state  was  a  little  more  than  four- 
teen thousand  dollars,  the  remainder  of  the  sum 
being  advanced  for  the  use  of  the  state  by  Gov- 
ernor Lee. 

The  regiment  remained  in  camp  at  Sioux 
Falls  for  a  month,  lacking  one  day,  during  which 
time  the  rains  were  frequent  and  heavy  and  the 
nights  chilly  and  uncomfortable.  The  order  to 
leave  for  San  Francisco  was  therefore  hailed 
with  delight,  and  on  the  morning  of  May  29th, 
in  the  midst  of  a  pouring  rain,  the  boys  of  the 
First  South  Dakota  Volunteer  Infantry  boarded 
their  trains  and  bade  farewell  to  home,  family 
and  friends. 

During  the  encampment  at  Sioux  Falls  only 
indififerent  discipline  had  been  maintained,  but 
when  the  regiment  got  outside  the  circle  of  home 
influence.  Colonel  Frost  began  to  tighten  the 
reins.  His  first  requirement  was  that  the  officers 
should  separate  themselves  from  the  privates  and 
that  communications  with  them  should  be  official 
onlv.  This  order  caused  much  ill  feeling,  owing 
to  the  fact  that  a  large  percentage  of  the  officers 
and  the  privates  were  personal  friends  at  home, 
and  had  been  in  the  habit  of  meeting  on  a  footing 
of  easy  familiarity.  A  little  thought  will  show 
that  such  order  was  not  given  for  the  purpose  of 
breeding  snobbishness  in  the  officers  nor  to  hu- 
miliate the  privates.  Few  officers  can  maintain 
the  respect  of  their-  men  and  at  the  same  time 
meet  them  on  a  familiar  footing.  Such  a  course 
also  invariably  causes  favoritism,  and  nothing 
could  be  more  fatal  to  discipline.  If  an  officer 
drink,  smoke  and  play  cards  with  his  men,  he 
will  draw  around  him  seven  or  eight  who  are 
more  conger^ial  than  the  others,  and  unless  he 
be  made  of  sterner  stuff  than  most  men  he  will 
soon  have  a  kitchen  cabinet  in  his  company.  That 
may  be  very  pleasant  for  the  cabinet,  but  it  will 
not  find  favor  with  a  company.  The  wisdom  of 
this  order  by  Colonel  Frost  soon  became  to  be 
understood  by  the  officers  and  was  recognized  in 
time  by  the  privates. 

The  regiment  arrived  in  San  Francisco  on 
June  2d,  and  was  encamped  ill  one  of  the  most 
inconvenient  and  unhealthy  places  about  the  city. 
This  was  done  at  the  request  of  a  street  car  mag- 


366 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


nate  who  wanted  to  help  out  his  business  by  carry- 
ing soldiers  and  visitors  over  his  lines. 

The  health  of  the  men  became  bad  and  the 
medical  department  found  it  difficult  to  get  sup- 
plies. The  regiment  was  happy  in  having  the 
services  of  Dr.  Warne  as  chief  surgeon.  He 
was  not  only  a  capable  officer  professionally,  but 
had  great  executive  ability.  Major  Warne  found 
the  medical  department  so  hedged  about  v^^ith 
red  tape  that  the  simplest  requisitions  would  not 
be  filled  for  days,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the 
Red  Cross  Society  the  sick  would  have  suffered 
for  the  simplest  medicines.  Getting  tired  of  send- 
ing requisitions  to  the  deputy  surgeon  general, 
to  have  them  returned  with  the  endorsement 
"Not  made  out  in  proper  form,"  Major  Warne 
addressed  a  letter  to  the  assistant  adjutant  gen- 
eral, setting  forth  the  manner  in  which  the  serv- 
ice was  hampered  by  red  tape.  The  bad  conse- 
quences were  outlined  and  a  change  of  policy  re- 
quested. The  letter  was  productive  of  immedi- 
ate results.  No  more  requisitions  were  returned 
because  they  were  not  in  proper  form  and  the 
government  began  to  supply  its  sick  with  medi- 
cines instead  of  relying  upon  the  stores  of  the 
Red  Cross. 

The  discipline  maintained  at  San  Francisco 
was  of  the  most  rigid  kind.  The  men  were  drilled 
for  five  hours  a  day  and  leaves  to  go  into  the  city 
were  seldom  given.  For  this  course  there  were 
two  reasons ;  the  volunteers  needed  to  be  discip- 
lined and  toughened  into  trained  soldiers  and 
even  more  necessary  was  it  to  keep  them  from 
the  temptations  of  a  great  city  like  San  Fran- 
cisco. This  again  caused  friction.  The  regi- 
ment was  composed  of  men  who  had  seen  little 
of  the  world,  for  the  most  part,  and  the  sights 
of  San  Francisco  appealed  to  them  strongly. 
They  were  independent  men,  or,  at  least,  had  been 
so  before  enlistment,  but  felt  themselves  capable 
of  judging  as  to  their  personal  conduct.  The 
hard  drills  had  shown  their  effect.  Colonel  Frost 
said :  "After  six  weeks'  drill  in  San  Francisco 
I  considered  the  First  South  Dakota  Infantry  the 
peer  of  any  regiment  I  had  ever  seen.  Its  mora! 
tone  was  certainly  higher  than  that  of  any  regi- 
ment with  which  I  had  ever  served." 


A\'hatever  the  objections  may  have  betn  to 
the  rigid  discipline  and  hard  drill  imposed  by 
Colonel  Frost,  there  were  compensating  advan- 
tages. Not  only  was  the  health  of  the  regiment 
better  than  that  of  other  regiments  in  camp  at 
San  Francisco,  but  its  superior  moral  tone  was 
the  occasion  of  remark. 

When  the  Second  and  Third  Battalions  were 
embarking  for  Manilla,  a  San  Francisco  news- 
paper man  said  it  was  the  first  embarkation  by  a 
military  force  at  that  port  where  there  had  not 
been  drunken  men  to  carry  aboard.  In  Honolulu 
the  deportment  of  the  regiment  provoked  like 
favorable  comments.  While  they  were  given  en- 
tire liberty  during  the  day,  each  evening  every 
man  was  in  place  when  the  assembly  was  sounded. 
When  soldiers  will  not  go  astray  in  the  beautiful, 
free  and  easy  city  of  Honolulu  their  discipline 
must  be  excellent  indeed !  But  the  same  record 
was  made  in  Cavite  when  the  South  Dakota  sol- 
diers made  their  first  camp  in  the  Philippines, 
August  25,  1898. 

The  general  efficiency  of  the  regiment  had 
impressed  the  commanding  general  and  on  the 
loth  day  of  September  when  trouble  with  Aguin- 
aldo  was  first  expected  the  South  Dakotans  were 
selected  as  the  best  fitted  of  all  the  soldiers  in  the 
Philippines  to  take  the  field  and  were  taken  to 
Manilla  and  held  under  marching  orders  until 
the  crisis  had  passed.  The  regiment  was  quar- 
tered in  Manilla  as  follows :  The  First  aind 
Third  Battalions  in  San  Aliguel.  then  consid- 
ered the  finest  residence  district  in  the  city,  and 
the  Second  Battalion  was  encamped  in  the  ]\Iala- 
canan  grounds,  the  residence  of  the  governor 
general.  As  a  further  mark  of  distinction,  the 
regiment  was  required  to  furnish  guards  for 
JNIajor  General  Otis,  JMajor  General  Mc.\rthur 
and  Brigadier  General  Hale.  This  compliment 
to  the  men  of  South  Dakota  caused  Colonel 
Frost  to  be  more  exacting  in  his  requirements 
and  the  men  were  ordered  to  be  uniformed  in 
white,  have  their  shoes  shined,  their  faces  clean 
shaven  and  their  arms  and  accoutrements  per- 
fectly spotless  when  they  went  on  guard.  This 
was  so  noticeably  different  from  other  regiments 
that  the   First  South  Dakota  became  known  in 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


367 


'Manilla   as   the   "dress   parade   regiment."    It   is 
needless  to  say  that  such  requirements  could  not 
be  enforced  with  provoking  anamadversion  and 
they  became  the  subject  of  newspaper  comment  j 
at  home.  t 

But  the  First  South  Dakota  was  no  more 
distinguished  for  its  discipline  and  dress  than 
in  other  respects.  The  men  were  better  fed  than 
the  men  of  the  other  volunteer  regiments.  At  a 
time  when  the  regiments  were  complaining  of 
the  ration  received,  the  officers  of  the  First  South 
Dakota  were  watching  the  meals  so  closely  and 
were  preparing  the  bills  of  fare  so  judiciously  j 
that  the  men  were  better  fed  than  had  ever  been  { 
the  lot  of  soldiers  in  the  field  before.  The  chief 
commissary  officer  asked  Colonel  Frost  for  bills 
of  fare  for  one  week  to  send  to  Washington  to 
show  what  could  be  done  with  an  ordinary  gov- 
ern.ment  ration. 

It  should  not  be  understood  that  the  food  for 
the  soldiers  in  the  Philippines  had  been  what 
common  sense  should  have  dictated.  The  quan- 
tity supplied  had,  been  abundant  and  the 
quality  was  all  that  could  be  desired  for  sol- 
diers in  a  temperate  or  cold  climate,  but  the 
government  ration  was  in  nowise  suited  to  the 
tropics.  That  fact  was  pointed  out  to  the  au- 
thorities by  medical  men  over  and  over  again. 
But  red  tape  did  its  deadly  work  and  soldiers 
went  on  eating  pork,  beans  and  potatoes  in  a 
climate  where  they  should  have  had  fish  and 
fruits  and  light  vegetable  diet.  Major  and  Sur- 
geon Louis  L.  Seaman,  of  New  York,  who  had 
studied  dietetics  in  every  climate,  said  to  General 
Otis  and  his  staff  that  it  would  be  just  as  sensi- 
ble to  put  a  Filipino  at  the  north  pole  and  ex- 
pect him  to  keep  warm  eating  fish,  rice,  mangoes 
and  bananas,  as  to  expect  American  soldiers  to 
keep  cool  and  well  in  the  tropics  eating  hog  and 
hominy.  Major  Warne,  of  the  South  Dakotas, 
urged  the  same  views  upon  the  government's  re- 
sponsible representatives,  but  all  such  advice 
was  ignored,  and  the  constant  report  to  Wash- 
ington was,  "We  have  in  the  Philippines  the  best 
fed  army  in  the  world."  This  stupidity  cost  more 
lives  than  all  the  Filipino  bullets. 

During  the  month  of  December  relations  be- 
tween the  American  and  Filipino  soldiers  became 


greatly  strained.  Colonel  Frost  believed  that 
hostilities  might  commence  at  any  time,  conse- 
quently the  liberties  of  the  men  were  more  re- 
stricted. They  were  required  to  be  in  their  quar- 
ters constantly  prepared  for  an  emergency.  The 
relations  between  the  Americans  and  the  Filipinos 
became  much  more  strained  after  General  Otis 
issued  his  proclamation  of  January  4,  1899,  as- 
suming control  of  the  Philippine  islands  and  an- 
nouncing in  diplomatic  terms  the  fact  that  the 
government  would  be  a  military  dictatorship. 
The  Filipinos  wanted  liberty  and  Aguinaldo 
charged  that  the  pledges  made  the  Filipinos  by 
Consuls  Williams  and  Wildman  had  been  vio- 
lated. General  Otis  ordered  the  American  sol- 
diers to  pursue  a  pacific  policy  and  do  nothing 
that  would  aggravate  the  bad  feeling.  Forbear- 
ance by  the  Americans  was  mistaken  by  the  Fili- 
pinos for  co\Vardice  and  in  consequence  all  the 
insulting  epithets  which  come  so  easily  to  the 
tongue  of  the  oriental  was  heaped  upon  our  vol- 
unteers. 

On  January  7th  Aguinaldo  issued  his  procla- 
mation declaring  himself  commandant  of  the 
Philippines  and  asserting  that  General  Otis  was 
an  usurper.  The  first  act  of  hostility  by  the  Fili- 
pinos toward  the  South  Dakotans  occurred  near 
Block  House  4  on  the  night  of  January  loth  and 
came  near  costing  Private  Smith,  of  Company 
E,  his  life.  Smith  was  sentinel  on  outpost  when 
he  was  approached  by  two  Filipinos.  Just  as  they 
were  passing  one  of  them  made  a  vicious  stroke 
at  Smith  with  a  bolo,  a  short  heavy  sword  carried 
by  the  natives.  Smith  dodged  just  enough  to  save 
his  head  from  being  split  open,  and  received  a 
bad  cut  down  the  side  of  his  head  and  face.  It 
was  against  orders  for  a  sentry  to  keep  his  gun 
loaded,  but  Smith  had  disobeyed  orders  and  quick 
as  lightning  he  brought  the  Springfield  to  his 
shoulder  and  shot  the  nearest  Filipino  dead. 
Shoving  another  cartridge  into  his  gun,  he  fired 
at  the  other  Filipino,  who  was  running  just  as 
rapidly  as  his  legs  could  carry  him.  That  the 
shot  took  effect  was  shown  by  a  trail  of  blood 
found  the  next  mornin.g.  but  how  badly  the 
would-be  murderer  was  wounded  was  never 
learned. 

From  the  time  General  Otis  issued  his  procla- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


mation  the  South  Dakotans  were  required  to  sleep 
in  their  clothes.  It  was  a  long  month  of  vigil 
and  alarms,  trying  alike  to  the  nerves  and  the 
patience  of  the  officers  and  men.  j\Iore  and  more 
insulting  became  the  Filipinos.  "Americano 
coward"  was  shouted  from  the  Filipino  trenches 
and  it  was  common  for  our  soldiers  to  hear  that 
one  Filipino  could  lick  five  of  them.  The  tem- 
pers of  the  Americans  were  sorely  tried,  and  it 
was  only  by  excellent  discipline  that  serious  riots 
were  averted. 

At  last  the  clash  came.  On  the  night  of  Feb- 
ruary 4th,  about  eight  o'clock.  Private  Grayson, 
of  the  Nebraskans,  shot  and  killed  a  Filipino 
lieutenant,  who  did  not  halt  when  ordered.  The 
Filipino  outpost  at  once  fired  on  the  Nebraska 
outpost,  and  within  a  few  minutes  a  battle  was 
raging  round  the  entire  city.  The  battle  began 
near  the  South  Dakota  outpost,  under  command 
of  Lieutenant  Foster,  which  was  under  a  heavy 
fire  almost  immediately.  Colonel  Frost  hastily 
assembled  his  men  and,  leaving  four  companies 
to  guard  the  district,  he  hurried  forward  eight 
companies  to  the  support  of  the  outpost.  The 
small  force  there  had  been  hard  pressed  and 
were  hastily  drawn  in  by  Lieutenant  Foster. 
Colonel  Frost  deployed  Companies  F  and  I,  the 
former  under  Captain  Brockway  and  the  latter 
commanded  by  Lieutenant  McClelland,  and 
pushed  them  to  the  extreme  limit  of  the  out- 
post without  opposition.  The  remaining  six 
companies  were  held  in  reserve  about  one-half 
mile  in  the  rear. 

Immediately  in  front  of  th^  outpost  was 
Block  House  No.  4,  held  by  a  strong  force  of 
Filipinos.  Colonel  Frost  wished  to  take  the 
block  house,  but  was  not  certain  of  his  authority 
and  was  starting  back  to  telegraph  for  instruc- 
tions when  he  met  General  Hale,  the  brigade 
commander,  and  asked  if  it  was  desired  that  the 
South  Dakotans  take  the  offensive.  The  Gen- 
eral said  "No"  and  rode  with  Colonel  Frost  to 
the  outpost,  which  he  ordered  left  there  with  a 
guard  to  hold  the  position.  He  ordered  the  re- 
mainder of  the  regiment  to  march  to  the  tele- 
graph office,  about  a  mile  to  the  rear,  and  wait 
orders.  Later  the  companies  with  Colonel  Frost 
were  ordered  to  their  quarters. 


But  what  of  the  outpost?  Parts  of  Compan- 
ies F  and  I  had  been  left  under  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Stover  to  hold  the  position  and  with 
them,  at  Colonel  Stover's  request,  was  the  regi- 
mental adjutant,  Lieutenant  Jonas  H.  Lien.  The 
position  was  exposed  to  an  oblique  fire  from 
Block  House  No.  4  and  the  Chinese  hospital,  both 
occupied  by  Filipinos  armed  with  Mauser  rifles. 
The  position  was  known  as  "the  island,"  it  being 
a  long  narrow  strip  of  ground  covered  with 
bamboo  and  flanked  by  rice  fields  which  looked 
like  a  surrounding  sea.  There  were  no  earth- 
works or  other  shelter  from  the  Filipino  fire. 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Stove'r  threw  out  sentinels 
and  the  men  laid  themselves  down  in  a  semi- 
circle, a  portion  facing  the  block  house  and  the 
remainder  facing  the  Chinese  hospital.  At  one 
A.  "SI.  on  the  morning  of  February  5th  the  senti- 
nels, or  Cossack  posts,  were  relieved,  just  as  a 
bright  tropical  moon  was  rising,  touching  jungle 
and  field  with  its  soft  light.  All  remained  quiet 
until  about  three  o'clock,  when,  without  any  pre- 
vious warning,  the  entire  Filipino  line  opened  a 
heavy  rifle  fire.  Within  a  few  minutes  two  men 
of  Company  I  were  killed  and  another  seriously 
wounded.  The  Pennsylvania  regiment,  on  Stov- 
er's left,  opened  fire  on  the  Chinese  hospital,  thus 
diverting  part  of  the  Filipino  fire  from  the  out- 
post. A  slight  change  was  made  by  Stover  in 
the  disposition  of  his  little  force,  shielding  it 
somewhat  from  the  block  house  fire.  Here  came 
a  most  severe  test  of  discipline.  The  men  were 
ordered  not  to  return  the  Filipino  fire,  as  the 
flash  and  white  smoke  of  the  black  powder  used 
in  the  Springfield  rifles  would  clearly  outline  the 
position  of  the  little  band  and  expose  them  to 
annihilation  by  the  fire  from  the  enemy's  earth- 
works and  the  block  house.  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Stover,  Adjutant  Lien  and  Lieutenant  Jennings 
walked  constantly  along  the  line  in  the  rear  of 
the  men  encouraging  them  and  cautioning  them 
to  hold  their  fire  unless  the  Filipinos  should  try 
I  to  advance.  IMeanwhile  the  deadly  hail  of  bul- 
I  lets  was  kept  up,  nothing  indicating  the  position 
I  of  the  Filipino  lines  except  the  slight  flash  of 
their  rifles  resembling  the  glint  of  a  firefly. 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Stover  and  Adjutant  Lien 
liad    juft   stepped   to   a   position   where   Stover's 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


369 


horse  was  hitched,  when  a  bullet  broke  the  poor 
brute's  leg,  making  it  necessary  that  it  be  killed. 

After  the  firing  had  been  kept  up  for  about 
thirty  minutes  a  courier  arrived  from  General 
Hale  instructing  Colonel  Stover  to  hold  the  posi- 
tion at  all  hazards.  It  was  the  key  to  the  situa- 
tion, and  had  the  position  been  forced  it  would 
have  opened  the  nearest  road  for  the  Filipinos  to 
reach  the  business  portion  of  Manilla.  Sergeant 
IMajor  Doolittle  was  ordered  by  Colonel  Stover 
to  go  to  the  telegraph  ofifice  in  the  Colorado  lines, 
about  one  mile  away,  and  report  that  the  outpost 
would  be  held  to  the  last  man,  but  that  reinforce- 
mens  should  be  sent  at  once,  as  the  distance  on 
each  wing  to  the  American  forces  would  allow 
the  enemy  to  pass  between  them  and  outflank 
him. 

The  duty  assigned  to  Doolittle  was  a  danger- 
ous one.  The  moon  was  shining  bright,  and 
there  were  many  patches  of  open  ground  to  be 
crossed  within  close  range  of  the  Filipino  rifles. 
He  made  the  trip  safely,  being  under  fire  for  a 
mile.  It  was  a  dangerous  feat,  but  it  was  a  mil- 
itary necessity,  and  Doolittle  was  destined  to 
again  distinguish  himself  before  morning  and 
Avin  a  promotion  to  second  lieutenant. 

As  soon  as  firing  began  the  South  Dakotans 
began  to  look  about  for  means  of  entrenchment. 
They  loosened  the  ground  with  their  bayonets 
and  began  scraping  it  up  in  front  of  them  with 
their  army  plates.  It  was  slow  work  in  the  hard 
ground  and  Adjutant  Lien  remarked  to  Colonel 
Stover  that  there  were  a  few  tools  in  a  reserve 
lent  about  a  half  mile  to  the  rear  and  ofifered  to 
go  after  them  himself,  which,  he  said,  would  pre- 
vent sending  a  man  from  the  firing  line.  Ser- 
geant JNIajor  Doolittle  overheard  the  conversa- 
tion and  volunteered  to  go.  Leiutenant  Colonel 
Stover  hesitated  to  give  permission  owing  to  the 
exposure  in  passing  over  the  open  ground  so 
close  to  the  Filipino  forces.  But  Doolittle  did 
not  wait  for  permission.  He  set  ofif  across  the 
rice-fields  with  the  bullets  singing  about  his  head 
like  a  swarm  of  bees.  He  soon  returned  with 
the  tools  and  work  on  the  entrenchment  began 
in  earnest.  The  earthworks  were  constructed 
from  one  chnnp  of  bamboo  to  another,  the  men 


taking  advantage  of  the  ground  and  working  in 
the  shadows  when  possible.  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Stover  had  walked  to  one  end  of  the  semicircle  to 
see  how  everything  was  getting  along  when  the 
enemy's  fire  suddenly  freshened  up.  He  returned 
to  his  position  near  the  center  where  he  found 
Adjutant  Lien  in  the  middle  of  the  largest  open 
space  digging  like  a  section  hand,  and  as  cool  as 
such  work  in  a  tropical  climate  would  admit. 
The  rest  may  well  be  told  in  Colonel  Stover's 
own  language.  "I  asked :  'What  are  you  doing 
there,  Mr.  Lien?'  "  said  Colonel  Stover.  "  'Did  I 
not  leave  you  in  charge  of  the  end  of  the  line?' 
'Yes,'  said  Lien,  meekly,  'but  as  soon  as  the  boys 
began  digging  in  the  moonlight  the  Filipinos  be- 
gan a  heavy  fire  from  the  block  house.  I  was 
afraid  some  of  the  boys  would  be  hit,  so  I  or- 
dered them  into  the  shadows  and  began  the  work 
myself.'  "That,"  added  Colonel  Stover,  "was 
the  only  act  of  disobedience  which  occurred  that 
night."  It  was  characteristic  of  Adjutant  Lien, 
who  had  the  courage  of  a  bulldog  and  the  tender 
heart  of  a  woman.  He  exposed  himself  reck- 
lessly, but  was  always  afraid  some  of  the  boys 
would  get  hurt.  While  the  men  loved  Lien,  it 
was  but  natural  that  they  should  get  angry  when 
he  made  them  quit  work  in  the  open  while  he 
threw  up  the  earthwork  himself. 

The  Filipino  fire  slackened  about  four  o'clock 
in  the  morning  and  was  being  kept  up  in  a  des- 
ultory way  only,  when  Colonel  Frost  arrived  at 
five  o'clock  with  six  companies  within  about  one- 
half  mile  of  the  outpost  and  reported  to  General 
Hale'  that  he  waited  orders.  While  waiting. 
Colonel  Frost  posted  Company  H  on  the  right 
of  the  old  outpost  guard  and  G  on  the  right  of 
H,  nearly  at  right  angles  to  it.  M  was  placed  on 
right  of  G  and  Company  A  was  placed  in  front 
of  a  small  plantation  about  one  hundred  and  fift_\- 
yards  to  the  right  of  M.  L  and  K  companies  were 
held  in  reserve  under  the  slope  of  the  hill.  Alean- 
whiJe  Major  Howard  was  sent  to  relieve  Lieu- 
tenant Colonel  Stover,  who,  with  Adjutant  Lien, 
reported  to  Colonel  Frost  and  asked  him  to  look 
over  the  situation.  Colonel  Frost,  with  Adjutant 
Lien,  rode  to  where  the  outpost  had  been  located 
during  the  night.     Ho  fmnid  tint  ^lajor  Howard 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


had  changed  the  position  of  the  troops  to  a  more 
sheltered  one. 

The  fire  on  the  night  of  February  4th  by  the 
FiHpinos  had  not  been  bloodless  for  the  South 
Dakotans.  Privates  William  G.  Lowes  and  Fred 
E.  Green,  of  Company  I,  were  killed  and  Arthur 
E.  Haskell,  of  Company  I,  was  wounded. 

When  Colonel  Frost  and  Adjutant  Lien 
started  back  from  the  outpost,  a  little  after  day- 
light, Filipino  bullets  were  whistling  around  their 
heads  at  such  a  rate  that  a  detour  was  thought 
best,  instead  of  going  across  the  exposed  country 
fronting  the  block  house  and  the  Filipmo  earth- 
works. On  reaching  headquarters  Colonel  Frost 
sent  word  to  General  Hale  that  he  was  waiting 
orders.  At  nine  fifteen  A.  M.  General  Hale  sent 
his  aide  to  Colonel  Frost  with  an  order  which 
was  not  an  order,  but  a  shifting  of  responsibilit}- 
from  his  own  shoulders  to  those  of  the  colonel 
of  the  South  Dakotas.  He  said  he  would  have 
five  shots  fired  by  the  artillery  at  the  block  house 
and  five  at  the  entrenchment,  after  which,  if 
Colonel  Frost  thought  proper,  he  might  charge. 
The  Colonel  formed  the  regiment  with  Lieuten- 
ant Colonel  Stover  in  charge  of  the  right,  Major 
Howard  in  charge  of  the  left,  while  he  personally 
commanded  center.  The  artillery  fired  five  shots 
at  the  block  house,  only  two  taking  effect  with 
slight  damage.  Two  shots  were  then  fired  at  the 
earthworks,  with  a  long  interval  between  the 
shots.  After  waiting  impatiently  for  the  third 
shot,  Colonel  Frost  placed  Company  L  in  the  gap 
between  Companies  A  and  M  and  Company  K 
in  echelon  on  the  right  rear  of  the  line  and  or- 
dered a  charge.  The  men  sprang  forward  eag- 
erly, halting  twice  to  fire.  They  carried  the 
earthworks  and  rushed  to  the  block  house.  The 
enemy  fired  a  few  shots  and  then  retreated  for 
shelter  in  the  woods.  The  South  Dakotans 
rushed  around  the  block  house  and  fired  at  the 
retreating  Filipinos,  bringing  down  four  of  them, 
one  of  whom  died  afterwards. 

Having  orders  not  to  advance  beyond  the 
block  house,  Colonel  Frost  halted  his  men  for 
a  breathing  spell.  At  eleven  A.  M.,  while  resting, 
the  South  Dakotas  saw  the  Tenth  Pennsylvania 
Regiment  move  out  on  the  left  and  take  the  Chi- 


nese hospital  and  disappear  in  the  woods  be- 
yond. There  was  continued  and  heavy  firing  in 
their  direction,  but  the  South  Dakotas  could  not 
see  what  the  fight  was  about.  At  3  P.  M.  Colonel 
Frost  received  an  order  from  General  McArthur 
to  form  on  the  right  of  the  Pennsylvania  regi- 
ment and  advance.  Companies  A,  F  and  I  were 
left  to  guard  the  flank  under  Major  Howard,^ 
and  the  other  five  companies  were  formed  in  line 
of  battle  with  Colonel  Frost  in  command  of  the 
left;  Lieutenant  Colonel  Stover  in  charge  of  the 
right,  while  Adjutant  Lien  worked  along  the  line 
between  the  superior  officers.  The  line  moved 
forward  in  skirmish  order,  the  center  company 
guiding  on  the  right  dome  of  La  Loma  church. 
The  advance  was  maintained  at  quick  time  for 
about  eight  hundred  yards,  under  fire  all  the 
while  without  returning  it.  The  men  were  pant- 
ing and  exhausted,  and  where  there  was  a  sunken 
road  running  across  the  front  of  the  line  Colonel 
Frost  ordered  the  men  to  lie  down  and  return  the 
enemy's  fire ;  at  the  same  time  the  volunteers 
were  given  an  opportunity  to  rest  for  a  moment. 
The  fire  from  the  Filipino  force  in  the  church  was 
terrific,  though  high.  As  one  of  the  privates  ex- 
pressed it,  "the  boys  had  a  roof  of  lead  over 
them."  After  firing  a  few  rounds  Colonel  Frost 
ordered  an  advance  with  quick  time.  The  men 
dashed  forward  about  one  hundred  yards  when 
they  were  again  ordered  to  lie  down  and  fire. 
Three  volleys  were  fired,  when  another  advance 
was  ordered  in  quick  time,  the  men  firing  as 
they  advanced.  Just  then  Colonel  Frost  saw  the 
Tenth  Pennsylvania,  which  he  had  passed,  on 
his  left  in  the  rear  pouring  in  a  heavy  fire.  Con- 
sidering the  fire  dangerous  to  the  South  Dako- 
tans, he  called  them  to  advance  to  the  firing  line. 
For  some  reason  the  volunteers  from  the  Key- 
stone state  paid  no  heed,  but  continued  to  fire 
from  the  rear.  Colonel  Frost  was  afraid  to  ad- 
vance with  such  a  fire  in  his  rear,  so  he  shouted 
louder  and  louder.  Finally  swearing  at  them  in 
a  vigorous  manner,  and  calling  them  some  most 
unmilitary  names,  he  ordered  them  to  come  on  the 
line  or  quit  firing.  But  the  Pennsylvanians 
neither  advanced  nor  slackened  their  fire.  In 
desperation.    Colonel    Frost   sent   Adjutant   Lien 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


371 


over  to  induce  the  Pennsylvanians  to  move  for- 
ward to  the  line.  About  a  score  got  up  and 
moved  forward  after  the  Adjutant,  but  returned 
to  their  own  Hne  when  they  found  thev  were  not 
followed  by  their  comrades. 

The  South  Dakotans  had  been  pouring  heavy 
volleys  into  the  Filipinos  while  they  were  wait- 
ing, but  now  advanced  again,  charging  some 
hurdle  work  entrenchments  from  which  the  fire 
had  been  most  active.  The  South  Dakotans  ran 
forward  with  a  yell,  going  over  the  trenches  and 
driving  the  Filipinos  before  them  in  a  panic.  The 
enemy  ran  for  shelter  behind  the  wall  of  the 
church,  but  the  volunteers  were  too  swift  for  them 
and  more  than  fifty  were  killed  in  front  of  the 
church.  The  South  Dakotans  rushed  over  the 
walls  and  round  the  flanks  and  through  the  yard, 
carrying  all  before  them.  When  Colonel  Frost 
was  standing  on  the  wall  surrounding  the  church, 
he  saw  Colonel  Hawkins,  of  the  Tenth  Pennsyl- 
vania, with  a  small  force  of  his  men,  come  up 
under  the  wall  from  which  the  enemy  had  been 
driven.  This  is  mentioned  because  on  the  day 
following  the  fight  an  effort  was  made  by  the 
Keystone  volunteers  to  claim  the  credit  of  having 
captured  La  Loma  church.  Colonel  Hawkins 
and  his  men  took  the  Chinese  hospital  in  gallant 
style,  for  which  they  should  be  given  ample 
praise,  but  their  conduct  was  not  creditable  in 
front  of  La  Loma  church  and  their  effort  to  rob 
the  South  Dakotans  of  well  earned  glory  was  de- 
spicable. 

Colonel  Frost  sounded  his  assembly  and  drew 
his  men  to  the  right  of  the  church  and  moved 
after  the  Filipinos,  driving  them  in  the  direction 
of  Cjfloocan.  Arriving  on  the  crest  of  the  hill, 
he  observed  that  both  flanks  were  exposed  and 
halted  his  men  to  wait  further  orders.  Colonel 
Hawkins,  who  was  at  Block  House  No.  2,  with 
part  of  his  force,  sent  word  to  Colonel  Frost  that 
orders  had  been  received  to  retire.  Seeing  him 
fall  back,  Colonel  Frost  formed  his  force  in  a 
column  of  fours  and  moved  in  the  same  direc- 
tion. On  the  march  he  met  General  JMcArthur, 
who  demanded,  with  considerable  asperity  in  his 
tone,  to  know  why  Colonel  Frost  was  there.  The 
Colonel    replied    that    he    had    taken    La    Loma 


church.  The  General  asked  if  the  left  flank  had 
not  been  left  open.  The  Colonel  said  it  had  not,, 
but  had  been  well  guarded  by  three  companies. 
The  General  looked  over  the  ground,  covered 
with  dead  Filipinos,  and  said,  "There  are  plenty 
of  indications  that  South  Dakota  has  done  good 
work  to-day." 

During  the  fight  Private  H.  J-  ^IcCrackan,  of 
Company  H,  was  killed  and  Private  Frank  T. 
jMcLain,  of  Company  G,  Hiram  W.  Fay,  of  Com- 
pany I,  Benj.  B.  Phelps,  of  Company  IC,  and 
Eugene  E.  Stevens,  of  Company  K,  were 
wounded.  From  the  time  the  fighting  began  on 
the  evening  of  February  4th,  in  front  of  Block 
House  No.  4,  until  the  La  Loma  church  was 
taken  in  the  afternoon  of  the  5th,  the  South  Da- 
kotans had  been  under  the  hottest  fire  and  had 
done  the  hardest  fighting.  Their  discipline  was 
perfect   and  their  courage   superb. 

Colonel  Frost  was  ordered  to  hold  the  in- 
trenched line  with  Block  House  No.  4  near  the 
center,  with  the  left  extended  to  within  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  of  La  Loma  church  and  the 
right  nearly  to  Block  House  No.  5.  The  Fili- 
pinos occupied  the  town  of  San  Francisco  Del 
Monte,  about  one  mile  east  of  Block  House  No. 
4,  from  where  they  poured  a  constant  and  most 
annoyiiig  fire  into  the  trenches  of  the  South  Da- 
kotans. No  move  was  made  until  the  morning 
of  the  23d,  when,  at  about  seven-thirty  o'clock, 
heavy  firing  was  heard  on  the  left  of  the  line, 
then  under  command  of  Alajor  Howard.  Lieu- 
tenant Colonel  Stover  had  the  right  of  the  block 
house  and  Colonel  Frost  took  his  position  with 
Company  B  at  the  center.  The  attack  had  been 
made  on  the  outpost  of  six  men  under  Lieutenant 
Hawkins,  of  Company  B,  who  held  the  position 
manfully  until  Company  A,  under  Captain  Fuller, 
and  Company  B,  under  Captain  Sessions,  came 
to  his  relief.  The  enemy  had  also  attacked  How- 
ard, whose  battalion  replied  with  a  heavy  fire 
from  their  Springfields  and  were  gallantly  sup- 
ported by  part  of  the  Utah  Battery.  Colonel 
Frost  saw  that  the  enemy  could  be  outflanked 
and  accordingly  directed  Adjutant  Lien  to  take 
Companies  A  and  B  and  the  men  of  the  brass 
band  who  had  laid  aside  their  wind  instruments 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


for  the  more  deadly,  if  less  musical  rifle,  and 
mo\-e  up  the  ravine,  form  a  line  on  the  crest 
and  pour  a  flank  fire  into  the  enemy.  Captain 
Fuller  with  A  was  first  in  position  and  as  soon 
as  he  opened  fire  the  Filipino  fire  slackened.  Cap- 
tain Sessions  with  B  and  the  band  soon  got  in 
line  and  opened  fire,  the  enemy  falling  back  and 
moving  toward  the  right.  Colonel  Frost  saw 
that  an  effort  was  being  made  to  outflank  the 
flanking  party  under  Adjutant  Lien  and  had  it 
quickly  withdrawn  to  the  trenches.  They  had 
scarcely  got  to  the  trenches  when  a  heavy  fire 
swept  across  the  position  they  had  just  left.  This 
fire  was  quickly  replied  to  by  the  right  under 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Stover,  and  the  Colorado 
on  his  left  flank,  and  soon  silenced  the  enemy 
in  the  direction  of  San  Francisco  Del  ]Monte. 
Colonel  Frost  was  much  pleased  with  the  con- 
duct of  Adjutant  Lien  and  Captains  Fuller  and 
Sessions,  all  of  them  showing  coolness  and  judg- 
ment in  handling  men  under  fire. 

The  South  Dakotans  lost  in  killed  Private 
Oscar  Felker,  Company  C,  and  Sergeant  William 
B.  Smith,  Company  M,  who  was  wounded  and 
died  within  a  few  hours.  The  wounded  were 
Privates  Fred  Tobin,  Company  B,  and  iMartin 
Eide,  Company  M.  and  Musician  Charles  Hult- 
berg,  Company  j\I. 

Then  came  another  long  period  of  waiting 
while  the  men  in  the  trenches  were  kept  on  the 
alert  by  the  Filipinos,  who  fired  in  a  desultory 
way  almost  daily  and  nightly.  A  slight  attack 
occurred  on  the  night  of  the  27th,  but  the  enemy 
were  driven  off,  the  regiment  having  two  inen 
wounded.  Private  Herman  ]\L  Bellman,  of  Com- 
pany B,  and  Sergeant  Robert  B.  Ross,  of  Com- 
pany L.  Firing  on  the  outposts  was  continued 
and  the  South  Dakotans  slept  on  their  arms  and 
in  their  clothes  until  March  25th,  when  the  ad- 
vance on   IMalolos  began. 

Here  I  ma}'  digress  from  the  story  of  the 
campaign  to  record  the  death  of  a  brave  young 
oflicer.  Lieutenant  E.  A.  Harting,  of  Company 
A,  who  had  been  detached  from  the  regiment 
and  was  in  command  of  rifles  on  board  the  gun 
boat  "Laguna  De  Bay."'  On  February  14th  he 
was  attempting  to  land  a  gun  on  the  shore  of  the 


Pasig  river.  As  the  gun  was  let  down  from  the 
gun  boat  to  a  small  boat  in  which  Harting  was 
standing,  the  little  boat  was  overturned  and  he 
was  drowned. 

On  March  25th  at  daybreak  the  First  and 
Third  Battalions  were  formed  in  a  skirmish  line, 
the  left,  under  Allison,  resting  on  the  sunken 
road  and  the  right  under  Stover.  Howard's 
battalion  was  about  four  hundred  yards  in  the 
rear  as  a  I'eserve.  The  command  was  given  to 
advance  and  the  skirmish  line  and  reserve  had 
moved  forward  about  one  thousand  yards  when 
Z'.  heavy  fire  was  opened  upon  them  in  front.  A 
few  of  the  men  paused  as  if  to  fire,  and  Colonel 
Frost  saw  the  distance  was  too  great  for  the 
Springfield  rifles  with  which  his  men  were  armed 
to  be  of  service,  so  he  ordered  Musician  Allen 
to  sound  "Forward,  march."  The  men  obeyed 
and  marched  forward  steadily,  with  the  Mauser 
bullets  whistling  about  their  ears,  until  they  were 
in  range  of  the  enemy,  when  they  were  ordered 
to  fire.  After  three  volleys  Colonel  Frost  ordered 
another  advance.  This  time  the  advance  was 
continuous,  the  men  firing  as  they  walked  and 
halting  now  and  then  to  take  deliberate  aim. 
Moving  on  with  inexorable  firmness,  the  force 
walked  right  over  the  Filipino  trenches,  shooting 
every  dusky  defender  in  sight,  and  continued  to 
march  steadily  onward  to  a  road  some  miles  to 
the  northwest  of  San  Francisco  Del  Monte,  where 
it  had  been  ordered  to  halt  and  reform;  Dur- 
ing the  entire  distance  the  Filipinos  kept  up  a 
fire  as  they  gave  way,  burning  the  Nipa  huts  as 
they  retired.  This  country  was  the  most  favor- 
able for  defense  over  which  the  regiment  ever 
passed,  the  lava  beds  and  jungles  afforded  "every 
opportunity  for  the  enemy  to  conceal  themselves. 
Frequently  whole  companies  would  be  compelled 
to  march  quite  a  distance  single  file  through  the 
jungle  and  form  a  line  when  they  got  to  the 
other  side.  A  few  courageous  and  well  disposed 
men  could  have  defended  the  country  against  a 
whole  regiment. 

The  brigade  reformed  on  the  road,  as  or- 
dered, and  changed  the  direction  of  its  march 
from  northeast  to  north,  or  nearly  so,  and  moved 
several  miles  until  another  cross  road  was  reached 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


373 


when  another  order  was  given  to  halt  and  reform 
the  brigade.  During  that  march  the  Filipinos 
had  kept  up  a  desultory  fire  at  long  range  as  they 
retreated,  which  was  not  returned  by  the  South 
Dakotans,  the  distance  being  much  too  great  for 
the  Springfield  rifles  to  be  effective. 

After  reforming,  the  brigade  made  a  left 
wheel  and  marched  in  a  northwesterly  direction, 
receiving  a  heavy  fire  as  they  approached  the 
Tuliahan  river.  ^Making  no  reply,  the  brigade 
crossed  the  river,  the  South  Dakotans  leading, 
and  wheeled  to  the  left,  moved  westward  and 
halted  on  a  ridge  facing  towards  Polo.  About 
dark  Colonel  Frost  received  orders  to  move  by 
the  left  flank,  change  direction  to  the  right  and 
close  in  on  an  old  bridge  across  the  river.  The 
order  was  executed  after  dark  by  men  who  had 
then  marched  and  fought  more  than  eighteen 
miles  under  a  blazing  sun.  over  lava  beds  and 
through  jungles,  without  having  had  scarcely  a 
mouthful  to  eat.  That  the  men  were  hungry 
goes  without  saying,  and  the  officers  were  cha- 
grined when  they  found  themselves  halted  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Tuliahan  river,  feeling  that 
they  had  left  a  strong  position  for  a  weak  one. 
They  learned  later  that  the  division  commander 
had  been  forced  to  change  his  plans  because 
(ieneral  Wheaton  had  taken  i\Ialinta  when  he 
Iv'd  been 'ordered  to  make  only  a  demonstration. 
The  change  in  direction  caused  great  inconven- 
itnce  to  the  men  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  bag- 
gage train  lost  its  way  and  failed  to  come  up 
with  provisions.  The  South  Dakotans  slept  on 
the  ground  that  night,  having  had  little  dinner 
and  no  ."^upper  and  getting  no  breakfast  in  the 
morning. 

During  the  day's  march  the  only  casualty  suf- 
fered by  the  South  Dakotans  was  a  severe  wound 
received  by  Private  Walter  E.  Brown,  of  Coni- 
]iany  G.  The  Filipinos  shot  too  high  all  the 
while,  and  the  severest  loss  of  the  day  was  sus- 
tained by  the  Fourth  Infantry,  held  in  reserve, 
who  had  several  men  hit  by  the  enemy's  long 
range  fire.  The  South  Dakotans  counted  more 
than  one  hundred  dead  Filipinos  left  on  the  field 
where  they  got  in  range  of  the  Springfield  rifles. 

How   to   supply    the   regiment   with    food   on 


its  march  was  a  serious  problem  to  be  solved  by 
Quartermaster  Burdick.  He  began  by  impress- 
ing into  his  service  every  buffalo  cart  he  could 
find,  supplementing  his  carrying  force  with  Chi- 
nese coolies.  By  following  Lieutenant  Burdick's 
example,  a  Kanaka  protege  of  the  South  Dako- 
tans got  in  serious  trouble.  When  the  regiment 
left  Honolulu  enroute  for  Manila,  three  Kanaka 
stowaways  were  found  aboard.  There  was  no 
way  to  get  them  ashore,  so  they  were  adopted  into 
the  regiment,  along  with  the  goat  and  other  mas- 
cots. Only  the  goat's  chief  employment  was  to 
eat  "Christian  Heralds,"  distributed  by  Chaplain 
Daley,  while  the  Kanakas  were  put  to  work  in 
the  kitchen.  In  Manila  they  had  been  given  re- 
volvers to  protect  themselves  from  the  Alalay 
bolos.  When  one  of  these  youthful  adventurers 
saw  the  quartermaster  forcibly  taking  possession 
of  carts,  he  concluded  the  example  was  worthy 
of  emulation  and  proceeded  to  seize  a  carametta 
and  native  pony,  ejecting  the  driver  at  the  point 
of  a  revolver.  The  driver  was  an  "amigo"  and 
he  howled  loud  and  long.  The  Kanaka  was  ar- 
rested for  robbery,  tried  before  a  military  court 
and  sentenced  to  two  years  in  Bilibid  prison, 
the  Luzon  penitentiary.  The  other  Kanakas  be- 
haved well.  One  of  them,  "George,"  was  the 
servant  of  Captain  Sessions  and  became  almost 
invaluable.  He  was  never  sick  a  day,  was  strong 
physically  and  bright  mentally.  He  was  on  every 
battlefield  where  Company  B  was  engaged  and 
helped  care  for  the  wounded  all  along  the  line, 
exposing  himself  with  the  utmost  sangfroid  at 
all  times. 

On  the  morning  of  March  26th  at  daylight 
the  battalions  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Stover  and 
Major  Howard  were  placed  on  the  firing  line, 
with  Major  Allison's  battalion  in  reserve.  They 
moved  in  a  column  of  fours  by  the  left  flank  to 
the  rear  of  the  brigade  and  were  deployed,  facing 
north  on  the  right  of  the  Tenth  Pennsylvania. 
The  Nebraska  regiment  was  about  one  thousand 
yards  to  the  rear,  as  a  reserve  to  the  brigade. 
The  whole  regiment  formed  in  column  of  fours 
and  moved  on  the  Tuliahan  river  about  four 
miles  toward  the  bay  and  came  out  on  the  great 
Polo  plain,  which  was  about  four  miles  long,  in 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


the  shape  of  an  oval  about  two  miles  wide  near 
the  center,  and  entirely  surroinided  by  trees.    The 
railroad  ran  along  the  left  toward  the  bay.     It 
was  a  terrible  march  through  the  sun,  and  the  ' 
men,  having  no  fresh  water,  were  stumbling  and 
falling    from    exhaustion    and    thirst.      When    it 
came  on  the  plain  near  the  end  of  the  oval  the 
brigade  was  formed  in  battle  line  facing  the  bay. 
As  regiment  after  regiment  moved  up  on  the  left  [ 
in  skirmish  line  the  South  Dakota  position  was 
well  toward  the  Polo  end  of  the  oval.    The  Tenth  '■ 
Jr'ennsylvania  had  sw'ung  six  companies  into  line 
just  ahead,  topping  a  slight  elevation  in  the  val- 
ley, where  the  enemy  opened  a  hot  hre  on  the  ^ 
right  from  the  trees  near  the  center  of  the  oval. 
The   line  made  a  sharp   right   angle   and   faced 
the  position  of  the  enemy  from  where  the  firing 
came.     This  brought  the  South  Dakotas  to  the 
crest  of  a  little  rise  facing  a  heavy  wooded  slope  i 
where    the    enemy    could    be    seen    heavil}'    en- 
trenched. 

The  orders  to  Colonel  Frost  were  to  take 
the  trenches  and  then  execute  a  left  wheel  and 
move  on  Polo.  Before  executing  the  order  How- 
ard's battalion,  which  had  been  placed  in  re- 
serve at  noon,  was  placed  in  echelon  on  the  right 
flank  with  orders  to  take  care  of  any  enemy  that 
might  threaten  the  right.  Colonel  Frost  then 
ordered  an  advance  with  fixed  bayonets,  Stover 
commanding  the  left,  Allison  the  right,  with  the 
Colonel  at  the  center  looking  after  the  whole  line. 
The  regiment  moved  forward  in  quick  time  and 
took  the  first  line  of  trenches,  the  enemy  falling 
back  on  another  line  of  breastworks.  When  the 
crest  of  the  hill  was  reached  Colonel  Frost  was 
about  to  give  the  order  for  a  left  wheel,  as  di- 
rected by  his  commanding  officer,  when  a  heavy 
fire  was  poured  in  from  the  enemy  in  front. 
Deeming  it  unwise  to  expose  his  force  to  such  a 
strong  flank  fire,  the  Colonel  ordered  an  ad- 
vance, which  was  made  under  a  heavy  fire,  com- 
ing out  at  a  point  overlooking  a  bridge  across 
the  ^leyacanyan  river.  The  bridge  was  strongly 
defended  by  earthworks  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  river.  One  entrenchment  was  about  fifty 
yards  to  the  right  of  the  railroad  track,  while 
the  other  trench  was  about  four  hundred  vards 


to  the  left  of  the  track.  Major  Allison's  battalion 
moved  to  the  left  and  joined  Lieutenant  Stover. 
Companies  K  and  I  were  sent  by  Stover  to  the 
left  to  flank  the  trench,  while  Company  F,  assisted 
by  part  of  Company  G,  forced  the  bridge.  The 
enemy  set  fire  to  the  bridge  and  poured  a  heavy 
fire  to  hold  the  South  Dakotans  in  check  until  the 
bridge  should  be  rendered  impassable.  Sergeant 
Holman,  of  Company  C,  ran  forward  on  the 
bridge  and  extinguished  the  fire,  performing  one 
of  the  most  daring  acts  of  the  entire  war.  Lieu- 
tenant Huntington,  of  Company  F,  was  first  to 
cross  the  bridge  with  part  of  his  men.  The  re- 
mainder of  Company  F,  part  of  C,  I  and  K,  the 
remainder  of  C  and  Companies  G  and  L  crossed 
in  the  order  named  and  drove  the  Filipinos  from 
the  trenches,  leaving  sixty-seven  dead  behind 
their  works.  The  two  battalions  then  formed  a 
line  to  protect  the  bridge  while  the  other  forces 
crossed. 

Shortly  after  Colonel  Frost  had  ordered  Sto- 
ver and  Allison's  battalions  to  take  the  trenches 
beyond  the  bridge,  he  saw  a  force  on  the  right 
of  the  railroad  track  which  he  mistook  for  How- 
ard's battalion.  He  hurried  to  them  thinking  he 
could  work  around  the  bend  of  the  river  and 
flank  the  enemy's  trenches  from  the  left.  He 
found  they  were  Nebraskans,  and  also  found  the 
country  of  such  contour  that  he  could  not  carry 
out  his  plan.  He  returned  to  the  railroad  cut 
and  brought  the  enemy  under  an  oblique  fire. 
He  saw  two  of  the  Filipinos  run  and  knew  that 
a  charge  would  stampede  the  others.  He  accord- 
ingly ordered  j\Iusician  Allen  to  blow  a  charge 
and  called  to  the  Nebraskans  to  come  across  the 
bridge.  They  were  always  ready  for  a  fight  and 
clambered  up  the  bank ;  they  and  the  South  Da- 
kotans crossed  together.  Colonel  Frost  had  just 
crossed  the  bridge  when  he  was  called  back  by 
General  Hale,  who  pointed  to  some  volunteers 
moving  up  the  track  and  ordered  Colonel  Frost 
to  get  his  men  together  and  move  to  the  right 
front  and  clear  out  the  enemy  there. 

Colonel  Frost  ran  up  the  track  after  those 
troops,  supposing  them  to  be  Howard's  men. 
When  he  overtook  them  he  found  they  were  an- 
other force  of  Nebraskans.    Just  at  that  moment 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


375 


a  force  of  Filipinos  opened  fire  from  the  left. 
Colonel  Frost  asked  for  the  ranking  officers  of 
the  Nebraskans,  when  a  captain  stepped  forward 
and  sa-luted.  Frost  ordered  him  to  charge  the 
trenches  of  the  enemy  on  the  left.  He  saluted 
and  said,  "Very  well,  sir."  As  he  began  forming 
his  line  for  a  charge  a  Nebraska  major  ran  up 
and  asked,  "What  in  h — 1  are  you  going  to  do?" 
The  captain  replied,  "I  shall  take  the  trench  by 
Colonel's  Frost's  order,"  and  he  took  it  in  a 
most  gallant  manner. 

Colonel  Frost  then  moved  to  the  right  and 
joined  his  forces  and  they  were  charging  the 
strongest  earthworks  of  the  Filipinos.  The 
€nemy  were  quickly  dislodged  and  the  soldiers 
lost  all  semblance  of  military  order  as  they 
chased  and  shot  the  Malays.  Tt  was  like  hunt- 
ing jackrabbits.  Every  time  a  Filipino  sprang 
from  a  hiding  place  a  Springfield  cracked  and  a 
<lusky  warrior  fell. 

While  the  regiment  was  halted  and  the  hos- 
pital corps  were  taking  care  of  the  wounded,  a 
fire  was  opened  from  some  Nipa  huts  about  seven 
hundred  yards  in  front.  Adjutant  Lien  asked 
and  was  granted  leave  to  take  twenty  men  and 
drive  out  the  sharpshooters.  He  routed  the  en- 
emy out  and  set  fire  to  the  buildings  and  re- 
turned to  the  command.  Chaplain  Daley,  who 
was  alwa\s  with  the  men  during  the  engage- 
ments, had  just  come  from  the  side  of  Private 
Fred.  C.  Lorensen,  who  had  fallen,  as  it  was 
thought  mortally  wounded,  in  the  hard  struggle 
Comy)any  L  had  had  among  the  lagoons  before 
crossing  the  Meycauayan  bridge.  Besmeared 
Avith  mud  and  wet  with  perspiration,  he  hurried 
to  reach  his  regiment,  crossing  the  bridge  in 
advance  of  the  Nebraska  troops,  five  of  whom 
fell  before  they  could  reach  protection  behind 
the  railroad  grade.  A  few  minutes  later  Brig- 
adier General  Hale  was  slightlv  wounded  in  the 
foot.  Shouting  to  the  Chaplain,  who  had  now 
reached  the  South  Dakotans,  he  called  him  to 
him.  "Are  you  the  chaplain  of  the  South  Da- 
kotans?" he  said.  Saluting,  he  answered,  "I 
nm."  "Give  my  compliments  to  Colonel  Frost 
yonder  on  the  field,  and  say,  as  soon  as  the  enemy 
as  driven  out  of  sight,  and  the  field  seems  to  be 


clear,  he  is  to  recall  his  men  and  take  them  back 
across  the  j\Ieycaua}-an  bridge  to  bivouac  for  the 
night;  for  they  must  have  food  and  .rest."  But 
fully  an  hour  of  hot  skirmishing  ensued.  When 
I  all  was  quiet  the  Colonel  led  his  men  backward 
I  toward  the  bridge,  but  had  not  gone  a  mile  be- 
I  fore  an  orderly  from  General  Hale  counter- 
!  manded  the  order,  and  asked  him  to  return  to 
!  his  former  position  and  throw  out  a  skirmish 
line.  It  was  now  after  nine  o'clock  at  night  and 
the  regiment  had  marched  and  fought  since  early 
morning  with  no  breakfast,  no  dinner,  no  sup- 
per, and  but  very  little  supper  the  night  before. 
Quartermaster  Burdick  finally  succeeded  in 
bringing  light  rations  on  pack  ponies  that  night 
between  twelve  and  three  o'clock!  with  a  fuller 
supply  a  few  hours  later.  The  men  had 
little  rest  for  they  must  be  ready  for 
instant  action  throughout  the  night.  Frost 
ordered  Major  Howard,  whose  batallion 
Frost  ordered  Major  Howard,  whose  battalion 
had  been  placed  in  echelon  on  the  right  flank,  to 
."ttack  the  enemy  on  the  right,  where  they  were 
holding  a  line  of  rifle  pits  commanding  the  ad- 
Vance  of  the  regiment.  The  course  of  the  bat- 
talion in  this  movement  necessitated  their  cross- 
irg  the  river  several  times  on  account  of  its  wind- 
ing course,  but  the  enemy  was  finally  driven  out 
without  any  casualties,  except  a  slight  wound  in 
the  shoulder  suffered  by  Captain  Englesby. 

This  movement  took  the  .  battalion  about 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  away  from  the  line  of 
march,  which  was  regained  after  the  engage- 
ment, but  the  balance  of  the  regiment  had  dis- 
appeared. Major  Howard  bivouacked  his  men, 
w1t,o  were  soaked  to  the  skin  and  covered  with 
mud,  when  they  were  allowed  to  undress  and 
build  fires  to  dry  their  clothing,  and  then  left 
them  in  command  of  Captain  VanHouten,  the 
senior  captain,  and  rode  on  ahead  to  find  the 
regiment.  He  found  and  reported  to  Colonel 
Frost  after  the  skirmish  line  liad  been  thrown 
out  for  the  night  at  about  nine  o'clock.  The 
wagon  train  had  lost  its  way  in  the  jungle  and 
had  not  arrived  with  reserve  supplies  of  ammu- 
nition and  rations,  and  on  hearing  this  Howard 
volunteered  to  go  hack  and  find  Ihom.     He  left 


3/6 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


the  line  about  ten  o'clock  and  rode  until  two 
o'clock  before  locating  the  wagon  train,  which 
had  lost  the  road  and  had  finall}-  gone  into  camp 
in  the  woods.  He  aroused  Captain  Burdick,  who 
soon  had  the  wagons  under  way.  and  the  re- 
serve supplies  were  brought  up  to  the  line  in 
time  for  distribution  early  in  the  morning.  How- 
ard then  returned  to  his  command  and  after  an 
hour's  sleep  started  on  with  his  battalion  and  re- 
joined the   regiment. 

The  losses  during  the  day  were,  wounded : 
Captain  C.  H.  Englesby,  Company  H  ;  Privates 
Fred  W.  Barber  and  Warren  E.  Crozier,  of  Com- 
pany I ;  Sergeant  Hiram  A.  Pratt,  Company  F ; 
Private  Fred  C.  Lorencen,  Company  L;  Arti- 
ficer Arne  Hanges,  Company  K ;  Private  George 
Bensen,  Company  C ;  Private  Allen  Myers,  Com- 
pany L ;  Byron  F.  Hastings,  of  Company  E. 

The  morning  of  March  27th  opened  bright 
and  clear,  like  nearly  all  mornings  in  the  tropics 
during  the  dry  season.  It  was  to  be  the  hardest 
struggle  of  the  war,  for  the  South  Dakotans 
and  the  whole  state  was  to  be  cast  in  gloom  be- 
cause of  brave  lives  sacrificed,  while  the  whole 
nation  was  to  pay  tribute  to  South  Dakota's 
valor  and  discipline.  It  was  the  only  battle  of  the 
war  where  the  newspaper  representatives  saw 
the  South  Dakotans  in  battle,  and  therefore  the 
only  battle  in  which  Colonel  Frost's  regiment  re- 
ceived the  notice  in  the  public  press  it  deserved. 
While  certain  volunteer  regiments  had  received 
press  compliments,  some  of  them  deserved  and 
many  of  them  so  ridiculously  false  that  they  be- 
came the  laughing  stock  of  the  regiments  who 
knew  the  facts,  the  South  Dakotans  and  Ne- 
braskans  were  doing  the  fighting  and  sustaining 
the  losses  without  mention  in  the  newspajiers, 
except  to  give  their  surprisingly  large  li;ts  of 
dead   and   wounded. 

The  South  Dakotans  were  up  and  had  their 
breakfasts  before  daylight  and  were  ready  fot 
action.  Colonel  Frost  was  ordered  to  form  them 
for  an  advance  guard  for  -the  brigade.  The  Sec- 
ond Battalion,  under  command  of  Major  How- 
ard, was  advanced  to  the  firing  line ;  the  First 
Battalion,  under  Colonel  Stover,  was  formed 
five   hundred   vanls  in   the   rear,   and   the    Third 


Battalion,  under  ^lajor  Allison,  was  formed  five 
hundred  yards  in  the  rear  of  Stover.  The  bri- 
gade commander  informed  Colonel  Frost  that  he 
might  meet  the  enemy  and  that  he  believed  the 
danger  was  on  the  right  and  to  dispose  of  his 
force  accordingly.  Stover's  force  was  placed 
in  echelon  behind  the  firing  line,  while  the  re- 
serve, under  Allison,  was  echeloned  behind 
Stover's  force.  This  disposition  made.  Colonel 
Frost  informed  General  Hale  he  was  ready  to 
move.  The  Colonel  was  satisfied  and  went  to 
the  rear,  but  soon  returned  and  directed  that 
Colonel  Stover's  force  be  placed  in  a  column  of 
fours  on  the  railroad,  which  was  done.  General 
McArthur  then  rode  up  and  told  Colonel  Frost 
he  was  to  move  on  the  further  line  of  trees  which 
marked  Marilao,  and  if  no  opposition  was  en- 
countered he  was  to  halt,  but  if  his  advance  wa.% 
opposed  he  was  to  use  discretion. 

Colonel  Frost  ordered  the  musician  to  sound 
"Forward,  march,"  and  the  line  advanced,  the 
left  moving  along  the  railroad  embankment,  with 
the  Third  Artillery  deployed  on  the  left  of  the 
track  with  orders  to  support  the  South  Dakotas. 
The  line  moved  forward  about  eight  hundred 
yards,  where  a  long  range  fire  was  opened  by  the 
enemy  on  the  left. 

The  men  were  halted  for  a  few  moments, 
while  the  fire  was  replied  to  by  the  artillery.  Not 
considering  the  fire  of  much  consequence.  Col- 
onel Frost  ordered  an  advance.  He,  Adjutant 
Lien  and  Colonel  Frost's  orderly.  Private  Syver- 
son,  were  on  horseback  and  had  just  crossed  a 
dry  run,  when  they  received  a  terrific  fire  from 
the  line  of  trees  which  had  been  indicated  by 
General  McArthur  as  probably  concealing  the 
enemy.  The  firing  of  the  Filipinos  was  b}-  volley 
and.  as  was  afterward  learned,  came  from  Agui- 
naldo's  "regulars,"  men  who  had  served  under 
the  Spanish  flag  and  had  been  drilled  by  Spanish 
officers.  Colonel  Frost  ordered  his  men  to  lie 
down  and  wait  for  the  mountain  artillery  to  open 
fire  from  the  railroad  track.  Looking  to  the  left 
of  the  track,  he  saw  the  artillery  had  been  de- 
serted and  he  decided  at  once  that  infantry  must 
carry  the  enemy's  position.  He  ordered  Adju- 
tant Lien  to  hurrv  back  to  Stover  and  .A.llison 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


377 


and  order  them  to  deploy  their  battalions  to  the 
right.  The  gallant  young  adjutant  turned  his 
horse  and  galloped  over  the  field  amid  a  perfect 
hurricane  of  bullets.  He  soon  saw  that  Stover 
and  Allison  were  hurrying  their  men  in  posi- 
tion as  Colonel  Frost  desired.  Waving  his  hand 
in  approval,  he  turned  his  horse  and  started 
on  the  run  to  Colonel  Frost's  position.  He  had 
just  passed  where  Major  Warne  and  the  hospital 
corps  were  coming  up  when  his  horse,  a  small 
island  pony,  gave  out  and  could  go  no  further. 
Leaping  to  the  ground,  Lieutenant  Lien  at- 
tempted to  lead  his  horse,  but  the  pony  refused 
to  move.  He  then  called  to  one  of  the  hospital 
men,  "Give  my  horse  a  kick  and  send  him  on 
when  he  gets  rested,"  and  turned  and  ran  toward 
where  Colonel  Frost  was  fighting.  He  had  not 
gone  more  than  twenty  yards  when  he  fell,  shot 
through  the  bowels  by  a  Mauser  bullet.  Chaplain 
Daley,  who  was  near,  hurried  to  him  and  spoke 
a  few  words,  but  the  young  hero  was  too  near 
death  to  reply.  In  about  eight  minutes  from 
the  time  he  was  hit  he  was  dead.  He  had  just 
been  promoted  to  the  rank  of  captain,  though 
his  coinmission  had  not  yet  reached  him.  He 
was  brave  to  rashness,  generous  to  a  fault,  well 
educated,  gifted  both  as  an  orator  and  writer, 
and  easily  the  idol  of  the  regiment.  He  was 
just  twenty-four  years  old  when  he  was  killed. 

Colonel  Frost  ordered  Musician  Allen  to 
sound  "Forward,  march."  The  men  ran  forward 
about  fifty  yards  and  dropped  to  the  ground  to 
fire.  Colonel  Frost  ordered  Allen  to  blow 
"cease  firing"  and  "forward  march."  The  men 
obeyed  with  automatic  discipline,  although  the 
fire  from  the  enemy's  trenches  was  rapid  and 
fatal,  many  of  the  volunteers  falling,  killed  or 
wounded,  as  the  men  advanced.  The  line  would 
march  forward  in  quick  time  for  from  fifty  to 
one  hundred  yards  and  would  then  fall  down 
and  fire.  At  about  twenty-five  yards  from  the 
trenches  Colonel  Frost  saw  some  Filipinos  run 
from  the  trenches  and  he  immediately  ordered 
Musician  Allen  to  blow  a  charge.  The  whole 
battalion  responded  gallantly.  When  D  and  E 
companies  had  nearly  reached  the  river  it  could 


be  seen  that  the  enemy  had  deserted  the  trenches. 
These  companies  were  ordered  to  cross  the 
bridge  and  form  a  line  to  the  right  and  flank  the 
trenches  further  up  on  the  far  side  of  the  river, 
from  which  a  heavy  fire  came,  and  were  under 
the  personal  command  of  Colonel  Frost.  Com- 
panies M  and  H,  under  Major  Howard,  ad- 
vanced directly  on  the  river,  which  they  reached 
and  crossed,  driving  the  Filipinos  out  of  the  en- 
trenchments before  the  other  two  battalions  had 
time  to  reach  the  line.  The  First  and  Third  Bat- 
talions, under  Colonel  Stover  and  Major  Allison, 
especially  the  latter,  owing  to  the  distance  they 
occupied  behind  the  advance  guard,  had  a  larger 
distance  to  cover  in  double  time  in  order  to  reach 
the  line,  resulting  in  a  large  number  being  over- 
come with  the  heat,  among  whom  was  Major 
Allison.  It  was  thought  for  a  time  that  he  could 
not  recover,  but  finally  did  so  sufficiently  to  be 
sent  into  the  hospital  at  Manila,  and  from  this 
point  the  Third  Battalion  was  under  command 
of  Captain  Englesby,  of  Company  H. 

During  the  advance  the  Filijiinos  had  poured 
in  a  hot  fire  from  a  church  in  Marilao  on  the  left. 
When  the  Filipinos  saw  the  South  Dakotans 
coming,  wading  and  swimming  and  holding  their 
guns  above  the  water,  they  ran.  Colonel  Frost 
sent  Sergeant  Major  Beck  for  the  mountain 
howitzer,  which  had  been  brought  up  by  some 
Nebraskans  near  the  bridge.  Captain  VanHou- 
ten,  of  Company  D,  a  man  of  giant  strength  and 
courage  in  proportion,  saw  the  gun  on  the  wrong 
side  of  the  river  and  ran  to  the  men  in  charge 
and  asked  why  it  had  not  been  taken  across  the 
bridge.  The  lieutenant  explained  that  all  the 
bridge  was  burned  away  except  the  iron  girders 
and  that  the  men  could  not  carry  the  gun  across. 
The  South  Dakota  captain  was  angry  in  earnest. 
He  ordered  them  to  dismount  the  gun  and  help 
him  lift  it  upon  his  shoulders.  This  done  he  car- 
ried it  across  the  bridge,  while  some  of  the  men 
carried  the  carriage  over,  fixed  the  gun  in  posi- 
tion and  opened  fire  on  the  retreating  Filipinos 
with  destructive  ef?ect.  The  gun  was  heavy  and 
the  exertion  required  to  carry  it  across  the 
bridge  was  almost  superhuman.     The  strain  on 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Captain  A'anHouten  was  so  great  that  he  had  to 
keep  his  bed  for  two  months  and  he  died  from 
the  effects  in  1902. 

When  the  regiment  reached  the  trenches, 
which  the  FiHpinos  had  deserted,  the  men  were 
which  the  Filipinos  had  deserted,  the  men  were 
absohitely  exhausted,  many  of  them  overcome  by 
moved  in  a  cohimn  of  fours,  crossed  the  river  and 
deployed  on  the  right  of  the  South  Dakotans, 
both  regiments  lying  there  until  nearly  night, 
when  General  Hale  ordered  them  to  move  by  the 
left  flank.  While  General  Hale  and  Colonel 
Frost  were  talking,  they  suddenly  observed  the 
Filipinos  advancing  in  a  skirmish  line  and  open- 
ing fire  at  a  distance  of  about  two  thousand 
yards.  As  the  South  Dakotans  were  moving  to 
the  left  flank  the  Third  Artillery  opened  fire  on 
the  Filipinos,  after  which  the  Nebraskans 
charged,  driving  the  enemy  about  two  miles. 
IMajor  Howard  was  then  sent  out  with  six  com- 
panies to  establish  an  outpost  line  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  enemy,  so  the  balance  of  the  brigade 
could  have  what  rest  was  possible  on  the  open 
ground  without  being  disturbed  b\'  a  night  at- 
tack of  the  enemy.  The  Tenth  Pennsylvania 
was  brought  up  to  the  left  of  the  First  South 
Dakota  and  the  First  Nebraska  returned  and 
bivouacked  on  the  right,  which  brought  the 
brigade  into  line  together  again. 

The  First  South  Dakota  X'olunteers  lost  heav- 
ily during  the  day.  The  killed  were:  Adjutant 
Jonas  H.  Lien ;  Lieutenant  Sydney  E.  Morrison, 
Company  E;  Lieutenant  Frank  H.  Adams,  Com- 
pany H;  Privates  James  Nelson,  Company  D; 
Mathew  Ryan,  Company  D ;  Harvey  Keogh, 
Company  E;  Lewis  Chase,  Company  E.  The 
wounded  were :  Sergeant  Charles  B.  Preacher, 
Company  M  (died  from  wound)  ;  Benjamin 
Strobel,  Company  F:  John  Stanke,  Company  E; 
Sergeant  Sydney  J.  Connell,  Company  C;  Ray 
Washburn,  Company  D ;  Isaac  Johnson,  Com- 
pany D;  Sergeant  Ernest  Madden,  Company 
D;  Sergeant  Arthur  A.  Northrop,  Company  E; 
Musician  David  Elenes,  Company  M ;  Private 
Matt  Schuber,  Company  M :  Peter  J.  Tierney, 
Company  F ;  Fred  Bunger,  Company  L ;  William 
F.   Panke.  Company  E ;   Private   Homer  Stock- 


meyer,    Company    I ;    Peter   Ryan,    Company   E ; 
;   Will  May,  Company  I ;  George  A.  Moon,  Com- 
I  pany  C;   Corporal   Alexander  Hardy,   Company 
[  G  ;  Frank  A.  Schroeder,  Company  E ;  First  Lieu- 
I  tenant   Paul   D.    McClelland,    Company   I;   Cor- 
I  poral  William  Ammo,  Company  I ;  Private  Bay 
S.    Nichols,    Company    K;    Corporal    Frank    E. 
Wheeler,  Com])any  E ;  Charles  H.  Jackson,  Com- 
;  pany  AI ;  Guy  P.  Squire,  Company  F. 
{         As  two-thirds  of  the  casualties  were  from  the 
1   Second   Battalion,  some  idea  of  the  warmth  of 
!  the  engagement  may  be   formed.     The  percent- 
j  age  of  loss  of  this  battalion  in  this  engagement 
was  the  greatest  of  any  engagement  in  the  Phil- 
ippines  during  the  war. 

The  regiment  remained  in  Alarilao  during 
the  28th,  the  men  resting  and  washing  their 
clothes  and  bathing  themselves  in  the  river.  On 
the  morning  of  the  29th  they  started,  with  the 
Nebraskans,  moving  in  echelon  to  the  right, 
probably  five  minutes  in  advance  of  the  rest  of 
the  brigade.  The  Filipinos  had  flooded  the  rice 
fields,  so  that  the  volunteers  marched  nearly  two 
miles  through  mud  and  water  always  above 
their  knees,  and  often  above  their  hips.  A  heavy 
fire  was  expected  at  any  minute,  but  fortunately 
the  enemy  fired  only  a  few  shots.  On  crossing 
the  Santa  Cruz  river  a  battalion  of  Filipinos  was 
seen  withdrawing  in  good  order.  Colonel  Frost 
ordered  the  regiment  to  open  fire  and  the  enemy 
were  soon  scampering  away  in  thorough  dis- 
order. The  South  Dakotans  then  closed  in  on 
the  railroad  track  in  a  column  of  fours,  the  Tenth 
Pennsylvania  in  front  in  a  skirmish  line.  After 
passing  the  next  stream  the  South  Dakotans 
were  deployed  and  swept  over  a  country  about 
five  miles  and  returned  to  the  railroad  near  the 
Guiguinto  river.  While  near  the  bridge  the 
Filipinos  opened  a  heavy  fire  and  the  Pennsyl- 
vanians  deployed  and  replied.  Howard's  bat- 
talion crossed  the  river  under  fire  and  deployed 
on  the  right  of  the  Pennsylvanians.  Colonel  Frost 
received  an  order  from  General  Alc.-Xrthur  to 
take  the  remainder  of  the  South  Dakotans  and 
move  around  a  bend  in  the  river  and  try  to  lake 
the  enemy  in  flank.  The  General  soon  dis- 
covered that  such  a  move  was  not  practicable  and 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


recalled  Colonel  Frost.  The  two  battalions  then 
cro.ssed  the  bridge  and  formed  a  line  on  the  right 
of  Howard's  battalion.  About  dark  the  enemy's 
fire  ceased  and  the  troops  bivouacked  on  the 
battlefield. 

The  South  Dakota  losses  were :  Wounded. 
Privates  Knute  K.  Peterson,  John  W.  Ortman. 
John  P.  Rodgers  and  John  Donnelly,  of  Com- 
pany L;  Corporal  Oscar  E.  Johnson,  Company 
H  ;  Privates  Oscar  Fallen  and  Charles  E.  Theiss. 
of  Company  M ;  Sergeant  Frank  B.  Stevens  and 
Lewis  F.  Barber,  of  Company  C ;  Manuel  Rick- 
man,  of  Company  D. 

On  the  morning  of  the  30th  the  brigade 
moved  forward  from  Guiguinto  and  had  ad- 
vanced about  a  mile  when  it  received  a  lively  fire. 
The  force  pressed  on  until  it  received  orders  to 
halt  in  front  of  Santa  Isabel.  The  South  Da- 
kotans  deployed  to  right  of  Santa  Isabel,  when 
orders  came  that  the  artillery  would  open  fire, 
and  after  twenty  minutes  the  Nebraskans  would 
move  on  a  line  seven  degrees  west  of  north. 
After  five  minutes  more  the  South  Dakotans 
were  to  move  on  the  same  bearing  and  the  Tenth 
Pennsylvanians  were  to  follow  five  minutes  later. 
The  South  Dakotans  took  a  position  about 
twenty  paces  behind  the  Nebraskans  and 
marched  according  to  orders,  receiving  a  long 
range  fire  from  the  Filipinos  until  JMalolos  creek 
was  reached.  \Mien  there  the  Filipinos  could 
be  seen  drawn  up  in  battle  line  in  the  field  be- 
yond a  line  of  trees  fringing  the  further  bank 
of  the  creek.  The  regiment  fired  several  vol- 
leys into  the  enemy  and  moved  forward,  the 
Filipinos  running  to  the  railroad  embankment  on 
the  left  for  shelter.  On  reaching  the  railroad 
on  the  north  side  of  the  creek  the  South  Da- 
kotans were  to  wheel  to  the  left  while  the  Ne- 
braskans were  to  move  one-half  mile  further  and 
wheel  to  the  left  also.  The  advance  of  the  South 
Dakotans  was  so  rapid  that  they  crossed  before 
the  Nebraskans  and  opened  fire  when  the  rail- 
road embankment  was  reached.  Here  Colonel 
Frost  ordered  a  left  wheel,  frequently  halting  the 
men  to  fire.  The  Filipinos  poured  in  a  heavy 
fire,  but  were  too  badly  rattled  to  make  it  efifec- 
tive.     Thev  were  afraid  to  raise  their  heads  high 


enough  from  their  entrenchments  to  take  aim, 
and  resorted  to  the  futile  method  of  raising 
their  guns  above  the  entrenchments  and  firing  at 
random,  nearly  always  too  high.  Colonel  Frost 
swung  his  regiment  around  and  drove  the  en- 
emy from  their  trenches  to  the  woods.  As  the 
South  Dakotans  emerged  from  a  line  of  trees 
they  saw  the  Filipino  railroad  train  steaming  off 
toward  Calumpit. 

His  v/ork  accomplished,  Colonel  Frost  re- 
turned his  regiment  to  the  railroad  track,  where 
he  met  the  Nebraskans  coming  up  just  as  they 
were  about  to  execute  their  left  wheel.  Receiv- 
ing some  of  the  fire  from  the  enemy  further 
down  the  track.  Colonel  Frost  threw  his  regi- 
ment in  position  to  reply,  when  an  aide  came  up 
from  General  Hale  and  said  not  to  fire,  as  the 
Kansas  and  Montana  regiments  were  entering 
Malolos. 

Thus  ended  the  campaign  on  ]\Ialolos.  The 
regiment  went  into  camp  on  the  railroad,  near 
Malolos,  where  it  remained  for  twenty-four 
days.  The  battalions  were  sent  alternately  about 
one-half  mile  to  the  front  to  bivouac  as  outpost. 
The  men  were  compelled  to  sleep  on  the  ground 
with  their  clothes  on  and  be  ever  on  the  alert, 
the  Filipinos  firing  on  them  nightly.  During  the 
day  detachments  were  sent  out  frequently  to 
make  reconnoiance.  This  was  a  dangerous  kind 
of  duty  always,  yet  was  eagerly  sought  for  by 
the  officers  and  men,  and  scarcely  a  detachment 
went  out  without  having  a  brusli  with  the  en- 
em}'. 

April  nth  the  Minnesota  regiment  was  at- 
tacked at  Guiguinto  by  a  strong  force  of  Fili- 
pinos and  the  colonel  sent  an  urgent  appeal  to 
Brigadier  General  Hale  for  reinforcements. 
Hale  ordered  Frost  to  send  half  of  the  Firsi-  South 
Dakota.  Major  Howard  was  accordingly  dis- 
I  patched  with  six  companies,  but  arriving  too  late 
to  participate  in  the  fight.  The  next  time  the 
monotony  of  constantly  watching  an  annoying 
and  elusive  enemy  was  broken  was  Sunday, 
April  23d.  During  the  day  Major  Bell,  chief  of 
the  scouts,  went  out  with  a  force  to  make  a  re- 
connoisance.  At  Quingua,  about  six  miles  from 
Malolos,  he  was  attacked  bv  a  large  force  and 


38o 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


practically  surrounded  and  in  imminent  danger 
of  being  captured  or  cut  to  pieces.  He  sent  for 
reinforcements  and  the  Nebraskans  and  one  bat- 
talion of  the  lowans  were  hurried  forward.  Col- 
onel Stotsenberg,  of  the  Nebraskans,  had  just 
reached  the  field  with  the  men  when  he  ordered 
a  charge.  Before  he  had  gone  more  than  a  dozen 
yards  he  fell  with  a  bullet  through  his  heart.  His 
regiment  rushed  on  and  carried  the  enemy's 
trenches  in  gallant  style,  but  with  heavy  loss  to 
themselves.  The  Filipinos  retreated  to  the  far 
side  of  the  Bayolas  river,  where  they  had  more 
trenches  and  were  prepared  to  make  a  stubborn 
resistance.  About  five  o'clock  General  Hale  or- 
dered up  the  First  South  Dakota.  The  regiment 
reached  the  battlefield  about  dark  and  bivouaced 
behind  the  walls  of  a  large  church.  As  the  first 
streaks  of  dawn  appeared  in  the  heavens  the 
men  were  ordered  to  form  in  a  column  of  files 
and  marched  toward  the  Bayolas  river.  The 
first  file  halted  about  fifty  yards  from  a  bamboo 
foot  bridge,  the  Filipinos  opening  a  heavy  fire 
from  the  opposite  bank.  Brigadier  General  Hale 
ordered  two  pieces  of  artillery  in  position,  one 
near  the  bridge  and  the  other  about  one  hundred 
yards  down  the  river.  After  about  twenty  shots 
had  been  fired  from  the  two  pieces,  the  South 
Dakotans  were  ordered  to  advance.  Captain 
Brockway,  with  Company  F,  led  the  advance 
across  the  bridge,  expecting  to  meet  a  heavy  fire. 
But  the  enemy  had  evidently  been  demoralized 
by  the  artillery  fire  and  made  only  a  feeble  re- 
sistance. The  regiment  formed  a  skirmish  line 
and  advanced  a  half  mile  and  covered  the  cross- 
ing of  the  other  troops  and  trains. 

In  the  engagement  the  killed  were :  Corporal 
Oscar  E.  Johnson  and  Privates  Charles  Stultz 
and  Mortimer  Bowen,  of  Company  H ;  Privates 
Harlow  Dejean,  David  C.  Dean,  Company  L; 
James  A.  Lizer,  Company  K.  Wounded,  Cor- 
poral Charles  P.  Greene  and  Private  Hall  Weiss. 
Company  G;  Axal  Sjoblom,  Company  L:  Ser- 
geant Charles  L.  Butler,  Company  B. 

When  all  were  across  the  brigade  moved  for- 
ward, two  battalions  of  the  South  Dakotans  on 
the  right  and  one  in  support,  two  battalions  of 
the  Nebraskans  on  the  left  and  one  in  supjiort, 


and  the  Iowa  regiment  in  reserve  about  one  thou- 
sand yards  in  rear,  marching  in  a  column  of  fours 
in  the  road.  As  the  South  Dakotans  approached 
the  town  of  Pulilan  they  received  a  heavy  fire 
from  what  appeared  to  be  a  \'-shaped  trench,  or 
redan,  about  two  hundred  yards  in  front.  The 
men  dropped  to  the  ground  and  poured  in  several 
effective  volleys,  when  Colonel  Frost  ordered  an 
advance.  Just  as  the  men  were  starting,  the 
colonel  received  word  that  the  artillery  had  come 
up  and  would  open  fire,  and  therefore  ordered 
a  halt,  which  was  obeyed  by  all  except  Compa- 
nies H,  L  and  G,  under  command  of  Captain 
Englesby,  who  failed  to  hear  the  order.  These 
companies  charged  the  trenches  in  front  of  them 
and  rushed  to  the  top  of  the  earthworks  before 
the  Filipinos  had  time  to  retreat.  Officers  shot 
the  enemy  with  revolvers  and  the  privates  opened 
on  them  with  the  less  rapid,  but  more  deadly, 
rifles.  Thirty-eight  Filipinos  were  killed  and 
thirty-nine  rifles  were  captured  in  this  trench, 
the  latter  being  remarkable,  as  the  Filipinos  had 
in  nearly  all  cases  saved  their  rifles  from  cap- 
ture. It  was  a  gallant  charge  and  inflicted  a 
heavier  loss  on  the  enemy  than  was  known  to 
have  been  sustained  before,  except  in  a  few 
fights. 

After  a  few  shots  from  the  artillery,  the  First 
Battalion,  under  Lieutenant  Colonel  Stover,  was 
thrown  forward  and  the  entire  line  -swept 
through  the  village  and  then  wheeled  to  the  left 
and  moved  towards  Calumpit.  In  the  afternoon, 
when  within  four  miles  of  Calumpit,  a  dense 
jungle  was  encountered  through  which  as  manv 
as  two  companies  had  to  march  in  single  file  by 
winding  paths  to  reach  the  opposite  side.  There 
the  regiment  was  reformed,  the  lowas  coming  up 
on  right.  Just  as  the  line  reformed  the  Fili- 
pinos opened  fire  from  strong  trenches  about 
eight  hundred  yards  in  advance.  The  First  Bat- 
talion, under  Lieutenant  Colonel  Stover,  and  the 
Third,  under  Captain  Englesby,  were  ordered  to 
fall  to  the  ground  and  return  the  enemy's  fire. 
Colonel  Frost  ordered  pauses  in  the  fire  several 
times  in  order  that  he  might  judge  its  effect  upon 
the  enemy's  fire.  Finding  that  the  fire  from  the 
trenches  had  slackened,  he  ordered  the  two  bat- 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


381 


ta lions  to  charge.  The  men  advanced  over  the 
eight  hundred  yards  intervening,  firing  as  they 
went.  When  the  enemy's  trenches  were  reached 
they  had  been  abandoned  by  means  of  "get-a- 
way" trenches ;  eleven  dead  Filipinos  were  found. 
The  regiment  bivouacked  then  for  the  night,  hav- 
ing marched  and  fought  from  about  four  o'clock 
in  the  morning.  The  men  were  utterly  exhausted 
and  scarcely  able  to  get  supper.  The  Filipinos 
took  good  care  to  provide  for  safety  in  retreat. 
Leading  back  from  their  fortifications  to  the  jun- 
gle was  always  one  or  more  trenches  which 
would  protect  them  from  their  assailants'  fire  dur- 
ing retreat. 

Chaplain  Daley  came  up  with  a  big  batch  of 
mail  from  home.  The  boys  kindled  fires  along 
the  trenches  and  read  their  letters,  their  weari- 
ness disappearing  and  their  spirits  being  cheered 
by  the  messages  from  loved  ones  in  South  Da- 
kota. 

On  the  morning  of  April  25th  the  brigade 
moved  forward  with  the  South  Dakotans  in  the 
center,  the  lowans  on  the  right  and  the  Ne- 
braskans  on  the  left.  The  march  was  slow,  fre- 
quent changes  of  direction  being  made.  About 
noon  the  force  had  approached  within  several 
hundred  yards  of  the  Bagbag  river  and  received 
a  sharp  fire  from  the  enemy,  who  la}-  in  strong 
trenches  on  the  opposite  side.  In  fact,  it  was 
the  most  strongly  entrenched  position  encoun- 
tered during  the  entire  campaign,  the  Filipinos 
having  covered  their  trenches  with  railroad  irons 
and  curved  sections  of  boiler  iron.  There  was 
also  a  "get-a-way"  trench,  found  leading  from 
all  Filipino  entrenchments,  showing  that  they  ex- 
pected to  retreat  and  with  the  smallest  possible 
exposure.  General  Hale  found  the  river  unford- 
able  in  front  of  the  South  Dakotans  and  Colonel 
Frost  was  ordered  not  to  attempt  to  cross  it,  but 
to  move  his  regiment  forward  and  engage  the 
enemy  while  the  Nebraskans  found  a  ford  in 
order  to  cross  and  make  a  flank  attack.  Stover's 
and  Howard's  battalions  were  moved  in  skir- 
mish line  to  the  bank  of  the  river,  where  they  laid 
themselves  down  and  opened  fire  on  the  enemy's 
trenches  at  a  distance  of  not  more  than  seventy- 
five   yards.     Captain   Englesby,   with   the   Third 


Battalion,  was  held  in  reserve  about  four  hun- 
dred yards  in  the  rear,  though  in  a  position  much 
exposed  to  the  fire  of  the   Filipinos. 

As  the  battalion  approached  the  river  bank. 
Corporal  Breed,  of  Company  B,  who  was  almost 
directly  in  front  of  Colonel  Frost,  was  shot.  The 
Colonel  seeing  him  fall,  asked  him  if  he  was 
hurt  much,  and  was  raising  a  canteen  to  give 
him  a  drink  when  the  heroic  young  man  said, 
"It's  only  a  scratch.  Colonel,''  seized  his  gun  and 
ran  forward  to  the  first  clump  of  bushes  near 
the  river,  where  he  fell  again,  gasped  a  few  mo- 
ments and, died.  He  had  been  shot  through  the 
heart  and  the  display  of  vitality  was  of  the  most 
remarkable  on  record. 

The  South  Dakotans  lay  on  the  bank  under  a 
terrific  fire  from  the  Filipino  trenches,  which  was 
returned  with  a  will  until  word  was  received 
that  the  Nebraskans  had  ■  crossed  the  river  and 
were  about  to  attack  the  enemy  in  flank  and  that 
the  fire  must  cease.  It  was  some  time  before 
the  Nebraskans  began  to  move  and  the  Fili- 
pinos fire  was  poured  in  with  increased  accuracy. 
To  keep  the  rifles  silent  under  a  heavy  and  fatal 
fire  from  the  enemy  at  close  range  is  one  of  the 
hardest  duties  soldiers  are  ever  called  upon  to 
perform,  but  the  South  Dakotans  did  it. 

The  Nebraskans  attacked  after  the  South  Da- 
kotans had  been  lying  on  the  river  bank  under 
fire  for  more  than  an  hour  and  a  half,  and  were 
soon  seen  driving  the  Filipinos  from  their 
trenches  and  the  battle  was  over.  During  the 
battle  Lieutenant  Colonel  Stover,  who  had  con- 
ducted himself  with  the  utmost  gallantry 
throughout  the  entire  campaign,  was  overcome 
by  heat  and  was  disabled  until  j\Iay  6th,  when  he 
rejoined  the  regiment  at  San  Fernando.  During 
the  fight  at  the  Bagbag  river  there  were  many 
instances  of  gallantry.  Colonel  Frost  said  his 
point  of  observation  was  a  narrow  one,  but  that 
Captain  Sessions  and  Lieutenant  Hawkins,  of 
Company  B,  who  were  in  the  center  immediately 
in  front  of  him,  deserved  special  commendation 
for  the  coolness  they  displayed  in  exposing  them- 
selves through  the  action  and  in  keeping  their 
men  under  perfect  control,  and  that  Major  How- 
ard and  Lieutenant  Jennings  displav'ed  admirable 


382 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


nerve  in  coming  down  the  line  under  fire  to  where 
he  was  standing  to  ascertain  his  wishes.  He 
mentioned  these  instances  because  they  came  un- 
der his  immediate  observation. 

The  killed  were  Corporal  Henry  Breed,  Com- 
pany B,  and  Privates  Guy  Jones  and  Charles  E. 
Peterson,  of  Company  H.  The  wounded  were 
Lieutenant  Walter  S.  Doolittle.  of  Company  G; 
Sergeant  Oliver  C.  Lapp  and  Privates  Herbert 
A.  Putnam,  Charles  Wagner  and  William  H. 
Harrison,  of  Company  I ;  Corporal  Christ  Myhre 
and  Private  Thomas  H.  Coleman,  of  Company 
E;  Quartermaster  Sergeant  Antone  Jurich  and 
Private  James  H.  Davis,  Company  L;  Corporal 
William  K.  Reaman,  Company  F;  Sergeant  Ar- 
thur W.  Swenson  and  Corporal  Hammond  H. 
Buck  and  Privates  James  A.  Gibbs,  Robert  Haw- 
kins and  Frank  Goebel,  of  Company  B ;  Privates 
Rov  ,E.  Ranous  and  Don  J.  Ranous,  of  Company 
K." 

At  night,  after  the  battle,  the  regiment  moved 
by  the  left  flank  and  bivouacked  at  the  junction 
of  the  Juinga  and  Calumpit  rivers.  On  the 
morning  of  the  26th  the  regiment  crossed  the 
Calumpit  river  and  was  stationed  on  the  Ragbag 
river  to  the  rear,  the  right  resting  on  the  railroad 
track.  By  this  time  the  jNIontana  and  Kansas 
regiments  had  entered  Calumpit  and  the  Fili- 
pinos were  firing  at  them  from  trenches  north 
of  the  Quingua  and  Calumpit  rivers.  On  the 
passed  over  or  struck  the  ground  near  the  South 
Dakotans,  but  no  loss  was   suffered. 

General  McArthur,  having  encountered  less 
resistance  in  Calumpit  than  he  expected,  ordered 
Colonel  Frost  on  the  27th  to  hold  the  railroad 
bridge.  One  battalion  was  placed  on  the  north 
bank  and  the  other  two  battalions  on  the  south 
bank  and  the  regiment  remained  there  until  May 
2d,  when  it  formed  a  part  of  a  force  sent  out 
under  General  Hale  to  reinforce  General  Law- 
ton.  The  force  marched  to  PuHlan  where  the 
men  bivouacked  in  a  heavy  rainstorm  which 
drenched  everything  and  rendered  rest  impossi- 
ble. A  sick  Spaniard  was  found  there  who  said 
about  two  hundred  Filipinos  had  been  killed  at 
Pulilan  in  the  advance  of  April  24th.  "Why,"  he 
said,    "they    found    thirty-eight    dead   Filipinos 


in  one  trench."  He  referred  to  the  deadly  work 
done  by  Companies  H,  L  and  G  in  their  charge 
on  the  redan,  or  \'-shaped  trench,  where  thirty- 
eight  Filipinos  were  killed  in  the  trench  and  thir- 
ty-nine rifles  captured. 

During  the  night  General  Hale  received  word 
that  Lawton  was  not  in  need  of  reinforcements, 
and  when  morning  arrived  the  brigade  was 
marched  back  to  Calumpit,  and  the  South  Dako- 
tans bivouacked  north  of  the  Rio  Grande  de  la 
Pampauga  near  Apalit  Station  on  the  railroad. 
When  day  dawned  the  brigade  moved  forward  on 
Santo  Tomas,  the  South  Dakotans  in  reserve.  As 
the  brigade  neared  Santo  Tomas  river,  the  Iowa 
regiment  at  the  head  of  the  column  deployed  and 
moved  to  the  attack.  The  artillery  also  moved 
up  and  opened  fire.  After  a  sharp  interchange 
of  shots  the  Nebraskans  were  deployed  on  the 
right  of  the  lowas  and  moved  forward  in  their 
usual  intrepid  manner  to  the  attack.  After  the 
firing  had  been  kept  up  for  about  thirty  minutes, 
the  South  Dakotans  were  ordered  to  the  right  to 
protect  it  from  a  threatened  attack.  Here  came 
one  of  the  most  terrible  marches  of  the  war.  The 
men  had  been  exhausted  by  the  heat  and  bad 
water  and  long  marches  already  endured.  Ma- 
laria had  its  grip  on  most  of  the  men,  while 
many  in  the  ranks  were  weak  from  diarrhoea 
and  stomach  trouble.  Abrasions  on  the  skin, 
caused  by  marching  through  jungles  and  bogs, 
had  become  loathsome  sores,  covering  the  legs 
of  the  men  from  their  knees  down.  Hands,  arms, 
necks,  faces  and  heads  were  sore  wherever  a 
scratch  had  been  received.  In  this  weakened 
condition  the  men  marched  to  the  right,  as  or- 
dered, crossing  dense  swamps  and  wading  bogs 
and  streams,  where  the  water  and  mud  were  al- 
ways above  their  knees  and  often  above  their 
hips.  The  men  actually  pulled  themselves 
through  the  deep  mud,  step  at  a  time.  The 
swamp  grass  reached  above  their  heads  and  a 
vertical  sun  shot  down  its  unbearable  heat  upon 
the  sweltering,  suffering  men.  Many  of  them  fell 
down  in  the  mud  with  sunstroke,  others  stopped 
on  tufts  of  grass,  unable  to  drag  themselves 
longer.  After  about  a  mile  of  this  fearful  march, 
j   Colonel  Frost  saw  dry  ground  and  gathered  his 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


383 


exhausted  force  on  it.  Less  than  three  hundred 
men  of  all  the  regiment  had  got  through  the 
swamp.  A  small  force  of  Filipinos  were  seen 
about  a  mile  away  on  the  right,  but  the  men  were 
too  nearly  worn  out  to  attack.  Meanwhile  the 
Nebraskans  had  crossed  the  Santo  Thomas  river 
and  were  now  seen  driving  the  enemy  from  their 
trenches  and  the  fight  was  over. 

The  regiment  rested  for  about  two  hours  and 
then  moved  down  to  the  railroad  where  the  Iowa 
regiment  was  found  waiting.  The  river  was 
forded  and  the  South  Dakotans  ranged  them- 
selves on  the  right  of  the  Nebraskans  and  the 
brigade  marched  forward  about  a  mile,  the  First 
Battalion  marching  through  a  swamp  almost  as 
bad  as  that  on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  At  last 
bivouac  ground  was  reached  and  the  men  had 
to  hustle  for  themselves.  They  soon  had  fires 
and  Nipa  shelters,  eating  their  hard-tack  and 
drinking  their  coffee  with  some  comfort,  though 
they  were  compelled  to  sleep  on  the  ground  in 
line  of  battle,  while  rain  fell  in  torrents  nearly 
all  night.  The  morning  showed  three  hundred 
four  men  on  duty.  The  only  casualty  suffered 
from  Filipino  bullets  was  a  wound  received  by 
Private  Robert  J.  Van  Hook,  of  Company  K. 

The  Iowa  regiment  moved  up  and  entered 
San  Fernando  on  the  5th  without  opposition,  the 
South  Dakotans  entering  on  the  evening  of  the 
same  day  and  Colonel  Frost  was  appointed  pro- 
vost marshal.  San  Fernando  is  a  large  inland 
city  where  many  rich  Filipinos  had  made  their 
homes,  and  where  Aguinaldo  had  moved  his 
capital  after  he  was  driven  from  Malolos.  San 
Fernando  was  not  a  healthy  camp  and  the  ner- 
vous strain  on  the  men  and  officers  was  distress- 
mg.  The  Filipinos  formed  a  circle  half  around 
the  city  and  built  entrenchments  close  to  the 
American  lines,  from  which  they  kept  up  a  fire 
almost  continually  at  night  and  often  through  tho 
day.  The  sick  list  increased  at  a  fearful  rate 
until  nearly  all  the  men  in  the  regiment  were, 
unfit  for  duty.  Drs.  Warne  and  Cox  did  all  in 
their  power  to  alleviate  the  suffering  and  to  have 
the  regiment  relieved  from  active  duty  in  order 
to  allow  the  men  to  recuperate.  The  government 
was  not  suited  to  sick  and  debilitated  men.     It 


never  is.  In  order  to  supply  actual  necessities 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Stover,  who  returned  to  the 
regiment  May  9th,  opened  a  personal  account 
with  the  commissary  department  and  supplied  the 
sick  men  with  more  than  eight  hundred  dollars' 
worth  of  delicacies  necessary  to  their  condition. 
The  men  who  were  thus  favored  showed  their 
appreciation  by  reimbursing  their  benefactor  as 
quickly  as  pay  day  arrived. 

At  San  Fernando  the  services  of  the  South 
Dakotans  were  more  severe.  Worn  out,  and  sick 
as  they  were,  yet  they  discharged  their  duties 
well  until  they  were  nearly  all  on  the  sick  list, 
either  in  the  hospitals  or  in  quarters.  But  a 
time  came  when  even  the  sick  were  not  excused 
from  duty.  The  Filipinos  had  practically  sur- 
rounded San  Fernando  and  General  Otis  thought 
it  necessary  to  make  the  strongest  possible  show 
of  fighting  men.  The  army  surgeon  was  sent 
through  the  hospitals  at  Manila  to  examine  the 
inmates  and  send  those  able  for  duty  to  the 
front.  Regimental  surgeons  were  not  permitted 
to  assist  and  their  reports  and  advice  were  ig- 
nored. He  went  into  the  hospitals  and  had  all 
the  patients  in  each  ward,  who  could  stand  on 
their  feet,  ranged  before  him.  "What's  the 
matter  with  you,"  he  would  ask  each  one.  The 
answer  would  be  "malarial  fever,"  or  "chronic 
diarrhoea,"  "wounded  in  the  arm,"  or  whatever 
the  disability  might  be.  "Mark  him  for  duty" 
came  the  almost  invariable  response.  Hospital 
nurses  interposed  and  regimental  surgeons  pro- 
tested, but  unless  it  could  be  shown  that  the 
soldier  was  unable  to  work,  the  order  was 
carried  out.  Among  the  South  Dakotans  twen- 
ty-five were  found  whom  he  ordered  to  report 
to  their  regiments  at  San  Fernando.  C)ne  of  them 
had  an  unhealed  gunshot  wound  through  the 
lungs  and  another  had  a  gunshot  wound  through 
the  arm  and  shoulder  so  that  he  could  not  raise 
his  left  arm.  Both  of  these  men  were  peremp- 
torily ordered  to  report  for  duty.  Others  of  the 
hapless  twenty-five  were  worse  disabled  on  ac- 
count of  disease  than  these  two  men  were  from 
unhealed  wounds.  They  were  taken  by  train 
to  the  Bagbag  river,  the  railroad  bridge  across 
which  had  been  destroyed  l)y   Filipinos.     From 


384 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


there  they  walked  to  Calumpit,  a  distance  of  four 
miles  and,  utterly  exhausted,  could  go  no  farther. 
A  regular  army  surgeon  examined  them  there 
and  reported  by  wire  to  headquarters  that  none 
of  them  were  capable  of  doing  duty  and  that  it 
would  be  impossible  for  them  to  go  to  San  Fer- 
nando on  foot,  a  distance  of  ten  miles.  An  or- 
der was  wired  back  to  put  them  on  buffalo  carts 
and  send  them  on.  When  they  reached  San 
Fernando  most  of  them  were  scarcely  able  to  get 
off  the  carts  and  Dr.  Warne  immediately  ordered 
all  of  them  into  the  hospital  as  totally  unfit  for 
service. 

Other  regiments  had  outrages  perpetrated  on 
their  sick  similar  to  that  experienced  by  the 
South  Dakotans.  One  man  belonging  to  the 
Third  Artillery,  who  had  his  arm  broken  by  bul- 
lets in  two  places,  one  break  being  just  above  the 
elbow  and  the  other  near  the  shoulder,  was  or- 
dered to  the  front  by  the  same  surgeon  who  went 
through  the  South  Dakota  hospital.  The  bones 
had  not  yet  knit  and  the  flesh  was  unhealed.  He 
could  not  raise  a  gun,  much  less  discharge  one. 
He  was  one  of  the  bravest  officers  in  his  bat- 
tery and  tried  to  obey.  When  he  found  his  ph}-- 
sical  strength  unequal  to  the  requirements  he  re- 
fused to  obey,  for  which  he  was  ordered  court- 
martialed. 

From    May    5th,    when    San    Fernando    was 
taken,   the   Filipinos   harassed   the  outposts   and 
prevented  the  soldiers  from  resting  at  night,  but 
it  was  not  until  the  25th  that  an  engagement  of 
any    moment   occurred.      Captain    Hageman,    of 
Company  K,  was  in  charge  of  the  right  outpost 
when  he  saw  the  Filipinos  advancing  to  the  at- 
tack.    He   reported   the    fact   to   Colonel    Frost, 
who  hastily  assembled  the  regiment  and  formed 
a   skirmish   line  behind  the   fringe  of  the  trees 
fronting  the  enemy's  lines.     No  enemy  was  seen. 
General  Hale  came  up  and  made  a  reconnoisance 
and  saw  two  Filipino  officers  advancing  on  foot,  j 
On  the  right  the  General  saw  nothing  for  cer-  i 
tain,    but  said    he    believed  there    were    troops 
moving  through  the  jungle  about  four  hundred 
yards  away.     He  walked  up  the  road  about  fifty  | 
yards  beyond   the  outpost  and   came   to  a   turn   ! 
in   the   road   when   he   spied   two   Filipinos,   not  | 


more  than  two  hundred  yards  away,  who  in- 
stantly leveled  their  guns  and  fired.  He  return- 
ed to  the  outpost  and  Colonel  Frost  took  the  First 
and  Second  Battalions  and  attacked,  receiving 
a  heavy  fire  at  short  range.  Rushing  onward, 
the  skirmish  line  of  the  enemy  was  encountered 
and  many  of  them  were  riddled  with  bullets 
before  they  could  escape.  One  Filipino  was 
found  with  five  bullet  holes  through  his 
neck,  thirty  dead  Filipinos  were  found  and  two 
prisoners  were  taken.  The  regiment  advanced 
about  one  hundred  yards  further,  when  it  was 
ordered  by  General  Hale  to  halt  until  the  lowans 
came  upon  the  right.  During  the  wait  a  heavy 
fire  was  received,  killing  one  man  and  wound- 
ing three  others.  A  left  wheel  was  made  with 
a  view  to  punishing  the  enemy,  but  the  Fili- 
pinos were  too  spry  and  kept  out  of  range  of 
the   Springfield  rifles  of  the  volunteers. 

The  soldiers  were  returned  to  their  quarters 
about  dark  and  rested  until  about  3  :20  the  next 
morning,  when  the  outposts  were  attacked  again. 
The  regiment  was  quickly  assembled  and  moved 
into  position  where  it  waited  under  a  desultory 
fire  until  daylight,  when  General  Hale  came  out 
and  moved  the  First  and  Second  Battalions  to  the 
right  outpost,  leaving  the  Second  Battalion  front- 
ing a  sugar  mill,  where  the  enemy  were  supposed 
to  be  in  force.  The  enemy  waited  in  extended 
order  until  the  lowans  came  upon  the  right 
where  it  moved  forward  toward  the  sugar  mill, 
from  where  the  Filipinos  opened  fire.  Com- 
pany A  faced  left  and  returned  the  fire,  while 
the  other  companies  executed  a  left  wheel  and 
drove  the  enemy  from  the  mill,  killing  and 
wounding  several  of  them.  The  lowans  made 
a  circular  movement,  but  encountered  no  enemy. 
The  South  Dakotans  returned  to  quarters. 
having  fought  their  last  engagement  in  the 
Philippines. 

The  losses  sustained  were :  Killed.  Dan 
Colleran,  Company  G;  wounded.  First  Sergeant 
George  Barker,  Company  A :  Corporal  David 
Martindale,  Company  C;  Private  Edward 
Heald,  Company  D;  Corporal  Carl  iMcConnell, 
and  Privates  Bert  Kellet  and  James  Black. 
Company  G. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


385 


The  regiment  remained  on  an  outpost  until 
June  loth.  The  men  were  under  fire  ahnost 
every  night  and  the  nervous  strain  was  great. 
When  the  order  came  to  reheve  them  they  had 
been  on  the  firing  hne  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
six  days ;  most  of  the  time  being  compelled  to 
sleep  in  their  clothes  and  much  of  the  time 
having  only  the  muddy,  poisonous  earth  for  a 
bed.  There  was  not  more  than  an  average  of 
eight  men  to  a  company  capable  of  doing  duty. 
When  the  record  was  shown  General  McArthur, 
he  said  to  Dr.  Boyd :  "The  record  of  the  South 
Dakota  regiment  in  the  Philippines  has  no 
parallel  in  military  history,  so  far  as  I  know." 

The  regiment,  under  orders,  returned  to 
i\Ianilla  on  June  loth  for  recuperation,  where 
they  were  located  at  Camp  Santa  Mesa  until 
June  23d,  when  they  were  again  ordered  out 
to  assist  in  guarding  the  lines  around  Manilla. 
The  First  and  Third  Battalions,  under  Colonel 
Frost,  were  stationed  near  San  Francisco  Del 
Monte,  guarding  the  line  from  Baligbalig  to 
the  sunken  church  near  La  Loma,  the  Second 
Battalion,  under  Major  Howard,  relieving  a 
battalion  of  the  Twenty-first  Infantry  in  guard- 
ing the  line  between  the  Pasig  river  and  the 
Deposito.  On  August  5th  the  regiment  was 
relieved  by  the  Twenty-fifth  United  States  In- 
fantry and  sent  into  quarters  at  Manilla,  and  on 
August  loth  received  their  final  orders  to  take 
transports  and  were  embarked  on  the  "Sheri- 
dan," which  left  Manilla  on  August  12th, 
arriving  in  San  Francisco  in  September,  1899, 
at  which  point  the  regiment  was  mustered  out 
of  the  United   States  service. 

The  return  of  the  First  Regiment  was  a 
source  of  great  rejoicing  to  the  people  of  South 
Dakota,  whose  pride  in  its  achievements  was 
unbounded.  The  congressional  delegation,  many 
of  the  state  officers  and  citizens  met  the  regi- 
ment at  San  Francisco  and  gave  them  a  hearty 
welcome,  there  and  at  home  funds  were  collected 
and  the  expense  of  reaching  their  home  was 
paid  and  afterward  assumed  by  the  state.  The 
trip  home  was  made  by  way  of  the  Northern 
Pacific  to  Jamestown,  and  thence  down  the 
James  valley.  President  McKinley  so  timed 
his  western  tour  as  to  be  at  Aber<iecn  to  welcome 


the  South  Dakotans  upon  their  arrival  on  the 
morning  of  October  14th,  and  at  every  town 
and  hamlet  through  which  they  passed,  they 
were  given  an  ovation.  Again  at  Yankton  that 
evening,  the  President  met  them  and  the  occasion 
will  ever  stand  out  as  a  red  letter  day  in  the 
history  of  the  State. 

grigsby's  cowboys. 

In  addition  to  the  First  Regiment  South 
Dakota  also  furnished  five  troops  of  cavalry, 
officially  known  as  the  Third  Regiment  of 
the  United  States  Volunteer  Cavalry,  but 
popularly  designated  Grigsby's  Cowboys. 
The  regiment  was  recruited  under  a 
special  commission  issued  to  Colonel  Melvin 
Grigsby,  of  Sioux  Falls,  who  was  made  com- 
mander of  the  brigade,  with  the  pay  of  a  brig- 
adier general.  The  officers  of  the  regiment 
were :  Melvin  Grigsby,  colonel ;  Charles  F. 
Lloyd,  lieutenant  colonel ;  Robert  W.  Stewart, 
of  Pierre,  major;  Otto  L.  Sues,  of  Sioux  Falls, 
adjutant;  Ralph  W.  Parliman,  of  Sioux  Falls, 
quartermaster;  Colon  S.  Clevenger,  of  Pierre, 
chaplain;  Troop  A,  Deadwood — Seth  Bullock, 
captain;  Myron  E.  Wells  and  James  E.  Cusick, 
lieutenants ;  Troop  B,  Sioux  Falls — John  Foster, 
captain ;  George  Grigsby  and  John  N.  Wright, 
lieutenants.  Troop  C,  Belle  Fourche — George 
E.  Haire,  captain;  Rush  Spencer  Wells  and 
Almond  B.  Wells,  lieutenants.  Troop  D,  Sturgis 
— John  E.  Hammon,  captain;  Daniel  F.  Conner 
and  Walter  L.  Anderson,  lieutenants.  Troop 
E,  Pierre — Joseph  B.  Binder,  captain ;  John  W. 
Laughlin    and    Lowell     G.     Fuller,     lieutenants. 

The  regiment  was  ordered  to  the  camp  at 
Chickamauga,  where  it  was  held  until  the  close 
of  the  war  and  therefore  did  not  see  active  ser- 
vice before  the  enemy. 

Mark  W.  Sheafe,  of  Watertown,  was  ap- 
pointed a  brigadier  general  of  volunteers,  by  the 
President,  but  the  war  closed  before  be  was 
given   active  service. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  a  large  number 
of  patriotic  South  Dakotans,  failing  to  get  into 
the  state  organizations,  went  out  of  the  state  and 
joined  other  regiments  and  did  praiseworth\' 
service,  both  in  Cuba  and  the  Philippines. 


CHAPTER  LXXI 


CIVIL  AFFAIRS  OF 


AND  1899. 


\Miile  the  war  occupied  the  thoughts  of  the 
people  of  South  Dakota  during  the  exciting 
period,  but  relatively  a  very  few  persons  could 
in  any  way  engage  in  its  activities  apd  the  great 
mass  went  on  with  their  affairs  as  usual,  plant- 
ing a  large  crop  which  yielded  a  bountiful  har- 
vest and  sold  for  a  satisfactory  price.  Live  stock 
and  dairy  interests  expanded,  trade  was  pros- 
perous, building  was  revived  and  the  story  began 
to  gain  credence  out  in  the  world  that  South 
Dakota  was  prospering.  Above  everything  be- 
side, the  South  Dakotan  began  to  exhibit  pride 
in  his  state.  He  no  longer  hung  his  head  when 
asked  whence  he  came.  Politically  it  was  an 
active  year.  With  the  first  of  March,  by  the  ex- 
piration of  the  terms  of  two  members  of  the 
board  of  charities,  Governor  Lee  secured  control 
of  the  charitable  and  reformatory  institutions 
and  the  Republican  incumbents  were  displaced  to 
make  room  for  the  political  adherents  of  the 
Populists  and  Democrats.  In  place  of  Dr. 
Leonard  C.  Mead,  of  the  insane  asylum,  Dr. 
Valdimar  Sebiakin-Ross  was  established  as 
superintendent.  Nye  Phillips,  warden  of  the 
penitentiary,  made  way  for  John  Bowler,  and 
Ccphus  \V.  Ainsworth,  of  the  reform  school, 
was    succeeded   by    William    H.    Tompkins. 

The  first  political  convention  was  held  b\'  the 
fusionists  at  Aberdeen  and  Governor  Lee  and 
Congressmen  Kelly  and  Knowles  were  re- 
nominated without  opposition.  The  Republicans 
met  at  Mitchell  and  selected  Kirk  G.  Phillips 
for  governor  and  Robert  T-  Gamble  and  Charles 


H.  Burke  for  congress.  At  the  end  of  a  vigor- 
ous campaign  Governor  Lee  was  re-elected, 
but  the  Republicans  secured  the  congressmen,  the 
entire  state  ticket  and  the  legislature.  The 
average  Republican  majority  was  about  six  thou- 
sand, but  Governor  Lee  had  three  hundred  and 
twenty-five  votes  more  than  Mr.  Phillips.  The 
woman's  suffrage  amendment  to  the  constitution, 
failed  by  three  thousand,  two  hundred  and 
eighty-five  votes,  but  the  initiative  and  referen- 
dum carried  by  seven  thousand  three  hundred 
and  thirty-three  and  the  dispensary  by  one  thou- 
sand four  hundred  fifteen. 

On  June  8th  the  Presbyterians  determined  to 
consolidate  the  Pierre  University  and  the  Scotland 
Academy,  at  Huron,  as  Huron  College,  and  that 
institution  dates  from  the  action  mentioned. 

On  October  14th  an  earthquake  shock  dis- 
turbed the  southern  part  of  the  state,  no  damage 
resulting. 

Ex-Governor  Andrew  J.  Faulk  died  at  his 
home  in  Yankton  on  September  5th.  He  was 
the  third  governor  of  the  territory,  serving 
from  1865  to  1869,  and  left  an  excellent  record 
both  as  an  official  and  as  a  citizen.  He  was  a 
gentleman  of  the  old  school,  thoughtful,  gra- 
cious and  entertaining.  He  was  a  native  of 
Kittanning,  Pennsylvania,  and  had  attained  the 
age  of  eighty-five  years. 

On  October  20th  Governor  Charles  H. 
Sheldon,  while  upon  a  speechmaking  political 
campaign  in  the  Black  Hills,  died  at  Dead- 
wood,   after   a  brief  illness.     Governor   Sheldon 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


387 


served  from  1893  to  1897.  He  possessed  a 
highly  developed  gift  as  a  public  speaker  and 
great  popularity  as  an  official  and  strove  to  give 
the  state  a  safe  and  economical  administration 
through  the  trying  years  of  panic,  drought  and 
during  which  the  Taylor  defalcation  so  seriously 
embarrassed  the  state.  He  was  a  native  of  Ver- 
mont and  was  fifty-eight  years  of  age  at  his 
death. 

1899  was  another  year  of  growth  and  pros- 
perity for  South  Dakota;  crops  were  abundant, 
herds  increased,  prices  good,  business  satis- 
factory and  building  operations  carried  forward 
with  greater  vim  than  since  the  old  days  of  the 
boom.  There  was  a  marked  revival  of  immigra- 
tion and  a  decided  growth  of  public  spirit  and 
state  pride.  The  legislature  met  in  January  and 
organized  with  A.  G.  Somers,  of  Grant  county, 
as  speaker.  There  were  no  great  matters  of 
party  policy  involved  in  the  session.  The  chief 
matters  under  consideration  were  the  dispen- 
sary amendment  to  the  constitution  and  the  ref- 
erendum. It  was  incumbent  upon  the  legis- 
lature to  enact  laws  to  make  these  amendments 
operative.  The  amendment  vested  the  manu- 
facture and  sale  absolutely  in  the  state  and  to 
carry  out  this  provision  meant  the  expenditure 
of  large  sums  of  money,  beyond  the  constitu- 
tional power  of  the  state  to  supply.  After  a 
thorough  investigation  of  the  situation  the 
legislature  resolved  to  resubmit  the  provision 
to  the  people  and  meantime  to  permit  the  state 
to  continue  under  the  high  license  law.  A  care- 
ful law  was  enacted  for  the  operation  of  the 
initiative    and    referendum    amendment. 

President  McKinley  appointed  Judge  Bart- 
lett  Tripp  the  American  member  of  the  Samoan 
high  joint  commission,  which  adjusted  the  titles 
of  the  United  States,  England  and  Germany  to 
the  Samoan  islands. 

The  proposition  to  engraft  the  initiative  and 
referendum  upon  the  constitution  of  the  state 
originated  with  Father  Robert  W.  Haire,  a 
Catholic  clergyman  of  Aberdeen,  who  ten  years 
previous  began  to  agitate  for  it  under  the  name 


of  the  people's  legislature.  At  that  time  he  was 
not  aware  of  the  Swiss  method,  but  his  attention 
being  called  to  it,  he  adopted  the  names  of  initi- 
ative and  referendum.  In  practice  it  has  un- 
doubtedly exercised  a  salutar\'  negative  influence, 
but  it  has  never  been  invoked  to  the  initiation  of, 
or  submission  of  a  law  to  the  people. 

While  this  session  was  in  progress  one  of 
the  dormitories  of  the  State  Insane  Asylum  at 
Yankton  burned,  and  with  it  seventeen  inmates 
lost  their  lives.  This  accident  aroused  the  legis- 
lature to  action  and  large  appropriations  were 
made  for  additional  buildings,  improvements  and 
maintenance  of  the  asylum.  The  Northern 
Normal  and  Industrial  School  was  located  at 
Aberdeen  by  this  session  and  an  appropriation 
was  made  for  the  maintenance  of  the  blind  school 
at  Gary. 

Several  notable  deaths  occurred  this  year. 
Robert  Lowry,  of  Huron,  one  of  the  grand  old 
men  of  the  state,  who  had  served  as  the  first 
register  of  the  Huron  land  office,  died  April  i6th. 
Mr.  Lowry  was  a  member  of  the  last  territorial 
legislature  and  had  the  distinction  of,  in  his 
youth,  serving  as  a  member  of  the  national  con- 
vention, which  in  1840  placed  William  Henry 
Harrison  in  nomination  for  president. 

On  April  20th  Peter  C.  Shannon,  chief 
justice  of  Dakota  from  1873  to  1881,  was  killed 
by  falling  from  a  carriage  at  San  Diego,  Cali- 
fornia. He  was  a  strong  man,  and  had  left  a 
splendid  record  as  a  jurist  and  citizen.  He 
was  a  close  personal  friend  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 
Judge  Shannon  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in 
1821. 

Junius  W.  Shannon,  president  of  the  regents 
of  education  from  1863  to  1896,  and  for  many 
years  editor  of  the  Huronite,  died  April  27th. 
He  was  a  native  of  Illinois  and  at  his  death  was 
sixty-five  years  of  age. 

The  judicial  election  ocurred  in  the  autunui 
of  1899  ^"<^'  Howard  G.  Fuller,  Dick  Haney  and 
Dighton  Corson  were  re-elected  over  Julien 
Bennett,  Cornelius  B.  Kennedy  and  Edmund 
Smith,  fusionists. 


CHAPTER  LXXI 


THE  END  OF  THE  CENTURY. 


The  year  1900  found  South  Dakota  making 
great  forward  strides.  The  people  were  awake 
to  their  opportunities.  Several  j-ears,  in  which 
every  citizen  was  pocketing  more  new  wealth 
than  were  the  people  of  any  other  community 
anywhere,  were  having-  marked  effect.  Debts 
which  but  recently  had  appeared  insuperable 
were  wiped  out  like  magit.  The  Dakotans  were 
coming  to  their  own.  The  products  of  the  farms 
and  pastures  were  becoming  enormous.  The 
gold  mines  were  doubling  in  the  output  of  bul- 
lion. The  flow  and  thrill  of  prosperity  was  felt 
on  every  hand. 

The  people  were  becoming  ambitious.  The 
previous  year  they  had  reached  out  and  brought 
to  Sioux  Falls  the  national  convention  of  butter 
makers.  A  vast  concourse  of  experts  in  one  of 
the  leading  industries  and  the  hospitality  be- 
stowed upon  them  had  carried  the  fame  of  South 
Dakota  throughout  the  land.  This  success  whet- 
ted the  appetite  for  other  similar  victories.  When 
the  national  committee  of  the  Populist  party  as- 
sembled to  determine  the  time  and  place  of  the 
national  convention  to  nominate  candidates  for 
president  and  vice-president,  South  Dakota  was 
on  hand  and,  in  spite  of  the  derisive  smiles  of 
the  big  convention  cities,  actually  landed  the 
prize,  and  the  convention  met  at  Sioux  Falls  on 
May  9th  and  there  placed  j\Ir.  Bryan  in  nomi- 
nation. It  was  a  great  meeting  of  all  the  strong 
and  representative  men  of  the  party  from  every 
state,  and  Sioux  Falls  splendidly  entertained 
them. 


On  the  23d  of  May  the  Republican  state  con- 
vention met  at  Sioux  Falls,  and  elected  delegates 
to  the  national  convention  and  placed  in  nomina- 
tion a  full  list  of  state  officers.  Charles  N.  Her- 
reid  received  the  unanimous  nomination  for  gov- 
I  ernor,  as  did  Charles  H.  Burke  and  Eben  W. 
Martin  for  congress.  The  Republicans,  now 
thoroughly  aroused  in  opposition  to  Senator  Pet- 
tigrew.  due  to  his  conduct  in  the  previous  presi- 
dential campaign,  were  determined  to  prevent 
his  return  to  the  senate  by  the  next  legislature. 
Emiel  Brouch,  George  Rice,  Louis  L.  Lostetter, 
A.  H.  Betts,  Charles  B.  Collins,  Marcus  P. 
Beebe,  James  Halley  and  Granville  G.  Bennett 
were  sent  to  the  national  convention  at  Phila- 
delphia. The  management  of  the  campaign  was 
entrusted  to  Frank  Crane. 

The  Democrats  met  at  Chamberlain  June  6th 
and  sent  to  the  Kansas  City  convention  George 
W.  Mathews,  Stephen  Donohue,  Steven  Keenen, 
Thomas  W.  Taubman,  True  W.  Childs,  John  J. 
Conway  and  Charles  S.  Eastman  and  John  R. 
Wilson. 

The  Democrats  and  Populists  fused  at  Yank- 
ton on  July  nth,  nominating  Burre  H.  Lien  for 
governor  and  Andrew  E.  Lee  and  Joseph  B. 
Moore  for  congress.  They  placed  their  cam- 
paign in  charge  of  John  Pusey  and  Don  INIed- 
bury. 

No  such  campaign  has  before  been  made. 
National  attention  was  called  to  the  fight  upon 
Senator  Pettigrew.  who  had  become  particularly 
obnoxious  to  the  President  and  Senator  Hannn. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


389 


and  both  parties  thronged  South  Dakota  with 
their  most  eminent  men.  United  States  sen- 
ators and  men  of  national  repute  were  nightl}- 
out  in  schoolhouses  all  over  South  Dakota.  Mr. 
Bryan  made  a  tour  through  the  state,  talking  to 
immense  audiences,  and  Mr.  Roosevelt,  vice- 
presidential  candidate,  and  Mr.  Hanna  at  differ- 
ent times  toured  the  state.  For  a  long  time  the 
chances  seemed  evenly  balanced,  but  toward  the 
end  the  Republican  advantage  became  apparent 
and  the  result  was  an  overwhelming  victory  for 
that  party,  the  average  majority  being  about  fif- 
teen thousand.  The  legislature  was  one  hundred 
and  seventeen  Republican  to  fifteen  fusion. 

The  railways  this  year  began  again  to  extend 
their  lines,  the  Milwaukee  building  one  hundred 
miles  from  Yankton  to  Platte  and  fifty  miles  from 
Bowdle  to  Evarts.  The  Northwestern  also  threw 
a  spur  into  the  state  at  Astoria. 

The  citizens  of  Watertown  this  year  erected 
in  honor  of  its  Company  H,  which  served  with 
great  distinction  with  the  First  Regiment,  a  fine 
monument,  which  stands  in  courthouse  square 
and  is  highly  creditable  to  the  patriotic  spirit  of 
the  people  of  the  place. 

On  the  30th  of  June  the  Cataract  Hotel,  at 
Sioux  Falls,  burned.  It  was  one  of  the  best 
known  hostelries  in  the  country.  Fortunately 
there  were  no  fatalities. 


Among  the  prominent  South  Dakotans  who 
died  during  this  year  were  Phil  K.  Faulk,  a 
brother  of  the  governor,  wdio  died  on  March 
27th.  Mr.  Faulk  was  a  lawyer  and  a  member 
of  the  first  state  legislature  and  held  many  offices 
at  Yankton.  He  lost  an  arm  in  the  battle  of  the 
Wilderness. 

Territorial  Governor  John  L.  Pennington 
died  on  July  9th.  He  was  governor  from  1874 
to  1878  and  left  an  enviable  record  for  honesty 
and  good  business  judgment  as  an  official. 

Father  Pierre  J.  Boucher,  the  first  Catholic 
priest  to  establish  himself  permanently  in  Da- 
kota and  build  a  church  there,  died  on  July  22d, 
at  the  age  of  eighty  years. 

Martin  Charger,  a  Christian  Indian,  claiming 
to  be  a  grandson  of  Captain  ]\Ierriweather 
Lewis,  and  famous  for  leading  the  "Fool  Soldier 
band"  of  young  Tetons  to  the  rescue  of  the 
Shetak  captives,  died  at  his  home  at  Cheyenne 
river  agency  on  August  27th,  fifty-nine  years 
of  age. 

On  August  25th  William  F.  T.  Bushnell.  of 
Aberdeen,  publisher  of  the  Dakota  Farmer  and 
a  founder  of  the  State  Agricultural  and  kindred 
societies  and  a  leader  in  the  temperance  move- 
ment, died  while  upon  a  vacation  to  Colorado. 
He  was  in  the  prime  of  life  and  one  of  South 
Dakota's  most  useful  citizens. 


CHAPTER  LXXI 


IN  THE  NEW  CENTURY, 


Just  a  hasty  review  of  the  events  of  the  last 
three  years,  for  it  is  too  early  to  write  the  his- 
tory of  these  later  days. 

The  legislature  elected  in  the  fall  of  1900 
convened  in  January  and  promptly  and  with  the 
unanimous  vote  of  the  Republicans  elected  Rob- 
ert J.  Gamble  as  the  successor  of  Senator  Petti- 
grew. 

Among  its  more  conspicuous  acts  were  the 
creation  of  the  office  of  food  and  dairy  commis- 
sioner, the  department  of  history  and  the  endow- 
ment of  the  Northern  Normal  and  Industrial 
School  at  Aberdeen.  New  buildings  were  pro- 
vided for  the  Agricultural  College,  University- 
Springfield  Normal,  Insane  Asylum,  School  for 
Feeble  Minded  and  Blind  School.  A  hot 
fight  for  the  submission  of  a  proposition 
to  remove  the  capital  to  Mitchell  failed 
in  the  senate,  having  passed  the  house. 
The  appropriations  for  the  biennial  period 
reached  the  sum  of  thirteen  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  an  indication  of  the  growth  of  the  state. 
The  legislature  established  the  department  of 
law  at  the  State  University.  It  also  provided  for 
the  revision  of  the  laws  and  Governor  Herreid 
selected  Bartlett  Tripp,  Gideon  C.  Moody  and 
James  M.  Brown  to  perform  this  duty. 

The  harvest  was  all  that  could  be  desired.  A 
prolonged  heated  spell  came  in  July  which  caused 
great  alarm,  but  the  crop  came  through  surpris- 
ingly well. 

A  great  impulse  was  given  to  the  boring  of 
artesian  wells  this  season  bv  new  methods.    Most 


of  the  new  wells  were  of  small  bore,  one  and  a 
lialf  to  two  inches. 

On  the  Fourth  of  July,  at  Deadwood,  a  cele- 
bration of  the  first  quarter  of  a  century  of  Black 
Hills  settlement  was  arranged. 

During  this  season  the  Sault  Railway  ex- 
tended its  line  into  the  northern  portion  of  Camp- 
bell county,  and  the  towns  of  Herreid.  Artas 
and  Pollock  were  founded. 

The  National  Farmers'  Congress  assembled 
in  Sioux  Falls  the  first  week  of  October. 

Hanson  county's  fine  courthouse  burned  on 
October  5th. 

Gov.  Gilbert  A.  Pierce  died  on  February 
15th,  aged  sixty-five  years.  He  never  resided 
in  South  Dakota,  but  was  governor  of  Dakota 
territory  from  July  i,  1884,  to  February  i,  1887. 
He  was  a  capable,  clean  man  and  a  good  officer. 

Annie  D.  Tallent,  the  first  white  woman  to 
enter  the  Black  Hills,  and  the  author  of  an  in- 
teresting history  of  that  section  of  the  state,  died 
on  February  17th. 

On  July  I  St  Senator  James  H.  Kyle  died  at 
his  home  in  Aberdeen.  He  was  forty-seven 
years  of  age.  Governor  Herreid,  on  July  gth. 
appointed  Senator  Alfred  B.  Kittredge  to  the 
vacancy. 

1 901  was  another  good  year  in  South  Da- 
kota history. 

1902  was  uneventful  in  every  way.  It  was 
remarkable  only  as  an  exceedingly  cold  season, 
frost  falling  every  month  except  July.  A  killing 
frost  fell  on  the  21st  of  Tune  and  again  on  the 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


391 


13th  of  August.  Wheat  proved  an  excellent 
crop,  but  corn  was  of  little  value.  Nevertheless, 
the  aggregate  value  of  the  year's  productions 
were  greater  than  in  any  prior  year.  There  was 
a  vast  deal  of  building  and  the  demand  for  land 
approached  the  boom  stage.  \"alues  were  greatly 
appreciated  during  the  year  and  the  sales  were 
enormous. 

Governor  Herreid  and  Congressmen  Burke 
and  Martin  were  re-elected  by  vastly  increased 
majorities  and  the  legislature  contained  but 
twelve  Democratic  members.  The  Populist 
party  disappeared  in  this  campaign. 

On  December  17th  the  Northern  Normal 
School  building  at  Aberdeen,  then  nearing  com- 
]iletion,  was  burned.  It  was  immediately  rebuilt. 

John  L.  Pyle,  attorney  general  of  South  Da- 
kota, died  February  21st.  He  was  in  the  best 
sense  a  self-made  man,  a  native  of  Ohio,  forty- 
two  years  of  age. 

On  March  ist  L.  C.  Taylor,  state  auditor 
from  statehood  until  1903,  died  from  apoplexy 
at  his  office  in  Alexandria.  He  was  in  his  fifty- 
fifth  yeai". 

1903  was  still  an  improvement  upon  its  pred- 
ecessor in  the  value  of  the  state's  productions. 
Crops  of  all  kinds  were  excellent  and  the  pros- 
perity of  the  people  continued  without  abate- 
ment. The  legislature  re-elected  Senator  Kitt- 
redge  by  a  unanimous  Republican  vote,  the  Dem- 
ocratic vote  being  cast  for  John  A.  Bowler. 
Nineteen  hundred  thousand  dollars  were  appro- 
priated for  the  biennial  period.  Each  of  the 
state   institutions   except   the    reform    school   re- 


ceived new  buildings.  The-  proposition  to  re- 
move the  capital  from  Pierre  to  Alitchell  was 
submitted  to  the  people  to  be  voted  upon  at  the 
election  to  be  held  in  November,  1904.  The  re- 
vised codes  were  adopted.  The  state  fair  was 
permanently  located  at  Huron,  and  the  perma- 
nent camp  of  the  state  militia  at  Lake  Kampeska. 

It  is  forty-five  years  since  that  day  in  July, 
1859,  when  the  Yankton  treaty  was  ratified  and 
the  homeseekers  thronging  the  Nebraska  shore 
flocked  over  the  Missouri  to  find  fortune  "on  this 
side  of  Jordan."  Forty-five  eventful  years  have 
passed  and  many  of  the  immigrants  of  1859  are 
still  with  us,  witnesses  to  the  development  of 
Dakota  from  the  day  of  its  birth,  to  testify  to  its 
healthfulness,  salubrity  and  productiveness. 
Loyal  Dakotans  they  are,  every  one  of  them, 
bringing  to  the  younger  generation  impressive 
lessons  of  steadfastness  of  purpose,  courage,  en- 
durance and,  too,  of  the  rewards  Dakota  reserves 
for  the  faithful. 

The  way  up  through  these  forty-five  years 
has  not  all  been  sunny,  but  the  bright  days  have 
dominated.  The  little  handful  of  settlers  sprin- 
kled along  the  shores  of  the  Alissouri  have  ex- 
panded into  a  half  million  souls.  ?^Iaterial  things 
have  developed  until  a  billion  dollars'  worth  of 
property  is  possessed  by  the  South  Dakotans. 
Churches,  schools  and  colleges  are  convenient  to 
every  section  and  are  the  chief  source  of  pride 
to  our  people.  Homes  of  abounding  comfort  are 
the  inheritance  of  whoever  will  possess  them  and 
health  and  happiness  are  universal.  Surely  'tis 
a  goodly  land  and  a  goodly  people. 


CHAPTER  LXXIV 


BRIEF    SKETCHES   OF   THE   COUNTIES. 


Aurora  county  was  created  by  the  legislature 
of  1879,  on  February  22d.  It  was  organized 
by  Governor  Ordway  on  August  8,  1881.  Its 
first  recorded  exploration  was  by  George  Catlin, 
while  enroute  from  a  stranded  steamboat  near 
Yankton,  to  Fort  Pierre,  in  June,  1832.  It  was 
first  settled  in  1879  by  Oliver  P.  Ames  and  J.  j 
Briedenbach,  on  Firesteel  creek.  E.  H.  Alcln- 
losh.  J.  B.  Smart  and  Charles  Briedenbach  were 
the  commissioners  appointed  to  effect  the  organi- 
zation. They  located  the  county  seat  at  Plank- 
inton,  where  it  still  remains.  Plankinton  dates 
from  August  10,  1880.  Besides  being  the  county 
seat,  it  is  the  location  of  the  state  reform  school, 
founded  in  1887.  White  I^ke  is  the  only  other 
town  of  importance.  B.  H.  Sullivan,  of  this 
county,  was  United  States  surveyor  general  for 
South  Dakota  during  the  Harrison  administra- 
tion. W.  M.  Smith  was  state  railway  commis- 
sioner, 1892-3.  The  county  is  drained  into  the 
Tames  bv  Firesteel  creek,  contains  seven  hundred 
and  twenty-four  square  miles  and  had  a  popula- 
tion of  four  thousand  and  eleven  in  1900.  Its 
chief  industry  is  stock  growing  and  general  agri- 
culture. 

BEADLE. 

Beadle  county,  named  for  Gen.  W.  H.  H. 
Beadle,  as  at  present  bounded  was  created  by 
act  of  February  22,  1879.  from  portions  of  Kings- 
burv  and  Burchard  counties.     It  was  organized 


July  9,  1880.  by  Governor  Ordway,  among  his 
first  official  acts  being  the  appointment  of  Eli  C. 
Walton,  Charles  Miner  and  S.  Simeon  Nielson 
as  commissioners  for  the  purpose.  They  located 
the  county  seat  at  Huron.  The  county  was  ex- 
plored at  least  as  early  as  1832  by  William  Dick- 
son, and  was  visited  for  trapping  constantly 
thereafter.  The  first  settlement  was  made  by 
Charles  Miner,  a  son  of  the  w^ell-known  Captain 
Nelson  Miner,  of  the  Dakota  cavalry,  on  Pearl 
creek,  in  April,  1879.  Among  the  early  settlers 
were  Andrew  J.  Sweetser  and  J.  S.  and  S.  S. 
Nielson  and  Martin  Baum,  who  came  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1879  and  were  the  only  white  persons  to 
spend  the  succeeding  winter  in  the  county.  The 
next  year  the  Northwestern  Railway  was  built 
into  the  county  and  with  it  came  a  flood  of  popu- 
lation. Huron  dates  from  May  10,  1880.  Other 
towns  are  Cavour,  Hitchcock.  Wolsey  and  Wess- 
ington.  The  city  is  divison  headquarters  for  the 
Dakota  Central  Railway ;  has  the  United  States 
land  officfe,  surveyor  general's  office,  chief 
weather  bureau  office  and  is  the  seat  of  Huron 
College,  founded  June  8,  1898.  William  B. 
Sterling,  of  this  county,  was  United  States  dis- 
trict attorney  during  the  Harrison  administration. 
John  L.  Pyle  was  attorney  general  from  1899 
until  his  death,  in  1902,  and  his  term  was  com- 
pleted by  A.  W.  Burtt.  H.  Ray  Myers  was 
United  States  consul  to  Nicaragua  in  1889.  Har- 
vey J.  Rice  and  N.  T.  Smith  have  been  railway 
commissioners.     The  county   is  bisected  by   the 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


393 


James  river.  It  contains  one  thousand  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy  square  miles  and  had  8,o8i 
people  in  1900. 

BON    HOMME. 

Bon  Homme  county,  named  for  Bon  Homme 
island,  was  created  by  the  first  legislature  on 
.-Vpril  5,  1862.  It  was  organized  by  Governor 
Jayne  through  the  appointment  of  Byron  M. 
Smith,  Laban  H.  Litchfield  and  Henry  Hart- 
sough  as  commissioners.  Bon  Homme  village 
was  made  the  county  seat  by  the  organic  act. 
Being  upon  the  Missouri  river,  it  was  explored  by 
the  earliest  voyageurs.  Lewis  and  Clarke,  in  1804, 
who  found  the  island  already  named  and  known 
by  its  present  appellation.  The  first  settler  was 
Zephyr  Renconter,  who  built  a  trading  station 
on  Bon  Homme  island  in  1828.  He  and  his  half 
Indian  offspring  continued  to  live  there  and  in 
the  vicinity  for  forty  years.  The  modern  set- 
tlement was  made  July  10,  1859,  upon  the  open- 
ing of  the  reservation,  by  John  H.  Shober  and  a 
party  from  Mantorville,  Minnesota.  Shober  and 
his  party  had  attempted  a  settlement  the  previous 
year,  but  their  log  buildings  were  destroyed  and 
thrown  into  the  river  by  a  detail  of  soldiers  from 
Fort  Randall,  sent  down  to  keep  trespassers  off 
the  Indian  lands.  Among  the  settlers  of  1859 
were  Mrs.  Rounds  and  children.  Dr.  Wallace, 
]\Ir.  Gifford  and  family,  Nathan  McDaniels  and 
family,  Thomas  Tate,  L.  H.  Litchfield,  William 
Hammond  and  Daniel  P.  Bradford.  In  the 
spring  of  i860  these  settlers  built  the  first  school 
house  in  Dakota  and  established  a  school  of  ten 
pupils  under  Miss  Emma  Bradford.  The  towns 
of  the  county  are  Scotland,  Springfield.  Tyndall 
and  Avon.  Tyndall  is  the  county  seat.  Two 
lines  of  the  Milwaukee  Railway  cross  at  Tyndall. 
A  state  normal  school  is  located  at  Springfield, 
founded  in  1898.  It  is  a  rich  agricultural  sec- 
tion. Samuel  G.Irish  was  first  territorial  treasurer. 
Laban  H.  Lichfield,  United  States  marshal,  1863- 
70.  Robert  Dollard  was  attorney  general  from 
statehood  until  1893.  George  W.  Snow  is  lieu- 
tenant governor.  James  D.  Elliott  is  United 
States  district  attorney.     Florenzo  G.   Hale  was 


regent  of  education,  1893-6.  The  county  con- 
tains 569  square  miles  and  had  9,570  people  in 
1900. 


Brookings  county  was  created  by  the  first 
legislature  April  5,  1862,  but  then  embraced  the 
north  half  of  Moody  county  and  some  adjacent 
territory.  Its  present  boundaries  were  fixed  in 
^873.  The  county  was  organized  by  commis- 
sions issued  by  John  A.  Burbank.  governor, 
January  21,  1871,  with  Martin  Trygstad,  L.  M. 
Hewlitt  and  Elias  Thompson  commissioners. 
The  county  seat  was  located  at  Medary,  where 
it  remained  until  the  i8th  day  of  November, 
1879,  when  it  was,  by  vote  of  the  people,  re- 
moved to  Brookings,  then  a  new  village  on  the 
newly  built  Northwestern  Railway.  The  first 
recorded  white  exploration  of  the  section  was  by 
Nicollet  and  Fremont  in  1838.  The  first  settle- 
ment was  by  a  party  under  Maj.  Franklin  De 
Witt  in  May,  1857,  but  this  settlement  was 
broken  up  by  hostile  Yankton  Indians  a  year 
later.  In  the  spring  of  1869  Nils  O. 
Trygstad,  with  his  sons,  Martin,  O.  C., 
Cornelius,  Erick  and  Michael,  and  Ole 
Gjermstad  and  Ole  Balstrud,  settled  at  Medary 
and  made  the  first  permanent  settlement.  About 
1873  a  considerable  settlement  came,  but  it  was 
not  until  1877  that  a  real  impulse  was  given  to 
the  immigration  movement.  The  commercial 
history  of  the  county  dates  from  the  opening  of 
a  store  at  Medary  by  C.  H.  Stearns  in  October, 
1872.  The  chief  towns  of  the  county  are  Aurora, 
Brookings,  Bruce,  Elkton,  Bushnell,  Volga  and 
White.  Brookings  is  the  most  important  and  is 
the  seat  of  the  State  Agricultural  College, 
founded  in  1883,  the  state's  most  extensive  edu- 
cational institution.  Two  lines  of  the  North- 
western and  the  Rock  Island  Railroads  pass 
through  the  county.  It  is  a  rich  agricultural 
community.  Hugh  S.  Murphy  was  secretary  of 
state  in  the  statehood  government  of  1885, 
George  A.  Mathews  was  last  territorial  delegate 
to  congress ;  O.  H.  Parker,  commissioner  of 
school  lands,  1889-1890 ;  William  H.  Roddle,  sec- 


394 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


retary  of  state,  1897-iyoi  :  Philo  Hall,  attorney 
general,  1903.  The  county  contains  817  square 
miles  and  had  12,561  people  in  1900.  Company 
K.  First  Dakota  Cavalry,  in  the  Philippines,  was 

recruited  in  this  coiuit\-. 


Brown  county  was  created  February  22.  1879, 
and  was  named  for  Alfred  Brown,  member  of 
that  legislature  from  Hutchinson  county.  It  was 
organized  by  Governor  Ordway  July  20,  1880, 
by  appointing  John  R.  James,  Clarence  D. 
Johnson  and  D.  C.  iMcKenzie  commissioners, 
who  located  the  county  seat  at  Columbia. 
It  was  explored  by  Robert  Dickson  in 
1800,  and  fur  posts  were  established  on  Elm 
river  in  1828  and  at  Rondell  in  1835.  First  set- 
tlement by  Clarence  Johnson  and  William  Young 
at  Yorkville,  on  James  river  August  10,  1877. 
Chief  towns,  Aberdeen,  Groton,  Frederick,  Hecla, 
Columbia,  Warner,  Bath,  James,  Westport,  Plana 
and  Claremont.  County  seat  removed  to  Aber- 
deen in  1888.  Milwaukee  Railway  reached  Aber- 
deen, July.  1 881  :  Northwestern,  October,  same 
}ear;  Great  Northern,  1887.  Fine  farming  coun- 
try. Aberdeen  seat  of  Northern  Normal  and  In- 
dustrial School,  founded  1902.  United  States 
land  office.  United  States  court,  internal  revenue 
office  for  North  and  South  Dakota.  Extensive 
wholesaling  point.  Qiarles  N.  Harris,  public  ex- 
aminer, 1887-8;  George  N.  Tyner,  attorney  gen- 
eral,- 1887-8;  Frank  H.  Haggerty,  immigration 
commissioner,  1889-90;  John  H.  Drake,  United 
States  consul  to  Kiel,  Germany,  1892  ;  James  H. 
Fletcher,  lieutenant  governor,  1889-90  ;  James  H. 
Kyle,  United  States  senator,  1891-1901  :  Robert 
W.  Haire,  commissioner  of  charities  and  correc- 
tions, 1890-1896;  M.  R.  Henniger,  Frank  H. 
Adams  and  Robert  W.  Haire,  regents  of  educa- 
tion ;  John  D.  Lavin.  commissioner  of  charities 
and  corrections.  1901-3;  James  D.  Reeves,  state 
auditor,  1899-1903;  Charles  B.  Collins,  state 
treasurer,  1903 ;  Joseph  Meyers  and  E.  C.  Moul- 
ton,  oil  inspectors ;  Charles  A.  Howard,  major 
First  South  Dakota  Regiment  in  Philippine  war. 
Company    F,    same    regiment,    recruited    here. 


Area.    1,74s    square    miles.      Population.    1900. 
15.286. 


Brule  county  was  created  by  act  of  the  legis- 
lature January  14,  1875,  and  was  named  for  the 
Brule  (Burned  Thighs)  band  of  Teton  Sioux. 
The  county  was  organized  at  once,  but  in  May 
of  that  year  all  of  the  land  in  Brule  county  was 
withdrawn  from  settlement  by  executive  order 
of  President  Grant  and  was  not  restored  until 
1879.  Nevertheless  the  county  organization  was 
maintained  by  the  few  settlers  who  remained. 
The  first  exploration  occurred  before  1800.  A 
trading  post  was  established  on  Ainerican  island 
as  early  as  1822  and  it  is  possible  that  ]\Ianuel 
Lisa  had  a  post  in  the  county  much  earlier.  Brule 
City  was  founded  opposited  the  mouth  of  White 
river  in  1873  by  D.  W.  Spaulding.  Charles  Col- 
lins, M.  H.  Day  and  others.  The  plan  was  to 
make  it  a  great  colony  for  Irish  immigrants  and 
a  headquarters  for  the  Fenian  movement,  but  the 
plan  was  nipped  in  the  bud  by  the  executive  or- 
der withdrawing  the  lands  from  settlement,  made 
in  the  interest  of  the  Indians  for  the  purpose  of 
keeping  liquor  remote  from  the  reservations. 
WTien  settlement  was  revived  in  1879,  Governor 
Howard  reorganized  the  county.  The  railroad 
reached  Chamberlain  in  1880,  and  the  county 
seat  was  removed  from  Brule  City  to  Chamber- 
lain in  September.  Agriculture  and  stock  raising 
are  chief  industries.  Seat  of  government  school 
for  education  of  Indians.  Chamberlain,  Kimball, 
Pukwana  and  Bijou  Hills  are  chief  towns.  A. 
G.  Kellem,  of  this  county,  was  judge  of  supreme 
court.  1889  to  1894;  W.  V.  Lucas,  member  of 
congress.  1893-5  •  Nelson  W.  Eggleston,  regent 
of  education.  1893-6;  A.  S.  Stuver.  commissioner 
Soldiers'  Home.  1903.  Area,  808  square  miles. 
Population.  1900.  5.401. 


Buffalo  county  was  created  January  6.  1S64. 
but  its  boundaries  were  fixed  by  the  act  of  Feb- 
ruary 22,  1879,  when  all  of  the  counties  of  the 
interior  of  the  state  were  readjusted,  but  there 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


395 


was  a  still  further  revision  of  the  lines  in  1883. 
Ex])loration  dates  from  the  earliest  movements 
on  the  ^Missouri  and  the  Loisee  trading  post  was 
established  within  Bufifalo  count}-  prior  to  1796 
and  was,  according  to  Captain  Chittenden,  the 
first  trading  post  in  Dakota.  It  was  burned  in 
1810,  together  with  fifteen  thousand  dollars' 
worth  of  furs  stored  in  it.  The  section  was  a  fa- 
vorite resort  of  the  Indians,  for  the  reason  that 
near  the  mouth  of  Crow  creek  there  was  an  easy 
ford  of  the  river,  where  for  a  long  period  the 
Sioux  swam  the  river,  and  it  is  among  them 
to  this  day  known  as  "the  pass  of  the  three 
rivers."  Xear  this  pass  the  Crow  Creek  agency 
was  built  in  1863.  Most  of  the  territory  of  Buf- 
falo county  is  embraced  within  the  Crow  Creek 
reservation.  The  county  was  organized  on  Jan- 
uary 5,  1885,  by  James  P.  Cleveland,  John  Tum- 
cane  and  C.  A.  Osman,  commissioners  appointed 
for  the  purpose  of  Governor  G.  A.  Pierce.  There 
are  no  towns  of  great  importance,  and  no  rail- 
ways in  the  county.  Gann  ^'alley  is  the  county 
seat.  The  area  is  483  miles  and  the  population, 
1900,  1,790. 


Butte  county,  named  for  the  abrupt  and  pre- 
cipitous buttes  or  hills  which  are  characteristic 
of  some  portions  of  the  county,  was  created  by 
the  legislature  of  1881,  but  it  was  greatly  en- 
larged to  its  present  dimensions  by  the  legisla- 
ture of  1897,  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  all  of 
the  range  country  west  of  the  Indian  reservation 
uito  a  county  organization  that  the  property 
might  be  more  readily  assessed  for  taxation.  The 
county  was  organized  July  11,  1883.  with  the 
county  seat  at  Minnesela,  but  it  was  removed  to 
Belle  Fourche  after  the  construction  of  the  rail- 
way in  1889.  The  first  recorded  exploration  of 
the  county  was  by  \\'alter  P.  Hunt's  .\storia 
party  in  the  summer  of  181 1.  The  first  settle- 
ment drifted  out  from  the  Black  Hills  and  among 
the  settlers  were  William  Grimmet,  William 
Hayden,  Ed  Buford  and  J.  M.  Eaton.  The  coun- 
try is  rich  in  agricultural  possibilities,  under  irri- 
gation, good  progress  having  already  been  made 
in  that  line,  but  primarily  it  is  the  best  of  stock 


ranges.  Belle  I-^ourche  is  one  of  the  world's 
greatest  primary  stock  markets.  The  area  is 
7,834  square  miles  and  the  population,  2.907. 
Troop  C,  Grigsby's  Cowboys,  Spanish  war, 
1898,  was  recruited  at  Belle  Fourche. 

CAMPBELL. 

Campbell  county  was  created  by  act  of  Janu- 
ary 8,  1873,  and  was  named  for  Newton  B. 
Campbell,  of  Scotland,  a  son  of  the  famous  Gen. 
Charles  T.  Campbell,  the  man  whom  Lincoln 
made  a  brigadier  general  upon  condition  that  he 
should  die  immediately.  Young  Campbell  was  a 
member  of  the  legislature  which  created  the 
county.  It  was  explored  by  the  rivermen  at  an 
early  date.  It  is  probable  that  it  was  the  home  of 
Pierre  Garreau,  the  first  white  man  to  make  a 
permanent  home  in  Dakota  in  1790.  Lewis  and 
Clarke  were  entertained  by  the  Rees  on  Grand 
River  island  in  1804,  who  told  them  a  marvelous 
story  of  a  stone  idol  on  Spring  creek,  which  was 
created  by  the  conversion  of  a  lovely  but  lovelorn 
maiden  into  stone.  The  county  was  organized 
November  6,  1883,  by  Governor  Ordway.  It  is 
a  good  farming  and  stock  country,  those- being 
the  chief  interests  of  the  people.  There  are  no 
large  towns.  The  only  railway  is  a  short  branch 
of  the  Sault  road,  which  makes  down  to  the  Mis- 
souri along  Spring  creek.  The  town  of  Herreid, 
named  for  Gov.  Charles  N.  Herreid,  is  tlie  chief 
village.  Mound  City  is  county  seat.  The  area 
is  765  square  miles  and  there  were  4,527  people 
m  1900.  F.  'SI.  Slocum.  regent  of  education, 
1903.  Ira  Hatch,  agent  to  Qieyenne  river 
Indians,   1898. 

CHARLES   MIX. 

Charles  Mix  county  was  named  for  the  then 
commissioner  of  Indian  afifairs  and  was  created 
by  the  first  legislature  in  1862  and  the  county  seat 
located  "on  the  claim  of  Mr.  Papineau."  It  was 
attached  to  Bon  Homme  for  judicial  purposes 
and  was  not  organized  until  September  i,  1879, 
when  Governor  Howard  appointed  commissioners 
for  the  purpose.  These  were  James  G.  Jones, 
John  Johns  and  William  Miller  and  they  located 
the  county  seat  at  Wheeler,  where  it  still  remains. 
The  Yankton  Indian  reservation  was  within  the 


396 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


county,  together  with  Yankton  agency.  One 
of  the  first  trading  posts  in  Dakota,  if  not  the 
very  first,  was  located  near  Wheeler  in  1796  by 
Trudeau,  of  St.  Louis,  and  is  known  as  the 
Pawnee  House.  It  burned  after  twenty  years. 
The  Yankton  Indians  took  their  lands  in  severalty 
and  sold  the  surplus  to  the  government,  and  the 
same  were  opened  to  homesteaders  in  1895.  The 
county  is  a  splendid  agricultural  section,  but  its 
resources  remained  undeveloped  until  recently  by 
reason  of  lack  of  railway  facilities.  In  1899  and 
1900  the  Milwaukee  was  extended  through  the 
heart  of  the  county,  giving  rise  to  the  fine  towns 
of  Wagner,  Geddes  and  Platte.  The  area  is  1,123 
square  miles  and  the  population,  1900,  8,498, 


Clark  county  was  created  in  1873  and  read- 
justed in  1879  ^"<i  again  and  finally  in  1885.  It 
was  named  for  Newton  Clark,  a  legislator.  Lit- 
tle is  known  of  early  exploration.  It  did  not  lie 
in  the  direct  lines  of  travel,  except  at  the  north- 
west corner  at  Oak  Gulch,  which  was  on  the  trail 
from  Waubay  to  the  Missouri.  Near  this  point 
is  a  well  known  landmark  of  the  old  days,  called 
the  Hunter's  Well.  John  Bailey  settled  on  Lake 
Bailey  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county  in  1878. 
The  settlement  at  Clark  was  made  in  1879  ^Y  Syl- 
vester J.  Conklin  and  Frank  Hoskins.  The 
Northwestern  Railway  passed  through  the  county 
from  east  to  west  in  1882  and  the  Milwaukee 
from  north  to  south  in  1887.  The  chief  towns  are 
Clark,  Raymond,  Bradley,  Garden  City,  Vienna 
and  Willow  Lakes,  the  latter  on  the  Great  North- 
ern, which  bisected  the  county  in  1887.  It  is  a 
good  agricultural  county,  draining  both  into  the 
James  and  the  Sioux.  John  E.  Bennett  was  su- 
preme judge  from  statehood  to  his  death,  Janu- 
ary I,  1894;  Frank  Conklin,  railway  commis- 
sioner, 1893-6;  S.  J.  Conklin,  adjutant  general, 
1901 ;  S.  H.  Elrod,  United  States  disbursing  agent 
for  Sisseton  Indians,  1892.  .A.rea,  973  square 
miles.     Population.  1900.  6,942. 


Clay  county,  created  by  first  legislature,  1862, 
and  named   for  Henry   Clay  by  Jacob  Deuel,  a 


member  of  legislature  from  that  county.  Ex- 
plored by  early  fur  traders.  Fort  Vermillion, 
fur  post,  located  near  Meckling,  1823,  but  re- 
moved to  Green  Point,  1836;  discontinued,  1852. 
Modern  settlement,  July  10,  1859,  by  many  set- 
tlers waiting  opening  of  reservation.  Organized 
by  Governor  Jayne,  1862.  First  church  in  Da- 
kota built  at  Vermillion,  i860,  by  Presbyterians 
under  Father  Charles  D.  Martin.  Dakota  Uni- 
versity, located  at  Vermillion  by  first  legislature, 
endowed  1883.  IMihvaukee  Railway,  then  Dakota 
Southern,  came  into  county  1872.  A-'ermillion, 
chief  city,  destroyed  by  floods  1883.  A'ery  rich 
agricultural  county.  Wakonda,  at  north,  on 
Northwestern,  is  second  village  in  importance. 
Jefiferson  P.  Kidder,  supreme  judge,  1865  to 
1874,  and  1878  to  death,  1883;  member  of  con- 
gress, 1874-1878;  J.  W.  Boyles,  member  supreme 
court  to  1866;  John  L.  Jolley,  member  of  con- 
gress, 1 89 1 -3  :  Cyrus  J.  Fry,  L'nited  States  mar- 
shal, 1889  to  death,  1894;  Andrew  E.  Lee,  gov- 
ernor, 1897-1901 ;  E.  E.  Collins,  superintendent 
public  instruction,  1899  to  1903.  Area,  408 
square  miles,  and  population  at  last  census,  9,316. 


Codington  county,  formerly  Adair  county, 
created  by  act  of  February  15,  1877.  Explored 
first  by  Fremont  and  Nicollet,  1838.  \'isited  by 
Dr.  Riggs,  1840.  First  railway,  in  advance  of  set- 
tlement, 1872.  In  1873  Joseph  B.  JMontgomery 
and  David  D.  Keeler  settled  upon  Lake  Kam- 
peska,  but  there  was  no  settlement  of  consequence 
until  the  early  spring  of  1878,  when  it  came  in  a 
flood.  The  county  was  organized  by  Governor 
Howard  in  1878  by  the  appointment  of  William 
Mclntyre,  O.  S.  Jewel  and  George  Stoddard  as 
commissioners.  They  located  the  county  seat  at 
Lake  Kampeska,  but  that  fall  the  settlers  voted  it 
to  Watertown,  where  it  remains.  The  county 
was  named  for  Rev.  G.  S.  Codington,  an  early 
Dakota  legislator.  Rich  agricultural  county. 
Watertown,  chief  city,  has  United  States  land  of- 
fice and  weather  bureau.  Large  wholesale  trade. 
Rock  Island  Railroad,  built  in  1884,  also  same 
year  Minneapolis  &  St.  Louis.  Great  Northern 
came  in   1886.     A.  C.  ]\Iellette,  governor,   1889- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


397 


93  :  Frank  Phillips,  railway  commissioner,  1892-4; 
Frank  Crane,  superintendent  public  instruction, 
1895-99;  H.  M.  Finnerud,  regent  education, 
1893-6;  Alex  Mclntyre,  regent  of  education, 
1903;  John  Mulholland,  oil  inspector,  1891 ;  Lee 
Stover,  lieutenant  colonel  First  South  Dakota  in 
Philippine  war;  Company  H,  same  regiment,  re- 
cruited in  Watertown ;  ]\Iark  W.  Sheafe,  brig- 
adier general  of  volunteers,  Spanish  war,  1898; 
David  C.  Thomas,  commissioner  of  charities  and 
corrections,  1903.  Area,  786  square  miles. 
Population,    1900,  8,770. 


Custer  county  was  created  by  the  legislature 
of  1877  3"d  organized  that  year  by  Governor 
Pennington.  First  recorded  exploration  by  Lieu- 
tenant G.  K.  Warren,  1857.  Second  exploration 
by  General  Custer  and  Seventh  Cavalry,  August, 
1874.  First  settlement  by  Gordon  party  at  stock- 
ade near  Custer,  December,  1874.  Gold  discov- 
ered by  Billy  ]\IcKay,  gold  expert  with  Custer,  on 
French  Creek,  August  2,  1874.  IMining  and  ag- 
ricultural district.  Sylvan  Lake  great  attraction 
and  summer  resort.  Eleven  thousand  settlers 
March,  1876.  Stampede  to  northern  hills,  1876. 
First  county  seat  at  Sheridan,  now  at  Custer. 
Named  for  General  George  A.  Custer.  Area, 
1,612  square  miles.  Population,  1900,  2,728. 
Company  I,  First  South  Dakota,  in  Philippine 
war.  recruited  here. 


Davison  county  was  created  January  8,  1873, 
but  its  lines  were  readjusted  February  22,  1879. 
Its  first  settler  was  Levi  Hain,  at  Firesteel,  and 
H.  C.  Green  on  the  James,  who  came  in  1874. 
The  county  was  organized  the  first  year 
of  settlement  with  Levi  Hain,  J.  Piatt 
and  J.  Head  as  commissioners  appointed 
by  Governor  Burbank  for  that  purpose. 
The  county  seat  was  located  at  Firesteel,  but  re- 
moved to  Mitchell  in  1880.  The  Milwaukee  Rail- 
wa\-  was  built  through  the  county  in  1880  and 
north  from  Mitchell  in  1883;  the  connection  from 
Scotland  to  Alitchell  was  not  made  until  1885. 
Mitchell,  the  chief  town,  is  division  headquarters 


for  the  Milwaukee  Railway,  and  an  important 
distributing  center.  Has  L'nited  States  land  of- 
fice since  1880  and  seat  of  Dakota  University,  the 
college  of  the  Methodists,  founded  in  1884. 
County  named  for  Henry  C.  Davison,  an  early 
settler.  Mount  Vernon,  also  dating  from  1880, 
another  important  town.  Dick  Haney,  of  this 
county,  has  been  supreme  judge  since  1894; 
George  A.  Silsby,  adjutant  general,  1893-7;  pub- 
lic examiner  of  national  banks,  1897;  T.  E. 
Blanchard,  public  examiner,  1889-93;  Major 
Warne,  First  South  Dakota,  in  Philippine  war. 
Area,  486  square  miles:  population,  1900,  7,483. 


Day  county,  named  for  Merritt  H.  Day,  the 
pioneer  Democratic  politician,  was  created  by  the 
act  of  February  22,  1879,  which  reorganized  the 
county  lines  throughout  the  state.  The  section 
was  formerly  called  Greeley  county.  It  was  or- 
ganized December  5,  1881,  by  Governor  Ordway. 
Chauncy  Warner,  Lansing  Sykes  and  George 
Bryant  were  the  commissioners,  and  the  county 
seat  was  located  at  Webster,  where  it  remains. 
At  that  time  the  county  included  Marshall  county 
and  the  south  tier  of  towns  was  a  part  of  Clark 
county.  The  session  of  1885  created  Marshall 
county  and  added  the  south  tier  to  Day.  The  first 
exploration  of  Day  county  goes  back  to  the  fur 
trading  days  of  the  'thirties,  when  Major  Joseph 
R.  Brown  had  a  trading  post  at  Buflfalo  lake. 
Fremont  and  Nicollet  visited  the  county  in  1839. 
Waubay  and  the  adjacent  lakes  were  favorite 
resorts  for  the  Indians,  time  out  of  mind,  and 
all  of  their  trails  across  Dakota  centered  there. 
The  soil  is  fertile  and  productive.  The  railroad 
came  in  1880  and  the  modern  settlement  dates 
from  that  time.  In  public  affairs  the  county  has 
I  been  represented  by  Eugene  Huntington,  adju- 
tant general,  1890-3;  Charles  H.  Sheldon,  gov- 
ernor, 1893-7:  Charles  W.  Stafford,  oil  inspector, 
1893-7;  David  Williams,  census  superintendent, 
1890.     Area.  1.077.     Population,  1900,  7.483. 

DEUEL. 

Deuel  county  was  named  for  Jacob  Deuel,  a 
member  of  the  first   territorial   legislature   from 


398 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Clay  county.  It  was  created  by  the  first  legisla- 
ture, but  was  not  organized  until  April  26,  1878, 
by  Governor  Howard,  who  appointed  Henry  H. 
Herrick,  Byron  J.  Cochrane  and  A.  J.  Torger- 
son  commissioners.  The  county  seat  was  located 
at  Gary,  but  in  1888  was  removed  to  Clear  Lake 
by  a  vote  of  the  people.  The  first  exploration 
of  which  we  have  record  was  made  by  John  C. 
Fremont  in  1838.  Chanopa  (Two  Woods)  lake^ 
in  the  central  portion  of  the  county,  the  home  of 
a  band  of  Sissetons,  was  a  favorite  Indian  camp 
and  was  upon  the  main  trail  from  the  Minnesota 
to  the  ]\Iissouri ;  hence  all  of  the  early  white  ex- 
peditions westward  passed  that  way.  The  mod- 
ern settlement  dates  from  1872.  In  the  month  of 
July  B.  J.  Cochrane  and  the  Oliver  Brothers 
made  homestead  settlements  there  and  in  August 
Henry  H.  Herrick  came.  The  Northwestern 
Railway  reached  Gary  that  fall.  There  was  not 
much  settlement,  however,  until  1877-8,  when 
the  people  poured  in  and  occupied  the  land.  Its 
only  representatives  in  public  affairs  have  been 
Rev.  Mr.  Brant  and  ]\Iillard  F.  Greeley,  regents 
of  education.  Its  area  is  621  square  miles  and 
population,  1900,  6,656.  Clear  Lake,  the  county 
seat,  dates  from  the  building  of  the  Rock  Island 
Railway  in  1884.  State  Blind  School  is  located 
at  Gary,  from  1893. 


Douglas  county  was  named  for  the  "Little  Gi- 
ant" and  was  created  by  law  in  1873.  The  first 
attempt  to  organize  it  was  made  in  1880,  by  a 
man  named  Brown,  an  adventurer  who,  before 
there  was  a  single  bona  fide  resident  of  the 
county,  obtained  for  himself  and  some  confed- 
erates commissions  from  Governor  Ordway  to 
organize  the  county.  They  established  a  county 
seat  at  a  mythical  place  called  Brownsdale,  in  a 
covered  wagon,  and  proceeded  to  purchase  an 
outfit  of  blank  county,  town  and  school  warrants 
and  of  these  they  issued  just  as  many  as  they 
were  able  to  negotiate.  Major  Robert  Dollard, 
since  attorney  general,  settled  in  the  county  that 
fall,  and  learning  of  the  fraudulent  procedure, 
began  vigorous  action  to  defeat  it  and  succeeded 
in    invalidatinsf  the   bonds   in   the   courts.      The 


county  was  reorganized  July  10,  1882.  The 
county  seat  was  first  located  at  Huston,  but  was 
removed  at  an  early  election  to  Grandview  and 
subsequently,  after  the  building  of  the  railroad, 
to  Armour,  where  it  now  is.  The  county  is  fa- 
mous as  the  home  of  the  large  and  prosperous 
colony  of  Hollanders.  It  has  been  rej^resented 
in  state  affairs  by  Frank  LeCocq  as  railroad 
commissioner.  1901.  W.  E.  Tipton,  com- 
missioner of  charities,  1901.  The  area  of  the 
county  is  445  square  miles.  Population,  1900, 
5,012. 

EDMUNDS. 

Edmunds  county,  named  for  the  second  terri- 
torial governor,  was  created  by  law  January  8, 
1873,  and  was  organized  by  Governor  Ordway 
July  8,  1883.  There  is  no  record  of  early  explora- 
tion and  as  it  does  not  lie  along  the  ordinary 
lines  of  travel,  it  is  probable  that  it  was  not  vis- 
ited by  white  men  until  a  comparative!}-  recent 
date.  The  first  settler  was  Dr.  L.  F.  Diefendorf, 
who  located  in  the  eastern  portion  in  1882.  It 
is  a  farming  and  stock-growing  region.  The  rail- 
road reached  Ipswich  in  1883  and  the  county 
seat  was  removed  there  from  Edmunds,  a  nearby 
village.  Its  representatives  in  state  affairs  have 
been  E.  F.  Hewitt,  regent  of  education,  1890-3; 
George  C.  Aurand,  public  examiner.  1901-3. 
Area,  1,176  square  miles.  Population,  1900, 
4.916. 

FALL  RIVER. 

Named  for  the  principal  stream  and  created 
by  law  March  6,  1883.  The  famous  hot  springs 
are  the  chief  feature  of  the  county,  which  is  lo- 
cated in  the  southwest  corner  of  the  state  in  the 
southern  portion  of  the  Black  Hills.  Hot  Springs 
and  Edgmont  are  the  principal  towns.  Hot 
Springs  is  the  location  of  Black  Hills  College,  a 
Methodist  institution,  of  the  state- soldiers'  home 
and  of  the  national  sanitarium  for  sick  and  dis- 
abled soldiers  and  sailors:  the  latter,  now  under 
construction,  is  the  nation's  largest  establishment 
for  the  purpose.  The  county  was  doubtless  vis- 
ited by  the  early  trappers  and  traders  and  is 
doubtless  the  scene  of  several  of  the  incidents  re- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


lated  by  Winsor,  in  "The  Oregon  Trail,"  though 
the  fact  cannot  be  definitely  determined.  The 
famous  Wind  Cave  is  one  of  the  great  natural 
attractions  of  the  county.  The  Northwestern  and 
Burlington  Railways  traverse  the  section  and 
connect  at  Hot  Springs.  Area,  1,757  square 
miles.     Population,  1900,  3,541. 


Grant  county  was  created  January  8,  1873, 
and  was  named  for  the  General.  It  was  organ- 
ized June  5,  1878,  by  Governor  Howard,  through 
Oliver  Martell,  Louis  Shaneau  and  Moses  Mi- 
reau.  It  was  visited  at  a  ver\'  early  date  by  white 
men.  It  is  probable  that  DeLusigan  was  here  as 
early  as  1745.  Fur  trading  was  carried  on 
in  the  region  in  the  early  years  of  the 
century.  Solomon  Roberts  and  Moses  Mir- 
eau,  traders,  were  probably  the  first  per- 
manent residents,  dating  from  1865,  and  they 
still  reside  in  the  county.  The  general  settle- 
ment came  about  1877-8.  The  railroad  came  in 
1879-80.  Milbank,  the  county  seat  and  chief 
city,  dates  from  July,  1880.  The  county 
seat  was  originally  at  Big  Stone  City,  but 
was  removed  by  an  election  held  in  1882.  The 
region  is  rich  in  agriculture.  Big  Stone  Lake  is 
an  important  summer  resort.  William  M.  Evans 
was  railroad  commissioner  under  Governor 
Pierce;  A.  B.  Smedley.  regent  of  education, 
1890-96;  John  L.  Lockhart,  commissioner  of 
school  and  public  lands,  1895-1899;  W.  B.  Saun- 
ders, Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition  commis- 
sioner, 1904.  Area,  694  square  miles.  Popula- 
tion, 1900,  9,103. 


Faulk  county  was  named  for  the  third  gov- 
ernor of  the  territory  and  dates  from  January  8, 
1873.      It  was  not  organized   until   October  25, 

1883.  when  Governor  Ordway  appointed  com- 
missioners for  the  purpose.  The  county  seat 
was  located  at  La  Foon,  but  soon  removed  to 
Faulkton.      The   railroad   reached   the   covmty  in 

1884.  The  earliest  exploration  of  the  county  was 
probably  by  William  Dickson,  in  one  of  his  trips 
to  the   Tames  river,  about   1828.     The  countv  is 


upon  the  line  of  travel  from  the  ?yIissouri  to  the 
Minnesota  and  John  C.  Fremont  and  Joseph  X. 
Nicollet  passed  through  it  in  1839,  Dr.  Stephen 
R.  Riggs  in  1840  and  Father  Ravoux  in  1842. 
Joseph  R.  Brown  made  many  trips  through  the 
section  in  the  "thirties.  Scatterwood  lake,  in  the 
northeastern  portion,  was  a  famous  Indian  camp. 
Faulkton  is  the  chief  town.  John  A.  Pickler  repre- 
sented the  county  in  congress  from  1889  to  1897; 
Howard  G.  Fuller,  judge  of  the  supreme  court, 
from  1894;  Major  Humphrey,  adjutant  general, 
1897-1901.  Area,  1,010  square  miles.  Popula- 
tion. 1900.  3,547. 


Gregory  county  was  created  by  the  first  legis- 
lature of  1862  and  was  named  for  J.  Shaw  Greg- 
ory, a  member  of  that  body,  who  resided  at  Fort 
Randall  and  was  a  trader  in  the  employ  of  Cap- 
tain Todd.  Its  present  boundaries  were  defined 
by  the  legislature  of  1897  and  it  was  organized 
in  1893.  -  A  trading  station  was  located  at 
Handy's  Point  at  a  very  early  date.  Bonesteel 
and  Fairfax  are  the  chief  towns.  It  is  a  good 
agricultural  and  stock  country.  The  North- 
western Railway  built  into  the  section  in  1902. 
Its  area  is  1,004  square  miles  and  its  population 
at  the  last  census  was  2,211. 


Hand  county  was  named  for  George  H. 
Hand,  secretary  of  the  territory,  1874-82.  It  was 
created  in  1873,  but  then  occupied  the  north  half 
of  the  present  Hand  and  Hyde  counties.  Its 
lines  were  readjusted  by  the  Brown  reorganiza- 
tion act  of  February  22,  1879.  Little  is  known 
of  its  early  exploration.  It  was  not  on  any  of 
the  favorite  Indian  trails.  Its  settlement  dates 
from  1880,  when  the  Northwestern  Railroad  was 
built  through  the  county.  It  was  organized  by 
Governor  Ordway  July  10,  1882.  The  county 
seat  was  located  at  Miller.  The  chief  towns  are 
IMiller  and  St.  Lawrence,  two  miles  apart,  and 
the  rivalry  between  them  has  been  intense.  For 
\ears  they  were  equally  matched,  but  in  recent 
times  the  advantage  has  gone  to  Miller.  L.  G. 
j   Pinkham,    superintendent    of    public    in.struction. 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


1889-90;  John  Baldwin,  engineer  of  irrigation; 
D.  H.  Smith,  railway  commissioner,  1903,  are 
the  public  representatives.  Agriculture  and  stock 
growing  the  chief  industries.  Area,  1,418  square 
miles.     Population,  1900,  4,525. 


Hamlin  county,  named  for  Hannibal  Hamlin, 
created  by  law  in  1873  and  organized  August  12. 
1878,  was  first  settled  by  Jacob  Hanson  at  Lake 
Poinsett.  The  county  was  explored  by  Gen. 
John  C.  Fremont  in  1838,  who  surveyed  Lake 
Poinsett  and  named  it  for  the  then  secretary  of 
war.  It  is  a  fine  agricultural  county.  The  county 
seat  was  first  located  at  Spaulding's  ranch,  near 
Estelline,  but  later  was  removed  to  Castlewood. 
The  Northwestern  Railway  was  built  up  the 
Sioux  valley  through  Hamlin  county  in  1882-3, 
the  Milwaukee  through  the  western  portion  in 
1887  and  the  Great  Northern  across  the  north- 
western corner  in  1888.  The  chief  towns  are 
Castlewood  and  Estelline,  on  the  Northwestern, 
Bryant,  on  the  Milwaukee,  and  Hazel,  on  the 
Great  Northern.  Area,  543  square  miles.  Pop- 
ulation, 1900,  5,945. 


Hanson  county  was  named  for  Joseph  R. 
Hanson,  of  Yankton,  and  was  created  by  the 
legislature  of  1871,  but  at  that  time  it  occupied 
all  of  the  south  half  of  the  present  county,  the 
southeast  one-fourth  of  Davison  county  and  a 
portion  of  the  present  McCook  county.  It  was 
readjusted  by  the  Brown  bill  of  1879.  It  was  or- 
ganized by  Governor  Burbank  on  December  16, 
1872.  It  is  crossed  by  James  river  and  was  ex- 
plored by  Father  Hoecken  in  1851.  The  first 
■settlement  in  the  county  was  made  by  the  soldiers 
who  located  Fort  James  in  1865,  but  the  civil  set- 
tlement dates  from  July,  1872,  when  Peter,  Sam- 
uel and  Michael  Bloom,  Jerry  Flick  and  Frank 
B.  Foster  settled  near  Rockport.  The  next  year 
came  a  colony  from  Chicago,  known  as  the  Army 
and  Navy  colony,  lead  by  A.  J.  Parshall.  The 
county  seat  was  first  at  Rockport,  but  when  the 
county  lines  were  readjusted  under  the  Brown 


bill,  by  an  election  on  October  11,  1880,  it  was 
removed  to  Alexandria,  a  station  upon  the  rail- 
road. Lucius  C.  Taylor,  of  this  county,  was  state 
auditor,  1889-93.  Area,  486  square  miles.  Popu- 
lation, 1890,  4,947. 


Hughes  county  was  named  for  Alexander 
Hughes,  of  Elk  Point,  now  of  Bismarck, 
North  Dakota,  and  was  created  by  the  act 
of  1873  and  readjusted  in  1879.,  It  was 
organized  November  20,  1880,  by  Gov- 
ernor Ordway,  virho  appointed  his  son, 
George  L.  Ordway,  William  P.  Ledwich  and 
Joseph  Reed  commissioners.  The  county  seat 
was  located  at  Pierre.  The  railroad  reached 
Pierre  at  about  the  date  of  the  organization.  The 
exploration  of  the  region  dates  to  the  earliest 
Missouri  river  navigation.  Several  Frenchmen 
married  Indian  women  and  settled  within  the 
county  as  early  as  1830,  but  the  chief  settlement 
and  trade  in  the  region  was  at  Fort  Pierre,  on 
the  west  shore.  The  three  Rosseaus  settled  at 
the  mouth  of  Medicine  creek  in  i860.  In  1855-6 
General  Harney  established  three  military  camps 
on  the  east  side  of  the  river  for  the  purpose  of 
securing  wood  and  pasturage.  In  1863  General 
Sully  built  Fort  Sully,  five  miles  below  Pierre. 
The  first  American  settlement  of  permanence 
was  made  in  1873,  when  Thomas  L.  Riggs  estab- 
lished the  Congregationalist  Indian  mission  at 
Oahe,  where  he  continues  it  to  this  day.  The 
Black  Hills  gold  excitement  brought  some  settle- 
ment into  the  section  in  1876-7,  but  the  real  set- 
tlement dates  from  1880.  In  1889  the  city  of 
Pierre  became  the  state  capital.  A  government 
Indian  school  is  located  here.  The  United  States 
land  office,  district  court  and  weather  bureau  are 
also  established  at  Pierre.  George  L.  Ordway 
was  territorial  auditor,  1880-84;  P-  F-  McClure. 
immigration  commissioner,  1887-9 ;  J.  C.  Mc- 
Manima,  territorial  auditor,  1889;  Coe  I.  Craw- 
ford, attorney  general,  1893-7 ;  Charles  H. 
Burke,  member  of  congress.  1899-1905  ;  Robert 
W.  Stewart.  Major  Grigsby's  Cowboys,  in  Span- 
ish war.  1898.    Company  A,  First  South  Dakota, 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


was  recruited  at  Pierre  for  Philippine  war. 
Area,  765  square  miles.  Population,  1900, 
.3-684. 

HUTCHINSON. 

Hutchinson  county  was  created  in  the  first 
batch  of  counties  turned  out  in  1862  and  was 
named  for  John  Hutchinson,  the  first  territorial 
secretary.  Its  lines  were  rearranged  by  the 
Brown  bill  of  1879.  It  is  bisected  by  the  James 
and  the  county  seat  is  Olivet.  The  first  settle- 
ment was  made  at  Maxwell's  Mills,  on  James 
river,  by  John,  Henry  and  Thomas  Maxwell,  in 
1870.  The  Milwaukee  Railroad  was  built  into 
the  county  in  1879,  but  it  had  a  large  population 
before  that  date,  much  of  the  Russian  immigra- 
tion of  1873-4  making  settlement  in  this  county. 
It  is  a  great  agricultural  county.  John  E.  Hip- 
pie, state  auditor,  1893-7  -  John  Schamber,  state 
treasurer,  1899-1903;  Frank  Morris,  United 
States  survej'or  general,  1897;  Jacob  Schnaidt, 
commissioner  of  charities  and  corrections,  1901, 
and  A.  Sheridan  Jones,  superintendent  of  public 
instruction  in  the  old  territorial  days,  are  among 
the  county's  public  representatives.  Area.  817 
square  miles.    Population,  1900,  11,897. 


Hyde  county,  which  formerly  occupied  the 
territory  embraced  within  the  south  half  of  Hand 
and  Hyde  counties,  was  given  its  present  form 
by  the  Brown  bill  of  1879.  It  was  named  for 
James  Hyde,  of  Vermillion,  a  member  of  that 
session.  It  was  organized  April  12,  1884,  by 
Governor  Ordway  and,  as  usual  with  the  organi- 
sations effected  by  Ordway,  there  was  a  good 
deal  of  scandal  connected  with  the  proceeding. 
Its  settlement  came  coincident  with  the  building 
of  the  railroad  in  1880.  Highmore  is  the  county 
seat.  The  state's  experiment  farm,  for  the  test 
of  drought-resisting  forage  crops,  is  located  near 
Highmore.  Howard  C.  Schober,  of  Highmore, 
was  insurance  commissioner,  1901-3.  .\rea, 
S/^  square  miles.    Population,   1900,  1,492. 


This   county  was   created  by   the   legislature 
of  1883  and  was  organized  by  Ordway  October 


1st  of  that  year.  It  was  named  for  H.  J.  Je- 
rauld, a  legislator.  Wessington  Springs  is  the 
county  seat.  These  springs  were  discovered  by  a 
teamster  named  Wessington  in  the  road-building 
party  of  Col.  W.  H.  Nobles  in  1857,  hence  the 
name.  The  county  was  frequently  visited  by  ex- 
peditions from  Minnesota  to  the  Missouri  after 
the  building  of  the  Nobles  road.  Attention  was 
first  called  to  the  section  in  the  late  'seventies  by 
the  fact  that  a  notorious  band  of  horsethieves 
had  taken  refuge  there  and  made  it  a  rendezvous 
where  they  hid  the  horses  they  stole  in  Iowa  and 
elsewhere  and  again  from  this  retreat  sallied 
forth  into  the  settlements  to  dispose  of  their  ill- 
gotten  gains.  Among  the  enterprises  of  this 
gang  was  an  illicit  distillery.  They  left  the  re- 
gion when  the  settlers  came  about  1880.  The 
county  had  no  railroad  until  1903,  when  the  Mil- 
waukee was  extended  from  Woonsocket  to  the 
Springs.  It  is  an  excellent  grain  and  stock  sec- 
tion. Area,  548  square  miles.  Population,  2,798. 
A  seminary  of  the  Free  Methodist  church  is  lo- 
cated at  the  Springs. 

KINGSBURY. 

Named  for  George  W.  Kingsbury,  editor,  of 
Yankton.  Created  by  legislature  of  1873,  but  re- 
arranged by  Brown  bill  of  1879.  Organized  by 
Governor  Howard  December  15,  1879.  Ex- 
plored by  John  C.  Fremont  in  1838,  who  surveyed 
and  named  the  lakes :  Preston,  for  Senator  Pres- 
ton, of  North  Carolina,  and  Albert  (Abert),  for 
Senator  Abert,  of  Florida.  Jacob  Hanson  was 
the  first  settler  at  Lake  Albert,  1873.  The  prin- 
cipal settlement  came  with  the  railroad  in  1880, 
from  which  time  Arlington,  Lake  Preston,  De- 
Smet  and  Iroquois  date.  The  Hawarden  line  was 
built  in  1883  and  the  Milwaukee  in  1887.  Thomas 
H.  Ruth  was  commissioner  of  school  and  public 
lands,  1891-95;  Charles  Stromback,  oil  inspector, 
1890-1893:  Thomas  Reed,  regent  of  education, 
1883-5  •  J-  ^-  Halladay,  state  auditor,  1903 ;  Car- 
ter P.  Sherwood,  food  and  dairy  commissioner, 
1901.  Area,  834  square  miles.  Population,  1900, 
9,866.  Company  E,  First  South  Dakota,  in  Phil- 
ippines, was  recruited  here. 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


Lake  county  was  created  in  1873  and  organ- 
ized by  Governor  Burbank  on  September  ist  of 
that  year.  The  lakes  from  which  the  county  takes 
its  name  were  a  favorite  Indian  resort  and  it  was 
here  that  Inkpadutah  brought  the  Spirit  Lake  cap- 
tives in  the  spring  of  1857,  and  it  was  on  the 
banks  of  Lake  Herman  that  one  of  them,  Mrs. 
Marble,  was  rescued.  The  settlement  dates  from 
1870,  when  William  Lee  and  others  settled  upon 
the  lakes.  Brisk  immigration  set  in  in  1878.  The 
railway  came  in  1881.  The  principal  towns  are 
jNIadison,  Ramona,  Wentworth  and  Winnifred. 
The  i\Iadison  Normal  School  was  founded  in 
1883.  Wilbur  F.  Smith,  state  treasurer,  1889-90, 
and  I.  D.  Smith,  commissioner  of  charities  and 
corrections,  1900^1,  have  represented  the  county 
in  state  affairs.  Splendid  agricultural  region. 
Area,  549  square  miles.     Population,  1900,  9,137. 

LAWRENCE. 

Lawrence  county  was  created  by  the  legisla- 
ture of  1877  and  organized  by  Governor  Penning- 
ton March  5,  1877.  It  was  named  for  John  Law- 
rence, a  prominent  citizen  of  Yankton  who  went 
to  the  Hills  and  became  first  treasurer  of  his 
namesake  county.  Early  explorations  of  the 
county  are  lost  in  mystery,  but  the  modern  settle- 
ment dates  from  the  discovery  of  gold  in  the 
placers  by  John  B.  Pearson,  of  Yankton,  in  the 
autumn  of  1875.  The  grand  rush  to  the  section 
occurred  the  following  spring.  Deadwood,  Lead, 
Spearfish  and  Whitewood  are  the  chief  towns. 
Deadwood,  the  county  seat,  was  destroyed  by 
fire  in  September,  1879,  and  again  by  a  great 
flood  in  May,  1883.  Mining  is  the  principal  in- 
dustry. The  Homestake  is  the  largest  mine  in 
the  world.  It  is  located  at  Lead,  the  chief  city  of 
the  Hills,  and  the  second  in  size  in  the  state.  The 
L^nited  States  court  is  located  at  Deadwood  and  a 
government  assay  office.  A  state  normal  school 
is  located  at  Spearfish,  founded  in  1887.  Gideon 
C.  Moody,  of  Deadwood,  was  United  States  sen- 
ator, 1889-91 ;  Kirk  G.  Phillips,  state  treasurer, 
1895-9;  Eben  W.  Martin,  member  of  congress 
since  1901.  The  office  of  mine  inspector  has 
from  its  foundation  been  accorded  to  Lawrence 


county.  Area,  814  square  miles.  Population, 
17,897  in  1900.  Company  L,  First  South  Dakota, 
in  Philippines,  was  recruited  at  Spearfish,  and 
Troop  A,  Grigsby's  Cowboys,  Spanish  war,  at 
Deadwood. 


This  county  was  created  by  the  first  legisla- 
ture in  1862  and  was  named  for  the  President. 
It  was  doubtless  explored  by  LeSeuer's  voyageurs 
two  hundred  years  ago.  The'  modern  settlement 
began  in  the  summer  of  1866,  when  A.  I.  Linder- 
man  located  at  Fairview.  The  next  year  there 
was  a  considerable  settlement  and  the  county  was 

j  organized  by  act  of  the  legislature  approved  De- 

i  cember  30th,  fixing  the  county  seat  at  Canton.  It 
is  a  great  agricultural  county.  Two  lines  of  the 
Milwaukee  Railroad  cross  here,  having  been  built 

j  in  1878-9-80.  The  chief  towns  are  Canton,  where 
is  located  Augustana  College,  of  the  Scandinavian 
Lutherans,  and  the  National  Asylum  for  Insane 
Indians,  Hudson,  Fairview,  Harrisburg,  Lennox 
and  Worthing.    Peter  C.  Shannon,  of  this  county, 

i  was  chief  justice,  1873-81 ;  Oscar  S.  Gii?ord, 
member  of  congress,  1885  to  1891  ;  Thomas 
Thorson,  secretary  of  state,  1893-1897;  Henry 
Cooper,  public  examiner,  1901-3 ;  Geofge  W. 
Nash,  superintendent  public  instruction,  1903 ; 
N.  C.  Nash,  commissioner  Soldiers'  Home.  1901 ; 
Abraham  Boynton,  railroad  commissioner  in  ter- 
ritorial days.  Area,  579  square  miles.  Popula- 
tion, 1900,  12,161.  Company  D,  First  South  Da- 
kota, in  Philippine  war,  was  recruited  at  Worth- 
ing. 

LYMAN. 

Lyman  county  was  named  for  William  Penn 
Lyman,  the  first  settler  of  Yankton  county.  It 
was  created  in  1873,  but  was  defined  as  at  present 
in  1897.  It  was  organized  by  Governor  Sheldon 
in  1894.  It  was  an  important  region  in  the  days 
of  the  fur  traders  and  many  posts  were  located 
within  its  borders.  Among  these  were  Kiowa, 
Lookout  and  Hale,  the  latter  a  military  post  to 
protect  the  Brule  agency.  The  soil  was  relin- 
quished by  the  Indians  in  1889  and  the  present 
settlement  dates  from  that  time.  It  is  all  within 
the  great  cattle  range  country  and  stock  ranging 


HIST(3RY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


403 


is  the  chief  industry.  It  contains  3456  square 
miles  and  a  population  of  2.632.  Oacoma,  on 
the  IMissouri,  is  the  county  seat. 


McCook  county  was  carved  out  by  the  legis- 
lature of  1873  ^"d  named  for  Edward  S.  McCook, 
secretary  of  Dakota.  The  first  settlement  was 
made  at  Miller's  gulch,  on  the  Vermillion,  by  H. 
C.  Miller,  in  1871.  The  county  was  organized 
May  16,  1878,  by  Governor  Howard.  The  county 
seat  was  located  at  Cameron  by  the  commission- 
ers and  at  the  election  the  following  November 
the  voters  chose  Cameron  as  the  permanent  loca- 
tion, but  the  election  in  1880  sent  it  to  Bridge- 
water.  In  November,  1882,  it  was  changed  to 
Salem.  The  Milwaukee  Railroad  was  built 
through  the  county  in  1880  and  in  1881  the 
Omaha  reached  Salem.  Salem,  Canistota.  Bridge- 
water,  Montrose  and  Spencer  are  the  chief  towns. 
Agriculture  the  chief  pursuit.  O.  S.  Pender, 
clerk  of  the  United  States  court,  is  a  resident  of 
Salem.  Area,  575  square  miles.  Population, 
1900,  8,689. 

m'pherson. 

McPherson  county,  named  for  General  Mc- 
Pherson,  was  created  by  the  legislature  of  1873. 
It  was  organized  ten  years  later  by  Governor 
Ordway,  with  the  usual  attending  scandal.  Its 
first  settler  was  John  Webber,  who  settled  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  county  in  1882.  Leola  is  the 
county  seat,  Eureka  the  chief'town.  Stock  grow- 
ing is  the  principal  pursuit.  F.  C.  Boucher,  of 
this  county,  was  regent  of  education,  1893-7,  ^^i^ 
is  now  World's  Fair  "commissioner;  Charles  N. 
Herreid.  lieutenant  governor,  1893-7;  regent  of 
education,  1897-1900;  governor,  1901-3.  Elwood 
G.  Kennedy,  United  States  marshal,  1897-1905. 
Area,  1,146  square  miles.  Population,  1900, 
6,827. 

M.\RSHALL. 

^larshall  county,  created  from  north  half  of 
Day  county  in  1885,  named  for  Governor  Mar- 
shall, of  Minnesota.  First  settlement.  Fort  Wads- 
worth,  afterward  Sisseton,  1864.  Chief  town  and 


county  seat,  Britton.  Agriculture  and  stock  rais- 
ing. D.  T.  Hindman,  lieutenant  governor,  1897- 
99.  Area,  880  square  miles.  Population,  1900, 
5,942.  The  agricultural  settlement  of  the  county 
began  in  1881.  In  1892  the  portion  of  the  county 
embraced  within  the  Sisseton  reservation  was 
opened  to  settlement,  adding  largely  to  population 
and  importance  of  county.  Fort  Sisseton  was 
abandoned  in  1888.  The  coteau  lakes  and  streams 
of  this  county  have  always  been  a  resort  for  the 
Indians,  and  potteries,  where  the  primitive  earth- 
enware of  the  Ree  Indians  was  made,  were  dis- 
covered by  Captain  Comfort,  of  the  regular  army, 
at  Kettle  Lake. 


Named  for  Fort  Meade,  which  is  located  in 
this  county  and  was  named  for  the  famous  gen- 
eral of  the  rebellion.     The  county  was  cut  off 

j   from  the  eastern  portion  of  Lawrence  in   1889. 

j  Sturgis,  near  Fort  Meade,  is  the  county  seat. 
Agriculture,  lumbering  and  stock  raising  are  the 

!  chief  industries.     The  first  settlements  were  road 

I  houses  on  the  trail  from  Pierre,  via  Rapid,  to 
Dead\\'ood,  in  1876.  Fort  Meade,  first  known  as 
Camp  Sturgis,  was  located  August  i,  1878,  and 
the  settlement  grew  up  around  it  and  under  its 
protection.  The  building  of  Fort  Meade  was  the 
practical  end  of  Indian  troubles  in  the  Hills.  An 
important  Catholic  academy  is  located  at  Sturgis. 
Black  Hawk  has  extensive  saw  mills.  The  rail- 
road reached  this  locality  in  1889.  Dr.  William 
G.  Smith,  of  Sturgis,  has  been  railway  commis- 
sioner since  1899.  Area,  3,003  square  miles,  and 
population,  1900.  4,907.  Troop  D,  Grigsby's 
Cowboys,  recruited  at  Sturgis. 


]^Iiner  county  was  named  jointly  for  Captain 
Nelson  Miner  and  Ephraim  Miner,  of  Yankton, 
both  of  whom  were  members  of  the  legislature  of 
1873  which  created  the  county.  Then  it  occu- 
pied the  south  half  of  what  is  now  Miner  and 
Sanborn  counties,  the  remainder  being  called 
Bramble  county.  The  Brown  bill  of  1879  dropped 
Bramble  county  and  called  Miner  and  Sanborn 
as  at  present  known,  Miner.     This  county  was 


404 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


organized  bv  Governor  Ordway,  in  November, 
1880,  with  Forestburg.  on  the  James  river,  as 
the  capital.  March  9,  1883,  Sanborn  cotmty  was 
cut  off  the  west  end  and  the  cajDital  of  the  cur- 
tailed Miner  located  at  Howard.  The  settlement 
chiefly  dates  from  the  building  of  the  Southern 
Minnesota  Railway  in  1881,  though  there  had 
been  some  scattering  settlement  from  1879.  The 
county  is  bisected  by  the  old  Nobles  road  of  1857, 
which  ran  about  on  the  line  of  the  present  rail- 
way. It  is  a  farming  and  stock  region.  Howard, 
Carthage,  Vilas  and  Canova  are  the  chief  towns. 
S.  H.  Bronson  was  commissioner  of  soldiers' 
home,  1897-1901.  Area,  569  square  miles.  Pop- 
ulation, 1900,  5,864. 

MINNEH.XHA. 

Minnehaha  county  was  created  by  the  first 
legislature  and  an  organization  was  effected,  but 
it  lapsed  that  year  owing  to  the  Indian  troubles, 
which  drove  the  whites  away.  The  earliest  ex- 
ploration of  the  section  was  by  LeSeuer's  voy- 
ageurs  in  1700  or  thereabouts.  The  settlement 
began  in  1857,  but,  as  stated  before,  was  broken 
up  by  the  Indians.  The  new  settlement  began 
with  the  location  of  Fort  Dakota  in  1865.  Few 
settlers  came  until  about  1869  and  1870.  Sioux 
Falls,  the  county  seat,  is  the  location  of  the  peni- 
tentiary, located  in  1877-79.  School  for  Deaf 
Mutes,  1883;  Children's  Home,  1890;  United 
States  court,  1890.  The  three  successive  consti- 
tutional conventions  were  held  in  Sioux  Falls, 
1883,  1885,  1889.  Important  wholesaling  and 
distributing  point.  Fred  Cross  was  immigration 
commissioner,  1875-77 ;  Richard  F.  Pettigrew, 
member  of  congress  1881-83  ;  United  States  sen- 
ator. 1 889- 1 901  ;  Melvin  Grigsby,  attorney  gen- 
eral, 1897-99;  colonel  Grigsby's  Cowboys,  in 
Spanish  war,  1898 ;  United  States  attorney  for 
Alaska,  1902 ;  Alfred  B.  Kittredge,  United 
States  senator,  1901  ;  Charles  E.  McKinney,  rail- 
road commissioner,  1891-3;  Joseph  M.  Bailey, 
territorial  treasurer,  1889.  Company  B,  First 
South  Dakota,  in  Philippine  war.  and  Troop  B, 
Grigsby's  Cowboys,  recruited  here.  Area.  802 
square   miles.      Population.    1900.   23,896.      D^ll 


Rapids,  Garretson  and  ^'alley  Springs  are  other 
important  towns.  Agriculture  and  quarrying, 
chief  industries. 


]Moody  county  was  carved  out.  of  the  northern 
portion  of  Minnehaha  and  the  southern  portion  of 
Brookings  by  the  legislature  of  1873,  and  was 
organized  b\'  Governor  Burbank  in  August  of 
that  year.  The  big  bend  of  the  Sioux  river  has 
been  a  favorite  resort  for  Indians  always.  The 
Omahas  had  a  town  here  two  hundred  years 
ago.  A  fur  post  tributary  to  Hudson  Bay  was 
abandoned  here  in  1763.  In  1822  Joseph  La- 
Frambois  established  a  post  here,  which  he  con- 
ducted until  1827.  In  1857  the  Dakota  Land 
Company  located  Flandreau  town  site,  but  was 
compelled  to  abandon  it  by  hostile  Yanktons  the 
next  year  and  it  was  not  again  occupied  until 
1869,  when,  the  Sisseton  Indian  settlement  hav- 
ing been  made  there,  C.  K.  Howard  established 
a  trading  post.  F.  W.  Pettigrew  settled  upon 
the  town  site  in  1872.  The  government  has  one 
of  its  most  elaborate  and  extensive  schools  for 
the  education  of  Indians  at  this  point.  The  plant 
consists  of  fourteen  large  buildings.  It  is  a  rich 
agricultural  section.  George  Rice,  attorney  gen- 
eral, 1885-6;  Dr.  F.  A.  Spafford,  regent  of  educa- 
tion from  1897;  John  E.  Kelly,  member  bf  con- 
gress, 1897-1899.  are  some  of  the  men  who  have 
represented  the  county  in  public  affairs.  Area. 
517  square  miles.     Population,  1900.  8.326. 

PENNINGTON. 

Named  for  Governor  Pennington.  Created, 
1877.  Organized  same  year.  Exploration  by 
Lieutenant  G.  K.  Warren,  1857,  and  General 
Custer,  1874.  Settled  by  gold  prospectors. 
1875-6.  County  seat  at  Rapid  City,  chief  town. 
Site  of  government  and  Episcopal  Indian  schools, 
and  State  School  of  Mines,  founded  in  1887.  Has 
large  gold  reduction  works,  L'nited  States  land 
office  and  weather  bureau.  Agriculture,  mining 
and  stock  ranging.  County  limits  extended  in 
1897.  Rapid  City  was  the  entrapot  to  the  Black 
Hills  in  the  days  when  all  of  the  passenger  and 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


freight  traffic  was  transported  from  the  Missouri 
at  Pierre.  John  H.  King,  railway  commissioner, 
1889-91 ;  William  H.  Tompkins,  railway  com- 
missioner, 1897-1900,  superintendent  Reform 
School,  1900-1901,  are  among  public  representa- 
tives. Area,  2,596  square  miles.  Population, 
1900,  5,610.  Company  M,  First  South  Dakota, 
in  Philippine  war,  recruited  here. 


Named  for  Dr.  J.  A.  Potter,  of  Yankton ;  was 
formerly  known  as  Ashmore  county.  Was  the 
home  of  a  band  of  Yanktonias,  called  the  Siounes. 
Medicine  Rock,  a  curiously  carved  stone  near 
mouth  of  Little  Cheyenne,  still  an  object  of  won- 
der, was  examined  by  Generel  Henry  Atkinson 
in  1825.  County  created  in  1873.  Boundaries 
changed  in  1879.  Organized  by  Ordway  in  No- 
vember, 1883.  County  seat  at  Gettysburg,  chief 
town.  Forest  City,  on  Missouri,  has  good  bridge 
site.  Agricultural  and  stock  section.  F.  C. 
King,  insurance  commissioner,  1899-1901.  Area, 
900  square  miles.     Population,  1900,  2.988. 


Roberts  county  was  named  for  S.  G.  Roberts, 
of  Fargo,  was  created  by  legislature  of  1883  and 
was  organized  August  1st  of  that  year.  The 
chief  portion  of  this  countv  was  comprised  within 
the  Sisseton  Indian  reservation  and  was  not 
opened  to  settlement  until  April  15,  i8q2.  The 
original  county  seat  was  at  Wilmot,  but  after  the 
opening  of  the  reservation  Sisseton  was  built  and 
has  become  the  county  seat  by  vote  of  the  people 
in  1898.  The  earliest  exploration  known  was 
probably  made  by  DeLusigan  in  1745.  Joseph 
R.  Brown,  about  1830,  was  the  first  white  set- 
tler. His  descendants  still  reside  in  the  county. 
Tt  is  a  fine  agricultural  section  and  with  the  open- 
ing of  the  reservation  in  1892  a  flood  of  home- 
steaders poured  in,  making  it  one  of  the  most 
populous  and  wealthy  counties  of  the  state. 
David  Eastman,  commissioner  of  school  and  pub- 
lic lands,  1899-1903;  L.  A.  Perkins,  insurance 
commissioner,  1903,  are  among  the  representa- 
tive men  in  public  affairs.  Sisseton  agency  is 
the  capital  of  the  Sisseton  Indians,  who  are  citi- 


zens, holding  their  lands  in  severalty.  The  area 
is  1,102  square  miles  and  the  population  in  1900 
was  12,216. 


Sanborn  county,  in  1883  cut  ofif  from  the  west 
end  of  Miner  count}',  was  named  for  G.  W. 
Sanborn,  of  Mason  City,  Iowa,  then  general  su- 
perintendent of  the  Milwaukee  lines  in  Dakota. 
Its  first  settlement  was  made  in  1875  ^^^^  Foi"" 
estburg.  The  county  seat,  first  at  Forestburg,  was 
removed  to  Woonsocket,  at  the  crossing  of  the 
James  Valley  and  Southern  Minnesota  divisions 
of  the  Milwaukee  Railway  and  is  the  chief  city. 
Letcher  and  Artesian  are  other  important  towns. 
Agriculture  and  stock  growing  chief  interests. 
Theodore  D.  Kanouse,  member  of  congress, 
statehood  movement  and  warden  penitentiary, 
1889-91  ;  Henry  E.  Mayhew,  state  auditor, 
1897-99;  Robert  E.  Dowdell,  oil  inspector, 
1897-99;  John  T.  Kean,  lieutenant  governor, 
1899-1901  ;  H.  C.  Warner,  railway  commissioner, 
1893-95,  ^re  among  the  public  men.  Area,  576 
square  miles.     Population,  1900,  4.464. 


Spink  county  was  named  for  S.  L.  Spink, 
secretary  of  the  territory,  1865-68,  delegate  to 
congress,  1869-71.  It  was  created  in  1873  ^s  the 
south  half  of  the  present  county,  the  north  half 
being  called  Thompson  county,  but  by  the  Brown 
bill  of  1879  the  present  boundaries  were  fixed. 
The  first  settler  was  probably  William  Dickson, 
who  established  a  fur  post  at  Armadale  in  1832. 
.Armadale  was  an  important  Indian  camp  down 
until  1882.  The  first  modern  settlers  were  Sam- 
uel W.  Bowman  and  Harlan  P.  Packard,  who  lo- 
cated at  Old  Ashton  in  1878.  The  county  was 
organized  by  Governor  Howard  July  22,  1879, 
and  the  county  seat  was  located  at  old  Ashton, 
where  it  remained  until  1885,  when  it  was  re- 
moved to  Ashton  by  act  of  the  legislature,  and 
by  vote  of  the  people  that  year  permanently  lo- 
cated at  Redfield.  Redfield  is  chief  town.  Ash- 
ton, Mellette,  Northville,  Athbl.  Frankfort,  Do- 
land,  Conde  are  important  villages.  Redfield 
College,  founded  in  1884,  and  State  Asylum  for 


4o6 


HISTORY    OF    S(JUTH    DAKOTA. 


Feeble   Minded  Children,   1899:  Frank  J.  Cory, 
regent  of  education,  1890;  W.  \V.  Taylor,  state  j 
treasurer,    1891-95 ;    C.    H.    Aleyers,    public    ex- 
aminer,   1893-95  '■    Otto     C.    Berg,    secretary    of 
state,  1 901 -1 905  ;  C.  ]\I.  Howe,  commissioner  of 


school  and  public  lands,  1903,  are  among  the 
public  men  who  have  served  the  state  and  terri- 
tory. A'ery  rich  agricultural  community.  Area. 
624  square  miles.     Population,  1900.  13,175. 


charities  and  corrections,  1890-94,  are  public  rep-  [ 

resentatives.     Agriculture  and  stock  growing  are  j 

chief  industries.     Area,  1.5 18  square  miles.    Fop-  | 
ulation,  1900,  9.487. 


Named  for  the  African  explorer.  Created  by 
act  of  1873.  Was  part  of  great  Sioux  reserva- 
tion opened  in  1890,  organized  that  year  by  Gov- 
ernor Mellette.  County  seat  and  chief  town. 
Fort  Pierre.  Boundaries  enlarged  in  1897.  Set- 
tled at  Fort  Pierre  by  Joseph  LaFrambois  in 
1817.  Fort  Tecumseh,  built  about  1822.  Fort 
Pierre.  1832.  Government  buys  Fort  Pierre  for 
military  purposes,  1855.  Harney,  with  one  thou- 
sand two  hundred  troops,  winters  at  fort  and 
vicinity,  1855-6.  Entrapot  to  Black  Hills, 
1876-78.  River  point  for  vast  stock  range.  Area, 
4,882  square  miles.     Population.  1900,  1.341. 


Turner  county  was  named  for  J-  W.  Turner, 
a  pioneer  legislator  and  superintendent  of  piib- 
lic  instruction,  1870-71.  It  was  settled  by  Gid- 
eon C.  Moody,  W.  W.  Aurner,  S.  H.  Elliot,  F.  C. 
Hills  and  G.  M.  Ripley,  who  settled  at  Swan 
Lake  in  July,  1879.  Mr.  Aurner  and  his  family 
were  the  only  residents  during  the  next  winter. 
It  was  created  and  organized  directly  by  the  leg- 
islature of  1871,  which  by  law  named  the  officers 
for  the  organization  and  fixed  the  county  seat  at 
Swan  Lake.  The  railway  came  as  far  as  Marion 
Junction  in  1879,  giving  rise  to  Parker  and  Ma- 
rion, and  in  1883  the  Northwestern  built  through 
the  county  and  Hurley  and  Centerville  were 
born.  It  was  not  until  1893  that  the  Great  North- 
ern came,  bringing  into  being  Davis  and  V^iborg. 
The  county  seat  remained  at  Swan  Lake  until 
1 886,  when  it  was  removed  to  Parker.  J.  J.  Mc- 
Intyre,  superintendent  of  public  instruction  in 
1875-6:  Cortez  Salmon,  1891-95;  Emil  Brouch, 
oil  inspector.   1901-5;  C.  J.  Bach,  commissioner 


Sully  county  was  created  by  the  act  of  1873. 
and  was  named  for  General  Alfred  Sully.  It  was 
organized  by  Governor  Ordway  in  1883,  and  the 
county  seat  located  at  Clifton,  a  town  no  longer 
upon  the  map.  The  present  county  seat  is  Onida. 
The  county  was  explored  by  Lewis  and  Clarke 
and  the  early  traders.  Present  settlement  began 
in  1866  with  the  removal  of  Fort  Sully  from 
Pierre  to  the  point  opposite  the  Cheyenne  where 
it  was  maintained  until  abandoned  in  1894  as  not 
longer  needed  to  protect  the  frontier.  The  coun- 
try is  especially  adapted  to  stock  growing. 
Thomas  M.  Goddard,  of  this  county,  is  com- 
mandant of  the  Soldiers'  Home.  Area,  1.052 
square  miles.     Population.   1900.  1.715. 


This  county  was  organized  by  the  first  legis- 
lature as  Cole  county  and  the  county  seat  was  lo- 
cated about  where  the  village  of  McCook  now  is, 
but  in  1862  was  removed  to  Elk  Point.  The 
earliest  settlers  were  French  squaw  men  at  Sioux 
Point.  Eli  B.  Wixson  settled  at  Elk  Point  July 
22.  1859,  the  first  settler  in  that  vicinity.  The 
next  year  a  large  colony  settled  upon  Brule 
creek.  The  inhabitants  were  largely  driven  away 
by  the  Indian  excitement  of  1862.  Company  B 
of  the  Dakota  cavalry,  was  recruited  at  Elk  Point, 
1862-3.  Milwaukee  Railway,  then  Southern  Da- 
kota, came  1872.  Northwestern,  bringing  Al- 
cester  and  Beresford,  in  1882.  A'ery  rich  ag- 
ricultural section.  T.  M.  Stuart.  1869,  J.  W. 
Turner,  1871-72.  E.  W.  Miller,  1872-74,  W.  E. 
Caton,  1877-78,  were  superintendents  of  public 
instruction:  John  Clemantson,  1875-76.  territorial 
treasurer:  J.  M.  Talcott,  commissioner  of  chari- 
ties and  corrections,  1889-90;  Amund  O.  Rings- 
rud,  secretary  of  state,  1889-93 ;  H.  H.  Blair,  re- 
gent of  education,  1 897-1 901,  are  men  of  the 
county  who  have  served  in  state  offices.  .\rea. 
447  square  miles.     Population.  1900.  11. 153. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


WALWORTH. 

This  county  was  named  in  honor  of  Wal- 
worth county,  Wisconsin.  It  was  created  by  the 
lesfislaturc  of  1873,  and  organized  by  Governor 
Ordway  May  5,  1883.  The  county  seat  is  at  Ban- 
gor. The  county  was  explored  by  the  Missouri 
river  voyageurs  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  Its  settlement  came  in  1882-3,  in  the 
days  of  the  great  Dakota  boom.  The  Milwaukee 
Railway  was  built  to  Bowdle  in  1884-5  ^"^  ex- 
tended to  Evarts,  on  the  Missouri,  in  1900. 
Selby  and  Evarts  date  from  1900.  It  is  an  agri- 
cultural and  stock-raising  country.  The  rescue 
of  Shetak  captives  in  1862,  referred  to  in  another 
chapter,  occurred  in  this  county.  George  H. 
Hoffman,  lieutenant  governor,  1891-3,  and  Dr. 
J.  P.  Foster,  present  state  veterinarian,  reside  in 
this  county.  Area,  745  square  miles.  Popula- 
tion, 1900,  3,839. 


Y.\NKTON. 

^^■as  created  by  first  legislature  and  named 
for  Yankton  Indians.  The  county  seat  was  fixed 
at  Yankton,  territorial  capital,  1861-1883.  Set- 
tled by  W.  P.  Lyman,  1857,  as  trader.  General 
settlement  began  July  10,  1859,  with  opening 
of  reservation.  Rich  agricultural  section.  Im- 
portant Portland  cement  works  established  1889. 
Yankton  College  founded  by  Congregationalists 
in  1 88 1,  oldest  college  in  state.  State  Hospital 
for  Insane  founded  1879.  First  railroad  in  1872. 
Initial  point  for  extensive  up-river  steamboat 
i  traffic  from  1872  until  1881.  Has  furnished 
I  more  men  for  public  service  than  any  county. 
Home  of  present  United  States  Senator  Robert 
J.  Gamble.  Company  A,  Dakota  cavalry,  1862, 
j  and  Company  C,  First  South  Dakota,  in  Philip- 
pine war,  recruited  here.  Area,  515  square  miles. 
Population,  1900,  12,649. 


CHAPTER  LXXV 


TERRITORIAL  AND   STATE  OFFICERS    FROM     THE    ORGANIZATION     OF    DA- 
KOTA TERRITORY,    1861. 


TERRITORIAL     OFFICERS. 

Delegates  to  Congress. — In  its  twenty-eight 
years  of  existence  as  a  territory,  there  were  dele- 
gates to  congress  as  follows :  J.  B.  S.  Todd, 
1862-64;  W.  A.  Burleigh,  1864-69;  S.  L.  Spink, 
1869-71;  M.  K.  Armstrong,  1871-75;  J.  P.  Kid- 
der, 1875-79;  G.  G.  Bennett,  1879-81 ;  R.  F.  Pet- 
tigrew,  1881-83;  J.  B.  Raymond,  1883-85;  Oscar 
S.  Gifford,  1885-88;  George  A.  Mathews,  1888- 
89.  George  A.  Mathews  was  elected  delegate  to 
congress  in  November,  1888,  his  term  to  com- 
mence March  4,  1889.  Congress  did  not  con- 
vene until  December  following.  Before  that  time 
statehood  had  been  accomplished,  and  he  was 
therefore   never  sworn   in. 

Goi'crnors. — William  Jayne,  1861-63  ;  New- 
ton Edmunds,  1863-66;  Andrew  J.  Faulk,  1866- 
69;  John  A.  Burbank,  1869-74;  John  L.  Pen- 
nington, 1874-78;  William  A.  Howard  (died  in 
office  April  10,  1880),  1878-80;  Nehemiah  G. 
Ordway,  1880-84;  Gilbert  A.  Pierce,  1884-87; 
Louis  K.  Church,  1887-89;  Arthur  C.  Mellette, 
1889. 

Secretaries. — John  Hutchinson,  1861-65;  S. 
L.  Spink,  1865-69;  T.  M.  Wilkins,  1869-70;  G.  A. 
Batchelor.  1870-72;  E.  S.  McCook  (assassinated 
in  office  September,  1873,  by  Peter  P.  Winter- 
mute),  1872-73;  Oscar  Whitney,  1873-74; 
George  H.  Hand,  1874-83;  J.  M.  Teller.  1883- 
86;  Michael  L.  McCormack,  1886-89;  L.  B. 
Richardson,   1889. 


Chief  Justices. — Philemon  Bliss,  1861-64 ;  Ara 
Bartlett,  1865-69;  George  W.  French,  1869-73; 
Peter  C.  Shannon,  1873-81 ;  A.  J.  Edgerton, 
1881-85;  Bartlett  Tripp,  1885-89. 

Associate  Justices. — S.  P.  Williston,  1861-65; 
J.  S.  Williams,  1861-64;  Ara  Bartlett,  1864-65; 
W.  E.  Gleason,  1865-66;  J.  P.  Kidder,  1865-75; 
W.  W.  Brookings,  1864-69;  J.  W.  Boyle,  1869- 
73 ;  A.  H.  Barnes,  1873-81 ;  G.  G.  Bennett,  1875- 
79;  G.  C.  Moody,  1878-83;  J.  P.  Kidder  (died 
in  office),  1878-83;  C.  S.  Palmer,  1883-87;  S.  A. 
Hudson,  1881-85;  W.  E.  Church  (resigned), 
1883-86;  Louis  K.  Church  (resigned),  1885-87; 
Seward  Smith  (resigned),  1884-84;  W.  H.  Fran- 
cis, 1884-88;  John  E.  Garland,  1887-89;  William 
B.  McConnell,  1885-88;  Charles  U.  Thomas, 
1886-89;  James  Spencer,  1887-89;  Roderick 
Rose,  1888-89;  C.  F.  Templeton,  1888-89;  L.  W. 
Crofoot,   1888-89;  Frank  R.  Aikens,   1889. 

United  States  Attorneys.- — William  E. 
Gleason,  1861-64;  George  H.  Hand,  1866-69; 
Warren  Coles  (died  in  office),  1869-73;  William 
Pound  (died  in  office),  1873-77;  Hugh  J.  Camp- 
bell, 1877-85;  John  E.  Garland,  1885-88;  William 
E.  Purcell,  1888-89;  John  Murphy,  1889. 

United  States  Marshals. — William  F.  Shaffer, 
1 86 1 -61;  G.  M.  Pinney,  1861-65;  L.  H.  Litch- 
field, 1865-72;  J.  H.  Burdick,  1872-77;  J.  B.  Ray- 
mond, 1877-81 ;  Harrison  Allen,  1881-85  ;  Daniel 
W.  Maratta,  1885-89. 

Sun'cyor  Generals. — George  D.  Hill.  1861- 
65;  William  Tripp,  1865-69;  W.  H.  H.  Beadle, 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


409 


1869-73:  William  P.  Dewey,  1873-77;  Henry 
Experson.  1877-81;  Cortez  Fessenden,  1881-85; 
Maris  Taylor,  1885-89;  B.  H.  Sullivan,  1889. 

Attorney  Generals. —  Alexander  Hughes, 
1883-84;  George  H.  Rice,  1884-86;  George  S. 
Engle,  1886;  Charles  F.  Templeton,  1887-88; 
Tristram  Skinner,  1889;  Johnson  Nickeus,  1889. 

Auditors. — Justus  Townsend,  1861-65 ;  Jo- 
seph R.  Hanson,  1865-69;  E.  A.  Sherman,  1879- 
81;  L.  ]\I.  Purdy,  1881-82;  George  L.  Ordway, 
1883-86;  E.  W.  Caldwell,  1885-86;  James  A. 
Ward,  1887-88;  J.  C.  McNamarra,  1889. 

Treasurers. — S.  G.  Irish,  1861-63 ;  J.  O.  Tay- 
lor, 1863-64;  AI.  K.  Armstrong,  1865-68;  T.  K. 
Hovey,  1869-70;  E.  A.  Sherman,  1871-74;  John 
Clementson,  1875-77;  W.  H.  McVay,  1878-B3; 
J.  W.  Raymond,  1883-87;  J.  D.  Lawler,  1887- 
88;  Jos.  Bailey,  1889. 

Superintendents  of  Public  Instruction. — 
James  S.  Foster  (ex-officio),  1864-1868;  T.  Mc- 
Kendrick  Stuart,  1869;  James  S.  Foster,  1869- 
70;  J.  W.  Turner,  1870-71  ;  E.  W.  Miller,  1872- 
74;  J.  J.  Mclntyre,  1875-76;  W.  E.  Caton,  1877- 
78;  W.  H.  H.  Beadle,  1879-85;  A.  Sheridan 
Jones,  1885-87;  Eugene  A.  Dye,  1887-89;  Leon- 
ard A.  Rose,  1889. 

Commissioners  of  Railroads. — William  AI. 
Evens,  chairman,  Alexander  Griggs,  1886;  W. 
H.  McVay,  Alexander  Griggs,  chairman,  A. 
Boynton,  1887;  N.  T.  Smith,  Judson  LaMoure, 
chairman,  John  H.  King,  1890;  Harvey  J.  Rice. 

ST.\TE    OFFICERS. 

Governors. — Arthur  C.  Mellette,  1889-1892; 
Charles  H.  Sheldon,  1893-1896;  Andrew  E.  Lee, 
1897-1900;  Charles  N.  Herreid,  1901-2-3. 

Lieutenant  Governors. — James  H.  Fletcher, 
1889-90;  George  H.  Hoffman,  1890-1892; 
Charles  N.  Herreid,  1893-1896;  D.  T.  Hindman, 
1897-1898;  John  T.  Kean,  1899-1900;  George  W. 
Snow,  1901-2-3-4. 

Secretaries  of  State. — A.  O.  Ringsrud,  1889- 
1892:  Thomas  Thorson,  1893-1896:  William  H. 
Roddle,  1897-1900;  O.  C.  Berg,  1901-2-3. 

State  Auditors.— L.  C.  Taylor,  1889-1892 ;  J. 
E.    Hippie,    1893-180 ;    H.    E.    Mayhew,    1897- 


1898;  J.  D.  Reeves,  1899-1902;  J.  F.  Halliday, 
1903. 

State  Treasurers. — Wilbur  F.  Smith,  1889- 
1890;  W.  W.  Taylor,  1891-1894;  Kirk  G.  Phil- 
lips, 1895-1898;  John  Schamber,  1899-1902;  C. 
B.  Collins,   1903. 

Superintendents  of  Public  Instruction. — Gil- 
bert L.  Pinkham,  1889-1890;  Cortez  Salmon, 
1891-1894;  Frank  Crane,  1895-1898;  E.  E.  Col- 
lins, 1899-1902;  George  W.  Nash,  1903. 

Commissioners  of  School  and  Public  Lands. — 
Osner  H.  Parker,  1889-1890;  Thomas  H.  Ruth, 
1891-1894;  J.  L.  Lockhart,  1895-1898;  David 
Eastman,  1899-1902;  C.  J.  Bach,  1903. 

Attorney  Generals. — Robert  Dollard,  1889- 
1892;  Coe  I.  Crawford,  1893-1896;  Melvin  Grigs- 
by,  1897-1898;  John  L.  Pyle  (died  in  office), 
1899-1902;  A.  W.  Burtt,  1902;  Philo  Hall,  1903. 

Commissioners  of  Labor  Statistics. — R.  A. 
Smith,  1891-1892;  Walter  McKay,  1893-1894; 
S.  A.  Wheeler,  1895-1896. 

Railroad  Commissioners. — Harvey  J.  Rice, 
1889-93:  John  H.  King,  1889-91;  Albin  D. 
Chase,  1889-91;  Frank  P.  Phillips,  1891-92; 
Charles  E.  McKinney,  1891-93;  Frank  Conklin, 
1893-96;  H.  C.  Warner,  1893-96;  John  Brennan, 
1893-96;  George  A.  Johnston,  1895-1896; 
W.  T.  LaFollette,  1897-1900;  Alexander  Kirk- 
patrick,  1897-1902;  William  H.  Tompkins,  1897- 
1898;  William  G.  Smith,  1898  (term  expires  Jan- 
uary, 1905)  ;  Frank  LeCocq  (term  expires  Janu- 
ary, 1907)  ;  D.  H.  Smith,  1903  (term  expires 
January,  1909.)  Railroad  commissioners  were 
appointed  prior  to  1895,  but  after  that  time  were 
elected  for  two  years  until  the  legislature  of  1897 
extended  terms  of  incumbents,  making  regular 
terms  six  years.  Since  that  time  but  one  commis- 
sioner is  elected  every  two  years. 

Representatives  in  Congress. — O.  S.  Gifford, 
1889-1890;  J.  A.  Pickler,  1889-1896;  John  R. 
Gamble  (died  before  first  congress  met),  1891 ; 
John  L.  Jolly,  1891-1892;  W.  V.  Lucas,  1893- 
1894;  Robert  J.  Gamble,  1895-6-9-1900;  John  E. 
Kelly,  1897-1898;  Freeman  Knowles,  1897-1898; 
Charles  H.  Burke,  1897-1903;  Eben  W.  Martin, 
1 899- 1 903. 

United  States  Senators. — Gideon  C.  Moodv, 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


1889-1891;  Richard  F.  Pettigrew,  1889-1901  ; 
James  H.  Kyle.  1891-1901  (died  July  i.  1900); 
Robert  J.  Gamble,  1901  (term  expires  ;\larch  4, 
1907)  ;  Albert  B.  Kittredge,  1902  (Appointed 
to  fill  vacancy  caused  by  death  of  J.  H.  Kyle,  and 
elected  January  21.  1903.  for  term  ending  ;\Iarch 
3.  1909.). 

Judges  Supreme  Court. — Dighton  Corson, 
1889-1903  (term  expires  1906)  ;  Alphonso  G. 
Kellam,  1889  (resigned,  1896)  ;  John  E.  Ben- 
nett, 1889  (died  January  i,  1894,  before  enter- 
ing the  new  term,  for  which  he  had  been  elected)  ; 
H.  G.  Fuller  (appointed  to  fill  vacancy  caused 
by  death  of  Judge  Bennett,  elected  1899,  term  ex- 
pires 1906);  Dick  Haney  (appointed  to  fill  va- 
cancy caused  by  resignation  of  Judge  Kellam, 
elected  1899  for  term  ending  1906.). 

TERRITORIAL   LEGISLATURE. 

First  Session,  1862. — The  members  of  the 
first  territorial  assembly  were  elected  September 
16,  1861.  The  assembly  convened  at  Yankton, 
March  17,  1862,  and  continued  in  session  until 
I\Iay  15.  The  membership  was  as  follows: 
Council — John  H.  Shober,  president,  H.  D. 
Betts,  J.  "W.  Boyle,  D.  T.  Bramble,  W.  W. 
Brookings,  A.  Cole,  Jacob  Deuel,  J.  S.  Gregory, 
Enos  Stutsman.  House — George  M.  Phinney, 
speaker,  INIoses  K.  Armstrong,  Lyman  Burgess, 
J.  A.  Jacobson,  John  C.  ]\IcBride,  Christopher 
Aloloney,  A.  W.  Puett,  John  Stanage,  John  L. 
Tiernon,  Hugh  S.  Donaldson.  Reuben  Wallace, 
George  P.  Waldron,  B.  E.  Wood. 

Second  Session,  1862-3. — The  second  session 
of  the  legislature  met  at  Yankton,  December  i, 

1862,  and  continued  in  session  until  January  9, 

1863.  The  membership  was  as  follows :  Coun- 
cil— Enos  Stutsman,  president,  W.  W.  Brook- 
ings, Austin  Cole,  John  W.  Boyle,  Jacob  Deuel. 
D.  T.  Bramble,  J.  McFetridge,  J.  H.  Shober,  J. 
Shaw  Gregory.  House — A.  J.  Harlan,  speaker, 
]\I.  K.  Armstrong,  L.  Bothun,  J.  Y.  Buckman, 
H.  S.  Donaldson.  ]\I.  H.  Somers,  Edward  Gif- 
ford,  J.  A.  Jacobson.  R.  M.  Johnson,  G.  P.  Wal- 
dron, Knud  Larson,  F.  D.  Pease.  A.  W.  Puett, 
N.  J.  Wallace. 

Third    Session.    1863-4. — The    third    session 


convened  at  Yankton  December  7,.  1863,  and  con- 
tinued to  January  15,  1864.  It  had  the  following 
members  :  Council — Enos  Stutsman,  president, 
J.  M.  Stone,  G.  W.  Kingsbury,  J.  O.  Taylor,  ^L 
M.  Rich,  John  Mathers,  Lasse  Bothun,  Hugh 
Compton,  Franklin  Taylor,  D.  P.  Bradford,  J. 
Shaw  Gregory,  John  J.  Thompson.  House — 
A.  W.  Puett,  speaker,  H.  Burgess,  Ole  Bottolf- 
son,  E.  M.  Bond,  William  Shriner,  G.  \\'.  Pratt. 
John  Lawrence,  Henry  Brooks,  L.  H.  Litchfield, 
W.  W.  Brookings,  Knud  Larson,  Washington 
Reed,  P.  H.  Risling,  E.  W.  Wall,  Jesse  Wherry, 
Peter  Kegan,  N.  G.  Curtis,  Asa  Mattison,  B.  A. 
Hill,  Duncan  Ross,  Albert  Gore. 

Fourth  Session,  1864-5. — The  fourth  session 
met  at  Yankton  December  5,  1864,  and  continued 
to  January  13,  1865.  The  members  were  as  fol 
lows:  Council — Enos  Stutsman,  president,  J.  ]M. 
Stone,  G.  W.  Kingsbury,  J.  Q.  Taylor,  M.  M. 
Rich,  John  Mathers,  Lasse  Bothun,  Hugh  Comp- 
ton, Franklin  Taylor,  D.  P.  Bradford  J.  Shaw 
Gregory,  John  J.-  Thompson.  House — W.  W. 
Brookings,  speaker,  H.  Burgess,  J.  P.  Burgman, 
A.  Christy,  B.  W.  Collar,  Felicia  Fallas,  J.  R. 
Hanson,  Peter  Kegan,  George  W.  Kellogg.  P. 
Lemonges,  John  Lawrence,  ]\I.  i\I.  ]\Iatthiesen, 
Helge  jMatthews,  Francis  McCarthy,  John  W. 
Owens,  G,  W.  Pratt,  Washington  Reid.  John 
Rouse,  William  Shriner,  George  Stickne\-.  John 
W.  Turner,  E.  W.  Wall. 

Fifth  Session,  1865-6. — The  fifth  session  con- 
vened at  Yankton  December  3,  1865.  and  con- 
tinued to  January  12,  1866.  It  had  the  following 
members  :  Council — George  Stickney,  president, 
'.\I.  K.  Armstrong,  Austin  Cole,  G.  W.  Kings- 
bury, Qiarles  LeBreeche,  Nathaniel  Ross.  Enos 
Stutsman,  O.  F.  Stevens,  John  J.  Thompson. 
John  W.  Turner,  A.  L.  Van  Osdel,  Knud  Weeks. 
House — G.  B.  Bigelow,  speaker,  T.  C.  Watson, 
E.  C.  Collins.  William  Walter,  Michael  Curry, 
Michael  Ryan,  James  Whitehorn,  H.  J.  .\ustin, 
Amos  Hampton,  Franklin  Taylor,  James  Mc- 
Henry,  Joseph  Ellis,  A.  IM.  English,  Jacob 
Branch,  H.  C.  Ash,  S.  C.  Fargo.  W.  W.  Brook- 
mgs.  Jonathan  Brown.  J.  A.  Lewis.  Qiarles  H. 
McCarthy.  William  Stevens,  Edward  Lent, 
I  George  W.  Kellogg,  Charles  Cooper. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    D.\IvOTA. 


Sixth  Session,  1866-7. — The  sixth  session 
convened  at  Yankton  December  4,  1866,  and  con- 
tinued to  January  12,  1867.  The  membership 
was  as  follows:  Council — ^l.  K.  Armstrong, 
president,  Austin  Cole,  A.  G.  Fuller,  G.  W. 
Kingsbury,  Charles  La  lireeche.  J-  A.  Lewis,  D. 
AJ.  Mills,  Nathaniel  Ross,  O.  F.  Stevens,  John  J. 
Thompson,  John  W.  Turner.  A.  L.  \"an  Osdel. 
Knud  Weeks.  House — J.  ]>.  S.  Todd,  speaker, 
H.  C.  Ash,  Horace  J.  Austin,  D.  T.  Bramble, 
V\'.  X.  Collamer.  Michael  Curry,  Hugh  Fraley. 
Thomas  Frick,  L  T.  Gore,  \\'illiam  Gray,  Hans 
Gunderson,  AL  l'.  Hoyt,  Daniel  Hodgen.  Amos 
Hanson,  R.  M.  Johnson,  George  W.  Kellogg, 
A'incent  LaBelle,  Charles  H.  McCarthy.  N.  C. 
Stevens,  William  Stevens,  John  Trumbo,  Frank- 
lin Taylor,  Eli  B.  Wixson,  Kirwin  Wilson. 

SczTiith  Session,  1867-8. — Convened  at  Yank- 
ton December  2,  1867,  and  adjourned  January 
lO,  1868.  The  membership  was  as  follows: 
Council — Horace  J.  Austin,  president,  W.  W. 
Brookings,  \\\  W.  Benedict,  Aaron  Carpenter,  R. 
L  Thomas.  Hugh  Fraley,  R.  R.  Green,  A.  H. 
Hampton,  George  W.  Kellogg.  J.  A.  Lewis, 
Charles  H.  Alclntyre,  D.  i\L  Mills,  C.  F.  Ross- 
teuscher.  House — Enos  Stutsman,  speaker,  Wil- 
liam Blair,  ^^'il!iam  Brady,  F.  Bronson,  Jacob 
Branch,  Jonathan  Brown,  Caleb  Cnmmings, 
Michael  Curry,  F.  J.  DeWitt,  Martin  V.  Farris, 
Felicia  Fallas.  L  T.  Gore.  Hans  Gunderson, 
Amos  Hanson,  M.  U.  Hoyt,  John  L.  JoUey. 
James  Kegan,  G.  C.  IMoody,  T.  Xelson,  Michael 
Ryan,  Calvin  G.  Shaw,  John  J.  Thompson,  J.  D. 
Tucker,  Thomas  C.  Watson. 

Eighth  Session,  1865-6. — Convened  at  Yank- 
ton December  7,  1868,  and  adjourned  January 
15.  i86g.  It  had  the  following  membership: 
Council — N.  J.  Wallace,  president,  Horace  J. 
Austin,  W.  W.  Benedict.  W.  \\\  Brookings, 
Aaron    Carpenter,    Hugh    Fraley,    R.    R.    Green, 

A.  X.  Hampton,  George  W.  Kellogg.  J.  A. 
Lewis.  Charles  H.  Mclntyre,  C.  F.  Rossteucher. 

B.  E.  Wood.  House— G.  C.  Moody,  speaker,  Al- 
fred Abbott,  Oiarles  D.  Bradley,  G.  P.  Bennett. 
Calvin  M.  Brooks,  Jacob  Brauch,  John  Clemcnt- 
son,  X.  G.  Curtis.  J.  M.  Eves,  J.  Shaw  Gregory. 
J.  T.  Hewlett.  O.  T.  Haggin.  John  L.  Jolley.  A. 


W.  Jameson,  Hiram  Keith,  James  Keegan, 
Lewis  Larson,  Knud  Larson.  J.  La  Roche,  Jo- 
seph Moulin,  Charles  Ricker,  Enos  Stutsman.  ;\I. 
H.  Somers,  R.  T.  Mnson. 

A'/;///(  Session,  1870-1. — Convened  at  Yankton 
December  5.  1870,  and  continued  to  January  13. 
1871.  The  membership  was  as  follows:  Council 
— Emery  Morris,  president.  j\I.  K.  Armstrong, 
Jacob  Branch,  W.  M.  Cuppett,  Hugh  Fraley, 
Silas  W.  Kidder,  Nelson  Miner,  Charles  H.  Mc- 
lntyre, J.  C.  Kennedy,  \\'.  T.  :McKay,  James  M. 
Stone.  John  ^^'.  Turner.  House — George  H. 
Hand,  speaker.  Charles  Allen,  \'.  R.  L.  Barnes, 
F.  J.  Cross,  C.  P.  Dow,  A.  P.  Hammon,  John 
Hancock,  William  Hobrough,  O.  B.  Iverson,  H. 
A.  Jerauld,  James  Keegan,  J.  La  Roche,  Nelson 
Learned,  A.  J.  Mills,  E.  Miner,  Noah  Wherry, 
R.  Mostow,  S.  L.  Parker,  Amos  F.  Shaw,  Philip 
Sherman,  John  C.  Sinclair,  Ole  Sampson,  E.  W. 
Wall. 

Tenth  Session.  1872-3. — The  tenth  session- 
met  at  Yankton  December  2,  1872.  and  continued 
to  January  10,  1873.  It  had  the  following  mem- 
bership :  Council — Alexander  Hughes,  presi- 
dent, D.  T.  Bramble,  E.  B.  Crew,  H.  P.  Cooley, 
J.  Flick,  John  Lawrence,  Nelson  Miner,  Joseph 
Mason,  J.  Gehan,  Charles  H.  Mclntyre,  O.  F. 
Stevens,  Enos  Stutsman,  Henry  Smith.  House 
— A.  J.  Mills,  speaker,  Samuel  Ashmore,  Ole 
Bottolfson,  John  Becker,  Jacob  Brauch,  Newton 
Clark,  N.  B.  Campbell,  Michael  Glynn,  William 
Hamilton,  A.  B.  Wheelock,  James  Hyde,  Cyrus 
Knapp,  T.  A.  Kingsbury,  Judson  La^Ioure,  E.  A. 
Williams,  Ephraim  Miner,  George  Norbeck.  Jo- 
seph Roberts,  O.  C.  Peterson,  Jens  Peterson. 
Silas  Rohr,  Martin  Trygstadt,  J.  W.  Turner. 
John  Thompson,  B.  E.  Wood,  W.  P.  Lyman. 

Elez'eiith  Session,  1874-5. — Convened  at 
Yankton  December  7,  1874,  and  adjourned  Janu- 
ary 15,  1875.  The  membership  was  as  follows: 
Council — John  L.  Jolley,  president,  H.  J.  Aus- 
tin, Jacob  Brauch,  Philip  Qiandler,  Benton  Fra- 
ley, G.  W.  Harlan.  John  Lawrence.  A.  Mc- 
Hench,  M.  Pace,  IVI.  W.  Sheafe,  O.  F.  Stevens, 
C.  S.  West,  E.  A.  Williams.  House— G.  C. 
Moody,  speaker,  H.  O.  Anderson,  George  Bos- 
worth,   Hector   Bruce,  J.   L.   Berry,   L.   Bothun, 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


Michael  Curry,  Desire  Chausse,  J.  M.  Cleland, 
Patrick  Hand,  John  H.  Haas,  Knud  Larson,  Jo- 
seph Zitka,  H.  N.  Luce,  W.  T.  ]\IcKay,  Henry 
Reifsnyder,  Amos  F.  Shaw,  C.  H.  Stearns,  Ira 
Ellis,  L.  Sampson,  S.  Stevenson,  A.  L.  Van  Os- 
del,  M.  M.  Williams,  Scott  Wright,  James  M. 
Wohl,   O.   B.   Larson. 

Tzvelfth  Session,  1877. — Convened  at  Yank- 
ton January  9,  1877,  and  continued  to  February 
17,  1877.  It  had  the  following  membership: 
Council — W.  A.  Burleigh,  president,  Henry  S. 
Back,  Judson  LaMoure,  R.  F.  Pettigrew,  M.  W. 
Bailey,  William  Duncan,  Hans  Gunderson,  Nel- 
son Miner,  A.  J.  Mills,  Robert  Wilson,  J.  A. 
Potter,  C.  B.  Valentine,  J.  A.  Wallace.  House — 
D.  C.  Hagle,  speaker,  J.  M.  Adams,  A.  L.  Boe, 
H.  A.  Burke,  J.  O.  Burbank,  W.  H.  H.  Beadle, 
T.  S.  Clarkson,  G.  S.  S.  Codington,  W.  F.  Dun- 
ham, A.  G.  Hopkins,  M.  O.  Hexom,  E.  Hack- 
ett,  D.  M.  Inman,  Erick  Iverson,  Charles  May- 
wold,  F.  M.  Ziebach,  Hans  ]\lyron,  John  Sell- 
berg,  John  Falde,  D.  Stewart,  Asa  Sargent,  John 
Tucker,  Franklin  Taylor,  John  Thompson,  C.  H. 
VanTassel,  S.  Soderstrom. 

Thirteenth  Session,  1879. — Convened  at 
Yankton  and  continued  in  session  from  January 
14  to  February  22,  1879.  The  following  was 
the  membership :  Council — George  H.  Walsh, 
president,  William  M.  Cuppett,  M.  H.  Day,  Ira 
Ellis,  Newton  Edmunds,  W.  L.  Kuykendall,  Nel- 
son Miner,  Robert  Macnider,  R.  F.  "Pettigrew, 
S.  G.  Roberts,  Silas  Rohr,  C.  B.  Valentine,  H.  B. 
Wynn.  House — John  R.  Jackson,  speaker,  Al- 
fred Brown,  J.  Q.  Burbank,  P.  N.  Cross,  D.  W. 
Flick,  A.  B.  Fockler,  John  R.  Gamble,  Ansley 
Grey,  Hans  Gundersin,  Ole  A.,  Helvig,  O.  I. 
Hoseboe,  A.  Hoyt,  S.  A.  Johnson,  John  Lang- 
ness,  A.  Mauksch,  J.  M.  Peterson,  Nathaniel  C. 
Whitfield,  Peter  J.  Hoyer,  Michael  Schely,  A. 
Simonson,  James  H.  Stephens,  D.  Stewart,  Mar- 
tin I\L  Trygstad,  E.  C.  Walton,  J.  F.  Webber, 
Canute  Weeks. 

Fourteenth  Session,  188 1. — Convened  at 
Yankton  and  continued  in  session  from  January 
II  to  March  7,  1881.  The  membership  was  as 
follows:  Council — George  H.  Walsh,  president, 
M.  H.  Dav.  Ira  W.  Fisher,  Tohn  R.  Gamble,  John 


L.  Jolley,  J.  A.  J.  ^^lartin,  J.  O'B.  Scobey,  Amos 

F.  Shaw,  J.  F.  Wallace,  John  Walsh,  G.  W.  Wig- 
gin,  John  R.  Wilson.  House — ^J.  A.  Harding, 
speaker,  James  Baynes,  F.  J.  Cross,  G.  H.  Dickey, 
L.  B.  French,  C.  B.  Kennedy,  P.  Landmann, 
J.  H.  Miller,  Knud  Nomland,  V.  P.  Thielman, 

A.  Thorne,  P.  Warner,  S.  A.  Boyles,  W.  H.  Don- 
aldson, E.  Ellefson,  John  D.  Hale,  D.  M.  In- 
man, Judson  La  Moure,  S.  McBratney,  I.  Moore, 
S.  Rohr,  D.  Thompson,  A.  L.  Van  Osdel,  E.  P. 
W^ells. 

Fifteenth  Session,  1883. — Convened  at  Yank- 
ton January  9,  and  continued  to  March  9,  1S83. 
The  following  was  the  membership :  Council — 
J.  O'B.  Scobey,  president,  F.  N.  Burdick,  J.  R. 
Jackson,  F.  M.  Ziebach,  F.  J.  Washabaugh,  S. 

G.  Roberts,  H.  J.  Jerauld,  William  P.  Dewey,  E. 
H.  Alclntosh,  George  H.  Walsh,  J.  Nickeus,  E. 
McCauley.  House — E.  A.  Williams,  speaker, 
Ira  Ellis,  M.  C.  Tychsen,  John  Thompson,  W. 

B.  Robinson,  R.  C.  IMcAllister,  F.  P.  Phillips, 
George  W.  Sterling,  W.  A.  Rinehart,  E.  M.  Bow- 
man, G.  P.  Harvey,  D.  M.  Inman,  H.  Van  Woert. 
J.  B.  Wynn,  B.  R.  Wagner,  John  C.  Pyatt, 
George  Rice,  William  H.  Lamb,  J.  W.  Nowlin, 
A.  A.  Choteau,  O.  M.  Towner,  B.  W.  Benson, 
L.  J.  Alfred,  N.  E.  Nelson. 

Sixteenth  Session,  1885. — Convened  at  Bis- 
marck January  13,  and  continued  to  Alarch  13, 
1885.  The  membership  was  as  follows :  Council 
— J.  H.  Westover,  president,  A.  C.  Huetson, 
William  Duncan,  John  R.  Gamble,  A.  Sheridan 
Jones^  B.  R.  Wagner,  A.  M.  Bowdle,  R.  F.  Petti- 
grew, George  R.  Farmer,  H.  H.  Natwick,  C.  H. 
Cameron,  J.  P.  Day,  A.  B.  Smedley,  V.  P.  Ken- 
nedy, F.  J.  Washabaugh,  S.  P.  Wells,  Charles 
Richardson,  J.  Nickeus,  C.  D.  Austin,  D.  H. 
Twomey,  George  H.  Walsh,  John  Flittie,  Judson 
LaMoure,  P.  J.  McLaughlin.  House — George 
Rice,  speaker,  Ole  Helvig,  John  Larson,  Eli  Daw- 
son, Hans  Myron.  A.  L.  Van  Osdel,  Hugh  Lan- 
gan,  J.  P.  Ward,  J.  H.  S wanton,  A.  J.  Parshall. 
Mark  Ward,  C.  E.  Huston,  H.  M.  Clark,  P.  L. 
Runkel,  J.  M.  Bayard,  H.  W.  Smith,  \\'.  H.  Rid- 
dell,  John*  Hobart.  J.  C.  Southwick,  V.  V.  Barnes, 
J.  A.  Pickler,  J.  T.  Blackemore,  G.  W.  Pierce, 
M.  L.  Miller,  G.  H.  Johnson,  M.  T.  De  Woody, 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


E.  Huntington,  F.  A.  Eldredge,  A.  L.  Sprague, 
E.  W.  .Martin,  H.  M.  Gregg,  A.  McCall.  E.  A. 
Williams,  W.  F.  Steele,  Henry  W.  Coe,  J.  Ste- 
vens, S.  E.  Stebbins,  P.  J.  McCumber,  H.  S.  Oli- 
ver, T.  M.  Pugh,  E.  T.  Hutchinson,  W.  N. 
Roach,  C.  W.  ]\Iorgan,  J.  W.  Scott,  D.  Stewart, 
H.  Stong,  H.  H.  Ruger,  P.  McHugh. 

Seventeenth  Session,  1887. — Convened  at  Bis- 
marck January  11,  and  continued  to  March  11, 
1887.  The  membership  was  as  follows :  Coun- 
cil— George  A.  Matthews,  president,  Roger  AI- 
lin,  Wm.  T.  Collins,  John  Cain,  W.  E.  Dodge, 
E.  \\'.  Foster,  IMelvin  Grigsby,  Alexander 
Hughes,  T.  M.  Martin,  P.  J.  ^IcCumber,  C.  H. 
Sheldon,  E.  G.  Smith,  J.  s".  Weiser,  T.  O.  Bo- 
gart,  A.  W.  Campbell,  P.  C.  Donavan,  E.  C. 
Ericson,  H.  Galloway,  G.  A.  Harstad,  J.  D.  Law- 
ler.  C.  D.  Mead,  E.  T.  Sheldon,  F.  J.  Washa- 
baugh,  S.  P.  Wells.  House — George  G.  Grose, 
speaker,  Fred  H.  Adams,  John  Bidlake,  J.  W. 
Burnham,  D.  S.  Dodds,  Thomas  S.  Elliott,  D.  W. 
Ensign,  J.  H.  Fletcher,  F.  Greene,  A.  A.  Har- 
kins,  C.  B.  Hubbard,  J.  G.  Jones,  James.  M. 
Moore,  T.  F.  Mentzer,  C.  I.  Miltimore,  John  D. 
Patton,  D.  F.  Royer,  J.  Schnaidt,  F.  ]\I.  Shook, 
D.  Stewart,  E.  W.  Terrill,  J.  V.  White,  Wilson 
Wise,  L.  O.  Wyman,  Frank  R.  Aikens,  W.  N. 
Berry,  A.  M.  Cook,  M.  H.  Cooper,  John  R. 
Dutch,  John  A.  Ely,  William  H.  Fellows,  J.  T. 
Gilbert,  William  Glendenning,  W.  J.  Hawk,  John 
Hobart,  R.  McDonell,  F.  A.  Morris,  H.  J.  Mal- 
lory,  J.  H.  Patton,  A.  J.  Pruitt,  W.  R.  Ruggles, 
D.  W.  Sprague,  A.  S.  Steward,  B.  H.  Sullivan, 
Charles  B.  Williams,  James  P.  Ward,  E.  A.  Wil- 
liams, John  Wolzmuth. 

Eighteenth  Session,  1889. — Convened  at  Bis- 
marck January  8,  and  adjourned  March  9,  1889. 
This  was  the  last  territorial  assembly.  The  mem- 
bership was  as  follows :  Council — Smith  Stim- 
mel,  president,  Roger  Allin,  Irenus  Atkinson,  Pe- 
ter Cameron,  A.  W.  Campbell,  M.  H.  Cooper,  Coe 
I.  Crawford,  Robert  Dollard,  E.  C.  Ericson,  S.  L. 
Glaspell,  James  Halley,  G.  A.  Harstad,  Alexan- 
der Hughes,  Robert  Lowry,  Hugh  McDonald, 
John  Miller,  J.  H.  Patten,  David  W.  Poindexter, 
Joseph  C.  Ryan,  C.  A.  Soderberg.  George  H. 
Walsh,  F.  J.  Washabaugh,  James  A.  ^^V■)oll^eiser,  | 


A.  L.  \'an  Osdel.  House — Hosmer  H.  Keith, 
speaker,  F.  H.  Adams,  Frank  R.  Aikens,  Joseph 
Allen,  C.  H.  Baldwin,  R.  L.  Bennett,  E.  H.  Berg- 
man, B.  F.  Bixler,  J.  W.  Burnham,  A.  D.  Clark, 
J.  B.  Cook,  T.  A.  Douglas,  Thomas  Elliott,  J.  H. 
Fletcher,  J.  M.  Greene,  A.  J.  Gronna,  S.  P.  How- 
ell, Harry  F.  Hunter,  J.  G.  Jones,  L  S.  Lamp- 
man,  W.  S.  Logan,  Frank  Lillibridge,  H.  J.  I\Ial- 
lory,  P.  McHugh,  Edwin  McNeil,  C.  J.  Miller, 
F;  A.  Morris,  C.  C.  Newman,  P.  P.  Palmer,  A. 
L.  Patridge,  H.  S.  Parkin,  John  D.  Patton,  O.  C. 
Potter,  D.  M.  Powell,  ]\L  M.  Price,  William 
Ramsdell,  D.  F.  Royer,  G.  W.  Ryan,  H.  H. 
Sheets,  J.  O.  Smith,  W.  E.  Swanton,  C.  J.  Trude, 
John  Turnbull,  N.  Upham,  O.  R.  \'an  Etten, 
J.  B.  Welcome,  D.  R.  Wellman,  J.  A".  White. 

LEGISLATIVE  ASSEMBLIES  SINCE  STATEHOOD. 

First  Session,  1889-90. — Senate — First  dis- 
trict. Union  county,  E.  C.  Ericson;  second  dis- 
trict. Clay  county,  John  L.  Jolley;  third  district, 
Yankton  county,  L.  B.  French ;  fourth  district, 
Bon  Homme  county,  George  W.  Snow ;  fifth  dis- 
trict, Lincoln  county,  H.  J.  Frank ;  sixth  district. 
Turner  county,  V.  P.  Theilman ;  seventh  district, 
Hutchinson  county,  Casper  Fergen ;  eighth  dis- 
trict, Charles  Mix  and  Douglas  counties,  F.  E. 
Tomlison;  ninth  district,  Minnehaha  county,  A. 

B.  Kittredge,  J.  A.  Cooley;  tenth  district,  :Mc- 
Cook  county,  J.  H.  Brown;  eleventh  district, 
Hansan  county,  M.  E.  Conlan ;  twelfth  district, 
Davidson  county,  George  A.  Johnston ;  thirteenth 
district,  Aurora  county,  W.  M.  Smith ;  fourteenth 
district,  Brule  county,  J.  M.  Greene;  fifteenth 
district.  Moody  county,  L.  Hasvold;  sixteenth 
district.  Lake  county,  H.  P.  Smith;  seventeenth 
district,  Miner  county,  S.  H.  Bronson;  eighteenth 
district,  Sanborn  county,  H.  C.  Warner;  nine- 
teenth district,  Jerauld  and  Bufifalo  counties,  S. 

F.  Huntley ;  twentieth  district,  Brookings  county, 

G.  J.  Coller;  twenty-first  district,  Kingsbury 
county,  L  R.  Spooner;  twenty-second  district, 
Beadle  county,  John  Cain ;  twenty-third  district, 
Hand  county,  George  R.  Mason;  twenty-fourth 
district,  Hyde  and  Hughes  counties,  Coe  L  Craw- 
ford ;  twenty-fifth  district.  Sully  and  Potter  coun- 
ties,   S.    C.    Leppelman ;    twenty-sixth    district, 


414 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Deuel  county,  C.  R.  Westcott ;  twenty-seventh 
district,  Hamlin  county,  Ole  H.  Ford;  twenty- 
eighth  district,  Codington  county,  W.  R.  Thomas ; 
twent}-ninth  district,  Clark  county,  C.  G.  Sher- 
wood; thirtieth  district,  Spink  county,  Thomas 
Sterling,  H.  F.  Hunter;  thirty-first  district. 
Grant  and  Roberts  counties,  John  S.  Proctor; 
thirty-second  district,  Day  county,  John  Norton; 
thirty-third  district.  Brown  county,  L.  C.  Dennis, 
George  W.  Miller;  thirty- fourth  district,  Mar- 
shall county,  Richard  Williams;  thirty-fifth  dis- 
trict, Faulk  county,  F.  M.  Byrne ;  thirty  sixth  dis- 
trict, Edmunds  and  McPherson  counties,  F.  M. 
Hopkins;  thirty-seventh  district,  Walworth  and 
Campbell  counties,  George  H.  Hoffman;  thirty- 
eighth  district,  Lawrence  county,  Charles  Par- 
sons, F.  J.  Washabaugh;  thirty-ninth  district, 
Pennington  county,  A.  W.  Bangs;  fortieth  dis- 
trict, Meade  and  Butte  counties,  E.  S.  Galvin ; 
forty-first  district,  Custer  and  Fall  River  coun- 
ties, A.  S.  Stewart.  Officers  of  first  state  senate — 
James  H.  Fletcher,  president,  and  F.  A.  Burdick, 
chief  clerk.  House — First  district.  Union  county, 
J.  E.  Sinclair,  J.  B.  Brouillette,  Ole  Gunderson; 
second  district,  Clay  county,  Darwin  M.  Inman, 
John  E.  Norelius ;  third  district,  Yankton  county, 
John  O.  Aaseth,  Fred  Schnauber,  Phil  K.  Faulk, 
E.  G.  Edgerton;  fourth  district,  Bon  Homme' 
county,  A.  J.  Abbott,  Frank  Trumbo,  A.  W. 
Lavender;  fifth  district,  Lincoln  county,  Henry 
Bradshaw,  H.  D.  Fitch,  Ole  A.  Helvig ;  sixth  dis- 
trict, Turner  county,  C.  J.  Bach,  D.  W.  Tyler, 
E.  M.  Mann;  seventh  district,  Hutchinson 
county,  M.  K.  Bowen,  A.  J.  Yerker;  eighth  dis- 
trict, Hutchinson  county,  Frank  LeCocq,  Jr., 
Frank  Peacock;  ninth  district,  Charles  Mix 
county,  George  Norbeck,  Edwin  Morgan;  tenth 
district,  JNIinnehaha  county,  Sutton  E.  Young,  C. 
W.  Hubbard,  John  F.  Norton,  Lasse  Bothun, 
Charles  T.  Austin,  Sever  Wilkinson,  John  R. 
Manning;  eleventh  district,  McCook  county, 
Joshua  Watson,  W.  T.  Pierce ;  twelfth  district, 
Hanson  county,  W.  C.  Wright,  H.  P.  Benjamin ; 
thirteenth  district,  Davison  county,  David  M. 
Powell,  A.  S.  Tibbetts ;  fourteenth  district,  Au- 
rora county,  John  Davis.  John  L.  Heintz:  fif- 
teenth district,  Brule  county,  Henry  Hilton,  C.  J. 


Alaynard,  L.  S.  House;  sixteenth  district.  Moody 
county,  Samuel  L.  Hess,  W.  H.  Loucks ;  seven- 
teenth district,  Lake   county,   Frank  F.   Knight, 

B.  B.  Bowell,  N.  O.  Helgerson;  eighteenth  dis- 
trict. Miner  county,  Stephen  Jones,  R.  D.  Stove; 
nineteenth  district,  Sanborn  county,  S.  T.  Wins- 
low,  W.  H.  McKeel ;  twentieth  district,  Jerauld 
county,  V.  I.  Converse;  twenty-first  district,  Buf- 
falo county,  Edward  Daniels;  twenty-second 
district,  Brookings  county,  M.  A.  Stumley,  H.  I. 
Stearns,  Asa  B.  Doughty;  twenty-third  district, 
Kingsbury  county,  W.  H.  Matson,  George  H. 
Whiting,  Edward  Benke ;  twenty-fourth  district, 
Beadle  county,  Karl  Gerner,  George  E.  ]\lahaflfy, 
E.  Wilson,  Frank  A.  Munson,  [Maris  Taylor; 
twenty-fifth  district.  Hand  county,  L.  W.  Lan- 
sing, E.  T.  Sheldon,  W.  W.  Johnson;  twenty- 
sixth  district,  Hyde  county,  B.  F.  IMcCormack; 
twenty-seventh  district,  Hughes  county,  William 
Summerside;  twenty-eighth  district.  Sully 
county,  W.  H.  Little ;  twenty-ninth  district,  Deuel 
county,  M.  F.  Greeley,  G.  E.  Hopkins ;  thirtieth 
district,  Hamlin  county.  M.  M.  Karlstad,  J.  C. 
Sharp ;  thirty-first  district,  Codington  county,  Al- 
exander Mclntyre,  A.  B.  Henry,  T.  G.  Wilson; 
thirty-second  district,  Clark  county,  F.  W.  Col- 
lins, W.  B.  Kinyon,  Alfred  Heaton ;  thirty-third 
district,  Spink  county,  J.  M.  Howard,  C.  H. 
Driesbach,  B.  F.  Bixler,  S.  W.  Bowman,  J.  F. 
Wood ;  thirty- fourth  district.  Faulk  county,  E.  C. 
Sage,  W.  D.  Elting;  thirty-fifth  district.  Potter 
county,  C.  A.  McConnell;  thirty-sixth  district. 
Grant  count}-,  W.  D.  Lawrence,  A.  L.  Patridge ; 
thirty-seventh  district,  Roberts  county.  Louis 
Mickelson;    thirty-eighth    district.    Day    county, 

C.  W.  Stafford,  il.  Rexford,  J.  J.  Fosse;  tliirty- 
ninth  district,  jMarshall  county,  Peter  Berkman, 
John  Hollen;  fortieth  district.  Brown  county, 
M.  J.  Gordon,  George  B.  Daly,  F.  H.  Smith,  An- 
son Green,  W.  A.  Burnham,  S.  A.  Kennedy,  J.  C. 
Simmons,  J.  I.  Barnes;  forty-first  district.  Ed- 
munds county,  John  Rudd,  David  Gamble ;  forty- 
second  district,  Walworth  county,  M.  T.  De- 
Woody;  forty-third  district,  McPherson  county, 
Fred  Junge,  Sr.,  Wm.  Brameier;  forty-fourth  dis- 
trict, Campbell  county,  J.  B.  Varnum ;  forty-fifth 

I  district,  Fall  River  county,  Harlow  A.  Godard; 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


415 


forty-sixth  district,  Custer  count}-,  Cyrus  Cole, 
A.  S.  Way ;  forty-seventh  district,  Pennington 
county,  Richard  B.  Hughes,  Joseph  Jolly;  forty- 
xighth  district,  iMeade  county,  M.  ]\1.  Cooper, 
S.  B.  jNliller;  forty-ninth  district,  Lawrence 
county,  William  S.  O'Brien,  William  H.  Parker, 
James  Anderson,  Sol.  Starr,  Robert  Graham, 
John  Wolzmuth;  fiftieth  district,  Butte  county, 
E.  B.  Cummings.  Officers  of  the  first  house  of 
representatives — Sutton  E.  Young,  speaker,  and 
James  W.  Cone,  chief  clerk. 

Second  Session,  1891. — Senate — First  dis- 
trict, Union  county.  T.  M.  Stewart;  second  dis- 
trict. Clay  county,  John  L.  Jolly;  third  district, 
Yankton  county,  L.  B.  French ;  fourth  district, 
Bon  Homme  county,  Peter  Byrne ;  fifth  district, 
Lincoln  county,  W.  F.  Dunham ;  sixth  district. 
Turner  county,  A.  L.  Peterman ;  seventh  district, 
Hutchinson  county,  Jacob  Schnaidt ;  eighth  dis- 
trict, Douglas  and  Charles  Mix  counties,  John  S. 
Bean ;  ninth  district.  Minnehaha  county,  A.  B. 
Kittredge,  Lasse  Bothun ;  tenth  district,  McCook 
county,  Matthew  White;  eleventh  district,  Han- 
son county,  P.  F.  Wickhem ;  twelfth  district,  Da- 
vison county,  H.  C.  Preston ;  thirteenth  district, 
Aurora  county,  J.  L.  Heintz ;  fourteenth  district, 
Brule  county,  L.  H.  Willrodt;  fifteenth  district. 
Moody  county,  D.  K.  Mathews ;  sixteenth  dis- 
trict, Lake  county,  Robert  C.  Zimmerman  ;  sev- 
enteenth district.  Miner  county,  I.  L.  Burch ; 
eighteenth  district,  Sanborn  county,  H.  C.  War- 
ner; nineteenth  district,  Jerauld  and  Buiifalo 
counties,  J.  N.  Smith;  twentieth  district,  Brook- 
ings county,  H.  L  Stearns;  twenty-first  district, 
Kingsbury  county,  J.  C.  Crawford ;  twenty-sec- 
ond district,  Beadle  county,  Americus  B.  Mel- 
ville ;  twenty-third  district.  Hand  county,  Will- 
iam S.  Major;  twenty-fourth  district,  Hyde  and 
Hughes  counties,  Frank  Drew ;  twenty-fifth  dis- 
trict. Potter  and  Sully  counties,  William  Austin ; 
twenty-sixth  district,  Deuel  county,  D.  S.  Green ; 
twenty-seventh  district,  Hamlin  county,  Robert 
Dixon;  twenty-eighth  district,  Codington  county, 
M.  W.  Sheafe;  twenty-ninth  district,  Clark 
county,  J.  L  Carrier;  thirtieth  district,  Spink 
county,  William  Bird.  Frank  J.  Cory;  thirty- 
first  district,   Grant  and   Roberts  countv,   Z.   D. 


Scott ;  thirty-second  district,  Day  county,  Duncan 
McFarlane;  thirty-third  district.  Brown  county, 
James  H.  Kyle,  B.  Abbott ;  thirty-fourth  district, 
Marshall  county,  D.  T.  Hindman;  thirty-fifth 
district,  Faulk  county,  R.  W.  Maxwell;  thirty- 
sixth  district,  McPherson  and  Edmunds  coun- 
ties, E.  G.  Kennedy ;  thirty-seventh  district,  Wal- 
worth and  Campbell  counties,  Joseph  E.  Horton ; 
thirty-eighth  district,  Lawrence  county,  Frank 
J.  Washabaugh,  W.  S.  O'Brien;  thirty-ninth 
district.  Pennington  county,  David  H.  Clark; 
fortieth  district,  Meade  and  Butte  counties,  John 
T.  Potter;  forty-first  district,  Custer  county, 
Isacher  Scholfield.  Officers  of  the  second  state 
senate — George  H.  Hoffman,  president,  and 
Charles  N.  Cooper,  secretary.  House — First  dis- 
trict, LTnion  county,  Michael  J.  White,  Isaac 
Moore,  H.  D.  White ;  second  district.  Clay 
county,  Horace  J.  Austin,  John  Norin;  third  dis- 
trict, Yankton  county,  Frederick  Schnauber, 
James  H.  Hoxeng,  Frank  Lane,  J.  I.  Welo; 
fourth  district,  Bon  Homme  county,  R.  N.  Stout, 
August  Koenig,  John  Wittmayer;  fifth  district, 
Lincoln  county,  Edward  Moscrip,  Roger  O.  Don- 
ahue, Alfred  Sherman ;  sixth  district.  Turner 
county.  Christian  J.  Bach,  Marcus  A.  Chri.sten- 
son,  Arch.  E.  Rundell;  seventh  district,  Hutchin- 
son county,  Christian  Buechler,  Aaron  M.  Kline ; 
eighth  district,-  Douglas  county,  William  Clark, 
Frank  E.  Peacock ;  ninth  district,  Charles  Mix 
county,  Le  Roy  Walker,  Ezekiel  Reece ;  tenth 
district,  Minnehaha  county,  John  F.  Norton, 
Charles  W.  Hubbard,  Robert  Buchanan,  Lars  J. 
Aga,  William  F.  Kelly,  Gaston  D.  Banister, 
Charles  Boy ;  eleventh  district,  McCook  county, 
Robert  J.  Odell,  Jerome  E.  Hamaker;  twelfth 
district,  Hanson  count}-,  John  O.  Bard,  W.  D. 
A'andanacker ;  thirteenth  district.  Davison 
county,  Charles  F.  Raymond,  John  K.  Johnson ; 
fourteenth  district.  Aurora  county.  John  Davis, 
Julius  D.  Bartow ;  fifteenth  district.  Brule  county, 
Louis  Richards,  Clark  S.  Rowe,  M.  R.  Covey, 
sixteenth  district.  Moody  county,  Thomas  Foun- 
tain, John  E.  Kelley;  seventeenth  district.  Lake 
county,  Frank  Hammer,  James  S.  Keegan,  Basil 
B.  Bowell ;  eighteenth  district.  Miner  county,  Ste- 
phen Jones,  Peter  Kreuscher;  nineteenth  district. 


4i6 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Sanborn  county,  Seth  T.  W'inslow,  William  H. 
AIcKeel;  twentieth  district,  Jerauld  county,  Vin- 
cent L  Converse;  tvventy-first  district,  Buffalo 
county,  Hans  N.  Cleven;  twenty-second  district, 
Brookings  county,  George  S.  Knipe,  Andrew  Ol- 
son, Henry  Heintz;  twenty-third  district,  Kings- 
bury county,  Percy  Crothers,  William  L.  Glea- 
son,  Andrew  N.  Dahlen;  twenty-fourth  district, 
Beadle  county,  Benjamin  F.  Teets,  John  Dukes, 
King  S.  Taylor,  Ethereal  \Mlson,  Charles  M. 
Harrison ;  twenty-fifth  district,  Hand  county,  J. 
C.  Heilman,  John  Campbell,  Frank  Trotman; 
twenty-sixth  district,  Hyde  county,  Benjamin  F. 
INIcCormick;  twenty-seventh  district,  Hughes 
county,  Tracy  W.  Pratt;  twenty-eighth  district. 
Sully  county,  David  Hall;  twenty-ninth  district, 
Deuel  county,  B.  O.  Roe,  C.  J.  Peterson ;  thirtiedi 
district,  Hamlin  county,  A.  O.  Arneson,  Thomas 
Mellor ;  thirty-first  district,  Codington  county,  Al- 
exander ■Nlclntyre,  Charles  X.  Seward,  John  H. 
King;  thirty-second  district,  Clark  county,  A.  H. 
Cornwell,  W.  C.  Waldron;  thirty-third  district, 
Spink  county,  David  Robertson,  H.  H.  Hill, 
Charles  M.  Stephens,  O.  E.  Wheeler,  Joshua  F. 
Wood ;  thirty-fourth  district,  Faulk  county,  John 
Douglas,  William  S.  Belknap;  thirty-fifth  dis- 
trict, Potter  county,  Albert  Scharf;  thirty-sixth 
district.  Grant  county,  L.  M.  Kaercher,  James  E. 
Street;  thirty-seventh  district,  Roberts  county, 
Frank  A.  Stiles;  thirty-eighth  district,  Day 
county,  William  H.  Jones,  Martin  L.  Sateren, 
F.  A.  DeCoster;  thirty-ninth  district,  Marshall 
county,  Ole  Ruswick,  George  A.  Stevens ;  fortieth 
district,  Brown  county,  J.  L.  Brown,  Charles  D. 
Jones,  O.  P.  Maxon,  Nathaniel  Brown,  J.  W.  Ep- 
pard,  \\'.  I.  Storm,  Samuel  Johnston,  W.  O.  Les- 
ter :  forty-first  district,  Edmunds  county,  David 
Gamble,  Joe  Jilson ;  forty-second  district,  Wal- 
worth county,  William  O'Neill;  forty-third  dis- 
trict, IMcPherson  county,  George  Hickman,  John 
E.  Reagan;  forty- fourth  district,  Campbell 
county,  Ole  Swenson;  forty-fifth  district.  Fall 
River  county,  Harlow  A.  Goddard ;  forty-sixth 
district,  Custer  county,  Alvin  S.  Way,  Orin  D. 
Moore ;  forty-seventh  district,  Pennington  county, 
William  Gardner,  James  'SI.  Baldwin ;  forty- 
eighth  district,  J^Ieade  county,  Miles  M.  Cooper, 


!  Willis  E.  Putnam;  forty-ninth  district,  Lawrence 
county,  Robert  Graham,  J.  W.  Rouse,  Harry  M. 
Gregg,  E.  P.  Fowler,  Andrew  J.  Knight,  John 
McLeod;  fiftieth  district,  Butte  county,  A.  H. 
Snyder.  Officers — Charles  X.  Seward,  speaker; 
James  W.  Cone,  chief  clerk ;  Dell  Coy,  first  assist- 
ant clerk;  E.  S.  Ashley  second  assistant  clerk; 
Henry  Schatz,  bill  clerk;  Rev.  W.  S.  Carpenter, 
chaplain ;  Hart  Barton,  sergeant-at-arms ;  R.  S. 
Whittaker,  assistant  sergeant-at-arms ;  Henry  S. 
\'olkmar,  engrossing  and  enrolling  clerk;  L.  H. 
Comstock,  postmaster;  L.  F.  Dow,  messenger; 
James  Oleson,  watchman  and  janitor;  O.  Brad- 
ley Towne  and  Charles  E.  Arnold,  pages. 

Third  Session.  1893. — Senate — First  district. 
Union  county,  X^ewis  X^.  Crill;  second  district. 
Clay  county,  Carl  Gunderson;  third  district, 
Yankton,  Walter  A.  Burleigh;  fourth  district, 
Bon  Homme  county,  Robert  Dollard;  fifth  dis- 
trict, Lincoln  county,  Edgar  Dean ;  sixth  district. 
Turner  county,  Isom  H.  X^ewby;  seventh  dis- 
trict, Hutchinson  county,  John  Schamber ;  eighth 
district,  Charles  Mix  and  Douglas,  B.  F.  Ful- 
wider;  ninth  district.  Minnehaha  county,  James 
Hart ;  tenth  district,  ]\IcCook  county,  C.  E.  John- 
son ;  eleventh  district,  Hanson  county,  M.  E. 
Conlan ;  twelfth  district,  Davison  county,  C.  F. 
Raymond;  thirteenth  district,  Aurora  county,  A. 
M.  Andrews;  fourteenth  district.  Brule  county. 
L.  A.  Foote;  fifteenth  district,  ?iIoody  county, 
Thomas  Fountain;  sixteenth  district.  Lake 
county,  John  J.  Fitzgerald;  seventeenth  district. 
Miner  county,  J.  P.  Ryan ;  eighteenth  district. 
Sanborn  county,  James  P.  Willis :  nineteenth  dis- 
trict, Jerauld  and  Buffalo  counties.  J.  R.  Mili- 
ken ;  twentieth  district,  Brookings  county.  J.  C. 
Allison;  twenty-first  district.  Kingsbury  county. 
J.  C.  Crawford :  twenty-second  district.  Beadle 
county,  A.  W.  Burtt ;  twenty-third  district,  Hand 
county,  W.  S.  Major;  twenty- fourth  district, 
Hughes  and  Stanley  counties.  H.  R.  Horner; 
twenty-fifth  district.  Sully  and  Hyde  counties. 
John  E.  Lawrence;  twenty-sixth  district.  Deuel 
county,  Joseph  Hebal :  twenty-seventh  district, 
Hamlin  county,  K.  G.  Springen ;  twenty-eighth 
district.  Codington  county,  J.  C.  Miller;  twenty- 
ninth  district,  Clark  countv,  D.  O.  Bennett :  thir- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


tieth  district,  Spink  count)',  William  Bird ;  thirty- 
first  district.  Grant  county,  N.  I.  Lowthian ; 
thirty-second  district,  Day  county,  A.  C.  Roberts ; 
thirty-third  district,  Brown  county,  F.  D. 
Adams ;  thirty-third  district,  Brown  county,  S. 
A.  Kennedy;  thirty-fourth  district,  Marshall  and 
Roberts  counties,  Peter  Berkman ;  thirty-fifth 
district,  Faulk  and  Potter  counties,  Wesley  F. 
Cattron ;  thirty-sixth  district,  Edmunds  and  Wal- 
worth, William  Edwards ;  thirty-seventh  dis- 
trict, McPherson  and  Campbell  counties,  E.  i 
,C.  Chilcott;  thirty-eighth  district,  Lawrence 
county,  Sol  Starr;  thirty-ninth  district, 
Pennington  county,  D.  B.  Ingham ;  forti- 
eth district,  Meade  and  Butte  counties, 
James  E.  Xewland ;  forty-first  district,  Custer 
and  Fall  River  counties,  William  J.  Thornby. 
Officers — Charles  N.  Herreid,  president  of  the 
senate;  Sol  Star,  president  pro  tem;  Charles  N. 
Cooper,  secretary;  J.  E.  Pilcher,  first  assistant 
secretary;  I.  D.  Aldrich,  second  assistant  secre- 
tary ;  H.  A.  Roberts,  third  assistant  secretary ; 
D.  Eastman;  sergeant-at-arms ;  G.  W.  Chamber- 
lain, first  assistant  sergeant-at-arms ;  John  S.  | 
White,  bill  clerk;  M.  B.  Kent,  engrossing  and  | 
enrolling  clerk;  Rev.  D.  R.  Landis,  chaplain; 
W.  N.  Perry,  messenger  and  postmaster;  J.  H. 
Wright,  watchman  and  janitor.  House — First 
district,  Union  county,  Henry  Oakes,  Charles 
LaBreche;  second  district.  Clay  county,  C.  W. 
Gilbert,  N.  W.  Paulson;  third  district,  Yankton 
county,  Andrew  O.  Saugstad,  Felix  Dilger,  Wil- 
liam Box;  fourth  district,  Lincoln  county, 
Roger  O.  Donahue,  Ole  Hokenstad ;  fifth  dis- 
trict. Turner  county,  Albert  Apland,  E.  H.  Wit-  1 
bee,  Daniel  Dwyer,  Sr. ;  sixth  district,  Hutchin- 
son county,  E.  F.  Hosmer,  W.  A.  Williams,  A. 
M.  Kline;  seventh  district,  Bon  Homme  county, 
George  Hilzinger,  August  Koening;  eighth  dis-  I 
trict,  Douglas  county,  J.  S.  Bean;  ninth  district,  ' 
Charles  Mix  county,  W.  A.  Prather;  tenth  dis- 
trict, Minnehaha  county,  William  F.  Kelley, 
Charles  Boy,  Carl  A.  Grinde,  G.  Bie  Ravndal, 
Eric  J.  Berdahl;  eleventh  district,  McCook 
county,  Cyrus  J.  Keve,  Charles  Kostboth ; 
twelfth  district,  Hanson  county,  P.  T.  Fissell ; 
thirteenth  district,  Davison  county,  George  Wat- 


son ;  fourteenth  district,  Sanborn  county,  W.  J. 
Sessions;  fifteenth  district,  Aurora  county,  A.  F. 
Herrick ;  sixteenth  district,  Jerauld  and  Buffalo 
counties,  Ezra  W.  Cleveland ;  seventeenth  dis- 
trict, Brule  county,  Simeon  A.  Lumbard,  Louis 
Smith;  eighteenth  district,  Miner  county,  James 
Douglas;  nineteenth  district,  Lake  county,  S.  A. 
Ayres,  Richard  Patterson ;  twentieth  district. 
Moody  county,  C.  A.  Chamberlain ;  twenty-first 
district,  Brookings  county.  Royal  Cranston,  O. 
J.  Otternes,  Charles  Preston;  twenty-second  dis- 
trict, Kingsbury  county,  A.  Anderson,  E.  J. 
Read ;  twenty-third  district,  Beadle  county,  T.  S. 
Everitt,  Albert  Patten ;  twenty-fourth  district. 
Hand  county,  John  Campbell,  R.  T.  Sedam; 
twenty-fifth  district,  Hyde  and  Sully  counties, 
Titus  E.  Price  ;v  twenty-sixth  district,  Hughes 
and  Stanley  counties,  William  Summerside, 
George  D.  Mathieson;  twenty-seventh  district, 
Clark  county,  E.  S.  Ashley,  E.  C.  Dahl ;  twenty- 
eighth  district,  Codington  county,  G.  H.  Stu- 
verud,  J.  T.  Belk;  twenty-ninth  district,  Hamlin 
county,  M.  W.  Harrington;  thirtieth  district, 
Deuel  county,  A.  B.  Anderson;  thirty-first  dis- 
trict, Grant  county,  O.  B.  Fornell,  S.  R.  Gold; 
thirty-second  district,  Marshall  county,  Ole  Rus- 
wick;  thirty-third  district,  Roberts  county,  David 
Johnson ;  thirfy-fourth  district,  Day  county,  F.  S. 
Patterson,  M.  B.  Peterson;  thirty-fifth  district, 
Brown  county,  A.  M.  Gearey,  James  M.  Lawson, 
Harvey  L.  Sheldon,  John  C.  Hall;  thirty-sixth 
district,  Spink  county,  D.  S.  Hooper,  G.  W.  Mot- 
ley, H.  P.  Packard;  thirty-seventh  district,  Ed- 
munds county,  John  Grant ;  thirty-eighth  district, 
McPherson  county,  F.  W.  Schamber;  thirty- 
ninth  district,  Walworth  county,  William  O'Niell ; 
fortieth  district,  Campbell  county,  J.  J.  Fenelon; 
forty-first  district,  Potter  county,  Herman  Mal- 
chow;  forty-second  district,  Faulk  county,  Alex- 
ander Miller;  forty-third  district,  Custer  county, 
M.  J.  Scanlon;  forty-fourth  district,  Fall  River 
county,  John  L.  Burke;  forty-fifth  district,  Pen- 
nington county,  Zack  Holmes,  A.  S.  Amerman; 
forty-sixth  district,  Meade  county,  W.  A.  Lynch ; 
forty-seventh  district,  Butte  county,  A.  H.  Sny- 
der ;  forty-eighth  district,  Lawrence  county,  Ben- 
jamin F.  Walters,  Elijah  P.  Fowler.  Archie  Fer- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


guson.  Officers — James  M.  Lawson,  speaker; 
James  \\'.  Cone,  chief  clerk ;  Andrew  X.  \'an 
Camp,  first  assistant  clerk ;  Albert  J.  Kuhns,  sec- 
ond assistant  clerk ;  S.  F.  Lucas,  engrossing  and 
enrolling  clerk ;  W.  A.  Crooks,  sergeant-at-arms ; 
P.  H.  Johnson,  assistant  sergeant-at-arms ;  F.  D. 
Powers,  bill  clerk ;  W.  S.  Ingham,  messenger ; 
R.  W.  Levitt,  postmaster;  Haldo  Sater,  watch- 
man; Archie  Fuller,  Rodger  K.  Williams, 
Charles  Snider,  Frank  Weston,  pages. 

Fourth  Session,  1895-6. — Senate — First  dis- 
trict, Union  county,  J.  E.  Sinclair;  second  dis- 
trict. Clay  county,  Ole  Oleson,  Jr. ;  third  district, 
Yankton  county,  George  W.  Kingsbury;  fourth 
district.  Bon  Homme  county,  James  H.  Steph- 
ens ;  fifth  district,  Lincoln  county,  B.  C.  Jacobs ; 
sixth  district.  Turner  county,  Thomas  C.  Elce; 
seventh  district,  Hutchinson  county,  John 
Schamber;  eighth  district,  Charles  Mix  and 
Douglas  counties,  Edwin  S.  Johnson;  ninth  dis- 
trict, Minnehaha  county,  Frank  L.  Boyce, 
E.  J.  Elliott;  tenth  district,  McCook  coun- 
ty, Charles  E.  Johnson ;  eleventh  district, 
Hanson  county,  Andrew  H.  Betts;  twelfth 
district,  Davison  county,  G.  A.  Schlund; 
thirteenth  district,  Aurora  county,  O.  H. 
Storia;  fourteenth  district.  Brule  county,  L. 
A.  Foote ;  fifteenth  district.  Moody  county, 
Charles  A.  Chamberlain ;  sixteenth  district.  Lake 
county,  John  A.  Johnson;  seventeenth  district. 
Miner  county,  L.  W.  Aldrich;  eighteenth  dis- 
trict, Sanborn  county,  A.  P.  Doran ;  nineteenth 
district,  Jerauld  and  Buffalo  counties,  C.  C. 
Wright;  twentieth  district,  Brookings  county, 
J.  C.  Allison ;  twenty-first  district,  Kingsbury 
county,  J.  C.  Crawford;  twenty-second  district, 
Beadle  county,  Edward  H.  Alpin ;  twenty-third 
district,  Hand  county,  John  W.  Schultz;  twenty- 
fourth  district,  Hughes  and  Stanley  counties, 
Cassius  C.  Bennett ;  twenty-fifth  district.  Sully 
and  Hyde  counties,  J.  E.  Lawrence ; '  twenty- 
sixth  district,  Deuel  county,  Joseph  Hebal ; 
twenty-seventh  district,  Hamlin  county,  K.  G. 
Springen ;  twenty-eighth  district,  Codington 
county,  E.  D.  \\' heelock ;  twenty-ninth  district, 
Clark  county,  D.  O.  Bennett;  thirtieth  district, 
Spink  county,  W.  D.  Craig ;  thirtv-first  district, 


Grant  county,  N.  I.  Lowthian;  thirty-second  dis- 
trict. Day  county,  J.  F.  Kelley ;  thirty-third  dis- 
trict, Brown  county,  Frank  G.  Brooberg;  thirty- 
thifd  district.  Brown  county.  Charles  A.  How- 
ard ;  thirty-fourth  district,  Marshall  and  Rob- 
erts counties,  H.  R.  Pease ;  thirty-fifth  district, 
Faulk  and  Potter  counties,  Darius  S.  Smith; 
thirty-sixth  district,  Edmunds  and  Walworth 
counties,  James  R.  Howell ;  thirty-seventh  dis- 
trict, McPherson  and  Campbell  counties,  E.  G. 
Kennedy ;  thirty-eighth  district,  Lawrence 
county,  W.  G.  Rice;  thirty-ninth  district.  Pen- 
nington county,  Levi  ;McGee ;  fortieth  district. 
Meade  and  Butte  counties,  J.  M.  Priest;  forty- 
first  district,  Custer  and  Fall  River,  Stephen  E. 
Wilson.  Officers — Hon.  Charles  X.  Herreid, 
president ;  Hon.  S.  E.  Wilson,  president  pro  tem ; 
R.  S.  Person,  secretary;  J.  E.  Pilcher,  first  as- 
sistant secretary  ;  J.  F.  Halladay,  second  assist- 
ant secretary ;  D.  Eastman,  sergeant-at-arms ;  G. 
W.  Chamberlain,  assistant  sergeant-at-arms ; 
John  A.  Stanley,  bill  clerk;  Qiarles  S.  Kelsey, 
engrossing  and  enrolling  clerk;  William  M. 
Blackburn,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  chaplain;  J.  D.  JNIa- 
son.  postmaster  and  messenger ;  John  JNIcDonald, 
watchman  and  janitor;  Henry  Basford,  page; 
Hill  Beckwith,  page.  House — First  district. 
Union  county,  Joel  F.  Webber,  A.  W.  Johnson; 
second  district,  Clay  county,  E.  S.  Hesla,  Ellis 
White;  third  district,  Yankton  county,  William 

D.  Russell,  A.  O.  Saugstad,  Joseph  Papik; 
fourth  district,  Lincoln  county,  Ole  Hokenstad, 
A.  J.  Kuhns ;  fifth  district.  Turner  county,  \N'.  E. 
Ege,  Jacob  Pfaiif,  Joel  Fry ;  sixth  district,  Hutch- 
mson  county,  W.  A.  Williams,  Jacob  Crosmer, 

E.  F.  Hosmer ;  seventh  district,  Bon  Homme 
county,  Joseph  Leach,  J.  O.  Smith;  eighth  dis- 
trict, Douglas  county.  J.  O.  Wheatley;  ninth  dis- 
trict, Charles  ]\Iix  county,  A.  B.  Lucas;  tenth 
district,  Minnehaha  county.  Charles  T.  Austin, 
Thomas  McKinnon,  George  E.  Wheeler,  \\'.  A. 
Crooks,  John  A.  Egge;  eleventh  district,  Tvlc- 
Cook  county,  Frank  E.  Smith,  H.  A.  Ramsdell; 
twelfth  district.  Hanson  county,  C.  I.  Miltimore ; 
thirteenth  district,  Davison  count\-,  John  Colvin ; 
fourteenth  district,  Sanborn  county,  Robert  E. 
Dowdell ;  fifteenth  district,  Aurora  county,  A.  F. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Herrick ;  sixteenth  district,  Jerauld  and  Buffalo 
counties,  Henry  Klindt ;  seventeenth  district. 
Brule  county,  J.  ^^^  Orcutt,  S.  A.  Lumbard ; 
eighteenth  district,  Aiiner  cnunty.  James  Doug- 
las ;  nineteenth  district.  Lake  county,  W.  A. 
Drake,  C.  W.  Shirley;  twentieth  district,  Moody 
county,  Andrew  Hollen ;  twenty-first  district, 
Brookings  county,  P.  C.  Truman,  P.  Peterson ;  O. 
J.  Otternes;  twenty-second  district,  Kingsbury 
county,  G.  W.  Ankerson,  P.  R.  Crothers ;  twenty- 
third  district,  Beadle  county,  Robert  Allison,  C. 
A.  Campbell;  twenty-fourth  district.  Hand 
county,  Thomas  Cawood,  W.  S.  Thomas ;  twenty- 
fifth  district,  Hyde  and  Sully  counties,  E.  O. 
Parker;  twenty-sixth  district,  Hughes  and  Stan- 
ley counties,  Charles  H.  Burke,  Joseph  Dona- 
hue ;  twenty-seventh  district,  Clark  county,  C.  C. 
Perrin,  Charles  Young;  twenty-eighth  district, 
Codington  county,  Wilbur  S.  Glass,  J.  H.  .Mich- 
aels ;  twenty-ninth  district.  Hamlin  county,  John 
C.  Sharp ;  thirtieth  district,  Deuel  county,  K.  A. 
Gullikson :  thirty-first  district.  Grant  county,  S. 
R.  Gold,  William  O.  Storlie;  thirty-second  dis- 
trict. Marshall  county.  Ole  Ruswick;  thirty-third 
district,  Roberts  county,  Theodore  A.  Gunnar- 
son  ;  thirty-fourth  district.  Day  county,  P.  Holm- 
quist,  James  Gorman ;  thirty-fifth  district.  Brown 
county,  Daniel  D.  Jones,  John  T.  Gratton,  E.  S. 
Xelson,  Charles  H.  Eygabroad ;  thirty-sixth  dis- 
trict, Spink  county,  C.  T.  Howard,  R.  H.  Mc- 
Gaughe}',  S.  Ebbert ;  thirty-seventh  district,  Ed- 
munds county,  Curtis  H.  Barron ;  thirty-eighth 
district,  McPherson  countv,  John  F.  ^^'ilson ; 
thirty-ninth  district,  Walworth  county.  G.  P. 
\'ick ;  fortieth  district.  Campbell  county.  James 
Reid ;  forty-first  district.  Potter  count}-,  J.  W. 
Francis ;  forty-second  district,  Faulk  county, 
Alexander  Miller;  forty-third  district.  Custer 
county,  C.  J.  Patton ;  forty-fourth  district,  Fall 
River  county,  J.  D.  Dickover;  forty-fifth  district, 
Pennington  county,  A.  S.  Amerman,  A.  C.  Po- 
land ;  forty-sixth  district,  Meade  county.  B.  N. 
Oliver;  forty-seventh  district,  Butte  county, 
George  E.  Hair;  forty-eighth  district,  Lawrence 
county.  James  T.  L.  Henry.  ^L  L.  Rice,  A.  P. 
Cindel.  Officers — Hon.  Charles  T.  Howard, 
speaker ;  Hollace  L.  Hopkins,  chief  clerk ;  ^'ictor 


C.  Wass,  first  assistant  clerk;  Paul  Dutcher,  sec- 
ond assistant  clerk ;  Clarence  E.  Hayward,  en- 
grossing and  enrolling  clerk ;  Albert  H.  Barn- 
hart,  sergeant-at-arms  ;  John -H.  Slater,  assistant 
sergeant-at-arms ;  Danford  H.  Hawn,  bill  clerk; 
Robert  T.  Sedam,  messenger;  Erick  W.  Erick- 
son.  postmaster ;  Haldo  Safer,  watchman  and 
janitor;  James  B.  Ackerman,  night  watchman; 
Rev.  George  W.  Austin,  chaplain;  Maurice  B. 
Hastings,  A.  Roland  Schlosser,  Arthur  Snyder, 
Edward  F.  Purcell,  pages. 

Fifth  Session,  1897-8. — Senate — First  dis- 
trict, Union  county,  Louis  N.  Crill ;  second  dis- 
trict. Clay  county,  Carl  Gunderson ;  third  dis- 
trict, Yankton  county,  F.  D.  Wyman ;  fourth 
district,  Bon  Homme  county,  J.  H.  Stephens; 
fifth  district,  Lincoln  county,  W.  H.  Wilkinson ; 
sixth  district,  Turner  county,  A.  A.  Powers; 
seventh  district,  Hutchinson  county,  E.  T. 
Sweet ;  eighth  district,  Charles  Mix  and  Douglas 
counties,  W.  A.  Prather;  ninth  district,  Minne- 
haha county,  C.  S.  Palmer;  Lasse  Both- 
um ;  tenth  district.  McCook  county.  D.  C. 
Morgan ;  eleventh  district.  Hanson  county, 
E.  E.  King;  twelfth  district.  Davison 
county,  George  A.  Schlund ;  thirteenth 
district,  Aurora  county,  V.  S.  Cook;  four- 
teenth district,  Brule  county.  J.  S.  Stewart;  fif- 
teenth district,  Moody  county,  Rufus  Whealy ; 
sixteenth  district.  Lake  county,  M.  E.  Hart; 
seventeenth  district.  Miner  county,  D.  W.  Jack- 
son ;  eighteenth  district,  Sanborn  county,  S.  T. 
Winslow ;  nineteenth  district.  Jarauld  county, 
Jefferson  Stickler;  twentieth  district.  Brookings 
county.  D.  D.  Sage;  twenty-first  district,  Kings- 
bury county,  L  A.  Keith ;  twenty-second  dis- 
trict, Beadle  county,  H.  C.  Hinckley;  twxnty- 
third  district,  Hand  county,  W.  S.  INIajor;  twen- 
ty-fourth district,  Hughes  county,  H.  R.  Horner ; 
twenty-fifth   district.    Sully   and    Hyde   counties, 

D.  B.  Thayer;  twenty-sixth  district,  Deuel 
county,  ]\L  F.  Greely;  twenty-seventh  district, 
Hamlin  county,  S.  R.  Burlingame ;  twenty-eighth 
district,  Codington  county,  G.  W.  Case;  twenty- 
ninth  district,  Clark  county.  J.  A.  Grant;  thirty- 
first  district,  Spink  county,  W.  D.  Craig;  thirty- 
second  district.  Grant  countv.  Thomas  L.  Bouck;, 


%  420 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


thirty-second  district,  Day  county,  J-  T.  Good- 
win; thirty-third  district,  Brown  county,  Franl< 
W.  Webb;  thirty-third  district.  Brown  county, 
John  C.  Lindschy;  thirty- fourth  district,  Marsh- 
all and  Roberts  counties,  James  Ross ;  thirty-fifth 
district,  Faulk  and  Potter  counties,  John  F. 
W'hitlock ;  thirty-sixth  district,  Edmunds  and 
Walworth  counties,  E.  J.  McGlenn;  thirty- 
seventh  district,  Campbell  and  McPherson 
counties,  Ira  A.  Hatch ;  thirty-eighth  district, 
Lawrence  county,  John  B.  Fairbank ;  thirty-ninth 
district,  Pennington  county,  Joseph  B.  Buck;  for- 
tieth district,  Meade  county,  William  Bradley; 
forty-first  district,  Custer  and  Fall  River  coun- 
ties, A.  J.  Kellar.  Officers— Hon.  Daniel  T.  Hind- 
man,  president;  Louis  N.  Crill,  president  pro 
tempore;  T.  M.  Simmons,  secretary;  Hugh 
Smith,  first  assistant  secretary;  L.  M.  Meredith, 
second  assistant  secretary;  J.  M.  Spears,  ser- 
geant-at-arms ;  F.  Richardson,  assistant  ser- 
geant-at-arms ;  J.  W.  Jones,  bill  clerk;  D.  M. 
Birdseye,  postmaster  and  messenger;  James 
Olson,  watchman  and  janitor;  Rev.  W.  A.  Ly- 
man, chaplain;  H.  S.  Volkmar,  enrolling  and 
engrossing  clerk;  Charles  Chrysler,  George 
Elton,  pages.  House — First  district,  L^nion 
county,  Charles  W.  Deane,  Edward  Brus- 
seau;  second  district.  Clay  county,  N.  R.  Gil- 
christ, Hans  Hansen;  third  district,  Yankton 
county,  Ole  P.  Oleson,  A.  L.  Davison,  Fred 
Schnauber;  fourth  district,  Lincoln  county,  A. 
L.  Kuhns,  P.  A.  Overseth;  fifth  district,  Turner 
county,  F.  W.  Downing,  John  M.  Downer,  W.  E. 
Heeren;  sixth  district,  Hutchinson  county,  Gott- 
lieb Meisenhoelder,  J.  J.  ?*IcLaury,  S.  W.  Ulmer; 
seventh  district,  Bon  Homme  county,  Robert 
Dollard,  Christ  Bangart ;  eighth  district,  Douglas 
county,  William  Pfeifer;  ninth  district,  Charles 
Mix  county,  John  P.  Williamson;  tenth  district, 
Minnehaha  county,  John  Smith  Kirk,  Henry 
Aulwes,  H.  H.  Swartz,  W.  O.  Colton,  A.  G. 
Risty;  eleventh  district,  JNIcCook  county,  Oliver 
Gibbs,  John  I.  Purdin ;  twelfth  district,  Hanson 
county,  P.  H.  McManus ;  thirteenth  district, 
Davison  county,  John  Colvin ;  fourteenth  dis- 
trict, Sanborn  county,  M.  S.  Sheldon;  fifteenth 
district,   Aurora   countv,   O.   D.   Anderson ;   six- 


teenth district.  Jerauld  and  Buffalo  counties, 
Henry  Klindt ;  seventeenth  district,  Brule 
county,  Irving  A.  Weeks,  Daniel  F.  Burkholder; 
eighteenth  district.  Miner  county,  Moses  Mose- 
son ;  nineteenth  district.  Lake  county,  Mathias  A. 
Hedgal,  Joseph  Powee ;  twentieth  district. 
Moody  county,  B.  F.  Wright;  twenty-first  dis- 
trict, Brookings  county,  Peter  Peterson,  S.  T. 
Johnson,  H.  C.  Halvorsen;  twenty-second  dis- 
trict, Kingsbury  county,  G.  W.  Anderson,  L.  E. 
Blackstone ;  twenty-third  district,  Beadle  county, 
J.  W.  Houston,  John  T.  Baker;  twenty-fourth 
district.  Hand  county,  A.  L.  McWhorter,  John 
Mitchell;  twenty-fifth  district,  Hyde  and  Sully 
counties,  Thomas  H.  Goddard ;  twenty-sixth  dis- 
trict, Hughes  and  Stanley  counties,  Charles  H. 
Burke,  Joseph  Donahue ;  twenty-seventh  district. 
Clark  county,  M.  C.  Ryan,  G.  H.  Gunnison; 
twenty- eighth  district,  Codington  county,  W.  S. 
Glass,  J.  H.  Michaels ;  twenty-ninth  district. 
Hamlin  county,  John  Jardine ;  thirtieth  district, 

I  Deuel  county,  C.  H.  Lohr;  thirty-first  district, 
Grant   county,   W.    O.    Storlie,    A.    G.    Somers : 

j  thirty-second  district,  Marshall  county,  Samuel 
Denton ;  thirty-third  district,  Roberts  county, 
C.   H.  Lien;  thirty- fourth   district,  Day  county, 

:   William  H.  Jones,  Ole  L.  Hanse ;  thirty-fifth  dis- 

I  trict.  Brown  county,  George  B.  Daly,  William  E. 
Kidd,  James  R.  Neer,  L.  M.  Benson;  thirty-sixth 
district,  Spink  county,  R.  H.  McCaughey,  C.  K. 
Thompson,  S.  Ebbert;  thirty-seventh  district, 
Edmunds  county,  A.  H.  German;  thirty-eighth 
district,  McPherson  county,  S.  P.  Howell ;  thirty- 
ninth  district,  Walworth  county.  Freeman  Stew- 
art; fortieth  district,  Campbell  county,  Wilbut 
F.  Varnum;  forty-first  district.  Potter  county. 
Frank  G.  King;  forty-second  district,  Faulk 
county,  James  B.  Devine ;  forty-third  district, 
Custer  county,  H.  S.  Mastick;  forty-fourth  dis- 
trict. Fall  River  county,  D.  G.  Bruce;  forty-fifth 
district,  Pennington  county,  Zachariah  Holmes, 
Otto  L.  Anderson;  forty-sixth  district,  Meade 
county,  B.  N.  Oliver;  forty-seventh  district, 
Butte  county,  George  E.  Hair;  forty-eighth  dis- 
trict, Lawrence  county.  Andrew  H.  Oleson, 
Henry  Court,  Robert  H.  Lilly.  Officers— Hon. 
John  Colvin.  speaker;  Jonas  H.  Lien,  chief  clerk; 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


David  F.  Connor,  first  assistant  clerk;  C.  A. 
Crane,  second  assistant  clerk;  J.  G.  Jones,  en- 
rolling and  engrossing  clerk;  Jacob  Tschetter, 
sergeant-at-anns ;  J.  P.  Griffith,  assistant  ser- 
geant-at-arms ;  P.  A.  Johnson,  bill  clerk;  D.  G. 
jMcLaughlin,  messenger;  L.  W.  Stoeckle,  post- 
master; R.  E.  Talent,  watchman  and  janitor;  J. 
J.  P.  Hardy,  night  watchman;  Rev.  Clark  Lou- 
don, chaplain;  Wilbur  Hargrove,  Felan  Y. 
Hughes,  N.  C.  Rogers,  Raymond  Dowdell, 
pages. 

Sixth  Session,  1899-1900.  —  Senate  —  First 
district,  Union  county,  W.  J.  Bulow ;  second  dis- 
trict, Clay  county,  Carl  Gunderson;  third  dis- 
trict, Yankton  county,  E.  G.  Edgerton;  fourth 
district,  Bon  Homme  county,  George  W.  Snow; 
fifth  district,  Lincoln  county,  P.  A.  Overseth; 
sixth  district.  Turner  county,  L.  W.  Cooke; 
seventh  district,  Hutchinson  county,  J.  W.  Ul- 
mer;  eighth  district,  Douglas,  Charles  Mix, 
Gregory  counties,  J.  W.  Jones,  J.  E.  Jones ; 
ninth  district,  Minnehaha  county,  A.  H.  Sites, 
L.  S.  Tyler;  tenth  district,  McCook  county,  Wil- 
liam Hoese,  Jr. ;  eleventh  district,  Hanson  county, 
y.  K.  Stilhvell ;  twelfth  district,  Davison  county, 
George  A.  Johnson ;  thirteenth  district,  Aurora 
county,  S.  W.  Pease;  fourteenth  district,  Brule 
county,  Jesse  Hiatt;  fifteenth  district.  Moody 
county,  Edward  Jordan;  sixteenth  district.  Lake 
ccunty,  John  J.  Fitzgerald;  seventeenth  district, 
.Miner  county,  D.  W.  Jackson;  eighteenth  dis- 
trict, Sanborn  county,  E.  M.  Smith;  nineteenth 
district,  Jerauld  and  Buffalo  counties,  L.  N. 
Looniis :  twentieth  district,  Brookings  county, 
Charles  L.  Wohlheter;  twenty-first  district, 
Kingsbury  county,  Thomas  Reed ;  twenty-sec- 
ond district,  Beadle  county,  E.  H.  Vance;  twen- 
ty-third district.  Hand  county,  John  M.  King; 
twenty-fourth  district,  Hughes,  Hyde  and  Sully 
counties,  R.  W.  Stewart;  twenty-fifth  district, 
Stanley,  Nowlin,  Sterling,  Jackson,  Lyman, 
Pratt  and  Presho  counties,  James  Phillip; 
twenty-sixth  district,  Deuel  county,  William 
Rohweder;  twenty-seventh  district,  Hamlin 
county,  A.  O.  Arneson ;  twenty-eighth  district, 
Codington  county,  J.  B.  Hanten ;  twenty-ninth 
district,  Clark  county,  J.  A.  Grant;  thirtieth  dis- 


trict, Spink  county,  C.  W.  Gregory;  thirty-first 
district,  Grant  county,  Thomas  L.  Bouck;  thir- 
ty-second  district.    Day   and    Marshall    counties, 

E.  C.  Toy;  thirty-second  district.  Day  and  Mar- 
shall counties,  Richard  Williams ;  thirty-third  dis- 
trict. Brown  county,  E.  P.  Ashford ;  thirty-third 
district.  Brown  county,  J.  M.  Lawson;  thirty- 
fourth  district,  Roberts  county,  T.  A.  Gunnar- 
son ;  thirty-fifth  district,  Faulk  and  Potter  coun- 
ties,  J.   H.    Bottum;   thirty-sixth   district,    Wal- 

j  worth  and   Edmunds  counties,   H.   C.   Boyland; 

:  thirty-seventh  district,  McPherson  and  Camp- 
bell counties,  Fred  W.  Schamber;  thirty-eighth 
district,  Lawrence  county,  W.  S.  O'Brien ;  thir- 
ty-eighth district,  Lawrence  county,  H.  T. 
Cooper;  thirty-ninth  district,  Pennington  county, 
Edmund  Smith ;  fortieth  district,  Meade  and 
Butte  counties,  S.  S.  Littlefield;  forty-first  dis- 
trict, Custer  and  Fall  River  counties,  W.  E.  Bene- 
dict. Officers — John  T.  Kean,  president;  Carl 
Gunderson,  president  pro  tempore ;  J.  H.  Scrivan, 
secretary ;  B.  F.  Pucket,  first  assistant  secretary ; 
J.  \\'.  Jones,  second  assistant  secretary;  Maurice 
Flaven,  bill  clerk;  George  P.  Vick,  engrossing 
clerk;  A.  A.  Bowen,  assistant  engrossing  clerk; 
C.  T.  Porter,  sergeant-at-arms ;  S.  C.  Turner, 
assistant  sergeant-at-arms ;  A.  Folsom,  messen- 
ger and  postmaster;  A.  G.  Eberhart,  watchman 
and  janitor;  Rev.  G.  S.  Clevenger,  chaplain; 
Willie  Courtney,  Gaylord  Thomas,  pages. 
House — First  district.  Union  county,  Gustaf 
Nilson,  Peter  M.  Limoges,  B.  A.  Rozell;  second 
district.  Clay  county,  Hans  Myron,  Hans  Han- 
son; third  district,  Yankton  county,  A.  L.  Davi- 
son, Ole  Odland,  B.  C.  Woolley;  fourth  district, 
Lincoln  county,  Herman  Koch,  Wilbur  Kinsley, 
Frank  Dortland ;  fifth  district.  Turner  county, 
W.  H.  Stoddard,  E.  H.  Odland,  Gust  Norgreen; 
sixth  district,  Hutchinson  county,  G.  Mesenhoel- 
der,  Conrad  Guericke,  Paul  Wildermuth ;  seventh 
district,  Bon  Homme  county,  James  H.  Baskin, 
George  B.  Trumbo;  eighth  district,  Douglas 
county,  R..  M.  Hutchinson  ;  ninth  district,  Qiarles 
Mix  county,  E.  W.  Woody;  tenth  district,  Min- 
nehaha county,  A.  G.  Risty,  C.  T.  Austin,  John 

F.  Sophy.  J.  M.  Woodruff^,  C.  W.  Knodt;  elev- 
enth   district,    McCook    county,    Theodore    W. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Dwight,  John  L  Purdin :  twelfth  district.  Han- 
son county,  Joseph  F.  RoseUe ;  thirteenth  dis- 
trict, Davison  coimty,  H.  L.  Bras ;  fourteenth 
district,  Sanborn  county,  H.  H.  Heath;  fifteenth 
district,  Aurora  county,  O.  D.  Anderson;  six- 
teenth district,  Jerauld  and  Buffalo  counties, 
George  S.  Nelson;  seventeenth  district,  Brule 
county,  Nels  Larson,  J.  A.  Stransky;  eighteenth 
district,  Miner  county,  J.  George  Johnson ;  nine- 
teenth district.  Lake  county,  D.  D.  Holdridge, 
Thomas  Hoidal;  twentieth  district,  i\Ioody 
county,  T.  E.  Spalding,  Jacob  Lorenston;  twen- 
ty-first district,  Brookings  county,  N.  C.  Carl- 
son, P.  D.  Davis,  Peter  Peterson;  twenty-second 
district,  Kingsbury  county,  John  Rowe,  Gilbert 
C.  Wade;  twenty-third  district,  Beadle  county, 
Albert  W.  Wilmarth,  John  T.  Baker;  twenty- 
fourth  district.Hand  county,  John  Pusey;  twen- 
ty-fifth district,  Hughes,  Sully  and  Hyde  coun- 
ties, Thomas  M.  Goddard,  Denton  B.  Thayer; 
twenty-sixth  district,  Lyman,  Presho,  Sterling, 
Nowlin,  Jackson,  Pratt  and  Stanley  counties,  J. 
Charles  Russell ;  twenty-seventh  district,  Clark 
county,  Albert  H.  Cornwell,  Michael  C.  Ryan ; 
twenty-eighth  district,  Codington  county,  Wil- 
bur S.  Glass,  Andrew  Foley;  twenty-ninth  dis- 
trict, Hamlin  county,  R.  L.  Cooper;  thirtieth  dis- 
trict, Deuel  county,  Hans  P.  Holden ;  thirty-first 
district.  Grant  county,  A.  G.  Soniers,  William 
Schafifer;  thirty-second  district,  Marshall  county, 
O.  K.  Wilson;  thirty-third  district,  Roberts 
county,  C.  H.  Lien,  Thomas  Huhn ;  thirty- 
fourth  district.  Day  county,  Xeils  J.  Lindgren. 
James  L.  Bullock,  B.  F.  Herington ;  thirty-fifth 
district,  Brown  county,  Henry  Stabnaw,  A.  J. 
Johnson.  E.  C.  iMoulton.  R.  R.  Hurlbut ;  thirty- 
sixth  district,  Spink  county,  H.  P.  Packard,  T.  S. 
Everitt ;  thirty-seventh  district,  Edmunds  county, 
John  J.  Rees;  thirty-eighth  district,  McPherson 
county,  John  Peitz ;  thirty-ninth  district,  Wal- 
worth county,  J.  W.  Lowry;  fortieth  district, 
Campbell  county,  W.  F.  Varnum ;  forty-first  dis- 
trict, Potter  county,  Andrew  C.  I\Iurdy ;  forty- 
second  district,  Faulk  county,  J.  B.  Devine; 
forty-third  district,  Custer  county,  M.  F.  Smith ; 
forty-fourth  district.  Fall  River  county,  Edward 
D.  Bond;  forty-fifth  district.  Pennington  countv. 


¥.  A.  Hamilton.  ^^^  \^'.  Pinkerton ;  forty-sixth 
district,  ^Nleade  county,  Frank  Cottle;  forty- 
seventh  district,  Butte  county,  W.  J.  Chiesman ; 
forty-eighth  district,  Lawrence  county,  A.  P. 
Chindel,  E.  H.  Warren,  John  X.  Hawgood, 
John  Peterson.  Officers  —  A.  G.  Somers. 
speaker;  Willis  C.  Bower,  chief  clerk;  L.  \'. 
Doty,  first  assistant  clerk;  E.  A.  Werne,  second 
assistant  clerk;  W.  A.  Branch,  chief  engrossing 
clerk;  J.  D.  Sogn,  first  assistant  engrossing 
clerk;  T.  G.  Orr,  sergeant-at-arms ;  W.  H.  Wil- 
son, assistant  sergeant-at-arms ;  H.  D.  Chamber- 
lain, bill  clerk;  Paul  F.  Zafift,  postmaster;  John 
^IcDonald,  messenger ;  Rev.  A.  McFarlane, 
chaplain;  J.  S.  Green,  watchman  and  janitor; 
George  Grass,  watchman :  William  Hargrove, 
John  Crow,  C.  H.  Chrysler,  \'olney  Tuttle, 
pages. 

Scz'cuth  Session,  1901. — Senate — First  dis- 
trict, L'nion  county,  F.  I\L  Gilmore;  second  dis- 
trict. Clay  county,  Carl  Gunderson ;  third  dis- 
trict. Yankton  county,  E.  G.  Edgerton ;  fonrtli 
district,  Bon  Homme  county,  Joseph  Leach; 
fifth  district,  Lincoln  county,  Peter  A.  Overseth; 
sixth  district.  Turner  county,  William  R.  Stod- 
dard; seventh  district,  Hutchinson  county,  E.  T. 
Sweet;  eighth  district,  Charles  Alix  and  Doug- 
las counties,  H.  W.  Johnson ;  ninth  district,  ]\Iin- 
nehaha  county,  A.  H.  Stites,  C.  L.  John- 
son; tenth  district,  McCook  county,  Henry 
\'an  Woert;  eleventh  district,  Hanson 
county,  V.  K.  Stillwell;  twelfth  district, 
Davison  county,  George  A.  Johnson ;  thir- 
teenth district,  Aurora  county,  Joseph  Close : 
fourteenth  district,  Brule  county,  John  Wilkes ; 
fifteenth  district.  Moody  county,  George  H. 
Few ;  sixteenth  district.  Lake  county,  John  H. 
Williamson ;  seventeenth  district.  Miner  county, 
L.  J.  Martin ;  eighteenth  district,  Sanborn  county, 
A.  B.  Rowley;  nineteenth  district,  Jerauld  and 
BuiTalo  counties,  L.  N.  Looniis :  twentieth  dis- 
trict, Brookings  county,  Philo  Hall ;  twenty-first 
district,  Kingsbury  county,  Henry  Mauch ;  twen- 
ty-second district,  Beadle  county,  E.  H.  Vance; 
twenty-third  district.  Hand  county,  W.  S.  Bell; 
twenty-fourth  district.  Hughes,  Sully  and  Hyde 
counties.    R.    W.    Stewart;   twentv-fifth    district. 


HISTORY    tU'    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Stanley  and  Lyman  counties,  Fred  S.  Rowe; 
twenty-sixth  district.  Deuel  county,  J.  T.  Newby: 
twenty-seventh  district,  Hamlin  county,  E.  N. 
Johnson ;  twenty-eighth  district,  Codington 
county,  Charles  H.  Englesby ;  twenty-ninth  dis- 
trict, Clark  county,  O.  H.  LaCraft ;  thirtieth  dis- 
trict. Spink  county.  C.  W.  Gregory ;  thirty-first 
district.  Grant  county.  Pierce  Cahill ;  thirty-sec- 
ond district,  Day  and  Marshall  counties,  Ross  E. 
Harks,  Richard  Williams ;  thirty-third  district, 
Brown  county,  James  i\I.  Lawson,  Frank  E. 
Campbell ;  thirty-fourth  district,  Roberts  county, 
■  John  H.  Lewis;  thirty-fifth  district,  Faulk  and 
Potter  counties,  John  F.  Whitlock;  thirty-sixth 
district.  Edmunds  and  Walworth  counties,  A.  F. 
LeClaire ;  thirty-seventh  district,  McPherson 
and  Campbell  counties,  Wilber  F.  Varnum; 
thirty-eighth  district,  Lawrence  county,  L.  P. 
Jenkins,  H.  T.  Cooper;  thirty-ninth  district,  Pen- 
nington county,  George  P.  Bennett ;  fortieth  dis- 
trict, Meade  and  Butte  counties,  Peter  Edwards ; 
forty-first  district,  Custer  and  Fall  River  coun- 
ties, John  L.  Burke.  Officers — George  W.  Snow, 
president;  J.  M.  Lawson,  president  pro  tempore; 
J.  H.  Schriven,  secretary;  P.  A.  Bliss,  first  as- 
sistant^^ secretary ;  B.  F.  Pluckett,  second  assist- 
ant secretary;  L.  H.  Larson,  bill  clerk;  A. 
Rowen,  engrossing  clerk;  Ira  P.  Bradford,  as- 
sistant engrossing  clerk;  James  E.  Kibbler,  ser- 
geant-at-arms ;  J.  H.  Wright,  assistant  sergeant- 
at-arms ;  Samuel  Harter,  postmaster ;  A.  G.  Eber- 
hart,  watchman  and  janitor;  Thomas  H.  Purcell, 
messenger  and  nightwatchman ;  Rev.  E.  Burton, 
chaplain ;  Wells  Alger,  John  H.  Crow,  pages. 
House — First  district.  Union  county,  Samuel  A. 
Omdahl.  Oscar  E.  Lawson,  F.  W.  Ryan ;  second 
district.  Clay  county,  John  Frieberg,  L.  A.  Iver- 
son :  third  district,  Yankton  county,  Titus  E. 
Price.  John  AL  Larson,  Henry  Stollcr ;  fourth 
district,  Lincoln  county,  W.  A.  Kinsley.  Frank 
Dortland,  Herman  Koch;  fifth  district.  Turner 
county,  Soren  C.  Nelson,  Thomas  T.  Sletten,  E. 
H.  (\lland:  sixth  district,  Hutchinson  county. 
Christian  Rempfer.  C.  Gunthner,  Emanuel  Eber- 
hardt ;  seventh  district,  Bon  Homme  county, 
George  B.  Trumbo.  Christopher  Bangart;  eighth 
district.  Douglas  county,  B.  T.  Boylan  ;  ninth  dis- 


trict, Charles  Alix  and  Gregory  counties,  S.  M. 
Lindley ;  tenth  district,  Minnehaha  county,  R.  E. 
\'reeland,  H.  T.  Parmley,  C.  W.  Locke,  L.  Ren- 
ner,  John  A.  Egge ;  eleventh  district,  AlcCook 
county,  D.  J.  Kane,  John  Kruse;  twelfth  dis- 
trict, Hanson  county,  W.  H.  Stark;  thirteenth 
district,  Davison  county,  Harry  L.  Bras;  four- 
teenth district,  Sanborn  county,  H.  H.  Heath ; 
fifteenth  district,  Aurora  county,  Guilford  Mul- 
len ;  sixteenth  district,  Jerauld  and  BulTalo  coun- 
ties, A.  J.  Wooledge;  seventeenth  district,  Brule 
county,  John  A.  Stransky,  John  J.  Yirsa;  eigh- 
teenth district.  Miner  county,  R.  D.  Stove; 
nineteenth  district.  Lake  county,  Duncan  Fergu- 
son, Nicholas  Sampson ;  twentieth  district,  Moody 
county,  William  H.  Loucks,  L.  Hasvold ;  twenty- 
first  district,  Brookings  county,  W.  A.  Burgess, 
J.  L.  Alseth,  Sol  Waters ;  twenty-second  district, 
Kingsbur\-  county,  G.  C.  Wade,  Henry  Menzel ; 
twenty-third  district,  Beadle  county,  A.  W.  Wil- 
marth,  James  P.  Davis;  twenty-fourth  district, 
Hand  county,  James  O.  Dean ;  twenty-fifth  dis- 
trict, Hyde,  Hughes  and  Sully  counties,  Thomas 
M.  Goddar,  August  N.  Gerhart ;  twenty-sixth 
district,  Stanley  and  Lyman  counties,  John  O. 
Anderson;  twenty-seventh  district,  Clark  county, 
Anton  Fryslie,  J.  F.  Johnson ;  twenty-eighth  dis- 
trict, Codington  county,  C.  X.  Seward,  A.  C. 
Burnstad;  twenty-ninth  district,  Hamlin  county, 
William  Trumm ;  thirtieth  district,  Deuel  county. 
Edward  Winnor ;  thirty-first  district.  Grant 
county,  Albert  G.  Somers,  William  Schaft'er; 
thirty-second  district,,  Marshall  county,  John  E. 
McDougall ;  thirty-third  district,  Roberts  county, 
C.  H.  Lien,  M.  A.  Westby ;  thirty- fourth  dis- 
trict. Day  county,  James  L.  Bullock,  Nils  J. 
Lindgren,  Fred  C.  Moore;  thirty-fifth  district. 
Brown  county,  E.  C.  Moulton,  Henry  F.  Stab- 
naw,  Martin  \'.  Redding,  John  L.  Browne: 
thirty-sixth  district,  Spink  county,  T.  S.  Everitt. 
Harlan  P.  Packard;  thirty-seventh  district.  Ed- 
munds county,  John  Davies;  thirty-eighth  dis- 
trict, McPherson  county,  John  Pietz :  thirty- 
ninth  district,  Walworth  county,  George  P.  \'ick ; 
fortieth  district,  Campbell  county,  T.  A.  Fossum ; 
forty-first  district.  Potter  county,  Evan  F.  Gross ; 
fortv-second   district,   Faulk  county,   Andrew   J. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Porter;  forty-third  district,  Custer  county,  Willis 
E.  Benedict;  forty- fourth  district,  Fall  River 
county,  E.  S.  Kelley;  forty-fifth  district,  Pen- 
nington county,  F.  A.  Hamilton,  Alexander  Ma- 
dill ;  forty-sixth  district,  Meade  county,  Samuel 
]\Iartin ;  forty-seventh  district,  Butte  county, 
^^'.  J.  Chiesman;  forty-eighth  district,  Law- 
rence county,  Edward  H.  Warren,  John  N.  Haw- 
good,  John  Peterson^  Amos  Patriquin.  Officers — 
Albert  G.  Somers,  speaker;  William  A.  Remer, 
chief  clerk;  George  W.  Moulton,  first  assistant 
clerk ;  E.  B.  Dawson,  second  assistant  clerk ;  Carl 
R.  Tones,  bill  clerk ;  James  R.  Howell,  chief  clerk 
engrossing  and  enrolling  force ;  W.  H.  Green, 
first  assistant  clerk  engrossing  and  enrolling 
force;  James  B.  Devine,  sergeant-at-arms ;  J.  A. 
Hofer,  assistant  sergeant-at-arms;  E.  A.  Somer- 
ville,  postmaster;  G.  M.  Stormont,  messenger; 
John  T.  Ellis,  chaplain;  John  McDonnell,  watch- 
man and  janitor;  William  Toomey,  night  watch- 
man ;  H.  Burrington,  Wilbur  Hargrove,  Charles 
Tuttle,  Earl  P.  Johnson,  pages. 

Eighth  Session,  1903. — Senate — First  dis- 
trict. Union  county,  August  Frieberg;  second 
district.  Clay  county,  J.  E.  Payne ;  third  district, 
Yankton,  Charles  H.  Dillon ;  fourth  district,  Bon 
Homme  county,  J.  P.  Cooley;  fifth  district,  Lin- 
coln county,  ]\Iartin  E.  Rudolph;  sixth  district. 
Turner  county,  William  H.  Stoddard;  seventh 
district,  Hutchinson  county,  J.  W.  LTlmer ;  eighth 
district,  Charles  Mix,  Douglas  and  Gregory 
counties,  Homer  W.  Johnson ;  ninth  district, 
Minnehaha  county,  E.  B.  Northrup,  Henry 
Robertson ;  tenth  district,  McCook  county, 
E.  L.  Aber;  eleventh  district,  Henson 
county,  Henry  Boehmer ;  twelfth  district, 
Davison  county,  O.  L.  Branson;  thirteenth 
district,  Aurora  county,  J.  H.  Qose;  fourteenth 
district,  Brule  county,  W.  L.  Montgomery; 
fifteenth  district,  Moody  county,  George  H.  Few ; 
sixteenth  district.  Lake  county,  John  H.  Will- 
iamson ;  seventeenth  district,  Miner  county,  J. 
W.  Seney;  eighteenth  district,  Sanborn  county, 
A.  B.  Rowley;  nineteenth  district,  Jerauld  and 
Buffalo  counties,  T.  W.  Lane ;  twentieth  district, 
Brookings  county,  Martin  N.  Trygstad ;  twenty- 
first   district,    Kingsbury   county,   Adam   Royhl; 


i  twenty-second  district,  Beadle  county,  Fred  ^L 
I  Wilcox ;  twenty-third  district.  Hand  county, 
i  Frank  E.  Saltmarsh ;  twenty-fourth  district, 
Hughes,  Sully  and  Hyde  counties,  Cassius  C. 
Bennett;  twenty-fifth  district,  Stanley  and  Ly- 
man counties,  Douglas  F.  Carhn;  twenty-sixth 
district,  Deuel  county,  John  T.  Newby;  twenty- 
seventh  district,  Hamlin  county,  E.  N.  Johnson; 
twenty-eighth  district,  Codington  county,  C.  A. 
Neill;  twenty-ninth  district,  Clark  county,  O.  H. 
LaCraft;  thirtieth  district,  Spink  county,  R.  H. 
McCaughey ;  thirty-first  district.  Grant  county. 
Pierce  Cahill;  thirty-second  district.  Day  and 
;  Marshall  counties,  E.  R.  Thompson;  thirty-sec- 
ond district.  Day  and  Marshall  counties,  J.  E. 
I  McDougall;  thirty-third  district.  Brown  county, 
James  M.  Lawson,  William  Knoepsel;  thirty- 
fourth  district,  Roberts  county,  C.  F.  Porter ;  thir- 
ty-fifth district,  Faulk  and  Potter  counties,  Joseph 
H.  Bottum;  thirty-sixth  district,  Edmunds  and 
Walworth  counties,  H.  G.  Bovland;  thirty-sev- 
enth district,  McPherson  and  Campbell  counties, 
John  Stoller;  thirty-eighth  district,  Lawrence 
county,  L.  P.  Jenkins,  James  C.  Moody;  thirty- 
ninth  district,  Pennington  countv-,  John  F.  Schra- 
der;  fortieth  district,  Meade  and  Butte  counties, 
Henrj'  E.  Perkins ;  forty-first  district,  Custer  and 
Fall  River  counties,  John  L.  Burke.  Officers — 
George  W.  Snow,  president ;  J.  H.  ^^'illiamson, 
president  pro  tempore;  J.  F.  Armstrong,  secre- 
tary; E.  Burt  Parker,  first  assistant  secretary; 
W.  J,  Simons,  second  assistant  secretary ;  J.  R. 
Howell,  bill  clerk;  A.  A.  Rowen,  chief  clerk  en- 
grossing and  enrolling  bills;  R.  E.  Grimshaw, 
first  assistant  clerk  engrossing  and  enrolling 
bills;  Orlando  Searles,  sergeant-at-arms;  Samuel 
Harter,  assistant  sergeant-at-arms ;  L.  G.  \\a\- 
strom,  postmaster;  T.  McKeon,  assistant  post- 
master; Edward  Larson,  watchman  and  janitor; 
G.  M.  Stormont,  messenger  and  nightwatch :  G. 
T.  Netson,  chaplain ;  Walter  Trask,  Frank  Tobey, 
Benjamin  Crow,  pages.  House — First  district. 
Union  county,  O.  E.  Lawson,  F.  W.  Rj-an,  An- 
drew Martin;  second  district.  Clay  county,  M.  J. 
Chaney,  John  Frieberg;  third  district,  Y'ankton 
county,  Titus  E.  Price,  Henry  Stoller,  John  M. 
Larson;  fourth  district,  Lincoln  countv,  Willard 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


425 


H.  Huff,  William  M.  Brown,  Jacob  S.  Kehm; 
fifth  district.  Turner  county,  Soren  C.  Nelson, 
Albert  N.  Apland,  A.  F.  Elliott;  sixth  district, 
Hutchinson  county, 'C.  Rempfer,  John  J.  Wipf, 
George  E.  Scobell ;  seventh  district,  Bon  Homme, 
Theodore  Berndt,  August  Koenig;  eighth  dis- 
trict, Douglas  county,  R.  Hutchinson ;  ninth  dis- 
trict, Charles  Mix  and  Gregory  counties,  Irving 
H.  Welch;  tenth  district,  Minnehaha  county, 
R.  E.  Vreeland,  P.  J.  Rogde,  John  A.  Egge, 
Charles  J.  Mahl,  L.  Renner;  eleventh  district, 
McCook  county,  B.  Countryman,  F.  T.  Jackson; 
twelfth  district,  Hanson  county,  H.  Montgomery  ; 
thirteenth  district.  Davison  county,  Mark  C. 
Betts ;  fourteenth  district,  Sanborn  county,  Wil- 
liam N.  Brown ;  fifteenth  district,  Aurora  county. 
Gulliford  Mullen ;  sixteenth  district,  Jerauld  and 
Buffalo  counties,  H.  B.  Farren;  seventeenth  dis- 
trict, Brule  county,  H.  C.  Mussman,  W.  C.  Gray- 
bill  ;  eighteenth  district.  Miner  county,  F.  N. 
Dexter;  nineteenth  district.  Lake  county,  N. 
Sampson,  D.  Ferguson;  twentieth  district, 
Moody  county,  W.  H.  Loucks,  A.  C.  Allen; 
twenty-first  district,  Brookings  count}'.  Edward 
Hillestad,  August  King,  George  W.  Brown; 
twenty-second  district,  Kingsbury  county,  Mav- 
tin  Madison,  J.  H.  Carroll ;  twenty-third  district, 
Beadle  county,  G.  S.  Hutchinson,  John  Long- 
staff;  twenty-fourth  district.  Hand  county,  Rich- 
ard Smith;  twenty-fifth  district,  Hughes  and 
Sully  counties.  T.  :\I.  Goddard,  A.  N.  Gerhart ; 
Uvcnty-sixth  district,  Stanley  and  Lyman  coun- 
ties, \^'a^ren  Young;  twenty-seventh  district, 
Ckirk  ccniiity,  J.  M.  Johnson,  Anton  Fryslie ; 
twenty-eighth  district,  Codington  county,  A.  C. 
I'.urnstad,  H.  Hildebrandt ;  twenty-ninth  district, 
H-unlin   county,   William   Trumm ;   thirtieth   dis- 


trict, Deuel  county,  E.  E.  Distad;  thirty-first  dis- 
trict, Graitt  county,  Edgar  Kelley,  I.  D.  Steiner 
thirty-second  district,  Marshall  county,  Dan  G 
Stokes ;  thirty-third  district,  Roberts  county,  G.  J 
Jenkins,  John  Teare;  thirty- fourth  district,  Day 
county,  S.  L.  Potter,  A.  W.  Bigelow,  Chris  Fal 
mer;  thirty-fifth  district.  Brown  county,  I.  L 
Browne,  M.  V.  Redding,  P.  D.  Kribs,  I.  D. 
Tower ;  thirty-sixth  district,  Spink  county,  W.  D 

!  Craig,  N.  P.  Bromley ;  thirty-seventh  district,  Ed- 
mund county,  John  J.  Rees;  thirty-eighth  dis- 
trict, McPherson  county,  Jacob  ^luhlbeier;  thir- 
ty-ninth district,  Walworth  county,  H.  DeMa- 
lignon  :  fortieth  district,  Campbell  county,  T.  A. 
Fossum  :  forty-first  district.  Potter  county.  Evan 
F.  Gross ;  forty-second  district,  Faulk  county.  A. 
J.  Porter;  forty-third  district.  Custer  county. 
Miles  F.  Smith ;  forty-fourth  district.  Fall  River 
county,  Ellis  T.  Pierce ;  forty-fifth  district,  Pen- 
nington county,  Patrick  Daley,  Charles  Ham, 
forty-seventh  district,  Butte  county.  R.  L.  Chun- 
ing ;  forty-eighth  district,  Lawrence  county,  Rob- 
ert C.  Hayes,  Alex  A.  Moodie,  Ernest  May,  John 

j  H.  Russell.  Officers  "  and  Employes — J.  L. 
Browne,  speaker;  J.  C.  McLemore.  chief  clerk; 
Lucian  \'reeland.  first  assistant  clerk;  George 
Merriman,  second  assistant  clerk;  J.  A.  Hooper, 
sergeant-at-arms ;  John  McDonald,  assistant  ser- 

■  geant-at-arms ;  B.  A.  Williams,  chief  engrossing 

j  and  enrolling  force ;  Frank  Kuhns,  postmast- 
er;  Z.  M  .  Horseley,  assistant  postmaster ;  R. 
F.  Edwards,  messenger;  C.  F.  Weeland, 
chaplain;  Frank  Smith,  janitor;  T.  O.  Thomp- 
son, night  watchman;  Charles  Tuttle,  page; 
William  Hargrove,  page;  Ray  Goddard,  page; 
Howard    Porter,    page,    and    H.    Gassman.  bill 

i  clerk. 


CHAPTER  LXXVI 


ROSTER  OF  OFFICERS  AND  ENLISTED  MEN  OF  THE  FIRST  INFANTRY  REGI- 
jNIENT,  south  DAKOTA  VOLUNTEERS. 


In  the  following  roster,  the  age  of  each  man 
follows  the  designation  of  his  official  rank,  fol- 
lowed by  the  dates  of  muster  in  and  muster  out, 
respectively. 

FIELD    STAFF    AND    BAND. 

Alfred  S.  Frost,  colonel.  42,  April  27,  1S98,  Au- 
gust 31.  1899.  In  command  of  regiment  on  firing  line 
during  every  engagement  in  which  the  regiment  par- 
ticipated. 

Lee  Stover,  lieutenant  colonel,  33,  April  25,  1898, 
October  .5.  1899. 

Charles  A.  Howard,  major.  30.  April  25,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899.  I 

William  F.  Allison,  major,  28.  May  5,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Rodell  C.  Warne,  major  and  surgeon,  34,  May  4, 

1898.  October  5,  1899. 

Adelbert  H.  Bowman,  captain  and  first  assistant 
surgeon,  47,  May  4,  1898,  February  27,  1899. 

Frederick  W.  Cox,  captain  and  second  assistant 
surgeon,  34,  May  9,  1898,  October  5,  1899. 

Harry  F.  Thompson,  first  lieutenant  and  third  as- 
sistant surgeon,  29,  April  25,  1898,  October  5,  1899. 
Mustered  in  as  private  in  Company  B;  transferred 
to  Hospital  Corps,  United  States  Army.  Appointed 
acting  hospital  steward.  United  States  Army.  Dis- 
charged February  23,  1899.     Mustered  in  March   11, 

1899,  as  first  lieutenant  and  assistant  surgeon,  vice 
Bowman,  resigned. 

Charles  M.  Daley,  captain  and  chaplain,  39,  April 
29,  1898.  October  5,  1899. 

Jonas  H.  Lien,  first  lieutenant  and  adjutant,  23, 
May  4,  1898.  Killed  in  action  at"  battle  of  Marilao, 
Philippine  Islands,  March  27,  1899. 

Evan  E.  Young,  first  lieutenant  and  adjutant, 
20,  April  25,  1898,  August  10,  1899.     Mustered  In  as 


second  lieutenant  Company  M,  mustered  out  April 
12,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  first  lieutenant  and  adju- 
tant South  Dakota  Infantry,  United  States  Volun- 
teers, April  13,  1899,  vice  Lien,  deceased.  Discharged 
to  accept  commission  as  captain  Eleventh  United 
States  Cavalry. 

Jay  W.  Beck,  first  lieutenant  and  adjutant,  23, 
April  26,  1898,  October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  pri- 
vate in  Company  L;  appointed  lance  corporal;  ap- 
pointed regimental  sergeant  major,  vice  Stover,  de- 
ceased. Discharged  June  21,  1899.  Mustered  in  as 
second  lieutenant  First  South  Dakota  Infantry, 
United  States  Volunteers.  June  22,  1899,  vice  Crab- 
tree,  promoted  and  assigned  to  Company  L.  Dis- 
charged August  10,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  first  lieu- 
tenant and  adjutant  First  South  Dakota  Infantry, 
United  States  Volunteers.  August  11,  1899,  vice 
Young,  discharged. 

Henry  Murray,  first  lieutenant  and  quartermaster, 
45,  May  4,  1898,  October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  first 
lieutenant  and  quartermaster;  resigned;  assigned  to 
Company  M. 

Fred  L.  Burdick,  first  lieutenant  and  quartermas- 
ter, 37,  April  25,  1898,  October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in 
as  second  lieutenant  Company  H:  discharged  July  17. 
1898.  Mustered  in  as  first  lieutenant  First  South  Da- 
kota Infantry,  United  States  Volunteers,  July  18, 
1898,  and  assigned  to  Company  M.  Appointed  regi- 
mental quartermaster  January  12.  1899,  vice  Mur- 
ray, resigned. 

Roy  W.  Stover,  sergeant  major,  22,  May  4,  1898. 
Died  of  continuous  fever  and  diarrhoea  at  Manila, 
Philippine  Islands,  October  21,  1898. 

Alonzo  J.  Grover,  sergeant  major,  25,  April  25, 
1898.  October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private  of 
Company  B;  appointed  lance  corporal;  appointed 
corporal,  vice  Crandall,  reduced;  appointed  regi- 
mental sergeant  major,  vice  Beck,  promoted. 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


427 


Marion  D.  McMahan.  quartermaster  sergeant,  28, 
April  25,  189S,  October  5,  1899. 

William  T.  P.  Ledeboer,  quartermaster  sergeant, 
24,  April  25,  1898,  August  9,  1899.  Mustered  in  as 
sergeant  Company  L;  appointed  regimental  quarter- 
master April  15,  1899,  vice  McMahan,  reduced.  Dis- 
charged at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands. 

Frank  R.  Osborn,  quartermaster  sergeant,  26, 
May  14,  189S,  October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  pri- 
vate Company  M;  appointed  corporal;  promoted  to 
sergeant;  appointed'  regimental  quartermaster  Au- 
gust 12,  1899,  vice  Ledeboer,  discharged. 

Frank  M.  Halstead,  chief  musician,  33,  May  19, 
1898,  October  5,  1899.  «' 

Frank  A.  Schroeder,  principal  musician.  34,  May 
19,   1898,  October  5,   1899. 

Chase  E.  Mulinex.  principal  musician,  24,  May  14, 
1898,  October  5,  1899. 

Louis  W.  Hubbard,  principal  musician,  23,  May  4, 
1898,  October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  quartermaster 
sergeant  Company  E;  appointed  principal  musician, 
vice  Schroeder,  who  upon  his  own  request  was  re- 
duced to  private  and  transferred  to  Company  E. 

Clyde  W.  Allen,  principal  musician,  21,  April  30, 
1898,  October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  rnusician  Com- 
pany H;  appointed  principal  musician. 

Herbert  J.  Barker,  hospital  steward,  24,  April  25, 
1898,  October  5,  1899. 

Charles  F.  Clancy,  hospital  steward,  33,  May  13, 
1898,  October  5,  1899. 

Harry  M.  Fletcher,  hospital  steward.  25,  May  19, 
1S98,  October  5,  1899. 


COMPANY   A. 


Puller,   captain,  20,  April  25, 


Oc- 


Arthur   L. 
tober  5.  1S99. 

Oscar  F.  Smith,  first  lieutenant,  22,  May  4,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  second  lieutenant 
Companuy  K,  First  South  Dakota  United  States  Vol- 
unteers; appointed  first  lieutenant  Company  A.  First 
South  Dakota  Infantry,  United  States  Volunteers. 

Munson  M.  Z.  Guthrie,  second  lieutenant,  19,  April 
25,   1898,   October  5,   1899. 

Edwin  H.  Spurling,  first  lieutenant,  20,  April  25, 
1898,  October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  corporal;  ap- 
pointed sergeant,  then  first  sergeant. 

Amariah  Rathmall,  quartermaster  sergeant,  41, 
April  25.  1898,  October  5,  1899. 

Edward  A.  Beckwith.  sergeant.  18.  April  25.  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Wellington  D.  Oldfield.  sergeant.  28.  April  25, 
1898,  October  5,  1899.  Wounded  in  left  hand  by  acci- 
dental gunshot. 

Samuel  E.  Snyder,  sergeant, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  a 
corporal,  then  sergeant. 


April    20,    1898. 
ivate;   appointed 


'  Charles  B.  Green,  sergeant,  21,  April  20,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private;  appointed 
corporal,  then  sergeant. 

William  M.  Walters,  corporal,  22,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private;  appointed 
corporal. 

James  H.  Pratten,  corporal,  34,  May  7,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private;  appointed 
corporal. 

Ray  L.  Greer,  corporal,  25,  April  27,  1898,  October 
5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private;  appointed  artificer, 
then  corporal. 

Frank  Groseclose,  corporal,  26,  April  28,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private;  appointed 
corporal, 

Ernest  E.  Hanson,  corporal,  33.  May  7,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private;  appointed 
corporal. 

Calvin  F.  Barber,  corporal,  24,  May  19,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1S99.  Mustered  in  as  private;  appointed 
musician,  then  corporal. 

Arthur  J.  Bushnell,  musician,  21,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private;  appointed 
musician. 

Edward  E.  Graham,  artificer,  25,  April  27,  1898, 
October  5.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private;  appointed 
artificer. 

John  Frisk,  wagoner.  22,  April  25.  1898,  October 
5,  1898.     Mustered  in  as  private;   appointed  wagoner. 

Melvin  A.  Perkins,  musician,  27,  May  4,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private;  appointed 
musician. 

Howard  H.   Ainsworth,  private,   27,  May  16,   1898, 
I   October  5,  1899. 

Royle  T.  Atkins,  private,  21,  May  4,  1898,  October 
5,   1899. 

Peter  T,  Bayard,  private,  29,  April  25,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Howard  B.  Boyles,  private,  18,  May  2,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Wesley  M.  Bradford,  private,  23.  April  21,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

William  C.  Bradford,  private,  25,  April  28.  1898. 
October  5,  1899. 

Jeston  E.  Calhoun,  private,  21,  April  25,  1898, 
October  0,  1899. 

Harry  Christensen,  private,  24,  April  26.  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Fred  C.  Cloeter,  private,  30,  May  2.  1898,  October 
5,   1899. 

Arthur  C.  DeHart.  private,  24.  May  4.  1898.  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Charles  H.  Doane,  private.  23.  May  7,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5.  1899. 

Oliver  P.  Fellers,  private,  27,  May  7,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 


428 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Lucius  F.  Ferry,  private,  27,  May  7,  1S9S,  October 
5,   1S99. 

Philip   H.   Ferry,   private,   22,   May   7,    1898,   Octo- 
ber 5,   1899. 

John  N.  Garner,  private,  22,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Frederick     Glfford,     private,     22,   April     26,     1898: 
October  5,  1899. 

John    H.    Goddard,    private,    19,    April     28,    1898, 
October  5,   1899. 

William  H.  Green,  private,  28,  May  2,  1898,  Octo 
ber  5,  1899. 

Alfred   E.   Hegglund,   private,   20,   April   25,   1898 
October  5,  1899. 

Wilson  Hinkley,  private,  33,  May  11,   1898,  Octo 
ber  5,  1899. 

Covert  N.  House,  private.  22,  April  25.  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

John    Jess,    private,    27,    April    28,    1898.    October 
5,  1899. 

Fred  A.  Jewell,  private,  22,  May  7,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Harry    R.    Johnson,    private,    23,    April    25,    : 
October  5,   1899. 

Bert  L.  Jones,  private,  27,  May  2,  1898.  October 
5,  1899. 

Frank  E.  Kephart,  private,  26,  May  7.  1898.  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Drew  0.  Kierbow,  private,  25.  April  29,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

John  W.  Latta,  private,  22,  April  28,  1898,  October 
h,   1899. 

Lawrence  Lawler,  private,  23,  April  27,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Terence  P.   Leonard,  private,  June  24,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Peter  L.  Lynott,  private,   22,  April  27,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5.  1899. 

Edward   J.   McMackin,   private.   24,   May   19, 
October   5,   1899. 

William    H.    McNutt,    private,    19,    May    2, 
October  5.  1899. 

Havilah  W.  Melone,  private,  25,  May  7,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Ole   Miller,    private.   22.   May   7,   1898,   October   5, 
1899. 

Christopher   Mallick,    private,    23.   April    27,    1898, 
October  5.  1899. 

Ray  E.  Munson,  private,  27,  April  26,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

William  C.  Notmeyer,  private,  22.  April  25,  1898 
October    5,    1899. 

Ole  Oleson,  private,  31,  April  25.  1898,  October  5 
1899. 

Jesse  W.  Owens,  private,  23,  April  27.  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,   1899. 


Daniel  F.  O'Neil,  private,  21,  May  2,  1898,  October 
5,    1899. 

Edward  J.  Phares,  private.  26,  April  25.  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 
.    George  Reynick,  private.  22.  May  7.  1898.  Octobe 
5,  1899. 

Leonard  T.  Scovel,  private.  29.  April  25.  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Milton  A.  Snider,  private,  21,  April  25,  1898,  Octo 
1899. 

Andrew  Stich,  private,  June  16,  1898.  October  5 
1898. 

Oscar  L  Williams,  private.  20,  April  27.  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  * 

DISCHARGED    BY    ORDER. 

Samuel   G.   Larson,   first   lieutenant,   22.   April   25, 

1898,  August  10,  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila,  Phil- 
ippine Islands.  Mustered  in  as  second  lieutenunt 
Company  C,  First  South  Dakota  Infantry,  U.  S.  V. 
Appointed  first  lieutenant  Company  A.  First  South 
Dakota  Infantry,  U.  S.  V. 

George  E.  Barker,  first  sergeant,  20,  April  25,  1898, 
August  10.  1899.  Wounded  in  right  hand  by  gun- 
shot. Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands,  to 
accept  commission  as  second  lieutenant  First  South 
Dakota  Infantry,  U.  S.  V. 

Charles  Kiser,  sergeant,  34,  May  7.  1898,  June  30. 

1899.  Discharged   at   Manila,   Philippine    Islands. 
Ernest  E.  Coding,  sergeant.  20,  May  7.  1898,  July 

19,  1S99.  Mustered  in  as  corporal.  Appointed  ser- 
geant.    Discharged  at  Manila.  Philippine  Islands. 

Robert  J.  Webster,  corporal.  24.  May  4,  1898,  July 
19.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  cor- 
poral.    Discharged  at  Manila.  Philippine  Islands. 

John  W.  Wilson,  corporal.  31,  April  25,  1898, 
August  26,  1899.  Discharged  at  San  Francisco,'  Cali- 
ifornia. 

Albert  T.  Cavaness,  wagoner,  27.  April  26.  1898, 
July  16,  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine 
Islands. 

Frank  B.  Anderson,  private.  20.  April  25.  1898. 
June  4.  1898.  Discharged  at  San  Francisco.  Cali- 
lornia. 

Henry  W.  Bowers,  private,  27.  May  7,  1S9S,  Sep- 
tember 7,  1899.  Discharged  at  San  Francisco.  Cali- 
lornia. 

Charles  M.  Bray,  private,  22,  May  2,  1898.  August 
2,  1899.     Discharged  at  San  Francisco,  California. 

Abraham  Cayce,  private,  24,  May  7,  1898,  August 
27,  1899.     Discharged  at  San  Francisco,  California. 

Horace  A.  Chase,  private.  20.  April  27,  1898,  Au- 
"gust    26,   1899.     Discharged   at    San   Francisco.   Cali- 
fornia. • 
I       Robert  Hall,  private,  26,  April  26,  1898,  August  21, 
Bl899.     Discharged   at   San   Francisco.   California. 


HISTORY   OP^    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


William  C.  Hoover,  private,  19,  May  27,  1S98. 
August  28,  1899.  Discliarged  at  San  Francisco,  Cali- 
fornia. 

Albert  A.  Johnson,  private,  19,  May  10,  1898,  Au- 
gust 28,  1899.  Discharged  at  San  t'rancisco,  Cali- 
fornia. 

Thomas  S.  Kingston,  private,  23.  May  10,  1898, 
August  9,  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila.  Philippine 
Islands. 

Charles  P.  Peterson,  private,  37,  April  25,  1898, 
August  9,  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine 
Islands. 

Alfred  Pines,  private.  39,  April  2.5,  1898,  September 
0,   1899.     Discharged   at  San  Francisco,  California. 

TRANSFERRED. 

Jay  W.  Miller,  private,  32,  April  26,  1898.  Trans- 
ferred to  Company  B.  First  South  Dakota  Infantry, 
U.  S.  V. 

George  S.  B.  Cooke,  private,  July  16,  1898.     Tr 
ferred  to  Company  G,  First   South  Dakota  Infantry, 
U.  S.  V. 

Leonard  A.  Ruby,  private,  26,  April  25,  1898. 
Transferred  to  Company  H,  First  South  Dakota  In 
fantry,  U.  S.  V. 

Wilford  Martin,  private,  27,  April  27,  1898.  Trans 
ferred  to  Company  M.  First  South  Dakota  Infantry 
U.  S.  V. 

DROWNED. 

Edwin  A.  Harting,  first  lieutenant,  25,  April  25, 
1898.  Drowned  February  14,  1899,  in  River  Pasig, 
near  town   of  Pasig,   Philippine   Islands. 

DIED   OF    DISEASE. 

Jim  Goddard,  musician,  18,  April  28.  1898.  Died 
June    15,   1898.   at    Sioux   Falls.   South   Dakota. 

COMPANY    B. 

Alonzo  B.  Sessions,  captain,  22,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

John  C.  Fox,  first  lieutenant.  26.  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Victor  M.  Dalthorp,  second  lieutenant,  22,  April 
25,  1898,  October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  sergeant 
in  Company  D,  Appointed  second  lieutenant  Com- 
pany B  September  18,  1899,  vice  E,  E.  Hawkins,  mus- 
tered out. 

Arthur  R,  Schlosser.  first  sergeant,  19,  April  25, 
1898,  October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  sergeant.  Ap- 
pointed first  sergeant. 

Donald  H.  Fox,  quartermaster  sergeant,  22,  April 
25,  1898,  October  5,  1899. 

Charles  L.  Butler,  sergeant,  19.  April  25,  1898. 
October  5,  1899,     Wounded  at  Five  Mile  Trench.  April 


William  Hill,  sergeant,  24,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,   1899, 

Henry  C,  Schlosser,  sergeant,  22,  April  25,  1898 
October  5,  1899. 

Erik  J.  Aslesen,  sergeant,  26,  April  25,  1898,  Octo 
ber  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  corporal.  Appointee 
sergeant. 

August  Anderson,  corporal,  23,  April  25,  1898 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal. 

Charles  B.  Ward,  corporal,  26,  April  25,  1898 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal. 

Julius  N.  Rodenburg,  corporal.  July  2,  1898,  Octo 
ber  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal. 

Frank  Augustine,  corporal.  25,  May  11,  1898,  Octo 
ber  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal. 

Newton   W.    Powers,    corporal,   22,    May   11,    : 
October  5,  1899.     Mustered  in  as  private.     Appointed 
corporal. 

Grant  H.  Stone,  corporal,  22,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal. 

George  I.  White,  musician.  23,  April  25,  1898 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
musician. 

Milton   S.  Crandall.   musician.  19,  April  25.   1 
October  5.  1899.     Mustered  in  as  private.     Appointed 
musician. 

Carl  F.  Roman,  artificer.  35.  April  25.  1898.  Octo 
her    5.    1899. 

Claus  Thielsen,  wagoner,  27,  May  11,  1898,  Octo 
ber  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
wagoner. 

John  W.  Anker,  private.  24,  May  19,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Albert  C.  Bunce,  private,  19,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Emanuel  N.  Cole,  private.  22,  April  25,  1898.  Octo 
ber  5,  1899. 

Charles  A.  Chester,  private,  22.  April  25,  1898 
October   5,   1899. 

AVilliam  E.  Dickinson,  private,  21,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Roy  Ellis,  private,  22,  April  25,  1898,  October  5 
1899. 

Louis  A.  Flaskey,  private,  21.  April  25,  1898.  Octo 
ber  5,  1899. 

George  W.  Flick,  private,  40,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Adam  F.  Glaser,  private,  21,  April  25.  1898.  Octo 
ber   5.    1899. 

Fred  Hengel.  private,   27,  April  25,  1898,  October 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


Wallace  Hill,  private,  23,  April  25,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Thomas  J.  Haffey,  private,  21,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Henry  A.  Homan,  private,  20,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber   5,    1899. 

Levi  W.  James,  private,  25,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,   1899. 

John  Johnson,  private,  26,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber  5,   1899. 

James  A.  Jones,  private,  23.  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

David  Lahiff.  Jr..  private,  July  21.  1898.  October 
5,  1899. 

John  0.  McLeran,  private,  23.  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Harry  Pawley.  private,  20,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,   1899. 

Eugene  L.  Parker,  private.  23,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Charles  A.  Ruh.  private,  29.  May  16,  1898,  October 
5,   1899. 

Homer  B.  Smith,  private,  21,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,   1899. 

Timothy  Spencer,  private,  25,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,   1899. 

Howard  W.  Simpson,  private,  22,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Joseph  J.  Whalen,  private,  25,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Forest  D.  Wells,  private,  20,  May  11,  1898.  October 
c,  1899. 

Malcolm  M.  Waite,  private,  23,  May  11,  1898, 
October   5,   1899. 

Ernest  Wehling,  private,  19,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber  5,   1899. 

Fred  J.  Watson,  private,  22,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

William  R.  Yeoman,  private,  29,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

George  J.  Ziegelmaier.  private,  31,  April  25,  189S, 
October  5,  1899. 

DISCHARGED   FOR  DIS.\BILITY. 

Arthur  W.  Swenson.  sergeant,  25,  April  25,  1898, 
August  15,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  corporal.  Appointed 
sergeant.  Wounded  in  action,  April  25,  1899.  Dis- 
charged at  Presidio,  San  Francisco,  California. 

Albert  J.  Anderson,  private,  20,  April  25.  1898, 
July  19,  1898.  Discharged  at  Camp  Merritt,  San 
Francisco.  California,  on  surgeon's  certificate  of  dis- 
ability. 

Herman  M.  Bellman,  private.  May  11,  1898,  August 
15,  1899.  Wounded  in  action,  February  27,  1899. 
Discharged   at   Presidio,   San   Francisco,   California. 

Fred    robin,   private,   25,   May   11,   1898,   June   17, 


1899.  Discharged  at  Camp  Stotsenberg,  Manila,  Phil- 
ippine Islands,  on  surgeon's  certificate  of  disability, 
incurred  in  line  of  duty. 

DISCHARGED    PEK   ORDER. 

Edwin  E.  Hawkins,  second  lieutenant,  24,  April 
25,  1898.  August  29,  1899.  Discharged  at  Presidio, 
San  Francisco,  California, 

Walter  S.  Doolittle,  sergeant,  22,  April  25,  1898, 
April  12,  1899.  Discharged  at  Malolos,  Philippine 
Islands,  to  accept  commission  as  second  lieutenant 
First   South   Dakota   Infantry,   U.    S.   V. 

Carl  W.  Anthony,  corporal,  22,  April  25,  1898, 
August  15.  1899.  Discharged  at  Presidio,  San  Fran- 
cisco, California. 

Nathaniel  W.  Stewart,  corporal.  26,  April  25,  1898, 
July  2,  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila.  Philippine 
Islands. 

Hammond  H.  Buck,  corporal.  22.  April  25,  1898, 
August  9.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
musician,  then  lance  corporal,  then  corporal.  Dis- 
charged at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands. 

Harry  V.  Fuller,  musician,  19,  April  25,  1898, 
July  16,  1898.  Discharged  by  favor.  Camp  Merritt, 
San    Francisco.    California. 

Angus  P.  Roman,  wagoner,  29,  April  25,  1898, 
August  24.  1899.  Discharged  at  Presidio,  San  Fran- 
cisco. California. 

Irwin  W.  Blackburn,  private,  25.  April  25.  1898. 
January  14.  1899.  Discharged  at  Presidio,  San  Fran- 
cisco.   California. 

Jesse  E.  Barlow,  private.  22,  April  25.  1898,  July 
2,  1899.     Discharged  at  Manila.  Philippine  Islands. 

Martin  Bahnsen,  private.  29.  April  25.  1898,  Sep- 
tember G,  1899.  Discharged  at  Presidio.  San  Fran- 
cisco, California. 

John  A.  Foster,  private,  32,  April  25,  1898.  April 
27,  1899.  Discharged  at  Presidio.  San  Francisco, 
California. 

Nels  Frederickson,  private,  22.  April  25,  1898, 
July    16,    1899.      Discharged    at    Manila.    Philippine 


James  Gibb.  private.  July  19.  1898.  August  27, 
1899.  Wounded  in  action  April  25,  1899.  Discharged 
at    Presidio.    San    Francisco.    California. 

Frank  H.  Goebel,  private,  20,  April  25,  1898,  Au- 
gust 31,  1899.  Wounded  in  action,  April  25,  1899. 
Discharged   at   Presidio.   San   Francisco,   California. 

Andy  Garrigan,  private.  28,  April  25.  1898,  Au- 
gust 9,  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila.  Philippine 
Islands. 

Robert  W.  Hawkins,  private,  26,  May  11.  1898, 
August  25.  1899.  Wounded  in  action,  April  25,  1899. 
Discharged  at  Presidio.  San  Francisco.  California. 

Alfred  Hauert.  private.  July  5.  1898,  August  9, 
1899.     Discharged   at   Manila,   Philippinue   Islands. 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


Jay  W.  Miller,  private,  April  2G,  1898,  August  9, 
1899.  Transferred  from  Company  A.  Discharged 
at   Manila,   Philippine   Islands. 

Vernon  I.  Montague,  private,  34,  July  19,  1898, 
July  2,  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine 
Islands. 

Robert  B.  McGregor,  private,  July  19,  1898,  Sep- 
tember 19,  1899.  Discharged  at  Presidio,  San  Fran- 
cisco, California. 

Arthur  O.  Nichols,  private,  22,  April  25,  1898, 
July  20,  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine 
Islands. 

Swan  Olsen,  private,  29,  April  25,  1898,  July  16, 
1S99.     Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands. 

Lawrence  Reynolds,  private,  26,  April  25,  1898, 
July  2,  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine 
Islands. 

Ralf  Schuman,  private,  29,  May  11,  1898,  August 
27,  1899.  Discharged  at  Presidio,  San  Francisco, 
California. 

Albert  Stringham,  private,  21,  April  25,  1S9S,  Au- 
gust 9,  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine 
Islands. 

Charles  Smith,  private,  22,  May  11,  1898,  August 
9,    1899.     Discharged   at  Manila,   Philippine   Islands. 

Harry  B.  Wilson,  private,  22,  May  11.  1898,  July 
20,  1899.     Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands. 

Peter  Welsh,  private,  24,  April  25,  1898,  July  2, 
1899.      Discharged    at    Manila,    Philippine    Islands. 

TUANSFERKED. 

Alonzo  J.  Grover,  corporal,  25,  April  25,  1898, 
Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  lance  corporal, 
then  corporal.  Appointed  regimental  sergeant-major 
and  transferred  to  non-commissioned  staff,  June  22, 
1899. 

Jay  B.  Sessions,  musician,  19,  April  25,  1898, 
Transferred  to  Company  D.  First  South  Dakota  In- 
fantry, U.  S.  v.,  July  11,  1898. 

William  Bickley,  private,  25,  May  11,  1S9S.  Trans- 
ferred to  Company  H,  First  South  Dakota  Infantry 
U.  S.  v..  June  11,  1898. 

William  M.  Jeffreys,  private.  27,  April  25,  1898 
Transferred  to  hospital  corps  U.  S.  A..  June  24,  1898 

Oscar  E.  P.  Lind,  private,  22,  May  11,  1898 
Transferred  to  hospital  corps.  U.  S.  A.,  June  24,  1898 

Harry  P.  Thompson,  private,  29,  April  25,  1898 
Transferred  to  hospital  corps  U.  S.  A.,  June  24,  1898 

KILLED    IN    .\CTIO.X. 

Harvey  M.  Breed,  corporal.  19.  May  19,  1898. 
Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  corporal.  Killed 
in  action  at  Calumpit.  Philippine  Islands.  April  25, 
1899. 


DIED     OF    DISEASE. 

Arnt  Carlson,  private,  23,  April  25,  1898.  Died 
in  hospital  on  U.  S.  A.  transport  "Sheridan,"  August 
25,  1899. 

Frank  S.  Denison,  private,  22,  May  19,  1898.  Died 
in  Division  Hospital,  San  F.rancisco,  California,  Octo- 
ber 17,  1898. 

Charles  Eschels,  private,  19,  April  25,  1898.  Died 
in  First  Regiment  hospital,  Manila.  Philippine 
Islands,  April  13,  1899. 

DESERTED. 

David  Lahiff.  Jr..  July  21,  1898,  October  5,  1899. 
Absent  without  leave  at  Honolulu,  Hawaiian  Islands 
from  August  10  to  20,  1898.  Dropped  for  desertion 
August  20,  1898.  Reported  at  Soldiers'  Home,  Hono- 
lulu. Hawaiian  Islands.  Augiist  13,  1898.  Rejoined 
company  for  duty  December  1,  1898.  Restored  to 
duty   without   trial. 


COMPANY    C. 


liam  S.  Gray,  captain,  24,  April  25,  189S,  Octo- 


ber 5, 


William  L.  Schoettler,  first  lieutenant,  April  25 
1898,  October  5  1899.  Mustered  in  as  sergeant.  Ap 
pointed  quartermaster  sergeant,  then  first  sergeant 
August  3,  1899,  appointed  first  lieutenant,  vice  Fos 
ter,  discharged. 

Oliver  C.  Lapp,  second  lieutenant.  April  25,  1898 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  quartermaster  ser- 
geant. Appointed  first  sergeant.  Appointed  second 
lieutenant  May  9.  1899,  vice  Larson,  promoted 
Wounded  in  action  at  Calumpit,  Philippine  Islands, 
April    25.    1899. 

Sidney  J.  Cornell,  Jr.,  first  sergeant,  20,  April  25, 
1898,  October  5.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  corpora! 
Appointed  sergeant,  then  first  sergeant.  Received 
gunshot  wound  in  right  lower  leg  at  battle  of  Mar: 
lao,   Philippine  Islands.   March  27,   1899. 

Frederick  L.  Hunt,  quartermaster  sergeant.  23, 
April  25.  1898.  October  5.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  pri 
vate.  Appointed  lance  corporal,  then  corporal,  then 
sergeant,    then    quartermaster    sergeant. 

Frank  B.  Stevens,  sergeant.  30.  April  25,  1898 
October  5,  1899.  Received  gunshot  wound  in  right 
heel,  at  battle  of  Guiguinto,  Philippine  Islands 
March  29,  1899. 

Maurice  L.  Blatt,  sergeant.  20,  April  25.  1898 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  corporal.  -Appointed 
sergeant. 

Ottis  R.  Robinson,  sergeant.  25.  April  25.  1 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private,  .\ppointed 
musician,  then  lance  corporal,  then  corporal,  then 
sergeant. 

Justin    A.    Baxter,    sergeant.    25.    April    25,    1898, 


432 


^HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


October  5.  1S99.     Mustered  in  as  private.     Appointed 


Frederiolc  B.  Vinson,  corporal.  27.  April  25.  1 
October  5,   3  899. 

William  H.  Thomas,   corporal,   22.  April   25,   1 
October  5,  1899.     Mustered  in  as  private.     Appointed 
corporal. 

Homer   W.   Stevens,   corporal.   25,   April   25,    1 
October  5,  1899.     Mustered  in  as  private.     Appointed 
corporai. 

Eugene  Callan,  corporal,  24,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  cor- 
poral. 

Charles  A.  Davis,  corporal,  22,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
musician,  then  corporal. 

Herbert  G.  Gushing,  corporal,  26,  April  25,  ] 
October  5,  1899.     Mustered  in  as  private.     Appointed 
corporal. 

Frederick  B.  Ray,  lance  corporal,  19,  April  25^ 
1898.  October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Ap- 
pointed lance  corporal. 

Herman  H.  Wright,  musician,  19,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
musician. 

John  W.  Thomas,  musician,  24.  April  25,  1898 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
musician. 

Emil  S.  Staeger.  artificer.  23.  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
artificer. 

Charles  L.  Jackson,  wagoner,  20,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1S99.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
wagoner. 

James  F,  Anderson,  private,  24,  April  25,  1898 
October  5,  1899.' 

Frank  W.  Baade.  private.  23.  April  25.  1898.  Octo 
ber   5,   1899. 

John  H.  Benedict,  private.  22.  April  25.  1898,  Octo- 
ber  5,   1899. 

George    D.    Benson,    private.    27.    April    25. 
October  5.   1899.     Received   gunshot  wound   in   right 
leg,  battle  of  Meyacauayan,  March  26,  1899. 

Milton  P.  Black,  private,  22,  April  25,  1898,  Octo 
ber  5,  1899. 

Robert  F.  Brownrigg.  July  14.  1898,  October  5 
1899. 

George  H.  Brownson,  private,  39,  April  25,  1898 
October   5,   1899. 

Morell  T.  Caley,  private.  April  25,  1898,  October 
5,   1899. 

Allen  C.  Carr,  private,  20,  April  25,  1898,  October 
5.  1899. 

George  B.  Croy,  private,  24,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Charles  E.  Davis,  private,  20,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 


Guy  P.  Davis,  private,  24,  April  25,  1898,  October 
5,  1899.  Gunshot  wound  in  left  hand,  accidental, 
March  28,  1899. 

Anthony  F.  Drey,  private,  23.  April  25.  1898.  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

George  F.  Drey,  private,  25,  April  25,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Gustav  P.  Goettsche.  private,  26,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Robert  E.  Hodges,  private,  July  14,  1898,  October 
15,  1899. 

Otto  J.  Keeler,  private,  25,  April  25,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Andrew  H.  Kisecker,  private,  25,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Edward  E.  Markley,  private,  21,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Walter  A.  Marvin,  private,  19,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

James  J.  Mclnerney,  private,  23,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

John  J.  McLain,  private,  23,  April  25.  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Irving  C.  Melzner,  private,  19,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

George  A.  Moore,  private,  July  2,  1898,  October  5, 
1899.  Gunshot  wound  in  left  leg,  battle  of  Marilao, 
Philippine  Islands,  March  27,  1899. 

Nels  P.  Nelson,  private,  24.  April  25,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Lancing  B.  Nichols,  private.  31,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Thomas  B.  O'Gara.  private.  22,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Arthur  E.  Rickard.  private,  24,  April  25,  1898. 
October  5,  1899. 

Olga  L.  Rickard.  private.  26.  April  25.  1898.  Octo- 
ber   5,    1899. 

William  E.  Rickard.  private.  22.  April  25,  1898, 
October  5.   1899. 

Arthur  D.  Russell,  private.  19,  April  25.  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Edward  J.  Walsh,  private,  24,  April  25.  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Monroe  Wells,  private,  29.  April  25.  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

John  C.  Williams,  private,  27,  April  25,  1898. 
October  5,  1899. 

John  E.  Wilson,  private.  July  14,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

DISCHARGED    FOR     DISABILITY. 

Chauncey  W.  Owens,  sergeant,  24,  April  25,  1898, 
June  18,  1899.  Discharged  at  Fort  Niobrara,  Ne- 
braska. 

Lewis  F.  Barber,  private,  26.  April  25.  1898.  Au- 
gust 15,  1899.     Received  gunshot  wound  in  right  leg. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


battle  of  Guiguinto,  Philippine  Islands,  March  29, 
1899.  Discharged  at  Presidio,  San  Francisco,  Cali- 
lomia. 

Frank  L.  Hanson,  private,  25,  April  25,  1898, 
September  6,  1898.  Discharged  at  San  Francisco, 
California. 

Joseph    0.    Lee,    private,   April    25,    1898,    January 

16,  1899.  Discharged  on  surgeon's  certificate  of  dis- 
ability. 

Homer  C.  Lickens,  private,  29,  April  25,  1898, 
July  16,  1898.  Discharged  at  San  Francisco,  Cali- 
fornia. 

Daniel  W.  Meeks,  private,  24,  April  25,  1898,  No- 
vember 10,  1S9S.  Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine 
Islands. 

Marion  Stewart,  private.  22,  April  25,  1898,  Au- 
gust 19,  1899.  Discharged  at  Presidio,  San  Fran- 
cisco, California. 

Joseph  F.  Tiebel,  private,  21,  April  25,  1898,  Au- 
gust 15,  1899.  Discharged  at  Presidio,  San  Francisco, 
California. 

DI.SCHARGED     BY     OKDER. 

Leo  F.  Poster,  first  lieutenant,  34,  April  25,  1898, 
August  7,  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine 
Islands,  to  accept  commission  as  captain  in  Thirty- 
seventh  United  States  Volunter  Infantry. 

Samuel  G.  Larson,  second  lieutenant,  22,  April  25, 
1898,  May  8,  1899.  Mustered  out  to  receive  appoint- 
ment as  first  lieutenant  First  South  Dakota  Volun- 
teer Infantry. 

George  F.  English,  first  sergeant,  23,  April  25, 
1898,  July  22,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  sergeant.  Ap- 
pointed first  sergeant.  Discharged  to  accept  appoint- 
ment as  second  lieutenant  First  South  Dakota  Vol 
unteer  Infantry. 

John  Holman,  quartermaster  sergeant,  32,  Apri 
25,  1898.  April  12,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Ap- 
pointed corporal,  then  sergeant,  then  quartermaster 
sergeant.  Discharged  at  Malolos,  Philippine  IslandS: 
to  receive  appointment  as  second  lieutenant  Fi 
South  Dakota  Volunteer  Infantry. 

John  L.  Russell,  sergeant,  24,  April  25,  1898,  July 

17,  1899.     Mustered  in   as   corporal.     Appointed   se 
geant.     Discharged   at   Manila.   Philippine   Islands. 

Frederick  Albers,  sergeant,  27,  April  25,  189: 
August  8,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  corporal.  Reduced 
tc  private  at  his  own  request.  Appointed  sergeant 
Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands. 

David  A.  Martindale,  corporal,  23,  April  25,  1898 
August  25,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
musician,  lance  corporal,  then  corporal.  Gunsho 
wound  in  right  leg,  repulse  of  attack  by  enemy  a 
San  Fernando.  Philippine  Islands,  May  25,  1899. 

Joseph  D.  Waugh,  wagoner,  20,  April  25,  1898 
August  29,  1899.  Gunshot  wound  in  left  leg  near  hip 
battle  of  Malolos,  Philippine  Islands.  March  31,  1899 


Ephraim  Babb,  private,  41,  April  25,  1898,  August 

28,  1899. 

Earl  C.  Barker,  private,  19,  April  25,  1898,  August 
19,  1899. 

Edward  E.  Burner,  private,  29,  April  25,  1898, 
August  26,  1899. 

George  E.   Burt,  private,  22,  April  25,  1898,  July 

29,  1899.     Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands. 
Thomas    O.    Finson,   private,   22,   April    25,   1898, 

March  15,  1899. 

George  Helmsdorfer,  private,  April  25,  1898,  Sep- 
tember 11,  1899.  Discharged  at  Presidio,  San  Fran- 
cisco, California. 

Charles  Jacobs,  private,  23.  April  25,  1898,  July  29, 
1899.      Discharged    at    Manila,    Philippine    Islands. 

Joseph  H.  Jelli,  private,  21.  April  25,  1898,  July 
13,  1899.     Discharged  at  Manila,   Philippine  Islands. 

Eugene  D.  Karr,  private,  April  25.  1898,  August 
25,  1899.  Discharged  at  Presidio,  San  Francisco, 
California. 

Hazen  A.  Martin,  private,  July  5,  1898,  August  28, 
1899.  Discharged  at  Presidio.  San  Francisco,  Cali- 
fornia. 

Pete  M.  McGillis,  or  McGibbs,  private,  23,  April  25, 
1898,  July  13,  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine 
Islands. 

John  J.  Nickel,  private.  37,  April  25,  1898,  August 
27,  1899.  Discharged  at  Presidio,  San  Francisco, 
California. 

Roland  A.  Spence,  private,  24,  April  25.  1898,  Au- 
gust 27,  1899.  Discharged  at  Presidio,  San  Fran- 
cisco, California. 

Adrian  C.  Williams,  private.  23,  April  25,  1898, 
July  29,  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine 
Islands. 

DISCHARGED. 

Bert  H.  Ward,  artificer,  23,  April  25,  1898.  Trans 
ferred  to  hospital  corps  First  South  Dakota  Volun 
teer   Infantry,  June  24,   1898. 

Homer  J.  Bradley,  private,  34,  April  25,  1898 
Transferred  to  Company  F,  First  South  Dakota  Vol 
unteer  Infantry,  July  15,  1898. 

Roy  W.  Johnson,  private.  22,  April  25,  1898 
Transferred  to  Company  D,  First  South  Dakota  Vol 
unteer   Infantry,  July  2.   1898. 

John  R.  Wilson,  private,  30,  April  25,  1898.  Trans- 
fered  to  hospital   corps,  June  24,   1898. 

KILLED    IN    ACTION. 

Oscar  Felker,  private,  July  12,  1898.  Killed  In 
aition,  battle  of  the  trenches  near  Manila.  Philip- 
pine  Islands,  February  23,   1899. 

DIED    OF    DISEASE. 

William  Fahrenwald,  private,  42,  April  25,  1898. 
Died  of  acute  dysentery  and  enteritis,  at  Manila, 
Philippine  Islands.  May  13.  1899. 


434 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


Charles  R.  Prouty,  private,  25,  April  25,  1898 
Died  of  typhoid  fever,  at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands 
June   12,   1899. 

COMPANY    D. 

Clayton  P.  Van  Houten,  captain,  33,  April  25, 
189S,  October  5,  1899.  Recommended  by  Col.  A.  S 
Frost  for  medal  of  honor  for  carrying  Hotchkiss 
mountain  gun  across  railroad  bridge  under  heavy 
fire  at   Marilao,   Philippine  Islands,   March  27,   1899. 

Ludvig  L.  Dynna,  first  lieutenant,  28,  April  25, 
1898,  October  5,  1899. 

Amos   Patriquin,   second   lieutenant,   34,  April   25, 

1898.  October  5,  1899.     Mustered  in  as  first  sergeant 
Company  L.     Appointed  second  lieutenant  April  13, 

1899,  and   assigned    to   Company   D. 

Henry  F.  Gerber,  first  sergeant,  29,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  sergeant.  Appointed 
first  sergeant. 

William  E.  Green,  quartermaster  sergeant,  42, 
April  25,  1898,  October  5,  1899. 

John  O.  Larson,  sergeant,  25,  April  25,  189S,  Octo- 
ber 5,   1899. 

George  P.  Benedict,  sergeant,  24,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Andrew  Smith,  sergeant,  23,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal,  then  sergeant. 

Grant  Escarius,  sergeant,  26,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
lance  corporal,  then  corporal,  then  sergeant. 

Olof  O.  Hilsted,  corporal,  21,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal. 

John  Hammerly,  corporal,  35,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  cor- 
poral. 

Edwin  R.  Lambertson,  corporal,  26,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal. 

George  A.  Wright,  corporal.  26,  May  12,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal. 

Marvin  Z.  Leonard,  corporal,  23,  May  14,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal. 

Win  Beck,  corporal,  23.  May  15,  1898,  October  5, 
1899.     Mustered  in  as  private.     Appointed  corporal. 

Frank  A.  Fenzel,  musician,  24,  May  3,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5.  1899. 

Leo  C.  Bergoff.  musician.  22,  April  25.  1898.  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
musician. 

Elias  K.  Eliason,  artificer.  23,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  corporal.  Reduced  to 
private.     Appointed  artificer. 

Herbert    L.    Wood,    wagoner,    28,    April    25,    1898, 


October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  corporal.  Reduced 
to  private.     Appointed  wagoner. 

Fred  H.  Brenner,  private,  28,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Ernest  B.  Bro-mi,  private,  29,  May  11,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Leo  Cawthorne,  private,  22,  May  14,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Burton  R.  Cole,  private,  25,  May  11,  1898,  October 
5.  1899. 

Edward  J.  Davis,  private,  23,  May  3,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Edward  E.  Dever,  private,  22,  May  11,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Charles  Gage,  private,  20,  April  25,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Samuel  S.  Gale,  private,  19,  May  11,  1898,  October 
5    1899. 

Thomas  L.  Gray,  private,  20,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Edwin  W.  Heald,  private,  25,  May  14,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5.  1899.  Wounded  In  left  leg  at  San  Fernando, 
Philippine  Islands,  May  25,  1899. 

Peter  C.  Holbak,  private,  31,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899- 

Willoughby  P.  Howe,  prljate,  22,  May  3,  1898, 
October  5.  1899. 

Lawrence  B.  Hunt,  private,  26,  May  12.  1898,  Octo- 
ber  5,    1899. 

Thomas  Jerrow,  private,  20,  May  12.  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,   1899. 

Roy  W.  Johnson,  private,  22.  April  25.  1898.  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Transferred  from  Company  C.  See 
Company   C,   "transferred." 

Edgar  W.  Lease,  private,  26,  May  3,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

James  W.  Mathison,  private,  21,  May  14.  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Ralph  R.  Morris,  private,  19,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Carl  J.  Nelson,  private,  26,  April  25.  1S9S,  October 
5,  1899. 

Charles  E.  Norton,  private,  27,  April  25.  1898, 
October   5,   1899. 

Peter  B.  Raben,  private,  20,  May  14.  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5.  1899. 

Arthur  F.  Rust,  private.  20,  May  3,  1898,  October 
5,   1899. 

Leroy  Scott,  private,  24.  April  25.  1898,  October 
5,   1898. 

Henry  Smith,  private,  19,  May  14.  1S9S.  October 
5.   1899. 

Mike  L.  Sullivan,  private,  23,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

John  P.  Tobin.  private,  25,  April  25,  1898.  October 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


435 


John  H.  Webb,  private,  21,  April  25.  1S9S,  October 
5.  1S99. 

Edward  F.  White,  private,  25,  May  11,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

DISCHARGED   FOR   DIS.VBILITY. 

Ernest  Madden,  first  sergeant,  21,  April  25,  1898, 
August  18,  1899.  Received  gunshot  wound  in  left 
arm  and  chest. 

Charles  E.  Bland,  private,  27,  May  11,  1898,  July 
19,  1899. 

Emanuel  Rickman,  private,  23,  May  3,  1898,  Au- 
gust 14,  1899.  Wounded  in  action  at  Guiguinto,  Phil- 
ippine Islands,  March  29,  1899. 

Charles  T.  Sand,  private.  31.  April  25,  1898.  July 

12.  1S99. 

UISCH.\KGED    BY    ORDER. 

Earl  B.  Grinnell,  corporal,  28,  April  25,  1898,  Au- 
gust   10.   1899. 

John  T.  Pickett,  corporal,  31,  April  25,  1898, 
August   10,   1899. 

Jay  B.  Sessions,  corporal,  19,  April  25,  1898,  July 
22,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  musician.  Transferred 
to  Company  D  from  Company  C.  Appointed  cor- 
poral. 

Amos  G.  Jones,  corporal,  23,  May  3,  1898,  August 
25.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  cor- 
poral. Discharged  at  Presidio,  San  Francisco,  Cali- 
fornia. 

Ray  V.  Bennett,  musician,  21,  April  25,  1898,  April 

13.  1899. 

John  Allen,  private,  37,  May  19,  1898.  July  1, 
1899. 

Homer  A.  Baker,  private,  19,  May  12,  1898,  August 
31,  1899.  Wounded  in  action  at  Guiguinto,  Philip- 
pine Islands,  March  30,  1899. 

John  M.  Barnes,  private,  34,  May  11,  1898,  May  8, 
1899. 

Frank  L.  Barnard,  private,  22,  May  11,  1898,  July 
17,  1899. 

Jonn  M.  Bleibaum,  private.  19,  May  17,  1898, 
July  17,  1899. 

George  M.  Brenner,  private.  30,  April  25,  1898, 
July    30,    1899. 

John  D.  Christianze.  private,  26,  May  12,  1898, 
August  29,  1899. 

Anthony  K.  Eliason.  private,  21,  April  25.  1898, 
July    1,    1899. 

Robert  J.  Jerrow.  private,  22,  May  12,  1898,  Sep- 
tember  6,    1899. 

Isaac  Johnson,  private.  19,  April  25,  1898,  August 
28.  1899.  Wounded  in  action  at  Marilao,  Philippine 
Islands,   March  22,   1899. 

Lester  A.  Lines,  private,  24,  May  15,  1898,  August 


Otto  L.  Levy,  private,  July  2G,  1898,  August  26, 
1899. 

Alfred  E.  Martin,  private,  39,  May  12,  1898,  July 
15,   1899. 

John  Murphy,  private.  44,  May  12,  1898,  Septem- 
ber 6,  1899.  Wounded  in  action  at  Bag-Bag  river, 
Philippine   Islands,   April   25,   1899. 

Peter  Peterson,  private,  23,  April  25,  1898,  July 
30,   1899. 

Michael  J.  Riley,  private,  37.  April  25,  1898,  July 
22,  1899. 

Jacob  Roos,  private.  25,  April  25,  1898,  July  22, 
1899. 

Frank  A.  Schimpf.  private,  24,  April  25,  1898, 
August   15,    1899. 

Clarence  A.  Thomas,  private,  20,  May  15,  1898, 
July  30,  1899. 

Ray  L.  Washburn,  private,  20,  April  25,  1898. 
August  26,  1899.  Wounded  in  action  at  Marilao.  Phil- 
ippine Islands,  March  27,  1899. 

Hans  G.  Williamson,  private.  21,  May  3,  1898, 
July  15,   1899. 

Alexander  Wipf,  private,  20.  May  11,  1898,  July 
30,  1899. 

Edward  M.  Yochem.  private,  20,  May  12,  1898, 
July  30,   1899. 

TR.iNSFERKED. 

George  G.  Jennings,  second  lieutenant,  23,  April 
25,  1898.  Mustered  out  April  13,  1899,  to  accept  com- 
mission as  first  lieutenant.  Assigned  to  Company 
M. 

Victor  M.  Dalthorp,  sergeant,  22,  April  25,  1898. 
Mustered  out  September  17.  1899,  to  accept  promo- 
tion. 

Harry  A.  Lambertson,  private,  28.  April  25,  1898. 
Transferred  to  hospital  corps  U.  S.  A..  June  24,  1898. 

Wallace  Woodward,  private,  28,  April  25,  1898. 
Transferred  to  hospital  corps  U.  S.  A.,  June  24,  1898. 

KILLED   IN    ACTION. 

James  W.  Nelson,  private,  22,  May  3,  1898.  Killed 
in  action  at  Marilao.  Philippine  Islands,  March  27, 
1899. 

Matthew  N.  Ryan,  private.  July  21,  1898.  Killed 
in   action   at  Marilao,   Philippine   Islands,   March   27, 


DIED    OF    DISEASE. 


Died 


Oliver  W.  Davis,  private,  19.  May  11, 
of  typhoid  fever,  April  27.  1899. 

Askel  0.  Eidsnes,  private.  25.  May  14,  1898.     Died 
of  typhoid  fever,  November  3,  1898. 

Fred  C.  Greenslit,  private.  21.  May  12,  1898.     Died 
of  typhoid   fever,   October   11,   1898. 

Leon  Hull,   private,   45,  April   28,   1898.     Died   of 
catarrhal   pneumonia.   July   24,   1898. 


436 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


COMPANY    E. 

George  W.  Lattin.  captain,  40,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

J.  Harris  Hubbard,  first  lieutenant,  26,  April  25, 
1S9S.  October  5,  1899.  Appointed  adjutant  Second 
Battalion,    April    4,    1899. 

John  Holman,  second  lieutenant,  32,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  See  ■'Company  C;  Loss  by  Order." 
Recommended  for  brevet  rank  of  second  lieutenant 
by  regimental  commander  for  gallant  conduct  at 
battle  of  Meyacauayan,  Philippine  Islands,  March 
26,  1899. 

William  J.  Barnes,  first  sergeant,  43,  May  4,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  sergeant.  Appointed 
quartermaster   sergeant,   then   first   sergeant. 

Eben  W.  Troupe,  quartermaster  sergeant,  25,  April 
25,  1898,  October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  corporal. 
Appointed    sergeant,    then   quartermaster   sergeant. 

Justus  R.  Manson,  sergeant,  24,  April  29,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal,    then    sergeant. 

Frank  E.  Wheeler,  sergeant,  26,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal,  then  sergeant.  Wounded  in  action,  slightly, 
at  battle  of  Marilao,  Philippine  Islands,  March  27, 
1899. 

Walter  V.  Braun,  sergeant,  July  7,  1898,  October 
5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  corporal, 
then  sergeant. 

Thomas  Smith,  sergeant,  23,  May  2,  1898,  October 
5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  lance 
corporal,  then  corporal,  then  sergeant.  Wounded  in 
left  cheek  on  outpost  near  Manila,  Philippine  Islands, 
January  10,  1899. 

Clarence  A.  Dwight.  corporal,  24,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal. 

Harry  E.  Baker,  corporal,  26,  May  2, 
her  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private, 
corporal. 

David  E.  Frame,  corporal,  23,  May  '2, 
ber  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  musician. 
Appointed  corporal. 

Bertram  D.  Estey,  corporal.  29,  May  2,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  cor- 
poral. 

Grove  B.  Sampson,  corporal,  18,  April  25,  1898: 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal. 

Edward  A.  Rice,  corporal,  28,  May  2,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  cor- 
poral. 

Frank  H.  Standenmaier,  musician.  22.  April  25, 
1898.  October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Ap- 
pointed musician. 


1898,  Octo- 
Appointed 


Octo- 


Harry  H.  Haynes,  musician,  34,  May  17,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
musician. 

J.  Lawrence  Sheets,  artificer,  26,  April  25,  1898, 
October   5,   1899. 

Ole  Knutson.  wagoner,  32,  April  25,  1898,  October 
5,   1899. 

William  C.  Akers,  private.  May  IS,  1898,  October 
5,  1899.     Transferred  from  Company  I. 

Ellas  T.  Barker,  private,  45,  April  29.  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Ernest  Blaseg,  private,  34,  May  17,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

John  Crotty,  private,  23,  May  12,  1898,  October  5, 
1899. 

Thomas  H.  Coleman,  private,  July  8,  1898,  October 
5,  1899.  Wounded  in  forehead  at  battle  of  Calum- 
pit,  Philippine  Islands,  April  25,  1899. 

Edward  M.  Ennls,  private,  23,  April  25,  1898,  Octo 
ber  5,  1899. 

Thomas  A.  Finnegan,  private,  28,  May  17,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Irving  J.  Flanders,  private,  24,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

William  Grundy,  private,  22,  May  2,  1898,  October 
5,  1899.  Appointed  lance  corporal,  September  15, 
1899.  Wounded  in  right  leg  at  battle  of  Malolos, 
Philippine   Islands,   March   31,   1899. 

Andrew  Harbo,  private.  26,  May  2,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

William  M.  Henry,  private,  21.  April  30,  1898 
October  5,  1899. 

George  Humphrey,  private,  24,  April  25,  1898 
October  5,  1899. 

Julius  Jenson,  private,  21,  April  29,  1898,  October 
E,  1899. 

Raymond  S.  Jepson,  private,  20,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

John  Kingsrude,  private,  28,  May  2,  1898,  October 
5,    1899. 

Edward  Kraml,  private,  29,  May  17,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Joseph  M.  Le  Brec,  private,  21,  May  2,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

David  Lindsay,  private.  23,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,   1899. 

Bradner  Lott,  private,  26,  May  2,  1898,  October  5, 
1899. 

Grant  McManus,  private,  30,  May  2,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Conrad  Miller,  private.  28,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Michael  J.  Moran,  private,  22,  May  2,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5.  1899. 

Enis  A.  Nelson,  private.  19,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5.  1899. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


437 


Chrest  P.  Nelson,  private,  28,  May  li,  1898,  Octo- 
ber  5,   1899. 

Luman  P.  Nimbar,  private,  23,  May  2,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Mell  B.  Pay,  private,  20,  April  25,  1S9S,  October  5, 
]899. 

Daniel  R.  Pratt,  private,  July  7,  1898,  October  5, 
1899.  ! 

William  H.  Rush,  private,  24,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Henry  Schultz,  private,  24,  May  2,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Martin  L.  Shipley,  private,  23,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

John  Smith,  private,  22,  May  17,  1898,  October  5, 
1899. 

Myron  G.  Sutherland,  private,  27,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Daniel  R.  Sweezey,  private,  26,  April  30,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

'George  F.  Sweezey,  private.  May  2,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Peter  T.  Thompson,  private,  24,  May  2,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Charles  H.  Tracy,  private,  28,  May'  2,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Peter  S.  Walstra,  private,  28,  May  2,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5.   1899. 

Otto   A.   Wurl,   private,   21,   May   2,   1898,   October 
5,  1S99. 
:        Joseph  Yeanian,  private,  26,  April   25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber  5,   1899. 

i)isch.\ri;ed  fok  disabilitv. 

Arthur  A.  Northrop,  sergeant,  37,  May  2,  1898.  Au- 
gust 20,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  corporal.  Appointed 
sergeant.  Wounded  in  leg,  battle  of  Marilao,  Philip- 
pine islands,  March  27,  1899. 

Christ  L.  Myhre,  corporal,  28,  May  2,  1898,  August 

25,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  cor- 
poral. Wounded  in  left  shoulder,  battle  of  Calum- 
pit.  Philippine   Islands,   April   25,  1899. 

Charles  A.  Keller,  private,  20,  May  3,  1898,   July 

19,  1898. 

John   Stanke.   private.  23.  April   25,   1898,  August 

20,  1899.  Wounded  in  right  chest,  battle  of  Marilao, 
Philippine    Islands,    March    27,    1899. 

DISCHARliEU     HV     ORDER. 

Ole  E.  Gulhranson,  sergeant,  30.  April  25,  1898, 
August  24,   1899. 

Edgar  B.  Ricker,  sergeant.  28,  April  25,  1898, 
A\ig;ust  24,  1899. 

William  J.  McNamara,  sergeant,  20,  April  25, 
1898,   August   31,   1899. 

Hendre  Anderson,  private,  26,  May  3,  1898.  August 

26,  1899. 


John  0.  Johnson,  private,  36,  April  25,  1898,  Au- 
gust 26,  1899. 

Claude  C.  Swafford,  private,  19,  April  25,  1898, 
August  26,  1899. 

Clarence  A.  Van  Vranken,  private,  19.  April  25, 
1898,  August  26,  1899. 

Anton  Weiler,  private,  26,  May  li,  1898,  August 
26,  1899. 

Amill  Wold,  private,  21,  May  2,  1898,  August  25, 
1899. 

Perry  C.  Bishop,  sergeant,  31,  April  25,  1898,  July 
19,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  corporal.  Appointed  ser- 
geant. Discharged  to  re-enlist  in  Thirty-seventh 
United  States  Volunteer  Infantry. 

William  A.  Carlisle,  private,  28,  April  25,  1898, 
July  1,  1899.  Discharged  to  re-enlist  in  the  Thirty- 
sixth    United    States    Volunteer    Infantry. 

William  F.  Pankey,  private,  27,  April  29,  1898, 
July  16,  1899.  Wounded  in  left  arm,  battle  of  Mari- 
lao, Philippine  Islands,  March  27,  1899.  Discharged 
to  re-enlist  in  Thirty-seventh  United  States  Volun- 
teer Infantry. 

Albert  J.  Voeltz,  private,  21,  April  25,  1898,  July 
22,  1899.  Discharged  to  re-enlist  in  Thirty-seventh 
United   States  Volunteer   Infantry. 

Charles  E.  Walker,  private,  20,  April  25,  1898, 
July  19,  1899.  Discharged  to  re-enlist  in  Thirty- 
seventh  United  States  Volunteer  Infantry. 

George  Wortser,  private,  26.  May  17,  1898,  August 
9,  1899. 

Martin  A.  Madison,  private,  25,  May  17,  1898, 
May  30,  1898.  Discharged  without  pay  or  allow- 
ances. 

DISCHARUEU  TO   .\LllirT   co.Mmssiox. 

Delbert  F.  Wilmarth,  first  sergeant,  22,  April  25, 
1898,  August  10,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  sergeant.  Ap- 
pointed quartermaster  sergeant,  then  first  sergeant. 
Discharged  to  accept  commission  as  second  lieuten- 
ant. 

TRAXSFEKREl). 

Robert  Ray  Davison,  private,  June  16,  1898. 
1  ransferred   to  Company  H,  July  2,  1898. 

Byron  F.  Hastings,  private,  30,  May  17,  1898. 
Transferred  to  Company   I,  July  2,  1898. 

John  A.  Hentz,  private,  25,  April  25,  1898.  Trans- 
ferred to  hospital  corps,  U.  S.  A.,  June  24,  1898. 

Nelson  A.  Hoberg,  corporal,  21,  April  25,  1898. 
Mustered  in  as  corporal.  Reduced  to  private  and 
transierred  to  hospital  corps.  U.  S.  A.,  June  24,  1898. 

Louis  W.  Hubbard,  quartermaster  sergeant,  24, 
April  25.  1898.  Transferred  to  non-commissioned 
staff  as  principal  musician.  May  27,  1898. 

Edward  Sutherland,  private,  29,  April  25,  1898. 
Transferred    to   hospital    corps,    U.    S.    A.,    June    24, 


438 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


KILLED    IN    ACTION. 

Sidney  E.  Morrison,  second  lieutenant,  30,  April 
25,  189S.  Killed  in  action  at  battle  of  Marilao,  Phil- 
ippine Islands,  March  27,  1899. 

Lewis  Chase,  private,  26,  April  25,  189S.  Killed 
in  action  at  battle  of  Marilao,  Philippine  Islands, 
March  27,  1899. 

Harry  R.  Keogh,  private,  July  7,  1898.  Killed  in 
action  at  battle  of  Marilao,  Philippine  Islands,  March 
27,  1S99. 

DIED    FROM    WOUNDS. 

Peter  S.  Ryan,  private,  July  21,  1898.  Wounded 
in  action  at  battle  of  Marilao,  Philippine  Islands, 
March  27,  1899.  Died  of  wounds.  Manila,  Philippine 
Islands,  March  28,  1899. 

Frank  A.  Schroeder.  private.  May  12,  1898. 
Wounded  in  action  at  battle  of  Marilao,  Philippine 
Islands.  March  27,  1899.  Died  of  wounds,  Manila, 
Philippine   Islands,   March   28,   1899. 

DIED  FROJI  DISE.\SE. 

Royal  H.  Smith,  corporal,  26,  April  25,  1898. 
Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  corporal.  Died 
of  complication  of  pneumonia  and  variola,  at  Manila, 
Philippine   Islands,   October  26,   1898. 

Martin  C.  Mortenson,  private,  30,  May  17.  1898. 
Died  from  puerpera  haemorrhagica,  at  Cavite.  Philip- 
pine  Islands,   September   27,  1898. 

OR.\BLY    DISCHAKGED. 


Charles  D.  Giles,  private.  25,  May  4.  1898,  October 
25.  1898. 

COMPANY    F. 

Charles  L.  Brockway,  captain,  36,  April  25.  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Horace  C.  Bates,  first  lieutenant.  May  18,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  second  lieutenant. 
Appointed  first  lieutenant. 

Fred  G.  Huntington,  second  lieutenant,  22,  April 
25,    1898.      October    5,    1899. 

George  W.  Moulton,  first  sergeant,  26,  April  29, 
1898,  October  5.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  sergeant.  Ap- 
pointed  color   sergeant,   then    first   sergeant. 

Joseph  E.  Collins,  quartermaster  sergeant.  26, 
April  25,  1898,  October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  cor- 
poral. Appointed  sergeant,  then  quartermaster  ser- 
geant. 

John  R.  Kelly,  sergeant,  20,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

David  S.  Marker,  sergeant.  25,  April  25.  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  corporal.  Appointed 
sergeant. 

Eugene  J.  Pierrelee,  sergeant,  33,  April  27,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mu.stered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal,  then  sergeant. 


William  W.  Reaman,  sergeant,  29,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal,  then  sergeant.  Wounded  at  battle  of  Cal- 
iimpit,   Philippine   Islands,  April  25,   1899. 

Andrew  Saltzer,  corporal,  31,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  musician.  Appointed 
corporal. 

Odion  Dillingham,  corporal,  21,  April  25.  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Transferred  from  Company  G,  First 
South  Dakota  Infantry,  U.  S.  V.  Mustered  in  as  pri- 
vate.    Appointed  corporal. 

Fred  Riley,  corporal.  26,  April  30,  1898,  October 
5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  lance 
corporal,   then   corporal. 

Leslie  D.  Kirk,  corporal,  23,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
lance  corporal,  then  corporal. 

Dirk  Kirkhoven,  corporal,  25,  April  30,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
lance   corporal,   then   corporal. 

William  S.  Grant,  corporal,  3-1,  April  30,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal. 

Peter  J.  Tierney,  lance  corporal,  25,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
lance   corporal. 

Cloyed  Sherer,  musician,  20,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  mu- 
sician. 

George  T.  Squire,  musician,  20,  April  29,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
musician. 

George  W.  Rahskopf,  artificer.  28.  May  16.  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Transferred  from  Company  G. 
Mustered    in   as   private.     Appointed   artificer. 

Edward  Dingman,  wagoner,  23,  April  25,  .  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
wagoner. 

Otto  Albert  Anderson,  private,  26,  April  29,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Henry  G.  Barnett,  private.  24.  April  29,  1898. 
October  5,  1899. 

Frank  M.  Bennett,  private,  31,  April  30,  1898. 
October  5,  1899. 

Fernando  S.  Brisbois,  private,  23,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5.   1899. 

Zeno  D.  Brisbois.  private,  24.  April  30.  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Floyd  Butcher,  private.  23,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber  5,    1899. 

Lloyd  Butcher,  private,  23.  April  30.  1898.  October 
5,   1899. 

Edward  T.  Cheatham,  private,  19,  April  25,  1898, 
October   5,    1899. 

George  L.  Converse,  private,  22.  April  29,  1898, 
October   5,    1899. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


John  W.  Daley,  private,  24,  May  1,  1898,  October 
5,   1899. 

Prank  Feldhaus,  private,  19,  May  10,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,   1899. 

Emanuel  Hendrlksen,  private,  23,  April  29,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

George  L.  Keating,  private,  25,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1S99. 

Edward  M.  Kelley,  private,  22,  May  9.  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

James  H.  Lee,  private.  25,  May  10,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Charley  A.  Lindquist,  private,  25.  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Carl  H.  Osgood,  private,  21,  April  27,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5.  1899. 

Clarence  Phillips,  private.  23.  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Noah  P.  Rahskopf,  private.  23,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

William  Seward,  private,  29,  April  30,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5.   1899. 

Vestoi-  Skiitt.  private,  22,  April  30,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

James  A.  Stephens,  private,  31,  April  30,  1898, 
October  a,  1899. 

Sheldon  S.  Terry,  private,  21,  April  30,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5.  1899. 

Charles  I.  Thome,  private.  30,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber  5,   1899. 

Gideon  R.  Tiffany,  private,  22,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,   1899. 

DROPPED. 

Charles  A.  Howard,  captain,  32,  April  25.  1898. 
Dropped  April  25,  1898,  to  become  major  of  First 
Battalion. 


Palmer  D.  Sheldon,  first  lieutenant.  21.  April  25, 
1898,  July  24,  1899.  Discharged  to  accept  commis- 
sion as  captain  of  Company  K,  First  South  Dakota 
Infantry,  U.  S.  V. 

Hiram  A.  Pratt,  first  sergeant.  30,  April  2t;,  1898, 
April  14,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  sergeant.  Appointed 
first  sergeant.  Wounded  at  battle  of  Meyacauayan, 
Philippine  Islands,  March  26,  1899.  Discharged  to 
accept  commission  as  second  lieutenant  Company 
M,  First  South  Dakota  Infantry,  U.  S.  V. 

Fred  H.  Parks,  sergeant,  20,  April  25,  1898,  Au- 
gust 3,  1899. 

Leon  S.  Richmond,  sergeant,  25,  April  25,  1898, 
August  30,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  corporal.  Ap- 
TiDinted  sergeant.  Wounded  at  battle  of  Malolos, 
Philippine  Islands,  March  31,  1899. 


Daniel  P.  Ryan,  corporal,  25,  May  10,  1898,  Au- 
gust 27,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
lance  corporal,   then  corporal. 

Amos  Weaver,  lance  corporal.  July  9.  1898,  July 
10,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  lance 
corporal. 

Edward  Hall,  wagoner.  21.  April  26,  1898,  August 
9,  1899. 

Raymond  R.  Tennant,  private.  22.  April  25,  1898, 
February   22,   1899. 

Vernon  D.  Bennett,  private,  22,  April  26.  1898, 
July  14,   1899. 

Christ  Peterson,  private.  22.  April  30.  1898.  July 
30,  1899. 

Albert  F.  Home,  private.  22.  April  25,  1898,  July 
24,  1899. 

David  C.  Lindsay,  private.  22.  May  10.  1898,  July 
30,  189. 

Orman  K.  Osbon,  private,  24,  May  10.  1898.  July 
20,  1899. 

Albert  Piercy,  private,  23.  April  29,  1898,  July  30, 
1899. 

Fred  R.  Lyons,  private,  22,  April  30.  1898,  Au- 
gust  3,    1899. 

Isaac  N.  Graham,  private,  28.  May  1,  1898.  August 
9,  1899. 

George  Munroe,  private,  25,  May  9.  1898.  August 
9,  1899. 

Harry  J.  Whicher,  private.  23,  May  10.  1898.  Au- 
gust 9,  1899. 

John  Zentel.  Jr..  private.  26,  April  25.  1898.  Au- 
gust 9,  1899. 

Samuel  Lubin,  private,  July  7,  1898,  August  9. 
1899. 

Elva  W.  Woodruff,  private,  23,  April  30.  1898. 
August  9,  1899. 

Barney  J.  Quinlan,  April  30,  1898,  August  9,  1899. 

Homer  J.  Bradley,  private,  34,  April  25,  1898. 
August  9,  1899. 

Otto  W.  Shade,  private.  23.  April  30.  1898.  August 
28.  1899. 

Henry  C.  Brees,  private,  22.  April  26,  1898.  Au- 
gust 27,   1899. 

Leo  Peashak,  private.  24.  May  10.  1898.  August  26. 
1899. 

Clifton  Dickerson,  private,  22,  April  27,  1898.  Au- 
gust 26.  1899. 

Benjamin  H.  Strobel.  private.  19.  .A.pril  29.  1898, 
August   26,   1899. 

Guy  P.  Squire,  private.  24.  April  30.  1898.  August 
15.  1899. 

Levi  L.  Heald.  private.  22.  May  2,  1898.  April  27, 
1899. 

Frank  B.  Overbaugh,  private.  24.  April  25,  1898, 
July  13.  1898.  Discharged  without  honor,  per  sur- 
geon's certificate  of  disability;   disease,  syphilis. 


440 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


DISCnAKGEn    FOK    nlSABILITY. 

Edward  Beechvvood,  private,  23,  April  25,  1S9S, 
January  12,  1S99. 

Llewellyn  Morgan,  private,  27,  April  29,  1898,  May 
17,  1899. 

George  W.  Whittridge,  private,  25,  May  23,  1898, 
March  21,  1899. 

DISHONORABLY    DISCHARGED. 

Joseph  Middlesworth,  private,  25,  May  23,  1898, 
July  3,  1898. 

Rial  T.  Rolfe,  private,  22,  April  25,  1898,  July  3, 
1898. 

TR.ANSFERRED. 

Charles  P.  Green,  private,  26,  April  25,  1898. 
Transferred  to  Company  G,  First  South  Dakota  In- 
lantry,  U.  S.  V.,  August  6,  1898. 

Dayton  M.  Ingraham,  private,  22,  April  26,  1898. 
Transferred  to  Hospital  Corps,  U.  S.  A.,  June  24, 
1898. 

David  L.  Smith,  private,  30,  May  10,  1898.  Trans- 
ferred to  Company  H,  First  South  Dakota  Infantry, 
United  States  Volunteers,  June  13,  1898. 

Jesse  Shafer,  private.  July  16,  1898.  Transferred 
to  Company  L,  First  South  Dakota  Infantry,  U.  S.  V., 
August  6,  1898. 

John  Woodard,  private,  23,  May  10,  1898.  Trans- 
ferred to  Hospital  Corps,  U.  S.  A.,  June  24.  1898. 

DIED     FROM     DISEASE. 

Wilson  M.  Osbon,  corporal,  21,  May  10,  1898. 
Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  corporal.  Died  at 
Manila.  Philippine  Islands,  of  variola,  February  15, 
1S99. 

Otto  J.  Berg,  musician,  22,  April  29,  1898.  Mus- 
tered in  as  private.  Appointed  musician.  Died  of 
dyphtheria.  at  Manila,.  Philippine  Islands,  January 
27,  1899. 

Irving  J.  Willett,  musician,  24,  April  30,  1898 
Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  musician.  Died 
of  dysentary,  at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands,  Novem 
ber  30,  1898. 

Nelson  B.  McKellar,  artificer,  26,  May  7,  1898. 
Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  artificer.  Died  of 
variola,  at  Manila.  Philippine  Islands,  March  28 
1899. 

Lestis  A.  Roberts,  private,  19,  April  25,  1898 
Died  of  pneumonia,  at  Sioux  Falls,  South  Dakota 
May  23,  1898. 

Judson  P.  C.  Wickham,  private,  23,  May  2,  1898 
Died  of  typhoid  fever,  at  Presidio,  San  Francisco, 
California.  September  9,  1898. 

Horace    G.    McCordie,     private,    April     25,    1898 
Transferred   from   Company  H,   First   South   Dakota 
Infantry,  U.  S.  V.     Died  of  variola,  at  Manila,  Ph 
ippine    Islands,    March    28,    1899, 


William  R.  Bartlett,  private,  25,  May  1,  1898.  Died 
of  acute  dysentary  on  board  hospital  ship  "Relief," 
at  sea.  July  28,  1899. 

COMPANY  G. 
Rob  R.   McGregor,   captain,   27,   May   6,   1898,   Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Olin  M.  Fisk,  first  lieutenant,  23,  May  29,  1898, 
October  5,   1899, 

George   F.    English,    second    lieutenant,    23,   April      | 
25.   1898,  October  5,  1899.     Mustered  in  as  sergeant...    ' 
Appointed    first    sergeant,    then    second    lieutenant. 
Joined  Company  G  July  23,  1899. 

James  R.  Keeling,  first  sergeant,  23,  April  29, 
1898,  October  5,  1898. 

Samuel  F.  S.  How.  quartermaster  sergeant,  27, 
April  29,  1898,  October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  ser- 
geant.    Appointed  quartermaster   sergeant. 

Charles  F.  O'Brian,  sergeant,  29,  May  2,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899.  Mustered  In  as  corporal.  Appointed 
sergeant. 

Frederick  W.  Dricken,  sergeant,  23,  May  15,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal,  then  sergeant. 

Henry  J.  Tunis,  sergeant,  21,  May  16,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal,    then    sergeant. 

Robert  T.  Lucey,  sergeant,  33,  May  13,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private,  then  appointed 
wagoner,  then  corporal,  then  sergeant. 

Frank  Stewart,  corporal,  21,  May  4,  1898.  October 
5,    1899.      Mustered    in    as    private    of    Company    K.  ^ 
Transferred    from   Company   K.   July   13.    1898.     Ap- 
pointed corporal. 

Joseph  T.  C.  Smith,  corporal.  27,  May  20,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
wagoner,  then  corporal. 

Albert  H.  Elsele,  corporal,  22,  May  16,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal. 

Bert  Kellett.  corporal.  22.  April  29.  1898,  October 
5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  corporal. 
Wounded  in  right  arm  at  San  Fernando,  Philippine 
Islands,  May  25,  1899. 

William  W.  Spain,  corporal,  20,  aiay  16,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5.  1899.  JIustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal. 

Randolph  M.  Laulo.  corporal.  20.  May  16,  1898. 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal. 

Lowell  F.  Chesley.  musician,  32,  Ma^-  16,  1898. 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
musician. 

Louis  F.  Wesley,  musician,  26,  May  15.  1S9S,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
musician. 


HISIORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


George  Swanholm,  artificer,  27,  May  16,  1898.  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
artificer. 

Franlv  L.  Sayles,  wagoner,  26,  May  16.  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
wagoner. 

Peter  H.  Albert,  private,  31,  May  17,  1898,  October 
5,   1899. 

Edwin  J.  Allen,  private,  19,  May  16,  1898,  October 
E,  1899. 

Swan  Anderson,  private,  22,  May  1  6,  1898,  October 
5,   1899. 

John  J.  Banks,  private,  22.  May  4.  1S98,  October 
5,  1899. 

John  P.  Birkems,  private,  22,  May  16,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

George  W.  Bowen.  private,  24,  May  16,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,   1899. 

Thomas  H.  Briggs,  private,  21,  May  16,  1898.  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Oliver  R.  Burdett,  private,  2.5,  May  13,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1S99. 

James  E.  Canty,  private,  28,  May  16,  1898,  October 
I.  1899. 

James  E.  Doughty,  private,  20,  May  16,  1898  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Charles  H.  Fonda,  private,  21,  May  15,  1898,  Oc- 
tober  5,   1899. 

Charles  P.  Green,  private,  26,  April  30,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899.     Transferred  from  Company  F. 

Henry  E.  Hanson,  private,  24,  Api-il  4,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Fred  C.  Hazelton,  private,  26,  May  16,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

John  I.  Howe,  private,  28,  May  16,  1898.  October 
5,  1899. 

Ira  G.  Husted,  private,  23,  May  15,  1898.  October 
L.   1899. 

John  C.  January,  private,  22,  May  16,  1898,  Oc 
tober  5,  1899. 

Charles  L.  Kelso,  private,  29,  May  16,  1898,  October 
5,   1899. 

John  Knodel,  private,  20.  May  16,  1898,  October 
5.  1899. 

John  D.  Lees,  private,  25,  May  12,  1898,  Octobei 
5,  1899. 

Patrick  A.  Maney,  private,  26,  May  16,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Frank  T.  McLain,  private,  19,  May  16,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Carl  F.  Oliver,  private.  19,  April  29,  1898,  Oc 
tober  5,  1899. 

Nelson  Oliver,  private,  22,  April  29,  1898,  October 
5.  1899. 

Francis  L.  O'Reilly,  private,  22,  May  15,  1898.  Oc 
tober  5,  1899. 

39 


Louis  C.  Peterson,  private,  29,  April  29,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Charles  L.  Scott,  private,  22,  May  20,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Clarence  A.  Strong,  private,  20,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5.  1899. 

Orval  Tucker,  private,  27,  May  16,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Paul  Weiss,  private.  20,  May  16,  1898,  October  5, 
1899.  Wounded  across  forehead,  at  Pulilan.  Philip- 
pine  Islands,  April   24,   1899. 

Emory  S.  West,  private,  24,  May  15,  1898,  October 
5.  1899. 

Eugene  L.  Williams,  private,  22,  May  16,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

mSCHAHGEI)     AND     PROMOTED. 

William  A.  Hazel,  second  lieutenant,  25,  May  3, 
1898.  Mustered  in  as  second  lieutenant.  Promoted 
to  first  lieutenant  and  assigned  to  Company  H,  April 
13,  1899. 

Walter  S.  Doolittle,  second  lieutenant,  22,  April 
25,  1898.  Mustered  in  as  first  sergeant  Company  B. 
Promoted  to  second  lieutenant  and  assigned  to  Com- 
pany G.  Promoted  to  first  lieutenant  and  assigned 
to  Company  L. 

DISCHARtiED    HV    ORDER. 

Oscar  W.  Coursey,  sergeant,  26,  May  7,  1898,  Au- 
gust 16,  1899. 

William  A.  Alexander,  sergeant,  25,  April  30,  1898, 
August  9,  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila.  Philippine 
Islands. 

Ephraim  0.  Sloan,  sergeant,  25,  May  15.  1898,  Au- 
gust 27,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  corporal.  Appointed 
sergeant. 

Horace  G.  Vose.  corporal,  26,  April  25,  189S,  Au- 
gust 9,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private  Company  L. 
Transferred  from  Company  L  July  11,  1898.  Ap- 
pointed lance  corporal,  then  corporal.  Discharged 
at  Manila.  Philippine  Islands. 

Alexander  W.  Hardy,  corporal,  32,  May  16,  1898. 
August  25,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
lance  corporal,  then  corporal.  Wounded  through  hip 
at   Marilao,  Philippine  Islands,  March  27,  1899. 

Charles  B.  Townsand,  corporal.  34.  May  13.  1898, 
July  16,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  artifi'cer.  Appointed 
corporal.     Discharged  at  Manila,   Philippine  Islands. 

John  B.  Colbert,  artificer.  July  21,  1898,  August 
9,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  artificer. 
Discharged   at    Manila.    Philippine   Islands. 

George  S.  Bertrand,  private,  22,  May  16,  1898. 
August  9,  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila.  Philippine 
Islands. 

James  Black,  private,  31  April  25,  1S98.  August 
27.   1899.     Struck  by  spent  ball   in  stomach,   May   25, 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


1899,  at  San  Fernando,  Philippine  Islands,  ball  not 
entering. 

Clyde  Butcher,  private,  19,  May  15,  1898,  August 
28,   1899. 

George  S.  B.  Cooke,  private,  July  16,  1898,  Sep- 
vemher  6,  1899.  Transferred  from  Company  A  Au- 
gust 10,  1898. 

Lewis  H.  Dexter,  private,  35,  May  2,  1898,  August 
2,  1899.     Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands. 

Ezra  R.  Fuller,  private,  25,  April  25,  1898,  August 

27,  1899.  Transferred  from  Company  K  August  14, 
1898. 

Ray  A.  Hatch,  private,  19,  May  16,   1898,  August 
1,  1899.    Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands. 
Walter  M,  Jellis,  private,  28,  May  16,  1898,  August 

28,  1899. 

Peter  J.  Lavelle,  private,  20,  May  15,  1898,  August 
i),  1899.     Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands. 

John  G.  McFadden,  private,  22,  May  13,  1898,  Au- 
gust 9,  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine 
Islands. 

Jay  A.  Parsons,  private,  19,  May  16,  1898,  August 
28,  1899. 

Arthur  E.  Spawn,  private,  20,  April  30,  1898,  Au- 
gust 27,  1899. 

Charles  Stange,  private,  20,  April  30,  1S98,  Au- 
gust 1,  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine 
Islands. 

Dale  i.i.  Wiliams,  private,  25.  May  16,  1898,  Au- 
gust 9,  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila.  Philippine 
Islands. 

DISCHARGED   FOR  DIS.iBILITY. 

Walter  C.  Brown,  private,  23,  May  16,  1898,  June 
17,  1899.  Wounded  in  right  elbow,  at  San  Francisco 
del  Monte  Church,  Philippine  Islands,  March  25, 
1899.     Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands. 

Sayer  Jensen,  private,  26,  May  16,  1898,  October 
S,  1898.    Discharged  in  Manila,  Philippine  Islands. 

Carl  W.  McConnell,  private,  19,  May  16.  1898,  Au 
gust  16,  1899.  Wounded  in  right  foot,  at  San  Fer- 
nando, Philippine  Islands,  May  25,  1899. 

Clyde  B.  Palmer,  private,  23,  May  13,  1898,  Au 
gust  16,  1899. 

John  A.  Russell,  private,  27,  April  25,  1898,  Au 
gust  21,  1899. 

Harry  O.  Thompson,  private.  22.  April  29.  1898 
August  22.  1899. 

Melle  Travaillie,  private,  27,  May  16,  1898.  July 
20,  1899.  Discharged  at  Camp  Merritt.  San  Fran 
Cisco,  California. 

Jerry  C.  Turman.  private,  35,  May  7,  1898,  Angus- 

Oscar  I.  Welo.  private.  20,  April  25,  1898,  May  8 
1899. 


TEAXSFERKED. 

Howard  H.  Ainsworth,  private,  28,  May  16,  1898. 
Transferred  to  Company  A,  First  South  Dakota  In- 
fantry, U.  S.  v.,  August  10,  1898. 

Odion  Dillingham,  private,  21,  May  16,  1S98. 
Transferred  to  Company  F,  First  South  Dakota  In- 
fantry, U.  S.  v.,  August  6,  1898. 

Wayne  B.  Larrabee,  private,  22,  May  lb,  1898. 
Transferred  to  Company  M,  First  South  Dakota  In- 
fantry, U.  S.  v.,  October  5,  1898, 

Roy  Perry,  private,  20,  May  16,  1S98.  Transferred 
to  Hospital  Corps,  First  South  Daivota  Infantry, 
U,  S.  v.,  June  24,  1898. 

George  W.  Rahskopf,  private,  28,  May  16,  1S98. 
Transferred  to  Company  F,  First  South  Dakota  In- 
fantry, U.  S.  v.,  August  6,  1898. 

Joe  K.  Vermilyea,  private,  19,  May  16,  1898. 
Transferred  to  Hospital  Corps,  First  South  Dakota 
■fantry  U.  S.  V.,  June  24,  1898. 

Roger  G.  Wearne,  private,  20,  April  25,  1898. 
Transferred  to  Company  K,  First  South  Dakota  In- 
fantry, U.  S.  v.,  October  15,  1898. 

KILLED    IX    ACTIOX. 

Daniel  E.  Colleran.  private,  22,  May  13,  1898. 
Killed  in  action  at  San  Fernando,  Philippine  Islands. 
May  25,  1899.  Buried  in  National  Cemetery,  Grave 
No.  17,  Manila,  Philippine  Islands. 

DIED    FROM     DI.SEASE. 

Jay  A.  Smith,  private,  19,  May  16,  1898.  Died  at 
Manila,  Philippine  Islands.  November  14,  1898. 
Buried  in  Paco  Cemetery,  Grave  No.  87,  Manila. 
Philippine  Islands. 

COMPANY  H. 

Charles  H.  Englesby.  captain.  30.  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Wounded  in  left  shoulder  at  battle 
of  Meyacauayan,  Philippine  Islands,  March  26,  1899. 

William  A.  Hazel,  first  lieutenant,  25,  May  3,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  second  lieutenant  of 
Company  G.  Promoted  to  first  lieutenant  and  as- 
signed to  Company  H,  April  13,  1899. 

Harry  J.  Mowrey,  second  lieutenant.  26,  April  25, 
1898,  October  5,  1899,  Mustered  in  as  first  sergeant. 
Appointed  second  lieutenant. 

Frank  E.  Hunger,  first  sergeant,  26.  April  25.  1898. 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  quartermaster  ser- 
geant.    Appointed  first  sergeant. 

Thomas  J.  Mahoney,  quartermaster  sergeant.  May 
29,  1898,  October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private  in 
Company  L.  Transferred  from  Company  L  June  11, 
1898.  Appointed  corporal,  then  sergeant,  then  quar- 
termaster sergeant. 

Walter  F.  Miller,  sergeant,  21,  April  25,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5.  1899. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Hugh  D.  McCosham.  sergeant,  24,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Guy  E.  Kelly,  sergeant,  23,  April  25,  1898,  October 
5,   1899. 

Osceola  Carpenter,  sergeant,  25.  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  corporal.  Appointed 
sergeant. 

Lewis  H.  McMullen,  corporal,  37,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  artificer.  Appointed 
corporal. 

Bertram  M.  Cosgrove.  corporal,  26,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
lance  corporal,  then  corporal. 

Wilson  M.  Connor,  corporal,  25,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal. 

William  B.  Johnston,  corporal,  20.  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
lance  corporal,  then  corporal. 

Robert  R.  Davison,  corporal,  June  16,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private  in  Company  E. 
Transferred  from  Company  E  July  2,  1898.  Ap- 
pointed corporal. 

David  T.  Black,  corporal.  24.  April  25,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal. 

Siver  T.  Johnson,  lance  corporal,  24,  April  25, 
1898,  October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Ap- 
pointed lance  corporal. 

John  H.  Grant,  artificer,  22,  April  25,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
artificer. 

Thomas  Underland,  wagoner,  34,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
wagoner. 

Chester  K.  Snyder,  musician,  19,  April  25.  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Homer  J.  Warfield,  musician.  21.  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  corporal.  Reduced 
to  private  and  appointed  musician. 

William  H.  Alter,  private,  37,  April  25.  1S9S,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Ross  Barnes,  private,  25,  April  25,  1898.  October 
5,   1899. 

Edward  0.  Berg,  private,  24,  April  25,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Clarence  E.  Bisher,  private,  27,  May  11,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5.  1S99. 

Frank  Brown,  private,  29,  April  25,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Adam  Carpinski,  private,  19,  April  25,  1898.  Oc- 
tober 5,   1899. 

Frank  W.  Chapman,  private,  28,  April  25,  1898. 
Oetober  5.  1899. 

Pearl  M.  Cook,  private,  22,  April  25,  1898,  October 


George  H.  Doersch,  private,  22,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

James  H.  Duncan,  private,  25,  April  25,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Henry  E.  Feay,  private,  26,  May  10,  1898,  October 
5,   1899. 

Frank  C.  Ferris,  private,  20,  April  25,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

William  C.  Flood,  private,  21,  April  25,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

William  E.  Foy,  private,  26,  May  10,  1898,  October 
i;  1899. 

Daniel  A.  Gannon,  private,  29,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Alvord  T.  Hopkins,  private,  26,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Joel  E.  Hopkins,  private,  22,  May  10,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Albert  L.  Howe,  private,  20,  May  10,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

John  W.  Hughes,  private.  July  14,  1898.  October 
5,  1899. 

Arthur  Jaekel,  private.  21,  April  25,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Ernst  R.  Kastner,  private,  23,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Collin  Lock,  private,  26,  April  25,  1898,  October 
5,   1899. 

Percy  R.  Lyons,  private.  21,  April  25,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Frank  A.  E.  McGregor,  private,  July  26,  1898. 
October  5,  1899. 

Hugo  Meisner.  private.  22,  May  10,  1898,  October 
5,   1899. 

Abraham  C.  Miller,  private,  22,  May  11,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Robert  J.  Moes,  private,  22,  April  25,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

George  D.  Moore,  private,  23,  April  25,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Chase  E.  Mulinex,  private,  24,  May  19,  1898.  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Michael  Rami,  private,  30,  April  25,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Leonard  A.  Ruby,  private,  26,  April  25,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899.  Transferred  from  Company  A,  First 
South  Dakota  Infantry,  United  States  Volunteers, 
October  10,  1898. 

Harold  S.  Smith,  private,  22,  April  25,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Bennett  Stenson,  private.  23.  April  25.  1898.  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Frank  Stieh.  private,  25.  April  25.  1898.  October 
5,  1899. 

Sylvester  B.  Tanner,  private,  27,  April  25.  1S9S, 
October  5,  1899. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Guy  E.  Thompson,  private,  20,  April  25.  189S, 
October  5,  1899. 

Gilbert  T.  Timmernian,  private,  22,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Andrew  E.  Waterman,  private,  23,  April  25,  1898, 
October   5.  1899. 

Lawrence  Witcani,  private,  27,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5.  1899. 

l)ISCH.\R(iEl)   FOR   DIS.^BILITY. 

William  A.  Whaley,  corporal,  29,  April  25,  1898. 
August  19,  1899. 

Henry    Mauritzen,    private.    27,     April     25,     1898     j 
August   16.  1899. 

Frank   G.    MuUarky.    private.    31,    April    25,    1898,   | 
June  22,   1899. 

David  L.  Smith,  private,  30,  May  10,  1898,  August 
IS,  1899.     Transferred  from  Company  F,  First  South   j 
Dakota  Infantry,  U.  S.  V.,  June  11,  1898.  j 

l)IScn.\I«iEIl    BY    ORDEK. 

Fred  L.  Burdick,  second  lieutenant,  38,  April  25, 
1S9S,  July  18,  1898.  Mustered  out  to  accept  commis- 
sion as  first  lieutenant. 

Harry  J.  Mowrey,  first  sergeant,  26,  April  25,  1898, 
July  18,  1898.  Mustered  out  to  accept  commission  as 
second  lieutenaiit. 

Harold  J.  Schull,  sergeant,  22,  April  25,  1898, 
August  19,  1899. 

George  T.  Hipp',  corporal,  29,  April  25,  1898.  Au- 
gust 28,  1899. 

Charles  T.  Bartlett,  artificer.  22,  April  25.  1898. 
August  27,  1899. 

Marvin  C.  Bowen,  wagoner,  20,  April  25.  1898. 
August  28,  1899. 

John  T.  Antlitz,  private,  35,  April  25.  1898,  June 
22,  1898. 

beroy  Berry,  private,  23.  April  25,  1898.  August 
27,  1899. 

William  Bickley,  private,  25,  May  11,  1898,  August 
24,  1899. 

Charles  W.  Cramer,  private,  25,  May  10,  1898,  July 
12,   1899. 

William  Hanson,  private,  19,  April  25,  1898,  July 
3,  1898.     Dishonorably  discharged. 

Henry    N.    Kerney,    private,    23,    April    25,    1 
October  14,  1898.     Dishonorably  discharged. 

Jess   O.   Kirkpatrick,    private,    23,   April    25,    1 
August  27,  1899. 

Merton    W.    Knight,    private,    24,    April    25.    1 
July    1,    1899.      Discharged    at     Manila.     Philippine 
Islands. 

James  E.  Montgomery,  private,  36.  April  25,  1898 
September  6,  1899. 

Charles  W.  Morgan,  private,  20,  April  25,  1898, 
August  29,  1899, 


John  S.  Peterson,  private,  26,  April  25,  1898,  Au- 
gust 9,  1899. 

John  A.  Taylor,  private,  32,  April  25,  1898,  Au- 
gust 9.  1899. 

Henry  A.  Thompson,  private.  20.  April  25,  189S. 
August  26,   1899. 

Francis  L.  Wylie,  private,  30,  April  25,  1898,  Au- 
gust   9,    1899. 

TR.\>'SFERRE1). 

Clyde  W,  Allen,  musician.  21,  April  25.  1S9.S. 
Transferred  to  non-commissioned  staff  June  24,  1S9S. 

Herman  M.  Bellman,  private,  23,  May  11,  1S9S. 
Transferred  to  Company  B,  First  South  Dakota  In- 
fantry, U.  S.  v.,  June  11,  1898. 

Bjorge  Gjelsteen.  private,  23.  April  25.  lS9s. 
Transferred  to  Hospital  Corps,  U.  S.  A..  June  24. 
1898. 

Doc.  Jenkins,  private.  20,  April  25,  1898,  Trans- 
ferred to  Hospital  Corps,  U.  S.  A.,  March  18,  1899. 

Horace  G.  McCordie,  private,  20,  May  10,  1898. 
Transferred  to  Company  F,  First  South  Dakota  In- 
tantry,  U.  S.  V.,  June  11,  1898. 

Orth  D,  Stewart,  private,  27,  April  25,  1898. 
Transferred  to  Company  L,  First  South  Dakota  In- 
lantry,  U.  S.  V.,  June  11,  1898. 


LED    I> 


TIOX. 


Frank  H.  Adams,  first  lieutenant.  26,  April  2-. 
1898.  Killed  in  action  at  battle  of  Marilao.  Philip- 
pine Islands.  March  27.  1899. 

Oscar  E.  Johnson,  corporal.  30,  April  25,  189S. 
Killed  in  action  at  Pulilan,  Philippine  Islands,  April 
24.  1899. 

Mortimer  C.  Bowen,  wagoner,  42,  April  25,  1898. 
Killed  in  action  at  Pulilan,  Philippine  Islands,  April 
24,  1899. 

Guy  Jones,  private.  July  14,  1898.  Killed  in  action 
at  Calumpit  River,  Philippine  Islands,  April  25,  1899. 

Horace  J.  McCraken.  private,  June  27.  1898.  Killed 
in  action  at  La  Loma  Church.  Philippine  Islands. 
February  5,  1899. 

Charles  W.  Peterson,  private.  22.  April  25.  1899. 
Kitled  in  action  at  Calumpit  River,  Philippine 
Islands,  April  25,  1899. 

Charles  Stulz,  private.  July  1,  1898.  Killed  in 
action  at  Pulilan,  Philippine  Islands,  April  24,  1899. 

nTED     OF     WOIXDS. 

John  Dale,  private,  22,  May  10,  1898.  Accident- 
ally shot  in  line  of  duty,  July  9,  1898.  Died  at  Ma- 
rine   Hospital,    San    Francisco,    California,    July    28. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


COMPANY   I. 

Paul  D.  McClelland,  captain.  28,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Wounded  in  left  arm  at  battle  ot 
Marilao,  Philippine  Islands,  March  27,  1899.  Mus- 
tered in  as  first  lieutenant.  Appointed  captain,  vice 
Charles  S.  Denny,  resigned,  June  22,  1899. 

George  H.  Crabtree,  first  lieutenant,  29,  April  2(j 
1898,  October  5.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Ap 
pointed  sergeant,  then  hospital  steward,  then  second 
lieutenant,  then  first  lieutenant,  vice,  Paul  D.  MeClel 
land,  promoted.  June  22,  1899. 

Gustave  Reimer,  second  lieutenant,  22,  May  4 
1898,  October  S,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  first  sergeant 
Appointed  second  lieutenant,  July  23,  1899. 

Hezekiah  I.  Putnam,  first  sergeant,  21,  April  25. 
1898,  October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  sergeant.  Ap- 
pointed first  sergeant. 

William  Wiehe,  quartermaster  sergeant.  22.  Apr 
25.    1S9S,   October   5,   1899. 

John  C.  Wells,  sergeant,  24,  April  25,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Boyd  Wales,  sergeant,  26,  May  15,  1898,  October 
5,  1S99.  Mustered  in  as  corporal.  Appointed  ser 
geant. 

Orri  J.  Putnam,  sergeant,  2n,  April  25,  1898.  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  corporal.  Appointed 
sergeant. 

Tenus  C.  Hanson,  sergeant.  26.  May  17,  1898,  Oe 
tober   5.   1899.     Mustered   in 
corporal,   then   sergeant. 

William   F.  Hill,  corporal 
tober  5,  1899. 

Theodore  Reder,   corporal, 
tober  5.  1899. 

William  R.  Amoo,  corporal,  27,  May  15,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
lance  i'orporal,  then  corporal.  Wounded  in  right 
shoulder  at  battle  ot  Marilao.  Philippine  Islands. 
March   27,   1899. 

John  B.  May,  corporal,  27.  May  15,  1898,  October 
5,  1899.    Mustered  in  as  private.     Appointed  corporal. 

Frank  Miller,  corporal,  24,  April  25,  1898.  October 
5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  lance 
corporal,  then  corporal. 

Thomas  V.  Richards,  corporal,  22,  Ap 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private, 
corporal. 

Conrad  Bachman.  lance  corporal.  23,  May  15.  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
lance  corporal. 

Oscar  W.  Ortmayer.  musician.  27.  May  15.  1898. 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
musician. 

James  H.  Ruddy,  artificer.  33.  April  25.  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
artificer. 


as   private.     Appointed 
31,  April   25,   1898,  Oc- 


23,   April   25,   IS 


Oc- 


Appointed 


William  J.  Doyle,  wagoner,  2(5,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Bert  S.  Barnum,  private,  21,  May  18,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Eli  F.  Biggers,  private,  23,  April  25,  1898.  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899, 

Benjamin  H.  Blackney.  private.  19,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5.  1899, 

Paul  H.  Bryant,  private,  23,  May  15.  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Aubert  M.  Canfleld,  private,  21,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

William  E.  Chamley,  private,  21,  May  15,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

William  Chilson,  private,  22,  May  15.  1898,  Oc 
tober  5,  1899. 

Warren  E.  Crosiar,  private,  22,  May  15,  1S98 
October  5,  1899.  Wounded  in  left  arm  at  battle  of 
Meycauayan,  Philippine  Islands,  March  26,  1899. 

Louis  A.  Crouter,  private,  18,  April  25,  1898,  Oc 
tober  5,  1899. 

Chris  Davick.  private.  24,  May  15,  1898,  Octoljer 
5,  1899. 

David  D.  Faris,  private,  22,  May  12,  1898,  October 
5,   1899, 

John  G.  Feldhous,  private,  22,  May  15,  1898.  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899.  Wounded  in  left  foot  by  accidental 
discharge  of  rifle  in  line  of  duty,  April  20,  1899. 

John  P.  Foran.  private,  41.  April  25,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Mark  J.  Foran,  private,  27,  April  25,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Julius  F.  Giraud.  private.  19.  May  15.  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Charles  D.  Gorton,  private,  25.  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Hans  Hanson,  private,  26,  May  15,  1898.  October 
h.    1899. 

William  H.  Harrison,  private,  23.  April  25,  1S98. 
October  5.  1899. 

Harley  Horsley.  private,  23,  April  25,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Homer  J.  Jones,  private.  22.  April  25,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Ulysses  G.  Jones,  private,  33,  April  25,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

George  Kenyon,  private,  33,  May  15,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

John  H.  Kinrade,  private,  27,  May  15,  1898.  Octo- 
ber 5,   1899. 

Gustave  C.  Loeb,  private,  21.  May  15.  1898,  October 
5.  1899, 

Robert  Maley,  private,  24,  May  15.  1898.  October 
5.   1899. 

Nels  C.  Matson,  private,  40,  May  15,  1898.  October 
5.  1899,  Wounded  in  left  foot  by  accidental  dis- 
charge of  rifle  in  line  of  duty,  March   23.  1899. 


446 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Richard  Mills,  private,  21,  May  15.  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Nels  F.  Sanderson,  private,  24,  May  14,  189S,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Frank  Seney,  private,  23,  May  15,  1898,  October 
5.  1899. 

Fred  Seney,  private,  23,  May  15,  1898,  October  5, 
1899. 

Frank  Smith,  private,  29,  May  15,  1898,  October 
5,  1399. 

Jacob  H.  Stockmyer.  private,  20,  April  25,  1898. 
October  5,  1899. 

Fred  F.  Trumbo,  private,  19,  May  15,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Ollie  Twait,  private,  24,  May  17,  1898,  October  5, 
1899. 

Albert  Wagner,  private,  22,  May  15,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

KESIGNED. 

Charles  S.  Denny,  captain,  34,  April  25,  1898. 
March  27,  1899.  Honorably  discharged  by  reason  o£ 
resignation. 

DISCHAEGED  FOK  DISABILITY. 

Thomas  J.  Fenwick,  sergeant,  24,  April  25,  1898, 
August  14,  1899. 

Frederick  W.  Barber,  private,  31.  April  25,  1898, 
August  17,  1899.  Wounded  through  right  lung  at 
battle  of  Meycauayan,  Philippine  Islands,  March  26. 
1899. 

William  Elliott,  private,  21,  May  17,  1898,  Janu- 
ary 12,  1899. 

Byron  F.  Hastings,  private,  30,  May  17,  1898,  Au- 
gust 20,  1899.  Transferred  from  Company  E  July  2, 
1898.  Wounded  in  left  knee  at  battle  of  Meycaua- 
yan. Philippine  Islands,  March  26,  1899. 

Harry  S.  Keck,  private,  23,  May  12,  1898.  January 
16,    1899. 

Herbert  A.  Putnam,  private,  18,  April  25',  1898. 
August  25,  1899.  Wounded  in  left  thigh  at  battle  of 
Calumpit,   Philippine  Islands.  April  25,  1899. 

Will  G.  Stewart,  private,  28,  May  15,  1898,  Au- 
gust 19,  1899. 

DISCHARGED    BY    ORDER. 

Horace  C.   Bates,   second   lieutenant,   21,   May   IS, 

1898.  Appointed  first  lieutenant  July  23,   1899,  and 
assigned  to  Company  F. 

Oliver  C.  Lapp,  first  sergeant,  26,  April  25,  1898. 
May  9.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  sergeant.  Appointed 
first  sergeant.  Wounded  in  left  leg  and  right  thigh 
at   battle  of  Calumpit.   Philippine   Islands.   April   25. 

1899.  Discharged    to    accept   commission    as   second 
lieutenant  First  South  Dakota  Volunteer  Infantry. 

Joseph  W.  Palmer,  corporal,  26,  Mfty  18,  1898, 
August  27,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private:  Appointed 
corporal. 


Thomas  B.  Shaff,  musician,  24,  May  15,  1898, 
August  15,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
musician. 

Ira  Allen,  artificer,  37,  April  25,  1898.  July  1, 
1899. 

Charles  Canfield,  private,  45,  April  25,  1898,  Sep- 
tember 6,  1899. 

Andrew  Eida,  private,  24,  May  15,  1898,  August 
31,  1899. 

Hiram  W.  Fay,  private,  28,  May  15,  1898,  Septem 
her  6.  1899.  Wounded  through  left  knee  at  capture 
of  La  Loma  Church,  Philippine  Islands,  February  5 
1899. 

Charles  Hammer,  private,  21,  May  17,  1898,  Au 
gust  30,  1898. 

Arthur  E.  Haskell,  private,  38,  April  25,  1898, 
August  9,  1899. 

Hiram  R.  Leonard,  private,  35,  April  25,  1898 
August  9,  1899. 

Clifton  E.  Malamphy,  private  19,  May  14.  1898 
August  29,  1S99. 

Edwin  E.  Ortmayer,  private,  23,  May  15,  1898 
April  12,  1899. 

Louis  E.  Schmitt,  private,  42,  May  15,  1898,  July 
1.  1899.  Discharged  to  re-enllst  in  Thirty-sixth 
United  States  Volunteer  Infantry. 

Joseph  Trost,  private,  25,  April  25,  1898.  Au 
gust  25,  1899. 

Wilber  D.  Todd,  private,  36,  April  25,  1898,  Au 
gust  25.  1899. 

Charles  P.  Wagner,  private.  20,  May  15.  1898 
September  6,  1899.  Wounded  slightly  in  head  at  bat 
tie  of  Calumpit,  Philippine  Islands,  April  25.  1899. 

TRANSFERRED. 

William  C.  Akers,  private.  24.  May  15.  1898. 
Transferred  to  Company  E,  First  South  Dakota  In- 
fantry U.  S.  v.,  July  2.  1898. 

James  A.  Ross,  private.  May  15,  1898.  Trans- 
ferred to  Hospital  Corps,  U.  S.  A.,  March  24.  1899. 

KILLED   IX   ACTIOX. 

Fred  E.  Green,  private,  22.  May  15.  1898.  Killed 
in  action  near  Block  House  No.  4,  Manila,  Philippine 
Islands,  February  5.  1899. 

William  G.  Lowes,  private,  31,  May  15.  1898. 
Killed  in  action  near  Block  House  No.  4.  Manila. 
Philippine  Islands.  February  5,  1S99. 

DIED    flF    WOrXDS. 

William  H.  May.  private.  22,  May  15.  1898. 
Wounded  through  abdomen  at  battle  of  Marilao. 
Philippine  Islands.  March  27,  1S99.  Died  from 
wound  March  31.  1899. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


447 


DIED    FROJt     DISEASE. 

James  E.  Link,  private,  25,  May  15,  1S98.  Died 
of  dysentery  at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands,  December 
1,  1898. 

Victor  E.  Schofield,  private,  21,  April  25,  1898. 
Died  of  smallpox  at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands, 
Febri:ary   4,   1899. 

DESERTED. 

Eugene  Cooper,  private,  27,  April  25,  1898.  De- 
serted March  17,  1899. 

COMPANY  K. 

Palmer  D.  Sheldon,  captain,  21,  April  25,  1S98. 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  second  lieutenant 
Company  F.  Appointed  first  lieutenant,  vice  Brock- 
way.  Appointed  captain  and  assigned  to  Company 
K.   July   23,   1899. 

George  W.  Roskie,  first  lieutenant,  24,  May  4,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  second  lieutenant. 
Appointed  first  lieutenant. 

Delbert  F.  Wilmarth.  second  lieutenant,  22,  April 
25,  1898,  October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  sergeant. 
Appointed  quartermaster  sergeant,  then  first  ser- 
geant, then  second  lieutenant.  Transferred  from 
Company  E,  First  South  Dakota  Infantry.  U.  S.  V., 
August  10,  1899. 

Albert  J.  Messerschmidt,  first  sergeant.  29,  May  4, 
1898.  October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  corporal.  Ap- 
pointed sergeant,  then  first  sergeant. 

Theodotus  Wosnuk,  quartermaster  sergeant.  22, 
May  4.  1898,  October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  corpo- 
ral. Appointed  sergeant,  then  quartermaster  ser- 
geant. 

George  D.  Schlosser.  sergeant,  23,  May  4.  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Eugene  E.  Stevens,  sergeant.  23,  May  4.  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
musician,  then  corporal,  then  sergeant.  Wounded  in 
action  at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands,  February  5, 
1899. 

James  McGlone,  sergeant.  23.  May  4,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal,  then  sergeant. 

Patrick  H.  Carroll,  sergeant,  24,  May  11.  1898. 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal,  then  sergeant. 

Michael  A.  Duffy,  corporal,  22.  May  4,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal. 

William  J.  Uppendahl,  corporal.  21,  May  4.  1898. 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal. 

Carsten  Hauge,  corporal.  26,  May  4,  1898.  October 
5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  wagoner.  Appointed  cor- 
poral. 


John  Richardson,  corporal,  28,  May  11,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
lance  corporal,  then  corporal. 

Herman  Wulff,  corporal,  33,  May  11,  1898,  October 
5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  lance 
corporal,  then  corporal. 

Dion  E.  Pearce,  corporal,  22,  May  11,  1898.  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal. 

Frank   E.   Ferguson,   lance   corporal.    19,   May 
1898,  October  5,  1899.     Mustered  in  as  private.     Ap- 
pointed  lance  corporal. 

Robert  J.  Van  Hook,  musician,  22,  May  4,  1 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
musician.  Wounded  in  action  at  Santa  Tomas,  Phil- 
ippine Islands,  May  4,  1899. 

Fred  Herbert,  musician,  July  14,  1898,  October 
5.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  musi 
cian. 

Charles  C.  Brunsoman.  artificer,  21,  May  11.  189S 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
artificer. 

William  Barth,  wagoner,  28,  May  11,  1898,  October 
5,  1899.    Mustered  in  as  private.    Appointed  wagoner 

Barnabus  C.  Barrow,  private,  24,  May  11,  1898 
October  5,  1899. 

Nels  Bellbe,  private,  27.  May  11,  1898.  October  5 
1899. 

Herman  A.  Braese,  private,  37,  May  11.  1898 
Octobe  5,  1899. 

Gardner  D.  Child,  private,  July  16.  1898.  October 
5,  1899. 

Homer  L.  Coxhead,  private,  35,  May  11,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Leroy  E.  Cuckow,  private,  26.  May  11,  1898.  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

John  G.  De  Muth.  private,  July  11,  1898.  October 
5,  1899.  ' 

Henry  S.  Durham,  private,  25,  May  4,  1898.  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

John  L.  Ferguson,  private.  22,  May  11.  1898.  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Patrick  H.  Flynn,  private,  July  14.  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Albert  Gatzke,  private,  29,  May  11  1898.  October 
5,  1899. 

Charles  H.  Hattenburgh,  private,  22.  May  4,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

John  F.  Johnson,  private,  22,  May  11,  1898.  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Henry  C.  Killion,  private,  27,  May  11,  1898.  Oc- 
tober 5,   1899. 

Hans  M.  Korstad,  private,  28,  May  4.  1898.  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Gus  0.  Kruger.  private,  23,  May  11.  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 


448 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Nels  Mathison,  private,  29.  May  11.  1S9S.  October 
5,  1899.  ; 

Ernest   R.   Merritt.   private,   19.   May   11,  1898,   Oc-   i 
tober  5,  1S99. 

John  S.  Miller,  private,  31,  May  4.  1898,  October 
5.  1899.  ! 

Paul  E.  Miller,  private.  28,  May  11,  1898,  October   I 
5.  1899.  .  { 

Lloyd  J.  McDonald,  private.  20.  May  4.  1898.  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Bay  S.  Nicholls,  private,  19.  May  11.  1898.  October 
5.  1899.  Wounded  in  action  at  battle  of'Meyeaua- 
yan.  Philippine  Islands,  March  26,  1899. 

Adam  Ohlinger.  private,  22,  May  11,  1898,  October 
5,   1899. 

James  P.  Parsons,  private.  26.  May  4.  1898.  Oc- 
tober 5.  1899. 

Walter  M.  Parsons,  private,  24,  May  4,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Benjamin  B.  Phelps,  private,  24.  May  4,  1898,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899.  Wounded  in  action  at  Manila.  Philip- 
pine Islands.  February  5,  1899. 

Roy  E.  Ranous,  private,  22,  May  11,  1S9S,  October 
5,  1899.  Wounded  in  action  at  battle  of  Calumpit. 
Philippine  Islands.  April  25,  1899.  { 

Edward    Ricketts,   private,   22,   May   11,   1898,   Oc-   j 
tober  5,  1899. 

Herman  Reinke,  private,  29.  May  11,  1898,  Octo-. 
her  5.  1899. 

Scott  M.  Sawyer,  private.  21.  May  11.  189S,  Oc- 
tober 5,  1899. 

Henry   Schneider,   private,   35,   May   11,   1898,   Oc-   ] 
tober  5,  1899. 

Guy  E.  Skinner,  private,  19,  May  4,  1898,  October 
5,  1899.  Wounded  in  action  at  battle  of  Calumpit. 
Philippine  Islands,  April  25,  1899. 

Claude  D.  Thompson,  private,  22,  May  9,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Wounded  in  face  at  battle  of  Ma- 
lolos,  Philippine  Islands,  March  31,  1899. 

Roger   G.    Wearne.   private.   20.   May   9,   1898.   Oc- 
tober  5.   1899.     Transferred   from   Company   G.   First 
South  Dakota  Infantry.  U.  S.  V..  October  14.  1898. 
October  14.  1898. 

Fred  Willard.  private.  30.  May  11.  1898,  October 
5,   1899. 


Harry  A.  Hegeman.  captain.  24.  May  4.  1898,  July 
12,  1899.  Discharged  to  accept  commission  in  Thirty- 
sixth  Infantry,  U.  S.  V. 

Oscar  F.  Smith,  second  lieutenant,  22,  May  4,  1898, 
August  10,  1899.  Discharged  to  accept  commission 
as  first  lieutenant. 

Gustave  Reimer.  first  sergeant.  22.  May  4,  1898, 
July  22,  1899.  Discharged  to  accept  commission  as 
second   lieutenant. 


Edwin  E.  Mann,  sergeant,  34,  May  4,  1898,  July  2, 
!f?99.  Discharged  to  accept  commission  as  second 
lieutenant  in  Thirty-sixth  Infantry,  U.  S.  V. 

Isaiah  Cranston,  sergeant,  22,  May  4,  1898,  August 
27,   1899. 

Frank  E.  Harkins,  sergeant,  34,  May  11,  1898. 
August  28,  1899. 

William  H.  Gray,  corporal,  21,  May  4.  1898,  Au- 
gust 9,  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila.  Philippine 
Islands. 

Fred  W.  Cuckow,  corporal,  20,  May  4,  1S9S,  Janu- 
ary 12,  1899.  Wounded  In  left  hand  by  accidental 
discharge  of  rifle  while  on  duty,  October  29,  1898, 
Manila,  Philippine  Islands.  Discharged  at  Manila. 
Philippine  Islands. 

Arnc  Haugse,  artificer.  26.  May  11.  1898.  August 
IS,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  musician.  Appointed  arti- 
ficer. Wounded  in  action  at  battle  of  Meycauayan, 
Philippine   Islands,  March  26,   1899. 

George  F.  Aldrich,  wagoner,  44.  May  4.  1S9S, 
March  24,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
wagoner. 

Earl  D.  M.  Aspinwall.  private.  21.  May  4.  1898, 
August  29,   1899. 

Marion  S.  Bohn,  private,  July  25.  1898.  August  29. 
29.   1899. 

Charles  E.  Coates.  private.  29.  May  11.  1898,  Au- 
gust 9,  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine 
Islands. 

Burdette  A.  Crumb,  private.  26,  May  4,  1898,  Au- 
gust 9.  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine 
Islands. 

Frank  C.  Fuller,  private.  26.  May  11.  1898.  August 
27.  1899. 

William  Harvey,  private.  January  20.  1899,  Au- 
gust 9,  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila.  Philippine 
Islands. 

Harrison  F.  Lake,  private.  29.  May  11.  1898.  Au- 
gust 28,  1899. 

Michael  F.  McAdams.  private.  February  4.  1S99. 
August  29.  1899. 

Nels  P.  Nelson,  private.  30,  May  11,  1898,  August 

27,  1899. 

Peter  Nelson,  private.  22.  May  4.  1898.  August  27, 
1899. 

Benny  0.  Lindeburg.  private.  22.  May  4.  1898. 
April  2.  1899. 

Don  J.  Ranous.  private,  24.  May  11,  1898,  August 
21,  1899.  Wounded  in  actfon  at  battle  of  Calumpit. 
Philippine  Islands.  April  25,  1899. 

Nels  Siraonson.  private,  25,  May  11,  1898,  August 

28.  1898. 

Charles  M.  Way,  private.  20,  May  4,  1898,  July  16, 
1899.     Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands. 

Oscar  Orchard,  private,  July  23,  1S98,  August  9, 
1899,     Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


449 


Walter  N.  Bryan,   private,  19.   May 


1S98.  July 


Herman  F.  Kruger,  private,  33.  May  11,  189S,  Au- 
gust IS,  1899.  Wounded  in  action  at  battle  of  Ma- 
lolos.   Philippine   Islands,   March   31,   1899. 

William  H.  Quardt.  private.  22.  May  11,  1898,  Au- 
gust 20,  1898. 

George  F.  Stillwagon,  private,  25,  May  4.  1898. 
July  21.  1898. 

Roscoe  Van  Home,  private.  20.  May  4.  1898.  July 
12.  1S9S. 

TRAXSFERREO. 

Hiram  L.  Atwood,  private,  23,  May  11,  1898 
Transferred  to  Company  H,  First  South  Dakota  In 
lantry,  U.  S.  V..  July  21.  1898. 

Ezra  R.  Fuller,  private,  25,  May  11,  1898.  TranS' 
ferred  to  Company  C,  First  South  Dakota  Infantry 
U.   S.  v..  October  14.  1898. 

Frank  Stewart,  private.  21.  May  4.  1898.  Trans- 
ferred to  Company  G.  First  South  Dakota  Infantry, 
U.  S.  v..  July  13.  1898. 

Alfred  L.  Thompson,  private,  22.  May  11.  1898 
Transferred  to  Hospital  Corps.  United   States  Army, 

KILLED    I.V    ACTION. 

James  A.  Lizer.  private.  29,  May  4,  1898.  Killed 
in  action  at  battle  of  Philellan,  Philippine  Islands, 
April   24.  1899. 

niED    FROM    DISEA.se. 

Roy  P.  Anderson,  private,  22,  May  11,  1898.    Died 
of  smallpox  at  Manila.  Philippine  Islands.  November   , 
2,  1898. 

James  M.  Clark,  private.  22.  May  11,  1898.  Died 
of  acute  dysentery  at  Manila,  Pliilippiue  Islands, 
November  25,  1898.  | 

John  J.  Mahoney,  private,  24,  May  11.  1898.  Died  i 
of  typhoid  fever  at  Manila.  Philippine  Islands.  De-  ! 
cember  1.  1898. 

Henry  A.  Uppendahl,  private,  20,  May  4,  1898. 
Died  of  typhoid  fever,  hemorrhage,  at  Manila.  Philip- 
pine Islands,  July  10,  1899. 


Thomas  J.  Berckheimer.  private,  27,  May  4,  1898, 
July  30,  1899.     Dishonorably  discharged. 

I)ROI>PED. 

Henry   S.   Sheldon,   artificer.      Did   not   appear   for 
muster. 

George    J.    Quardt.    private.      Did    not    appear    for 
muster. 

COMPANY  L. 

William   McLaughlin,   captain,   3li,   April   25.   1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Walter  S.  Doolittle.  first  lieutenant.  23.  April   28. 


1898,  October  5.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  first  sergeant 
Company  B.  First  South  Dakota  Infantry,  U.  S.  V. 
Appointed  second  lieutenant.  Appointed  first  lieu- 
tenant and  assigned  to  Company  L,  July  23,  1898. 

George  E.  Barker,  second  lieutenant,  20,  April  25, 
1898,  October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  first  sergeant 
Company  A,  First  South  Dakota  Infantry,  U.  S.  V. 
Appointed  second  lieutenant  and  assigned  to  Com- 
pany L,  August  10,  1899. 

George  G.  Ainsworth,  first  sergeant,  30.  April  25, 
1898.  October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  sergeant.  Ap- 
pointed first  sergeant. 

Robert  B.  Ross,  sergeant.  23.  April  25.  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,   1899. 

Marion  D.  McMahan.  sergeant,  28,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899,  Mustered  in  as  regimental  quarter- 
master sergeant.  Reduced  to  private  at  his  own  re- 
quest and  assigned  to  Company  L.  Appointed  ser- 
geant. 

John  L.  Wells,  quartermaster  sergeant.  24.  April 
25.  1898.  October  5.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private. 
.\ppointed  corporal,  then  sergeant,  then  quartermas- 
ter sergeant.  , 

Edwin  A.  Watson,  sergeant.  24.  May  2.  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  corporal.  Appointed 
sergeant. 

Gus  A.  Holton,  sergeant.  20.  May  2.  1898.  O^-tober 
"..  1899.  Mustered  in  as  corporal.  Appointed  ser- 
<;eant. 

Jesse  R.  Shafer,  corporal,  July  16.  1898.  October 
.".  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private  Company  F,  First 
South  Dakota  Infantry.  U.  S.  V.  Transferred  from 
Company   F  August   6,   1898.     Appointed   corporal. 

William  C.  Schmoker,  corporal,  29,  May  2,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
lance  corporal,  then  corporal. 

William  H.  McManus.  corporal.  25.  April  26.  1898. 
October  5.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
corporal. 

John  J.  Crist,  corporal,  35.  April  26,  1898,  0;-o 
ber  5.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  mu 
sician,  then  corporal. 

Lewis  R.  Sharpe,  corporal,  19,  April  25,  1898,  Octo 
ber  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  cor 
poral. 

Henry  Roberts,  corporal.  30,  May  2.  1898,  Octobei 
5,  1899.    Mustered  in  as,  private.    Appointed  corporal 

Thomas  R.  Davis,  musician,  24,  April  26,  1898 
October  5,  1899.     Mustered  in  as  private.     Appointed 


21.    May    15,    1898. 
private.     Appointed 


Frank  C.  Barnett.  nu 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered 
musician. 

Ira  L.  Hazleton.  artificer.  20,  April  25,  1898.  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Overcome  by  heat  at  battle  of  Calum- 
plt,  Philippine  Islands.  April  25,  1899. 


450 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


William    G.    Stufft,    wagoner,    35,   April   25,    1 
October  5,  1S99.     Mustered  in  as  private.     Appointed 
wagoner. 

Ralph  A.  Blackwell,  private,  23,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

John  Burin,  private,  26,  April  25,  1898,  October  5, 
1899. 

Victor  Buxton,  private,  22,  April  25,  1898,  October 
William  H.  Cline.  private,  35,  April  25,  1898,  Octo 
ber  5,  1899. 

Frederick  F.  Davis,  private,  28,  April  25,  1898 
October  5,  1899. 

James  H.  Davis,  private,  25,  April  26,  1898,  Octo 
ber  5,  1899.  Wounded  in  right  foot,  at  Calumpit 
Philippine  Islands,  April  25,  1899. 

Otto  P.  Georgeson,  private,  21,  May  15,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Lewis  M.  Hime,  private,  39,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber  5,   1899. 

Joseph  Holmer,  private,  29,  May  15,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Frederick  R.  Lubker,  private,  23,  May  15,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Blaine  Mealey,  private,  34,  April  26,  1898,  Octo 
ber  5,  1899. 

William  L.  Mabbott.  private,  23.  May  15,  189S 
October   5,   1899. 

Charles  J.  McClendon,  private,  20,  April  25,  1S98 
October  5,  1899. 

Charley  W.  McHugh,  private,  23,  April  26,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

August  C.  Moses,  private,  26,  May  15,  1898,  Octo 
ber  5.  1899. 

'  Allison  Myers,  private,  21.  May  15.  1898,  October 
5,  1899.  Wounded  in  right  hand  and  arm  at  battle 
of  Meycauayan,  Philippine  Islands,  March  26,  1899. 

George  Nelson,  private,  28,  April  26,  1898,  Octo- 
ber  5,   1899. 

Joseph  Nenzel,  private,  22,  May  2,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Thomas  F.  O'Brien,  private,  22,  May  15,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

William  F.  Radecke.  private,  19,  May  15,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

George  B.  Redding,  private,  26,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Otto  E.  Ross,  private,  27,  May  15,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Percy  Ross,  private.  19,  April  25,  1898,  October  5, 
1899. 

Dietrich  Schrader.  private,  29.  April  26,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

Fred  Schrier,  private,  35.  April  26.  1898.  October 
5,  1899. 

Alfred  C.  Schrivens,  private,  28,  April  26,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 


Albert  Siebert,  private,  24,  April  26,  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Axel  L.  Sjoblom,  private,  19,  May  15,  1898,  October 
5,  1899.  Wounded  in  left  hand,  at  second  trench, 
battle  Pulilan,   Philippine   Islands,  April  25,   1899. 

Oscar  G.  Stevens,  private,  22,  April  26,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Anthony  Sweeney,  private,  July  12,  1898. 

Henry  Syverson,  private,  32,  April  20,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

William  M.  Wallick,  private,  June  28,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Guy  O.  Walford,  private,  19,  April  25,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

DISCHARGED   FOR  DISABILITY. 

Fred  C.  I.orencen,  private,  19,  May  15,  1898, 
August  9,  1899.  Wounded  in  left  chest,  at  battle  of 
Meyacauayan,   Philippine   Islands,   March  26,   1899. 

John  F.  Rogers,  private,  23,  May  15,  1898,  August 
21,  1899.  Wounded  in  back,  battle  of  Guiguinto,  Phil- 
ippine Islands,   March  29,  1899. 

DISCHAEGED    BY    ORDER. 

John  Q.  A.  Braden,  first  lieutenant,  41,  May  8, 
1898,  July  14,  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila,  Philip- 
pine Islands. 

George  H.  Crabtree,  second  lieutenant,  29,  April 
26,  1898,  June  21,  1899.  Discharged  to  accept  commis- 
sion   as    first    lieutenant. 

Jay  W.  Beck,  second  lieutenant,  23,  April  26,  1898. 
August  10,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
lance  corporal,  then  regimental  sergeant  major  and 
transferred  to  non-commissioned  staff.  Discharged 
and  mustered  in  as  second  lieutenant,  June  22,  1899, 
and  assigned  to  Company  L.  Discharged  to  accept 
promotion  as  first  lieutenant  and  adjutant  First 
South    Dakota  Voliinteer   Infantry. 

Amos  Patriquin,  first  sergeant,  33,  April  25,  1898, 
April  12,  1899.  Discharged  to  accept  commission  as 
second  lieutenant. 

Anton  Jurich,  Jr.,  quartermaster  sergeant,  23, 
April  26,  1898.  August  22,  1899.  Wounded  in  left 
elbow  at  Calumpit,  Philippine  Islands,  April  25,  1899. 

Earl  Whaley.  sergeant,  27,  April  25,  1898,  August 
9,  1899.     Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands. 

Otto  T.  Craig,  corporal,  22,  April  25,  1898,  August 
28,  1899. 

William  Barr.  private,  July  2,  1898,  July  1.  1839. 
Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands. 

Moses  M.  Bowen,  private.  32,  April  26.  1S98.  Au- 
gust 9,  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila.  Philippine 
Islands. 

Fred  C.  Brunger.  private,  27,  April  25,  1898,  'Sep- 
tember 6,  1899.  Wounded  in  left  arm  at  Marilao, 
Philippine  Islands,  March  27,  1899. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


451 


Joseph  C.  Brooks,  private,  27,  April  25,  1898,  July 
15,  1899.     Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands. 

Horace  M.  Bramham,  private,  30,  May  2,  1898,  July 
15,  1899.     Discharged  at  Manila,   Philippine  Islands. 

Philip  Curran,  private,  31,  April  26,  1898,  August 
9,  1899.     Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands. 

John  Duffy,  private,  36,  May  1,  1898,  July  15, 
1899.     Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands. 

Oscar  W.  Horney,  private,  30,  April  25,  189S, 
July    1,     1899.      Discharged    at    Manila,     Philippine 


William  Hamilton,  private,  32,  April  26,  1898, 
August  22,  1899. 

Isaac  Harry,  private,  26,  April  26,  1898,  August 
28,  1899. 

Charles  L.  Kelly,  private,  June  20,  1898,  July  29, 
1899. 

Edward  A.  McCartney,  private,  22,  April  26,  1898, 
July  15.  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine 
Islands. 

Jerome  B.  Morse,  private,  45,  May  15.  1898.  August 
28,  1899. 

John  W.  Ortman,  private,  34,  April  25,  1898,  July 
9,  1899.  Wounded  in  left  thigh,  at  Guiguinto,  Phil- 
ippine Islands,  March  29,  1899.  Discharged  at  Manila, 
Philippine  Islands. 

Roy  W.  Perry,  private,  25,  May  2,  1898,  Ju'.y  15, 
1899.     Discharged  at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands. 

Knut  K.  Peterson,  private,  23,  April  26,  1898,  July 
15,  1899.  Wounded  in  right  thigh  and  hip.  at  Gui- 
guinto, Philippine  Islands,  March  29,  1899.  Dis- 
charged at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands. 

John  P.  Richardson,  private,  27,  April  26.  1898. 
August  27,  1899. 

Samuel  J.  Surpless,  private,  22,  May  15,  1898,  May 
27,  1898.     Discharged  at  Sioux  Palls.  South  Dakota. 

Orth  D.  Stewart,  private,  27,  April  25,  1898,  Au- 
gust 9,  1899.  Transferred  from  Company  H,  First 
South  Dakota  Infantry,  U.  S.  V..  June  11,  1898.  Dis- 
charged  at   Manila,   Philippine    Islands. 

William  E.  Weller,  private,  41,  May  15.  1898.  Au- 
gust 26,  1899. 

Jesse  Cook,  private,  19,  May  15,  1898,  November 
6.  1898.     Discharged  at  Fort  Meade,  South  Dakota. 

Alfred  Fought,  private,  22,  April  26,  1898,  Novem- 
ber 3.  1898.     Discharged  at  Fort.  Crook,  Nebraska. 

TRANSFERRED. 

William  F.  P.  Ledeboer,  sergeant,  24,  April  25. 
1898.  Transferred  to  non-commissioned  staff.  April 
15,  1899. 

Jay  W.  Beck,  lance  corporal.  23.  April  26.  1898. 
Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  lance  corporal, 
then  regimental  sergeant  major  and  transferred  to 
non-commissioned  staff.  Discharged  and  mustered 
in  as  second  lieutenant,  June  22,  1899,  and  assigned  to 


Company  L.  Discharged  to  accept  promotion  as  first 
lieutenant  and  adjutant  First  South  Dakota  Volun- 
ter  Infantry. 

Thomas  J.  Mahoney,  private,  21,  May  29,  1898. 
Transferred  to  Company  H,  First  South  Dakota  In- 
fantry, U.  S.  v.,  June  11,  1898. 

Oscar  H.  Clark,  private,  25,  April  25,  1898.  Trans- 
fered  to  hospital  corps  First  South  Dakota  Volunteer 
Infantry,  June  26,  1898. 

John  W.  Primmer,  private.  36,  May  15,  1898.  Trans- 
ferred to  hospital  corps  First  South  Dakota  Volun- 
teer Infantry,  June  26,  1898. 

Horace  G.  Vose,  private,  26,  April  2b,  1898.  Trans- 
fered  to  Company  G,  First  South  Dakota  Infantry, 
U.    S.    v.,   July    13,   1898. 

KILLED    IN    ACTION. 

Harlowe  De  Jean,  private,  22,  May  15,  1898. 
Killed  in  action  at  first  trench,  Pulllan,  Philippine 
Islands,  April  24,  1899. 

DIED    OF    WOUNDS. 

David  C.  Dean,  private,  20,  May  15,  1898. 
Wounded  at  second  trench,  Pulilan,  Philippine 
Islands,  April  24,  1899.  Died  April  25,  1899.  Buried 
at  Battery  Knoll.  Grave  No.  220,  Manila,  Philippine 
Islands. 

DIED     OF     DISEASE. 


Jay  L.  Rundell.  sergeant,  20, 
tered  in  as  corporal.  Appointed 
19,  1899,  on  transport  Morgan 
to   Spearfish,   South   Dakota. 

Samuel  C.  Frazee,  private.  25 
of    cerebro    spinal    meningitis. 
San  Francisco.  California.  June 
National    Cemetery,    Grave   No. 
California. 

Newell  E.  Jenks.  private,  22, 
of  pneumonia  in  ship's  hospital, 
July  26,  1898.     Buried  at  sea. 

DESERTED. 


Henry  L.  Wood,  private,  19,  April  25,   1898.     De- 
serted   at    Honolulu,    Hawaiian    Islands.    August    2, 


April  25,  1898.  Mus- 
sergeant.  Died  July 
City.     Remains  sent 

,  May  15,  1898.  Died 
at  French  Hospital, 
19.  1898.  Buried  in 
628,    San    Francisco. 

April  25,  1898.  Died 
S.  S.  Rio  de  Janeiro. 


COMPANY    M. 

Frank  W.  Medbery,  captain,  31,  April  25,  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 

George  G.  Jennings,  first  lieutenant,  23,  April  25, 
1898,  October  5.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  second  lieuten- 
ant. Appointed  as  first  lieutenant  and  assigned  to 
Company  M,  April  13,  1899. 

Hiram  A.  Pratt,  second  lieutenant,  30,  April  26, 
1898,  October  5,  1899.     Mustered  in  as  sergeant.    Ap- 


HISTORY    OF    SOL'TH    DAKOTA. 


pointed  quartermastermaster  sergeant,  first  sergeant. 
Appointed  second  lieutenant  and  assigned  to  Company 
M,  April   12.  1899. 

Henry  F.  Spethman,  first  sergeant.  32.  April  2.5. 
1898,  October  5.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  corporal.  Ap- 
pointed sergeant,  then  first  sergeant. 

John  P.  Smith,  quartermaster  sergeant.  27.  April 
30,  1898,  October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Ap- 
pointed corporal,  then  sergeant,  then  quartermaster 
sergeant. 

Elmer  H.  Olmsted,  sergeant.  29.  April  25.  1898 
October  5,  1899. 

Fred  Wheeler,  sergeant.  22.  April  28,  1898.  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  cor 
poral.  then  sergeant. 

John  P.  Haslan.  sergeant,  July  16.  1898.  October 
5.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  ser 
geant. 

Forrest  ilerrin.  sergeant.  22,  April  25.  1898.  Octo 
ber  5.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  cor 
poral.   then  sergeant. 

Elisha  L.  Olmsted,  corporal.  23.  April  25.  1898, 
October  5.  1S9». 

Frank  Moderegger.  corporal.  22.  May  14.  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
lance  corporal,  then  corporal. 

Frank  P.  McMahon.  corporal.  29.  April  29.  1898 
October  5,  1899. 

Wayne  B.  Larrabee.  corporal.  22,  April  30,  1898 
October  5.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private  in  Company 
G.  Transferred  from  Company  G,  First  South 
kota  Infantry.  U.  S.  V..  October  5.  1898.  Appointed 
corporal. 

Ira  B.  Holtzclaugh.  corporal.  26,  April  30,  1898. 
October  5.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
lance  corporal,  then  corporal. 

Eugene  Parrish,  corporal,  20.  April  25,  1898.  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  cor- 
poral. 

Leroy  Smith,  lance  corporal,  22.  April  28.  1S9S, 
October  5,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
lance  corporal. 

Charles  Hultberg.  musician.  22.  April  28.  1898, 
October  5.  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
musician.  Wounded  in  battle  at  Trenches.  February 
23,  1899. 

Hans  Rasmussen.  artificer,  24,  April  25.  1898.  Octo- 
ber 5,   1899. 

John  H.  Stark,  wagoner.  31,  April  25.  1898.  Octo- 
ber 5,  1S99.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  wag- 
oner. 

Von  Ressler  Blondin,  private.  .April  25,  1898.  Octo 
ber  5,  1899. 

Frank  Comyns.  private.  July  14.  1898.  October  5, 
1899. 

John  Donnley.  private,  24,  April  30,  1898,  October 


5,  1899.  Wounded  in  battle  of  Guiguinto.  Philippine 
Islands,  March  29,  1899. 

Robert  N.  Estrup.  private.  29.  April  27.  1898.  Octo 
ber  5,   1899. 

Herbert  J.  Faulk,  private,  20.  April  25.  1898,  Octo 
ber  5,  1899. 

Samuel  D.  Fister.  private,  31.  April  30.  1S9S.  Octo 
ter  5,  1899. 

William  F.  Goddard.  private,  21.  April  25.  1898 
October  5,  1899. 

Thomas  Gordon,  private.  34.  April  25,  1898.  Octo 
ber  5,  1899. 

John  O.  Helgeson,  private.  22.  May  19.  1S98.  Octo 
ber  5,  1899. 

Cloyd  Hockensmith,  private.  26,  April  30,  1898 
October  5,  1899. 

John  L.  Hockensmith,  private,  22,  April  30,  1S98 
October  5,  1899. 

Barney  Houghtaling.  private.  22.  May  14.  1898 
October  5.  1899. 

Oscar  R.  House,  private.  20.  May  14.  1898.  October 
5.  1899. 

Jesse  T.  Hume,  private,  20.  April  25.  1898,  October 
5,  1899. 

Alfred  Jacob,  private,  24.  May  14.  1898,  October 
5  1899. 

William  Lewis,  private,  22,  April  26,  1898.  Octo- 
ber  5.   1899. 

Curvin  Marsh,  private.  30.  April  26.  1S9S.  October 
5,   1899. 

Wilfred  Martin,  private,  27.  April  27,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5.  1899.  Transferred  from  Company  A.  First 
South  Dakota  Infantry.  U.  S.  V..  February  2,  1899. 

Charles  M.  McCue.. private.  25.  May  14,  1898,  Octo- 
ber 5.  1899. 

Luther  McNutt.  private,  36,  April  28,  1898.  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Fred  Mitchell,  private.  25.  April  30,  1898,  October 
r\  1899.  Wounded  in  left  hand  at  battle  of  Simon. 
Philippine  Islands.  May  14,  1899. 

William  H.  Nelson,  private.  27.  April  25.  1898, 
October  5.  1899. 

William  C.  Nolan,  private.  37.  April  25.  1898. 
October  5,  1899. 

Elmer  H.  Oliphant.  private.  25.  April  30.  1898. 
October  5.  1899. 

Wilber  A.  Olmsted,  private,  32,  April  25.  1898. 
October  5.  1899. 

Charles  O.  Olson,  private.  25.  May  14.  1898.  Octo- 
ber 5,  1899. 

Bert  Parkson.  private,  22.  April  28.  1S9S.  Octo- 
ber  5   1899. 

Clemens  A.  Peck,  private.  19,   May  14,  1898,  Octo- 


ber 


Peter  A.  Ribb,  pri\ 


Apr 


i.  1898.  October 


HISTORY   OF    SOL'TH    DAKOTA. 


453 


Leonard  F.  Routson,  private.  3tl,  April  27.  189S, 
October  5,  1899. 

Matt  Schueler,  private.  32,  May  14.  189S.  October 
5,  1899. 

Jesse  A.  Smith,  private,  19,  April  30,  1898,  Octo 
ber  5,  1899. 

Ole  J.  Sogge.  private.  23,  Ma.v  14.  1898,  October  5 
1899. 

Wilbur  G.  Spielman,  private,  27,  April  30,  1898 
October  5,   1899. 

Abner  C.  Swilley,  private,  4.5,  April  30,  1898,  Octc. 


Idgar  Teal,  private. 


May 


isgs,  October 


Charles  F.  A,  Theiss,  private,  24,  A.pril  29,  1898, 
October  5,  1899.  Wounded  in  left  side  at  battle  oi 
Guiguiuto,    Philippine    Islands,    March    29,    1899. 

Martin  Thoma.  private,  33,  April  25,  1898,  October 
5,   1899. 

Arthur  Tyler,  private,  37,  April  SO,  1898,  October 
5.  1899. 

William  J.  Wallace,  private.  37,  May  14.  1898, 
October  5,  1899. 


Charles  S.  Hunt,  first  lieutenant,  41.  April  25, 
1898,  July  11,  1898.     Resignation  accepted. 

Henry  Murray,  first  liuetenant,  45,  May  4,  1S98, 
February   16,   1899.     Resignation  accepted. 

DIS0U.\R(;E1)    to    ACCKl'T    COII  .M  ISSION. 

Evan  E.  Young,  second  lieutenant,  20,  April  25, 
1898,  April  12,  1899.  Discharged  to  accept  coraraissiou 
as  first  lieutenant  and  adjutant  First  South  Dako'a 
Infantry,    U.    S.   V. 


l)I.SCII.\K(;lil)    Fcili    DISABII.IT' 

Robert  V.  Carr.  sergeant,  21.  April 
1899. 

19,   Apri 


;,  1S9S,  April 
23,   1838,   No- 


Boyd    Lambert,   serges 
vember  24.  1898. 

David  Elmes,  musician,  29,  May  14.  1838.  August 
17,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  musi- 
cian. Wounded  in  right  leg  at  battle  of  Marilao. 
Philippine  Islands,   March  27,  1899. 

Charles  N.  Day,  private.  38,  April  25.  1898,  Augut 
n,    1899. 

Harry  N.  Myers,  private.  22.  April  25.  1898.  July 
14,    1899. 

Owen  Sheeran,  private.  24,  May  5,  1S98.  Ju'y  19, 
1898. 


William  L.  Schoettler,  (ir=t  sergeant,  21,  April  25, 
1898,  August  2.  1899,  Mustered  in  as  sergeant.  Ap- 
pointed quartermaster   sergeant,   then   first   sergeant. 


Discharged  to  accept  commission  as  first  lieutenant 
First  South  Dakota  Infantry.  U.  S.  V. 

Charles  Zabel,  quartermaster  sergeant,  29,  April 
27.  1898.  August  7,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Ap- 
pointed lance  corporal,  then  corporal,  then  sergeant, 
then  quartermaster  sergeant. 

John  W.  Piatt,  sergeant,  21,  April  25.  1898,  August 

26,  1899. 

Ernest  K.  Painter,  corporal,  24,  April  25,  189S, 
August  15,  1899.  Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed 
wagoner,   then   corporal. 

Hiram  L.  Atwood.  private.  23,  April  30,  1898,  July 
17,  1899.  Transferred  from  Company  K.  First  South 
Dakota  Infantry,  U.  S.  V.,  July  21,  1898. 

Paul  Christman.  private.  41,  April  30,  1898,  April 

27,  1899. 

Martin  Eide.  private,  22,  April  30,  1898,  September 
11,  1899.  Wounded  in  right  arm.  in  Trenches,  Febru- 
ary 23,  1899. 

Charles  H.  Jackson.,  private,  35,  April  26,  1898. 
August  30.  1899.  Wounded  at  Marilao.  Philippine 
Islands,  March  27,  1899. 

Charles  P.  Mullenger,  private,  24,  April  30,  1898, 
July  17.   1899. 

John  O'Connor,  private,  24,  April  25,  1898.  Febru- 
ary 2,  1899. 

Thomas  Parr,  private.  33,  May  17,  1898,  August 
8,  1899. 

Fred  W.  Schneider,  private,  28,  May  14,  1898. 
April   13,   1899. 

Carl  Taylor,  private,  19,  April  29.  1898,  July  17, 
1899. 

Charles  Trusty,  private,  29,  April  25,  1898,  August 
26,  1899. 

John  Joseph  Tompkins,  private.  June  23,  1898. 
September  14,   1899. 


TR-V 


Fred  L.  Burdick,  first  lieutenant,  38,  Apri!  25. 
1898.  Mustered  in  as  second  lieutenant.  Discharged 
to  accept  commission  as  first  lieutenant  First  South 
Dakota  Infantry,  U.  S.  V.,  and  assigned  to  Company 
M.  Appointed  to  quartermaster  January  12,  1899, 
and  transferred  to  regimental  staff. 

Frank  R.  Osborn,  sergeant.  26.  May  14.  1898. 
Mustered  in  as  private.  Appointed  corporal,  then 
sergeant.  Appointed  regimental  quartermaster  ser- 
geant and  transferred  to  the  non-commissioned  staff, 
August   12,   1899. 

John  W.  Allen,  private,  24,  April  25,  1898.  Trans- 
ferred to  hospital  corps  U.  S.  A..  June  26,  1898. 

Frank  Dixon,  private,  26,  April  25,  1898.  Trans- 
ferred to  hospital  corps  U.  S.  A.,  June  26,  1898. 

Frank  Baxter,  private.  May  3,  1898,  Transferred 
from   Company  C,   First   South   Dakota   Infantry,   U. 


454 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


S.  v.,  July  2,  1898.  Transferred  to  Company  C,  First 
South  Dakota  Infantry,  U.  S.  V.,  January  2.  1899. 
Does  not  appear  on  rolls  of  Company  C. 

DIED    OF    \VOUXU.S, 

Charles  B.  Preacher,  first  sergeant,  4.5.  April  25, 
1S98.  Mustered  in  as  quartermaster  sergeant.  Ap- 
pointed first  sergeant.  Wounded  at  battle  of  Mari- 
lao,  Philippine  Islands,  March  27,  1899.  Died  March 
31,   1899. 

William  B.  Smith,  sergeant,  21,  April  25,  1898. 
Mustered  in  as  corporal.  Appointed  sergeant. 
Wounded  in  action.  February  23,  1899.  Died  Febru- 
ary 23,   1899. 

Oscar  Fallen,  private.  23,  April  30,  1898.  Wounded 
at  battle  of  Guiguinto,  Philippine  Islands.  March  29, 
■;S99.     Died  March  30,  1899. 


DIED     OF     DISEASE. 

Wayne  B.  Larrabee,  corporal,  22,  April  30,  1898. 
Died  in  general  hospital,  San  Francisco,  California. 
No  date  of  death  given.  See  roll  of  companies  G 
and  M. 

Joseph  W.  Whitman,  wagoner,  29,  April  29,  1898. 
Died  of  acute  tuberculosis,  at  Cavite,  Philippine 
Islands,   August  26,   1898. 

Olavus  T.  Felland,  private,  25,  April  30,  1898. 
Died  of  smallpox  February  3,  1899. 

Edward  Mancher,  private,  19,  May  14,  1898.  Died 
of  appendicitis,  at  Cavite,  Philippine  Islands,  Sep- 
tember 8,   189S. 

DESERTED. 

Ole  0.  Rugnes,  private,  43,  April  25,  1898.  De- 
serted from  hosiptal  at  Sioux  Falls,  South  Dakota, 
May  30,  1898. 


CHAPTER  LXX\' 


THIRD  UNITED  STATES  VOLUNTEER  CAA'ALRY. 


The  following  is  the  complete  roster  of 
Grigsby's  Cowboys,  Third  United  States  Volun- 
teer Cavalry,  Spanish-American  war,  at  the  time 
of  muster  out,  also  including  the  profession  and 
postoffice  address  of  each  man.  Unless  otherwise 
indicated,  the  postoffice  address  is  in  South 
Dakota. 

Colonel,  Melvin  Grlgsby. 
Lieutenant  Colonel,  Charles  F.  Lloyd. 
Major,  Robert  W.  Stewart. 
Adjutant,  Otto  L.  Sues. 
Quartermaster,  Ralph  W.  Parliman. 
Chaplain,  Galon  S.  Clevenger. 

TROOP   A. 

Captain.   Seth   Bullock,   stockman,   Deadwood. 

First  lieutenant.  Myron  E.  Wells,  engineer.  Lin- 
coln,  Nebraska. 

Second  Lieutenant.  James  E.  Cusick.  mine  in- 
spector. Lead  City. 

First  Sergeant.  George  T.  Etter,  engineer.  Dead- 
wood. 

Quartermaster  Sergeant.  James  H.  Corcoran, 
miner.  Lead  City. 

Sergeants,  Michael  McAylen.  miner,  Lead  City; 
William  A.  Rankin,  stockman,  Deadwood;  Merritt  L. 
Day.  mine  superintendent.  Deadwood;  Con  Sullivan, 
stockman.  Lead  City;  Michael  J.  Mullen,  stockman. 
Lead  City;   Charles  Large,  stockman.  Deadwood. 

Corporals.  Frederick  Meikel,  stockman.  Terry; 
Morris  S.  Johnson,  stockman,  Deadwood;  Joseph  D. 
Wiggins,  soldier,  United  States  army;  Horace  Ross, 
miner.  Lead  City;  Hugh  D.  Ford,  miner.  Lead  City; 
Albert  Smith,  stockman,  Deadwood;  Peter  L.  Ed- 
holm,  stockman,  Deadwood;  William  Gibson,  miner, 
Terry. 


Trumpeters,     Joseph    W.     Languth.    miner.    Lead 
City;    John  H.  Conway,  miner,  Terry. 

Farrier,   Martin  Gilligan,  stockman,  see   remarks. 

Blacksmith,   Andrew     Brower,     blacksmith.    Dead- 
wood. 

Saddler,    Sander   H.   Hecox.   saddler,   Deadwood. 

Wagoner,    James    E.    Huston,    stockman,    on    the 
range. 

Privates,  Armstrong,  Arthur  C,  cowboy.  Dead- 
wood;  Anderson,  Christian,  soldier.  Fort  Meade;  An- 
derson. Eric,  miner,  Terry;  Atkins,  Benjamin  F.. 
miner.  Deadwood;  Ballenger,  Jesse  E.,  miner,  Terry; 
Bartlett,  Frank  A.,  cowboy.  Crystal  Lake.  Minnesota; 
Bandry,  William,  miner.  Terraville;  Blaylock,  Ulys- 
ses A.,  cowboy,  McAllister,  Indian  Territory;  Blod- 
gett,  Eugene,  miner.  Lead  City;  Bransfield,  William 
R.,  cowboy,  Lafayette,  Tennessee;  Bray,  Andrew  N., 
druggist.  Lead  City;  Brotherson,  Thomas,  cowboy. 
Dickinson,  North  Dakota;  Carney.  Louis,  miner, 
Deadwood;  Cafferty,  Patrick  H„  miner,  Lead  City 
Casner,  Dwight,  miner,  Deadwood;  Collins,  Arthur 
L..  cowboy.  Deadwood;  Cook,  John  W.,  cowboy,  Terry 
Denning.  Alfred  H..  miner.  Baltimore.  Maryland 
Demorest.  Jesse  B.,  miner,  Deadwood;  Domke 
Charles,  miner.  New  York.  N.  Y.;  Farley,  Thoma, 
miner,  Terry;  Finley,  Archy  R.,  miner,  Pluma;  Ford 
Cornelius,  miner.  Lead  City;  Frizzle.  William  H..  so! 
dier,  Deadwood;  Fryrear.  Frederick,  miner.  Dead 
wood;  George,  Edward,  cowboy.  Lead  City;  Gilson 
Edward  L.,  cowboy,  Deadwood:  Godberry,  William 
R..  soldier,  Cuba;  Green,  Thomas  J.,  cowboy.  Dead 
wood;  Hardacker,  Guy  V..  miner.  Terry;  Harris 
Martin  L..  miner.  Angels.  California:  Hogan.  Charles 
P.,  cowboy,  on  the  range;  Hunt,  Benjamin  R..  cow 
boy.  O'Neill,  Nebraska;  Huston,  Francis  C,  cowboy 
en  the  range;  Kane  John  F..  miner.  Terry;  Karcher 
Charles  C.  Jr..  soldier.  Fort  Meade;  Kuhn.  Jacob 
cowboy,  Havana,  Cuba;  Lott.  Frank  L..  miner,  Terry 
Linnett,    Large    C.    cook.     Fort    Meade;     Maclaren 


HISTORY    OF    SOL'TH    DAKOTA. 


George  A.,  miner,  see  remarks;  McFarland,  William 
J.,  editor,  Deadwood;  McMahon.  Frederick  W..  miner. 
Lead  City;  McMichael,  William,  miner,  Terry;  Mer- 
aner,  Frank,  miner,  Deadwood;  Mitchell,  Frederick 
C,  cowboy.  Belle  Fourche;  Moore.  Holly  H.,  miner. 
Lead  City;  Neber,  Louis,  cowboy,  Omaha,  Nebraska; 
Oliver,  William  J.,  miner,  Hill  City:  Peterson,  Carl, 
cowboy.  Lead  City;  Purvis,  Ralph  G.,  miner,  Terry; 
Rainey,  Philip  M.,  miner,  Deadwood;  Rickel,  Milton 
C,  miner,  Terry;  Schneider,  Fred  W.,  cowboy,  Scrib- 
ner.  Nebraska;  Smith,  Frank  W.,  cowboy,  Whitewood; 
Stewart,  John  T.,  cowboy,  Whitewood;  Sutterfield, 
Frank,  cowboy,  Terry;  Wells,  Royal  S.,  engineer; 
Deadwood;  Williams,  William  E..  miner,  see  remarks; 
Williams,  William  R.,  cowboy,  see  remarks. 

RE.MARKS. 

Captain  Seth  Bullock;  mustered  in  three  days 
after  the  troop  upon  special  order  from  the  secretary 
of  war. 

First  Lieutenant  Myron  E.  Wells;  on  sick  leave 
in  Chattanooga,  Tennessee,  for  thirty  days  by  special 
orders  from  headquarters  First  Army  Corps  and  De- 
partment of  the  Gulf,  for  disability  contracted  ,in  the 
service  and  line  of  duty. 

Sergeant  Merritt  L.  Day;  originally  mustered  in 
as  sergeant  Troop  A.  promoted  to  regimental  color 
sergeant  July  20,  1898,  per  general  orders  No.  27, 
headquarters  Third  United  States  Volunteer  Cav- 
alry; on  sick  furlough  at  muster-out  of  regiment. 

Farrier  Martin  Gilligan;  died  at  Deadwood, 
South  Dakota,  shortly  after  muster-out.  from  fever 
contracted  at  Camp  Thomas,  Georgia,  in  service  and 
line  of  duty.  He  was  interred  at  Tecumseh,  Ne- 
braska. 

Private  Chris.  Anderson;  re-enlisted  in  ihe  United 
States  army  after  muster-out  of  volunteer  service. 
and  is  now  serving  in  the  First  United  States  Cav- 
alry at  Fort   Meade,   South  Dakota. 

Corporal  Joseph  D.  Wiggins;  re-enlisted  in  the 
United  States  army  after  muster-out,  and  is  now 
serving  with  the  Eight  United  States  Cavalry  in 
Cuba. 

Private  Arthur  L.  Collins;  discharged  upon  sur- 
geon's certificate  of  disability  August  12,  1898,  for 
disabilities  contracted  in  service  and  line  of  duty 
at  Camp  Tnomas.  Chickamauga  Park,  Georgia. 

Private  William  R.  Godberry;  re-enlisted  in  the 
United  States  army  after  muster-out  of  volunteer 
service,  and  is  now  serving  with  the  Eighth  United 
States  Cavalry  in  Cuba. 

Private  Charles  C,  Karcher;  re-enlisted  in  United 
States  army  after  muster-out  of  volunteer  service, 
and  is  now  serving  with  the  First  United  States 
Cavalry  at  Fort  Meade.  South  Dakota. 

Private  Large  C.  Linnett;  re-enlisted  in  the  United 


States  army  after  muster-out  of  volunteer  service, 
and  is  now  serving  with  the  First  United  States 
Cavalry  at  Fort  Meade,  South  Dakota. 

Private  George  MacLaren;  died  of  typhoid  fever 
in  First  Division  Hospital,  Camp  Thomas,  Chicka- 
mauga Park,  Georgia,  summer  of  1898,  and  was  in- 
terred at  Humphreys,  Nebraska. 

Private  William  E.  Williams;  discharged  upon  sur- 
geon's certificate  of  disability  August  21,  1898,  for 
disabilities  contracted  in  service  and  line  of  duty 
at  Camp  Thomas,  Chickamauga  Park,  Georgia. 

Private  William  R.  Williams;  died  of  typhoid 
lever  in  Sternberg  Hospital,  Camp  Thomas,  Chicka- 
mauga Park.  Georgia,  after  muster-out.  He  is  in- 
terred at  Oshkosh.  Wi 


TROOP   B. 

Captain  John  Foster,  stockman.  Chamberlain. 

First  Lieutenant  George  B.  Grigsby,  lawyer,  Sioux 
Falls. 

Second  Lieutenant  John  N.  Wright,  United  States 
Marine  Corps,  Washington.  D.  C. 

First  Sergeant  John  S.  Wells,  cowboy,  Estherdale. 

Quartermaster  Sergeant  Peter  Gardner,  plumber. 
Sioux  Falls. 

Sergeants.  James  S.  Woods,  farmer,  Sioux  Falls; 
John  H.  Kipp.  Thirty-sixth  United  States  Volunteer 
Infantry,  Philippine  Islands;  George  F.  Petrie,  rail- 
roa.d  man,  Sioux  City,  Iowa;  Roy  S.  Avery,  laundry- 
man,  Sioux  Falls;  John  B.  Benson,  cowboy,  Hotch 
City;  Charles  L.  Wade,  farmer,  Flandreau;  Thomas 
W.  Wilkes,  lawyer,  Sioux  Falls;  Walter  H.  James, 
hotel  keeper,  Tyndall. 

Corporals.  Montague  A.  Cass,  photographer,  El- 
dora,  Colorado;  Harry  P.  Bond,  elevator  man,  Went- 
worth;  Charles  E.  Spawn,  cowboy.  Armour;  Thomas 
n.  Marshall,  farmer,  Flandreau;  Jacob  A.  Pritchard, 
lawyer,  Smithland,  Iowa;  Frederick  Jones,  cowboy, 
Oacoma:  William  Rigney,  First  United  States  In- 
fantry, Cuba;   Michael  F.  Lawler,  cowboy,  Kimball. 

Trumpeters,  Henry  G.  Gaskey,  farmer,  Winifred; 
Milton  Douglass,  clerk.  Crow  Creek;  Patrick  W. 
Murphy,  soldier,  Chattanooga,  Tennessee. 

Farrier,  David  G.  Dales,  horseman,  Sioux  Falls. 

Blacksmith,  Joseph  Cloverdale.  blacksmith.  Elk 
Point. 

Saddler.  Carl  Wild,  saddler.  Bristol. 

Wagoner.  Charles  Conklin.  horseman.  Hurley. 

Privates,  Daniel  L.  Anderson,  lawyer,  Elrod; 
Thomas  J.  Arrowsmith,  farmer.  Flandreau;  Mads. 
Askson.  farmer.  Webster:  Harry  L.  Barbour,  farmer, 
Webster;  Algernon  J.  Beach,  clerk.  Sioux  Falls;  Ja- 
cob Beecher,  cowboy,  St.  Louis,  Missouri:  Luther  W. 
Bills,  printer,  Woonsocket;  Harry  T.  Brown,  printer, 
Sioux  Falls:  Arthur  T.  Bryant,  cowboy,  Sioux  Falls; 
George    L.    Burr,    cowboy.    Chamberlain;    George    W. 


HISTCJRY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


457 


Byrnes,  merchant,  Beresford;  Carl  W.  Carlson,  cow- 
l)oy,  PuUwana;  George  L.  Cease,  cook,  Webster;  Wil- 
liam P.  Copelin,  clerk.  Sioux  Falls;  Augustus  Crea- 
son,  farmer,  Morton,  Missiouri;  Nicholas  Engler, 
farmer,  Bristol;  Perry  E.  Erickson,  farmer,  Canton; 
Hans  Fors,  farmer,  Brookings;  Frederick  J.  Foster, 
cowboy,  Clark;  George  E.  Grimes,  cowboy,  Ellis; 
Emery  F.  Hardin,  horseman,  Ross,  Iowa;  Thomas  W. 
Hicks,  cowboy,  Santee  Agency,  Nebraska;  Charles  H. 
Hill,  horseman,  Luverne,  'Minnesota;  John  N.  Hol- 
lan,  clerk,  Wentworth;  Clinton  C.  Jenkins,  cowboy, 
Waubay;  Samuel  E.  Johnson,  cowboy,  Henry;  El- 
mer E.  Kearney,  cowboy.  Chamberlain;  Pearl  R.  Kel- 
sey,  lawyer,  Mankato,  Minnesota;  John  A.  Knott, 
laborer,  Bristol;  Walter  Knowles,  laborer,  Sioux 
Falls;  John  Law,  farmer,  Sioux  Falls;  William  F. 
Lawler,  cowboy.  Kimball;  William  H.  Lee,  carpenter, 
Yankton;  Roy  Lovell,  cowboy,  Pukwana;  Martin  J. 
McCormick,  farmer,  Flandreau;  Robert  S.  McDon- 
ald, proofreader,  South  Africa;  William  Mahaney, 
cook,  Webster;  Frederick  W.  Manson,  clerk,  Sioux 
Falls;  James  Mattison,  cowboy,  Sioux  Falls;  John 
McKeon,  clerk,  Sioux  Falls,  James  E.  Patten, 
publisher,  Salem:  Tobias  Rodemaker,  cowboy, 
Sioux  Falls;  Clark  D.  Sanders,  publisher,  Flan- 
dreau; Elmer  E.  Sanderson,  cowboy,  Sioux  Falls; 
Clarence  W.  Spawn,  cowboy,  Brandt  Lake;  James  L. 
Spawn,  cowboy,  Brandt  Lake;  Howard  Squires, 
school  teacher,  Flandreau;  Harry  L.  Stevens,  cow- 
boy. Crow  Creek;  Everett  L.  Stevens,  cowboy.  Crow 
Creek;  Frank  J.  Suckey,  photographer,  Millerville, 
Minnesota;  Charles  Thompson,  cowboy.  Interior;  El- 
mer Wager,  cowboy,  Pukwana;  Thomas  Waring, 
farmer,  Ellis;  Samuel  Webb,  liveryman,  Mitchell; 
William  E.  Wilkes,  actor,  Sioux  Falls;  John  L.  Wil- 
liams,  cowboy,   Sioux   Falls. 

REMARKS. 

First  Sergeant  Pearl  R.  Kelsey;  enrolled  as  first 
sergeant;  reduced  to  duty  sergeant  per  troop  order, 
August  6,  189S;  reduced  to  rank  of  private  by  his 
own  request  August  6,  1898.  On  sick  furlough  at 
time   of  muster-out  of  regiment. 

Sergeant  Thomas  W.  Wilkes;  enrolled  as  sergeant 
and  served  as  such;  on  detail  at  regimental  head- 
quarters as  postmaster  from  May  28  to  July  11,  1898; 
sick  in  hospital  with  malarial  poisoning  and  dis- 
charged on  surgeon's  certificate  of  disability  on  July 
21,  1898. 

Sergeant  James  E.  Patten;  originally  enrolled  and 
mustered  in  as  sergeant;  reduced  to  private  at  his 
own  request  August  25,  1898,  per  general  orders  No. 
58.  headquarteres  Third  United  States  Volunteer 
Cavalry;  furloughed  August  25,  1898,  on  account  of 
injuries  contracted  in   the  service  and  line  of  duty. 

30 


Was  on  sick  furlough  at  the  time  of  muster-out  of 
the  regiment. 

Trumpeter  Patrick  W.  Murphy;  served  as  acting 
chief  trumpeter  of  the  regiment  from  muster-in  to 
July  6,  1898*  dishonorably  discharged  per  special 
order  No.  57,  series  of  1898,  headquarters  First  Army 
Corps  and  Department  of  the  Gulf,  in  pursuance 
with  sentence  of  general  court  martial  July  15,  1898. 
Sentence  of  court  martial  was  disapproved  and  Mur- 
phy restored  to  duty  by  headquarters  of  the  army 
subsequent  to  muster-out  of  regiment. 

Sergeant  John  H.  Kipp;  originally  enrolled  as 
corporal,  and  served  on  detail  in  office  of  regimental 
quartermaster  and  detailed  as  acting  brigade  quarter- 
master sergeant.  First  Cavalry  Brigade;  promoted 
sergeant  July  25,  1898,  per  general  orders  No  2'> 
headquarters  Third  United  States  Volunteer  Cavalry' 
re-enhsted  in  Thirty-sixth  United  States  Volunteer 
Intantrj ,  and  at  present  writing  is  serving  as  quarter- 
master sergeant  of  the  said  regiment. 

Sergeant  George  F.  Petrie;  originally  enrolled  and 
mustered  in  as  private;  promoted  sergeant  per  gen- 
eral orders  No.  22,  headquarters  Third  United  States 
Volunteer  Cavalry,  July  25,  1898. 

Sergeant  Walter  H.  James;  originallv  mustered 
in  as  sergeant;  honorably  discharged  August  15  1898 
upon  surgeon's  certificate  of  disability 

Sergeant  Roy  S.  Avery;  originally  enrolled  and 
mustered  m  as  corporal;  promoted  to  sergeant  Au- 
gust 25,  1898,  per  general  orders  No.  58,  headquarters 
Third  United  States  Volunteer  Cavalry. 

Sergeant  John  B.  Benson;  originally  enrolled  and 
mustered  in  as  private;  appointed  corporal  July  29 
1898.  per  general  orders  No.  37,  headquarters  Third 
United  States  Volunteer  Cavalry,  and  promoted  ser- 
geant August  25.  1898,  per  general  orders  No  58 
headquarters  Third  United  States  Volunteer  Cav- 
alry. 

Corporal  Jacob  A.  Prichard;  originallv  enrolled 
and  mustered  in  as  private;  appointed  corporal  July 
-5  1898.  per  general  orders  No.  32.  headquarters 
Third  United  States  Volunteer  Cavalry 

Corporal  Frederick  Jones;  originallv  enrolled  and 
mustered  in  as  private;  promoted  corporal  August  25, 
1898,  per  general  orders  No.  58.  headquarters  Third 
United  States  Volunteer  Cavalry. 

Corporal  William  Rigney;  originally  enrolled  and 
mustered  in  as  private;  promoted  corporal  August 
-5  1S98,  per  general  orders  No.  58.  headquarters 
Third  United  States  Volunteer  Cavalry;  was  sick  in 
Sternberg  Hospital,  Camp  Thomas,  Georgia,  at  the 
lime   of  muster-out  of  the  regiment. 

Corporal  Michael  P.  Lawler;  originallv  enrolled 
and  mustered  in  as  private;  promoted  to  corporal 
August  25,  1898,  per  general  orders  No.  58,  headquar- 
ters Third  United   States  Volunteer  Cavalry 


458 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Blacksmith  Joseph  W.  Coverdale:  foot  injured  in 
service   and   line  of  duty. 

Trumpeter  Milton  Douglass;  originally  enrolled 
and  mustered  in  as  corporal;  reduced  to  private  at 
his  own  request  July  29.  1898,  and  appointed  trump- 
eter July  31.  1898.  per  troop  orders. 

Wagoner  Charles  Conklin;  originally  enrolled  and 
mustered  in  as  private;  promoted  to  troop  wagoner 
per  troop  orders  July  21.  1898;  was  sick  in  Stern- 
berg Hospital.  Camp  Thomas.  Georgia,  at  muster-out 
of  regiment. 

Private  Mads  Askson;  was  on  sick  furlough  at 
time  of  muster-out  of  regiment. 

Private  Harry  L.  Barbour;  was  on  sick  furlough 
at  time  of  muster-out  of  regiment. 

Private  Algernon  J.  Beach;  was  on  sick  furlough 
at  the  time  of  muster-out  of  the  regiment,  and  died 
at  Champion.  Michigan,  of  disabilities  contracted  in 
the  service  and  line  of  duty.  September  21,  1898. 

Private  Luther  W.  Bills;  originally  enrolled  and 
mustered  in  as  corporal;  reduced  to  private  at  his 
own  request  July  29.  1898.  per  general  orders  No. 
37.  headquarters  Third  United  States  Volunteer  Cav- 
alry. 

Private  William  F.  Copelin;  was  present  with  the 
regiment  at  muster-out.  after  which  he  proceeded  to 
Hot  Springs.  Arkansas,  where  he  died  September  23, 
1898. 

Private  Thomas  W.  Hicks;  originally  enrolled  and 
mustered  in  as  sergeant;  reduced  to  private  at  his 
own  request  and  detailed  as  ambulance  driver  in 
regimental  hospital  corps,  per  special  orders  No.  62, 
July  23,  1898. 

Private  George  W.  Byrnes;  detailed  as  hospital 
attendant  June  20.  1898.  per  special  orders  No.  1, 
headquarters  Third  United  States  Volunteer  Cavalry. 
Private  Clinton  C.  Jenkins;  detailed  as  hospital 
attendant  June  20.  1898.  per  special  orders  No.  1, 
headquarters  Third  United  States  Volunteer  Cavalry. 
Private  John  A.  Knott;  on  sick  furlough  at  the 
time  regiment  was  mustered  out.  Origin  not  stated. 
Private  Benjamin  Mattison;  deserted  at  Camp 
Thomas.  Georgia.  July  28;  apprehended  at  Nashville. 
Tennessee.  July  29.  1898.  and  returned  to  Camp 
Thomas.  Georgia,  under  guard  consisting  of  Sergeant 
Peter  Gardner  and  Private  John  McKeon,  and  placed 
in  confinement  at  the  latter  place  August  1.  1898; 
was  in  confinement,  awaiting  trial  for  desertion,  at 
the  time  regiment  was  mustered  out. 

Private  John  McKeon;  injured  in  the  line  of  duty 
at  Camp  Thomas,  Georgia.  August  24.  1898. 

Private  Tobias  Rodemaker;  appointed  troop  wag- 
oner June  1,  189'8,  and  returned  to  duty  as  private 
July  1.  1898;  was  on  sick  furlough  at  the  time  of 
muster-out  of  the  regiment. 

Private  Robert  S.  McDonald;  honorably  discharged 


upon  surgeon's  certificate  of  disability,  for  disabili- 
ties contracted  in  the  service  and  line  of  duty,  Au- 
gust 18,  1898. 

Private  John  Law;  honorably  discharged  upon 
surgeon's  certificate  of  disability,  for  disabilities 
contracted  in  the  service  and  line  of  duty.  August  16. 
1898. 

I  Private   Roy    Lovell;    honorably    discharged    upon 

'  surgeon's  certificate  of  disability,  for  disabilities  con 
tracted  in  the  service  and  line  of  duty.  August  15. 
1898. 

Private  Harry  L.  Stevens;  sick  in  Sternberg  Hos- 
pital, Camp  Thomas,  Georgia,  at  the  time  of  muster- 
out   of    regiment. 

1  Private  Everett  Stevens;  originally  mustered  in 
as  corporal  Troop  E,  same  regiment;  transferred  to 
Troop  B,  Third  United  States  Volunteer  Cavalry,  as 
private,  June  9,  1898,  per  general  orders  No.  14,  head- 
quarters Third  United  States  Volunteer  Cavalry.  On 
sick  furlough  at  muster-out  of  regiment. 

Private  Charles  Thompson;  originally  enrolled 
and  mustered  in  as  wagoner  same  troop;  returned 
to  duty  as  private  June  1,  1898,  per  troop  ordered. 
Was  on  sick  furlough  at  the  time  of  mustering  out 

I    of    the    regiment. 

Private  Samuel  Webb;  injured  in  the  line  of  duty. 
On  sick  furlough  at  the  time  of  muster-out  of  the 
regiment. 

Private  William  E.  Wilkes;  honorably  discharged 
upon  surgeon's  certificate  of  disability  August  9. 
1898. 

Private  John  L.  Williams;  sick  in  Sternberg  Hos- 
pital. Camp  Thomas,  Georgia,  at  the  time  of  muster- 
out  of  regiment. 

TROOP    C. 


merchant. 


Wei: 


Captain.      George      E.      Hair. 
Fourche. 

First    Lieutenant.    Rush     Spencer 
States  Army.  War  Department.         • 

Second  Lieutenant,  Almond  B.  Wells.  Jr..  student. 
Fort  Meade. 

First  Sergeant,  George  W.  Taylor,  barber.  Dead- 
wood. 

Quartermaster  Sergeant,  Andrew  Vogesser,  farm- 
er, Deadwood. 

Sergeants,  Robert  H.  Nemitz,  painter,  Deadwood; 
Ulysses  S.  Griggs,  civil  engineer,  Tama,  Iowa;  John 
H.  Horner,  lawyer.  Deadwood;  William  B.  Dwinnell. 
cowboy.  Belle  Fourche;  Clarence  S.  Chase,  cowboy. 
BeUe  Fourche;  John  W.  Butcher,  soldier.  War  De- 
partment. 

Corporals.  Thomas  Tully.  miner.  Deadwood;  Wil- 
liam H.  Thompson,  carpenter.  Belle  Fourche;  Wil- 
liam Doyle,  brakeman,  Deadwood;  James  W.  Hilton, 
miner.    Deadwood;     Henry    C.    Reeds,    miner.    Dead- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


459 


wood;  Frank  E.  Rochon,  engineer.  Deadwood:  James 
McBride,  cowboy,  Deadwood;  William  A.  Sherrill. 
cowboy.  Belle  Fourche. 

Trumpeters,  Chauncey  Rickard,  clerk,  Deadwood; 
Harry  T.  Elliott,  cowboy,  Deadwood.  I 

Farrier,   George   P.   Thayer,   cowboy,   Deadwood, 

Blacksmith,    Charles    Durematt,    blacksmith.    New 
York,  New  York. 

Saddler.  George  M.   Nyce,  cowboy.   Eighth   United 
States  Cavalry. 

.Wagoner,   Ronald  Bain,  stage  driver,  quartermas-   ■ 
ter   department,   Cuba. 

Privates,  Gideon  Anderson,  farmer,  Deadwood; 
Geot-ge  R.  Armstrong,  cowboy.  Belle  Fourche;  Rupert 
E,  Averill.  miner,  Belle  Fourche;  Harvey  Babcock. 
miner,  Deadwood;  William  R,  Bebb,  cowboy.  Dead- 
wood;  Charles  Burnett,  cowboy.  Belle  Fourche;  Ed- 
ward Burton,  cook,  Deadwood;  Dell  Cabel,  cowboy, 
Deadwood;  Michael  Connolly,  miller,  Deadwood; 
John  W,  Congleton,  painter,  Deadwood;  Fred  L. 
Curtaz.  stage  driver,  Deadwood;  Ellis  Davies,  miner, 
Deadwood;  Noah  Davis,  stage  driver,  Deadwood: 
Stanley  R,  umnick,  miner,  Terry;  John  E.  Doyle,  \ 
carpenter,  Deadwood;  Artimus  Edson,  cowboy.  Belle 
Fourcne;  Joseph  Felt,  fireman,  Deadwood;  Joseph 
Foley,  miner,  Deadwood;  Orlando  B.  Giertz.  cowboy. 
Belle  Fourche;  John  GoUan,  cowboy.  Belle  Fourche; 
Ernest  Gray,  cowboy.  Belle  Fourche;  Vernon  Har-  I 
ley,  cowboy.  Belle  Fourche;  Joseph  W.  Hedrick,  cow- 
boy. Belle  Fourche;  Frank  W.  Hogue,  cowboy.  Rapid 
City;  Fred  Hook,  cowboy,  Deadwood;  Samuel  Hoey, 
laborer,  Deaawood;  Charles  R.  Larrimer,  clerk.  Dead- 
wood;  Leon  J.  Libbey.  cowboy.  Belle  Fourche; 
George  Ludwig,  miner,  Terry;  Theodore  J.  McCo- 
naughy,  cowboy.  Belle  Fourche;  William  McCoy, 
miner,  Deadwood;  Allen  Miller,  cowboy.  Belle 
Fourche;  Isaaore  Molash,  cowboy.  Company  i.  Forty-  I 
fifth  United  States  Volunteer  Infantry;  Edward  W.  i 
Moore,  cowboy.  Belle  Fourche;  Charles  J.  Moritz. 
printer,  Deadwood;  Irving  J.  Morrell.  cowboy.  Belle  j 
Fourche;  Charles  M.  Morris,  cowboy,  Deadwood; 
Harry  H.  Miller,  druggist.  Deadwood;  John  H. 
O'Connor,  miner,  Deadwood;  Michael  P.  O'Reilly, 
sailor,  Deadwood;  John  Odgers,  miner.  New  York, 
New  York;  Peter  Off,  cowboy.  Belle  Fourche;  Peter 
Pearson,  cowboy.  Belle  Fourche;  Melvin  Penn,  cow- 
boy. Belle  Fourche;  Henry  Schipke,  cowboy.  Belle 
Fourche;  Arthur  J.  Schultz,  sta?e  driver,  Deadwood; 
E.  John  Smith,  farmer,  Deadwood;  Harry  Stevens, 
miner,  Deadwood;  Eugene  L.  Stillwell.  cowboy.  Dead-  I 
wood;  Frank  S.  Stillwell,  stage  driver,  Deadwood;  j 
Robert  H.  Stofferson.  cowboy.  Belle  Fourche;  An-  | 
drew  Stream,  miner,  Deadwood;  Clifton  B.  Sylvester. 
cowboy.  Belle  Fourche;  Jerry  Sullivan,  miner.  Dead- 
wood;  Alfred  E.  Swanson,  cowboy.  Belle  Fourche; 
James     Ure,     cowboy.     Belle     Fourche;     Richard     M. 


Waugh.  miner.  Deadwood;  Leslie  W.  White,  cowboy. 
Belle  Fourche;  James  S.  Wing,  cowboy.  Belle 
Fourche. 


First  Lieutenant  Rush  Spencer  Wells;  originally 
mustered  in  as  first  lieutenant  Troop  C,  Third  United 
States  Volunteer  Cavalry;  discharged  July  12,  1898, 
to  accept  commission  in  the  regular  army. 

Second  lieutenant  Almon  B.  Wells.  Jr.;  sick  at 
Chattanooga  at  muster-out  of  troop. 

Sergeant  Michael  O'Reilly;  honorably  discharged 
on  surgeon's  certificate  of  disability  August  17,  1898, 
on  account  of  disabilities  contracted  in  the  service 
and   line   of  duty. 

Sergeant  William  B.  Dwinnell;  on  detail  as  clerk 
in  the  office  of  the  regimental  adjutant  from  June 
20  to  August  19,  1898;  honorably  discharged  by  or- 
der  of   the    honorable    secretary    of    war    August    18, 

Sergeant  Andrew  Vogesser;  on  sick  furlough  at 
the  time  of  muster-out  of  regiment;  not  mustered 
out  with  troop. 

Sergeant  John  W.  Butcher;  absent  sick  in  Stern- 
berg General  Hospital,  Camp  Thomas,  at  the  time  of 
muster-out  of  regiment;   not  mustered  with  troop. 

Blacksmith  Charles  Durematt;  originally  mus- 
tered in  May  2,  1898,  in  Ninth  New  York  Volunteer 
Infantry:  transferred  to  Third  United  States  Volun- 
teer Cavalry  at  Camp  Thomas,  Georgia, 

Saddler  George  M.  Nyce;  absent  on  sick  fur- 
lough at  the  time  of  muster-out  of  regiment:  not 
mustered  out  with  troop. 

Private  George  R,  Armstrong;  absent  sick  in 
Sternberg  General  Hospital,  Camp  Thomas,  at  the 
time  of  muster-out  of  regiment;  not  mustered  out 
viith  troop. 

Private  Edward  Burton;  absent  on  sick  furlough 
at  the  time  of  muster-out  of  regiment ;  not  mustered 
out   with  troop. 

Sergeant  Clarence  C.  Chase:  originally  mustered 
in  as  private;  promoted  to  corporal  May  18,  and  ser- 
geant same  troop  June  2,  1898. 

Trumpeter  Harry  T.  Elliott;  originally  mustered 
in  as  corporal,  reduced  to  private  at  his  own  request 
and  made  trumpeter. 

Private  Joseph  W,  Hedrick;  discharged  on  sur- 
geon's certificate  for  disabilities  contracted  in  the 
i-ervice   and   line  of  duty,  August   18,   1898. 

Private  Fred  Hook;  absent  sick  in  Leiter  General 
Hospital.  Camp  Thomas.  Georgia,  at  the  time  of  mus- 
ler-out  of  regiment;   not  mustered  out  with  troop. 

Private  Leon  J.  Libbey;  discharged  on  surgeon's 
certificate  of  disability  August  18.  1898.  for  disabili- 
ties incurred  in  service  and  line  of  duty. 

Private  Isadore  Molash;  absent  sick  in  Sternberg 


460 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


General  Hospital  at  the  time  of  muster-out  of  regi- 
ment;  not  mustered  out  with  troop. 

Trumpeter  Chauncey  Richard;  absent  sick  in 
Sternberg  General  Hospital  at  the  time  of  muster- 
out  of  regiment;  not  mustered  out  with  troop. 

Private  Henry  Schipke;  absent  on  sick  furlough 
at  the  time  of  muster-out  of  regiment:  not  mustered 
out  with  troop. 

Private  E.  John  Smith;  absent  on  sick  furlough 
at  the  time  of  muster-out  of  regiment;  not  mustered 
out  with  troop. 

Private  Eugene  L.  Stillwell;  absent  on  sick  fur- 
lough at  the  time  of  muster-out  of  regiment;  not 
mustered  out  with  troop. 

Private  Leslie  W.  White;  absent  on  sick  furlough 
at  the  time  of  muster-out  of  regiment;  not  mustered 
out  with  troop. 

Private  Harry  H.  Miller;  originally  enrolled  as 
private  Troop  C,  Third  United  States  Volunteer  Cav- 
alry, promoted  to  regimental  hospital  steward  May 
31,  1898.  and  subsequently  made  chief  steward  of  the 
regiment;  discharged  August  2-5,  1898,  on  surgeon's 
certificate  of  disability,  for  disabilities  contracted  in 
the  service  and  line  of  duty. 

TROOP  D. 
Captain,  John  E.  Hammon,  stockman,  Sturgis. 
First  Lieutenant,  David  F.  Conner,  publisher,  Stur- 
gis. 

Second  Lieutenant,  Walter  L.  Anderson,  lawyer, 
Lincoln,  Nebraska. 

First  Sergeant.  William  N.  Ray.  soldier.  Manila, 
Philippine   Islands. 

Quartermaster  Sergeant,  Edward  C.  Steele,  miner, 
Lead   City. 

Sergeants.  George  F.  Von  Ostermann.  clerk,  San 
Juan,  Porto  Rico;  Franklin  M.  Jones,  farmer.  Fort 
Meade;  Elmer  C.  Parker,  cowboy,  Sturgis;  George 
Cassells,  cowboy,  see  remarks;  Bernhard  Sturtmer, 
cowboy,  on  the  range;  George  D.  Hammon,  sol- 
dier. Fort  Yellowstone,  Montana. 

Corporals.  Charles  C.  Kohrdt,  blacksmith,  Hel- 
ena. Montana;  Ray  Mayhew,  soldier.  Fort  Meade; 
Daniel  Trazivick,  cowboy,  San  Juan,  Philippine 
Islands;  William  J.  Stewart,  miner,  Terry;  Columbus 
Bessant.  cowboy,  on  the  range;  Frank  E.  Drake,  cow- 
boy. Hot  Springs;   John  Watkins,  cowboy.  Deadwood. 

Trumpeters.  John  E.  Hammon,  soldier,  Fort 
Meade;   George  C.  Ebersole,  saddler.  Lead  City. 

Farrier.  Charles  W.  Ranger,  miner.  Hot  Springs. 

Blacksmith,  Charles  W.  Billups,  blacksmith.  Hot 
Springs. 

Saddler,  Theopile  Bonneau.  saddler.  Lead  City. 

Wagoner,  Lawrence  H.  Sargent,  soldier,  Fort 
Meade. 

Privates,    j^ars   Aaberg.   cowboy,   Terraville;    Wil- 


liam Armstrong,  miner,  Terraville;  Christian  Bah- 
ler,  cowboy,  see  remarks;  William  A.  Baird,  cowboy. 
Sturgis;  Marcellus  A.  Blalock,  miner,  Sturgis;  George 
Burk,  cowboy,  Sturgis;  James  Cady,  jockey.  Rapid 
City;  Emll  J.  Casteau.  miner,  Deadwood;  Jack  Cran- 
shaw,  cowboy,  Sturgis;  Clarence  Dangler,  miner. 
Lead  City;  Charles  Eadie,  soldier.  Fort  Meade;   John 

j    T.   Eliason,   miner,   Hudson;    Frank  Ettinger,   miner. 

I  Deadwood;  Charles  L.  Fish,  soldier,  Sturgis;  John 
Fordyce,  cowboy.  Lead  City;  Joseph  Grinnell,  cow- 
boy. Lead  City;  Edward  W.  Hauschild,  cowboy,  Stur- 
gis; David  T.  Henry,  electrician.  Lead  City;  Josef 
Holzer,  miner.  Lead  City;  Joseph  F.  Jaques,  soldier. 
Lead  City;  Carl  L.  Johnson,  soldier,  Sturgis;  Thomas 
Johanson,  soldier,  Sturgis;  Walli  Karki,  soldier. 
Lead  City;  Augustus  Kaun,  soldier,  Sturgis;  Samuel 
Kelly,    soldier    Lead    City;    James   L.    King,    soldier, 

j  Sturgis;  Charles  Ludwig,  cowboy,  Lead  City;  James 
Mansfield,  farmer,  Terry;  Charles  Means,  cowboy, 
Sturgis;  Frederick  Miller,  farmer,  Sturgis;  Thomas 
Olson,  laborer,  Sturgis;  Messick  Parry,  miner.  Lead 
City;  Nicholas  Parsons,  soldier,  Sturgis;  Charles 
Phillips,  cook,  Lytle,  Georgia;  Herman  Rau,  stone 
cutter,  Deadwood;  Ernest  Reed,  cook,  Sturgis; 
George  F.  Robinson,  miner,  Deadwood;  George  R. 
Saunders,  miner,  Deadwood;  James  M.  Skane,  farm- 
er, Sturgis;  Arthur  Schaffer,  miner,  Sturgis;  Charles 
Schneff,  miner.  Two  Bit ;  Frederick  Schwender,  stone 
cutter,  Deadwood;  Roy  N.  Skutt,  cowboy.  Terry; 
Edward  Spence,  cowboy,  Sturgis;  John  Sommers, 
cowboy.  Lead  City;  Henry  Stephan,  miner,  Sturgis; 
William  Stout,  miner,  Sturgis;  John  P.  Summay, 
clerk,  Sturgis;  Frederick  Teasdale,  farmer,  Sturgis; 
George  Thain,  miner,  Lead  City;  John  Thorrell, 
farmer,  Sturgis;  Absalom  Tribbett,  saddler.  Dead- 
wood;  Ubertram  Underbill,  cowboy.  Hot  Springs; 
Charles  C.  Vorce,  cowboy,  Terry;  Frederick  Wales, 
cowboy,  Terry;  Elijah  Waldron,  cowboy,  Deadwood; 
James  P.  Whitehead,  cowboy,  Deadwood;  George  H. 
Wilson,  cowboy,  Portland;  James  W.  Yates,  soldier, 
see  remarks. 

KEJIAEKS. 

Captain  John  E.  Hammon;  served  in  transporta- 
tion department.  United  States  quartermaster's  de- 
partment, in  Havana  and  Puerto  Principe,  Cuba,  from 
muster-out.  September  8.  1S9S,  to  September  11.  1899. 

First  Lieutenant  David  F.  Connor;  detailed  as 
acting  regimental  adjutant  from  June  2  to  August 
22,  1898.  when  relieved  on  account  of  sickness  con- 
tracted in  the  service  and  line  of  duty. 

Second  Lieutenant  Walter  L.  Anderson;  detailed 
as  adjutant  first  sq'uadron  August  5.  1898.  in  which 
position  he  served  until  muster-out  September  8, 
1898. 

First   Sergeant    William   N.    Ray;    re-enlisted     in 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


461 


United  States  hospital  service,  and  is  now  serving 
on  United  States  "Hospital  Ship  Relief,"  and  sta- 
tioned   at    Manila,    Philippine    Islands. 

Sergeant  George  F.  Von  Osterman;  entered  United 
States  service  at  Porto  Rico  after  muster-out,  and  is 
now  clerk  in  civil  department  at  San  Juan,  Porto 
Rico. 

Sergeant  Clarence  Dangler;  originally  mustered 
in  as  second  duty  sergeant,  reduced  to  the  rank  of 
private  August  19,  1898.  per  general  orders  No.  52, 
headquarters  Third  United  States  Volunteer  Cav- 
alry. On  detail  from  June  2  to  June  28.  1898,  as 
acting  brigade  commissary  sergeant. 

Sergeant  George  Cassells;  drowned  in  British 
Columbia  July,  1899,  place  of  interment  not  known. 

Sergeant  George  D.  Hammon;  originally  mus- 
tered in  as  first  corporal,  promoted  to  sergeant  Au- 
gust 19,  1898,  per  general  orders  No.  52,  headquarters 
Third  United  States  Volunteer  Cavalry,  vice  Dangler 
reduced;  re-enlisted  in  First  United  States  Cavalry 
(Troop  M),  and  is  now  serving  at  Fort  Yellowstone. 
Montana. 

Corporal  Daniel  Trazivick;  re-enlisted  in  United 
States  service  after  muster-out.  and  is  now  keeper 
of  a  castle  at  San  Juan,  Porto  Rico. 

Corporal  John  Watkins;  originally  mustered  in 
as  private;  promoted  to  corporal  August  19,  1S9S, 
per  general  orders  No.  52,  headquarters  Third  United 
States  Volunteer  Cavalry,  vice  Hammon  promoted. 

Corporal  Ray  Mayhew;  re-enlisted  in  First  United 
Stales  Cavalry,  in  which  regiment  he  is  now  serving 
as  sergeant  of  Troop  G,  at  Fort  Meade,  South  Da- 
kota. , 

Trumpeter  George  C.  Ebersole;  detailed  in  regi- 
mental band  August  1.  1898,  in  which  he  served  until 
muster-out  with  his  troop,  September  8,  1898. 

Wagoner  Lawrence  H.  Sargent;  re-enlisted  in 
Troop  I.  First  United  States  Cavalry,  and  is  now 
serving  with  his  troop  at  Fort  Meade,  South  Dakota. 

Private  Charles  Eadie;  re-enlisted  in  Troop  G. 
First  United  States  Cavalry,  and  is  now  serving  with 
his  troop  at  Fort  Meade.  South  Dakota. 

Private  Charles  W.  Yates;  died  of  accidental  gun- 
shot wound  October  10.  1898.  at  Long  Pine,  Ne- 
braska, while  serving  in  First  United  States  Cavalry. 
Is  interred  at  Fort  Robinson,  Nebraska. 

Trumpeter  John  E.  Hammon,  Jr.;  appointed 
chief  trumpeter  from  trumpeter  Troop  D.  July  6. 
1898,  per  general  orders  No.  22.  headquarters  Third 
United  States  Volunteer  Cavalry.  Transferred  to 
Troop  D  as  private  July  20.  1898.  per  general  orders 
No.  27,  headquarters  Third  United  States  Volunteer 
Cavalry,  and  reappointed  trumpeter  Troop  D.  Re- 
enlisted  in  First  United  States  Cavalry,  and  is  now 
serving  in  the  band  of  that  regiment  at  Fort  Meade. 
South   Dakota. 


Private  Joseph  F.  Jaques;  re-enlisted,  present 
service   not   known. 

Private  Carl  L.  Johnson,  re-enlisted,  present  serv- 
ice not  known. 

Private  Thomas  Johanson;  re-enlisted,  present 
service  not  known. 

Private  Wallikarki;  re-enli-sted,  present  service 
not  known. 

Private  Augustus  Kaun;  re-enlisted,  present  serv- 
ice not  known. 

Private  Samuel  Kelly;  re-enlisted,  present  serv- 
ice not  known. 

Private  James  L.  King;  re-enlisted,  present  serv- 
ice not  known. 

Private  Nicholas  Parsons;  re-enlisted,  present 
service  not  known. 

TROOP    E. 

Captain,  Joseph  B.  Binder,  stockman,  Pierre. 

First  Lieutenant.  John  W.  Laughlin,  stockman. 
Pierre. 

Second  Lieutenant.  Lowell  G.  Fuller,  hotel  keeper, 
Huron. 

First  Sergeants,  Frank  Ball,  soldier.  Lead  City; 
Wesley  T.  Stafford,  lawyer,  Sioux  City,  Iowa. 

Quartermaster  Sergeant,  Harrie  Grant,  cowboy. 
Fielder. 

Sergeants,  John  P.  Purcell,  cowboy,  Pierre;  John 
W.  Murphy,  cowboy.  Blunt;  John  Ketelson.  cowboy. 
Huron;  George  E.  Seelye,  cowboy.  East  Pierre;  Wil- 
liam De  Witt,  cowboy.  Highmore;  Harland  Staf- 
ford, cowboy,  Huron. 

Corporals.  Clifford  E.  Bradley,  laborer.  Rock  Rap- 
ids, Iowa;  Thomas  K.  Ludlow,  engineer,  Sioux  Falls; 
Carlos  E.  Hensley,  cowboy,  Frankfort;  Richard  W. 
Seiffert,  brick-mason,  Pierre;  Robert  Coleman,  cow- 
boy, Okobojo;  Robert  W.  Lumley,  cowboy.  East 
Pierre;  William  A.  Cleland,  cowboy,  Huron;  William 
J.-  Wagenknight,  lawyer,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 

Trumpeters,  Carl  S.  McCoy,  cowboy,  Faulkton; 
Sim  Goddard.  cowboy,  Shiloh. 

Farrier.  William '  B.  Wolfe,  cowboy,  Lampassas, 
Texas. 

Blacksmith,  Charles  H.  Croome,  horseshoer, 
Pierre. 

Wagoner,  John  C.  Connor,  cowboy,  Pierre. 

Saddler.    Irving   Pritchard,   saddler,   Wesley. 

Privates,  William  Arnold,  cowboy.  Blunt;  John  E. 
Batchelder,  merchant.  Armour;  William  L.  Beyer, 
cowboy,  Onida;  Drew  P.  Blymyer,  engraver,  Minne- 
apolis, Minnesota;  Avry  A.  Brown,  farmer,  Pierre: 
Earl  E.  Boyden,  carpenter,  Hermosa;  De  Witt  S. 
Burnett,  teacher,  Pierre;  Arthur  L.  Carney,  elec- 
trician. Rock  Rapids,  Iowa;  Albert  S.  Clouse,  cowboy. 
Miller;  John  A.  Grim,  farmer.  Pierre;  Charles  W. 
Cook,    cowboy,    Hawley;     Elmer    Dunning,    laborer. 


462 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


\ankton;  Raymond  Dunning,  cowboy,  Armour;  An- 
thony S.  Foucli.  cowboy,  Pierre;  Arthur  F.  France, 
cowboy,  Sioux  Falls;  Harry  L.  Gebhart,  cowboy, 
Pierre;  Martin  Giblin,  cowboy,  Webster;  Henry  H. 
Gregg,  cowboy.  Blunt;  Walter  K.  Haas,  cowboy, 
Pierre;  Clement  P.  Hagan,  laborer,  Waterloo,  Iowa; 
William  L.  Hagler,  veterinary.  Armour;  Luther  P. 
Hanscom.  cowboy,  Pierre;  Walter  L.  Harmon,  cow- 
boy. United  States  Army;  Henry  Hemphill,  cowboy, 
Kimball;  Ernest  G.  Hodgeson,  cowboy.  Huron;  Levi 
M.  Hoisington.  cowboy,  Pierre;  John  C.  Hostetter, 
carpenter,  Pierre;  Amos  C.  Johnson,  barber.  Rock 
Rapids,  Iowa;  Myrt  J.  King,  stage  driver,  Pierre; 
Ernest  G.  Kleinschmidt,  stockman.  Blunt ;  Burt 
Lanning,  merchant,  Yankton;  Herbert  F.  Lawrence, 
cowboy,  see  remarks;  William  Lewis,  cowboy.  Blunt; 
bamuel  J.  Loomis,  laborer,  Pipestone.  Minnesota; 
AValter  A.  Luce,  cowboy.  Pierre;  Charles  R.  McMar- 
tin,  cowboy,  Okobojo;  Scott  E.  McKean,  cowboy. 
Fielder;  Arthur  G.  Nickerson.  jockey.  Pierre;  John 
P.  Nelson,  cowboy,  Pierre;  Bernard  J.  O'Donnell, 
cowboy,  Harold;  Fred  A.  Parkhurst,  farmer.  Miller; 
Algernon  A.  Plunkette,  cowboy,.  Faulkton;  Francis 
R.  Pyle.  cowboy,  Highmore;  Frank  A.  Porter,  cow- 
boy. Fort  Bennett;  William  E.  Riley,  cowboy.  Blunt; 
William  Ritchie,  farmer.  Pierre;  Herman  G.  Roh- 
weder.  laborer,  Goodwin;  Peter  C.  Saftell.  cowboy. 
Fielder;  Carl  Skogstad.  farmer,  Flandreau;  Richard 
C.  Spaulding,  drayman.  Armour;  Charles  T.  Stanage, 
driver.  Yankton;  Everett  G.  Stevens,  cowboy.  Crow 
Creek;  Oren  Strevel,  stockman,  Faulkton;  Elmer  U. 
Tempelton.  farmer.  Pierre;  William  F.  Toothaker, 
cowboy.  Blunt;  Wilbur  C.  Trask,  saddler.  Elrod; 
William  Tucker,  cowboy,  Pierre;  Howard  G.  Urqu- 
hart,  laborer,  Huron;  Elbert  C.  Vilas,  saddler,  Clark; 
Charles  R.  Waldrip,  farmer,  Huron;  Walter  J.  Wil- 
cox, cowboy,  Cheyenne  Agency;  Emory  G.  Woodring, 
cowboy,  Pierre. 

REMARKS. 

Captain  Robert  W.  Stewart;  originally  mustered 
in  as  captain  Troop  E,  Third  United  States  Volunteer 
Cavalry,  May  15,  189S.  Promoted  to  major  same  regi- 
ment May  18,  1898. 

Captain  Joseph  B.  Binder;  originally  mustered  in 
as  first  lieutenant  Troop  E,  Third  United  States  Vol- 
unteer Cavalry  May  15:  promoted  to  captain  same 
troop  May  18,  1898. 

First  Lieutenant  John  W.  Laughlin;  originally 
mustered  in  as  second  lieutenant  Third  United  States 
Volunteer  Cavalry.  May  15;  promoted  to  first ~  lieu- 
tenant same  troop  May  18,  1898. 

Second  Lieutenant  Lowell  G.  Fuller;  originally 
mustered  in  as  first  sergeant  Troop  E.  Third  United 


States  Volunteer  Cavalry  May  15;  promoted  to  sec- 
ond lieutenant  same  troop  May  18.  1898;  detailed  as 
adjutant  second  squadron  July  12.  and  served  as 
such  until  muster-out.  On  detail  as  canteen  officer 
from  May  30,  1898,  to  September  8.  1898. 

First  Sergeant  Wesley  T.  Stafford;  originally 
mustered  in  as  quartermaster  sergeant  Troop  E, 
Third  United  States  Volunteer  Cavalry;  promoted 
to  first  sergeant  same  troop  May  18,  1898.  Promoted 
to  regimental  sergeant  major  July  7,  1898. 

First  Sergeant  Frank  Ball;  originally  mustered 
in  as  sergeant  Troop  D,  Third  United  States  Volun- 
teer Cavalry;  promoted  to  sergeant  major  same  regi- 
ment May  30.  1898.  Transferred  to  first  sergeant 
Troop  E,  same  regiment.  July  7,  1898. 

Sergeant  Harrie  Grant;  originally  mustered  in  as 
sergeant  Troop  E.  Third  United  States  Volunteer 
Cavalry;  promoted  to  quartermaster  sergeant,  same 
company.  May  IS.  1898. 

Sergeant  John  W.  Murphy;  on  detached  service 
from  August  1  to  September  3,  1898,  as  sergeant  in 
charge  of  regimental  band. 

Sergeant  Harland  Stafford;  originally  mustered 
in  as  corporal;  promoted  to  sergeant  May  IS,  1898. 
Acting  sergeant  major  Second  Squadron  July  7,  to 
September  8,  1898. 

Corporal  William  J.  Wagenknight;  enlisted  at 
Camp  Thomas,  Georgia,  June  15,  and  promoted  cor- 
poral, same  troop,  E,  Third  United  States  Volunteer 
Cavalry. 

Trumpeter  Carl  S.  McCoy;  on  detail  in  regimental 
band  as  first  cornet  from  August  1  to  September  8, 
1898. 

Private  Ernest  G.  Hodgeson:  enlisted  in  Troop  E, 
Ihird  United  States  Volunteer  Cavalry,  at  Camp 
Thomas,  Georgia.  June  21,  1S98. 

Private  Herbert  F.  Lawrence;  died  June  13,  1898, 
at  Leiter  Hospital.  Camp  Thomas,  Georgia,  of  typhoid 
fever  contracted  in  service  and  line  of  duty. 

Private  Everett  G.  Stevens;  transferred  to  Troop 
B,  Third  United  States  Volunteer  Cavalry,  June  25, 

Private  Wilbur  C.  Trask;  originally  mustered  in 
as  private  Troop  E;  promoted  to  regimental  saddler 
sergeant,  per  general  orders  No.  5.  May  31,  1898. 

Wagoner  John  C.  Connor;  originally  mustered 
in  as  private  and  appointed  wagoner,  per  troop  or- 
ders. Discharged  August  21,  1898,  on  surgeon's  cer- 
tificate of  disability,  for  disabilities  contracted  in  the 
service  and  line  of  duty. 

Private  William  L.  Hagler;  detailed  as  regimental 
veterinary  surgeon  May  30.  1898.  and  so  served  until 
July  13.  1898;  detailed  in  regimental  hospital  as 
nurse  August  1,  1S98,  and  served  as  such  until  raus- 
terout  September  8,  1898. 


CHAPTER  LXXVIIl 


BENCH  AND  BAR  OF  SOUTH  DAKOTA. 


Just  when  the  control  of  the  action  of  indi- 
viduals, through  the  operation  of  law,  had  its 
genesis  in  South  Dakota  may  not  again  be  known, 
but  certain  it  is  that  the  Rees  and  the  Sioux  had 
well  defined  codes  of  common  law  which  extended 
to  most  of  the  relations  of  their  simple  lives; 
treating  of  marriage  and  divorce,  the  rights  of 
property,  for  the  protection  of  game,  the  preserva- 
tion of  peace,  and  the  observance  of  these  laws 
was  exacted  with  a  fidelity  unknown  to  modern 
days  in  our  civilized  society.  No  rule  was 
adopted  not  essential  to  the  happiness  of  the 
community,  but  the  thing  upon  which  public  hap- 
piness was  dependent  must  be  observed  at  every 
cost.  The  administration  of  these  laws  were 
somewhat  dependent  upon  the  character  of  the 
matter  at  issue.  Every  camp  had  its  policeman, 
appointed  at  the  pleasure  of  the  chief,  and  the  en- 
forcement of  the  law,  as  it  affected  petty  offenses, 
was  left  to  his  arbitrary  will.  Quarrels,  especially 
between  women  and  children,  little  infractions  of 
good  morals,  he  punished  summaril}'  with  a  cufT, 
a  shake,  or,  in  case  of  incorrigibles,  by  more  se- 
vere punishment.  He  was  judge,  jury  and  execu- 
tioner. In  the  more  serious  cases  the  matter  was 
tried  out  in  council  and  the  punishment  fixed  by 
the  council,  and  if  a  capital  offense,  the  entire 
tribe  took  a  hand  in  the  execution.  These  tribal 
councils,  in  which  the  head  men,  with  much  dig- 
nity and  circumstance,  sat  down  to  enquire  into 
an  alleged  offense  against  the  common  law  of  the 
tribe,  and  to  mete  out  the  character  of  the  pun-  j 
ishment  if  the  conviction  ensued  from  the  testi-  | 


mony,  were  the  primitive  courts  of  South  Da- 
kota. The  inquest  by  council,  however,  appears 
to  have  been  employed  only  when  there  was  doubt 
of  the  guilt  of  the  accused.  When  law  was  openly 
broken  within  the  view  of  the  tribe,  the  punish- 
ment was  summarily  administered  by  the  people. 
Or,  if  the  wrong  was  personal  to  some  member 
of  the  tribe,  he  was  left  to  take  his  own  revenge, 
or  to  accept  such  reparation  as  could  be  agreed 
upon  between  the  parties.  The  council,  however, 
frequently  assessed  civil  damages. 

When  the  fur  trade  became  thoroughly  es- 
tablished and  the  substantial  posts  were  built  and 
placed  in  command  of  a  ''burgeois,"  that  func- 
tionary, by  virtue  of  his  position,  became  a  sort 
of  justice  of  the  peace,  having  ver\-  large  powers 
in  the  matter  of  the  preservation  of  the  peace  and 
the  punishment  of  offences.  Kenneth  ^IcKenzie 
and  William  Laidlaw,  at  Fort  Pierre,  were  even 
more  than  mere  justices,  arrogating  to  themselves 
the  prerogatives  of  the  supreme  court.  Their 
jurisdiction  was  of  course  assumed,  being  based 
upon  no  statute.  In  fact  during  the  greater  por- 
tion of  the  fur  period  South  Dakota,  west  of  the 
Missouri,  was  not  within  an\-  civil  jurisdiction. 
Though  they  arbitrarily  arrested  and  tried  men, 
sentenced  and  imprisoned  them,  or  sent  them  in 
chains  to  St.  Louis,  it  is  not  recorded  that  their 
jurisdiction  was  ever  questioned.  Kelsey,  trader 
at  Fort  George  in  1842,  went  even  to  the  extent 
of  shooting  four  incorrigibles  to  death,  and  ]>ublic 
opinion  in  the  neighborhood  quite  justified  his  ac- 
tion, though  he  took  fright  and  went  to  Mexico. 


464 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Had  he  kept  his  nerve  and  sta^-ed  by  his  action, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  he  would  have  been  sus- 
tained and  justified.  The  fact  is,  that  it  was  nec- 
essary for  the  post  commandant  to  dispense  jus- 
tice with  the  iron  hand  if  life  was  to  be  safe  in 
the  wilderness.  It  is  not  asserted  that  any  inno- 
cent man  was  ever  punished  or  tlie  guilty  unduly 
sentenced  by  these  improvised  courts.  These 
courts  were  very  much  like  the  feudal  administra- 
tions in  early  France  and  Germany,  rather  than 
like  the  miners'  courts  set  up  in  the  later  days  in 
the  Black  Hills.  The  latter  were  popular  institu- 
tions, the  ofiicers  of  which  were  elected  by  the  as- 
sembled people,  and  in  which  the  cases  were  con- 
ducted after  the  recognized  procedure  of  the  law- 
ful courts. 

So  far  as  the  record  shows,  the  first  regularly 
admitted  lawA'er  to  enter  Dakota  seems  to  have 
been  Col.  Henn'  Leavenworth,  in  1823.  Leaven- 
worth had  given  up  a  successful  law  practice  to 
volunteer  in  the  war  of  18 12.  He  was  so  success- 
ful as  a  soldier  that  the  authorities  gave  him  a 
commission  in  the  regular  army  and  he  lived  the 
remainder  of  his  life  a  soldier,  and  as  the  visit  to 
South  Dakota  was  a  military  one,  it  has  no  further 
pertinence  to  this  topic. 

Wilmot  W.  Brookings  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice before  coming  to  Dakota  in  1857.  Naturally 
he  did  not  do  much  law  business  in  the  little 
frontier  settlement,  though,  as  we  shall  see.  he 
grew  into  a  high  place  in  the  profession  in  later 
years  in  Dakota.  Henry  Masters,  the  provisional 
governor  at  Sioux  Falls,  was  also  a  lawyer  and 
he  maintained  an  office  and  did  such  business  as 
came  to  his  hand.  He  was  also  justice  of  the 
peace  for  Big  Sioux  county.  His  death,  in  Sep- 
tember, 1859,  c"t  short  his  career.  He  is  reported 
to  have  been  a  lawyer  of  fine  attainments.  He 
may  go  into  history  as  South  Dakota's  first  prac- 
ticing lawyer,  and  first  regularly  appointed  white 
justice  of  the  peace,  the  foundation  stone  in 
South  Dakota's  bench  and  bar. 

The  first  important  case  in  which  a  Soutli  Da- 
kota lawyer  took  part  was  tried  in  Sioux  City, 
in  1859.  S.  B.  Brookings,  a  brother  of  Judge 
Wilmot  ^^^,  was  accused  of  a  murder,  said  to 
have  been  connnitted  at  his  claim  on  the  Iowa 


side  of  the  Sioux  river  near  the  mouth  of  Rock 
river.  He  was  arrested  and  taken  to  Sioux  City 
for  preliminary  examination.  His  brother  ap- 
peared as  his  counsel.  He  was  bound  over,  es- 
caped from  jail,  and  was  never  brought  to  trial. 

Sixty  days  before  the  death  of  Governor  yias- 
ters,  Enos  Stutsman  arrived  in  Yankton  with  the 
first  settlers  there,  on  July  10,  1859.  He  was  an 
able  lawyer,  but  of  course  found  little  opportunity 
to  exercise  his  powers.  The  first  profitable 
business  he  had  in  his  line  were  divorce  cases,  a 
line  of  business  still  said  to  be  profitable  to  some 
Dakota  lawxers.  Enos,  however,  took  a  very  sim- 
ple and  direct  method  of  winning  his  suits.  He 
simply  ran  for  the  legislature,  w^as  elected,  had 
himself  appointed  to  the  proper  committee  and 
then  introduced  the  necessary  bills  directly  divorc- 
ing his  clients.  He  had  splendid  success  until, 
in  1864,  Governor  Edmunds'  Episcopalian  prin- 
ciples got  in  the  way  of  Enos's  brand  of  justice. 
Edmunds  vetoed  all  divorce  bills  and  compelled 
the  lawyers  to  try  their  cases  in  court.  In  one  of 
Enos's  cases  which  Edmunds  vetoed,  as  chairman 
of  the  committee  to  whom  the  bill  was  referred, 
he  reported :  "If  the  defendant  is  not  already  an 
inmate  of  a  state's  prison,  he  ought  long  ago  to 
have  been,"  and  upon  this  showing  the  legislature 
promptly  passed  the  bill.  Notwithstanding  this 
peculiar  practice,  Stutsman  was  a  good  deal  of 
a  man  and  he  impressed  a  good  deal  of.  good 
legislation  upon  the  statute  books  of  Dakota  dur- 
ing the  many  terms  he  was  in  the  legislature. 

The  territory  of  Dakota  was  created  March  2, 
1 86 1,  and  a  short  time  afterward  President  Lin- 
coln appointed  the  territorial  officers,  sending  out 
for  chief  justice  Philemon  Bliss,  of  Ohio,  who 
later  won  reputation  in  the  Missouri  School  of 
Law  and  as  the  author  of  a  well-known  work 
upon  code  pleading.  Bliss  came  against  the  code 
ioT  the  first  time  in  his  Dakota  experience  and  it 
was  here  that  he  conceived  the  notion  and  laid  out 
the  plan  of  his  text  book.  Judge  Bliss  was  as- 
signed to  the  first,  or  Elk  Point,  district  and  held 
some  terms  of  district  court  there  and  elsewhere 
in  the  territory.  He  took  a  claim  on  Brule  creek. 
He  heard  some  motions  in  chambers,  acted  as 
member  of  the  territorial  canvassing  board  and 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


465 


performed  other  statutory  duties,  but  never  sat 
in  supreme  court.  Neither  did  his  associates,  B. 
P.  WilHston,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Joseph  L.  Wil- 
hams,  of  Tennessee.  Wilham  E.  Gleason,  of  Bal- 
timore, Maryland,  came  with  the  first  court  as 
United  States  district  attorney.  With  the  coming 
of  this  court  the  bench  and  bar  of  the  territory 
may  be  said  to  have  for  the  first  time  been  really 
established.  Neither  WilHston  or  Williams  left 
a  record,  or  made  an  impression  from  which  any 
adequate  judgment  of  their  efficiency  may  be  as- 
certained. Gleason  resigned  to  accept  an  ap- 
pointment from  Andrew  Johnson  as  an  associate 
justice  and  after  a  year  resigned  this  place  to  go 
to  Italy  as  a  consul.  He  was  a  somewhat  bril- 
liant lawyer  and  judge,  though,  like  his  prede- 
cessors, he  did  not  sit  in  the  supreme  court,  no 
case  yet  having  arisen  of  sufficient  moment  to 
warrant  an  appeal.  As  a  lawyer  he  was  rather 
imscrupulous  in  his  methods,  and  alter  his  re- 
turn from  Italy  he  engaged  in  practice  in  Balti- 
more, where  he  made  money,  but  was  finally  con- 
victed of  perjury  and'  disbarred.  Gleason  was 
followed  as  United  States  attorney  by  George  H. 
Hand,  who  served  until  1869.  He  was  an  able 
lawyer  and  an  upright  man,  who  throughout  his 
long  public  service  held  the  high  regard  and  re- 
spect of  his  fellow  citizens. 

About  the  time  of  Gleason's  resignation,  an 
entirely  new  court  came  in.  Ara  Bartlett,  of  Min- 
nesota, who  had  been  first  appointed  an  associate 
justice  to  succeed  Williston,  was  promoted  to  be- 
come chief  justice,  and  Jefferson  P.  Kidder,  of 
St.  Paul,  and  John  W.  Boyle,  of  Vermillion,  were 
appointed  as  associates.  Some  appeals  came  up 
to  this  court  and  in  the  spring  of  1867  the  first 
supreme  court  of  Dakota  territory  sat  in  banc. 

The  first  opinion  was  written  by  Judge  Kid- 
der. Except  an  occasional  admiralty  case  grow- 
ing out  of  the  steamboat  business,  there  were  no 
cases  of  importance  in  the  earlier  years,  not  even 
on  the  criminal  side.  It  speaks  well  for  the 
morals  of  the  pioneer  community  that  during  the 
ten  years  of  settlement  not  a  single  murder  oc- 
curred. 

Judge  Kidder  was  the  strong  man  of  the 
bench,  and  was  undoubtedh-  the  first  lawyer  of 


the  territory  of  that  day,  a  position  he  continued 
to  hold  for  many  years.  Gideon  C.  Moody  located 
in  Dakota  in  1865,  but  as  at  first  there  was  too 
little  business  to  fully  occupy  his  time,  he  gave  a 
good  deal  of  attention  to  other  business  interests, 
and  politics.  In  fact,  however  able  a  lawyer  he 
may  have  been,  he  had  little  opportunity  to  dem- 
onstrate his  powers  in  South  Dakota  until  after 
1870.  All  of  the  opinions  of  the  supreme  court 
from  the  foundation  until  1878,  a  period  of  sev- 
enteen years,  made  but  one  small  volume,  half  the 
size  of  the  ordinary  court  report,  and  from  that 
statement  may  be  derived  a  fair  judgment  of  the 
meager  opportunities  afforded  the  Dakota  lawyer 
of  the  pioneer  days. 

In  1869  Bartlett  Tripp  came  to  Yankton  and 
from  that  time  divided  the  honors  of  the  bar  with 
Messrs.  Moody  and  Hand.  Dr.  Burleigh  was  an 
acute  lawyer,  but  gave  his  attention  almost  exclu- 
sively to  private  interests  and  to  politics.  Judge 
Brookings,  always  adventuresome  in  business  af- 
fairs, gave  his  attention  to  a  large  extent  to  ex- 
ploiting the  advantages  of  the  country  as  a  place 
for  home  making  and  to  railway  enterprises,  ex- 
cept during  the  period  from  1869  to  1873,  when 
he  served  as  an  associate  justice  of  the  supreme 
court.  In  1869  Dr.  Burleigh  secured  the  appoint- 
ment of  George  W.  French,  of  Maine,  as  chief 
justice,  to  succeed  Ara  Bartlett.  French  was. 
and  probably  ever  will  be,  the  joke  of  the  Dakota 
bench.  He  was  not  a  lawyer,  but  was  a  boyhood 
friend  of  Dr.  Burleigh  who  wanted  to  do  some- 
thing for  him.  So  he  went  to  his  excellent  friend, 
President  Johnson,  and  requested  him  to  nomi- 
nate French  for  chief  justice  of  Dakota  territory. 
"Is  he  a  good  lawyer?"  asked  the  President.  "I 
don't  know  about  his  strength  in  law ;"  replied 
Burleigh,  "equity  is  his  strong  suit."  French 
got  the  appointment.  He  early  earned  the  sou- 
briquet of  "Necessity,"  because  he  knew  no  law. 
He  was  absolutely  ignorant  of  practice  and  pro- 
cedure. One  of  the  early  cases  which  came  before 
him  was  the  trial  of  his  brother  justice  of  the 
supreme  court.  Judge  Brookings,  upon  an  indict- 
ment for  perjury,  growing  out  of  a  land  deal.  If 
Chief  Justice  French  was  short  on  law.  he  was 
all  right  in  courtesy  and  good  breeding,  and  he 


466 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


realized  that  he  could  not  do  less  than  invite  a 
fellow  justice,  present  in  his  court,  to  sit  with 
him,  so  the  defendant  occupied  a  seat  at  the  chief 
justice's  right  hand.  Early  and  constantly,  in  the 
course  of  the  procedure,  questions  of  law  arose 
which  puzzled  the  unsophisticated  chief  justice, 
but  with  a  brother  justice  at  his  elbow,  he  was 
able  to  render  prompt  decisions,  and  if  they  did 
in  fact  tend  to  strengthen  the  defense,  why,  there 
were  authorities  on  both  sides  of  the  question  and 
the  defendant  was  certainly  entitled  to  the  benefit 
of  the  doubt.  In  1873  Chief  Justice  French  was 
succeeded  by  Peter  C.  Shannon,  of  Pennsylvania, 
an  able  lawyer  of  strong  character,  who  remained 
a  Dakotan  until  his  death  in  1899.  Judge 
Brookings  was  followed  the  same  year  by  Alan- 
son  H.  Barnes,  and  in  1875  Judge  Kidder,  having 
been  elected  to  congress,  gave  up  his  seat  on  the 
bench  to  Granville  G.  Bennett.  Before  this  time 
several  young  lawyers  who  still  occupy  a  high 
place  at  the  Dakota  bar  had  made  their  appear- 
ance in  the  territory.  Among  these  were  John  L. 
Jolley,  who  came  to  Vermillion  in  1866,  and  Cur- 
tis H.  Winsor,  who  located  in  Canton  in  1871. 
John  R.  Gamble  located  in  Yankton  in  1873  and 
was  recognized  as  a  strong  lawyer  from  the 
beginning. 

The  first  great  case  in  Dakota  to  tr\'  the  metal 
of  the  lawyers  was  the  Wintermute  murder  trial 
in  1874.  In  1873  Peter  P.  Wintermute  shot  and 
killed  Edwin  S.  McCook,  secretary  of  Dakota  ter- 
ritory, at  Yankton.  At  the  October  term  of  that 
year  Wintermute  was  indicted,  but  the  indictment 
was  quashed  at  an  adjourned  term  in  January,  by 
Judge  Shannon.  At  the  April  term,  1874,  he 
was  reindicted  and  his  trial  began  upon  May  nth. 
He  was  prosecuted  by  Phil  K.  Faulk,  county  at- 
torney, assisted  by  George  H.  Hand  and  Jason 
Brown,  of  Cheyenne,  and  was  defended  by  Moody 
&•  Cramer  ( the  latter.  Xelson  J.  Cramer,  having 
recently  located  in  Yankton  and  still  is  engaged 
in  practice  there),  Bartlett  Tripp,  William  Tripp 
and  Leonard  Swett,  of  Chicago.  The  defense 
was  "self-defense."  It  was  a  hard-fought  case, 
in  which  Judge  Mondy  and  Judge  Tripp  demon- 
strated their  great  power,  but  their  client  was 
convicted.     The  case  was  appealed  and  reversed 


and  sent  to  Clay  county  for  a  new  trial.  The  ac- 
tion of  the  supreme  court  called  out  an  indigna- 
tion meeting  from  the  anti-Moody  element  in 
Yankton.  On  the  second  trial  John  L.  Jolley  was 
associated  in  the  defense,  which  resulted  in  an 
acquittal.  In  those  days  Richard  F.  Pettigrew 
was  in  active  practice  in  Sioux  Falls.  JMelvin 
Grigsby  was  his  law  partner.  About  this  time, — 
the  date  is  lost, — Judge  Shannon  was  holding 
court  at  the  falls  and  Senator  Pettigrew  and  the 
Judge  were  in  a  continual  altercation.  Pettigrew 
was  sarcastic  and  the  court  irascible.  Pettigrew 
left  the  court  room  and  went  to  his  office,  where 
he  took  all  of  the  money  from  the  safe  and  placed 
it  in  his  pocket.  "What  are  you  going  to  do?" 
asked  Grigsby.  "I'm  going  to  pay  this  out  in 
fines  for  contempt  of  court,"  replied  the  embryo 

senator.    "I'll  let  that  old understand 

that  he  can't  run  over  me."  He  returned  to  the 
court  room  and  at  the  first  opportunity  poured  a 
volley  of  abuse  upon  the  judge.  "Enter  a  fine  of 
ten  dollars  against  Mr.  Pettigrew,"  ordered  the 
court.  Pettigrew  paid  the  money,  tlie  meantime 
keeping  up  a  flood  of  vituperation.  "Enter  an- 
other fine  of  fifty  dollars,"  shouted  the  judge  in 
high  fury;  "I'll  have  it  understood  that  this  court 
is  a  gentleman."  "Give  me  an  exception  to  that 
last  ruling  of  the  court,"  piped  Pettigrew.  Judge 
Shannon  enjoyed  a  good  hit  as  well  as  any  man 
living  and  he  laughed  heartily.  "Remit  the  fine, 
Mr.  Clerk,"  he  said.  After  that  things  proceeded 
more  smoothly. 

The  opening  of  the  Black  Hills  in  1876 
brought  a  new  element  into  the  legal  practice  of 
Dakota  and  there  was  a  rush  of  young  lawyers  to 
that  section.  But  a  few  of  the  early  men  proved 
stayers.  Judge  Bennett  was  assigned  to  the 
Black  Hills  counties  in  the  spring  of  1877  and 
held  the  first  terms  there.  He  was  elected  to 
congress  the  next  year  and  Gideon  C.  Moody  suc- 
ceeded him  on  the  bench.  A  fourth  district  was 
created  by  congress  in  the  spring  of  1879,  and 
Judge  Kidder's  second  tenn  in  congress  having 
expired,  he  was  at  once  appointed  to  the  new 
place,  which  he  continued  to  fill  until  his  death,  in 
the  autumn  i>f  1S83. 

B\-  this  time  manv  of  the  strong  men  whose 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


467 


names  have  made  the  South  Dakota  bar  lustrous 
were  upon  the  ground.  Robert  J-  Gamble  and 
Ellison  G.  Smith  came  to  Yankton  in  1875  ^"<^1 
Levi  B.  French  but  little  later.  E.  C.  Ericson  was 
at  Elk  Point,  Oscar  S.  Gifford,  [Martin  E.  Ru- 
dolph and  T.  R.  Carter  at  Canton,  W.  H.  Lyon, 
Charles  O.  Bailey,  Park  Davis  and  Dana  R. 
Bailey  at  Sioux  Falls,  George  Rice  at  Flan- 
dreau,  George  A.  Matthews  at  Brookings,  the 
Thomases,  Seward,  Glass,  JNIellette  and  Ben- 
nett at  Watertown,  Elrod  and  Sherwood  at  Clark, 
Thomas  Sterling  and  Judge  Poindexter  in  Spink 
county,  A.  W.  Campbell  and  ^I.  J.  Gordon  at 
Aberdeen,  Eugene  Huntington  at  Webster.  H.  S. 
Alouser,  Americus  B.  Melville  and  A.  W.  Burtt 
at  Huron,  Charles  E.  DeLand  and  Coe  L  Craw- 
ford at  Pierre,  H.  C.  Preston  at  Mitchell,  Dick 
Haney  and  Lyman  F'ellows  at  Plankinton,  John 
T.  Kean  at  Woonsocket,  John  H.  King  and  A.  G. 
Kellam  at  Chamberlain,  Robert  Dollard  at  Scot- 
land and  James  D.  Elliott  at  Tyndall.  In  the 
Black  Hills  there  were  Edwin  Van  Cise,  Dighton 
Corson,  William  R.  Steele,  John  R.  Wilson,  Wil- 
liam Gardner  and  others.  It  is  impossible  to 
enumerate  all  of  the  men  who  made  good  posi- 
tions for  themselves  at  the  bar  and  it  is  not  in- 
tended to  make  invidious  comparisons  bv  the  use 
of  the  names  selected,  but  they  are  some  of  those 
who  at  this  late  date  are  recalled. 

Upon  the  death  of  Judge  Kidder,  Cornelius 
C.  Palmer,  of  Vermont,  was  appointed  his  suc- 
cessor, serving  until  1887.  Judge  Moody  left  the 
bench  to  become  attorney  for  the  Homestake  mine 
and  AMlliam  E-  Church  was  appointed  in  1883  to 
succeed  him.  In  1881  Alonzo  J.  Edgerton,  of 
?\linnesota,  was  sent  out  as  chief  justice,  holding 
the  position  until  1885,  when  he  was  followed  by 
Bartlett  Tripp.  Louis  K.  Church,  of  New  York, 
was  appointed  in  1885  to  succeed  .Seward  Smith, 
who  for  a  single  year  was  judge  of  the  central 
Dakota  circuit.  Church  resigned  in  1887  'o  be- 
come governor,  and  James  Spencer,  another  New 
Yorker,  got  his  place.  John  E.  Garland  suc- 
ceeded Judge  Palmer  in  1887  and  L.  \\".  Crofnnt 
was  appointed  in  1888  to  a  new  district,  .\ftcr 
the  election  of  Harrison,   Frank  R.  Aikens   was 


appointed  to  the  Sioux  Falls  circuit.  Otherwise 
the   Democratic   appointees   were   not   disturbed. 

In  i86g  George  H.  Hand  was  followed  as 
I'nited  States  attorney  b\-  Warren  Coles,  who 
was  in  turn  succeeded  b\-  ^^'illiam  Pond  in  1873. 
Pond  died  in  office  and  President  Hayes  at  once 
appointed  Hugh  J.  Campbell,  of  Louisiana,  to 
the  position.  Campbell  was  the  most  aggressive 
man  who  had  held  the  office  and  he  had  an  abund- 
ance of  business.  Among  other  things  he  se- 
cured the  indictment  of  Governor  Ordway  for 
corruption  in  county-seat  deals,  but  could  not 
make  the  indictment  stick.  He  also  had  the  prose- 
cution of  the  Cameron  and  Spaulding  suborna- 
tion of  perjury  cases,  growing  out  of  fraudulent 
land  entries,  as  well  as  the  Cameron-Carpenter 
bogus  scrip  cases.  Campbell  was  succeeded  in 
1885  by  John  E.  Garland,  who  resigned  the  posi- 
tion in  1888  to  become  judge.  William  E.  Pur- 
cell,  of  North  Dakota,  was  given  the  place  and  he 
was  followed  by  John  Alurphy,  who  served  until 
statehood. 

All  of  the  decisions  of  the  territorial  supreme 
court  are  embraced  in  six  volumes,  five  of  which 
were  produced  in  the  last  eleven  years  previous  to 
statehood.  .-\s  a  whole  they  are  a  fair  and  authori- 
tative interpretation  of  the  law  and,  considering 
the  condition  under  which  they  were  produced, 
are  creditable  from  a  literary  standpoint.  Some  of 
them  are  particularly  strong  and  would  have  been 
creditable  to  any  court  in  the  land.  This  is  hardly 
to  have  been  expected,  when  we  realize  that  dur- 
ing the  period  when  five-si.xths  of  them  were 
written  the  judges  were  worked  beyond  all  reason 
in  the  trial  of  jury  cases,  and  were  provided  with 
neither  the  conveniences  nor  the  leisure  for  care- 
ful work. 

During  the  territorial  period  the  requireiuents 
for  admission  to  practice  law  were  very  lax  and 
the  practice  in  relation  to  admission  more  lax  still. 
About  all  that  was  required  in  most  cases  was  to 
secure  some  admitted  attorney  to  move  that  the 
applicant  be  admitted  and  the  certificate  issued  as 
a  matter  of  course,  upon  paying  the  usual  fee  to 
the  clerk.  Thus  it  came  about  that  everywhere 
land  agents  and  insurance  men,  who  had  made  no 


468 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


preparation  for  practice,  were  admitted  to  the  bar 
and  for  a  time  the  profession  was  not  in  good 
repute.  A  few  of  these  ready-made  lawyers  in- 
dustriously worked  themselves  into  good  stand- 
ing in  the  profession,  but  the  large  majority,  after 
a  few  years,  dropped  out  of  sight. 

Statehood  came  with  November  2,  1889,  and 
the  new  supreme  court,  consisting  of  Dighton 
Corson,  of  Deadwood,  A.  G.  Kellam,  of  Cham- 
berlain, and  John  E.  Bennett,  of  Clark.  They 
were  all  lawyers  of  standing  and  gave  the  young 
state  a  dignified  bench.  Judge  Corson  yet,  after 
almost  fourteen  years  of  service,  is  holding  the 
honored  position.  Judge  Bennett,  after  re-elec- 
tion in  1893,  died,  just  as  his  second  term  was  to 
commence  and  Howard  G.  Fuller  was  appointed 
his  successor,  and  he  still  holds  the  position,  hav- 
ing been  re-elected  by  the  people  in  1899.  Judge 
Kellam  resigned  in  1895  and  Dick  Haney,  of 
Mitchell,  was  appointed  to  the  place  by  Governor 
Sheldon,  and  he,  too,  was  re-elected  in  1899  and 
still  serves.  The  judges  are  of  equal  rank  and 
they  annually  choose  a  presiding  judge,  so  that 
each  holds  the  position  in  rotation.  The  opinions 
of  the  supreme  court  of  Dakota  rank  well  with 
those  of  the  western  courts  and  are  quoted  au- 
thoritatively by  lawyers  everywhere  in  the  states. 

William  B.  Sterling  was  the  first  United 
States  district  attorney  for  South  Dakota  and 
served  with  distinction  until  1893,  when  he  was 
succeeded  by  Ezra  ^Tiller,  of  Elk  Point.  Charles 
G.  Howard,  of  Redfield,  was  assistant  to  Mr. 
Sterling  and  Stephen  B.  VanBuskirk,  of  Water- 
town,  to  Mr.  Miller.  James  D.  Elliott,  of  Tyn- 
dall,  followed  Miller  and  is  now  serving  his  sec- 
ond term,  as  is  also  A\'illiam  G.  Porter,  of  Custer, 
his  assistant. 

Robert  Dollard  was  the  first  state  attorney 
general.  Major  Dollard  had  made  wide  fame  by 
the  defeat  of  the  fraudulent  Douglas  county 
bonds.  As  attorney  general,  at  the  period  when 
the  state  machinery  was  first  set  in  motion,  he 
made  an  enviable  record.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Coe  I.  Crawford.  To  Mr.  Crawford  fell  the  ar- 
duous duties  incident  to  the  Taylor  defalcation. 
Alelvin  Grigsby  followed  ]\Ir.  Crawford,  coin- 
cident with  the  first  administration  of  .\ndrew  E. 


Lee.  An  early  break  occurred  between  the  gov- 
ernor and  attorney  general,  rendering  the  admin- 
istration somewhat  stormy.  John  L.  P\le  was 
elected  in  1898  and  served  to  his  death,  in  Febru- 
ary, 1902.  Mr.  Pyle  was  an  able  and  conscien- 
tious lawyer  and  his  early  death  was  a  distinct 
loss  to  the  bar.  Governor  Herreid  appointed  A. 
W.  Burtt  to  the  vacancy.  Philo  Hall,  of  Brook- 
ings, was  elected  in  1892  and  still  serves. 

The  bar  of  the  state  has  been  honored  in  sev- 
eral notable  ways.  President  Cleveland  chose 
Bartlett  Tripp  his  minister  to  the  court  of  Aus- 
tria, and  President  IMcKinley  made  ]Mr.  Tripp 
one  of  the  high  joint  commissioners  in  the  Sa- 
moan  settlement.  ]\lelvin  Grigsby  is  the  present 
United  States  attorney  for  Alaska.  William  B. 
Sterling  was  chosen  general  counsel  for  the  Elk- 
horn  Railway  and  was  holding  that  position  at 
the  date  of  his  untimely  death  in  1899. 

With  statehood  a  new  circuit  judgeship  came 
in  vogue,  and  these  judges  were  not  required  to 
sit  in  supreme  court,  as  in  territorial  days.  The 
state  was  divided  into  eight  circuits.  Ellison  G. 
Smith  was  chosen  judge  of  the  first  circuit  and 
has  since  served-  continuously.  Frank  R.  Aikins 
was  elected  to  the  second  (Sioux  Falls)  circuit 
and  was  succeeded  in  1894  by  Joseph  W.  Jones, 
who  continues  in  office.  Judge  Aikens  is  con- 
ducting a  remunerative  practice  in  Sioux  Falls. 
Jeremiah  O.  Andrews,  of  Brookings,  was  chosen 
judge  of  the  third  (Watertown)  circuit  at  state- 
hood and  was  re-elected  once ;  Julien  Bennett  was 
chosen  his  successor  in  1897  ^^'^  still  serves. 
Dick  Haney  was  first  judge  in  the  Mitchell  circuit 
and  when  he  became  supreme  judge  in  1895 
Frank  B.  Smith,  of  Alexandria,  was  appointed 
judge  by  Governor  Sheldon,  and  is  still  in  the 
service.  Howard  G.  Fuller,  first  judge  of  the 
sixth  circuit,  went  to  the  supreme  bench  in  1894 
and  was  succeeded  in  the  circuit  by  Loring  E. 
Gaflfey.  Albert  W.  Campbell  served  the  fifth 
(Aberdeen)  circuit  until  1902,  when  he  retired 
to  engage  in  practice  at  Aberdeen  and  James  H. 
McCoy  was  elected.  The  Black  Hills  country-  is 
divided  into  two  districts,  the  seventh,  or  South- 
ern Hills  district,  and  the  eighth,  or  Northern 
Hills.     J.  ^^^  Nowlln  was  the  first  judge  of  the 


hist;)ry  of  Sleuth  Dakota. 


469 


seventh,  but  his  health  failing,  he  resigned  in 
1 90 1  and  Governor  Mellette  appointed  William 
Gardner,  of  Rapid  City,  to  the  vacancy.  Gardner 
was  a  member  of  the  legislature  and  a  nice  point 
arose  as  to  his  eligibility  under  the  constitutional 
provision  limiting  the  right  of  a  legislator  to  hold 
other  office  during  the  term  for  which  he  was 
elected.  Levi  McGee,  at  the  next  election,  ran 
for  the  position  and  received  all  of  the  votes  cast 
without  opposition.  He  then  brought  an  action 
in  the  nature  of  quo  warranto  to  try  Gardner's 
eligibility.  The  real  point  in  issue  did  not  come 
before  the  court,  for  iMcGee  could  not  qualify  un- 
til January  i,  1893,  and  at  the  same  time  Gard- 
ner's term  as  a  legislator  expired  and  one  of  the 
first  acts  of  Governor  Sheldon  was  the  reappoint- 
ment of  Gardner,  thus  saving  any  point  which 
might  have  been  made  against  him  through  Mel- 
lette's appointment.  In  the  next  election  McGee 
was  elected  by  the  people  to  succeed  Gardner. 

In  the  eighth  circuit  Charles  M.  Thomas  was 
the  first  judge,  continuing  in  the  office  until  1893, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  Adroniam  J.  Plow- 
man, and  he  in  turn  by  Joseph  B.  Moore  in  1897, 
serving  until  1901,  when  Frank  J.  Washabaugh 
was  elected  to  the  position.  The  next  year  Judge 
Washabaugh  died  and  Governor  Herreid  ap- 
pointed William  G.  Rice  to  the  vacancy.  The 
legislature  of  1903  created  a  ninth  circuit,  from 
Spink,  Beadle,  Kingsbury  and  Miner  counties  and 
Governor  Herreid  selected  Charles  E.  Whiting, 
of  DeSmet,  for  judge. 

In  the  winter  of  1898  the  State  Bar  Associa- 
tion was  organized  at  Yankton  and  the  strongest 
men  of  the  state  were  among  its  promoters  and 
still  are  active  in  it.  Bartlett  Tripp  was  the  first 
president  and  Robert  Dollard,  E.  C.  Ericson,  John 
L.  Jolley  and  Charles  O.  Bailey  were  among  the 
promoters.     It  holds  annual  sessions  and  many 


exceedingly  strong  papers  have  been  presented 
by  its  members.  E.  C.  Ericson  is  the  president 
for  the  current  year. 

Since  statehood  a  large  number  of  new  men 
have  appeared  in  the  Dakota  field,  some  of  whom 
have  already  won  wide  prominence  and  others 
who  give  excellent  promise  of  attaining  a  high 
position.  The  list  is  too  extended  for  full  pre- 
sentation here  and  to  note  some  of  this  large 
class  without  according  equal  prominence  to  all 
would  be  a  manifest  injustice. 

Several  valuable  compilations  and  treatises 
have  been  published  by  South  Dakota  lawyers. 
Among  these  are  a  "Justice's  Practice,"  by  Amer- 
icus  B.  Melvill«;  "Annotated  Trial  Practice  and 
Appellate  Procedure,"  "Annotated  Rules  Su- 
preme Court,"  and  "Annotated  Incorporation 
Laws,"  by  Charles  E.  DeLand ;  several  editions 
of  a  Dakota  digest  of  decisions  by  Horace 
G.  Tilton ;  an  aid  to  the  code,  by  Jones  & 
Matthews. 

The  first  revision  of  the  laws  of  Dakota  was 
made  by  Bartlett  Tripp,  Granville  G.  Bennett  and 
Peter  C.  Shannon  in  1877.  They  were  assisted 
in  the  work  by  W.  H.  H.  Beadle.  The  laws  were 
compiled  in  1887  by  Ernest  W.  Caldwell  and 
Charles  H.  Price.  Mr.  E.  T.  Grantham,  of  Cus- 
ter, got  out  a  private  compilation  of  the  laws  in 
1899.  The  Dakota  Reports  were  edited  by  Elli- 
son G.  Smith  and  Robert  Tripp.  The  South  Da- 
kota Reports,  now  sixteen  volumes,  by  Robert 
W.  Stewart  and  Henry  R.  Horner. 

The  legislature  of  1901  provided  for  the  open- 
ing of  a  law  department  at  the  State  University 
and  Thomas  Sterling  was  chosen  dean.  The 
school  is  in  a  prosperous  condition.  Bartlett 
Tripp,  John  L.  Jolley,  Jason  W.  Payne  and  E.  C. 
Ericson  are  among  the  lecturers  upon  stated 
topics. 


CHAPTER  LXXIX 


EDUCATIOX. 


RE\ISED  BY  HON.   GEORGE  \V.   NASH. 


Zeal  for  learning  has  charact^ized  the  South 
Dakotan  from  the  earliest  period.  The  French 
traders  of  the  old  days,  if  they  were  men  of  any 
standing,  all  undertook  to  give  their  half  Indian 
children  some  education  and  some  of  them  were 
educated  highly.  ^lanuel  Lisa  and  the  Picottes 
are  examples  of  this  class.  Their  children  were 
taken  down  the  river  for  this  purpose,  usually 
to  St.  Louis,  and  upon  their  return  to  the  wilder- 
ness they  imparted  the  rudiments  of  education 
to  other  members  of  the  family  in  the  home. 
Audubon  relates  that  when  he  was  coming  up 
the  river  in  1842,  they  met  Andrew  Dripps,  Li- 
dian  agent  at  Fort  George,  and  William  Laidlaw, 
burgeois  at  Fort  Pierre,  down  between  Vermil- 
lion and  Elk  Point  taking  Laidlaw 's  children  to 
St.  Louis  to  be  educated. 

In  the  first  territorial  legislature  in  1862  a 
bill  was  under  consideration  conferring  the  right 
to  vote  upon  the  half-breeds,  but  it  was  violently 
opposed,  because  the  half-breeds  outnvmibered  the 
whites.  It  was  proposed  then  to  limit  the  bill  in 
its  operations  to  those  half-breeds  who  could  read 
and  write,  but  this,  too.  was  deemed  inexpedi- 
ent, as  likely  to  throw  the  dominence  in  terri- 
torial affairs  into  the  hands  of  the  half  Indians. 

The  first  regular  school  in  Dakota  was  con- 
ducted at  Fort  Randall  in  the  winter  of  1857-8 
by  a  relative  of  Captain  Todd's  who  gave  regular 
instruction  to  several  white  children  about  the 
fort  and  several  half-breed  boys  and  girls. 

The  reservation  was  opened  July  10,  1859, 
and  the  settlement  commenced  at  once.  There 
were  no  families  among  the  settlers  at  Yankton 


at  that  time,  but  there  were  several  in  the  com- 
munities planted  at  Vermillion  and  at  Bon 
Homme.  Dr.  Franklin  Caulkins  settled  at  ^'er- 
million  that  fall,  coming  down  the  river  from 
Fort  Randall.  Toward  spring  he  was  emplo^-ed 
by  the  settlers  to  teach  a  school,  which  was  con- 
ducted in  a  room  over  JMcHenry's  store  at  Ver- 
million,  under  the  hill.  A  factional  fight  arose 
and  soon  the  settlers  divided  in  their  allegiance 
to  the  Doctor's  school,  and  one  faction  employed 
3.1iss  Hoyt  (bow  ]\Irs.  Dr.  H.  S.  Livingstone,  of 
Yankton)  to  teach  another  school,  which  was  held 
in  the  little  Presbyterian  church  just  erected 
through  the  efiforts  of  Father  Charles  D.  IMartin. 

That  spring  of  i860  the  settlers  at  Bon 
Homme,  under  the  leadership  of  the  energetic 
John  H.  Shober,  built  a  little  schoolhouse  of 
logs,  floorless  and  dirt  roofed,  and  in  it.  in  the 
month  of  Alay,  ]\Iiss  Emma  J.  Bradford  assem- 
bled ten  children  and  taught  them  for  three 
months.  This  was  the  first  regular  schoolhouse 
in  Dakota. 

The  Indian  outbreak  of  August,  1862,  put  a 
Jtop  to  all  school  operations  and  there  is  no  rec- 
ord of  any  attempt  of  this  kind  until  the  return 
of  a  company  of  the  Dakota  cavalry  from  the  up- 
river  Indian  campaigns  in  the  autumn  of  1864. 
Wlien  they  were  encamped  at  \''ermillion  Captain 
Miner  proposed  that  they  build  a  school  house 
and  the  tireless  soldier  boys  soon  had  a  com- 
fortable log  schoolhouse  completed,  in  the  ra- 
vine at  \'erminion,  and  Amos  Shaw,  one  of  the 
soldiers,  conducted  a  school  therein  during  the 
winter,   and    from   that   date   there   has   been   no 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


break  in  the  public  school  system  of  Vermillion. 
A  year  later  the  ladies  of  Yankton  undertook 
to  raise  means  for  the  construction  of  a  school 
building  and  their  efforts  resulted  in  the  erection 
of  the  ofd  Brown  schoolhouse  on  Walnut  street, 
which  for  years  was  the  pride  of  the  people  of 
Yankton. 

In  1865  Prof.  James  S.  Foster  arrived  from 
New  York  with  his  famous  colony  of  sixty  famil- 
ies and  almost  immediately  Governor  Edmunds 
appointed  him  superintendent  of  public  instruc- 
tion, and,  although  the  compensation  of  the  su- 
perintendent was  but  twenty  dollars  per  annum, 
he  gave  himself  energetically  to  the  work  and  in 
a  brief  period  had  a  regular  syst&m  of  public 
schools,  supported  by  taxation,  established.  They 
were  scattered  from  Fort  Randall  to  Sioux  City, 
but  he  visited  every  one  of  them  and  encouraged 
both  teachers  and  patrons,  and  induced  the  or- 
ganization of  districts  and  schools  wherever  he 
deemed  it  possible  to  sustain  an  establishment. 
He  conducted  the  first  teachers'  institute  held  in 
the  territory  on  November  11,  1867,  at  Elk  Point, 
which  continued  in  session  two  weeks.  Rev.  E. 
C.  Collins,  father  of  the  late  state  superintendent, 
was  one  of  the  instructors  in  this  institute  and  ad- 
dresses were .  delivered  by  Judge  Wilmot  W. 
Brookings  and  Hon.  S.  L.  Spink,  afterwards  dele- 
gate to  congress  and  at  that  time  secretary  of  the 
territory. 

The  legislature  has  always  given  much  atten- 
tion to  school  matters.  In  addition  to  the  loca- 
tion of  the  university,  the  first  session  in  1862 
adopted  a  complete  code  of  laws  for  the  conduct 
of  common  schools,  and  it  may  be  added  very  few 
of  its  successors  have  failed  to  follow  its  example 
m  this  respect.  By  this  first  code  the  schools 
were  only  open  to  white  children.  As  late  as 
1867  a  hard  fight  was  made  in  the  legislature, 
without  avail,  to  strike  the  word  "white"  out  of 
the  school  law,  and  it  was  not  until  the  passage 
of  the  civil  rights  bill  by  congress  that  colored 
children  were  permitted  full  rights  in  our  com- 
mon schools. 

As  a  part  of  the  political  arrangement  by 
which  Yankton  procured  the  location  of  the  terri- 
torial capital,  the  University  of  Dakota  was  lo- 
cated at  A'ermillion  in  1862.     It  mav  be  noted  in 


passing  that  it  obtained  its  first  grant  of  public 
money  for  building  and  maintenance  as  an  inci- 
dent of  the  deal  by  which  the  capital  was  re- 
moved from  Yankton,  in  1883,  at  that  time  re- 
ceiving the  sum  of  thirty  thousand  dollars  for  the 
purpose. 

The  first  effort  toward  a  school  for  higher 
learning  in  Dakota  was  the  founding  of  Yank- 
ton Academy  in  1871,  through  the  efforts  of  the 
renowned  Joseph  Ward.  A  good  building  was 
erected  for  this  academy  upon  the  site  of  the 
present  central  school  building  in  Yankton  and 
the  academy  was  successfull}-  conducted  b}-  Prof. 
Nathan  Ford  and  a  corps  of  assistants  until 
February,  1875,  when  an  act  of  the  legislature 
having  organized  the  independent  school  dis- 
trict of  Yankton  and  provided  a  board  of  educa- 
tion therefor,  the  Yankton  high  school  was  es- 
tablished and  purchased  the  academy  property 
and  began  the  work  which  has  built  up  the  ex- 
cellent school  system  of  the   Alother  City. 

From  the  planting  of  the  schoolhouse  in  the 
ravine  at  Vermillion  the  development  of  the 
South  Dakota  school  system  has  kept  pace,  if  it 
has  not  actually  led.  the  demand  of  the  con- 
stantly increasing  population,  A  general  terri- 
torial or  state  and  county  supervision  has  been 
the  constant  policy.  The  legislatures  were  ex- 
ceedingly erratic  in  the  method  of  the  appointment 
or  election  of  these  officers.  They  were  alter- 
nately appointed  by  the  governor  and  elected  bv 
the  people,  the  method  changing  with  the  adop- 
tion of  each  new  school  code,  and  this  was  a 
matter  of  annual  procedure  in  the  early  davs, 
which  was  only  modified  in  the  progress  of  time 
by  the  action  of  congress  in  abolishing  annual 
sessions  of  the  Dakota  legislature,  so  that  it  be- 
came impossible  to  change  the  plan  oftener  than 
biennially. 

The  efficient  work  of  James  S.  Foster  for  the 
cstal)lishment  of  the  school  system  was  efficiently 
supplemented  by  other  territorial  superintend- 
ents, the  office  being  filled  by  such  men  as  Gen- 
eral W.  H.  H.  Beadle,  J.  J.  Mclntyre,  Eugene  A. 
Dye  and  A.  Sheridan  Jones.  The  work  of  Gen- 
eral Beadle  in  this  office  made  a  deep  impress 
both  for  the  efficiency  of  the  schools  at  the  period 
.-.nd    for   the   cause  of   education    through   all   of 


4/2 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


the  subsequent  years.  He  was  the  first  to  grasp 
the  propositions  of  the  vahie  and  possibihties 
of  South  Dakota's  great  inheritance  of  school 
lands  and  to  him  more  than  to  any  other  is  due 
the  wise  safeguards  which  protect  it  from  waste 
and  speculation  as  well  as  the  minimum  price  at 
which  it  can  be  sold. 

The  earliest  attempt  to  establish  an  institution 
giving  a  collegiate  course  was  undertaken  by 
the  general  association  of  Congregational 
,  churches  which  met  at  Canton  in  June,  1881, 
and  resolved  to  establish  a  college  at  Yankton. 
This,  as  was  true  of  very  many  of  the  enter- 
prises for  the  good  of  the  community  of  that  day, 
was  due  to  the  initiative  and  the  self-sacrifice  of 
Dr.  Joseph  Ward,  and  under  his  direction  the 
college  was  established  and  received  its  first 
classes  in  September  of  that  year. 

This  same  year  the  people  of  \'ermillion, 
spurred  to  it  by  the  foundation  of  the  college  at 
Yankton,  and  fearing  that  unless  some  positive 
action  was  taken  they  would  be  deprived  of  the 
fruit  of  the  foresight  of  the  pioneers  in  securing 
the  location  of  the  territorial  university,  set  about 
to  place  the  institution  upon  its  feet  and  an  or- 
ganization was  effected  in  the  voting  of  ten 
thousand  dollars  of  bonds  by  Clay  county,  the 
proceeds  of  which  was  used  to  construct  a  build- 
ing which  was  ready  for  occupancy  in  the  fall  of 
1882  and  in  it  was  instituted  the  university,  which 
the  ensuing  legislature  was  prevailed  upon  to 
endow.  That  same  legislature  of  1883  located 
the  Agricultural  College  at  Brookings,  the  Nor- 
mal at  Madison  and  at  Spearfish,  and  appropri- 
ated funds  to  the  Agricultural  College  and  the 
Madison  Xormal,  which  were  opened  the  suc- 
ceeding year.  The  next  legislature  endowed  the 
Spearfish  Normal  and  in  1887  t'le  School  of 
Mines  at  Rapid  City  was  set  up. 

The  legislature  of  1883  also  located  a  nor- 
mal school  at  Springfield,  conditional  upon  the 
village  providing  a  quantity  of  land  as  a  site, 
and  the  condition  was  complied  with.  It  was  not 
until  1900,  however,  that  an  endowment  of  public 
money  was  provided  for  it.  but  in  1895  the  people 
of  Springfield,  at  their  own  expense,  erected  a 
suitable  building  and  turned  it  over  to  the  re- 
gents of  education  who  established  a  nonnal 
school  there,  as  they  were  required  to  do  under 


the  law,  the  means  of  its  support  being  provided 
by  the  people  of  Springfield. 

The  legislature  of  1899  located  the  Northern 
Normal  and  Industrial  School  at  Aberdeen  and 
the  legislature  of  1901  gave  it  an  endowment 
£0  that  the  main  building  was  erected  and  the 
school  opened  in  the  autumn  of  1902. 

In  1883  the  IMethodists  located  Dakota  Uni- 
versity at  ^litchell  and  the  same  year  Pierre  Uni- 
versity was  established  by  the  Presbyterians. 
This  establishment  has  since  been  removed  to 
Huron  where  it  is  continued  as  Huron  College. 

In  1884  the  Congregationalists  established 
an  additional  college  at  Redfield  and  the  Episco- 
palians undertook  All  Saints'  School  at  Sioux 
Falls.  In  1892  Sioux  Falls  College  was  under- 
taken by  the  Baptists  and  the  Scandinavian  Luth- 
erans began  the  Normal  School  there  in  1889. 
Augustana  College  was  established  by  the 
Scandinavian  Lutherans  at  Canton  in  1889.  The 
Catholics  have  academies  at  Aberdeen,  Elkton, 
Jeflferson,  Marion,  Millbank,  Sturgis,  Tabor,  Ver- 
million,  Yankton  and  Zell. 

The  Congregationalists  maintain  an  academy 
at  Academy,  in  Charles  Mix  county,  and  the  Free 
Methodists  have  a  flourishing  institution  at  Wes- 
sington  Springs.  The  Mennonites  have  an  acad- 
emy at  Freeman. 

All  of  these  institutions  of  higher  learning, 
both  state  and  sectarian,  are  thoroughly  equipped 
with  buildings  and  apparatus,  are  modern'  and 
progressive  and  are  doing  magnificent  work, 
having  a  combined  registration  of  three  thou- 
sand students. 

The  state  constitution  adopted  in  1889  was 
particularly  solicitous  for  the  school  system  and 
safeguarded  it  in  every  possible  way.  The  state 
supervision  has  been  under  the  direction,  suc- 
cessively, of  Profs.  Pinkham.  Cortez  Salmon. 
Frank  Crane.  Edward  E.  Collins,  and  at  present. 
George  W.  Nash. 

From  the  latest  official  returns  there  are  at 
present  132,000  school  children  in  South  Dakota: 
teachers,  4,800;  schools,  4,100.  maintained  at  an 
annual  cost  of  $1,750,000.  The  annual  appor- 
tionment of  tlie  income  from  the  school  moneys 
amounts  to  $2.74  per  capita.  The  present  invest- 
ment in  schoolhouses  and  school  property 
•amounts  to  $2,500,000. 


CHAPTER  LXXX 


I'.ANKS  AND   BANKING. 


During  the  fur-trading  era  in  the  Dakota 
country  the  fur  companies  of  St.  Louis  were 
the  bankers  for  all  of  this  section.  Very  Httle 
cash  was  brought  up  the  river  at  any  time. 
Payments  for  services  or  property  were  made  in 
orders  upon  the  company,  and  wages  were  left 
upon  deposit  there  until  the  employe  returned  to 
civilization.  All  purchases  made  in  the  wilder- 
ness were  upon  credit  charged  against  the  em- 
ploye's account  for  wages.  So  it  was  that  there 
was  scarcely  any  necessity  for  money.  Oc- 
casionally some  thrift)-  frontiersman  who  had 
permanently  estabhshed  himself  upon  the  upper 
river  demanded  and  received  his  returns  for 
labor,  furs,  or  live  stock  in  cash,  that  he  might 
have  the  satisfaction  of  looking  upon  the  coin, 
but  when  he  had  received  it  into  his  possession 
and  the  first  enjoyment  of  its  tangible  presence 
was  over  he  found  it  a  real  incumbrance  to 
him.  His  ordinary  resource  was  to  bury  it  in 
the  earth.  Among  those  who  thus  cached  their 
gold  was  Dupree,  Narcelle  and  Rencontre. 

Old  Pierre  Narcelle,  who  settled  at  the  mouth 
of  Chapelle  creek  in  1825,  was  employed  by  the 
American  Fur  Company  at  one  thousand  dollars 
per  year  and  his  expenses.  He  thus  told  his 
stor\-  shortly  before  his  death  :  "Instead  of  send- 
ing my  money  back  to  the  states.  I  invested  it  in 
ponies  and  articles  that  the  fur  company  did 
not  want  to  handle.  The  ponies  I  sent  out  on  the 
range  with  those  belonging  to  the  Indians.  The 
articles  that  I  bought  I  sent  back  to  friends,  who 
sold  them  at  a  good  profit  and  the  mnncv  was 


sent  back  to  me.  My  money  in  those  days  was 
always  in  gold  and  silver  and  as  there  were  no 
banks  within  hundreds  of  miles  there  was  notli- 
ing  to  do  but  bank  in  the  ground.  In  half  a 
dozen  places  around  my  house  between  the  years 
1850  and  i860  I  had  at  times  from  thirty  thou- 
sand to  sixty  thousand  dollars  buried.  These 
places  were  known  to  all  the  members  of  the 
family,  but  to  no  other  persons.  These  banks 
were  good  enough  and  safe  enough  until  the 
spring  of  1861,  when  three  of  them  broke  and 
I  lost  seventy-two  thousand  dollars  in  gold  and 
silver.  Just  how  my  bank  happened  to  break 
may  be  of  interest  to  those  who  have  lost  money 
through  the  operations  of  dishonest  cashiers. 
Out  in  front  of  the  house  was  a  beautiful  little 
park  of  perhaps  five  acres.  It  was  filled  with 
huge  Cottonwood  trees.  These  were  along  the 
stream  and  deep  down  beneath  their  roots  I 
placed  my  gold  and  silver  wrapped  in  buckskin. 
All  of  these  trees  were  marked  and  in  the  house 
I  kept  a  plat,  showing  the  location  of  each  bag 
and  the  sum  of  money  it  contained.  The  winter 
of  1860-61  the  snowfall  was  very  heavy — at  least 
three  feet  on  the  level.  When  warm  weather 
came  the  snow  went  oflf  rapidl\-  and  there  was 
every  prospect  of  high  water.  The  little  bottom 
about  the  house  had  never  overflowed,  so  we  felt 
secure.  The  house  stood  fully  forty  feet  above 
the  water,  while  the  place  where  the  money  was 
buried  was  nearly  as  high.  Day  after  day  the 
warm  weather  continued  and  the  river  kept  ris- 
ing.    Suddenly  there  was  a  cold  spell  and  thp 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


flood  was  checked.  One  day  some  Indians  came 
down  the  river  and  told  us  there  was  a  great  ice 
dam  at  Farm  Island,  near  Bad  river,  and  that 
the  water  had  backed  up  for  miles.  That  night 
the  gorge  broke  and  the  water  came  down.  When 
we  arose  in  the  morning  the  vrater  had  over- 
flowed the  park  in  front  of  the  house  and  had 
backed  up  to  within  a  few  feet  of  the  door.  All 
day  it  continued  to  rise  and  at  night  it  was  on 
the  floor  and  we  moved  out  and  took  refuge  in 
the  barn,  which  was  higher  up  the  b?.nk.  In  the 
morning  we  were  up  bright  and  early,  but  a 
great  change  had  come  over  the  situation.  The 
house  was  still  standing,  but  the  bank  where  I 
had  kept  my  money  was  gone.  There  was  noth- 
ing to  mark  its  location  except  a  waste  of  muddy 
water.  All  of  the  trees  which  had  marked  the 
spots  where  the  money  was  located  had  been 
washed  out  by  the  roots  and  had  floated  down 
stream.  After  the  water  subsided  the  boys  and 
mvself  hunted  for  the  money,  but  not  one  cent 
did  we  find." 

Felix  Duboise.  who  lived  upon  an  island  a 
little  wav  below  Chapelle  creek,  lost  forty-five 
thousand  dollars  in  the  same  flood.  His  wife 
and  four  children  and  six  hundred  head  of  cattle 
also  were  lost. 

For  ten  years  after  the  beginning  of  the  per- 
manent settlements  at  Yankton  and  in  that 
vicinitv  no  bank  was  established  nor  found 
necessary,  but  in  1869  L.  D.  Parmer  estab- 
lished a  bank  in  Yankton  and  for  some  years  did 
a  prosperous  business.  His  bank  was  situated 
on  Second  street  between  Douglas  and  Walnut, 
making  it  more  tributary  to  the  eastern,  or 
Capitol  street,  section  of  the  city,  hence  there 
was  an  immediate  necessity  for  another  bank 
unon  Broadway.  This  need  was  supplied  in 
1872  by  Peter  P.  Wintermute,  who  continued  in 
the  business  until  his  unfortunate  trouble  with 
General  Edwin  S.  ^IcCook,  in  September,  1873, 
whicli  resulted  in  the  killing  of  the  latter.  Gov- 
ernor Newton  Edmunds  thereupon  undertook  to 
close  up  Wintermute's  aflFairs  and  upon  that 
foundation  the  banking  house  of  Edmunds  & 
Winn  was  established  and  which  in  the  course 
of  time  developed  into  the  strong  Yankton   Na- 


tional   Bank,    still    under    the    control    of    Gov- 
ernor Edmunds  and  his  family. 

In  1873  the  First  National  Bank  of  Yank- 
ton was  established  by  ^I.  M.  Parmer  and  Moses 
K.  Armstrong,  which  a  short  time  afterwards 
passed  into  the  control  of  James  \'.  and  Wil- 
liam H.  JMcVey,  who  still  own  and  manage  it. 
The  two  national  banks  of  Yankton  are  among 
the  strongest  and  most  conservative  banks  of 
the  northwest. 

In  1878  L.  D.  Parmer's  Bank,  the  original  one, 
failed.  This  was  the  first  bank  failure  in  South 
Dakota.  He  eflFected  a  settlement  with  his 
creditors  at  forty  cents  on  the  dollar.  The  sec- 
ond bank  in  South  Dakota  was  established  at 
Vermillion  in  1871  by  Verneite  E.  Prentice  and 
Henry  Newjton  and  was  known  as  Prentice  & 
Newton's  Bank.  Both  gentlemen  still  reside  at 
Vermillion,  Mr.  Prentice  being  the  well-known 
partner  in  the  firm  of  Lee  &  Prentice.  They 
conducted  a  safe  business  and  conservatism  has 
been  characteristic  of  banking  in  Vermillion, 
where  the  business  is  iiow  represented  by  the 
First  National  Bank,  under  the  management  of 
Hon.  Darwin  M.  Inman,  and  the  Clay  County 
Bank,  directed  by  L.  T.  Sweezy.  The  third  bank 
in  Dakota  was  established  at  Elk  Point  in  1872 
and  was  known  as  the  Union  County  Bank.  In 
1873  E.  E.  Otis  established  the  first  bank  in 
I  Sioux  Falls,  but  he  continued  in  business  but 
a  few  months.  On  June  5,  1874,  John  D. 
Cameron  established  the  Bank  for  Savings, 
which  was  operated  for  about  two  years. 

The  banking  history  of  Sioux  Falls  is  in- 
teresting and  shows  the  marks  of  several  "cam- 
paigns that  failed."  First  and  last,  fifteen  banks 
have  been  established  there  since  Otis  made  his 
first  venture,  October  10,  1873.  Two  national 
banks,  the  First  National  and  the  Dakota  Na- 
tional, each  with  fifty  thousand  dollars  capital, 
have  failed  and  one  other,  tlie  Union  National, 
has  liquidated.  There  remain  in  the  city  six 
strong  banking  institutions,  each  doing  a  safe 
and  profitable  business  and  representing  more 
than  six  hundred  thousand  dollars  of  capital. 
They  are  the  Sioux  Falls  National  Bank,  one 
hundred    thousand    dollars.    C.     E.     'McKinnev, 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


475 


president,  D.  L.  ]\IcKinney,  vice-president,  and 
C.  L.  Norton,  cashier;  Minnehaha  National 
Bank,  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  P.  F.  Sher- 
man, president,  George  Perry,  vice-president, 
W.  L.  Piaker,  cashier;  State  Banking  and  Trust 
Company,  W.  C.  Hollister,  president,  F.  H. 
Hollister,  cashier;  Sioux  Falls  Savings  Bank, 
R.  B.  Dennis,  president,  and  W.  G.  Knappen, 
cashier;  Security  Savings  Bank,  J.  N.  Weston, 
president,  and  C.  L.  Norton,  cashier;  Central 
Banking  and  Trust  Company,  H.  H.  Natwick, 
president,  and  C.  G.  Leyse,  cashier. 

The  banks  of  Deadwood  and  Lead  are  ex- 
ceptionally strong.  The  American  National  and 
the  First  National  of  Deadwood  and  the  First 
National  of  Lead,  three  great  banks  in  alliance, 
have  stood  as  a  bulwark  of  financial  integrity 
since  their  foundation,  soon  after  the  gold  dis- 
coveries of  1876.  These  banks  came  to  the  re- 
lief of  the  state  in  1895,  when  the  Taylor  de- 
falcation left  the  treasury  empty,  and  provided 
the  funds  to  bridge  the  state  over  the  difficulty 
until  the  treasury  could  be  replenished  through 
tlie  regular  channels. 

^Vith  the  great  homesteading  and  town- 
building  boom,  setting  in  about  1878,  banks 
sprung  up  everywhere,  and  though  in  the  very 
nature  of  things  some  adventurers  came  and  set 
up  wild-cat  and  unstable  banks,  the  great  ma- 
jority of  the  banks  established  in  the  early  days 
were  under  the  management  of  prudent  men  of 
high  integrity,  and  a  surprising  number  of  the 
foundations,  still  the  reliance  and  the  pride  of 
the  several  communities,  date  back  to  the  early 
'eighties  and  have  withstood  the  storms  of  two 
panics  and  still  are  enjoying  the  confidence  and 
the  prosperity  due  to  honest  management  and 
fair  dealing.  Among  these  old  establishments 
of  the  newer  era  in  South  Dakota  are  the  First 
National  and  Citizens'  National  of  Watertown, 
tlie  First  National  and  Aberdeen  National  of 
Aberdeen,  the  three  national  banks  of  Pierre,  the 
First  National  of  Huron,  the  Fishback's  and 
Morehouse  banks  of  Brookings,  Ruth  &  Carroll, 
of  DeSmet,  Kennedy's  Bank  and  the  First  Na- 
tional of  ]\Tadison,  Uline,  Kennefeck  &  Smith, 
of  Dell  Rapids,  Lord's  and  Danforth's  banks  of 


Parker,  Snow  &  Groot,  of  Springfield,  David- 
son's, at  Mitchell,  and  Beebe,  of  Ipswich.  It 
is  not  intended  to  make  invidious  comparisons, 
but  it  is  believed  that  the  banks  enumerated  com- 
prise the  most  of  tliose  which  have  continued 
under  unchanged  management  from  the  foun- 
dation of  the  institutions  soon  after  the  towns 
were  established  in  the  days  of  the  boom.  To 
this  list  may  be  added  many  others  which  suc- 
cessfully withstood  the  panic  of  1893  and  the 
terrible  days  following  it. 

The  banks  of  South  Dakota  are  of  three 
classes :  National  banks,  under  the  supervision  of 
the  comptroller  of  the  currency  and  regularly 
examined  by  the  national  bank  examiner,  and 
state  and  private  banks,  under  the  supervision 
of  the  public  examiner,  who  examines  into  their 
condition  at  short  intervals  and  to  whom  the 
banks  are  required  to  report  upon  call.  The  law 
afifords  the  public  every  safeguard  which  can  be 
devised  and  makes  it  extremely  dififiicult  for  a 
rascal  to  engage  in  the  banking  business  in 
South  Dakota. 

The  exceptional  prosperity  which  has  favored 
the  people  of  South  Dakota  for  the  past  six  or 
seven  years  has  reflected  itself  in  the  extension 
of  banks  and  the  increase  of  deposits,  and  this 
good  condition  in  turn  proved  very  attractive  to 
the  Yegg  men.  who  swooped  down  upon  our 
banks  in  a  manner  to  cause  great  alarm,  but  the 
enterprising  managers  were  prompt  to  provide 
themselves  with  every  protection  against  bank 
robbers  which  modern  ingenuity  has  produced 
and  the  most  invincible  safes  and  sensitive  sys- 
tenis  of  burglar  alarms  have  rendered  the  Yegg 
business  so  hazardous  that  successful  bank 
breaking  is  becoming  very  rare. 

There  has  been  but  little  of  the  spectacular 
in  South  Dakota  banking.  Primarily  of  course 
conditions  have  not  been  favorable  to  much 
plunging,  but  financial  Napoleons  have  not  found 
favor,  and  however  adventurous  the  South  Da- 
kotan  may  have  lieen  he  has  selected  for  his 
banker  the  man  of  calm  pulse,  conservative 
judgment  and  good  habits.  In  times  of  pros- 
perity the  banker  has  been  the  backbone  of  every 
enterprise  for  the  advancement  of  the  community 


476 


HISTORY   OF    SOL"TH    DAKOTA. 


and    in   times   of   adversity   the   community   has      dent,  E.  L.  Abel,  president  First  National  Bank 


looked  to  him  for  the  assistance  to  tide  over  the 
emergency.  The  bankers  of  South  Dakota  or- 
ganized themselves  into  an  association  in  1884, 
being  now  the  oldest  bankers'  association  in  the 
United  States.     The  present  officers  are:  Presi- 


of  Bridgewater;  vice-president,  W.  A.  Mackay, 
president  banking  house  of  Mackay  Brothers, 
Madison;  secretary,  George  C.  F'ullinweider, 
cashier  Standard  Savings  Bank,  Huron;  treas- 
urer, S.  Drew,  president  Bank  of  Highmore. 


CHAPTER  LXXXI 


PHYSICIANS    AND    THE    PRACTICE    OF    MEDICINE. 


REN^ISED   BY   DR.    DE  LORME    W.    ROBINSON. 


Some  one  may  make  a  valuable  contribution 
to  scientific  knowledge  by  collecting  and  classify- 
ing the  plants,  roots,  herbs,  blossoms  and  berries 
which  the  Dakota  Indians,  in  the  primitive  days, 
used  for  the  cure  and  alleviation  of  human  ills. 
An  old  French  history  of  Louisiana,  printed  in 
Paris  in  1750,  attempted  to  do  this,  but  its 
information  was  so  meager  and  its  descriptions 
so  obscure  that  at  this  distance  it  is  difficult  to 
identify  many  of  those  enumerated.  It  is  cer- 
tain, however,  that  they  used  quite  an  extended 
range  of  plants  for  medicine,  a  few  of  them 
with  an  intelligent  understanding  of  their  medi- 
cal properties,  others  with  only  a  hint  of  their 
value,  while  in  the  main,  it  may  be  assumed, 
with  no  more  reason  than  they  applied  to  the 
mummery  of  the  medicine  men.  The  observations 
of  many  trustworthy  witnesses  prove,  however, 
that  they  used  emetics  and  physics ;  and  also 
poultices  for  inflammations,  and  to  counteract 
the  poisons  from  wounds  and  snakebites,  with 
conunendable  judgment. 

Sweating  was  a  favorite  treatment  among 
all  of  the  Indians,  and,  though  carried  to  ex- 
cess in  many  instances,  was  probably  their  most 
convenient  and  efficient  method  of  treating  dis- 
ease. Many  writers  tell  of  instances  where  pa- 
tients have  been  so  weakened  by  the  Indian 
sweats  that  swooning  was  common.  They,  too, 
practiced  a  rough,  almost  brutal  kind  of  sur- 
geiy.  but  with  little  success,  as  the  large  num- 
ber of  cripples  among  them  testify.  Supersti- 
tion   generallv    dominated    and    if   the    medicine 


man  was  present  the  case  was  turned  over  to 
him,  and  his  brand  of  Christian  science,  faith 
cure  or  what  you  will,  was  not  very  efifective 
in  setting  a  broken  limb  or  healing  a  lesion. 
Like  all  sorts  of  suggestion,  by  whatever  name 
called,  he  could  rouse  the  patient  to  a  belief  in 
the  possibility  of  cure,  and  of  course  that  con- 
trol of  the  mind  is  in  most  cases  helpful.  It 
should  be  noted  too  that  the  Dakotas  used  mas- 
sage intelligently  and  effectively. 

No  regular  physician  accompanied  Lewis  and 
Clarke,  but  Captain  Clarke  possessed  a  fair 
knowledge  of  "simples,"  as  it  was  said  in  his 
day,  and  he  carried  a  well-stocked  medicine 
chest,  from  which  he  ministered  to  the  ills  of  the 
company,  which,  however,  were  few.  In  the 
case  of  Sergeant  Floyd,  who  died  in  sight  of 
Dakotaland,  even  as  Moses  gave  up  the  ghost 
when  in  sight  of  the  land  of  Canaan,  Dr.  Qarke's 
simples  were  not  effective.  He  diagnosed  the 
case  as  "inflammation  of  the  bowels,"  a  disease 
unknown  to  the  modern  practitioner.  Captain 
Clarke  was  more  proficient  in  surgen-  and  the 
treatment  of  wounds,  as  evidenced  by  the  happy 
event  of  his  treatment  of  the  serious  wound  re- 
ceived by  Captain  Lewis  upon  the  return  trip, 
from,  which  he  made  a  splendid  recovery. 

The  Leavenworth  expedition  against  the 
Rees,  in  1823.  brought  the  first  lawyer  into 
South  Dakota  as  we  have  seen  in  another  chap- 
ter, and  the  first  doctor  of  medicine  also.  ^Tajor 
John  Gale,  surgeon  on  the  staff  of  General  At- 
kinson, accompanied  the  expedition  and  covered 


478 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


himself  with   glory,   not   in   the   practice  of  his  I 
profession,   for  it  does  not  appear  that  he  had  | 
any  calls  upon  his  medicine  case,  but  for  prompt 
and   efficient   action    in   each   of   the   shipwrecks  i 
which  befell  the  enterprise,  in  that  way  saving  j 
both  lives  and  property.     Dr.    Gale    was    back  [ 
again  with  the  Atkinson-O'Fallon  expedition  of 
1825,  but  there  is  no  record  that  his  professional 
services  were  called  into  requisition  upon  either 
trip.     Dr.  Gale,  however,  had  a  fine  record  as  a  \ 
physician    and    surgeon.      He   was    a    native   of 
Xew   Hampshire,   from  which   state  he  entered 
the  army  as  a  volunteer  in  1812  and  continued  in 
the  service  until  his  death,  on  July  27,  1830. 

The  fur  companies  never  emplo}-ed  any  regu- 
lar resident  physicians  at  the  posts,  but  after  the 
awful  smallpox  scourge  of  1837  they  regularly  1 
sent   up    from    St.    Louis   each   year   doctors   to  j 
vaccinate  as  many  Indians  as  could  be  prevailed 
upon  to  submit  to  the  operation.     The  coming 
of  these  doctors  was  an  event  eagerly  looked  for-  j 
ward  to  by  the  tribes  who  early  came  to  have 
faith  in  the  efficiency  of  vaccination.     As  early 
as  1-832  the  Fort  Pierre  Journal  notes  that  "Dr. 
^Martin  arrived  to  vaccinate  the  men." 

Dr.   Joseph   N.   Nicollet,   who  visited    South 
Dakota  in  1838  and  1839,  "^^'^.s,  among  Uis  many  ' 
accomplishments,  a  doctor  of  medicine,  but  his 
visits  here  had  nothing  to  do  with  medicine.     It  | 
is  probable  that  Dr.  Williamson,  the  missionary,  | 
was    frequently    in    South    Dakota,    among    the 
Sissetons,   at  Big  Stone  and  Chanopa  at  about 
this  time,  but  I  am  not  able  to  verify  the  fact. 

When  General  Harney  wintered  at  Fort 
Pierre  in  1855-6  he  was  accompanied  by  his 
brother,  Major  Benj.  F.  Harney,  who  was  his 
staff  surgeon,  assisted  by  Dr.  David  L.  Ma- 
gruder,  the  latter  having  the  rank  of  captain. 
Dr.  Harney  spent  the  winter  at  Pierre,  but  Dr. 
r^IcGruder  went  down  to  the  camps  along  the 
river  and  put  in  the  most  of  the  winter  at 
Handy's  Point. 

Among  the  little  band  of  sixteen  hopeful 
pioneers  who  spent  the  winter  of  1857-8  at  Sioux 
Falls  was  Dr.  J.  L.  Phillips,  then  but  recently 
graduated  in  medicine.  He  came  from  Dubuque 
the  previous  August.    When  Wilmot  W.  Brook- 


ings returned  from  his  unfortunate  expedition  to 
secure  the  Yankton  townsite  in  Februan,-,  1858. 
with  his  feet  so  badly  frozen  that  decay  set  in, 
Dr.  Phillips,  with  no  other  instrument  than  a 
butcher  knife  and  a  tenon  saw,  amputated  both 
his  feet,  and  though  the  operation  was  performed 
in  a  bachelor's  shanty  without  any  of  the 
aseptic  appliances,  or  even  cleanliness  now_  con- 
sidered so  essential  in  surgery,  his  patient, 
bunked  on  a  bed  of  buffalo  robes,  came  out  all 
right,  and  is  still  living,  a  most  valuable  citizen. 
Dr.  Phillips  remained  in  Sioux  Falls  until  the 
place  was  abandoned,  but  returned  again  after 
the  Indian  troubles  and  lived  and  died,  a  most 
respected  citizen  of  that  community.  He  was 
the  first  regular  physician  to  establish  himself  as 
a  practitioner  in  Dakota. 

^^'ith  the  first  settlers  who  located  at  Yank- 
ton was  Dr.  Justus  Townsend,  a  physician,  who 
found  the  community  so  horribly  healthy  that 
he  was  scarcely  able  to  subsist  himself,  the  seeing 
which  Dr.  William  Jayne,  the  governor,  took 
pity  upon  him  and  added  to  his  cares  by  making 
him  territorial  auditor.  The  salan,-  was  fifty 
dollars  a  year,  but  there  was  no  money  to  pay 
even  that,  so  it  is  yet  an  open  question  whether 
or  not  he  was  assisted  or  burdened  by  the  gov- 
ernor's kindness. 

The  same  time,  that  is  in  the  fall  of  1859, 
Dr.  James  Caulkins  came  down  the  river — 
which  predicates  the  fact  that  he  at  some  time 
must  have  gone  up-river — to  \^ermillion.  where 
he  opened  an  office,  but,  like  his  brother  profes- 
sioner  at  Yankton,  was  sorely  afflicted  by  the 
good  health  of  the  people.  An  opportunity  was 
opened  to  him,  however,  to  patch  out  a  living  by 
teaching  a  school  in  the  village,  which  was  prob- 
ably the  first  school  in  the  civil  settlements  ever 
taught  in  Dakota,  antedating  by  a  few  months 
the  school  taught  in  the  first  school  house,  by 
Miss  Bradford  at  Bon  Homme.  .  Dr.  Caulkins' 
school  was  conducted  in  an  upper  room  in  James 
McHenry's  house. 

Dr.  Caulkins,  like  the  other  Dakota  physi- 
cians mentioned,  Drs.  Phillips  and  Townsend. 
was  public  spirited  and  was  active  in  ever>- 
movement  looking  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  com- 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


479 


munity.  He  was  secretary  of  the  mass  meeting 
in  November,  1859,  which  memorialized  congress 
to  create  Dakota  territory. 

As  above  mentioned,  Governor  Jayne  was  a 
physician,  and  a  very  successful  one  too  at  home 
in  Springfield,  Illinois,  where  he  was  President 
Lincoln's  family  physician  and  it  was  largely 
due  to  this  relation  that  he  received  the  appoint- 
ment. ■  In  Dakota,  however,  he  was  "working  at 
something  else,"  and  therefore  was  not  a  medical 
practitioner  here.  After  his  Dakota  experience 
he  returned  to  Springfield  and  resumed  his  prac- 
tice and  accumulated  a  fine  competence. 

In  the  early  years  the  doctors  found  even 
harder  picking  than  the  lawyers.  For  months 
at  a  time  there  was  literally  nothing  for  them  to 
do  in  a  professional  way,  but  as  that  was  like- 
wise true  of  most  other  lines  of  business,  their 
bad  plight  was  not  the  subject  of  especial  notice. 
It  seems  almost  miraculous  that  many  of  the 
pioneers  were  able  to  sustain  themselves  at  all. 
Living,  however,  such  as  it  was,  was  very  cheap. 
Social  requirements  made  few  demands,  and 
openhanded  hospitality  on  the  part  of  those  who 
had  the  means  made  life  very  endurable. 

Dr.  Burliegh  had  been  a  physician  but  had 
taken  up  law,  and  in  fact  devoted  no  time  to 
luedicine  and  very  little  to  law  after  he  came  to 
Dakota.  Among  the  earliest  physicians  were  Dr. 
Frank  \A"ixson.  who  settled  in  Yankton  and  eked 
out  his  practice  by  serving  at  least  one  term  as 
chief  clerk  of  the  legislature.  Dr.  Henn,'  F. 
Livingstone  arrived  in  the  autumn  of  1865,  and 
almost  at  once  went  into  the  Indian  service. 
Up  to  this  time  not  a  single.  Dakota  doctor  had 
been  able  to  sustain  himself  solely  by  his  pro- 
fession, notwithstanding  which  fact  a  bill  regu- 
lating the  practice  of  medicine  was  introduced 
in  the  legislature  of  t866,  by  William  Gray,  of 
I'nion  county.  The  committee  upon  public 
health  reported  that  it  was  a  very  worthy  bill, 
Init  under  existing  circumstances  it  was  against 
public  policy  to  pass  it.  The  first  law  of  Dakota 
affecting  the  physicians  was  passed  by  the  first 
.session  and  exempted  him  from  jury  duty,  but 
at  the  same  time  made  him  guilty  of  a  mis- 
demeanor   if    he    poisoned    a    patient    while    in- 


toxicated, if  the  life  of  the  patient  was  en- 
dangered thereby,  but  if  the  poison  killed  the 
patient  then  the  physician  was  to  be  deemed 
guilty    of    manslaughter    in    the    second    degree. 

The  first  legislative  enactment  of  the  ter- 
ritory to  regulate  the  practice  of  medicine,  fur- 
ther than  as  above  stated,  was  passed  by  the 
session  of  1868-9  and  was  entitled,  "An  act  to 
protect  the  citizens  of  Dakota  territory  and 
elevate  the  standing  of  the  medical  profession," 
and  was  introduced  by  A.  N.  Hampton,  of  Clay 
county.  It  contained  two  sections,  the  first  of 
which  provided  that  it  should  be  unlawful  for 
anyone  to  practice  medicine  or  surgery,  for  pay, 
without  first  having  taken  at  least  two  full 
courses  of  lectures  and  instruction  and  have 
graduated  from  a  medical  college,  and  the  second 
section  provided  that  anyone  violating  the  pro- 
visions of  section  one  should  be  subject  to  a  fine 
of  one  hundred  dollars  for  the  first  offense  and 
to  fine  and  imprisonment  for  the  second  offense. 
Persons  who  had  practiced  for  ten  years  and 
dentists  were  exempted  from  the  operation  of 
this  law. 

The  legislature  of  1885  passed  the  first 
elaborate  law  for  the  safeguarding  of  the  public 
health  and  the  licensing  of  physicians.  This  act 
was  drafted  by  DeLorme  W.  Robinson,  M.  D., 
of  Pierre,  and  was  introduced  into  the  legislature 
bv  J.  H.  Westover,  representative  in  the  house 
from  the  Pierre  district.  This  act  created  a  ter- 
ritorial board  of  health.  It  consisted  of  the  at- 
torney general,  who  was  ex-officio  president  of 
the  board,  and  a  vice-president  and  superintend- 
ent to  be  appointed  by  the  governor  and  con- 
firmed by  the  council.  It  gave  to  this  board 
large  powers  in  the  administration  of  the  health 
laws  and  provided  that  every  physician  must 
be  a  graduate  of  a  medical  college,  or  in  lieu 
thereof  pass  an  examination  before  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  board  of  health  and  two  other 
selected  physicians. 

After  this  enactment  there  was  very  little 
legislation  affecting  physicians,  except  some 
change  in  the  exemption  laws  in  favor  of  doctors' 
bills,  until  the  legislative  session  of  1891,  when 
a   state  board  of  health   was  created,   providing 


48o 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


for  three  members  who  should  be  resident  phy- 
sicians in  good  standing.  This  act  provided  for 
the  Hcensing  of  physicians  by  the  board,  but  it 
vested  the  board  with  no  discretionary  power. 
If  the  applicant  could  produce  the  diploma  of  a 
reputable  medical  school  and  a  certificate  of  good 
moral  character,  the  board  was  bound  to  license 
him  regardless  of  his  ability  to  cure.  Notwith- 
standing the  weakness  of  this  law,  which  at  the 
time  of  its  enactment  was  the  strongest  measure 
it  was  possible  to  secure,  no  change  of  material 
import  was  made  in  it  until  the  session  of  1903, 


when  the  present  efficient  board  of  medical  e.x- 
aminers'  law  was  enacted  through  the  persistent 
efforts  of  Doctors  McNutt,  Hawkins,  Robinson 
and  Stewart,  supported  by  all  of  the  reputable 
members  of  the  profession  in  the  state. 

There  are  state  medical  societies  of  both  the 
regulars  and  the  homeopaths,  as  well  as  several 
district  societies.  In  recent  years  a  better  un- 
derstanding has  grown  up  between  these  two 
major  branches  of  the  medical  profession  and 
there  is  now  a  likelihood  of  a  merger  into  one 
society. 


CHAPTER  LXXXI 


THE    DAKOTA    CENTIL\L    TELEPHONE    LINES. 


The  largest  business  proposition  in  South  Da- 
kota, organized  exclusively  by  South  Dakota 
men  and  conducted  with  South  Dakota  capital,  is 
the  corporation  known  as  the  Dakota  Central 
Telephone  Lines.  The  history  of  this  institution 
deserves  more  than  passing  notice,  for  it  is  the 
story  of  success  won  by  persistent  effort  against 
obstacles  which  appeared  insurmountable. 

The  genius  who  by  unflagging  zeal  has 
wrought  out  this  success  is  J.  L.  W.  Zietlow,  a 
gentleman  who  works  with  the  handicap  of  a 
single  hand  to  perform  the  labor  which  he  has 
so  arduously  contributed  to  the  enterprise.  Mr. 
Zietlow  is  naturally  of  a  mechanical  turn  and 
deeply  interested  in  electrical  science,  and  when 
the  telephone  first  came  into  general  use  in  the 
early  'eighties  and  the  instruments  were  all  em- 
braced in  the  Bell  patents,  he  determined  to  pro- 
duce an  instrument  of  his  own.  The  successful 
Bell  machines  all  used  an  undulating  current  and 
scientists  did  not  deem  it  possible  to  make  a  satis- 
factory telephone  upon  any  other  principle.  JMr. 
Zietlow  took  up  an  invention,  brought  out  by 
Professor  Ries,  of  Germany,  some  time  prior  to 
the  Bell  invention.  This  instrument,  on  account 
of  using  a  "make  and  break"  current,  was  held  to 
be  capable  of  reproducing  musical  and  mechani- 
cal sounds  only,  but,  after  much  experimenting, 
he  brought  out  a  machine  that  reproduced  human 
speech.  With  this  telephone  he  interested  Gov- 
ernor Mellette  and  other  prominent  business  men 
of  the  state  and  in  the  fall  of  1886  organized  a 
company  for  the  purpose  of  building  exchanges 


in  all  the  principal  towns  in  the  state  and  con- 
necting same  with  toll  lines.  During  the  winter 
of  1886-7  exchanges  at  Aberdeen  and  Columbia 
and  a  toll  line  connecting  these  points  were  built. 
The  latter  was  extended  to  Groton  and  an  ex- 
change was  built  at  Watertown  in  the  spring  of 
1887. 

Speaking  of  this  period,  Mr.  Zietlow  says : 
"On  account  of  the  opposition  and  threatening 
attitude  of  the  Bell  people  this  company  became 
discouraged  and  in  the  fall  of  1887  practically 
disbanded.  The  Aberdeen  and  Watertown  ex- 
changes and  the  toll  line  between  Aberdeen,  Co- 
lumbia and  Groton  were,  however,  maintained  in 
spite  of  the  opposition  and  are,  I  believe,  the  only 
ones  in  the  United  States  which  bear  the  distinc- 
tion of  having  been  operated  in  opposition,  during 
the  period  of  patent  litigation.  It  was  ver>'  diffi- 
cult to  maintain  these  exchanges  from  the  fact 
that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  buy  anything  ]ier- 
taining  to  telephones,  and  makeshifts  had  to  be 
devised."  A  very  important  discovery  was  made 
by  Mr.  Zietlow  in  the  spring  of  1887.  While 
extending  the  line  from  Bath  to  Groton,  a  switch 
was  placed  at  Bath,  and  a  man  put  in  charge  to 
operate  same  when  signals  were  given  from  Gro- 
ton. This  man,  however,  conceived  the  idea  of 
connecting  all  three  lines  and  in  so  doing  acci- 
dentally connected  an  extension  bell,  which  was 
wound  to  a  resistance  of  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  ohms,  onto  the  short  end  of  the  line,  and 
thus  left  all  lines  connected.  When  Mr.  Zietlow 
discovered    this    lie    was    very   indignant.     He 


482 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


limited  up  the  man  and  upbraided  him  for  neg- 
lecting his  dut_v,  but  the  fellow  calmly  remarked, 
"I  have  got  that  matter  fixed  all  right."  In  look- 
ing over  the  contraption,  Mr.  Zietlow  discovered 
that  the  placing  of  the  extension  bell  on  the  short 
end  of  the  line  had  balanced  the  resistance  of  the 
three  lines  and  upon  studying  the  thing  a  little, 
further,  improved  the  same  by  increasing  the  re- 
sistance of  the  'phone  located  at  Columbia.  The 
lines  thus  connected  were  operated  successfully 
for  several  years.  Mr.  Zietlow  did  not  deem  this 
device  of  sufficient  value  to  patent  it,  but  later 
practically  the  same  thing  was  discovered  and 
patented.  It  is  known  as  the  "Carty  bridging 
system"  and  is  practically  indispensable  to  long 
distance  work.  The  fact  that  several  novel  fea- 
tures had  been  introduced  into  this  system  may 
have  deterred  the  big  companies  from  attacking 
it  and  thus  enabled  the  movement  to  get  a  start. 
The  business,  however,  was  not  profitable  and 
in  spite  of  the  utmost  efforts  Mr.  Zietlow  found 
himself  deeper  and  deeper  in  debt.  Again 
speaking  of  this  time,  he  says,  "In  the  spring 
of  1896,  being  practically  out  of  employment, 
with  a  $5,000  debt  hanging  over  me,  with  only 
very  limited  resources,  I  undertook  to  build  a  line 
from  Aberdeen  to  Redfield,  with  branches 
thereto.  This  was  looked  upon  as  an  insane  un- 
dertaking by  many  of  the  citizens  and  business 
men  along  the  line."  But,  undismayed  by  pov- 
erty, lack  of  public  confidence,  as  well  as  a 
general  stagnation  in  all  business  affairs,  this  line 
was  completed  in  July,  1896,  and  operated  by  him 
during  that  summer  and  fall  and  through  the 
winter  of  1896-7.  The  hardships  encountered 
were  terrific  and  there  was  often  a  great  risk  of 
life  in  the  blizzards  of  that  winter  and  in  the 
high  water  that  followed  in  the  spring.  Space 
will  not  permit  describing  the  hardships  endured, 
but  on  account  of  the  railroads  being  blockaded 
and  the  telegraph  lines  being  disabled,  and  this 
line  having  been  kept  in  working  condition,  it 
proved  itself  very  remunerative  and  Mr.  Zietlow 
sa\s  that  this  line  earned  more  money  during  that 
awful  winter  and  spring  than  any  other  line  he 
has  ever  built.  Encouraged  by  this  success,  Mr. 
Zietlow  Ijuilt  a  line  from  Aberdeen  to  Ortonville, 


with  a  branch  to  Sisseton,  in  1897,  and  also  ex- 
tended the  Redfield  lines  to  Huron  and  Doland. 
Speaking  again  of  this  time,  Mr.  Zietlow  says, 
'T  could  not  have  successfully  carried  through 
this  undertaking  had  it  not  been  for  the  support 
I  received  from  my  family,  all  of  whom  prac- 
tically worked  night  and  day  to  get  the  lines  on 
a  paying  basis." 

In  the  spring  of  1898  W.  G.  Bickelhaupt 
came  into  the  enterprise  and  the  Western  Dakota 
Telephone  Company  was  organized.  This  com- 
pany has  since  been  embraced  in  the  Dakota  Cen- 
tral Telephone  Lines.  They  built  the  line  from 
Aberdeen  to  Eureka,  with  branches  to  Leola  and 
Bowdle.  That  year  Mr.  Zietlow,  individually, 
built  the  lines  from  Doland  to  Watertown  and 
j  from  Elrod  to  Brighton.  By  this  time  the  en- 
1  terprise  had  expanded  to  a  point  requiring  a 
thorough  reorganization  and  on  August  27,  1898, 
j  the  Dakota  Central  Telephone  Lines  were  in- 
corporated to  embrace  the  entire  system  and 
from  the  date  of  that  organization  the  expansion 
has  been  marvelous  and  continues  with  a  mo- 
mentum that  makes  it  appear  likely  to  take  in  the 
entire  telephone  system  of  the  state  and  con- 
tiguous territory.  The  lines  run  north  to  Ft. 
Yates,  Kulm,  Oakes,  Edgeley  and  Cogswell, 
North  Dakota;  east,  to  Wheaton,  Ortonville, 
Hanley  Falls  and  Canby,  ^Minnesota;  south,  to 
Yankton  and  adjacent  territory;  and  west  to 
Pierre  and  all  Missouri  river  points.  This  system 
now  embraces  three  thousand  miles  of  toll  lines, 
with  one  thousand  miles  of  copper  lines  strung 
in  addition  to  the  ordinary  lines.  It  embraces 
sixty  exchanges  and  its  employees  are  counted 
by  the  hundreds,  while  its  pay  rolls  are  sub- 
stantial elements  in  the  revenue  of  many  sec- 
tions. A  point  to  be  emphasized  is  that  the 
capital  required  has  been*  furnished  bv  South 
Dakota  men  and  the  earnings  are  distributed  in 
South  Dakota.  From  the  beginning,  it  has  been 
Mr.  Zietlow's  policy  to  provide  service  in  every 
section  demanding  it,  regardless  of  present 
revenues.  He  extended  the  line  into  Huron  at  a 
time  when  the  gross  receipts  of  that  office  were 
but  four  dollars  per  month.  He  is.  as  far  as  pos- 
sible,   pushing   his   lines   into   the   rural    districts 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


483 


for  the  accommodation  of  the  farmers,  although 
the  accounts  show  that  the  rural  business  is,  as 
yet,  conducted  without  a  profit.  It  has  been  his 
constant  policy  to  avoid  friction,  both  at  home 
and  abroad,  and,  while  acting  independently,  he 
has  always  maintained  pleasant  relations  with  the 
Bell  people,  who  have  never,  since  the  early  days 
of  the  telephone  war,  attempted  to  enter  his  field, 
nor  in  anywise  to  interfere  with  his  business,  but, 
on  the  contrary,  have  always  shown  him  all  the 
courtesy  that  could  be  expected  from  an  honor- 
able   business    competitor.       That    its    founder 


should  have  made  a  great  success  of  the  under- 
taking is  naturally  a  source  of  satisfaction  and 
pride  to  all  of  that  large  class  of  Dakotans  who 
regard  every  South  Dakota  success  as,  in  a  way, 
of  the  character  of  a  personal  achievement,  in 
which  they  are  participants. 

The  Dakota  Central  Telephone  Lines  is  one 
of  the  most  thoroughly  established  independent 
telephone  systems  in  the  United  States.  It  has 
established  the  cheapest  rates  of  any  institution 
of  its  kind  doing  a  telephone  business  in  the 
Northwest. 


CHAPTER  LXXXIII 


BLACK  HILLS  FOREST  RESERVE. 


CAPT.  SETH  BULLOCK. 


The  Black  Hills  Forest  Reserve  was  estab- 
lished on  September  19,  1898,  by  President  Wil- 
liam JMcKinley,  who  on  that  date  b}-  proclama- 
tion withdrew  from  settlement  practically  all  of 
the  timbered  area  of  the  Black  Hills  of  South  Da- 
kota, including  a  small  strip  in  Wyoming  along 
the  Dakota  line,  the  amount  of  land  set  aside  for 
this  purpose  being  1,211,680  acres,  all  of  this 
large  area  being  in  the  state  of  South  Dakota 
excepting  48,640  acres  in  the  Wyoming  strip. 
The  object  of.  the  forest  reserve  is  for  the  pur- 
pose of  preserving  the  living  and  growing  timber, 
promoting  the  younger  growth  and  the  regula- 
tion of  the  water  supply,  as  the  dependence  of  the 
latter  for  a  sure  and  sustained  flow  is  wholly 
upon  vegetation  which  prevents  rapid  run-oflf  and 
is  best  attained  by  a  dense  and  vigorous  growth 
of  timber.  The  permanent  industries  of  the 
Black  Hills  are  wholly  dependent  upon  timber 
and  water.  Destroy  one  and  these  industries 
will  disappear,  while  if  both  are  destroyed  the 
"richest  one  hundred  miles  square"  will  become  a 
desert.  The  withdrawal  of  the  lands  embraced 
in  the  reserve  from  settlement  does  not,  how- 
ever, prevent  their  use  by  residents  in  or  adjoin- 
ing, nor  does  it  in  any  way  interfere  with  pros- 
pecting, locating  or  developing  the  mineral  re- 
sources thereof,  as  witness  the  following  extract 
Irom  the  act  of  June  4.  1897  (30  Stat.  36),  re-  j 
lating  to  the  creation  and  administration  of  forest  j 
reserves :  "Nothing  herein  shall  be  construed  as  I 
prohibiting  the  egress  or  ingress  of  actual  settlers  ' 


residing  within  the  boundaries  of  such  reserva- 
tion, or  from  crossing  the  same  to  and  from  their 
property  or  homes ;  and  such  wagon  roads  and 
other  improvements  may  be  constructed  theron 
as  may  be  necessary  to  reach  their  homes  and  to 
utilize  their  property  under  such  rules  and  regula- 
tions as  may  be  prescribed  by  the  secretary  of  the 
interior.  Nor  shall  anything  herein  prohibit  any 
persons  from  entering  upon  such  forest  reser- 
vations for  all  proper  and  lawful  purposes, 
including  that  of  prospecting,  locating  and  de- 
veloping the  mineral  resources  therein:  Pro- 
vided, that  such  persons  comply  with  the 
rules  and  regulations  covering  such  forest  res- 
ervations." 

The  control  and  management  of  the  reserve 
rests  with  the  commissioner  of  the  general  land 
office.  Washington,  D.  C,  under  the  supervision 
of  the  secretary  of  the  interior.  The  local  man- 
agement consists  of  a  forest  super\'isor,  with 
headquarters  in  Deadwood.  assisted  by  a  corps 
of  rangers,  who  are  stationed  on  the  reserve,  to 
each  of  which  is  assigned  a  certain  area,  known 
as  a  ranger  district.  The  duties  of  these  forest 
reserve  officers  are  to  carry  out  the  rules  and  reg- 
ulations governing  the  reserves,  patrol  and  pro- 
tect the  forest  from  fire  and  depredations  and  the 
unlawful  taking  of  timber :  they  also  act  as  game 
wardens  and  assist  the  state  officers  in  protecting 
wild  game  upon  the  reser\-es.  Timber,  both  liv- 
ing and  dead,  may  be  procured  from  tlie  reserve 
in   the   following  manner :     The   law   prescribes 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


485 


that  it  may  be  had  without  charge  by  settlers, 
farmers,  prospectors  and  others  residing  within 
or  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  forest  reserve  for 
individual  use,  but  not  for  sale.  It  is  refused  to 
corporations,  companies,  sawmill  parties  and 
owners  of  large  establishments  who  are  expected 
to  purchase  and  to  non-residents  of  the  state  in 
which  the  reserve  is  located.  Permits  for  an 
amount  not  exceeding  twenty  dollars  in  stumpage 
value  may  be  granted  by  the  forest  supervisor. 
Permits  for  a-  larger  amount,  and  within  the 
stumpage  value  of  one  hundred  dollars,  are 
granted  only  by  the  secretary  of  the  interior. 
The  same  person  can  apply  but  once  in  a  year 
and  the  permit  holds  good  for  six  months  or  less 
time  in  the  discretion  of  the  forest  supervisor. 
All  kinds  of  timber  may  be  obtained,  but  gener- 
ally dry  firewood,  dry  poles  and  logs ;  also,  if 
really  needed,  green  timber.  Applications  for 
the  free  use  of  timber  must  be  made  to  the  forest 
supervisor  upon  blanks  furnished  by  the  forest 
officers,  the  timber  must  be  located  by  a  forest 
officer  and  only  the  timber  applied  for  can  be 
cut,  and  it  must  be  measured  and  marked  by  a 
forest  officer.  The  applicant  is  required  to  pile 
the  brush  and  other  debris  resulting  from  the 
cutting  and  removal  of  the  timber.  The  pur- 
chase of  timber,  both  gireen  and  dry,  from  the  re- 
serve for  use  within  the  state  (no  timber  cut  on 
reserve  lands  being  permitted  to  be  shipped  out 
of  the  state  in  which  it  is  grown)  is  made  through 
the  forest  supervisor.  The  question  to  be  de- 
cided by  the  supervi.sor  before  the  sale  of  green 
timber  is  recommended  is  whether  another 
growth  of  timber  will  replace  the  one  removed 
or  whether  the  land  will  become  waste,  and  if 
the  removal  of  the  timber  will  in  any  way  affect 
the  water  supply  by  removing  the  shade  from 
the  ground,  by  permitting  the  gullying  of  the 
hillsides,  entailing  the  destruction  of  the  seed- 
lings, or  will  in  any  way  injure  the  source  of  the 
water  supply.  The  number  of  small  trees,  their 
kind,  their  vigor,  the  seed-bearing  capacity  of 
those  which  will  be  left  after  cutting,  the  possi- 
ble destruction  of  the  young  growth  by  logging 
or  fire ;  all  these  points  must  be  fully  considered. 
If  it  seems  certain  that  the  timber  mav  be  safeh 


cut,  the  best  method  of  cutting  must  be  decided, 
whether  the  trees  below  a  certain  diameter 
should  be  left  to  form  the  next  crop.  Whether  a 
number  of  seed  trees  should  be  left,  or  what  svs- 
tem  will  be  surest  to  bring  about  satisfactorv  re- 
production. If  the  supervisor  decides  that  the  sale 
is  advisable  and  the  purchase  of  the  timber  asked 
for,  he  fixes  the  conditions  under  which  it  must 
be  cut  and  the  price.  The  applicant  then  signs 
a  definite  application  which,  with  the  forest  offi- 
cers' map,  forest  description  and  recommenda- 
tion, is  sent  to  the  interior  department  in  Wash- 
ington. If  approved,  the  timber  will  be  adver- 
tised in  a  local  paper  for  six  weeks  and  bids  re- 
ceived by  the  secretary  of  the  interior  in  Wash- 
ington for  the  timber,  and  the  timber  awarded  to 
the  highest  bidder.  The  successful  bidder  is  re- 
quired to  deposit  with  the  receiver  of  the  land  of- 
fice the  value  of  the  timber  purchased,  and  pile 
the  brush  and  debris  resulting  from  his  cutting 
away  from  living  trees.  The  forest  ranger  then 
marks  each  tree  to  be  cut  and  after  it  is  cut  he 
measures  the  lumber  and  cordwood  contents  and 
certifies  the  amounts  to  the  forest  supervisor 
twice  each  month  until  the  cutting  is  completed. 
The  ranger  is  also  required  by  the  forestry  law 
to  stamp  the  letters  "U.  S."  on  the  end  of  each 
log  cut. 

The  grazing  of  cattle  and  horses  in  limited 
numbers  is  permitted  on  the  reserve,  permits  be- 
ing issued  by  the  forest  supervisor.  The  set- 
tlers upon  the  reserve  are  given  the  prior  right 
to  graze  their  stock.  No  charge  is  made  for 
grazing  privileges,  but  the  owner  of  the  stock  is 
required  to  assist  the  forest  officers  in  prevent- 
ing and  extinguishing  fires. 

The  business  of  the  Black  Hills  Forest  Re- 
serve exceeds  that  of  all  the  other  forest  reserves, 
as  the  following  statistical  statement,  taken  from 
the  report  of  the  commissioner  of  the  general 
land  office  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  1902,  will 
show  : 

Total  number  of  forest  reserves 54 

Total  area  of  all  forest  reserves,  acres....   60.175,16.'> 

Area  Black  Hills  Forest  Reserve,  acres 1.211.680 

Grazing  permits  issued  by  the  supervisor  of 

the   Black   Hills   Forest     Reserve 303 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


Greatest   number   issued   by   supervisor   of 
any  other  forest  reserve 

Public   timber   sales,   all   forest   reserves.. 
Public    timber    sales,    Black    Hills    Forest 

Reserve    

Amount  received  from  sale  of  timber,  all 

reserves    $  25,- 

Amount  received  from  sale  of  timber  in  the 

Blaclv  Hills   Forest   Reserve $  20.: 


Free  use  of  timber  permits  issued,  all  re- 
serves   1,322 

Free  use  of  timber  permits  issued,  Black 

Hills  Forest  Reserve 705 

The  commissioner  in  his  annual  report  says : 
"The  revenue  derived  from  timber  sales  in  the 
Black  Hills  Forest  Reserve  has  been  double  the 
expense  connected  with  the  work." 


CHAPTER  LXXXIV 


GOLD  MINING  IN  THE  BLACK  HILLS. 


BY   MAJOR  A.    J.    SIMMONS. 


Gold  represents  the  most  potent  factor  in  the 
civilized  world.  The  averag'e  man  will  forego 
greater  hardship  and  take  more  chances  in  its  ac- 
quisition than  in  all  else  combined.  This  is  per- 
haps more  fully  exemplified  in  the  discovery  and 
settlement  of  the  great  gold  camps  of  the  western 
half  of  the  continent;  in  the  marvellous  influence 
a  reported  discovery  of  gold  exerts  over  the 
minds  and  actions  of  men  and  the  eagerness  with 
which  they  stampede  to  the  scene.  However  re- 
mote and  inaccessible,  thousands  rush  to  the  spot, 
native  tribes  are  overcome,  crude  government  and 
law  are  established  and  civilization  is  planted  in 
a  wilderness,  encouraged  and  supported  as  no 
other  agency  or  power  is  capable  of  doing. 

The  yellow  particles  of  gold  panned  by  Mar- 
shall in  the  mill-race  on  Sutter's  creek  in  Cali- 
fornia, in  1848,  startled  and  electrified  the  civil- 
ized world — it  was  a  history-making  epoch. 
Adventurous  spirits  from  the  four  quarters  of  the 
earth,  the  ubiquitous  Yankee  predominating, 
rushed  to  the  scene.  A  vast  region,  peopled  by 
uncivilized  tribes,  save  a  handful  of  white  pio- 
neers, containing  the  undeveloped  resources  of  a 
mighty  empire  (the  great  state  of  California), 
was  conquered  and  speedily  transformed  to  civil- 
ization and  a  state  in  the  American  Union ! 

And  so  the  process  has  been  many  times  re- 
peated during  the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century  within  the  memory  and  lives  of  many 
living  participants  in  the  stirring  events.  The 
trail-blazing  prospector  in  search  of  the  precious 
metals   penetrated   the   mountain    fastnesses   and 


desert  wastes  of  the  great  pathless  wilderness 
stretching  from  the  Rocky  mountains  to  the  Pa- 
cific ocean  and  from  Alaska  on  the  north  to  Ari- 
zona on  the  south.  Under  the  irresistible  spell  of 
the  discovery  of  gold,  hosts  of  men  and  women 
followed  the  trail  of  the  prospector  and  great 
prosperous  mining  camps  sprang  up  throughout 
(he  region.  Conditions  were  made  possible  for 
the  development  of  other  resources,  and  thus 
were  laid  the  foundations  for  the  admittance  of 
half  a  dozen  new  states  into  the  Union,  besides 
three  great  mineral  territories  knocking  at  the 
door  and  whose  ultimate  destiny  is  the  same.  In- 
deed, the  civilizing  influences  of  the  pioneer 
miner  in  the  conquest  of  nature  and  hostile  tribes, 
in  preparing  the  way  for  prosperous  communities 
and  statehood,  forms  a  brilliant  chapter  in  the 
history  of  the  times — nor  will  his  mission  be  ful- 
filled so  long  as  other  mineral  worlds  remain  to 
be  conquered. 

The  Black  Hills,  occupying  the  southwestern 
corner  of  the  territory  of  Dakota,  remained  in 
grand  isolation,  jealously  guarded  by  the  Sioux 
Indians,  long  after  the  conquest  of  the  great 
western  wilderness.  No  prospector  of  whom 
there  is  any  authentic  record  had  broken  or  sam- 
pled its  auriferous  rocks  or  panned  its  golden 
sands  prior  to  the  Custer  expedition  of  1874.  At 
last,  however,  the  magic  words,  "a  golden  land," 
rang  out  from  its  borders  and  the  dense  unbroken 
solitude  of  countless  ages  was  rudely  invaded  by 
the  gold  seeker.  The  Black  Hills  had  met  its 
fate — henceforth  to  be  dedicated  to  the  peaceful 


488 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


pursuit  of  the  miner,  civilization  and  commerce 
of  the  world. 

The  Black  Hills  at  this  time  was  part  of  the 
Sioux  reservation,  and  the  United  States  was 
bound  by  treaty  to  restrain  its  citizens  from  tres- 
passing upon  the  Indian  lands.  The  government 
proposed  entering  into  negotiations  with  the 
tribe.  The  Indians,  however,  seeing  their  ter- 
ritory invaded,  without  diplomatic  delay,  began 
to  shoot  and  ambush  the  intruders.  The  Indians 
generally  got  the  worst  of  these  encounters  and 
made  no  impression  whatever  in  stemming  the 
swelling  tide  of  immigration  to  the  new  Eldo- 
rado. And  likewise  after  some  futile  attempts 
in  that  direction  by  the  government,  in  which 
the  United  States  troops  were  brought  into  req- 
uisition, the  military  arm  found  it  was  up  against 
a  hard  proposition — a  stampede  to  a  gold  excite- 
ment which  no  human  power  could  suppress — 
and  the  government  concluded  it  would  be 
wise  economy  to  purchase  the  land  at  any  price. 
A  treaty  with  the  Indians  was  finally  consum- 
mated, whereby,  for  a  satisfactory  consideration, 
the  Indians  relinquished  to  the  United  States 
their  rights  to  the  Black  Hills,  and  the  United 
States  mineral  code  took  effect  and  became 
operative  therein  on  the  28th  day  of  February, 
1877,  which  memorable  occasion  signalized  the 
earliest  date  the  locator  could  stake  and  acquire 
a  valid  mineral  claim. 

From  the  first  the  Black  Hills  was  settled 
by  a  sterling  class  of  men  largely  from  the 
Missouri  valley  states,  ^Montana,  Colorado,  Cali- 
fornia and  the  Pacific  slope,  together,  as  usual 
in  such  cases,  with  more  than  the  ordinary  per- 
centage of  the  lawless  element  and  desperate 
characters.  The  western  gold  miners,  an  ag- 
gregation representing  all  industries,  mechanical 
arts  and  the  professions,  a  noted  class  of  men, 
born  of  the  exigencies  of  the  frontier,  inured  to 
its  vicissitudes  and  the  excitement  of  new  camps, 
well-known  conservators  of  the  peace  and  square 
dealing,  were  prominent  on  the  scene.  It  is  the 
habit  of  these  men  in  emergencies,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  law,  to  adopt  a  code  of  rules  and  enforce 
the  same  in  a  summary  manner. 

Washing   the    gravel    beds    of   the   bars    and 


creek  channels,  or  placer  mining,  was  in  suc- 
cessful operation  in  1876.  The  gold  fields  were 
situated  about  midway  between  the  Northern 
Pacific  and  Union  Pacific  railways,  two  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  from  the  nearest  settlement  in 
any  direction.  Travelers  to  the  mines,  transport 
of  supplies  and  stage  coaches  were  subjected  to 
attacks  from  marauding  bands  of  Indians  and 
the  more  sanguinary  road  agent. 

Deadwood,  a  typical  frontier  mining  camp, 
bristled  with  activity.  It  was  the  mining  and 
commercial  center  of  a  strenuous  mass  of  hu- 
manity suddenly  thrown  together  under  pe- 
culiar conditions  and  strange  environments.  Yet 
American  spirit  and  energy  prevailed  over  all 
obstacles  and  these  early-time  stalwarts  planted 
the  foundations  strong  and  deep  upon  which 
grew  in  peace  and  prosperity  a  new-found  golden 
empire. 

True,  the  benign  influence  of  the  laws  of 
the  territory  of  Dakota  were  felt  in  the  camp 
and  the  flag  of  the  great  republic  spread  its  pro- 
tecting folds  over  the  region.  Nevertheless,  in 
conformity  with  time-honored  usage  of  the  gov- 
ernment in  dealing  with  the  frontier,  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  laws,  if  enforced  at  all,  was  left 
almost  wholly  to  the  sturdy  pioneers.  However, 
the  country  passed  rapidly  through  early  chaotic 
conditions  to  well-organized,  orderly  and  peace- 
ful communities.  The  Indians  ceased  hostilities ; 
the  road  agent  was  exterminated :  the  desperadoes 
and  lawless  characters  were  forced  to  seek  more 
congenial  fields;  and  the  United  States  census 
of  1880  showed  the  then  three  counties  of  the 
Black  Hills  to  contain  a  resident  population  of 
16,487,  which,  with  development  of  its  region, 
has  steadily  increased  since  that  time. 

About  this  time  a  critical  and  eventful  period 
developed  in  the  history  of  mining  in  the  Black 
Hills.  The  rich  placers  were  practically  ex- 
hausted ;  the  stamp  mills  operating  on  the  beds 
of  conglomerate  ore  were  gradually  shutting 
down  and  going  out  of  business ;  the  great  sili- 
ceous deposits,  if  discovered,  were  not  yet  avail- 
able to  the  miner  owing  to  the  refractory  nature  of 
the  ore ;  and  there  was  an  exodus  from  the 
country  :  many  astute  business  men,  bankers  and 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


miners  foresaw,  as  they  believed,  the  end  and 
quietly  retired  from  a  worked-out  (  ?)  camp. 

And  yet  the  quartz  veins  or  lodes,  the  original 
source  of  the  gold,  the  depositories  of  nature's 
vast  treasure  vaults,  remained  unexplored,  the 
bonanzas  were  still  sleeping  in  the  depths  of  the 
rocks.  But  exploitation  was  persistently  con- 
tinued in  the  great  fissure  ledes  with  promis- 
ing results  and  at  this  early  period  their  values 
were  discerned  by  the  farseeing  miner,  which 
foreshadowed  the  magnitude,  permanency  and 
profit  of  future  mining  in  the  district,  at  this 
day  being  abundantly  realized — and  the  refluent 
tide  again  set  towards  the  Hills. 

The  Black  Hills  is  an  isolated  igneous  up- 
lift from  the  great  surrounding  plains,  covering 
an  area  of  sixty-five  by  one  hundred  miles, 
with  its  longest  diameter  in  a  northwestern  and 
southeastern  direction.  Its  altitude  ranges  from 
two  thousand  five  hundred  feet  above  the  sea 
level,  in  the  foot  hills,  to  seven  thousand  two 
hundred  and  fourteen  feet,  at  Harne}-'s  Peak, 
the  highest  elevation.  The  western  slope  of  the 
range  extends  over  the  boundary  of  the  state  of 
South  Dakota  into  the  state  of  Wyoming.  It 
is  essentially  an  igneous,  volcanic  intrusion,  three 
hundred  miles  east  of  the  great  Rocky  Mountain 
chain,  forming  a  completely  segregated  mineral 
world,  widely  paraphrased  as  the  "richest  one 
hundred  miles  square  on  earth.'' 

Gold,  the  chief  commercial  product,  is  found 
in  a  great  variety  of  rocks  covering  a  wide  ex- 
panse of  territory.  All  the  varied  rock  forma- 
tions of  the  uplift  may  be  said  to  be  gold-bear- 
ing: gold  is  mined  in  slate,  granite,  eruptive 
rocks,  sandstone,  conglomerate,  shale,  quartzite, 
limestone,  and  in  placer  deposits. 

The  principal  mining  districts  are  covered  by 
the  counties,  of  Lawrence,  Pennington  and  Cus- 
ter, .South  Dakota,  which  extend  across  the 
mountain  range  from  east  to  west  to  the  bound- 
ary of  Wyoming  on  the  west. 

Besides  gold,  a  great  variety  of  useful  metals 
and  minerals  and  many  of  the  rarer  elements  are 
found  in  the  Hills.  The  following  metals  and 
non-metallic  minerals  are  exploited  on  a  merchant- 
able basis :     Silver,  copper,  lead,  tin,  iron,  coal, 


gypsum,  mica.  Fuller's  earth,  spodumene,  litho- 
graph stone,  marble,  building  stone,  salt,  fire 
clay,  mineral  oil,  mineral  paint,  wolframite  or 
tungstate  of  iron,  graphite  and  lime. 

The  elevated  region  is  heavily  timbered  with 
pine  forests,  supplying  building  material,  mine 
timbers  and  fuel.  However,  most  of  the  fuel 
and  coke  used  in  the  steam  power  mining  plants  is 
furnished  by  coal  mines  in  the  northern  and 
southern  foot  hills  and  from  other  points  in 
Wyoming  having  railroad  connection  with  the 
coal  mines. 

Water,  one  of  the  most  essential  auxiliaries  to 
successful  mining,  is  also  abundant.  The  ele- 
vated plateaus  and  divides  of  the  range  are  the 
source  of  many  perennial  springs  and  streams 
which  flow  out  of  the  Hills  in  all  directions. 
.  The  accompanying  sketch  is  an  ideal  east- 
west  section  illustrating  the  geological  structure 
and  gold  measures  in  Lawrence  county,  the  chief' 
gold-producing  district  of  the   Black  Hills. 

The     lowermost     formation     shown     in     the 
sketch  is  the  ancient  Archaen  slates  or  schists — or 
I  Algonkian,    a    subdivision    of    the    same.     The 
i   Archaen    is    one    of   the    principal    gold-bearing 
formations  of  the  district,  the  habitat  of  the  ver- 
tical  quartz  veins  and  the    great    fissure    lodes 
known  as  the  Homestake  Belt.    These  rocks  con- 
sist of  stratified,  highly  crystalline,  metamorphic 
slates  or  schists  with  a  general  strike  of  north 
thirty-five  degrees  west,  and  south  thirty-five  de- 
grees east,  with  an  average  dip  to  the  northeast 
I  of  thirty-five  degrees  from  the  horizontal,  with 
'  many  local  variations.  Quartz  veins,  accompanied 
by  eruptive  dikes  of  the  porphyry  famil}-,  horn- 
blende and  diorite,  traverse  the  formation  in  con- 
formity with  the  strike  and  dip  of  the  bedding  of 
i  the  slates.    The  "belt"  is  a  well-defined  system  of 
parallel,  more  or  less  irregular  and  interlapping 
quartz  veins,  a  highly  mineralized   zone  one  to 
two  miles  in  width,  which  traver.ses  the  Archaen 
rocks  on  the  easterly  slope  of  the  range. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  great  ore- 
hearing  lodes  of  this  system  have  an  endless 
linear  continuity;  on  the  contrary,  while  in- 
dividual veins  may  consolidate  and  develop 
strength  and  persistency  in  strike,  thev  mav  be 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


■ 


.1 

1^ 


1  ^ 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


491 


expected  to  again  split  into  endless  smaller 
bodies,  spread  out  laterally  over  a  much  wider 
area  and  again  reform  or  be  replaced  on  either 
side  bv  other  interlapping  veins ;  however,  the 
great  mineral  zone,  or  belt,  has  an  indefinite 
continuity  on  its  strike,  and  is  known  to  be  prac- 
tically co-extensive  with  the  Archaen  formation, 
which  extends  through  the  entire  mountain 
range. 

The  greatest  development  of  the  belt  is  in 
the  Homestake  at  Lead  and  group  of  surround- 
ing mines,  such  as  the  Columbus,  next  north  of 
the  Homestake,  the  Oro  Hondo  on  the 
south,  the  Hidden  Fortune  on  the  northwest, 
the  Globe  on  the  west,  the  Pluma  on  the 
east  and  other  mines  in  this  neighborhood. 
Eight  miles  southeast  of  the  Homestake  the 
Clover  Leaf,  a  producing  mine,  is  developed  to 
the  seven-hiuidred-foot  level,  with  various  other 
active  mine  explorations  in  the  vicinity.  Thirty- 
six  miles  southerly  from  the  Homestake  on  the 
trend  of  the  belt,  explorations  have  been  carried 
to  the  depth  of  one  thousand  two  hundred  feet 
following  the  Holy  Terror  vein  by  the  Holy 
Terror-Keystone  Alining  Company,  at  Keystone, 
Pennington  county.  Other  companies  are 
operating  in  this  vicinity  and  exploratory  work 
is  in  progress  at  various  intermediate  points  be- 
tween the  places  named.  Nearly  all  of  Law- 
rence and  the  western  half  or  mountainous  por- 
tions of  Pennington  and  Custer  counties,  com- 
prise the  active  mineral  area  and  mining  is  con- 
ducted throughout  the  same.  Gold,  copper,  mica 
and  tin  are  the  chief  mineral  products  of  Pen- 
nington and  Custer  counties. 

Overlying  and  resting  unconformably  upon 
the  vertical  Archaen  slates  is  the  horizontal 
Cambrian  formation  some  four  hundred  feet  in 
thickness  where  undisturbed  by  erosive  action. 
The  Cambrian  rocks  consist  of  a  conglomerate 
base  overlain  by  quartzite,  sandstone  and  shale, 
the  whole  being  pierced  by  intrusive  dikes  and 
laccolithic  sheets  of  eruptive  rocks.  The  Cambrian 
is  highly  mineralized,  containing  the  remarkable 
"blanket"  deposits  of  the  Black  Hills.  In  the 
Raid  mountain  and  Ruby  Basin  region  some  of 
these    deposits    on    the    quartzite    are    known    to   j 


have  a  continuous  length  of  more  than  one  mile, 
several  hundred  feet  in  width  and  of  great 
thickness.  In  the  upper  shales  similar  blankets 
of  ore  and  vertical  deposits  are  found  through- 
out the  formation. 

The  Cambrian  deposits  cover  a  large  area 
in  the  vicinity  of  Bald  Mountain,  Terry's  Peak. 
Ruby  Basin,  Yellow  Creek,  ]\Iaitland,  Custer's 
Peak,  Carbonate  Camp,  Galena  and  Elk  ]\Ioun- 
tain.  Some  of  the  principal  producing  mines 
in  these  measures  are  the  Golden  Reward,  Horse- 
shoe. Penobscot,  Wasp  No.  2,  Hidden  Fortune, 
Imperial,  Dorr  &  Wilson,  Dakota,  Portland,  Co- 
lumbus, Iron  Hill  and  Cleopatra. 

Still  another  distinct  geological  formation  up- 
permost in  the  Black  Hills  structure,  the  car- 
boniferous limestone,  overlies  the  Cambrian 
with  horizontal  bedding  in  conformity  therewith, 
as  shown  in  the  geological  section,  and  is  one 
thousand  feet  thick  in  the  absence  of  erosion. 
Grouped  around  Ragged  Top  mountain,  in  the 
northwestern  part  of  Lawrence  county  in  the 
great  lime  plateau,  extensive  blanket  and  vertical 
deposits  have  been  explored  and  the  ores  are 
being  mined  and  milled.  Among  the  chief  min- 
ing companies  operating  here  may  be  mentioned 
the  Spearfish.  Deadwood  Standard,  Potsdam, 
Balmoral,  American.  Little  Bud.  L'lster,  ^'ictoria, 
Eleventh  Hour  andv Magnet.  The  largest  mill, 
that  of  the  Spearfish  company,  reduces  three 
hundred  tons  of  ore  daily. 

The  variety  of  chemical  and  mechanical  com- 
binations of  the  gold-bearing  rocks  of  the  Black 
Hills,  necessitating  radically  different  kinds  of 
treatment  for  the  several  different  classes  of  ore, 
has  called  for  the  application  of  the  highest 
scientific  methods  of  the  metallurgists  and  skill 
of  the  mechanic  for  the  economic  extraction  of 
the  values.  While  many  problems  are  yet  to  be 
solved  and  the  industry  still  remains  in  the  edu- 
cational stage,  nevertheless,  persistent  applica- 
tion, years  of  experimentation  and  invention, 
have  brought  the  business  up  to  the  present 
high  standard  of  eft'iciency  and  results. 

The  ores  of  the  Belt  mines,  known  as  free 
milling,  are  reduced  by  the  ordinary  stamp  mill 
amalgamation   process,   with   a   secondary   treat- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


ment  of  the  tailings  by  cyanide  of  potassium. 
The  so-called  refractory  or  siliceous  ores  of  the 
Cambrian  and  carboniferous  deposits  are  treated 
largely  by  the  cyanide  process,  especially  the 
oxidized  lower  grades,  while  the  more  refractory 
high-grade  ores  of  this  class  are  smelted.  Pyritic 
or  iron  matte  smelting  is  an  outgrowth  of  con- 
ditions in  the  Black  Hills  and  was  first  applied 
here  from  necessity  and  has  proven  highly 
satisfactory.  The  other  new  process,  cyanide  of 
potassium,  has  worked  a  revolution  in  the 
economv  of  mining  in  the  Black  Hills. 

The  cyanide  process  of  recovering  gold  from 
refractory  ores  is  a  highly  scientific  chemical 
operation,  the  most  valuable  metallurgical  dis- 
covery of  modern  times.  The  cheapness  of  the 
process  permits  of  the  working  at  a  profit  of  low- 
grade  ores  not  adapted  to  any  other  known 
method.  It  has  turned  old  waste  dumps  and  tail- 
ings piles  into  valuable  assets :  abandoned  mines 
are  rejuvenated  and  their  lean  values  made 
available  by  cyanide ;  it  has  widened  the  mining 
field  by  transforming  vast  low  grade  areas  here- 
tofore unworkable  to  active  paying  business. 

There  arc  now  in  operation  in  the  various  dis- 
tricts throughout  the  Black  Hil's  nineteen  stamp- 
amalgamation-mills  working  on  free  milling 
ores,  with  a  total  of  one  thousand  two  hundred 
and  forty  stamps,  having  an  aggregate  reduction 
capacity  of  four  thousand  nine  hundred  and  sixty 
tons  of  ore  each  twenty-four  hours ;  seventeen 
cyanide  mills  operating  on  crude  ore  with  a  total 
capacity  of  two  thousand  four  hundred  and 
ninety-five  tons;  and  two  cyanide  mills  treating 
tailings  of  eight  hundred  and  one  thousand  three 
hundred  tons  daily  capacity  respectively;  and 
two  pyritic  smelters  with  a  daily  capacity  of  three 
hundred  and  five  hundred  tons  respectively. 
While  these  figures  show  the  total  capacity  of 
present  Black  Hills  reduction  plants,  they  do 
not  represent  the  actual  tonnage  of  ore  reduced 
since  the  exigencies  of  the  business  necessitate 
periods  of  inactivity  among  the  mills.  New  mines 
are  being  opened  up  and  equipped  with  new  mills, 
and  each  successive  year  witnesses  the  starting 
of  new  plants. 


According  to  statistics  compiled  by  Hon.  Geo. 
E.  Roberts,  director  of  the  United  States  mints, 
South  Dakota  stands  third  among  the  states  of 
the  union  in  gold  production.  The  great  mining 
states  of  Colorado  and  California  only  exceed 
the  Black  Hills  of  South  Dakota  ( the  only  gold- 
producing  district  in  a  great  agricultural  state) 
in  annual  production  of  gold. 

The  following  table  gives  the  total  annual 
production  since  gold  was  first  mined  in  the 
Black  Hills  from  1876  to  1903,  inclusive: 

Total 
Year.  Production. 

1876     ?     1,200,000 

1877     2,000,000 

1878     2,250.000 

1879     2,500.000 

1880     2.650,000 

1881     2.550,000 

1882     2,550,000 

1883 2,525,000 

1884     2,575,000 

1885 2,750,000 

1886     3,250,000 

1887     3,420,000 

1888     3,485,000 

1889     3,550,000 

1890     3,904,160 

1891     4,619.270 

1892     5,101,630 

1893     6,750.000 

1894     6,500,000 

1895     6,800,000 

1896     6,775.000 

1897     6,524.760 

1898     • 6,800,000 

1899     7,000.000 

1900     7,250,000 

1901     7,500,000 

1902     7.400,000 

1903     7,229,000 

Total     $127,408,820 

From  a  mining  point  of  view  this  young 
mineral  empire  occupies  a  unique  position  and 
stands  out  in  bold  relief  on  the  mining  horizon, 
upon  which  nature  has  bestowed  her  choicest 
treasures  with  a  bountiful  hand.  It  may  be  said 
to  contain  practically  all  of  the  nobler  as  well  as 
the  chief  useful  metals  and  minerals  of  inorganic 
nature,  the  development  of  which  brings  new 
and  buried  wealth  into  circulation  which  ad- 
ministers to  the  comforts  and  pleasures  of  man- 
kind and  adds  to  civilization  and  the  commerce 
of  the  world.    In  the  verv  infancv  of  develop- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


493 


results  shows  continuous  expansion  with  a  future 
full  of  promise  and  unlimited  possibilities.  Its 
engineers  and  miners  have  perfected  and  applied 
economic  methods  to  mining  which  have  set  the 
pace  in  other  fields  and  placed  the  industry  here 
in  the  class  of  legitimate  industrial  enterprise — 
with  no  more  risk  and  far  greater  profit. 

And  yet  the  most  important  consideration, 
the  basic  principle  upon  which  the  whole  mineral 
fabric  rests,  is  the  splendid  geological  conditions 
guaranteeing  permanency  and  long  life  to  the 
mines.  It  is  a  well  established  fact  that  the  per- 
manent mining  camps  of  this  country — that  the 
great  productive  metalliferous  mines  of  the 
world  are  associated  with  eruptive  rocks.  With- 
out going  into  detail  on  the  subject,  suffice  it  to 
say  there  are  fixed  general  principles  accounting 
for  the  influence  of  eruptive  rocks  on  the  for- 
mation of  ore  bodies.  The  eruptive  rocks  and 
mineralizing  agencies  have  a  deep-seated  origin 
and  under  powerful  dynamic  pressure,  such  as 
elevated  the  Black  Hills,  the  eruptives  were 
forced  through  the  crust  of  the  earth  to  the 
surface,  opening  channels  and  passage-ways 
whereby  the  mineral  solutions  could  ascend  and 
penetrate  the  strata,  fill  the  fissures  and  deposit 
their  values,  thus  creating  and  mineralizing  the 
great  primary  veins  and  lodes  famous  from  the 
earliest  dawn  of  history  to  the  present  day  in  the 
annals  of  mining  for  indefinite  continuity 
downward  and  workable  longevity.  Such  mines 
are  still  yielding  their  treasures  in  Cornwall,  Bo- 
hemia, Germany,  Mexico  and  elsewhere  under 
the  same  geological  conditions,  in  contact  or  as- 
sociation with  the  eruptive  rocks.  Identical  con- 
ditions prevail  in  the  Black  Hills,  and  its 
economic  geology  is  equally  favorable  for  long- 
lived  and  productive  mines.' 

However,  a  demonstration  of  facts  far  out- 
weighs comparison,  analogy,  theorv- :  Working 
shafts  upon  the  lodes  and  the  still  deeper  ex- 
ploration of  the  diamond  drill  warrant  the  state- 
ment that  the  great  lodes  of  the  Black  Hills  are. 
practically  limitless  and  will  continue  to  be 
worked  on  a  merchantable  basis  by  generations 
of  the  distant  future. 


THE     IIOMESTAKE     MIXE. 

The  Homestake  Mining  Company  was  in- 
corporated under  the  laws  of  Cahfornia  in  1877 
by  several  prominent  mining  men  and  capitalists 
of  San  Francisco,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  over 
the  Homestake  lode  claim,  from  which  the  com- 
pany derived  its  name,  given  to  the  claim  by 
Moses  Manuel,  the  locator.  The  claim  consisted 
of  a  gold  prospect  of  less  than  ten  acres,  upon 
which  an  option  to  purchase  for  the  sum  of 
seventy  thousand  dollars  had  been  secured  by  L. 
D.  Kellogg,  a  trusted  agent  and  mine  expert  who 
had  examined  and  recommended  the  property. 
The  prospect  was  visited  later  by  George  Hearst, 
the  veteran  miner,  who  approved  of  the  same, 
and  he,  with  James  E.  Haggin  and  Lloyd  Tevis, 
became  the  active  organizers  of  the  company — 
responsible  for  the  creation,  development  and 
success  of  the  Homestake  mine. 

On  the  retirement  and  death  of  Samuel  Mc- 
Masters  in  1884,  Thomas  J.  Grier,  in  the  employ 
of  the  company,  was  promoted  to  the  super- 
intendency,  under  whose  conservative  but  able 
and  forceful  guidance  of  the  working  end,  the 
Homestake  mine  in  the  past  twenty  years  has 
grown  and  expanded  to  the  magnificent  propor- 
tions of  today,  the  story  of  which  will  be  briefly 
summarized  in  the  following  pages. 

At  the  time  of  the  purchase  of  the  claim,  ex- 
ploration consisted  of  small  surface  pits  only; 
and  the  prospect  was  considered  by  mining  men 
as  a  doubtful  proposition,  but  with  favorable 
surface  indications  for  the  development  of  a 
mine.  The  Homestake  Company,  possessed  of 
an  abundance  of  capital  and  controlled  by  ex- 
pert miners,  lost  no  time  in  further  exploiting  the 
property.  Two  shafts  equipped  with  hoisting 
engines  and  various  drifts  were  soon  under  way 
and  the  first  mill  of  eighty  stamps  was  con- 
structed and  placed  in  commission  in  July,  1878. 

The  mine  proved  a  producer  from  the  first 
dropping  of  stamps,  and  the  Homestake  Com- 
pany from  this  small  beginning  entered  upon 
that  remarkable  industrial  career  which  has 
broken   all   records   and   set   a   new   jiace   in   the 


494 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


world  of  gold  mining.  The  values  in  the  ore 
were  small,  but  illimitable  tonnage  was  placed  in 
sight.  Large  mills  and  mining  machinery  and 
immense  mechanical  power  to  handle  vast  quan- 
tities of  material  with  the  most  economic  methods, 
were  indispensable,  under  the  conditions,  for 
creating  and  upbuilding  the  most  gigantic  gold 
mining   enterprises  the   world  had  ever   known. 

Guided  by  the  development  of  the  region, 
based  on  positive  knowledge  and  results,  uninflu- 
enced by  the  elements  of  chance,  but  governed  by 
conservative  business  methods,  the  Homestake 
Company  pursued  a  consistent  policy  of  expansion 
and  absorption.  During  the  past  twenty-five 
years  it  has  acquired  by  purchase  the  properties 
of  the  Highland,  Deadwood-Terra,  Caledonia 
and  Father  DeSmet  mining  companies,  besides 
other  lesser  companies  and  groups  of  claims  and 
many  individual  holdings.  Starting  with  less 
than  ten  acres,  the  Homestake  of  today  controls 
a  contiguous  body  of  mining  ground  extending 
from  Deadwood  creek  on  the  north  over  the 
divide  to  Whitewood  creek  on  the  south,  practic- 
ally a  distance  of  two  miles,  comprising  an  area 
of  two  thousand  six  hundred  and  twenty-four 
acres,  covering  the  strike  of  the  great  parallel 
lode  system  known  as  the  Belt.  The  extensive 
mining  operations  of  the  Homestake  are  con- 
fined to  this  area,  and  the  commercial  and  mining 
town  of  Lead,  of  eight  thousand  inhabitants,  has 
grown  up  on  and  surrounding  the  property. 

The  enlargement  of  old  and  construction  of 
new  milling  plants,  hoisting  and  other  machinery, 
the  building  of  a  great  water-works  system  and 
extensive  mine  exploration  have  kept  pace  with 
the  expansion  in  territory.  The  company  now 
operates  six  stamp  mills ;  the  smallest  drops  one 
hundred  and  the  largest  two  hundred  and  forty 
stamps,  with  a  total  of  one  thousand  stamps, 
which  reduce  four  thousand  tons  of  ore  every 
twenty-four  hours.  Two  cyanide  mills  treat  the 
tailings  from  the  stamp  mills,  of  eight  hundred 
and  one  thousand  four  hundred  and  fifty  tons 
daily  capacity  respectively — both  of  which  are 
undergoing  enlargement. 

Six  shafts  ef|uipped  with  steam  hoists,  cages 
and   modem   appliances,   from   eight   hundrtd   to 


one  thousand  one  hundred  feet  in  depth,  are 
located  at  convenient  points  on  the  ground  con- 
necting with  the  underground  workings  of  the 
mine.  All  the  ore  mined  is  raised  through  these 
shafts,  thence  delivered  to  the  mills  by  tramways 
operated  by  compressed  air  motors. 

According  to  Bruce  C.  Yates,  of  the  en- 
gineering department  of  the  Homestake  Com- 
pany, in  a  paper  read  by  him  before  the  Black 
Hills  Mining  Men's  Association,  there  are  forty- 
one  miles  of  tramway  track  opened  and  laid  in 
the  underground  workings;  this  does  not  in- 
clude the  shafts,  winzes,  raises  and  other  con- 
nections without  tracks,  which  would  make  a 
total  of  many  more  miles  of  rock  passage  ways 
in  the  great  mine.  Air  motors  are  being  intro- 
duced for  underground  tramming  of  ore  to 
hoisting  stations,  thereby  supplanting  horse  and 
mule  power  in  the  mine. 

The  same  authority  gives  the  combined 
engine  power,  steam,  electric  and  compressed 
air,  applied  to  mills,  hoists,  rock  drills,  pumps, 
transportation,  light,  et  cetera,  to  a  total  aggre- 
gating about  ten  thousand  horse  power  in  daily 
use  by  the  Homestake  Company. 

The  original  capitalization  of  the  Homestake 
Company  of  one  hundred  thousand  shares  has 
been  increased  on  two  separate  occasions,  the 
additional  stock  being  devoted  to  the  purchase, 
consolidation  and  betterment  of  the  prop.erty. 
The  company  now  has  an  authorized  capitaliza- 
tion of  twenty-one  million  eight  hundred  and 
forty  thousand  dollars,  divided  into  two  hundred 
and  eighteen  thousand  four  hundred  shares  of  the 
par  value  of  one  hundred  dollars  each.  In  so  far 
as  the  business  of  the  company  is  concerned  the 
par  value  is  a  negative  quantity;  all  individual 
holdings,  transactions  in  the  capital  stock  and 
dividends  paid  are  computed  by  shares. 

The  Homestake  Company  began  its  marvel- 
lous dividend  career  in  October,  1878,  and  each 
succeeding  month  since  that  time  it  has  earned 
and  riiade  a  contribution  to  its  stockholders. 
From  October,  1878,  to  April,  1904,  inclusive, 
covering  a  period  of  twenty-five  years  and  seven 
months,  three  hundred  and  seven  consecutive 
monthly  dividends  have  been  paid,  which  aggre- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA, 


495 


gate  a  total  sum  of  $12,640,750 — equivalent  to 
$126.40  per  share  on  the  original  100,000  shares 
of  the  company.  The  combined  dividends  paid 
bv  the  Homestake  and  the  other  mining  com- 
panies prior  to  their  consolidation  with  the 
Homestake  amount  to  about  twenty  million 
dollars;  and  the  total  gross  yield  of  the  same  is 
approximately  seventy-five  million  dollars;  based 
on  the  United  States  mint  returns,  about  ninety- 
nine  per  cent,  of  the  values  of  the  Homestake 
bullion  is  gold  and  one  per  cent,  silver. 

The  annual  gold  production  of  the  Home- 
stake  mine  is  close  to  five  million  dollars,  fifty 
per  cent,  of  which  is  disbursed  for  the  labor  of 
two  thousand  five  hundred  employes  carried  on 
the  pay  rolls,  and  about  one  million  dollars  is 
profit. 

Ill  the  various  stopes  and  mine  workings  about 
one  million  tons  of  ore  is  always  broken*  ready 
to  draw  from  for  suppl}-ing  the  mills.  The  great 
consolidated  lode  in  depth  with  an  ore  body 
from  three  hundred  and  fifty  to  five  hundred 
feet  in  width  contains  explored  ore  reserves  suf- 
ficient for  the  operation  of  the  company  for  a 
long  and  indefinite  period  of  the  future. 

The  Homestake  Mining  Company  employs 
more  labor  than  any  other  organization  in  the 
state,  and  is  by  far  the  largest  financial  and 
wealth-producing  concern  in  South  Dakota. 
(Bankers'  Register,  Jul}-,  1903.)  It  has  created 
and  put  in  circulation  ninety  per  cent,  more  hard 
money  than  the  combined  paid-up  capital,  surplus 
and  deposits  of  the  three  hundred  and  twenty- 
four  banking  institutions  in  the  state.  It  pro- 
duces annually  a  sum  equal  to  the  paid-up  capital 


of  all  of  said  banks.  The  Homestake  is  es- 
sentially a  great  manufacturing  enterprise  en- 
gaged in  the  development  of  nature's  storehouses 
and  bringing  new  found  riches  from  the  depths 
of  the  earth  to  the  light  of  day,  the  profits  of 
which  are  disbursed  monthly  to  two  thousand 
stockholders — alike  swelling  the  cofifers  of  the 
affluent  and  bringing  cheer  and  substance  to 
many  humble  homes. 

The  exploitation  of  mother  earth  for  the 
precious  metals  does  not  admit  of  imlawful 
monopolies  or  trusts;  it  is  a  free  and  open  field, 
accessible  alike  to  the  poorest  prospector  or  the 
greatest  financial  corporation.  The  very  nature 
of  the  business  precludes  monopolistic  combina- 
tions for  the  reason  that  nature's  most  favored 
product,  gold,  the  basis  of  all  values,  commands 
the  markets  of  the  world  with  an  unvarying  price 
as  stable  and  immutable  as  the  civilized  gov- 
ernments of  the  earth.  Legitimate  gold  mining 
despoils  nature,  not  man,  and  however  success- 
ful, its  accumulations  are  not  drawn  from 
existing  stores,  but  new  wealth  is  transmuted 
from  the  stubborn  rocks  and  diverted  to  the 
channels  of  conuuerce  and  the  enrichment  of 
mankind. 

As  a  mine,  the  Homestake  is  recognized  by 
the  highest  authorities  as  the  leading  producer 
of  the  world.  The  magnitude  of  its  operations; 
gross  output ;  twenty-five  and  a  half  years  of 
consecutive  monthly  dividends ;  immense  un- 
broken ore  reserves  imparting  vast  longevity 
and  unmeasured  value  to  the  mine,  are  conditions 
heretofore  unknown  and  unequalled  in  the  an- 
nals of  gold  mining. 


CHAPTER  LXXXV 


ODD  CHARACTERS  AXD  INCIDENTS  OF  THE  BLACK  HILLS. 


BY  ELLIS  TAYLOR  PEIRCE. 


[Ellis  Taylor  Peirce,  a  Pennsylvania  Quaker, 
is  a  native  of  Lancaster  county,  and  came  of 
English-Irish-Scotch  stock.  He  is  a  cousin  of 
Bayard  Taylor,  the  celebrated  traveler-author. 
Ellis  was  born  April  24,  1846,  and  was  educated 
at  the  Pennsylvania  State  Normal  School  at  Mil- 
lersburg,  from  which  institution  he  enlisted,  in 
June,  1863,  and  rendered  noteworthy  service  un- 
til March  16,  1865,  when  he  was  mustered  out 
at  St.  Louis,  a  veteran  of  the  Thirty-ninth  ]\Iis- 
souri  Mounted  Infantry.  He  arrived  at  Custer 
in  February,  1876,  and  has  from  that  time  been 
an  active  citizen  of  the  Hills.  Having  some 
knowledge  of  medicine  and  surgery,  he  was  early 
called  into  requisition  by  ailing  miners,  whom  he 
treated  gratuitously  and  his  cabin  soon  became 
a  free  hospital  to  which  the  destitute  and  friend- 
less instinctively  turned.  Peirce  scouted  in  the 
Indian  troubles,  tried  his  hand  at  mining,  chased 
road  agents,  and  in  1878  was  appointed  sheriff 
of  Custer  county.  Two  years  later  he  was  elected 
sheriff  of  Pennington  county  and  thus  he  came 
in  contact  with  most  of  the  hard  characters  who 
infested  the  Hills  in  the  days  of  the  early  boom. 
Among  his  other  exploits,  he  chased,  with  others, 
the  Cold  Spring  road  agents  to  the  Missouri 
river.  In  1902  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature 
from  Fall  River  county,  where  he  now  lives  and 
is  the  manager  of  the  Mammoth  Plunge,  at  Hot 
Springs.  Early  in  his  Black  Hills  experience  the 
old  Oglala,  Stinking  Bear,  gave  the  genial  doctor 
the  appellation  "Bear  Tracks,"  a  soubriquet 
whicli  still  adheres  to  him.     Mr.  Peirce  is  a  nat- 


ural story-teller,  and  the  following  sketches  indi- 
cate his  method  of  handling  the  veracious  history 
of  an  unique  period.] 

THE    HINCH    MURDER    TRIAL. 

On  the  night  of  July  9,  1876,  John  Hinch 
was  stabbed  to  death  in  a  saloon  in  Gayville. 
John  McCarty  and  John  R.  Carty  were  after- 
wards arrested  by  deputy  LTnited  States  marshals 
down  near  Fort  Laramie  and  held  for  the  mur- 
der. Upon  the  last  day  of  that  July  a  wagon 
drove  through  the  streets  of  Deadwood  at  a 
breakneck  speed  and  those  who  saw  it  thought 
the  team  was  running  away.  In  that  wagon  was 
the  person  of  John  R.  Carty,  rolled  up  in  blankets, 
in  charge  of  Little  Jack  Davis,  a  deputy  marshal 
from  Cheyenne,  who  was  bringing  the  prisoner 
back  at  his  own  request  to  stand  trial.  At  the 
foot  of  Break  Neck  hill  some  one  met  Davis  and 
told  him  it  was  unsafe  to  take  the  prisoner 
through  Deadwood,  as  Hinch  had  many  friends 
there  who  would  certainly  lynch  Carty  if  they 
saw  him.  Davis  consulted  the  prisoner  and  they 
concluded  to  adopt  the  ruse  spoken  of.  When 
they  arrived  at  Gayville,  it  being  a  very  warm 
day,  Davis  unrolled  the  blankets  and  found  the 
prisoner  was  about  dead  from  suffocation,  but 
he  soon  recovered.  As  soon  as  it  was  noised 
about  that  Carty  was  in  town  times  became  pretty 
lurid  and  the  excitement  was  great.  It  was. 
however,  agreed  that  he  should  have  a  fair  trial, 
and  the  next  day  was  selected  as  court  dav.  On 
the  morning  of  August  ist  Deadwoc^d  Ciulcli  re- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


sembled  a  stampede,  the  objective  point  being 
Gayville.  I  followed  the  crowd  and  when  we  ar- 
rived at  the  town  found  the  streets  filled  with  ex- 
cited people  discussing  the  coming  trial  and  its 
probable  results.  One  man  had  a  rope  in  his 
hand  and  was  explaining  how  they  used  to  do  up 
in  Montana.  Another  one  had  a  pair  of  Colonel 
Colt's  equalizers,  and  was  speaking  very  forcibly 
against  Judge  Lynch's  court,  saying  they  had 
hanged  his  partner,  an  innocent  man,  up  in  that 
country  and  it  was  the  ambition  of  his  life  to 
live  long  enough  to  use  his  guns  on  a  band  of 
stranglers.  Fearing  he  might  conceive  the  notion 
that  I  did  not  agree  with  his  views  upon  capital 
punishment,  I  moved  on.  The  miners  soon  or- 
ganized a  court,  selected  a  man  (O.  H.  Simon-  | 
ton)  for  judge,  another  (A.  B.  Chapline)  to  I 
prosecute,  and  another  (Mr.  Mills)  to  defend  the  1 
prisoner.  A  jury  was  selected  and  sworn  in  and 
given  seats  upon  a  big  pile  of  logs  in  the  middle 
of  the  street.  A  soap  box  was  provided  for  the 
prisoner's  seat,  and  twelve  men  sworn  in  as  depu- 
ties to  guard  the  prisoner.  When  all  was  ready 
the  court  ordered  the  prisoner  to  be  produced,  he 
having  been  guarded  up  to  this  time  in  a  restaur- 
ant near  by.  The  guards  brought  him  out  and 
you  could  hear  a  murmuring  of  threats,  which 
made  the  prisoner  at  least  feel  very  uneasy.  The 
prosecuting  attorney  arose  and  began  to  outline 
his  case,  when  big  Bill  Trainor  got  up  and  inter- 
fered. Johnny  Flaherty,  thinking  that  the  court 
was  not  being  properly  respected,  struck  Mr. 
Trainor  a  terrific  blow  over  the  head  with  his 
big  navy  pistol  and  the  jury  fell  ofif  the  log  pile; 
so  did  I :  and  in  an  instant  every  one  had  his  gun 
in  his  hand.  The  guards  rushed  the  prisoner  into 
the  restaurant  and  guarded  the  door,  for  it  looked 
as  if  the  trial  was  over.  At  this  stage  of  the  pro- 
ceedings. Little  Jack  Davis  (a  braver  man  God 
never  made)  mounted  a  box  and  addressed  the 
mob :  "Fellow  citizens  and  miners — I  arrested 
this  man  Carty  and  at  his  request  brought  him 
through  an  Indian  country  to  stand  trial  for  mur- 
der, as  he  wanted  to  be  tried  by  a  jury  of  his 
peers — miners.  Now  if  you  will  take  him  and 
give  him  a  fair  and  square  trial  I  will  assist  you, 
and  if  you  find  him  guilty  of  that  cold-blooded 


murder  I  will  help  you  hang  him.  If  he  is  found 
innocent  I  will  take  him  back  out  of  this  country 
or  leave  my  lifeless  body  here ;  but  by  the  living 
God,  you  shall  not  strangle  him  without  a  trial. 
I  appeal  to  your  better  natures,  to  act  like  men, 
not  like  devils  thirsting  for  this  man's  Hfeblood 
without  knowing  whether  he  is  guilty  or  not." 
Jack's  speech  quieted  down  the  mob  and  they 
yelled,  "Bring  him  out  and  he  shall  have  a  fair 
trial.  Bully  for  3rou,  little  fellow.  You  are  all 
wool  and  a  yard  wide.  We'll  stand  by  you." 
The  prisoner  was  again  brought  into  court  and 
the  trial  proceeded  without  further  incident.  It 
was  close  to  midnight  when  the  case  was  given 
to  the  jury,  and  they  retired  to  an  old  shed  to 
deliberate.  The  mob  had  pretty  nearly  dispersed. 
A  few  men  stood  picket  around  town.  Whiskey 
and  excitement  had  driven  the  majority  to  bed. 
Just  as  the  gray  streaks  of  dawn  were  showing  in 
the  east  a  party  of  horsemen  rode  up  from  Dead- 
wood  and  went  in  behind  the  shed  and  a  moment 
later  rushed  out  and  dashed  down  the  gulch  on  a 
dead  run  and  with  them  went  Davis  and  Cartv. 
The  jury  had  found  him  not  guilty. 

McCarty,  whom  it  was  claimed  was  the  real 
murderer,  was  never  brought  to  the  Hills  for 
trial,  but  was  taken  to  Yankton,  where  he  broke 
jail  the  time  McCall  did,  was  retaken  and  held 
for  trial,  but  I  have  never  been  able  to  learn  what 
disposition   was   made   of  him. 

Most  of  the  actors  in  that  drama  have  passed 
from  this  world's  stage  of  action.  In  1882  I 
found  Jack  Davis  in  a  stage  coach,  dead.  He 
had  been  to  the  Hot  Springs  in  search  of  health, 
but  growing  weaker,  he  started  home  and  died  on 
the  Sidney  trail. 

I..\ME    JOHNNY. 

There  came  to  the  Hills  in  the  spring  of  1876 
a  young  man  who  wore  the  handle  of  Lame 
Johnny,  and  as  a  promoter  of  diversified  indus- 
tries I  think  he  wore  the  blue  ribbon.  He  was  a 
civil  and  topographical  engineer;  a  No.  i  book- 
keeper; pretty  fair  in  music ;  was  a  splendid  judge 
of  a  horse  (no  matter  who  owned  it)  ;  in  fact,  he 
could  turn  his  hand  to  most  anything.  He  was 
not  addicted  to  anv  of  the  smaller  vices.    Beine 


498 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


of  a  retiring  disposition,  he  did  not  seek  company 
and  was  hard  to  get  acquainted  with,  but  was  a 
friend  to  any  man  if  he  liked  him.  Ha.ving  saved 
my  life  once,  I  cultivated  his  acquaintance.  That 
was,  however,  before  he  changed  his  business 
and  concluded  to  open  up  an  office  in  the  woods. 
There  was  something  mysterious  in  that  young 
man's  make-up  that  excited  my  curiosity,  so  I 
endeavored  to  learn  something  in  regard  to  his 
antecedents.  He  had  several  names,  which,  how- 
ever, he  informed  me  did  not  belong  to  him.  One 
was  John  Hurley  and  another  was  John  Dono- 
hue.  but  his  true  name  he  never  to  my  knowl- 
edge divulged.  Since  his  death  I  have  learned 
that  it  was  Cornelius  Donohue.  On  one  occasion, 
when  we  were  alone  and  speaking  of  Philadel- 
phia, he  remarked :  "That  was  my  home  before 
coming  west."  Seeing  a  chance  to  draw  him  out, 
I  inquired  of  him  what  he  knew  of  the  Quaker 
City,  whereupon  he  told  me  the  following  story  : 
"I  was  born  in  Ridge  avenue,  Philadelphia. 
When  a  child  I  fell  from  a  horse,  receiving  in- 
juries which  has  left  me  a  cripple  for  life.  I  was 
educated  at  Girard  College,  and  after  leaving 
school  drifted  to  Texas,  where  I  engaged  myself 
to  a  rich  old  cattle  man  who  agreed  to  give  me  a 
share  in  the  increase  of  stock  for  my  services. 
I  worked  hard  and  was  doing  nicely  and  had 
earned  about  seven  hundred  head  of  my  own 
brand  when  one  moonlight  night  the  Comanche 
Indians  made  a  raid  up  our  way  and  drove  off  all 
my  stock.  That  discouraged  me.  I  went  over  to 
see  old  Caststeel,  chief  of  the  Tongaway  Indians, 
and  made  medicine  with  him  in  regard  to  going 
down  and  visiting  the  Comanches.  He  listened 
until  I  was  through  talking,  studied  for  a  few 
minutes,  and  then  aroseand  said:  'My  people  are 
few  in  numbers,  but  they  are  brave.  We  will  go 
with  you ;  but  our  tribe  raids  on  dark  nights. 
Wait  until  the  moon  changes  and  then  come.' 
The  first  dark  night  I  struck  out,  the  Indians  go- 
ing along.  We  made  a  pretty  good  haul, — sixty 
head  of  horses,  which  I  disposed  of  and  divided 
the  proceeds  with  the  Indians.  That  trip  gave 
me  a  taste  for  adventure  and  I  have  been  working 
ever  since  to  get  even  for  the  loss  of  my  cattle. 
When  the  Black  Hills  excitement  started  I  drifted 


north  with  the  Kansas  crowd  and  settled  on 
Castle  creek  and  tried  mining.  It  proved  a  fail- 
ure, but  while  stopping  up  there  the  S.ioux  made 
a  raid  and  stole  the  miners'  horses.  The  boys 
tried  to  organize  an  expedition  of  sixty  men  to 
go  down  to  Red  Cloud  agency  and  steal  them 
back,  together  with  as  many  others  as  were  mixed 
up  with  them.  Fearing  that  the  government 
would  interfere  and  cause  trouble,  the  scheme 
was  abandoned.  I  spoke  to  one  or  two  of  the 
men  and  told  them  I  would  take  a  ride  down  to 
the  agency  and  see  if  I  could  locate  any  of  their 
stock.  If  I  did  I  knew  just  how  to  proceed  to  get 
it  back.  I  went  down  to  Custer  City  and  borrowed 
a  horse  of  Long  Haired  Owens  and  started  that 
night  for  the  agency.  I  approached  Red  Cloud 
from  the  northwest  and  when  I  reached  the  head 
of  Sow  Belly  Gulch  I  went  into  camp  and  hid 
myself  and  horse  until  the  next  night,  when  I 
saddled  up  and  proceeded  to  take  an  inventor^'  of 
Old  Red  Cloud's  private  herd,  consisting  of  three 
hundred  head  of  ponies.  Just  my  size,  I  thought, 
so  I  made  a  reconnoisance  to  see  if  the  camp  was 
still.  Finding  conditions  favorable  to  removing 
the  stock  to  where  it  could  be  used  to  better  ad- 
vantage. I  rode  over  into  a  small  basin  or  valley 
where  they  were  feeding.  As  I  was  riding  along- 
I  saw  a  dark  object  outlined  against  the  sky 
upon  one  of  the  ridges.  Quietly  dismounting  and 
securing  my  horse  to  a  bush,  I  crawled  up  the 
hill  to  interview  whatever  might  be  on  top.  The 
Indian  ponies,  smelling  me,  began  to  snort,  as 
they  always  do  upon  the  approach  of  a  white 
man.  The  object  I  had  been  watching  on  top  the 
hill  rose  up  in  the  air  about  six  feet,  for  it  was 
an  Indian.  My  heart  did  not  work  just  right 
for  a  few  minutes.  After  the  Indian  had  looked 
and  listened  for  a  while  he  sat  down  again  and 
drew  the  blanket  up  over  his  head.  I  noticed  that 
my  heart  subsided  about  the  time  the  Indian  did, 
so  I  crawled  up  close  enough  to  shoot.  Lying 
flat  upon  the  ground  so  I  could  get  the  light  to 
fill  my  sights,  T  opened  up  the  meeting  by  throw- 
ing an  ounce  of  lead  into  his  internal  gearing. 
With  a  loud  'waugh'  he  bounded  into  the  air  and 
fell  over  dead.  Served  him  right,  thinks  I,  for 
he  had  no  business  being  out  so  late.     Sure  to 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


499 


have  caught  cold  if  I  hadn't  come  along.  Fearing 
lest  the  camp  should  be  aroused  by  the  noise  of 
mv  gun.  I  ran  back,  mounted  the  horse  and  started 
the  herd  due  north.  If  anybody  ever  did  make 
fast  time  it  was  I  that  night.  Whenever  I  felt 
my  horse  growing  jaded  I  would  rope  a  fresh  one 
from  the  herd  and  mount  him,  turning  the  other 
into  the  band.  Arriving  in  the  Hills,  I  cached 
the  main  herd  on  upper  French  creek  just  below 
Calamity  Bar,  and  began  distributing  them  from 
that  point.  All  summer  long  it  was  nip  and  tuck 
between  myself  and  the  Indians.  I  would  run  tliem 
in  and  they  would  run  them  back  to  the  agency. 
Growing  tired  of  the  stock  business,  I  hired  out 
to  Grashmiller,  of  the  Homestake  mine,  as  book- 
keeper. I  was  knocked  out  of  that  job  by  a  man 
whom  I  had  offended  by  refusing  to  let  him  sell 
my  Indian  ponies,  he  to  keep  all  over  six  dollars 
apiece.  I  was  getting  as  high  as  one  hundred 
twenty  dollars  per  pair,  so  I  refused  his  generous 
ofifer.  He  remarked  at  the  time  he  would  get 
even  with  me.  I  guess  he  did.  If  it  were  not 
for  liis  famih'  I  would  work  a  buttonhole  in  his 
left  breast." 

At  this  point  a  man  came  in  and  Johnny  quit 
talking  and  I  could  never  get  him  started  again. 
One  day  I  asked  him  what  his  true  name  was. 
He  replied :  "It  wouldn't  do  you  any  good  to 
know  and  it  might,  perhaps,  do  some  one  harm. 
I  have  people  whom  I  respect.  A  brother-in-law 
in  Philadelphia  is  now  holding  one  of  the  best 
civic  positions  in  the  city,  and  as  I  don't  know 
what  I  may  get  into  in  this  country  I  don't  want 
any  word  to  go  back  that  would  compromise  their 
good  names." 

Whether  Johnny  contemplated  taking  to  the 
road  at  that  time  I  cannot  tell.  About  the  first  of 
March,  1878,  he  came  into  my  store  and  wanted 
to  refit  his  saddle  with  stirrups  and  cinches,  say- 
ing that  he  was  growing  lonesome  and  thought 
of  going  down  to  the  Whetstone  and  Cheyenne 
river  agencies  and  see  what  kind  of  stock  those 
Indians  had  no  hand.  Perhaps  he  could  make  a 
trade  with  them.  "I  want  to  get  started,"  he  said, 
"for  the  e(|uinoctial  storm  will  soon  be  here  and 
I  don"t  want  to  get  caught  in  a  bizzard.     I   am 


taking  some  partners  this  time,  for  it  is  a  new 
territory  to  travel  over  and  I  expect  to  have  some 
fighting  to  do."  He  selected  a  man  who  called 
himself  Tony  Pastor,  a  man  named  "Brocky," 
and  another  who  asked  permission  to  go  just  for 
the  excitement  without  expecting  to  share  the 
profits.  They  started  out  in  great  spirits,  but  had 
a  pretty  hard  trip  of  it.  They  rounded  up  sixty- 
eight  head  of  stock  and  got  started  by  three 
o'clock  one  morning,  but  the  Indians,  missing 
their  horses,  gave  chase,  and  just  as  the  sun  was 
rising  the  boys  could  see  them  coming  over  a  hill 
not  more  than  a  mile  behind  them.  They  soon 
overtook  the  white  men  and  shooting  began'  from 
both  parties,  but  the  boys  kept  the  herd  moving 
along.  Johnny  killed  one  Indian  and  crippled 
another.  Pastor  killed  one  and  Brocky  was  shot 
through  the  arm  and  wanted  to  give  up,  but 
Johnny  would  not  stand  any  foolishness.  He 
ordered  the  visitor  to  take  the  lead  and  gave  him 
a  sight  to  ride  for,  and  told  Pastor  to  keep  the 
ponies  running.  He  next  tied  Brocky  into  the 
saddle  and  turned  his  horse  into  the  herd  so  they 
would  be  sure  to  keep  along  and  not  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  Indians.  After  looking  after  these 
details,  Johnny  formed  himself  into  a  rear  guard 
and  whenever  he  came  over  a  hill  he  would  stop 
and  wait  until  the  Indians  came  in  range  and 
then  open  up  his  battery,  thus  giving  the  boys  a 
chance  to  get  along  with  the  stock.  Some  of  the 
horses  were  killed  or  crippled  by  the  long  range 
guns.  After  a  running  fight  of  many  miles,  the 
storm  overtook  them, — a  genuine  blizzard.  The 
Indians  gave  up  the  chase,  but  the  boys  kept  trav- 
eling toward  the  hills.  The  air  was  so  full  of 
snow  they  could  not  see  Bear  Butte  or  Harney 
Peak  and  they  soon  were  lost.  They  had  lost  or 
thrown  away  their  clothing  in  the  fight  and  were 
freezing.  Brocky  begged  to  be  shot,  and  Pastor 
wanted  to  comply  with  his  request,  but  Johnny 
would  not  listen  to  it,  but  gave  the  wounded, 
freezing  boy  a  terrible  thrashing  with  his  quirt, 
thinking  in  that  way  to  get  him  mad  and  so  take 
fresh  courage.  It  was  no  use.  Brocky  begged  to 
die.  So  Johnny  stopped  the  caravan  and  roped 
the  best  h(jrse  in  the  outfit,  saddled  it  and  tied  it 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


to  the  sage  brush  and  laid  Brocky  down  in  the 
snow  beside  it,  saying  :  'Perhaps  he  will  get  fright- 
ened after  we  are  gone  and  will  get  up  and  fol- 
low us.'  By  this  time  the  ravines  were  drifted 
full  and  it  took  hard  work  to  get  the  floundering 
horses  through  them.  They  finally  reached  the 
Cheyenne,  at  the  mouth  of  Battle  River,  a  place 
afterwards  made  famous  by  Colonel  Day  and  his 
troops  in  the  Messiah  war.  There  they  camped 
while  Johnny  rode  to  the  stage  station  and  got 
clothes  and  food.  Only  thirteen  head  of  horses 
remained  to  be  brought  into  the  hills. 

Tony  Pastor  was  hanged  on  the  Denver  road 
a  short  time  after.  Brocky  was  never  heard  from 
again,  but  in  1881  a  cowboy  brought  a  white 
man's  skull  into  Rapid  City,  which  he  had  found 
at  precisely  the  place  where  Johnny  said  they  had 
left  Brocky,  so  there  was  nothing  left  to  do  but 
write  "Brocky"  across  that  empty  forehead  and 
place  it  upon  the  mantel  piece  for  ornamental 
purposes.  The  boy  who  went  for  excitement  is 
still  living  and  is  a  good  and  useful  citizen.  I 
met  him  a  few  years  ago  and  from  the  general 
appearance  of  the  man  I  should  swear  positively 
that  he  found  all  of  the  excitement  he  will  ever 
need,  for  he  still  looks  frightened. 

On  the  night  of  June  20,  1879,  Johnny  held 
up  the  down  coach  in  the  crossing  of  the  creek 
that  bears  his  name.  He  secured  a  three-dollar 
watch  and  some  other  trifles  without  value.  He 
was  captured  and  brought  back  to  the  Hills  in  the 
same  coach  he  had  robbed  and  was  taken  off  and 
hanged  by  vigilantes  at  the  same  spot  where  he 
had  robbed  it.  The  old,  leaning  Cottonwood  that 
served  as  a  gibbet  still  stands  and  the  stream 
bearing  his  name  furnishes  many  legends  for 
tenderfeet.  Johnny's  body  was  left  hanging  for 
several  days  when  Jerome  Parrott,  the  freighter, 
stopped  his  train  and  his  men  buried  it. 

THE    PASSING    OF    FLY-SPECKED    BILLY. 

This  enterprising  young  man  was  discovered 
lying  in  a  cabin  in  Custer  City  in  the  fall  of  1876, 
delirious  with  mountain  fever.  He  had  no  bed- 
ding or  friends  and  when  the  party  who  found 
him  told  me  about  him  I  went  up  and  carried  him 


on  my  back  to  my  cabin,  where  I  was  running  a 
I  free  hospital.  After  several  weeks  of  careful 
nursing  he  recovered  and  then  told  me  his  name 
and  intimated  that  I  had  not  selected  the  best  ma- 
terial to  bestow  charity  upon,  but  seemed  to  feel 
grateful  and  as  a  slight  token  of  his  esteem  gave 
me  an  order  for  his  horse,  saddle  and  bridle  at 
Harlow's  corral.  I  did  not  go  down  town  that 
night,  but  in  the  morning  found  some  one  had 
anticipated  my  coming,  and  had  taken  the  outfit 
that  night  without  the  ceremony  of  asking  any- 
one. Billy  was  very  indignant,  and  said  he 
should  borrow  a  horse  as  soon  as  able  to  travel 
and  bring  back  a -lock  of  the  hair  of  the  fellow 
who  stole  his  outfit.  He  soon  left  me  and  the 
next  time  I  heard  from  him  he  had  put  D.  K. 
Snively  and  party,  from  Custer,  on  foot  at  Fort 
Reno,  by  stealing  their  nine  horses,  leaving  them 
to  walk  into  the  Hills.  This  occurred  in  the  fall 
of  1877,  and  he  was  not  heard  of  again  in  Da- 
kota until  the  winter  of  1881,  when  he  came  back 
to  Sturgis  and  robbed  and  beat  almost  to  death 
i  an  old  colored  woman  who  had  befriended  him 
'  in  the  early  days  at  Bismarck.  From  there  he 
went  to  BuflFalo  Gap,  where  he  met  Abe  Burnes' 
!  freight  teams  enroute  to  Custer.  Asking  for 
something  to  eat,  Burnes  fed  him  and  allowed 
him  to  follow  his  train  to  Custer,  where  Billy  pro- 
ceeded to  fill  his  carcass  with  poor  whiskey  which 
created  in  him  a  desire  for  blood.  Meeting 
Burnes  in  a  saloon,  he  grabbed  Burnes'  pistol 
from  his  belt  and  shot  him  down  in  cold  blood. 
He  was  arrested  and  ironed  and  placed  for  safe 
keeping  under  guard  in  the  saloon.  The  bar 
i  tender  suggested  to  Billy  that  there  was  likely  to 
I  be  a  meeting  called  and  some  resolutions  passed 
j  in  regard  to  the  late  tragedy.  Billy  laughed  and 
j  said  he  would  never  die  with  his  boots  on,  but 
he  was  mistaken,  for  in  a  few  short  hours  he  was 
being  dragged  along  through  the  deep  snow  with 
a  rope  around  his  neck,  and  although  he  made  a 
desperate  effort  to  kick  his  boots  off,  the  trail  was 
so  rough  and  the  speed  so  great  for  the  amount 
of  air  left  in  his  lungs,  that  he  finally  gave  it  up 
and  remained  passive  during  the  latter  part  of 
his  journey.     By  the  time  the  vigilantes  reached 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


501 


the  timber  there  seemed  to  be  no  need  of  a  tree, 
but  as  the  time-honored  custom  in  the  west  is  to 
elevate  a  man  where  the  wolves  will  not  bother 
him  if  you  are  going  to  leave  him  out  over  night, 
they  filed  him  away  on  a  pine  tree  for  future 
reference.  It  was  a  bitter  cold  night  and  next 
morning  when  the  coroner's  jury  visited  Billy 
he  acted  real  cool  and  stiff  in  his  manners. 
After  standing  around  for  a  while  and  looking 
wise,  as  all  coroner's  juries  are  supposed  to  do, 
and  wondering  how  Billy  got  up  that  tree,  they 
brought  in  the  following  verdict :  "We,  the 
jury,  find  that  Fly  Specked  ^^^ilIiam,  whose  true 
name  to  the  jury  is  unknown,  died  from  ex- 
posure." As  true  a  verdict  as  ever  was  ren- 
dered by  a  Black  Hills  jury.  William  was 
freckled,  hence  his  soubriquet.  His  true  name 
was  James  Fowler,  and  he  was  hanged  Sunday 
night.  February  6,  1 881. 

A   BLOODY    GOOD    MOUNT. 

In  the  palmy  days  of  the  tin  excitement  at 
Hill  City  a  party  of  Englishmen  came  out  to 
examine  the  properties  that  they  were  interested 
in.  They  stopped  at  Rapid  City  and  selected 
that  place  as  headquarters  from  which  to 
operate.  One  morning  after  they  had  rested 
from  their  long  journey  from  England  they 
concluded  to  run  over  to  the  mines.  The  stage 
having  gone,  they  determined  to  go  over  on 
horseback  as  it  would  give  them  a  better  chance 
to  enjoy  the  scenery.  A  committee  of  one  was 
appointed  to  secure  the  horses  and  arrange  the 
details  of  the  trip.  The  committee  rushed  down 
the  street  and,  entering  the  first  stable  he  found, 
in.quired :  "  'Ave  you  any  blood}-  good  mounts 
to  let?"  "What's  that?"  asked  the  liveryman  in 
rtply.  "Heny  good  mounts,  you  know?  Saddle 
'nrses,  }'OU  know?"  ''O  yes.  plenty  of  them." 
"Then  let  me  'ave  five  'ead."  The  horses  were 
saddled  up  and  while  this  operation  was  in  per- 
formance the  committee  bobbed  about  the  barn 
like  a  hen  with  one  chicken.  I  never  remember 
of  seeing  another  man  quite  so  busy  doing 
nothing.  Big  Dan  Fergerson,  the  liveryman, 
sent  one  of  his  men  out  to  notifv  the  business  men 


that  there  would  be  a  circus  held  in  about  ten 
minutes,  up  in  the  grand  plaza  between  the 
American  House  and  the  International  Hotel. 
Everybody  stopped  business  and,  to  avoid  the 
rush,  went  early.  Upon  reaching  the  pleasure 
grounds  I  found  four  horses  standing  quietly  in 
a  ring  and  a  fifth  one  dragging  a  man  around 
the  street.  This  horse  was  what  the  cowboys  call 
an  outlaw, — a  horse  which  cannot  be  broken,  and 
in  fact  had  been  sold  to  the  liveryman  as  such. 
After  a  good  deal  of  trouble  Big  Dan  got  the 
wild  horse  into  the  ring  and  shouted,  "All 
aboard."  The  Englishmen  came  out  from  the 
hotel  and  proceeded  to  mount.  Four  of  them 
got  on  all  right,  but  the  committee  did  not  fare 
so  well.  It  took  him  some  time  to  get  in  the 
neighborhood  of  his  mount.  However  he  finally 
got  into  the  saddle  and  seeing  the  owner  holding 
to  the  bridle,  told  him  to  let  go.  "Do  you  think 
I  cannot  ride  an  'orse?  Wy,  I  used  to  ride  in 
the  gentleman's  jockey  club,  ye  know."  "O.  you 
did?"  said  Big  Dan.  "Well,  just  go  easy  with 
him  until  you  get  out  of  town.  The  big  crowd 
makes  him  nervous,  as  he  is  high  strung."  "Just 
the  kind  of  'orse  I  like,"  said  the  Englishman. 
"Very  well,  there's  your  mule,"  said  Dan,  at  the 
same  time  releasing  his  hold  on  the  bridle.  In 
the  absence  of  a  band  the  grand  entry  was  made 
without  music.  The  horse  proceeded  to  business 
in  the  regular  way.  First  he  jumped  in  the  air, 
resembling  a  bedquilt  flapping  on  a  clothes  line, 
and  bleating  like  a  Billy  goat  in  distress ;  then 
when  he  had  got  done  fl}"ing,  coming  back  to 
earth  and  striking  it  so  hard  that  the  rider's  teeth 
sounded  like  the  closing  of  a  steel  trap.  Now  he 
did  not  have  to  do  this  more  than  fifteen  or 
twenty  times  until  the  Englishman  took  the 
hint  that  the  horse  wanted  him  to  get  oiY  and  he 
began  to  look  for  a  good  place  to  land.  The 
horse,  however,  saved  him  that  trouble  by  dump- 
ing him  over  .his  head  and  taking  chances  upon 
his  finding  a  soft  place  to  light.  I  can  see  him 
yet  as  he  went  up  in  the  air.  describing  an 
arc,  folding  himself  up  in  a  ball  like  a  cub  bear 
falling  out  of  an  acorn  tree.  He  descended 
quickly  to  earth.    The  concussion  was  great ;  you 


502 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


might  say  grand.  After  the  earthquake  was 
over,  Big  Dan  rushed  up  to  him,  and  enquired: 
"What  was  your  idea  in  getting  off?  I  thought 
you  were  going  with  those  men?"  Anywhere 
on  earth  except  in  Rapid  City  such  questions 
under  the  circumstances  would  have  warranted 
a  verdict  from  the  coroner's  jury,  of  "justifiable 
homicide,"  but  the  Englishman  did  not  tumble. 


He  continued  to  caress  the  bruised  places  on  his 
anatomy  as  he  replied :  "Why,  "e  ducked  is  'ead, 
don't  you  know,  and  'umped  is  back,  and  it  was 
impossible  to  remain  in  the  seat,  don't  you  know." 
He  turned  to  his  friends  and  bade  them  go  and 
see  the  mines,  assuring  them  he  would  take  their 
judgment,  and  the  committee  hobbled  back  into 
the  hotel. 


CHAPTER  LXXXV 


ANECDOTES   OF  JUDGE   KIDDER. 


BY    HON.    C.    H.    WINSOR. 


The  case  had  been  tried,  and  the  Judge,  com- 
ing down  from  the  bench,  had  entered  his  private 
room,  where  he  found  several  members  of  the  bar 
sitting  around  in  attitudes  of  relaxation,  smoking, 
thinking,  and  each,  now  and  then,  expressing  the 
thought  uppermost  in  his  mind.  In  an  inconse- 
quent fashion,  the  talk  drifted  finally  to  one  sub- 
ject, which  one  of  the  group  insisted  that  he 
thought  ought  to  be  taken  up  at  the  next  bar 
meeting.  The  gray-haired  lawyer  in  the  corner, 
in  a  reminiscent  way,  remarked :  "Times  have 
changed  a  good  deal  since  we  held  the  first  bar 
meeting  in  Lincoln  county." 

The  smart  young  man,  lately  admitted,  over 
by  the  Judge,-  asked  :  "Why  ?  Was  there  any- 
thing so  remarkable  about  that  meeting?" 

The  gray-haired  lawyer  slowly  answered : 
"Well,  not  what  you  might  call  remarkable,  but, 
looking  back  at  it  now  after  more  than  thirty 
years,  it  is  what  you  might  call  different ;  yes, 
quite  different!  .And  to  me  it  is  very  interest- 
ing." 

"Ah."  eagerly  assented  a  new  accession  to  the 
bar  of  the  state,  "tell  us  something  of  those  times. 
It  must  indeed  have  been  different." 

"Well,  if  you  care  to  waste  a  few  minutes  in 
listening.  I  will  tell  you  about  that  Ijar  meeting."   | 

A  chorus  of  assent  rose  from  most  of  those 
present,  but  the  smart  young  man  got  up  and 
yawned,  turned  toward  the  door,  but  finally  came 
back  and  lingered  at  the  outer  edge  of  the 
group. 


Lighting  a  fresh  cigar  and  settling  himself 
more  comfortably  in  his  chair,  the  gray-haired 
lawyer  proceeded: 

"It  was  in  October  of  the  year  1871  that  the 
first  term  of  the  district  court  of  the  old  territory 
of  Dakota  was  held  at  the  little  village  of  Canton, 
in  Lincoln  count}'.  I  had  located  there  some 
months  before,  and  had  managed,  in  a  profes- 
sional way,  to  get  a  sufficient  number  of  people 
to  assert  their  rights — or  to  attempt  it,  at  least — 
so  that  Judge  Kidder,  who  then  lived  at  \'er- 
miliion,  concluded  to  hold  a  term  of  the  district 
court  at  Canton,  which  was  the  county  seat.  He 
drove  across  the  almost  unbroken  prairie  from 
Vermillion,  some  fifty  miles,  in  his  carriage,  and 
arrived  on  the  evening  of  October  8th.  The  next 
morning  court  convened,  with  three  cases  on  the 
calendar  and  three  lawyers  in  attendance.  A 
couple  of  days  sufficed  to  dispose  of  all  the  busi- 
ness before  the  court.  There  had  come  down 
from  Sioux  Falls  a  man  by  the  name  of  INIc- 
Laurie,  who  desired  to  be  admitted  to  the  bar. 
In  those  days  we  did  not  have  the  red  tape  that 
is  now  wound  around  an  admission  to  the  bar. 
The  process  was  quite  simple.  A  lawyer  pro- 
posed that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  examine 
the  applicant;  the  judge  would  appoint  such  a 
committee,  and  if  reported  favorably  (as  they  us- 
ually did)  the  applicant  was  sworn  in.  Mr.  Mc- 
Laurie  asked  me  to  move  for  the  appointment  of 
a  committee,  which  I  did.  and  was  made  chair- 
man of  that  committee.     There  being  but  three 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


members  of  the  bar  present,  no  one  was  left  out 
and  therefore  there  was  no  jealousy  or  pique  felt 
in  connection  with  it.  After  we  had  examined 
the  applicant  somewhat,  I,  acting  as  chainnan, 
made  him  a  little  speech  telling  him  that  we 
should  recommend  his  admission,  and  remember- 
ing the  advice  that  had  been  given  to  me  at  the 
time  I  was  admitted,  only  two  or  three  years  be- 
fore. I  added :  'Now,  Mr.  McLaurie,  although 
\-ou  are  to  be  admitted  to  the  bar  as  a  practicing 
law}-er,  you  must  remember  that  you  are  not  yet 
a  lawyer ;  none  of  us  are ;  to  be  a  lawyer  we  re- 
quire constant  study,  to  be  always  striving  by  un- 
divided attention  to  increase  our  store  of  legal 
knowledge.  The  fact  that  you  are  admitted  to  the 
bar  will  not  make  you  a  lawyer.'  These  words 
seemed  to  sink  deeply  into  his  heart,  and,  as  you 
will  soon  see,  were  to  bear  fruit  later.  After  Mr. 
McLaurie  had  been  sworn  in,  he  came  to  me  and 
said  that  he  would  like  to  show  his  appreciation 
of  the  honor  that  had  been  conferred  upon  him 
by  giving  a  supper,  and  would  do  so  if  he  only 
knew  of  a  place  where  he  could  give  it.  After 
some  discussion,  it  was  decided  that  we  should 
gather  in  my  office,  and  that  Mr.  McLaurie  be 
graciously  allowed  to  provide  refreshments.  The 
judge,  the  bar  and  the  officers  of  the  court  were 
included  in  the  invitation.  The  banquet,  as  we 
called  it,  consisted  mainly  of  crackers  and  cheese, 
cove  oysters,  cigars  and  plenty  of  frontier  whisky. 
After  a  while  the  guests  began  to  get  warmed  up, 
and  songs  were  sung,  stories  were  told,  and  many 
drinks  were  consumed.  Judge  Kidder  presided 
over  the  feast,  and  smiled  and  joked  with  all.  As 
the  evening  drew  on  toward  the  wee  sma'  hours, 
I  proposed  that  we  drink  the  health  of  our  new 
made  brother  in  the  law,  Mr.  McLaurie.  The 
Judge  smilingly  bowed  to  Mr.  McLaurie,  and 
called  him  by  name.  ]\Ir.  McLaurie,  as  the  'Ex- 
hibit A"  of  the  evening,  had  been  drinking  with 
this,  that  and  the  other  guest,  until  he  was  well 
nigh  too  full  for  utterance.  He  rose  unsteadily 
to  his  feet,  and,  placing  his  hands  upon  the  edge 
of  the  table,  bowed  with  great  gravity  to  the 
judge  and  to  each  of  the  guests ;  an  instant  passed, 
and,  collecting  himself  with  a  start,  he  again 
bowed  to  the  judge  and  to  each  one.     Then  he 


began:  "Mr.  Chairman,'  and  again  paused  to  col- 
lect his  thoughts.  The  chairman  bowed  and  said, 
'Mr.  IMcLaurie.'  A  moment  passed,  and  then 
again  '^Ir.  Chairman.'  The  chairman  repeated, 
'Mr.  McLaurie.'  Finally  recalling  the  incidents 
of  the  afternoon,  the  speaker  again  commenced: 
'Mr.  Chairman,  I  deeply  preshate  the  great  honor 
which  has  been  confrered  'pon  me  zsish  day,  by 
being  admitted  to  zhe  bar.  I  shay  I  deeply  pre- 
shate zhat  honor — but  I  know  zhat  I  am  not  yet 
a  lawyer.'  He  stopped  a  moment,  striving  to 
recollect  something  that  he  wanted  to  say,  and 
then  continued :  'I  know  I  am  not  yet  a  lawyer — ' 
Again  he  stopped  and  again  continued :  "I 
know  I  am  not  yet  a  lawyer."  The  third 
time  he  paused,  and  Judge  Kidder,  ap- 
parently to  encourage  him,  smiled  upon  with 
great  urbanity,  and  said :  'Proceed,  Brother  Mc- 
Laurie ;  so  far  the  court  is  entirely  with  you !' 
Mr.  IMcLaurie  never  knew  why  he  was  not  al- 
lowed to  finish  his  speech,  which  was  drowned  in 
roars  of  laughter.'' 

The  smart  young  man.  after  a  moment's 
thought,  said :  'AMiy,  the  man  must  have  been 
intoxicated  I" 

After  the  laughter  had  subsided,  some  one  re- 
marked:  "Judge  Kidder:  he  was  one  of  your 
earlier  judges  in  the  territory,  was  he  not?" 
"Yes,"  answered  the  gray  haired  lawyer,  "one  of 
the  earliest,  and  one  of  the  best.  *  A  man  with  a 
heart  like  a  child's.  A  man  who  despised  techni- 
calities, and  who  thought  that  lawsuits  ought  to 
be  decided  by  the  application  of  what  he  tenned 
'horse  sense.'  A  gentleman  of  the  old  school,  who 
would  be  as  polite  and  gracious  to  his  bitterest 
enemy  as  to  his  dearest  friend.  A  man  who 
])laced  the  utmost  confidence  in  the  members  of 
the  bar.  and  who  would  resent  any  attempt  to  de- 
ceive him  by  never  again  placing  any  confidence 
in  or  in  any  way  trusting  that  man.  He  never 
failed  to  appreciate  an  amusing  situation  or  a 
pleasant  joke.  I  remember  one  time  when  he 
was  holding  court  at  Flandreau.  The  court  was 
held  in  the  second  story  of  a  building,  the  hall- 
way opening  from  one  end  of  the  room  and  the 
judge's  cliair  at  the  other.  General  Rice  had 
brought  an  action  to  recover  upon  a  promissory 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


505 


note  from  some  farmer  in  that  county  made  in 
settlement  for  some  machinery  purchased  by  the 
famier.  Another  lawyer,  I  cannot  now  recall  his 
name,  had  put  in  an  answer  for  the  defendant, 
and  wished  to  have  the  case  continued.  There 
was  but  one  term  of  court  a  year  held  in  the 
county,  and  should  the  case  be  continued  it  would 
g:ive  a  much  better  opportunity  for  the  settling  of 
the  case  out  of  court.  At  the  call  of  the  calendar 
the  lawyer  for  the  defendant  stated  to  the  court 
the  facts  upon  which  he  desired  to  have  the  case 
continued.  General  Rice,  however,  more  anxious 
to  protect  himself  against  his  own  client  than 
anyone  else,  stated  to  the  court  that  while  he  had 
no  reason  to  doubt  the  statement  made  by  the 
counsel,  still  the  rules  of  court  provided  that  an 
affidavit  should  be  filed  upon  an  application  for  a 
continuance,  setting  forth  the  facts,  and  that  he 
should  insist  that  this  be  done.  Judge  Kidder 
turned  to  the  counsel  and  said :  'Mr.  ,  I 


always  take  the  statement  of  the  members  of  the 
bar,  and  consider  it  as  binding  as  I  would  an  affi- 
davit from  a  layman,  but  General  Rice  is  correct 
in  this ;  the  rule  of  court  requires  that  you  file  an 
affidavit  setting  forth  the  facts  necessary  for  the 
court  to  act  upon  in  granting  a  continuance. 
Now,  sir,  I  will  give  you  half  an  hour  to  take 
your  client  out  and  prepare  an  affidavit  for  the 
continuance.'  The  counsel  whispered  to  his  client, 
and  together  they  started  towards  the  door.  They 
had  taken  but  a  few  steps,  however,  when  Judge 

Kidder  called  to  him,  'Mr. !'   The  counsel 

hastily  returned  to  receive  the  further  instruc- 
tions of  the  court.  The  court  fixed  his  eyes  stead- 
ily upon  him  for  a  moment,  and  said,  'And  see, 
that  in  that  affidavit  he  commits  no  unnecessary 
perjury.'  To  lawyers  who  are  familiar  with  the 
manner  in  which  affidavits  of  continuance  are 
sometimes  drawn,  the  quiet  satire  of  the  remark 
can  readily  be  appreciated. 


CHAPTER   LXXXVII 


SCANDINAVIANS    IN    SOUTH   DAKOTA  AND   THEIR   WORK   IN    CHURCH    AND 

STATE. 

•BY    P.    H.    DAHL. 


The  Norweg-iaiis  commenced  to  settle  in  tlie 
Dakota  territon-  in  1859  and  the  first  settle- 
ments were  made  on  the  Missouri  bottom  be- 
tween \'ermillion  and  Dakota  rivers.  On  the 
8th  of  August  in  that  year  Ole  Olson,  Sr.,  and 
Halvor  Svenson  with  their  families  came  across  | 
the  ^lissouri  from  Nebraska  and  squatted  on  j 
some  land  about  one  and  a  half  miles  southwest  j 
of  :\Ieckling.  \Mth  them  -came  Hon.  Hans  I 
IMvron,  then  a  young  boy.  and  they  have  since 
resided  here.  "Sir.  Olson  is  still  living  on  the 
place  which  he  first  selected.  On  August  17th 
Syvert  H.  Myron  arrived  with  his  family  and 
settled  about  three  miles  south  from  'Sir.  Olson. 
near  the  river,  where  he  has  since  had  his  home. 
The  same  fall  and  in  the  spring  of  i860  there 
were  quite  a  number  of  new  arrivals,  among 
which  may  be  mentioned  Aslak  Iverson,  Ole 
Bottolsfon,  Ole  Sampson,  John  Aalseth,  and 
others.  \\'ith  few.  if  any.  exceptions,  these  Nor- 
wegians were  Lutherans.  Having  secured  for 
themselves  temporal  homes,  where  they  by  per- 
severance, industry  and  frugality  were  able  to 
make  a  living  and  could  hope  for  future  pros- 
perity, they  soon  began  to  feel  the  want  of  a 
spiritual  home.  At  their  former  homes  they 
had  been  accustomed  to  assemble  on  Sundays  in 
their  churches  for  public  worship  and  now  here 
they  were,  not  only  without  suitable  places  for 
worshi])  but  also  without  ministers  and  in  this  re- 
gard tlie  prospects  for  the  future  were  not  very 


bright,  poor  as  the  most  of  them  were  and  so 
far  out  on  the  frontier. 

A  few  men  among  them  began  to  gather 
their  neighbors  on  Sundays  at  some  private 
house,  where  they  would  sing  hymns,  read  por- 
tions of  Scriptures  and  sermons  from  the  postils 
of  Luther.  Arnd  and  others  and  private  schools 
were  provided  at  different  places  for  the  chil- 
dren, in  which  they  were  instructed  principally 
in  reading  and  religion  and  occasionally  also  in 
other  branches,  as  writing,  arithriietic,  etc. 

As  early  as  in  the  fall  of  1861,  they  were 
unexpectedly  visited  by  a  young  Lutheran  min- 
ister, Abraham  Jacobson.  For  the  purpose  of 
seeking  recreation,  he  had  joined  a  company  of 
immigrants  from  Iowa  and  arrived  with  them  at 
the  settlement.  At  the  request  of  the  people,  he 
remained  with  them  for  a  while,  preached  at 
several  places,  baptized  some  children  and 
solemnized  two  marriages.  Later  in  the  fall  lie 
returned  and  the  settlers  were  again  left  in  the 
same  circumstances  as  before.  Quite  early,  at- 
tempts were  made  to  organize  a  church  society, 
but  as  they  did  not  all  adhere  to  the  same 
general  body  of  Lutheran  church,  they  failed. 

On  January  11,  1864,  a  well  attended  meet- 
ing was  held  at  the  house  of  Jacob  A.  Jacob- 
son,  near  Heckling,  at  which  meeting  a  resolu- 
tion was  adopted  by  a  large  majority  to  the 
eflfect,  that  an  eflfort  should  be  made  to  get  a 
minister    from    the    synod    of    the    Norwegian 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


507 


Evangelical  Lutheran  church  of  America  to  visit 
them  and  that,  if  the}-  in  the  future  should  feel 
able  to  call  a  minister,  he  should  be  called  from 
that  synod.  Accordingly,  a  request  was  for- 
warded to  the  church  council  of  the  above 
named  body,  commonly  called  the  Norwegian 
svnod,  which  request  was  complied  with  and 
Rev.  J.  Krohn,  of  Chicago,  was  sent.  He  came 
to  the  settlement  in  the  month  of  October,  1864, 
and  on  the  5th,  6th,  7th  and  8th  days  of  that 
month  he  conducted  services  at  different  places, 
held  confirmation  service  at  the  house  of  Peter 
Nelson,  east  of  ^>rmiIlion,  and  baptized  in  all 
forty-five  children. 

On  the  8th  day  of  October,  service  was  held 
at  the  house  of  Anders  Ulven,  near  Vermillion, 
and  immediately  after  a  meeting  was  called  for 
the  purpose  of  organizing  and  then  there  was 
the  Norwegian  Evangelical  Lutheran  Congrega- 
tion of  Dakota  territory  organized  with  sixty- 
seven  voting  members  and  with  the  following 
persons  elected  as  trustees,  viz :  Helge  Mathia- 
son,  Aslak  Iverson,  Ole  Sampson,  Peter  Nilson 
and  Lars  Olson  Fanestol.  This  organization  in- 
cluded all  that  territory  in  which  the  Norwegians 
had .  then  settled,  from  Bride  creek.  Union 
coTmty,  to  Dakota  river.  Rev.  Krohn  visited 
the  congregation  again  in  the  month  of  Septem- 
ber, the  following  year,  and  this  time  he  came  as 
far  west  as  to  Dakota  river,  where  he  preached 
at  the  house  of  Torger  Nelson.  In  the  summer 
of  1866,  Rev.  O.  Naes  made  them  a  visit, 
preached  several  times  and  administered  the 
sacraments.  By  this  time  the  congregation  be- 
gan to  consider  in  earnest  the  question  of  calling 
a  minister.  On  Febrnarv  11,  1866.  a  meeting 
was  held  by  the  congregation  at  the  house  of 
Peter  Nilson,  at  which  Lars  J.  Rtul  was  elected 
secretary  and  .\slak  Iverson  treasurer  and  on 
the  17th  of  the  same  month- another  meeting  was 
held  at  the  house  of  Syvert  H.  Myron,  at  which 
it  was  decided  to  call  a  minister  and  the  church 
council  of  the  Norwegian  synod  was  authorized 
to"  issue  the  call.  Rev.  K.  Magelssen  was  called 
but  did  not  accept.  The  call  was  then  sent  to 
Emil  Cliristenson.  a  graduate  from  Concordia 
Theological  Seminarv,  St.  Louis.  Missnuri.    He 


arrived  at  his  charge  in  the  month  of  August, 
1867,  and  held  his  first  service  on  the  ist  day 
of  September. 

The  congregation  was  soon  divided  into  three 
districts,  called  \^angen,  Bergen  and  Brule  Creek. 
Later  two  new  districts  were  formed,  Qay 
Creek  and  Lodi.  Brule  Creek  district  was  the 
iirst  to  separate  from  the  mother  congregation 
and  form  an  independent  church.  Later,  Clay 
Creek  and  Lodi  did  the  same  and  united  with 
Brule  Creek  into  one  parochi  or  circuit. 

The  remaining  two  districts,  Vangen  and 
Bergen,  have  been  incorporated  separately  but 
are  still  connected  as  one  charge. 

In  1869,  Vangen  district  erected  a  church 
building  near  Mission  Hill.  The  Bergen  church 
was  built  in  1870.  These  churches  are  old  land 
marks  and  the  oldest  Lutheran  churches  in  the 
Dakotas.  Part  of  the  material  used  in  the  con- 
struction of  these  buildings  was  hauled  from 
Sioux  City  with  teams.  The  finishing  lumber 
used  was  paid  for  at  the  rate  of  eighty  dollars 
and  shingles  at  nine  dollars  per  thousan-d. 

Besides  serving  his  congregation,  Rev. 
Christenson  also  performed  missionary  work  and 
visited  the  settlers  in  Lincoln,  Minnehaha, 
Brookings  and  Moody  counties,  this  state,  and 
in  Cedar  and  Dixon  counties,  Nebraska,  and 
other  places  and  organized  many  congregations. 
He  had  as  his  assistants  successively  Rev.  G. 
Gulbrandsen  and  Rev.  N.  G.  Tvedt. 

In  1876,  he  resigned  as  pastor  for  this  church 
and  accepted  a  call  as  missionary  to  the  Pacific 
coast. 

Tlie  work  of  the  .Scindinavinn  churches  has 
kept  pace  with  the  growth  of  population  from 
the  first  settlement  of  the  territory  and  no  other 
single  nationality  has  contributed  so  much  to  the 
state's  population  as  has  the  Scandinavians.  By 
the  last  census  there  were  .3^.473  Scindinavians 
in  the  state,  who,  together  with  the  native-born 
of  Scandinavian  parentTge,  aggregated  thirty- 
eight  per  cent,  of  the  entire  population.  They 
are  in  the  main  a  thriftv  farmer  people  and 
wherever  they  are  found  establi.shcd  the  spire  of 
a  Lutheran  church  points  heavenward,  nearby. 
In    addition    to    the     verv     numerous     churches. 


5o8 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


numbering  several  hundred  in  all,  the  Lutherans 
maintain  the  splendid  Augustana  College  at  Can- 
ton, an  excellent  normal  school  at  Sioux  Falls, 
and  orphanages  at  Hereford  and  Beloit.  No 
other  class  of  the  people  are  so  liberal  and  sys- 
tematic in  their  benevolences  nor  have  done 
more  for  the  moral  uplift  of  the  community. 

An  exceptionally  large  percentage  of  the 
Scandinavians  are  prohibitionists  and  have  been 
strong  factors  in  the  promotion  of  temperance 
legislation.  They  too  have  uniformly  stood  for 
a  reform  in  the  divorce  laws  of  Dakota  which 
have  brought  so  much  scandal  to  the  com- 
munitv. 


In  this  connection  it  may  be  proper  to  note 
the  large  number  of  able  men  which  tlie  Scandi- 
navians have  contributed  to  the  public  ser\nce  in 
South  Dakota.  Governor  Andrevvr  E.  Lee, 
Governor  Charles  N.  Herreid,  Secretaries  of 
State  Amund  O.  Ringsrud,  Thomas  Thorson 
and  Otto  C.  Berg,  Land  Commissioner  C.  J. 
Bach,  Mr.  Brandt,  regent  of  education,  Dr. 
Finnerud,  in  same  office,  Burre  H.  Lien,  com- 
missioner of  charities  and  corrections,  O.  S. 
Swenson,  warden  of  the  penitentiary,  and  a  host 
of  others  in  legislative  and  county  aflfairs  are 
recalled  as  honorable  representatives  of  the 
race. 


CHAPTER  LXXXVIl 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HOLLAND    COLONY    IX    DOl'GLAS    AND    CHARLES    MIX 

COUNTIES. 


HY   RE\".   HENRY   STKAKS,    HARRISON,    S.    D. 


It  is  known  that  during  the  early  history  of 
our  land  the  Dutch  came  in  great  numbers  to  our 
eastern  shores,  and  settled  in  the  middle  Atlantic 
states  and  prospered  there.  When  the  English 
language  became  the  language  of  the  court  and 
had  to  be  taught  in  oiir  schools  the  Dutch 
language  gradually  became  obsolete.  In  the  years 
1840  to  i860  another  stream  of  emigrants  from 
the  same  source  sought  to  benefit  themselves  by 
the  opportunities  this  country  so  richly  offered, 
and  they  settled  in  many  states  west  of  Pittsburg, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Buffalo,  New  York.  Whole 
churches,  pastor,  elders  and  people,  settled  in  the 
chosen  locations;  among  others,  western  Michi- 
gan, northeastern  Illinois  and  southern  Iowa. 
In  1870  these  settlements,  becoming  crowded, 
poured  out  their  surplus  settlers  into  northwest- 
ern Iowa,  Minnesota  and  Nebraska.  At  first  they 
suft'ered  discouragements,  not  only  such  as  are 
usual  in  new  settlements,  but  the  grasshoppers 
robbed  the  fields,  luxuriant  with  acres  of  the 
finest  crops,  for  two  or  three  years  in  succes- 
sion ;  but  soon  the  country  was  rid  of  these  pests 
and  the  land  became  valuable  for  agricultural 
purposes.  In  a  short  time  the  land  was  all  taken 
up  and  raised  rapidly  in  price,  so  that,  as  early 
as  1 88 1,  many  settlers  having  large  families  and 
lacking  means  to  purchase  the  high-priced  farms, 
began  to  look  for  cheaper  land  farther  west.  In 
said  year  a  mass  meeting  was  held  at  Orange 
City,  Towa,  of  all  the  people  interested  in  mi- 
grating to  regions  more  congenial  for  our  meager 


purses.  .A  committee  was  appointed  to  reconnoitre 
and  look  up  a  suitable  location  in  the  great  ter- 
ritory of  Dakota,  consisting  of  Hon.  Frank  Le 
Cocq,  Jr.,  Mr.  Leendert  Van  der  Meer  and  Mr. 
Dirk  A^an  der  Bos.  This  committee  started  out 
overland,  with  teams,  and  finally  halting  in 
Douglas  and  Charles  Mix  counties.  South  Da- 
kota, decided  to  locate  in  western  Douglas 
county  at  a  place  now  called  Harrison. 

About  the  same  time  Mr.  A.  H.  Kuyper  and 
his  son  came  direct  from  Holland  to  Charles  Mix 
county  and  settled  near  the  present  town  of 
Platte.  They  labored  hard  and  successfully  in 
bringing  over  many  emigrants  from  their  native 
country  to  the  prairies  of  said  county.  The 
greater  majority  of  these  had  barely  means  suf- 
ficient to  pay  their  transportation  to  this  land 
of  ours.  A  few  of  them  were  able  to  purchase  a 
yoke  of  oxen  and  a  breaking  outfit,  with  which  to 
turn  sod  on  their  claims  obtained  from  the  gov- 
ernment. Many  of  these,  however,  had  to  be 
aided  for  years  by  M^r.  Kuyper  and  his  son,  now 
in  business  at  Platte,  South  Dakota. 

This  Holland  colony  has  rapidly  and  steadily 
increased  in  population  and  in  wealth.  Notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  many  of  the  settlers  aban- 
,doned  their  farms  and  left  for  regions  farther 
east  to  work  rented  land  in  older  settlements, 
where,  however,  the  great  majority  are  still  pay- 
ing high  rentals  with  no  prospect  of  ever  living 
to  see  the  day  that  they  become  freeholders. 
They  left  here  on    accoiuit    of    the    stringency, 


5IO 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


caused  by  the  failure  of  crops  during  the  years 
1892-1895.  resulting  from  severe  droughts. 
Many  did  not  know  that  various  sections  of  new 
country  in  Iowa  had  suiTered  similar  drawbacks 
where  today  droughts  are  rarely  experienced. 
Today  the  above  named  colony  numbers  about 
five  hundred  people,  mostly  well  oflf,  who  speak 
the  Dutch  tongue  wholly  or  in  part. 

When  the  settlers  of  Douglas  county  arrived 
here  they  found  in  the  center  of  the  county  a 
settlement  known  as  the  Brownsdale  settlement. 
These  had  taken  matters  into  their  own  hands 
and  had  set  out  to  rob  the  county  by  reporting  a 
pretended  county  organization  to' the  territorial 
government  and  issuing  and  selling  bonds.  A 
certain  Walter  H.  Brown  was  making  successful 
efiforts  to  settle  a  large  indebtedness  upon  the 
count}-  by  issuing  county  warrants.  They  had 
also  proceeded  to  divide  up  the  county  into 
school  districts  and  had  issued  bonds  on  the 
several  districts  for  thousands  of  dollars.  For 
some  reason  or  other  they  had  left  out  of  these 
districts,  so  divided,  the  four  western  townships 
of  Douglas  county.  In  order  to  get  outside  of 
the  regions  so  bounded  the  Holland  settlers  set- 
tled beyond  these  borders  in  said  four  western 
townships  of  said  county.  These  bonds  caused 
the  county  much  trouble.  T\Iuch  money  had  to 
be  spent  to  resist  the  payment  of  these  bonds. 
After  persistent  effort  these  bogus  bonds  were 
finallv  declared  void  bv  the  higher  courts.  So 
the  swindle  failed  and  we  were  glad. 

In  1882  the  territorial  legislature  declared  the 
Brownsdale  organization  fraudulent  and  void, 
authorizing  the  governor  to  cause  a  reorganiza- 
tion of  the  county  to  be  made.  Accordingly  this 
was  followed  by  a  complete  organization,  and  the 
election  of  a  full  set  of  legal  officers.  Among 
others  Hon.  Frank  Le  Cocq,  who  also  was  a 
member  of  the  first  legislature  of  this  state,  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  county  board.  The 
center  of  this  Holland  settlement  was  Harrison, 
now  a  village  of  about  two  hundred  inhabitants. 
It  was  so  named  in  honor  of  Senator  Harrison, 
who  introduced  the  first  bill  into  the  United 
States  senate  to  divide  the  territory  and  to  admit 
the  south  half  as  the  state  of  South  Dakota. 


The  first  postofiice  in  the  settlement  was  at 
this  village,  being  on  the  military  route  from 
Plankinton  to  Fort  Randall,  with  Peter 
Eernisso  as  postmaster.  The  whole  tract  of 
these  four  west  townships  was  almost  entirely 
settled  upon  by  Holland  settlers.  At  present 
they  number  about  one  thousand  five  hundred 
people  who  use  the  Dutch  language  wholly  or 
in  part. 

In  later  years  this  settlement  was  still  more 
extended  by  a  number  of  families  from  the 
eastern  states,  as  well  as  from  the  mother  coun- 
try, settling  at  Grandview,  near  Armour,  then 
the  county  seat.  They  number  about  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  souls,  also  using  the  same  tongue. 

In  the  fall  of  1882  these  settlers  concluded 
that  they  needed,  first  of  all,  a  church.  A  Sun- 
day school  was  accordingly  organized  and  a 
provisional  church  building  was  erected  of  the 
customary  building  material — rough  boards  and 
sod.  Here  services  were  regularly  held  on  Sun- 
days and  during  the  week.  This  building  also 
did  good  service  as  a  public-school  building. 
Miss  Sophia  Le  Cocq,  now  Mrs.  L.  ]\Iarkus,  was 
the  first  instructor. 

The  first  general  merchandise  store  was  put 
up  by  Messrs.  P.  Eernisse  and  L.  A'an  der  Meer, 
and  ]\Ir.  L.  Markus  had  a  blacksmith  shop. 
Many  a  breaking  plow  did  he  repair  for  our 
pioneer  farmers.  Hon.  Frank  Le  Cocq  put  up  a 
land  ofiice  ( without  which  no  modern  western 
town  is  complete),  and  sold  many  of  the  settlers 
their  selections.  Soon  H.  Ms  came  to  us  from 
Orange  City,  Iowa,  with  a  full  line  of  drugs  and 
medicines,  thus  providing  for  the  emergency  of 
colds  and  fevers.  Mr.  Garret  A^an  der  Linden 
built  a  hotel  where,  in  the  pioneer  days.  Major 
Sharp,  the  paymaster  of  Fort  Randall,  often 
bivouacked  for  the  night,  after  a  hard  day's  ride 
in  a  four-mule  ambulance.  With  the  cash  wagon 
without  and  the  howling  of  the  prairie  wolf  in 
various  directions,  and  a  hotel  with  crevices  be- 
tween the  boards  large  enough  to  serve  as  port 
holes,  and  one  or  two  soldiers  sitting  up  all  night 
at  his  bedside,  with  rifles  in  hand,  the  outfit  was 
an  ideal  of  completeness,  making  the  place  at- 
tractive   and    safe    also    for    land    seekers    with 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH  DAKOTA. 


5" 


pockets  full  of  money,  sleeping  with  one  eye  open 
in  ever}-  nook  and  corner  of  the  twelve-by-twenty 
"Waldorf  Astoria."  Of  course  the  lonely  pio- 
neer settlers  did  all  they  could  to  induce  their 
relatives  to  hasten  on  to  this  land  of  prospective 
prosperity,  and  during  the  year  1883  the  land 
was  all  taken  up  so  that  nothing  but  school  sec- 
tions remained  unoccupied.  The  people  were  all 
doing  well  and  were  highly  pleased.  Church- 
es and  schools  were  built :  dug-outs  and  sod 
houses  were  abandoned  for  more  convenient 
dwellings.  , 

In  1884  the  Reformed  church  of  Harrison 
was  organized  and  the  services  of  the  candidate, 
Abraham  Stegeman,  were  secured.  He  served 
them  very  acceptably  till  1892.  During  his  in- 
cumbency a  church  and  parsonage,  costing  about 
five  thousand  dollars,  were  built  by  the  aid  of  the 
Board  of  Domestic  Missions  of  the  Reformed 
Church  in  America.  At  about  the  same  time  the 
people  of  Grandview,  under  the  leadership  of 
Rev.  F.  J.  Zwemer,  also  built  a  suitable  church 
and  parsonage.  Shortly  after  this  the  Christian 
Reformed  people  built  a  church  at  Harrison  and 
one  at  New  Holland,  four  miles  west.  The  first 
ministers  of  these  churches  were,  respectively, 
Revs.  T.  M.  \'an  der  Bosch  and  H.  Temple. 
But  now  sad  times  waited  the  people  of  these 
settlements,  ^^'ith  the  people  all  over  the  state 
of  Soutji  Dakota,  they  shared  in  the  hard  times 
caused  by  a  failure  of  crops  for  three  consecutive 
\ears. 


Nearly  every  western  colony  has  had  dis- 
couragements to  contend  with  and  those  who 
"stood  the  storm"  and  braved  the  drawbacks  and 
remained  on  their  claims  were  the  wisest  after 
all.  Nevertheless  many  of  the  settlers  became 
discouraged  and  returned  back  east,  where  they 
are  today  paying  high  rents  and  repenting  for 
their  not  staying  here.  Those  who  stayed  are 
today  well-to-do  freeholders,  owning  large  herds 
of  cattle,  with  tubular  or  artesian  wells  to  supply 
abundant  water  of  the  purest  quality ;  organs, 
pianos  and  lots  of  work  for  music  teachers ;  car- 
riages and  all  sorts  of  improved  farm  machinery ; 
homes  of  the  modern  type,  well  furnished, — a 
wonderful  progress  in  so  short  a  time !  When 
we  write  this  history  we  are  not  accounting  for 
many  other  Holland  colonies  in  the  state,  all 
alike  or  even  more  prosperous,  as,  for  instance, 
in  the  following  counties :  Bon  Homme,  Brook- 
ings, Campbell,  Deuel,  Grant,  Hamlin  and 
Turner.  Today  we  enjoy  the  privileges  of 
higher  instruction  for  our  children  in  our  own 
town.  A  classical  academy  has  a  good  start  and 
is  doing  work  that  will  tell  on  the  future  gener- 
ations of  our  state  and  country. 

People  living  in  South  Dakota  have  reason 
to  be  grateful  and  to  take  pride  in  a  state  that 
affords  such  splendid  advantages.  Great  is  our 
responsibility  to  our  country  and  to  our  Father 
in  heaven  to  make  the  proper  use  of  all  the  splen- 
did opportunities  offered  us,  for  material,  mental 
and  spiritual  progress. 


CHAPTER  LXXXIX 


ANCIENT   FREE   AND   ACCEPTED    MASONS. 


Among  the  very  first  settlers  of  South 
Dakota  were  several  Alasons,  and  as  early  as 
1862,  during  the  first  session  of  the  territorial 
legislature,  consultation  began  looking  to  the 
organization  of  a  lodge,  but  the  Indian  troubles 
of  that  season  suspended  operations  in  that  line 
for  a  period.  However,  no  sooner  was  safety 
to  the  community  assured  that  the  matter  was 
again  taken  up  and  Melancthon  Hoyt,  Episcopal 
missionary ;  John  Hutchinson,  secretan'  of  Da- 
kota territory;  Henr\'  C.  Ash,  the  pioneer  hotel- 
keeper,  of  Yankton ;  Nelson  Miner,  captain  of 
Company  A,  Dakota  A^olunteer  Cavaln- ;  Justus 
Townsend,  physician,  and  auditor  of  Dakota 
territory ;  Downer  T.  Bramble,  legislator  and 
pioneer  merchant;  G.  N.  Propper;  James  M. 
Allen,  who  was  secretary  of  the  provisional  gov- 
ernment established  at  Sioux  Falls,  and  Frank 
M.  Ziebach,  founder  of  the  Dakotan  newspaper, 
petitioned  for  a  dispensation  to  establish  a  lodge 
of  the  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  at 
Yanlcton.  The  dispensation  was  duly  granted 
and  the  lodge  instituted  with  the  petitioners 
above  named  as  charter  members,  the  charter 
bearing  date  June  3.  1863.  The  lodge  was  called 
St.  John's,  No.  r66,  of  the  jurisdiction  of  Iowa. 
For  six  years  thereafter  it  was  the  only  lodge 
in  the  territory.  The  genealogy  of  Dakota 
Masonry  is  as  .follows :  From  England  to  North 
Carolina,  from  North  Carolina  to  Tennessee, 
from  Tennessee  to  Missouri,  from  Missouri  to 
Iowa,  from  Towa  to  Dakota  territorv,  from 
Dakota   territorv    to    South    Dakota.      The   first 


officers  of  St.  John's  lodge  were  as  follows : 
JMelanchton  Hoyt,  master ;  Downer  T.  Bramble, 
senior  warden ;  John  Hutchinson,  junior  war- 
den ;  George  W.  Kingsbury,  treasurer ;  Moses 
K.  Armstrong,  secretan,^ ;  George  N.  Propper, 
senior  deacon ;  F.  M.  Ziebach,  junior  deacon ; 
Bligh  E.  Wood,  tyler. 

The  next  lodge  to  be  instituted  in  Dakota 
territory  was  Incense  No.  257,  of  Vennillion. 
chartered  February  10,  1869.  Alpheus  G.  Fuller, 
of  Yankton,  who  had  been  elected  delegate  to 
congress  by  the  Sioux  Falls  provisional  govern- 
ment in  1858,  was  the  instituting  officer.  A  year 
later.  April  16.  1870,  Elk  Point  Lodge,  No.  288, 
was  instituted,  with  H.  H.  Blair  as  master;  Elias 
Hyde,  senior  warden ;  E.  H.  Webb,  junior  war- 
den ;  P.  E.  Maynard,  treasurer ;  John  Lawrence, 
secretary ;  C.  W.  Beggs,  senior  deacon ;  J.  A. 
Wallace,  junior  deacon ;  Eli  B.  Wixson.  tyler. 
On  June  loth  Minnehaha  Lodge,  No.  328,  was 
chartered  at  Sioux  Falls,  with  Thomas  H. 
Brown,  R.  C.  Hawkins,  E.  Sharpe,  T.  Pomeroy, 
G.  B.  Sammons,  \Y.  H.  Holt.  J.  H.  Moulton. 
and  George  Hill  as  charter  members.  On  June 
3,  1875,  Silver  Star  Lodge,  No.  345,  was  or- 
ganized at  Canton,  and  W.  H.  ]\Iiller,  Sr.,  M.  W. 
Bailey,  S.  H.  Staflford.  Jr.,  W.  M.  Cuppett,  D. 
H.  Hawn  and  others  were  charter  members. 

Delegates  from  these  five  lodges  met  in  the 
hall  of  Elk  Point  Lodge  on  June  22,  1875.  These 
delegates  were  empowered  to  take  such  measures 
as  were  necessary  in  order  to  form  a  grand  lodge 
of  Freemasons  within   and   for  the  territorv  of 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


513 


Dakota.  This  convention  adopted  a  constitution 
and  by-laws  and  elected  officers  for  a  grand 
lodge  and  petitioned  the  Iowa  grand  lodge,  to 
which  they  were  still  subject,  for  an  organization. 
Pursuant  to  this  action  and  petition  the  Iowa 
grand  lodge  sent  T.  S.  Parvin  to  Dakota  and  at 
A'ermillion,  on  July  21,  1875.  the  grand  lodge  of 
Dakota  was  duly  instituted  by  Mr.  Parvin  in  the 
olil  Baptist  church. 

The  delegates  who  met  in  the  convention  at 
Elk  Point  on  June  22d  and  took  the  preliminary 
steps  toward  the  organization  of  the  grand  lodge 
of  Dakota  were  as  follows :  St.  John's  Lodge 
Xo.  166,  Yankton,  George  H.  Hand.  L.  M. 
Purdy,  F.  J.  DeWitt;  Incense  Xo.  257,  W-rmil- 
lion,  Horace  J.  Austin,  A.  H.  Lathrop,  A^ernette 
E.  Prentice;  Elk  Point  No.  288,  J.  A.  Wallace, 
H.  H.  Blair,  D.  W.  Hassen ;  Minnehaha  Xo. 
328,  Thomas  H.  Brown,  J.  W.  Callendar,  Rich- 
ard I'.  Pettigrew;  Silver  Star  X^o.  345,  Canton, 
William  PI.  Miller,  Sr.,  Mark  W.  Bailey,  S.  H. 
Stafford,  Jr. 

The  first  officers  of  the  grand  lodge  were  as 
follows :  T.  H.  Brown;  master ;  Mark  W.  Bailey, 
secretary.  The  grand  masters  haVe  been  Henry 
H.  Blair,  1876;  George  PI.  Hand,  1877  to  1880; 
Thomas  H.  Brown,  1881 ;  Oscar  S.  Gifford,  1882 
and  1883;  John  F.  Schrader,  1884;  William 
Blatt,  1885  and  1886:  Henry  M.  Wheeler.  1887; 
John  Q.  A.  Braden,  1888;  George  V.  Avers, 
1889:  Theodore  D.  Kanouse,  1890:  George  A. 
Johnston,  1891  ;  Harvey  J.  Rice,  1892;  Richard 
C.  McAllister,  1893;  William  C.  Allen,  1894: 
Frederick  H.  Files,  1895;  James  Lewis,  1896: 
Albert  W.  Coe,  1897;  J.  G.  Bullen,  1898;  Louis 
G.  Levoy,  1899;  W.  H.  Roddle,  1900;  John  A. 
Cleaver,  1901  :  Charles  E.  Hill.  1902:  Frank  A. 
Brown,  1903,  and  Byron  P.  Dague,  1904:  ^Mark 
W.  Bailey  was  secretarv  for  two  years  until  his 
death,  in  1877:  W.  E.  Caton  succeeded  him  for 
one  term  and  Charles  T.  McCoy  was  secretary 
from  1878  until  1893,  when  he  was  succeeded  by 
George  A.  Pettigrew,  who  still  serves  in  that 
capacity. 

The  meetings  of  the  grand  lodge  have  been 
held  as  follows:  1875,  Elk  Point  and  WTmillion  : 
1876.    Yankton;     1877.    Yankton;    1878,     Sioux 


Falls;  1879,  Yankton;  1880,  Yankton;  1881, 
Sioux  Falls;  1882,  Watertown ;  1883,  Rapid 
City;  1884,  Aberdeen;  1885,  Fargo;  1886,  Bis- 
marck; 1887,  Huron;  1888,  Deadwood;  1889, 
Mitchell;  1890,  Madison;  1891,  Watertown. 
1892,  Sioux  Falls;  1893,  Yankton;  1894,  Hot 
Springs;  1895,  Pierre;  1896,  Huron;  1897, 
Mitchell;  i8g8,  Sioux  Falls;  1899,  Yankton; 
1900,  Aberdeen;  1901.  Sioux  Falls;  1902. 
Huron;  1903,  Deadwood;  1904,  Yankton.  At 
the  last  report  there  were  one  hundred  Blue 
Lodges  in  South  Dakota,  having  a  total  of  5,444 
members. 

The  institution  of  the  York  Rites  in  Dakota 
territory  date  from  1885,  when,  on  the  25th  of 
February,  charters  were  issued  to  the  following 
chapters:  Yankton  X^o.  i,  Yankton;  Sioux  Falls 

I  X^o.  2,  Sioux  Falls;  Dakota  X^o.  3,  Deadwood; 
Siroc   No.   4,   Canton ;   Huron    No.    10,   Huron ; 

,   Watertown  No.   12,  Watertown;  Aberdeen   X'o. 

'  14,  Aberdeen ;  and  on  June  8th  of  that  year 
Mitchell  No.  15,  Mitchell;  Denver  No.  17. 
Arlington  ;  Brookings  X^o.  18,  Brookings  ;  Orient 
X^o.  Tg,  Flandreau,  and  Redfield  X^o.  20,  Red- 
field,  were  chartered.  It  will  be  observed  that  the 
above  numbers  do  not  run  in  regular  order,  this 
fact  being  due  to  the  North  Dakota  chapters 
then  in  this  jurisdiction. 

The  grand  chapter  was  organized  at  Sioux 

'  Falls,  Julv  8.  1885,  the  first  fourteen  chapters 
taking  part  in  the  organization.  The  meetings 
of  the  chapter  since  the  first  have  been  held  at 
the  same  place  and  approximate  time  as  the 
grand  lodge.  The  grand  high  priests  have  been 
as  follows:  1885  and  1886.  William  S.  Blatt; 
1887,  Peter  Picton ;  1888,  Collins  D.  Pratt;  1899, 
John  F.  Schrader;  1890,  John  Davidson;  1891. 
Henrv  S.  Williams  ;  1891,  Park  Davis  ;  1892,  Wil- 
liam J.  McMackin  ;  1893,  Edward  B.  Bracy ;  1894. 

,  Robert  T.  Sedam ;  1895,  Louis -G.  Levoy;  1896, 
TInrvev  T.  Rice;  1807,  George  V.  Avers;  1898. 
Samuel  J.  Coyne:  1899,  George  .\.  West;  1900. 
P..  F.  Ives;  T90T,  Martin  G.  Carlisle;  1002. 
Samuel  J.  Moore ;  1903,  Ed  S.  Ames ;  1904, 
Samuel  H.  Jumper.  The  grand  secretaries : 
Thomas  J.  \\'ilder,  from  organization  until  .state- 
hood,   when    the    jurisdiction    was    divided,    and 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


since  that  date  George  A.  Pettigrew  has  held 
the  position.  There  are  now  twenty-nine  chap- 
ters, having  at  the  last  report  1.784  members. 

The  commandery  preceded  the  chapter  in  this 
jurisdiction.  There  are  now  fourteen  of  these 
bodies,  the  first  of  which  is  Dakota  No.  i, 
organized  at  Deadwood  .\ugust  19,  1880.  The 
grand  commandery  was  organized  at  Sioux 
Falls  on  May  14.  1884,  by  Theodore  S.  Parvin, 
of  Iowa,  under  warrant  of  the  grand  com- 
mandery of  the  l-nited  States.  The  right  emi- 
nent grand  commanders  since  organization  have 
been:  1884,  Samuel  Roy:  1885.  Levi  B.  French: 
1886,  Daniel  S.  Glidden :  1887.  Marc  A.  Brewer; 
1888,  Joseph  A.  Colcord:  1889,  William  D. 
Stites;  1890,  John  F.  Schrader;  1891,  Samuel 
H.  Jumper;  1892,  George  W.  Bumside:  1893, 
George  H.  Rathman ;  1894,  William  J.  Mc- 
Mackin :  1895,  Frank  A.  Brown ;  1896,  J.  J. 
Casselman;  1897,  Joseph  T.  Morrow:  1898, 
William  T.  Doolittle;  1899,  George  V.  Ayers; 
1900,  E.  W.  Coughran :  1901,  Morris  H.  Kelly: 
1902,  Ed  S.  Lorimer:  1903,  Fred  A.  Spafford. 
Edwin  E,  Sage  was  the  first  grand  recorder,  but 
was  succeeded  at  the  first  election  by  Bruce  ]\I. 
Rowley,  who  held  the  office  from  iSB^^  until 
1892.  William  H.  Holt  then  held  it  for  two 
years,  when,  in  1895,  he  was  succeeded  by 
George  A.  Pettigrew,  who  continues  in  the  office. 

For  the  history  of  the  Scottish  Rite  bodies  in 
South  Dakota  we  are  under  obligation  to  T.  W. 
Taubman,  of  Aberdeen,  who  writes:  "I  have 
had  some  difficulty  in  gathering  the  authentic 
history  of  the  Rite  in  the  territory  of  Dakota 
and  the  state  of  South  Dakota.  In  1874  Albert 
Pike,  the  sovereign  grand  commander,  attached 
Dakota  territory  to  the  state  of  Minnesota  and 
placed  the  same  under  the  jurisdiction  of  A.  T. 
C.  Pearson,  inspector  general  of  that  state,  but 
it  seems  that  he  did  not  do  any  work  within  the 
territory.  On  January  6,  1883.  the  territory  was 
annexed  to  Nebraska  and  was  in  charge  of  Rob- 
ert C.  Jordon,  the  inspector  general  of  that  state, 
but  prior  thereto  and  on  January  i,  1882,  Arthur 
James  Carrier,  thirty-second  degree,  was  ap- 
pointed deputy  for  the  territory  of  Dakota.  He 
did    the   first     \vnrl<     within     the     territory     and 


established  Alpha  Lodge  of  Perfection  No.  i, 
in  Yankton,  on  February  3,  1882,  but  I  am  in- 
formed that  the  date  of  its  charter  was  Febru- 
ary 8tli  of  that  year. 

"Brother  ^^'illiam  Blatt  writes  me  that 
Brother  Carrier  was  an  Indian  trader  and 
boarded  with  Mrs.  Dawson  on  the  southwest  cor- 
ner of  Third  and  Linn  streets  in  that  city,  where 
he  occupied  the  parlor  and  there  communicated 
to  him  and  several  others  whose  namts  he  was 
unable  to  recall  the  degrees  from  the  fourth  to 
the  fourteenth,  who  immediately  thereafter  ap- 
plied for  a  charter,  bought  nine  hundred  dollars 
worth  of  paraphernalia,  and,  in  unison  with  the 
other  Masonic  bodies,  leased  the  west  half  of  the 
present  hall,  remodeled  it  at  great  expense  and 
began  work  hopefully  and  energetically,  but 
fearfully  in  debt.  Brother  Jordon  inaugurated 
Mackey  Chapter,  Rose  Croix,  in  Yankton.  Feb- 
ruary 27,  1883,  and  Dr.  D.  Frank  Etter  was 
elected  wise  master,  and  Brother  Fleming  writes 
me  that  John  B.  Dennis  was  appointed  deputy 
for  Brother  Jordon.  About  the  last  of  July  or 
the  first  of  August  of  that  year  Brother  Pike 
visited  Yankton  and  Sioux  Falls  and  he  states 
in  his  allocution  for  that  year  that  Brother  Den- 
nis accompanied  him  for  the  purpose  of  establish- 
ing bodies  at  Yankton  and  Sioux  Falls.  Brother 
Dennis  was  appointed  deputy  for  the  supreme 
council  for  the  southern  part  of  Dakota  April 
25,  1884.  Robert  B.  Bruce  Council  of  .Kadosh 
No.  I  was  not  chartered  until  March  10.  1887. 
but  I  do  not  know  by  whom  nor  when  it  was 
inaugurated,  but  find  that  it  is  mentioned  as 
paying  dues  in  1886.  Brother  Rufus  E.  Flem- 
ing, thirty-third  degree,  who  had  been  deputy  for 
the  northern  part  of  Dakota  territory,  was,  on 
October  19,  1886,  made  an  active  in.spector  gen- 
eral for  the  entire  territory,  and  Dr.  Etter  was 
his  deput}^  until  his  death.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Brother  Blatt  and  he  by  Brother  Beadle. 
Oriental  Consistory  was  chartered  at  the  1888 
session  of  the  supreme  council  and  was  instituted 
by  Brother  Fleming  on  Deceml>er  loth  of  the 
same  year,  when  George  A.  -'Archer  was  elected 
master  of  Kadosh.  When  first  chartered  it  was 
known  as  No.  2,  but  Occidental  Consistory  No. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


515 


1  at  Sioux  Falls  having  forfeited  its  charter  in 
1889,  the  supreme  council  authorized  Oriental 
to  be  known  as  No.  i,  which  it  now  is.  Other 
bodies  of  the  Rite  which  have  been  instituted  in 
the  state  are  Webster  Lodge  of  Perfection,  June 
13,  1887;  Cyrus  Lodge  of  Perfection,  at  Water- 
town,  August  I,  1887;  Khurum  Lodge  of  Per- 
fection, at  Sioux  Falls,  September  15,  1884;  and 
Albert  Pike  Qiapter,  Rose  Croix,  at  Sioux  Falls, 
September  15,  1884.  At  the  session  of  the  su- 
preme council  in  1884  there  was  a  petition  for 
a  consistory  at  Sioux  Falls,  but  the  same  was 
rejected  because  there  was  no  council  of  Kadosh, 
but  one  was  subsequent!}'  established.  The  ap- 
plication for  a  consistory  was  again  rejected  in 
1 888.  but  a  recess  vote  was  taken  and  a  charter 
granted  and  a  consistory  at  Sioux  Falls  ■  in- 
augurated by  Brother  Fleming  on  either  the  day 
before  or  after  the  one  at  Yankton.  Their  coun- 
cil of  Kadosh  was  known  as  Cour  DeLain  No. 

2  and  was  instituted  by  Brother  Fleming  May 
2.  t888.  The  lodge  and  chapter  at  Deadwood 
was  constituted  iMay  21,  1892,  the  council  May 
23,  1892,  and  the  consistory  October  20,  1892. 
A  lodge  of  perfection  was  located  at  Hot  Springs 
in  November,  1894;  at  Aberdeen  a  lodge  and 
chapter  was  instituted  April  6,  1894:  the  council 
February  21,  1895.  and  the  consistory  January 
16,  1896,  and  the  Albert  Pike  Lodge  of  Perfec- 
tion at  Eureka  January  18,  1898,  but  the  char- 
ters were  never  granted  either  to  Watertown, 
Hot  Springs  or  Eureka  and  those  at  Sioux  Falls 
were  forfeited  in  1892  or  1894,  they  never  hav- 
ing done  any  work.  At  the  present  time  the 
total  membership  in  the  state  in  about  eight 
hundred."' 

After  the  division  of  Dakota  territor\-.  North 
and    South    Dalcota    remained    one    jurisdiction. 


under  the  supervision  of  Rufus  Eberly  Fleming, 
thirty-third  degree,  inspector  general,  until  Oc- 
tober, 1899,  when  the  supreme  council  divided 
the  territory  and  made  South  Dakota  a  separate 
jurisdiction  and  elected  Edward  Teare  Tatibman, 
thirty-third  degree,  of  Aberdeen,  the  inspector 
general  for  the  state. 

There  are  thirty-six  chapters  of  the  auxiliary 
Order  of  the  Eastern  Star  in  South  Dakota.  The 
grand  chapter  was  organized  at  Watertown  July 
10,  1889,  delegates  from  the  chapters  at  Water- 
town,  Flandreau,  Webster,  St.  Lawrence,  Aber- 
deen and  Madison  taking  part  in  the  organiza- 
tion. The  grand  matrons  have  been:  1889.  ^lay 
H.  ]\ronks:  1890.  Florence  :\I.  ^Mudgett;  1891, 
L.  Leslie  McBride :  1892,  Lurancy  W.  Norton: 
1893,  Mary  Brown;  1894.  Sarah  J.  Clark:  1895, 
Hettie  Downie;  1896.  Fannie  R.  Roddle:  1897. 
Jennette  E.  Herreid :  1898,  Jennie  E.  Bradley ; 
1899,  Jennie  Shirk:  1900.  Margaret  Y.  Hitch- 
cock: 1901,  Eudora  Z.  Pettigrew ;  1902,  .\nnie 
Marston:  1903,  Eva  G.  Davi.son.  Mrs.  A.  C. 
McAllister  has  been  secretary  from  the  organiza- 
tion. At  the  last  report  there  were  2,439  mem- 
bers. 

IMagnificen.t  temples  for  tlie  ]\Iasonic  bodies 
have  been  erected  at  Yankton,  Aberdeen  and 
Deadwood.  The  Alasonic  bodies  meeting  at 
Chamberlain  own  a  very  commodious  and  well 
arranged  temple. 

There  are  in  .South  Dakota  two  temples  of 
the  dependent  order  of  Ancient  Arabic  Order 
of  the  Nobles  of  the  ]\Iystic  Shrine,  El  Riad 
Temjile,  at  Sioux  Falls,  organized  ]\Iay  25.  1888, 
and  Naja  Temple,  at  Deadwood.  founded  Sep- 
tember ig,  1892.  An  application  for  a  charter 
has  been  made  at  Aberdeen  for  the  establishment 
of  a  temple  there. 


CHAPTER  XC 


ODD  FELLOWSHIP 


BV    HARVEV    J.    RICE,    GRAND    SECRETARY. 


The  first  organization  of  Odd  Fellows  in  the 
territory  of  Dakota  was  at  Yankton,  May  25, 
1870,  when  Dakota  Lodge  No.  i,  was  instituted 
with  five  charter  members,  N.  J.  Cattell,  H.  A. 
James,  E.  A.  Norton.  Alex  Linn  and  A.  Bruce. 
At  this  meeting  three  new  members  were  ini- 
tiated and  two  admitted  by  card.  The  following 
were  initiated  in  this  lodge  and  ever  since  have 
been  identified  with  the  progress  of  the  order  in 
the  territory  and  state  :  Fred  Schnauber,  initiated 
December  16,  1870;  Warren  Osborn,  October  25, 
1871  :  E.  T.  White,  December  14,  1871 ;  Zina 
Richey,  February  i.  1872;  James.  ICingsbury, 
February  29.  1873. 

Echo  Lodge  No.  2,  was  instituted  at  Ft.  Ran- 
dall February  7.  1872,  with  twenty-five  members. 

Vermillion  Lodge  No.  3,  was  instituted  at 
Vermillion  August  21,  1872,  with  fourteen  mem- 
bers. Among  this  number  was  Andrew  E.  Lee, 
since  governor  of  South  Dakota. 

Elk  Point  Lodge  No.  4,  was  instituted  at  Elk 
Point  January  21,  1873.  with  eleven  members, 
among  whom  was  the  Hon.  Ezra  W.  ^Miller,  who 
has  since  attained  quite  a  prominence  in  state 
affairs. 

Humbolt  Lodge  No.  5.  was  instituted  at 
Yankton  May  11.  1874,  with  eleven  members. 
This  was  a  German  lodge.  Among  its  charter 
members  were  William  Blatt  and  Herman  EUer- 
man,  prominently  known  throughout  the  state. 

Northern  Light  Lodge  No.  6.  was  instituted 
at  Fargo  in  1874. 

All    of   the    foregoing   lodges    received    their 


charters  from  the  sovereign  grand  lodge,  then 
known  as  the  right  worshipful  grand  lodge  of 
the  United  states. 

During  the  month  of  'Slay,  1875,  the  propriety 
of  the  organization  of  a  grand  lodge  in  Dakota 
of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  was 
discussed  by  the  members  of  Vermillion  Lodge 
No.  3,  and  it  was  then  agreed  to  submit  the 
matter  to  the  six  subordinate  lodges  then  in  ex- 
istence, viz:  Dakota  Lodge  No.  i,  located  at 
Yankton ;  Echo  Lodge  No.  2.  at  Ft.  Randall ; 
Vermillion  Lodge  No.  3,  at  Vermillion;  Elk 
Pofnt  Lodge  No.  4,  at  Elk  Point ;  Humbolt  Lodge 
No.  5,  at  Yankton,  and  Northern  Light  Lodge 
No.  6,  at  Fargo. 

The  constitution  of  the  grand  lodge  of  the 
United  States  required  that  there  be  ten  subor- 
dinate lodges  in  a  state  or  territory  in  order  to 
organize  a  grand  lodge,  but  it  was  believed 
that  this  obstacle  could  be  overcome  by  special 
legislation,  provided  a  proper  presentation  of 
facts  were  duly  submitted  to  the  sovereign  body. 
Brother  Ralph  R.  Briggs,  past  grand,  was 
deputed  to  visit  the  other  points  and  consult  with 
the  prominent  members  of  the  order  and  make 
such  arrangements  as  seemed  most  expedient. 
Among  those  who  became  at  once  enthusiastic 
and  zealous  workers  in  the  cause  were  William 
Blatt,  Charles  Eiseman,  M.  P.  Ohlman.  past 
grand  of  No.  5,  and  Norman  Learned,  past 
grand  of  No.  i,  and  it  was  decided  to  correspond 
with  the  grand  sire  and  grand  secretary.  Brother 
James  L.   Ridgley   and  other  leading  represent- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


517 


atives  in  the  sovereign  grand  lodge,  from  whom 
was  reported  ver_v  encouraging  replies. 

At  a  regular  meeting  held  on  the  2Sth  day  of 
June.  1875,  the  following  resolutions  were 
adopted :  "Resolved,  That  we,  the  officers  and 
members,  are  unanimously  in  favor  of  organiz- 
ing a  grand  lodge  of  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows  in  Dakota,"  which  resolution  was  duly 
certified  to  the  other  five  lodges  in  the  territory, 
requesting  similar  action  and  corporation.  All 
of  them  promptly  responded  and  a  call  was  is- 
sued for  a  convention  to  be  held  at  Yankton, 
August  18,  1875. 

Pursuant  to  this  call,  a  large  number  of  past 
grands  assembled  in  the  Odd  Fellows'  hall  at 
Yankton  August  18,  1875,  and  were  called  to 
order  at  nine  o'clock  A.  M.  by  Brother  Fred 
Schnauber,  past  grand,  who  stated  the  object 
of  the  convention,  and  Brother  A.  Siebrecht,  of 
Ft.  Randall,  was  elected  temporary  chairman 
and  Brother  J.  A.  Wallace,  of  Elk  Point,  tem- 
porary secretary'. 

The  following  representatives  were  found  to 
be  present,  with  certificates  of  election  as  such 
from  their  respective  lodges :  James  H. 
Magoffin,  from  Dakota  Lodge,  No.  i  :  August 
Siebrecht,  from  Echo  Lodge,  No.  2 ;  R.  R. 
Briggs,  from  Vermillion  Lodge,  No.  3 ;  J.  A. 
Wallace,  from  Elk  Point  Lodge,  No.  4;  M.  P. 
Ohlman,  from  Hunabolt  Lodge,  No.  5;  J.  P. 
Knight,  from  Northern  Light  Lodge,  No.  6. 

On  motion,  James  H.  Magoffin  was  elected 
chairman  and  R.  R.  Briggs,  secretary  of  the 
convention.  ; 

Representative  \\'allace  offered  the  following, 
which  was  adopted  : 

Whereas.  Upon  fuU  and  mature  consideration 
of  the  subject,  and  in  view  of  the  fact  that  there 
are  at  this  time  thirty-nine  past  grands  in  good 
standing  belonging  to  subordinate  lodges  in  Da- 
kota, therefore  be  it 

Resolved,    That    we.    as    representatives    of    said 
lodges,  are  heartily  and  unanimously  in  favor  of  or-    , 
ganizing   a   grand    lodge,    Independent   Order   of   Odd 
Fellows, 


A  petition  was  dulv  signed  bv  all  present  to 
the   grand   lodge   of  the   United   States,   praying 


for  a  grand  charter  and  the  appointment  of 
Brother  William  Blatt  as  special  deputy  to  in- 
stitute the  grand  lodge  of  Dakota,  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  install  its  officers. 

The  following  were  nominated  for  the  grand 
officers  of  the  new  grand  lodge  when  or- 
ganized :  Grand  master.  Brother  Ezra  W, 
Miller;  deputy  grand  master,  Brother  Norman 
Learned;  grand  warden,  Brother  Aug  Siebrecht; 
grand  secretary,  Brother  Ralph  R.  Briggs  ;  grand 
treasurer.  Brother  Fred  Schnauber. 

It  was  decided  to  request  each  subordinate 
lodge  to  send  three  past  grands  as  represent- 
atives to  a  meeting  to  be  held  in  Yankton  on 
the  13th  day  of  October,  1875,  at  9  o'clock  A, 
m.,  at  which  time  it  was  expected  that  the  grand 
lodge  of  Dakota   would  be   organized. 

ORGANIZATION    OF   THE   GRAND    LODGE   OF   DAKOTA. 

Pursuant  to  the  call  issued  by  the  convention 
of  August  18,  1875,  a  large  number  of  past 
grands  from  the  different  subordinate  lodges 
convened  in  Odd  Fellows  Flail  in  the  city  of 
Yankton  at  nine  o'clock  A.  M.,  October  13,  1875, 
and  were  called  to  order  by  Brother  William 
Blatt,  who  had  been  appointed  special  deputy 
grand  sire  by  the  grand  sire  of  the  grand  lodge 
of  the  United  States,  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows   (now  the  sovereign  grand  lodge). 

Prayer  was  offered  by  Brother  James  H, 
Magoffin,  of  Yankton. 

On  the  report  of  the  credential  committee, 
the  following  past  grands  were  found  to  be 
present  as  representatives  and  entitled  to  seats 
as  such:  From  Dakota,  No.  i,  Yankton,  Fred 
Schnauber,  Zina  Richey  and  Norman  Learned ; 
from  Echo.  No,  2,  Fort  Randall,  F.  St.  Clair, 
A.  Siebrecht,  H.  A.  James  and  L.  D.  F.  Poore ; 
from  Vermillion,  No.  3,  Vermillion,  J.  F.  Curtis, 
J.  P.  Kidder  and  R.  R.  Briggs ;  from  Elk  Point, 
No.  4,  Elk  Point,  J.  S.  Hughes,  William  Conley 
and  E.  W.  Miller;  from  Humbolt,  No.  5,  Yank- 
ton. H.  Pfotenhauer,  M,  P,  Ohlman  and  Wil- 
liam Blatt;  from  Northern  Light,  No.  5,  Fargo, 
J,  P,  Knight,  J.  H.  Magoffin  and  Charles  Eise- 
man. 


5i8 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


The  special  deputy,  Brother  \Mlliam  Blatt, 
produced  and  read  the  charter  of  the  grand 
lodge  of  Dakota,  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  and  after  due  form  proclaimed  the  said 
grand  lodge  duly  instituted  by  the  authority  of 
the  grand  lodge  of  the  United  States. 

The  following  grand  officers  were  then 
elected,  appointed  and  duly  installed:  Grand 
master,  E.  W.  Miller ;  deputy  grand  master, 
Norman  Learned;  grand  warden,  J.  P.  Knight; 
grand  secretary,  R.  R.  Briggs ;  grand  treasurer, 
A.  Siebrecht;  grand  representative  to  the  grand 
lodge  of  the  United  States,  William  Blatt ;  grand 
chaplain,  James  H.  Magoffin;  grand  marshal, 
James  F.  Curtis;  grand  conductor,  Fred  Schnau- 
ber ;  grand  guardian,  M.  P.  Ohlman ;  grand 
herald,  Frank  St.  Clair. 

A  constitution  and  a  set  of  by-laws  were 
then  adopted  for  the  grand  lodge,  which  pro- 
vided, for  the  annual  sessions.  A  constitution 
was  also  adopted  for  the  government  of 
subordinate  lodges.  It  was  decided  to  hold  the 
next  session  at  Fort  Randall  in  October,  1876. 
The  session  lasted  two  days  and  was  a  very 
harmonious  one.  The  total  membership  at  this 
time  in  Dakota  was  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
seven. 

'      1876. 

The  second  annual  session  was  held  at  Fort 
Randall  October  11,  1S76,  and  was  called  to 
order  by  E.  W.  Miller,  grand  master,  six 
lodges  being  represented.  During  the  year  the 
following  lodges  had  been  organized :  Spring- 
field, No.  7,  at  Springfield;  Dell  Rapids,  No.  8, 
at  Dell  Rapids :  Sioux  Falls,  No.  9,  at  Sioux 
Falls ;  Centennial.  No.  10,  at  Canton ;  Re-Echo, 
No.  1 1 ,  at  Fort  Sully.  Total  number  initiated 
during  the  year,  79.  Total  paid  for  relief, 
$277.12.     Total  receipts  of  lodges,  $3,845.88. 

At  this  session  the  grand  lodge  was  in- 
corporated under  the  laws  of  the  territory  of 
Dakota. 

Brother  Norman  Learned,  of  Yankton,  was 
elected  grand  master.  Brother  R.  R.  Briggs  was 
re-elected  grand  secretary  and  Brother  Fred 
Schnaubcr.  grand  treasurer. 


The  third  annual  session  was  held  at  Elk 
Point  October  10,  1877,  and  was  called  to  order 
by  the  grand  master.  Brother  Norman  Learned. 

Brother  William  Blatt,  of  Yankton,  was 
elected  grand  master.  Brother  R.  R.  Briggs, 
grand  secretary,  and  Brother  Zina  Richey,  grand 
treasurer. 

187S. 

Tlie  fourth  annual  session  was  held  at  Yank- 
ton October  g,  1878,  Grand  Master  William 
Blatt  presiding.  Two  new  lodges  had  been 
added  during  the  year,  viz :  Sioux  Lodge,  No. 
I..],  at  Standing  Rock,  and  Flandreau  Lodge,  No. 
15,  at  Flandreau.  The  grand  secretary's  report 
for  the  year  showed  174  initiations.  Total  relief 
paid,  $1,772.  L.  D.  F.  Poore  was  elected  grand 
master. 

1879. 

The  fifth  annual  session  convened  at  Yank- 
ton October  8,  1879,  Grand  Master  L.  D.  F. 
Poore  in  the  chair.  Three  new  lodges  were  re- 
ported, viz:  Croftin,  No.  16,  at  Fort  Tolton : 
Lead  City,  No.  17,  at  Lead,  and  Unity.  No.  18. 
at  Gary.  Brother  Zina  Richey  was  elected 
grand  master  and  Brother  George  ^^'.  Snow  wa? 
appointed  grand  chaplain. 

1880. 
The  sixth  annual  session  was  held  at  Sioux 
Falls  October  8,  1880,  and  was  presided  over 
by  Brother  Zina  Richey,  grand  master,  sixteen 
lodges  being  represented.  Eight  new  lodges 
were  instituted,  viz:  Grand  Forks,  No.  19,  at 
Grand  Forks:  Madison,  No.  20,  at  Madison; 
Chanka,  No.  21,  at  Mitchell;  Anniversary,  No. 
22,  at  Marion;  Mandan,  No.  23,  at  Mandan; 
Watertown,  No.  24,  at  Watertown-;  Spearfish, 
No.  25,  at  Spearfish ;  Golden  Center,  No.  26,  at 
Central  City.  Amount  paid  for  relief  during  the 
year,  $1,168.39.  Brother'  J.  A.  Wallace  was 
elected  grand  master. 

i88t. 
The    seventh    annual    session    was    held    at 
^■ankton  October   12.   1881.  Grand  :\laster  J.  A. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


519 


^^'allace  presiding,  twenty-nine  lodges  being  rep- 
resented. Five  new  lodges  were  organized,  viz: 
No.  27,  at  Goodwin ;  No.  28,  at  Valley  City ;  No. 
21;,  at  Casseltori ;■  No.  30,  at  Fargo;  No.  31,  at 
Jamestown.  Total  membership,  1,050.  Amount 
of  relief  paid,  $1,066.  The  date  of  holding  the 
annual  session  was  changed  from  October  to 
]\Iay  and  the  next  session  fixed  for  the  9th  of 
!\Iay,  tS83.  Brother  W.  A.  Bentley,  of  Bis- 
marck, was  elected  grand  master. 

1883. 

The  eighth  annual  session  was  called  to  order 
at  Fargo  by  ^^'iUiam  A.  Bentley,  grand  master, 
with  twenty-four  lodges  represented.  Nineteen 
r.ew  lodges  had  been  instituted  during  the  year, 
viz:  No.  ;^2.  at  Fluron :  Xo.  33,  at  Hillsboro; 
No.  34,  at  Big  Stone;  No.  35,  at  ■  Forestburg ; 
No.  36,  at  Alexandria;  No.  37,  at  Pierre;  No. 
38,  at  Wahpeton:  No.  39,  at.Rapid  City:  No.  40, 
at  Brookings;  No.  41,  at  Pembina:  No.  42,  at 
Portland:  No.  43.  at  Mayville ;  No.  44,  at 
Plankinton;  No.  45,  at  ,\shton ;  Xo.  46,  at 
Sturgis ;  No.  47,  at  Chamberlain ;  No.  48,  at 
Howard ;  No.  49,  at  Aberdeen ;  Rebekah  Lodge, 
Xo.  I,  at  Lead  City.  Number  initiated  during 
the  year,  622.  Amount  paid  for  relief,  $3,325.53. 
.\t  this  session  Brother  Ralph  R.  Briggs,  who 
had  served  as  grand  secretary  continuously  from 
the  organization  of  the  grand  lodge,  was  unani- 
mously elected  grand  master  and  Brother  F.  S. 
Emerson  was  elected  grand  secretary. 

1884. 

The  ninth  annual  session  was  held  at  Mitchell 
and  was  presided  over  by  Brother  R.  R.  Briggs, 
gr-uid  master.  Forty-eight  lodges  were  repre- 
sented. Eighteen  new  lodges  were  organized 
during  the  year,  viz :  No.  50,  at  Redfield ;  No. 
51.  at  Frederick:  No.  52,  at  Lisbon;  No.  53,  at 
Groton;  No.  54,  at  Milbank;  No.  55,  at  Cale- 
donia;  Xo.  56,  at  Sioux  Falls  (German)  ;  No. 
57-  at  Scotland:  No.  58,  at  DeSmet;  X^o. 
50.  at  Buxton:  Xo.  60,  at  Chrk ;  Xo.  61, 
at  St.  -Lawrence:  No.  62.  at  Miller;  Hope 
Rebekah  Lodge,  No.  2,  at  IMadison ;  Xaomi 
Rebekah      Ia)dge,'     Xo.       3,      at       Alexandria 


(since  defunct).  Amount  paid  for  relief, 
$3,233.80.  Total  membership,  2,122.  A  con- 
stitution for  Rebekah  lodges  was  adopted. 
Brother  A.  E.  Clough,  of  \Madison,  was  elected 
grand  master  and  Brother  E.  ^L  Fuller,  of  Bis- 
marck, grand  secretary.  The  time  for  the  an- 
nual session  was  permanently  fixed  on  the  third 
Tuesday  of  ^lay  of  each  vear. 

1883. 
The  tenth  annual  session  was  held  at  Aber- 
deen May  20,  1885,  A.  E.  Clough,  of  Madison, 
as  grand  master.  Fifty-two  subordinate  lodges 
were  represented.  During  the  year  seven  lodges 
were  instituted,  viz :  Xo.  66,  at  Lake  Preston : 
Xo.  67,  at  Woonsocket;  No.  68,  at  Ellendale ; 
Xo.  69,  at  Columbia;  No.  70,  at  Fort  Buford ; 
Xo.  71.  at  Eagan;  No.  72,  at  Ree  Heights. 
There  were  paid  during  the  year  $3,580.28  and 
there  was  a  gain  in  membership  of  364.  H.  J. 
Rowe,  of  Casselton,  was  elected  grand  master 
and  R.  R.  Briggs,  grand  secretary. 

1886. 

The  eleventh  annual  session  was  held  at 
Watertown  May  18,  1886,  H.  J.  Rowe,  grand 
master,  presiding,  forty-nine  lodges  being  rep- 
resented. Seventeen  new  lodges  were  organized 
during  the  year,  viz:  No.  73,  at  Altoona  (now 
Hitchcock)  ;  No.  74,  at  Hope ;  No.  75,  at  Hurley  ;■ 
Xo.  76,  at  LaMoure ;  No.  yy,  at  Alpena ;  X^o.  78, 
?t  Wittenberg;  Xo.  79,  at  Carthage ;  No.  80,  at 
Artesian:  No.  81,  at  Wessington  Springs:  No. 
82,  at  Milnor;  No.  83,  at  Frankfort;  No.  84,  at 
White  Lake:  Xo.  85,  at  Mellette:  Xo.  86,  at 
Park  River:  X^o.  87,  at  Larimore:  X^o.  88.  at 
Parker;  X'^o.  89,  at  Highmore.  Total  member- 
ship January  i.  1877,  2,955.  Total  paid  for 
relief,  $4,674.73.  Harvey  J.  Rice  was  elected 
grand  master  and  R.  R.  Briggs  was  re-elected 
grand  secretary. 

1887. 
The  twelfth  annual  session  met  in  the  citv 
of  Grand  Forks  May  17,  1887,  Harvey  J.  Rice, 
grand  ma.ster,  presiding,  and  fifty-eight  lodges 
being  represented.  During  the  year  ten  lodges 
were  irstituted.  viz :  Xo.  90,  at  St.  Thomas :  Xo. 


520 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


91.  at  Hunter;  No.  92,  at  Arlington;  No.  93,  at 
Ludclen ;  No.  94,  at  Kimball ;  No.  95,  at  Tyndall ; 
No.  96,  at  Vilas ;  No.  97,  at  Centerville ;  No.  98, 
at  Volga;  No.  99.  at  Parkston.  667  new  mem- 
bers were  initiated  during  tbe  year.  Total  relief 
paid  by  lodges.  $4,867.71.  Abbott  H.  Smith, 
of  Deadwood.  was  elected  grand  master  and  R. 
R.  Briggs,  grand  secretary'. 
1888. 

The  thirteenth  annual  session  was  held  at 
Huron  IMay  .13,  1888,  Abbott  G.  Smith,  grand 
master,  presiding,  and  sixty-two  lodges  being 
represented.  Four  subordinate  lodges  and  one 
Rebekah  lodge  were  instituted  during  the  year, 
viz:  No.  100,  at  Dickinson;  No.  loi,  at  To- 
ronto; No.  102,  at  Drayton;  No.  103,  at  Milton; 
No.  4,  Rebekah  Lodge,  at  Spearfish.  616  new 
members  were  initiated  during  the  year,  and  the 
several  lodges  paid  for  relief,  $4,958.05.  Frank 
S.  Emerson,  of  Sioux  Falls,  was  elected  grand 
master  and  R.  R.  Briggs,  grand  secretary. 
1889. 

The  fourteenth  annual  session  was  held  at 
Jamestown  and  was  called  to  order  by  Frank  S. 
Emerson,  grand  master,  all  other  grand  officers 
being  present  and  eighty-six  subordinate  lodges 
being  represented.  Four  subordinate  lodges  and 
two  Rebekah  lodges  were  organized  during  the 
vear,  viz:  No.  104,  at  Armour;  No.  105,  at 
Bryant;  No.  106,  at  Salem;  No.  107,  at  North- 
wood;  No.  5,  Rebekah  Lodge,  at  Watertown ; 
No.  6.  Rebekah  Lodge,  at  Ashton.  Total  initia- 
tions during  the  year,  619.  Total  relief  paid  by 
lodges.  $5,552.11. 

At  this  session  the  representatives  at  the 
sovereign  grand  lodge,  who  were  Abbott  G. 
Smith  and  Harvey  J.  Rice,  were  instructed  to 
take  the  necessary  steps  in  the  sovereign  grand 
lodge  to  divide  the  jurisdiction,  as  the  territory 
of  Dakota  had  been  divided  by  congress  and 
North  and  South  Dakota  admitted  into  the  LTnion 
as  two  states,  said  division  of  the  grand  lodge 
of  Dakota  to  take  place  at  the  annual  session  in 
^lav.  1890.  A.  E.  Nugent,  of  Fargo,  was 
elected  grand  master  and  R.  R.  Briggs  as  grand 
secretarv. 


1890. 

The  fifteenth  annual  session  convened  at 
Deadwood  May  20,  1890.  A.  R.  Nugent  presid- 
ing. Nine  past  grand  masters  were  present  and 
representatives  from  ninety-six  lodges.  During 
the  year  six  subordinate  lodges  and  four  Rebekah 
lodges  were  instituted,  viz :  No.  108,  at  Wheat- 
land. North  Dakota ;  No.  109,  at  Oelrichs,  South 
Dakota;  No.  no,  at  Warner,  South  Dakota;  No. 
III.  at  Hamilton,  North  Dakota;  No.  112,  at 
Hot  Springs,  South  Dakota;  No.  113,  at  Britton, 
South  Dakota ;  No.  7,  Rebekah  Lodge,  at  Sioux 
Falls,  South  Dakota;  No.  8,  Rebekah  Lodge,  at 
Deadwood,  South  Dakota ;  No.  9,  Rebekah 
Lodge,  at  Fargo.  North  Dakota;  No.  10,  Re- 
bekah Lodge,  at  Dickinson,  North  Dakota.  Total 
relief  paid  by  lodges  during  the  year,  $7,731.  At 
this  time  the  total  membership  was  4,330.  The 
total  amount  of  invested  funds  of  lodges,  $90,- 
13374- 

This  was  the  most  notable  session  ever  held 
by  the  grand  lodge  of  Dakota,  or  perhaps  that 
will  ever  be  held  by  the  two  grand  lodges  grow- 
ing out  of  it.  Space  will  not  permit  going  into 
the  details  of  this  eventful  meeting.  During  the 
fifteen  years  of  existence  the  official  roster  of  the 
grand  lodge  remained  unbroken.  Now  those 
who  had  during  that  time  labored  together  for 
the  upbuilding  of  this  institution  were  to 
separate,  some  never  to  meet  again. 

The  sovereign  grand  lodge  had  decided  that 
the  grand  lodge  of  South  Dakota  should  be  the 
legal  successor  of  the  grand  lodge  of  Dakota  and 
should  retain  its  present  charter,  and  instructed 
its  grand  secretary  to  endorse  thereon,  "The 
Grand  Lodge  of  South  Dakota."  The  division 
occurred  on  the  afternoon  of  the  third  day's 
session.  May  22,  1890,  which  will  never  be  for- 
gotten by  those  present.  The  following  brothers 
participated  in  the  exercises :  A.  E.  Nugent,  re- 
tiring grand  master;  H.  J.  Rowe,  past  grand 
master ;  ^\".  A.  Bentley,  past  grand  master ;  O.  S. 
Basford,  grand  master-elect;  E.  W.  Miller,  the 
first  grand  master;  A.  E.  Clough,  past  grand 
master;  A.  G.  Smith,  past  grand  master;  Zina 
Richey,  past  grand  master;  H.  J-  Rice,  past 
grand  master;  R.  R.  Briggs,  past  grand  master; 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


F.  S.  Emerson,  past  grand  master,  and  George 
\V.  Freeman,  grand  chaplain. 

After  the  exercises  the  representatives  from 
North  Dakota  withdrew  to  another  hall,  where 
the  grand  lodge  of  North  Dakota  was  duly  or- 
ganized by  Harvey  J-  Rice,  special  deputy  grand 
sire. 

Brother  O.  S.  Basford,  of  Redfield,  was 
elected  grand  master  of  the  grand  lodge  and 
Ivan  W.  Goodner  was  elected  grand  secretary. 
Brother  R.  R.  Briggs  having  declined  a  re-elec- 
tion. 


The  sixteenth  annual  session  was  held  at 
Yankton  May  19,  1891,  and  was  called  to  order 
by  Grand  Master  O.  S.  Basford,  sixty-two  lodges 
being  represented  and  seven  past  grand  masters 
present.  Four  Rebekah  lodges  had  been  in- 
stituted during  the  year,  viz :  Colfax  Rebekah 
Lodge,  No.  9,  at  Huron;  Evangeline  Rebekah 
Lodge,  No.  10,  at  DeSmet;  Esther  Rebekah 
Lodge,  No.  II,  at  Woonsocket :  Fountain  Re- 
bekah Lodge,  No.  12,  at  Yankton.  The  grand 
secretary's  report  showed  3.122  active  members 
and  $7,083.49  paid  for  relief.  In  addition  to  this 
amount,  $8,241.98  was  paid  out  as  special  relief 
for  seed  grain  to  members  in  drought  districts, 
making  a  total  of  $15,325.47.  H.  A.  Piper,  of 
Hill  City,  was  elected  grand  master  and  Ivan 
W.  Goodner,  grand  secretary. 

1892. 

The  seventeenth  annual  session  was  held  at 
Madison  and  was  presided  over  by  H.  A.  Piper, 
grand  master.  Sixty-four  lodges  were  repre- 
sented and  seven  past  grand  masters  were  in  at- 
tendance. Five  lodges  were  instituted  during  the 
year:  No.  114,  at  Revillo;  No.  115,  at  Webster; 
No.  116,  at  Letcher;  Rebekah  Lodge,  No.  13,  at 
Iroquois ;  Rebekah  Lodge,  No.  14,  at  Hot 
Springs.  The  amount  paid  for  relief  during  the 
year  was  $7,451.30. 

The  first  death  among  the  past  grand  mas- 
ters occurred  March  17,  1892,  it  being  that  of 
Justus  A.  Wallace,  at  his  home  in  Elk  Point. 
Brother  Wallace  was  an  earnest  Odd  Fellow  in 


its  truest  and  fullest  sense  and  was  greatly 
missed.  George  W.  Snow  was  elected  grand 
master  and  Ivan  W.  Goodner  retained  as  grand 
secretary. 

1893- 
The  eighteenth  annual  session  was  held  at 
Sioux  Falls  ]May  16,  1893,  and  was  presided  over 
by  George  W.  Snow,  grand  master.  Seventy- 
five  lodges  were  represented.  During  the  year 
eight  new  subordinate  lodges  and  seven  Rebekah 
lodges  were  instituted,  viz:  No.  177,  at  Doland ; 
No.  118,  at  Hill  City;  No.  119,  at  Belle  Fourche; 
No.  X20,  at  Bristol;  No.  121,  at  Custer;  No.  122, 
at  Worthing;  No.  123,  at'  Fulton;  No.  124,  at 
Elkton;  Rebekah  Lodge,  No.  15,  at  Bristol;  Re- 
bekah Lodge,  No.  16,  at  Milbank;  Rebekah 
Lodge,  No.  17,  at  Canton;  Rebekah  Lodge,  No. 
18,  at  Miller;  Rebekah  Lodge,  No.  19,  at  Car- 
thage ;  Rebekah  Lodge,  No.  20,  at  Hitchcock ;  Re- 
bekah Lodge,  No.  21,  at  Dell  Rapids.  $6,894.07 
had  been  paid  for  relief  by  the  lodges  during  the 
year.  C.  J.  Bach  was  elected  grand  master  and 
Ivan  W.  Goodner,  grand  secretarv. 

1894. 

The  nineteenth  annual  session  was  held  in 
Sioux  Falls  J\Iay  15,  1894,  and  continued  the 
usual  three  days,  C.  J.  Bach,  grand  master,  pre- 
siding. Seventy-eight  lodges  were  represented. 
During  the  year  one  new  subordinate  lodge  and 
three  new  Rebekah  lodges  were  instituted,  viz: 
No.  125,  at  Hartford;  Rebekah  Lodge,  No.  22, 
at  Revillo ;  Rebekah  Lodge,  No.  23,  at  Mitchell ; 
Rebekah  Lodge,  No.  24,  at  Pierre.  $7,245.85 
had  been  paid  for  relief.  Brother  N.  C.  Nash, 
of  Canton,  was  elected  grand  master.  Brother 
Ivan  W.  Goodner,  who  had  served  four  vears  as 
grand  secretary,  declined  a  re-election  on  ac- 
count of  other  duties,  and  Han'ey  I.  Rice,  past 
grand  master,  of  Huron,  was  unanimously 
elected  grand  secretary-. 

1895. 

The  twentieth  annual  session  met  at  Yank- 
ton May  21,  1895.  and  was  called  to  order  by 
N.    C.    Nash,   grand    master,    eighty-five    lodges 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


being  represented.  Seven  subordinate  lodges 
and  eight  Rebekah  lodges  had  been  instituted 
during  the  year,  viz:  Xo.  126,  at  Chamberlain; 
Xo.  127.  at  Waubay:  Xo.  128.  at  Alcester;  No. 
129.  at  Westport;  Xo.  130,  at  Beresford;  No. 
131.  at  Edgemont;  Xo.  132,  at  LaDelle ;  Re- 
bekah Lodge,  Xo.  25,  at  Elkton ;  Rebekah  Lodge, 
Xo.  26,  at  Brookings;  Rebekah  Lodge,  Xo.  27. 
at  Gettysburg;  Rebekah  Lodge,  Xo.  28,  at  A^er- 
million:  Rebekah  Lodge,  Xo.  29,  at  Plankinton ; 
Rebekah  Lodge,  Xo.  30,  at  Oelrichs ;  Rebekah 
Lodge,  Xo.  31,  at  Worthing:  Rebekah  Lodge, 
Xo.  32,  at  Frederick.  $5,912.67  had  been  paid 
for  relief.  455  new  members  had  been  admitted. 
Brother  George  W.  Freeman,  who  for  twelve 
vears  had  been  grand  chaplain  of  the  grand 
lodge,  died  at  his  home  in  Elk  Point  jNIarch  13, 
1895.  AA^illis  E.  Benedict  was  elected  grand  mas- 
ter and  Harvey  J.  Rice,  grand  secretary. 

1896. 

The  twenty-first  annual  session  met  at  Hot 
Springs  May  19,  1896,  and  was  called  to  order 
by  the  grand  master,  Willis  E.  Benedict.  Eight 
past  grand  masters  were  present  and  represent- 
atives from  eighty-four  subordinate  lodges. 
During  the  year  three  subordinate  lodges  and 
seventeen  Rebekah  lodges  were  organized,  viz : 
X^o.  T33,  at  Hermosa;  No.  134,  at  Wilmot;  X^o. 
135,  at  White;  Rebekah  X^o.  33,  at  Parker;  Re- 
bekah No.  34,  at  Edgemont;  Rebekah  Xo.  35, 
at  Hartford ;  Rebekah  No.  36,  at  Sturgis ; 
Rebekah  X^o.  37,  at  Groton ;  Rebekah 
X^o.  38,  at  Waubay:  Rebekah  Xo.  39,  at 
Alcester;  Rebekah  X^o.  40,  at  Beresford;  Re- 
bekah Xo.  41,  at  Hurley:  Rebekah  Xo.  42,  at 
Custer:  Rebekah  X^o.  43,  at  Webster ;' Rebekah 
Xo.  44,  at  Central  City;  Rebekah  No.  45,  at 
Gary;  Rebekah  No.  46,  at  Big  Stone  City;  Re- 
bekah Xo.  47,  at  Rapid  City ;  Rebekah  No.  48,  at 
Bristol;  Rebekah  Xo.  49,  at  Hill  City.  The  total 
relief  paid  by  lodges  during  the  year  was  $5,- 
571.74.  Ivan  W.  Goodner,  of  Pierre,  was  elected 
grand  master  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the 
grand  lodge  and  Harvey  J.  Rice  was  re-elected 
grand  secretary  by  acclamation. 

It  was  decided  to  establish  an  Odd  Fellows 


Home,  for  which  nine  trustees  were  elected,  viz: 
For  three  years,  A.  E.  Clough,  P.  G.  M.,  H.  A. 
Piper.  P.  G.  M.,  and  I.  W.  Goodner,  P.  G.  :M.; 
for  two  years,  S.  E.  Wilson,  of  X^'o.  112.  J.  W. 
Abbott,  of  Xo.  115,  and  X.  C.  Xash,  P.  G.  M.; 
for  one  year.  George  W.  Snow,  P.  G.  IM.,  C.  J. 
Bach,  P.  G.  M.,  and  M.  A.  Heath,  of  Xo.  53. 

1897. 
The  twenty-second  annual  session  was  held  at 
.\berdeen  May  18,  1897.  Present,  Ivan  W. 
Goodner,  grand  master,  and  all  of  the  grand 
officers,  ten  past  grand  masters  and  represent- 
atives from  eighty  lodges.  Two  Rebekah  lodges 
were  instituted  during  the  year,  viz:  Rebekah 
Xo.  50,  at  Warner,  and  Rebekah  Xo.  51,  at 
Aberdeen.  Voluntary  contributions  for  the 
Home  fund  were  received  amounting  to  $645.54. 
$7,759.84  was  paid  by  lodges  for  relief.  Peter 
Marquart,  of  Madison,  was  chosen  for  grand 
master  and  Harvey  J.  Rice,  grand  secretary.  L. 
D.  F.  Poore,  past  grand  master,  died  -May  25, 
1897. 

1898. 

The  twenty-third  annual  session  was  held  at 
Siou.x  Falls  ]\Iay  17,  1898,  and  was  called  to 
order  by  Peter  ]\Iarquart,  grand  master,  all 
grand  officers  being  present,  and  seventy-nine 
lodges  being  represented.  The  following  new 
lodges  were  chartered:  Xo.  136,  at  Erwin ;  Re- 
bekah Xo.  52,  at  Springfield;  Rebekah  X^o.  53 
(German),  at  Sioux  Falls;  Rebekah  No.  54,  at 
Volga:  Rebekah  Xo.  55,  at  Wilmot;  Rebekah 
X^o.  56,  at  Columbia ;  Rebekah  X^o.  57,  at  Her- 
mosa; Rebekah  Xo.  58,  at  AMiite;  Rebekah  Xo. 
59,  at  Howard:  Rebekah  X'^o.  60,  at  Westport; 
Rebekah  Xo.  61,  at  Bryant;  Rebekah  Xo.  62,  at 
Lennox :  Rebekah  X'^o.  63,  at  Mellette ;  Rebekah 
No.  64,  at  Tyndall.  Total  relief  paid  by  lodges. 
$6,372.24.  L.  L.  Lostutter,  of  Iroquois,  was 
elected  grand  master  and  Harvey  J.  Rice,  grand 
secretary. 

1899. 

The  twenty-fourth  annual  session  was  held  at 
Huron  May  16,   1899,  Brother  L.  L.  Lostutter, 

grand  master,  with  ten  past  grand  masters  and 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


523 


eighty-four  representatives  present.  Two  subor- 
dinate and  four  Rebekah  lodges  were  instituted 
during  the  year,  viz  :  No.  137,  at  Terry ;  No.  138, 
at  Keystone;  Rebekah  No.  65,  at  Kimball;  Re- 
bekah No.  66,  at  Flandreau;  Rebekah  No.  67,  at 
Salem ;  Rebekah  No.  68,  at  White  Lake.  There 
had  been  paid  for  relief  by  lodges,  $7,318.72. 
The  Home  fund  on  May  i,  1899,  amounted  to 
$1,961.09.  Benjamin  F.  Teall.  of  Belle  Fourche, 
was  elected  grand  master  and  Harvey  J-  Rice, 
grand  secretary,  both  by  a  unanimous  vote. 

1900. 

The  twenty-fifth  annual  session  was  held  at 
Mitchell  May  15,  1900,  and  was  presided  over  by 
Grand  Master  B.  F.  Teall.  Eleven  past  grand 
masters  were  present  and  representatives  from 
ninety  lodges.  Seven  subordinate  and  twelve  Re- 
bekah lodges  were  chartered  during  the  year, 
viz  :  No.  139,  at  Fairfax  ;  No.  140,  at  Whitewood ; 
No.  141,  at  Conde;  No.  142  at  Ethan;  No.  143, 
at  Valley  Springs :  No.  144,  at  Clear  Lake ;  No. 
145,  at  Castlewood;  Rebekah  No.  69,  at  Terry; 
Rebekah  No.  70,  at  Erwin ;  Rebekah  No.  71.  at 
Lake  Preston ;  Rebekah  No.  72,  at  Fulton :  Re- 
bekah No.  73,  at  Conde;  Rebekah  No.  74,  at 
Marion:  Rebekah  No.  75,  at  Redfield ;  Rebekah 
No.  76,  at  LaDelle:  Rebekah  No.  -j-j.  at  Parks- 
ton  :  Rebekah  No.  78,  at  Chamberlain ;  Rebekah 
No.  79.  at  Key  Stone;  Rebekah  No.  3.  at  Alex- 
andria. This  last  Rebekah  lodge  was  instituted 
in  place  of  the  old  lodge  at  Alexandria  of  the 
same  number,  which  became  defunct  in  1888. 
During  the  year  $648.93  was  added  to  the  Home 
fund.  $7,032.63  was  paid  for  relief.  The  grand 
lodge  paid  the  dues  of  all  the  members  who  had 
enlisted  in  the  volunteer  service  of  the  United 
States  for  the  Spanish  war.  Theron  G.  Brown, 
of  DeSmet,  was  elected  grand  master  and  Harvey 
J.  Rice,  grand  secretary,  the  latter  by  acclamation.  J 

1901. 

The  twenty-sixth  annual  session  was  held  at  j 
Canton  ]\Tay  21,  1901,  Theron  G.  Brown,  grand 
master,  presiding.    Ten  past  grand  masters  pres- 
ent and  eighty-nine  representatives.     One  subor-  | 
dinate  and  three  Rebekah  lodges  had  been  insti-  j 


tuted  during  the  year,  viz  :  No.  146,  at  Canistota  ; 
Rebekah  Lodge  No.  80,  at  Centerville ;  Rebekah 
Lodge  No.  81,  at  Clear  Lake;  Rebekah  Lodge 
No.  82,  at  Highmore.  The  Home  fund  had  in- 
creased $770.63,  making  a  total  on  hand  May  i, 
1901,  of  $3,380.65.  Lodges  had  paid  for  relief 
the  sum  of  $9,126.13,  $351.00  having  been  sent  to 
the  Galveston  sufiferers.  James  R.  Sharp,  of 
Rapid  City,  was  elected  grand  master  and  Har- 
vey J.  Rice,  grand  secretary. 

1902. 

The  twenty-seventh  annual  session  was  held 
at  Lead  City  May  20,  1902,  James  R.  Sharp, 
grand  master,  presiding,  twelve  past  grand  mas- 
ters being  present  and  ninety-three  lodges  repre- 
sented. Two  new  subordinate  lodges  were  insti- 
tuted during  the  year,  viz :  No.  147,  at  Langford, 
and  No.  148,  at  Winfred.  A  Rebekah  lodge  was 
instituted  at  Pierre,  taking  the  same  number  of  a 
prior  one  at  this  place,  which  had  become  de- 
funct. Total  relief  paid  by  lodges  was  $8,622.63. 
Received  for  the  Home  fund  $1,584.45,  making  a 
total  on  hand  ]\Iay  i,  1902,  of  $4,965.10.  James 
C.  Calder,  of  Plankinton,  was  unanimouslv 
elected  grand  master  and  Harvey  J.  Rice,  grand 
secretary,  by  acclamation. 

1903. 

The  twenty-eighth  annual  session  was  held  at 
Watertown  May  19,  1903,  James  C.  Calder, 
grand  master,  presiding,  thirteen  past  grand  mas- 
ters being  present  and  ninety-six  representatives 
from  lodges.  Four  subordinate  lodges  were  insti- 
tuted during  the  year,  viz :  No.  149,  at  Platte ; 
No.  150,  at  Broadland;  No.  151,  at  Virgil;  No. 
152,  at  Ramona.  Two  deaths  occurred  during 
the  year  in  the  official  roster  of  the  grand  lodge, 
viz :  Brother  B.  F.  Teall,  past  grand  master  and 
grand  representative  to  the  sovereign  grand 
lodge,  who  died  at  his  home  in  Belle  Fourche 
November  5,  1892,  and  Brother  J.  J.  Mclntire, 
grand  chaplain,  who  died  at  East  Sioux  Falls  De- 
cember 20,  1902.  $8,484.33  had  been  paid  for 
relief  by  lodges.  $1,525.31  had  been  added  to 
the  Home  fund,  making  a  total  May  i,  1903,  of 
$6,490.41.     Dyer  H.  Campbell  was  unanimously 


524 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


elected  grand  master  and  Harvey  J.  Rice,  grand 
secretary.  The  twenty-ninth  annual  session  will 
be  held  at  Yankton  May  17-18-19,  1904. 

During  the  twenty-eight  years  of  existence  of 
the  grand  lodge,  the  grand  master-elect  has 
called  the  session  to  order.  Three  past  grand 
masters  have  died;  three  have  become  members 
of  North  Dakota  by  division;  three  have  perma- 
nently left  the  jurisdiction,  while  the  other  eight- 
een are  still  active  members. 

Brother  Zina  Richey,  past  grand  master,  one 
of  the  most  earnest  and  respected  members,  has 
attended  every  session  from  the  beginning  and 
holds  the  honor  of  being  the  only  one  who  has 
answered  every  roll  call  since  1875.  The  fol- 
lowing shows  the  attendance  of  the  past  grand 
masters  in  their  order,  who  still  hold  member- 
ship in  South  Dakota :  Ezra  W.  Miller,  eighteen 
sessions;  Norman  Learned,  six  sessions;  Zina 
Richey,  consecutively,  twenty-nine  sessions;  A. 
E.  Clough,  sixteen  sessions ;  Harvey  J.  Rice,  con- 
secutively, twenty  sessions ;  A.  G.  Smith,  thirteen 
sessions ;  F.  S.  Emerson,  consecutively,  twenty 
sessions ;  O.  S.  Basford,  eight  sessions ;  H.  A. 
Piper,  eight  sessions ;  George  W.  Snow,  twenty- 
three  sessions;  C.  J.  Bach,  seventeen  sessions; 
N.  C.  Nash,  sixteen  sessions;  W.  E.  Benedict, 
consecutively,  twelve  sessions;  I.  W.  Goodner, 
eight  sessions;  Peter  Marquart,  ten  sessions;  L. 
L.  Lostutter,  fourteen  sessions ;  Theron  G. 
Brown,  eleven  sessions;  James  R.  Sharp,  con- 
secutively, seven  sessions ;  James  C.  Calder, 
twelve  sessions. 

There  have  been  five  grand  secretaries,  viz: 
Ralph  R.  Briggs,  who  served  from  1875  to  1883, 
when  he  served  one  year  as  grand  master,  and 
was  re-elected  grand  secretary  in  1885  and  served 
until  1890,  when  he  declined  further  election, 
having  served  in  that  capacity  thirteen  years. 
Frank  S.  Emerson  was  elected  in  1883  and 
served  one  year.  E.  M.  Fuller  was  elected  in 
1 884  and  served  one  year.  Ivan  W.  Goodner  was 
elected  in  1890  and  held  the  office  until  1894, 
when  he  declined  a  re-election,  having  served 
four  years.  Harvey  J.  Rice  was  elected  in  1894 
and  has  served  nine  years  and  is  the  present  in- 
cumbent, having  been  elected  by  acclamation 
every  year  except  one. 


In  the  rank  and  file  there  are  many  zealous 
and  faithful  workers  who  deserve  credit  and 
mention,  but  space  will  not  permit.  Leaving  the 
grand  lodge,  we  will  briefly  take  up  the  other 
branches. 

THE    REBEKAH    BRANCH. 

The  first  state  convention  of  the  Rebekah 
branch  of  the  order  in  South  Dakota  was  held  at 
Deadwood  May  20,  1890,  pursuant  to  a  call  of 
the  grand  master,  A.  E.  Nugent. 

Sister  Nannie  E.  Smith,  of  Lead  City,  was 
elected  temporary  president:  thirteen  repre- 
sentatives were  present  from  the  several  lodges. 
The  total  membership  of  this  branch  at  this  time 
was  one  hundred  and  sixty-one ;  number  of 
lodges,  six.  A  constitution  was  adopted.  Nannie 
E.  Smith  was  elected  president  and  Emma  L. 
Court,  secretary. 

In  1895  the  name  was  changed  from  Rebekah 
Convention  to  Rebekah  Assembly  of  South 
kota.  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  a 
charter  was  issued  by  the  grand  lodge  as  such. 

The  following  are  the  presidents  in  the  order 
named :  Mrs.'  Nannie  E.  Smith,  Deadwood, 
1890-1 ;  Mrs.  May  D.  McDonald,  Sioux  Falls, 
1891-2;  Mrs.  P.  E.  W.  Walton,  Huron,  1892-3; 
Mrs.  Sarah  Fuller,  Lead,  1893-4;  Mrs.  Ernie  E. 
Richey,  Yankton.  1894-5:  Mts.  Hattie  B.  Bor- 
land, IMadison,  1895-6;  Mrs.  Grace  Sutphen, 
Huron,  1896-7 ;  ]\Irs.  Florence  M.  Jones,  Britton, 
1897-8:  j\Iiss  Helen  Baker,  Deadwood,  1898-9; 
Mrs.  Hanna  C.  Cripps,  Iroquois,  1899-1900:  Mrs. 
Hattie  L.  Bradley,  DeSmet,  1900-1 ;  Mrs.  Maude 
I.  Benedict,  Custer,  1901-2;  :\Irs.  Ella  Kingery, 
Parker.  1902-3:  Mrs.  Sallie  ]\I.  Patton,  Sioux 
Falls.  1903-4. 

The  secretaries  have  been  as  follows :  Mrs. 
Emma  L.  Court,  Spearfish.  1890-1-2:  Mrs.  Jennie 
B.  Cunningham,  Sioux  Falls.  1892-3 :  Mrs.  Ernie 
E.  Richey,  Yankton,  1893-4;  Mrs.  Florence  M 
Jones,  Britton,  1894-5-6:  Miss  Helen  Bake 
Deadwood,  1896-7:  Mrs.  Adeline  Alexande 
Elkton,  1897-8;  Mrs.  Ella  Abbott.  Waubay, 
g-1900-1-2:  Mrs.  Maude  L.  Patterson,  Getty 
burg,  1902-3 ;  Miss  Rose  Blanche  Spaulding 
Huron,  1903-4. 

In    1903    there    were    seventy-nine    Rebeka 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


52s 


lodges,  with  a  membership  of  3,484,  comprised  of 
2,166  sisters  and  1,318  brothers.  The  Rebekah 
degree  was  started  as  a  mere  side  degree,  but  has 
become  one  of  the  most  important  factors  in  the 
work  of  Oddfellowship. 

THE   ENCAMPMENT    BRANCH. 

The  grand  encampment  of  South  Dakota,  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  was  organ- 
ized at  Yankton,  August  10,  1881,  the  following 
encampments  being  represented :  Royal  Purple, 
Xo.  I,  of  Sioux  Falls;  Yankton,  No.  2,  of  Yank- 
ton :  Hesperian,  No.  3,  of  Elk  Point ;  Golden 
Rule,  No.  4,  of  Bismarck;  Black  Hills,  No.  5,  of 
Deadwood ;  Sinai,  No.  6,  of  Fargo.  F.  S.  Emer- 
son, of  Sioux  Falls,  was  elected  grand  patriarch 
and  A.  E.  Ronne,  grand  scribe.  This  session  then 
adjourned  to  meet  at  same  place  October  12th,  at 
which  session  a  constitution  and  set  of  by-laws 
was  adopted.  D.  S.  Dodds  was  elected  grand 
patriarch  and  R.  R.  Briggs,  grand  scribe. 

The  following  brothers  have  held  the  office  of 
grand  patriarch  for  the  years  designated :  F.  S. 
Emerson,  of  Sioux  Falls,  1881 ;  D.  S.  Dodds,  of 
Grand  Forks,  1882-3  ;  William  A.  Blatt.  of  Yank- 
ton, 1883-4:  Ezra  W.  Miller,  of  Elk  Point, 
1884-5 ;  George  W.  Snow,  of  Springfield,  1885-6 ; 
S.  E.  Blauvelt,  of  Sioux  Falls,  1886-7:  T.  A. 
Robinson,  of  Sioux  Falls,  1887-8;  J.  T.  Wooley, 
of  Ashton,  1888-9;  A.  S.  Dam,  of  Frederick, 
1889-90;  George  W.  Mathews,  of  Sioux  Falls, 


1890-91:  Aug.  C.  Witts,  of  Aberdeen,  1891-2; 
E.  P.  Mesmer,  of  Ashton,  1892-3  ;  I.  W.  Goodner, 
of  Pierre,  1893-4;  Fred  Schnauber,  of  Yankton, 
1894-5;  M.  A.  Heath,  of  Groton,  1895-6;  C.  H. 
Tinkham,  of  DeSmet,  1896-7:  D.  S.  Waldo,  of 
Canton,  1897-8;  George  T.  Grove,  of  Huron, 
1898-9;  George  H.  Waskey,  of  Madison,  1899- 
1900:.  C.  F.  DeMouth,  of  Deadwood,  1900-I  ;  W. 
J.  Mattice,  of  Brookings,  1901-2 ;  E.  Y.  Lane,  of 
Watertown,  1902-3:  C.  H.  Blow,  of  Dell  Rapids, 
1903-4- 
j  The  grand  scribes  have  been :  A.  R.  Ronne, 
j  of  Elk  Point,  1881 ;  R.  R.  Briggs,  of  Sioux  Falls, 
1882-3-4-6-7-8-9:  E.  M.  Fuller,  of  Bismarck, 
1885  ;  I.  W.  Goodner,  of  Pierre,  1890-1-2-3 ;  J.  A. 
Ward,  of  Sioux  Falls,  1894-5 ;  George  W.  Was- 
key, of  Madison,  1 896-7-8-9-1 900-1 901  ;  Harvey 
J.  Rice,  of  Huron,  1902-3-4. 

For  years  the  order  struggled  along,  gaining 
little  ground,  but  the  few  faithful  ones  were  never 
discouraged,  always  remembering  the  watchword 
"Go  on,"  and  today  this  order  stands  on  the 
proud  eminence  of  being  considered  one  of  the 
foremost  benevolent  institutions  of  the  age.  It 
employs  no  trumpets  to  sound  its  praise,  but  is 
quietly  fulfilling  its  mission  of  relieving  human 
misery  and  trying  to  lift  mankind  onto  higher 
ground.  Having  for  its  foundation  principle 
"The  Fatherhood  of  God  and  the  Brotherhood  of 
Man,"  it  marches  on,  noiselessly  gaining  in  nimi- 
bers  and  public  esteem,  as  the  years  come  and  go. 


CHAPTER   XCI 


PYTHIANISM    IN    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


BY  CHARLES  N.   HERREID, 


The  order  of  Knights  of  Pythias  was  or- 
ganized in  Washington,  D.  C,  on  the  19th  day 
of  February,  1864,  by  some  eight  or  ten  gentle- 
men who  met  by  previous  agreement.  A  ritual, 
previously  prepared,  largely  by  J.  H.  Rathbone, 
who  is  recognized  as  the  founder  of  the  order, 
was,  reported  and  adopted  and  Mr.  Rathbone 
was  duly  elected  worthy  chancellor,  the  first 
chancellor  of  the  order  in  the  world. 

More  than  twenty  centuries  ago,  in  ancient 
Syracuse,  were  enacted  the  thrilling  historical 
incidents  which  form  the  basis  of  the  magnificent 
and  impressive  ritualistic  ceremonies  which  once 
seen  can  never  be  forgotten.  The  sublime  ex- 
emplification of  true  friendship  on  the  plains  of 
Sicily  by  Damon  and  Pythias, — two  illustrious 
disciples  of  Pythagoras, — is  the  corner-stone  of 
the  splendid  and  colossal  temple  of  Pythianism. 
The  lofty  principles,  tenets  and  usages  of  this 
great  organization  tend  to  make  men  better, 
more  friendly,  charitable,  benevolent  and  patri- 
otic and  promote  the  highest  and  best  interest  of 
mankind. 

"While  the  operations  of  the  Pythian  pio- 
neers in  the  territory  of  Dakota,"  says  William 
D.  Kennedy,  the  distinguished  Pythian  and  his- 
torian of  the  order,  "extended  to  both  the  north- 
ern and  southern  portions,  yet  the  initial  sod 
was  turned  in  what  is  now  South  Dakota.  First 
official  mention  is  made  by  Supreme  Chancellor 
Davis  in  1875,  when  he  intimates  that  members 
of  the  order  that  had  strayed  into  that  then  com- 
paratively  unknown    country    were   pressing  the 


appointment  of  a  deputy,  and  that  he  had  made 
none,  but,  Diogenes-like,  awaiting  the  finding, 
as  he  says,  'of  some  worthy  member'  whom  he 
could  appoint."  In  1876  Jervis  W.  Carter,  of 
Nebraska  Lodge,  No.  i,  of  Omaha,  was  ap- 
pointed deputy  supreme  chancellor  for  Dakota. 
Under  date  of  July  14,  1876,  Mr.  Carter  re- 
ported, writing  from  Canton,  Dakota  territory, 
that  he  instituted  a  lodge  at  Yankton  "about 
February  20,  1876,  with  sixteen  members."  It 
appears  several  of  the  members  migrated  to  the 
Black  Hills,  weakening  the  lodge,  and  a  second 
meeting  of  this  lodge  was  never  held.  All  ef- 
forts to  revive  this  lodge  having  proved  futile, 
the  remnants  of  the  lodge  properties  were  se- 
cured by  Arthur  C.  Phillips,  grand  keeper  of 
records  and  seal,  and  on  October  30,  1889,  he 
instituted  Phoenix  Lodge,  No.  34,  turning  over 
to  it  the  relics  of  the  first  Pythian  lodge  in 
Dakota  territory. 

Yankton's  loss  appears  to  have  been  Dead- 
wood's  gain.  On  April  13.  1879,  the  second 
lodge  of  the  Order  of  Knights  of  Pythias  in 
Dakota  territon.-  was  instituted  in  Deadwood  by 
L.  B.  Schoenfield  and  named  Marco  Bozzaris, 
No.  3,  with  a  membership  of  sixty.  On  Septem- 
ber 26,  1879,  the  lodge  room,  with  all  records 
and  property,  was  destroyed  by  fire,  but  meet- 
ings were  resumed  on  November  24,  1879.  A 
member  of  this  lodge,  writing  to  W.  D.  Ken- 
nedy, under  date  of  November  5,  1897,  thus  de- 
scribes these  pioneer  days :  "The  deputy  lived 
manv  hundred  miles  awav  and  we  were  a  hun- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


527 


dred  miles  from  the  railroad.  For  several  years 
the  only  way  we  received  the  password  was  by 
g-etting  it  while  I  was  in  the  east  on  business." 
Commenting  on  this  situation,  Brother  Kennedy 
says :  "Such  was  its  isolation — but  it  fought  the 
good  fight  and  is  one  of  the  best  in  the  domain." 

During  the  following  years  seven  other 
lodges  were  instituted  in  that  portion  of  the  ter- 
ritory which  now  constitutes  the  grand  domain 
of  South  Dakota,  before  the  organization  of  the 
grand  lodge  of  Dakota  territory,  to-wit: 

General  Custer  Lodge,  No.  4,  Central  City, 
instituted  by  Deputy  Supreme  Chancellor  A.  S. 
Stewart,  of  Deadwood,  July  2,  1880,  with  four- 
teen members.  This  lodge  had  the  misfortune 
to  lose  all  its  records  by  fire  on  April  25,  1888. 

Dakota  Lodge,  No.  6,  of  Lead,  instituted 
October  22,  1880,  by  Deputy  Supreme  Qian- 
cellor  Stewart,  of  Deadwood,  with  nineteen 
members. 

Gate  City  Lodge,  No.  8.  of  Rapid  City,  was 
instituted  by  Hon.  John  R.  Brennan.  deputy 
supreme  chancellor,  on  January  10,  1883,  with 
thirteen  members. 

On  December  4,  1883,  Ivanhoe  Lodge,  No. 
9,  of  Huron,  was  also  instituted  by  Deputy  Su- 
preme Chancellor  Brennan,  with  twenty-four 
members.  This  lodge  was,  on  April  14,  1886, 
declared  defunct,  and  the  name  Ivanhoe  given 
to  Lodge  No.  41,  at  Dell  Rapids. 

Castle  Lodge,  No.  10,  of  Chamberlain,  was 
instituted  December  28,  1883.  This  lodge  also 
became  defunct,  but  in  January,  1886,  a  new 
lodge  was  instituted  by  Deputy  Supreme  Chan- 
cellor A.  H.  Daniels,  who  reported  as  follows : 
"It  was  really  a  new  lodge,  as  I  declared  the 
lodge  defunct,  and  proceeded  to  institute  the 
new  one." 

Damascus  Lodge,  No.  11,  of  Mitchell,  was 
instituted  March  31,  1884,  by  Deputy  Supreme 
Qiancellor  A.  H.  Daniels,  with  twelve  mem- 
bers. 

Dauntless  Lodge,  No.  13,  of  Brookings,  was 
instituted  February  6,  1885,  but  on  record  of  its 
membership  is  available.  The  only  relic  among 
the  archives  is  an  old  ledger,  and  on  the  fly-leaf, 


in  the  handwriting  of  Arthur  C.  Phillips,  then 
grand  keeper  of  records  and  seal,  is  the  follow- 
ing legend:  "This  lodge  was  declared  defunct 
by  Grand  Chancellor  J.  F.  Edmonds,  on  July 
26,  1889."  On  May  22,  1894,  an  effort  was 
made  to  organize  as  a  successor  to  Dauntless 
Lodge,  Peerless  Lodge,  No.  61,  but.  like  its 
predecessor,  it  soon  became  defunct,  and  was 
so  declared  on  December  24,  1900. 

These  were  the  lodges, — nine  in  number,^ 
together  with  four  lodges  existing  in  that  por- 
tion of  Dakota  territory  which  now  constitutes 
the  state  of  North  Dakota,  which  through  their 
representatives,  in  the  city  of  Huron,  on  April 
30,  1885,  met  and  organized  the  grand  lodge 
Order  of  Knights  of  Pythias  for  the  domain  of 
Dakota  territory.  While  Dakota  was  under  the 
direct  supervision  of  the  supreme  lodge  the 
deputy  supreme  chancellors  in  charge  of  that 
territory  were  as  follows,  in  the  order  named : 
Jervis  W.  Carter,  a  past  grand  chancellor  from 
Nebraska  Lodge,  No.  i,  of  Omaha;  D.  J. 
Tallant,  a  member  of  Grand  Forks  Lodge,  No. 
2 :  John  R.  Brennan,  who  by  historian  W.  D. 
Kennedy  is  described  as  follows :  "John  R. 
Brennan,  who  came  from  Colorado,  was  a  faith- 
ful, earnest  and  efficient  officer.  To  him  was 
due  the  salvation  of  the  order  in  Dakota  at  that 
time."  Continuing,  Mr.  Kennedy  says:  "Brother 
John  Westdahl,  of  Huron,  was  the  last  deputy, 

'  and  he  also  did  good  service." 

The  convention  was  called  to  order  in  Castle 

i  Hall  of  Ivanhoe  Lodge  in  Huron,  at  three 
o'clock  P.  M.,  by  Deputy  Supreme  Chancellor 
John  Westdahl,  who  introduced  Hon.  John  \^an 
Valkenberg,  of  Iowa,  supreme  chancellor  of  the 
world,  to  preside.  (Souvenir  History  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  by  Arthur  C.  Phillips,  grand 
keeper  of  records  and  seal.)  The  organization 
was  completed  by  the  appointment  of  the  follow- 
ing officers  of  the  Lodge  of  Emergency:  J.  E. 
Elson,  past  supreme  chancellor;  John  Van 
Valkenberg,  supreme  chancellor ;  John  West- 
dahl, supreme  vice-chancellor;  W.  T.  Collins, 
supreme  prelate;  C.  B.  Ambrose,  supreme  mas- 
ter of  exchequer ;  D.  H.  Metcalf,  supreme  keeper 


528 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


of  records  and  seal;  J.  \\'.  McDonald,  supreme 
master-at-arms ;  R.  Sturgeon,  supreme  inner 
guard;  R.  W.  Cutts,  supreme  outer  guard. 

The  committee  on  credentials  reported  the 
following  representatives  entitled  to  seats  in, the 
grand  lodge:  Grand  Forks  Lodge,  No.  2,  W.  T. 
Collins,  R.  W.  Cutts;  Marco  Bozzaris,  No.  3, 
J.  F.  Edmonds,  L.  Connell;  General  Custer,  No. 
4,  J.  -W.  McDonald,  C.  H.  Kamman;  Dakota, 
No.  6,  P.  Cohen,  L.  May  (by  proxy)  ;  Gate  City, 
No.  8,  J.  S.  Gantz,  W.  T.  Coad;  Ivanhoe,  No. 

9,  George  J.  Love,  A.  W.  Wilmarth;  Castle, 
No.  10,  R.  Sturgeon,  A.  Ingliss ;  Damascus,  No. 

11,  A.  H.  Daniels,  C.  W.  Emerson;  Myrtle,  No. 

12,  A.  G.  Clark,  J.  W.  Carroll;  Dauntless,  No. 

13,  H.  P.  Finigan,  George  W.  Hopp;  St.  Elmo, 
No.  15,  W.  L.  Black.  They  also  reported  the 
past  chancellor  certificates  of  C.  L.  Davis  and 
George  A.  Mathews,  of  No.  13,  as  being  correct. 

After  conferring  the^  grand  lodge  rank,  the 
following  officers  were  elected  and  duly  in- 
stalled :  Past  grand  chancellor,  Russell  W. 
Cutts,  of  Grand  Forks ;  grand  chancellor,  George 
J.  Love,  Huron;  grand  vice-chancellor,  J.  F. 
Edmonds,  of  Deadwood;  grand  prelate,  W.  T. 
Collins,  of  Grand  Forks ;  grand  master  of  ex- 
chequer, A.  H.  Daniels,  of  Mitchell;  grand 
keeper  records  and  seal,  C.  L.  Davis,  of  Brook- 
ings ;  grand  master-at-arms,  W.  Laird  Black,  of 
liSismarck;  grand  inside  guard,  R.  Sturgeon,  of 
Chamberlain;  grand  outside  guard,  J.  S.  Gantz, 
of  Rapid  City ;  supreme  representatives,  John 
Westdahl,  of  Huron ;  Albert  G.  Clark,  of  Steele. 

Constitutions  for  the  grand  and  subordinate 
lodges  were  adopted  at  this  meeting.  The 
secret  work  of  the  order  was  exemplified  by  the 
supreme  chancellor,  after  which  the  first  grand 
lodge.  Knights  of  Pythias,  of  Dakota  ter- 
ritory, duly  adjourned. 

The  second  grand  lodge  convened  June  15, 
1886,  in  Rapid  City.  Six  new  lodges  had  been 
instituted    during   the    year,    viz:    Kimball,    No. 

14,  at  Kimball    (charter    surrendered    February 

10,  1892);  Tristocotyn,  No.  17,  Watertown; 
Granite,  No.  18,  Sioux  Falls ;  Wahpeton,  No. 
20,  Wahpeton:  Fidelity,  No.  21.  Woonsocket; 
Calanthe,  No.  22,  iMiller.     During  the  vear  the 


lodges  at  Casselton,  Fargo  and  Huron  became 
defimct.  The  following  officers  were  elected  for 
the  ensuing  year :  Grand  chancellor,  Lawrence 
Connell,  Deadwood;  grand  vice-chancellor,  A. 
H.  Daniels,  Mitchell;  grand  prelate,  Frank  E. 
Ketchum,  Huron ;  grand  keeper  of  records  and 
seal,  C.  L.  Davis,  Brookings;  grand  master  of 
exchequer.  Jay  Wellman,  Chamberlain;  grand 
master-at-arms,  W.  R.  Arnold,  Watertown ; 
grand  inner  guard,  J.  A.  Ebel,  Wahpeton ;  grand 
outer  guard,  J.  S.  Gantz,  Rapid  City. 

The  third  meeting  of  the  grand  lodge  was 
held  in  Watertown,  commencing  June  21,  1887. 
The  grand  chancellor  reported  continuing  in- 
terest and  activity  within  the  order  and  four  new 
lodges:  Ivy,  No.  23,  Redfield;  Cyprus,  No.  24, 
Alexandria;  Armour,  No.  25,  Armour;  a4id 
Malta,  No.  2.6,  Faulkton.  The  officers  elected 
at  this  session  were :  Grand  chancellor,  H.  E. 
Gates.  Kimball ;  grand  vice-chancellor,  W.  R. 
Arnold,  Watertown;  grand  prelate,  E.  W.  iMur- 
ray,  Redfield;  grand  keeper  records  and  seal,  J. 
B.  Wineman,  Grand  Forks ;  grand  master  of 
exchequer.  Arthur  C.  Phillips,  Sioux  Falls ; 
grand  master-at-arms,  W.  S.  Arnold,  Alexan- 
dria :  grand  inner  guard,  J.  P.  Cutting,  ^filler : 
grand  outer  girard,  J.  H.  Bottum,  Faulkton. 

The  fourth  grand  lodge,  being  an  adjourned 
meeting,  was  held  at  Wahpeton  (now  North 
Dakota),  August  21,  1888.  During  the  year 
Damon  Lodge,  No.  5,  at  Fargo,  had  been  re- 
organized and  two  new  lodges  instituted,  Gettys- 
burg, No.  2J,  at  Gettysburg,  and  Hamiony, 
No.  28,  at  Plankinton.  The  election  of  officers 
resulted  as  follows :  Grand  chancellor,  W.  R. 
Arnold.  Watertown ;  grand  vice-chancellor, 
George  D.  Swaine,  Wahpeton;  grand  prelate,  R. 
D.  Martin,  Mitchell:  grand  keeper  of  records 
and  seal,  Arthur  C.  Phillips,  Sioux  Falls ;  grand 
master  of  exchequer,  Frank  H.  Bean,  Huron; 
grand  master-at-arms,  M.  P.  Springer.  Faulk- 
ton: grand  inner  guard,  George  A.  Knight, 
Grand  Forks ;  grand  outer  guard,  D.  O.  Root, 
Woonsocket. 

The  fifth  convention  of  the  grand  lodge  was 
held  in  Sioux  Falls  July  16,  1889.  The  grand 
chancellor  reported  having  instituted  two 


I 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


529 


viz :  Crystal,  No.  29.  at  Valley  Springs,  March 
27,  1889,  and  Alinot,  No.  30,  at  JMinot  (N.  D.), 
June  7,  1889.  With  approaching  statehood  for 
South  and  North  Dakota,  preliminary  steps  were 
taken  towards  the  organization  of  separate  grand 
lodges  for  the  new  states.  The  grand  officers 
elected  and  installed  were :  Grand  chancellor,  J. 
F.  Edmonds,  Deadwood ;  grand  vice-chancellor, 
F.  R.  Bangs,  Grand  Forks;  grand  prelate,  Alex- 
ander Jacobson,  Huron ;  grand  keeper  of  records 
and  seal,  Arthur  C.  Phillips.  Sioux  Falls;  grand 
master  of  exchequer,  F.  H.  Bean,  Huron;  grand 
master-at-arms,  D.  O.  Root,  Woonsocket; 
grand  inner  guard,  W.  E.  Tipton,  Armour; 
grand  outer  guard,  W.  J-  Hall,  Alexandria. 

The  sixth  and  last  convention  of  the  grand 
lodge  of  Dakota  was  held  in  ]\Iitchell  June  17, 
1890.  Grand  Chancellor  Edmonds  reported 
an  era  of  unusual  activity  during  the  past  year, 
having  "traveled  over  seven  thousand  miles  on 
Pythian  work."  having  personally  "conferred 
over  five  hundred  ranks."  In  this  work  he  was 
ably  supported  by  Grand  Keeper  Records  and 
Seal  A.  C.  Phillips.  Eleven  new  lodges  had 
been  instituted  during  the  year,  being  "about 
seventy  per  cent."  increase  in  the  membership 
of  the  order. 

In  this  brief  account  it  is  neither  necessary 
nor  proper  to  dwell  upon  the  controversy  relat- 
ing to  the  legality  of  the  dissolution  of  the 
grand  lodge  of  Dakota  and  the  formation  of  the 
two  new  grand  lodges.  On  June  i8th,  "after 
a  progressive  career  of  five  years,  one  month 
and  twelve  days,  the  grand  lodge  of  Dakota 
was  formally  declared  dissolved  by  the  grand 
chancellor." 

At  4:30  o'clock  P.  M.,  on  June  18,  1890,  "in 
accordance  with  the  directions  and  by  the  au- 
thority of  the  supreme  chancellor.  Knights  of 
Pythias  of  the  World."  a  provisional  supreme 
lodge  was  called  to  order  by  A.  C.  Phillips,  past 
grand  keeper  records  and  seal,  and  Past  Grand 
Chancellor  John  R.  Brennan  was  requested  to 
preside.  The  following  lodges  in  South  Dakota 
were  represented  by  past  chancellors:  Marco 
Bozzaris,  No.  3,  Deadwood ;  General  Custer,  No. 
4,  Central  Citv :  Dakota,  No,  6,  Lead  Citv ;  Gate 


City,  No.  8,  Rapid  City:  Castle,  No.  10,  Cham- 
berlain; Damascus,  No.  11,  2\Iitchell;  Syracuse, 
No.  16.  Huron;  Trishocotyn,  No.  17,  Water- 
town;  Granite,  No.  18,  Sioux  Falls;  Fidelity, 
No.  21,  Woonsocket;  Calanthe,  No.  22,  Miller; 
Armour,  No.  25,  Armour;  Harmony,  No.  28, 
Plankinton ;  Crystal,  No.  29,  Valley  Springs ; 
]\Iinnekahta,  No,  32,  Hot  Springs;  Vermillion, 
^o.  33.  X'ermillion;  Phoenix,  No.  34,  Yankton; 
Mystic,  No.  40,  Madison;  Ivanhoe,  No.  41,  Dell 
Rapids;  Flesperian,  No.  42,  Elk  Point. 

On  June  19th  the  following  officers,  having 
been  duly  elected,  were  installed  by  acting  Su- 
preme Chancellor  Brennan :  Grand  past  chancel- 
lor, ^^'.  C.  Graybill;  grand  chancellor,  Arthur 
C.  Phillips:  grand  vice-chancellor,  Frank  Abt; 
grand  prelate,  C.  A.  IMaxon ;  grand  keeper  of 
records  and  seal,  W.  E.  Tipton;  grand  master 
of  exchequer.  E.  H.  West;  grand  master-at- 
arms,  A.  D.  Keller:  grand  inner  guard,  W.  H. 
^ilunroe:  grand  outer  guard,  George  A.  Silsby; 
supreme  representatives,  John  R.  Brennan  and 
B.  R.  Howell;  grand  trustees,  C.  M.  Runkle, 
Julian  Bennett  and  D.  O.  Root.  Whereupon 
the  grand  lodge  of  South  Dakota  was  declared 
legally  instituted.  According  to  the  official  re- 
ports for  the  term  ending  December  31,  1889, 
the  membership  of  the  order  was :  South  Dakota, 
783;  North  Dakota,  213:  total,  996. 

The  second  annual  convention  was  held  at 
^Madison,  commencing  June  2,  1891.  During 
the  year  a  vast  amount  of  work  for  the  good  of 
the  order  had  been  performed  by  the  grand 
chancellor.  Two  new  lodges  were  instituted : 
Myrtle  Lodge,  No.  43,  at  Clark,  with  a  charter 
list  of  twenty,  and  Tin  Center,  No.  44,  with 
twenty  charter  members.  The  Uniform  Rank 
of  the  order  was  reported  in  a  flourishing  con- 
dition. During  the  preceding  thirteen  months, 
six  divisions  were  organized,  while  preliminary 
steps  were  taken  for  many  others.  The  num- 
ber of  lodges  in  good  standing  at  this  time  was 
thirty-one.  The  following  officers  were  installed 
for  the  ensuing  term :  Grand  chancellor,  W.  E. 
Tipton ;  grand  vice-chancellor,  A.  D.  Kellar ; 
grand  prelate,  C.  A.  Maxon ;  grand  keeper  of 
records  and  seal.  U.  S.  G.  Cherry :  grand  master 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


of  exchequer,  J.  A.  Trow ;  grand  master-at- 
anns,  W.  H.  Timerhoff;  grand  inner  guard,  J. 
C.  Calder;  grand  outer  guard,  A.  E.  Witting. 

The  third  annual  convention  opened  in 
Pierre  June  7,  1892,  at  the  capitol  building,  in 
the  hall  of  representatives.  Like  his  predecessor, 
Grand  Qiancellor  Tipton  had  been  called  upon 
to  render  a  large  number  of  decisions  on  points 
raised  under  the  new  constitution.  The  order 
was  fortunate  in  having  during  the  early  days 
of  its  existence,  in  the  most  prominent  positions, 
men  who  were  so  pre-eminently  qualified  to  dis- 
charge their  duties  with  enthusiasm,  fidelity  and 
great  ability.  During  the  year  lodges  had  been 
established  as  follows:  Damon,  No.  45,  Bryant; 
Apollo,  No.  46,  Springfield;  Tyndall,  No.  47, 
Tyndall;  Security,  No.  48,  Scotland;  Triangle, 
No.  49,  Howard;  Monte  Christo,  No. 
50.  Beresford ;  Malta,  No.  26,  Faulkton ;  Ivy, 
No.  23,  Redfield, — the  last  two  named  being 
reorganization  of  lodges  that  had  practically  be- 
come defunct.  For  the  ensuing  year  the  follow- 
ing officers  were  elected  and  installed :  Grand 
chancellor,  U.  S.  G.  Cherr\';  grand  vice-chan- 
cellor. ^^^  H.  Timmerhoflf;  grand  prelate,  J-  C. 
Calder :  grand  master  of  the  exchequer,  J.  A. 
Trow;  grand  keeper  of  records  and  seal,  A.  E. 
Witting;  grand  master-at-arms,  D.  P.  Cree; 
grand  inner  guard,  J.  W.  McDonald;  grand 
outer  guard,  C.  E.  Warner. 

The  fourth  annual  convention  was  held  in 
Chamberlain  June  6,  1893.  Grand  Chancellor 
Cherry  reported  the  following  additions  to  the 
roster  during  the  year  :  Banner,  No.  51 ;  Canton, 
No.  52;  Menno,  No.  53;  Centerville,  No.  54; 
.Aberdeen,  No.  55 ;  Gett},'sburg,  No.  27,  re- 
instated;  Columbia,  No.  56;  Monitor,  No.  57; 
Eureka,  No.  58.  Never  had  the  grand  lodge  of 
this  state,  or  its  predecessor,  the  grand  lodge 
of  Dakota,  met  under  such  favorable  financial 
conditions.  The  receipts  of  the  past  year  were 
reported  largely  in  excess  of  the  receipts  of  any 
previous  year  in  the  history  of  the  order.  The 
total  membership  of  the  order,  December  31, 
1892,  was  1,763,  and  a  gain  of  411  during  the 
year.  For  the  ensuing  year  the  following 
officers  were  elected  and  installed :  Grand  chan- 


cellor, A.  E.  Witting;  grand  vice-chancellor,  E. 
C.  Walton ;  grand  prelate,  J.  W.  Riley ;  grand 
master  of  exchequer,  J.  A.  Trow;  grand  keeper 
of  records  and  seal,  J.  C.  Calder,  grand  master- 
at-arms,  J.  W.  McDonald;  grand  inner  guard, 
F.  E.  Davol,  grand  outer  guard,  S.  Winter. 

In  the  city  of  Aberdeen,  on  June  21,  1894, 
the  officers  and  representatives  of  the  order  con- 
vened for  the  fifth  annual  session  of  the  grand 
lodge.  The  postponement  from  June  5th,  the 
day  fixed  by  the  constitution,  was  for  the  pur- 
pose of  enabling  Supreme  Chancellor  Blackwell 
to  attend  the  grand  lodge  in  this  domain.  Since 
the  last  meeting  of  the  grand  lodge  the  follow- 
ing lodges  had  been  organized :  Star  Lodge,  No. 
59,  Wakonda ;  Pythias,  No.  60,  at  Salem ;  Peer- 
less, No.  61,  at  Brookings  (reorganized).  For 
the  ensuing  term  the  following  officers  were  in- 
stalled :  Grand  chancellor,  Charles  T.  Howard ; 
grand  vice-chancellor,  William  M.  Lyon ;  grand 
prelate.  Rev.  Henry  Wilson ;  grand  keeper  of 
records  and  seal,  C.  E.  Warner ;  grand  master  of 
exchequer,  J.  A.  Trow ;  grand  master-at-arms, 
F.  E.  Davol ;  grand  inner  guard,  F.  L.  Jack- 
son ;  grand  outer  guard,  William  S.  Mitchell. 

The  sixth  annual  session  convened  in  Giam- 
berlain  June  4,  1895.  The  grand  chancellor, 
among  other  things,  reported  as  follows :  "At 
the  commencement  of  my  term  the  discouraging 
financial  conditions  of  the  state  were  such  that 
it  seemed  almost  impossible  to  add  to  the  roster 
of  lodges  in  this  domain.  *  *  *  Much  time 
and  labor  has  been  expended."  The  grand 
keeper  of  records  and  seal  says:  "The  year 
just  closed  has  been  a  remarkable  one.  The 
general  financial  depression  of  the  country,  to- 
gether with  the  almost  total  failure  of  crops 
throughout  our  state,  has  been  a  clog  upon  the 
wheels  of  Pythian  enthusiasm  that  has  much  re- 
t.irded  the  rapid  pace  we  have  been  making  for 
the  past  few  years."  However,  two  new  lodges 
had  been  instituted,  Hudson  Lodge,  No.  62,  at 
Hudson,  and  Edgemont.  No.  63,  at  Edgemont. 
The  condition  of  the  Endowment  Rank  of  the 
domain  was  reported  as  follows :  Number  of 
sections.  20;  number  of  members,  144;  amount 
of  endowment,  $240,000,  being  an  increase  dur- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


ing  the  year  of  84  members.  Shortly  after  the 
close  of  the  grand  lodge  session  of  1894,  Major 
General  James  R.  Carnahan,  of  Indianapolis, 
Indiana,  visited  the  state  and  organized  the  First 
Regiment,  Uniform  Rank,  Knights  of  Pythias. 
The  increase  in  membership  was  reported  "very 
fair  during  the  year,  but  we  have  lost  heavily 
from  suspensions  from  non-payment  of  dues. 
This  is  but  natural  in  a  year  like  this."  The 
following  officers  were  installed :  Grand  chan- 
cellor, A.  D.  Keller;  grand  vice-chancellor,  F. 
E.  Davo! ;  grand  prelate,  J.  Carl  Southwick; 
grand  keeper  of  records  and  seal,  C.  E.  Warner ; 
grand  master  of  exchequer,  J.  E.  Piatt;  grand 
master-at-arms,  William  Mitchell;  grand  inner 
guard,  E.  H.   Benedict;  grand  outer  guard,  G. 

B.  Enos. 

The  seventh  annual  session  was  held  in 
Yankton,  commencing  June  3,  i8g6.  During 
the  year  Coteau  Lodge,  No.  64,  at  Wilmot,  was 
instituted.  Speaking  of  the  prevailing  condi- 
tions throughout  the  country,  the  grand  chan- 
cellor said :  "The  state  of  the  order  in  this  do- 
main is  as  good  as  it  could  possibly  be  expected. 
The  past  year  has  been  one  of  the  hardest  3'ears 
financially  that  this  county  has  ever  experienced, 
or  as  it  probably  will  ever  experience  again.  It 
seemed  that  it  was  all  many  of  us  could  do  to 
keep  soul  and  body  together,  and  that  every 
dollar  that  could  be  secured  in  any  manner  was 
necessary  for  our  families.  *  *  =i=  The  order 
has  at  least  held  its  own.  That  is  to  say,  we 
have  gained  as  many,  if  not  more,  in  membership 
than  we  have  lost."  The  report  of  the  grand 
keeper  of  records  and  seal  for  the  year  ending 
December  31,  1895,  showed  total  number  of 
members  1,898;  loss  during  the  year  95.  During 
the  year  the  following  lodges  surrendered  their 
charters :  Star,  No.  59,  at  Wakonda ;  Menno,  No. 
53,  at  Menno;  Apollo,  No.  46,  at  Springfield; 
Tyndall,  No.  47,  at  Tyndall.  For  the  ensuing 
year  the  following  officers  were  elected  and  in- 
stalled by  Past  Grand  Chancellor  C.  T.  Howard : 
Grand  chancellor,  Charles  N.  Herreid;  grand 
vice-chancellor,  F.  E.  Davol ;  grand  prelate,  E. 
H.  Benedict;  grand  keeper  of  records  and  seal, 

C.  E.   Warner;   grand   master  of  exchequer,   J. 


E.  Piatt;  grand  master-at-arms,  William  S. 
Mitchell;  grand  inner  guard,  G.  B.  Enos;  grand 
outer  guard,  Charles  M.  Caton. 

The  eighth  annual  session  convened  in  Sioux 
Falls  June  2,  1897.  The  official  record  notes 
the  fact  that  before  the  formal  opening  of  the 
grand  lodge  "prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  W.  H. 
Jordan,  pastor  of  the  First  Alethodist  church  of 
Sioux  Falls," — the  first  instance  of  the  kind  of 
which  a  record  had  been  made  in  the  history  of 
the  order  in  this  domain.  The  report  of  the  com- 
mittee on  credentials  showed  an  unusually  large 
attendance.  The  grand  chancellor,  among  other 
things,  reported :  "In  view  of  the  terrible 
financial  depression  the  growth  of  the  order  in 
new  membership  during  the  year  has  been  re- 
markable. There  are  several  places  ripe  for  the 
institution  of  new  lodges."  During  the  session 
the  grand  chancellor  presented  to  Malta  Lodge, 
No.  26,  at  Faulkton,  a  beautiful  large  silk  ban- 
ner in  token  of  excellence  manifested  by  this 
lodge  during  his  term.  The  new  grand  lodge 
officers  were  installed  by  Past  Grand  Chancellor 
Keller:  Grand  chancellor,  F.  E.  Davol;  grand 
vice-chancellor,  E.  H.  Benedict ;  grand  prelate, 
C.  H.  Cassill ;  grand  keeper  of  records  and  seal, 
C.  E.  Warner;  grand  master  of  exchequer,  J. 
E.  Piatt;  grand  master-at-arms,  Charles  M. 
Caton ;  grand  inner  guard,  G.  B. "  Enos ;  grand 
outer  guard,  F.  S.  Emerson. 

On  the  first  day  of  June,  1898,  the  ninth  an- 
nual session  convened  in  Watertown.  During 
the  year  two  new  lodges  had  been  organized : 
Webster,  No.  65,  at  Webster,  and  Reservation, 
No.  66,  at  Sisseton.  The  grand  keeper  of  records 
and  seal  reported :  "We  have  sustained  a  net 
loss  during  the  year  of  ninety  members,  but  in- 
cluded in  this  loss  is  the  membership  of  Rath- 
bone  Lodge,  No.  39,  whose  charter  was  sus- 
pended." Past  Grand  Chancellor  Herreid  pre- 
sented the  following  resolution :  "Whereas,  the 
Order  of  Knights  of  Pythias  is  of  all  orders  the 
most  thoroughly  American ;  it  represents  'one 
country,  one  language,  one  flag' ;  its  principles 
are  most  thoroughly  in  touch  with  the  spirit  of 
our  free  institutions ;  it  is  most  appropriate  that 
as  an  order  we  should  conspicuously  honor  the 


532 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


flag  of  our  country.  Therefore,  resolved,  that 
every  subordinate  lodge  in  this  grand  domain  is 
hereby  directed  to  display  the  z\merican  flag  at 
every  regular  meeting  of  the  lodge."  The  reso- 
lution was  unanimously  adopted.  The  following 
officers  were  installed  by  Past  Supreme  Repre- 
sentative W.  E.  Tipton :  Grand  chancellor,  F. 
S.  Emerson;  grand  vice-chancellor,  E.  H. 
Benedict;  grand  prelate,  C.  i\I.  Caton ;  grand 
keeper  of  records  and  seal,  C.  E.  Warner ;  grand 
master  of  exchequer,  J.  E.  Piatt;  grand  master- 
at-arms,  H.  C.  Burch;  grand  inner  guard,  G. 
B.  Enos ;  grand  outer  guard,  H.  E.  Cutting. 

The  tenth  annual  session  of  the  grand  lodge 
was  held  at  Sioux  Falls,  commencing  June  7, 
i8qq.  The  grand  chancellor  reported:  "As  a 
rule  the  lodges  under  your  jurisdiction  are  in  a 
healthy  condition.  I  have  had  correspondence 
in  relation  to  organizing  new  lodges,  but  in  each 
case,  the  failure  to  organize  could  be  attributed 
to  hard  times."  The  grand  chancellor  reported 
the  following  new  lodges :  General  Terry,  No. 
67,  at  Terry;  Gold  Center,  No.  68,  at  Keystone; 
Spearfish  Lodge,  No.  69,  at  Spearfish,  and  that 
a  warrant  had  been  issued  for  the  institution  of 
a  lodge  at  Hazel.  During  the  year  ending  De- 
cember 31,  1898,  there  was  a  net  gain  of  169 
members.  During  the  year  considerable  interest 
had  been  manifested  in  the  Uniform  Rank.  The 
following  officers  were  installed :  Grand  chan- 
cellor, J-  E.  Piatt :  grand  vice-chancellor,  C.  M. 
Caton ;  grand  prelate,  H.  C.  Burch ;  grand 
keeper  of  records  and  seal,  J.  Carl  Southwick; 
grand  master  of  exchequer,  C.  H.  Cassill ;  grand 
master-at-arms,  J.  A.  Beck ;  grand  inner  guard, 
W.  J.  Markham ;  grand  outer  guard,  J.  E. 
Patten. 

The  eleventh  annual  session  was  held  in 
Huron,  commencing  June  6,  1900.  The  grand 
chancellor  reported  an  increase  to  January  i, 
I  goo,  of  about  sixteen  per  cent.  Also  the  fol- 
lowing new  lodges:  De  Morris  Lodge,  No.  71, 
Belle  Fourche;  White  Rock,  No.  72,  at  White 
Rock :  Bowdle,  No.  73,  at  Bowdle ;  Century,  No. 
74,  at  Vienna.  "Their  membership,"  says  the 
grand  chancellor,  "is  composed  of  the  best  citi- 
zens of  the  towns  in  which  thev  are  located," — 


a  statement  which  applies  to  every  lodge  of  the 
Order  of  Knights  of  Pythias  in  this  domain. 
During  the  year  Cypress  Lodge,  Xo.  24.  at 
Alexandria,  experienced  a  revival.  Edgemont, 
No.  63.  voluntarily  surrendered  its  charter.  This 
lodge,  in  1898,  lost  all  of  its  property  by  fire 
and  it  never  revived  from  the  shock.  The  fol- 
lowing is  a  list  of  the  officers  for  the  ensuing 
year:  Grand  chancellor,  Qiarles  AL  Caton; 
grand  vice-chancellor,  H.  C.  Burch;  grand  prel- 
ate, J.  C.  Kuney;  grand  keeper  of  records  and 
seal,  J.  Carl  Southwick;  grand  master  of  excheq- 
uer, C.  H.  Cassill ;  grand  master-at-arms,  W. 
J.  ]\Iarkham  ;  grand  inner  guard,  J.  E.  Patten ; 
grand  outer  guard,  C.  C.  Bras. 

The  twelfth  annual  session  was  held  at  Lead, 
commencing  June  5,  igoi.  The  grand  chan- 
cellor reported  that  he  had  found  it  necessar}' 
"to  suspend  the  charters  of  six  lodges  who  had 
not  met  for  from  three  to  five  years,  viz: 
Fidelity,  No.  21,  Woonsocket;  Calanthe,  No.  22, 
Miller;  Gettysburg,  No.  27,  Gettysburg;  Se- 
curity, No.  48,  Scotland;  Peerless,  No.  61, 
Brookings;  and  Edgemont,  No.  63,  Edgemont." 
The  number  of  members  in  good  standing  De- 
cember 31,  1900,  was  2,305,  being  a  net  gain 
during  the  year  1900  of  eighty-five  members. 
The  following  officers  were  installed  for  the  next 
year:  Grand  chancellor,  H.  C.  Burch;  grand 
vice-chancellor,  C.  E.  Warner ;  grand  prelate, 
W.  J.  Markham ;  grand  keeper  of  records  and 
seal,  J.  Carl  Southwick ;  grand  master  of  excheq- 
uer, C.  ^H.  Cassill;  grand  master-at-arms,  W. 
H.  Disney ;  grand  inner  guard,  George  D. 
Adamson ;  grand  outer  guard,  J.  F.  Barr}'. 

The  thirteenth  convention  of  the  grand  lodge 
convened  in  Canton  June  4,  1902.  The  grand 
chancellor  reported  that  while  there  had  been 
"no  gains  in  lodges  and  no  great  gains  in  mem- 
bership, on  the  whole  the  subordinate  lodges  had 
made  a  good  healthy  growth."  In  strong  con- 
trast with  the  reports  of  the  former  officers,  the 
grand  keeper  of  records  and  seal,  J.  Carl  South- 
wick, in  his  report  for  this  year,  makes  the  fol- 
lowing cheerful  statement:  "It  is  a  matter  for 
congratulation  that  our  members  are  enjoying 
material   prosperity  to  an  almost  unprecedented 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


533 


extent."'     The  officers  for  the  ensuing  year  are  ■ 
as   follows :     Grand  chancellor,   C.    H.    Cassill ;  i 
grand   vice-chancellor,   W.   J.    Markham ;   grand  j 
prelate,  W.  H.  Disney;  grand  keeper  of  records 
and   seal.  J.   Carl   Southwick ;   grand  master  of 
exchequer,   C.   A.     Fountain :    grand    master-at-  ! 
arms,  George  D.  Adamson ;  grand  inner  guard,   ' 
F.    S.    Randolph ;   grand    outer   guard,     W.     A. 
Roberts. 

The  fourteenth  and  last  annual  convention  of 
the  grand  lodge  convened  in  Yankton  June  3, 
1903.  The  grand  chancellor  reported  the  local 
lodges  "as  a  rule  in  flourishing  condition  and 
Pythianism  is  looking  upward.  The  plan  of 
liolding  district  meetings  has  resulted  in  much 
good  to  the  order."  Two  new  lodges  were 
added  to  the  order  during  the  year,  Charles  Mix 
Lodge,  Xo.  75,  at  Geddes,  and  Blunt,  No.  76,  at 
Blunt,  while  Damon  Lodge,  No.  45,  surrendered 
its  charter.  In  the  Endowment  Rank  there  were, 
on  the  1st  of  April,  1903,  nineteen  sections  in 
this  domain,  with  one  hundred  and  one  mem- 
bers, and  insurance  in  force,  $158,000.  For  the 
ensuing  vear  the  following  officers  were  duly 
elected  and  installed :  Grand  chancellor,  J.  Carl 
Southwick ;  grand  vice-chancellor.  Finer  John- 
son :  grand  prelate,  W.  H.  Disney ;  grand  keeper 
of  records  and  seal,  F.  S.  Randolph;  grand 
master  of  exchequer,  C.  A.  Fountain ;  grand 
m-ister-at-arms,  A.  Ericson  ;  grand  inner  guard, 
W.  H.  Schcllinger :  grand  outer  guard,  J.  J. 
L'rquhart. 

The  following  statement  from  ]\Iajor  General 
James  R.  Carnahan  shows  the  following  condi- 
tion in  the  Uniform  Rank  in  good  standing  in 
this  domain :  Diamond.  No.  2,  Lead  City,  Cap- 
tain H.  L.  Howard ;  Deadwood,  No.  5,  Dead- 
wood,  Captain  C.  L.  Chiniquy ;  General  Custer, 
No.  6,  Central  City,  Captain  Thomas  O'Con- 
nor: Apollo,  No.  13,  Terry,  Captain  E.  J.  Rob- 
inson. These  compose  the  First  Battalion,  Sec- 
ond Regiment. 

The  following  statement  shows  the  number 
of  lodges  and  their  aggregate  membership  on 
December  31st  of  each  year  in  the  history  of  the 
grand  lodge  of  South  Dakota:  1890,  30  lodges, 
1,168  members;  1891,  31  lodges,  1,352  members; 


1892,  39  lodges,  1,762  members;  1893,  44  lodges, 
2,020  members;  1894,  47  lodges,  1,993  mem- 
bers;  1895,  49  lodges,  1,899  members;  1896,  45 
lodges,  1,770  members;  1897,  45  lodges,  1,751 
members;  1898,  46  lodges,  1,920  members;  1899, 
51  lodges,  2,220  members;  1900,  47  lodges,  2,305 
members:  1901,  45  lodges,  2,207  members;  1902, 
46  lodges,  2,209  members. 

This,  in  brief,  brings  the  story  of  Pythianism 
in  this  grand  domain  down  to  date.  The  fif- 
teenth annual  convention  will  be  held  in  Mitchell, 
commencing  June  i,  1904.  This  order  contains 
among  its  membership  a  large  number  of  the 
most  active  and  influential  men  in  the  state.  In 
closing,  I  will  quote  the  language  which  I  used 
officiallv  in  commvmications  to  the  subordinate 
lodges  and  the  grand  lodge,  while  an  officer  of 
the  order : 

''The  Order  of  Knights  of  Pythias  has  a 
glorious  history  and  a  splendid  literature.  *  *  * 
I  am  profoundly  impressed  with  the  idea  that 
the  principles  of  our  order  should  become  liv- 
ing realities  in  the  daily  life  of  its  membership. 
*  *  *  The  Order  of  Knights  of  Pythias  is  the 
most  distinctively  American  fraternal  organiza- 
tion and  as  such  entitled  to  our  greatest  adora- 
tion. We  admit  men  upon  the  broad  platform 
of  good  morals  and  right  living.  It  aims  to 
make  every  Knight  a  true  man,  a  good  citizen. 
It  is  one  of  the  great  factors  tending  to  the  suc- 
cessful perpetuity  of  otir  glorious  republic.  In 
noble  deeds  and  practical  work  Pythianism  is 
today  helping  to  make  a  better  history  for  our 
nation,  for  the  world,  for  humanity.  As  it  seeks 
to  instruct  the  mind  in  regard  to  the  solemn 
obligations  of  life,  to  develop  the  moral  and 
social  virtues,  it  is  one  of  the  great  human  in- 
stitutions of  the  age,  one  of  the  grand  forces  ar- 
rayed against  evil,  seeking  the  present  and  future 
good  of  the  human  race.  'As  long  as  there  are 
tears  to  wipe  away,  sufferings  to  alleviate, 
orphans  to  educate,  widows  to  care  for,  and  the 
weak  to  protect,  our  noble  order  will  exist,  mov- 
ing onward  and  upward  in  its  high  and  holy 
mission,  with  noiseless  step,  like  the  rush  of  an 
angel's  wing.  Its  foundations  are  laid  in  God's 
eternal  truth  and  love.'  " 


CHAPTER  XCII 


BENEVOLENT  AND  PROTECTIVE  ORDER  OF  ELKS. 


BY   HON.    JOHN   T.    COG.\N. 


This  order  was  instituted  in  New  York  City, 
in  1868.  It  was  composed  only  of  a  few  gentle- 
men of  the  theatrical  profession,  drawn  together 
for  social  intercourse,  and  was  then  styled,  "The 
Jolly  Corks."  As  the  order  grew,  its  name  was 
changed  to  that  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks,  and  professional  and  business 
men  generally  were  enrolled  as  members.  It  has 
now  developed  into  a  widespread  and  powerful 
order  of  benevolence  and  charity,  with  lodges  in 
over  nine  hundred  of  the  principal  cities  of  the 
United  States.  The  idea  became  prevalent  that 
none  but  members  of  the  theatrical  profess'ion  and 
its  dependencies  were  eligible  to  membership  in 
the  order.  This  is  erroneous.  It  is  true  that 
many  of  the  reputable  male  portion  of  the  profes- 
sion are  members ;  but  on  the  roll  of  membership 
will  be  found  the  names  of  prominent  officials, 
merchants,  bankers,  journalists,  legal  and  medi- 
cal men,  and  the  bright  lights  of  the  world  in  art, 
literature,  science  and  music.  The  order  is  a 
purely  charitable  organization,  seeking  to  do  its 
charity  in  silence,  that  the  proud  spirit  that  suf- 
fers in  secret,  fearing  more  the  blush  of  shame 
that  comes  of  asking,  than  the  pangs  of  hunger, 
may  feel  that  never  will  its  sore  need,  nor  the 
manner  of  its  alleviation  be  published  to  the 
world,  and  that  the  faults,  the  frailties,  the  neces- 
sities and  the  help  extended  will  remain  as  sacred 
confidences  never  to  be  divulged.  And  this  fully 
explains  the  reason  for  the  only  secret  of  the 
organization.  Charity,  justice,  brotherly  love  and 
fidelitv  are  the  watchwords  of  this  order,  and  hu- 


manity its  keynote,  and  daily  and  hourly  do  the 
prayers  of  the  widow  and  orphan  ascend  to  the 
Throne  of  Grace,  craving  blessings  upon  the 
magnanimous  and  beneficent  order  of  Elks. 
Only  one  lodge  of  Elks  is  permitted  in  any  town 
or  city,  and  the  city  must  contain  a  population  of 
five  thousand.  This  is  done  to  prevent  the 
rivalry,^  conflict  and  jealousy  that  so  often  em- 
barrass and  injure  secret  societies,  by  rivalry 
among  lodges  of  the  same  order  in  the  same  city. 
There  are  no  ranks,  titles  or  emoluments  in  the 
order.  All  Elks  have  equal  rights  under  their 
laws.  The  order  is  born  of  brotherly  love,  and 
aiming  to  promote  the  brotherhood  of  man,  it  is 
designed  to  oflfer  its  members  the  certainty  of 
warm  hearts  and  welcome  hearths  in  the  various 
cities  to  which  business  or  pleasure  may  summon 
them. 

THE   ORDER   IN    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 

Sioux  Falls  Lodge,  No.  262,  was  the  first 
lodge  of  Elks  organized  in  South  Dakota.  The 
lodge  was  instituted  on  May  6,  1893,  by  District 
Deputy  Grand  Exalted  Ruler  Caine,  of  Minne- 
a;polis.  The  first  officers  of  the  lodge  were :  Ex- 
alted ruler,  A.  P>.  Kittredge;  esteemed  leading 
knight,  B.  H.  Lien;  esteemed  lecturing  knight, 
S.  E.  Blauvelt:  esteemed  loyal  knight,  J.  H. 
Voorhees ;  secretary,  Henry  Schaetzel ;  treasurer, 
A.  Christopherson ;  tyler,  Frank  Kunerth ;  es- 
quire, Theodore  Wuest;  chaplain,  R.  F.  Brown; 
inner  guard,  J.  J.  Schumacher;  trustees,  B.  F. 
Campbell,  C.  C.  Crandall,  George  E.  Wheeler. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Huron  Lodge,  No.  444,  was  organized  June 
24,  1898,  b\'  District  Deput)'  Grand  Exalted 
Ruler  F.  S.  Emerson,  of  Sioux  Falls.  Following 
were  the  officers:  Exalted  ruler,  E.  H.  Aplin; 
esteemed  leading  knight,  D.  B.  Jeffries ;  esteemed 
loval  knight,  M.  F.  Montgomery;  esteemed  lec- 
turing knight,  Frank  A.  Morris ;  secretary,  B.  E. 
Beach;  treasurer,  E.  J.  Miller;  esquire,  George 
C.  Fullenweider ;  tyler,  William  Ritchslag ;  chap- 
lain, O.  A.  Ricker;  inner  guard,  C.  N.  Mcllvaine ; 
trustees,  F.  H.  Kent,  R.  O.  Richards,  William 
Waibel. 

Deadwood  Lodge,  No.  508,  was  instituted 
August  10,  1899,  by  District  Deputy  Grand  Ex- 
alted Ruler  F.  S.  Emerson,  of  Sioux  Falls.  Its 
first  officers  were :  Exalted  ruler,  Sol.  Star ;  es- 
teemed leading  knight,  W.  R.  Steele ;  esteemed 
loyal  knight,  Joseph  B.  Moore;  esteemed  lectur- 
ing knight,  W.  L.  McLaughlin ;  secretary,  W.  A. 
Ickes ;  treasurer,  John  Treber ;  tyler,  Paul  Rew- 
man ;  esquire,  M.  J.  Donovan ;  inner  guard,  John 
Grav;  chaplain,  James  Conzett;  trustees,  D.  A. 
McPherson,  N.  E.  Franklin,  James  Munn. 

Lead  Lodge,  No.  747,  was  instituted  January 
6,  1902,  by  District  Deputy  Grand  Exalted  Ruler 
H.  H.  Keith,  of  Sioux  Falls,  with  the  following 
officers :  Exalted  ruler.  Dr.  Newton  M.  Wade ; 
esteemed  leading  knight,  L.  P.  Jenkins ;  esteemed 


loyal  knight,  James  P.  Wilson ;  esteemed  lectur- 
ing knight,  R.  H.  Purcell ;  secretary,  John  Walsh, 
Jr. ;  treasurer,  James  W.  Curran ;  esquire,  Walter 
A.  Ouimby;  tyler,  Herman  F.  Schick;  chaplain, 
J.  Allen  Archibald ;  inner  guard,  James  B. 
Parker;   trustees,   Malcom  C.   Campbell,   Walter 

E.  Smead,  Peter  H.  Gushurst. 

Watertown  Lodge,  No.  838,  was  instituted 
March  12,  1903,  by  District  Deputy  Grand  Ex- 
alted Ruler  John  T.  Cogan,  of  Sioux  Falls,  with 
the  following  officers :  Exalted  ruler,  M.  R.  Bas- 
kerville ;  esteemed  leading  knight,  F.  A.  Country- 
man ;  esteemed  loyal  knight,  G.  A.  Abott ;  es- 
teemed lecturing  knight,  A.  G.  Matter ;  secretary, 

F.  S.  Bramble;  treasurer,  H.  T.  Sheldon;  tyler, 
C.  E.  Fowler;  esquire,  M.  A.  Hackman ;  inner 
guard,  H.  D.  MacCosham;  trustees,  J.  I.  Monks, 
C.  A.  Neil,  C.  C.  Whistler. 

DISTRICT    DEPUTIES. 

United  States  Senator  A.  B.  Kittredge  was 
the  first  district  deputy  grand  e.xalted  ruler  for 
South  Dakota,  serving  during  the  term  of  1893-4. 
F.  S.  Emerson,  of  Sioux  Falls,  was  next  elected 
and  served  as  that  officer  until  1902,  when  Judge 
H.  H.  Keith,  of  Sioux  Falls,  was  chosen  to  suc- 
ceed him.  John  T.  Cogan,  of  Sioux  Falls,  was 
selected  as  district  deputy  in  1903. 


CHAPTER  XCIll 


MISSION  WORK  AMONG  THE  TETON  DAKOTAS. 


BY   LOUISA   IRVINE  RIGGS. 


In  1872  the  mission  work  among  the  Teton 
Sioux  was  begun,  though  the  field  was  visited  and 
selection  of  location  made  the  year  previous, 
1 87 1.  At  that  time  a  portion  of  the  Indians  of 
the  Cheyenne  River  agency  were  distributed 
along  down  the  Jilissouri  bottoms  in  little  villages 
and  clusters  of  houses.  In  a  village  of  this  kind, 
a  little  below  Fort  Sully  and  on  the  west  side  of 
the  river,  Rev.  Thomas  L.  Riggs  erected  his 
first  mission  station.  It  was  a  hewed-log  house, 
with  two  rooms  below,  one  of  which  was  a 
schoolroom.  The  garret  was  arranged  for  sleep- 
ing apartments.  This  was  called  Hope  Station. 
Fort  Sully  was  a  military  post,  the  only  civilized 
community  within  hundreds  of  miles.  Of  the  | 
experiences  of  those  early  days  'Sir.  Riggs  writes  : 
"Beginning  our  mission  among  the  Teton  Sioux  j 
involved  much  of  hard  work  and  real  danger.  [ 
In  the  woods  with  an  axe ;  rafting  on  the  muddy  1 
and  turbulent  [Missouri;  lifting  and  fitting  the  1 
green  cottonwood  logs  to  place  in  the  station 
building — all  is  fresh  and  vivid,  even  to  the 
soreness  and  pain  in  hands  and  back.  I  could 
get  no  help  at  that  time — the  summer  of  1872. 
No  white  man  would  hire  to  work  unprotected 
among  Indians  here,  and  hence,  with  the  un- 
certain help  of  an  occasional  Indian,  a  younger  I 
brother  and  I  worked  at  Hope  Station.  We 
lived  as  the  natives  live,  on  bacon,  greasy  bread 
and  black  coffee ;  an  Indian  woman,  the  helper's 
wife,  cooked  for  us.  After  the  burning  heat  of 
the  day.  we  slept  on  the  ground  with  our  rifles 
under  our  blankets  beside  us.     Often  we  were 


awakened  at  dawn  and  saluted  during  the  day  by 
the  near  report  of  a  rifle,  the  ping  of  the  ball 
overhead  showing  that  it  was  the  gun  of  some 
Indian  to  scare  us,  and  grim  fun  it  was.  Two 
men  were  killed  at  the  agency,  a  few  miles  away; 
a  messenger  was  shot  dead  quite  near  by  and  at 
Fort  Sully,  that  haven  of  safety  as  we  regarded 
it,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  an  officer  was 
shot  and  severely  wounded  in  the  head  within 
sight  of  the  fort. 

"We  worked  on  the  house  weekdays  and  on 
the  Sabbath  services  were  held  long  before  I 
could  talk  Dakota  other  than  in  a  lame  way.  The 
attendance  was  fitful  and  uncertain, — now  a  full 
house  and  then  but  one  or  two  dirty  children. 
Then,  as  they  would  not  come  to  us,  I  went  to 
them.  Into  their  dirty  houses  or  smoky  tents  I 
took  the  A  B  C  book  and  in  this  way  gathered 
them  in.  IMore  or  less  of  opposition  had  to  be 
met.  In  a  general  way  the  men  talked  and 
promised  sweeter  than  honey ;  the  women  usually 
let  us  alone  and  the  children  were  shy.  On  par- 
ticular issues  I  had  to  take  many  a  severe  scold- 
ing. We  did  not  feed  and  clothe  the  children, — 
they  should  not  come  to  school !  We  did  not 
feast  all  comers, — it  would  be  well  for  us  to 
leave  at  once !  I  would  not  pay  the  crowd  for 
wood,  in  addition  to  the  price  paid  the  man  of 
whom  I  bought  it !  On  this  issue  we  were  be- 
sieged for  two  weeks, — fifteen  to  thirty  armed 
warriors  demanding:  'Will  you  do  as  we  say?' 
They  failed  of  course  in  the  attempt,  but  the 
contest  nearly  used  me  up.    This  the  first  year. 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


537 


"After  the  coming  of  Mrs.  Riggs  and  the 
sweet-tempered  Miss  Bishop  to  the  mission,  we 
soon  began  to  see  a  change.  The  men  quieted 
down  ;  the  children  came  more  regularly  to  school 
and  the  women  were  interested  in  a  patchwork 
sewing  school.  Two  boys  had  their  hair  cut,  the 
nicely  braided  scalplock  cut  off  with  the  rest. 
This,  however,  did  not  prevent  war  parties,  the 
sound  of  whose  drum  and  dance  greeted  the  birth 
of  our  little  Theodore. 

"A  second  station  was  soon  established,  and 
then  a  third.  To  one  of  these,  that  located  upon 
Peoria  bottom,  selected  to  be  the  central  and 
home  station,  the  mission  family  removed  at  the 
beginning  of  a  winter.  The  cold  weather  came 
early.  Our  home  was  open  and  unfurnished  and 
the  winds  of  that  November  pinched  and  chilled 
us.  The  young  mother  and  her  lady  assistant 
both  were  taken  sick.  The  river  closed  and  there 
would  be  no  more  boats.  Our  supplies  had  not 
reached  us  and  they  must  be  hauled  nearly  three 
hundred  miles  overland,  and  for  a  time  the  mis- 
sionary's heart  failed  him ;  but  the  good  Father 
cared  for  us.  The  sick  recovered ;  we  had 
food  for  the  winter  and  to  spare ;  our  house  j 
was  made  comfortable  and  warm  before  the 
New  Year. 

"A  school  was  opened  for  the  young  men  in 
the  work  shop.  The  plane  and  saw  on  the  bench 
and  the  shavings  underneath  did  not  prevent 
study.  All  began  with  the  ABC.  The  women, 
too,  were  interested  in  a  sewing  school.  Soon 
these  also  wanted  to  learn  from  books.  It  be- 
came popular  to  be  able  to  read  and  we  had  to 
teach  them  other  things  as  well;— the  women  to 
wash  and  iron  and  the  men  to  work.  The  gospel 
of  cleanliness  is  emphatically  taught.  When  a 
dirty  hand  is  put  out  to  take  a  book  the  boy  is 
told  to  wash  himself.  A  woman  is  advised  to 
comb  her  hair,  another  is  told  to  wash  her  gown 
and  to  clean  her  house.  The  men  watch  my  ten- 
acre  lot  closely  and  learn.  Many  plan  to  set 
trees,  seeing  the  success  of  my  first  attempt.  The 
other  day  a  shiftless  fellow  admired  my  potatoes : 
'God  helps  you  very  much,  I  think,'  said  he. 
'Yes,'  I  answered,  'He  helps  me.  He  would  help 
vou  loo  if  vou  worked  as  hard  as  I  do.'  " 


It  was  in  1874  that  the  station  on  Peoria  bot- 
tom, fifteen  miles  below  Fort  Sully,  and  on  the 
east  side  of  the  river,  became  the  central  station 
and  Hope  was  continued  as  an  outstation  only. 
The  other  outstation  was  on  the  west  side  of  the 
river  at  Chantier  creek,  five  miles  above  the  home 
station.  This  was  the  beginning.  The  mission- 
aries were  much  encouraged.  Mrs.  Riggs,  in 
writing  of  the  outlook,  said :  "It  seems  like  the 
glow  before  the  dawn."  In  1875  Miss  Bishop, 
Mrs.  Riggs'  first  misisonary  helper,  was  called  to 
the  home  above.  That  same  autumn  Miss  Col- 
lins and  Miss  Whipple  came  together  as  assist- 
ants in  the  work  at  Peoria  bottom.  Two  years 
later  Miss  Whipple  was  taken  from  the  work  she 
loved  so  well  and  engaged  in  so  earnestly  and  in 
the  following  year,  1878,  death  again  entered  the 
mission  home,  taking  from  it  the  beautiful  wife 
and  mother.  The  day  "dawned"  indeed  for  her, 
but  for  those  who  were  left  it  seemed  as  if  the 
dark  night  had  settled  around,  as  though  it  were 
impossible  to  carry  on  the  work  without  her  dear 
presence  and  help.  But  God  does  not  suffer  such 
lives  to  go  out :  "Their  echoes  roll  from  soul  to 
soul,  and  grow  forever  and  forever." 

The  new  comers  to  the  mission  felt  the  in- 
spiration of  these  beautiful  lives.  At  this  time 
there  were  about  three  hundred  Indians  living  on 
Peoria  bottom.  The  work  was  continued  in 
much  the  same  way.  teaching  in  the  day  school 
being  combined  with  teaching  in  the  homes  and 
helping  in  the  attempts  to  farm,  until  1879,  when 
the  land  on  the  east  side  of  the  Missouri  river, 
which  had  been  a  special  reservation,  was  thrown 
open  to  settlement.  At  this  time  twenty-one  heads 
of  families  took  homesteads,  entering  their  claims 
as  white  men  do.  Those  who  did  not  wish  to 
take  land  moved  to  the  west  side  of  the  river.  Of 
the  twenty-one  families  who  took  homesteads, 
only  seven  made  final  proof.  This  exodus 
changed  somewhat  the  character  of  the  mission 
work.  The  attendance  at  the  home  school  was 
very  small  and  there  being  but  few  children,  those 
who  came  were  mostly  women — the  necessity  for 
our  outstation  work  was  greatly  increased.  Since 
that  time  ten  new  outstations  have  been  estab- 
lished on  the  Cheyenne  river  reservation.     Hope 


538 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


station,  the  one  at  Chantier  creek,  the  first  one 
built  on  Cheyenne  river  and  one  on  Bad  river 
were  abandoned  on  account  of  the  Indians  hav- 
ing left  the  vicinity.  The  Indian  families  at 
Oahe,  being  Christianized  and  the  day  school 
work  having  grown  so  insignificant,  it  almost 
seemed  as  though  that  place  as  a  mission  station 
might  be  given  up.  The  work  done  at  the  out- 
stations  was,  however,  necessarily  primary  work, 
carried  on  by  native  teachers,  wholly  in  the  ver- 
nacular, and  but  little  attention  could  be  given  to 
industrial  and  domestic  training,  so  that  it  seemed 
to  the  missionary  in  charge  a  necessity  to  estab- 
lish, somewhere  in  the  near  vicinity,  a  boarding 
school  into  which  pupils  from  outstations  could 
gather,  and  where  they  could  be  taught  to  cook 
and  to  sew  and  keep  house,  as  well  as  to  receive 
instruction  in  English  and  the  higher  branches  of 
study.  The  foundation  for  such  work  had  already 
been  laid  at  Peoria  bottom,  or  Oahe,  as  it  had 
come  to  be  called.  The  church  organization  was 
there;  the  Indian  families  living  there  were  in 
sympathy  with  such  work;  then,  too,  the  place 
was  not  so  far  distant  from  the  Indian  homes 
from  which  pupils  would  be  secured  that  they 
would  hesitate  to  come  on  that  score.  Consent 
was  obtained  from  the  American  Missionary  As- 
sociation to  begin  an  industrial  school  and  in  the 
winter  of  1884-5  twelve  Ifidian  girls  were  taken 
into  the  mission  home,  and  thus  that  phase  of  the 
work  began.  At  that  time  there  was  no  building 
suitable  for  the  enterprise.  A  small  house,  twelve 
by  fourteen  feet,  which  had  formerly  done  ser- 
vice as  a  day  school  building,  was  moved  up  into 
the  mission  enclosure  to  serve  as  a  kitchen,  dining 
and  sitting  room.  Here  the  Indian  matron  and 
some  of  the  girls  slept,  while  the  remainder  were 
provided  for  elsewhere.  In  the  summer  of  1885 
a  substantial  frame  building  was  erected,  one  that 
would  accommodate  fifty  pupils.  This  building 
was  erected  by  individual  gifts  entirely  and  for 
five  years  the  school  was  carried  on  without  cost 
to  the  treasury  of  any  missionary  society,  though 
reporting  to  the  American  Missionary  Associa- 
tion. The  school  building  is  simply  but  suitably 
furnished.  Here  the  pupils  are  taught  to  work; 
to  cook,  to  sew,  to  keep  house,  to  care  for  their 


I  bodies.  In  the  school  room  the  work  is  primary 
I  and  intermediate.  English  is  the  everyday  lan- 
j  ,guage.  The  Bible,  both  in  the  vernacular  and  the 
!  English,  are  studied  daily.  The  great  aim  is  to 
I  build  up  Christian  character.  At  first  girls  only 
were  taken  in,  but  in  the  course  of  a  few  years 
the  Indian  parents  asked  that  we  take  little  boys 
also.  This  has  been  done  to  the  number  of  ten 
or  twelve,  they  being  kept  only  until  they  are 
ten  or  twelve  years  of  age.  Notwithstanding  the 
establishment  of  government  school  system,  the 
day  schools  on  the  reservation,  the  large  boarding 
schools  at  the  agency  and  at  Pierre,  Oahe  school 
holds  its  own  popularity.  It  is  essentially  a  home 
school.  The  pupils  are  treated  as  individuals; 
the  Bible  and  Christian  training  are  the  founda- 
tion of  all  its  teaching,  and  the  Indian  people 
themselves  have  grown  to  appreciate  its  worth. 
Now  they  are  asking  us  to  make  some  arrange- 
ment for  boys  from  twelve  to  sixteen  years  of 
age. 

The  Oahe  church,  which  was  organized  in 
1876  with  one  native  and  three  white  members, 
grew  to  have  a  membership  of  one  hundred  and 
nine,  of  whom  more  than  twenty  were  white  peo- 
ple. After  a  majority  of  the  Indians  moved  to 
the  reservation,  it  became  the  custom  to  hold  com- 
munion service  at  stated  times  at  the  outstations. 
Finally  at  the  more  central  ones  church  organiza- 
tions were  formed  and  neat  church  buildings 
erected ;  for  these  the  Indians  themselves  con- 
tributed both  money  and  labor.  At  the  present 
time,  1903,  there  are  the  following  churches: 
Oahe.  Hughes  county,  fifteen  miles  from  Pierre ; 
Cheyenne  river.  Cherry  creek,  near  Leslie :  Rem- 
ington, at  Green  Grass  creek,  Moreau  river ;  Lit- 
tle Moreau,  further  east  on  the  Moreau,  and  Vir- 
gin creek,  twenty  miles  from  agency,  on  creek 
of  same  name.  There  are  also  four  other  out- 
stations :  one  about  twenty  miles  from  Cherry- 
creek,  at  Touch  the  Clouds  village;  one  at  Bear 
Creek,  called  Hope  Station,  seven  miles  from 
Remington  station;  one  at  Thunder  Butte,  fur- 
ther west  on  the  Moreau,  and  one  opposite  Lind- 
say, on  the  Cheyenne  river,  called  Elizabeth  Me- 
morial Station.  There  has  also  been  established 
at  Plum  creek,  five  miles  from  Cherrv  creek,  a 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


539 


little  boarding  school  for  ten  pupils,  under  the 
care  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  M.  Griffiths ;  this  takes 
pupils  of  six  years  and  upwards  and  keeps  them 
three  years,  after  which  they  are  transferred  to 
Oahe.  This  school  has  been  a  success  in  every 
way.  The  outstations  are  all  in  charge  of  native 
workers.  The  church  organizations  choose  their 
own  pastors  and  pay  their  salaries  in  part.  The 
missionary  at  Oahe  (Mr.  Riggs)  makes  a  tour 
of  the  field  every  two  months,  holding  com- 
munion services  at  the  diiTerent  churches,  "ex- 
horting, reproving,  admonishing,  comforting," 
keeping  in  touch  with  the  people.  To  do  this  a 
journey  of  about  three  hundred  miles  by  team 
is  necessary  and  a  stay  of  two  days,  or  part  of 
them,  is  rriade  at  each  place. 

For  a  time  the  missionarv  at  Oahe  had  charge 


of  the  outstations  on  Standing  Rock  reservation 
to  the  north.  These  have  passed  into  the  care  of 
Rev.  George  W.  Reed,  with  his  headquarters  at 
Fort  Yates,  and  Miss  Mary  Collins,  on  Grand 
river.  He  also  had  charge  of  those  on  White 
river,  one  hundred  miles  southwest,  now  included 
in  the  field  of  Rev.  James  F.  Cross,  whose  cen- 
tral station  is  at  Rosebud  agency.  So  the  work 
goes  on.  It  was  never  more  prosperous,  never 
more  diificult,  never  required  more  wisdom  or 
patience.  It  has  been  directed  into  new  channels  ; 
those  whose  presence  and  help  seemed  indispensa- 
ble have  been  taken  away, — workers  come  and 
go,  but  God's  work  goes  on.  May  He  grant  to 
all  engaged  in  it  strength  for  every  duty  and  the 
realization  that  now  as  ever.  "Earnest  work  is 
prayer."    "Laborare  est  Orare." 


1 


CHAPTER  XCIV 


JOHN  P.  WILLIAMSON,  MISSIONARY. 


The  first  missionary  to  locate  among  the  Indi- 
ans in  South  Dakota  was  Rev.  John  P.  William- 
son. He  located  at  Crow  Creek  in  1863.  He 
was  a  Presbyterian,  and  under  appointment  of 
the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  For- 
eign Missions.  Other  missionaries,  both  Cath- 
olic and  Protestant,  had  previously  visited  and 
preached  to  the  Indians.  The  most  noted  of 
■these  was  Father  DeSmet  of  the  Catholic 
church,  who  went  up  the  Missouri  river  almost 
every  summer,  stopping  at  trading  posts  to  hold 
services,  and  administer  mass  to  the  employes, 
who  were  mostly  Canadian  French  and  their 
mixed-blood  descendants. 

The  boat  on  which  Mr.  Williamson  came  up 
the  river  had  on  board  thirteen  hundred  Minne- 
sota Sioux,  in  charge  of  Col.  C.  W.  Thompson, 
who  located  them  at  Crow  Creek.  They  arrived 
there  May  31,  1863.  The  country  was  full  of 
hostile  Indians,  and  not  a  house  within  fifty 
miles.  Soon  after  two  more  steamboats  arrived 
with  two  thousand  Winnebagoes,  also  expelled 
from  Minnesota,  and  were  located  alongside  of 
the  Sioux.  That  summer  Colonel  Thompson 
erected  for  the  use  of  the  agency  about  a  dozen 
commodious  frame  houses,  sawed  out  of  green 
Cottonwood.  Around  this  he  made  a  cedar  stock- 
ade for  the  protection  of  the  agency  from  the 
savages.  This  was  known  for  a  time  as  Ft. 
Thompson,  but  is  now  known  as  Crow  Creek 
Agency.  The  stockade  is  now  gone,  but  a  num- 
ber of  the  buildings  remain. 

Mr.  Williamson  devoted  the  most  of  his  time 


to  the  instruction  of  the  ]\Iinnesota  Sioux,  who 
after  this  were  called  Santees.  They  were  mostly 
women  and  children  and  in  a  sense  prisoners. 
He  found  the  Winnebagoes  strongly  opposed  to 
the  white  man's  religion.  But  the  Sioux,  partly 
because  he  talked  their  language  and  was  more 
or  less  acquainted  with  them,  and  partly  because 
they  had  had  a  terrible  whipping  in  I\Iinnesota  and 
felt  very  much  humbled,  were  quite  ready  to  lis- 
ten to  what  he  had  to  say.  With  their  help  he 
made  an  arbor  of  brush,  that  would  hold  a  thou- 
sand people.  There  he  instructed  them  daily  in 
religion,  church  music,  and  the  reading  and  writ- 
ing of  their  own  language.  A  few  were  ad- 
vanced to  the  study  of  English.  The  attendance 
was  good  and  for  Sunday  services  the  booth  was 
crowded.  Scores  professed  to  be  converted  and. 
with  their  children,  were  baptized.  They  were 
eager  to  receive  all  the  Christian  rites.  On  one 
occasion  Mr.  Williainson  preached  on  marriage, 
and  at  the  close  called  upon  all  who  were  pre- 
pared to  come  forward  and  be  united  in  holy 
marriage.  A  large  number  came  forward  in  a 
bunch  and  on  counting  them  he  found  there  were 
sixteen  men  and  only  fifteen  women.  It  took 
some  time  for  him  to  get  them  paired  off  so  he 
could  tell  which  was  the  odd  man.  Then  the 
fifteen  couple  were  happily  united  by  one  service. 
The  following  winter  was  one  of  terrible 
suffering  to  the  Crow  Creek  colony,  and  is  still 
known  by  them  as  the  winter  they  lived  on  cot- 
tonwood  soup.  -Steamboats  failed  to  bring  ex- 
pected supplies  from  St.  Louis.     Late  in  the  fall 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


541 


a  contractor  started  to  bring  some  over  from 
Minnesota  with  teams,  but  snow  came  and  only 
a  small  part  reached  Crow  Creek.  The  situation 
was  desperate.  Four  months  till  spring  and  three 
thousand  Indians  to  feed  on  one  month's  ra- 
tions. Colonel  Thompson  ordered  a  tank  made 
alongside  of  the  sawmill  boiler,  with  a  capacity 
of  six  thousand  quarts.  Every  evening  it  was 
filled  with  water  and  the  reduced  ration  for  the 
tribe.  The  steam  from  the  sawmill  kept  it  foam- 
ing all  night,  and  the  next  morning  the  long 
string  of  pails  received  two  quarts  of  the  com- 
pound for  every  soul.  The  flavor  of  the  green 
Cottonwood  tank  gave  name  to  the  soup.  About 
one-fourth  of  the  Santees  died  that  winter,  and  a 
smaller  proportion  of  the  Winnebagoes.  How- 
ever, starvation  was  not  all  that  caused  their 
death.  Of  the  three  hundred  Santees  in  prison 
at  Davenport,  as  large  a  proportion  died.  Indi- 
ans have  feelings,  and  "the  way  of  the  trans- 
gressor is  hard." 

The  school  and  mission  work  was  kept  up 
that  winter  notwithstanding  the  woeful  sur- 
roundings. Indeed  they  were  the  more  needed. 
As  cold  weather  came  on  the  booth  had  to  be 
abandoned  and  Colonel  Thompson  offered  the 
use  of  a  large  frame  structure  for  mission  use, 
if  ]\Ir.  Williamson  would  finish  it.  As  it  was 
barn-like,  with  only  one  thickness  of  boards,  he 
lined  it  inside  with  adobes,  which  made  it  very 
warm,  so  that  it  was  an  attraction  for  the  thinly- 
clad  children  to  come  there  to  keep  warm.  Thus 
Edward  R.  Pond  and  wife,  who  had  come  over 
from  ^Minnesota  to  assist  Mr.  Williamson,  had 
all  the  pupils  they  could  manage. 

In  1865  the  American  Board  of  Commission- 
ers for  Foreign  Missions  appointed  H.  D.  Cun- 
ningham and  wife  as  lay  missionaries  to  the 
Yankton  Indians  at  Greenwood,  South  Dakota 
They  labored  there  for  a  part  of  two  years,  but 
on  account  of  ill  health  abandoned  the  field  be- 
fore seeing  anv  direct  fruit. 

In  1866  the  Winnebagoes  having  all  run 
away  from  Crow  Creek,  and  the  Santees  being 
dissatisfied  with  the  location,  the  government 
moved  them  down  to  Niobrara,  Nebraska.  "Mr. 
\Mlliamson.  having  secured  a  wife  in  ^Minnesota. 


returned  and  made  that  his  headquarters  for  the 
following  three  years.  He  continued,  however, 
to  visit  the  Indians  in  South  Dakota,  at  Green- 
wood, Big  Sioux  Point  and  other  places. 

In  March,  1869,  Mr.  Williamson  took  up  his 
permanent  location  at  Greenwood,  where  he  still 
resides.  That  summer  he  erected  a  house  of 
hewed  cottonwood  logs  which  he  still  occupies. 
The  agency  for  the  Yankton  Indians  had  then 
been  located  there  ten  years,  and  consisted  of  a 
long  warehouse  near  the  steamboat  landing,  three 
double  log  cabins  on  the  bank  of  the  river  in  a 
string,  and  back  of  them  a  blacksmith  and  a  tin- 
shop,  a  large  barn,  a  blockhouse,  a  stone  build- 
ing and  the  agent's  residence.  The  last  three  had 
been  built  only  a  short  time,  and  the  agent  was 
Maj.  P.  H.  Conger,  of  Iowa.  The  agent  kindly 
gave  Mr.  Williamson  the  use  of  the  half  of  one 
of  the  log  cabins  for  his  family  to  live  in,  and  the 
council-room,  which  was  in  one  end  of  the  ware- 
house for  church  and  school  purposes  except 
when  needed  for  other  assemblies. 

The  "^^anktons  were  all  on  the  reservation  at 
the  time,  and  the  missionary's  coming  was  gen- 
erally announced.  A  council. of  the  leading  men 
was  called  to  consider  the  stand  the  tribe  should 
take  as  to  this  new  doctrine.  No  one  kne\\- 
enough  about  it  to  give  any  reason  why  they 
should  favor  it,  but  the  medicine  men  had  heard 
enough  to  know  that  it  meant  the  destruction  of 
their  craft,  so  they  cried  out  against  it  and  car- 
ried the  day.  A  delegation  soon  waited  upon 
Mr.  Williamson  and  notified  him  to  leave  the  res- 
ervation or  suffer  consequences.  The  agent  was 
also  waited  on  and  told  to  see  that  the  missionary 
did  leave.  Heralds  were  also  started  around  the 
camps  to  announce  that  no  one  would  be  permit- 
ted to  attend  on  the  teachings  of  the  newly  ar- 
rived holy-man.  However,  the  agent  pointed  to 
the  waving  stars  and  stripes  and  said  that  meant 
that  religion  was  free  and  the  missionary  could 
do  as  he  pleased.  It  pleased  the  missionary  to 
remain.  The  attendance  was  very  small  for  a  time, 
because  it  was  unpopular  and  those  who  came  . 
were  ridiculed  and  picked  at.  The  old  chief. 
Strike  the  Ree,  though  deeming  it  unwise  on  the 
start  to  oppose  the  public   sentiment  in  council. 


542 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


showed  his  good  sense  by  sending  his  grandchil- 
dren to  the  school  and  meetings  right  along. 
There  were  inquisitive  3-oung  men  from  the  start 
who  would  drop  in,  and  take  a  lesson  occasion- 
ally. Many  of  these  developed  interest  and  be- 
came regular  attendants.  They  were  first  taught 
to  read  and  write  their  own  language,  which  took 
three  months  or  more.  The  younger  ones  were 
then  started  in  English.  The  older  ones,  who 
could  not  be  expected  to  stay  but  a  few  months, 
were  given  some  lessons  in  arithmetic,  geogra- 
phy and  the  Bible,  in  their  own  language.  The 
school  increased  in  numbers  from  year  to  year 
until  it  required  two  teachers.  Mr.  Williamson 
also  had  three  other  day  schools  running  part  of 
the  year  at  different  points  on  the  reservation. 
The  Indians  then  still  depended  on  the  buffalo 
for  the  major  part  of  their  living,  and  so  were 
gone  from  the  agency  more  than  half  the  time, 
which  was  a  great  drawback  to  the  schools.  The 
mission  day-schools,  however,  were  continued 
for  nearly  twenty  years  till  the  agency  boarding 
school  was  started,  and  then  the  mission  closed 
its  schools. 

True  education  is  a  handmaid  to  Christianity, 
so  when  the  schools  prospered  the  church  grew. 
The  first  church  organized  among  the  Yankton 
Indians  was  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Yank- 
ton agency,  which  was  organized  at  Greenwood, 
South  Dakota.  March  i8,  1871,  by  Rev.  John  P. 
Williamson,  and  consisted  of  eighteen  members, 
all  Indians,  of  whom  fourteen  were  male  and  four 
female,  and  David  Tonwanojanjan  and  Philip 
Walter  Ikdi  were  chosen  and  ordained  elders. 
The  church  has  steadily  grown  until  it  now  num- 
bers one  hundred  fifty-two  members. 

Mr.  Williamson  did  not  confine  his  labors 
to  the  agency,  but  had  several  outstations  where 
meetings  were  held,  and  when  there  was  more 
work  than  he  could  do  he  selected  the  best  of  the 
Indian  converts  and  set  them  to  work.  These 
outstations  gradually  developed  into  churches. 
Hill  church,  thirteen  miles  southeast  of  Green- 
wood, was  organized  in  1877  and  now  has  seven- 
ty-six members.  Cedar  church,  fifteen  miles 
northwest  of  Greenwood,  was  organized  in  1887 
and    now    has    sixty-seven    members.      Hevata 


church,  fifteen  miles  northeast  of  Greenwood, 
was  organized  in  1893  and  now  numbers  forty 
members.  Thus  there  has  been  developed  four 
Presbyterian  churches  among  the  Yankton  Indi- 
ans, with  a  united  membership  of  three  hun- 
dred thirty-five,  besides  the  children  of  the 
members. 

The  Presbyterian  church  is  not  the  only  one 
that  has  done  mission  work  among  the  Yankton 
Indians.  In  1870  Rev.  J.  W.  Cook,  an  Episcopal 
minister,  located  at  Greenwood.  He  was  the 
second  missionary  of  any  denomination  to  settle 
among  the  Indians  of  South  Dakota,  and  he 
labored  faithfully  and  successfully  for  thirty 
years,  till  he  died.  He  labored  along  the  same 
lines  as  Mr.  Williamson  in  school  and  church 
work,  and  as  a  result  of  his  efforts  there  are  now 
three  vigorous  churches  of  the  Episcopal  faith 
among  the  Yankton  Indians.  The  Episcopal 
church  also  conducted  a  boarding  school  for  In- 
dian boys  at  Greenwood  for  many  years,  called 
St.  Paul's  School,  but  it  is  now  closed. 

We  cannot  here  enter  into  details  of  the  early 
mission  work  among  the  Indians  at  other  places 
in  South  Dakota.  A  brief  outline  must  suffice. 
In  the  winter  of  1863-4  there  was  a  company 
of  General  Sibley's  Indian  scouts  wintered  at 
Buffalo  Lakes  in  northeastern  South  Dakota. 
The  most  of  them  were  Christians,  and  they  held 
meetings  every  Sabbath.  Rev.  John  P.  William- 
son visited  them  that  winter.  .  As  they  had  then 
no  settled  abode,  no  mission  station  was  estab- 
lished; but  they  were  looked  after  by  Rev. 
Thomas  S.  Williamson  and  Dr.  S.  R.  Riggs,  of 
]\Iinnesota.  Two  years  afterwards  the  govern- 
ment assigned  them,  and  others,  the  Sisseton 
reservation,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Riggs  took  charge  of 
the  mission  among  them.  He  established  the 
boarding  school  at  Good  Will,  which  still  exists. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  K.  Morris  were  in  charge  of  it 
for  many  years,  but  Rev.  D.  E.  Evans  is  now 
superintendent.  At  the  time  of  Dr.  Riggs'  death, 
in  1883,  there  were  five  Presbyterian  churches 
among  the  Indians  of  Sisseton  reservation,  and 
each  one  was  ministered  to  by  an  Indian  preacher. 
The  most  prominent  of  these  Indian  preachers 
was   Rev.   John   B.   Renville.     He  was  ordained 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


543 


in  1865  and  was  the  first  Sioux  Indian  to  become 
a  preacher.  Mr.  Renville  was  the  son  of  Joseph 
Renville,  a  French  half-breed,  who  was  prob- 
ably the  best  known  trader  among  the  Sioux 
Indians  a  century  ago.  In  1805,  when  Lieut. 
Z.  M.  Pike  (afterwards  General  Pike),  under 
commission  of  the  United  States,  ascended  the 
Mississippi  river  from  St.  Louis  to  inspect  the 
territory  thiat  gives  rise  to  that  stream,  he  met  a 
large  body  of  the  Sioux  at  the  mouth  of  the  Min- 
nesota river,  and  concluded  the  first  treaty  which 
the  United  States  ever  made  with  the  Dakota 
Indians,  in  which  the  Sioux  nation  ceded  to  the 
Li'nited  States  nine  miles  square  for  a  military 
post  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Peters  river,  which 
post  was  afterwards  known  as  Fort  Snelling. 
In  the  consummation  of  this  treaty  Joseph  Ren- 
ville figures  as  interpreter,  and  during  that  gen- 
eration in  all  the  dealings  of  the  whites  with  the 
Sioux  his  name  is  conspicuous.  He  took  a  spe- 
cial interest  in  missions,  and  when  Rev.  T.  S.  Wil- 


liamson settled  near  him  he  was  delighted,  and 
when  the  missionary  would  come  to  him  with 
verses  of  scripture  to  translate,  John  B.,  the  son 
of  his  old  age,  was  still  hanging  to  his  father's 
knees,  and  there  learned  the  truths  of  eternity 
that  he  never  forgot.  After  preaching  nearly 
forty  years,  he  died  in  December,  1903. 

For  the  last  twenty  years  Rev.  John  P.  Wil- 
liamson has  been  general  missionary  for  all  the 
Dakota-speaking  Indians.  Besides  the  churches 
already  mentioned  at  Yankton  agency,  he  has, 
with  the  help  of  only  Indian  preachers,  succeeded 
in  gathering  and  organizing  the  following  Pres- 
byterian churches :  Two  more  churches  among 
the  Sisseton  Indians ;  one  among  the  Indians  at 
Flandreau,  South  Dakota ;  two  among  the  Lower 
Brule  Indians  on  Rosebud  reservation;  two  on 
the  Crow  Creek  reservation ;  one  among  the  Indi- 
ans near  Granite  Falls,  Minnesota ;  and  two 
among  the  Indians  of  Devil's  Lake.  North  Da- 
kota. 


CHAPTER  XCV 


THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  IN  SOUTH  DAKOTA. 


BY  G.   T.   NOTSON,  SECRETARY  OF    DAKOTA    CONFERENCE. 


Ten  years  previous  to  the  beginning  of  the 
Revolutionary  war  Methodism  was  introduced  in 
Ajnerica  by  a  few  humble  immigrants  at  New 
York  city.  Here  Philip  Embury  and  his  associates 
organized  the  first  Methodist  society,  and  in  the 
year  1768  built  the  first  meeting  house  owned 
by  our  denomination  in  the  new  world.  From 
the  beginning  the  movement  grew,  and  in  re- 
sponse to  urgent  appeals,  in  1770,  Mr.  Wesley 
sent  two  missionaries  to  America  to  minister  to 
his  scattered  flock  in  different  parts  of  the  coun- 
try. The  appointment  of  Francis  Asbury  and 
Joseph  Pilmoor  was  an  event  of  far-reaching 
consequence  in  shaping  the  future  growth  and 
development  of  the  movement  known  as  Metho- 
^dism  in  the  United  States.  Of  the  latter  little  re- 
mains to  be  told  of  his  ministry,  but  the  former, 
Francis  Asbury,  was  destined  to  soon  become  the 
first  assistant  to  Mr.  Wesley  in  superintending 
the  work  throughout  the  thirteen  colonies,  and 
upon  the  organization  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  in  1784,  at  Baltimore,  Maryland,  was 
elected  to  the  office  of  bishop,  the  first  to  be  thus 
chosen  and  consecrated  in  America.  Under  his 
leadership  Methodism  developed  from  a  scattered 
membership,  few  in  number,  into  a  great  re- 
ligious movement  and  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
in  1816,  numbered  more  than  two  hundred  thou- 
sand members,  with  seven  hundred  itinerant 
ministers.  The  itinerant  circuit  system  de- 
veloped by  this  great  leader  made  Methodism 
primarily  the  home  missionary  agency  in  the 
evangelization    of    the    pioneer    regions    of   this 


country,  and  enabled  the  church  to  keep  pace 
with  the  rapid  settlement  of  the  vast  territory 
west  of  the  thirteen  original  states. 

No  settlement  was  overlooked  by  these  heroic 
Methodist  itinerants,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that 
the  first  person  to  perform  a  public  act  of  worship 
within  the  bounds  of  our  state  was  a  young  man 
named  Jedadiah  Smith,  who  had  come  under  the 
influence  of  their  fervent  ministry  in  western 
New  York,  and  after  experiencing  religion  be- 
came a  steadfast  witness  to  the  power  of  the 
gospel  among  the  fur  traders  and  trappers  of 
the  west.  This  well-authenticated  event  occurred 
on  the  deck  of  the  "Yellowstone,"  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Grand  river,  June  2,  1823.  John 
Gardner,  a  young  man,  had  been  mortally 
wounded  by  the  Ree  Indians  in  the  Ashley 
massacre,  and  in  a  dying  condition  was  carried 
on  deck  of  the  "Yellowstone."  An  associate  of 
Mr.  Gardner  wrote  to  his  relatives  in  the  east, 
of  his  death,  and  in  relating  the  facts  said :  "Mr. 
Smith,  a  young  man  of  our  company,  made  a 
most  powerful  prayer  which  moved  us  all 
greatly,  and  I  am  persuaded  John  died  in  peace." 
At  the  time  of  this  occurrence  Jedadiah  Smith 
was  only  eighteen  years  of  age.  In  the  spring 
of  the  above  year  he  came  from  New  York  to 
St.  Louis  and  entered  the  employ  of  General 
Ashley.  Before  his  death  he  became  one  of  the 
most  notable  characters  on  the  frontier,  and  by 
his  bravery,  unwavering  Christian  character 
and  marked  ability  made  an  impression  upon  the 
great  west  that  will  never  be  effaced. 


MAIN   BUILDING, 

DAKOTA  UNIVERSITY. 


is  llfM  I  B  Mh 


NEW    CEXTl'KY    HALL 

DAKOTA  UNR'ERSITY. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


545 


When  Smith  was  only  twenty-two  years  of 
age  General  Ashley,  upon  his  retirement,  trans- 
ferred his  interests  in  the  fur-trading  business  to 
him  and  he  became  the  head  of  the  firm  of  Smith, 
Sublette  &  Jackson.  In  1831  he  met  his  death 
far  down  on  the  Santa  Fe  trail,  in  his  twenty- 
seventh  year,  at  the  hands  of  the  Comanche 
Indians.  Of  him  Mr.  William  Waldo,  quoted  by 
Captain  Chittenden,  says :  "Smith  was  a  bold, 
outspoken,  professing  and  consistent  Christian, 
the  first  and  only  known  among  the  Rocky 
Mountain  trappers  and  hunters.  No  one  who 
knew  him  well  doubted  the  sincerity  of  his  piety. 
He  had  become  a  communicant  of  the  Methodist 
church  before  leaving  his  home  in  New  York, 
and  in  St.  Louis  he  never  failed  to  occupy  a 
place  in  the  church  of  his  choice,  while  he  gave 
generously  to  all  objects  connected  with  the  re- 
ligion which  he  professed  and  loved.  Besides 
being  a  hero,  a  trader  and  a  Christian,  he  was 
himself  inclined  to  literary  pursuits  and  had  pre- 
pared a  geography  and  atlas  of  the  Rocky 
IMountain  region,  extending  perhaps  to  the 
Pacific,  but  his  death  occurred  before  its  pub- 
lication." His  devoted  Christian  character  will 
ever  remain  as  an  example  to  the  youth  of  our 
state,  and  especially  of  his  church,  of  the  value 
of  a  consistent  profession  and  life.  To  this 
young  man  we  owe  our  connection  with  the  first 
public  act  of  worship  performed  within  the 
borders  of  South  Dakota. 

At  the  sessk)n  of  the  Upper  Iowa  conference 
held  in  Dubuque,  Iowa,  August  29,  i860. 
Bishop  Osmon  C.  Baker  presiding,  upon  the 
earnest  representations  of  Rev.  George  C.  Clif- 
ford, the  presiding  elder  of  the  Sioux  City  dis- 
trict, it  was  decided  to  appoint  a  preacher  to  that 
portion  of  the  cotmtry  lying  between  the  Big 
Sioux  and  Missouri  rivers  in  the  proposed  ter- 
ritory of  Dakota.  Accordingly  Bishop  Baker 
appointed  the  Rev.  S.  W.  Ingham  to  the  Dakota 
mission.  Mr.  Ingham  was  a  young  man,  un- 
married, and  a  graduate  of  Cornell  College,  and 
had  only  recently  entered  the  ranks  of  the 
Methodist  ministr\-.  This  was  the  beginning  of 
work  in  South  Dakota  under  the  auspices  of  the 
IMethodist   Episcopal    church. 


On  October  12,  i860,  the  young  itinerant  en- 
tered the  bounds  of  his  circuit,  which  in  extent 
included  all  of  North  and  South  Dakota  east  of 
the  Missouri  river,  much  of  which,  however, 
was  still  in  the  possession  of  the  Sioux  Indians 
and  the  buffalo.  The  first  point  visited  by  .the 
pioneer  gospel  messenger  was  Elk  Point;  from 
thence  he  pushed  on  to  Vermillion,  where,  on 
Sunday,  October  14th,  he  preached  the  first  ser- 
mon under  the  authority  of  his  church  in  South 
Dakota.  The  following  Sunday  he  conducted 
services  in  Yankton  and  on  Thursday,  October 
24th,  he  visited  Bon  Homme  and  there  performed 
the  first  marriage  ceremony  above  the  James 
river.  On  the  Sunday  following  he  preached 
twice  to  about  twenty-five  people  and  one  week 
later  was  again  in  Vermillion,  having  completed 
his  first  itinerary. 

On  January  13,  1861,  at  Vermillion,  was 
formed  the  first  religious  organization  of  any 
kind  in  the  territory.  The  occasion  was  the 
first  visit  of  the  presiding  elder,  the  Rev.  George 
C.  Clifford,  at  which  time  a  meeting  of  two  days' 
duration  was  held,  the  first  of  the-  kind  in  the 
territory.  The  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per was  also  administered  for  the  first  time. 
Among  the  new  accessions  to  the  ranks  of 
Methodism  in  South  Dakota  at  this  time  were 
two  local  preachers,  Messrs.  Bell  and  Metcalf, 
who.  with  a  number  of  settlers,  had  located  on 
Brule  creek  near  the  present  village  of  Rich- 
land. The  latter  was  present  at  the  first  quar- 
terly meeting  and  preached  on  Sunday  evening, 
the  first  discourse  to  be  delivered  by  a  local 
preacher  in  South  Dakota.  Later  an  organiza- 
tion was  effected  on  Brule  creek  with  ten  charter 
members,  which  number  soon  increased  to 
twenty-five.  Mr.  Ingham  records  a  visit  to  Ft. 
Randall  in  the  summer  of  1861,  where,  on  June 
i6th,  he  preached  twice,  and  in  the  afternoon 
baptized  the  infant  daughter  of  Captain  J.  B.  S. 
Todd.  This  was  the  second  baptismal  service 
performed  in  the  territory  among  the  new 
settlers,  and  the  first  to  be  performed  by  a 
Methodist  minister.  During  the  two  years  of 
his  labors  in  Dakota  Mr.  Ingham  visited  Rich- 
land.   Fort    Randall.    Sioux    Falls,    Canton    and 


546 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


other  points  where  settlements  had  been  made 
and  held  services.  So  far  as  the  writer  is  able 
to  learn  the  only  classes  organized  during  his 
pastorate  were  at  Vermillion  and  Richland,  both 
of  which  were  badly  scattered  by  the  Sioux  up- 
rising a  short  time  after  his  departure.  It  was 
several  years  before  the  work  was  reorganized  at 
Richland,  but,  excepting  a  short  period  of  time, 
caused  by  the  Indian  excitement,  there  has  been 
a  visible  organization  at  A'ermillion  since  Janu- 
ary  13,   1861. 

Rev.  Jason  L.  Paine,  of  the  Upper  Iowa 
conference,  was  appointed  the  successor  of  Mr. 
Ingham,  and  remained  on  the  field  one  year. 
About  this  time  the  work  in  Dakota  became  a 
part  of  the  newly  organized  Des  Moines  con- 
ference, and  owing  to  the  unsettled  state  of 
affairs  throughout  the  country,  and  the  evident 
lack  of  ability  to  supply  the  field  with  pastors  the 
field  was  only  cared  for  at  irregular  intervals 
for  several  years.  In  connection  with  the  work 
during  this  period  we  find  the  names  of  Daniel 
Lamont,  Alum  Gore,  C.  W.  Batchelder,  T.  Mc- 
Kendree  Stuart,  J.  T.  Walker  and  John  Plum- 
mer.  Doubtless  there  are  others  who  deserve 
mention,  but  the  imperfect  records  fail  to  reveal 
their  names.  Previous  to  1870  Vermillion, 
Yankton,  Elk  Point  and  Canton,  in  the  order 
named,  were  organized  as  charges  and  included 
in  the  appointments  of  the  Sioux  City  district, 
Des  Moines  conference.  In  connection  with  the 
organization  of  the  work  at  Elk  Point  it  is  proper 
to  state  that  the  first  services  held  in  that  place 
were  by  E.  C.  Collins,  a  consecrated  local 
preacher,  residing  at  a  settlement  known  as 
New  Michigan,  a  few  miles  to  the  northwest  of 
Elk  Point.  Mr.  Collins  was  a  young  man 
possessing  a  high  order  of  ability,  and,  notwith- 
standing his  death  in  1870,  made  an  impression 
for  good  upon  that  section  which  remains  to  the 
present  day. 

In  1871,  under  the  leadership  of  the  Rev. 
Fred  Harris,  the  first  church  was  erected  at  Elk 
Point.  Here  at  a  later  date  the  first  parsonage 
was  also  built.  In  1873  at  the  second  session  of 
the  Northwest  Iowa  conference  the  work  in 
South  Dakota,  comprising  thirteen  charges,  with 


six  hundred  and  eighteen  members,  was  or- 
ganized under  the  name  of  the  Yankton  district, 
and  the  Rev.  James  Williams  appointed  presiding 
elder.  Three  years  later,  on  account  of  the 
ravages  of  the  grasshoppers,  which  caused  many 
of  the  settlers  to  leave,  and  all  of  the  churches 
being  very  much  weakened  thereby,  Bishop  R. 
S.  Foster  discontinued  the  district  and  attached 
the  remaining  work  to  the  Sioux  City  district, 
with  the  Rev.  Thomas  M.  Williams  presiding 
elder.  In  1879  the  Yankton  district  again  ap- 
pears in  the  appointments  of  the  Northwest  Iowa 
conference  with  the  Rev.  Wilmot  Whitfield  as 
presiding  elder.  The  same  year  the  Black  Hills 
district  was  constituted  and  the  Rev.  James  Wil- 
liams made  presiding  elder. 

In  May,  1880,  the  general  conference  at  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio,  through  the  earnest  representations 
of  the  Rev.  Lewis  Hartsough,  delegate  from  the 
Northwest  Iowa  conference,  authorized  the  or- 
ganization of  the  Dakota  Mission  conference. 
In  accordance  with  this  action  Bishop  Henry  W. 
Warren  presided  at  the  first  session  of  the  mis- 
sion conference  held  at  Yankton,  September  23, 
1880,  and  completed  the  organization.  The  Rev. 
Wilmot  Whitfield  was  appointed  superintendent. 
The  mission  conference  started  off  with  one 
thousand  and  fifty  members  and  probationers, 
with  nineteen  charges,  nine  houses  of  worship 
and  six  parsonages,  valued  at  seventeen  thou- 
sand dollars.  During  the  previous  year  five 
thousand  eight  hundred  dollars  had  been  raised 
for  ministerial  support  and  one  hundred  and 
seventy-one  dollars  for  all  benevolences,  sixty- 
five  dollars  of  which  was  the  missionar}^  offering. 
There  were  fourteen  Sunday  schools  with  an 
aggregate  attendance  of  nine  hundred  and  sixty- 
six.  The  second  session  of  the  mission  conference 
met  October  6,  1881,  at  Sioux  Falls,  Bishop  John 
F.  Hurst  presiding.  The  superintendent  reported 
general  prosperity  throughout  the  mission.  Ten 
new  churches  had  been  built.  There  had  been 
a  good  increase  in  membership,  and  all  together 
the  outlook  was  hopeful.  At  this  session  the 
Rev.  Thomas  M.  Williams  was  appointed  su- 
perintendent, and  the  Rev.  \\'ilmot  Whitfield 
pastor  at  Yankton  and  the  Rev.  Lewis  Hartsough 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


I 


to  Sioux  Falls.  Of  the  twenty-seven  pastors 
assigned  to  work  at  this  conference  only  two  re- 
main in  active  connection  with  the  work  at  the 
present  time,  the  Rev.  O.  A.  Phillips  and  the 
Rev.  G.  J.  Corwin.  We  have  now  reached  the 
period  of  rapid  settlement  and  growth  within 
the  bounds  of  the  conference.  The  simultaneous 
settlement  of  that  portion  of  South  Dakota  east 
of  the  Missouri  river,  and  the  springing  up  of 
towns  along  the  newly  extended  lines  of  railway 
caused  a  remarkable  increase  in  our  work 
throughout  every  part  of  the  conference,  and  at 
the  third  session  of  the  mission  conference,  held 
at  Parker,  the  work  was  divided  and  the  super- 
intendent, the  Rev.  Wilmot  Whitfield,  was  ap- 
pointed presiding  elder  of  the  Yankton  district 
and  the  Rev.  Lewis  Hartsough  of  the  Huron  dis- 
trict. Forty-two  preachers  were  assigned  to  as 
many  charges  and  several  appointments  were 
left  to  be  supplied. 

This  session  of  the  mission  conference  was 
held  under  the  shadow  of  a  great  bereavement. 
On  August  4,  1882,  the  Rev.  Thomas  M.  Wil- 
liams, the  superintendent  of  the  mission,  while 
in  attendance  upon  a  quarterly  meeting  at 
Bridgewater,  was  taken  suddenly  ill  and  one 
week  later.  August  nth,  passed  away.  Mr.  Wil- 
liams was  a  man  of  fine  presence,  possessing  a 
high  order  of  ability.  As  presiding  elder  and 
superintendent  he  had  endeared  himself  to  the 
ministry  and  membership  of  the  church.  At  the 
time  of  his  death  he  was  just  completing  his 
fiftieth  year,  twenty-four  of  which  he  had  spent 
in  the  ministry'  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  He  was  a  native  of  New  York  and  be- 
gan his  life  work  in  that  state.  Upon  the  or- 
ganization of  the  Northwest  Iowa  conference  in 
1872  he  was  made  one  of  the  first  presiding 
elders,  and  in  1876  he  was  transferred  to  the 
Sioux  City  district.  During  the  trying  period  of 
1876-79  he  had  oversight  of  the  work  in  South 
Dakota.  Even,'where  he  went  during  the  brief 
period  of  his  superintendency  he  met  with  an 
ovation  from  the  people  he  had  formerly  served. 
His  death,  notwithstanding  his  sudden  summons, 
was  a  veritable  triumph.  He  was  a  noble,  self- 
sacrificing  minister  of  the  gospel  and  his  memory 


is  cherished  by  many  who  came  under  his  in- 
fluence in  the  formative  period  of  our  work  in 
this  state. 

So  rapidly  did  the  work  develop  during  the 
next  year  it  was  found  necessary  at  the  fourth 
session  of  the  mission  conference,  held  at  Huron, 
October  it,  1883,  to  divide  the  conference  into 
four  districts.  The  Rev.  I.  N.  Pardee  was  ap- 
pointed superintendent  of  the  mission  and  pre- 
siding elder  of  Mitchell  district ;  the  Rev.  Lewis 
Hartsough,  presiding  elder  of  the  Yankton  dis- 
trict; the  Rev.  William  Fielder,  presiding  elder 
of  the  Huron  district;  and  the  Rev.  William 
McCready  of  the  Ordway  district.  Seventy 
pastors  were  assigned  to  work  and  nineteen 
charges  were  left  to  be  supplied.  Bishop 
Matthew  Simpson  presided  over  this  conference, 
and  gave  to  Methodism  in  South  Dakota  the 
motto,  "Dakota  for  Christ."  The  fifth  annual 
session  of  the  conference  was  held  at  Mitchell, 
October  10.  1884,  Bishop  E.  G.  Andrews  presid- 
ing. The  evidences  of  expansion  are  still  mani- 
fest. Eighty-six  charges,  with  fifty-one  churches 
and  fifteen  parsonages,  are  among  the  items  re- 
ported in  the  statistics. 

In  harmony  with  the  enabling  act  of  the 
general  conference,  at  the  sixth  session  of  the 
mission  conference,  held  at  Blunt,  Bishop  Cyrus 
D.  Foss  presiding,  the  mission  was  organized  as 
an  annual  conference.  This  important  event  oc- 
curred on  October  9,  1885.  The  Dakota  con- 
ference began  its  official  existence  with  forty- 
two  full  members  and  nine  probationers.  Of 
this  number  the  names  of  fourteen  remain  on  the 
conference  roll,  five  are  numbered  among  our 
honored  dead,  and  the  great  majority  in  sub- 
sequent years  transferred  their  conference  re- 
lations elsewhere.  In  the  brief  period  of  time 
from  the  organization  of  the  mission  conference 
in  1880  to  the  above  date  the  membership  in- 
creased to  five  thousand  two  hundred  and  nine. 
Four  presiding  elders'  districts,  with  ninety- 
three  charges,  constituted  the  appointments.  In 
this  time  churches  were  built  and  parsonages 
provided  in  many  places.  From  the  time  the 
first  church  was  dedicated  at  Elk  Point  in  1871 
to  the  organization  of  the  annual  conference  in 


548 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


1885,  sixty-two  churches  and  seventeen  parson- 
ages were  erected,  valued  at  one  hundred  and 
sixty-one  thousand  and  seventy-nine  dollars. 
During  the  years  immediately  following  Metho- 
dism kept  pace  with  the  rapid  increase  in  popu- 
lation. 

In  1890  the  membership  reached  nine  thou- 
sand six  hundred  and  sixty-three.  The  reaction 
which  came  with  the  financial  crisis  of  1893-97, 
and  the  successive  crop  failures,  incident  to  the 
settlement  of  a  new  country,  brought  to  us  a 
period  of  years  in  which  our  statistics  show  no 
appreciable  increase.  With  the  return  of  pros- 
perity, jMethodism  has  for  several  years  shown 
a  steady  and  substantial  advance.  There  are 
within  the  bounds  of  the  Dakota  conference  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  charges  under  the  super- 
vision of  five  presiding  elders,  one  hundred  and 
seventy-two  church  edifices,  many  of  them  mod- 
em, up-to-date  structures,  and  one  hundred 
parsonages.  The  approximate  value  of  this 
property  is  five  hundred  and  forty-five  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  seventy  dollars,  largely  the 
accumulation  of  the  past  twentv-five  years  of 
efl:'ort  in  this  field.  The  membership  of  the 
church  reported  at  the  annual  conference  in  1903 
is  eleven  thousand  four  hundred  and  forty. 
There  are  two  hundred  and  thirty-two  Sunday 
schools,  with  a  membership  of  seventeen  thou- 
sand two  hundred  and  eight.  These  items  do  not 
reveal  the  hardships  and  sacrifices  endured  by 
the  ministry  and  the  people  that  such  results 
might  be  realized  by  the  church.  Those  who 
have  had  part  in  its  struggles  on  the  broad 
prairies  of  our  yoiuig  commonwealth  are  doubt- 
less grateful  for  the  Providence  that  led  them  to 
be  participators  in  this  great  work. 

The  history  of  South  Dakota  Methodism 
would  be  incomplete  without  an  extended  notice 
of  Dakota  University.  As  early  as  1882  steps 
were  taken  looking  to  the  establishment  of  a 
college  under  the  auspices  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  At  the  third  session  of  the 
mission  conference,  held  at  Parker,  a  commission 
was  appointed  to  receive  bids  from  any  town  de- 
siring the  location  of  an  institution  of  learning. 
At  the  next  session   of  the   mission   conference. 


which  was  held  in  Huron  in  1883,  this  commis'^ 
sion  laid  before  the  conference  three  bids  which 
had  been  received   from   Mitchell,   Ordway  and 
Huron.     After  much  discussion  the  conference 
decided  to  accept  both  the  bids  of  Mitchell  and 
Ordway.     This   action   resulted  in  a  misunder- 
standing and  dissatisfaction  throughout  the  con- 
ference and  only  resulted  in  delaying  the  work 
of  establishing  a  school.    Another  year  found  that 
neither  of  the  favored  towns  had  complied  with 
the  conditions.     It  soon  became  evident  that  one 
institution  was  all  that  the  conference  should  un- 
dertake   to    sustain.     In    1885    the    first    college 
building  at  Mitchell  was  about  completed,  and  in 
the  fall  of  that  year  the  school  was  opened  for 
j  students.     Rev.  ^^'illiam  Brush,  D.  D.,  was  the 
I  first  president,  and  he  was  supported  by  a  small 
but  very  efficient  faculty.     The  second  year  wit- 
i  nessed  the   improvement  of  the  property.     The 
j  chapel  and  halls  were  finished,   and  the  dormi- 
1  tories  made  more  comfortable.     The  faculty  was 
I  enlarged  and  inducements  offered  for  students  to 
;  attend.     The  attendance  soon  exceeded  one  hun- 
I  dred,  and  the  future  appeared  highly  promising, 
when,  on  ]\larch  9,  1888,  the  fine  college  building 
was  destroyed  by  fire.     This  irreparable  loss  re- 
sulted in  the  death  of  two  students  and  the  injury 
of  several  others.    Notwithstanding  this  calamity, 
the  work  was  continued  in  temporarv-  quarters 
provided  by  the  citizens  of  Mitchell.     The  work 
of  re-adjusting  the  afifairs  of  the  college  was  im- 
mediately undertaken,  and  steps  taken  to  replace 
the  first  building  with  one  better  arranged  and 
equipped   than   the    former    for   the   work   of   a 
growing  school.     To  this  work  the  citizens  of 
Mitchell  unitedly  gave  their  support  and  made 
possible   the  erection   of    the    present    building, 
which   is   recognized  as  one   of  the  best  of  its 
kind   within  the  borders  of  our  state.     It  is   a 
beautiful   and    commodious    structure    built    of 
granite,  four  stories  high,  one  hundred  and  ten 
feet     front    by    eighty-seven     deep,     containing 
thirty-seven  rooms,  used  for  recitations,  library 
j  and  chapel. 

The  fall  of  1889  witnessed  the  reopening  of 
I  the  college  in  the  present  main  building  and  the 
i  oermanent   establishment  of  Dakota   Universitv. 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


549 


Dr.  Brush,  having  witnessed  the  accomplishment 
of  this  great  work,  which  in  its  magnitude  and 
importance  will  appear  more  clearly  in  future 
years  than  at  the  present,  resigned  the  presidency 
to  accept  an  appointment  in  the  diplomatic 
service  of  the  government.  After  a  time.  Prof. 
C.  O.  Merica  was  selected  as  his  successor.  He 
remained   at  the   head   of  the   school    one   year. 

In  connection  with  the  initial  period  of 
Dakota  University  may  be  found  many  names 
worthy  of  mention,  for  the  sacrifice  and  devotion 
displayed  by  them  in  the  establishment  of  this 
institution.  No  account  would  be  complete, 
however,  without  reference  at  least  to  Prof,  and 
Mrs.  F.  C.  Eastman,  Miss  Dell  Noble,  Prof.  L. 
A.  Stout  and  Prof.  T.  A.  Duncan,  who  gave  their 
best  efforts  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  college. 
Many  laymen  and  ministers  of  Dakota  conference 
are  deserving  of  recognition  for  the  part  they 
bore  in  these  years  of  arduous  struggle.  Suf- 
fice it  to  say  they  did  not  labor  for  reward  or  with 
the  expectation  of  securing  the  plaudits  of  man, 
but  that  an  institution  of  learning  worthy  of  the 
denomination  it  represents  might  be  founded  on 
the  prairies  of  our  young  commonwealth. 

In  1893  Rev.  W.  I.  Graham,  D.  D.,  was 
elected  to  the  presidency.  The  selection  was 
most  fortunate.  Dr.  Graham,  by  his  careful  man- 
agement of  the  affairs  of  the  college,  during  the 
ten  years  of  his  administration,  brought  the 
school  up  to  the  front  rank  of  the  best  institu- 
tions of  the  state.  In  every  respect  Dakota 
University  soon  came  to  take  its  place  by  the 
side  of  the  other  institutions,  and  the  work  ac- 
complished during  this  period  reflects  great  credit 
upon  those  who  administered  its  affairs.  During 
this  period  of  its  history  the  college  met  its  cur- 
rent expenses,  and  a  floating  indebtedness  of 
nearh'  ten  thousand  dollars  was  provided  for, 
largely  through  the  liberality  and  sacrifice  of  the 
ministry  of  the  Dakota  conference.  In  1899, 
under  the  impetus  of  the  Twentieth  Century 
Thank-offering  movement,  by  which  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church  raised  twenty  millions  of 
dollars,  the  Dakota  conference  as  its  part  of  the 
movement  undertook  to  raise  thirty-five  thousand 
dollars  to  erect  on  the  college  campus  Century 


Memorial  Hall.  The  work  was  impeded  some- 
what by  the  general  attention  of  the  churches 
being  directed  to  the  paying  off  of  old  indebted- 
nesses; notwithstanding,  however,  the  work  has 
gone  on  steadily  and  at  the  present  time  is  near- 
ing  completion.  The  principal  event  in  connec- 
tion with  the  commencement  of  1904  will  be  the 
dedication  of  this  new  building.  This  is  one  of 
the  most  substantial  college  buildings  in  the 
west.  It  is  as  absolutely  fireproof  as  a  build- 
ing can  be  made.  With  all  modern  conveniences, 
the  new  hall  will  add  very  much  to  the  facilities 
of  the  college  to  care  for  its  increasing  constit- 
uency. 

Upon  the  resignation  of  Dr.  W.  I.  Graham  as 
president,  in  the  fall  of  1903,  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Nicholson,  D.  D.,  of  Cornell  College,  was  chosen 
as  his  successor.  Dr.  Nicholson  comes  to  his  new 
task  with  a  well-earned  reputation  as  an  educator 
of  the  first  rank.  Under  his  masterful  leader- 
ship a  new  impetus  will  be  given  to  every  de- 
partment of  the  college  work.  The  college  de- 
partment is  being  doubled  and  other  improve- 
ments made  that  will  put  this  institution  in  the 
forefront  of  colleges  of  this  character  in  the  west. 
The  library  has  been  increased  by  donation  about 
one-third,  and  in  every  respect  the  future  of 
Dakota  University  was  never  brighter. 

The  introduction  of  Methodism  into  the 
Black  Hills  furnishes  the  historian  with  ample 
material  for  a  chapter  of  as  heroic  sacrifices  as 
were  ever  made  by  the  Methodist  itinerants  in 
the  earlier  periods  of  the  movement.  The  first 
preacher  of  the  gospel  to  enter  that  region  was 
the  Rev.  Henry  Weston  Smith,  a  regularly  or- 
dained minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  who  of  his  own  accord  went  into  the 
Black  Hills  to  minister  to  the  spiritual  wants  of 
the  people  in  the  early,  turbulent  period  previous 
to  the  opening  of  that  section  to  white  settlement 
and  the  extension  of  civil  government  over  that 
part  of  South  Dakota.  This  heroic  preacher  be- 
gan his  labors  at  Custer  City  in  a  log  house,  with 
sawdust  floor,  where  he  preached  in  the  fore- 
noon and  evening  of  Sunday,  May  7.  1876.  He 
held  services  in  the  same  place  the  following 
Sunday.     On  May  22d  he  left  Custer  Citv  and 


550 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA, 


three  days  later  preached  in  camp  on  Box  Elder, 
arriving  in  Deadwood  May  27th.  The  first  au- 
thentic record  of  services  held  in  Deadwood  is 
to  the  effect  that  he  preached  on  the  corner  of 
Main  and  Gold  streets  on  Sunday,  July  9,  1876. 
It  is  not  improbable,  however,  that  he  held 
services  previous  to  that  time  in  the  same  man- 
ner, of  which  we  have  no  record.  That  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Smith  conducted  a  series  of  open-air 
services  on  the  streets  of  Deadwood  is  evident. 
It  is  recorded  of  his  labors  that  it  was  no  un- 
common sight  to  see  him  hold  the  attention  of 
one  end  of  a  crowd,  while  at  the  other  end  a 
broker  or  prospector  was  exploiting  his  business 
before  the  same  motley  throng.  To  the  everlast- 
ing credit  of  the  early  pioneers  and  adventurers 
that  thronged  the  streets  of  Deadwood  in  those 
days  it  can  be  said  they  manifested  such  pro- 
found respect  for  the  minister  and  the  message 
he  sought  to  give  them  that  in  his  public 
ministrations  he  was  never  disturbed  or  molested. 
On  Sunday,  August  20,  1876,  he  attempted  to 
walk  to  Crook  City  to  hold  services,  against  the 
remonstrances  of  his  friends  who  warned  him  of 
his  danger.  He  had  proceeded  only  a  few  miles 
from  Deadwood  when  he  was  shot  by  an  Indian 
in  ambush.  Information  soon  reached  the  city 
and  a  strong  scouting  party  was  organized  and 
started  in  pursuit  of  the  Indians.  The  pursuers 
soon  surrounded  the  murderer  and  he  was  ulti- 
matelv  killed ;  but  not  until  he  had  shot  into  the 
party,  killing  one  of  the  men.  The  body  of  the 
murdered  preacher  was  found  lying  where  he 
fell,  his  hands  folded  across  his  breast,  clasping 
his  Bible  and  hymn  book.  He  was  not  scalped 
nor  otherwise  mutilated,  his  murderer  probably 
surmising  his  calling.  The  body  of  the  Rev. 
Henry  W.  Smith,  the  martyred  Black  Hills  mis- 
sionary, lies  in  the  church  lot  of  Mt.  IMoriah 
cemetery  at  Deadwood,  and  his  last  resting  place 
is  marked  by  a  life-size  figure  standing  on  a 
square  pedestal,  which  bears  the  inscription.  The 
monument  is  of  native  red  standstone  and  was 
erected  in  October,  1891,  by  his  "Black  Hills 
Friends." 

At   the   seventh    session    of    the    Northwest 
Iowa  conference,  held  at  Qierokee,  Iowa,  with 


Bishop  Jesse  T.  Peck  presiding,  the  Rev.  James 
Williams  was  appointed  a  missionary  to  Dead- 
wood.  This  was  the  beginning  of  organized 
work  under  the  auspices  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  in  the  Black  Hills.  In  the  fall 
of  1879,  at  the  next  session  of  the  above  con- 
ference, held  in  Sioux  City,  Iowa,  Bishop  W.  L. 
Harris  made  of  the  Black  Hills  work  a  district, 
and  appointed  the  Rev.  James  Williams  presiding 
elder.  In  addition  to  this  appoinbnent  Mr.  Wil- 
liams was  continued  as  pastor  at  Deadwood. 
Rev.  William  Fielder  and  Rev.  A.  J.  Whitfield 
were  assigned  to  Central  City  and  Lead  re- 
spectively. In  the  year  1880  the  Black  Hills  was 
organized  as  a  mission  by  Bishop  Warren,  and 
the  Rev.  James  Williams  appointed  the  super- 
intendent. The  names  of  Ira  Wakefield,  R.  H. 
Dolliver  and  W.  D.  Phifer  appear  in  the  list  of 
appointments.  Two  ministers,  with  the  bishop, 
constituted  the  membership  of  the  first  annual 
meeting  of  the  Black  Hills  mission.  At  the 
second  session,  held  in  Deadwood,  August  12, 
1881,  the  Rev.  Jesse  D.  Searles  was  appointed 
the  superintendent.  In  1884  he  was  succeeded  by 
the  Rev.  James  Williams,  who  served  four  years. 
In  1888  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Games  was  appointed. 
The  Rev.  E.  E.  Clough  was  his  successor  in 
1896,  and  in  1902  the  present  incumbent,  the 
Rev.  C.  B.  Clark,  D.  D.,  was  appointed. 

The  first  religious  organization  effected  by 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in  the  Black 
Hills  was  at  Central  City.  In  the  month  of  De- 
cember, 1877,  Judge  David  B.  Ogden,  assisted 
by  some  earnest  local  workers,  held  a  series  of 
revival  meetings.  In  November,  1878,  upon  the 
first  visit  of  the  Rev.  James  Williams,  the  first 
quarterly  meeting  was  held. 

The  work  was  opened  at  Deadwood  in  Oc- 
tober of  the  above  year  by  Rev.  James  Williams. 
In  the  great  fire  of  September  26,  1879,  all  that 
had  been  accumulated  was  consumed.  Despite 
many  discouragements  some  progress  was  made, 
and  on  March  4,  1883,  a  church  was  dedicated, 
costing  six  thousand  seven  hundred  dollars. 
It  will  be  difficult  to  find  the  record  of  appalling 
disaster  following  so  closely  upon  complete  suc- 
cess.    On  May  18.  in  the  great  flood,  the  entire 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


property  was  swept  away  and  the  commercial 
value  of  the  lot  utterly  destroyed.  After  much 
difficulty  another  location  was  found  and  a  fine 
church  building  erected  thereon.  A  fine  par- 
sonage property  has  been  secured,  and  after 
many  years'  struggle  with  a  heavy  indebtedness, 
the  church  is  now  enjoying  increasing  prosperity. 
Recently  the  second  church  has  been  organized  in 
Deadwood. 

In  Lead  in  1880,  the  Rev.  W.  D.  Phifer  or- 
ganized the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  the 
following  year  witnessed  the  erection  and  dedi- 
cation of  the  church. 

The  Rev.  Ira  Wakefield  was  one  of  the  most 
efficient  workers  in  the  pioneer  days  of  the 
Black  Hills.  He  organized  the  church  at  Crook 
City,  now  Whitewood,  in  1879.  In  1880  he  or- 
ganized the  work  at  Custer  and  succeeded  in 
building  a  church.  At  Rapid  City  he  organized 
the  church  in  1881,  which  has  since  become  one 
of  the  strongest  Methodist  church  organizations 
in  the  Black  Hills. 

Among  those  who  by  their  self-sacrifice  and 
toil  laid  the  foundations  of  our  work  in  this  dif- 
ficult and  ever-changing  field  we  find  the  names 
of  W.  D.  Atwater,  J.  O.  Dobson,  J.  W. 
Hancher,  H.  A.  James,  E.  E.  Lymer,  D.  W. 
Tracy  and  C.  M.  Ward.  These  men,  and  doubt- 
less others  not  brought  to  the  writer's  notice, 
were  worthy  representatives  of  the  church  in  a 
field  where  only  the  highest  ability  and  tactful 
leadership  could  command  attention  and  compel 
success.  They  were  men  of  faith  and  consecra- 
tion, as  evidenced  by  their  large  plans  for  the 
future  prosperity  of  the  church,  and  the  sacrifices 
made  to  realize  their  ideals. 

The  founding  of  the  Black  Hills  College  at 
Hot  Springs,  in  1890,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
mission,  and  its  maintenance  for  ten  years  as  a 
center  of  religious  training  deserves  more  than  a 
passing  mention.  The  devotion  of  Dr.  J.  W. 
Hancher,  the  first  president,  and  of  his  successor, 
the  Rev.  E.  E.  Lymer,  to  the  unequal  task  of 
establishing  the  college  is  worthy  of  all  praise. 
Unfortunate  complications  arising  after  the 
resignation  of  Dr.  Lymer  resulted  finally  in  clos- 
ing the  doors  of  the  institution. 


In  1888  the  work  was  organized  as  a  mission 
conference,  and  in  1896  as  an  annual  conference. 
In  1901,  however,  the  original  fo-m  of  organiza- 
tion was  resumed,  which  has  been  found  to  be 
the  best  for  that  field. 

At  the  present  time  Methodism  is  well 
established  in  the  Black  Hills  and,  notwithstand- 
ing the  peculiar  difficulties  of  the  field,  is  exer- 
cising a  potent  influence  for  good  throughout  the 
borders  of  the  mission.  The  church  membership, 
as  reported  at  the  last  annual  meeting,  is  one 
thousand  one  hundred  and  ninety- four.  There 
are  enrolled  in  the  twenty-seven  Sunday  schools, 
including  the  officers  and  teachers,  one  thousand 
nine  hundred  and  sixty-one.  Twenty-eight 
churches  and  thirteen  parsonages  are  valued  at 
eighty  thousand  t^vo  hundred  dollars. 

At  the  time  of  the  general  settlement  of  the 
eastern  part  of  the  state  work  was  opened  up 
among  the  Germans  and  Scandinavians.  Among 
the  former  a  number  of  churches  were  organized 
and  the  work  constituted  a  district.  At  Redfield, 
Parker  and  other  points  prosperous  churches  are 
maintained  as  the  result  of  the  faithful  and 
efficient  labors  of  German  Methodist  ministers. 
The  work  among  the  Norwegians  and  Danes  has 
not  been  so  extensive,  but  of  no  less  heroic  char- 
acter and  is  worthy  of  more  extended  notice. 

The  Canton  Epworth  Leagu*  Assembly,  es- 
tablished in  1901,  under  the  auspices  of '  the  Ep- 
worth Leagues  of  the  Sioux  Falls  district, 
promises  to  become  a  potent  factor  in  the  pro- 
motion of  all  that  the  young  people's  movement 
in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  stands  for. 
It  has  become  one  of  the  leading  assemblies  of 
the  Northwest,  and  sustains  each  year  a  program 
the  equal  of  the  best  given  in  our  state.  The 
fine  auditorium  and  beautiful  park  situated  on 
the  banks  of  the  Big  Sioux  river,  within  the 
corporate  limits  of  the  Gate  City  of  South 
Dakota,  stands  as  a  monument  to  the  Rev.  J. 
O.  Dobson,  D.  D.,  who,  as  presiding  elder  of  the 
Sioux  Falls  district,  conceived  the  idea  and 
wrought  successfully  to  realize  the  establish- 
ment of  the  assembly.  Recognizing  the  fitness  of 
things,  upon  the  motion  of  citizens  of  Canton, 
the  assembly  grounds  were  named  Dobson  Park. 


CHAPTER  XCVI 


THE    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH. 


BY    DR.    H.    P.    CARSON. 


The  first  missionary  work  done  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  what  is 
now  South  Dakota  was  desultory  and  the  first 
organization  disappeared  before  regular  mis- 
sionary work  became  established.  Probably  the 
first  public  religious  services  conducted  by  any 
minister  of  the  gospel  in  what  is  now  South 
Dakota  was  by  the  Rev.  Stephen  Riggs,  a  Pres- 
byterian minister  who  came  from  the  Indian 
mission  on  the  Minnesota  river  to  Fort  Pierre  in 
the  autumn  of  1840,  accompanied  by  Alexander 
Huggins.  His  audience  -  consisted  of  Indians, 
with  an  occasional  paleface.  Fort  Pierre  was 
then  the  principal  trading  post  for  all  that  re- 
gion. ( Further  mention  of  Dr.  Riggs'  later 
work  among  the  Dakotas  will  be  made  later  on.) 

In  January,  i860,  the  Rev.  Charles  D.  Martin, 
a  missionary  connected  with  the  Presbyterian 
church,  reached  Yankton  and  preached  there  the 
first  sermon  ever  delivered  to  any  congregation 
of  white  people  in  Dakota  territory.  The  con- 
gregation was  large  and  enthusiastic.  His  text 
was,  "Whoso  despiseth  the  word  shall  be  de- 
stroyed ;  but  he  that  feareth  the  commandment 
shall  be  rewarded"  (Prov.  13:11).  His  pulpit 
was  an  upturned  whiskey  barrel,  the  most  avail- 
able article  at  hand  for  the  purpose.  The  first 
hymn  he  put  out.  one  of  his  hearers  reports,  was 
"Old  Hundred,"  and  a  part  of  his  first  prayer, 
"O  Lord,  may  the  people  of  this  town  not  become 
puffed  up  with  importance  because  of  their  great- 
ness, and  become  proud  and  haughty,  but  accept 
this  great  trust  as  coming  from  the  hand  of  a 


kind  and  generous  Father  to  be  used  by  them 
for  the  upbuilding  of  education  and  religion  for 
Thy  great  glory." 

Mr.  Martin  seems  to  have  been  familiarly 
called  "Father  Martin,"  and  to  have  come  at  that 
time  from  Dakota  City,  Nebraska,  a  distance  of 
about  seventy  miles.  In  October,  i860,  he 
solemnized  the  first  marriage  recorded  after 
Dakota  territory  was  opened  for  settlement,  the 
parties  being  a  Mr.  Jacob  Deul  and  a  Miss  Rob- 
inson. 

On  June  14,  1861,  he  succeeded  in  organiz- 
ing a  Sabbath  school  in  Vermillion,  so  far  as 
is  known,  the  first  in  Dakota  territory.  Its  ses- 
sions were  held  in  a  log  building  erected  by  the 
settlers  under  Mr.  Martin  in  August,  i860,  and 
since  known  as  the  first  church  building  erected 
in  what  is  now  South  Dakota.  It  was  small  but 
was  immediately  supplied  with  the  necessary 
furniture.  It  was  used  for  public-school  pur- 
poses until  the  summer  of  1862,  the  early  settlers 
being  too  poor  to  build  also  a  public-school  build- 
ing. To  build  this  log  church  building  they  had 
fifty  dollars  aid  from  the  Presbyterian  Board  of 
Church  Extension  at  Philadelphia  and  Mr.  ]\Iar- 
tin  procured  a  bell  from  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  Gen. 
J.  B.  Todd,  as  a  local  citizen,  especially  helped 
the  enterprise.  Judge  John  W.  Boyle  acted  as 
superintendent  of  the  Sabbath  school.  To  this 
Sabbath  school  the  Board  of  Publication  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  sent  a  library.  But  the 
Indian  outbreak  at  New  Ulm.  IMinnesota.  be- 
came the  occasion  of  converting  this  log  church 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


553 


building  into  a  fort  for  the  protection  of  the 
settlers  in  the  autumn  of  1862.  By  this  time  Mr. 
J^Iartin.  having  been  appointed  clerk  of  the 
United  States  court,  third  judicial  district  of 
Nebraska  territory,  had  ceased  to  preach  at  \'er- 
million  and  at  Elk  Point. 

Thus  this  organization  disintegrated  and  now 
only  the  site  of  this  first  church  building  re- 
mains. It  is  on  the  ^Missouri  river  bottom  about 
ten  rods  west  of  the  south  end  of  what  was 
known  as  !\Iarket  street  in  the  first  A'ermillion 
town  site  and  now  almost  on  the  bank  of  the 
\"ermillion  river. 

In  September,  1901,  Hon.  Doane  Robinson, 
secretary  of  the  State  Historical  Society  of  South 
Dakota,  and  several  of  the  old  settlers  of  that 
community  erected  on  this  first  church  site  a 
wooden  post  having  on  it  the  following  inscrip- 
tion :  "Site  of  the  First  Church  in  Dakota, 
erected  in  June,  i860,  by  Presbyterians." 

After  the  desultory,  efiforts  from  the  eastern 
Nebraska  side  and  the  interruption  of  the  In- 
dian uprising,  further  work  in  that  region  was 
and  has  since  been  left  to  other  denominations  of 
church  workers. 

The  visit  of  the  Rev.  Stephen  Riggs 
to  Fort  I'ierre  in  1840  seems  to  have  been 
the  precursor  of  the  next  renewal  of  effort  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Presbyterian  church  to 
evangelize  Dakota.  The  prtsljytery  of  Dakota 
was  organized  in  1844,  and  antedates  all  other 
presb}-teries  in  the  territory  and  includes  what  is 
now  the  states  of  Minnesota,  North  and  South 
Dakotas,  ^Montana,  Idaho  and  Colorado.  It  was 
bounded  on  the  north  by  the  international  line, 
on  the  west  bv  the  Pacific  ocean,  on  the  south  by 
Iowa  and  Missouri  and  on  the  east  by  Wisconsin. 
This  presbytery  had  its  origin  early  in  the  mis- 
sionary work  among"  one  of  the  most  powerful 
and  warlike  native  tribes  on  this  continent, 
known  as  the-  Sioux,  or  Dakotas.  Tlie  Rev. 
Stephen  R.  Riggs  was  one  of  the  missionaries 
and  original  members  of  this  body. 

The  work  in  Dakota  was  located  chiefly  on 
the  Sisseton  reservation,  though  the  first  organ- 
ization was  not  attached  to  any  location,  the 
Indians  comprising  it  livirg  at  that  time  a  mi- 


grating life,  wandering  from  the  James  river, 
Dakota,  to  Redwood,  Minnesota.  It  was  or- 
ganized in  1865  with  fifty-five  members  and 
named  Washtekicidapi.  About  the  same  time  the 
Christian  Indians  among  the  Indian  scouts  at- 
tached to  the  United  States  army,  who  for  some 
years  after  the  Minnesota  massacre  patroled  the 
country  from  Fort  Abercrombie  on  the  north  to 
the  regions  south,  were  organized  as  "the 
Scout  Church."  This  organization  grew  in 
numbers  from  thirty-three  to  forty-one  and  had 
only  the  occasional  ministrations  of  the  mission- 
aries. Both  these  churches  were  later  disbanded 
and  organized  into  five  local  churches,  three  of 
which  are  near  Sisseton  and  still  active.  Others 
have  since  been  added  to  these  both  in  that  region 
and  among  the  Sioux  or  Dakotas  elsewhere  until 
thev  number  twenty-seven  at  present  with  a 
membership  of  over  fifteen  hundred.  These  are 
ministered  to  mostly  by  native  pastors.  They 
have  also  an  industrial  school  at  Good  Will  and 
prosecute  mission  work  among  their  own  people 
with  increasing  interest. 

Two  years  previous  to  the  coming  of  the  Rev. 
Stephen  Riggs,  D.  D.,  to  engage  in  mission  work 
among  the  Sioux  Dakotas,  the  Rev.  Thomas  S. 
Williamson,  M.  D.,  had  come.  The  great  work 
of  these  two  men  was  to  translate  the  Bible 
into  the  hitherto  unwritten  language  of  the 
Sioux  or  Dakotas,  which  work  they  cniii])leted  in 
1879  a  few  weeks  before  Dr.  Willivimsjn's  death. 
The  uplifting  and  far-reaching  results  of  their 
great  work  are  inestimable.  Their  children  and 
grandchildren  are  honored  citizens  of  our  state 
and  still  engage  in  disseminating  the  same  gospel. 
Among  them  are  the  Rev.  John  P.  Williamson, 
D.  D.,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Riggs  and  Mrs.  :\[artha 
Riggs  ]\Iorris  and  the  Rev.  Jesse  P.  Williamson. 
Others  are  in  the  same  work  just  across  the  line 
in  Nebraska.  This  move  of  church  work  came 
into  Dakota  from  Alinnesota. 

The  next  distinct  move  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  work,  though  again  somewhat  desultory 
like  that  from  Nebraska,  came  from  Iowa  and  oc- 
curred along  the  Big  Sioux  river  at  Dell  Rapids 
and  Canton,  in  1872.  The  Rev.  Caleb  ^I.  Allen, 
colporteur  of  the  Presbyterian   Board  of  Publi- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


cation,  was  the  worker  and  his  visits  involved  a 
journey  of  one  hundred  miles  by  team.  The 
Dell  Rapids  church  continues  active  and  is  the 
oldest  Presbyterian  church  in  the  state  save 
among  the  Indians.  The  nearest  railroad  being 
sixty  miles  distant,  preachers  became  fewer  and  j 
after  three  years  ceased  altogether  for  a  time. 
During  this  time  the  Canton  church  disbanded, 
though  it  was  later  reorganized.  The>"  had  both 
been  enrolled  in  Iowa. 

In  1877  the  Rev.  George  F.  Leclere  came  j 
from  Iowa  and  located  near  Dell  Rapids.  The  | 
next  year  the  Rev.  W.  S.  Peterson  came  from  ! 
New  York  state  and  located  at  Swan  Lake  in 
Turner  county.  The  next  year  the  Rev.  James 
B.  Currens  came  from  Kentucky  and  later  the 
Rev.  ]\I.  E.  Chapin  from  Ohio;  the  former  lo- 
cated in  Parker,  the  latter  in  ^litchell.  About 
the  same  time  Rev.  Ludwig  Figge.  a  German 
Presbyterian  minister  from  Iowa,  located  near 
Lennox.  Each  of  these  soon  had  a  church  or- 
ganization and  then  another  as  the  people  be- 
gan to  come  in  large  numbers.  In  response  to 
their  appeal  for  more  missionaries  the  Rev.  H. 
P.  Carson  came  and  located  at  Scotland  and  a 
Rev.  W.  L.  Alexander  at  Volga,  early  in  1880. 
Later  in  the  same  year  others  came,  two  of  them 
fresh  from  the  theological  seminary. 

In  the  central  part  of  what  is  now  South 
Dakota,  and  along  the  way  of  approaching  rail- 
roads, two  other  young  missionaries  had  located 
in  1879,  one  at  A^olga,  effecting  organization 
there.  The  names  of  these  four  young  men  are 
H.  A\  Rice,  William  Carl.  John  P>.  Taylor  and 
John  B.  Pomerov.  Of  all  these  and  those  be- 
fore mentioned,  only  H.  P.  Carson  continues  to 
labor  in  the  state,  though  W.  S.  Peterson  and 
M.  E.  Chapin  both  continued  to  do  so  for  over 
twenty  years,  and  John  B.  Pomerov  for  more 
than  ten  years,  most  of  that  time  as  pastor  of  the 
Huron  church  and  svnodical  missionary.  He  se- 
cured the  organization  of  the  Black  Hills  pres- 
bytery during  that  time. 

Informal  presbytery  meetings  or  conventions 
of  the  missionaries  began  to  be  held  as  earlv  as 
July.  1870.     Tlie  first,  held  at  Cameron  in  Mc- 


Cook  county,  was  for  the  purpose  of  adjusting 
ecclesiastical  relations ;  the  missionaries  at  that 
time,  save  among  the  Indians,  were  connected 
with  the  synod  of  Iowa  and  naturally  took  with 
them  the  churches  they  organized,  while  they 
were  really  located  within  the  territory  of  the 
synod  of  ^Minnesota.  The  synodical  missionary 
of  each  synod  was  present :  Revs.  A.  K.  Baird, 
of  Iowa,  and  D.  C.  Lyons,  of  Minnesota,  but  the 
former  held  the  sympathy  and  attachment  of  both 
missionaries  and  churches,  since  their  help  came 
substantially  from  Iowa.  Elder  T.  M.  Sinclair, 
of  Cedar  Rapids,  had  helped  both  by  his  pres- 
ence and  his  cash  contributions,  as  well  as  a 
niissionan,-  pony,  and  he  continued  to  help  until 
he  departed  this  life,  having,  a  year  later,  one  day 
fallen  down  one  of  the  elevator  shafts  of  the  Sin- 
clair pork-packing  house,  of  v.'hich  he  was  man- 
ager and  one  of  the  projirietors.  His  wife,  for 
some  years  after,  continued  his  contribution  of 
the  first  fifty  dollars  toward  paying  for  each  new 
house  of  worship  erected  by  the  South  Dakota 
Presbyterian  church.  Other  Iowa  people  also 
helped. 

The  second  presbyterial  convention  was  held 
in  Madison  the  same  }-ear,  the  third  in  Parker 
in  February,  1880,  the  fourth  in  Mitchell  in  June. 
1880,  the  Rev.  A.  K.  Baird,  synodical  mission- 
ary of  northern  Iowa,  being  present,  for  it  was 
under  his  leadership  these  conventions  were  held. 
After  the  second  convention  the  question  of 
ecclesiastical  relation  was  dropped  and  the  time 
devoted  to  reviewing  work  and  fields  and  to  dis- 
cussing practical  topics  of  Christian  effort  and 
plans  for  the  future.  By  the  time  of  the  fifth  and 
last  convention,  which  was  held  in  Flandreau  in 
the  autumn  of  1880,  the  number  of  ministers  and 
churches  had  so  increased  plans  were  adopted  for 
securing  their  organization  into  a  presbytery. 
Accordingly  in  Dell  Rapids,  October  ig,  1881,  by 
order  of  the  synod  of  Minnesota,  the  presbytery 
of  Southern  Dakota  was  constituted.  It  included 
all  the  ministers  and  churches,  save  Indians  and 
their  missionaries,  that  were  then  located  in 
Dakota  soutli  of  the  forty-sixth  parallel — sixteen 
r.iinisters  and  twent\"-two  churches,  with  a  mem- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


bership  of  three  hundred  and  eighty ;  besides 
these,  they  liad  associated  with  them  seventeen 
missions. 

The  first  ordination  service  occurred  at  an  ad- 
journed meeting  a  month  later  in  a  claim  shanty 
near  Forestburg.  The  newly  ordained  minister 
became  the  fourth  member  present  and  the  whole 
presbytery  composed  itself  for  sleep  that  night  in 
one  bed.  A  furious  wind  storm  raged  and  some 
snow  fell :  for  fuel  the_\-  had  only  hay.  In  at- 
tempting to  reach  home  the  next  day,  the  nearest 
railroad  point  being  twenty-five  miles  distant, 
some  of  the  brethren  missed  their  way,  but,  being 
well  provided  with  buffalo  robes  and  with  over- 
coats furnished  by  kind  friends  in  the  east,  they 
escaped  freezing  and  later  reached  their  homes 
safelv. 

Such  advantage  was  realized  from  the  presby- 
tery organization  and  so  great  was  the  inrush 
of  immigration  during  the  succeeding  years  that 
the  svnod  of  ^linnesota  was,  in  1883,  pe- 
titioned to  divide  the  presbytery,  making  three 
out  of  one.  the  number  of  ministers  by  this  time 
having  reached  thirty-two  with  fiftv-three 
churches  and  over  one  thousand  church  mem- 
bers. 

The  synod  of  Dakota,  later  changed  to  South 
Dakota,  was  organized  in  Huron  in  October, 
1884,  and  the  Dakota  (Indian)  presbytery  in- 
chuled  with  the  other  three,  Aberdeen,  Central 
Dakota  and  Southern  Dakota.  The  territorial 
bounds  of  the  synod  are  the  same  as  were  those 
of  the  Southern  Dakota  presbytery  when  first 
organized.  By  this  time  the  church  membership 
numbered  nearly  two  thousand  in  seventy-three 
church  organizations  with  about  sixty  ministers. 
The  women  of  the  Presbyterian  churches  in 
South  Dakota  are  organized  in  most  cases  into 
aid  and  missionary  societies ;  these  are  gathered 
into  ]M-esb>-terial  or  district  societies  and  the  latter 
organized  into  a  synodical  missionarv  society. 
The  last  named  was  organized  during  the  first 
year  of  the  synod,  with  Mrs.  J.  S.  Oliver,  of  Hu- 
ron, president.  After  seventeen  years  of  effect- 
ive training  and  developing  work,  she  gave  place 
to  ;\[iss  Anna  E.  .McCauIey,  of  Bridgewater. 
These   women's   organizations   constitute   one   of 


the  most  encouraging  and  efl:ective  departments 
of  the  church  work.  During  the  six  years  pre- 
ceding 1887,  seventy-two  Presbyterian  churches 
were  organized  and  half  as  many  houses  of 
worship  were  built  in  the  synod. 

In  that  year  the  Black  Hills  presbytery  was 
organized,  making  the  fifth  in  the  synod,  though 
the  Dakota  (Indian)  is  without  geographical 
bounds,  being  made  up  of  the  Dakota  Sioux  and 
their  missionaries.  The  Rev.  John  P.  William- 
son, D.  D.,  of  Greenwood,  continues  their  general 
missionary.  There  are  now  in  connection  with 
the  Presbyterian  synod  of  South  Dakota  one 
hundred  and  thirty-three  churches,  having  one 
hundred  and  three  houses  of  worship,  over  tliirty 
manses,  nearly  seven  thousand  communicants, 
one  hundred  and  ten  ministers  and  a  property 
valued  at  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  dollars,  ex- 
clusive of  their  college  property. 

Pioneer  experiences  were  common  in  this 
development,  so  that  of  those  engaged  in  it  a 
New  York  paper  said,  "Their  genuine  inissionary 
spirit  was  not  turned  aside  by  hardships ;  they 
surmounted  them  with  a  'heart  of  controversy' 
that  carried  success  in  its  every  movement.  That 
handful  of  brave  missionaries  away  out  in 
.Southern  Dakota  are,  to  use  the  words  of  Lin- 
coln, 'making  history  hand  over  hand.'  They 
are  genuine  pioneers  obviously  in  advance  of  all 
others  in  their  line  of  things." 

Besides  the  very  common  experiences  of  hold- 
ing preaching  services  in  private  houses,  new  and 
partially  completed  store  buildings,  halls  and 
schoolhouses,  long  journeys  by  team  were  made 
in  attending  the  early  conventions.  Tn  one  case  it 
took  the  missionary  and  his  wife  and  two  small 
children  from  sunrise  on  Monda)-  morning  till 
after  sundown  the  following  Saturday  evening  to 
make  the  trip  and  attend  the  convention,  and  he 
lost  a  ten-dollar  wedding  fee  besides.  The  trip 
was  made  in  a  single-seated  buggy  drawn  by  one 
horse,  the  oats  as  well  as  the  lunch  for  the  family 
being  included. 

EDUC.VTION.M,. 

Among  the  committees  appointed  as  soon  as 
the  presbytery   was  organized   was  one  on   edu- 


556 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


cation,  ami  it  was  instructed  to  inquire  into  the 
desirableness  and  practicability  of  establishing  an 
academy  under  the  auspices  of  the  presbytery. 
This  movement  was  encouraged  by  the  agitation 
just  then  beginning  in   the   Presbyterian  church 


ANOTHER  COLLEGE  OR  UNIVERSITY  IN  SOUTH 
DAKOTA. 

The  Presbytery  of  Southern  Dakota  having,  at  its 
last  meeting  in  ..Volga,  declared  its  purpose  to  found 
and  establish,  as  soon  as  practicable,  an  educational 


at  large  that  resulted  two  years  later  in  the  origin 
of  a  Board  of  Aid  for  Colleges  and  Academies. 
At  the  second  meeting  of  the  presbytery  the 
idea  of  an  academy  had  grown  to  that  of  a  col- 
lege or  university  and  the  following  was  widely 
published  and  circulated : 


institution,  in  which  shall  be  taught  the  higher 
branches  of  learning,  and  appointed  the  undersigned 
V,  special  committee  to  inaugurate  and  carry  forward 
the  movement,  we  would  hereby  so  inform  the  inter- 
ested public,  and  earnestly  invite  bids,  proposals  and 
correspondence  looking  toward  the  locating,  estab- 
lishing and  endowing  of  such  an  institution.  Any  per- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


557 


son  willing  to  donate  money  or  land  to  a  college 
or  university  in  South  Dakota  south  of  the  forty-sixth 
parallel,  is  most  cordially  urged  to  drop  us  a  line. 
If  your  town  desires  an  institution  of  learning  located 
within  or  adjacent  to  its  limits,  please  write  to 
either  Rev.  H.  P.  Carson.  Scotland,  Dakota  Territory, 
or  Rev.  R.  B.  Farrar.  Volga.  Dakota  Territory,  or 
Rev.  W.  S.  Peterson,  Huron,  Dakota  Territory. 

The  committee  especially  encouraged  bids 
from  the  towns  of  Mitchell  and  Huron.  In  each 
place,  however,  both  our  church  r^en  and  real 
estate  dealers  and  business 'men  were  so  absorbed 
with  efforts  to  secure  in  their  bounds  the  capitol 
of  the  territory,  at  that  time  being  relocated,  thit 
the  committee  were  unable  to  induce  them  to 
make  as  large  a  bid  as  came  from  Pierre :  L^nrl 
well  situated  and  ample  for  a  college  cimpus, 
some  town  lots  and  twenty  thousand  dollars  in 
cash.  They  also  agreed  to  do  their  best  to  se- 
cure five  thousand  dollars  more  in  cash.  Thofgh 
their  bid  imposed  the  condition  that  within 
eighteen  months  a  building  worth  at  least  twentv 
thousand  dollars  should  be  erected  on  the  said 
campus,  the  presbytery  deemed  it  wise  to  accept 
the  offer  and  so  located  the  school  there.  It  was 
named  the  Presbyterian  Universitv  of  Dakota. 
In  due  time  the  first  building,  a  frame,  for  dormi- 
tory and  school  purposes  and  costing  two  thou- 
sand five  hundred  dollars,  was  readv.  The  Rev. 
T.  ^\ .  Findley,  of  Iowa,  had  been  chosen  i>resi- 
dent  and  the  school  was  opened  September  26, 
1883.  Thirty  students  were  enrolled  the  first 
year  and  the  second  building,  built  of  brick  and 
meeting  the  condition,  was  completed.        « 

In  the  meantime  the  presb\-terv  of  Southern 
Dakota  had  transferred  the  school  and  property 
to  the  synod,  which  changed  the  mme  to  Pierre 
University.  The  Rev.  T.  :\I.  Findlev  having  re- 
signed, the  Rev.  William  'SI.  Rhckburn,  D.  D., 
of  Grand  Forks,  Dakota  territory,  was  secured 
for  president,  during  the  summer  of  188.S.  The 
following  October  the  svrod  fornnllv  dedicated 
the  brick  building  and  inaugurated  Dr.  Black- 
burn as  president.  His  address  was  on  the 
theme,  "The  Aloral  Element  in  Education."  He 
was  already  widely  and  favorabh-  known  as  an 
author  and  educator.     The  synod  liad  previously 


adopted  a  resolution  to  raise  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars toward  endowing  the  school. 

The  spirit  of  development  was  strong  in  the 
synod  in  accord  with  that  of  the  region  generally. 
The  Presbyterian  Board  of  Aid  for  Colleges  and 
Academies  had  by  this  time  come  into  existence. 
The  presbytery  of  Southern  Dakota  had  started 
an  academy  at  Scotland  and  the  presbytery  of 
Aberdeen  a  collegiate  institute  at  Groton.  The 
latter,  however,  aspired  to  take  rank  as  a  college. 
It  was  equipped  with  a  fine  campus,  one  large 
frame  building  for  both  dormitory  and  school 
purposes  and  a  chapel  building. 

But,  forced  by  the  synod  and  the  Board  of 
Aid  to  take  rank  as  an  academy,  and  unfavorable 
-conditions,  financially  and  otherwise,  overtaking 
•t,  the  entire  enterprise  was  abandoned  three 
years  later. 

Scotland  Academy  continued  in  o])eration, 
doing  eft'ective  work  till  1898.  when  it  was 
deemed  best  by  the  synod  to  consolidate  it  with 
the  school  at  Pierre  and  locate  the  combined 
plant  at  Huron. 

Since  September,  1898,  the  synod's  educa- 
tional institution  has,  therefore,  been  known  as 
■^iui-on  College.  Soon  after  his  resignation  as 
liresident.  Dr.  Blackburn  passed  peacefully  to  his 
reward,  increasingly  appreciated  and  honored  as 
liis  excellent  qualities  come  to  be  better  known. 
The  Rev.  C.  H.  French,  who  had  been  principal 
of  Scotland  Academy,  succeeded  Dr.  Blackburn 
-s  president  of  Huron  College.  Under  his  lead 
the  school  was  reorganized  and  enlarged.  The 
(Mirollment  of  students  has  steadily  increased 
from  the  first  and  reached  nearly  the  number  of 
three  hundred  the  fourth  year  of  his  administra- 
tion. Huron  College  is  recognized  as  holding 
equal  rank  with  the  best  in  the  state,  barring 
equipment,  which  it  is  rapidly  acquiring. 

Under  the  lead  of  Hon.  John  L.  Pyle,  the 
Huron  people  secured  and  presented  to  the  synod 
for  college  purposes  a  fifty-thousand-dollar  hotel 
building,  which  was  so  changed  as  to  serve  ef- 
fectivelv  for  both  dormitory  and  school  purposes. 
Bv  the  aid  of  friends  in  the  east,  secured 
through  solicitation  of  Dr.  French,  under  the 
i  auspices  of  the  Presbyterian  Iioard,  together  wnth 


558 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


the  earnest  rally  of  support  throughout  the  synod, 
the  endowment  fund  of  Huron  College  reached 
its  first  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  before 
January,  1904.  Of  this  over  sixty-five  thousand 
dollars  were  contributed  within  the  state. 

The  women  of  Huron  so  enlisted  interest  in 
a  girls'  dormitory,  Huron  College  being  co-edu- 
cational, that  the  other  women  in  the  state  and  in 
New  York  state  and  finally  a  Mr.  Ralph  Voor- 


hees  in  New  Jersey,  that  they  helped  the  enter- 
prise and  made  it  a  twenty-thousand-dollar  suc- 
cess. Mrs.  John  L.  Pyle  led  in  the  movement, 
Mrs.  French  and  others  ably  assisting  her  in 
pushing  it. 

Mr.  Ralph  \'oorhees'  contribution  amounted 
to  fifteen  thousand  dollars  and  the  building  is 
named  for  his  wife,  "The  Elizabeth  R.  \'oorhees 
Dormitory-  for  Girls." 


CHAPTER  XCVl 


THE  BAPTIST  CHURCH. 


BY  REV.   THOMAS   M.    SHANAFELT,   D.    D. 


The  earliest  known  religious  organization  in 
Dakota  territory  was  a  small  Roman  Catholic 
church,  near  the  beginning  of  the  last  century, 
among  the  French  Canadian  trappers  and  half- 
breed  Indians  employed  at  the  post  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company,  located  at  Pembina,  A  chapel  was 
built  there  in  1812.  In  1845  Father  Belcourt 
built  a  chapel  and  also  a  small  convent  at  St. 
Joseph,  afterwards  known  as  Walhalla. 

The  earliest  Protestant  religious  movement 
in  Dakota  territory  was  begun  by  Baptists  in 
1852.  It  was  a  mission  established  at  Walhalla 
for  the  evangelization  of  the  Indians.  Its  leaders 
were  F.lijah  Terry  and  James  Tanner.  The 
former  was  a  member  of  the  First  Baptist  church 
in  St.  Paul,  Alinnesota,  The  latter  was  a  half- 
breed,  whose  father  was  stolen  in  childhood  by 
a  band  of  Shawnee  Indians,  in  1779,  and  adopted 
into  their  tribe.  His  son,  James  Tanner,  re- 
ceived the  best  possible  education  in  schools  then 
available  for  Indians.  He  served  several  years 
as  interpreter  and  assistant  in  missions  among 
the  Indians  along  the  upper  Mississippi  river. 
Becoming  a  Baptist,  he  went  east  and  enlisted  the 
interest  of  some  wealthy  Baptists  in  his  desire  to 
give  the  gospel  to  the  Indians. 

On  his  return,  Elijah  Terry  accompanied  him 
to  ^^'alhalla.  It  was  their  purpose  to  erect  a 
building  that  would  answer  the  double  purpose 
of  a  church  and  school.  While  entering  a  belt  of 
timber  to  cut  down  some  trees  for  the  proposed 
building,  Mr.  Terry  was  killed  and  scalped  by  a 
band  of  Sioux  Indians,  June  zS,  1852,     He  was 


an  educated  young  man  and  an  earnest  Christian 
worker.  He  deserved  a  better  fate  than  to  suffer 
martyrdom  at  the  beginning  of  a  promising  ca- 
reer. On  account  of  the  continued  hostility  of  the 
Indians,  James  Tanner  finally  left  that  station 
and  went  to  Manitoba,  where  he  lost  his  life  in 
1864. 

In  May,  1853,  Rev.  Alonzo  Barnard  (Pres- 
byterian) and  Rev.  D.  B.  Spencer  (Congrega- 
tionalist),  and  their  wives,  came  to  Walhalla. 
We  have  no  knowledge  of  the  extent  of  their 
work  or  its  results,  and  can  find  only  a  record  of 
martyrdom  while  engaged  in  the  effort  to  evan- 
gelize the  Indians.  Mrs.  Barnard  died  October 
21,  1853,  as  the  result  of  exposure  and  suffering, 
and  Mrs.  Spencer  was  killed  by  the  Indians  Au- 
gust 23,  1854.  The  graves  of  the  three  mission- 
aries who  gave  their  lives  in  the  cause  of  Indian 
evangelization  are  now  located  together,  sur- 
rounded b\-  an  iron  fence.  Through  its  open  gate 
many  pilgrims  have  passed  to  read  the  inscrip- 
tions on  the  monuments  erected  by  those  who  de- 
sired to  honor  the  memory  of  ''The  ^Martyrs  of 
Walhalla." 

For  the  first  religious  movements  in  the  south- 
ern half  of  Dakota  territory  we  look  to  the  earli- 
est settlements,  especially  those  at  Yankton,  A^er- 
million,  Elk  Point  and  Bon  Homme.  The  re- 
ligious and  secular,  history  of  South  Dakota  have 
a  common  starting  point.  The  missionary  came 
with  the  pioneers.  The  hardships  and  dangers 
incident  to  pioneer  life  were  borne  alike  by  all, 
for  the  early  missionaries  were  pioneers.     They 


.s6o 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


risked  the  dangers  of  frontier  life,  and  counted 
not  their  lives  dear  unto  themselves,  in  their 
desire  to  preach  the  gospel  to  those  who,  with 
them,  were  laying  the  foundations  of  a  new  state 
and  endeavoring  to  wisely  shape  its  character 
and  destiny. 

The  leading  evangelical  denominations  were 
close  together,  in  the  order  of  time,  in  the  be- 
ginning of  their  missionary  movements.  The 
Baptists  were  the  first  in  the  matter  of  organiza- 
tion. That  the  first  church  organized  did  not 
have  a  permanent  existence  was  due  to  Indian 
hostilities  and  the  seriously  disturbed  condition  of 
the  early  settlements.  There  were  occasional 
visits  by  itinerant  missionaries,  but  the  first 
known  religious  organization  in  any  of  the=e  set- 
tlements was  a  Baptist  church  organized  at 
Yankton  by  Rev.  L.  P.  Judson.  early  in  i86j..* 

As  the  result  of  Mr.  Judson's  explorations  a 
number  of  Baptists  were  found  who  entered  into 
an  organization,  with  Yankton  as  a  nucleus  and 
center  of  operations.  The  governor  and  other 
territorial  officers  co-operated  with  him  in  his 
plans.  An  encouraging  beginning  was  made  in 
securing  subscriptions  towards  the  building  of  a 
house  of  worship,  and  a  preliminarv  movement 
for  the  organization  of  a  Baptist  church  at  Bon 
Homme  was  begun,  when  a  widespread  "grass- 
hopper raid"  totally  destroyed  the  crops  of  the 
settlers,  and  hostile  Indians  threatened  their 
peace  and  safety.  Mr.  Judson,  at  the  request  of 
the  territorial  officers,  went  east  to  secure  assist- 
ance for  the  now  needy  and  dependent  settlers, 
and  Rev.  Albert  Gore  became  his  successor  as 
missionary.  After  nearly  a  5'ear  of  service  he 
returned  to  Michigan,  and  near  the  end  of  1865. 
the  people  having  become  discouraged  and  scat- 
tered, the  church  became  extinct. 

The  first  Baptist  missionary  whose  work  left 
a  permanent  impress  was  Rev.  J.  E.  Rockwood. 
The  services  that  he  rendered  were  incidental  to 
his  work  as  the  first  pastor  of  the  then  feeble 
cliurch  at  Sioux  City.  Iowa.  Ifrom  March,  1866, 
to  August.   1869,  he  made  numerous  missionary 


tours  up  the  Missouri  river,  preaching  at  Elk 
Point,  \'ermillion  and  Yankton.  During  this  pe- 
riod churches  were  organized,  converts  were  bap- 
tized, scattered  Baptists  were  gathered  together, 
and  foundations  were  laid  for  later  laborers.  He 
organized  a  church  at  Yankton  February  3,  1867. 
The  second  organization  was  effected  at  Ver- 
million, February  16,  1868.  An  organization  was 
begun  at  Elk  Point,  April  26,  1868,  but  on  ac- 
count of  local  conditions  it  was  not  completed. 
A  church  was  organized  there  at  a  later  date. 
March  11,  1871. 

The  fourth  Baptist  minister  who  rendered  ef- 
ficient service  was  Rev.  George  D.  Crocker. 
From  1867  to  1885  he  spent  eighteen  years  in 
Dakota  territory  as  chaplain  in  the  regular  army. 
During  fifteen  years  of  this  period  he  was  located 
at  Fort  Sully.  He  did  not  limit  his  ministrations 
to  those  who  were  specially  under  his  oversight, 
but  sought  to  help  others,  the  incoming  settlers, 
and  the  Indians  to  whom  he  could  preach  the 
gospel  in  their  own  language.  As  a  military 
officer  he  could  not  engage  in  distinctivelv  de- 
nominational work,  yet,  through  numerous  visits 
and  sermons  preached,  he  was  mainly  instru- 
mental in  the  organization  of  the  Baptist  churches 
at  Pierre  and  Blunt. 

In  the  order  of  time  the  fifth  Baptist  mis- 
sionary who  came  to  South  Dakota  was  Rev. ' 
George  W.  Freeman.  For  about  two  years  there 
had  been  no  ministerial  worker  except  Chaplain 
Crocker,  at  Fort  Sully,  and  Rev.  P.  A.  Ring, 
who,  with  a  colony  of  Swedes,  had  settled  at  Big 
Springs,  where  a  Swedish  Baptist  church  was 
organized  early  in  July,  1869.  Mr.  Freeman  came 
under  appointment  as  superintendent  of  missions. 
During  his  term  of  service,  which  began  ?ilarch 
I.  1871,  and  continued  two  years  and  a  half,  ten 
new  churches  were  organized.  For  the  first  time 
Baptist  missionary  work  had  a  superintendent  \vh^ 
could  devote  all  his  time  to  the  field,  and  minister 
to  its  rapidly  growing  needs.  The  period  of 
greater  missionary  activity  began  under  his  ad- 
ministration. He  afterward  served  as  pastor  at 
Elk  Point  and  elsewhere,  and  as  supply  for  pas- 
torless  churches  until  his  death,  at  Elk  Point, 
Alarch   13.   1803. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


561 


With  the  organization  of  new  churches  came 
the  necessity  for  pastors.  The  first  settled  Bap- 
tist pastor  was  Rev.  P.  A.  Ring,  at  Big  Springs, 
in  1869.  The  first  EngHsh-speaking  pastor  was 
Rev.  J.  H.  Young,  who  came  to  Elk  Point  in 
October,  1871.  His  ordination  there,  January  7, 
1872,  was  the  first  service  of  that  kind  among 
Baptists.  Rev.  E.  H.  Hulburt  settled  at  Ver- 
million in  September,  1871.  Rev.  J.  J.  Mclntire 
came  in  October,  1S71,  and  settled  where,  soon 
after,  through  his  efforts,  the  Swan  Lake  and 
Finlay  churches  were  organized.  The  names  and 
locations  of  these  two  churches  were  changed  in 
later  years  to  Hurley  and  Parker.  These  were 
followed  soon  by  other  missionary  pastors :  Revs. 
T.  H.  Judson,  J.  L.  Coppoc,  William  T.  Hill,  V. 
B.  Conklin,  J.  P-  Coffman,  A.  W.  Hilton  and 
others.  These  men  labored  under  difficulties, 
and  accomplished  what  they  did  in  the  face 
of  obstacles  and  through  personal  sacrifices, 
of  which  the  workers  of  the  present 
know  little  or  nothing.  Knowing  that  they  were 
laying  the  foundations  of  a  coming  state,  with  a 
far-reaching  forecast  of  the  future,  they  wrought 
so  faithfully  and  so  well  that  their  works  are  • 
fully  manifest.  All  honor  to  the  noble  band  of 
pioneer  missionaries  and  their  self-sacrificing 
wives,  and  their  loyal  co-workers  and  helpers  in 
the  churches! 

At  the  beginning  of  the  first  decade,  in  1868, 
there  were  only  two  Baptist  churches,  at  Yank- 
ton and  Vermillion.  At  its  close  there  were 
eighteen  churches.  They  began  their  existence 
with  the  opening  of  newer  settlements  north  and 
northwest  from  the  early  starting  points.  Among 
the  oldest  of  these  were  Big  Springs,  July  i,  Elk 
point.  March  it,  and  Bloomingdale  (now  Spirit 
Mound),  October  15,  1871 ;  Canton.  March  18, 
Lincoln,  ]\[arch  18,  Lodi,  March  25,  Dell  Rapids, 
July  21.  Hurley,  December  24,  Parker,  December 
25,  1872,  Daneville,  December  .^i,  1873,  and  < 
Sioux  Falls,  July  4.  1875.  Rapidly  increasing  j 
immigration  led  to  the  establishment  of  flourish- 
ing villages  and  ambitious  young  cities.  New 
churches  were  organized  at  Centerville  and  Madi- 
son in  1878.  Goodwin  in  1879.  Huron.  Brookings, 
AVatertown  and  Big  Stone  City  in  1880.  Mitchell 


and  Montrose  in  1881,  Aberdeen,  Arlington, 
Egan  and  Chamberlain  in  1882,  Armour,  DeSmet 
and  Estelline  in  1883,  Ipswich.  Parkston  and 
Pierre  in  1884,  and  Elkton  in  1885. 

The  official  relation  of  Rev.  G.  \V.  Freeman 
as  superintendent  of  missions  ended  October  i, 
1873.  In  February,  1875,  Rev.  J.  N.  Webb, 
D.  D.,  was  appointed  district  secretary  for  Ne- 
braska and  Dakota  territory.  Most  of  his  time 
was  necessarily  devoted  to  Nebraska,  but  he  made 
a  number  of  visits  to  Dakota,  assisting  the  pas- 
tors, encouraging  the  churches,  and  occasionally 
exploring  the  regions  beyond.  His  appointment 
continued  until  October  i.  1877.  From  that  time 
until  August  I,  1880,  there  was  no  one  who  could 
be  constantly  engaged  in  personal  oversight  of 
missionary  work.  This  led  to  the  discourage- 
ment of  pastors  who  were  practically  alone,  and 
most  of  them  on  very  large  fields,  which  required 
all  their  time  and  labor.  Some  important  cen- 
ters of  influence,  where  churches  ought  to  have 
been  planted,  were  not  occupied  at  all,  or  not 
until  the  favorable  time  to  take  possession  had 
passed  by. 

Early  in  the  second  decade  railroad  companies 
were  extending  their  lines  in  nearly  every  direc- 
tion, and  the  abundant  crops,  especially  from  1880 
to  1883,  encouraged  immigration.  Lender  these 
favorable  conditions  the  number  of  churches  in- 
creased, pastors  were  secured,  and  houses  of 
worship  were  built.  The  personal  oversight  of  a 
superintendent  of  missions  was  essential,  and 
Rev.  Edward  Ellis  entered  upon  his  work  with 
characteristic  enthusiasm  and  zeal,  August  i, 
1880.  A  majority  of  the  pastors  were  young  men 
thoroughly  educated  and  devoted  to  their  work. 
Many  of  them  have  left  their  impress  on  the 
state  whose  character  they  helped  to  mould  and 
shape.  Among  those  who  came  during  that  pe- 
riod in  the  work  of  church  organization,  securing 
church  homes  and  training  their  people  in  Chris- 
tian service,  were  E.  B.  Meredith,  S.  G.  Adams. 
H.  E.  Norton,  S.  J.  Winegar,  J,  Edminster,  C.  N. 
Patterson,  George  A.  Cressy.  L.  M.  Newell,  M. 
Barker.  C.  G.  Cressv,  Edward  Godwin.  S.  S. 
Utter.  E.  M.  BHss.  F."m.  Homing.  C.  H.  :McKec, 
George  H.  Parker,  C.  ^^'.  Fin  wall,  Andrew  John- 


562 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


son,  J.  B.  Sundt,  O.  Olthofif,  B.  Matzke,  J.  Engle- 
man,  and  others  who  came  later  in  the  decade. 

Among  the  early  German  settlers  in  Dakota 
territory  were  some  German  Baptists.     In  order 
to  minister  to  their  spiritual  needs,  and  to  evan- 
gelize others,  Rev.  J.  Wendt  came  from  Minis- 
tzita.   Minnesota,   in    1875.    -'^s  a   result   of  this 
movement  the  first  German  Baptist  church  was 
organized  at  Emanuel  Creek,  April  26,  1876.    A 
German-Russian  colony  came  to  Yankton  early 
in  1877.     A  church  was  organized  there  and  a 
chapel    built.    Soon    after    most    of    the    colo- 
nists   removed    to    Bon    Homme    and    Hutch- 
inson     counties,      and      the      identity      of      the 
church      was      lost.      A      German     church     was 
organized    at    Big    Stone    City,    May    9,      1880,   [ 
under  the  leadership  of  Rev.  J.  Engler.     In  1881   1 
and  1882  Revs.  F.  Reichle  and  J.  Croeni  came  as  1 
missionaries  to  several  of  the  southern  counties. 
They  first  established  mission  stations.    The  sta- 
tion at  Plum  Creek  was  organized  into  a  church 
June  9,  1883.    The  church  at  Madison  was  organ- 
ized May  I,  1883.     After  this  period  the  organ-  ; 
ization    of    German    churches  was  more  rapid. 
Rev.  O.  Olthofif,  who  came  in  1884,  was  a  leader  1 
in   organizing    several    churches,   and   later   co-  i 
workers  helped  to  increase  the  number. 

German  missionary  work  in  this  country  is 
directed  primarily  towards  the  evangelization  of 
Germans  who  came  from  Germany,  but  in  South 
and  North  Dakota  it  is  devoted  largely  to  Ger- 
mans who  came  from  Russia.  The  term  German- 
Russians,  which  is  in  common  use,  ought  to  be 
changed  to  Russianized  Germans.  The  people 
referred  to  are  the  descendants  of  a  large  body  of 
Germans,  who,  at  the  request  of  Russian  rulers, 
emigrated  to  Russia  during  the  reigns  of  Cather- 
ine and  Alexander  I  (  1776-1818).  Those  Ger- 
mans at  first  enjoyed  unusual  privileges :  they 
were  exempt  from  service  in  the  army,  and  were 
permitted  to  use  their  own  language,  and  con- 
tinue their  own  religious  beliefs  and  forms  of 
church  government.  \Mien  these  privileges  were 
withdrawn,  in  1874,  they  rapidly  came  to  Amer- 
ica, and  thousands  of  tliem  settled  in  the  two  Da- 
kotas.  Several  hundred  of  them  have  been  gath- 
ircd  into  liaptist  churches. 


The  number  of  German  and  Russianized  Ger- 
man Baptist  churches  in  South  Dakota  is  fifteen, 
with  a  total  membership  of  eleven  hundred  and 
thirteen.  The  valuation  of  their  church  property  is 
forty  thousand  six  hundred  dollars.  The  num- 
ber of  churches  would  be  larger  if  American 
plans  of  organization  were  carried  out.  They 
pursue  a  rigidly  conservative  and  careful  policy. 
They  are  very  particular  in  the  reception  of  new 
members,  watchful  in  oversight,  and  strict  in  dis- 
cipline, yet  they  increase,  relatively,  more  rapidly 
than  American  churches.  Each  church  has  its 
central  headquarters,  with  several  outlying  sta- 
tions varying  from  three  to  six  or  more.  At  one 
time  the  Eureka  church,  covering  a  field  over 
sevent\r-five  miles  in  length,  had  twelve  different 
stations.  The  number  of  members  at  these  sta- 
tions is  often  large,  but  they  are  usually  held  as 
stations  or  branches  of  the  parent  church  until 
they  are  strong  enough  to  be  set  apart  as  self- 
supporting  churches.  At  some  of  the  stations 
chapels  have  been  built,  and  in  some  cases  each 
church  has  from  two  to  four  houses  of  worship. 
The  parental  oversight  of  the  mother  church  is 
such  that  some  of  the  new  churches,  when  or- 
ganized, have  their  religious  home  already  pre- 
pared for  them. 

According  to  statistics,  official  and  estimated, 
the  total  Scandinavian  population  of  the  state, 
both  native  and  foreign-born,  is  about  sixty-three 
thousand.  Many  of  these  people  were  among  the 
earliest  pioneers.  Some  of  them  were  Baptists 
before  they  left  their  Fatherland.  True  to  their 
convictions,  they  early  sought  to  establish 
churches  in  their  new  homes.  The  first  known 
Baptist  religious  service  held  by  them  was  at 
Bloomingdale,  at  four  o'clock  on  Christmas 
morning,  December  25,  1868.  A  colony  of  Swedes 
settled  at  Big  Springs  in  1868,  and  early  in  July, 
1869,  a  Swedish  Baptist  church  was  organized 
there.  The  first  Scandinavian  converts  were 
baptized  at  E'loomingdale.  June  14,  1871.  where  a 
church  was  organized  October  15,  1871,  and  at 
Big  Springs  July  14,  1872.  A  Danish  church 
was  organized  at  Lodi,  ^Nlarch  25,  T872,  and  an- 
other at  Daneville,  December  31,  1873.  These 
four  churches  have  long  been  strong  and  infiu- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


563 


ential  organizations.  Their  existence,  however, 
during  several  years  of  their  early  history,  was 
imperiled  by  the  pernicious  activity  of  Scandi- 
navian Seventh-Day  Adventists,  who  sought  to 
destroy  them. 

In  the  summer  of  1884  Rev.  Jacob  Olsen  was 
appointed  Scandinavian  missionary.  He  had  rare 
elements  of  leadership,  and  served  successfully 
fourteen  years.  More  than  a  dozen  churches 
were  organized  by  him,  and  all  were  prosperous 
under  his  careful  oversight.  His  successors  have 
been  Revs.  Andrew  Swartz,  Isaac  Hedberg 
and  C.  H.  Bolvig.  In  1886  the  Scan- 
dinavian churches  organized  the  Scandinavian 
Baptist  Association  of  South  Dal<ota.  In  this  as- 
sociation there  are  now  twenty-two  churches, 
designated  according  to  the  nationality  most 
largely  represented  in  each.  Of  these  ten  are 
Swedish,  six  are  Danish,  two  are  Norwegian,  and 
four  are  Dano-Norwegian  churches.  In  ail 
other  states  there  are  separate  state  organizations 
for  the  Swedes  and  for  the  Norwegians  and 
Danes.  It  is  only  in  South  Dakota  that  all  these 
three  nationalities  work  harmoniously  and  suc- 
cessfully in  one  organization.  These  twenty-two 
churches  have  eleven  hundred  and  eighteen  mem- 
bers, sixteen  houses  of  worship,  and  six  parson- 
ages. The  total  valuation  of  their  church  prop- 
erty is  over  thirty-two  thousand  dollars.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  number  of  members  here  reported,  in 
many  localities  there  are  Scandinavian  Baptists 
who  are  members  of  American  Baptist  churches. 
As  a  general  rule  they  are  in  fullest  sympathy 
with  every  department  of  evangelical  work.  They 
are  characterized  bt  an  earnest  devotion  to  the 
church,  deep  spirituality  and  unstinted  liberality. 
Church  discipline  is  carefully  maintained,  and  an 
intensely  devotional  spirit  pervades  their  meet- 
ings. 

The  appointment  of  Rev.  Edward  Ellis  as 
superintendent  of  missions,  August  i,  1880,  nom- 
inally continued  five  years,  but  Iiis  relation  to  the 
general  work  practically  ended  a  year  earlier, 
August  I,  1884,  to  enable  him  to  serve  as  financial 
agent  of  Sioux  Falls  College.  He  came  with  the 
rapidlv  increasing  tide  of  immigration.  It  was 
the  period  of  greatest  activity  in  both  sccuhr  and 


religious  work.  Any  enterprise,  religious  or 
otherwise,  that  gave  promise  of  helping  to  build 
up  a  community,  received  hearty  support.  The 
I  spirit  of  the  times  was  in  sympathy  with  the  zeal 
of  this  earnest  leader  in  missionary  work.  It  was 
easier  then  than  in  the  later  period  of  financial 
distress  and  crop  failures,  to  establish  churches 
and  secure  the  needed  funds  for  building  shelters 
for  their  comfort  and  protection.  He  led  in  the 
organization  of  twenty-six  new  churches,  thir- 
teen of  which  in  a  few  years  became  extinct,  and 
in  the  erection  of  sixteen  houses  of  worship. 
After  several  years  of  active  service  in  other 
states,  he  died  suddenly  at  Hudson,  Wisconsin, 
October  6,  1892.  He  was  descended  from  an 
eminently  religious  family.  Some  of  his  ances- 
tors were  among  the  best  known  ministers  in 
Wales.  As  a  preacher  he  was  enthusiastic,  forci- 
ble and  evangelical.  He  was  a  genial  friend  and 
companion,  an  inspiring  co-worker  and  a  suc- 
cessful leader. 

The  last  half  of  the  second  decade  witnessed 
the  reaction  that  followed  the  overdoing  of  its 
earlier  years.    Their  experience  taught  the  people 
that  booms  are  never  permanent.     Business  en- 
terprises,  begun    under   encouraging   conditions, 
were   left   unfinished.     Young   cities;  whose   en- 
thusiastic   founders    predicted    for    them    rapid 
growth  and  metropolitan  dignity,  are  now  older 
j  and  wiser,  and  are  still   far  from  the  promised 
goal.    The  wonderful  tide  of  immigration  in  the 
earlier  vears  brought  manv  thousands  of  people 
to  establish  homes  in  South  Dakota.     Its  refluent 
wave  took  back  with  it  the  restless  spirits  who 
are  always  at  the  front  of  every  new  movement, 
I  but  never  remain  to  do  the  hard  work  and  make 
I   the  sacrifices  necessary  for  its  permanent  accom- 
1   plishment.     The  workers   in   some  of  the  years 
\   following  have  had  to  labor  under  less  favorable 
conditions,  and  make  slow  progress,  though  with 
greater  eiTort  than  is  necessary  with  those  who 
catch  the  rising  tide  and  are  borne  along  on  the 
crest  of  the  wave. 

After  a  period  of  four  years,  during  which 
missionary  work  was  without  any  general  super- 
vision. Rev.  T.  M.  Shanafelt,  D.  D.,  became 
superintendent  of  missions  and  entered  upon  his 


564 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


work  in  April,  iS88,  and  is  now  in  his  seventeenth 
year  of  continuous  service.  At  that  time  there 
was  not  a  single  self-supporting  Baptist  church 
in  Dakota  territory.  Up  to  that  period  nothing 
had  been  done  to  establish  Baptist  churches  in 
the  Black  Hills.  Other  denominations  had  been 
occupying  the  ground  there  since  1876.  The  first 
Baptist  church  in  the  Black  Hills  was  organized 
October  31,  1888.  at  Deadwood.  Others  fol- 
lowed in  rapid  succession  and  there  are  now  nine 
churches,  eight  of  which  have  houses  of  wor- 
ship. The  present  number  of  members  of  churches 
comprising  the  Black  Hills  Association  is  four 
hundred  and  seventy-five. 

The  first  Baptist  house  of  worship  was  dedi- 
cated at  \''ermillion  June  4,  1872.  It  has  been 
stated  elsewhere  in  this  chapter  that  the  first 
church  bell  ever  brought  to  Dakota  territory  was 
secured  by  Father  Bekourt  for  a  Roman  Catholic 
church  at  Walhalla,  in  1846.  The  first  protestant 
church  bell  was  placed  in  the  tower  of  the  Bap- 
tist church  at  Vermillion  in  1872.  *  It  was  the 
ringing  of  that  bell  during  the  night  of  the 
memorable  flood,  in  March,  1881.  when  the 
waters  poured  through  the  streets  of  \"ermillion, 
that  saved  many  lives  by  arousing  the  sleeping 
citizens  in  time  to  realize  their  danger  and  escape 
to  the  bluffs.  The  church  building,  one  of  the 
few  that  were  saved,  was  afterwards  removed, 
with  others,  from  the  lowlands  to  the  blufifs. 

On  the  day  following  the  dedication  of  the 
house  of  worship  the  nine  existing  churches, 
through  their  pastors  and  delegates,  organized 
the  Southern  Dakota  Baptist  Association. 
These  churches  were  mainly  in  or  near  the  valley 
of  the  Missouri  river.  Ten  years  later  the  num- 
ber of  churches  had  increased  to  nearly  thirty, 
some  of  them  located  two  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  north.  The  second  association,  known  as 
the  Sioux  Valley  Baptist  Association,  was  or- 
ganized at  Brookings,  June  9-1 1,  1882.  Two 
years  later  a  third  one  became  necessary  and  the 
James  River  Association  was  organized  at  Co- 
lumbia, October  10,  1884.    After  a  few  years  it 


became  evident  that  the  area  of  each  of  these  as- 
sociations was  entirely  too  large,  and  a  re- 
organization was  necessary.  The  superintendent 
of  missions  led  in  a  successful  movement,  in 
1893,  to  create  five  new  associations  out  of  the 
territory  hitherto  occupied  by  three.  Tliev  were 
constructed  along  geographical  lines,  and  are 
known  as  the  Southern  Dakota.  Sioux  Falls. 
Central,  Northeastern  and  Northwestern  Associa- 
tions. These,  with  the  Black  Hills,  the  Scandi- 
navian and  the  German,  constitute  the  eight  as- 
sociations within  the  state. 

Associations   have  an   important   mission,   to 
render  assistance   to   nei.ghboring   churches   and 
promote  Christian  fellowship.     A   state  conven- 
tion, on  a  larger  scale,  unifies  the  work,  and  se- 
cures  the   consideration  of  the   important  ques- 
tions of  missions,   education  and  church  exten- 
sion.   It  draws  together  all  of  the  workers  within 
the  sphere  of  its    operations,    thereby    securing 
unity  of  plan  and  eflfort.     In  1881  there  was  a 
general  rally  of  Baptists  on  the  shore  of  Lake 
Madison.      The   meetings    began    June    30,    and 
were  held  in  Baker's  new  barn,  which  was  spe- 
cially fitted  up  for  the  occasion.     In  changes  of 
later  years  the  main  portion  of  that  barn  became 
the  dining  room  of  Lake  View  Hotel,  now  be- 
longing to  the  Lake   Madison   Chautauqua  As- 
sociation.   After  a  full  discussion  of  the  subject, 
it   was   decided   to   organize   the    South   Dakota 
1   Baptist  Convention.     Officers   were  elected  and 
j   standing   committees    were    appointed.      A   year 
later,  at  Sioux  Falls,  the  organization  was  com- 
pleted by  the  adoption  of  a  constitution  and  by- 
i  laws.     The   annual   meetings  of  the  convention 
I  have  been  regularly  held,  with  increasing  attend- 
ance and  interest.    At  these  meetings  all  the  lead- 
ing objects  of  benevolence  are  fully  considered 
and  encouraged. 
I         In    the    state    organization    of    the    Baptist 
i  Young  People's  l^'nion,  in   1891,  a  new  element 
j  of  strength  and  helpfulness  came  into  auxiliary 
relationship   with    the    state   convention.      Many 
good  results  have  followed  the  application  of  the 
consecrated  energy  of  the  young  people.     Their 
sympathy  has  been  enlisted  and    their    practical 
co-operation  assured,  in  the  increasingly  import- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


565 


ant  work  of  evangelizing  the  state.  During  this 
period  women's  mission  circles  were  organized  in 
the  church.  The  study  of  missionary  literature 
and  plans  of  work  have  increased  the  efficiency 
of  the  Christian  women  of  the  churches,  and 
the}-  have  been  faithful  helpers  in  promoting  the 
]>rimary  object  of  a  state  convention,  which  is  the 
development  of  missionary  resources,  and  the 
prosecution  of  missionary  work  within  the 
state. 

The  first  Sunday  school  was  organized  at 
\'ermillion,  June  14,  1861,  by  Rev.  C.  D.  Martin. 
The  first  denominational  Sunday  school  was  a 
Baptist  school  organized  in  Jtnie  or  July,  1864, 
bv  Rev.  L.  P.  Judson.  The  first  Sunday  school 
that  has  maintained  a  continuous  existence  was 
organized  March  26,  1871,  in  a  log  house  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  Sioux  river,  a  few  miles  north 
of  Elk  Point.  Dr.  John  Tremaine  was  its  first 
sujierintendent.  Other  schools  were  organized  at 
\'ermillion  in  1871  and  Elk  Point  in  1872.  The 
first  Danish  Sunday  school  was  organized  at 
Lodi,  March  25,  1872,  the  first  Swedish  school  at 
Big  Springs,  in  June,  1872,  and  the  first  Nor- 
wegian school  near  Oldham,  in  Jul}',  1882.  The 
first  German  school  was  organized  at  Emanuel 
Creek,  near  Tyndall,  in  1878.  With  the  be- 
ginning of  the  work  of  establishing  Baptist 
churches  the  organization  of  Baptist  Sunday 
schools  and  the  distribution  of  Baptist  literature 
became  necessary.  The  following  state  Sunday 
school  missionaries  have  served  under  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  American  Baptist  Publication 
Society:  George  T.  Johnson,  1880;  B.  S.  Wales, 
1881-1887:  David  P.  Ward,  1888-1895  :  Frank  D. 
Hall,  1895-1902;  Thomas  H.  Hagen,  since  Sep- 
tember, 1902.  There  are  now  nearly  one  hun- 
dred Sunday  schools,  seven  hundred  officers  and 
teachers,  and  a  total  membership  of  six  thousand 
five  hundred. 

The  subject  of  Christian  education  was 
among  the  important  matters  that  received  care- 
ful consideration  in  the  early  days.  The  pioneers, 
with  far-reaching  forecast  of  the  future,  knew 
that  thev  were  laving  the  foundations  of  a  com- 
irg  stite,  an;!  they  desired,  :it  the  beginning,  to 


make  arrangements  for  the  education  of  their 
children  and  of  the  generations  that  should  fol- 
low. When  there  were  only  nine  Baptist 
churches  in  all  the  territory,  on  the  first  occasion 
for  the  assembling  together  of  their  pastors  and 
other  representatives,  at  the  time  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Southern  Dakota  Baptist  Association, 
at  \'ermillion,  June  5,  1872.  a  committee  on  Chris- 
tian education  was  appointed,  consisting  of  J.  J. 
;\lclntire,  S.  A.  Ufford  and  Martin  J.  Lewis.  The 
association  adopted  strong  resolutions,  recogniz- 
ing the  intimate  relation  of  higher  education  and 
evangelization,  urging  that  immediate  steps  be 
taken  for  the  establishment  of  an  institution  of 
learning,  and  the  selection  of  a  location,  easv  of 
access,  healthy  and  surrounded  by  helpful  moral, 
social  and  intellectual  influences.  Though  un- 
able to  carry  out  their  cherished  plans  at  once, 
the  subject  was  annually  discussed,  and  when, 
in  later  years,  the  time  for  action  came,  they 
were  ready  to  render  prompt  and  willing  assist- 
ance. 

At  the  organization  of  the  state  convention,  at 
Lake  Madison,  in  1881,  a  decision  was  reached, 
and  a  school  was  established  at  Sioux  Falls  in 
1883,  and  the  present  buildings  were  completed 
the  following  year.  It  was  first  called  the  Dakota 
Collegiate  Institute.  In  1885  the  school  was  re- 
organized and,  at  the  earnest  request  of  the  citi- 
zens, became  known  as  Sioux  Falls  University. 
Like  nearly  all  western  schools  of  higher  learn- 
ing, it  was  for  several  years  handicapped  by  an 
overshadowing  name  it  ought  never  to  have 
borne.  Finally  better  judgment  prevailed  and 
the  name  was  changed  to  what  its  founders  and 
friends  intended  it  to  be,  Sioux  Falls  College. 
Though  laboring  under  the  disadvantage  of  in- 
sufficient endowment,  it  has  rendered  excellent 
service.  The  first  class  graduated  from  the 
academic  department  in  1886.  Each  succeeding 
year  the  graduating  class  has  ranged  in  number 
from  three  to  twenty-two.  These  students  have 
reflected  great  credit  on  the  institution,  and  many 
of  them  are  filling  places  of  honor  and  responsi- 
bility in  the  various  professions  which  they  have 
adopted,  or  in  business  life.     Several  graduates 


566 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


have  entered  the  ministry,  and  are  preaching  the 
gospel  successfully  in  South  Dakota  and  other 
states. 

While  Baptists  founded  a  Baptist  College  in 
Siou.x  Falls,  representatives  of  the  denomination 
have  been  prominent  in  the  establishment  and 
administration  of  some  of  the  state  institutions  of 
learning.  A  Baptist.  Dr.  Ephraim  ]\I.  Epstein, 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  State  University,  lo- 
cated at  \'ermillion.  He  was  thoroughly  edu- 
cated, a  linguist  of  the  highest  order,  and  an  en- 
thusiast in  matters  pertaining  to  education.  The 
territorial  legislature,  in  1862,  passed  an  act  lo- 
cating a  tiniversity  at  A'ermillion,  but  it  was 
twenty  years  before  it  was  put  in  operation. 
Early  in  1882  Dr.  Epstein  resigned  as  pastor  at 
Yankton,  and  spent  several  months  traveling  over 
the  southern  counties  of  the  territory.  By  pub- 
lic addresses  and  personal  interviews,  he 
awakened  an  interest  among  the  people  in  the 
contemplated  university. 

Its  first  session  opened  October  16,  1882,  and 
he  was  its  first  president.  Through  his  great 
energy  and  zeal  he  conducted  it  successfully  to 
the  end  of  its  first  year.  An  official  report  con- 
cerning the  work  done  includes  this  statement : 
"The  trustees  are  entirely  satisfied  with  the 
school.  It  has  been  successfully  managed.  The 
students  also  showed  their  satisfaction  by  return- 
ing in  large  numbers  at  the  opening  of  the  fol- 
lowing school  yeat."  While  the  citizens  of  the 
territory  and  the  students  were  satisfied  with  the 
administration  of  Dr.  Epstein,  there  was  even  in 
that  early  period  an  exhibition  of  the  peculiar 
methods  adopted  by  managing  boards  of  state  in- 
stitutions. The  one  to  whom,  above  all  others, 
credit  was  due  for  the  successful  establishment  of 
the  school,  and  its  first  prosperous  year,  was  re- 
moved from  the  office  of  president,  and  another 
one,  a  stranger  from  the  east,  was  chosen  in 
his  place.  Many  friends  of  the  institution  deeply 
regretted  the  discourtesy  and  ingratitude  ex- 
hibited towards  its  founder. 

Edward  Olson,  Ph.  D..  the  third  president  of 
the  university,  was  a  Baptist.  He  was  elected  in 
June,  1887,  and  served  until  his  untimely  death, 
by  accident,  in  Minneapolis,  November  3,   1889. 


His  profound  scholarship  and  great  administra- 

I  tive  ability  placed  him  in  the  highest  rank  among 
the  leading  educators  of  the  northwest.     The  of- 

1  ficial  report  of  the  board  of  regents  makes  this 
declaration    concerning    him :      "Edward    Olson 

I  was  remarkable  in   personality  and   scholarship. 

I  He  was  a  natural  leader  and  a  born  teacher.  His 
character  was  Christian,  inspiring  and  uplifting. 
His  work  for  the  university  will  be  lasting  in  its 
results.     The  progress  made  in  the  brief  period 

\  of  its  administration  is,  in  many  respects,  without 
a  parallel  in  educational  annals."  President 
01sen"s  successor.  Rev.  Howard  B.  Grose.  D.  D.. 
was  a  Ba]3tist.  J.  \\'.  Heston,  LL.  D.,  who  was 
for  several  years  president  of  the  State  Agri- 
cultural College,  at  Brookings,  is  a  Baptist:  so 
also  is  Professor  J-  S.  Frazee,  president  of  the 
State  Normal  School,  located  at  Springfield. 

Among  the  Baptists  who  have  been  elected  or 
ap]3ointed  to  important  public  positions  in  the  ter- 

:   ritory  and   state  are  the   following :     Rev.   J.  J. 

I  Mclntire,  superintendent  of  public  instruction, 
Dakota  territory;  Hon.  Charles  M.  Thomas, 
justice  of  the  supreme  court,  Dakota  territory ; 
afterwards    elected    district    judge.    Black    Hills 

'•  district;  Rev.  George  H.  Parker,  deputy  state 
superintendent    of    public    instruction ;      E.     F. 

!  Swartz,  for  ten  years  deputy  state  auditor;  mem- 
bers  of  the   territorial   legislature ;    Rev.    Albert 

j  Gore,  William  Shriner,  Dr.  E.  O.  Stevens,  Joseph 
L.  Berry,  C.  D.  ]\Iead.  A.  C.  Huetson,  Rev.  N. 

t  Tychsen,    A.    S.   Jones,    Isaac    Atkinson,    C.    D. 

!   Austin  and  H.   H.  Keith    (the  last   named  was 

I  elected  speaker)  ;  state  legislature — Senators  I. 
H.  Newby,  Carl  Gunderson,  D.  O.  Bennett,  C. 
C.  Wright,  T.  C.  Else.  George  W.  Case  and  John 
F.  Schrader;  representatives.  C.  R.  Wescott. 
George  Watson  and  R.  J.  Odell.  The  following- 
Baptist  ministers  have  served  as  chaplains  in  the 
legislature :  L.  P.  Judson,  Albert  Gore,  T.  H. 
Judson.  J.  B.  Coffman,  James  Buchanan,  D.  R. 
Landis,  G.  S.  Clevenger,  D.  C.  Smith,  Edker 
Burton  and  C.  F.  A'reeland. 

When  the  writer's  official  relation  to  the 
work  in  South  Dakota  began,  in  April,  1888,  he 
found  on  the  rolls  of  the  associational  records  the 
names  of  seventv-one  churches,  having  a  reported 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


567 


membership  of  two  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
sixteen.  Twenty  of  these  churches  were  then 
extinct,  and  soon  after  several  others  were 
stricken  from  the  list,  leaving  about  forty-two 
nominally  live  organizations.  There  were  at  that 
time  thirty-one  houses  of  worship  and  three  par- 
sonages. The  total  value  of  church  property  was 
ninety-eight  thousand  dollars.  Since  then 
seventy-three  new  churches  have  been  organized, 
and  fifty-six  houses  of  worship  have  been  built 
or  secured  by  purchase,  and  thirty-one  parson- 
ages. At  that  time  there  was  not  a  self-support- 
ing church  in  Dakota  territory ;  now  there  are 
thirty-six  in  South  Dakota.  There  are  now  one 
hundred  and  five  churches,  having  over  six 
tliousand  members,  eighty-seven  houses  of  wor- 
ship and  thirty-four  parsonages.  The  total  value 
of  church  property,  not  including  the  property 
of  the  college  at  Sioux  Falls,  is  two  hundred  and 
■fifty-five  thousand  dollars. 

]\Iany  churches  fail  to  make  full  reports  of 
the  amount  of  money  raised  for  expenses  and 
,  benevolence.  So  far  as  annual  reports  have  been 
made  in  the  past,  the  summary  is  as  follows :  For 
benevolence,  from  churches,  $116,819.03:  from 
Sunday  schools.  $5,824.43 ;  total  for  benevolence. 
$122,643.46.  For  expenses,  from  churches. 
S716.880.30;  from  Sunday  schools,  $42,207.11; 
total  for  expenses,  $759,087.41  ;  total  for  benevo- 
lence and  expenses,  $881,730.67.  For  the  first 
ten  or  twelve  }'ears  the  annual  printed  proceed- 
ings of  associations  contain  very  meagre  re- 
ports of  amounts  contributed  for  anv  object,  and 
in  succeeding  years  the  reports  are  incomplete. 
There  is  no  doubt,  whatever,  that  if  full  and  com- 
plete reports  of  money  contributed  for  expenses 
and  benevolence  had  been  made  annually,  the 
grand  total  would  exceed  one  million  dollars. 
The  summary  given  above  does  not  include  the 
generous    assistance   rendered    bv    the    American 


Baptist  Home  Mission  Society  in  supporting 
missionary  pastors  and  building  houses  of  wor- 
ship. The  society  has  appropriated  to  South 
Dakota  from  the  missionary  fund  $217,731.09. 
and  from  the  church  edifice  fund,  in  gifts  and 
loans.  $36,921.90;  total,  $254,652.99. 

The  foregoing  is  a  condensed  sketch  of 
Baptist  missionary  work  from  its  beginning  in 
South  Dakota,  and  the  later  progress  and  growth 
of  the  denominations.  From  the  earliest  settle- 
ments, harassed  by  Indian  depradations,  to  the 
later  years  of  peace  and  prosperity,  many  have 
had  a  large  experience  in  laying  the  foundations 
of  a  new  state  and  shaping  its  character  and 
destiny.  To  have  borne  a  part  in  such  in  un- 
dertaking is  a  great  honor.  In  this  foundational 
work,  Baptists  labored  from  the  beginning,  and 
have  ever  since  borne  a  conspicuous  part.  They 
were  more  than  Baptists.  They  have  been  busy 
toilers  in  constructing  the  framework  and  per- 
fecting the  development  of  a  state,  midway  be- 
tween the  oceans,  on  whose  broad  prairies  might 
be  established  homes,  the  abodes  of  peace  and 
happiness,  and  schools,  the  aids  to  intelligence 
and  cuhure,  and  churches,  the  helpers  to  piety 
and  devotion  and  loyalty  to  God. 

We  have  been  looking  backward  over  a  past 
record.  For  wdnat  has  been  accomplished  we 
thank  God.  As  citizens  we  rejoice  in  the  peace, 
and  plenty,  and  prosperity  of  our  state.  As 
Baptists  we  are  grateful  for  the  progress  we  have 
made,  and  that  we  have  a  record  of  which  we 
need  not  be  ashamed.  Treasuring  the  remem- 
brance of  what  God  has  done  for  us  and  through 
us,  hitherto,  we  hand  the  record  down  to  those 
who  shall  come  after  us.  While  heeding  the 
command  "Thou  shalt  remember  all  the  way 
which  the  Lord  thy  God  led  thee."  we  are  also 
obeying  the  injunction  to  "Tell  it  to  the  genera- 
tion following." 


CHAPTER  XCVIII 


CONGREGATIONALISM  IN  SOUTH  DAKOTA. 


REV.    CHARLES    MOTT   DALEV. 


Congregationalism  presents  the  apostolic  idea 
of  churches  established  by  the  voluntary  union  of 
Christian  believers,  each  church  governing  its 
own  affairs,  yet  united  with  others  in  the  bonds 
of  fellowshifi,  according  to  the  New  Testament 
suggestions.  There  is  evidence  that  this  apostolic 
form  of  church  government  was  resuscitated  in 
England  as  early  as  the  days  of  Wycliffe,  in  the 
fourteenth  century,  though  church  history  speaks 
of  its  having  become  a  definite  movement  in  the 
sixteenth  century. 

These  Separatists  were  an  offense  to  the 
Church  of  England,  and  their  acts  were  con- 
sidered revolutionary.  Persecutions,  tortures, 
imprisonments,  exiles  and  hangings  followed. 
But  the  religious  liberty  for  which  these  earnest 
souls  contended  was  not  to  be  destroyed  by  per- 
secutions. They  sought  safety  in  Holland,  wor- 
shipping at  both  Amsterdam  and  Scrooby.  In 
an  old  manor-house  there,  says  a  gifted  writer, 
was  the  beginning  of  New  England.  This  his- 
toric church  seems  to  have  had,  in  a  peculiarly 
providential  way,  those  elements  that  Rev.  R. 
J.  Campbell  recently  stated  that  the  American 
churches  now  lack,  viz:  a  happy  blending  of  the 
intensely  religious,  or  pious,  elements  with  those 
of  the  strongly  intellectual.  At  length  the  "May- 
flower" set  sail.  "The  seed  of  a  free  govern- 
ment was  in  the  '^Mayflower"  and  in  the  compact 
made  in  it.  The  fruit  of  it  is  the  American  re- 
public." New  England,  with  its  meeting  house, 
and  town  house,  and  school  house,  and  college, 
followed  the  experiences  of  Plymouth  Rock  and 


1620.  But  could  Congregationalism  thrive  west 
of  the  Hudson  river?  Doubted.  Therefore  a 
plan  of  union  was  adopted  about  the  year  1800 
by  Presbyterians  and  Congregationalists,  which 
continued  for  about  fifty  3'ears,  and  was  then  dis- 
solved. Congregationalists  had  discovered  that 
their  polity  was  adapted  to  the  West  as  well  as 
the  East,  though  New  York  state  and  the  West- 
ern Reserve  had  by  this  time  become  dominantly 
Presbyterian.  Dr.  Alexander  H.  Ross  stated  that 
"The  Plan  of  Union  has  transformed  over  two 
thousand  churches,  which  were  in  origin  and 
usages  Congregational,  into  Presbyterian 
churches."  Modern  Congregationalism  from  its 
beginning  had  been  imbued  with  the  missionary 
spirit,  and  the  dissolution  referred  to  served  the 
more  emphatically  to  impress  the  need  of  active 
work.  Congregationalists  already  felt  that  they 
had  a  divinely  appointed  mission  westward.  The 
states  bordering  the  great  lakes,  and  the  rapidly 
opening  newer  West  and  Northwest,  with  its  in- 
homogeneous  multitudes  of  pioneers,  gave  to  this 
church  polity  a  hearty  welcome.  Congregation- 
alism responded  with  home  missionaries  and 
home  missionary  churches :  with  academies  and 
small  colleges  and  great  colleges;  while  by  the 
New  England  churches  great  national  societies 
were  organized  for  the  development  and  assist- 
ance of  these  missionary  activities.  If  any  should 
ever  ask,  "What  brought  Congregationalism  to 
South  Dakota?"  the  answer  may  be  found  in 
what  is  stated  above,  coupled  with  its  desire  to 
fulfil  our  Lord's  injunction  recorded  in  the  six- 


I'ARD  ACADEMY. 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


569 


teenth  chapter  of  St.  Mark.  It  is  this  spirit  that 
sent  CongregationaHsm  around  the  world,  and 
that  gives  to  this  polity,  through  the  various  de- 
nominations embracing  it,  doubtless,  the  largest 
aggregate  membership  of  any  church  polity  in  the 
United  States. 

The  following  sketch  of  Congregationalism 
in  South  Dakota  is  but  an  account  of  a  similar 
history  of  its  life  and  work  from  New  England 
all  across  this  great  continent  to  the  Pacific  coast. 
The  history  of  Congregationalism  in  this  state  is, 
in  every  important  particular,  the  history  of  the 
commonwealth  itself.  From  early  territorial 
days  until  now,  no  great  progress  in  physical, 
intellectual  or  spiritual  interests  has  been  made 
in  which  Congregationalism  has  not  been  a  potent 
factor.  It  was  a  pioneer,  and  as  such  endured  the 
hardships  and  vicissitudes  of  pioneer  life. 

Congregationalists  in  South  Dakota  count 
among  their  leaders  and  builders  the  Riggs  fam- 
ily, whose  father,  Stephen  R.  Riggs,  D.  D.,  LL. 
D.,  visited  the  territory  of  Dakota  as  early  as  Sep- 
tember, 1840,  holding  religious  services  with  the 
Indians  and  traders  at  old  Fort  Pierre,  on  the 
jMissiouri  river.  Dr.  Riggs,  himself  a  Presby- 
terian, was  a  missionary  of  the  American  Board 
of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  which 
society  was  then  operating  under  the  Plan  of 
Union  referred  to  above,  and  was  supported  by 
both  Presbyterian  and  Congregational  churches. 
These  services  seem,  from  the  best  records  avail- 
able at  the  present  time,  to  have  been  the  intro- 
ductory ones  in  evangelical  missionary  work  in 
the  territory.  This  trip  was  made  by  Dr.  Riggs 
and  his  associate  from  their  mission  station  at 
Lac-qui-parle,  Minnesota,  for  the  purpose  of 
ascertaining  the  condition  of  the  Teton  In- 
dians west  of  the  Missouri  river  and  their  attitude 
toward  missionary  work.  We  shall  speak  later  of 
this  signally  important  and  effective  work,  which 
has  been  continued  with  unabated  energy  by  his 
two  sons  and  a  grandson,  members  of  our  state 
association. 

Congregationalists'  first  work  among  white 
setilers  was  done  at  Yankton,  then  the  territorial 
capital,  though  a  rough  frontier  and  river  town  of 
about  four  hundred  inhabitants.     The  American 


(Congregational)  Home  Missionary  Society 
came  to  know  of  the  desire  in  Yankton  for  a  Con- 
gregational church  through  the  correspondence 
of  an  estimable  lady,  wife  of  the  Rev.  C.  H.- 
Wheeler, then  a  missionary  in  Harpoot,  Turkey, 
whose  brother  was  none  other  than  Judge  W.  W. 
Brookings,  of  the  territorial  capital.  As  the  re- 
sult of  an  application  for  a  missionary  sent  to  the 
society  by  Judge  Brookings.  Rev.  E.  W.  Cook, 
of  Ripon,  Wisconsin,  was  commissioned  for  six 
months  for  that  work.  He  reached  Yankton  in 
March,  1868.  Services  were  begun  at  once,  and 
the  First  Congregational  church  of  Yankton  was 
organized  April  6,  1868,  with  ten  charter  mem- 
bers. One  month  later  the  Congregational  Sab- 
bath school  was  organized  with  six  members, 
but  at  the  end  of  the  first  year  reported  an  aver- 
age attendance  of  fifty-two.  Services  were  held 
in  the  "little  Episcopal  church  on  the  corner"  for 
a  few  weeks,  when  the  lower  room  of  the  capitol 
building  was  secured  and  used  until  the  terri- 
torial legislature  met  that  winter.  The  first  pul- 
pit and  benches  were  made  by  the  pastor,  Mr. 
Cook,  a  man  who  could  do  many  things.  The 
first  organ  was  partly  the  gift  of  the  Tabernacle 
church,  Chicago.  The  first  bell  came  from  the 
river  steamer  "Imperial,"  which  was  burned,  the 
bell  falling  into  the  hands  of  Judge  Brookings, 
who  presented  it  to  the  church.  This  bell  soon 
adorned  the  capitol  building,  and  later  became 
the  property  of  Yankton  Academy,  and  is  now 
on  the  high  school  building  of  that  city.  Though 
serving  without  a  commission.  Rev.  J.  D.  Bell 
served  the  church  for  a  few  weeks,  or  until  the 
coming  of  Joseph  Ward,  who,  with  his  estimable 
wife,  reached  Yankton  by  stage  from  Sioux  City 
on  the  night  of  November  16,  1868.  He  had 
recently  graduated  from  Andover  Theological 
Seminary,  and  more  recently  married  at  Paw- 
tucket,  Rhode  Island.  Deacon  Miner's  impres- 
sion of  him  as  he  saw  him  that  night  on  reaching 
the  end  of  his  long  and  tiresome  journey  is  well 
worth  noting  here :  "He  was  something  over 
six  feet  in  height,  broad-shouldered,  well  pro- 
portioned, plainly,  but  well  dressed,  and  looking 
as  if  he  might  be  a  traveling  man  or  a  young- 
lawyer  or  doctor,  or  possibly  a  young  preacher. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


At  all  events,  he  looked  like  a  man  who  could  do 
things."  Later  he  adds,  "from  this  point  (his 
coming)  the  early  history  of  the  church  and  of 
the  college  is  essentially  the  history  of  the  life 
work  of  Joseph  Ward ;  and  if  there  is  any  good 
thing  in  Yankton,  or  South  Dakota,  connected 
with  the  histor_v  of  those  formative  years  that  has 
not  on  it  the  finger  marks  of  Joseph  Ward,  I  do 


not  know  what  that  thing  is."  Joseph  Ward  be- 
came pastor  of  the  Yankton  church.  He  had  a 
prophet's  faith.  He  believed  the  acorn  planted 
there  had  in  it  the  possibilities  of  an  oak,  and  he 
gave  it  the  care  that  an  acorn  demands.  From 
the  capitol  building  the  church  services  were 
taken  to  a  small  room  with  low  ceilings,  known 
as  Fuller's  hall.     Here  were  held  "some  blessed 


revival  meetings."  Here  one  good  sister  got  the 
"power,"  to  the  consternation  of  some  of  the 
brethren  and  sisters  reared  in  the  Congregational 
and  Presbyterian  way.  Here  the  first  Christmas 
was  celebrated  with  a  "tree,"  to  which  was  tied  a 
card  with  this  inscription,  "Good  for  two  lots  on 
which  to  build  a  church.  Signed,  J.  B.  S.  Todd." 
These  lots  were  selected  the  following  day,  the 
General  (Todd)  taking  the  committee  out  in  his 
sleigh  to  select  them.  Upon  these  lots,  with  a 
third  one  purchased,  the  Congregational  church 
building  was  begun  in  1869,  and  completed  in 
T870,  and  stands,  with  the  parsonage  beside  it, 
today.  This  church  was  dedicated  July  17,  1870, 
Dr.  J.  E.  Roy,  the  first  visitor  from  outside  the 
territory,  preaching  the  sermon. 

Early  in  his  ministry  Joseph  Ward  began 
training  his  church  in  Christian  giving,  both  for 
home  and  foreign  fields.  The  first  Sabbath  even- 
ing of  every  month  was  set  apart  to  a  missionary 
concert,  and  contributions  were  received  for 
missionary  work.  Thus  a  missionary  spirit  was 
cultivated  which  resulted  in  much  good. 

Before  Joseph  Ward  started  for  Dakota  he 
was  admonished  by  Dr.  Badger,  secretary  of  the 
American  Home  ^Missionary  Society,  to  "see  to 
it  that  the  cause  of  Christian  education  be  carried 
on  vigorously  in  the  great  northwest."  "Here 
in  this  commission  lies  the  first  foundation  stone 
of  Yankton  College,  Jesus  Christ  himself  being 
tlie  chief  corner  stone."  Even  before  his  church 
was  completed  he  began  planning  in  that  direc- 
tion. He  hoped  to  make  Yankton  an  educational 
center.  A  small  stock  company  was  organized 
in  the  interest  of  Yankton  Academy,  which,  was 
not  only  the  forerunner  of  every  Christian  school 
in  the  territory,  but  of  the  high  school  system  as 
well.  Yankton  Academy  continued  until  "the 
present  high  school  system  was  made  possible  by 
the  passage  of  a  bill  through  the  legislature, 
which  bill  was  framed  by  Rev.  Joseph  Ward." 
After  that  bill  became  a  law  the  academy  and 
everything  connected  with  it  was  turned  over  to 
the  city  of  Yankton,  and  the  question  of  the  es- 
tablishment of  Yankton  College  was  agitated, 
which  was  settled  by  representatives  of  the 
churches  a  few  rears  later. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


571 


Church  societies  that  put  their  strongest  and 
wisest  men  in  newly  opened  fields  make  no  mis- 
take. Though  not  the  very  earliest  missionary 
comer,  Joseph  \\'ard  secured  a  grasp  on  the  situ- 
ation at  Yankton  and  throughout  the  territory 
such  as  no  man  in  those  early  days  had.  As  a 
strategic  missionary  point  Yankton  became  the 
center  of  a  group  of  twelve  Congregational 
churches  within  si.x  years.  This  is  a  remarkable 
record  when  we  consider  the  sparse  settlements, 
the  poverty  of  the  people  and  the  rough  border 
elements  that  had  to  be  contended  with  in  that 
day.  j\Irs.  Joseph  Ward  speaks  of  nearly  the 
whole  town's  partaking  in  the  hanging  of  a  des- 
perado who  was  hidden  in  the  brush  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  river  and  how  the  crowd  came 
back  again  to  attend  service  at  the  Congrega- 
tional church,  where  they  listened  to  a  vigorous 
sermon  against  the  practice  of  lynch  law.  One 
whole  year  Joseph  Ward  labored  alone  in  Yank- 
ton, and  the  fields  about,  at  the  same  time  urging 
the  American  Home  Missionary  Society  at  New 
York  to  send  him  men  to  occupy  the  numerous 
openings,  and  meet  the  earnest  appeals  made. 

In  the  fall  of  1869  Rev.  Stewart  Sheldon, 
who  was  then  pastor  of  the  First  Congregational 
church  of  Lansing,  Michigan,  was  much  broken 
in  health  by  malaria,  and  left  his  charge  there  to 
seek  restoration  to  health  in  the  clear,  dry  air 
of  Dakota.  He  took  a  claim  just  outside  of 
Yankton,  and  also  bought  a  piece  of  timbered 
land  on  the  "Jim."  Here  he  worked  day  after 
day,  hewing  logs  for  the  cabin  he  meant  to  build 
on  his  claim,  and  making  cordwood,  which  he 
sold  in  the  Yankton  market.  He  built  a  two- 
story  log  cabin  on  his  claim,  where  he  lived  many 
years.  His  son.  now  the  Dr.  Charles  M.  Shel- 
don, in  his  book,  "The  Twentieth  Door,"  de- 
scribes the  life  of  the  family  on  this  claim.  Mr. 
Sheldon  recovered  his  health,  and  at  the  earnest 
solicitation  of  Joseph  Ward  took  up  work  in  the 
early  spring  of  1870,  and  four  years  later  was 
placed  in  general  charge  of  the  work  throughout 
the  territory,  which  position  he  occupied  until  the 
summer  of  1885.  He  was  a  kind  Father  who 
sent  this  energetic  and  consecrated  man  to  Da- 
kota at  such  a  time.    \'ermillion.  Elk  Point,  Rich- 


land and  Bon  Homme  were  the  first  points  sup- 
plied by  Mr.  Sheldon,  who  traveled  far  and  wide 
with  his  faithful  ponies.  He  began  work  in 
these  points  in  the  early  spring  of  1870  and  re- 
ported the  organization  of  three  Congregational 
churches  on  one  day,  the  17th  day  of  July,  of 
that  year :  Richmond  in  the  morning.  Elk 
Point  in  the  afternoon,  and  \'ermillion  in  the 
evening. 

There  were  no  ready  places  for  services  then. 
At  A'ermillion  a  little  store  building,  a  rickety, 
tumbled-down  schoolhouse,  a  weather-beaten,  de- 
serted house  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  small 
halls,  and  the  depot,  all  served  as  meeting  places 
for  those  early  Christians.    The  first  church  was 
built  on  the  river  bottom  where  the  town  then 
stood,  and  was  washed  away  in  the  great  spring 
flood  of  1 88 1.    The  second  church  was  soon  built 
in  the  new  town  on  the  hill.    This  was  moved  and 
remodeled,   and  added  to,   and   added  to  again, 
and  now  a  large  and  commodious   church  and 
pleasant  parsonage  speak  of  the  permanence  and 
growth  of  the  work.   Seventy-five  times  the  origi- 
[  nal  number   (seven)   have  found  here  a  church 
I   home,   while   about   three   hundred   members   re- 
'  main  to  enjoy  its  privileges.     At  Elk  Point  the 
j  surroundings  were,  perhaps,  less  favorable.     The 
first  and  only  available  hall  soon  burned  to  the 
ground.    A  little  unfinished  church  building  that 
might   have  been   rented   if  it   could   have   been 
completed,  was  wrecked  by  the  wind  and  scat- 
tered over  the  prairies.    The  work  was  abandoned 
I   for  a  time  and  then  resuscitated,  and  afterward 
a  lapse  of  six  years  occurred  between  pastors. 
But  by  the  perseverance  of  the  saints  an  active 
and  spiritual  church  may  be  found  there  today, 
I  with  a  good  church  home  and  a  parsonage  be- 
j  side  it.     On  the  20th  of  October,  1870,  our  mis- 
sionary set  out  for  Canton,  not  knowing  where 
the  town  was  located,  but  was  told  "somewhere 
on    the    Big    Sioux    river,    about    seventy    miles 
'  away."     He  reached  there  the  second  day  at  ten 
j  o'clock  in  the  evening,  stopping  with  a  family  of 
fifteen.     The    next    morning,   the     Sabbath,   he 
I  preached  in  a  log  house  with  thatched  roof  and 
a  ground  floor,  and  received  ten  new  members 
into   the   church.      He   drove    that   afternoon    to 


5/2 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Sioux  Falls,  twenty-five  miles,  and  held  an  even- 
ing meeting  in  the  old  barracks  building  formerly 
used  by  the  soldiers  as  a  defense  against  the  In- 
dians. He  found  only  two  professing  Christians 
in  the  place,  but  the  people  wanted  a  missionary 
and  a  church.  A  Congregational  organization 
was  soon  eflfected  and  a  house  of  worship  built. 
At  Springfield,  four  years  later,  when  it  was 
proposed  to  build  a  church,  the  govemor,  who 
happened  to  be  present,  ofifered  a  lot  and  two 
hundred  dollars  in  money.  A  thousand  dollars 
was  pledged  and  the  site  was  chosen,  when  all  of 
a  sudden  millions  upon  millions  of  grasshoppers 
came  pouring  through  the  land  and  the  building 
project  for  that  year  was  abandoned.  It  was  a 
time  that  tried  men's  souls.  One  wrote,  "We 
seemed  like  pigmies,  utterly  helpless  and  unutter- 
ably confounded  before  them."  Of  this  group  of 
twelve  churches  planted  in  those  earlv  vears, 
seven  remain  Congregational ;  three  have  united 
with  other  denominations ;  one  was  washed 
away — church,  parsonage  and  Green  Island  it- 
self— in  the  great  flood  of  1881.  The  pastor  and 
his  wife  and  family,  after  long  hours  of  suffer- 
ing, as  they  clung  to  the  outside  of  the  roof 
while  the  huge  ice  piles  were  crushing  everv- 
thing  about  them,  were  rescued.  One  church 
died.  We  doubt  not  that  this  little  band  of 
churches  could  enter  into  hearty  sympathy  with 
the  great  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles  who  experienced 
many  "perils." 

The  first  Congregational  idea,  that  of  indi- 
vidual liberty,  had  opportunity  to  express  itself 
during  those  six  eventful  years  very  fully:  the 
second  must  be  given  that  opportunity-.  There- 
fore this  organization  for  fellowship.  The  mother 
church  felt  the  need  of  fellowship,  while  she  also 
felt  sympathy  for  the  feebler  churches.  She  is- 
sued letters  missive  to  the  four  other  churches 
organized,  asking  that  they  be  represented  at  a 
fello\vship  meeting  to  be  held  at  Yankton  Janu- 
ary 20,  1 87 1.  But  two  of  the  churches  could 
send  delegates,  viz:  Elk  Point  and  Richland, 
while  the  Canton  church  sent  regrets  and  a  re- 
port of  its  work.  Three  ministers  were  in  at- 
tendance upon  this  meeting,  viz :  Rev.  Joseph 
\\'ard,   pastor   of   the   church   at    Yankton,   Rev. 


Stewart  Sheldon,  missionary  pastor  of  the  \^er- 
million   church  as  well  as  of  the  two  churches 
represented  by  delegates,  and  Rev.  A.  L.  Riggs, 
superintendent  of  the  Indian  work  under  direc- 
tion of  the  American   Board  of  Commissioners 
for  Foreign  Missions,  at  Santee,  Nebraska.     At 
this  meeting  the  Congregational  General  Associa- 
tion of  Dakota  was  organized,  the   constitution 
adopted  and  signed  by  the  three  ministers  and 
five  delegates  present.     The  war  cry  of  this  first 
six-year  period   was   evangelism   and   education. 
At  every  annual  and  semi-annual  gathering  these 
important    themes    were    emphasized    again    and 
again.     At  the  second  meeting,  held  in  Yankton 
May  26,  1 87 1,  Rev.  L.  Bridgman,  recently  from 
Wisconsin,  was  present  and  gave  an  account  of 
a  trip  up  the  valley  of  the  Vermillion,  where  he 
!  had  been  prospecting,  preaching  the  first  sermon 
:   in  Turner  county.     At  the  next  meeting  a  com- 
mittee on  home  evangelization  was  chosen  and 
i  instructed  to  issue  a  circular  giving  information 
I  concerning  the  religious  needs  of  the  territon.', 
so  imbued  were  the  churches  with  this  missionary 
spirit.     At  this  meeting,  also,  held  in  Yankton, 
April  19,  1872,  the  Woman's  Missionary  Society 
1  of  the  Yankton  church  provided  the  program  for 
*  the  evening,  being  addressed  by   Nathan   Ford, 
j  of     Lena,     Illinois,     without     doubt     the     first 
I  public  woman's  missionary  meeting  held  in  the 
territory. 

Special  mention  is  made  of  the  attendance  of 
1  three  ministerial  brethren  from  other  denomina- 
I  tions  at  the  Canton  meeting  which  convened  Fri- 
day evening.  October  11,  1872:    Rev.  A.  Potter, 
I  United  Brethren,  Rev.  J.  Cole,  of  the  Methodist 
Episopal  church,  and  Rev.  J.  Runyan,  Wesleyan 
Methodist  church.  This  Association  meeting  was 
continued  over  the  Sabbath,  the  13th,  the  Canton 
j  church  being  dedicated  on  that  date.     Five  hun- 
dred dollars  was  raised  at  dedication  to  pay  last 
bills.    The  fifth  meeting,  both  historic  and  unique, 
was   held   outside   the   territory,   at   Santee,   Ne- 
braska, October  10,  1873,  at  the  Indian  mission 
station  of. Rev.  A.  L.  Riggs.     Without  doubt  at 
that  meeting  was  begiui  that  interest  on  the  part 
of  our  churches  in  Indian  missionary  work  which 
[  has   strengthened   througli   the  years.     The   fol- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


lowing  resolution'  was  passed  giving  expression 
to  the  interest  so  early  felt:  "Resolved,  That  we 
use  every  opportunity  to  promote  fellowship  be- 
tween the  Indian  churches  and  our  own  in  order 
to  unite  as  closely  as  possible  all  the  Christian  in- 
fluences of  the  territory,  and  for  the  mutual 
benefit  of  their  people  and  ours."  The  following 
meeting  was  made  memorable  by  the  presence 
for  the  first  time  of  a  representative  of  the  Amer- 
ican Home  Missionary  Society,  in  the  person  of 
Rev.  J.  E,  Roy.  The  seventh  meeting  was  held 
at  Sioux  Falls  and  records  the  presence  of  W.  S. 


Northern,  Plankington  and  Yankton,  which,  unit- 
ing, form  the  General  Association  of  Congrega- 
tional Churches  of  South  Dakota. 

The  work  of  the  years  following  was  some- 
thing like  the  putting  into  operation  of  plans  al- 
ready suggested,  although  the  days  of  hardship 
and  pioneering  had,  by  no  means,  passed.  Thrill- 
ing incidents  of  heroic  missionary  effort  during 
the  succeeding  twelve  years  could  be  narrated 
Ihat  might  be  both  interesting  and  profitable,  if 
ipace  would  allow.  Greater  scope  characterized 
the  movement  during  the  second  six-year  period. 


Bell,  who  was  associated  in  every  helpful  way 
with  the  development  of  Congregationalism  in 
the  state  until  the  year  1890,  when  he  was  called 
to  the  superintendency  of  the  work  in  Montana. 
At  the  annual  meeting  at  Canton  in  May,  1875, 
the  first  college  resolution  was  passed  instructing 
a  committee  to  consider  "whether  the  time  has 
come  to  make  any  movement  toward  a  Christian 
college  for  Dakota,  and  if  so,  what  movement?" 
The  acorn  of  that  early  planting  has  grown  until 
the  Congregational  organization  of  South  Dakota 
now  consists  of  seven  local  associations,  viz : 
Black  Hills,  Central.  Dakota   (Indian),  German. 


The  settlements  seem  to  have  followed  the  water 
courses,  the  valleys  of  the  Sioux,  Missouri  and 
James  rivers,  as  suggested  by  the  following  or- 
ganizations which  previous  to  1881  were  effected, 
viz :  ]\Iedary,  Aurora,  \\'atertown ;  Fort  Pierre, 
Pierre,  Fort  Sully,  JMandan;  Rockport,  Redfield 
and  others. 

Associated  with  this  period  is  the  coming  of 
Rev.  D.  B.  Nichols,  now  our  revered  "Father" 
Nichols,  who,  with  his  Bon  Homme,  and  later, 
I\Iission  Hill,  present  to  us  never-to-be-forgotten 
examples  of  faith  a;id  answers  to  prayer.  His 
life     illustrates     what     some     Congregationalists 


574 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


have   done   for   community   life   in   our   national 
history. 

Contemporaneous  with  this  period,  Congre- 
gation wtjrk  was  opened  in  the  Black  Hills  by 
Rev.  Lanson  P.  Norcross,  whom  the  American 
Home  Missionary  Society  had  sent  to  Dead  wood 
from  Colorado,  in  November,  1876.  Congrega- 
tional services  were  held  the  next  Sabbath  in  the 
dining  room  of  the  old  Centennial  Hotel,  but  on 
account  of  interference  with  the  dinner  hour  a 
room  was  secured  in  the  Inter-Ocean  Hotel.  In 
this  place,  on  December  3.  1876.  the  Congrega- 
tional Sunday  school  was  organized,  with  a 
membership  of  more  than  forty.  The  church  or- 
ganization was  completed  January  15,  1877,  four 
women  and  seven  men  uniting  b)-  letter  from 
home  churches.  This  is  the  oldest  church  organ- 
ization in  the  Black  Hills,  writes  one  of  the  pio- 
neers of  Deadwood.  This  organization  took 
place  in  a  carpenter  shop  with  no  floor  save 
"mother  earth."  The  first  church  building  was 
twenty-five  by  thirty-five  feet  in  size  and  was 
occupied  first  in  June.  1877.  Capt.  W.  A.  Beard, 
formerly  of  New  Bedford,  JNIassachusetts,  at  that 
time  conducting  a  grocery  store  in  Deadwood, 
presented  the  church  with  a  bell  which  Fred  T. 
Evans  transported  free  from  Sioux  City  to  Dead- 
wood.  This  bell  was  the  first  one  brought  to  the 
Hills,  without  doubt.  Eighteen  months  later 
Rev.  J.  W.  Pickett  made  his  first  visit  to  the 
Hills  as  general  missionary.  He  visited  and 
preached  in  all  the  towns  and  mining  camps  of 
the  Hills  and  organized  Congregational  churches 
at  Lead  City,  Spearfish  and  Rapid  Citv,  and 
aided  in  organizing  Sunday  schools  at  Rocker- 
ville  and  other  points  in  the  southern  Hills.  He 
was  the  projector  of  the  Spearfish  Academy,  and 
had  it  not  been  for  his  untimely  death  that  insti- 
tution would  probably  have  continued  under 
Congregational  direction.  Mr.  Pickett  also  or- 
ganized the  Black  Hills  Bible  Society  and  the 
Black  Hills  Association  of  Congregational 
Churches. 

What  we  would  designate  as  the  third  period 
of  Congregational  history  in  South  Dakota  be- 
gan with  the  year  1881.  This  year  ushered  in 
the  most  remarkable  settlement  on  new  lands  the 


nation  had,  to  that  date,  perhaps,  ever  known. 
Over  three  million  six  hundred  thousand  acres  of 
land  had  been  entered  in  all  and  about  two-thirds 
of  it,  or  two  million  four  hundred  thousand  acres, 
according  to  the  best  authorities  was  in  South 
Dakota  east  of  the  Missouri  river.  Sixteen  thou- 
sand acres  for  two  days  in  succession  were  en- 
tered at  a  single  land  office.  During  a  portion  of 
of  the  season  the  average  was  a  thousand  home- 
stead entries  a  day,  from  two  to  four  thousand 
newcomers  every  tAventy-four  hours.  Scores,  if 
not  hundreds,  of  towns  were  builded  in  a  year. 
A  nation  was  bom  in  a  day !  Life  then  was  as 
strenuous  as  even  a  Roosevelt  could  wish.  These 
were  crucial  years.  The  missionary  problem  was 
not  so  much  where  to  plant,  as  where  not  to 
plant.  That  no  mistake  would  be  made  at  such  a 
time  would  be  unreasonable  to  suppose. 

At  a  time  of  great  anxiety  concerning  the 
manning  of  the  fields  the  heart  of  the  superin- 
tendent was  made  glad  by  the  coming  of.  the 
Yale  Dakota  Band.  This  band  consisted  of  nine 
}'oung  men  from  Yale  Theological  Seminary 
who  had  offered  themselves  for  work  in  the 
home  land.  They  were  Messrs.  Case,  Fisk,  Holp, 
Hubbard,  Lindsay,  Reitzel,  Shelton,  Thrall  and 
Trimble.  Their  coming  marked  an  epoch  in  Da- 
kota Congregationalism  of  that  period.  One  of 
the  number  writes,  "We  have  furnished  by  virtue 
of  their  coming  among  us,  one  foreign  mis- 
sionary, one  field  secretary,  and  later  out  of  the 
band  have  evolved  a  home  missionary  superin- 
tendent whose  efficiency  and  worth  we  are  glad 
to  acknowledge."'  This  period  marked  the  in- 
auguration of  the  woman's  work,  both  home  and 
foreign  branches.  The  Dakota  Branch  of  the 
Woman's  Board  of  Missions  of  the  Interior  was 
organized  at  the  General  Association  meeting  at 
Watertown  in  1883,  with  Airs.  M.  B.  Norton  as 
president,  and  Mrs.  Joseph  Ward,  secretary.  The 
Woman's  Home  Missionary  Union  was  organ- 
ized at  the  General  Association  meeting  held  at 
Yankton,  one  year  later. 

In  April,  1886,  denominational  Sunday  school 
work  was  begun  by  the  Congregational  Sunday 
School  and  Publishing  Society.  Boston,  Massa- 
chusetts, with  Rev.  \\'.  B.  D.  Grav  as  territorial 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


575 


superintendent,  who  held  this  office  until  Octo- 
ber, 1893.  At  once  this  society  became  a  dis- 
coverer of  fields  and  an  organizer  of  society.  It 
has  during  these  eighteen  years  organized  hun- 
dreds of  schools  in  places  where  no  other  gospel 
services  were  held.  Some  of  these,  from  various 
causes,  are  dead.  The  Home  Missionary  Soci- 
ety, co-operating,  continued  the  work  thus  opened 
with  the  organization  of  many  churches,  while 
some  of  the  schools  planted  developed  into 
churches  of  other  faiths.  The  society  also  called 
to  its  assistance  the  following  men,  each  of  whom 
labored  a  considerable  length  of  time :  Rev. 
:\Iessrs.  W.  S.  Bell,  William  McCready,  Albert 
T.  Lyman  and  John  Sattler,  who  labored  jointly 
for  the  Congregational  Home  Missionary  Society 
and  the  Congregational  Sunday  School  and  Pub- 
lishing Society,  in  the  German  work,  beside 
others  who  labored  for  short  periods.  Rev.  C.  M. 
Daley,  the  present  superintendent,  began  work 
for  the  society  July  i,  1888,  taking  the  superin- 
tendency  October  i,  1893.  When  this  society 
opened  work  on  this  field  there  were  seventy- 
nine  Congregational  Sunday  schools,  with  a 
membership  of  5.335 ;  now  there  are,  including 
our  branch,  independent  and  mission  schools,  221, 
with  a  total  membership  of  I2,J38. 

This  period  also  witnessed  the  organization 
of  the  Dakota  Home  Missionary  Society,  at  the 
General  Association  meeting  at  Huron  Septem- 
ber 17-20,  1885.  with  Rev.  Joseph  Ward,  D.  D., 
president,  and  Rev.  W.  B.  Hubbard,  who  con- 
tinued in  this  office  so  many  years  as  its  faithful 
secretary. 

Rev.  Stewart  Sheldon,  whose  appoint- 
ment as  territorial  superintendent  came  direct 
from  the  American  Home  Missionary  Society, 
served  from  June  20,  1874,  to  June  20,  1886. 
Mr.  Sheldon  also  served  as  missionary  pastor 
for  four  years  previous  to  his  commission  as 
general  worker.  In  his  sixteen  years  of  pioneer 
service  he  saw  the  Congregational  churches  of 
Dakota  territory  increase  from  one  church,  with 
a  membership  of  ten,  at  the  beginning,  to  one 
hundred  and  one  churches  with  a  membership  of 
3,571,  and  a  Sunday  school  membership  of 
5,641.     Having  succeeded  Mr.  Sheldon,  Rev.  H. 


D.  Wiard  continued  his  superintendency  five 
years,  resigning  his  position  in  this  state  to  ac- 
cept a  similar  one  in  northern  California.  Later 
he  became  field  secretary  of  the  Congregational 
Home  Missionary  Society.  Under  his  superin- 
tendency the  churches  were  increased  to  132  and 
the  membership  to  4.892,  while  many  church 
buildings  and  parsonages  were  built. 

Rev.  W.  G.  Dickinson  was  called  to  the  su- 
perintendency January  i,  1892.  Failing  strength 
and  a  fatal  disease  caused  him  to  relinquish  his 
work  before  the  close  of  the  year.  He  was  greatly 
beloved  by  the  churches.  He  was  buried  from 
his  home  at  Webster,  South  Dakota,  in  January, 
1894.  During  Superintendent  Dickinson's  ill- 
ness the  board  of  directors  chose  one  of  its  num- 
ber, Rev.  W.  H.  Thrall,  pastor  at  Redfield,  to 
carry  the  work  for  a  time.  May  i.  1893,  he  was 
chosen  state  superintendent  of  the  church  work, 
which  office  he  still  holds.  During  the  period  of 
his  superintendency,  which  includes  the  years  of 
drought  and  depression,  there  has  been  a  net 
gain  of  thirteen  churches,  and  1,996  members, 
while  the  church,  especially  the  parsonage  build- 
ing, has  been  large. 

The  aggregate  value  of  Congregational  church 
buildings  in  South  Dakota  is  $306,500,  and  of 
parsonages,  $107,000.  The  value  of  its  college 
and  academy  property,  exclusive  of  Indian  school 
property,  is  $225,000,  and  of  endowments,  $160,- 
000.  Total  Congregational  church  membership 
in  the  state  is  7,310,  and  Sunday  school  member- 
ship, including  its  branch  and  mission  schools,  is 
12,138.  Its  young  people's  societies  number  68, 
with  a  membership  of  2,098. 

The  first  general  missionary  was  Rev.  D.  R. 
Tomlin,  employed  in  September,  1887.  For 
nine  years  he  did  a  most  valuable  service  in 
special  evangelistic  work,  and  as  a  wise  coun- 
sellor on  the  field.  Others  serving  in  this  capac- 
ity were  Rev.  W.  G.  Dickinson,  Rev.  Philo 
Hitchcock,  Rev.  E.  W.  Jenney  and  Miss  Emma 
K.  Henry,  all  doing  a  worthy  and  acceptable 
work  among  the  churches.  In  June,  1895,  Rev. 
A.  E.  Thompson,  pastor  of  the  Yankton  church, 
resigned  his  work  to  engage  in  union  evangelistic 
work  in  the  state  and  elsewhere.     Thus,  and  for 


576 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


these  many  years,  Congregationalism  has  sought 
by  every  possible  means  to  advance  deep  spirit- 
ual life  in  this  commonwealth. 

One  of  the  most  important  features  of  Con- 
gregational work  in  this  state,  and  one  of  grow- 
ing importance,  is  that  among  the  German  peo- 
ple. This  work  was  begim  in  the  year  1884,  with 
the  organization  of  eleven  German  churches, 
which  were  formed  into  a  German  Congrega- 
tional Association,  auxiliary  to  the  present  South 
Dakota  Congregational  General  Association. 
Rev.  George  E.  Albrecht,  D.  D.,  who  was  then 
superintendent  of  the  German  Congregational 
work  in  the  United  States,  fostered  this  move- 
ment and  rendered  timely  help  in  the  prosecution 
of  it.  An  early  German  missionary  was  Rev. 
J.  Jose,  who  remarked :  "Nearly  all  the  members 
of  these  churches  are  decided  Christians,  who 
leave  the  German  Lutheran  churches  because 
the  form  and  style  of  their  old  organizations  fail 
to  satisfy  them.  ?\Iay  our  Heavenly  Father  give 
us  ministers  for  Dakota  to  His  liking,  and  our 
work  here  will  soon  he  a  light  which  will  cast 
its  rays  afar."  His  humble  prophecy  has  already 
become  an  axiom  in  and  through  the  thirty 
churches  constituting  the  Genuan  .Association. 
Our  German  brethren  are,  with  fidelity,  teaching 
the  Bible  to  their  children,  and  are  educating  the 
churches  in  Christian  giving.  They  give  to 
church.  Sunday  school  and  educational  work  in 
this  country,  but  perhaps  take  greatest  pride  in 
giving  to  our  American  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions. They  have  man\-  good  houses  of  worship 
and  comfortable  parsonages.  They  are  an  in- 
dustrious and  frugal  people,  conservative  in  their 
religious  thinking,  and  have  already  become  an 
important  element,  and  withal  dependable,  in  our 
young  state.  This  German  Association  sustains 
an  academy  of  merit  where  both  the  English  and 
German  departments  are  ably  conducted. 

Space  would  fail  me  in  speaking  at  length  of 
those  who  have  gone  on  before.  "Not  here — 
their  footprints  are  here,  their  work  is  still  on 
exhibition  here,  but  the  living  self  is  with  God." 
J.  U.  McLoney,  Joseph  Ward,  Charles  Sec- 
combe    and    wife,    Lewis    Bridgman    and    wife. 


Edward       Br 


wife 


.Andrew 


Drake,  \\\  G.  Dickinson,  James  H.  Kyle, 
Artemas  Ehnamani,  William  A.  Lyman, 
and  others,  both  noble  men  and  women,  some  in 
the  full  strength  of  their  years,  others  fathers  and 
mothers  in  Israel,  who  were  called  home  at  the 
end  of  many  years  of  honest,  earnest  toil  for 
Him.  These  are  the  losses  that  have  come 
through  the  years.  Yet  why  should  we  call  that 
loss  which  to  them  has  been  such  gain? 

Congregationalists  have  done  a  large  and  im- 
portant work  among  the  Indians  of  South  Da- 
kota. The  first  distinctively  Congregational 
movement  for  the  education  of  the  Dakota  In- 
dians of  the  Northwest  was  begun  by  Rev.  A.  L. 
Riggs,  in  the  establisliment  of  the  Santee  Nor- 
mal Training  School,  which,  though  built  on  the 
Nebraska  side  of  the  ]\Iissouri  river,  is  for  and 
with  the  Indians  of  South  Dakota.  This  school 
was  established  in  1869  and  has  been  enlarged 
from  time  to  time  and,  being  directed  with 
definiteness  and  intelligence,  is  recognized  as  the 
most  successful  school  for  Indian  youth  in  the 
United  States.  Dr.  Riggs  is  assisted  by  his  son. 
Prof.  F.   B.  Riggs. 

In  February,  1872,'  Rev.  T.  L.  Riggs  began 
missionary  work  among  the  wild  Indians  of  the 
upper  JNIissiouri,  locating  near  Ft.  Sully.  This 
was  the  first  Congregational  Indian  mission  es- 
tablished within  the  bounds  of  South  Dakota. 
This  mission  was  extended  by  Mr.  Riggs  to 
Standing  Rock,  in  1880,  and  in  1885  IMiss  Mary 
C.  Collins  was  secured  as  a  helper.  She  con- 
tinues in  the  work  as  an  ordained  minister  and 
has  supervision  of  the  Grand  River  district  in 
South  Dakota.  Rev.  George  W.  Reed,  who 
joined  the  Dakota  mission  in  1887.  now  has 
charge  of  the  work  in  the  North  Dakota  portion 
of  the  Standing  Rock  reservation. 

In  1885  native  workers  were  sent  to  the 
southward  to  occupy  the  newly  opened  out- 
station  on  the  White  river.  In  1887  Rev.  James 
F.  Cross  came  into  this  work  and  a  year  later 
was  given  supervision  on  the  Rosebud  reserva- 
tion, which  place  he  still  occupies. 

The  Dakota  Alission  of  the  American  Board 
was.  in  its  Congregational  make-up  and  mem- 
bership,   transferred.    January    i.    1883.    to   the 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


American    (Congregational)    Missionary  Associ- 
ation. 

The  work  begun  near  Fort  Sulh'  in  1872  has 
developed.  In  addition  to  the  extensions  referred 
to,  fifteen  oiit-stations  have  been  estabhshed  on 
the  Cheyenne  river,  eight  of  which  are  now  ac- 
tive. A  school  preparatory  to  Santee  was  estab- 
lished at  Oahe  in  1884,  ^"d  conducted  by  Rev. 
T.  L.  Riggs,  and  has  attached  to  it  a  primary 
school  on  Plum  creek  under  the  care  of  Air.  and 
Airs.  W.  M.  Griffiths.  This  field  has  seven  or- 
ganized churches :  Grand  River  has  two  churches 


largely  toward  supporting  their  own  religious 
services,  carry  on  and  entirely  support  a  mis- 
sionary society  of  their  own  which  now  sends 
out  three  native  missionaries,  and  also  supports 
one  missionary  to  the  Crow  Indians,  their  former 
bitter  foe. 

Not  the  least  of  the  results  of  Congregational 
effort  and  prayer  for  and  by  the  Indians  them- 
selves, is  the  great  change  that  has  been  wrought 
in  these  wild  Indians  of  the  plains  within  a  short 
quarter  of  a  century.  This  has  been  going  on 
quietly  and  surel\-  and   with  increasing  momen- 


KEDFIEI.D  COI.LKOI 


and  six  mission  stations :  and  Rosebud  reserva- 
tion, two  organized  churches  and  five  out-sta- 
tions. The  rapid  growth  of  this  work  is  due  in 
large  measure  to  the  constant  use  of  the  training 
agencies  and  the  trained  workers. 

Wonderful  have  been  the  results :  About  two 
thousand  of  the  present  generation  of  Indians 
have  been  taught  at  the  Santee  Normal  Training 
School ;  over  five  hundred  have  had  an  elemen- 
tar\-  training  at  Oahe  and  Plum  Creek  and  the 
out-station  day  schools :  the  active  membership 
of  the  nine  Indian  churches  in  South  Dakota  is 
seven   hundred   and   five.      These    churches    pay 


tum.  Other  forces  have  contributed  to  this  end, 
but  not  one  has  been  more  persistent  and  effect- 
ive. 

True  to  the  spirit  of  the  New  England  fa- 
thers, Dakota  Congregationalists  have  conducted 
an  earnest  educational  campaign,  successful  and 
far-reaching  in  its  results.  Beside  the  Indian 
schools  referred  to  above,  six  other  institutions 
of  learning  have  been  established  by  Congrega- 
tionalists within  the  bounds  of  this  state.  All 
have  stood  for  Christian  education.  Yankton 
Academy,  established  in  the  early  'seventies  by 
Rev.  Joseph  AA'ard,  was  the  first  Christian  school 


578 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


in  the  territory  of  Dakota,  and  the  first  school 
with  a  curricuhim  in  an}-  wa}-  approaching  an 
academic  or  high  school  course.  Securing  the 
passage  by  the  territorial  legislature  of  a  more 
liberal  educational  bill,  he  closed  his^  academy 
and  threw  his  help  for  the  time  being  to  the  city 
schools  of  Yankton. 

Spearfish  Academy,  or,  officially,  "The  Pre- 
paratory Department  of  Dakota  College,''  was 
founded  in  1878  by  Rev.  J.  W.  Pickett,  superin- 
tendant  of  Congregational  work  in  Colorado  and 
the  Black  Hills,  and  was  incorporated  in  1880. 
Pickett  Memorial  Hall  was  built  and  dedicated  in 
December  of  that  year.  Rev.  B.  Fay  Mills  was 
chairman  of  the  executive  committee.  The  school 
closed  its  doors  in  1882  for  lack  of  funds.  Prof. 
H.  H.  Gay,  Boston,  Massachusetts,  was 
principal.  It  was  the  first  school  in  all 
that  section  of  country  higher  than  a  district 
school.  Its  students,  many  of  whom  live  in 
Spearfish,  speak  highly  of  its  literary  and  mu- 
sical departments.  It  served  to  point  out  Spear- 
fish as  a  favorable  point  for  a  school,  and  likewise  j 
developed  among  Spearfish  people  a  desire  for 
educational  opportunities.  Further  than  this  it 
had  no  tangible  connection  with  the  establishment 
of  the  state  normal  school  there. 

Yankton  College  was  the  third  school  to  be 
established  by  Congregationalists,  Yankton  hav- 
ing outbid  other  towns  in  its  desire  to  secure  this 
first  college  in  the  Dakotas.  May,  1881,  was  the 
date.  Rev.  Joseph  Ward,  D.  D.,  was  its  first 
president.  The  college  grounds  were  consecrated 
October  30,  1881,  the  Yale  Dakota  Band  and 
others  taking  part.  Yankton  College  has  stood 
pre-eminently  for  Christian  education.  Through 
its  uni  formally  strong  faculty,  and  its  high  stand- 
ard of  scholarship,  it  has  won  and  held  its  place 
among  the  strongest  colleges  of  the  land.  Rev. 
Henry  K.  Warren,  M.  A.,  LL.  D..  stands  at  the 
head  of  its  faculty  of  twenty.  The  following 
departments  are  maintained:  College,  academy, 
conservatory  of  music,  art,  elocution,  phvsical 
training,  short-hand  and  typewriting,  domestic 
economy.  Enrollment  of  students  current  year, 
two  hundred  and  seventy-five.  It  has  seven 
buildings  on  a  beautiful  campus  of  twentv-five 


acres,  including  the  Athletic  Park.  A  fine  fifteen- 
thousand-dollar  library  building  has  just  been 
promised  by  Andrew  Carnegie.  Its  library  al- 
ready consists  of  eight  thousand  volumes. 
Yankton  College  has  one  hundred  and  forty  thou- 
sand dollars  of  an  endowment  fund,  and  one 
hundred  and  fifty-five  thousand  dollars  in  build- 
ings, library  and  apparatus. 

Plankington  Academy  was  established  in 
1885.  Rev.  R.  H.  Battey  was  president  of  the 
board,  and  Rev.  L.  E.  Camfield,  principal.  This 
school  was  continued  but  for  two  years. 

Redfield  College  opened  for  work  in  Septem- 
ber, 1887.  It  was  the  child  of  the  Northern 
(then  Midland)  Association  of  Congregational 
churches  and  was  later  endorsed  by  the  General 
Association.  Rev.  David  Beaton  was  its  first 
president.  Its  first  sessions  were  held  in  the  au- 
dience room  of  the  Congregational  church  at 
Redfield.  The  citizens  of  Redfield  and  other 
friends  of  the  college  erected  the  first  building, 
which  was  occupied  January  26,  1888.  Exactly 
eight  years  from  that  date  this  building  was 
totally  destroyed  by  fire,  but  was  at  once  re- 
placed by  a  more  substantial  and  commodious 
one.  A  small  ladies'  hall  has  since  been  added, 
and  the  foundation  of  a  large  and  substantial 
science  hall  is  already  laid,  fhe  college  library 
consists  of  five  thousand  volumes.  The  valuation 
of  buildings,  campus,  library  and  apparatus  ag- 
gregates forty  thousand  dollars.  The  depart- 
ments consist  of  college,  academy,  conser^^atory 
of  music,  and  business.  The  enrollment  for  the 
current  year  is  one  hundred  and  sixty-six  stu- 
dents. Rev.  I.  P.  Patch  is  president,  and  eleven 
others  associated  with  him  constitute  the  faculty. 
Rev.  L.  Reynolds  has  recently  accepted  the  of- 
fice of  field  agent  of  the  college  and  already  has 
twenty  thousand  dollars  pledged  toward  a  fifty- 
thousand-dollar  endowment  fund.  Redfield  Col- 
lege is  pervaded  with  a  strong  and  healthful 
Christian  atmosphere,  and  few  who  have  en- 
terred  there  as  students  have  returned  to  their 
homes  unconverted.  Her  missionary  training 
department,  added  a  few  years  since,  gives  a 
course  covering  the  first  year  in  our  theological 
seminaries,  and  has  induced  several  young  men 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


to  enter  the  ministry.  These  are  doing  valuable 
service  in  the  home  field,  and  one,  as  a  missionary 
of  the  American  Board,  represents  Congrega- 
tional interests  in  the  Philippine  islands. 

Ward  Academy  was  established  in  September, 
1893,  by  Rev.  L.  E.  Camfield,  its  first  and  pres- 
ent principal.  It  was  the  child  of  necessity : 
"Fifteen  thousand  school  children  in  Charles  I\Iix 
and  adjoining  counties,  from  twelve  to  forty 
miles  from  the  railroad,  without  opportunity  of 
education  beyond  the  district  school."  This  was 
the  announcement  of  its  founder  to  the  people  of 
that  county  issued  in  an  invitation  to  meet  for 
an  academy  mass  meeting,  September  23,  1892. 
A  year  later  the  academy  building  was  dedicated, 
and  named,  in  honor  of  Joseph  Ward,  Ward 
Academy.  Twenty-five  students  began  the  first 
year's  work.  Some  boarded  in  the  new  building, 
others  drove  from  their  homes  through  the  cold 
and  heat  to  continue  their  studies.  With  re- 
markable interest  and  success,  the  work  grew. 
Few  have  toiled  mentally  and  physically  as  have 
the  devoted  principal  and  his  wife  these  years. 
The  present  enrollment  of  the  school  is  one 
hundred  and  ten.  Six  earnest,  self-sacrificing 
men  and  women  constitute  the  faculty.  A  very 
large  church  building  has  recently  been  finished, 
the  lower  portion  of  which  is  used  for  class 
rooms,  and  a  hall  over  a  store  building  is  di- 
vided into  rooms  for  bovs.     Thirtv-five  s:irls  oc- 


cupy thirteen  rooms  at  the  Hall.  A  fourth  build- 
ing must  speedily  be  erected.  The  valuation  of 
buildings,  lands,  stock,  apparatus,  etc.,  is  thirty 
thousand  dollars.  The  course  of  study  com- 
prises the  classical,  I>atin-philosophical,  English- 
normal,  and  musical.  The  school  is  ver\'  earn- 
estly Christian. 

Congregationalism  has  been  constantly  inter- 
ested and  ably  represented  in  the  civic  affairs  of 
the  territory  and  the  state  from  its  earliest  be- 
ginnings. In  the  territorial  legislatures,  in  the 
constitutional  conventions,  in  the  state  legisla- 
ture, in  the  halls  of  the  national  congress  (by  two 
United  States  senators  and  one  congressman,  not 
to  speak  of  several  others,  members  of  our  Con- 
gregational constituency),  its  voice  has  been 
heard  with  impressiveness  and  distinction.  Its 
thumb-prints  are  on  many  of  our  best  laws,  also. 
The  cause  of  temperance  and  purity,  and  of  the 
oppressed  and  of  the  homeless,  has  been,  and  is, 
'its  cause.  Congregationalism  also  responded  to 
the  "call  to  arms,"  issued  in  behalf  of  an  op- 
pressed people,  and  sent  officers,  and  men  in  the 
ranks,  and  the  chaplain  of  the  regiment. 

Who  are  Congregationalists  ?  They  are  but 
men  and  women,  with  a  high  and  mighty  calling. 
And  as  they  become  humble  before  Him,  so  shall 
they  become  strong.  The  future  demands  deeper 
consecration,  and  points  to  greater  achieve- 
ment. 


CHAPTER  XCIX 


THE  PROTESTAXT  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


REVISED  BY  REV.    M.\RSH.\I.L  F.    MONTGOMERY. 


Much  of  the  earlier  history  of  the  Episcopal 
church  in  South  Dakota  has  been  gathered  by 
the  Rev.  John  H.  Babcock,  rural  dean,  and  to 
his  work  we  are  indebted  for  many  of  the  facts 
stated  herein.  The  first  time  the  Book  of  Com- 
mon Prayer  was  used  in  South  Dakota  was  prob- 
ably in  the  summer  of  i860  when  Right  Rev. 
Joseph  C.  Talbot,  missionary  bishop  of  the  north- 
west, assisted  by  Rev.  Melancthon  Hoyt,  held 
services  among  the  settlers  along  the  jNIissouri 
from  Sioux  City  to  Fort  Randall.  This  visitation 
by  Bishop  Talbot  was  made  ven*-  soon  after  his 
consecration.  It  is  not  known  whether  he  was 
again  in  Dakota,  but  apparently  he  was  the  first 
bishop  who  administered  the  word  and  the  sacra- 
ments anywhere  in  this  portion  of  the  northwest. 

The  Rev.  ^Melancthon  Hoyt.  then  residing 
in  Sioux  City,  continued  to  minister  to  the 
spiritual  wants  of  the  South  Dakotans  at  irregu- 
lar intervals  until  1862.  when  he  removed  to 
Yankton  and  gave  himself  up  wholl\-  to  the 
Dakota  work.  For  thirteen  years  he  was  rector 
of  the  church  at  Yankton,  at  the  same  time  keep- 
ing an  eye  out  for  every  opportunity  to  extend 
the  work  of  the  Master  into  the  adjacent  Dakota 
and  Nebraska  country.  In  1865  Bishop 
Clarkson  became  a  missionary  bishop  of  Ne- 
braska and  Dakota  and  was  given  jurisdiction 
over  the  Dakota  field.  Dr.  Hoyt  was  then  re- 
lieved of  parochial  work  at  Yankton  and  ap- 
pointed general  missionary  of  Dakota  territory, 
continuing  in  this  office  until  1884,  when  he  was 
riade  by  Bishop  Hare  honorary  dean,  in  which 


position  he  continued  until  his  death  in  1888.  hav- 
ing for  twenty-eight  years  faithfully  ministered 
to  the  work  of  his  JMaster  in  South  Dakota  and 
North  Dakota,  traveling  a  great  portion  of  the 
time,  visiting  nearly  every  dwelling  place,  preach- 
ing, baptising,  caring  for  the  sick,  comforting 
those  who  mourned  and  publishing  the  gospel 
news  to  all  the  people  of  the  land.  He  organized 
congregations  in  Yankton,  Elk  Point,  Vermillion, 
Eden,  Canton,  Parker,  Hurley,  Turner,  Water- 
town.  Pierre  and  other  places.  To  his  zeal,  per- 
severance, patience,  sympathy,  wisdom  in  speak- 
ing, aptness  to  teach  and  good  example  of  a 
Christian  life,  displayed  during  more  than  a  quar- 
ter of  a  century  of  unceasing  toil,  is  due  the 
strong  foundations  upon  which  the  spiritual 
temple  rests  within  the  field  he  cultivated. 

At  the  general  convention  of  1868  a  large  part 
of  the  territory  of  Dakota  was  erected  into  a 
separate  missionary  district,  being  practically  that 
part  of  the  territory  which  lay  west  of  the  Mis- 
souri river  and  also  including  the  Yankton  and 
Crow  Creek  Indian  reservations  east  of  the  ^lis- 
souri  and  the  Santee  reservation  in  Nebraska. 
It  remained,  however,  under  the  episcopal  care  of 
Bishop  Clarkson.  Later  the  name  Niobrara  was 
given  to  this  new  district,  and  it  was  from  the 
first  intended  that  it  should  be  the  scene  of  a 
special  efifort  to  reach  the  Indians  who  made  up 
almost  exclusively  its  population.  One  of  these 
Indian  tribes,  the  Santees,  had  been,  before  their 
removal  to  Dakota,  while  living  in  Minnesota  the 
object  of  the  special  care  of  Bishop  Whipple,  who 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


581 


established  a  mission  among  them  under  the  care 
of  the  Rev.  S.  D.  Hinman.  i\Ir.  Hinman  re- 
moved with  them  to  Dakota  and  afterwards  to 
Knox  county,  Nebraska,  and  thus  the  way  was 
opened  for  extending  the  missionary  work  among 
the  other  tribes  of  the  Sioux.  Soon  after  this  a 
prominent  and  wealthy  churchman  of  Phila- 
delphia, William  Welsh,  came  to  the  help  of  the 
young  mission.  He  visited  the  Indian  tribes  of 
Dakota  extensively  more  than  once  and  pleaded 
their  cause  with  irresistible  force  at  the  east,  and, 
as  a  result,  the  mission  staff  was  largely  in- 
creased, the  Rev.  Messrs.  J.  W.  Cook,  H.  Swift, 
H.  Burt,  W.  J.  Cleveland  and  J.  Owen  Dorsey, 
as  well  as  several  lay  men  and  women,  identify- 
ing themselves  with  the  work.  It  soon  became 
evident  that  the  mission  called  for  a  bishop  of 
its  own  and  on  All  Saints'  Day,  November  i, 
1872,  the  Rev.  William  Hobart  Hare,  secretary 
of  the  foreign  committee  of  the  board  of  mis- 
sions, was  appointed  bishop  by  the  House  of 
Bishops,  was  consecrated  January  9,  1873,  and  in 
April  following  appeared  upon  the  field  of  his 
future  labors.  Bishop  Hare  was  bom  in  Prince- 
ton, New  Jersey,  May  17,  1838.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  two  well-known  institutions,  namely,  the 
Episcopal  Academy  of  Philadelphia  and  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania.  _  He  has  the  degree 
of  D.  D.  from  Trinity  and  Kenyon  Colleges  and 
of  S.  T.  D.  from  Columbia.  He  at  once  began  a 
vigorous  campaign  among  the  Indians  and  scat- 
tering whites  of  his  jurisdiction.  "When  he  went 
among  the  Indians,"  says  Bishop  Whipple, 
"  'White  man'  was  then  a  synonym  for  liar,  but. 
Bishop  Hare  soon  restored  the  good  name  and 
repute  of  the  Caucasian."  His  vigorous  action 
soon  won  for  him  the  name  of  "Swift  Bird"  be- 
cause of  the  long  and  rapid  journeys  he  made 
over  his  diocese.  Nothing  daunted  him,  where 
duty  called  he  went  through  storm  and  drouth, 
sleeping  in  the  open,  camping  at  one  time  in 
soaking  wet  blankets  and  again  in  a  dry  camp 
where  water  could  be  procured  for  neither  man 
or  beast.  In  these  long  and  weary  marches  he 
subsisted  upon  the  rough  fare  of  the  country,  the 
fat  pork  and  soda  biscuits  of  the  stage  ranches, 
the  even  less  palatable  fare  of  the  pioneers'  tables 


or  the  illy-cooked  and  sometime  loathsome  messes 
of  the  Indians.  The  result  of  these  many  jour- 
neyings  was,  however,  a  great  extension  of  the 
scope  of  the  mission,  which  was  soon  gotten  into 
manageable  shape.  The  missionary  force  was 
increased ;  the  whole  field  was  gradually  divided 
up  into  ten  large  districts,  over  each  of  which  a 
chosen  member  of  the  clerical  body  was  put  in 
charge,  and  at  four  carefully  chosen  points  mis- 
sion Indian  boarding  schools  were  established, 
viz :  St.  Paul's  School,  Yankton  agency ;  St. 
Mary's,  Santee  agency,  afterward  removed  to 
Rosebud  agency;  St.  John's  School,  Fort  Ben- 
nett; St.  Elizabeth's  School,  Standing  Rock  re- 
serve. All  the  workers  united  very  heartily  with 
the  Bishop  in  his  desire  to  raise  up  from  the 
Indians  themselves  men  who  should  gradually, 
according  to  the  measure  of  their  ability  and  ac- 
cording to  the  divine  plan  "First  the  blade,  then 
the  ear.  and  after  that  the  full  corn  in  the  ear," 
take  part  with  the  white  clergy  in  the  work  and  a 
native  force  has  been  by  degrees  worked  up 
which  now  numbers  twenty-five  helpers,  twenty 
catechists,  six  senior  catechists,  besides  twelve 
deacons  and  four  priests.  The  growth  of  the 
Indian  mission  has  been  remarkable,  there  being 
now  (1904)  ninety  congregations,  three  thou- 
j  sand  seven  hundred  and  seventy-five  communi- 
cants, nine  thousand  three  hundred  and  forty-one 
baptized  persons.  This  growth  has  been  due 
chiefly  to  the  steadfastness  and  good  sense  with 
which,  despite  all  difficulties  and  discourage- 
ments, the  presiding  presbyters  kept  to  their 
several  spheres  of  work.  Difficulties  and  dis- 
couragements there  were  not  a  few.  as  can  be 
easily  imagined  if  the  fact  is  recalled  that  it  was 
the  Sioux  Indians  among  whom  they  worked 
who  were  engaged  in  the  famous  Indian  troubles 
which  culminated  respectively  in  the  Custer  mas- 
sacre and  the  fight  on  Wounded  Knee.  It  was  in 
connection  with  the  former  trouble  that  the  Rev. 
R.  Arthur  B.  Ffennell.  of  the  Cheyenne  River 
mission,  was  killed  by  a  hostile  Sioux  September 
27,  1876.  Mr.  Ffennell  was  a  young  and  most 
enthusiastic  missionary,  giving  up  his  life  to  the 
welfare  of  the  Sioux,  but  they  were  excited  by 
the  invasion  of  the  Black  Hills  by  the  gold  hunt- 


582 


HISTORY    OF   SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


ers  and  inflamed  by  the  Custer  fight.  Some  of 
the  young  men  had  been  confined  in  the  guard 
house  at  the  agency  and  a  bloodthirsty  relative 
vowed  he  would,  in  retaliation,  kill  the  first  white 
man  he  saw.  ]\lr.  Ffennell  therefore  fell  his  vic- 
tim. 

The  discovery,  in  1875,  of  gold  in  the  western 
part  of  the  great  Sioux  reservation,  known  as  the 
Black  Hills,  soon  made  it  apparent  that  it  would 
be  necessary  to  secure  from  the  Indians  a  re- 
linquishment of  that  part  of  their  country.  This 
was  accomplished  and  the  Black  Hills  were 
thrown  open  to  settlement.  Two  of  the  clergy 
of  the  Indian  mission,  Messrs.  Cleveland  and 
Ashley,  visited  the  Hills  in  1877  and  a  service 
was  held  by  Mr.  Ashley.  In  June,  1878,  the  Rev. 
E.  K.  Lessell,  of  Connecticut,  opened  up  mis- 
sionary work  in  the  Hills,  making  Deadwood  his 
central  point.  The  bishop  made  his  first  visit  to 
the  Hills  in  the  following  November.  Mr.  Les- 
sell took  up  his  work  with  enthusiasm  and  bore 
its  peculiar  trials  and  hardships  with  cheerful- 
ness :  but  his  health  gave  way  and  after  some 
eighteen  months  of  service  he  was  forced  to  with- 
draw and  died  not  long  afterward.  Frequent 
changes  in  the  missionary  force  greatly  hindered 
the  work  in  the  Black  Hills,  until  Mr.  G.  G. 
Ware,  a  layman,  offered  his  services  to  Bishop 
Hare,  took  up  work  as  a  layreader  at  Rapid  City 
and  adjacent  points.  He  prepared  himself  for 
holy  orders,  was  later  assigned  to  Deadwood  and 
Lead  and  became  the  bishop's  representative  as 
archdeacon  in  the  Black  Hills.  There  are  now 
six  church  buildings  in  the  Black  Hills. 

As  soon  as  it  became  apparent  that  the  ter- 
ritory of  Dakota  would  be  divided  into  the  two 
states  of  North  and  South  Dakota,  measures  were 
taken  to  divide  the  territory  into  two  missionary 
districts  and  at  the  general  convention  of  1883 
the  name  of  the  missionary  district  of  Niobrara 
was  changed  and  the  district  made  coterminous 
with  the  new  state  of  South  Dakota,  retaining, 
however,  the  Santee  reserve  in  Nebraska,  and 
Bishop  Hare  was  put  in  charge  of  it.  Thus  the 
field  came  to  have  two"  distinct  divisions ;  the 
work  among  the  whites  and  the  work  among  the 
Inilians.     Difficulty  in  securing  missionaries  and 


frequent  changes  in  the  staff  have  greatly  hin- 
dered the  development  of  the  church  among  the 
white  people.  In  1887  the  work  was  much 
strengthened  by  the  coming  of  Rev.  John  H. 
Babcock,  who  has  remained  in  South  Dakota  ever 
since.  He  soon  became  the  president  of  the 
standing  committee,  the  bishop's  council  of  ad- 
vice, and  is  now  as  well  the  rural  dean  for  the 
eastern  part  of  the  state.  Despite  all  hindrances 
there  have  been  erected  thirty-four  church  build- 
ings, on  only  three  of  which  is  there  any  debt,  and 
All  Saints'  School  at  Sioux  Falls,  with  its  noble 
buildings  and  commanding  site,  has  won  for 
itself,  under  the  principalship  of  Miss  Helen  S. 
Peabody,  a  place  second  to  none  of  the  high- 
grade  boarding  schools  in  the  northwest.  The 
clergy  staff  of  the  Episcopal  church  in  South 
Dakota  is  characterized  by  zeal  and  intelligence, 
and  there  are  few  members  of  that  sacred  craft 
who  are  not  worthy  and  entitled  to  honorable 
mention  in  the  history  of  the  upbuilding  of  the 
church.  Bishop  Clarkson,  Father  Hoyt,  Father 
Himes  and  Rural  Dean  Babcock  will  always  be 
looked  upon  with  the  love  and  reverence  we 
reserve  for  the  founders  of  a  sacred  edifice. 

While  his  labors  in  the  white  churches  have 
been  abundantly  blessed  and  he  is  honored  and 
beloved  by  everyone,  within  and  without  his 
church  denomination,  it  will  always  be  as  the 
apostle  to  the  Sioux  Indians  that  Bishop  Hare's 
fame  will  chiefly  rest.  Upon  the  Indian  ques- 
tion no  other  person  is  'entitled  to  speak  with 
so  great  authority  and  it  is  therefore  altogether 
proper  that  the  following  paper,  written  by 
Bishop  Hare,  in  response  to  inquiries  relating  to 
his  work  in  Dakota  should  appear  here : 

"I  was  not  sent  out  as  missionary  bishop  to 
Indians  only,  but  to  all  persons  whether  Indians 
or  whites,  so  far  as  they  might  be  willing  to 
receive  my  ministry,  who  resided  within  a  certain 
district  which,  generally  speaking,  was  the  west- 
ern portion  of  Dakota  territory.  As  I  afterwards 
came  to  see,  I  had  been  led  through  a  course  of 
preparation  for  such  summons.  Though  borti 
and  bred  in  the  east,  I  had  spent  six  months  in 
Minnesota  in  1863  and  there  saw  something  of 
the  Indian  problem.     I  had  discovered  that  there 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


583 


was  nothing  in  the  van  of  civilization  to  amelior- 
ate the  condition  of  the  red  man,  because  the  van 
of  civilization  is  often  made  up  of  the  vilest  off- 
scourings;  that  its  first  representatives  often  de- 
spise the  Indian  and  condescend  to  them  in 
nothing  but  the  gratification  of  inordinate  ap- 
petites and  desires;  and  that  when  civilization  of 
a  better  class  appears,  it  is  often  so  bent  upon 
its  own  prpgress,  and  so  far  from  helpful  or 
kindly,  that  its  advance,  like  that  of  a  railroad 
train  at  full  speed,  dashes  to  pieces  those  unlucky 
wanderers  who  happen  to  stand  in  their  way,  and 
leaves  the  others'  with  only  a  more  discouraging 
sense  of  the  length  of  the  road  and  the  slowness 
of  the  way  along  it.  In  cases  like  that  of  the  In- 
dian, real  and  permanent  good  can  be  effected 
only  by  persistent  effort  devoted  specifically  to 
these  persons  whose  good  is  sought. 

"I  returned  to  the  east  the  Indian's  advocate; 
and  while  on  many  subjects  connected  with  In- 
dians I  was  not  in  haste  to  reach  a  conclusion,  I 
had  become  convinced  of  this,  that  the  Indians 
claim  upon  the  church  of  Christ  is  most  sacred, 
and  that  I  have  seen  nothing  to  lead  me  to  think 
that  there  was  anything  in  the  Indian  problem 
to  drive  us  either  to  quackery  or  to  despair.  It 
would  find  its  solution,  under  the  favor  of  God. 
in  the  faithful  execution  of  the  powers  committed 
by  God  to  the  civil  government,  and  a  common 
sense  administration  of  the  gracious  gifts  de- 
posited with  his  church. 

"Now  a  few  words  as  to  my  general  views  on 
the  Indian  question  :  I  thought  then,  as  I  think 
now.  that  good  and  patriotic  men  cannot  blink 
the  Indian  problem.  It  stares  them  in  the  face. 
If  ever  the  wai;ning  of  the  wise  man  be  in  season 
it  is  in  this  case.  'If  thou  forbear  to  deliver  them 
that  are  drawn  unto  death,  and  those  that  are 
ready  to  be  slain,  if  thou  sayest,  "Behold  we 
knew  it  not;"  doth  not  He  that  pondereth  the 
heart  consider  it,  and  He  that  keepeth  thy  soul, 
doth  He  not  know  it,  and  shall  He  not  render  to 
every  man  according  to  his  works?'  Discussions 
of  the  probable  future  of  the  Indians  are,  it  seems 
to  me.  beside  the  question  and  dangerous,  be- 
cause they  down  the  call  of  present  duty.     Sup- 


[  pose    these   people    are    designed   by    providence 
to  be  hewers  of  wood  and    drawers    of    water. 
Our  duty  is  to  fit  them  for  that  lot.     Supose  they 
are  to  be  merged  in  our  more  numerous  race. 
Our  duty  is  to  fit  them  for    that  absorption    by 
intermarriage,  and  so  arrest  the  present  vicious 
intermingling.     Suppose   they   are    to    die    out. 
Then  our  duty  is  to  fit  them  for  their  departure. 
Our  duty  is  plainer,  because  the  treatment  which 
will  fit  these  people  for  any  one  of  these  lots  will 
I  fit  them  for  either  of  the  others.''  , 
I         "After  a  study  of  the  field,  and  much  con- 
versation with  the  clergy,   I  reached  some  con- 
clusions and  began  to  lay   out   settled  plans  of 
work.     I  soon  saw  that  my  work  was  not  to  be 
that  of  a  settled  pastor  in  daily  contact  with  my 
flock :  but  that  of  general  superintendent  whose 
:   duty  it  would  be  to  reach    the  people    through 
their  pastors ;  not  so  much  to  do  local  work,  as  to 
make  local  work  easy  for  others.   The  whole  field 
was  therefore  mapped  out  into  divisions,   these 
divisions  being  ordinarily  the  territory  connected 
I  with  a  United  States  Indian  agency.    The  special 
I  care  of  each  of  them  was  entrusted  to  one  ex- 
perienced    presbyter,     and     around     him     were 
grouped  the  Indian  ministers  and  catechists  and 
others  who  were  engaged  in  evangelistic  work 
within  the  division. 
1         "A  visit  to  the  Indian  Territory  and  my  study 
'  of  the  Indian  problem  in  my  own  field  convinced 
me  quite  early  that  the  boarding  school  ought 
]  to  be  one  of  the  most  prominent  features  of  the 
'  Indian  work.    I  thought  that  children  gathered  in 
such   schools   would   soon  become   in   their  neat 
and  orderly  appearance,   increasing  intelligence, 
p.nd  their  personal  testimony  to  the  loving  and 
disinterested  lives  of  the  missionaries  with  whom 
they  dwelt,  living  epistles,  known   and  read  of 
their    wilder   brethren.      They   would    form   the 
nuclei  of  congregations  at  the  chapels  connected 
j  with  the  schools  and  learn  to  carry  on  with  spirit 
I  the   responses  and  music   of  the   services.     Rut 
j  some  will  say :  "Why  boarding  schools  ?     Does 
;  not  the  great  Creator  indicate  in  nature  that  the 
nlace  for  children  is  with  their  parents  and  in  a 
liome?"     Yes!  but  it  is  left  with  the  Creator's 


5^4 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


representatives  on  earth,  namely,  intelligent  man, 
to  take  up  and  deal  with  exceptional  cases.  The 
case  of  the  Indian  children  seemed  exceptional, 
while  it  was  evident  that  they  could  be  civilized 
only  through  education  and  that  the  older  peo- 
ple could  be  best  reached  through  their  children, 
it  was  equally  plain  that  education  could  not 
reach  the  children  while  they  were  running  wild 
and  were  scattered  over  vast  stretches  of  coun- 
try, which  could  be  traversed  only  by  journeys 
of  ten  or  twelve  days'  duration.  But  what  should 
be  the  character  of  these  boarding  schools?  To 
take  little  children  from  their  free  life  by  com- 
pulsion and  gather  therti  in  large  institutions 
where  the  most  prominent  characteristics  are  not 
paternal  love  and  home-like  influences,  but  the 
movement  of  a  great  machine  engenders  sus- 
picion, hardens  their  hearts  and  stimulates  the 
natural  disposition  which  any  creature  has  to 
escape  from  or  to  get  the  better  of  those  who 
oppose  it.  No  such  boarding  schools  did  I  want. 
I  therefore  called  for  volunteers  who  would 
identify  their  lives  with  the  Indians  and  try  to 
establish  such  boarding  schools  as,  while  putting 
the  children  through  training,  manual,  intellect- 
ual and  spiritual,  would  be  a  practical  reproduc- 
tion of  the  act  of  Christ  when  he  took  little  chil- 
dren in  his  arms  and  blessed  them.  Thus  grew 
up  the  St.  Paul's,  St.  Mary's,  St.  John's  and  St. 
Elizabeth's  Indian  boarding  schools,  which  under 
their  respective  heads  have  won  a  deservedly  high 
reputation.  St.  Paul's  was  the  first  venture  in 
this  line  in  Dakota. 

"How  shall  crude  Indian  life  be  reduced 
like  crude  ore  and  made  malleable?  I  soon 
came  to  look  upon  everything  as  provisional, 
which  if  permanently  maintained  would  tend 
to  make  Indian  life  something  separate  from 
the  common  life  of  the  country ;  a  solid  foreign 
mass  indigestible  by  our  common  civilization.  I 
say  that  because  it  has  been  an  indigestible  mass 
has  our  civilization  all  these  years  been  trying  to 
vomit  it  and  to  get  rid  of  a  cause  of  discomfort. 
Ordinary  laws  must  have  their  way.  All  reserva- 
tions, whether  the  reserving  of  land  from  the 
ordinary  laws  of  settlement,  or  the  reserving  of 


the  Indian  nationality  from  absorption  into  ours, 
or  the  reserving  of  old  tribal  superstitions  and 
notions  and  habits  from  the  natural  process  of 
decadence,  or  the  reserving  of  the  Indian  lan- 
guage from  extinction,  are  only  necessary  evils, 
or  but  temporary  expedients.  Safety  for  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  Indians,  divided  up  into 
several  hundred  tribes,  speaking  as  many 
languages,  scattered  on  about  seventy  different 
reservations,  among  eighty  million  of  English- 
speaking  people,  can  be  found,  if  only  the  smaller 
people  flow  in  with  the  current  of  life  and  ways 
of  the  larger.  The  Indians  are  not  an  insulated 
people  like  some  of  the  islanders  of  the  South  sea. 
Our  work  is  not  the  building  up  of  a  native 
Indian  church  with  a  national  liturgy  in  the  In- 
dian tongue.  It  is  rather  that  of  resolving  the 
Indian  structure  and  preparing  its  parts  for 
being  taken  up  into  the  great  whole  in  church  and 
state.  From  the  first,  therefore,  I  struggled 
against  the  notion  that  we  were  missionaries  to 
Indians  alone  and  not  missionaries  to  all  men. 
I  pressed  the  study  of  the  English  language,  and 
its  conversational  use  in  the  schools,  and  however 
imperfect  our  eiiforts,  the  aim  of  them  has  been 
to  break  down  the  'middle  wall  of  partition'  be- 
tween whites  and  Indians,  and  to  seek,  not  the 
welfare  of  one  class,  or  race,  but  the  common 
good. 

An  opportunity  for  testing  these  principles  oc- 
curred not  long  after  my  arrival.  The  discovery 
of  gold  in  the  Black  Hills  set  a  large  part  of 
our  western  population  aflame  and  hundreds  of 
adventurers,  in  1875,  in  open  violation  of  law  and 
the  proclamation  of  the  executive,  invaded  this 
portion  of  the  Indians'  land  and  took  possession 
of  it.  The  government  had  at  first  been  prompt 
and  decided  in  requiring  the  removal  of  the  in- 
truders ;  then  it  weakened  and  prevaricated.  I 
was  outspoken  in  my  denunciation  of  this  flagrant 
violation  of  the  sacred  obligations  of  a  great 
to  a  weak  people.  I  foresaw,  however,  that  no 
power  on  earth  could  shut  our  white  people  out 
from  that  countn,-  if  it  really  contained  valuable 
deposits  of  gold  or  other  minerals.  I  went  there- 
fore to  Washington  and  urged  upon  the  Presi- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


585 


dent  that  a  commission  df  experts  be  sent  out  to 
explore  the  country  and  that,  should  they  report 
the  presence  of  gold,  steps  should  be  taken  to 
secure  a  surrender  of  the  tract  in  question  from 
the  Indians  upon  equitable  terms.  This  was 
eventuall}-  done.  The  Black  Hills  were  thus 
thrown  open  to  settlement." 

The  following  statistical  table  gives  the  latest 
statistics  of  the  Episcopal  church  in  South 
Dakota  for  1902- 1903  : 


^Vestern 

Other 

Deanery 

Deaneries 

Total 

Clergy   

22 

22 

44 

Parishes  and  Missions 

90 

39 

129 

Baptisms — Infants     .  . 

431 

164 

595 

Baptisms— Adults      .  . 

95 

74     ^ 

169 

Baptisms— Total    

526 

238 

754 

Whole      Number      ot 

Baptised  Persons  .  . 

9,341 

3,919 

13,160 

Confirmed    

283 

95 

431 

Ordinations   

2 

1 

3 

Communicants     

3,775 

2,219 

5,985 

Sunday  School  Schol- 

are   

1.363 
$7,433.02 

1,409 
$22,746.44     $30 

2,772 

Contributions     

179.46 

It  seems  eminently  fitting  that  at  this  point 
should  be  incorporated  special  mention  of  some 
of  those  whose  lives  have  been  closely  linked 
with  the  upbuilding  and  progress  of  the  Episco- 
pal church  in  South  Dakota,  though  without 
invidious  distinction  as  to  others  who  have  also 
borne  important  part  in  this  work. 

Archdeacon  G.  G.  Ware  was  born  in 
England  January  27,  1857,  and  educated  at  St. 
Michael's  College.  Tenbury,  Worchestershire, 
and  Bladfield  College.  Berkshire.  In  1882  he 
came  to  the  United  States  and  took  up  church 
work  in  the  Black  Hills.  Mr.  Ware  was  or- 
dained deacon  in  1888  and  advanced  to  the 
priesthood  in  1891.  His  zeal  and  earnestness 
won  for  him,  in  1893,  advancement  to  the  dean- 
ship  of  the  Black  Hills  and  in  1896  he  was  ap- 
pointed archdeacon  of  the  Black  Hills. 

Rev.  ^larshall  F.  Montgomery  was 
burn  in  Marash,  Turkey  in  Asia,  June  14, 
186S,  his  parents  being  American  missionaries. 
Most  of  the  first  fifteen   vears  of  his  life  were 


spent  in  Turkey.  He  fitted  for  college  at  the  St. 
Johnsbury  Academy,  St.  Johnsbury,  A'emiont, 
after  which  he  entered  mercantile  life,  traveling 
quite  extensively.  Mr.  Montgomery  came  to 
South  Dakota  (Black  Hills)  in  1892,  and  realiz- 
ing the  necessity  of  missionary  work,  offered 
himself,  soon  afterward,  to  Bishop  Hare,  under 
whom  he  became  a  candidate  for  holy  orders  and 
entered  Seabury  Hall,  Faribault,  Minnesota, 
graduating  in  1897  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor 
of  Divinity.  He  was  ordained  deacon  in  1897, 
at  Sioux  Falls,  by  Bishop  Hare,  and  sent  to 
take  charge  of  Grace  church,  Huron,  South 
Dakota,  working  west  as  far  as  Pierre  and  east 
to  Arlington.  On  February  28,  1900,  he  took 
charge  of  St.  Mark's,  Aberdeen,  where,  on  Oc- 
tober 17,  1900,  he  was  advanced  to  the  priest- 
hood. Mr.  Montgomery's  wide  acquaintance 
through  the  state  is  due  to  the  fact  that  he  took 
all  the  necessary  steps  leading  up  to  the  priest- 
hood while  living  in  South  Dakota,  also  because 
he  is  chaplain  of  the  Second  Regiment,  South 
Dakota  National  Guards,  and  assistant  editor  of 
the  Aurora,  the  official  organ  of  Scottish  Rite 
Masonry  in  South  Dakota. 

Rev.  John  H.  Babcock  was  born  at 
Ballston  Spa,  New  York,  August  11,  1826.  He 
was  educated  at  St.  Thomas  Hall,  Flushing, 
Long  Island,  and  graduated  from  Union  College, 
Schenectady,  New  York,  in  1845.  He  was  or- 
dained deacon  in  1853  and  priest  in  1856.  He 
has  been  constantly  engaged  in  clerical  work  and 
teaching  in  New  York,  Connecticut,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Illinois,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Iowa, 
Nebraska,  South  Dakota,  California  and  Oregon. 
Principal  of  the  Episcopal  Academy  of  Con- 
necticut, at  Cheshire,  and  of  the  Oregon  School 
for  the  Blind,  at  Salem.  Came  to  Mitchell. 
South  Dakota,  in  1887.  Resided  in  that  city  thir- 
teen years,  having  charge  of  Mitchell.  Cham- 
berlain, Woonsocket.  Plankinton,  Alexandria 
and  Scotland.  Removed  to  Sioux  Falls.  Novem- 
ber, 1900.  Since  then  has  been  doing  general 
missionary  work.  Is  president  of  the  standing 
committee,  and  rural  dean  of  die  Eastern  dean- 
ery. 

Rev.    J.     '\\.     McBride   began     his    ministry 


586 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


here  in  1870.  He  possessed  the  agreeable  man- 
ners and  persuasive  speech  which  characterize 
the  gentleman  whose  good  fortune  it  is  to  have 
been  born  in  Erin's  green  isle  and  which  natu- 
rally win  the  good  will  of  one's  neighbors,  and 
sometimes  give  one  great  influence  over  his  fel- 
lows. Good  results  of  his  diligent  labor  may 
be  seen  in  Canton,  Sioux  Falls,  Dell  Rapids,  Hu- 
ron, Pierre,  Aberdeen  and  other  places. 

In  1879  the  Rev.  Joshua  Himes,  being  full 
seventy-five  years  of  age,  took  charge  of  Ver- 
million; in  1886  he  removed  to  Elk  Point,  where 
he  resided  until  his  death,  in  1895.  The  fifty 
years  of  his  life  that  immediately  preceded  his 
coming  to  South  Dakota  were  crowded  with 
discussions  of  questions,  social,  political  and  re- 
ligious, in  which  he,  as  a  Christian,  a  citizen  and 
a  philanthropist,  took  an  active  part.  Those 
whose  memories  run  back  to  1846  will  recall  the 
prominent  part  that  "Elder  Himes"  took  in  the 
excited  discussions  about  temperance,  the 
abolition  of  slavery,  and  the  Second  Advent. 
Old  in  years  though  he  was  when  he  came  to 
this  state,  he  was  still  young  in  heart,  still  sound 
in  mind  and  body,  and  "strong  for  service  still." 
Compared  with  his  brethren,  young  or  old,  high 
or  low,  broad  or  narrow,  it  may  justly  be  said 
of  him  that  he  labored  more  abundantly  than 
they  all.  As  a  diligent  student  of  the  Bible, 
rightly  comprehending  and  rightly  divining  the 
Word  of  Truth,  he  was  excelled  by  none;  and 
very  few  were  those  who  could  preach  and  ex- 
plain with  his  fervor  and  eloquence.  Especially 
successful  was  he  in  teaching  the  young.  He 
knew  how  to  train  up  the  children  in  the  way  in 
which  they  should  go. 

Rev.  Melancthon  Hoyt,  then  residing  in 
Sioux  City,  Iowa,  accompanied  Bishop  Talbot 
on  the  first  missionary  exploration  of  Dakota 
territory.  That  was  in  i860.  In  1862  he  came 
to  Yankton,  making  that  town  his  home  and  the 
headquarters  of  his  small  detachment  of  the 
army  of  the  church  militants.  In  1875  he  was 
appointed  general  missionary,  which  office  he 
held  until  his  death,  in  1888.  During  the  twenty- 
eight    years    of    his    ministry    he    traveled    over 


all  that  portion  of  the  territory  east  of  the  ]Mis- 
souri,  visiting  nearly  every  dwelling  place, 
preaching,  baptizing,  caring  for  the  sick,  com- 
forting those  that  mourned  and  carrying  good 
news  to  all  the  people  of  the  land.  Bishop 
Clarkson  says,  in  his  report  to  the  Board  of  ]\Iis- 
sions  in  1876 :  "The  amount  of  work  done  by 
Dr.  Hoyt  is  simply  surprising,  and  for  a  man  of 
his  years  truly  wonderful."  Bishop  Hare,  in 
1884,  says :  "Dr.  Hoj^t  has  been  in  orders  over 
fifty  years ;  he  is  now  in  his  seventy-sixth  year. 
Years  before  railroads  were  known  in  Dakota  he 
traveled  over  its  plains  in  a  buggy."  In  one  of 
his  letters  to  the  Spirit  of  Missions,  Father  Hoyt 
writes:  "Thursday,  April  15,  1875. — Wind  N. 
N.  west,  blowing  a  perfect  hurricane,  cold  and 
piercing:  but  I  must  start  or  else  fail  in  my 
appointments.  Punch  and  Cap, — the  ponies  of 
which  our  Bishop  in  former  reports  has  made 
honorable  mention, — harnessed  before  a  buck- 
board  are  brought  round  to  the  door.  As  I 
look  at  them  I  cannot  but  exclaim,  'Poor  fel- 
lows !  Your  work  is  too  much  for  ^^ou.  You 
have  to  drag  these  missionaries  on  their  long 
trips,  and  the  labor  is  telling.  You  have  before 
you  a  journey  of  two  hundred  and  twenty  miles, 
and  the  roads  in  places  are  very  rough  and  miry, 
in  others  very  miry,  owing  to  overflows."  "  He 
died  in  Scotland  in  January,  1888.  The  church 
there  was  nearly  completed  before  his  death, 
and  was  consecrated  in  November,  1903.  The 
mention  of  his  name  anywhere  in  the  two 
Dakotas  will  call  forth  expressions  of  love 
and  esteem  that  show  how  enduring  is  the 
work  and  how  fragrant  is  the  memory  of 
i   Father  Hoyt. 

j  Rev.  Edward  Ashley  came  to  this  country 
j  from  England  in  the  early  'seventies  and  began 
his  missionary  labors  in  Niobrara  in  1874.  He 
was  located  at  Crow  Creek  from  .1874  to  1879, 
and  from  here  he  went  to  take  a  post-graduate 
course  at  Seabury  Divinity  School.  He  earned 
his  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  and  returned 
to  the  Indian  work,  taking  charge  at  Sisseton 
agency.  He  left  Sisseton  in  1889  and  took  up 
the  Indian  work  west  of  the  river  in  Chevenne 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


587 


agency.  Besides  being  dean  of  Niobrara  dean- 
ery, Mr.  Ashley  publishes  a  paper  in  the  Sioux 
language.  Mr.  Ashley  was  made  deacon  in 
1877  and  priest  in  1881. 

Rev.    William   J.   Qeveland   took   his   degree 
of  Master  of  Arts  at  Hobart  College  in   1869,  ; 
was  ordained  deacon  in   1872  by  Bishop  Howe,  j 
and    advanced   to   the   priesthood     in     1873     by  I 


Bishop  Hare.  Mr.  Cleveland  was  missionary  to 
the  Sioux  Indians  from  1872  to  1888,  and  from 
1888  to  1897  had  charge  of  the  churches  at 
Madison  and  Howard.  He  left  for  the  east  in 
1897,  but  after  a  short  time  returned  to  the  In- 
dian field  at  Pine  Ridge.  Mr.  Qeveland,  as  well 
as  Mr.  Ashley,  speak  the  Sioux  language  and 
use  it  in  their  work. 


CHAPTER  C 


THE  REFORMED  CHURCH  IX  SC^UTH  DAKOTA. 


CRY    STRAKS 


Rev.  E.  T.  Corwin,  D.  D.,  in  his  Alaniial  of 
the  Reformed  Church  in  America  (1628-1902),  j 
gives  a  very  concise  sketch  of  the  history  of  said 
church  in  his  book,  issued  A.  D.  1902,  from 
which  book  most  of  our  information  is  obtained. 
Introducing  his  history,  he  says  of  the  Reformed 
church  in  general,  that  "It  is  the  technical  name 
of  that  division  of  Protestantism  which  had  its 
rise  in  Switzerland,  in  1 5 16.  under  Zwingli.  It 
was  contemporary  with,  but  independent  of,  the 
Lutheran  Reformation.  It  was  subsequently 
more  fully  developed  and  organized  under 
Calvin,  with  a  distinct  type  of  doctrine  and 
policy.  While  the  name,  The  Reformed  Church, 
was  chiefly  confined  to  churches  on  the  continent, 
this  term  also  embraced  Protestantism  under  all  1 
its  forms  in  the  British  isles.  Cranmer  gave  doc-  j 
trinal  shape  to  English  Protestantism  in  the 
Anglican  communion,  in  the  days  of  Edward 
\'I.  1547-53.  being  the  ])rincipal  compiler  of  the 
Thirty-nine  Articles  and  the  Prayer-book.  The  i 
persecutions  under  Mary  drove  the  best  of  the 
English  reformers  to  Switzerland,  whence  some 
of  them  brought  back  the  principles  which  de- 
veloped into  Puritanism,  while  John  Knox  car- 
ried back  to  Scotland  with  him  the  principles  of 
Presbyterianism." 

The  fundamental  thought  of  the  doctrine  of 
the  Reformed  church  is  the  divine  sovereignty. 
The  Doctrines  of  Grace,  as  they  are  called,  are 
emphasized.  These  doctrines  are  e-xhibited  in  the 
confessions  of  faith  of  each  country  where  the 
Reformed  church  prevailed.     In  Switzerland,  in 


the  Helvetic  confession ;  in  France,  in  the  Gal- 
lician ;  in  Holland,  in  the  Belgic ;  in  England, 
in  the  seventeenth  article  of  the  "Thirty-nine 
Articles,"  and  in  the  Westminster  confession  ;  and 
finally  these  doctrines  were  revised  and  for- 
mulated in  the  Canons  of  the  Synod  of  Dort 
(1618-19),  by  representatives  of  all  the  churches 
above  alluded  to,  besides  some  churches  from 
the  European  states.  Calvin  also  brought  order 
out  of  confusion  b\-  thoroughly  formulating  the 
s}'stem  of  government  of  the  Reformed  church. 
He  distinguished  the  extraordinary  offices  of  the 
church  in  Apostolic  times,  from  the  ordinary  in 
later  times  and  divided  them  into  four  classes, 
viz:  Ministers,  teachers  (or  professors),  elders, 
and  deacons.  Yet  he  did  not  insist  on  this  as  the 
only  possible  polity.  Xor  was  he  inflexible  as 
to  the  mode  of  election  of  these  officers.  So, 
also,  the  several  grades  of  ecclesiastical  bodies 
which  he  proposed,  such  as  consistories,  classes, 
local  s\nods,  and  a  general  synod,  were  not 
necessarily  binding,  but  were  matters  of  ex- 
pediency. 

It  is  generally  conceded  that  the  faith  of  the 
Reformed  church  as  originally  formulated,  to- 
gether with  the  democratic  polity,  did  more  for 
the  development  of  our  modern  civilization,  in- 
cluding republican  institutions,  than  any  other 
system.  In  the  Xetherland  the  reformation  re- 
ceived the  most  lieart\'  welcome.  Entering  from 
Germany,  it  afterward  received  its  chief  impetus 
from  Switzerland  and  France ;  hence  its  dis- 
tinctive tvpe  of  the  Reformed  doctrine  and  more 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


589 


democratic  polity.  After  much  persecution  and 
opposition  from  Charles  V  and  Philip  H.  who 
thouo^ht  they  could  stem  the  tide,  it  flourished 
under  its  defender  and  deliverer,  William  of 
Orange,  and  was  in  the  next  century  (1628)  car- 
ried with  the  emigrants  to  our  shores,  and  planted 
with  the  first  colonists  along  the  shores  of  the 
Hudson  and  the  Raritan  rivers  in  New  York 
and  New  Jersey  and  on  Staten  and  Long 
Islands.  While  congregations  left  the  Nether- 
lands in  a  body,  taking  with  them  their  pastors, 
elders  and  deacons,  as  well  as  schoolmasters,  and 
so  entered,  organized  our  county  and  locality  in 
settlements,  built  at  once  their  church  and  school 
as  well  as  their  homes. 

The  Reformed  church  in  America  is  the  old- 
est body  of  Presbyterians  on  the  western  hemi- 
sphere.    As  the  pioneer  of  those  doctrines  and  i 
forms  of  government  believed  to  be  most  in  har-  | 
mon}-  with  scripture  and  the  American  constitu-  I 
tion,  she  occupies  a  place  unique  in  the  history  of 
our  beloved  land.    The  Reformed  church  of  Hol- 
land   may    boast    the    privilege    of   having   first 
planted  Presbyterianism  upon  our  eastern  shores. 

As  the  different  nationalities,  belonging  to 
the  same  Reformed  faith,  kept  their  distinctive 
name  they  bore  in  their  Fatherland,  so  our  church 
in  this  country  bore  the  name  of  Dutch  Re- 
formed church ;  but  fearing  that,  after  the  de- 
scendants of  these  Dutch  ancestors  had  all  be- 
come English-speaking  churches,  the  name 
"Dutch"  might  deter  some  friends  of  the  Re- 
formed faith  from  staying  with,  or  joining  our 
church,  the  appellation  "Dutch"  was  dropped  in 
1867. 

Since  1846  there  had  been  a  constant  stream 
of  new  emigrants  from  Holland  ;  and  the  princi- 
pal points  of  destination  were  western  Michigan, 
eastern  Wisconsin,  western  New  York  and  north-  \ 
ern  Illinois,  as  well  as  southwestern  Iowa.  The 
center  of  ecclesiastical  operations  was  Holland, 
Michigan,  in  which  vicinity  again  whole  congre- 
gations settled  together  in  one  body  as  the  first 
jiilgrims  had  done  in  New  York  and  New  Jer- 
sey. Soon,  through  the  good  offices  of  their 
leader.  Rev.  A.  C.  \'an  Raalte,  D.  D.,  connections 
\verc'    desired   mil    sought   with   the   old   mother 


church  in  this  coimtry.  A  sort  of  classis  of  all 
the  churches  settled  in  Michigan  was  called  and 
delegates  appointed  to  eflfect  the  above  named 
union.  Soon  other  churches  were  organized  in 
Wisconsin,  Illinois  and  Iowa  that  joined  this 
classis  of  Holland,  Michigan.  In  1854  the  gen- 
eral synod  of  said  church  authorized  the  estab- 
lishing of  a  classical  academy  at  Holland,  Michi- 
gan, and  aided  it  forthwith  with  financial  and 
moral  support.  In  1862  it  was  organized  as  Hope 
College,  now  a  flourishing  institution,  fully  up 
to  date  and  conducted  in  the  American  tongue. 
In  1866  the  first  class  of  eight  students  gradu- 
ated, which  same  class  having  requested  to  be 
allowed  to  begin  their  theological  studies  under 
special  arrangement  with  the  professors  in  the 
college,  formed  the  first  class  of  the  theological 
seminary,  now  prosperous  in  the  same  city  and 
which  has  supplied  most  of  the  pastors  for  our 
churches  in  the  central  and  western,  states. 

When,  about  the  years  1870-80,  these  several 
settlements  had  become  densely  settled,  many  of 
the  sons  of  these  emigrants,  as  well  as  emigrants 
direct  from  the  Netherlands  and  parts  of  Ger- 
man}-, settled  in  northwestern  Iowa,  South  and 
North  Dakota,  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  and  in  va- 
rious states  from  Minnesota  to  the  western  coast. 
It  is  very  singular  that  a  board  of  domestic  mis- 
sions in  the  east  which  had  been  making  many 
fruitless  endeavors  to  induce  the  people  to  con- 
tribute liberally  for  the  extension  of  our  church 
in  our  own  land,  was  by  the  opening  of  these 
many  new  fields  inspired  to  more  earnest  and  suc- 
cessful eflfort.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  generous  aid 
this  board  could  lend,  much  of  the  pioneer  work 
would  have  been  left  undone  and  the  immigrants 
moving  into  these  new  regions  would  have  found 
themselves  sadly  lacking  in  opportunities  to  hear 
the  gospel  in  their  own  tongue  or  to  get  their 
children  instructed  in  the  Bible  class  and  the 
Sunday-school,  as  is  now  so  freely  enjoyed. 
Nearly  every  one  of  the  fifteen  churches  in  South 
I^akota  has  a  parsonage  built  or  church  furnished 
or  painted  by  the  aid  of  our  Woman's  Board  of 
Domestic  Missions,  which  was  instrumental  dur- 
ing the  present  year  in  raising  the  sum  of  forty- 
four  thousand  dollars  for  all  the  missionarv  de- 


590 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


partments  of  the  church.  After  havmg  given 
something  about  the  history  of  the  Reformed 
church  in  America  in  general,  we  now  append  a 
short  history  of  the  individual  churches — located 
mostly  in  the  southwestern  portion  of  our  state. 

BETHEL    REFORMED    CHURCH. 

The  Bethel  church  is  located  in  the  village  of 
Davis,  in  Turner  count\'.  South  Dakota, 
on  the  Great  Northern  Railroad.  The  peo- 
ple that  make  up  the  church  are  mostiv  East 
Friesians,  speaking  the  German  language.  The 
church  was  organized  in  1896.  Their  first  pas- 
tor was  Henry  Teichrieb,  who  served  them  for 
two  years  in  connection  with  the  church  of  Dela- 
ware, about  eight  miles  away.  Rev.  Ernest  F. 
Koerlin  served  the  same  two  churches  from  1897 
to  1902.  At  present  they  are  without  a  pastor. 
The  people  constituting  the  membership  are 
mostly  German  East  Friesians  and  number  about 
fifteen  to  twentA'   families. 

DEL.\WARE    CHURCH. 

The  church  of  Delaware  is  located  near  Davis. 
Turner  county,  South  Dakota.  It  was  organized 
in  1890,  and  was  served  by  Rev.  J.  H.  Schoon, 
1890-93:  by  Rev.  Henry  Teichrieb,  1894-96.  and 
by  Rev.  E.  F.  Koerlin  from  1896  to  1902,  in 
combination  with  the  church  at  the  village  of 
Davis.  A  heavy  tornado  doing  damage  from 
Chamberlain,  South  Dakota,  to  Rolfe,  Iowa,  lev- 
eled their  church  to  the  ground  in  1902,  but  they 
rebuilt  the  same  year  and  secured  the  services  of 
Rev.  Boehler  in  T903.  They  have  about  twenty- 
five  or  thirtv  families,  mostiv  East  Friesians. 


The  Reformed  church  of  Charles  I\Iix  was 
organized  in  1884.  The  northeastern  portion  of 
Charles  Mix  county  was  settled  mostly  by  Hol- 
land people  in  1882-3.  The  Rev.  Frederick  J. 
Zwemer  had  been  appointed  as  missionary  of  the 
churches  in  the  territory  of  Dakota.  He  drove 
with  his  team  of  ponies  from  Springfield,  in  Bon 
Homme  county,  to  Westfield,  Edmonds  county. 
North  Dakota,  visiting  his  various  charges  and 
preaching  to  them  on  Sunday  and  sometimes  dur- 


ing week  days.  He  made  his  home  about  two 
miles  from  the  present  village  of  Platte,  South 
Dakota,  and  in  1884  had  succeeded  to  effect  an 
organization  here.  His  church  consisted  of  two 
flocks,  about  eleven  miles  apart  (Castalia  and 
j  Platte).  In  1885  he  became  their  pastor  and 
•  served  them  till  1892.  Then  they  were  ser\'ed  by 
Rev  B.  jMolema  from  1893  to  1902.  In  1902 
they  sold  the  old  Platte  church  and  moved  the 
Castalia  church  to  the  new  town  of  Platte,  where 
the  two  churches  serve  together  under  the  effi- 
cient services  of  Prof.  D.  B.  Dykstra,  as  stated 
supply.  The  church  numbers  about  twenty-five 
families.  Services  are  conducted  in  the  Dutch 
language. 

EP.ENEZER    REFORMED    CHURCH. 

The  church  of  Ebenezer  is  located  four  miles 
south   of   Scotland,    Bon    Homme  county.  South 
1  Dakota.     It  was  organized  in   1893  through  the 
I  untiring  efforts  of  Rev.  S.  J.  Harmelink,  of  Ma- 
(  rion.    South    Dakota,    classical    missionary    for 
i  North  and  South  Dakota,  who  served  the  church 
'  occasionally  until  1897:  by  Rev.  C.  J.  De  Witz, 
1897-1901,    and   by    Rev.    E.    F.    Koerlin,    1902. 
They  have  recently  completed  a  new  church  and 
also   a    commodious   parsonage.      They    number 
about  twenty-five  families,  mostly  East  Friesians 
and  German  Russians.     Services  are  conducted 
in  German  and  English.     The  people  are  well-to- 
do  and  ])rosperous. 


Before  the  city  of  Armour  was  located  at  the 
terminus  of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul 
Railway  in  Douglas  county.  South  Dakota, 
Grand  A'iew  was  the  county  seat,  but  when  the 
village  moved  bodily  to  Armour  only  the  school, 
church  and  parsonage  remained.  Here  a  church 
was  organized  in  1885  as  the  result  of  the  faithful 
labors  of  the  missionary,  Rev.  F.  J.  Zwemer,  who 
served  it  until  1889  as  missionary  pastor.  Then 
they  secured  the  services  of  Rev.  William  Pool, 
who  served  them  until  1890.  Then  again  the 
classical  missionary.  Rev.  F.  J.  Zwemer,  served 
them  until  1892,  when  they  secured  the  services 
(if   Rev.    William    Stegeman.      During   his    term 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


the  church  was  leveled  to  the  ground  by  a  cy- 
clone. They  built  up  again  the  same  year  and  en- 
joyed the  services  of  their  pastor  in  the  new  build- 
ing until  1896.  From  this  time  until  1900  they 
were  served  by  the  classical  missionary,  Rev. 
S.  J.  Harmelink.  In  1900  they  secured  the  serv- 
ices of  their  present  pastor.  Rev.  Jacob  Brimmel. 
They  number  about  thirty-five  families  and  their 
services  are  mostly  in  the  Holland  language.  The 
church  is  of  course  made  up  mostly  of  people 
direct  from  that  country. 

DEMPSTER. 

This  is  a  church  recentl}-  organized  among 
German  people  near  Watertown,  South  Dakota. 
They  number  about  twelve  families  and  are 
served  by  the  classical  missionary,  Rev.  E.  Aeilts, 
of  Sioux  Falls,  recently  appointed  as  classical 
missionary  for  the  German-speaking  churches  of 
South  Dakota. 

H.\RRISON. 

The  church  of  Harrison,  South  Dakota,  was 
organized  by  the  Illinois  classis  as  the  First  Re- 
formed church  of  Douglas  county.  South  Da- 
kota, on  June  28,  1883,  with  forty-five  members 
in  full  communion.  As  elders  were  elected 
Messrs.  F.  Le  Cocq,  Sr.,  A.  Van  Arendouk  and 
A.  Kuyper,  and  for  deacons  Messrs.  Jacob  Muil- 
enberg,  P.  Ernisse  and  C.  Beukelman.  As  their 
pastor  they  called  the  candidate  Abram  Stege- 
man,  who  served  them  very  successfully  until 
1892.  Then  they  called  Rev.  A.  G.  Ziegler,  who 
served  them  from  1894  till  1900.  Henry  Straks 
was  called  as  their  pastor  in  1901,  and  is  still  in 
charge.  In  the  years  1894-5  this  colony  lost 
many  settlers  on  account  of  the  continued 
drought,  and  consequently  the  church  lost  many 
members.  At  present  the  church  numbers  about 
eighty  families.  In  1902  the  church  was  re- 
modeled and  in  the  lecture  room  rooms  have 
have  been  provided  where  a  classical  academy 
was  organized,  beginning  the  first  year  with 
twenty-six  Students  enrolled.  Rev.  B.  D.  Dyks- 
tra  became  principal  and  under  his  efficient  man- 
agement is  doing  good  work.  Eflforts  are  being 
made  to  build  an  academy  building.     The  church 


services   are  conducted 
English  languages. 


both   the  Dutch   and 


IMMANUEL  REFORMED  CHURCH. 

This  church  was  organized  at  Perkins,  near 
Springfield,  Bon  Homme  county,  South  Dakota, 
in  1888,  during  the  incumbency  of  Rev.  F.  J.  Zwe- 
mer,  as  classical  missionary,  who  supplied  them 
from  time  to  time  until  1889.  Then  Rev.  S.  J. 
Harmelink  served  them  in  a  similar  way  till  1894. 
In  1894  they  called  as  their  first  permanent  pas- 
tor the  candidate,  J.  F.  Heemstra,  who  stayed 
with  them  for  nearly  two  years..  Their  present 
pastor  is  Rev.  William  Stegeman.  The  services 
are  conducted  in  the  Dutch  and  English  lan- 
guages. They  have  a  congregation  of  about  forty 
families  and  are  preparing  to  build  a  new  church 
this  summer.  The  people  are  mostly  of  Dutch 
extraction. 

LI\'INGST0N  MEMORIAL  CHURCH,  SIOUX  FALLS. 

This  church  was  organized  in  1883  in  Sioux 
Falls,  South  Dakota.  Their  first  pastor  was  Rev. 
E.  P.  Livingston,  who,  coming  west,  served  them 
for  two  years  and  died.  Afterward  the  relatives 
living  east  gave  money  to  build  this  church  as  a 
memorial  of  his  personal  labors.  Rev.  W.  J. 
Skillman  was  their  pastor  from  1883  to  1893; 
Rev.  S.  J.  Harmelink,  as  classical  missionary, 
1893-5;  Rev.  L.  Kingsbury,  1895-9;  Rev.  S.  J. 
Harmelink,  1899- 1900.  Then  they  called  the 
candidate,  J.  Reuich,  now  missionary  to  China, 
who  served  them  for  two  years.  In  1902  they 
obtained  the  services  of  their  present  pastor.  Rev. 
H.  J.  Schipper,  who  was  favored  with  the  pres- 
ence in  a  Sunday  evening  service  of  President 
Roosevelt  in  1903,  while  on  a  trip  through  the 
west.  The  services  are  in  English.  The  church 
is  growing  under  the  watchful  care  of  their  pres- 
ent pastor  and  munbers  about  twenty-five  fami- 
lies. 

LENNOX  FIRST  REFORM  i:n   CHURCH. 

This  church  was  organized  about  six  miles 
from  the  present  town  of  Chancellor  in  the  year 
1883,  under  the  auspices  of  the  classis  of  Illinois. 
The  people  are  mostly  East  Friesiaiis  and  their 


5y2 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


descendants,  who  came  from  Illinois  to  their  pres- 
ent location  in  Lincoln  county.  South  Dakota. 
Their  first  pastor,  Rev.  Weiland,  served  them 
until  1885;  Rev.  Mollenbeck.  1887-91;  Rev.  L. 
Watermulder,  1891-93 ;  Rev.  R.  Jansen,  1894-95. 
Their  present  pastor.  Rev.  G.  Haken,  began  his 
successful  career  in  1896.  The  people  are  Ger- 
mans of  the  East  Friesian  ty-pe,  prosperous  and 
industrious.  During  the  past  year  a  portion  of 
this  congregation  was  organized  into  a  separate 
congregation  at  the  station  Chancellor,  which  is 
also  served  by  the  same  pastor.  Thev  still  have  a 
congregation  of  about  thirty-five  families  and  a 
membership  of  about  sixty.  The  services  are 
conducted  in  the  German  language. 

■  '       LEXxnx  sECoxn  reformed  church. 

This  church  was  organized  in  the  village  of 
Lennox,  at  the  juncture  of  the  St.  Paul  and 
Great  Northern  Railways,  in  1889.  Their  first 
pastor  was  Rev.  J-  H.  Schoon,  who  served  them 
until  1895.  Then  Rev.  L.  Watermulder  served 
them  for  two  years,  after  which  they  ob- 
tained their  former  pastor  again,  who  is  still 
serving  them  successfully.  They  have  just  fin- 
ished a  very  elegant  church  and  their  services  are 
in  the  German  language.  They  number  about 
sixty  families. 

voi.G.\  reformed  church. 

This  church  was  organized  in  Miner  county. 
South  Dakota,  in  1902,  with  a  membership  of 
about  fifteen  families.  The  people  are  mostly  j 
immigrants  from  northwestern  Iowa.  The  Dutch 
language  is  used.  They  have  no  pastor,  but  they 
have  classical  supplies  every  month. 

SALE^r   reformed  church. 

I 

The  Reformed  church  of  Salem,  McCook 
county.  South  Dakota,  was  organized  in  1884. 
Their  first  pastor  was  Rev.  Cotton,  who  served  i 
them  until  1887:  Rev.  F.  J.  Zwemer,  1891-92; 
Rev.  W.  F.  Barney,  1896-1899.  Their  present 
pastor  is  Rev.  Jacob  Christ,  who  began  his  work 
in   1902.     This  church  is  not  large  and  has  not 


prospered  because  they  were  most  of  the  time 
without  stated  preaching  of  the  gospel.  Their 
services  are  in  the  German  language  and  they 
number  about  twenty-five  families. 

.saxdham  memorial  church. 

This  was  at  first  organized  as  the  Reformed 
church  of  Alarion  in  1883.  Later  when  a  church 
was  built  the  mone}-  was  sent  in  memory  of  a 
family  by  the  name  of  Sandham.  Rev.  S.  J- 
Harmelink  served  them  as  missionary  pastor  from 
1883  to  1894;  Rev.  Reeverts,  1895-7;  Rev.  Har- 
melink, again  as  missionary,  1897  to  1900,  and 
Rev.  J.  E.  Winter  is  their  present  pastor  since 
1901.  The  services  are  in  Dutch  and  English 
and  the  number  of  families  is  about  twenty. 
There  is  another  Reformed  church  in  this  place 
composed  of  German  people  and  numbering  about 
thirty-five  families. 

WORTHING   reformed   CHURCH. 

Worthing,  South  Dakota,  Reformed  church 
was  organized  in  1900  as  a  branch  of  the  Second 
Lennox  church.  Their  services  are  conducted  in 
the  Gemian  language.  They  number  about  fif- 
teen families  and  are  served  by  the  Rev.  J.  H. 
Schoon  as  stated  supply. 

MONROE  reformed   CHURCH    (GERMAN). 

This  church  was  organized  about  1885  from 
the  Gemian  population  in  and  about  Monroe. 
South  Dakota.  At  present  they  nuiiiber  about 
thirtv-five  families  and  they  are  constantly  grow- 
ing under  the  faithful  labors  of  Rev.  D.  Siemsen, 
their  present  pastor. 

CHAXCEfJ.OR   _REF0RMED     CHURCH. 

This  church  was  organized  in  1903  from  peo- 
ple formerly  belonging  to  the  First  Lennox  Re- 
formed church.  They  number  about  twenty-five 
families.  Rev.  G.  Haken,  of  the  First  Lennox 
church,  serves  them  as  stated  su])pl}-.  The  ser^-- 
ices  are  conducted  in  the  German  language.  They 
completed  a  very  handsome  church  in  the  village 
of  Chancellor  early  in  1903. 


CHAPTER  CI 


THE  CATHOLIC   CHURCH. 


REX'ISED    BY    RIGHT    REV.    THOMAS   O  GORM.VN,    BISHOP    OF    SIOUX    FALLS. 


It  may  be  fairly  assumed  that  LeSeuer,  who 
visited  Dakota  about  1700,  and  Verendrye,  whose 
visit  was  in  1742,  were  both  devoted  CathoHcs, 
though  I  have  not  found  the  evidence  of  it.  So 
too  were  many  of  the  early  fur  traders  who  en- 
gaged in  trade  within  our  boundaries  :  The  Chou- 
teaus,  Manuel  Lisa,  the  Renconters  and  Picottes. 
but  I  do  not  find  record  of  any  Catholic  who  came 
here,  impelled  by  the  religious  motive,  until  the 
visit  of  Father  Ravoux  to  Fort  Pierre  in  1842. 
At  that  date  all  of  the  Dakota  country  was  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  Bishop  of  Dubuque,  who, 
having  in  the  spring  of  1842  visited  St.  Louis, 
was  implored  by  the  Catholic  fur  traders  about 
Fort  Pierre,  who  had  half-Indian  families,  to  send 
a  priest  there  to  give  their  wives  and  children 
baptism.  In  answer  to  this  appeal  the  bishop  sent 
Father  Ravoux  across  country  from  St.  Paul. 
He  was  accompanied  by  some  half-Indian  guides 
as  well  as  by  some  Indian  families  and  it  is  prob- 
able that  he  performed  acts  of  worship  from  his 
first  coming  upon  the  Dakota  soil,  but  at  this  time 
(the  old  father  still  lives  at  St.  Paul,  though 
far  gone  in  years)  he  only  recalls  celebrating 
mass  at  the  crossing  of  the  James  river,  which 
he  thinks  was  within  the  present  Brown  county. 
If  his  recollection  is  correct  it  may  then,  be  said 
that  the  first  Catholic  service  in  Dakota  was  the 
celebration  of  mass,  by  Father  Ravoux,  at  the 
crossing  of  James  river  in  Brown  county,  in  the 
summer  of  1842.  Two  years  later  Father  Ra- 
voux made  a  similar  trij:)  and  for  a  like  purpose 


from  St.   Paul,  by  wa}-  of  Sioux  P'alls,  to  Fort 
Vermillion. 

When  Father  DeSmet  made  his  first  visit  to 
South  Dakota  I  am  unable  to  determine  from 
any  data  at  hand.  He  has  left  a  complete  record 
of  his  visit  made  in  the  summer  of  1848,  but  says 
he  was  impelled  to  make  that  visit  by  interest 
aroused  during  a  "transient  visit  to  some  tribes 
of  Sioux,  on  the  upper  Missouri,  on  my  way 
back  from  the  Rocky  mountains."  So  it  is  man- 
ifest that  he  was  among  them  prior  to  1848.  In 
the  visit  of  1848  Father  DeSmet  came  up  the 
Missouri  to  the  mouth  of  the  Platte  and  thence 
traveled  across  Nebraska  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Niobrara.  There  he  found  the  Poncas  assembled. 
He  had  not  seen  these  people  before  and  says 
"this  was  the  first  time  the  Poncas  had  heard 
Jesus  Christ  preached  by  the  mouth  of  a  minis- 
ter;" yet  he  further  relates  that  when  he  ap- 
proached them,  they  were  arranging  to  attack  a 
party  of  white  men,  fifteen  in  number,  who  were 
convoying  goods  to  the  fur  company,  but  im- 
mediately upon  seeing  the  holy  father  they  raised 
the  cry,  "The  Black  Gown  has  come,  the  Black 
Gown  has  come,"  and  forgetting  all  about  the 
contemplated  highwayry.  joyfully  thronged  to 
welcome  him.  Of  his  holy  calling  they  had  been 
instructed  by  a  half  breed  who  dwelt  among 
them.  They  at  once  presented  their  children 
for  baptism  and  professed  deep  conviction  of  the 
power  of  the  great  spirit,  whom  they  promised 
to   serve    faithfullv.      Father    DeSmet   left   them 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


the  next  day.  He  made  a  trip  up  the  Niobrara 
and  White  into  the  Bad  Lands,  where  he  care- 
ftill)'  noted  the  natural  history,  and  finally  made 
his  way  down  the  "Little  Missouri"  to  Fort 
Pierre,  where  he  was  cordially  received  by  the 
officers  and  made  welcome  to  the  hospitality  of 
the  establishment.  Colin  Campbell  agreed  to 
take  him  to  the  several  bands  of  the  Sioux,  which 
he  did.  Just  at  this  time  a  party  of  them  were 
returning  from  a  foray  against  the  Omahas,  in 
which  they  had  taken  thirty-two  scalps,  and  the 
good  father  took  the  occasion  to  impress  upon 
them  a  lesson  of  humanity  and  charity.  The 
Oglalas  also  returned  from  a  less  successful  bout 
with  the  Crows.  The  Crows  had  given  them  an 
unmerciful  thrashing,  in  fact  had  whipped  them 
so  badly  that  they  did  not  deem  it  worth  while 
to  waste  ammunition  upon  them,  but  chased  them 
away  with  clubs.  They  also  captured  a  daughter 
of  Red  Fish,  the  chief.  The  old  man  was  in  great 
distress  and  came  to  Father  DeSmet  and  asked 
him  to  pray  for  the  return  of  the  lost  child. 
Father  DeSmet  first  administered  to  the  chief  a 
severe  reprimand  for  his  wickedness  in  leading 
his  people  into  a  useless  and  foolish  war  with  the 
Crows ;  told  him  how  to  live  decently  and  then 
ofifered  a  prayer  for  the  rescue  of  the  captive. 
Almost  immediately  the  girl,  having  escaped 
from  her  captors,  appeared  in  the  camp,  which 
the  Indians  believed  to  be  a  direct  answer  to  the 
prayer  of  the  priest,  and  from  the  beginning  his 
influence  with  them  was  boundless.  He  con- 
tinued among  the  Indians  in  the  vicinity  of 
Pierre  and  Fort  Bonis,  at  the  Big  Bend,  until 
the  end  of  October,  when  he  returned  to  St. 
Louis  for  the  winter.  In  Jmie,  1851,  Father 
DeSmet  accompanied  by  Father  Christian 
Hoecken,  set  out  from  St.  Louis  for  the  upper 
r^lissouri.  on  the  steamer  ".St,  Ange,"  of  the 
American  Fur  Company,  Shortly  after  embark- 
ing. Father  DeSmet  was  stricken  with  cholera 
and  as  he  was  recovering  Father  Hoecken  was 
smitten  and  soon  died  and  was  buried  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Little  Sioux  in  western  Iowa.  The 
cholera  raged  fearfully  upon  the  vessel  and  many 
died,  but  as  they  got  up  into  the  open  and  dry 
Dakota    countrv    the    disease    died    out.      When 


they  got  to  the  Big  Bend  they  learned  that  small- 
pox was  raging  at  Fort  Bonis  and  Father  De- 
Smet, hastening  across  the  bend  while  the  vessel 
was  passing  round,  spent  a  day  and  a  night  giv- 
ing comfort  and  assistance  to  the  afflicted.  He 
went  on  to  Fort  Union  that  year,  but  made  stops 
at  Fort  Pierre  and  at  Arickara  to  baptize  chil- 
dren.    Returning,  he  passed  across  the  country 

I  from  the  Yellowstone  to  the  Oregon  trail,  down 
which  he  passed  to  the  California  trail,  stopping 

j  enroute  to  visit  the  Black  Hills.  At  the  very 
summit  of  the  hills,  upon  a  high  rock,  Father 

j   DeSmet  engraved  a  large  cross.     At  Fort  Lara- 

1  mie  he  assisted  in  a  great  council  of  all  the  west- 
ern tribes  which  had  been  arranged  by  the  govern- 
ment for  the  purpose  of  making  a  treaty  for  the 

I  protection  of  the  California  trail,  which  at  that 
time  was  becoming  a  very  important  thorough- 
fare. 

Thereafter  until  1866  Father  DeSmet  made 
many  visits  to  the  Dakota  Indians  and  no  other 
person  ever  possessed  so  much  influence  for 
good  with  them  as  did  he.  Wherever  he  went  they 
flocked  to  do  him  honor  and  his  slightest  wish 
was  promptly  obeyed.  The  government,  in  rec- 
ognition of  his  good  work,  permitted  him  to  nom- 
inate many  of  the  agents  to  the  Indians  and  chap- 
lains in  the  army  who  were  to  serve  in  the  In- 
dian country. 

In  June,  1850,  Father  Christian  Hoecken 
made  his  first  visit  to  the  Sioux  country  and 
made  many  baptisms  at  Fort  Pierre  and  Fort 
Bonis.  That  fall  he  descended  the  Missouri 
to  A'ermillion  where  he  made  baptisms  and  start- 
ing home,  met  Major  Holton  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Sioux  who  asked  him  to  attempt  to  return  to 
Fort  Pierre.  .Securing  a  guide  at  \"ermillion, 
he  set  out  on  the  trip,  but  was  unable  to  cross 
the  James  on  account  of  die  freezing  weather. 
They  therefore  traveled  up  the  James  for  several 
days,  hoping  to  find  a  crossing,  but  were  caught 
in  a  terrible  blizzard  and  were  compelled  to  re- 
turn to  A'ermillioii,  which  was  tlien  in  charge  of 
Charles  Larpentuer.  Thence  Father  Hoecken 
returned  to  St.  Louis  and  it  was  the  next  spring 
while  returning  to  the  Sioux  that  he  died,  as 
above  related. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


595 


\ 


It  appears  that  whatever  work  was  done 
among  the  Dakotas  for  a  long  period  was  by 
Father  DeSmet  and  like  self-sacrificing  mission- 
aries who  were  acting  under  the  archbishop 
of  St.  Louis,  until  1867,  when  a  consid- 
erable number  of  French  Catholics  having  set- 
tled on  the  Dakota  Pan-Handle,  Bishop  Grace 
sent  Father  Pierre  Boucher  out  to  organize  St. 
Peter's  church  at  Jefferson.  Father  Boucher 
was  given  the  title  of  Apostolic  Missionary,  with 
jurisdiction  over  the  southern  portion  of  Dakota 
territory,  and  while  pastor  of  the  flock  at  Jeffer- 
son built  there  the  first  Catholic  church  edifice 
in  South  Dakota. 

The  growth  of  the  church  Avas  slow  in  the 
early  years,  though  quite  as  rapid  as  the  settle- 
ments, and  by  August  12,  1879,  when  Rt.  Rev. 
Martin  Marty  came  as  Prefecto  Apostolic,  hav- 
ing the  power  of  an  administrator  of  a  diocese, 
during  the  vacancy  of  the  seat,  there  were  but 
twelve  priests  and  twenty  churches  in  all  of 
Dakota.  No  other  church  established  had  nearly 
so  many.  Mgr.  Marty  established  his  seat  at 
Yankton  where  the  sisters  soon  established  a  large 
convent  and  a  bishop's  residence  was  erected  upon 
the  eminence  west  of  the  city,  which  was  named 
Mount  Marty.  In  February,  1880,  Bishop 
Marty  was  consecrated.  In  1889  he  removed  his 
episcopal  seat  to  Sioux  Falls,  and  Dakota  Terri- 
tory was  divided  and  the  diocese  of  Sioux  Falls 
created  to  embrace  the  present  state  of  South 
Dakota. 

Bishop  Marty  continued  to  administer  the  af- 
fairs of  the  diocese  until  1894,  when,  owing  to 
some  differences  which  had  grown  up  among  his 
clergymen,  he  was  transferred  to  St.  Cloud, 
where  he  died  September  19,  1896.  Bishop  Marty 
had  lived  a  life  devoted  singly  to  his  church. 
In  his  Dakota  work  he  labored  unceasingly  for 
the  upbuilding  of  the  church  in  the  hearts  of 
the  people.  Among  the  Indians  he  traveled  over 
wearisome  paths  to  live  in  their  tepees  and  teach 
them  the  consolations  of  religion.  He  possessed 
their  affection  in  a  wonderful  degree,  as  he  did 
that  of  every  one,  white  or  red,  who  came  within 
the  sphere  of  his  influence.  During  the  interim 
following   the   transfer   of   Bishop    Marty,    Rev. 


Henry  Mensing,  of  Webster,  was  administrator 
of  the  diocese. 

On  January-  24,  1896,  Rt.  Rev.  Thomas 
O'GoriTian,  then  professor  of  history  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Washington,  was  elected  Bishop  of 
Sioux  Falls,  his  consecration  occurring  at  Wash- 
ington on  April  19,  1896,  and  he  was  installed 
at  Sioux  Falls,  on  May  2,  1896. 

Bishop  Alarty  was  administrator  during  the 
wonderful  boom  period,  and  saw  the  church  under 
his  jurisdiction  expand  and  take  root  in  every 
village  and  town  of  the  state.  From  the  dozen 
priests  who  performed  its  ministrations  in  1877 
he  saw  it  grow  to  sixty-eight  settled  pastors,  with 
one  hundred  forty-three  churches  and  many  pa- 
rochial schools.  Bishop  O'Gorman  came  just 
when  the  state  was  lifting  its  head  from  the  great 
reactionary  period  following  that  boom  and  un- 
der his  direction  it  has  broadened  and  deepened 
its  roots,  extended  its  activities  and  vastly  in- 
creased its  usefulness  both  among  the  whites  and 
Indians. 

Six  important  hospitals  are  conducted  under 
its  auspices  as  follows:  Aberdeen,  Cascade 
Springs,  Deadwood,  Pierre,  Webster  and  Yank- 
ton. Academies  are  established  at  .\berdeen, 
Elkton,  Marion,  Sturgis,  Vermillion.  Jefferson. 
Tabor,  Watertown  and  Zell.  All  of  these  institu- 
tions are  doing  splendid  work.  The  hospitals  are 
great  public  utilities,  the  importance  of  which  is 
daily  becoming  more  recognized  and  appreciated 
by  the  laity.  The  hospital  at  Pierre  is  absolutely 
indispensable.  The  people  living  in  the  widely 
extended  range  country  have  absolutely  no  con- 
veniences for  the  care  of  the  sick  and  are  as  a 
rule  so  far  remote  from  physicians  that  it  has 
become  the  practice,  as  soon  as  symptoms  of  ill- 
ness are  apparent,  to  hasten  the  patient  to  the 
hospital,  where  excellent  care  is  guaranteed. 
These  hospitals  are  attended  by  all  the  physicians 
of  the  towns  where  located  regardless  of  relig- 
ious tenets.  Each  of  these  hospitals  has  acquired 
a  fine  standing,  both  for  the  care  bestowed  upon 
patients  and  the  skill  of  attending  physicians. 
The  plan  has  by  the  natural  law  of  selection  de- 
veloped one  or  more  surgeons  of  great  profi- 
ciencv  at  the  seat  of  each  institution  and  opera- 


50 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


tions  of  the  utmost  gravity  and  delicacy  are 
performed  constantly  with  a  success  not  sur- 
passed anywhere.  The  percentage  of  radical 
cures  is  as  great  as  in  the  best  hospitals  in  the 
land. 

At  the  latest  report  there  are  in  the  state  fifty- 
five  thousand  five  hundred  Catholics,  worshipping 
in  one  hundred  fifty-nine  churches,  to  which  nine- 
ty-eight priests  minister.  The  following  orders 
are  represented :  The  Benedictine,  Mercy,  St. 
Joseph  and  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  Presentation  and 
St.  Frances  Sisters.  These  orders  are  repre- 
sented in  sufficient  numbers  so  that  every  section 
is  provided  with  their  ministrations  in  all  of  the 
good  offices  which  they  so  cheerfully  perform,  in 
teaching,  nursing,  care  of  hospitals  and  other 
benevolent  activities. 


In  1902  the  diocese  of  Sioux  Falls  was  di- 
vided and  the  diocese  of  Lead  created  for  the 
Black  Hills  section,  and  Mgr.  John  Stariha  was 
chosen  bishop.  His  consecration  and  installation, 
an  event  of  great  interest  and  circumstance,  was 
celebrated  at  Lead,  on  October  2,  1902. 

The  Catholics  of  South  Dakota  have  contrib- 
uted some  substantial  additions  to  literature. 
Bishop  O'Gorman  is  the  author  of  "The  Catholic 
History  of  America."  Father  Peter  Rosen  is  the 
author  of  'Taha  Sapha,"  a  large  and  authorita- 
tive history  of  the  Black  Hills.  Chief  Justice 
Peter  C.  Shannon  was  one  of  the  revisers  of  the 
Revised  Laws  of  Dakota  in  1877  and  at  his  death 
was  engaged  in  preparing  a  Catholic  History  of 
South  Dakota,  which  he  was  not  permitted  to 
complete. 


CHAPTER  CII 


HISTORY    OF    WOMAN    SUFFRAGE   IN    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


The  territory  of  Dakota  was  created  in  1861, 
but  in  1889  it  entered  the  Union  divided  into  two 
separate  states,  North  and  South  Dakota.  As 
early  as  1872  the  territorial  legislature  lacked 
only  one  vote  of  conferring  full  suffrage  on 
women.  The  sparsely  settled  country  and  the 
long  distances  made  any  organized  work  an  im- 
possibility, although  a  number  of  individuals 
were  strong  advocates  of  equal  suffrage.  In 
1879  women  were  given  the  right  to  vote  at 
school  meetings.  In  1883  a  school  township  law 
was  passed  requiring  regular  polls  and  a  private 
ballot  instead  of  special  meetings,  which  took 
away  tlie  suffrage  from  women  in  all  but  a  few 
counties. 

At  the  convening  of  the  territorial  legislature 
in  January,  1885,  Major  J-  A.  Tickler  (after- 
wards member  of  congress),  without  solicitation, 
early  in  the  session  introduced  a  bill  in  the  house 
granting  full  suffrage  to  women,  as  under  the 
organic  act  the  legislative  body  had  the  power  to 
prescribe  the  qualifications  for  the  franchise.  The 
bill  passed  the  house,  February  nth,  by  twenty- 
nine  ayes,  nineteen  noes.  Soon  afterward  it 
passed  the  council  by  fourteen  ayes,  ten  noes,  and 
its  friends  counted  the  victory  won.  But  Gov- 
ernor Gilbert  A.  Pierce,  appointed  by  President 
Arthur  and  only  a  few  months  in  the  territory, 
failed  to  recognize  the  grand  opportunity  to  en- 
franchise fifty  thousand  American  citizens  by 
one  stroke  of  his  pen.  and  vetoed  the  bill.  Not 
,  only  did  it  express  the  sentiment  of  the  repre- 
sentatives elected  h\  the  voters,  but  it  had  been 


generally  discussed  by  the  press  of  the  territory 
and  all  the  newspapers  but  one  were  outspoken 
for  it.  An  effort  was  made  to  carry  it  over  the 
governor's  veto,  but  it  failec!. 

In  1887  a  law  was  passed  enlarging  the  school 
suffrage  possessed  by  women  and  giving  them 
the  right  to  vote  at  all  school  elections  and  for 
all  school  officers,  and  also  making  them  eligible 
to  any  elective  school  office.  At  this  time,  under 
the  liberal  provisions  of  the  United  States  land 
laws,  more  than  one-third  of  the  land  in  the  ter- 
ritory was  held  by  women. 

Ill  the  same  legislature  of  1887  another  effort 
was  made  to  pass  an  equal  suffrage  bill,  and  a 
committee  frftm  the  franchise  department  of  the 
Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  consist- 
ing of  INlesdanies  Helen  M.  Barker,  S.  V.  Wil- 
son and  Alice  M.  A.  Pickler,  appeared  before  the 
committee  and  presented  hundreds  of  petitions 
from  the  men  and  women  of  the  territory.  The 
coinmittee  of  both  houses  reported  favorably,  but 
the  bill  failed  by  thirteen  votes  in  the  house  and 
six  in  the  council. 

It  was  mainly  through  women's  instrumen- 
tality that  a  local  option  bill  was  carried  through 
this  legislature,  and  largely  through  their  exer- 
tions that  it  was  adopted  by  sixty-five  out  of  the 
eighty-seven  organized  counties  at  the  n^xt  gen- 
eral election. 

In  October,  1885,  the  American  \\'oman  Suf- 
frage Association  held  a  national  convention  in 
I\Iinneapolis,  Minnesota,  which  was  attended  by 
a    number    of   people    from    Dakota,    who    were 


598 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


greatlv  interested.  The  next  month  the  first  suf- 
frage club  was  formed  in  Webster.  Several  local 
societies  were  afterwards  started  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  territory,  but  for  five  years  no  attempt 
was  made  at  bringing  these  together  in  a  con- 
vention. 

At  the  New  Orleans  Exposition,  in  1885,  the 
displays  of  Kansas,  Dakota  and  Nebraska  taught 
the  world  the  artistic  value  of  grains  and  grasses 
for  decoration,  but  it  was  exemplified  most  strik- 
ingly in  the  Dakota's  Woman's  Department,  ar- 
ranged by  Mrs.  J.  M.  TNIelton,  of  Fargo.  Among 
the  industrial  exhibits  was  a  carriage  robe  sent 
from  a  leading  furrier  to  represent  the  skillful 
worI<  of  women  in  his  employ.  There  were  also 
bird  fans,  a  curtain  of  duck  skins  and  cases  of 
taxidermy,  all  prepared  and  cured  by  women, 
and  a  case  of  work  from  women  employed  in  the 
printing  office  of  the  Fargo  Argus.  Four  thou- 
sand bouquets  of  grasses  were  distributed  on 
Dakota  Day  and  carried  away  as  curious  and 
beautiful  memorials.  All  were  made  by  women 
in  the  territory. 

The  long  contention  as  to  whether  the  ter- 
ritory should  come  into  the  Union  as  one  state  or 
two,  was  not  decided  until  1889,  when  congress 
admitted  two  states.  Thenceforth  there  were  two 
distinct  movements  for  women  suffrage,  one  in 
North  Dakota  and  one  in  South  Dakota. 

SOUTH    D.-^KOTA. 

[The  editor  is  indebted  to  ]\lrs.  Alice  M.  A. 
Pickler,  of  Faulkton,  president  of  the  State 
Woman  Suffrage  Association,  for  the  material 
contained  in  this  part  of  the  chapter.] 

In  Tune.  1883,  a  convention  was  held  at 
Huron  to  discuss  the  question  of  dividing  the 
territory  and  forming  two  states,  and  a  conven- 
tion was  called  to  meet  at  Sioux  Falls,  Septem- 
ber 4th,  and  prepared  a  constitution  for  those 
in  the  southern  portion.  The  suffrage  leaders 
in  the  East  were  anxious  that  this  should  in- 
clude the  franchise  for  women.  ]\Irs.  ]\Iatilda 
Joslyn  Gage,  of  New  York,  vice-president-at- 
large  of  the  National  Suffrage  Association,  lec- 
tured at  various  points  in  the  territory  during  the 
summer  to  awaken  public  sentiment  on  this  ques- 


tion. On  September  ^th  a  petition  signed  by  one 
thousand  Dakota  men  and  women,  praying  that 
the  word  "male"  should  not  be  incorporated  in 
the  constitution,  was  presented  to  the  convention, 
accompanied  by  personal  appeals.  There  was 
some  disposition  to  grant  this  request,  but  the 
opponents  prevailed  and  only  the  school  ballot 
was  given  to  women,  which  they  already  pos- 
sessed by  act  of  the  legislature  of  1879.  How- 
ever, this  constitution  never  was  acted  upon. 

The  desire  for  division  and  statehood  became 
very  urgent  throughout  the  great  territon.-,  and 
this,  with  the  growing  sentiment  in  congress  in 
favor  of  the  same,  induced  the  legislature  of 
1885  to  provide  for  a  convention  at  Sioux  Falls, 
composed  of  members  elected  by  the  voters  of 
the  territory,  to  form  a  constitution  for  the  pro- 
posed new  state  of  South  Dakota  and  submit  the 
same  to  the  electors  for  adoption,  which  was 
done  in  November,  1885.  Many  of  the  women 
had  become  landholders  and  were  interested  in 
the  location  of  school  houses,  county  seats,  state 
capitals  and  matters  of  taxation.  As  their  only 
organization  was  the  Woman's  Christian  Tem- 
perance Union,  a  committee  was  appointed  from 
that'  body,  consisting  of  Alice  M.  A.  Pickler, 
'  superintendent  of  the  franchise  department,  Helen 
I  M.  Barker  and  Julia  Welch,  to  appear  before  the 
committee  on  suffrage  and  ask  that  the  word 
j  '"male"  be  left  out  of  the  qualifications  of  elect- 
!  ors.  They  were  helped  by  letters  to  members  of 
the  convention  from  Lucy  Stone,  Henry  B.  Black- 
';  well,  Susan  B.  Anthony,  Lillie  Devereux  Blake 
and  others  of  national  reputation.  Seven  of  the 
eleven  members  of  the  committee  were  willing 
to  grant  this  request,  but  there  was  so  much  op- 
position from  the  convention  lest  the  chances  of 
statehood  might  be  imperiled,  that  they  -com- 
pelled a  compromise  and  it  was  directed  that  the 
first  legislature  should  submit  the  question  to  the 
voters.  They  did  incorporate  a  clause,  however, 
that  women  properly  qualified  should  be  eligible 
to  any  school  office  and  should  vote  at  any  elec- 
tion solely  for  school  purposes.  This  applied 
merely  to  school  trustees,  as  state  and  county 
superintendents  are  elected  at  general  and  not 
special  elections. 


\ 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


The  constitution  was  ratified  by  the  voters  in 
1885,  with  a  provision  that  "the  legislature  should 
at  its  first  session  after  the  admission  of  the  state 
into  the  Union,  submit  to  a  vote  of  the  electors 
at  the  next  general  election,  the  question  whether 
the  word  'male'  should  be  stricken  from  the 
article  of  the  constitution  relating  to  elections  and 
the  right  of  suflrrage." 

Congress  at  that  time  refused  to  divide  the 
territory  and  thus  the  question  remained  in 
abeyance  awaiting  statehood. 

In  1889,  an  enabling  act  having  passed  by 
congress,  delegates  were  elected  from  the  differ- 
ent counties  to  meet  in  convention  at  Sioux  falls 
to  prepare  for  the  entrance  of  South  Dakota 
into  statehood.  This  convention  reaffirmed  the 
constitution  adopted  in  1885,  and  again  sub- 
mitted it  to  the  voters,  who  again  passed  upon 
it  favorably,  and  the  territory  became  a  state 
November  2.  1889. 

The  first  legislature  met  at  once  in  Pierre 
and,  although  they  were  required  by  the  consti- 
tution to  submit  an  amendment  for  woman  suf- 
frage, a  vote  was  taken  as  to  whether  this  should 
be  done.  It  stood  in  the  senate,  forty  yeas,  one 
nay ;  absent  or  not  voting,  four ;  in  the  house, 
eighty-four  yeas,  nine   nays,  twenty-one  absent. 

On  November  11,  1889,  Miss  Anthony,  in 
response  to  urgent  requests  from  the  state,  made 
a  lecture  tour  of  twelve  cities  and  towns  and  ad- 
dressed the  Farmers'  Alliance  at  their  conven- 
tion in  Aberdeen,  when  it  officially  indorsed 
the  suffrage  amendment.  On  her  return  home 
she  sent  fifty  thousand  copies  of  Senator  T.  W. 
Palmer's  great  woman  suffrage  speech  to  in- 
dividual voters  in  Dakota  under  his  frank. 

A  State  SuftVage  Association  had  been 
formed,  with  S.  A.  Ramsey,  president;  Alonzo 
Wardall,  vice-president:  the  Rev.  At.  Barker,  sec- 
retary, and  Mrs.  Helen  M.  Barker,  treasurer  and 
state  organizer:  but  the  beginning  of  this  cam- 
paign found  the  women  with  no  funds  and  ven' 
little  local  organization.  Mr.  Wardall,  who  was 
also  secretary  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance,  went  to 
Washington  and,  with  Representative  and  ]\Irs. 
J.  A.  Pickler,  presented  a  strong  appeal  for  as- 
sistance to  the   national   suft'rage  convention   in 


February,  1890.  It  was  heartily  responded  to 
and  a  South  Dakota  campaign  committee  was 
formed,  with  Miss  Anthony  chairman.  The  of- 
ficers and  friends  made  vigorous  efforts  to  raise  a 
fund  and  eventually  five  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars  were  secured.  Of  this  amount  California 
sent  one  thousand  dollars ;  Senator  Stanford 
personally  gave  three  hundred  dollars:  Rachel 
Foster  Avery,  of  Philadelphia,  the  same  amount : 
Mrs.  Clara  L.  McAdow,  of  jMontana,  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars :  a  number  gave  one  hun- 
dred dollars,  among  them  United  States  Senator 
R.  F.  Pettigrew,  of  South  Dakota,  and  different 
states  sent  various  sums.  The  speakers  raised 
about  one  thousand  four  hundred  dollars,  which 
went  towards  paying  their  expenses.  Over  one 
thousand  dollars  were  secured  by  other  means. 
Most  of  the  state  workers  donated  their  expenses. 

The  first  of  May  Miss  Anthony  returned  to 
South  Dakota  aijd  established  campaign  head- 
quarters in  Huron.  A  mass  convention  of  men 
and  women  was  held  and  an  active  state  organiza- 
tion formed,  with  Mrs.  Philena  Everett  John- 
son, president,  and  Mr.  Wardall,  vice-president, 
which  co-operated  with  the  national  committee 
and  inaugurated  an  active  campaign.  The  new 
state  had  adopted  as  its  motto,  "Under  God  the 
People  Rule,"  and  the  suffragists  wrote  upon  their 
banners,  "Under  God  the  People  Rule:  Women 
are  People."  A  large  number  of  national  speak- 
ers came  in  the  summer.  Local  workers  would 
organize  suffrage  clubs  in  the  schoolhouses  and 
these  efforts  would  culminate  in  large  rallies  at 
the  county  seats  where  some  noted  speakers  would 
make  addresses  and  perfect  the  organization. 

Those  from  the  outside  who  canvassed  the 
state  were  Henry  B.  Blackwell,  editor  Woman's 
Journal,  Boston :  the  Rev.  Anna  Howard  Shaw, 
national  lecturer :  Mary  Seymour  Howell,  of 
New  York:  the  Rev.  Olympia  Brown,  of  Wis- 
consin :  IMatilda  Hindman,  of  Pennsylvania : 
Carrie  Giapman  Catt,  of  Washington  :  Laura  M. 
Johns,  of  Kansas :  Clara  Berwick  Colby,  of  Ne- 
braska: the  Rev.  Helen  G.  Putnum,  of  North  Da- 
kota, and  Julia  B.  Nelson,  of  Minnesota.  ]\Iiss 
Anthony  was  always  and  everywhere  the  moving 
spirit  and  contributed  her  services  the  entire  six 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


months  without  pay.  ^^^hen  three  hundred  dol- 
lars were  lacking  to  settle  the  final  expenses  she 
paid  them  out  of  her  own  pocket.  i\'Ir.  Black- 
well  also  donated  his  services.  ]\Iost  effective 
state  work  was  done  by  Mrs.  Emma  Smith  De- 
Voe,  of  Huron,  and  the  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
De\^oe  was  a  haven  of  rest  during  the  campaign. 

Among  the  other  valuable  state  workers  were 
Dr.  Nettie  C.  Hall,  Mrs.  Helen  M.  Barker,  and 
!Mrs.  Elizabeth  M.  Wardall,  superintendent  of 
press.  A  large  number  of  ministers  indorsed  the 
amendment.  Two  grand  rallies  of  all  the  speak- 
ers were  held,  one  at  Alitchell,  August  26th  and 
27th,  during  which  time  Miss  Anthony,  Mr. 
Blackwell,  Miss  Shaw  and  Mrs.  Pickler  ad- 
dressed the  Republican  state  convention  ;  the  other 
during'  the  state  fair  in  September.  The  17th 
was  '"Woman's  Day,"  and  the  fair  association 
invited  ladies  to  speak.  i\Iiss  Anthony,  Miss 
Shaw  and  Mrs.  DeVoe  complied.  The  sum- 
ming up  of  the  superintendent  of  press  was  as 
follows :  Total  number  of  addresses  by  national 
speakers,  789;  state  speakers,  707;  under  the 
auspices  of  the  ^^'oman's  Christian  Temperance 
Union,  104:  total,  1,600;  local  clubs  of  women 
organized,  400:  literature  sent  out  to  every  voter. 

Tt  would  be  difficult  to  put  into  words  the 
hardships  of  this  campaign  of  1890,  in  a  new 
state  through  the  hottest  and  dryest  summer  on 
record.  Frequently  the  speakers  had  to  drive 
twent}-  miles  between  the  afternon  and  evening 
meetings  and  the  audiences  would  come  thirty 
miles.  All  of  the  political  state  conventions  de- 
clined to  indorse  the  amendment.  The  Repub- 
licans refused  seats  to  the  ladies  on  the  floor  of 
their  convention,  although  Indians  in  blankets 
were  welcomed.  The  Democrats  invited  the 
ladies  to  seats,  where  they  listened  to  a  speech 
against  woman  suffrage  by  E,  W.  ]\Iiller,  land 
receiver  for  Huron  district,  too  indecent  to  print, 
which  was  received  with  cheers  and  applause  b}' 
the  convention.  The  minority  committee  report, 
presented  by  Judge  Bangs,  of  Rapid  City,  ask- 
ing for  an  indorsement,  was  overwhelmingly 
voted  down.  A  big  delegation  of  Russians  came 
to  this  convention  wearing  yellow  badges  lettered. 


"Against  Woman  Suffrage  and  Susan  B.  An- 
thony." 

The  greatest  disappointment  of  the  campaign 
was  the  forming  of  an  independent  party  by  the 
Farmers'  Alliance  and  the  Knights  of  Labor. 
The  Alliance  at  its  convention  the  previous  year, 
four  hundred  and  seventy-eight  delegates  present, 
at  the  close  of  Miss  Anthony's  address,  had  de- 
clared that  they  would  do  all  in  their  power  to 
carry  the  suffrage  amendment,  and  it  was  prin- 
cipally on  account  of  their  assurances  of  support 
and  on  the  invitation  of  their  leaders  that  she  un- 
dertook the  work  in  South  Dakota.  The  Knights 
of  Labor  at  their  convention  in  January  of  the 
present  year  had  adopted  a  resolution  that  said : 
"^^'e  will  support  with  all  our  strength  the 
amendment  to  be  voted  on  at  the  next  general 
election  giving  women  the  ballot — believing  this 
to  be  the  first  step  toward  securing  those  reforms 
for  which  all  true  Knights  of  Labor  are  striv- 
ing." But  the  following  June  these  two  or- 
ganizations formed  a  new  party  and  absolutely 
refused  to  put  a  woman  suffrage  plank  in  their 
platform,  although  Miss  Anthony  addressed  their 
convention  and  implored  them  to  keep  their 
promise,  assuring  them  that  their  failure  to  sup- 
port the  amendment  would  be  its  death  blow. 
The  previous  summer  H.  L.  Loucks,  president  of 
the  Farmers'  Alliance,  had  made  a  special  jour- 
ney to  the  state  suffrage  convention  at  Minne- 
apolis to  invite  her  to  come  to  South  Dakota  to 
conduct  this  canvass.  He  was  a  candidate  for 
governor  on  this  new  party  ticket  and  in  his 
speech  of  acceptance  did  not  mention  the  pend- 
ing amendment.  Before  adjourning  the  conven- 
tion adopted  a  long  resolution  containing  seven 
or  eight  declarations,  among  them  one  that  "Xo 
citizen  should  be  disfranchised  on 'account  of 
sex ;"  but  so  far  as  any  party  advocacy  was  con- 
cerned the  question  was  a  dead  issue. 

A  bitter  contest  was  being  made  between 
Fluron  and  Pierre  for  the  location  of  the  state 
capital,  and  the  woman  suffrage  amendment  was 
freely  used  as  an  article  of  barter,.  There  were 
thirty  thousand  Russians,  Poles,  Scandinavians 
and  other  foreigners  in  the  state,  most  of  whom 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


opposed  woman  suffrage.  The  liquor  dealers  and 
gamblers  worked  vigorously  against  it,  and  they 
were  reinforced  by  the  women  "'remonstrants"  of 
^Massachusetts,  who  sent  their  literature  into 
every  corner  of  the  state. 

At  the  election,  November  4,  1890,  the  amend- 
ment received  22.072  ayes,  45,862  noes,  majority 
opi)osed,  23,790.  The  Republicans  carried  the 
state  by  16,000  majority. 

At  this  same  election  an  amendment  was  sub- 
mitted as  to  whether  male  Indians  should  be  en- 
franchised, it  receiving  an  affirmative  vote  of 
fort}"-flve  per  cent. ;  that  for  women  suffrage  re- 
ceived thirty-five  per  cent.  Of  the  two  classes  of 
voters  it  seemed  the  men  preferred  the  Indians. 
It  was  claimed  by  many,  however,  that  they  did 
not  understand  the  wording-  of  the  Indian  amend- 
ment and  thought  they  were  voting  against  it. 
CA  graphic  account  of  this  campaign,  with  many 
anecdotes  and  personal  reminiscences,  will  be 
found  in  the  "Life  and  Work  of  Susan  B.  An- 
thony." chapter  XXXA'III. ) 

As  the  school  suffrage  possessed  by  women 
applied  only  to  trustees  and  did  not  include  the 
important  offices  of  state  and  county  superintend- 
ents, and  as  it  was  held  that  the  franchise  for 
this  purpose  could  be  secured  only  by  a  constitu- 
tional amendment,  it  was  decided  to  ask  for  this. 
Through  the  efforts  of  Mrs.  Anna  R.  Simmons 
and  jNIrs.  Emma  A.  Cranmer,  officers  of  the 
state  association,  a  bill  for  this  purpose  was  se- 
cured from  the  legislature  of  1893.  As  there 
seemed  to  be  no  objection  to  women  voting  for 
school  trustees,  it  was  not  supposed  that  there 
A\-ould  be  any  to  extending  the  privilege  for  the 
other  school  officers.  It  was  submitted  at  the 
regular  election  in  November.  1894,  and  defeated 
by  17,010  ayes,  22,682  noes,  an  opposing  majority 
of  5,672. 

In  1897  the  above  ladies  made  one  more  effort 
and  secured  from  the  legislature  the  submission 
again  of  an  amendment  conferring  the  full  suf- 
frage on  women.  The  campaign  was  managed 
almost  entirely  by  ]\Irs.  Simmons  and  Mrs. 
Cranmer.  The  national  association  assisted  to  the 
extent  of  sending  a  lecturer.  Airs.  Laura  A. 
Gregg,  of  Kansas,  who  remair.ed  for  two  months 


preceding  the  election;  and  one  hundred  dollars' 
worth  of  literature  also  was  furnished  for  dis- 
tribution. The  Dakota  women  raised  about  one 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  and  every  possible 
influence  was  exerted  upon  the  voters.  The  re- 
turns of  the  election  in  November,  1898,  gave  for 
the  amendment  19,698:  against  22,983:  adverse 
majority,  3,285. 

In  1890,  tlie  amendment  had  received  thirty- 
five  per  cent,  of  the  whole  vote  cast  upon  it:  in 
1898,  it  received  seventy-seven  per  cent.  The 
figures  show  unmistakably  that  the  falling  off 
in  the  size  of  the  vote  was  almost  wholly  among 
the  opponents. 

Petitions  have  been  presented  to  several  legis- 
latures to  grant  municipal  suffrage  by  statute, 
but  a  bill  for  this  purpose  has  been  brought 
to  a  vote  only  once,  in  1893,  when  it  was 
passed  by  the  senate,  twenty-seven  ayes,  eleven 
noes :  and  defeated  in  the  house  by  only  one 
vote. 

Organization. — After  the  defeat  of  the 
suft'rage  amendment  in  1890,  a  more  thorough 
state  organization  was  effected  and  a  convention 
has  been  held  every  year  since.  That  of  1891  met 
in  Huron  and  Mrs.  Irene  G.  Adams  was  elected 
president.  Soon  afterwards  she  compiled  a  leaf- 
let showing  the  unjust  laws  for  women  which 
disgraced  the  statute  books. 

In  1892  a  successful  annual  meeting  took 
place  at  Hastings  and  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Grosebeck 
was  made  president.  In  September.  1893,  the 
convention  was  held  in  Aberdeen  during  the 
Grain  Palace  Exposition.  The  state  president 
and  the  president-elect,  Mrs.  Emma  A.  Cranmer, 
had  charge  of  the  program  for  woman's  day, 
and  ]\[rs.  Clara  Hoffman,  of  ^Missouri,  gave  ad- 
dresses in  the  afternoon  and  evening. 

In  1894  Mrs.  Anna  R.  Simmons  was  elected 
president  and  continued  in  office  for  six  years. 
This  year  one  hundred  dollars  was  sent  to  aid 
the  Kansas  cam|)aign.  During  1894  and  1895 
she  made  twenty  public  addresses  and  held  ten 
parlor  meetings.  At  the  convention  in  Pierre  in 
September,  1895,  she  was  able  to  report  fifty  clubs 
organized,  with  seven  hundred  members.  Mrs. 
Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  chairman  of  the  national 


6o2 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


organization  committee,  was  present  at  this  con- 
vention. 

Active  work  was  continued  throughout  1896 
and  1897,  when  the  submission  of  a  suffrage 
amendment  was  secured.  The  year  1898  was 
given  up  to  efforts  for  its  success.  Mrs.  C.  C. 
King  estabHshed  and  carried  on  almost  entirely 
at  her  own  expense  the  South  Dakota  Messenger, 
a  campaign  paper  which  was  of  the  greatest 
service.  The  state  convention  met  in  Mitchell, 
September  28th,  29th  and  30th.  Miss  Elizabeth 
Upham  Yates,  of  Maine,  came  as  a  representative 
of  the  national  association  and  gave  two  ad- 
dresses to  large  audiences.  The  following  Oc- 
tober a  conference  of  national  and  state  workers 
was  held  at  Sioux  Falls,  the  former  represented 
by  Mrs.  Chapman  Catt,  the  Rev.  Henriette  G. 
Moore,  of  Ohio,  and  Miss  Mary  G.  Hay,  national 
organizer.  Several  interesting  public  sessions 
were  held. 

The  annual  meeting  of  1899  took  place  in 
Madison,  September  5th  and  6th.  The  tenth 
convention  met  in  Brookings,  September  5,  1900. 
Mrs.  Simmons  having  removed  from  the  state, 
Mrs.  Alice  M.  A.  Pickler  was  elected  president. 
Mrs.  Philena  Everet  Johnson  was  made  vice- 
president.  Others  who  have  served  in  the  official 
positions  are  vice-president,  Mrs.  Emma  A. 
Cranmer;  corresponding  secretaries,  Mesdames 
Kate  Uline  Folger,  F.  C.  Bidwell,  Hannah  W. 
Best;  treasurers,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  M.  Wardall, 
Mrs.  Marion  L.  Bennett,  Mrs.  Clara  M.  Wil- 
liams :  auditor,  Mrs.  John  Davis ;  superintendents 
of  literature,  Mrs.  Jane  Rooker  Breeden,  Mrs. 
Delia  Robinson  King. 

Among  the  prominent  friends  of  woman  suf- 
frage may  be  mentioned  the  Hon.  Arthur  C. 
Mellette,  first  state  governor;  United  States 
Senators  Richard  F.  Pettigrew,  James  H.  Kyle 
and  Robert  J.  Gamble;  Lieutenant-Governor  D. 
T.  Hindman ;  Members  of  Congress  J.  A. 
Pickler,  W.  B.  Lucas  and  E.  W.  Martin;  the 
Hons.  S.  A.  Ramsey  and  Coe  L  Crawford;  At- 
torney-General John  L.  Pyle,  Judge  D.  C. 
Thomas,  General  W.  H.  Beadle,  Professor  Mc- 
Clennen,  of  the  Madison  Normal  School,  and 
ministers   of  many  churclies.     The  Hon.    J-   H. 


Patton  and  the  Hon.  W.  C.  Bowers  paid  the  ex- 
penses of  the  legislative  committee  of  the  suf- 
frage association  while  they  were  in  Pierre  dur- 
ing the  winter  of  1897  to  secure  the  submission 
of  an  amendment.  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  A.  J.  Edgerton  was  a  pronounced  advo- 
cate of  woman  suffrage  and  appointed  a  woman 
official  stenographer  of  his  judicial  district,  the 
best  salaried  office  within  his  gift.  Associate 
Justice  Seward  Smith  appointed  a  woman  clerk 
of  the  Faulk  county  district  court.  The  list  of 
other  men  and  women  widely  known  and 
who  have  stood  faithfully  for  woman  suffrage 
would  be  a  long  one.  Among  them  are  S.  H. 
Cranmer,  Rev.  Ram'sey,  Mrs.  Ruby  Smart,  Kara 
Smart  and  Floy  Cochrane. 

Laws. — Neither  dower  nor  curtesy  obtains. 
If  either  husband  or  wife  die  without  a  will, 
leaving  a  child  or  children  or  the  lawful  issue  of 
one,  the  survivor  is  entitled  to  one-half  of  the 
separate  estate  of  the  other.  If  there  are  no  chil- 
dren nor  the  issue  of  any,  the  survivor  is 
entitled  to  one-half  of  the  estate  and  the 
other  half  goes  to  the  kindred  of  the  deceased. 
If  there  are  none  the  survivor  takes  all.  A 
homestead  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  or 
one-quarter  of  an  acre  in  town,  may  be  reserved 
for  the  widow  or  widower. 

Either  husband  or  wife  may  dispose  of 
separate  property,  real  or  personal,  by  deed  or 
will,  without  the  consent  of  the  other.  Joint  real 
estate,  including  the  homestead,  can  be  conve}ed 
only  by  signature  of  both,  but  the  husband  may 
dispose  of  joint  personal  property  without  the 
consent  of  the  wife. 

In  order  to  control  her  separate  property  the 
wife  must  keep  it  recorded  in  the  office  of  the 
county  register. 

On  the  death  of  an  unmarried  child  the 
father  inherits  all  of  its  property.  If  he  is  dead 
and  there  are  no  other  children,  the  mother  in- 
herits it.  If  there  are  brothers  and  sisters  she 
inherits  a  child's  share. 

A  married  wom,an  cannot  act  as  adminis- 
trator. Of  several  persons  claiming  and  equally 
entitled  to  act  as  executors,  males  must  be  pre- 
ferred to  females. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


603 


A  married  woman  can  control  her  earnings 
outside  the  home  only  when  living  separate  from  I 
her  husband.  ! 

The  father  is  the  legal  guardian  and  has  cus-  ' 
tody  of  the  persons  and  services  of  minor  chil- 
dren.    If  he  refuses  to  take  the  custody,  or  has  | 
abandoned   his   family,   or   has  been   legally   de-   j 
clared  a  drunkard,  the  mother  is  entitled  to  the 
custody.  \ 

The   law   declares   the   husband   ^^-  T.^^u  o±   1 
.Vie  lamily  and  he  must  siip|joit  the  wife  by  his 
separate  property  or  labor,  but  if  he  has  not  de- 
serted her,  and  has  no  separate  property,  and  is 
too  infirm  to  support  her  by  his  labor,  the  wife 
must  support  him  and  their  children  out  of  her 
separate   property  or   in  other  ways  to  the  ex- 
tent of  her  ability.    An  act  of  February  21,  i8g6, 
makes  the  wife  liable  for  necessaries  for  the  fam-   ! 
ily  purchased  on  her  own  account  to  the  same 
e.xtent  that  her  husband  would  be  liable  under 
a  similar  purchase,  but  with  no  control  over  the   | 
joint  earnings.  | 

The  causes   for   divorce   are   the   same  as   in   I 
most   states :   six   months'   residence   is   required. 
The  disposition  of  the  children  is  left  entirely  with 
the  court.  .      j 

In  1887,  through  the  efforts  of  the  Woman's  1 
Oiristian  Temperance  Union,  the  "age  of  pro- 
tection" for  girls  was  raised  from  ten  to  fourteen 
years.  In  1893  they  tried  to  have  it  made 
eighteen,  but  the  legislature  compromised  on  six- 
teen years.  Rape  in  the  first  degree  is  punish- 
able by  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  not  less 
than  ten  years ;  in  the  second  degree  not  less  than 
five  years. 

The  penalty  for  seduction  and  for  enticing 
away  for  purposes  of  prostitution  is  prescribed  by 
the  same  words,  "is  punishable,"  which  in  re- 
ality leaves  it  to  the  judgment  of  the  court,  but 
the  statutes  fix  the  penalty  for  all  other  crimes 
by  the  words  "shall  be  punished."  In  addition  to 
this  latitude  the  penalty  for  seduction  or  enticing 
for  purposes  of  prostitution  is,  if  the  girl  is 
under  fifteen,  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary 
not  more  than  five  years  or  in  the  county  jail  not 
more  than   one   vear.   or  bv   fine   not  exceeding 


one  thousand  dollars,  or  both  ;  with  no  minimum 
penalty. 

Suffrage. — The  territorial  legislature  of 
1879  gave  women  a  vote  on  questions  pertain- 
ing to  the  schools,  which  were  then  Ha--'  ^  at 
school  meetings.  This  was  parti? '.'y  repealed  by 
a  law  of  1883,  which  ren'r.'.cd  regular  polls  and 
a  private  ballot  "jlU  this  act  did  not  include 
fiftee'-  counties  which  had  school  districts  fullv 
established,  and  women  still  continue  to  vote  at 
these  district  school  meetings.  In  1887  a  law 
was  enacted  giving  women  the  right  to  vote  at 
all  school  elections  for  all  ofificers,  and  making 
them  eligible  for  all  school  offices.  The  consti- 
tution which  was  adopted  when  South  Dakota 
entered  the  Union  (1889)  provided  that  "any 
woman  having  the  required  qualifications  as  to 
age,  residence  and  citizenship  may  vote  at  any 
election  held  solely  for  school  purposes."  As 
state  and  county  superintendents  are  elected  at 
general  and  not  special  elections,  women  can 
vote  only  for  school  trustees.  They  have  no 
vote  on  bonds  or  appropriations. 

Officf.  Holding. — The  state  constitution 
provides  that  all  persons,  either  male  or 
female,  being  twenty-one  years  of  age  and  hav- 
ing the  necessary  qualifications,  shall  be  eligible 
to  the  office  of  school  director,  treasurer,  judge, 
or  clerk  of  school  elections,  county  superintend- 
ent of  public  schools  and  state  superintendent  of 
public  instruction.  All  other  civil  offices  must 
be  filled  by  male  electors. 

There  are  at  present  eleven  women  serving  as 
county  superintendents.  They  sit  on  the  school 
boards  in  many  places  and  have  been  treasurers. 
A  woman  was  nominated  for  state  superintend- 
ent of  public  instruction  by  the  independent 
party. 

Efforts  to  secure  a  law  requiring  women  on 
the  boards  of  state  institutions  have  failed.  The 
governor  is  required  to  appoint  three  women 
inspectors  of  penal  and  charitable  institutions, 
who  are  paid  by  the  state  and  make  their  report 
directly  to  him.  They  inspect  the  penitentiary, 
refomi  school,  insane  hospitals,  deaf  and  dumb 
institution   and   school   for  the   blind.     There  is 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


one  assistant  woman  physician  in  the '  State  Hos- 
pital for  the  Insane,  ^^'omen  in  subordinate  of- 
ficial positions  are  found  in  all  state  institutions, 
rivn^-  qct  as  clerks  in.  all  city,  county  and  state 
The_v  •'--^r^^  -I  the  legislature,  and  have  served 
offices  and  n-^cforJ^-rs  and  clerks  of  the  circuit 
as  court  stenograpi>^:„^„^  ...,.,  notaries  public 
court.  There  are  eight  womei..,^^ 
at  the  present  time.  '    -^^,,j. 

Occupation. — No  profession  or  occupa- 
tion is  legally  forbidden  to  women.  Ten  hours 
is  made  a  legal  working  day  for  them.  Four 
women  are  editing  county  papers. 

Education.— All  institutions  of  learning 
are  open  alike  to  both  sexes  and  there  are  women 
in  the  faculties.     In  the  public  schools  there  are 


1,225  ""'S"  ^"d  3,581  women  teachers.  The  aver- 
age monthly  salary  of  the  men  is  S36.45 ;  of  the 
women,  $30.82. 

The  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union 
was  the  first  organization  of  women  in  the  state 
and  through  its  franchise  department  has  worked 
earnestly  and  collected  numerous  petitions  fpr 
suffrage.  The  Woman's  Relief  Corps  is  the 
iT-l'^*^  body,  having  one  thousand  eight  hundred - 
members.  The  Easte?:,  'i^'kr,  IjanghWl'h  ■ai  Re- 
bekah.  Ladies  of  the  ^Maccabees  and  other  lodge 
societies  are  well  organized.  The  Federation  of 
Clubs,  the  youngest  association,  represents  two 
hundred  members.  A  number  of  churches  have 
women  on  their  official  boards. 


(7.e. 


CHAPTER  cm 


PERSONAL  MENTION   OF  CITIZENS  OF  SOUTH  DAKOTA. 


HON.  GIDEON  C.  MOODY.— The  strong, 
true  men  of  a  people  are  always  public  benefac- 
tors. Their  usefulness  in  the  immediate  and  spe- 
cific labors  they  perform  can  be  defined  by  metes 
and  bounds.  The  good  they  do  through  the 
forces  they  put  in  motion,  and  through  the  inspi- 
ration of  their  presence  and  example,  is  immeas- 
urable by  any  finite  gauge  or  standard  of  value. 
The  death  of  any  one  of  such  men  is  a  public  ca- 
lamity, because  by  it  the  country  loses  not  only 
his  active  energy  but  the  stimulus  and  fecundat- 
ing power  of  his  personal  influence.  There  is, 
however,  some  compensation  for  this  loss  in  the 
memory  of  his  services,  the  effect  of  his  example 
and  the  continuing  fruitfulness  of  the  activities 
he  quickened  into  life.  The  late  Gideon  C. 
Moody,  of  South  Dakota,  was  such  a  man.  To 
epitomize  his  life  and  character  within  the  limits 
which  this  work  allows  is  impossible  to  mortal 
utterance.  The  stalwart  proportions  of  his  living 
presence  are  vividly  realized  by  the  void  his  death 
has  made.  But  less  than  most  men  intellectually 
his  equal  does  he  need  the  voice  of  eulogy.  The 
clearness  of  his  purposes,  the  soundness  of  his 
judgment,  his  ample  sweep  of  vision,  Ws  tireless 
activity,  his  indomitable  will,  his  great  achieve- 
ments, his  unbending  uprightness  of  character, 
have  impressed  "the  very  age  and  body  of  the 
time."'  making  his  life  a  force  that  cannot  die. 

Senator  IMood}-  was  born  at  Cortland,  New 
York,  on  October  i6,  1832,  and  was  the  son  of 
Stephen  and  Giarlotte  M.  (Curtis)  Moody,  of 
that  state.  He  received  an  academic  education  and 


then  began  the  study  of  law  at  Syracuse.  In 
1852,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  he  removed  to  Indi- 
ana, where  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  en- 
tered upon  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  New 
Albany.  In  1854,  after  less  than  two  years  of 
practice,  such  was  his  force  of  character  and 
professional  promise,  that  he  was  elected  pros- 
ecuting attorney  of  Floyd  county.  A  little  later 
he  joined  an  organization  of  young  Republicans 
in  the  state,  and  became  prominent  and  very  ac- 
tive in  the  efforts  they  made  to  secure  the  elec- 
tion of  Hon.  Oliver  P.  Morton  as  governor.  It 
was  discovered,  however,  that  Mr.  Morton's  per- 
sonal unpopularity  made  it  inexpedient  to  place 
him  at  the  head  of  the  ticket,  and  he  was  nomi- 
nated for  lieutenant  governor,  Hon.  Henry  S. 
Lane  being  named  as  the  party  candidate  for  gov- 
ernor. The  popularity  of  Mr.  Lane  and  the  ef- 
fective campaigning  of  the  young  Republicans 
secured  the  triumph  of  the  ticket  and  a  Republi- 
can legislature  at  the  ensuing  election,  Mr.  Moodv 
himself  being  chosen  a  member  of  the  lower  house 
in  the  face  of  a  normal  Democratic  majority  of 
five  hundred  in  his  district.  At  the  legislative 
session  which  followed  Governor  Lane  was 
elected  I'nited  States  senator,  and  Morton,  the 
idol  of  the  young  Republicans  of  the  state,  became 
governor.  The  doctrine  of  state  rights  had  many 
ardent  advocates  in  the  legislature,  and  the  feel- 
ing against  the  course  of  the  federal  administra- 
tion towards  the  South,  which  was  then  rapidly 
tending  to  secession,  was  so  strong  that  the  de- 
bates became  exceedingly  acrimonious  and  pSr- 


6o6 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


sonal.  A  member  named  Heflfron  made  a  bitter 
attack  on  Governor  Morton,  which  was  repHed 
to  in  such  scathing  terms  by  Mr.  Moody  that  he 
was  challenged  by  Heffron  to  fight  a  duel.  It 
was  arranged  that  the  encounter  should  take 
place  at  Covington,  Kentucky,  and  Colonel  Mil- 
roy,  who  afterward  became  a  major  general  in 
the  United  States  army,  was  chosen  as  Mr. 
Moody's  second,  ^^'hile  crossing  Ihe  Ohio  to 
the  place  of  meeting  they  were  arrested  and  each 
was  fined  five  hundred  dollars,  Mr.  Heffron  fail- 
ing to  put  in  an  appearance.  In  1861,  soon  after 
the  beginning  of  the  Civil  war,  Messrs.  Milroy 
and  Moody  raised  the  Ninth  Indiana  Infantry, 
of  which  j\Ir.  Milroy  was  made  colonel,  ]\Ir. 
IMoody  becoming  captain  of  Company  G.  On 
November  15,  1862,  he  was  promoted  colonel. 
and  some  little  time  afterward  was  mustered  out 
of  the  service  in  order  that  he  might  accept  the 
post  of  captain  in  the  Nineteenth  United  States 
Infantry,  a  command  in  which  he  served  until 
the  spring  of  1864,  the  greater  portion  of  the 
time  on  the  staff  of  Gen.  George  H.  Thomas.  In 
May,  1864,  his  term  of  enlistment  having  expired, 
and  it  being  apparent  that  the  war  was  nearing 
its  end,  he  resigned  his  commission  in  the  army 
and  \\as  appointed  by  the  secretary  of  war  to 
proceed  to  Dakota  and  superintend  the  construc- 
tion of  a  wagon  road  from  Sioux  Cit\'  to  Fort 
Randall.  In  this  work  he  employed  to  a  very 
large  extent  the  Scandinavian  farmers  numer- 
ously populating  the  southeastern  counties  of  the 
territory,  and  so  arranged  the  work  of  construc- 
tion that  they  were  able  to  give  their  farm  duties 
Ijropcr  attention  and  build  the  road  during  the 
seasons  when  farm  work  was  slack,  making  this 
arrangement  at  a  considerable  sacrifice  of  his  own 
interests.  Moreover,  having  learned  by  careful 
calculation  that  the  road  could  be  built  for  much 
less  than  the  appropriation,  he  voluntarily  paid 
the  workmen  almost  double  the  ruling  price  for 
men  and  teams.  This  action  on  his  part  brought 
him  severe  criticism  from  the  war  'department, 
and  delayed  for  many  years  the  approval  of  his 
accounts  and  the  payment  of  his  commission  on 
the  expenditures.  But  it  endeared  him  to  the 
people  of  the  soiuhe^stern  counties,  and  made  the 


Scandinavian  farmers,  who  were  at  that  time  of 
very  limited  means  and  had  a  hard  struggle  to 
improve  their  farms  and  live  without  outside  as- 
sistance, his  firm  and  faithful  friends  to  the  end 
of  his  life.  They  were  always  with  him  to  a  man 
in  politics  and  in  business,  and  held  him  ever  in 
the  highest  regard.  When  he  crossed  the  Mis- 
sissippi to  make  a  new  home  in  the  farther  West, 
he  at  first  contemplated  locating  in  western  Iowa, 
but  instead  he  settled  at  Yankton  and  began  there 
an  active  practice  of  his  profession.  He  also  took 
a  very  earnest  interest  in  political  affairs  and  was 
elected  to  the  territorial  house  of  representatives, 
of  which  he  was  chosen  speaker,  and  to  which 
four  years  later  he  was  re-elected.  In  1878  he 
was  appointed  associate  justice  of  the  territorial 
supreme  court  by  President  Hayes  on  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  Republican  organization  of  the 
territory  and  that  of  Senator  Conklin,  of  New 
York.  He  was  assigned  to  the  Black  Hills  dis- 
trict and  remained  on  the  bench  until  1884,  when 
he  resigned  to  become  general  counsel  for  the 
Homestake  Mining  Company  and  its  associate 
corporations,  in  which  capacity  he  served  until 
his  death.  To  the  judicial  ermine  he  lent  dignity 
and  distinction  in  his  protracted  and  able  service, 
and  he  was  known  afterward  as  one  of  the  lead- 
ing corporation  lawyers  of  the  whole  Northwest. 
When  he  retired  from  the  bench  he  at  once  took 
charge  of  the  legal  business  of  the  Homestake 
INIining  Company,  and  soon  found  himself  again 
in  the  whirlpool  of  territorial  politics,  a  stage  on 
which  he  was  one  of  the  star  actors  until  1891. 
Samuel  ]\Ic]\Iasters.  a  very  shrewd  and  practical 
Irishman,  the  superintendent  of  the  mining  com- 
pany, who  could  not  read  and  was  unable  to 
write  anything  but  his  name,  besought  the  Judge 
to  take  charge  of  his  campaign  as  a  candidate  for 
territorial  delegate  to  the  United  States  house  of 
representatives.  The  canvass  that  followed  made 
the  Judge  a  large  number  of  very  bitter  personal 
enemies  and  gave  him  a  continual  struggle  from 
that  time  until  his  final  retirement  from  politics 
to  retain  his  supremacy  in  the  western  half  of 
the  state.  In  the  broad  field  of  national  politics 
his  capacity,  breadth  of  view  and  knowledge  of 
nicn    and    of   affairs    secured   him   a   position    of 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


607 


commanding  influence.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the 
Republican  national  conventions  of  1868,  1888 
and  1S92.  In  the  convention  of  1888  he  was 
chairman  of  the  delegation  from  the  Dakotas  and 
made  a  speech  which  gained  the  admission  of  ten 
delegates  instead  of  the  three  usually  allowed 
the  territory.  As  the  personal  friend  of  Senator 
Piatt,  of  New  York,  he  got  advance  inside  in- 
formation of  all  the  important  maneuvers  in  the 
convention,  and  it  was  said  by  the  party  leaders 
that  the  solid  vote  of  South  Dakota  at  a  critical 
time  was  largely  instrumental  in  bringing  about 
the  nomination  of  President  Harrison,  with 
whom  he  was  on  terms  of  intimate  friendship 
and  whose  candidacy  he  warmly  espoused.  He 
was  a  prominent  and  influential  member  of  the 
-South  Dakota  constitutional  conventions  of  1883 
and  1885,  and-  was  also  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittee appointed  to  draft  and  present  to  congress 
a  memorial  for  the  division  of  Dakota  and  its  ad- 
mission to  the  Union  as  two  states.  Under  the 
constitution  of  1885  he  was  elected  United  States 
senator,  but  congress  did  not  recognize  the  move- 
ment as  valid,  yet  the  senate  allowed  him  the 
privilege  of  admission  to  the  floor.  In  i88g,  after 
the  enabling  act  was  passed  by  congress,  the  con- 
stitution of  1885  was  again  adopted  and  he  was 
again  elected  to  the  United  States  senate,  but  in 
the  classification  he  drew  the  short  term  of  two 
years.  Then  in  1891  he  was  defeated  by  the  great 
Populist  upheaval.  In  1901  he  was  appointed 
b}-  Governor  Herreid  a  member  of  the  commis- 
sion of  three  to  codify  the  laws  of  the  state  pro- 
vided for  by  an  act  of  the  legislature.  In  the 
work  of  the  commission  the  code  of  civil  pro- 
cedure, justice  and  probate  codes  were  assigned 
to  him,  and  his  service  in  this  connection  was  the 
last  of  a  public  nature  that  he  rendered. 

Judge  Moody  was  married  on  September  21. 
1855,  at  Spafford,  Onondaga  county.  New  York, 
to  Miss  Helen  Eliot,  and  they  became  the  parents 
of  one  daughter  and  four  sons.  The  oldest,  Mrs. 
Helen  E.  Dickinson,  now  lives  at  Los  Angeles, 
California :  Charles  C.  is  editor  of  the  Sturgis 
(South  Dakota)  Record;  Burdette,  a  civil  en- 
gineer, was  for  many  years  chief  engineer  for  the 
Homestake   Mining  Company,  and  is  now  with 


the  California  Kings  Gold  Mines  Company  at 
Picacho,  California ;  and  James  C.  and  Warner, 
who  are  lawyers,  have  succeeded  to  their  father's 
law  practice  at  Deadwood.  The  Judge  never 
joined  any  of  the  fraternal  orders  so  numerous 
and  popular  among  men  except  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic,  in  which  he  was  a  member  of 
the  local  post  at  Deadwood.  He  died  at  Los 
Angeles,  California,  on  March  17,  1904,  aged 
seventy-one  years. 

One  of  the  most  forcible  and  impressive  ele- 
ments in  the  elevated  character  of  this  courag- 
eous pioneer,  eminent  jurist,  prominent  politician, 
conservative  civic  force  and  high-minded  citizen, 
was  his  inflexible  integrity.  This  is  well  illus- 
trated in  the  unwritten  history  of  the  great  Ophir 
vs.  Gopher  mining  suit  that  was  tried  before  him 
as  presiding  judge  at  Deadwood  in  the  first  year 
of  his  service  on  the  bench.  The  suit  involved 
property  worth  several  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
and  a  great  array  of  legal  talent  was  engaged  on 
each  side,  including  Harry  I.  Thornton,  of  San 
Francisco,  H.  J.  Bennett,  of  Salt  Lake,  Judge  D. 
Corson,  now  a  member  of  the  supreme  court  of 
South  Dakota,  Judge  D.  ]\IcLaughlin  and  Col. 
W.  R.  Steele,  besides  a  number  of  lesser  lights. 
The  litigants  on  one  side  were  apprehensive  of 
losing  their  case,  and  four  or  five  of  their  lead- 
ing men  determined  to  secure  a  decision  at  any 
cost.  One  after  another  was  'selected  to  approach 
the  Judge,  and  was  fortified  for  the  assault  on 
judicial  honor  with  a  convenient  package  care- 
fully concealed  in  an  inside  pocket.  And  one 
after  another  returned  to  his  confederates  with 
the  report  that  he  was  afraid  to  broach  the  sub- 
ject to  the  Judge.  They  then  concluded  to  em- 
ploy for  the  purpose  a  resident  of  Montana  who 
had  acquired  a  reputation  for  success  in  such 
work.  He  essayed  the  task,  but  after  wandering 
around  Deadwood  and  carefully  feeling  his  way 
for  about  a  month,  he  too  declined  to  make  the 
attempt.  A  final  eflfort  was  then  made  by  retain- 
ing one  of  Judge  Moody's  former  law  partners, 
who  was  summoned  by  letter  from  his  home  in 
North  Dakota.  When  informed  of  the  nature  of 
the  service  required  of  him,  he  threw  up  his  hands 
in   dismav  and  exclaimed:     "M\'  God,   men!  do 


6o8 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


you  expect  me  to  tackle  that  man  on  any  such 
proposition?  Why,  I  should  be  in  the  peniten- 
tiary in  forty-eight  hours.  If  that  is  what  you 
got  me  here  for  I  might  as  well  leave  for  home 
on  the  coach  tomorrow."  And  he  did  leave  next 
day.  The  suit  proceeded  to  a  conclusion  and  the 
conspirators  lost  the  decision.  One  of  them,  who 
was  the  writer's  informant  on  the  subject,  says : 
"Judge  Moody  went  on  in  the  even  tenor  of  his 
way,  and  to  his  death  was  oblivious  of  the  temp- 
tation which  had  been  prepared  for  him."  Dur- 
ing the  progress  of  this  case  Mr.  Thornton,  the 
greatest  mining  lawyer  the  West  ever  produced, 
in  speaking  to  his  associates,  said  of  Judge 
Moody :  "Gentlemen,  there  is  one  of  the  greatest 
and  brainiest  judges  I  ever  tried  a  case  before." 
In  politics,  a  pursuit  wherein  the  ordinary  rules 
of  honesty  and  straightforwardness  are  supposed 
to  be  usually  much  relaxed,  he  was  the  same  in- 
flexibly upright  man  as  on  the  bench  and  in  pri- 
vate life.  He  treated  everybody  squarely  and 
insisted  that  his  friends  do  the  same  when  work- 
ing in  his  interest,  immediately  and  sharply  re- 
pudiating any  attempt  on  their  part  to  do  other- 
wise. In  the  memorable  contest  of  1891,  when 
for  several  weeks  daih'  ballots  were  taken  in  the 
legislature  for  a  United  States  senator,  and  the 
Judge  needed  but  one  vote  to  secure  his  re-elec- 
tion, it  is  known  and  his  family  have  the  proofs 
that  more  than  one  member  of  the  body  offered  to 
desert  the  opposition  and  make  his  election  cer- 
tain for  a  consideration.  And,  amazing  as  it  may 
seem,  two  different  propositions  were  made  in 
writing  and  signed  by  legislators,  offering  to  sell 
out  to  him.  Some  of  his' zealous  friends  brought 
the  matter  to  his  attention.  Without  the  slightest 
hesitation  and  with  all  the  force  he  could  com- 
mand he  told  them  that  if  one  dollar  were  used 
in  buying  a  vote  for  him  he  would  refuse  to 
qualify  for  the  office  or  accept  it.  and  more,  that 
he  would  assist  in  prosecuting  both  the  man  of- 
fering the  money  and  the  man  accepting  it.  And 
yet  he  cared  nothing  for  money,  but  was  unhappy 
as  long  as  he  had  any  in  his  pocket.  He  never 
manifested  any  desire  to  accumulate  wealth.  At 
no  time  in  his  whole  career  did  he  keep  a  set  of 
books.     No  ledger  or  daybook  ever  adorned  his 


desk,  and  since  his  decease  his  family  have  never 
found  a  single  charge  for  services  during  all  his 
fifty  years  of  practice. 

As  a  lawyer  and  practitioner  at  the  bar  Judge 
Moody  was  remarkably  successful.  His  success 
was  so  great,  in  fact,  that  it  has  been  a  matter  of 
universal  comment,  not  only  among  members  of 
the  bar,  but  by  people  generally.  A  close  stuay 
of  his  professional  characteristics  will  explain 
this.  In  the  first  place  he  was  thoroughly 
equipped  for  his  profession  by  natural  aptitude, 
by  diligent  study  and  by  judicious  observation. 
In  the  next  he  gave  every  case  his  most  careful 
and  searching  attention.  A  client  calling  on  him 
for  advice  was  as  thoroughly  cross  examined  as 
to  the  facts  in  his  case  as  if  he  were  in  court  and 
the  questions  were  asked  by  the  opposing  counsel. 
The  fee,  no  matter  how  large,  was  no  temptation 
to  him  if  from  his  knowledge  of  the  case  his  cli- 
ent had  not  the  moral  and  the  legal  right  on  his 
side.  On  the  very  few  occasions  when  he  was 
deceived  by  his  client  and  went  into  court  with 
an  unworthy  case,  he  returned  the  money  paid 
him  for  a  fee  with  a  severe  rebuke  for  the  decep- 
tion, and  thereafter  he  held  the  client  in  the  ut- 
most contempt  and  no  arginnent  could  convince 
him  that  the  man  was  honest.  One  of  the 
sources  of  his  remarkable  success  as  general  coun- 
sel for  the  Homestake  Mining  Company  was 
this  attribute  of  his  nature.  On  questions  in  his 
department  of  this  great  corporation  his  judg- 
ment was  supreme,  and  it  was  almost  universally 
recognized  in  the  community  that  prospective  liti- 
gants who  had  claims  against  the  company  would 
have  no  difficulty  in  securing  a  settlement  if  they 
could  convince  Judge  Moody  of  the  justice  of 
their  claims  from  either  a  moral  or  a  legal  point 
of  view,  even  his  enemies  conceding  that  while 
he  was  at  the  head  of  the  company's  legal  depart- 
ment courts  were  largely  unnecessary  so  far  as 
it  v.-as  concerned ;  as,  while  his  fidelity  to  its  in- 
terests was  one  of  the  strongest  kind,  the  claim- 
ant could  always  get  fair  treatment  at  his  hands 
without  the  aid  of  the  courts.  This  was  so  gen- 
erally understood  that  remarkably  little  new  liti- 
gation fell  to  the  lot  of  the  company  during  the 
last  fifteen  years  of  his  connection  with  it. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


609 


In  private  life  he  was  a  model  man  and  greatly 
endeared  himself  to  his  friends  and  his  family. 
To  his  friends  he  was  the  personification  of  fidel- 
ity. No  consideration  and  no  influence  that 
could  be  brought  to  bear  could  induce  him  to  de- 
sert them  or  waver  in  the  slightest  degree  in  his 
allegiance  to  them.  It  was  this  that  welded  his 
friendships,  which  once  formed  were  never  sev- 
ered ;  and  this,  in  its  way,  also  embittered  his 
enemies.  In  his  family  he  was  all  purity  and 
devotion.  He  was  a  delightful  conversationalist, 
and  to  his  children  he  was  a  companion  as  well 
as  a  guide,  an  example  as  well  as  an  inspiration, 
their  warmest  friend  and  their  most  judicious 
counselor.  Impervious  to  fulsome  flattery,  he  was 
yet  highly  appreciative  of  kind  things  said  of  him, 
and  good-humoredly  tolerant  of  criticisms.  These 
traits  overflowed  the  boundaries  of  his  domestic 
life  and  made  him  popular  wherever  he  was 
known.  It  was  said  of  him  that  if  he  could  get  a 
few  minutes  of  close  communion  with  an  enemy, 
he  could  almost  invariably  change  the  enmity  into 
an  undving  friendship. 


CHARLES  XELSOX  HERREID,  fourth 
governor  of  South  Dakota,  is  a  native  of  Wis- 
consin, where  he  was  born  October  20,  1857. 
His  parents  ■were  among  the  earliest  pioneers  of 
that  state.  His  boyhood  was  spent  upon  the 
farm,  where  he  imbibed  that  love  of  nature  and 
of  life  in  the  open  which  has  continued  a  marked 
characteristic  of  his  life.  He  early  evinced  a 
love  of  learning  and  made  his  own  way  through 
the  common  schools  and  Galesville  University 
and  after  a  course  of  reading  in  a  law  office, 
where  he  acquired  a  knowledge  of  practice,  he 
took  the  course  at  the  Wisconsin  Law  School, 
and  graduated  with  the  class  of  1882.  That  year 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Jeannette  Slye,  of  La- 
Crosse  county,  and  they  took  up  their  home  at 
Leola,  in  ]\IcPherson  county,  where  from  the 
first  yir.  Herr^d,  with  commendable  public 
,  spirit,  became  a  leader  in  every  movement  for 
the  development  of  his  locality,  in  material, 
moral  and  educational  lines,  and  very  early  was 
accorded  recognition  as  a  distinct  power  in  the 


afTairs  of  the  territory.  He  prospered  in  his 
aft'airs,  two  lovely  children  were  born  to  his 
home,  he  became  associated  in  the  ownership  of 
one  of  the  local  banks,  and  when  every  prospect 
seemed  to  be  propitious,  there  came  the  awful 
holocaust  of  1889,  when  a  flood  of  flame  swept 
McPherson  county,  and  in  a  twinkling  of  an  eye, 
almost,  Leola  was  literally  wiped  from  the  map. 
Miraculously,  among  the  very  few  structures 
which  escaped  the  fury  of  the  flames  were  Gov- 
ernor Herreid's  home  and  bank.  Leola  was  not 
to  speedily  recover  from  this  disaster.  The  re- 
actionary period  which  came  to  Dakota  at  this 
time,  following  the  boom  of  settlement,  the  great 
historic  drought  period  of  1889  and  1890,  ac- 
companying it,  were  especially  trying  to  that  sec- 
tion and  only  the  most  courageous  of  the  settlers 
remained  to  fight  out  the  battle.  The  effect  upon 
business  was  inevitable,  but  Governor  Herreid 
was  not  the  kind  of  man  to  be  overcome  by  the 
imtoward  conditions  which  had  overtaken  him, 
but,  with  abiding  faith  in  Dakota  and  that 
victory  would  come  to  him  who  had  the  cour- 
age and  tenacity  to  fight  to  the  end,  he  remained, 
carrying  forward  his  business,  protecting  his 
property  and  maintaining  his  credit,  and  by  his 
example  giving  courage  and  assistance  to  his  de- 
spondent neighbors.  He  was,  during  this  period, 
called  by  his  neighbors  to  serve  as  prosecuting 
[  attorney  and  county  judge,  and  in  1889  was  ap- 
j  pointed  trustee  of  the  State  University,  and  his 
good  judgment  was  a  factor  in  bringing  that 
institution  through  the  complications  which  came 
near  to  wrecking  it  in  the  period  following  the 
death  of  President  Olson.  From  1893  to  1897 
he  was  lieutenant  governor  and  won  the  highest 
commendation  from  both  political  friends  and 
enemies  for  his  good  judgment  and  absolute 
fairness.  In  1898  he  was  made  chairman  of  the 
Republican  state  committee  and  conducted  a 
masterful  campaign,  and  was  the  acting  member 
for  South  Dakota  on  the  Republican  national 
committee.  In  1900  he  was  elected  governor,  a 
position  he  still  holds,  and  his  administration 
has  been  most  satisfactory,  free  from  all  scan- 
dals and  characterized  by  several  administrative 
reforms,  inaugurated  by  Mr.  Herreid,  which  are 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


certain  to  bring  lasting  benefit  to  the  state.  It 
should  be  noted  that  from  1897  until  he  became 
governor  Mr.  Herreid  was  a  regent  of  education. 
The  writer  is  fully  aware  that  this  brief  sketch 
of  Governor  Herreid's  life  appears  to  be  in- 
tended as  an  eulogy,  but  submits  that  every 
word  of  it  is  sustained  by  the  facts  and  is,  in 
view  of  the  facts,  but  faintly  drawn.  His  life 
and  career  have  been  such  as  to  bear  the  closest 
scrutiny,  exhibiting  very  much  to  commend  and 
very  little  to  criticise. 

Governor  Herreid  is  a  consistent  member  of 
the  Presbyterian  church,  and  a  faithful  worker 
in  all  of  its  activities.  He  is  a  close  student  of 
social  problems  and  of  political  economy,  and  a 
courageous  and  original  thinker  upon  all  lines 
of  progress.  In  Februarv,  1903.  he  was  called 
upon  to  mourn  the  death  of  his  son,  Roscoe  C., 
a  splendid  boy  of  fifteen  years.  Governor  Her- 
reid's home  is  now  at  Eureka,  in  iMcPherson 
county,  whither  he  removed  from  Leola  after  the 
building  of  the  railroad.  The  Governor  is  a 
thirty-second-degree  ]\Iason  and  has  held  various 
important  places  in  the  grand  lodge  of  the 
Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  and  has  been 
grand  chancellor  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  do- 
main of  South  Dakota. 


GEORGE  WILLISTON  NASH,  state 
superintendent  of  public  instruction,  is  almost  a 
native  product,  for  his  parents  brought  him  to 
the  home  in  Lincoln  county  in  his  infancy.  He, 
however,  is  a  native  of  Janesville,  Wisconsin, 
where  he  was  born  in  1868,  and  is  the  son  of 
Newman  C.  and  Jennie  (Williston)  Nash, 
and  comes  of  good  old  Anglo-Saxon  stock. 
The  name,  indeed,  is  a  thoroughly  characteristic 
Saxon  product,  primarily  being  "At  the  Ash," 
but,  yielding  to  the  penchant  of  the  old  English 
yeomen  to  abbreviate,  became  first  "At'nash"  and 
finally  assumed  its  present  form.  Something 
more  of  family  history  will  appear  in  the  sketch 
of  Newman  C.  Nash  in  this  volume. 

The  earlier  years  of  George  W.  Nash  were 
spent  on  the  homestead  claim  of  his  parents,  near 
Cnntnn,    but    in    1877   his    father   purchased    the 


Sioux  A'alley  News,  and  thereafter  the  home  was 
in  Canton,  where  he  attended  school  and  assisted 
his  father  in  the  printing  office,  soon  becoming 
an  excellent  printer.  In  1885  he  entered  the  pre- 
paratorv-  course  in  Yankton  College,  from  which 
institution  he  graduated  with  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Science  in  1891.  In  the  meantime, 
however,  he  had  for  a  year,  in  1888-9,  associated 
with  James  F.  Hall  in  the  publication  of  the 
Sioux  Valley  News,  his  father's  newspaper  at 
Canton,  the  latter  being  at  the  time  engaged  in 
the  publication  of  another  newspaper  at  Hot 
Springs.  The  next  autumn,  after  his  graduation, 
the  subject  accepted  a  position  as  an  instructor 
in  Augustana  College  at  Canton,  where  he  con- 
tinued until  called  to  Yankton  in  January,  1893. 
to  become  principal  of  Yankton  Colle 
Academy.  In  1894-5  he  went  abroad  and  studied 
in  the  Universitv  of  Leipzig,  Germany,  and 
traveled  extensively  in  Europe.  In  the  autuirai  i 
of  1895  '""s  resumed  his  work  in  Yankton,  and 
his  alma  mater  conferred  upon  him  the  degree 
of  Master  of  Science.  During  the  summer  va- 
cations of  i8g6  and  1897  ^^  pursued  his  post- 
gradviate  studies  in  the  Universitv  of  Minnesota, 
and  the  latter  year  was  advanced  to  the  pro- 
fessorship of  mathematics  and  astronomy  in 
Yankton  College,  a  position  he  continued  to 
hold  until  he  resigned  in  1902  to  become  state 
superintendent  of  public  instruction. 
•  Professor  Nash's  work  in  this  department 
has  demonstrated  his  ability,  energy  and  untir- 
ing indu.stry,  as  well  as  his  fertility  in  devising 
methods  for  the  advancement  of  education  and 
arousing  enthusiasm  and  co-operation  among 
educators  and  boards  of  education.  Upon  his 
recommendation  the  legislature  passed  the  uni- 
form certification  bill,  by  which  teachers'  cer- 
tificates become  uniform  and  valid  in  every 
county.  The  standard  of  requirements  to  secure 
certificates,  by  graduates  of  state  institution 
was  also  raised.  He  at  once  adopted  the  plan 
visiting  the  members  of  the  school  boards 
annual  convention  in  each  county,  a  plan  whic 
has  resulted  in  arousing  the  utmost  enthusiasr 
penneating  into  every  school  distr'ct.  He 
compelling  the   reciprocal    recognition    of   Sout? 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


6ii 


Dakota's  state  certificates  in  other  states,  by  re- 
fusing to  recognize  any  state's  certificates  unless 
that  state  reciprocates  by  according  equal  favors 
to  those  of  this  state.  He  proposes  that  our 
standards  shall  be  as  high  as  any  and  then  shall 
receive  the  recognition  to  which  they  are  entitled. 

Professor  Nash  possesses  all  of  the  qualifica- 
tions for  successful  leadership  upon  educational 
lines.  He  is  deliberate  in  forming  a  judgment,  but 
that  judgment  when  once  formed  is  unshakable, 
yet  his  manner  is  so  agreeable  and  his  methods 
so  fair  that  new  friends  come  to  him  with  every 
accomplishment.  Persistence  and  thoroughness 
are  controlling  characteristics  in  all  of  his  under- 
takings and  failure  is  unknown  and  unrecognized 
bv  him.  It  is  difficult  to  characterize  some  men 
without  dealing  in  the  superlative  and  George 
Nash  is  one  of  this  class.  His  conduct  and  suc- 
cess thus  far  in  life  are  infallible  prophecies  of 
a  further  career  of  great  usefulness  in  enlarged 
fields  of  activity. 

Professor  Nash  was  married  on  November 
17.  IQ03,  to  Miss  Adelaide  ^^^arburton.  of  Pierre, 
the  daughter  of  Judge  and  Mrs.  Fuller.  The 
subject  is  a  member  of  the  Congregational 
church  and  of  the  Modern  A^^oodmen  and  Home 
Guardians.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  executive 
committee  of  the  State  Historical  Societv. 


CHARLES  HENRY  SHELDON,  second 
governor  of  the  state  of  South  Dakota,  was  born 
in  LalMoille  county,  Vermont,,  September  12, 
1840,  the  son  of  Greshem  and  Mar>'  (Brown) 
Sheldon,  and  was  the  third  in  a  family  of  four, 
consisting  of  two  sons  and  two  daughters. 
Greshem  Sheldon  was  a  hatter  by  trade  and  for 
manv  years  was  a  resident  of  IMontreal  where 
he  owned  an  independent  business,  but,  meeting 
witli  reverses,  died  in  1844,  ^  poo^  man,,  when 
Charles  was  but  four  years  of  age.  Mrs.  Shel- 
don lived  to  be  eighty-six  years  of  age,  dying 
in  iSgo  at  the  home  of  Charles,  whose  constant 
care  she  had  been  throughout  his  life.  The  early 
life  of  Governor  Sheldon  was  a  hard  struggle. 
His  mother  was  verv  poor  and  he  was  compelled 
to  work  from  bis  earliest  recollection  to  eke  out 


the  family  expenses.  Until  approaching  man- 
hood he  found  employment  on  farms  and  then 
for  several  years  in  small  stores;  nevertheless  he 
managed  to  pick  up  a  good  deal  of  elementary 
learning  and  from  his  childhood  was  passion- 
ately fond  of  oratory,  in  which  he  constantly 
trained  himself.  His  sympathetic  nature  made 
him  a  natural  abolitionist  and  when  the  war 
broke  out,  when  he  was  in  his  twenty-first  year, 
be  promptly  offered  his  services,  but  upon  his 
first  enlistment  he  was,  upon  physical  examina- 
tion, for  some  reason  rejected.  He  enlisted 
again  on  the  23d  of  November,  1861,  and  was 
duly  mustered  into  service  in  Company  E, 
Seventh  Regiment  \^ermont  Volunteer  Infantry. 
His  military  service  was  highly  creditable  and 
at  the  close  of  the  war  he  had  won  the  position 
of  second  lieutenant  of  Company  I  of  the  Seventh 
Regiment.  After  the  war  he  settled  in  Golconda, 
Pope  county.  Illinois,  where  he  engaged  in  mer- 
cantile business,  and  later  he  was  connected  with 
a  large  tobacco  commission  house  at  Paducah, 
Kentuckv. 

In  1880  ('lOvernor  Sheldon  removed  to  Da- 
kota and  settled  upon  government  land  near  Pier- 
pont.  Day  count\-,  where  he  opened  a  farm  and 
built  a  home  which  he  maintained  until  his  death. 
In  t886  he  was  sent  to  the  territorial  legislature 
and  in  1892  he  was  chosen  governor  of  the  state, 
which  position  he  filled  with  credit  for  four 
years.  There  have  been  no  more  difficult  years 
in  the  history  of  the  west  than  the  four  during 
which  Charles  H.  Sheldon  held  the  governor's 
chair  in  South  Dakota,  Before  he  had  been  in 
office  six  months  the  great  national  panic  of 
1893  was  on  and  the  period  of  depression  con- 
tinued throughout  his  term.  To  add  to  the  em- 
barrassments of  the  period,  came  the  almost  total 
crop  failure  of  18.94  and  upon  the  heels  of  that 
the  Taylor  defalcation  of  Januars'  i,  1895,  by 
which  the  state  treasury  was  robbed  of  ever}- 
dollar.  Throughout  all  of  these  trying  ex- 
periences the  Governor  labored  unceasingly  to 
maintain  the  state's  credit  and  with  results  as 
good  as  could  be  hoped  for  when  adverse  con- 
ditions are  considered.  At  the  close  of  his  sec- 
ond term  he  retired  quietly  to  his  farm  and  lived 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


in  simple  comfort  until  the  campaign  of  1898 
came  on,  when  he  responded  to  the  call  of  his 
party  to  engage  in  a  speaking  campaign  in  the 
state  and  was  assigned  to  a  series  of  appointments 
in  the  Black  Hills  and  made  one  of  his  most  pow- 
erful speeches  in  the  city  of  Deadwood  on  Satur- 
day night,  October  15,  Almost  immediately  fol- 
lowing the  close  of  his  address  he  was  taken 
with  a  chill.  Pneumonia  followed  and  he  died 
at  the  Bullock  Hotel  on  Thursday  morning  fol- 
lowing, shortly  after  his  wife  and  son  reached 
his  bedside. 

Governor  Sheldon  was  twice  married.  His 
first  wife  was  Miss  ?^Iary  Waters,  of  Pope 
county,  Illinois,  to  whom  he  was  married  shortly 
after  the  war  and  whose  death  occurred  in  1874. 
She  left  him  no  children.  He  was  married  in 
1875  to  Aliss  Martha  Frizzell,  of  Johnson  county, 
Illinois,  and  the  union  was  blessed  with  three 
children,  J^nies  B.,  Ethel  and  Charles  H.  James 
died  in  i89.:i,  while  a  student  at  Brookings  Col- 
lege. Governor  Sheldon  was  a  man  of  marked 
ability,  of  good  and  strong  impulses  and  his 
memorv-  is  cherished  in  South  Dakota  by  a  host 
of  friends. 


JA:\[ES  H.  KYLE.— The  late  Senator  Jaines 
H.  Kyle,  of  South  Dakota,  died  the  early  even- 
ing of  Julv  I,  1901.  He  was  buried  the  after- 
noon of  JuU-  4,  eleven  years — almost  to  an 
hour — after  he  delivered  an  address  which  gave 
him  a  seat  in  the  United  States  senate.  Since 
his  serious  illness  at  Qeveland,  September,  1898, 
he  had  not  been  well,  although  his  appearance 
otherwise  indicated.  His  vitality  was  gone.  The 
wire  and  fiber  of  his  constitution  w«re  wasted 
and  worn,  and,  a  complication  of  ills  overtaking 
him,  the  thread  of  life  was  easily  broken,  and  in 
a  few  days  he  crossed  the  dark  river.  The 
Qiristian  faith,  his  guide  through  life,  sustained 
the  departing  spirit,  and  with  perfect  confidence 
he  beheld  the  opening  scenes  of  his  eternity. 

James  Henderson  -Kyle  was  born  at  Cedar- 
ville.  near  Xenia.  Greene  county,  Ohio,  Febru- 
ary 24.  1854,  and  was  the  second  of  a  family  of 
six  children — three  brothers  and  three  sisters — 


of  whom  one  brother  and  two  sisters  survive. 
His  father.  Thomas  B..  was  born  at  the  Kyle 
homestead,  near  Xenia,  Ohio,  January  24,  1824, 
and  when  seven  years  of  age  moved  with  his 
father  to  the  then  territory  of  Kentucky.  When 
it  was  admitted  as  a  slave  state  they  returned  to 
the  Senator's  birthplace  and  near  where  his 
father  wias  born.  The  father  served  as  a  Union 
soldier  and  officer  in  the  Civil  war,  and  in  the 
fall  of  1865  with  his  family  moved  to  Urbana, 
Champaign  county,  Illinois,  where  he  still  re- 
sides. The  influencing  reason  for  the  selection 
of  this  home  was  on  account  of  the  pro]X>sed  lo- 
cation of  the  State  University,  affording  an  op- 
portunity for  the  education  of  his  children.  The 
Senator's  grandfather  was  born  in  Pennsylvania 
in  1773  of  parents  who  came  from  Scotland  to 
this  country  in  a  very  early  day.  The  Senator's 
great-grandfather,  with  six  brothers,  served  their.] 
country  during  the  Revolutionary  war.  Hii. 
mother,  Jane  Henderson,  was  born  in  Westmore 
land  county,  Pennsylvania,  May  30,  1829, 
parents  who  came  from  the  north  part  of  Ire- 
land. 

While  living  at  Xenia,  Ohio,  the  Senator  at- 
tended the  common  schools  and  received  his  pri- 
mary education.  At  Urbana  he  graduated  from 
the  high  school  and  entered  the  State  University 
at  Giampaign  in  1871.  X'ot  being  able  to  se- 
cure the  course  of  study  he  desired,  he  entered 
Oberlin  College,  Ohio,  in  1873,  and  graduated 
from  that  institution  in  1878.  While  attending 
school  and  the  University  of  Illinois  he  worked 
on  a  farm  during  vacation,  and  when  at  Oberlin 
College  he  also  worked  on  a  farm  and  taughtl 
school  to  defray  his  expenses,  and  very  largely 
supported  himself  while  obtaining  his  education.! 
He  then  entered  the  Western  Theological  Semi^ 
nary  at  Allegheny,  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
whollv  sustained  himself  by  giving  private  les^ 
sons  in  Greek,  Latin  and  mathematics  until  hii 
graduation,  in  1882. 

April  27,  1881,  Mr.  Kyle  was  married  at  Cin-^ 
cinnati.  Ohio,  to  Aliss  .\nna  Isabel  Dugot.  who,| 
with  two  children.  Miss  Fthelw^•n  ami  James  H. 
Kyle,  Jr..  survive. 

j\ftor  graduating  from  the  seminar\-  am 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


613 


ceiving  his  license  to  preach,  he  accepted  service 
with  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  located 
at  ]\Iount  Pleasant,  Utah.  There  he  had  charge 
of  a  seminary  in  connection  with  his  church 
duties.  To  secure  a  climate  more  healthful  to 
his  wife,  he  removed  to  the  then  territory,  now 
state,  of  South  Dakota,  in  1885,  and  was  in 
charge  of  the  Congregational  church  at  Ipswich, 
in  that  state,  until  1889,  when  he  removed  to 
Aberdeen  and  became  pastor  of  the  First  Con- 
gregational church.  At  a  celebration  of  the 
Fourth  of  July,  1890,  at  Aberdeen,  he  delivered  a 
memorable  address.  A  spirit  of  political  unrest 
prevailed  in  the  state  and  an  advanced  position 
was  taken  in  the  remedies  proposed.  This 
speech  attracted  marked  attention  and  provoked 
much  discussion,  not  only  at  his  home,  but 
throughout  the  state,  and  from  that  date  he  was 
well  known  by  all  its  people.  The  next  day  the 
"Independents"  of  his  senatorial  district  held 
their  convention  and,  without  effort  and  against 
his  will,  a  unanimous  nomination  was  tendered. 
His  election  followed,  and  early  in  Januars',  1891, 
the  duties  of  the  office  were  assumed.  He  was 
a  man  of  imposing  presence,  a  fine  specimen  of 
physical  manhood  and  intellectual  force — vigor- 
ous in  mind,  acts,  and  the  accomplishment  of 
results.  To  the  duties  of  this  office  he  applied 
himself  with  rare  fidelity  and  honesty  of  pur- 
pose and  immediately  won  the  respect,  confidence 
and  esteem  of  his  colleagues  in  that  body. 
Although  inexperienced  in  legislation,  his  evident 
desire  to  be  right  and  do  right  was  apparent,  and 
his  industry,  kindness  and  courtesy  w.ere  un- 
failing. A  just  measure  commanded  his  support 
with  the  certainty  that  day  follows  night,  and  in 
,the  perfection  of  details  he  never  wearied.  Feb- 
ruary i(i,  1 891,  he  was  chosen  United  States 
senator  to  succeed  Gideon  C.  Moody,  receiving 
the  combined  independent  and  Democratic  votes. 
In  i8c;7  he  was  re-elected  for  a  second  term,  ex- 
piring March  3,  1903.  During  his  term  of  office 
he  served  on  the  committees  of  Indian  affairs, 
patents,  territories,  pensions,  irrigation  and  rec- 
lamation of  arid  lands,  Indian  depredations, 
forest  reservations  and  the  protection  of  gime. 


and  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  education 
and  labor. 

Senator  Kyle's  ability  for  hard  and  effective 
work  was  fully  recognized  in  his  appointment  as 
chairman  of  the  United  States  industrial  com- 
mission, created  by  act  of  congress  of  June  18, 
1898,  and  the  volumes  of  testimony  taken  under 
his  personal  direction  and  supervision  and  his 
exhaustive  reports  upon  the  subject  justified  tlie 
confidence  reposed.  He  did  not  live  to  see  the 
completion  of  the  work  of  the  commission ;  but 
the  vast  amount  of  testimony  and  the  great 
variety  of  subjects  covered  in  the  report  show 
that  the  plans  were  well  conceived  and  carried 
to  a  successful  conclusion.  The  work  done  bv 
the  commission  will  undoubtedly  be  of  grc.t  as- 
sistance in  shaping  future  legislation. 

Another  notable  and  salutary  congressional 
act  proposed  and  accomplished  by  him  was  the 
designation  of  Labor  Day  and  making  it  a  na- 
tional holiday.  For  all  time  will  this  day  be 
recognized  and  observed  by  the  laborer  and  his 
friends.  Labor  never  had  a  better  friend  than 
Senator  Kyle,  and  no  one  better  understood  its 
needs  or  extended  a  more  sympathetic  and  help- 
ful hand.  As  a  boy  he  worked  upon  the  farm 
to  aid  in  securing  the  education  he  so  eagerly 
sought  and  highly  prized ;  as  a  man  and  senator 
he  did  not  forget  the  hbor  of  his  vouth.  His 
experience  taught  him  the  true  dignity  of  labor 
and  its. necessity  in  every  walk  of  life. 

In  time  of  the  nation's  danger  party  politics 
are  laid  aside  and  animosities  forgotten.  In  the 
events  leading  up  to  and  during  the  Spanish- 
American  war  Senator  Kyle  was  not  an  excep- 
tion to  this  rule,  although  not  identified  with 
the  part}'  in  power.  He  stood  loyally  with  the 
President  and  fearlessly  supported  the  adminis- 
tration in  war  measures  and  in  every  detail  which 
would  assure  a  speedy  and  successful  termination 
of  the  conflict.  When  the  war  ended.  Senator 
Kyle  earnestly  and  consistently  worked  to  secure 
the  ratification  of  the  treaty  of  peace.  He  did 
not  stop  here.  As  a  true  .American,  he  kept  pace 
with  the  progress  of  our  country's  development, 
cheerfully,   courageously,   and   hopefully   accept- 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


ing-  the  burdens  necessarily  assumed  as  the  result 
of  the  war. 

The  accurate  and  eloquent  tributes  of  affec- 
tion and  esteem  paid  his  memory  by  members 
of  congress  who  were  so  long  associated  with  the 
Senator  and  who  knew  him  best  show  the  record 
and  impression  he  made  in  that  body.  He  per- 
formed every  duty  to  which  he  was  assigned 
with  conspicuous  zeal,  industry  and  ability.  His 
patient  attention  to  the  details  of  business,  even 
when  pressed  upon  him  by  those  not  entitled,  in- 
dicates the  kind  heart  which  always  influenced 
him.  and  his  candor  and  fairness  inspired  all 
with  confidence.  In  manner  he  was  unassuming, 
caring  little  for  society,  bending  his  whole  energy 
to  the  performance  of  official  duties.  He  was 
charitable  in  act  and  thought.  His  modest,  quiet, 
kindly  way  endeared  him  to  a  host  of  friends, 
who  mourned  his  loss  with  personal  grief.  He 
was  a  dutiful  son,  of  tender  sensibilities  and 
noble  impulses,  a  kind  and  loving  husband  and 
father,  an  upright,  pure  and  courteous  gentleman, 
most  loved  by  those  who  knew  him  best.  When 
death  called  him  he  was  at  the  zenith  of  his 
power,  absorbed  in  public  duties  with  such 
energy  that  he  was  unable  to  withstand  the  strain, 
and  the  desire,  unconsciously  in  his  mind,  found 
expression  in  his  last  words,  evidencing  as  well 
his  Christian  faith  :     "Now  I  shall  rest." 


HON.  ERICK  J.  BERDAHL  is  a  native  of 
Norway,  where  his  birth  occurred  on  the  8th  day 
of  August,  1850.  When  six  years  old,  he  was" 
brought  to  the  United  States  by  his  parents,  and 
from  that  time  until  i860  lived  at  the  family 
home  in  Winneshiek  county,  Iowa,  removing, 
the  latter  year,  to  Houston  county,  Minnesota, 
where  he  worked  on  the  farm  and  attended  school 
during  the  six  years  following.  In  1866  he  ac- 
companied the  family  to  Filmore  county,  in  the 
latter  state,  and  after  living  there  until  1873  came 
to  South  Dakota,  settling  on  a  farm  in  Sverdrup 
township,  ]Minnehaha  county,  which  he  still  owns 
and  which  he  took  up  under  the  homestead  law 
soon  after  his  arrival.  !\lr.  Berdahl  has  been  ac- 
tivelv    identified    with    the    material    interests   of 


IMinnehaha  county  during  the  twenty  years  of  his 
residence  therein,  and  few,  if  any,  have  exer- 
cised a  more  beneficial  influence  upon  its  devel- 
opment or  have  contributed  in  a  more  marked 
degree  to  the  various  agencies  and  enterprises 
making  for  its  progress.  From  the  original 
homestead  of  wild  land  in  a  sparsely  settled  lo- 
calit}-,  he  has  developed  one  of  the  finest  and 
most  valuable  farms  of  its  area  in  the  county,  a 
beautiful  place  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres, 
all  under  cultivation,  containing  substantial  im- 
provements and  presenting  the  appearance  of  a 
home  in  which  few  comforts  and  conveniences 
are  lacking.  As  an  agriculturist  Mr.  Berdahl 
stands  in  the  front  rank,  and  the  ample  compe- 
tence he  now  commands,  and  the  fine  condition 
of  his  home,  attests  the  energy  and  success  with 
which  he  has  prosecuted  his  life  work.  Mr.  Ber- 
dahl, on  the  2d  day  of  April,  1873,  was  united 
in  the  bonds  of  wedlock  with  Miss  Hannah  Brand- 
void,  who  was  born  July  5,  1848,  in  Norway, 
and  who  came  to  the  United  States  about  two 
years  prior  to  her  marriage.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ber- 
dahl are  the  parents  of  ten  children,  only  three 
of  whom  are  living,  namely,  John  E.,  Carrie  and 
Henry ;  the  deceased  are  Christina,  who  married 
Erick  Langness  and  died  in  her  twenty-fourth 
year :  Albert,  Carrie,  Anna.  Alma  and  Anna,  the 
hst  five  dying  in  childhood. 

]\Ir.  Berdahl  has  been  an  influential  Repub- 
lican ever  since  attaining  his  majority  and  by 
reason  of  his  activity  in  party  circles  and  serv- 
ices rendered  in  different  campaigns  he  has  been 
from  time  to  time  honored  with  various  official  po- 
sitions. He  served  for  some  years  as  justice  of 
the  peace,  also  as  chairman  of  the  township  board, 
and  for  several  years  past  has  been  treasurer 
of  the  Farmers'  Mutual  Insurance  Company  of 
Minnehaha  County,  a  position  of  great  responsi- 
bility, requiring  of  the  incumbent  much  more 
than  ordinary  business  talent.  He  also  repre- 
sented the  county  of  Minnehaha  one  term  in  the 
general  assembly  and  as  a  legislator  sustained 
the  high  reputation  in  which  he  was  held  by  the 
people,  fully  meeting  the  expectations  of  his 
constituents.  Democrats  as  well  as  Republicans. 
Mr.  Berdahl  is  a  man  of  great  firmness,  honest 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


615 


in  his  convictions,  and  ready  at  all  times  to  main- 
tain the  soundness  of  his  opinions.  While  dili- 
gent in  the  prosecution  of  his  own  affairs  and 
successful  in  carrying  them  to  conclusion,  he  is 
also  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  community 
and  spares  no  reasonable  sacrifice  in  encouraging- 
agencies  and  enterprises  for  the  promotion  of  the 
same.  A  pleasing  presence  combined  with  a 
genial  disposition  makes  him  popular  with  all 
classes  and  conditions  of  people,  and  his  manly 
conduct  and  genuine  worth  are  recognized  and 
appreciated  by  those  coming  within  the  range  of 
his  influence. 


HON.  J.  O.  LANGNESS.— This  enterpris- 
ing citizen  and  public-spirited  man  of  affairs  is 
an  American  by  adoption,  having  been  born  near 
the  city  of  Thronghgen,  Norway,  on  October  22, 
1839.  He  was  reared  and  educated  in  the  ro- 
mantic land  of  his  nativity,  and  grew  to  man- 
hood's estate  as  a  tiller  of  the  soil,  which  honor- 
able calling  he  prosecuted  at  the  place  of  his 
Ijirth  until  1866.  His  early  home  training,  under 
the  tutelage  of  industrious,  pious  parents,  was 
such  as  to  foster  habits  of  industry  and  arouse 
a  laudable  ambition  to  be  of  some  use  in  the 
world.  Accordingly,  while  still  young,  he  ma- 
tured plans  for  his  future  course  of  action,  and 
by  following  the  same  became  in  due  time  a 
symmetrically  developed  man  of  noble  aims,  gen- 
erous impulses  and  high  ideals.  On  May  i, 
1866,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  JNIiss  Anna 
Kringen,  a  native  of  Norway,  whose  birth  oc- 
curred May  16,  1842,  and  the  same  spring  he 
started  with  his  young  wife  for  America,  taking 
passage  on  a  sailing  vessel  which  was  seven 
weeks  at  sea  before  reaching  its  destination.  Im- 
mediately after  landing,  Mr.  Langness  proceeded 
direct  to  ^Minnesota,  where  he  remained  until 
1868,  in  tlie  spring  of  which  year,  in  company 
with  three  others,  he  started  out  to  select  a  favor- 
able location  for  a  colony  of  his  countrymen, 
desirous  of  settling  in  some  part  of  the  north- 
west. In  the  prosecution  of  his  mission,  he  trav- 
eled  over  the  northwestern  part  of   Minnesota, 


covering  about  thirty  counties,  and  from  Minne- 
sota came  to  the  county  of  Minnehaha,  in  Da- 
kota, as  the  section  of  country  best  suited  to 
meet  the  conditions  required  by  the  colony.  Sat- 
isfied with  the  location,  he  at  once  took  up  a 
homestead  in  section  5,  of  what  is  now  Sverdrup 
township,  and  in  due  time  was  joined  by  others, 
who  laid  claims  to  adjacent  lands,  and  it  was 
not  long  until  the  township  was  settled  by  an  in- 
telligent, thrifty  class  of  people  who  more  than 
any  others  have  contributed  to  the  development 
and  material  prosperity  of  this  part  of  the  state. 
Mr.  Langness  began  life  in  the  new  country  in 
a  modest  way,  but  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  he 
was  able  to  replace  his  pioneer  dwelling  with  a 
larger  and  more  comfortable  modern  structure 
and  to  add  other  improvements  from  time  to 
time  until  he  now  has  a  beautiful  farm  of  about 
four  hundred  acres,  which  is  not  only  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  and  attractive  places  in  the  town- 
ship of  Sverdrup,  but  also  one  of  the  best  culti- 
vated and  most  valuable  in  the  county.  As  an 
agriculturist  Mr.  Langness  is  enterprising,  pro- 
gressive and  keeps  fully  abreast  the  times,  and  in 
addition  to  tilling  the  soil,  he  derives  no  small 
income  from  stock  raising,  which  industr)'  he 
has  prosecuted  of  recent  years  with  a  .large  meas- 
ure of  financial  success. 

Mr.  Langness  platted  atid  laid  out  the  town 
of  Baltic,  Minnehaha  county,  a  thriving  village 
and  important  commercial  center  of  much  prom- 
ise, the  growth  of  which  is  almost  entirely  at- 
tributable to  the  interest  he  has  manifested  in  its 
behalf.  Since  coming  to  South  Dakota  he  has 
been  active  and  influential  in  the  public  affairs 
of  his  township  and  county,  having  filled  nearly 
everv  position  within  the  gift  of  the  former,  be- 
sides holding  two  important  offices  in  the  latter. 
He  served  two  terms  as  county  surve}-or  and  in 
1896  was  elected  treasurer  of  the  county,  the 
duties  of  which  responsible  trust  he  discharged 
in  an  able  and  satisfactory  manner,  proving  a 
!  popular  as  well  as  a  safe  custodian  of  the  public 
funds.  Additional  to  the  position  noted,  he  rep- 
resented Minnehaha  county  one  term  in  the  state 
legislature  and  as  a  member  of  that  body  served 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


his  constituents  faithfully  and  well,  never  losing 
sight  of  their  interests,  and  at  the  same  time 
using  his  best  endeavors  to  further  the  welfare 
of  the  state.  Mr.  Langness  easily  ranks  with 
the  most  energetic,  public-spirited  men  of  the 
county  in  which  he  resides,  and  has  done  as 
much  as  any  of  his  contemporaries  to  promote 
its  development.  His  influence  is  always  on  the 
right  side  of  every  moral  question,  and  he  dis- 
charges the  duties  of  citizenship  with  the  object 
in  view  of  benefitting  the  body  politic  and  advanc- 
ing the  varied  interests  of  the  commonwealth. 
Inheriting  the  sturdy  character  and  sterling  qual- 
ities of  head  and  heart  for  which  his  nationality 
is  noted,  he  has  used  the  same  to  excellent  ad- 
vantage since  becoming  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States  and,  although  retaining  warm  feelings 
and  tender  recollections  of  the  land  of  his  fore- 
fathers, he  is  now  a  true  American  citizen,  loyal 
to  the  laws  of  his  adopted  country  and  earnest 
in  his  efforts  to  uphold  and  maintain  its  insti- 
tutions. In  politics  he  affiliated  with  the  Repub- 
lican party  and  as  such  has  become  a  leader  of 
his  party  in  ^Minnehaha  county,  being  active  and 
influential  in  its  councils  and  a  zealous  worker  for 
its  success  during  the  progress  of  campaigns. 
In  1892  he  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  Populist 
party,  and  has  held  their  views  ever  since,  hav- 
ing taken  the  stump  for  General  Weaver. 

Personally  Air.  Langness  is  universally  es- 
teemed, as  his  friendships  are  strong  and  last- 
ing, his  relations  with  his  fellow  men  honorable, 
his  integrity  above  suspicion,  and  his  private 
life  and  character  such  as  to  commend  him  to  the 
confidence  of  all  with  whom  he  is  brought  into 
contact.  Religiously  he  is  a  member  of  the  Nor- 
wegian Lutheran  church,  in  which  faith  he  was 
born  and  reared  and  to  the  teachings  of  which 
he  has  always  remained  loyal.  Airs.  Langness 
is  also  a  Lutheran  and,  with  her  husband,  is 
interested  in  all  the  religious  and  benevolent 
work  of  the  local  organization  to  which  she  be- 
longs. To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Langness  have  been 
born  eight  children,  four  of  whom  died  }oung,  the 
following  being  the  names  of  the  living  members 
of  the  family :  Erik  ]..  Julia  J-.  Maria  J.  and 
Oline  J. 


HAXS  H.  SAXDMG,  one  of  the  leading 
agriculturists  and  representative  citizens  of  Min- 
nehaha county,  was  born  in  Norway  on  the  i8th 
day  of  October,  1848.  Reared  on  a  farm,  he  early 
selected  agriculture  for  his  life  work  and  fol- 
lowed the  same  in  his  native  land  until  1870, 
at  which  time  he  came  to  the  United  States  and 
settled  in  Goodhue  county,  Minnesota.  After 
spending  three  years  there  in  successful  prosecu- 
tion of  his  chosen  vocation,  he,  in  the  fall  of 
1873,  changed  his  abode  to  Minnehaha  county. 
South  Dakota,  where  he  took  up  a  homestead 
which  he  improved  and  upon  which  he  lived  and 
prospered  until  the  latter  part  of  1880.  In  De- 
cember of  that  year  Air.  Sandvig  moved  to  Ly- 
ons township,  where  he  continued  to  reside  until 
the  spring  of  1903,  when  he  rented  his  farm  and 
took  up  his  residence  in  Baltic,  which  place  he 
has  since  made  his  home,  living  practically  a  life 
of  retirement  though  still  devoting  much  atten- 
tion to  his  large  agricultural  interests  and  to  the 
management   of   his    business    affairs. 

Air.  Sandvig  owns  a  valuable  farm,  consisting 
of  four  hundred  and  forty  acres,  all  in  cultivation. 
and  well  improved  with  good  buildings,  and. 
everything  considered,  there  are  few  as  fine  tracts 
of  land  as  his  in  the  county  of  Alinnehaha.  It 
is  admirably  situated  for  agricultural  and  live- 
stock purposes,  being  fertile,  well  watered  and 
capable  of  producing  abimdantly  all  the  grains 
and  vegetable  crops  grown  in  South  Dakota. 
Air.  Sandvig  cultivates  the  soil  according  to  the 
most  approved  methods,  employs  the  best  modern 
machinery,  and  by  systematic  and  energetic  ef- 
fort seldom  fails  to  realize  large  returns  for  the 
time  and  labor  expended  on  his  fields.  In  the 
matter  of  live  stock  he  has  also  been  qfiite  suc- 
cessful, having  for  a  number  of  years  devoted 
considerable  attention  to  the  raising  of  fine  cattle, 
sheep  and  hogs,  which,  as  all  know,  have  long 
been  considered  a  reliable  source  of  wealth  in 
Alinnehaha  county  and  throughout  the  state. 

Air.  Sandvig  was  married,  after  settling  in 
South  Dakota,  to  Aliss  Ida  O.  Brown,  who,  like 
himself,  is  a  native  of  Norway,  but  who  had  been 
living  for  some  years  prior  to  her  marriage  in 
the  countv  of  Alinnehaha.     Two  daughters  have 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


617 


been  born  to  this  union,  Hilda  O.  and  Christina 
A.,  both  Hving  and,  Hke  their  parents,  highl)'  es- 
teemed in  the  social  circles  in  which  they  move. 
Mr.  Sandvig's  long  residence  in  South  Dakota, 
covering  a  period  of  over  thirty  years,  has  made 
him  widely  known  throughout  Minnehaha 
county,  and  today  there  are  few  as  popular  men 
in  the  community  and  none  more  active  or  influ- 
ential in  promoting  the  material  welfare  of  this 
section  of  the  state.  Never  an  office  seeker  or  an 
aspirant  for  leadership  in  any  undertaking,  he 
has  been  honored  at  different  times  with  import- 
ant official  positions,  including  the  chairmanship 
of  the  Lyons  township  board,  which  he  held  for 
many  years,  and  a  place  on  the  local  school  board, 
in  which  capacity  he  was  instrumental  in  building 
up  the  educational  system  within  his  jurisdiction 
and  making  the  schools  among  the  best  in  the 
county.  Mr.  Sandvig  possesses  in  a  marked  de- 
gree the  physical  characteristics  and  mental 
qualifications  essential  to  success,  being  a  man  of 
wide  practical  intelligence,  good  judgment,  clear 
perception  and  invincible  integrity.  His  career 
throughout  presents  much  that  is  commendable 
and  worthy  of  emulation  and,  measured  by  the 
highest  standard  of  excellence,  his  life  as  a  neigh- 
bor, friend  and  enterprising  citizen  has  been  em- 
inently honorable  and  above  reproach. 


■  EDGAR  B.  NORTHRUR— Although  a 
young  man  and  for  only  twelve  years  a  resident 
of  Dakota,  the  subject  of  this  review  has  achieved 
much  more  than  local  reputation  in  business  cir- 
cles, besides  becoming  prominent  in  the  public 
affairs  of  the  state.  Edgar  B.  Northrup  is  a 
native  of  New  York  and  an  honorable  representa- 
tive of  the  large,  intelligent  and  influential  class 
of  citizens  the  Empire  state  has  contributed  to  the 
population  of  various  states  and  territories  of  the 
great  northwest.  He  was  born  April  21,  1867,  in 
Broadalbin,  Fulton  county,  and  is  the  son  of 
Leonard  S.  and  Jane  Elizabeth  (Burr)  Northrup, 
both  parents  members  of  old  and  respected  fam- 
ilies. The  father,  who  was  for  many  years  a 
manufacturer  of  gloves  in  the  state  of  his  nativity, 
died  in  September,  1891.  while  the  mother  is  still 


living  at  the  age  of  seventy-four  years.  The  early 
life  of  Edgar  B.,  devoid  of  striking  incident  or 
thrilling  experience,  was  spent  in  his  native  place, 
where  he  received  his  preliminary  education  in  the 
public  schools,  after  which  he  was  prepared  for 
college  at  Phillips  Academy,  at  Andover,  Massa- 
cliusetts.  With  the  discipline  thus  received,  he 
in  due  time  entered  Yale  University,  which  noted 
institution  he  attended  until  completing  the  pre- 
scribed course  and  from  which  he  was  graduated 
with  a  creditable  record  in  June,  igoo.  Two 
years  after  finishing  his  education  Mr,  Northrup 
came  to  South  Dakota  and  located  in  Hanson 
county,  where  he  remained  about  one  year,  re- 
moving at  the  expiration  of  that  time  to  Sioux 
Falls,  in  which  city  he  has  since  resided.  Since 
coming  west  Mr.  Northrup  has  devoted  his  at- 
tention largely  to  the  real-estate  business,  in- 
vestments, loans,  etc.,  and  having  a  favora,ble 
field  in  which  to  operate,  he  has  acquired  a  large, 
far-reaching  and  lucrative  patronage,  being  at 
this  time  one  of  the  leaders  in  these  lines  in  the 
thriving  city  of  his  residence,  besides  having  ex- 
tensive interests  in  various  parts  of  the  state. 
He  is  a  man  of  sagacity  and  keen  perception,  is 
rarely  mistaken  in  his  judgment  of  men  and 
things,  foresees  with  great  clearness  future  pos- 
sibilities and  determines  with  a  high  degree  of 
accuracy  the  outcome  of  present  action.  In  all . 
business  relations  he  manifests  scrupulous  integ- 
rity and  gentlemanly  demeanor  and  by  his  intel- 
ligence and  his  unassuming  and  pleasant  bearing 
he  has  gained  a  large  circle  of  friends.  Mr. 
Northrup  is  decidedly  Republican  in  his  views 
and  has  wielded  considerable  influence  in  his 
party  since  moving  to  Sioux  Falls,  being  wise  in 
counsel,  judicious  and  resourceful  as  an  organ- 
izer and  untiring  as  a  worker.  In  November,  1902, 
he  was  elected  to  the  upper  house  of  the  general 
assembly,  and  thus  far  his  senatorial  career  has 
been  able,  eminently  honorable  and  satisfactory 
to  his  constituents  of  all  parties.  By  reason  of 
his  business  success,  high  social  standing,  un-. 
blemished  character  and  the  universal  esteem 
which  he  enjoys,  he  might  without  invidious  dis- 
tinction be  called  one  of  the  most  honored,  as 
well  as   one  of  the   most   prominent   citizens   of 


6i8 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Sioux  Falls,  his  right  to  this  rating  being  cheer- 
fully conceded  by  all  who  know  him.  Mr.  Xorth- 
rup  is  a  member  of  the  Alasonic  order,  includ- 
mg  the  Mystic  Shrine,  and  is  also  a  leading  spirit 
in  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  and 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  be- 
sides being  an  influential  factor  in  the  Dacotah 
Club,  one  of  the  leading  social  organizations  of  the 
city.  He  was  married  JNIarch  14,  1894.  at  Johns- 
town. Xew  York,  to  Miss  Laura  Hays,  an  ac- 
complished lady,  and  they  have  one  child,  a 
daughter  by  the  name  of  Elizabeth  Hays  North- 
rup,  whose  birth  occurred  July  4,  1896. 


PATRICK  J.  DINNEEN.— The  subject  of 
this  review  is  one  of  the  many  self-made  men  who 
have  sought  homes  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic 
and  who,  by  their  industry,  economy  and  thrift, 
have  become  well-to-do  citizens  of  their  adopted 
country.  ]\Ir.  Dinneen  was  born  in  County  Cork, 
Ireland,  jMarch  17,  1834,  his  parents  being  Timo- 
thy and  Hannah  (Conklin)  Dinneen,  who  were 
also  natives  of  the  Emerald  isle,  where  they 
made  their  home  throughout  life. 

In  the  land  of  his  birth  the  subject  grew  to 
manhood  and  for  fifteen  years  prior  to  coming  to 
America  he  made  his  home  in  England.  In 
1854  he  wedded  Miss  Mary  Walsh,  a  daughter 
of  Kane  and  Margaret  (Donovan)  Walsh,  the 
former  of  whom  died  in  England  and  the  latter 
in  Ireland.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dinneen  have  become 
the  parents  of  nine  children,  all  still  living :  Dan- 
iel, who  married  Fannie  Gill  and  is  engaged  in 
farming ;  Margaret,  wife  of  Bert  Aman,  an  agri- 
culturist of  Yankton  county ;  Timothy,  also  a 
farmer,  who  married  Johanna  Finn ;  John,  who 
married  Fannie  Roberts;  Hannah,  wife  of  Otis 
Kessey,  a  wealthy  fruitman  of  California ;  Pat- 
rick, who  is  running  a  barber  shop  in  Irene,  South 
Dakota ;  James,  who  assists  his  father  in  the  op- 
eration of  the  home  fariu ;  Mary,  wife  of  Thomas 
Garvey,  whose  sketch  appears  on  another  page 
of  this  volume ;  and  George,  who  married  Millie 
Walsh  and  lives  on  his  father's  farm. 

In  1866  ]\Ir.  Dinneen  bade  good-by  to  home 
and  familv  and  sailed  for  the  new  world.     Here 


he  began  work  as  a  laborer  in  Xew  Jersey,  and 
from  there  went  to  Illinois,  where  he  was  em- 
plo}'ed  for  nine  months.  Going  south  he  spent 
some  time  in  Alississippi  and  Louisiana  and  in 
1867  went  to  Houston,  Texas,  where  he  worked 
two  months.  During  the  following  five  months 
he  herded  cattle  in  the  Panhandle  mountains 
of  Texas,  and  then  came  up  the  Mississippi  river 
and  entered  the  employ  of  the  Union  Pacific  Rail- 
road Company. 

On  the  7th  of  May,  1869,  Mr.  Dinneen  took 
up  his  residence  in  Yankton  county,  South  Da- 
kota, and  the  same  year  sent  for  his  family,  whom 
he  had  supported  in  England  up  to  this  time. 
He  homesteaded  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of 
government  land,  on  which  there  was  not  a  stick 
of  timber,  and  he  set  out  twelve  acres  in  trees, 
from  which  he  recently  cut  ten  thousand  feet  of 
lumber  to  build  a  barn.  It  is  now  a  beautiful 
grove  and  the  trees  which  he  has  cut  down  can 
hardly  be  missed.  Mr.  Dinneen  has  made  all  of 
the  improvements  upon  his  place  and  to-day  has 
a  fine  farm  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres 
imder  excellent  cultivation.  His  first  home  here 
was  a  little  log  cabin,  twelve  by  sixteen  feet, 
which  sheltered  a  family  of  eight  for  some  time. 
The  grasshoppers  at  times  have  destroyed  his 
crops  and  when  the  Jim  river  has  overflowed  its 
banks  during  the  spring  and  summer  rains  he 
has  met  with  losses  to  the  amount  of  five  thou- 
sand dollars,  but  notwithstanding  these  misfor- 
tunes he  has  prospered  in  his  new  home  and  is 
today  accounted  one  of  the  substantial  men  of 
his  community,  as  well  as  one  of  its  most  highly 
esteemed  citizens.  He  is  a  Catholic  in  religious 
faith  and  a  Democrat  in  politics.  For  fifteen 
years  he  has  filled  some  school  ofiice,  and  his  sup- 
port is  never  withheld  from  any  enterprise  cal- 
culated to  promote  the  social  and  moral  welfare 
of  his  county. 


HANS  C.  OLSON.— Since  attaining  to  man's 
estate  Hans  C.  Olson  has  been  identified  with  the 
growth  and  development  of  South  Dakota  and  as 
a  farmer  he  is  still  carrying  on  the  work  of  im- 
provement  in    Yankton    county,   where   he    now 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


619 


makes  his  home.  His  early  home  was  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  for  he  was  born  in 
Norway,  October  29,  1854,  and  was  about  fifteen 
>ears  of  age  when  he  came  to  the  United  States 
with  his  parents,  Ole  and  Mary  Olson.  On  land- 
ing- in  this  country  they  proceeded  at  once  to 
South  Dakota  and  settled  in  Clay  county,  but 
after  residing  there  for  thirteen  years  they  came 
to  Yankton  county.  The  father  became  the  owner 
of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land,  which  he 
subsequently  sold,  buying  the  property  in  Gay- 
ville  where  his  widow  now  resides.  While  en- 
gaged in  farming  he  met  with  good  success,  al- 
though his  crops  at  times  were  greatly  damaged 
by  the  floods  and  were  almost  completely  de- 
stroyed by  grasshoppers  when  those  pests  invaded 
the  land.  He  improved  the  farm  before  selling 
it  and  later  was  engaged  in  wagonmaking  at 
Gayville  for  about  fifteen  years.  By  his  ballot 
he  supported  the  men  and  measures  of  the  Re- 
publican party,  and  he  held  membership  in  the 
Lutheran  church,  to  which  his  widow  also  be- 
longs. She  has  now  reached  the  age  of  seventy- 
six  years.  After  a  useful  and  well  spent  life,  he 
died  in  August,  1901.  His  children  were  Jo- 
hanna, Hans  C,  John,  Peter,  Herman,  Oliana, 
Otena,  Martin  and  Regina. 

As  soon  as  old  enough  to  be  of  any  assistance 
Hans  C.  Olson  began  to  aid  his  father  in  the 
operation  of  the  home  farm  and  has  since  de- 
voted his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits.  He 
now  owns  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of 
land,  two  hundred  and  thirty  of  which  are  under 
cultivation.  He  is  quite  extensively  engaged  in 
the  raising  of  stock,  making  a  specialty  of  Here- 
ford cattle,  and  usually  ships  from  one  to  two 
carloads  of  cattle  annually  and  also  sells  from 
fifty  to  one  hundred  hogs. 

Mr.  Olson  was  married  in  August,  1879,  the 
lady  of  his  choice  being  Aliss  Becka  Erickson, 
also  a  native  of  Norway,  and  after  her  death 
he  wedded  Dora  Simmion,  who  was  born  in  the 
same  country,  her  parents  making  that  their  home 
throughout  life.  Mr.  Olson  has  six  children  by 
his  first  marriage  and  four  by  the  second,  namely : 
Ole,   Nels, 'Martin,    Fred.   Herbert,   Eddie,   Wil- 


liam, John,  Edna  and  Carl,  all  living  at  the  pres- 
ent writing  in  1903.  He  is  providing  his  chil- 
dreii  with  good  school  privileges  and  as  a  school 
official  he  takes  an  active  interest  in  educational 
afifairs.  For  seven  years  he  served  as  deputy 
assessor  of  his  township,  and  the  Republican 
party  has  always  found  in  him  an  ardent  sup- 
porter. His  religious  faith  is  indicated  by  his 
membership  in  the  Lutheran  church,  and  being 
a  man  of  strict  integrity  and  sterling  worth  he 
has  the  confidence  and  respect  of  all  who  know 
him. 


JAMES  O.  CONRICK  is  a  successful  farmer 
and  reputable  citizen  of  Brule  county.  South  Da- 
kota, and  an  ex-soldier  in  the  great  war  which 
tested  the  stability  of  America's  free  institutions 
and  proved  that  a  government  of  the  people,  by 
the  people  and  for  the  people  should  not  perish 
from  the  face  of  the  earth.  James  O.  Conrick 
is  a  native  of  Montgomery  county.  New  York, 
and  the  son  of  E.  P.  and  Harriet  (Petit)  Conrick, 
both  parents  born  in  the  state  of  Connecticut.  In 
early  life  E.  P.  Conrick  was  a  teacher,  but  latei 
became  a  contractor,  and  as  such  helped  to  con- 
struct the  first  railroad  in  the  United  States,  also 
finished  a  considerable  part  of  the  old  Erie  canal 
in  New  York,  besides  doing  much  other  work 
of  a  public  character.  He  migrated  to  Wisconsin 
in  an  early  day,  took  an  active  interest  in  the  ma- 
terial development  of  that  state,  also  became  a 
leading  Republican  politician,  and  served  at  dif- 
ferent times  in  the  upper  and  lower  houses  of 
the  general  assembly.  He  was  a  man  of  prom- 
inence and  influence,  widely  known  and  highly 
esteemed,  and  he  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age,  dying 
in  1897  in  his  ninety-first  year.  E.  P.  and  Harriet 
Conrick  reared  a  family  of  three  children,  namely, 
Mary,  James  O.  and  Frank,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch   being  the   sole   survivor. 

James  O.  Conrick  was  born  September  8, 
1838,  and  spent  his  early  life  in  New  York  and 
Wisconsin,  receiving  a  limited  education  in  «uch 
schools  as  the  latter  afforded  during  the  pioneer 
period.     When  a  young  man.   in  company  with 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


a  number  of  spirits  as  brave  and  daring  as  him- 
self, he  made  an  overland  trip  to  California  in 
search  of  gold,  being  six  months  enroute,  _but 
after  spending  four  years  in  the  mines,  and  real- 
izing some  remuneration  for  his  labors  and  strug- 
gles, he  returned  home  and  resumed  the  peaceful 
pursuit  of  agriculture.  In  i860  he  again  went 
west,  making  his  way  as  far  as  Pike's  Peak,  and 
shortly  after  his  return,  the  following  year,  en- 
listed in  Company  A,  Tenth  Wisconsin  Infantry,* 
which  was  soon  sent  to  the  front,  to  experience 
all  the  realities  and  horrors  of  war.  Mr.  Con- 
rick  shared  with  his  comrades  all  their  varied 
vicissitudes  and  hardships  and  took  part  in  a 
number  of  campaigns  and  battles,  in  one  of  which 
he  was  captured  and  sent  to  Libby  Prison.  After 
four  m.onths  in  that  noted  bastile,  he  was  ex- 
changed and,  rejoining  his  command  in  1863, 
served  until  the  close  of  the  war,  participating 
in  the  battles  of  Stone  River,  Spring  Hill,  Mur- 
freesboro,  Chickamauga  and  many  other  engage- 
ments and  skirmishes,  in  all  of  which  he  sustained 
the  reputation  of  a  brave,  gallant  and  fearless  de- 
fender of  the  flag. 

At  the  expiration  of  his  period  of  enlistment 
?\Ir.  Conrick  returned  to  Wisconsin,  later  to  Du- 
buque, Iowa,  where  he  continued  to  reside  until 
1885,  when  he  moved  his  family  to  Brule  county, 
South  Dakota,  and  took  up  a  homestead  near  the 
town  of  Chamberlain,  on  which  he  still  lives  and 
which,  under  his  wisely  directed  labors,  has  been 
converted  into  one  of  the  best  farms  and  most 
attractive  homes  in  that  part  of  the  state.  While 
devoting  the  greater  portion  of  his  time  to  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  he  also  pays  considerable  at- 
tention to  live  stock,  making  a  specialty  of  graded 
cattle  and  Poland-China  hogs,  large  numbers 
of  which  he  sells  every  year  at  good  prices.  Mr. 
Conrick  is  an  enterprising  man  and,  for  one  of 
his  age,  is  still  active,  physically  and  mentally. 
He  manifests  a  lively  interest  in  the  welfare  of 
the  community,  uses  his  influence  to  promote  its 
material  prosperity  and  moral  advancement,  and 
is  accounted  one  of  the  wide-awake,  energetic 
and  progressive  citizens  of  the  county  in  which 
he  lives.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican  and  few 
in  the  community  are  as  active  as  he  in  public 


affairs.  Fraternally  he  is  a  Mason,  belonging  to 
Lodge  No.  125,  at  Dubuque,  Iowa,  into  which 
he  was  initiated  a  number  of  years  ago. 

In  the  year  1868  'Sir.  Conrick  and  Miss  Xancy 
M.  Larnard,  of  New  York,  were  united  in  mar- 
riage, which  resulted  in  the  birth  of  four  chil- 
dren, namely :  George  E.,  chief  clerk  at  Lower 
Brule  Indian  agency.  South  Dakota;  John  P.,  a 
lawyer  practicing  his  profession  at  Sault  Ste 
Marie,  Michigan  ;  Frank  M.,  civil  engineer  and 
contractor  for  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad, 
and  Clair  H.,  a'  student  of  Vermillion  College, 
South  Dakota.  Mr.  Conrick  is  a  friend  of  higher 
education  and  has  given  his  children  the  best  ad- 
vantages in  this  direction  obtainable  and  all  but 
the  youngest  are  now  filling  responsible  stations 
in  life  and  making  records  which  are  alike  cred- 
itable to  themselves  and  to  their  parents.  The 
family  is  an  old  and  honorable  American  family, 
having  come  as  Pilgrims  to  the  New  England 
states  in  the  seventeenth  century  and  man}'  of  its 
members  having  held  high  offices  of  trust  in  our 
country,  and  those  now  living  bid  fair  to  sustain 
the  reputation  which  the  worthy  name  has  always 
borne. 


HENRY  B.  FARREN,  who  is  one  of  the 
leading  members  of  the  bar  of  Buffalo  county, 
is  a  member  of  the  legislature  of  the  state  at  the 
time  of  this  writing  and  is  one  of  the  prominent 
and  popular  citizens  of  this  section  of  the  com- 
monwealth. Mr.  Farren  is  a  native  of  the  old 
Keystone  state  of  the  L^nion,  having  been  born  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia,  on  the  4th  of  November. 
1848,  and  being  a  son  of  James  L.  and  Alary 
(Bellfield)  Farren,  both  of  whom  were  members 
of  old  and  honored  families  of  Pennsylvania. 
They  became  the  parents  of  nine  children, 
namely:  Mary  V.,  Henry  B.,  Helen  F..  Emma 
C,  James  L.,  Martha  F.,  Alfred  R.,  Alice  M.  and 
Horace  W.  and  of  the  number  all  are  living  ex- 
cept Mary,  Helen,  Alfred  and  Horace.  When 
the  subject  was  quite  young  his  parents  removed 
to  the  city  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  and  a  few  years 
later,  in  September  of  1856.  took  up  their  abode 
in  \^an  Buren  county,  Iowa,  becoming  pioneers 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


of  that  section,  where  the  family  resided  until  the 
fall  of  1867,  when  they  moved  to  Keokuk,  Iowa. 
The  father  of  the  subject  being  a  carpenter,  fa- 
ther and  son  there  engaged  in  the  building  busi- 
ness as  contractors,  until  the  spring  of  1871,  when 
they  removed  to  Kokoka,  Clark  county,  Mis- 
souri, where  the  father  died  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
nine  years.  Mr.  Farren's  mother  is  still  living, 
making  her  home  in  Springfield,  Missouri,  and  is 
in  her  eightieth  year.  In  Van  Buren  county 
Henry  B.  was  reared  and  there  received  his  early 
educational  training  in  the  common  schools,  while 
it  may  be  noted  that  among  his  schoolmates  at 
the  time  was  Hon.  William  B.  ]\Iason,  late  United 
States  senator  from  Illinois.  After  leaving  school 
at  sixteen  years  of  age,  Mr.  Farren  turned  his  at- 
tention to  the  carpenter  trade,  which  avocation  he 
followed  almost  constantly  until  coming  to  Da- 
kota, after  which  time  he  turned  his  attention  to 
reading  and  study  of  law.  In  1894  he  was  admit- 
ted to  practice  in  the  courts  of  South  Dakota, 
and  has  ever  since  given  his  attention  to  profes- 
sional work,  in  which  he  has  met  with  gratifying 
success,  retaining  a  representative  clientage  and 
having  been  concerned  in  much  important  liti- 
gation. 

Mr.  Farren  came  to  South  Dakota  in  May, 
1882,  and  settled  in  Hand  county,  where  he  re- 
mained a  few  months  and  then  came  to  Buffalo 
county,  where  he  exercised  his  prerogatives  in  the 
taking  up  of  government  land,  securing  a  tract 
of  four  hundred  eighty  acres,  which  he  improved 
and  placed  under  cultivation.  He  has  maintained 
his  residence  in  Buffalo  county  since  September, 
1882,  and  is  popular  in  professional,  business  and 
social  circles,  having  repeatedly  held  positions  of 
trust  since  the  organization  of  the  county  in 
1885.  He  is  a  stanch  advocate  of  the  principles 
of  the  Republican  party,  and  has  long  been  active 
in  promoting  its  interests  in  this  section  of  the 
state.  In  1894  he  was  elected  state's  attorney  of 
Buffalo  county,  serving  one  term,  while  in  1901 
he  was  appointed  to  this  office,  to  fill  a  vacancy, 
and  served  until  the  close  of  the  term.  In  No- 
vember, 1902,  after  a  vigorous  and  able  cam- 
paign, he  was  elected  to  represent  his  district  in 
the  state  legislature,  and  he  is  one  of  the  prom- 


inent and  valued  members  of  the  eighth  general 
assembly,  in  which  he  has  made  a  most  excel- 
lent record.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  zealous 
members  of  the  First  Congregational  church. 

On  the  1st  of  September,  1886,  was  solem- 
nized the  marriage  of  Mr.  Farren  to  Miss  Mary 
E.  Mather,  who  was  born  and  reared  in  Wash- 
ington, Iowa,  being  a  daughter  of  John  and  El- 
mira  Mather. 


VINCENT  KABERNA,  who  is  now  living 
practically  retired  from  active  business  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Wagner,  Charles  Mix  county,  has  been 
prominently  identified  with  farming  and  stock- 
raising  in  this  locality,  and  is  the  owner  of  a  fine 
ranch,  while  he  is  also  a  stockholder  in  the  Com- 
mercial State  Bank  of  Wagner,  and  has  other  in- 
terests in  the  town.  Mr.  Kaberna  is  a  native  of 
Bohemia,  Austria,  where  he  was  born  on  the  19th 
of  December,  1849,  being  a  son  of  Francis  and 
Frances  (Popelka)  Kaberna,  who  were  there 
born  and  reared.  They  continued  to  reside  in 
Bohemia  until  1856,  when  they  emigrated  to 
America  and  settled  first  in  the  city  of  Philadel- 
phia, whence,  one  year  later,  they  removed  to 
Chicago,  Illinois,  where  they  remained  until  their 
fleaths,  the  father  dying  December  29,  1875,  and 
the  mother  May  18,  1885.  The  subject  came  to 
the  territory  of  Dakota,  locating  in  Tyndall,  Bon 
Homme  county,  in  November,  1883.  The 
subject  secured  his  early  educational  discipline 
in  the  public  schools  of  the  city  of  Qiicago  and 
there  learned  the  tinner's  trade  under  the  direction 
of  his  father,  while  he  followed  this  vocation,  as 
an  employe  in  the  shops  of  the  Chicago,  Rock 
Island  &  Pacific  Railroad,  in  Chicago  for  nearly 
twenty  years.  In  1883  he  abandoned  the  work  of 
the  shops  and  came  to  what  is  now  the  state  of 
South  Dakota,  locating  in  Tyndall,  where  he  con- 
tinued to  reside  for  the  ensuing  twelve  years,  en- 
gaged in  the  hardware  and  tinning  business.  He 
gained  prestige  as  an  able  and  honorable  business 
man  and  worthy  citizen,  and  was  called  upon  to 
fill  various  offices  of  distinctive  public  trust  and 
responsibility.  He  was  a  member  of  the  board  of 
countv    commissioners    for   one    term,    and    also 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


served  as  a  member  of  the  village  council,  while 
in  1891  he  was  elected  mayor  of  the  town,  re- 
taining the  office  three  years  and  giving  a  most 
satisfactory  and  able  administration  of  the  mu- 
nicipal government.  Later  he  served  two  years 
as  treasurer  of  Bon  Homme  county. 

In  1895  Mr.  Kaberna  disposed  of  his  interests 
in  Tyndall  and  came  to  Charles  Mix  county, 
where  he  filed  on  and  proved  up  on  a  claim  of 
two  hundred  acres,  in  Rouse  township,  and  he 
still  retains  possession  of  the  place,  upon  which  '■ 
he  has  made  excellent  improvements,  while  in  1 
connection  with  diversified  agriculture  he  has 
been  very  successful  in  raising  and  dealing  in  live 
stock.  In  1901  he  took  up  his  residence  in  Wag- 
ner, where  he  has  since  lived  "practically  retired,  1 
though  he  still  maintains  a  general  supervision 
of  his  real-estate  and  other  interests.  He  is  one 
of  the  stockholders  in  the  Commercial  State  Bank 
and  is  one  of  the  justices  of  the  peace  at  Wagner. 
He  is  public-spirited  and  ever  ready  to  lend  his 
influence  in  support  of  worthy  objects,  and  he  1 
has  achieved  independence  and  success  through 
his  own  efforts  and  is  well  worthy  the  high  es- 
teem in  which  he  is  uniformly  held.  In  politics 
he  is  a  stanch  Democrat,  and  has  been  a  Mason 
for  the  past  twenty-seven  years. 

Mr.  Kaberna  has  been  twice  married.  In 
1871  he  wedded  Miss  Paulina  Pisek,  who  died, 
leaving  one  child,  which  died  at  three  years  of 
age.  On  the  13th  of  November,  1876,  he  wedded 
Miss  Geniveva  Papik,  a  sister  of  Joseph  Papik, 
of  whom  individual  mention  is  made  on  another 
page  of  this  work,  and  of  the  four  children  of 
this  union  we  give  the  following  record :  Frank, 
who  married  Miss  Minnie  Pisha,  is  engaged  in 
farming  in  this  county ;  Bertha  is  employed  in  a 
clerical  position  at  Wheeler,  this  county ;  Rose  is 
bookkeeper  in  the  Commercial  State  Bank  of 
Wagner,  and-  John  is  at  home. 


WILLIAM  H.  SEMPLE,  who  is  the  owner 
of  one  of  the  fine  farms  of  Yankton  county, 
stands  as  a  worthy  representative  of  the  intelli- 
gent and  progressive  class  of  American  agricul- 
turists, who  have  done  so  much  for  the  improve- 


ment of  various  sections  of  the  country  and  who 
have  laid  the  foundation  for  the  present  develop- 
ment and  progress.  He  was  born  in  Brooklyn, 
Xew  York,  in  October,  1858,  a  son  of  James  and 
I\Iary  Semple.  His  father  died  in  1864  and  the 
mother  yet  lives  in  the  Empire  state.  After  his 
father's  death  William  H.  Semple,  at  the  age  of 
ten  years,  went  to  live  with  his  uncle.  Bartley  jNI. 
Semple.  and  they  have  since  been  associated  in 
business  interests  and  have  lived  together. 
Through  a  long  period  both  resided  with  our 
subject's  grandparents,  John  and  Jane  Semple, 
v>'ho  were  of  Scotch-Irish  descent.  The  grand- 
parents and  uncle  of  the  subject  removed  from 
New  York  to  Illinois,  in  July,  1854,  and  the  sub- 
ject came  to  live  with  them  in  April,  1869.  His 
uncle  followed  painting.  In  1871,  however,  he 
purchased  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land 
in  Yankton  county,  most  of  which  was  wild, 
but  the  log  cabin  had  been  built  thereon  and  a 
few  other  improvements  had  been  made.  The 
grandparents  and  the  subject  then  located  upon 
this  farm  and  with  characteristic  energy  Mr. 
Semple  of  this  review  gave  his  time  and  attention 
to  its  improvement  and  cultivation.  In  the  flood 
of  1881  they  lost  stock  amounting  in  value  to 
thirty-five  hundred  dollars,  including  eighty-one 
head  of  fine  cattle.  He  also  lost  a  team  and  had 
other  property  destroyed.  In  these  early  days 
they  likewise  suffered  from  the  grasshoppers  and 
hardships  and  trials  incident  to  pioneer  life  were 
to  be  made,  but  the  persistent  efforts  of  Mr.  Sem- 
ple, his  uncle  and  his  grandfather  at  length  over- 
came the  difficulties  and  obstacles  and  success 
was  won.  In  1881  the  uncle  purchased  two  hun- 
dred and  forty  acres  of  land  which  was  partially 
cleared  and  he  continued  to  add  to  his  possessions 
imtil  he  had  nine  hundred  and  seventy  acres. 
Later  he  sold  six  hundred  and  eighty  acres,  but 
still  retains  the  balance.  In  1890  William  H. 
Semple  erected  a  very  fine  residence  upon  the 
farm,  but  he  had  just  completed  it  when  it  caught 
fire  and  was  burned  to  the  ground,  as  were  the 
barns  and  other  buildings  upon  the  place.  He, 
however,  rebuilt  at  once,  erecting  a  very  nice 
residence  and  substantial  outbuildings  for  the 
.shelter  of  grain  and  stock.     Upon  the  old  home- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


623 


stead  the  grandfather  died  at  the  venerable  age 
of  ninety-five  years  and  the  grandmother  passed 
away  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-four  years, 
but  the  uncle  is  still  living  with  the  nephew,  one 
of  the  respected  and  honored  pioneer  settlers  of 
the  community  and  a  man  whose  upright  life  has 
gained  for  him  warm  friendship  while  his  well 
directed  business  affairs  have  won  for  him 
splendid  and  deserved  success.  In  religious  faith 
he  is  connected  with  the  Scotch  Presbyterian 
church. 

(In  the  4th  of  June,  1890,  Mr.  Semple  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Augusta  D.  Fisher,  a 
daughter  of  Bernard  and  Elizabeth  (Clausen) 
Fisher,  who  came  to  South  Dakota  in  the  fall 
of  1880  and  was  identified  with  farming  interests 
here.  The  mother  passed  away  in  1887  and  the 
father  is  still  living,  now  making  his  home  in 
Iowa  with  his  son.  Like  his  wife,  he  is  a  member 
of  the  Lutheran  church  and  his  political  alle- 
giance is  given  to  the  Democracy.  L^nto  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Semple  have  been  born  two  children :  Mar- 
garet Elizabeth,  now  twelve  years  of  age,  and 
William  Bartley.  The  parents  belong  to  the 
Lutheran  church  and  Mr.  Semple  is  a  Republi- 
can in  his  political  affiliations.  Socially  he  is 
connected  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  with 
the  Red  Men.  He  raises  alfalfa  for  the  hogs, 
having  twenty  acres  planted  to  that  crop.  Mr. 
Semple  is  a  self-made  man  and  a  successful  one. 
Starting  out  in  life  with  little  means  he  has 
worked  his  way  steadily  upward,  realizing  that 
there  is  no  excellence  without  labor  and  that 
there  is  no  royal  road  to  wealth.  He  has  perse- 
vered in  what  he  has  undertaken  and  at  all  times 
he  has  maintained  honorable  relations  with  his 
fellow   men   in  everA-  trade  transaction. 


LOXSOX  SEELEY.  who  is  extensively  en- 
gaged in  the  raising  of  hogs  and  cattle  and  whose 
well  conducted  business  interests  have  brought 
to  him  success,  was  born  in  Alonroe  county, 
Xew  York,  in  1844,  his  parents  being  Justice 
and  Sarah  (Sheldon)  Seeley.  The  father  was  a 
farmer  by  occupation  and  the  parents  had  a  fam- 
ily of  eight  children,  four  of  whom  are  vet  liv- 


ing. In  the  common  schools  Lonson  Seeley  ob- 
tained his  education  up  to  the  time  he  was  eleven 
years  of  age,  when  he  went  to  Wisconsin,  where 
he  resided  until  1861.  He  then,  prompted  by 
patriotic  spirit,  enlisted  in  the  L^nion  army,  be- 
coming a  member  of  Company  B,  Thirteenth 
Wisconsin  Infantry.  He  served  for  four  years 
and  was  a  valiant  soldier,  never  failing  in  the 
performance  of  any  duty,  whether  it  called  him 
into  the  thickest  of  the  fight  or  stationed  him  on 
the  lonely  picket  line.  In  July,  1865,  he  received 
an  honorable  discharge,  having  participated  in 
many  important  battles  which  led  to  the  preser- 
vation of  the  Union. 

After  being  mustered  out  Mr.  Seeley  returned 
to  his  home  in  Wisconsin  and  throughout  his  en- 
tire business  career  he  has  carried  on  agricul- 
tural pursuits.  He  was  married  on  the  15th  of 
October,  1871,  to  Miss  Annie  Faulk,  a  native  of 
Wilmington,  Delaware,  and  unto  them  have  been 
born  four  children :  Edward  L.,  Mrs.  Mary  E. 
Price,  Justice  Burton  and  Delia.  They  also  lost 
one  daughter,  Hattie.  The  eldest  son  married 
Florence  Rankin. 

It  was  in  the  year  1868  that  .Mr.  Seeley  ar- 
rived in  South  Dakota  and  settled  upon  the 
land  where  he  now  resides.  He  has  been  exten- 
sively engaged  in  the  raising  of  hogs  and  cattle, 
finding  that  much  more  profitable  than  the  culti- 
vation of  cereals.  In  his  work  he  has  ever  been 
energetic  and  industrious  and  what  he  now  pos- 
sesses has  come  to  him  as  the  just  reward  of  his 
diligence  and  perseverance.  He  also  engaged  in 
hauling  freight  between  Sioux  City  and  the  army 
posts  for  thirteen  years.  In  public  afifairs  he  has 
been  public-spirited  and  active,  assisting  mater- 
ially in  the  work  of  progress  and  improvement 
along  many  lines.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the 
school  board  since  its  organization  about  twenty- 
five  years  ago  and  the  cause  of  education  finds 
in  him  a  warm  friend.  In  politics  he  has  ever 
been  a  stanch  Republican  and  he  is  a  valued 
member  of  Philip  Kearney  Post,  No.  7.  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic.  He  and  his  family  hold 
membership  in  the  ]\Iethodist  church  and  they 
iire  worthy  people  held  in  high  esteem  through- 
out the  comnumitv. 


624 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


WILLIAM  BIRD  SHERRARD  is  a  native 
of  the  Emerald  Isle  and  comes  of  stanch  Scot- 
tish ancestry  in  the  agnatic  Hne  and  of  EngHsh 
in  the  maternal  line.  He  was  born  in  County 
Tyrone,  Ireland,  on  the  8th  of  June,  1837,  and  is 
a  son  of  Joseph  and  Susan  (Bird)  Sherrard, 
both  of  whom  were  likewise  born  and  reared  in 
the  Emerald  Isle,  where  the  respective  families 
had  been  established  for  several  generations  pre- 
viously, while  our  subject  states  that  the  chief 
heritage  of  the  immediate  family  was  pride  and 
poverty.  Although  holding  to  the  rigid  faith 
of  the  Presbyterian  church  the  family  gave  its 
influence  to  the  Catholic  church  in  Ireland,  the 
representatives  of  this  great  body  in  the  "most 
distressful  country"  representing  an  element 
which  was  earnestly  striving  to  throw  off  the 
yoke  of  virtual  bondage,  and  by  reason  of  this 
attitude  on  the  part  of  the  family  it  met  with 
persecution  from  the  Tory  faction,  so  that  when 
leases  of  land  expired  the  owners  of  the  property 
in  fee  simple  would  not  renew  them,  the  result 
being  severe  financial  losses  to  the  familv  in 
common  with  many  others. 

Mr.  Sherrard  received  his  early  educational 
discipline  in  the  excellent  national  schools  and 
at  the  age  of  fourteen  .years  was,  in  accordance 
with  the  customs  of  the  country,  apprenticed  to 
learn  the  dry-goods  business.  At  the  age  of 
tvyenty-one  years  he  engaged  in  business  on  his 
own  responsibility,  but  his  health  became  so  seri- 
ously impaired  that  he  was  compelled  to  abandon 
the  enterprise.  In  the  spring  of  1864.  shortly 
before  attaining  the  age  of  twenty-seven  years, 
he  came  to  America.  After  passing  about  six 
months  in  the  national  metropolis  he  came  west 
and  located  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  where  he  re- 
mained until  1877,  having  in  the  meanwhile 
gained  a  prominent  position  in  a  business  house. 
In  the  meanwhile  he  was  induced  to  take  up  a 
work  in  behalf  of  the  newsboys  and  bootblacks 
of  the  city,  and  his  abiding  interest  in  the  unfor- 
tunate waifs  was  of  the  most  insistent  order. 
He  placed  the  Newsboys  and  Bootblacks'  Asso- 
ciation on  a  substantial  and  permanent  footing 
;-.nd  did  much  to  make  strong  and  useful  citizens 
of  the  boys  who  came  under  his  influence.     In 


1877  he  removed  to  Kansas,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged in  ranching  until  1893.  He  then  found 
himself  once  more  drawn  into  a  work  which  he 
loved  and  in  which  he  has  continued  to  labor 
with  all  of  devotion  and  with  most  gratifying  suc- 
cess. In  that  year  he  came  to  South  Dakota  and 
inaugurated  the  work  of  the  Children's  Home 
Society,  and  the  general  verdict  is  that  in  the 
line  a  more  successful  work  has  not  been  accom- 
plished in  any  section  of  the  L'nion.  all  things 
taken  into  consideration.  Thus  our  subject  finds 
his  reward  unstinted  in  the  highest  sense,  while 
he  asseverates  that  whatever  of  success  he  has 
made  in  life  is  to  be  attributed  chiefly  to  his  hav- 
ing a  wife  who  is  without  an  equal  in  the  land 
for  self-sacrificing  toil  in  behalf  of  others,  coupled 
with  "consecrated  common  sense."  The  society 
has  cared  for  nearly  nine  hundred  children  and 
has  assets  amounting  to  forty  thousand  dollars, 
j  the  headquarters,  of  the  institution  being  in  the 
I  city  of  Sioux  Falls,  where  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sher- 
rard  have  maintained  their  home  for  more  than 
a  decade  past,  holding  the  high  esteem  and  af- 
fectionate regard  of  all  who  know  them.  Both 
are  devoted  members  of  the  Baptist  church  and 
Mr.  Sherrard  is  an  uncompromising  Prohibi- 
tionist in  his  political  allegiance,  being  an  active 
and  zealous  worker  in  the  cause. 

On  the  9th  of  October,  1869,  was  solemnized 
the  marriage  of  Mr.  Sherrard  to  Airs.  Elizabeth 
(Hazelton)  Bixby,  who  was  born  in  Madison 
county.  New  York,  on  the  5th  of  November. 
1829,  being  a  daughter  of  Squire  and  Catherine 
(Robertson)  Hazelton.  They  have  no  children 
of  their  own  but  the  subject  states  that  through 
their  association  with  work  for  children  they 
have  a  "tax  title  to  about  two  thousand." 


WILLIAM  G.  PORTER.— Among  the  dis- 
tinguished members  of  the  bar  of  South  Dakota 
is  Mr.  Porter,  who  is  the  senior  member  of  the 
well-known  and  leading  law  firm  of  Porter  & 
King,  of  Sioux  Falls,  and  who  is  at  the  present 
time  incumbent  of  the  office  of  assistant  United 
States  attorney  for  this  state. 

WilHam  Gove  Porter  is  a  native  of  the  old 


WILLIAM  G.   PORTER. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


625 


Green  Mountain  state,  having  been  born  in  Thet- 
ford  Center,  Orange  county,  \'ermont,  on  the 
^th  of  September,  1858,  and  being  a  son  of 
Amost  Phelps  Porter  and  Mercy  (Eastman) 
Porter,  the  father  having  devoted  his  Hfe  to  agri- 
cultural pursuits.  The  genealogy  of  our  sub- 
ject in  the  agnatic  line  is  of  distinguished  order 
and  is  authentically  traced  back  to  the  eleventh 
century  and  to  a  Norman  knight,  William  de  la 
Grande,  who  was  a  member  of  the  army  of  the 
great  Norman  duke,  William  the  Conqueror,  who 
effected  the  conquest  of  England  in  1066.  His 
son,  Ralph  de  la  Grande,  became  "grand  porteur" 
to  Henry  I,  King  of  England,  in  which  capacity 
he  served  from  1120  to  1140,  and  from  his  office 
vx'as  derived  the  present  family  name  of  Porter. 
]n  1630  the  family  was  founded  in  New  England, 
the  original  progenitors  in  America  settling  in 
Dorchester,  IMassachusetts,  at  the  time  of  its 
foundation.  It  should  be  noted  that  the  family  in 
England  retained  possession  of  valuable  realty 
in  or  near  Kenilworth,  in  Warwickshire,  where 
the  original  ancestor,  William  de  la  Grande,  had 
acquired  large  tracts  of  land,  Hezekiah  Porter, 
grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  review,  was 
born  in  Hebron,  Connecticut,  whence  he  removed 
to  \^ermont  about  the  year  1800,  settling  at  Thet- 
ford  Center,  Orange  county,  where  he  devel- 
oped a  farm,  and  it  is  pleasing  to  note  that  on 
this  ancestral  homestead  still  reside  the  venerable 
parents  of  the  subject,  his  father  having  been 
there  born  in  the  year  1818.  The  maternal  an- 
cestry is  of  Scotch-Irish  extraction  and  the  name 
has  been  identified  with  the  annals  of  American 
history  from  the  colonial  era  to  the  present. 

William  G.  Porter  passed  his  boyhood  days 
on  the  ancestral  New  England  farm  and  received 
his  early  educational  discipline  in  the  common 
schools,  the  while  contributing  his  quota  to  the 
work  of  the  farm.  He  has  always  delighted  in 
study  and  reading,  standard  novels,  biography 
and  Shakespeare  being  his  favorites,  while  he  has 
also  had  a  great  fondness  for  history  and  the 
classics.  He  continued  to  work  on  the  home  farm 
at  intervals  while  preparing  himself  for  college, 
and  subsequent  thereto,  while  he  earned  the 
funds  to  defray  his  collegiate  expenses  by  teach- 


ing, while  after  his  graduation  he  followed  the 
same  vocation  to  enable  him  to  further  prosecute 
his  literary  studies  and  his  course  in  the  law. 
He  first  taught  in  a  district  school  at  Bondville, 
Windham  county,  \'ermont,  where  he  presided 
as  pedagogue  during  the  three  months'  winter 
term,  receiving  in  compensation  a  stipend  of 
fifty  dollars  and  his  board.  In  June,  1878,  he 
was  graduated  in  St.  Johnsbury  Academy,  in  the 
V^ermont  town  of  that  name,  and  in  June,  1882, 
he  completed  the  classical  course  and  was  grad- 
uated in  famous  old  Dartmouth  College,  receiv- 
ing the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  while  in 
1888  his  alma  mater  conferred  upon  him  the  de- 
gree of  Master  of  Arts.  Mr.  Porter  came  west 
in  1882,  soon  after  his  graduation  in  Dartmouth, 
and  for  one  year  was  professor  of  Latin  and 
Greek  languages  in  Havges  Seminary,  at  Red 
Wing,  Minnesota.  He  then  entered  the  law  de- 
partment of  Drake  University,  in  the  city  of  Des 
Moines,  Iowa,  where  he  was  graduated  in  June. 
1884,  receiving  his  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws 
and  being  admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  state,  by 
the  supreme  court,  in  the  same  month. 
He  was  the  valedictorian  of  his  class,  and 
after  leaving  this  institution  he  was  for 
one  year  principal  of  the  high  school  at  Cen- 
ter Point,  Linn  county,  Iowa.  In  1889  Mr.  Por- 
ter came  to  South  Dakota  and  took  up  his  resi- 
dence in  Custer,  Custer  county,  where  he  en- 
gaged actively  in  the  practice  of  his  profession, 
meeting  with  gratifying  success  from  the  initia- 
tion of  his  efforts.  He  served  as  state's  attor- 
ney of  the  county  from  November  10,  1890,  to 
January  20,  1895,  being  elected  each  time  on  the 
Republican  ticket  and  making  an  enviable  record 
as  a  public  prosecutor.  On  the  19th  of  Febru- 
ary, 1891,  while  he  was  serving  his  first  term  as 
state's  attorney,  occurred  the  execution  of  John 
B.  Lehman,  at  Custer,  this  being  the  first  judicial 
hanging  in  the  state  after  its  admission  to  the 
Union  and  being  the  fifth  execution  of  the  sort 
in  Dakota  as  originally  constituted.  Lehman, 
who  was  convicted  of  murder  in  the  first  degree, 
had  three  jury  trials,  the  case  having  been  once 
appealed  to  the  supreme  court  and  affirmed  in 
this  tribunal,  while  it  was  once  brought  before 


626 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


the  state  board  of  pardons  and  twice  before  the 
governor  of  the  state,  while  the  defendant  was 
twice  sentenced  to  death.  IMany  attorneys  were 
concerned  in  the  case,  but  Mr.  Porter  alone  tried 
and  prosecuted  on  the  third  jury  trial,  whose  re- 
sult was  the  execution  of  the  prisoner. 

In  March,  1898,  Mr.  Porter  was  appointed 
assistant  United  States  attorney  for  the  district 
of  South  Dakota,  of  which  office  he  has  since 
been  incumbent,  having  transferred  his  residence 
to  Sioux  Falls  upon  entering  upon  the  discharge 
of  his  official  duties,  and  having  since  been  act- 
ively engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession 
here,  controlling  a  large  general  legal  business 
in  the  state  and  federal  courts.  He  has  been  en- 
gaged as  a  pcosecuting  attorney,  in  the  several 
counties,  for  ten  years,  and  prepares  and  tries  the 
majority  of  cases  appearing  in  the  United  States 
court  for  this  district,  his  success  having  been 
pronounced.  He  is  senior  member  of  the  firm 
of  Porter  &  King,  his  coadjutor  being  John  King, 
and  their  offices  are  located  in  the  Minnehaha 
building.  In  September,  1901,  Mr.  Porter  was 
appointed  attorney  at  Sioux  Falls  for  the  Chi- 
cago, Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railway,  to  succeed 
Hon.  A.  B.  Kittridge,  upon  his  appointment  as 
United  States  senator.  In  politics  he  has  never 
wavered  in  his  allegiance  to  the  Republican  partv, 
nor  has  he  been  deflected  by  any  party  heresies 
or  followed  after  false  political  idols.  He  is  a 
prominent  figure  in  the  party  councils  of  the 
state,  was  elected  secretary  of  the  Republican 
State  League  of  South  Dakota  in  1898,  and  was 
chosen  its  president  in  1900  and  re-elected  in 
1902,  being  thus  incumbent  of  the  office  at  the 
time  of  this  writing.  Mr.  Porter  is  identified 
with  numerous  fraternal  and  social  organiza- 
tions, and  among  his  affiliations  may  be  noted 
the  following :  He  is  a  member  of  the  Indepen- 
dent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  was  an  officer 
of  its  grand  lodge  in  the  state  in  1897-8;  he  is 
past  master  of  Custer  Lodge,  No.  66,  Ancient 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  at  Custer,  and  is  at 
present  affiliated  with  Unity  Lodge,  No.  130,  in 
Sioux  Falls,  also  with  Sioux  Falls  Chapter.  No. 
2.  Royal  Arch  Masons,  and  Cyrene  Commandery, 
Xo.  2.  Knights  Templar,  and  with  El  Riad  Tem- 


ple, Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  the  Nobles  of  the 
Mystic  Shrine,  in  this  city ;  while  on  the  24th 
of  November,  1894,  he  received  the  thirty-second 
degree  of  Scottish  Rite  Masonry  at  Deadwood, 
being  a  member  of  the  Black  Hills  Consistory. 

At  Center  Point,  Linn  county,  Iowa,  on  the 
27th  of  June,  1888,  was  solemnized  the  marriage 
of  Mr.  Porter  to  Miss  Jessie  M.  Yost,  who  was 
graduated  in  Ferry  Flail,  Lake  Forest  University, 
at  Lake  Forest,  Illinois,  on  the  25th  of  June, 
1879,  and  she  is  a  talented  musician,  being  most 
popular  and  prominent  in  the  social  and  musical 
circles  of  Sioux  Falls.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Porter 
have  no  children. 


RICHARD  H.  BOOTH,  of  Sioux  Falls, 
one  of  the  honored  pioneers  of  the  northwest, 
has  been  a  resident  of  what  is  now  the  state  of 
South  Dakota  for  more  than  thirty  years,  and 
has  long  held  precedence  as  one  of  the  leading 
contractors  and  builders  of  this  section.  He  is 
now  nearing  the  age  of  four  score  years,  but  is 
hale  and  hearty  and  is  still  active  in  business  and 
one  of  the  well-known  and  highly  honored  citi- 
zens of  Sioux  Falls. 

Mr.  Booth  was  born  in  the  city  of  Pough- 
keepsie.  New  York,  on  the  20th  of  September, 
1826,  being  a  son  of  Richard  and  Nancy  (Wood) 
Booth,  the  former  of  English  and  the  latter  of 
Holland  ancestry.  The  father,  who  was  born 
in  December,  1777,  died  in  1838,  and  the  mother, 
born  February  16,  1787,  died  in  March,  1863, 
both  having  continued  resident  of  the  Empire 
state  until  the  close  of  their  lives,  while  the  for- 
mer was  a  successful  and  prominent  manufac- 
turer of  woolen  cloths,  his  factory  being  equipped 
with  the  most  improved  machinery  known  at  that 
time. 

The  subject  received  his  early  educational  dis- 
cipline in  the  schools  of  his  native  state,  and 
when  seventeen  years  of  age  entered  upon  an 
apprenticeship  at  the  carpenter's  trade,  becoming 
an  expert  artisan,  l^pon  attaining  his  majority 
he  engaged  in  business  upon  his  own  responsi- 
bility, as  a  contractor  and  builder,  and  to  this 
important  vocation  he  has  ever  since  continued 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


627 


to  devote  his  attention,  while  his  integrity  of  pur- 
pose and  his  well  directed  efforts  have  been  the 
factors  which  have  brought  to  him  a  high  meas- 
ure of  success.  In  1847  Mr.  Booth  took  up  his 
residence  in  New  York  city,  and  his  marriage  was 
celebrated  the  following  year.  He  passed  the 
summer  of  the  year  1852  in  Minnesota,  whence 
he  returned  to  New  York,  where  he  continued 
to  make  his  home  until  1855,  when  he  took  up 
his  abode  in  the  then  small  town  of  Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin,  whence  he  removed,  eight  months 
later,  to  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  of  which  now  at- 
tractive city  he  was  likewise  a  pioneer.  In  April, 
1861,  he  took  up  a  farm  in  Goodhue  county,  that 
state,  and  was  thereafter  engaged  in  farming  and 
in  the  work  of  his  trade  until  1870.  when  he  came 
to  Sioux  Falls,  Dakota,  arriving  in  the  embryo 
city  on  the  nth  of  July.  He  entered  a  homestead 
claim  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  govern- 
ment land,  in  Sioux  Falls  township,  but  has  con- 
tinuously resided  in  the  city  and  given  his  at- 
tention to  contracting  and  building.  He  has 
erected  many  important  buildings  of  public  and 
private  order,  and  among  the  number  may  be 
mentioned  the  original  Cataract  hotel,  the  Van 
Epas  block,  the  Minnehaha  county  court  house 
and  the  deaf-mute  school  buildings,  besides  other 
public  buildings  and  many  of  the  finest  residences 
in  the  city  in  which  he  has  so  long  retained  his 
home.  Mr.  Booth  has  the  distinction  of  having 
erected  the  first  church  edifice  in  the  county,  the 
original  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  in  Sioux 
Falls.  He  was  a  member  of  the  directorate  of 
the  South  Dakota  penitentiary  at  the  time  of  the 
erection  of  its  substantial  buildings,  retaining 
this  incumbency  four  years,  and  for  several  years 
he  was  building  inspector  of  Sioux  Falls.  He 
has  ever  been  recognized  as  a  public-spirited  citi- 
zen and  as  one  of  progressive  attitude,  and  while 
he  has  shown  a  deep  interest  in  local  affairs  and 
is  a  stanch  adherent  of  the  Democratic  party  he 
has  never  been  a  seeker  of  official  preferment. 
His  religious  faith  is  that  of  the  Baptist  church 
and  fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the  Masonic 
order,  holding  membership  in  Minnehaha  Lodge, 
No.  '5,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons. 

In  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  on  the  17th  of 


December,  1848,  was  solemnized  the  marriage 
of  Mr.  Booth  to  Miss  Sarah  C.  Boulett,  who  was 
born  in  Ulster  county,  New  York,  being  a  daugh- 
ter of  John  P.  and  Elizabeth  Boulett.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Booth  celebrated  their  golden  wedding  an- 
niversary at  their  home  in  Sioux  Falls,  in  i8g8, 
and  the  occasion  was  made  a  memorable  one 
through  the  kindly  ofifices  of  their  wide  circle  of 
devoted  friends.  Of  their  children  we  enter  the . 
following  brief  record :  Richard  J.  and  Fred- 
erick M.  have  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  their 
father  and  are  successful  contractors  and  build- 
ers of  Sioux  Falls ;  Ida  May  remains  at  the  pa- 
rental home ;  Alice  L.  is  the  wife  of  David  B. 
Durant,  of  this  city ;  and  Charlotte  is  the  wife 
of  Charley  A.  Boggs,  of  Alitchell,  this  state. 

In  conclusion  it  may  be  said  that  the  honored 
and  influential  citizen  with  whom  this  sketch  has 
to  do  is  the  owner  of  valuable  realty  in  the  state 
and  that  he  has  also  been  engaged  in  the  real-es- 
tate business  in  Sioux  Falls  since  1890,  his  books 
ever  showing  desirable  investments,  while  he  also 
makes  a  specialty  of  financial  loans  on  real-estate 
securitv. 


SAMUEL  LR'INGSTON  TATE  is  a  na- 
tive of  England,  having  been  born  in  the  city  of 
Leeds,  Yorkshire,  on  the  14th  of  January,  1839, 
j  and  being  a  son  of  Henry  and  Elizabeth  (Haigh) 
Tate.  Henry  Tate,  a  shoemaker  by  trade,  was 
born  in  the  county  of  Lincolnshire,  England, 
on  the  17th  of  February,  181 1,  and  his  wife  was 
born  in  the  city  of  Leeds,  on  the  13th  of  January, 
1815.  In  June,  1842,  they  emigrated  from  Eng- 
land to  America,  and  settled  in  the  village  of 
Leyden,  Franklin  county,  Massachusetts.  The 
vessel  on  which  they  took  passage  was  wrecked 
and  they,  with  other  passengers,  landed  on  an 
island  off  St.  Johns,  New  Foundland,  where  they 
remained  six  weeks,  waiting  for  a  vessel  to  take 
them  to  New  York.  It  was  currently  reported  at 
rhe  time  that  the  ship  on  which  they  had  taken 
passage  was  intentionally  wrecked  in  order  that 
insurance  might  be  collected  on  the  vessel  and 
cargo,  the  latter  being  principally  composed  of 
rags,  baled  in  imitation  of  broadcloth  and  insured 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


as  such.  Passengers  were  robbed  by  officers  of 
the  vessel  and  then  abandoned,  while  they  were 
saved  from  starvation  by  kind-hearted  fishermen 
who  inhabited  the  island  on  which  they  took  ref- 
uge. The  father  of  the  subject  was  of  Scotch 
descent  but  there  is  but  little  authentic  data  to  be 
had  concerning  the  genealogy.  The  maternal 
ancestry  is  traced  without  interruption  back  to 
the  time  of  the  religious  persecutions  during  the 
reign  of  King  Philip  of  France,  when  they  fled 
from  their  native  land  to  England  for  refuge,  be- 
ing Huguenots,  while  it  may  be  said  that  during 
all  the  long  intervening  years  those  of  the  line 
have  retained  to  a  marked  degree  their  peculiar- 
ities and  general  appearance  as  a  sect. 

On  account  of  the  nmited  means  of  his  par- 
ents Mr.  Tate  was  hired  out  to  a  Alassachusetts 
farmer  when  nine  years  of  age  and  in  the  con- 
nection became  inured  to  hard  physical  labor, 
while  his  educational  advantages  in  the  mean- 
while were  limited  to  an  attendance  in  the  dis- 
trict school  during  the  three-months  winter  term 
until  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age,  when  he  ac- 
companied his  parents  on  their  removal  to  Peru, 
Illinois.  For  the  ensuing  two  years  he  was  em- 
ployed in  connection  with  the  construction  of  the 
Chicago  &  Rock  Island  Railroad,  until  its  com- 
pletion to  Rock  Island,  in  the  fall  of  1854.  He 
was  a  total  abstainer  from  the  use  of  tobacco  and 
all  intoxicants,  was  studious  and  found  his  great- 
est pleasure  in  the  society  of  a  few  select  friends 
rather  than  in  that  of  large  and  promiscuous 
crowds.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  years,  though 
without  financial  resources,  he  began  the  work 
of  preparing  himself  for  college,  defraying  his 
expenses  for  several  years  by  doing  janitor  work 
during  the  college  year,  while  during  the  sum- 
mer seasons  he  did  farm  work  and  canvassed  for 
the  sale  of  books,  teaching  school  at  intervals  and 
sparing  himself  no  labor  or  pains  in  his  efforts 
to  reach  the  desired  end.  He  was  for  one  year 
a  tutor  in  Adrian  College,  Michigan.  His  first 
collegiate  work  was  done  in  Wheaton  College, 
Illinois,  while  later  he  was  in  turn  a  student  in 
Adrian  and  Albion  Colleges,  in  Michigan,  com- 
pleting the  classical  course  in  the  latter  institu- 
tion, where  he  was  graduated  in  June,  1868,  with 


the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  while  in  1873  the 
same  college  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of 
Master  of  Arts.  After  leaving  Albion  he  entered 
the  old  University  of  Chicago,  in  the  law  de- 
partment of  which  he  was  graduated  in  June, 
1869,  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws,  being 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  the  supreme  court  of  Illi- 
nois in  the  following  month,  while  he  soon  after 
began  the  practice  of  his  profession.  Of  this  work 
he  has  spoken  as  follows:  "^ly  professional  life 
covered  a  period  of  fifteen  years  and  cannot  be 
said  to  have  been  eventful.  My  first  effort  was 
made  in  the  autumn  of  1869,  at  Evansville,  \\'is- 
consin,  where  I  was  admitted  to  practice  in  all 
the  state  courts,  but  early  in  the  next  year  I  re- 
moved to  Grand  Haven,  Michigan,  where  I  re- 
mained until  the  fall  of  1884,  when  I  abandoned 
I  the  profession  and  removed  to  Sioux  Falls,  South 
Dakota,  having  been  admitted  to  practice  in  all 
the  state  and  federal  courts  in  each  of  the  four 
states  of  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  Michigan  and  South 
Dakota.  During  nearly  all  the  time  I  was  in 
.Michigan  my  time  was  largely  occupied  with 
official  duties,  which  finally  created  a  feeling  of 
constraint  and  which  did  not  admit  of  the  degree 
of  expression  and  the  freedom  of  action  which  a 
personal  spirit  of  independence  demanded." 

On  arriving  in  Sioux  Falls,  in  the  winter  of 
1884-5,  J^^f-  Tate  engaged  in  the  real-estate  busi- 
ness, conducting  his  operations  individually  until 
the  autumn  of  1886,  when  the  firm  of  Pettigrew 
&  Tate  was  formed,  and  as  equal  partners  the  two 
interested  principals  engaged  most  actively  in 
the  general  real-estate  and  promoting  business, 
their  transactions  having  reached  as  high  an  ag- 
gregate as  more  than  a  million  dollars  in  a  single 
year.  The  firm  bought  and  sold  immense  tracts 
of  land  in  and  near  Sioux  Falls ;  platted  nine 
additions  to  the  city ;  constructed  eight  and  one- 
half  miles  of  street-car  lines  in  the  city,  operating 
the  same  for  eleven  years ;  erected  the  fine  Petti- 
grew &  Tate  block,  a  three-story  structure  of  cut 
stone,  in  Main  avenue;  and  built  a  terminal 
standard-gauge  railroad,  eight  miles  in  length, 
from  the  city  to  the  new  packing  hduse  west  of 
the  same  and  equipped  the  line  with  rolling  stock. 
They  were  also  the  principal  promotors  and  own- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


629 


ers  of  many  manufacturing  plants  in  South  Sioux 
Falls  and  platted  large  tracts  of  land  adjacent  to 
the  city  of  Yankton,  connecting  their  addition 
with  the  city  by  street-car  lines  three  and  one- 
half  miles  in  length.  Mr.  Tate  was  one  of  the 
promoters  of  the  Midland  Pacific  Railroad,  pro- 
jected to  connect  Sioux  Falls  with  the  city  of 
Seattle,  on  Puget  Sound,  and  served  not  only  as 
a  member  of  the  directorate  of  the  company  but 
also  as  its  president.  This  venture  was  declared 
by  J-  Pierpont  Morgan  to  be  the  best  conceived 
and  most  promising  railroad  project  in  the 
United  States  and  would  have  been  carried  for- 
ward to  successful  issue  but  for  the  financial  con- 
vulsion in  the  early  nineties.  Mr.  Tate  was  one 
of  the  principal  promoters  and  leading  officers  in 
the  Sioux  Falls  Stock  Yards  Company,  which 
planned  and  constructed  the  mammoth  new  pack- 
ing house  near  the  western  limits  of  the  city,  and 
was  the  largest  stockholder  in  the  company.  He 
has  more  recently  promoted  the  Sioux  Falls 
Pressed  Brick  Company,  for  the  manufacture  of 
brick  from  sand  and  lime,  and  this  company  now 
conducts  in  the  line  one  of  the  leading  industrial 
enterprises  of  Sioux  Falls.  He  has  also  promoted 
several  mining  companies  in  the  western  states 
and  is  at  the  present  time  president  of  two  of  the 
same,  whose  properties  are  located  near  Grand 
Encampment,  Wyoming,  while  he  has  also  been 
a  promoter  of  many  other  important  enterprises 
of  an  industrial  nature,  the  list  being  too  long  to 
permit  of  specific  mention  in  this  connection. 
.Mr.  Tate"s  executive  and  initiative  powers  seem 
illimitable  and  the  impress  of  his  strong  and  vig- 
orous individuality  has  been  permanently  left  on 
the  industrial  and  civic  history  of  South  Dakota, 
while  he  is  known  as  a  loyal  and  progressive  citi- 
zen, a  man  of  high  attainments  and  one  who 
richly  merits  the  implicit  confidence  and  esteem  in 
which  he  is  uniformly  held. 

Mr.  Tate  was  one  of  the  patriotic  young  men 
who  rendered  valiant  service  in  defense  of  the 
I'nion  at  the  time  of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion. 
In  1864  he  served  as  orderly  sergeant  in  Com- 
pany I,  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-second  Illinois 
\'olunteer  Infantry,  and  in  the  following  year, 
under  the  name  of  one  of  his  brothers,   was  a 


member  of  Battery  G,  Second  Illinois  Light  Ar- 
tillery. He  served  as  circuit  court  commissioner 
and  injunction  master  in  Ottawa  county,  Michi- 
gan, from  January  i,  1871,  to  January  I,  1873; 
as  county  judge  of  the  same  county  from  January 
I,  1873,  to  January  i,  1885,  and  as  alderman  or 
mayor  of  Grand  Haven  during  the  same  period, 
while  during  the  last  two  years  of  his  residence 
in  that  city  he  held  the  office  of  township  super- 
visor, and  for  the  last  five  years  was  president  of 
the  local  board  of  education.  He  held  for  many 
years  the  office  of  secretary  of  the  Republican 
county  committee,  being  particularly  active  in  the 
party  work,  and  having  also  served  as  secretary 
of  the  Republican  central  committee  of  the  fifth 
congressional  district  of  the  state,  while  he  was 
a  delegate  to  the  national  convention  of  the  party 
in  1872.  In  1882  he  was  tendered  the  United 
States  consulate  to  his  native  city  of  Leeds,  Eng- 
land, but  did  not  accept  the  office.  In  1886  Mr. 
Tate  identified  himself  with  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic  and  he  has  been  affiliated  with  sev- 
eral posts  of  the  same.  He  has  also  been  identi- 
fied with  two  secret  societies  of  a  fraternal  order, 
but  has  not  been  at  all  regular  in  his  attendance 
of  meetings,  preferring  the  society  of  his  family 
to  that  of  miscellaneous  organizations.  He  was 
an  official  member  of  different  Congregational 
and  Presbyterian  churches  from  1870  forward 
during  a  period  of  more  than  thirty  years.  His 
present  attitude  in  the  connection  is  best  indicated 
by  his  own  words :  "Long  experience  and  ma- 
ture reflection  have  taught  me  that  the  spirit  of 
Christ  does  not  necessarily  dwell  in  church  or- 
ganizations and  that  it  is  often  found  outside  of 
them.  I  have  withdrawn  m)'  fellowship  from 
them  and  now  recognize  the  fathership  of  God 
and  the  brotherhood  of  Christ."  Continuing  far- 
ther in  regard  to  his  well  fortified  opinions,  he 
speaks  as  follows :  "Hypnotists  and  clairvoyants 
can  make  no  use  of  me,  as  I  never  permit  my  will 
to  be  subordinated  to  that  of  another.  With  the 
advance  of  years  I  have  steadily  emancipated  my- 
self from  the  thralldom  of  creed  and  party  and 
am  now  bound  by  neither.  I  am  a  believer  in 
evolution  and  progress ;  never  joke  with  a  vote 
or  cast  it  for  a  friend  as  a  compliment.     I  detest 


630 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


and  expose  shams  and  pretenses  whenever  pos- 
sible and  refuse  to  foHow  the  fortunes  of  the  Re- 
pubhcan  party,  since  I  beheve  that  aU  of  its  gen- 
eric principles  have  long  since  been  abandoned. 
I  believe  in  the  broad  principle  of  equal  civil  and 
political  rights  for  all  men,  without  exception, 
and  in  a  'government  of  the  people,  by  the  people 
and  for  the  people,' — all  of  them.  Further  than 
than  this  I  would  demand  a  strict  interpretation 
of  the  Monroe  doctrine,  no  acquisition  of  foreign 
territory  under  any  pretense  and  no  annexation 
of  contiguous  territory  without  the  consent  of  all 
parties,  and  then  only  of  countries  whose  people 
are  homogeneous  with  our  own.  I  am  opposed 
to  government  by  injunction  and  to  special  privi- 
leges for  preferred  classes,  believing  that  all  toil- 
ers should  be  permitted  to  their  full  share  of  the 
products  of  their  labors." 

On  the  i6th  of  June,  1869,  at  Coral,  McHenry 
county,  Illinois,  I\Ir.  Tate  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Frances  Belle  Wilcox,  who  had  been  a 
student  in  both  Adrian  and  Albion  Colleges  at 
the  same  time  as  was  he,  and  who  is  a  woman 
of  gracious  refinement.  She  was  born  in  the 
city  of  Syracuse,  New  York,  and  of  a  Revolu- 
tionary family  which  settled  in  Connecticut  in  the 
colonial  epoch.  She  is  the  only  daughter  of  Cha- 
pin  A.  and  Susan  (Smith)  Wilcox,  representa- 
tives respectively  of  old  Connecticut  and  Penn- 
sylvania families  and  lineal  descendants  from 
English,  French  and  Holland  colonists.  Of  the 
children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tate  we  enter  the  fol- 
lowing brief  record :  Mary  Elva,  who  was  born 
October  10,  1870 ;  Edith  Susan,  who  was  born 
December  16,  1872,  and  who  is  now  the  wife  of 
Frederick  Karr  Eldred;  Frances  Belle,  who  was 
born  February  17,  1875,  and  who  is  now  the 
wife  of  Philip  Sheridan  Campbell ;  and  Nellie 
Louise,  who  was  Ijorn  March  14,  1883. 


DAVID  E.  WARD,  the  efficient  and  popular 
postmaster  at  Dell  Rapids,  Minnehaha  county, 
and  also  editor  and  publisher  of  the  Dell  Rapids 
Times,  is  one  of  the  progressive  and  public-spir- 
ited citizens  of  this  thriving  town  and  is  well  en- 
titled to  representation  in  this  work.     Mr.  Ward 


was  born  in  Darlington,  Lafayette  county,  Wis- 
consin, on  the  7th  of  August,  1864,  being  a  son  of 
William  and  Barbara  (Cook)  Ward,  the  former 
of  whom  was  born  in  Lester,  England,  and  the 
latter  in  Plainfield,  New  Jersey,  while  they  took 
up  their  residence  in  Wisconsin  about  1851, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  farming  until  1885. 
when  he  removed  to  Cherokee  county,  Iowa,  and 
farmed  for  two  }'ears.  He  then  moved  to  Lar- 
nais,  Iowa,  and  then  to  Sioux  City,  low^a.  In 
1899  he  moved  to  Dell  Rapids,  where  both  par- 
ents now  reside. 

The  subject  of  this  brief  review  received  his 
educational  discipline  in  the  public  schools  of 
his  native  town,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-one 
}-ears  he  entered  upon  an  apprenticeship  at  the 
printer's  trade,  in  which  he  became  proficient 
in  due  course  of  time,  following  the  same  as  a 
vocation  for  a  number  of  years.  In  1887  he 
came  to  Dell  Rapids,  where  he  followed  his  trade 
vntil  1892,  when  he  became  associated  with  his 
brother,  Henry  W.,  in  the  purchase  of  the  Dell 
Rapids  Times,  which  they  conducted  until  1901, 
when  he  purchased  his  brother's  interest  in  the 
enterprise  and  has  since  been  the  sole  owner  of 
the  business,  while  he  has  made  the  paper  an 
excellent  exponent  of  local  interests  and  one  of 
no  little  influence  in  political  affairs.  The  Times 
is  a  six- column  quarto  and  is  published  on  Friday 
of  each  week,  while  the  plant  is  well  equipped 
j  not  only  for  the  proper  handling  of  the  news- 
paper work  but  also  has  an  excellent  job  depart- 
ment, in  which  the  best  class  of  work  is  turned 
out.  In  politics  Mr.  Ward  has  accorded  an  un- 
vacillating  allegiance  to  the  Republican  party 
from  the  time  of  attaining  his  maority,  and  both 
personally  and  through  the  columns  of  his  paper 
he  has  done  much  to  further  its  cause  in  a  local 
way,  while  he  has  been  a  delegate  to  various 
state,  county  and  congressional  conventions  in 
South  Dakota.  In  1894  he  was  appointed  city 
auditor  of  the  city  of  Dell  Rapids,  in  which  ca- 
pacity he  served  nearly  two  years,  while  at  all 
times  he  has  shown  a  lively  interest  in  all  thai 
makes  for  the  progress  and  material  prosperity 
of  his  home  town,  county  and  state,  the  while 
commanding  the  unreserved  esteem  of  those  who 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


631 


know  him.  In  December,  1899,  i\Ir.  Ward  was 
appointed  postmaster  at  Dell  Rapids,  of  which 
position  he  has  since  remained  incumbent,  having 
received  his  commission  on  February  16,  1900, 
and  being  reappointed  January  7,  1904.  Frater- 
nally he  is  affiliated  with  Dell  Rapids  Lodge,  No. 
8,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows;  Ivanhoe 
Lodge,  No.  41,  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  Sioux 
Falls  Lodge,  No.  262,  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks. 

In  Dell  Rapids,  on  the  loth  of  September, 
1891,  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Ward 
to  Miss  Pearl  A.  Bryant,  daughter  of  Clinton  T. 
and  Orilla  Bryant,  of  this  place,  and  they  have 
one  child,  Howard  E.,  who  was  born  on  the 
28th  of  December,   1892. 


JUDGE  WALTER  CRISP,  of  Dell  Rapids. 
South  Dakota,  was  born  in  Cambridgeshire, 
England,  June  2j,  1849,  and  spent  the  first  twenty 
years  of  his  life  in  that  country,  receiving  the 
meanwhile  a  fair  education  by  attending  the 
schools  of  his  native  place  until  completing  the 
usual  course  of  study.  On  May  17,  1869,  he 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Lottie  Topcott, 
of  Hertfordshire,  and  the  following  month 
brought  his  bride  to  the  United  States,  settling 
first  in  Dane  county,  Wisconsin,  where  he  lived 
as  a  farmer  for  a  period  of  little  over  three  years. 
In  April,  1873,  Mr.  Crisp  disposed  of  his  interests 
in  Wisconsin  and  migrated  to  South  Dakota,  ar- 
riving at  Dell  Rapids  on  the  second  Sunday  of 
June  following,  and  immediately  thereafter  took 
up  a  homestead  in  what  is  now  Logan  township, 
which  he  at  once  proceeded  to  improve  and  upon 
which  he  lived  and  prospered  until  igoi.  In  the 
fall  of  the  latter  year  he  moved  to  Dell  Rapids 
and  since  then  has  made  this  city  his  home,  being 
prominently  identified  with  its  growth  and  pros- 
perity, besides  filling  at  different  times  important 
public  and  municipal  positions.  In  addition  to  his 
city  interests  he  has  large  landed  property,  own- 
ing in  sections  9  and  16,  Logan  township,  a  fine 
ranch  of  eight  hundred  acres,  a  considerable  part 
of  which  is  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  the 
rest  being  devoted  to  stock  raising,  a  business  he 


has  pursued  with  marked  success  ever  since  com- 
ing west.  While  living  in  this  place  he  served 
for  a  number  of  years  as  justice  of  the  peace,  also 
held  several  other  minor  positions  and  since 
changing  his  abode  to  Dell  Rapids  he  has  been  al- 
most constantly  in  public  office,  being  at  this  time 
police  judge,  to  which  post  he  was  elected  in 
1902. 

Judge  Crisp  is  a  wide-awake,  progressive 
western  man,  fully  in  touch  with  the  enterprising 
spirit  of  the  new  state  in  which  he  lives  and  an 
influential  factor  in  all  matters  concerning  the 
growth  and  prosperity  of  the  thriving  city  of  his 
residence.  He  enjoys  worthy  prestige  as  an  in- 
telligent, public-spirited  man  of  aflt'airs,  and  as  a 
citizen  he  has  used  his  best  efforts  to  promote  the 
welfare  of  his  fellow  men,  being  not  only  pro- 
gressive in  business  but  charitable  to  the  extent 
of  aiding  all  organized  and  private  benevolences, 
and  a  leading  spirit  in  a  number  of  fraternal  or- 
ders which  tend  to  the  social  and  moral  advance- 
ment of  the  community.  The  Judge  is  an  hon- 
ored member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  in  which 
he  has  risen  to  the  thirty-second  degree,  and  is 
also  an  active  worker  in  the  Odd  Fellows,  Pyth- 
ian, Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  Knights  of 
the  Maccabees  and  Elks  lodges,  of  Dell  Rapids, 
m  all  of  which  he  has  held,  and  m  some  still 
holds,  important  official  stations.  He  was  reared 
in  the  faith  of  the  Episcopal  church,  and  since 
early  youth  has  been  a  consistent  member  of  the 
same,  being  at  this  time  warden  of  the  church 
in  Dell  Rapids  and  one  of  the  congregation's 
stanchest  supporters  and  most  liberal  contribu- 
tors. Broad-minded  and  liberal,  he  recognizes 
good  wherever  found  and  by  whatever  name  des- 
ignated, consequently  his  liberality  is  bv  no  means 
confined  to  the  religious  organization  in  which 
his  interests  are  chiefly  centered,  but  is  also  ex- 
tended to  other  churches,  in  fact  to  all  agencies 
for  the  moral  and  spiritual  uplifting  of  human- 
ity. He  has  been  successful  in  his  business  ca- 
reer, having  acquired  a  sufficiency  of  material 
wealth  to  render  his  condition  independent,  and 
he  is  now  enjoying  a  comfortable  and  luxurious 
home  and  jhe  advantages  derived  from  a  well- 
spent   life,   being   respected    by   the    community, 


632 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


beloved  by  his  family  and  friends,  and  standing 
ihe  peer  of  any  of  his  contemporaries  in  all  that 
constitutes  symmetrically  developed  manhood. 
;Mrs.  Crisp,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Hert- 
fordshire, England,  on  August  19,  1846,  has 
borne  her  husband  four  children,  all  sons,  their 
names  being  \\'alter  J.,  \\'illiam  H..  Elmer  E.  and 
John  F. 


EDWARD  .CHARLES  ERICSOX.— Ere 
this  history  shall  have  been  issued  from  the  press 
the  honored  subject  of  this  sketch  will  have 
passed  the  milestone  which  marks  thirty  years' 
residence  in  South  Dakota.  He  has  been  most 
conspicuously  identified  with  the  development 
and  progress  of  the  commonwealth,  is  a  repre- 
sentative member  of  its  bar  and  has  served  in 
positions  of  distinctive  public  trust  and  respon- 
sibility, being  at  the  present  time  actively  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Elk 
Point,  the  capital  of  Union  county,  and  having 
also  the  distinction  of  being  president  of  the 
South  Dakota  Bar  Association  at  the  time  of  this 
writing — a  fact  which  indicates  the  estimate 
placed  upon  him  by  his  professional  confreres. 

Air.  Ericson  is  a  native  of  Sweden,  where  he 
was  born  on  the  24th  of  .\ugi>st,  1856,  being  a 
son  of  Eric  and  Johanna  (Norden)  Ericson. 
The  father  of  the  subject  died  in  1859,  leaving  a 
widow  and  two  children.  In  1865  the  widowed 
mother  came  with  her  children  to  the  United 
States,  settling  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  in 
1872  the  mother  and  younger  child,  E.  W.  Eric- 
son, moved  to  Union  county,  then  in  Dakota  ter- 
ritory, where  they  still  reside.  Mr.  Ericson  in- 
itiated his  educational  discipline  in  the  schools  of 
his  native  land,  and  was  a  lad  of  about  nine  years 
at  the  time  of  the  family  immigration  to  Amer- 
ica. He  was  reared  to  maturity  in  the  national 
metropolis,  attending  the  public  schools  and  in 
T871  entering  the  College  of  the  City  of  New 
York,  where  he  continued  his  studies  for  three 
years.  In  September,  1874,  as  a  young  man  of 
eighteen  years,  Mr.  Ericson  came  to  what  is  now 
the  state  of  South  Dakota,  and  foi;  nearly  five 
years  he  was  successfully  engaged   in   teaching 


school  in  Union  and  Clay  counties,  in  the  mean- 
while being  also  identified  with  agricultural  pur- 
suits to  a  certain  degree.  In  March,  1879,  he 
took  up  his  residence  in  Elk  Point,  Union  county, 
where  he  began  reading  law  in  the  office  of  Alex- 
ander Hughes,  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the 
early  bar  of  the  territory  of  Dakota.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  territor>- 
in  1 88 1  and  forthwith  entered  into  a  pro- 
fessional partnership  with  his  former  pre- 
ceptor, this  association  continuing  until  1883, 
when  Mr.  Hughes  removed  to  Bismarck, 
having  been  appointed  attorney  general  of  the  ter- 
ritory. Thereafter  our  subject  continued  an  in- 
dividual practice  until  1900,  when  he  formed  a 
partnership  with  Charles  Stickney,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Ericson  &  Stickney,  and  they  have 
been  since  associated  in  practice,  retaining  a  large 
and  representative  clientage  and  being  consid- 
ered among  the  leading  law  firms  of  the  state. 
Mr.  Ericson  has  ever  been  a  close  student  and  is 
well  informed  in  the  minutae  of  the  law,  while 
he  is  known  as  an  able  and  forceful  advocate 
and  safe  and  conservative  counsel.  In  politics 
he  accords  an  uncompromising  allegiance  to  the 
Republican  party,  and  is  one  of  its  leaders  in  the 
state.  In  1892  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  national 
Republican  convention,  in  Minneapolis,  while  he 
has  been  active  in  forwarding  the  cause  of  the 
party  during  the  various  campaigns  in'  South 
Dakota.  He  served  two  years  as  county  super- 
intendent of  schools,  declining  a  renomination. 
He  was  mayor  of  Elk  Point  in  1887,  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  territorial  legislature  in  1887  and  1889, 
and  also  of  the  first  state  senate  in  1889  and  1890. 
Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the  local  organ- 
izations of  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Work- 
men, the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America  and  the 
Knights  of  the  Maccabees.  Though  not  formally 
identified  with  any  religious  body,  he  and  his  fam- 
ily attend  the  Congregational  church,  and  he  has 
been  a  member  of  its  board  of  trustees  for  over 
fifteen  years. 

On  the  22d  of  February,  1881,  was  solem- 
nized the  marriage  of  i\Ir.  Ericson  to  Miss  Sylvia 
A.  Hayes,  who  was  born  in  Richland  Center.  Wis- 
consin, on  the  22d  of  April,  1856,  being  a  daugh- 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


633 


ler  of  Benjamin  and  Phoebe  (Alarquot)  Hayes. 
( )f  this  union  were  born  three  children,  namely: 
Harry  Francis,  who  died  on  the  4th  of  November, 
1903,  at  the  age  of  twenty  years  and  ten  months ; 
Xellie  H.,  who  is  eighteen  years  of  age  at  the 
time  of  this  writing  ( 1904)  ;  and  Sylvia  Florence, 
aged  ten  years. 


S\'ANTE  JOSEPHSON,  of  whose  career 
we  are  permitted  to  offer  a  brief  sketch  in  this 
work,  is  one  of  the  extensive  landholders  and 
successful  farmers  and  stock-growers  of  Brule 
county,  and  has  been  a  resident  of  South  Da- 
kota for  the  past  twenty  years,  having  been 
closely  identified  with  the  development  and  prog- 
ress of  the  commonwealth  and  being  one  of  the 
honored  citizens  of  the  same. 

Mr.  Josephson  is  a  native  of  Sweden,  where 
he  was  reared  and  educated,  having  been  born 
on  the  25th  of  December,  1840,  and  being  a  son 
of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth  (Swanson)  Anderson, 
while  his  surname  is  held  in  accordance  with  the 
custom  of  his  native  land,  he  being  "Joseph's 
son."  He  received  his  education  in  the  excellent 
schools  of  his  native  place,  where  his  father  was 
a  farmer  and  tradesman,  and  after  leaving  school 
he  learned  the  trade  of  his  father's,  to  which  he 
there  devoted  his  attention  until  1863,  when,  as 
a  young  man  of  twenty-three  years,  he  set  forth 
to  win  d  home  and  a  position  of  independence  in 
America,  to  whose  hospitable  shores  have  come 
so  many  of  his  sterling  and  sturdy  countrymen. 
He  landed  in  New  York  city  and  thence  came 
westward  to  Chicago,  where  he  engaged  in  car- 
pentering, being  finally  employed  by  the  govern- 
ment in  this  capacity  and  assisting  in  the  erec- 
tion of  various  buildings  utilized  in  connection 
with  the  federal  armies,  the  Civil  war  being  in 
progress  at  the  time.  He  was  engaged  in  car- 
penter work  about  four  years,  finally  removing 
to  Minnesota,  where  he  remained  a  short  inter- 
val, after  which  he  located  in  Mitchell  county, 
Iowa,  where  he  devoted  his  attention  to  agricul- 
tural pursuits  for  the  ensuing  fifteen  years — up 
to  tlie  time  of  his  removal  to  South  Dakota,  in 
1884.     In  that  year  he  disposed  of  his  interests 


in  Iowa  and  came  to  this  state,  locating  in  Union 
county,  where  he  purchased  two  hundred  and 
twenty  acres  of  land.  He  there  improved  a  good 
farm  and  there  maintained  his  home  until  1895, 
when  he  sold  the  property  at  a  good  profit  and 
came  to  Brule  county,  where  he  purchased  a  quar- 
ter section  of  land  in  Willow  Lake  township.  To 
this  he  has  since  added  until  the  area  of  the  home 
I  ranch  is  eight  hundred  acres,  while  he  also  owns 
another  tract,  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres, 
in  the  county,  so  that  the  aggregate  area  of  his 
landed  estate  reaches  the  very  considerable 
amount  of  eleven  hundred  and  twenty  acres.  He 
lias  one  hundred  acres  under  a  fine  state  of  culti- 
vation, and  the  balance  is  given  over  to  the  rais- 
ing of  fodder  of  various  kinds  and  to  grazing 
purposes,  as  he  is  engaged  in  the  raising  of  live 
stock  upon  a  somewhat  extensive  scale,  being  pro- 
gressive and  energetic  in  both  departments  of  his 
larm  enterprise  and  being  known  as  one  of  the 
reliable  and  substantial  citizens  of  the  county. 
He  has  made  the  best  of  permanent  improvements 
on  his  ranch  property,  and  his  home  is  one  of  the 
attractive  places  of  this  section  of  the  state.  His 
residence  is  located  four  miles  northeast  of  the 
village  of  Kimball,  which  is  his  postoffice  ad- 
dress and  principal  trading  point.  In  politics 
Mr.  Josephson  is  a  stanch  Republican,  and  while 
he  has  never  sought  official  preferment  his  inter- 
est in  the  cause  of  education  has  led  him  to  ac- 
cept a  position  on  the  school  board  of  his  dis- 
trict. Fraternally  he  is  affiliated  with  Brule 
Lodge,  No.  44,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Ma- 
sons, at  Kimball,  and  both  he  and  his  wife  are 
valued  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

On  the  24th  of  March,  1873,  in  Osage,  Mit- 
chell county,  Iowa,  Mr.  Josephson  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Evans,  who  was  born 
in  Pennsylvania  and  reared  in  Iowa,  and  they  are 
the  parents  of  three  children,  Minnie  H.,  who 
completed  her  education  in  the  high  schools  of 
Union  county.  South  Dakota,  and  who  has  for 
eight  years  been  a  popular  and  successful  teacher 
in  the  schools  of  Brule  county,  being  employed 
as  primary  teacher  in  the  village  of  Pukwana, 
South  Dakota,  for  the  past  three  years ;  Cora  M., 
who  likewise  was  a  successful  teacher  in  Brule 


634 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


county,  for  a  period  of  seven  years,  and  Guy, 
who  was  born  in  1883,  assists  his  father  in  the 
management  of  the  homestead  ranch,  being  one 
of  the  popular  young  men  of  this  section,  and  is 
now  at  the  Agricultural  College  of  Brookings, 
South  Dakota. 


HENRY  WILBER  is  one  of  those  energetic 
and  sturdy  pioneers  who  have  shown  to  the 
world  the  possibilities  involved  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  agricultural  resources  of  the  great 
state  of  South  Dakota,  and  he  is  today  the 
owner  of  a  finely  improved  and  valuable  farm 
in  Bath  township.  Brown  county,  where  he  took 
up  his  abode  more  than  a  score  of  years  ago.  Mr. 
Wilber  is  a  native  of  the  fine  old  Wolverine  state, 
having  been  born  in  Lapeer  county,  Michigan, 
on  the  19th  of  November,  1845,  and  being  a  son 
of  Joel  and  Hannah  Wilber.  He  was  reared  on 
the  homestead  farm  and  received  a  common- 
school  education,  and  in  his  youth  he  began 
working  in  the  great  lumber  woods  of  his  native 
state,  continuing  to  be  identified  with  this  line 
of  industry  for  a  period  of  fifteen  years,  while 
for  three  years  he  held  the  position  of  foreman. 
For  five  years  he  followed  the  hazardous  business 
of  driving  logs  on  Mill  creek,  becoming  an  ex- 
pert in  the  management  of  the  logs,  which  were 
thus  floated  down  to  the  mills  each  spring.  In 
the  summer  of  1880,  in  company  with  his  broth- 
ers, Ira  and  Martin,  Mr.  Wilber  came  to  the 
James  river  valley  of  Dakota,  reaching  their  des- 
tination in  May.  On  the  3d  of  the  following 
month  each  of  them  filed  entry  on  homestead  and 
tree  claims,  our  subject  securing  two  claims  on 
section  6,  Brown  county.  That  same  autumn  he 
took  up  his  residence  on  the  place,  upon  which 
he  erected  a  sod  house  and  barn,  of  the  type  com- 
mon to  the  early  pioneer  days.  Lumber  at  that 
time  here  commanded  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  per  thousand  feet,  and  few  of  the  settlers 
felt  inclined  to  make  the  necessary  expenditure  to 
secure  the  same,  even  if  able  to  do  so.  In  this 
township  those  who  wintered  here  that  year  were 
few  in  number,  including  the  subject  and  S.  H. 
Cook.    P.   C.    Cavanagh,   two   Ijachelor   brothers 


named  Lamb,  and  I.  Chamberlain.  Mr.  Wilber 
continued  to  occupy  his  primitive  sod  house  for 
three  years,  and  in  the  meanwhile  vigorously 
prosecuted  the  work  of  improving  his  farm  and 
rendering  it  available  for  effective  cultivation. 
At  the  expiration  of  the  period  noted  he  erected 
a  small  frame  house,  which  is  an  integral  portion 
of  his  present  substantial  and  commodious  resi- 
dence, which  was  erected  about  five  years  ago. 
while  the  other  permanent  improvements  are  in 
harmony  therewith.  A  tree  claim  which  wasorig- 
inally  a  part  of  his  home  farm  he  has  given  to 
one  of  his  sons,  but  added  five  other  quarter 
sections  to  his  holdings,  one  of  which  he  has 
since  given  to  another  of  his  sons,  so  that  he  re- 
tains in  his  home  farm  a  half  section  at  the  pres- 
ent time,  while  he  also  owns  a  quarter  section 
one-half  mile  to  the  south  and  another  one-half 
section  on  the  James  river,  three  miles  distant, 
;he  last  mentioned  being  utilized  mainly  for  graz- 
ing and  raising  hay.  In  addition  to  raising  large 
quantities  of  grain  Mr.  Wilber  is  also  prominently 
interested  in  the  raising  of  Hereford  cattle,  hav- 
ing at  the  present  time  about  seventy-five  head, 
thoroughbred  and  graded.  He  has  raised  ten 
thousand  bushels  of  wheat  in  one  year,  and  he 
now  devotes  about  fiv£  hundred  acres  to  this 
product  and  sixty-five  acres  to  corn.  He 
has  been  very  successful  in  raising  corn  and 
pronounces  this  section  as  well  adapted  to  the 
propagation  of  the  same  as  is  his  native  state 
of  Michigan.  For  the  past  seven  seasons  Mr. 
Wilber  has  operated  a  threshing  outfit  and  has 
found  this  enterprise  likewise  profitable.  He  is 
wide-awake  and  enterprising  and  is  one  of  the 
model  farmers  of  this  section  of  the  state.  In 
politics  he  is  a  stanch  Republican,  and  both  he 
and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church. 

In  Lapeer  county,  Michigan,  on  the  7th  of 
May,  1866,  Mr.  Wilber  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Esther  Clement,  who  was  born  in  Massa- 
chusetts, whence  she  accompanied  her  parents  to 
Michigan  when  she  was  a  girl  of  thirteen  years. 
Of  the  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilber  we  enter 
the  following  brief  record:  Adel  died  at  the  age 
of  four  years :  Lena  died  at  the  age  of  sixteen ; 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


635 


Ruby  died  on  the  24th  of  ]May,  1902,  as  the  re- 
sult of  an  operation  for  appendicitis,  being  in  the 
bloom  of  gracious  maidenhood,  as  she  was  nine- 
teen years  of  age  at  the  time ;  Hattie  is  the  wife 
of  Rev.  W.  O.  Gram,  pastor  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  at  Bath,  this  county;  Frank, 
who  married  Lillian  Rievert,  is  engaged  in  farm- 
ing, his  place  being  one-half  mile  distant  from  the 
old  homestead :  Frederick,  who  married  Lizzie 
Schnase,  is  engaged  in  farming '  in  this  county 
and  Estella  and  Clifford  remain  at  the  parental 
home. 


R'ER  BAGSTAD.— The  subject  of  this 
sketch  is  one  of  the  representative  business  men 
of  Yankton  county,  retaining  his  residence  in  the 
village  of  Volin,  and  his  career  illustrates  in  no 
uncertain  way  what  is  possible  of  accomplishment 
on  the  part  of  a  young  man  who  will  bend  his 
energies  to  the  accomplishment  of  a  definite  ob- 
ject. Mr.  Bagstad  is  a  native  of  Norway,  where 
he  was  born  on  the  28th  of  January,  1843,  being 
a  son  of  Peter  and  Mary  Bagstad,  who  were  like- 
wise native  of  that  portion  of  the  far  northland, 
where  they  were  reared.  When  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  in  his  seventh  year  his  parents 
immigrated  to  America  and  located  in  the  eastern 
part  of  Wisconsin,  where  his  father  took  up  a 
tract  of  wild  land,  which  he  reclaimed  to  culti- 
vation, and  there  our  subject  was  reared  under 
the  conditions  of  pioneer  life,  his  educational  priv- 
ileges therefore  being  very  limited.  In  August, 
1869,  in  company  with  his  parents,  he  came  to 
South  Dakota,  which  was  then  on  the  very  fron- 
tier of  civilization,  and  the  family  located  about 
four  miles  south  of  the  present  thriving  village 
01  \'olin,  Yankton  county,  where  our  subject  con- 
tinued to  be  engaged  in  farming  about  four  years. 
In  1873  he  took  up  his  residence  in  Gayville, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business, 
starting  in  a  most  modest  way  and  having  to  en- 
counter many  difficulties  and  put  forth  the  most 
strenuous  efforts,  but  the  enterprise  grew  to  be 
one  of  magnitude  under  his  effective  direction. 
His  capital  was  very  limited  at  the  start,  but  such 
had  been  his  course  that  he  held  the  confidence  of 


all  who  knew  him  and  his  credit  was  practically 
unlimited  as  the  business  grew  in  scope  and  im- 
portance. Finally  he  admitted  as  a  silent  partner 
his  brother-in-law,  John  O.  Aaseth,  having  in 
the  meanwhile  become  extensively  engaged  in  the 
live-stock  business,  which  required  his  attention 
to  such  a  degree  that  he  needed  a  competent  and 
reliable  man  to  look  after  the  details  of  the  mer- 
cantile business.  In  1893  he  effected  the  organi- 
zation of  the  J.  T.  Daugherty  Company,  and  en- 
gaged extensively  in  the  live-stock  business,  and 
finally  the  demands  placed  upon  him  by  this  en- 
terprise became  so  great  that,  in  1901,  he  dis- 
posed of  his  extensive  interests  in  Gayville  and 
has  since  devoted  his  entire  attention  to  his  other 
business  affairs,  having  his  residence  and  head- 
quarters in  Volin.  In  politics  Mr.  Bagstad  is  a 
stalwart  Republican,  taking  an  active  interest  in 
the  cause,  and  he  has  been  called  upon  to  fill  po- 
sitions of  public  trust  and  responsibility.  He 
was  for  sixteen  years  postmaster  at  Gayville  and 
he  served  two  terms  as  county  commissioner. 
He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Lutheran 
church  and  have  the  esteem  of  all  who  know 
them. 

On  the  22d  of  February,  1872,  Mr.  Bagstad 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Elena  Aaseth, 
who  was  likewise  born  in  Norway,  and  of  their 
six  children  four  survive,  namely :  Paulina, 
Clara,  Ida  and  Chester.  All  of  the  children  re- 
main at  the  parental  home  except  Ida,  who  is  at- 
tending college  in  Yankton  at  the  time  of  this 
writing-. 


ANDREW  J.  NOBLE.— The  gentleman  to  a 
brief  review  of  whose  career  this  article  is  de- 
voted is  a  well-known  farmer  and  stock-raiser  of 
Bon  Homme  county,  also  an  enterprising  citi- 
zen who  has  done  much  to  promote  the  material 
development  of  the  community  in  which  he  re- 
sides. Andrew  J.  Noble,  son  of  John  and  Betsy 
(Webber)  Noble,  was  born  at  Mineral  Point, 
Wisconsin,  on  the  12th  day  of  July,  1846.  He  re- 
ceived his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  his 
native  place,  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  remained 
with  his  parents   until  thirty  years   of  age.   as- 


636 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


sisting-  his  father  the  meanwhile  and  be:iring  his 
full  share  of  the  family's  support.  On  leaving 
home,  he  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  at 
Mineral  Point,  but  six  years  later  came  to  Bon 
Homme  county.  South  Dakota,  and  purchased  a 
quarter  section  of  land,  which  he  has  since  re- 
duced to  cultivation  and  otherwise  improved. 
His  farm,  which  is  one  of  the  best  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, contains  a  g'ood  modern  dwelling,  a 
substantial  and  commodious  barn  and  other  build- 
ings in  excellent  condition  and  its  general  appear- 
ance indicates  the  energy  and  thrift  displayed 
by  the  proprietor  in  all  of  his  labors  and  under- 
takings. Mr.  Noble  has  added  greatly  to  the 
beauty  and  attractiveness  of  his  place  by  plant- 
ing evergreen  trees,  of  which  there  are  now  nearly 
fifteen  hundred  fully  matured,  and  he  also  devotes 
considerable  attention  to  horticulture,  having  set 
out  all  kinds  of  fruits  grown  in  this  latitude,  his 
orchards  at  this  time  being  among  the  largest  and 
most  productive  in  the  county  of  Bon  Homme. 
In  addition  to  cultivating  his  own  place  Mr.  No- 
ble rents  about  three  hundred  acres  of  land  in 
the  vicinity,  the  greater  part  of  which  is  devoted 
to  pasturage,  as  he  raises  live  stock  on  quite  an 
extensive  scale,  besides  buying  cattle  and  hogs, 
principally  for  the  Chicago  market.  Mr.  Noble 
devotes  especial  attention  to  the  Hereford  breed 
of  cattle,  of  which  he  now  owns  a  fine  herd,  and 
he  also  has  a  wide  reputation  as  a  breeder  and 
raiser  of  thoroughbred  Poland-China  hogs  and  a 
fine  grade  of  road  and  draft  horses.  He  has  suc- 
ceeded in  all  of  his  business  enterprises  and  is 
well  situated  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  many  years 
of  endeavor,  being  the  possessor  of  a  fine  coun- 
try home  and  of  a  sufficiency  of  wealth  to  make 
him  independent.  Mr.  Noble  is  a  man  of  sound 
judgment  and  good  practical  sense,  and  his  career 
since  coming  west  presents  a  series  of  successes 
that  demonstrate  not  only  business  ability  of  a 
high  order,  but  tactfulness  and  fertility  of  re- 
source with  which  few  are  endowed.  He  has 
contributed  much  to  the  growth  and  development 
of  the  part  of  country  in  which  his  home  is  situ- 
ated and,  like  all  enterprising  citizens,  takes  an 
active  part  in  promoting  the  public  welfare,  be- 
ing  interested    in    all   progressive    measures    for 


the  advancement  of  the  community  and  for  the 
general  good  of  his  fellow  men. 

In  the  year  1890  Mr.  Noble  contracted  a 
marriage  with  I\Iiss  Armina,  daughter  of  John 
McNiell,  of  Tyndall,  South  Dakota,  and  his  fam- 
ily at  this  time  consists  of  five  children,  namely: 
Percy,  Beatrice,  Howard,  Myrtle  and  Gladys. 

In  politics  the  subject  is  a  Republican,  but  his 
ambition  has  never  led  him  to  seek  the  honors 
and  emoluments  of  office.  He  is  content  to  be 
a  plain  common  man  of  the  people,  but  neverthe- 
less a  well-rounded  man  whose  influence  has  al- 
ways been  on  the  right  side  of  every  moral  ques- 
tion and  whose  presence  has  been  felt  for  good 
in  every  relation  with  his  friends  and  fellow  citi- 
zens. 

John  and  Betsy  Noble,  the  subject's  parents, 
were  natives  of  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  respec- 
tively. They  moved  to  Mineral  Point,  Wiscon- 
sin, a  number  of  years  ago,  and  the  father  farmed 
and  dealt  in  real  estate  there  until  1886,  when  he 
came  to  South  Dakota  and  purchased  eleven  hun- 
dred acres  of  land  in  Bon  Homine  county,  which 
he  still  owns.  Since  the  death  of  his  wife,  in 
1890,  he  has  made  his  home  with  his  son,  the 
subject  of  this  review,  and  is  now  spending  the 
closing  years  of  his  life  in  honorable  retirement. 
John  Noble  was  twice  married,  his  first  wife  hav- 
ing been  Mary  Ann  Lieurance,  b}-  whom  he  had 
five  children,  only  two  of  whom  survive,  namely  •. 
r\Irs.  Sarah  Wliitford.  of  Mineral  Point,  Wiscon- 
sin, and  Henry,  a  real  estate  dealer,  living  in 
Iowa.  The  second  marriage  resulted  in  the  birth 
of  children  as  follows :  Mary  Ann.  wife  of  Wil- 
liam Thomas ;  Merilda.  now  Mrs.  (Oliver  Mat- 
thews :  Andrew  J.,  of  this  review  :  Charles ;  Mrs. 
Nancy  Parkinson  and  Clara,  of  whom  the  first 
and  last  named  are  deceased. 


JOHN  HOLLENBECK,  who  was  for  some 
lime  proprietor  of  the  leading  livery  business  in 
the  city  of  Aberdeen,  is  one  of  the  active  and  en- 
terprising young  men  of  the  city,  and  not  only  at- 
tained marked  success  in  his  chosen  field  of  en- 
deavor but  commands  the  entire  confidence  and 
esteem  of  the  community.     His  close  applicati(Mi 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


637 


to  business  gave  adequate  returns  and  his  facili- 
ties were  such  that  he  was  able  to  cater  most  suc- 
cessfully to  the  demands  of  his  many  patrons. 
He  enjoys  distinctive  popularity  in  both  business 
;ind  social  circles. 


JOSEPH  J.  VOLIN.— With  the  pioneer  con- 
ditions of  South  Dakota  Joseph  J.  Volin  is  en- 
tirely familiar  and  he  has  been  an  important  fac- 
tor in  the  upbuilding  and  development  of  Yank- 
ton county.  He  was  born  near  JMontreal,  Can- 
ada, on  the  17th  of  December,  1838,  and  is  a 
son  of  Charles  and  Mary  (Bornier)  Volin,  who 
were  also  natives  of  the  Dominion,  where  the  fa- 
ther was  engaged  in  farming  in  early  life.  In 
1848  he  removed  with  his  family  to  Dubuque 
county,  Iowa,  and  bought  forty  acres  of  land 
near  the  city  of  Dubuque,  making  his  home  there 
until  called  to  his  final  rest  at  the  age  of  fifty-two 
years.  Throughout  his  active  business  life  he 
continued  to  engage  in  general  farming.  Polit- 
ically he  affiliated  with  the  Democratic  party  and 
religiously  was  a  communicant  of  the  Catholic 
church.  In  his  family  were  thirteen  children, 
seven  of  whom  are  still  living. 

During  his  boyhood  Joseph  J.  \'olin  accom- 
panied his  parents  on  their  removal  to  Dubuque 
county,  Iowa,  and  there  grew  to  manhood.  In 
1866  he  married  Miss  Amanda  Taylor,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Lamb  and  Margaret  (Cornell)  Taylor, 
whose  early  home  was  in  North  Carolina.  Leav- 
ing there  in  1853,  when  Mrs.  Volin  was  quite 
young,  Mr.  Taylor  and  his  family  came  north  and 
settled  in  Decatur  county,  Iowa,  where  he  resided 
until  1865,  which  year  witnessed  his  arrival  in 
Vermillion,  Clay  county,  South  Dakota.  He,  too, 
was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  His  death  occurred 
in  1873,  and  his  wife  died  in  1880.  They  had 
twelve  children  and  six  of  the  number  are  still 
living.  Both  he  and  his  wife  were  earnest  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  in 
politics  he  was  a  Democrat.  L^nto  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Volin  have  been  born  eight  children,  as  follows  -. 
Mary,  now  the  wife  of  Charles  Devoe,  a  farmer ; 
Gertrude,  deceased :  Hattie,  the  wife  of  Samuel 
Good,  a  farmer ;  Estella,  the  wife  of  George  Han- 


ney,  also  a  farmer;  Nellie,  the  wife  of  James  De- 
vine,  a  farmer  ;  and  Edward,  Lyda  and  Ray,  all  at 
home.  The  children  have  been  provided  with 
good  educational  privileges,  all  attending  the 
common  schools,  and  Ray  is  now  a  student  at 
Yankton  College. 

Mr.  \'olin  is  now  the  owner  of  a  fine  farm  of 
four  hundred  acres,  all  under  cultivation, 
though  his  early  life  here  was  fraught  with  many 
hardships.  For  twelve  years  he  lived  in  a  dirt 
house,  his  present  comfortable  frame  residence 
being  erected  in  1880.  For  four  years  the  grass- 
hoppers destroyed  nearly  all  his  crops,  and  in 
1881  and  1882  he  lost  over  one  thousand  dollars 
in  the  damage  by  the  floods,  but  he  has  steadily 
overcome  all  obstacles  in  the  path  to  success  and 
is  now  a  prosperous  and  substantial  farmer.  In 
1S73  he  helped  to  organize  the  first  school  in  his 
district,  which  was  conducted  in  a  log  house  for 
five  years,  and  for  twenty  years  he  most  effi- 
ciently and  satisfactorily  served  as  school  trustee. 
He  generally  supports  the  men  and  measures  of 
the  Democratic  party  but  at  local  elections  votes 
for  the  candidates  whom  he  believes  best  quali- 
fied for  office  regardless  of  party  ties.  Relig- 
iously he  is  an  active  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church  and  is  held  in  high  regard  by  all 
who  know  him. 


OLE  AXDERSOX.— Owing  to  its  climatic 
conditions  and  geographical  situation,  the  great 
iK)rthwest  has  secured  the  great  bulk  of  the  immi- 
gration coming  to  this  country  from  the  Scandi- 
navian peninsula.  In  obedience  to  a  natural  law. 
the  movement  of  nations  en  masse  is  apt  to  be 
along  isothermal  lines  and  hence  we  find  the 
Swedes  and  Norwegians  instinctively  gravitating 
towards  Iowa,  Minnesota  and  the  Dakotas,  where 
they  find  congenial  surroundings  and  conditions 
somewhat  similar  to  those  in  their  native  coun- 
try. It  is  a  very  desirable  population,  being  fru- 
gal, industrious,  law-abiding  and  quick  to  assim- 
ilate themselves  to  American  institutions.  In 
fact,  all  the  states  of  the  northwest  are  much  in- 
debted for  their  rapid  development  to  the  sturdy 
sons  of  Sweden  and  Xorwav. 


638 


HISTURY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Ole  Anderson,  who  was  born  in  the  last  men- 
tioned country  in  1850,  spent  the  first  thirty  years 
of  his  hfe  amid  the  rugged  scenery  of  his  native 
land,  but  eventually  decided  to  follow  the  host 
of  his  compatriots  who  had  come  to  the  new 
world.  Crossing  the  ocean  in  1880,  he  made  his 
way  directly  to  South  Dakota  and  for  awhile  was 
located  in  Yankton  county,  but  soon  removed  to 
Charles  Mix,  of  which  county  he  was  one  of  the 
early  settlers.  In  1883  he  bought  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  of  land  which,  by  subsequent  ad- 
ditions, has  been  increased  to  two  hundred  and 
twenty  acres,  and  this  estate  is  cultivated  by  Mr. 
Anderson  in  accordance  with  most  improved 
modern  methods.  He  raises  Poland  China  hogs, 
Durham  cattle  and  other  fine  stock,  besides  all 
the  cereals  appropriate  to  South  Dakota,  such  as 
wheat,  corn,  oats  and  hay.  In  addition  to  his 
own  raising,  he  also  buys  and  feeds  some  stock 
for  the  market  and  during  his  residence  of  twenty 
years  at  Geddes  has  been  quite  successful  in  his 
undertakings.  In  fact  he  is  regarded  as  one  of 
the  model  farmers  of  Charles  Mix  county  and 
a  fine  sample  of  the  kind  of  men  sent  from  the 
best  countries  of  northern  Europe  to  enrich  the 
population  of  the  parallel  section  in  the  United 
States.  His  land,  when  first  entered,  was  raw 
and  wild,  but  Mr.  Anderson  has  greatly  improved 
it  by  setting  out  trees,  erecting  suitable  buildings 
and  trimming  things  up  generally.  He  soon 
found  that  the  true  secret  of  profitable  farming 
was  to  feed  the  output  of  the  land  to  stock  and 
thus  return  the  fertilizing  elements  to  the  soil  to 
enrich  it,  instead  of  selling  the  crops  and  thus 
impoverishing  the  land  from  year  to  year. 

In  1878  Mr.  Anderson  was  married  to  Elina 
Paulson  and  has  four  children:  Paul,  Anna, 
Clara  and  Agnes.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Luth- 
eran church  at  Bloomington,  of  which  he  has  been 
trustee  for  three  years.  A  self-made  man  in  ev- 
ery respect,  industrious  and  honorable,  Charles 
Mix  county  contains  no  better  example  of  good 
citizenship  than  Ole  Anderson. 


HEXRY  ROTH,  who  is  one  of  the  success- 
ful fanners  and  stock  growers  of  Hanson  county, 


is  a  representative  of  one  of  the  honored  pioneer 
families  of  the  county,  his  parents  having  been 
the  first  permanent  settlers  in  Spring  Lake  town- 
ship. Mr.  Roth  was  born  in  Houston  county, 
^Minnesota,  on  the  2d  of  July,  1862,  and  is  a 
son  of  Jacob  and  Alary  E.  (Fry)  Roth,  who  were 
born  in  Germany  and  are  jjrominent  and  valued 
members  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Jacob  Roth 
was  reared  and  educated  in  the  fatherland,  where 
he  learned  the  trade  of  tailoring,  and  in  1850 
he  emigrated  from  Germany  to  the  United  States, 
being  engaged  in  the  work  of  his  trade  in  Kew 
York  city  vmtil  1854,  when  he  removed  to  Wis- 
consin, where  he  worked  in  a  sawmill  and  was 
otherwise  employed  until  1858,  when  he  took  up 
his  residence  in  Houston  county,  ^Minnesota, 
where  he  was  numbered  among  the  pioneer 
farmers  and  where  he  continued  to  make  his 
home  until  1879  and  where  he  has  served  eigh- 
teen years  as  school  treasurer  of  district  No.  46. 
In  that  year  he  came  to  what  is  now  the  state  of 
South  Dakota,  taking  up  government  land  in 
Hanson  county,  where  he  has  ever  since  resided, 
having  become  one  of  the  prosperous  and  hon- 
ored citizens  of  this  section,  where  he  owns  a 
fine  farm  of  three  hundred  twenty  acres.  Mr. 
Roth  also  has  held  the  office  of  school  treasurer 
in  South  Dakota  for  twenty-two  years.  Jacob 
and  Mary  E.  Roth  became  the  parents  of  nine 
children,  all  of  whom  are  living  except  one. 

The  subject  of  this  review  received  his  early 
educational  training  in  the  district  schools  of 
]\Iinnesota  and  was  seventeen  years  of  age  at  the 
time  of  the  family  removal  to  South  Dakota, 
where  he  has  been  intimately  associated  with  his 
father  in  his  industrial  enterprises,  now  having 
a  farm  of  four  hundred  thirty  acres,  in  Spring 
Lake  township,  in  which  the  family  were  the  first 
settlers,  while  he  has  made  excellent  improve- 
ments of  a  permanent  nature,  including  good 
buildings,  fences,  etc.,  and  also  a  fine  grove  of 
trees  which  were  planted  by  him.  He  devotes 
special  attention  to  the  raising  of  red  polled  cat- 
tle and  a  high  grade  of  hogs,  in  which  latter 
lines  he  has  an  average  herd  of  one  hundred 
head.  Of  the  farm  two  hundred  acres  are  main- 
tained under  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  and  the 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


639 


place  is  known  as  one  of  the  best  in  the  county. 
He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  having  been  a 
member  of  the  township  board  for  the  past  six 
years,  while  he  has  served  two  terms  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  school  board  of  his  district.  He  and 
his  wife  are  prominent  and  valued  members  of 
the  Lutheran  church,  and  fraternally  he  is  iden- 
tified with  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Work- 
men, the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America  and  the 
Royal  Neighbors,  of  which  last  Mrs.  Roth  also  is 
■<L  member. 

On  the  i6th  of  December,  1890,  Mr.  Roth 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Minnie  Beach, 
\vho  was  born  in  Houston  county,  Minnesota,  be- 
ing a  daughter  of  John  and  Annie  E.  Beach, 
now  representative  citizens  of  Hanson  -county. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Roth  have  five  children,  namely : 
Matilda,  Eldon,  Annie,  Bernie  and  Edna. 


ROY  J.  SWEET,  the  popular  and  efficient 
cashier  of  the  First  State  Bank  of  South  Shore. 
is  a  native  of  Glencoe  county,  Minnesota,  and 
dates  his  birth  from  the  3d  of  October,  1875.  His 
father,  William  H.  Sweet,  was  a  native  of  Wis- 
consin and  a  fanner  by  occupation,  the  mother, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Emma  L.  Gard,  having 
been  born  and  reared  in  the' state  of  Minnesota. 

William  H.  Sweet  went  to  Minnesota  about 
the  time  of  the  great  Indian  outbreak  of  1862. 
with  his  father.  Rev.  Josiah  Sweet,  an  Episcopal 
clergyman  and  for  a  number  of  years  a  chaplain 
in  the  United  States  army.  He  escaped  death  in 
that  terrible  massacre,  being  then  stationed  at 
Fort  Ridgely,  married  in  Blue  Earth  county,  and 
after  spendng  some  years  there  moved  his  fam- 
ily to  Iowa,  locating  at  Woodbine,  in  the  schools 
of  which  place  the  subject  of  this  sketch  received 
his  educational  discipline.  After  finishing  the 
common-school  course,  Roy  J.  entered  the  normal 
at  Woodbine,  but  the  year  before  time  for  grad- 
uation from  that  institution  he  laid  aside  his 
books  to  accept  a  clerical  position  in  a  lawyer's 
office.  After  serving  there  three  years  in  the 
latter  capacity,  he  resigned  his  place  to  become 
a?:.istant  cashier  of  the  First  State  Bank  at  Ma- 
]~kton,'  Iowa,   the   duties   of    which   position    he 


discharged  during  the  ensuing  three  years,  or 
until  the  organization  of  the  First  State  Bank  at 
South  Shore,  South  Dakota,  in  August,  1900, 
and  of  which  he  was  a  director.  He  was  made 
cashier  of  this  institution.  Mr.  Sweet  still  re- 
tains his  connection  with  the  above  bank,  and  it 
is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  much  of  its  con- 
tinual success  and  no  little  of  its  great  prosperity 
are  directly  attributable  to  his  careful  business 
methods,  able  management  and  wide  personal  in- 
fluence. He  is  an  accomplished  accountant,  fa- 
miliar with  banking  in  its  every  detail  and  has 
made  a  careful  and  critical  study  of  finance  in 
its  relations  to  the  industrial  and  general  busi- 
ness interests  of  the  country.  Theoretically  and 
practically,  he  is  widely  informed  relative  to  mon- 
etary c[uestions  and,  as  stated  above,  his  persona! 
popularity  has  won  for  him  a  high  place  in  the 
confidence  and  esteem  of  the  people.  Deeply 
interested  in  the  welfare  of  his  adopted  town, 
he  encourages  all  laudable  enterprises  calculated 
to  promote  its  growth  and  development,  and  he  is 
also  an  earnest  advocate  and  liberal  patron  of 
movements  having  for  their  object  the  social, 
intellectual  and  moral  advancement  of  the  com- 
munity. Mr.  Sweet  is  a  public-spirited  man  in 
all  the  term  implies,  and  his  every  relation  with 
his  fellow  men,  business  or  otherwise,  has  been 
characterized  by  that  probity  and  high  sense  of 
honor  which  never  fails  to  win  and  retain  the 
confidence  and  good  will  of  all  classes  and  condi- 
tions of  people.  He  is  prominent  in  Masonic 
circles,  and  is  also  identified  with  the  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen  and  Modern  Wood- 
men of  America  fraternities,  having  risen  to  im- 
portant official  status  in  these  dififerent  brother- 
hoods. 

On  November  29,  1899,  Mr.  Sweet  contracted 
a  matrimonial  alliance  with  Miss  Clara  Anderson, 
of  Iowa,  daughter  of  Charles  and  Emma  (Stol- 
tenberg)  Anderson,  of  Mapleton.  Mr.  Anderson 
is  president  of  the  First  State  Bank,  but  is  per- 
sonally a  merchant  at  Mapleton,  Iowa.  ]Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Sweet  occupy  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
attractive  residences  in  the  town,  and  their  home 
is  brightened  by  the  presence  of  a  little  son,  who 
answers  to  the  name  of  Charles  Lerov  Sweet. 


640 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


The  above  bank  is  capitalized  at  fifteen  thou- 
sand dollars,  and  the  business  shows  not  only  a 
successful  one  for  itself,  but  bespeaks  prosperit_v 
among  its  wide  circle  of  patrons. 


RICHARD  FRANKLIN  PETTIGREW,  of 
Sioux  Falls,  former  United  States  senator  from 
the  state  of  South  Dakota,  is  a  native  of  Ludlow, 
Vermont,  where  he  was  born  July  3,  1848.  He 
comes  from  Yankee  ancestry  on  both  the  paternal 
and  the  maternal  sides,  though  primarily  of 
Scotch  origin.  He  left  Vermont  at  six  years  of 
age  and  went  to  Wisconsin  with  his  parents,  who 
were  among  the  early  emigrants  to  that  state. 
After  a  short  residence  in  Dane  county,  the  fam- 
ily moved  to  Rock  county,  in  the  same  state,  and 
located  permanently  on  a  farm  in  the  town  of 
Union.  Mr.  Pettigrew  engaged  in  farm  work 
until  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  receiving  such 
education  as  the  rural  schools  afiforded,  when  he 
entered  Beloit  (Wisconsin)  College.  At  this  in- 
stitution he  remained  two  years  and  then  went 
to  Iowa,  where  he  remained  a  year  teaching 
school  and  engaging  in  the  study  of  law.  He 
then  undertook  a  course  of  law  study  at  the  state 
law  school  at  Madison,  Wisconsin,  but  was  called 
home  in  December,  1867,  by  the  death  of  his 
father,  the  management  of  the  farm  devolving 
upon  him. 

In  1869  Mr.  Pettigrew  came  to  Dakota  as 
chainman  in  a  land-surveying  party  and  after  a 
couple  of  weeks  of  service  the  compass  was  en- 
trusted to  him.  He  remained  in  the  field  through- 
out the  season,  his  work  being  in  Moody  and 
Brookings  counties.  At  the  close  of  the  survey- 
ing season,  he  returned  to  Madison  and  devoted 
the  winter  to  studies  in  the  Wisconsin  law 
school.  The  next  spring  (1870)  Mr.  Pettigrew 
returned  to  Dakota  and  made  his  home  at  Sioux 
Falls,  where  he  has  since  resided.  He  con- 
structed a  modest  law  office  on  Phillips  avenue, 
teaming  the  lumber  himself  from  Sioux  City, 
a  hundred  miles  away,  and  entered  upon  the  prac- 
tice of  law.  Thus,  twenty-two  years  after  life 
came  to  him  in  the  rugged  fastnesses  of  one  of 
the  oldest  states  of  the  union,  he  found  himself 


among  the  few  who  had  cast  their  fortunes  in 
the  solitude  of  the  far-west  region  of  the  plains. 
His  feet  were  on  the  threshold  of  a  new  empire, 
a  wilderness  to  be  subdued  and  developed  and 
finally  added  to  the  crown  of  the  republic  as  one 
of^  its  richest  jewels.  The  new  man  and  the 
new  west  were  face  to  face  and  the  life  struggle 
of  one  was  cast  in  the  unknown  future  of  the 
other.  Raw  manhood  and  raw  nature  walked 
hand  in  hand,  the  mission  of  the  man  to  strive, 
of  nature  to  respond. 

Into  the  task  Mr.  Pettigrew  entered  with  the 
stern  energy  of  youth,  with  unflinching  courage, 
with  a  will  before  which  all  obstacles  yielded, 
opposition^  vanished  and  healthful  ambition  tri- 
umphed. These  were  the  characteristics  that 
came  out  of  the  east  along  with  this  new  man 
of  the  west  and  they  have  attended  his  career 
j  as  he  has  led  continuously  the  march  of  prog- 
ress in  his  chosen  field  of  labor. 

In  this  embryonic  commonwealth  there  came 
to  Air.  Pettigrew  many  of  the  honors  to  be 
gathered  along  the  frontier  of  civilization.  He 
was  three  times  elected  to  membership  in  the 
upper  house  of  the  legislature  of  Dakota  ter- 
ritory, as  a  Republican,  and  in  1880  that  party 
sent  him  to  congress  as  the  delegate  for  the 
territory,  in  which  capacity  he  served  throughout 
the  forty-seventh  congress.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  constitutional  convention  of  1883,  a  con- 
vention composed  of  delegates  from  the  south 
half  of  the  territory.  As  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee on  public  indebtedness  he  framed  the  ex- 
isting constitutional  provisions  under  that  head, 
the  second  constitutional  convention  under  a  con- 
gressional admission  act  incorporating  the  report 
of  his  committee  into  the  constitution  that  finally 
became  the  organic  law  of  the  state  of  South 
Dakota. 

South  Dakota  was  admitted  to  the  union  in 
1889,  and  under  the  provisions  of  the  admission 
act  Mr.  Pettigrew  was  elected  United  States  sen- 
ator on  the  i6th  of  October  of  that  year,  along 
with  the  late  Gideon  C.  Aloody,  both  of  the  Re- 
publican party,  taking  his  seat  in  the  senate  on 
the  2d  of  December  following.  L'nder  the  rules 
of  the   senate,   the   two   South    Dakota   senators 


i  A  iU 


J^-lAJ^ 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


641 


drew  for  the  long  and  short  term,  respectively, 
and  Mr.  Pettigrew  secured  the  long  term.  At 
the  expiration  of  his  term,  Mr.  Pettigrew  was 
re-elected  to  the  United  States  senate  as  a  Re- 
publican for  the  term  beginning  March  4,  1894, 
and  he  served  until  March  3,  1901.  During  most 
of  his  last  term  as  senator  he  was  chairman  of 
the  committee  on  Indian  affairs  and  a  member  of 
the  committees  on  appropriations  and  public 
lands,  besides  serving  on  several  less  important 
committees. 

Mr.  Pettigrew  was  a  delegate  from  his  state 
to  the  Republican  national  convention  of  1896 
and  was  one  of  those  who  led  in  the  stormy 
conflict  in  that  body  against  the  repudiation  of 
bimetallism.  The  termination  of  that  struggle 
was  the  practical  defeat  of  the  double  monetary 
standard  as  a  principle  and  a  policy  of  the  Re- 
publican party.  With  several  other  distinguished 
advocates  of  the  cause  of  bimetallism,  Senator 
Pettigrew  withdrew  from  the  convention  and 
from  the  party  and  became  one  of  the  organizers 
of  the  Silver  Republican  party.  During  the 
presidential  campaign  of  1896  he  was  among 
those  who  spoke  and  labored  in  South  Dakota 
and  other  states  in  behalf  of  the  fusion  ticket  and 
he  was  largely  instrumental  in  carrying  South 
Dakota  for  the  fusion  presidential  candidate, 
William  J.  Bryan,  and  the  fusion  candidate  for 
governor  of  South  Dakota,  Andrew  E.  Lee. 

In  the  year  1900  Mr.  Pettigrew  was  the  can- 
didate of  the  fusionists  for  the  United  States 
senate  to  succeed  himself.  The  legislature  was 
that  year  strongly  Republican  and  he  was  de- 
feated. He  retired  from  the  senate  March  3, 
1901,  and  has  since  held  no  public  position.  He 
was  fourteen  years  a  member  of  the  national 
legislative  body,  two  years  as  territorial  delegate 
and  twelve  years  as  senator,  representing  the 
territory  of  Dakota  and  the  state  of  South  Da- 
kota. 

Mr.  Pettigrew's  career  as  a  member  of  the 
I'nited  States  senate  brought  him  prominently 
before  the  nation.  He  became  one  of  the  leaders 
in  that  distinguished  body  of  statesmen,  and  it 
is  well  enough  known  among  those  versed  in  the 
affairs  of  the  senate  that  it  is  led  bv  a  few,  while 


the  others  follow.  Mr.  Pettigrew  was  at  all  times 
distinctively  a  leader.  Throughout  the  formative 
]ieriod  of  his  life,  which  covered  his  frontier  e-x- 
periences,  his  training  gave  to  him  those  char- 
acteristics of  self-reliance  which  admonished  him 
to  go  first  and  say  to  the  others,  "Come."  In  the 
senate,  as  elsewhere,  his  place  was  in  the  van  and 
he  quickly  found  it  and  then  retained  it.  'Twas 
not  his  nature  to  sit  under  the  restraint  of  silence 
or  the  direction  of  others.  His  ever  busy  men- 
tality must  originate,  plan,  suggest  and  confer — 
must  bring  the  friction  of  his  reasoning  in  con- 
tact with  the  arguments  of  others  and  do  his 
share  in  the  formation  of  principles  that  sustain 
the  fabric  of  government.  He  was  one  of  those 
who  gave  time  and  thought  and  toil  of  mind  to 
the  intricate  questions  that  arise  to  perplex  the 
nation  and  array  sentiment  against  sentiment.  In 
this  school  there  is  no  short  road  to  recognition. 
It  comes  at  the  end  of  processes  that  transform 
the  student  into  the  statesman,  and  because  of 
these  requirements,  it  is  only  the  few  that  attain 
to  positions  of  leadership. 

Mr.  Pettigrew  was  never  through  with  an 
undertaking  until  he  had  mastered  all  its  in- 
tricacies and  had  familiarized  himself  with  every 
detail.  This  involved  continuous  application. 
His  most  laborious  hours  were  spent  in  his  li- 
brary and  the  time  thus  taken  was  not  borrowed 
from  the  sessions  of  the  senate.  His  evenings, 
often  lengthened  to  the  coming  of  another  day, 
were  devoted  to  study  and  research.  Through 
his  attention  to  public  questions  he  became  a 
counsellor  among  the  thoughtful  men  that  direct 
the  aft'airs  of  the  highest  legislative  body  of  the 
nation  and  by  them  his  wisdom  was  freely  sought, 
his  stock  of  general  information  being  admittedly 
voluminous  and  accurate.  This  was  an  achieve- 
ment of  industry,  of  comprehensive  mental  grasp 
and  of  the  wonderfully  retentive  memory  with 
which  he  is  endowed. 

During  his  second  term  as  a  senatorial  repre- 
sentative of  South  Dakota  ]\Ir.  Pettigrew  found 
himself  alienated  from  the  political  party  with 
which  he  had  served  from  the  beginning  of  his 
active  career.  It  was  not  alone  that  he  differed 
with  his  political  associates  on  the  monetary  ques- 


642 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


tion.  The  Republican  party  had  made  other  de- 
partures from  the  faith  in  which  he  had  been 
schooled  and  had  committed  itself  to  what  seemed 
to  him  an  abandonment  of  the  doctrine  that  gov- 
ernments derive  their  just  powers  from  the  con- 
sent of  the  governed,  and  to  an  espousal  of  a 
policy  laden  with  imperialistic  possibilities.  In 
combatting  these  tendencies  of  the  Republican 
party,  !Mr.  Pettigrew  delivered  a  speech  in  the 
senate  on  the  22d  and  23d  of  June  and  the  2d 
and  6th  of  July,  1898,  against  the  annexation  of 
the  Hawaiian  islands.  This  extended  presenta- 
tion of  the  case,  covering  one  hundred  and 
eighteen  pamphlet  pages,  at  once  gave  him 
national  prominence.  In  it  he  implicated  repre- 
sentatives of  the  United  States  government  in 
the  insurrection  that  overthrew  the  Hawaiian  gov- 
ernment, giving  a  complete  history  of  the  events 
leading  to  the  subsequently  achieved  annexation 
of  the  islands  to  the  domain  of  the  United 
States.  In  a  visit  to  Honolulu  he  had  obtained 
information  that  was  made  the  basis  of  his  argu- 
ment, which  no  public  man  undertook  to  refute. 
His  facts  were  new  to  the  public  and  their  vigor- 
ous presentation  attracted  general  attention. 

Among  his  other  notable  speeches  in  the  sen- 
ate were  several  in  opposition  to  the  acquisition 
of  the  Philippine  islands,  to  which  he  applied  ex- 
haustive research.  His  defense  of  the  South 
African  republic  was  another  painstaking  •  and 
effective  effort.  Throughout  his  entire  service 
in  congress  he  contended  for  general  laws  in 
behalf  of  settlers  on  the  public  lands  and  for 
honorable  treatment  of  the  Indians  from  which 
the  lands  were  taken.  On  the  24th  of  Febru- 
ary, 1899,  he  addressed  the  senate  in  opposition 
to  the  Nicaragua  canal  bill,  advancing  reasons 
why  the  Panama  route  should  be  selected  as  the 
site  of  an  interoceanic  canal.  In  this  he  pioneered 
the  movement  that  has  resulted  in  the  substitution 
of  the  Panama  for  the  Nicaragua  route. 

It  was  not  alone  in  his  public  capacity  that 
Mr.  Pettigrew  left  the  impress  of  his  strong  per- 
sonality upon  the.  undertakings  with  which  he 
has  been  connected.  The  city  of  Sioux  Falls, 
his  home  since  1870,  the  metropolis  of  South 
Dakota,  wealthy,  progressive  and  always  grow- 


ing, owes  much  of  its  success  to  his  efforts  in  its 
behalf.  Cities  do  not  create  themselves.  They 
are  the  product  of  well-directed  intelligence  and 
it  was  in  part  his  intelligence  that  has  covered 
the  granite  hills  of  the  Sioux  with  beautiful 
homes  and  the  facilities  for  creating  homes. 

He  has  also  had  a  prominent  share  in  the  con- 
structive work  of  the  territory  of  Dakota  and  the 
state  of  South  Dakota.  He  gave  to  each  a 
strong  guiding  hand,  recognizing  from  the  be- 
ginning the  possibilities  of  a  realm  almost  un- 
known when  he  came  into  its  existence. 

Since  Mr.  Pettigrew  retired  from  official  life 

he  has  devoted  his   talents  and   energies  to  his 

I  personal  affairs  with  the  same  success  that  al- 

!  ways  attended  his  labors  in  behalf  of  the  public. 

j  He  has   engaged    chiefly   in  mining  enterprises, 

:  out  of  which  he  has  accumulated  a  comfortable 

fortune  in  the  few  years  in  which  he  has  been 

free  from  the  cares  of  a  congressional  career. 


HON.  JOHN  T.  BELK.— Prominent  among 
the  leading  public  and  successful  business  men  of 
Codington  county.  South  Dakota,  is  the  well- 
known  and  popular  gentleman  whose  name  ap- 
pears above.  John  T.  Belk,  legislator,  grain 
buyer  and  enterprising  man  of  affairs,  was  born 
in  Ottawa,  Illinois,  August  22,  i860,  the  son  of 
Henry  and  Mary  (Channel)  Belk,  the  father  a 
native  of  Yorkshire,  England,  the  mother  of  the 
state  of  Illinois.  Henry  Belk  was  a  filemaker  by 
trade  and  during  his  residence  in  Ottawa  became 
a  public-spirited  citizen,  having  been  active  in  the 
affairs  of  that  city  and  a  man  of  sterling  worth 
whom  all  within  range  of  his  influence  respected 
and  esteemed.  Of  the  four  children  constituting 
the  family  of  Henry  and  May  C.  Belk.  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  was  the  first  born. 

John  T.  Belk's  childhood  and  early  youth 
were  spent  in  his  native  state,  and  after  receiving 
a  good  practical  education  in  the  public  schools, 
he  began  life  for  himself  in  a  horse-collar  fac- 
tory, to  which  line  of  work  he  devoted  about 
four  years,  becoming  familiar  with  every  detail 
of  the  business  the  meanwhile.  Severing  his  con- 
nection   with   his    employer   at    the    end   of   the 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


643 


fourth  year,  he  accepted  a  position  with  the 
Ohver  Chilled  Plow  \\'orks,  at  South  Bend. 
Indiana,  and  after  spending  three  years  in  the 
factory  there,  he  resigned  his  place  and  came  to 
South  Dakota,  locating  in  Codington  county  and 
filing  on  a  claim  about  two  miles  northeast  of 
Henrv,  for  which  in  due  time  he  received  a 
patent  from  the  government.  Mr.  Belk  moved  to 
his  place  in  1S82,  and  since  that  time  has  made 
many  substantial  improvements  on  the  same,  his 
buildings  and  the  general  appearance  of  the  farm 
bespeaking  the  home  of  a  man  of  progressive 
ideas,  refined  tastes  and  liberal  culture.  The 
greatest  part  of  his  three  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  of  land  is  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation 
and  the  entire  tract  is  admirably  situated  for 
agricultural  and  live-stock  purposes,  lying  as  it 
does  in  one  of  the  richest  parts  of  the  -county, 
and  owing  to  its  close  proximity  to  town  being 
easily  accessible  and  increasing  in  value  with 
each  recurring  year. 

In  1896  Mr.  Belk  engaged  with  the  G.  W. 
Van  Dusen  Company,  grain  buyers  of  Minne- 
apolis, Minnesota,  to  look  after  their  large  busi- 
ness interests  in  the  eastern  part  of  South  Da- 
kota and  he  had  charge  until  1904  of  an  elevator 
in  Henry  where  he  handled  every  year  enormous 
quantities  of  grain.  He  managed  the  large  and 
constantly  increasing  business  in  an  able  and 
satisfactory  manner,  enjoyed  the  confidence  of 
the  wealthy  firm  with  which  he  was  identified 
and  by  his  courtesy  and  uniformly  kind  treat- 
ment of  patrons  greatly  extended  the  scope  of 
the  company's  operations. 

While  zealous  in  the  prosecution  of  his  busi- 
f  ness  concerns,   Mr.   Belk  has  not  been  unmind- 

ful of  his  duty  to  the  public  and,  like  all  good 
citizens,  he  manifests  a  deep  interest  in  politics, 
believing  that  in  a  country  where  the  ballot  is 
free,  and  the  public  official  a  servant  of  the  peo- 
ple, everybody  should  be  a  politician  to  the  ex- 
tent of  seeing  that  none  but  good  men  are  elected 
to  office.  He  early  espoused  the  principles  of 
the  Republican  party  and  since  his  twenty-first 
year  has  been  a  zealous  supporter  of  the  same, 
Ijeing  at  this  time  not  only  an  effective  worker 


and  a  judicious  adviser  and  organizer,  but  a 
leader  in  whom  the  rank  and  file  of  the  party 
repose  the  utmost  confidence.  In  1893,  the  year 
of  the  memorable  prohibition  fight,  he  was  the 
Republican  nominee  for  the  lower  house  of  the 
general  assembly,  and  after  a  most  animated 
contest,  during  which  he  visited  all  parts  of  the 
county  and  waged  a  most  effective  campaign,  he 
not  only  led  his  competitor  by  a  handsome  ma- 
jority, but  also  ran  ahead  of  nearly  every  other 
candidate  on  his  ticket.  Mr.  Belk  entered  the 
legislature  with  the  good  wishes  of  his  constitu- 
ents, regardless  of  party,  and  made  a  creditable 
record  as  a  law  maker,  haying  served  on  a  num- 
ber of  important  committees,  besides  taking  an 
active  part  in  the  general  deliberations  of  the 
body  upon  the  floor.  The  year  previous  to  his 
election  he  served  as  clerk  of  the  judiciary  com- 
mittee in  the  state  senate  and  his  experience  in 
that  capacity  tended  in  no  small  degree  to  pre- 
pare him  for  his  subsequent  course  in  the  lower 
house  as  the  people's  representative  from  the 
county  of  Codington. 

Mr.  Belk  is  an  honored  member  of  the 
Pythian  fraternity  and  at  the  present  time  holds 
the  position  of  installing  officer  or  deputy  grand 
chancellor  of  the  lodge  at  Henry.  He  is  also 
identified  with  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen,  and  has  passed  all  the  chairs  in  the 
local  lodge  to  which  he  belongs,  besides  repre- 
senting it  at  different  times  in  the  grand  lodge 
of  the  state. 

The  married  life  of  Mr.  Belk  dates  from 
1893,  in  which  year  he  chose  a  companion  and 
helpmate  in  the  person  of  Miss  Jennie  Hazlett, 
daughter  of  George  and  Jane  (Whitaker)  Haz- 
lett, of  Iowa,  the  issue  being  three  children,  Ver- 
non, ^^ida  M.  and  Cora. 


REV.  WILLIAM  S.  O'MEARA.  the  able 
and  honored  priest  in  charge  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church  in  the  village  of  Armour, 
Douglas  county,  has  reason  to  be  gratified  with 
the  success  which  has  here  attended  his  earnest 
efforts,    both    in    a    spiritual    and    temporal    way, 


6/)  4 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


and  his  zeal  and  devotion,  together  with  his  gra- 
cious personaHty,  have  gained  to  him  the  high 
regard  of  all  who  know  him. 

Father  O'Meara  is  a  native  of  the  beautiful 
city  of  Detroit,  INIichigan,  where  he  was  born 
on  the  27th  of  August,  1871,  being  a  son  of 
Joseph  and  Mary  (Feehan)  O'Meara,  both  of 
whom  were  born  in  the  Emerald  Isle,  whence 
they  came  to  the  United  States  when  young,  their 
marriage  being  solemnized  in  the  city  of  Detroit, 
where  they  still  maintain  their  home.  The  sub- 
ject secured  his  early  educational  training  in 
the  Jesuit  college  in  his  native  city,  and  in  1889- 
90  he  was  a  student  in  St.  Charles  College,  at 
Ellicott,  Maryland,  where  he  completed  his  clas- 
sical and  literary  course,  having  in  the  mean- 
while determined  to  consecrate  his  life  to  the 
service  of  the  divine  Master.  He  then  entered 
St.  Mary's  College,  in  Baltimore,  where  he  com- 
pleted a  course  in  philosophy,  being  graduated  as 
a  member  of  the  class  of  1894.  Shortly  after- 
ward he  was  matriculated  in  ]\Iount  St.  ^Mary's 
Seminary,  in  Cincinnati.  Ohio,  where  he  com- 
pleted his  theological  course,  being  ordained  to 
the  priesthood,  at  Sioux  Falls,  South  Dakota,  on 
the  19th  of  August,  1898.  On  the  12th  of  Sep- 
tember of  that  year  he  came  to  Armour.  Douglas 
county,  having  been  assigned  to  his  present 
charge,  and  in  the  spring  of  the  following  year 
lots  were  purchased  for  the  erection  of  a  new 
church  and  rectorv.  the  latter  being  completed 
within  that  year.  The  work  of  organization  and 
initiation  fell  upon  the  shoulders  of  Father 
O'Meara,  and  from  the  beginning  he  enlisted 
the  earnest  co-operation  of  his  little  flock,  and 
the  congregation  has  had  a  steady  growth  in 
membership  and  the  work  has  gone  forward  in 
a  most  satisfactory  way,  the  devoted  services  of 
the  pastor  having  met  with  appreciation  on  the 
part  of  the  people,  who  have  aided  him  to  the 
full  measure  of  their  power  and  with  marked 
self-abnegation.  The  corner-stone  of  the  new 
church  edifice  was  laid  on  the  3d  of  October, 
1902,  and  the  dedication  of  the  attractive  house 
of  worship  occurred  in  1903,  the  beautiful  lit- 
tle church  standing  as  a  monument  to  the  zeal 
and  devotion  of  priest  and  people.     The  edifice 


is  essentially  "churchly"  in  architecture  and  all 
appointments,  and  while  there  are  many  in  the 
state  which  represent  a  larger  financial  expendi- 
ture it  is  safe  to  say  that  none  is  more  consistent 
and  graceful  in  design  and  none  more  dignified 
in  its  ecclesiastical  equipment.    At  the  time  when 
Father  O'jMeara  assumed  the  charge  here  there 
were  but  eighteen  Catholic  families  in  the  parish, 
the  church   edifice  being  a  small,  unpretentious 
frame  structure.     Within  the  ensuing  four  years 
there  was  a  notable  influx  of  church  people  into 
the  parish,  and  the  congregation  now  comprises 
more  than   fifty   families.     Prior  to  the  incum- 
bency of  our  subject  mass  was  celebrated  but  once 
a  month,  on  week  days,  and  the  holy  office  is 
:  now  given  three  times  a  month,  on  Sundays.    As 
1  the  numerical  and  financial  strength  of  the  parish 
i   is  not  yet  adequate  to  justify  the  establishment 
of  a  parochial  school.  Father  O'Meara  has  ar- 
1  ranged  to  give  the  children  of  the  parish  a  special 
[  personal  instruction  each  morning  prior  to  their 
attending  the  public   schools.     In  politics  he   is 
a  Democrat,  and  is  signally  true  to  all  the  duties 
of  citizenship. 


JOHX  QUIGLEY.— The  subject  of  this 
review  was  born  in  County  Tipperary,  Ireland. 
September  15,  1847,  the  son  of  Malachi  and 
Mary  (Hays)  Ouigley,  both  natives  of  the 
Emerald  Isle,  the  father  a  farmer  by  occupation. 
In  1850  these  parents  disposed  of  their  interests 
in  the  countr}-  of  their  birth  and  came  to 
America,  settling  in  McHenry  county,  Illinois, 
where  Mr.  Quigley  bought  land  and  engaged  in 
agriculture,  which  pursuit  he  followed  with  good 
success  until  his  death,  in  1899,  '^'^  wife  dying 
two  years  previous  to  that  date.  Malachi  Quig- 
ley was  a  thrifty  man,  an  excellent  citizen  and  a 
devout  member  of  the  Catholic  church,  in  which 
faith  his  wife  and  children  were  also  reared.  Of 
the  large  family  of  ten  children  that  formerly 
gathered  around  his  hearthstone,  but  three  are 
living  at  the  present  time,  John,  whose  name 
introduces  this  sketch;  Michael,  who  farms  the 
old  place  in  Illinois,  and  Ed  D.,  a  baggageman 
on  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Railroad. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


643 


John  Oiiigley  was  only  three  years  old  when 
his  parents  brought  him  to  the  United  States, 
consequently  he  retains  only  a  very  dim  recollec- 
tion of  the  romantic  land  in  which  he  first  saw 
the  light  of  day.  Growing  up  in  a  new  and 
sparsely  settled  country,  his  educational  ad- 
vantages were  c^uite  limited,  but  he  early  became 
familiar  with  hard  work  and  the  varied  duties 
of  the  farm,  which  gave  him  a  practical  training, 
such  as  is  needed  by  a  boy  thrown  upon  his  own 
resources  at  an  early  age.  After  assisting  his 
father  until  about  his  eighteenth  year,  he  left 
home  and  in  1865  went  to  Jones  county.  Iowa, 
where  he  farmed  during  the  ensuing  three  years, 
returning  at  the  end  of  that  time  to  Illinois.  Two 
years  later  he  went  to  Sioux  City,  Iowa,  where 
he  remained  until  August,  1872,  when  he  came 
to  Lincoln  county.  South  Dakota,  and  took  up 
a  quarter  section  of  land  in  Lynn  township,  upon 
which  he  at  once  began  a  general  system  of  im- 
provements. After  working  for  some  time  on 
his  place  and  reducing  the  greater  part  of  it  to 
cultivation,  he  entered  the  employ  of  a  railroad 
company,  running  a  line  between  Sioux  City 
and  Yankton,  the  first  railroad  in  South  Dakota, 
spending  something  like  two  years  at  this  kind 
of  work  and  making  his  headquarters  the  mean- 
time at  the  former  place. 

Severing  his  connection  with  the  railroad 
construction,  Mr.  Ouigley  returned  to  his  farm 
and  until  the  year  1890  gave  his  attention  closely 
to  its  cultivation  and  improvement,  also  devoted 
a  number  of  years  to  stock  raising  in  connection 
llierewith.  meeting  with  encouraging  success  in 
both  enterprises.  In  the  above  year  he  turned 
his  farm  over  to  other  hands  and,  changing  his 
residence  to  the  village  of  Worthing,  engaged  in 
the  livery  business,  which  he  conducted  with 
profitable  results  for  a  period  of  ten  years.  In 
Kjoo  he  erected  the  large  building  in  Worthing 
which  he  now  occupies  and  since  that  date  has 
been  doing  an  extensive  and  flourishing  business 
as  a  dealer  in  agricultural  implements,  handling 
all  kinds  of  machinery,  tools,  etc.,  his  trade  being 
among  the  largest  of  the  kind  in  Lincoln  county. 

Air.  Ouigley  served  four  terms  as  supervisor, 
being  one  of  the   influential  public   men   of  his 


township  and  county,  and  a  leader  in  a  number 
of  important  enterprises.  He  affiliated  with  the 
Republican  party  up  to  the  time  of  the  holding 
of  the  national  convention  of  that  party  in  St. 
Louis  in  1896.  when,  being  an  ardent  supporter 
of  the  free-silver  movement,  he  joined  the  reform 
party  and  did  much  eflrective  work  in  insuring 
a  large  majority  in  his  township  for  the  latter 
party.  As  already  indicated,  he  was  born  in  the 
Catholic  church,  and  has  always  remained  loyal 
to  its  teachings ;  he  lives  his  religion  and  his  in- 
fluence has  always  been  for  good,  as  is  attested 
by  the  people,  with  whom  he  has  so  long  min- 
gled. Mr.  Ouigley  was  married  in  1877  to  Miss 
Mary  Horty,  of  Cork,  Ireland,  a  happy  union 
though  without  issue.  Mrs.  Quigley  died  two 
years  after  the  marriage.  The  subject  is  much 
respected  in  the  social  circles  in  which  he  moves 
and  is  also  alive  to  all  enterprises  having  for 
their  object  the  benefit  of  the  poor  and  un- 
fortunate, or  the  general  good  of  the  community. 


GEORGE  R.  SAGAR  is  one  of  the  popular 
and  representative  young  business  men  of  the 
thriving  town  of  Colman,  ]\Ioody  county,  being 
engaged  in  the  drug  and  jewelry  business, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Sagar  &  Stetzel,  while 
he  personally  devotes  his  attention  to  the  drug 
department  of  the  enterprise. 

George  Raymond  Sagar  was  born  in  Plain- 
ville,  Onondaga  county,  New  York,  on  the  22d 
of  September,  1873,  and  is  a  son  of  William 
Henry  and  Catherine  Sagar,  who  settled  in  that 
county  about  1850,  having  driven  overland  from 
near  the  city  of  Albany  and  taken  up  their 
residence  about  eighteen  miles  west  of  Syra- 
cuse, where  the  father  was  for  a  number  of  years 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  while  later  he 
gave  his  attention  to  the  trades  of  carpentry  and 
painting.  The  lineage  is  traced  back  to  the 
sturdy  Dutch  stock  who  settled  in  New  Amster- 
dam, the  nucleus  of  the  present  city  of  New 
York.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  secured  his 
early  education  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
town,  and  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years  he  entered 
Baldwinsville  Academv,  in  which  institution  he 


646 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


continued  his  studies  for  two  years.  After  leav- 
ing school  he  took  a  clerical  position  in  the  drug 
store  of  his  brother,  Charles  H.  Sagar,  in 
Auburn,  New  York,  and  was  thus  employed  for 
three  years,  gaining  an  excellent  knowledge  of 
the  business  in  many  of  its  details.  In  order  to 
perfect  himself  in  the  profession  of  phamiacy 
he  then  entered,  in  the  fall  of  1892,  the  New 
York  School  of  Pharmacy,  in  the  national  me- 
tropolis, where  he  completed  a  two-years  course, 
being  graduated  in  the  spring  of  1894.  He  re- 
mained in  the  city  of  New  York  until  January, 
1898,  when  he  came  west  to  the  city  of  Duluth, 
Minnesota,  and  thereafter  he  traveled  as  sales- 
man for  the  C.  H.  Sagar  Drug  Company  until 
May  of  that  year,  when  he  located  in  Castlewood, 
South  Dakota.  In  October  of  the  following  year 
he  removed  to  Winfred,  where  he  remained  until 
April,  1900,  which  continued  to  be  his  abiding 
place  until  the  following  September,  when  he 
established  himself  in  the  drug  business  in  Col- 
man,  where  he  has  a  select  and  comprehensive 
stock  and  where  he  has  built  up  a  flourishing 
business.  In  September,  1902,  he  admitted  to 
partnership  Roy  L.  Stetzel,  a  jeweler,  and  they 
have  since  been  associated  in  the  dual  enterprise, 
Mr.  Stetzel  devoting  his  attention  to  the  jewelry 
department  principally.  In  politics  Mr.  Sagar 
is  a  Republican,  and  fraternally  he  is  identified 
with  the  IModern  Woodmen  of  America,  which 
he  joined  in  January,  1899,  and  since  January, 
1901,  he  has  served  as  clerk  of  Colman  Camp 
of  this  popular  order.  He  has  been  a  member 
of  the  Presbyterian  church  since  1891,  having 
been  received  into  the  same  in  the  city  of  Auburn, 
New  York. 

On  the  2d  of  April,  1901,  at  Lawler.  Iowa, 
Mr.  Sagar  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Delina 
E.  ]\Iiller,  daughter  of  William  C.  Miller,  of  that 
place. 


HON.  EDGAR  KELLEY  is  a  native  of  the 
Badger  state,  having  been  born  on  the  paternal 
farmstead,  in  Walworth  county,  Wisconsin,  on 
the  23d  of  November,  1851,  and  being  a  son  of 
Stephen   and    Mary   A.    (Leddell)    Kelley,    who 


were  numbered  among  the  early  settlers  of  that 
section.  The  father  of  the  subject  was  born  and 
reared  in  Herkimer  county,  New  York,  and  was 
of  Scotch-Irish  descent,  the  family  having  been 
established  in  America  in  the  early  colonial 
epoch,  when  the  original  progenitors  in  the  new 
world  took  up  their  abode  in  New  England. 
The  mother  of  the  subject  was  born  in  ^''ermont, 
of  English  lineage,  the  Leddell  family  likewise 
having  been  long  identified  with  the  annals  of 
American  history.  Stephen  Kelley  continued  to 
be  identified  with  agricultural  pursuits  in  Wis- 
consin until  1866,  when  he  removed  to  Freeborn 
county,  Minnesota,  where  he  followed  the  same 
great  basic  industry  during  the  remainder  of  his 
active  business  career,  and  his  death  occurred  in 
that  county  in  1898,  at  which  time  he  was 
seventy-five  years  of  age.  He  served  with  honor 
as  a  valiant  defender  of  the  integrity  of  the 
nation  during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  having 
been  a  member  of  Company  I,  Forty-sixth  Wis- 
consin Volunteer  Infantry.  He  was  a  Republi- 
can in  his  political  proclivities,  having,  identified 
himself  with  the  "grand  old  party"  at  the  time 
of  its  organization.  His  wife  was  summoned 
into  eternal  rest  in  1895,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
one  years,  and  of  their  three  sons  and  three 
daughters  all  are  living  except  Benjamin,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  twenty-six  years. 

Edgar  Kelley,  the  immediate  subject  of  this 
review,  was  reared  to  the  sturdy  discipline  of 
the  farm  and  early  became  inured  to  the  strenu- 
ous work  involved  in  the  tilling  of  the  soil,  while 
his  educational  advantages  were  those  aflForded 
in  the  public  schools  of  Wisconsin,  Minnesota 
and  Iowa,  to  which  last  mentioned  state  he  re- 
moved when  twenty  years  of  age.  '  After  leaving 
school  he  was  engaged  in  farm  work  in  Frank- 
lin county,  that  state,  for  three  years,  when  he 
returned  to  Minnesota,  and  assumed  charge  of 
his  father's  farm,  being  thus  engaged  for  the 
ensuing  four  years,  within  which  time  he  broke 
much  new  land  and  made  it  available  for  cultiva- 
tion. The  work  was  arduous,  as  may  be  under- 
stood when  we  state  that  he  utilized  a  breaking 
plow  whose  operation  demanded  the  use  of  an 
ox-team  of  six  yokes.     Upon  leaving  the  home- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


647 


stead,  in  1879,  ^^-  Kelley  came  to  what  is  now 
the  state  of  South  Dakota,  and  located  in  Grant 
county,  where  he  entered  a  homestead  claim  in 
Melrose  township,  the  same  constituting  an  in- 
tegral portion  of  his  present  fine  landed  estate  of 
four  hundred  and  eighty-six  acres,  nearly  all  of 
which  is  available  for  cultivation,  while  the  farm 
is  one  of  the  model  places  of  this  section  of  the 
state,  being  improved  with  Substantial  build- 
ings, with  modern  facilities,  good  fences,  etc., 
while  the  owner  is  progressive  in  his  ideas  and 
carries  on  his  operations  with  discrimination  and 
according  to  scientific  methods,  aiming  to  secure 
the  maximum  results  from  the  time  and  labor 
expended.  He  raises  the  various  cereals  best 
adapted  to  the  soil  and  climate,  and  also  devotes 
special  attention  to  the  growing  of  high-grade 
live  stock,  while  the  dairying  feature  of  his  farm 
enterprise  is  one  of  no  insignificant  order,  since 
he  furnishes  an  average  of  two  hundred  pounds 
of  milk  each  day  to  the  co-operative  creamery  in 
Millbank,  one  of  the  successful  and  important 
industrial  enterprises  of  the  county,  the  equip- 
ment being  the  best  of  all  creameries  in  the 
state.  He  was  one  of  the'  organizers  and  a 
director  of  the  creamery,  in  1895,  and  has  been 
a  member  of  its  directorate  ever  since.  The  ex- 
tent of  the  operations  of  the  creamery  and  its 
value  to  the  community  may  be  appreciated  in  a 
measure  when  we  record  the  fact  that  in  the 
month  of  June,  1903,  the  company  paid  out  to 
the  farmers  of  the  county  more  than  thirty-four 
hundred  dollars,  this  being  a  fair  average  of  the 
expenditure  during  the  more  active  season  of 
creamery  work.  Mr.  Kelley  is  also  one  of  the 
stockholders  in  the  Farmers'  Co-operative 
Elevator  Company  of  Millbank,  who  own  and 
control  a  fine  elevator  and  who  have  proved  the 
value  of  organization,  since  the  enterprise  ren- 
dered fifty  per  cent,  of  dividends  in  the  year 
1903. 

Mr.  Kelley  is  a  progressive,  liberal,  and  pub- 
lic-spirited citizen,  ever  ready  to  lend  his  aid  and 
influence  in  the  furtherance  of  all  worthy  en- 
terprises and  undertakings  for  the  general  good, 
and  while  he  is  a  stanch  advocate  of  the  prin- 
ciples and  policies  of  the  Republican  party  and 


a  worker  in  the  i)arty  ranks,  he  has  never  sought 
or  desired  official  preferment.  In  1902,  how- 
ever, in  the  face  of  his  personal  protest,  he  was 
made  the  nominee  of  his  party  for  representative 
of  Grant  county  in  the  general  assembly,  being 
elected  to  the  office  in  November  of  that  year  by 
a  gratifying  majority,  while  his  course  as  a  legis- 
lator has  amply  justified  the  wisdom  of  his  con- 
stituents in  calling  him  to  this  important  posi- 
tion. He  is  affiliated  with  the  Ancient  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons ;  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen,  and  the  Yeomen. 

On  the  26th  of  July,  1879,  in  Albert  Lea, 
Minnesota,  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Mr. 
Kelley  to  Miss  Eliza  Bessenger,  who  was  born 
and  reared  in  Freeborn  county,  that  state,  being 
a  daughter  of  Morris  and  Anna  Mary  Bessenger, 
natives  of  Germany.     Her  father  was  a  marble 

I  dealer  by  vocation,  was  an  early  settler  of  Min- 
nesota, and  he  and  his  wife  reside  at  Albert  Lea, 

{  Minnesota.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kelley  have  two 
children,  Elmer  D.,  a  student  in  a  commercial 
college  at  Mankato,  Minnesota;  and  Elsie  M.. 
the  wife  of  Henry  Vandervoort. 


ALFRED  GOLDIN  is  one  of  the  popular 
and  successful  representatives  of  the  agricultural 
contingent  in  Spink  county,  where  he  has  accu- 
mulated a  fine  property  through  his  own  well 
directed  efforts  in  connection  with  the  develop- 
ment of  the  fine  resources  of  this  section.  He 
is  a  native  of  Surrey  county.  North  Carolina, 
where  he  was  born  on  the  6th  of  August,  1866, 
being  one  of  twins  and  the  eighth  in  order  of 
birth  of  the  twelve  children  of  Thomas  Golden, 
who  was  likewise  born  and  reared  in  Surrey 
county,  where  he  passed  practically  his  entire 
life.  His  father  came  from  England  to  America 
and  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  in  North 
Carolina,  where  he  became  a  successful  and  in- 
fluential planter,  the  father  of  the  subject  coming 
into  possession  of  the  property  and  having  there 
remained  until  his  death,  which  occurred  on  the 
13th  of  March,  1883.  During  the  Civil  war  he 
served  as  provost  marshal  in  the  Confederate 
army,  and  one  of  his  brothers  sacrificed  his  life 


r.48 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


in  behalf  of  the  "lost  cause,"   as   did  also   two 
brothers  of  his  wife. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  remained  on  the 
ancestral  plantation  until  after  the  death  of  his 
honored  father,  the  family  having  met  with 
serious  reverses  owing  to  the  ravages  inflicted 
during  the  war,  and  his  educational  advantages 
were  such  as  were  afforded  in  the  common 
schools.  In  1885,  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years, 
he  set  forth  to  fight  the  battle  of  life  on  his  own 
responsibility,  removing  to  Alissouri.  where  he 
remained  about  one  year,  at  the  expiration  of 
which,  in  April,  1886,  he  came  to  South  Dakota, 
having  no  capitalistic  resources  and  coming  here 
an  entire  stranger.  He  was  endowed  with 
energj'  and  determination  and  took  such  work 
as  he  could  secure  in  providing  for  his  neces- 
sities and  looking  ever  to  the  mark  of  attaining 
a  position  of  independence.  For  two  years  he 
was  engaged  in  railroad  construction  work  and 
then  was  employed  about  eighteen  months  by 
M.  B.  Gallup,  a  farmer  of  Spink  county.  At  the 
expiration  of  this  period  he  rented  land  in  this 
county  and  became  successful  as  a  farmer  on  his 
own  responsibility.  In  1895  he  purchased  the 
J.  P.  Day  farm  of  eight  hundred  acres,  eligibly 
located  three  miles  south  of  IMellette,  and  here 
his  prosperity  has  continued  to  increase  with  the 
passing  years,  so  that  he  is  now  numbered  among 
the  substantial  men  of  the  county,  his  place  being 
well  improved  and  under  a  high  state  of  cultiva- 
tion, yielding  large  crops  of  wheat,  barley,  oats, 
potatoes  and  corn,  while  he  has  also  been  par- 
ticularly successful  in  the  raising  of  hogs,  con- 
ducting operations  in  this  line  upon  an  extensive 
scale.  He  has  personally  made  high-grade  im- 
provements on  his  ranch,  equipping  the  same  j 
with  excellent  buildings  in  addition  to  those  on 
the  place  at  the  time  when  he  came  into  pos- 
session of  the  property,  while  he  has  put  down 
an  artesian  well  to  a  depth  of  nine  hundred  and 
eighty-one  feet,  the  same  affording  an  abundant 
supply  of  pure  and  sparkling  water.  On  A]iril 
2,  1904,  Mr.  Goldin  purchased  the  ^McCall  quota 
of  land,  paying  twenty  dollars  per  acre  for  the 
same.  He  has  labored  unremittingly,  has  made 
every  day  count  and  is  known  as  a  practical  and 


progressive  business  man,  while  he  enjoys  the 
confidence  and  good  will  of  all  who  know  him. 
In  politics  he  is  a  stalwart  Republican  but  has 
never  sought  or  desired  the  honors  or  emolu- 
ments of  public  office  of  any  description. 

On  the  30th  of  ^March,  1890,  ^Ir.  Golden  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Annie  Day,  daughter 
of  J.  P.  Day,  one  of  the  early  pioneers  of  this 
county  and  the  original  owner  of  the  property 
now  owned  by  the  subject.  ]\'Ir.  Day  is  one  of 
the  sterling  old-timers  of  this  section  of  the  state 
and  is  now  located  on  the  Gulf  coast  in  Alabama. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Goldin  have  four  children,  Olive, 
James.  Esther  A.  and  Alfred,  Jr. 


GEORGE  D.  STEELE,  one  of  the  promi- 
nent and  popular  farmers  and  pioneers  of  Spink 
county,  is  one  of  the  brave  "boys  in  blue"  who 
went  forth  in  defense  of  the  Union  when  its  in- 
tegrity was  in  jeopardy  through  the  armed  re- 
bellion of  the  Confederacy,  while  his  is  the  dis- 
tinction of  being  a  native  of  the  national  metrop- 
olis. He  was  born  in  New  York  city,  on  the  8th 
of  April,  1843,  ^nd  is  a  son  of  Jeremiah  D. 
.Stelle.  who  was  likewise  born  in  that  city,  where 
he  was  reared  and  educated  and  where  he  re- 
mained until  the  latter  part  of  1843,  '^^hen  he 
removed  to  Middlesex  county.  Xew  Jersey, . 
where  he  followed  agricultural  pursuits  during 
the  remainder  of  his  life.  Our  subject  was  an 
infant  of  about  six  months  at  the  time  of  his 
parents'  removal  to  New  Jersey,  and  there  he 
was  reared  to  the  sturdy  discipline  of  the  farm, 
receiving  his  educational  training  in  the  common 
schools  of  the  locality.  In  August,  1862,  at  the 
age  of  nineteen  years  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in 
Company  C,  Twenty-eighth  New  Jersey  A'olun- 
teer  Infantry,  commanded  by  Colonel  M.  N. 
Wisewell.  He  proceeded  with  his  regiment  to 
the  city  of  Washington  and  for  three  months  the 
command  was  assigned  to  duty  in  the  guarding 
of  bridges  which  aiTorded  access  to  the  national 
capital.  They  then  proceeded  into  ^^irginia  and 
took  part  in  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  where 
Mr.  .Stelle  was  wounded.  He  was  sent  back  to 
Washington  and  placed  in  the  hospital,  while  he 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


649 


was  assigned  to  the  invalid  corps.  He  began  to 
recuperate  his  energies  and  made  a  strenuous 
protest  against  being  kept  away  from  his  regi- 
ment, the  result  being  that  he  was  permitted  to 
return  to  the  front,  joining  his  command  in  time 
to  take  part  in  the  memorable  battle  of  Chancel- 
lorsville,  and  thence  following  in  pursuit  of  Lee 
and  participating  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg. 
Thereafter  the  regiment  remained  for  some  time 
at  Harper's  Ferry,  and  then  returned  to  Wash- 
ington, where  Mr.  Stelle  was  taken  ill,  receiving 
his  honorable  discharge  in  July,  1864.  He  then 
returned  to  his  home  in  New  Jersey,  where  he 
remained  a  short  time  and  then  removed  to 
Illinois,  where  he  was  engaged  in  farming  for 
the  ensuing  three  years,  at  the  expiration  of 
which  he  became  interested  in  lumbering  in 
Michigan,  where  he  passed  four  years.  He  then 
passed  one  year  in  Illinois,  from  which  state  he 
removed  to  Benton  county,  Indiana,  where  he 
followed  agricultural  pursuits  until  1881,  when 
he  came  to  South  Dakota  and  took  up  govern- 
ment land  six  miles  southeast  of  Mellette,  Spink 
county,  adjoining  that  of  William  Bird,  who  is 
mentioned  on  other  pages  of  this  work,  and  here' 
he  now  cultivates  a  farm  of  two  hundred  and 
forty  acres,  devoted  to  diversified  agriculture  and 
to  the  raising  of  high-grade  live  stock.  He  is  a 
Republican  in  his  political  proclivities  and  fra- 
ternally is  identified  with  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic. 

On  the  15th  of  January,  1879,  Mr.  Steele  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Adelaide  Calhoon, 
who  was  born  and  reared  in  Will  county,  Illinois, 
being  a  daughter  of  Stephen  Calhoon,  one  of 
the  early  settlers  in  Michigan  and  later  a  pio- 
neer of  South  Dakota.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stelle  be- 
came the  parents  of  eight  children,  namely : 
Florence  Lillian  (deceased),  William  Earl,  Jen- 
nie Weltha,  Ruth  Elizabeth,  Agnes  Opal,  Vena 
E.,  Blanche  and  Margaret  E. 


HARRY  A.  HOLMES.— Identified  with  the 
city  of  Oacoma  from  its  earliest  history  to  the 
present  time  and  an  influential  actor  in  the  ma- 
terial growth  and  development  of  Lj'man  county, 


South  Dakota,  Harry  A.  Holmes,  mechanic, 
official  and  representative  citizen,  enjoys  marked 
precedence  in  the  place  of  his  residence  and  is 
entitled  to  specific  mention  with  the  leading  men 
of  his  adopted  state.  The  subject's  father, 
George  W.  Holmes',  a  native  of  New  York,  was 
in  early  life  a  miner,  subsequently  turned  his  at- 
tention to  agricultural  pursuits  and  in  connection 
therewith  spent  about  fifty  years  as  a  blacksmith. 
He  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Webb,  who  bore  him 
five  children,  and  moved  to  Wisconsin  a  number 
of  vears  ago  where  he  became  quite  successful, 
accumulating  a  handsome  property  in  that  state 
besides  large  landed  interests  in  Kansas.  A 
Democrat  in  politics,  he  took  an  active  part  in 
the  public  affairs  of  his  community,  lived  a  long 
and  useful  life  and  was  highly  esteemed  by  all 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 

Harry  A.  Holmes  was  born  in  Iowa  county, 
Wisconsin,  on  March  19,  i860.  He  was  reared 
to  agricultural  pursuits,  attended  of  winter  sea- 
sons until  his  eighteenth  year  the  public  schools 
of  Mineral  Point  and  grew  up  strong  of  body 
and  independent  of  mind,  becoming  _  a  skillful 
worker  at  blacksmithing.  In  1883  young' 
Holmes  started  out  to  make  his  own  way  in  the 
world  and  carve  out  his  own  destiny.  Thanks 
to  his  efficience  as  a  worker  in  iron,  he  had  some- 
thing upon  which  to  rely  of  much  greater  value 
than  ready  capital,  and  when  he  came  to  Dakota 
in  the  above  year  and  located  in  Plankinton, 
Aurora  county,  he  found  ample  opportunity  to 
ply  his  trade.  After  working  in  a  shop  at  that 
place  for  two  years  he  changed  his  location  to' 
White  Lake,  where  he  followed  his  chosen  call- 
ing until  1890,  when  he  moved  to  the  present  site 
of  Oacoma,  in  the  county  of  Lyman,  at  that  time 
a  frontier  military  post,  occupied  by  a  company 
of  soldiers  whose  duty  it  was  to  guard  the  rights 
of  the  Indians  in  the  vicinity. 

Shortly  after  his  arrival  at  camp  in  Oacoma 
Mr.  Holmes  entered  the  employ  of  the  govern- 
ment as  a  blacksmith  and  after  continuing  as 
such  for  a  period  of  three  years,  started  a  shop 
of  his  own,  settlers  having  arrived  the  mean- 
while until  the  place  took  the  appearance  of  a 
thrifty  and    promising    western    town.     Having 


650 


HiSToKV    Ui-     SUUTH    DAKOTA. 


the  first  and,  up  to  the  present  time,  the  only 
blacksmith  shop  in  the  place,  Mr.  Holmes  soon 
had  more  work  than  he  could  accomplish  and  in 
order  to  meet  the  demands  of  his  steadily  grow- 
ing patronage  was  in  due  season  obliged  to  se- 
cure the  help  of  assistants.  His  business  grew 
so  rapidly  that  he  was  compelled  after  a  while 
to  enlarge  the  capacity  of  his  establishment,  and 
without  interruption  it  has  continued  to  increase 
in  magnitude  and  importance  to  the  present  day. 
Being  one  of  the  first  settlers,  he  very  naturally 
became  interested  in  the  growth  of  the  town  and 
to  him  more  perhaps  than  to  any  other  man  is 
due  the  prosperity  which  has  made  it  one  of  the 
flourishing  little  cities  and  important  business 
centers  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state. 

Mr.  Holmes  not  only  took  an  active  and  lead- 
ing interest  in  the  growth  of  Oacoma,  but  also 
became  a  prominent  factor  in  the  general  de- 
velopment of  the  county  and  an  influential  par- 
ticipant in  the  public  affairs  of  the  same.  He 
served  for  eight  consecutive,  years  as  deputy 
sheriff  and  discharged  the  duties  of  that  exact- 
ing and  trying  position  in  such  a  way  that  his 
name  became  a  terror  to  evil  doers,  the  adminis- 
tration with  which  he  was  identified  becoming 
noted  for  the  enforcement  of  law  and  respect  for 
order  throughout  the  entire  jurisdiction.  In 
politics  Mr.  Holmes  has  been  a  staunch  Re- 
publican from  the  time  of  exercising  the  fran- 
chise and  his  activity  and  influence  in  party  cir- 
cles led  to  his  being  chosen  the  first  delegate 
from  Lyman  county  to  the  state  convention 
which  convened  at  Yankton  in  1894.  He  has 
also  been  much  interested  in  the  course  of  edu- 
cation and  for  a  number  of  years  has  served  on 
the  school  board  of  Oacoma,  at  one  time  being 
chairman  of  that  body  and  at  this  writing  he  is 
treasurer  of  the  same  for  the  second  term.  In 
business  matters  he  has  by  no  means  been  sloth- 
ful, but  on  the  contrary  has  so  managed  his 
varied  interests  that  he  is  now  in  independent 
circumstances,  owning,  in  addition  to  much  valu- 
able city  and  personal  property,  a  fine  tract  of 
farming  and  grazing  land  in  Lyman  county,  also 
a  beautiful  island  of  one  hundred  acres  in  the 
Missouri  river,  the  latter  covered  with  a  dense 


growth  of  fine  timber,  which  ere  long  will  doubt- 
less prove  a  source  of  considerable  wealth. 

Mr.  Holmes  is  a  leading  spirit  in  several 
secret'  and  benevolent  organizations,  notably 
among  which  are  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  Modern  \\^oodmen  of  America  and  the 
Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  having  as  a 
charter  member'  assisted  to  establish  the  first 
named  society  at  Chamberlain,  beside  holding 
important  official  stations  in  the  different 
brotherhoods.  Personally  the  subject  enjoys  a 
large  measure  of  popularity,  being  the  soul  of 
genial  companionship,  a  favorite  in  social  gather- 
ings and  his  kindly  disposition  and  proverbial 
hospitality  have  gained  for  him  hosts  of  friends 
whose  loyalty  and  devotion  strengthen  as  the 
years  go  by. 

]\Ir.  Holmes  is  a  married  man  and  the  head 
of  a  family  which  is  highly  esteemed  in  the  city 
of  his  residence.  His  wife,  who  was  formerly 
Miss  Lizzie  E.  Elliott,  of  the  state  of  Iowa,  and 
to  whom  he  was  united  in  the  bonds  of  matri- 
mony in  1887,  has  borne  him  sons  and  daughters 
as  follows :  Florence  E.,  Daisy  E.,  Harry  B., 
Calvin  H.  and  Willa  G.,  all  under  the  parental 
roof  and  constituting  a  most  happy  and  mutually 
agreeable  home  circle.  The  best  educational  ad- 
vantages the  community  affords  have  been  pro- 
vided for  these  children  and  they  are  now  pur- 
suing their  studies  under  favorable  auspices,  the 
older  ones  having  already  laid  plans  for  their 
future  careers. 


HEMMING  ANDERSON  is  a  native  of 
Sweden,  where  he  was  born  on  the  i8th  of  Oc- 
tober, 1854.  and  where  he  was  reared  to  man- 
hood, having  received  a  common-school  educa- 
tion and  having  lived  there  until  1882,  when  he 
set  forth  to  seek  his  fortunes  in  America.  He 
landed  in  New  York  and  thence  came  west  to 
what  is  now  the  state  of  South  Dakota,  arriv- 
ing in  Vermillion,  Clay  county,  in  the  spring  of 
that  year  and  there  remaining  about  one  month 
He  secured  a  team  of  oxen  and  with  the  same 
came  to  Charles  Mix  county,  where  he  took  up 
a  homestead  claim  in  Rhoda  township.     Settlers 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


651 


were  few  and  far  removed  from  one  another,  and  I 
the  stretching  prairies  lay  waiting  the  plowshare.   | 
Mr.  Anderson  forthwith   set  himself  vigorously 
to  the  task  of  improving  his  land  and  bringing  it  1 
under  profitable  cultivation.     He  and  his  family  j 
lived    for  a   time   in   a   tent,    and   thereafter   re-  i 
sided  in  a  sod  house,  twelve  feet  square.     This 
rude  domicile  in  time  gave  place  to  his  present  [ 
comfortable  and  attractive  farm  residence,  while  [ 
all  about  the  place  are  further  evidences  of  en-  ; 
terprise  and  good  management.     He  has  a  nice  \ 
grove  of  trees   on  his   farm,  having  raised  the 
same  from  seed  secured  along  the  Missouri  river, 
while  all  the  buildings  on  the  farm  are  of  sub- 
stantial order.     About  seventy  acres   are  main- 
tained under  effective  cultivation,  while  the  re- 
mainder is  utilized  in  connection  with  the  rais- 
ing of  live   stock,   in   which   department   of   his 
enterprise   the   subject  has   met   with   gratifying 
success.     Mr.  Anderson  has  ever  shown  a  deep   ' 
interest    in    the    cause   of    education    and    in    all 
else  that  makes  for  the  best  interests  of  the  com- 
munity,  and    he    is    a   stanch    supporter   of   the 
principles  of  the  Republican  party,  while  both  he 
and    his    wife    are    devoted    members    of    the 
Lutheran  church.     They  are  highly  esteemed  in 
the  community  and  all  view  with  pleasure  the 
prosperity  which  has  attended  the  efforts  of  this 
sterling  pioneer  from  the  far  Norseland. 

In  1880.  in  his  native  land,  Mr.  Anderson 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Maria  Johnson, 
who  accompanied  him  on  his  emigration  to 
America.  Thev  have  had  three  children,  Ella, 
Andrew  and  Harold,  the  two  sons  being  de- 
ceased, while  the  only  daughter  still  remains  at 
the  parental  home,  having  received  good  edu- 
cational advantages  and  being  one  of  the  popu- 
lar young  ladies  of  the  community. 


WILLARD  A.  LATHROP  is  one  of  the 
successful  farmers  and  stock  growers  of  Charles 
Mix  county,  where  he  owns  a  well  improved 
ranch  of  four  hundred  and  eighty  acres,  eight 
miles  southwest  of  the  village  of  Geddes,  in 
Jackson  township.  Mr.  Lathrop  is  a  native  of 
the  state  of  Iowa,  having  been  born  in  Johnson 


county,  on  the  23d  of  October,  1848,  and  being 
a  son  of  Henry  W.  and  Mary  W.  (Welton) 
Lathrop,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, in  1819,  while  his  wife  was  born  in 
New  York,  in  1820.  As  a  young  man  Henry 
W.  Lathrop  removed  from  his  native  state  to 
that  of  New  York,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
working  on  a  farm  and  getting  an  education 
until  1847.  He  had  made  a  careful  study  of  the- 
law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  New  York 
state.  In  the  year  mentioned  he  removed  to 
Iowa,  locating  in  Iowa  City  and  becoming  one 
of  the  pioneers  of  the  Hawkeye  state.  There  he 
was  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession 
about  four  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  he 
turned  his  attention  to  farming  and  stock  grow- 
ing, with  which  line  of  industry  he  continued 
to  be  thereafter  identified  until  his  death.  He 
was  a  man  of  high  intellectual  attainments  and 
utmost  probity,  and  wielded  much  influence  in 
his  community,  where  he  ever  commanded  uni- 
form confidence  and  esteem.  In  earlier  years  he 
was  arrayed  with  the  Whig  party,  but  he  was 
one  of  those  prominent  in  forwarding  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Republican  party,  of  whose  prin- 
ciples he  ever  afterward  continued  a  stanch  ad- 
vocate. Fraternally  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  He  died  in 
Sioux  Falls,  South  Dakota,  on  the  27th  of  De- 
cember, igo2,  having  removed  there  from  Iowa 
about  a  year  previously,  and  he  was  eighty-four 
years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  demise.  His  de- 
voted wife,  who  was  a  zealous  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  for  many  years,  was  sum- 
moned into  eternal  rest  in  Iowa,  on  the  i8th  of 
November,  igoi.  Of  their  five  children  three  are 
living,  namely:  Willard  A.,  the  immediate  sub- 
ject of  this  review ;  George  F.,  who  is  a  resident 
of  Los  Angeles,  California,  where  he  has  a 
fruit  farm;  and  Edith  M.,  who  is  the  wife  of 
William  I.  Lathrop,  a  farmer  and  stock  raiser 
of  Sioux  Falls,  South  Dakota.  The  father  of 
the  subject  attained  success  in  connection  with 
the  agricultural  enterprise,  and  his  estate  at  the 
time  of  his  death  was  valued  at  about  fifteen 
thousand  dollars. 

Willard  A.  Lathrop  passed  his  youthful  days 


652 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


on  the  homestead  farm  and  secured  his  educa- 
tional training  in  the  pubHc  schools  of  his  native 
state.  After  leaving  school  he  continued  to  be 
identified  with  farming  and  stock  raising  in 
Iowa  until  1882,  when  he  came  to  Charles  Mix 
county,  South  Dakota,  where  he  took  up  gov- 
ernment land,  to  which  he  later  added  until  he 
now  has  a  fine  ranch  of  four  hundred  and  eighty 
acres,  of  which  about  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  are  under  cultivation,  while  the  remainder 
is  utilized  for  the  grazing  of  his  live  stock  and 
for  the  raising  of  hay.  He  has  made  all  the 
improvements  on  his  place  and  they  are  of  the 
best  order,  and  he  has  attained  a  high  degree 
of  success  through  his  well  directed  efforts.  He 
gives  special  attention  to  the  raising  of  short- 
horn cattle  and  Poland-China  swine,  and  ships  a 
considerable  amount  of  stock  each  year.  He  is 
enterprising  and  public-spirited,  and  is  one 
of  the  popular  citizens  of  this  section.  In  poli- 
tics he  gives  his  allegiance  to  the  Republican 
party,  and  he  has  been  called  upon  to  serve  in 
various  positions  of  public  trust,  having  held 
membership  on  the  school  board  of  his  district 
for  a  number  of  years,  and  having  served  for 
one  term  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  county 
commissioners,  while  at  the  time  of  this  writing 
he  is  chairman  of  the  board  of  trustees  of 
Jackson  township.  Fraternally  he  is  affiliated 
with  Geddes  Lodge,  No.  135,  Ancient  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons,  at  Geddes. 

In  August,  1882,  i\Ir.  Lathrop  was  married 
to  Miss  Nellie  Smith,  who  was  born  and  reared 
in  the  state  of  Illinois.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lathrop 
have  seven  children,  namely:  Margaret,  Henry, 
Josephine,  Edith,  Caroline,  Florence  and  Amy, 
all  of  whom  remain  at  the  parental  home,  except 
Josephine,  who  at  the  time  of  this  writing  is 
attending  school  at  Ward  Academy,  in  Charles 
Mix  countv.  South  Dakota. 


FLOYD  E.  SWARTOUT  is  a  young  man 
of  distinctive  executive  ability  and  high  intel- 
lectuality, and  is  at  the  present  time  serving  in  the 
responsible  office  of  superintendent  of  schools  of 
Buffalo  county.     He  has  passed  the  major  por- 


tion of  his  life  in  South  Dakota  and  is  prominent 
in  educational  affairs,  having  been  a  successful 
teacher  for  a  number  of  years  prior  to  his  elec- 
tion to  his  present  office. 

Mr.  Swartout  was  born  in  Marshall  county, 
Iowa,  on  the  15th  of  April,  1873,  and  is  a  son 
of  Rev.  Edgar  P.  and  Mary  J.  (Kuns)  Swart- 
out, the  former  of  whom  was  born  in  the  state  of 
Alichigan  and  the  latter  in  Maryland,  while  they 
are  now  located  in  Lebanon,  Pot,ter  county. 
South  Dakota,  where  Mr.  Swartout  has  a  pas- 
toral charge.  He  is  a  member  of  the  clergy  of 
the  Congregational  church  and  has  been  long  and 
successfully  engaged  in  the  work  of  his  high 
calling,  being  a  man  of  high  attainments  and  one 
whose  earnest  and  devoted  labors  have  been 
prolific  in  good  to  his  fellow  men.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  secured  his  early  educational  dis- 
cipline in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  county 
and  was  nine  years  of  age  when,  in  1882,  his  par- 
j  ents  removed  to  South  Dakota,  taking  up  their 
'  residence  in  Badger,  Davison  county,  where  he 
continued  his  educational  work  in  the  village 
schools  until  1889,  when  he  was  matriculated  in 
the  academic  department  of  Yankton  College, 
where  he  continued  his  studies  for  the  prescribed 
term  of  four  years,  being  graduated  in  1896. 
After  leaving  college  Mr.  Swartout  engaged  in 
teaching  in  the  public  schools  and  in  1897  he 
came  to  Gann  ^'alley,  Buffalo  county,  to  accept 
the  principalship  of  the  local  schools,  continuing 
to  be  actively  and  successfully  engaged  in  the 
work  of  his  profession  here  until  1900,  when  he 
was  elected,  on  the  Populist  ticket,  to  his  present 
office  of  county  superintendent  of  schools.  It 
forthwith  became  evident  that  he  was  the  right 
man  in  the  right  place,  for  he  accomplished  ex- 
cellent results  in  the  unifying  and  systematiz- 
ing of  the  work  of  the  schools  in  his  jurisdiction. 
gaining  the  hearty  co-operation  of  the  teacher? 
in  the  various  localities  and  infusing  life  and 
vigor  into  the  work.  That  his  efforts  were  not 
denied  due  popular  appreciation  was  madi^ 
evident  by  his  re-election  in  the  fall  of  1902, 
and  he  is  earnestly  and  with  discrimination  car- 
rying forward  the  work  of  his  office,  his  second 
term   expiring  in  January,    1905.     He  gives  his 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


653 


allegiance  to  the  Populist  party  and  takes  a 
proper  interest  in  public  affairs,  particularly 
those  of  a  local  nature.  He  and  his  wife  are 
prominent  members  of  the  Congregational 
church,  in  whose  work  they  take  an  active  part, 
while  they  enjoy  the  highest  popularity  in  the 
social  circles  of  their  home  town.  Mr.  Swartout 
is  a  member  of  Gann  \''alley  Lodge,  No.  120, 
Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 

On  the  30th  of  August,  1899,  was  solemnized 
the  marriage  of  Mr.  Swartout  to  Miss  Charlotte 
A.  Stroud,  daughter  of  John  and  Clarissa 
(Church)  Stroud,  of  Gann  Valley,  and  they  are 
the  parents  of  two  children,  Minetta  Maud,  who 
was  born  July  27,  igoo,  and  died  November  30, 
1901,  and  Violet  Muriel,  who  was  born  on  the 
17th  of  June,  1903.    ■ 


DAA^D  F.  JONES,  who  is  successfully 
established '  in  the  drug  business  in  the  city  of 
Watertown,  is  orre  of  the  leading  representatives 
of  this  line  of  enterprise  in  the  state,  and  presi- 
dent of  the  state  board  of  pharmacy.  He  was  | 
born  in  LaCrosse  county,  Wiscon-in.  on  the 
27th  of  October,  1869,  being  a  son  of  John  W. 
and  Hilary  (Jones)  Jones,  both  of  whom  were 
born  and  reared  in  Wales,  where  the  father 
learned  and  followed  the  trade  of  cabinetmaking 
up  to  the  time*  of  his  emigration  to  America.  He 
located  in  LaCrosse  county,  Wisconsin,  where  he 
turned  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits,  in 
which  he  was  successful,  being  one  of  the  hon- 
ored and  substantial  citizens  of  the  Badger  state, 
]\Ionroe  county  becoming  his  permanent  home. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  on  the 
parental  farmstead  in  Monroe  county,  Wiscon- 
sin, and  after  availing  himself  of  the  advantages 
of  the  district  schools  continued  his  studies  in 
the  high  school  at  Sparta,  where  he  completed 
the  scientific  course.  Thereafter  he  was  for  a 
time  engaged  in  teaching,  while  he  also  served  a 
thorough  apprenticeship  in  a  drug  store  in  Bar- 
ron, Wisconsin,  while  he  was  matriculated  in  the 
school  of  pharmacy  of  the  Northwestern  Uni- 
versity,   at    Evanston,    Illinois,    where    he    was 


graduated  in  1894,  receiving  the  degree  of 
Graduate  in  Pharmacy.  Soon  after  his  gradua- 
tion, in  1894,  Mr.  Jones  came  to  Watertown  and 
established  himself  in  the  drug  business  in  the 
same  stand  which  he  now  occupies,  his  brother, 
E.  M.  Jones,  being  at  that  time  associated  with 
him.  In  the  following  year  the  subject  was 
tendered  the  chair  of  pharmacy  in  the  South 
Dakota  State  Agricultural  College,  at  Brookings, 
accepting  this  offer  and  rendering  effective 
service  in  that  capacity  during  the  ensuing  col- 
legiate year,  at  the  expiration  of  which,  in  1897, 
he  was  elected  president  of  the  State  Pharma- 
ceutical Association.  The  following  year  he  was 
appointed  to  fill  a  vacancy  as  a  member  of  the 
state  board  of  pharmacy,  by  Governor  Lee,  and 
served  as  president  of  that  body  for  one  year 
while  in  1900  he  was  re-appointed  a  member  of 
the  board,  by  Governor  Herreid,  being  incum- 
bent of  this  position  at  the  time  of  this  writing 
and  is  also  now  serving  for  the  second  time  as 
president,  having  rendered  signally  valuable 
service  in  the  connection  and  being  known  as 
one  of  the  most  scientific  and  best  informed 
pharmacists  and  chemists  in  the  state.  He  at  all 
times  manifests  a  loyal  interest  in  public  affairs 
of  a  local  nature,  is  at  the  present  time  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  aldermen  of  Watertown, 
representing  the  second  ward,  while  his  political 
allegiance  is  given  to  the  Republican  party.  He 
is  now  sole  owner  of  the  drug  business  which  he 
established  upon  his  arrival  in  the  city,  and  he 
carries  a  large  and  comprehensive  stock  of 
drugs,  chemicals,  proprietary  medicines  and  sun- 
dries, and  makes  a  specialty  of  prescription  work, 
as  well  as  bacteriological  and  microscopical 
work.  In  his  establishment  he  carries  a  large 
stock  of  books  and  stationery.  The  pleasant 
home  of  Mr.  Jones  is  located  at  623  Carpenter 
street,  and  is  a  center  of  refined  hospitality.  Fra- 
ternally he  is  identified  with  the  Knights  of 
P^'thias  and  the  Ancient  Order  of  LTnited  Work- 
men. 

On  the  14th  of  February,  1896,  Mr.  Jones 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mabel  E.  Coe, 
who  was  born   in  Illinois,  being  a  daughter  of 


654 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


C.  D.  and  Alice '  Coe.  wlio  were  residents  of 
Barron,  Wisconsin,  where  the  marriage  was 
solemnized. 


GEORGE  H.  BAXTER  is  one  of  the  rep- 
resentative business  men  of  Watertown,  the  at- 
tractive capital  city  of  Codington  county,  where 
he  is  now  the  sole  stockholder  in  the  Kampeska 
^Milling  Company,  owning  a  finely  equipped  mill, 
in  which  is  installed  the  most  modern  machinery, 
making  it  one  of  the  best  flouring  mills  in  the 
state. 

Mr.  Baxter  was  born  on  the  parental  farm- 
stead, in  Schuyler  county,  Illinois,  on  the  i6th 
of  September,  i860,  and  is  a  son  of  John  H.  and 
j\Iary  E.  (Bell)  Baxter,  the  former  of  whom 
was  born  in  West  Virginia  and  the  latter  in 
Illinois,  while  they  were  numbered  among  the 
pioneers  of  Illinois,  where  the  father  devoted  his 
attention  principally  to  agricultural  pursuits, 
having  been  a  cooper  by  trade.  He  died  Septem- 
ber 4,  1902,  in  Hamlin  county.  South  Dakota, 
where  his  widow  still  resides.  They  became  the 
parents  of  four  sons,  all  of  whom  are  living, 
while  the  subject  of  this  review  was  the  first 
in  order  of  birth. 

George  H.  Baxter  received  his  early  edu- 
cational training  in  the  public  schools  of  his 
native  county,  and  supplemented  this  by  a  course 
of  study  in  the  Chaddock  College,  at  Ouincy, 
Illinois.  He  continued  to  attend  school  until  he 
had  attained  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  and  in 
the  meanwhile  assisted  in  the  work  of  the  home 
farm,  with  which  he  continued  to  be  identified 
until  1882,  when  he  accompanied  his  parents  to 
South  Dakota  and  took  up  land  in  Hamlin 
county,  where  he  developed  a  valuable  farm, 
making  excellent  improvements  and  being  pros- 
pered in  his  efforts  as  an  agriculturist  and  stock 
grower.  He  continued  to  reside  on  his  ranch 
until  1893,  when  he  came  to  Watertown  and 
turned  his  attention  to  his  milling  business,  hav- 
ing become  a  stockholder  in  the  Kampeska  Mill- 
ing Company  at  the  time  of  its  organization,  in 
the  fall  of  1887,  at  Kampeska,  while  he  had  held 
various   official   positions   in   the   company,   hav- 


ing been  vice-president  at  the  time  of  taking  up 
his  abode  in  Watertown.  In  1900  he  purchased 
all  the  stock  not  previously  controlled  by  him, 
and  has  since  conducted  the  enterprise  individu- 
ally. The  original  capacity  of  the  mill  was 
fifty  barrels  per  day,  and  it  has  since  been  in- 
creased to  one-hundred-barrel  capacity,  while 
the  facilities  of  the  plant  throughout  are  of  the 
best  and  most  modern  type,  requiring  an  invest- 
ment of  about  fifty  thousand  dollars  and  about 
forty  tliousand  bushels  of  grain  are  shipped  an- 
nually. The  Kampeska  Milling  Company  was 
organized  at  Kampeska  in  1887  by  E.  D.  and 
E.  S.  Whitlock,  and  in  1888  it  was  removed  to 
Watertown,  and  E.  S.  Whitlock  continues  as 
superintendent.  Mr.  Baxter  owns  four  hundred 
acres  of  particularly  arable  farming  land.  He 
raises  on  this  ranch  large  quantities  of  wheat, 
barley  and  oats.  He  is  a  man  of  marked  busi- 
ness sagacity,  is  straightforward  in  all  his  deal- 
ings and  has  the  unqualified  respect  of  all  who 
know  him.  In  politics  he  is  stanchly  arrayed 
as  a  supporter  of  the  principles  of  the  Republican 
party  and  fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the 
Ancient  Order  of  Pyramids  and  with  the 
Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen.  His  com- 
modious and  attractive  modern  residence  is  lo- 
cated in  close  proximity  to  the  mill,  and  is  one 
of  the  hospitable  homes  of  the  city. 
j  On  the  13th  of  June,  1900,  i\Ir.  Baxter  was 
I  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Hattie  ^I.  Stone,  a 
:  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Harriet  (Tuttle)  Stone, 
now  retired,  of  \\'atertown,  who  were  pioneer 
settlers  in  the  state.  Mrs.  Baxter  is  prominent 
in  the  social  circles  of  Watertown,  where  she 
has  a  host  of  warm  friends.  Both  are  members 
of  the  Methodist  church. 


MARTIN  \'.  REDDIXG,  who  is  represent- 
ing Brown  county  in  the  state  legislature,  is  a 
natives  of  Luxembourg,  Germany,  where  he  was 
born  on  the  12th  of  December,  1843,  being  a  son 
of  Anton  and  ]\Iary  Redding,  who  emigrated  to 
America  when  he  was  a  lad  of  ten  years,  settling 
in  Dubuque  county,  Iowa,  in  which  state  they 
passed   the   remainder  of  their  lives,  the   father 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


655 


devoting  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits. 
Our  subject  had  received  the  rudiments  of  his 
education  in  the  national  schools  of  his  father- 
land, and  after  the  removal  to  Iowa  continued  his 
studies  in  the  public  schools  as  opportunity  af- 
forded. He  was  but  eighteen  years  of  age  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  but  his 
loyalty  to  the  Union  was  forthwith  manifested  in 
no  uncertain  way,  since  in  October,  1861,  he  en- 
listed in  Company  F,  Eleventh  Wisconsin  Volun- 
teer Infantry,  having  been  at  the  time  a  resident 
of  the  state  mentioned.  With  this  regiment  he 
served  until  the  close  of  the  war,  representing  a 
period  of  but  a  fortnight  less  than  four  years, 
since  he  was  mustered  out  in  September,  1865, 
receiving  his  honorable  discharge  at  Mobile, 
Alabama.  His  command  was  in  the  Mississippi 
vallev  from  St.  Louis  to  Texas,  and  later  was 
on  duty  at  Mobile,  when  it  proceeded  to  Fort 
Blakely,  and  later  was  under  General  Curtis  in 
Missouri  and  Arkansas.  At  Vicksburg,  on  the 
22d  of  May,  1863,  while  participating  in  the 
charge.  Mr.  Redding  was  wounded  in  the  right 
leg,  and  the  injury  was  so  severe  as  to  render  it 
necessary  for  him  to  remain  in  the  field  hospital 
for  three  weeks  and  for  six  weeks  in  the  hospital 
at  ]\Iemphis,  when  he  was  sent  to  the  general 
hospital  in  St.  Louis,  where  he  remained  six 
months,  at  the  expiration  of  which  he  rejoined 
his  command,  in  New  Orleans.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  his  first  term  of  enlistment  he  veteran- 
ized and  was  granted  a  thirtv  days'  furlough, 
which  he  passed  at  his  home  in  Wisconsin.  All 
the  members  of  his  regiment  re-enlisted  with  the 
exception  of  about  thirty,  who  were  captured 
while  with  Banks  on  the  Red  river  expedition. 
Mr.  Redding  participated  in  all  of  the  notable 
engagements  in  which  his  regiment  took  part 
and  his  record  was  that  of  a  gallant  and  faithful 
soldier  of  the  republic.  He  has  ever  kept  in 
touch  with  the  members  of  his  regiment,  which 
is  rapidly  being  decimated  by  the  one  invincible 
foe  of  humanity,  death,  and  to  all  of  the  men 
who  served  so  faithfully  during  the  great  con- 
flict his  sympathy  and  interest  are  accorded  and 
are  shown  in  his  affiliation  with  that  noble  or- 
ganization, the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.    He 


is  a  member  of  General  Rowley  Post,  No.  112, 
at  Frederick,  and  is  commander  of  the  same  at 
the  time  of  this  writing,  being  one  of  the  most 
prominent  and  popular  members  of  the  or- 
ganization. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  Mr.  Redding  took 
up  his  residence  in  ^^erona,  Wisconsin,  where  he 
was  engaged  in  farming  until  1882,  when  he 
came  to  Brown  county.  South  Dakota,  and  took 
up  a  homestead  claim  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  on  section  3,  township  127,  seven  miles 
west  of  the  present  village  of  Frederick.  Here 
he  has  ever  since  continued  to  reside,  having 
aided  materially  in  the  development  and  progress 
of  this  section  of  the  state  and  being  one  of  only 
four  in  the  locality  who  came  here  as  early  as 
1882.  He  gives  his  attention  to  diversified  farm- 
ing and  stock  growing  and  is  now  the  owner  of 
a  well  improved  landed  estate  of  three  hundred 
and  twenty  acres.  Mr.  Redding  was  connected 
in  a  prominent  way  with  the  organization  of 
Allison  township,  which  was  named  in  honor 
of  James  P.  Allison,  who  was  a  ranchman  on 
Elm  river,  where  he  took  up  his  residence  in 
1879.  Our  subject  has  served  in  various  town- 
ship offices  and  has  been  for  fourteen  years  a 
member  of  the  school  board  of  his  district.  In 
1900  he  was  elected  to  represent  his  county  in 
the  state  legislature  and  was  chosen  as  his  own 
successor  in  1902.  serving  during  the  seventh 
and  eighth  general  assemblies  and  being  an 
active  and  valued  member  of  the  legislative  body. 
He  served  as  a  member  of  the  committees  on 
military  highways  and  bridges,  penal  institu- 
tions, and  state  militia,  having  been  chairman  of 
the  last  named.  He  is  a  stanch  advocate  of 
maintaining  a  well  organized  and  equipped  state 
militia,  for  the  conservation  of  home  interests 
and  for  the  support  of  the  national  government 
when  demanded,  and  through  his  efiforts  in  the 
legislature  the  state  militia  of  South  Dakota  was 
placed  on  a  firm  basis,  an  appropriation  of 
seventy  thousand  dollars  being  secured  from  the 
state  for  its  proper  maintenance.  He  is  an  able 
speaker  and  on  the  floor  of  the  house  his  voice 
was  heard  in  the  effective  championship  of  those 
measures  which   met  his  approval,   and  he  was 


656 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


one  of  the  leaders  in  securing  the  estabhshing 
of  the  Northern  Normal  and  Industrial  School, 
in  Aberdeen,  and  is  called  the  "father"  of  the 
circulating  library  bill,  which  passed  the  legisla- 
ture of  1900  after  being  twice  defeated.  He  has 
ever  given  a  stanch  allegiance  to  the  Republican 
party,  and  has  been  an  active  worker  in  its  cause 
and  prominent  in  its  councils,  having  been  fre- 
quently a  delegate  to  the  various  county,  state 
and  congressional  conventions.  He  and  his  fam- 
ily are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  and  he  is  identified  with  Frederick 
Lodge,  No.  51,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, in  Frederick,  having  passed  the  official 
chairs  in  the  same  and  having  also  represented  it 
in  the  grand  lodge  of  the  state. 

At  Verona,  Wisconsin,  on  the  12th  of  Oc- 
tober, 1880,  Mr.  Redding  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Helen  A.  Root,  who  was  born  in 
Tonawanda,  New  York,  whence  her  parents  re- 
moved to  Wisconsin  when  she  was  six  years  of 
age.  The  three  children  of  this  union  all  re- 
main at  the  parental  home, — Carolyn  Genevieve, 
Sarah  Nathalie  and  James  Nathaniel,  and  both 
daughters  are  successful  and  popular  teachers 
in  the  public  schools  of  Brown  county,  while 
the  family  occupies  a  prominent  position  in  the 
best  social  life  of  the  communitv. 


LY:\[AN  TURNER.— The  subject  of  this 
review  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  one  of  the 
leading  farmers  and  stock  raisers  of  Brown 
county,  and  his  long  period  of  residence  in  this 
part  of  South  Dakota  has  made  his  name  a 
household  word  throughout  a  large  section  of  the 
country.  Lyman  Turner  is  of  New  England 
birth,  being  a  native  of  Oxford  county,  Alaine, 
where  he  first  saw  the  light  of  day  on  June  5, 
of  the  year  1842.  When  a  bov  he  accompanied 
his  parents  to  Dodge  county,  Wisconsin,  where 
he  grew  to  manhood  and  received  his  education, 
the  meanwhile  becoming  skillful  in  the  use  of 
tools  by  working  on  the  farm  with  his  father, 
who  was  a  carpenter  and  millwright. 

Young  Turner  devoted  his  attention  to  me- 
chanical and  farm  work  until  the  breaking  out 


of  the  Civil  war,  when  he  laid  aside  the  pursuits 
of  civil  life  and  went  to  the  maintaining  of  the 
integrity  of  the  L^nion.  Enlisting  August  14, 
1861,  in  Company  B,  Tenth  Wisconsin  Infantry, 
he  served  successively  in  the  armies  of  the  Ohio. 
Cumberland  and  Tennessee  and  was  with  his 
command  through  all  its  vicissitudes  of  campaign 
and  contest,  from  Perryville  to  the  fall  of  At- 
lanta, participating  in  eighteen  pitched  battles, 
besides  numerous  minor  engagements  and  skir- 
mishes, and  under  all  circumstances  bearing 
himself  as  a  true  soldier,  who  made  duty  para- 
mount to  every  other  consideration.  With  the 
exception  of  a  short  time  in  the  hospital,  he  was 
never  absent  from  his  command,  and  notwith- 
standing the  number  of  bloody  engagements  in 
which  he  took  part,  and  the  many  times  he  was 
exposed  to  danger  and  death,  he  came  through 
the  trying  ordeal  without  wound  or  injury. 
Being  honorably  discharged  in  the  fall  of  1864. 
after  three  years  and  two  months  of  strenuous 
and  faithful  service,  Mr.  Turner  returned  to 
Wisconsin  and  spent  the  winter  at  the  high 
school  at  Harrison.  In  the  spring  of  1863  he 
came  to  Blue  Earth  county,  Minnesota,  where 
he  followed  agricultural  pursuits  until  1871.  in 
which  year  he  married  and  moved  onto  a  farm 
in  Faribault  county,  that  state,  which  he  operated 
for  two  years.  He  then  traded  the  farm  for  a 
stock  of  general  merchandise,  and  for  two  years 
conducted  a  store,  having  the  postoffice  in  con- 
nection. In  the  fall  of  1875  he  lost  everything  by 
fire,  and  then  went  to  work  at  contracting  and 
building.  In  the  spring  of  1877  he  came  to 
South  Dakota,  and  locating  at  Sioux  Falls,  spent 
the  ensuing  five  years  as  a  contractor  and  builder, 
during  which  time  he  did  considerable  work  in 
that  citv  and  other  jilaces.  Returning  to  Wis- 
consin in  1882  he  spent  one  year  at  Superior, 
that  state,  but  in  the  spring  of  1883  again  came 
west  and  decided  to  make  his  permanent  home 
in  Brown  county.  South  Dakota.  After  spend- 
ing one  year  at  Columbia,  as  a  contractor,  he 
discontinued  mechanical  pursuits  and  opening  a 
hardware  store  in  that  town,  soon  found  him- 
self at  the  head  of  a  thriving  and  constantly 
growing    business.      His    establishment    became 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


657 


large  and  extensively  patronized,  but  after  man- 
aging the  same  until  1893,  he  disposed  of  his 
stock  and  turned  his  attention  to  agricultural 
pursuits,  moving  in  1894  to  a  rented  farm  of 
six  hundred  and  four  acres  which  he  farmed  till 
1900,  when  he  moved  onto  his  own  farm  of  three 
hundred  and  eighty-five  acres,  and  gave  it  the 
name  of  the  Badger  farm,  by  which  it  is  now 
known. 

Since  1894  Mr.  Turner  has  devoted  his  entire 
attention  to  agriculture  and  stock  raising  and  his 
success  in  both  these  lines  has  steadily  increased 
until  he  now  ranks  with  the  foremost  farmers 
and  cattle  raisers,  not  only  in  this  county,  but 
in  the  eastern  part  of  the  state.  He  farms  two 
hundred  and  forty  acres  of  his  land,  and  makes 
a  specialty  of  graded  short-horned  cattle,  in  the 
breeding  and  raising  of  which  he  has  achieved 
an  enviable  reputation.  For  several  years  past 
he  has  rented  and  grown  between  five  hundred 
and  six  hundred  acres  of  grain,  with  an  annual 
product  of  about  six  thousand  bushels,  the  large 
yield  attesting  the  great  fertility  of  his  land  and 
its  peculiar  adaptability  to  any  kind  of  crop 
grown  in  this  latitude.  Mr.  Turner  has  made 
many  valuable  improvements  on  his  farm  and 
could  easily  dispose  of  it  at  fifty  dollars  per  acre, 
a  remarkable  advancement  on  the  amount  which 
he  originally  invested  in  the  land.  He  has  no 
desire  to  sell,  however,  being  content  with  the 
beautiful  and  attractive  home  he  has  secured  and 
satisfied  with  the  life  he  now  leads,  as  a  prosper- 
ous and  thrifty  tiller  of  the  soil,  and  a  raiser  of 
fine  live  stock,  which,  with  his  surplus  grain 
crops,  yields  him  a  liberal  and  continuously  in- 
creasing income. 

In  his  political  sentiment,  Mr.  Turner  is  a 
pronounced  Republican,  and  he  has  been  one  of 
the  active  party  workers  in  Brown  county,  fre- 
quently being  chosen  a  delegate  to  local,  district 
and  state  conventions,  but  his  ambition  has  never 
led  him  to  seek  office  nor  aspire  to  any  kind  of 
public  distinction.  Coming  to  South  Dakota 
more  than  twenty-seven  years  ago,  he  has  wit- 
nessed the  remarkable  advancement  of  the  state 
along  the  line  of  material  development,  and  like 
other   enterprising  men   of  his    class,    has    en- 


couraged to  the  limit  of  his  ability  this  steady 
growth,  having  faith  in  the  ultimate  greatness  of 
the  commonwealth  and  in  the  stability  of  its  in- 
stitutions. IMr.  Turner  possesses  a  strong  and 
sturdy  character,  and  his  prominence  as  a  pub- 
lic-spirited citizen  has  made  him  widely  and 
favorably  known  throughout  the  county  of  which 
he  is  an  honored  resident.  His  industry, 
economy  and  consecutive  application  have  en- 
abled him  to  acquire  a  handsome  property  and 
become  one  of  the  well-to-do  men  of  his  com- 
munity, while  his  strength  of  mind  and  activity 
in  all  of  his  undertakings  constitute  him  a  leader 
whom  others  are  wont  to  imitate  and  follow. 

Mr.  Turner's  family  consists  of  himself  and 
wife  only,  their  union  having  never  been  blessed 
with  offspring.  He  has  raised  two  children, 
however,  and  provided  liberally  for  their  main- 
tenance, giving  them  the  best  educational  ad- 
vantages the  country  affords  and  sparing  no 
pains  in  looking  after  their  interests  and  prepar- 
ing them  for  lives  of  honor  and  usefulness.  Mrs. 
Turner,  formerly  Miss  Nettie  Emerson,  was 
born  in  Ellisburg,  Jefiferson  county".  New  York, 
but,  in  the  fall  of  1856,  when  about  ten  years  of 
age,  accompanied  her  parents  upon  their  removal 
to  Minnesota,  where  she  lived  until  her  marriage 
to  Mr.  Turner,  in  April,  1871.  She  and  her 
husband  are  consistent  communicants  of  the  Con- 
gregational church,  being  among  the  original 
members  of  the  congregation  worshiping  at  Co- 
lumbia. 


JOHN  CEDERSTRUM.— This  gentleman, 
who  is  engaged  in  farming  and  stock  raising  in 
Dayton  township,  Lincoln  county.  South  Dakota, 
hails  from  Sweden,  and,  like  the  majority  of  his 
sturdy  nationality,  possesses  in  an  eminent  de- 
gree the  attributes  essential  to  a  high  order  of 
American  citizenship.  He  was  born  on  Novem- 
ber 30,  1847,  being  the  son  of  Ludwig  and  Anna 
Cederstrum,  both  natives  of  Sweden,  the  father 
a  farmer  by  occupation  and  a  man  of  sterling 
worth  in  his  day.  By  reason  of  the  death  of  his 
parents,  which  occurred  when  he  was  a  small 
boy,  the  subject  was  earl}-  thrown  upon  his  own 


658 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


resources  and  for  a  number  of  years  gained  his 
livelihood  as  a  farm  laborer.  He  continued 
to  work  in  this  way  until  about  twenty-two  years 
old,  when  he  decided  to  leave  the  land  of  his 
birth  and  seek  for  better  opportunities  in  the 
great  country  across  the  sea,  of  which  he  had 
heard  and  read  so  much,  and  to  which  many  of 
his  friends  and  countrymen  had  already  emi- 
grated. Accordingly  in  1869,  with  twelve  com- 
panions, he  set  sail  for  America  and  in  due  time 
landed  at  Quebec,  Canada,  and  thence  proceeded 
to  Red  Wing,  Minnesota,  and  a  little  later  to  the 
city  of  St.  Paul. 

Shortly  after  his  arrival  at  the  latter  place 
Mr.  Cederstrum  secured  employment  on  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  where  he  worked 
about  one  year,  and  during  the  ensuing  sixteen 
years  he  was  similiarly  engaged  with  the  Chi- 
cago &  Northwestern  and  other  railroads  in  the 
course  of  construction.  He  continued  railroad 
work  in  various  states  until  the  fall  of  1871, 
when  he  came  to  South  Dakota,  locating  at  Sioux 
Falls,  where  he  remained  about  ten  years,  re- 
moving in  1881  to  Lincoln  county  and  purchas- 
ing land  in  Dayton  township,  which  he  has  since 
cultivated  and  otherwise  improved.  ]Mr.  Ceder- 
strum has  reduced  the  greater  part  of  his  place 
to  tillage  and  in  addition  thereto  rents  land  of 
his  neighbors,  also  works  at  intervals  at  rail- 
roading, especially  during  the  seasons  when  his 
presence  is  not  particularly  needed  on  the  farm. 
He  devotes  his  attention  to  general  agriculture, 
raises  considerable  live  stock,  and  though  not  as 
large  a  land  owner  as  some  of  his  neighbors,  his 
efforts  in  the  main  have  been  crowned  with  suc- 
cess and  he  is  today  in  very  comfortable  circum- 
stances. 

Mr.  Cederstrum  has  been  a  member  of  the 
town  board  for  several  years,  has  served  on  the 
local  board  of  education  and  takes  an  active  in- 
terest in  public  and  political  affairs,  being  a  zeal- 
ous supporter  of  the  Republican  party,  but  in  no 
sense  an  aspirant  for  official  honors.  He  was 
married  in  the  year  1881  to  Miss  Cecelia  Peter- 
son, a  native  of  Sweden,  the  union  being  ter- 
minated by  the  death  of  his  wife  after  six  years 
of  happy  wedded  experience.     Mrs.  Cederstrum 


departed  this  life  in  1887,  leaving  one  son,  Mel- 
vin  L.,  an  intelligent  and  enterprising  young 
man,  who  is  now  his  father's  able  assistant  on 
the  farm.  Religiously  the  subject  is  a  member 
of  the  Lutheran  church,  in  which  faith  he  was 
reared  and  to  which  he  has  always  remained 
true,  his  wife  having  also  been  identified 
with  this  communion.  Mr.  Cederstrum  is 
a  loyal  citizen  of  his  adopted  country,  a 
great  admirer  of  its  institutions,  and  combines 
all  the  qualities  and  attributes  of  the  up-to-date 
American  except  in  the  matter  of  birth.  Honor- 
able in  all  his  dealings,  faithful  to  his  every  ob- 
ligation and  earnest  in  his  endeavors  to  advance 
the  interests  of  his  fellow  men,  he  is  much 
esteemed  by  all  who  know  him,  and  occupies  a 
conspicuous  place  among  the  representative  citi- 
zens of  the  township  and  county  in  which  he 
lives. 


GEORGE  G.  LASELL,  one  of  the  repre- 
sentative members  of  the  bar  of  Grant  county. 
is  incumbent  of  the  position  of  cashier  of  the 
State  Bank  of  Twin  Brooks,  and  is  one  of  the 
highly  honored  and  influential  citizens  of  this 
section. 

Mr.  Lasell  was  born  in  Spring  A'alley,  Min- 
nesota, on  the  22d  of  November.  1867,  and  is 
a  son  of  Z.  D.  and  Roxana  M.  (Lund)  Lasell. 
The  father  of  the  subject  was  born  in  the 
province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  of  stanch  French 
lineage,  being  a  direct  descendant  of  the  Sieur 
de  La  Salle,  the  famous  explorer  of  the  ^Missis- 
sippi  river,  whose  name  is  honored  in  history. 
The  mother  of  our  subject  was  born  in  Vermont, 
being  of  Irish  descent  in  the  agnatic  line,  while 
the  Lund  family  was  founded  in  New  England 
in  the  early  colonial  epoch,  representatives  of  the 
same  having  been  valiant  soldiers  in  the  Con- 
tinental line  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution. 
Z.  D.  survives  his  wife,  living  at  Waubay,  South 
Dakota.  In  the  family  were  four  sons  and  five 
daughters,  all  living.  Three  of  the  brothers  are 
associated  in  the  banking  business, — Silas  T.  is 
cashier  of  the  State  Bank  of  Waubay,  Day 
county,  and  president  of  the  State  Bank  of  Twin 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


659 


Brooks ;  Dana  A.  is  a  farmer  near  Waubay ; 
George  G.  is  the  next  youngest,  and  Marion  C. 
is  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  at  Lamoure, 
North  Dakota,  and  is  one  of  the  stockholders  in 
the  State  Bank  of  Twin  Brooks. 

George  G.  received  his  early  educational  dis- 
cipline in  the  public  schools  of  Minnesota,  hav- 
ing accompanied  his  parents  on  their  various  re- 
movals, and  was  graduated  in  the  high  school  at 
Spring  \'alley,  that  state,  as  a  member  of  the 
class  of  1888,  while  thereafter  he  devoted  five 
years  to  teaching  in  the  public  schools,  having 
met  with  excellent  success  in  his  pedagogic  work, 
while  he  was  for  a  time  a  student  in  the  law  de- 
partment of  the  Northern  Indiana  Normal 
School  at  Valparaiso,  Indiana.  He  gave  careful 
attention  to  the  study  of  law  while  teaching,  and 
in  1900  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  South  Dakota. 
He  came  to  this  state  in  1888,  and  purchased  the 
plant  and  business  of  a  newspaper  called  the 
Clipper,  at  Waubay,  continuing  as  editor  and 
publisher  of  the  same  for  one  year,  when  he 
disposed  of  the  enterprise  and  identified  himself 
with  the  general  merchandise  business  in  that 
town,  being  thus  engaged  about  five  years,  at 
the  expiration  of  which,  in  1900,  he  sold  out 
and  began  the  practice  of  law  in  Waubay.  In 
the  winter  of  1901-2  he  became  associated  with 
his  brothers  in  the  establishing  of  the  bank  at 
Waubay,  while  in  the  following  winter  they 
established  the  Bank  of  Twin'  Brooks,  of  which 
he  has  been  cashier  from  its  inception.  The 
Lasell  brothers  are  also  the  interested  principals 
in  the  Lasell  Lignite  Coal  Company,  of  North 
Dakota,  with  headquarters  at  Aberdeen,  South 
Dakota,  and  are  also  prominently  interested  in 
the  lumbering  business  in  the  state  of  Washing- 
ton, as  members  of  the  Washington  Fir  &  Cedar 
Lumber  Company,  of  Cosmopolis,  that  state. 
They  are  active  and  progressive  business  men 
and  have  attained  prominence  and  success 
through  their  well  directed  efforts.  George  G. 
is  a  stanch  Democrat  in  his  political  proclivities, 
but  has  never  been  an  aspirant  for  public  office. 
Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  ^Modern  Wood- 
men of  America. 


On  the  24th  of  March,  1888,  Mr.  Lasell  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Effie  IM.  Toogood, 
who  was  born  and  reared  in  Minnesota,  being  a 
daughter  of  Dwight  and  May  (Williams)  Too- 
good,  both  of  whom  were  born  in  Massachu- 
setts, while  they  now  reside  at  Pleasant  Grove, 
Minnesota. 


GEORGE  H.  GRACE,  who  is  incumbent  of 
the  position  of  superintendent  of  schools  of  Hand 
county,  is  a  native  of  Green  county,  Wisconsin, 
where  he  was  born  on  the  8th  of  August,  1871, 
being  a  son  of  John  and  Harriet  (Thorpe) 
Grace,  who  are  now  residing  in  Mitchell,  South 
Dakota,  the  father  being  a  retired  farmer.  John 
Grace  was  a  valiant  soldier  in  the  Union  army 
during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  in  which  he 
served  four  years.  He  enlisted  as  a  member  of 
the  Third  Wisconsin  Volunteer  Infantry,  with 
which  he  participated  in  many  of  the  notable 
battles  of  the  great  internecine  conflict,  includ- 
ing those  of  Gettysburg  and  Chancellorsville,  in 
the  latter  of  which  he  received  a  severe  wound. 

The  subject  of  this  review  secured  his  early 
educational  training  in  the  public  schools  of  his 
native  state,  and  was  about  fourteen  years  of 
age  at  the  time  of  his  parents'  removal  to  what 
is  now  South  Dakota,  the  family  locating  at  that 
time  in  Lincoln  county,  where  his  father  engaged 
in  farming  and  stock  raising.  After  completing 
the  curriculum  prescribed  in  the  public  schools 
Mr.  Grace  continued  his  studies  in  the  Wessinton 
Springs  Academy,  this  state,  while  in  1899  '""^ 
took  a  special  course  in  Drake  University,  at 
Des  Moines,  Iowa.  For  the  first  two  years  of 
his  residence  in  the  state  his  home  was  in 
Lincoln  county,  and  thereafter  he  resided  in 
Buffalo  county,  where,  in  1894.  he  was  elected 
clerk  of  the  courts,  while  a  few  months  later 
he  was  appointed  county  superintendent  of 
schools.  To  this  office  he  was  later  returned  by 
general  election,  receiving  the  endorsement  of 
both  political  parties,  upon  whose  tickets  his 
name  appeared,  there  being  no  opposing  candi- 
date. This  action  was  a  gratifying  testimonial 
to  the  ability  which  he  had  displayed  as  an  edu- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


cator  and  executive  officer.  In  1897  Mr.  Grace 
resigned  this  office  to  accept  the  position  of 
principal  of  the  high  school  at  Mitchell,  and 
he  served  in  this  capacity  for  three  years,  at  the 
expiration  of  which  he  came  to  the  town  of 
Miller,  to  accept  the  principalship  of  the  public 
schools  here.  This  incumbency  he  retained  two 
years,  and  in  November,  1902,  he  was  elected 
county  superintendent  of  schools  of  this  county, 
for  a  term  of  two  years,  being  the  candidate  on 
the  Republican  ticket.  He  has  made  an  enviable 
record  in  vitalizing  and  systematizing  the  work 
of  the  schools  in  his  jurisdiction,  and  has  gained 
the  earnest  co-operation  of  the  people  of  the 
county  and  of  the  teachers  employed.  ^Ir.  Grace 
is  a  stanch  advocate  of  the  principles  of  the 
Republican  party. 

On  the  6th  of  July,  1894,  Mr.  Grace  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Minnie  Waterbury, 
of  East  Pierre,  South  Dakota,  whose  death  oc- 
curred fifteen  months  later,  and  on  the  26th  of 
June,  I  goo,  was  consummated  his  marriage  to 
Miss  Belle  C.  Leffingwell,  who  was  born  and 
reared  in  Iowa,  being  a  daughter  of  A.  J.  Leffing- 
well, who  is  now  a  resident  of  Exira,  Iowa. 
Mrs.  Grace  is  a  woman  of  gracious  presence  and 
high  intellectual  attainments,  and  was  appointed 
principal  of  the  Miller  schools  to  succeed  her 
husband  at  the  time  of  his  election  to  the  office 
of  county  superintendent.  They  have  no  chil- 
dren. 


EDWARD  C.  PAYNE,  who  is  a  member 
of  the  board  of  commissioners  of  Brown  county, 
is  one  of  the  representative  farmers  and  stock 
growers  of  this  section  of  the  state  and  is  one 
of  those  loyal  and  progressive  citizens  who  have 
contributed  so  materially  to  the  development  of 
the  resources  of  our  great  commonwealth.  Mr. 
Payne  claims  the  old  Empire  state  as  the  place 
of  his  nativity,  having  been  born  in  Jefferson 
county.  New  York,  on  the  2d  of  August,  1853, 
and  being  a  son  of  William  and  Emily  Payne, 
both  of  whom  are  now  deceased,  being  survived 
by  five  of  their  children.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  reared  on  the  homestead   farm,  se- 


curing a  common-school  education  and  proving 
himself  fertile  in  resources  while  still  a  young 
man,  in  that  he  showed  facility  in  turning  his 
hand  to  varied  lines  of  work.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-five  years  he  removed  to  Freeborn  county. 
Minnesota,  where  he  remained  two  years,  at  the 
expiration  of  which,  in  1880,  he  came  to  what 
is  now  the  state  of  South  Dakota  and  entered 
claim  to  his  present  half  section  of  land,  four 
miles  south  of  ^^'arner.  He  has  made  all  the  im- 
provements on  this  fine  homestead  and  develojied 
into  one  of  the  most  attractive  and  valuable 
farms  in  this  section.  In  ^Nlarch,  two  years  after 
securing  this  land,  Mr.  Payne  was  joined  bv  his 
family,  their  first  domicile  being  an  unpreten- 
tious board  shanty  of  most  primitive  order.  In 
the  fall  of  1882  he  erected  a  substantial  residence, 
to  which  he  made  additions  in  1887  and  1903. 
so  that  the  house  is  now  a  commodious  and  at- 
tractive one,  well  adapted  to  all  needs  of  the 
family  and  constituting  a  pleasant  home.  He  has 
under  cultivation  an  entire  section  of  land,  from 
which  he  has  secured  a  total  yield  of  six  thou- 
sand bushels  of  wheat  in  one  year,  while  he  also 
devotes  special  attention  to  the  raising  of  high- 
grade  shorthorn  cattle.  Mr.  Payne  is  signally 
fortunate  in  having  upon  his  farm  an  ample  sup- 
ply of  water  for  all  purposes,  the  same  being 
secured  from  an  artesian  well  which  he  sunk  in 
the  year  1900,  the  same  having  a  flow  of  ninety- 
five  gallons  a  minute,  while  there  are  only  three 
other  such  wells  in  the  county,  his  having  been 
the  first,  while  he  has  further  increased  the 
value  of  the  faciiities  thus  afforded  by  the  con- 
struction of  an  artifitial  pond  which  offers  stor- 
age for  a  large  amount  of  water  and  enables  him 
to  use  the  same  in  the  irrigation  of  his  well  kept 
gardens.  Since  1885  Mr.  Payne  has  operated  a 
threshing- ou-tfit,  and  has  made  this  a  profitable 
enterprise  in  connection  with  his  farming.  In 
politics  he  is  a  stanch  supporter  of  the 
principles  of  the  Republican  party,  In  whose 
cause  he  has  been  an  active  worker  in  his  county. 
In  the  fall  of  1902  he  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  board  of  county  commissioners  for  a  term 
of  four  years,  assuming  the  duties  of  the  office  on 
the    1st   of   January.     1903.     Fraternally    he    is 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


affiliated  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows  and  the  adjunct  organization,  the 
Daughters  of  Rebekah,  having  passed  the  official 
chairs  in  the  former  lodge,  which  he  has  also 
represented  in  the  grand  lodge  of  the  state,  while 
Mrs.  Payne  is  also  a  member  of  the  Daughters 
of  Rebekah. 

In  1873  Mr.  Payne  was  married  to  Miss 
Rosa  Grappotte,  who  died  in  1890,  being  sur- 
vived by  five  children,  William,  who  is  engaged 
in  farming  in  this  county ;  Emory,  who  is  a 
resident  of  New  York  city,  where  he  has  attained 
a  high  reputation  in  athletic  circles ;  Floyd,  who 
is  engaged  in  railroad  work ;  Frank,  who  is  a 
machinist ;  and  Carrie,  who  remains  at  the  pa- 
ternal home.  In  Day  county,  this  state,  on  the 
27th  of  October,  1892,  Mr.  Payne  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Katie  Ryman,  and  they  have 
one  daughter,  Trilvian. 


FRED  S.  PEW  admirably  typifies  the 
progressive  spirit  and  conservative  business 
judgment  which  have  made  the  young  men  of 
the  great  west  so  important  factors  in  all 
branches  of  industrial  activity  and  civic  advance- 
ment. He  is  vice-president  of  the  Citizens'  State 
Bank,  of  Andover;  president  of  the  Day  County 
Land  Company  and  president  of  the  Andover 
Hotel  Company,  while  he  has  other  important 
capitalistic  interests. 

Mr.  Pew  was  born  in  Madrid,  St.  Lawrence 
county.  New  York,  x\ugust  19,  1861,  being  a  son 
of  George  W.  and  Nancy  A.  Pew,  both  of  whom 
were  likewise  born  in  the  old  Empire  state,  being 
of  Irish  lineage.  The  subject  received  his  early 
educational  training  in  the  public  schools  of  his 
native  town,  and  there  remained  until  he  Ind 
attained  the  age  of  twenty  years,  when,  in  the 
spring  of  1881,  he  accompanied  his  parents  on 
their  removal  to  the  territory  of  Dakota.  In  the 
spring  of  1883  he  located  in  Andover,  Day 
county,  and  here  he  was  actively  and  success- 
fully engaged  in  the  livery  business  until  1890, 
while  from  that  time  forward  to  1898  he  was 
engaged  in  the  real  estate  and  loan  business.  He 
was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Day   County 


Land  Company  in  1898,  and  when  the  same 
was  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  state,  in 
1902,  he  was  made  president  of  the  company, 
which  position  he  still  retains,  the  company  be- 
ing capitalized  for  one  hundred  thousand  dollars 
and  controlling  an  extensive  and  profitable  busi- 
ness in  the  handling  of  lands  in  South  Dakota 
and  the  extending  of  first-mortgage  loans.  Mr. 
Pew  has  also  held  the  office  of  vice-president  of 
the  Citizens'  State  Bank  of  Andover  from  the 
time  of  its  organization,  in  July,  1902,  the  in- 
stitution being  incorporated  with  fifteen  thou- 
sand dollars  capital  and  being  one  of  the  solid 
banks  of  the  state.  Mr.  Pew  was  the  prime 
factor  in  the  organization  of  the  Andover  Hotel 
Company,  which  erected  the  fine  modern  hotel 
known  as  the  Waldorf,  in  Andover,  in  1903,  and 
of  this  company  he  is  president,  while  he  is  a 
member  of  the  directorate  of  other  important  cor- 
porations in  the  town.  In  politics  Mr.  Pew  is 
a  stanch  advocate  of  the  principles  of  the  Re- 
publican party,  and  he  takes  an  active  interest  in 
public  affairs,  being  at  the  time  of  this  writing 
mayor  of  Andover  and  also  secretary  of  the 
board  of  education,  while  he  commands  the 
unequivocal  confidence  and  esteem  of  the  com- 
munity to  whose  advancement  and  prosperity  he 
has  so  materially  contributed  through  the  various 
enterprises  with  which  he  is  identified.  He  is  a 
communicant  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church,  and 
fraternally  he  holds  membership  in  the  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen,  the  Modern  Wood- 
men of  America,  the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees 
and  the  Degree  of  Honor. 

On  the  2d  of  July,  1884,  was  solemnized  the 
marriage  of  Mr.  Pew  to  Miss  Jennie  M.  Miller, 
who  was  born  in  Decatur,  Illinois,  on  the  29th  of 
December,  1858,  being  a  daughter  of  Joseph  S. 
and  Mary  Miller.  Of  this  union  have  been  born 
two  sous,  Frank  M.  and  Fred  E. 


NEWTON  B.  REED  has  been  actively  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  law  in  the  attractive  city 
of  Woonsocket,  Sanborn  county,  for  more  than 
a  score  of  years,  and  is  one  of  the  honored 
citizens  of  this  section  of  the  state.    His  was  the 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


distinction  of  being  the  first  county  judge  and 
he  was  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  figures  in 
the  organization  of  the  county,  which  was 
originally  a  portion  of  Miner  county. 

Judge  Reed  and  his  twin  brother,  Norman 
H.  Reed,  now  of  Santa  Barbara,  California, 
were  born  at  Buffalo  Grove  (now  Polo),  Illinois, 
November  2,  1848.  His  parents  were  Franklin 
S.  and  Fanny  (Hicks)  Reed,  both  of  whom  are 
buried  at  the  Reed  cemetery  near  Polo.  Four 
children  were  born  to  these  parents.  The  eldest,  i 
Charles  I.  Reed,  a  member  of  Company  D,  j 
Ninety-second  Illinois  Infantry,  was  killed  at  the 
battle  of  Chickamauga,  and  his  sister,  Phebe  A. 
Day,  resides  at  Rome,  Illinois.  The  subject  se- 
cured his  early  education  in  the  common  schools  [ 
of  his  native  county  and  later  entered  the  Illinois 
State  Normal  University,  at  Normal,  where  he 
was  graduated  as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1872. 
Shortly  afterward  he  entered  the  law  department 
of  the  Illinois  Wesleyan  University,  at  Bloom- 
ington,  Illinois,  where  he  completed  the  pre- 
scribed course  and  was  graduated  in  1875,  being 
admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  state  in  June  of  that 
vear.  He  forthwith  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
his  profession  in  Bloomington,  a  city  noted  for 
the  ability  of  its  bar,  and  where  he  laid  the  foun- 
dations of  his  legal  education.  Judge  Reed  there  ! 
continued  to  practice  until  July,  1882,  when  he 
came  to  what  is  now  Sanborn  county.  South 
Dakota,  locating  in  Woonsocket,  where  he  has 
ever  since  maintained  his  home  and  been  en- 
gaged in  the  work  of  his  chosen  profession, 
being  known  as  one  of  the  representative  mem- 
bers of  the  bar  of  the  state.  Sanborn  county 
was  organized  in  1883  and  he  was  elected  the 
first  county  judge.  The  first  judicial  records  of 
the  county  are  in  his  handwriting.  The  county 
was  a  part  of  ]\liner  county  at  the  time  of  Judge 
Reed's  location  here,  and  in  January,  1883,  a 
mass  meeting  was  called  to  take  steps  for  the 
erection  of  the  new  county,  the  assembly  being 
held  in  the  town  of  Letcher.  Judge  Reed  in- 
troduced at  this  meeting  the  resolution  to  name 
the  county  Sanborn,  in  honor  of  George  W.  San- 
born, who  was  at  that  time  the  local  superintend- 
ent of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Rail- 


road, one  of  the  first  to  enter  the  state.  He  was 
also  sent  by  the  mass  meeting  as  delegate  to  the 
territorial  legislature,  then  in  session,  to  promote 
the  interests  of  the  new  county  and  to  secure  its 
creation,  his  labors  being  so  well  directed  as  to 
secure  the  desired  organization.  In  politics 
Judge  Reed  is  a  stalwart  advocate  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Re]5ublican  party,  and  he  has  been 
an  active  worker  in  its  cause.  His  public  spirit 
and  his  interest  in  the  city,  county  and  state  of 
his  adoption,  have  been  of  the  insistent  order  and 
have  been  manifested  in  divers  and  helpful  ways. 
He  was  one  of  the  most  influential  promoters  of 
the  plan  through  which  was  accomplished  the 
construction  of  the  beautiful  artesian  lake  which 
is  now  one  of  the  distinctive  attractions  of  the 
county  and  state.  In  recognition  of  his  efforts  in 
this  connection  the  citizens  of  Woonsocket, 
through  Major  J.  T.  Kean,  presented  the  Judge 
with  a  beautiful  gold-headed  cane. 

On  the  28th  of  June,  1877,  Judge  Reed  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  Alice  Stroud, 
of  Belvidere,  Illinois,  she  being  a  daughter  of 
Samuel  and  Rachel  (Merrill)  Stroud  and  a  na- 
tive of  the  state  mentioned.  Of  this  union  have 
been  born  four  children,  namely :  Charles  S.,  who 
is  editor  and  publisher  of  the  Woonsocket 
Herald,  one  of  the  most  influential  papers  in  this 
section  of  the  state;  and  Amy  Clare,  Clara 
Louise,  and  Marion,  who  remain  at  the  parental 
home,  the  family  being  prominent  in  the  best 
social  life  of  the  communitv. 


PATRICK  J.  GERIN  figures  as  one  of 
the  ]iioneer  citizens  of  the  attractive  village  of 
Chamberlain,  Brule  county,  where  he  was  num- 
bered among  the  first  permanent  settlers,  while 
his  enterprise  and  business  sagacity  led  him  to 
engage  in  the  grocery  trade  here  at  a  time  when 
the  town  was  represented  by  only  three  or  four 
buildings,  and  he  has  ever  since  continued  in  this 
line  of  business  here,  having  built  up  a  large 
trade  throughout  the  surrounding  country  and 
holding  the  unqualified  confidence  and  esteem 
of  all  who  know  him.  Mr.  Gerin  is  a  native  of 
the   Dominion  of  Canada  and   comes  of  stanch 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


663 


Irish  lineage.  He  was  born  in  the  beautiful  town 
of  Cobourg,  province  of  Ontario,  on  the  28th  of 
November,  1859,  and  was  reared  and  educated 
in  his  native  province,  where  he  continued  to 
maintain  his  home  until  the  year  1879,  when  he 
set  forth  for  the  west,  coming  to  what  was  then 
the  undivided  territory  of  Dakota  and  located  in 
Sioux  Falls,  where  he  remained  two  years.  At 
the  expiration  of  this  period,  in  1881,  he  came 
to  Chamberlain,  Brule  county,  arriving  in  May 
of  that  year  and  finding  the  site  of  the  village 
marked  by  only  two  buildings.  He  purchased 
the  lot  on  which  his  present  business  building  is 
located  and  then  returned  to  Sioux  Falls,  where 
he  purchased  the  necessary  material  with  which 
to  construct  his  store,  after  the  completion  of 
which  he  installed  a  stock  of  groceries,  beginning 
operations  on  a  modest  scale.  With  the  growth 
of  the  town  and  the  settling  up  of  the  surround- 
ing country  his  enterprise  expanded  and  pros- 
pered, and  to  meet  the  demands  of  his  patrons 
he  has  kept  his  stock  up  to  the  highest  possible 
standard,  both  in  comprehensiveness  and  quality, 
while  he  has  spared  no  pains  in  catering  to  the 
wants  of  his  patrons,  who  in  turn  manifest  a 
distinctive  appreciation.  In  politics  Mr.  Gerin 
is  a  Republican  and  he  is  one  of  the  valued 
citizens  and  business  men  of  the  countv. 


HENRY  M.  DAVISON.— The  enterprising 
young  business  man  and  popular  citizen  whose 
name  furnishes  the  heading  of  this  review  needs 
no  formal  introduction  to  the  people  of  Spring- 
field and  Bon  Homme  county.  Mr.  Davison  is 
in  every  sense  of  the  word  a  western  man,  as  he 
was  born  and  reared  in  South  Dakota  and  thus 
far  his  life  has  been  very  closely  identified  with 
the  growth  and  development  of  Bon  Homme 
county,  where  he  first  saw  the  light  of  day  on 
January  5,  1870.  His  father,  Henry  C.  Davison, 
was  a  native  of  Augusta,  Maine,  and  his  mother, 
who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Alberta  Mead, 
was  born  in  the  state  of  New  York.  These  par- 
ents moved  to  Illinois  a  number  of  years  ago, 
thence  in  1869  to  Bon  Homme  county.  South 
Dakota,  where  the  father  was  engaged  in  mer- 


chandising until  1874,  when  he  discontinued  that 
line  of  business  and  began  dealing  in  live  stock. 
His  experience  in  the  latter  industry  was  of 
brief  duration,  however,  as  he  died  the  latter 
year,  shortly  after  taking  up  his  residence  in 
Springfield.  Mrs.  Davison  bore  her  husband 
two  children  and  about  two  years  after  his  death 
she  became  the  wife  of  George  W.  Snow,  with 
whom  she  now  lives  in  the  above  town. 

Henry  M.  Davison  was  born  and  reared  in 
Springfield,  South  Dakota,  and  enjoyed  the  best 
educational  advantages  the  schools  of  the  town 
afforded.     He  early  manifested  a  decided  pred- 
ilection for  business  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
entered  the  Springfield  Bank,  in  which  he  held 
an  important  position  from  1888  to  1892.    Sever- 
ing his  connection  with  that  institution  the  latter 
year,    he   became    associated    with    other   parties 
in   organizing  the    Springfield   Hardware   Com- 
pany, with  which   enterprise   he  has   since  been 
j  connected,   the   business   growing  to   large   pro- 
\  portions  the  meanwhile,   until  the  establishment 
j   is   now  the   largest   and   most   successfully   con- 
I  ducted   of   the   kind    in'  the   city.      In    1903    the 
company    added     agricultural     implements     and 
farm  machinery  to  their  stock  and  the  patron- 
age in  these  lines  is  already  large  and  lucrative 
and  steadily  increasing. 

While  deeply  interested  in  his  business  affairs 
and  making  every  other  consideration   subordi- 
nate thereto,  Mr.  Davison  has  not  been  unmind- 
ful  of  his   obligations   to   the   public   or   of  his 
duties  as  a  citizen.     From  an  early  age  he  has 
1   taken    a    lively    interest    in     matters     of    public 
j  moment   and   since   old   enough   to  exercise   the 
I  rights  of  the  ballot  he  has  been  an  earnest  and 
I  zealous  supporter  of  the  Republican  party.     In 
I  recognition  of  his  valuable  political  services  as 
well  as  by  reason  of  his  peculiar  fitness  for  the 
position,    he   was    elected    in    1896   treasurer    of 
Springfield,   the   duties   of   which   office   he    dis- 
charged efficiently  and  to  the  entire  satisfaction 
of  the  public  for  a  period  of  five  years.     Later 
he  was  further  honored  by  being  made  mayor, 
and  he  is  now  in  his  second  term  in  this  office. 
During  his   incumbency   municipal   affairs   have 
been  ably  and  faithfully  managed  and  the  citv 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


is  now  enjoying  one  of  the  best  administrations 
in  its  history. 

Mr.  Davison  is  one  of  the  leading  young 
men  of  his  city  and  county,  and  his  influence  in 
business  circles  and  public  affairs  has  been 
marked  and  salutary.  As  already  indicated,  his 
life  has  been  spent  in  Springfield,  and  his  per- 
sonal history  presents  no  pages  marred  or 
blotted  by  unworthy  actions.  Few  men  in  the 
comraimity  are  as  widely  and  favorably  known, 
none  enjoy  higher  standing  as  a  generous, 
obliging,  self-sacrificing  friend,  and  from  what 
he  has  already  accomplished  it  is  gafe  to  predict 
for  him  increased  usefulness  and  additional  pub- 
lic recognition  and  honor  with  each  succeeding 
year.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  in  Springfield,  and  since  1891  has  been 
a  member  of  Mt.  Zion  Lodge,  No.  6,  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons,  in  addition  to  which  fra- 
ternities he  is  also  identified  with  the  Order  of 
Eastern  Star  and  the  ^Modern  Woodmen  of 
America,  having  held  important  official  po- 
sitions in  all  of  these  organizations.  Religiously 
he  subscribes  to  the  Episcopal  creed,  and  with 
his  wife  belongs  to  the  church  at  Springfield,  in 
which  he  is  a  zealous  worker  and  to  the  support 
of  which  he  contributes  liberally  of  his  means 
and  influence. 

Mr.  Davison,  on  January  15.  1896,  contracted 
a  matrimonial  alliance  with  Aliss  Eva  G.  Stevens, 
an  intelligent  and  accomplished  young  lady,  who 
was  born  in  Cass  count}-,  Iowa,  and  who  with 
her  husband  has  since  moved  in  the  best  social 
circles  of  the  city  in  which  they  reside.  Air. 
and  Mrs.  Davison  have  a  beautiful  home  plen- 
tifully supplied  with  the  comforts,  conveniences 
and  many  of  the  luxuries  and  their  domestic  re- 
lations are  indeed  most  pleasant  and  agreeable. 
Airs.  Davison  was  elected  worthy  grand  matron, 
Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  of  South  Dakota,  at 
Deadwood  in  June,  1903. 


J.  O.  MELHAM  is  a  native  of  the  state  of 
Minnesota,  having  been  born  on  a  farm  in  Fill- 
more county,  on  the  20th  of  April.  1866,  and 
being  a  son  of  Ole  O.  and  Ann  Melham,  both 


of  whom  were  born  and  reared  in  Xorway, 
where  their  marriage  was  solemnized.  There  the 
father  of  the  subject  was  engaged  in  teaching 
until  1861,  when  he  emigrated  thence  with  his 
family  to  America,  remaining  for  a  brief  interval 
in  Wisconsin,  and  thence  moving  to  Fillmore 
county,  Minnesota,  where  he  purchased  land  and 
turned  his  attention  to  farming,  having  been 
numbered  among  the  pioneers  of  that  section. 
He  there  continued  to  reside  until  1877.  when  he 
returned  to  Wisconsin  and  purchased  a  farm  in 
Buffalo  county,  being  there  actively  and  suc- 
cessfully engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  until 
1881,  when  he  disposed  of  his  place  and  came 
with  his  family  to  what  is  now  the  state  of 
South  Dakota,  locating  in  Deuel  county,  where 
he  purchased  a  claim  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  land,  in  Brandt  township,  where  he  im- 
proved a  good  farm,  being  one  of  the  early- 
settlers  in  the  locality  and  becoming  one  of  the 
prominent  and  highly  honored  citizens  of  the 
county.  He  died  on  his  homestead  on  the  19th 
of  September,  1887,  at  the  age  of  fifty-six  years, 
while  his  wife  still  resides  on  the  farm  with  two 
of  her  children.  They  became  the  parents  of 
six  children,  all  of  whom  are  living  in  this  state, 
nan-iely :  Julia,  unmarried ;  Emma,  who  is  the 
wife  of  O.  C.  Halverson,  of  Brandt ;  Ole,  who  is 
operating  the  home  farm ;  J.  O.,  who  is  the  im- 
mediate subject  of  this  review ;  Andrew,  who  is 
associated  with  J.  C,  and  Anna,  who  is  a  clerk 
in  Watertown.  The  father  was  a  Republican  in 
politics,  and  his  religious  faith  was  that  of  the 
Lutheran  church,  of  which  his  wife  also  is  like- 
wise a  devoted  member. 

J.  O.  Alelham  passed  the  first  decade  of  his 
life  on  the  farm  on  which  he  was  born,  and  his 
rudimentary  educational  training  was  thus  se- 
cured in  the  district  schools  of  Fillmore  county, 
■Minnesota,  while  later  he  continued  his  studies  in 
the  public  schools  of  Wisconsin  and  South 
Dakota.  After  leaving  school  he  continued  to 
assist  in  the  work  of  the  home  farm  in  Deuel 
county.  South  Dakota,  until  he  had  attained  to 
his  legal  majority,  when  he  initiated  his  in- 
dependent career,  securing  employment  in  an 
agricultural-implement     store     at     Clear     Lake, 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


665 


where  he  remained  four  years,  during  which 
period  he  engaged  in  buying  grain  during  the 
autumn  seasons.  Thereafter  he  was  for  one  3'ear 
employed  as  bookkeeper  in  the  Bank  of  Toronto, 
Deuel  county,  and  at  the  expiration  of  this 
period  he  resigned  his  position,  in  1892.  and  en- 
gaged in  the  lumber  and  hardware  business  in 
Brandt,  that  county,  associating  himself  with 
Ole  Halverson,  under  the  firm  name  of  Halver- 
son  &  Alelham.  The  partnership  was  dissolved 
in  1895,  since  which  time  Mr.  Melham  has  con- 
tinued to  be  identified  with  the  lumber  business, 
which  is  now  carried  on  upon  an  extensive  scale, 
being  associated  in  the  enterprise  with  his 
brother  Andrew,  under  the  title  of  the  Melham 
Brothers  Lumber  Company,  which  is  incorpo- 
rated under  the  laws  of  the  state,  and  of  which 
he  is  president  and  treasurer,  the  company  hav- 
ing well  equipped  yards  in  each  of  the  follow- 
ing named  towns  in  the  state :  Albee,  Brandt, 
Bryant,  Volga  and  Hazel,  all  in  South  Dakota, 
with  about  fifty-six  thousand  dollars  invested. 
The  annual  sales  amount  to  about  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  The  subject  is  the  owner  of 
two  valuable  farms  in  Deuel  county,  is  president 
of  the  State  Bank  of  Brandt,  and  also  of  the 
First  State  Bank  of  Hazel,  Hamlin  county,  while 
he  is  a  stockholder  in  the  First  National  Bank 
of  Volga,  Brookings  county.  In  addition  to  his 
varied  landed  and  capitalistic  interests  in  this 
state  he  is  also  the  owner  of  nine  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  land  in  British  Columbia.  Mr. 
Melham  continued  to  reside  in  the  village  of 
Brandt  until  1903,  when  he  removed  to  Water- 
town,  where  he  now  maintains  his  home  and 
business  headquarters.  In  politics  he  gives  a 
stanch  allegiance  to  the  Republican  party,  but 
is  essentially  and  primarily  a  business  man  and 
has  never  had  any  desire  for  the  honors  or  emolu- 
ments of  public  office.  He  and  his  wife  are  con- 
sistent and  active  members  of  the  Lutheran 
church. 

On  the  1st  of  June,  1896,  at  the  home  of  the 
bride,  in  Deuel  county,  Mr.  Melham  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Miss  Julia  H.  Tolrud,  a  daughter 
of  T.  O.  Tolrud,  a  wealthy  and  influential  farmer 
of  that  county,  to  which  he  came  from  Fillmore 


county,  Minnesota,  in  the  early  'eighties,  Mrs. 
Melham  having  been  born  in  the  county  last 
mentioned,  and  having  been  reared  and  educated 
in  South  Dakota,  and  being  a  lady  of  gracious 
presence  and  distinctive  refinement.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Melham  have  four  children,  namely :  Wil- 
liam Oscar,  Mark  E.,  Arnold  Gerhard  and 
Thomas  Walter. 


CONRAD  EYMER.— A  resident  of  South 
Dakota  since  1869  and  one  of  the  oldest,  best 
known  and  most  highly  esteemed  citizens  of 
Bon  Homme  county,  with  the  history  and  de- 
velopment of  which  his  life  has  been  very  closely 
identified,  it  is  eminently  fitting  in  this  connec- 
tion that  due  mention  be  made  of  the  successful 
farmer  and  public-fpirited  man  of  affairs  whose 
name  introduces  this  article.  Conrad  Eymer  is 
a  native  of  Homberg,  Hesse  Cassel,  Germany, 
where  his  birth  occurred  on  August  3,  1842. 
His  father,  Jacob  Eymer,  also  born  in  Hesse 
Cassel,  was  a  confectioner  by  trade  and  fol- 
lowed that  line  of  work  all  his  life,  having  been 
an  expert  in  the  manufacturing  of  candies,  as 
well  as  a  man  of  intelligence  and  excellent  re- 
pute. He  lived  an  industrious  and  useful  life 
and  died  in  the  land  of  his  birth  in  the  year 
1849.  Mrs.  Eymer,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Hasenfplug.  survived  her  husband  many  years, 
and  was  called  to  the  other  world  in  1893,  after 
reaching  a  ripe  old  age.  To  this  couple  four 
children  were  born,  the  oldest  of  whom  is  Kate, 
wife  of  Timothy  Heineman.  a  contractor  and 
builder  of  Covington,  Kentucky ;  Lizzie,  the  sec- 
ond daughter,  lives  in  Covington  also;  Conrad 
is  the  third  in  order  of  birth  and  the  youngest 
of  the  family ;  a  daughter  by  the  name  of  Sophia 
married  Luke  C.  Walker  and  lives  in  Lower 
Brule  Agency,  South  Dakota. 

Conrad  Eymer  remained  in  the  land  of  his 
birth  until  about  eleven  years  of  age,  when  he 
accompanied  his  mother  to  the  L^nited  States  and 
for  several  weeks  thereafter  lived  in  Baltimore, 
Maryland.  Leaving  that  city,  he  went  to  Cov- 
ington, Kentucky,  where  he  resided  until  1869, 
devoting    his'  attention    the    meanwhile    to    me- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


chanical  work,  making  a  specialty  of  carpentry, 
which  he  learned  in  early  life.  In  the  latter 
year  he  yielded  to  a  desire  of  long  standing  by 
coming  west  and  in  due  time  arrived  in  what  is 
now  Cleveland  township,  Bon  Homme  county, 
South  Dakota,  where  he  pre-empted  and  then 
homesteaded  a  quarter  section  of  land,  which  he 
at  once  proceeded  to  convert  into  a  home.  The 
land  was  wild  and  it  required  a  great  deal  of 
hard  work  to  reduce  it  to  cultivation  and  make 
the  other  necessary  improvements,  but  with  an 
energy  that  knew  no  lagging  and  a  determi- 
nation that  hesitated  at  no  difficulty,  he  persevered 
in  his  efforts  until  he  had  one  of  the  best  de- 
veloped farms  in  his  section  of  the  country,  be- 
sides adding  to  its  area  by  subsequent  purchases. 
Mr.  Eymer  now  owns  two  hundred  and  fqrty 
acres  of  fine  land,  all  of  which  is  tillable,  and  as 
a  farmer  and  stock  raiser  his  success  has  been 
marked  and  his  progress  steady  and  substantial. 
He  markets  every  year  a  large  number  of  cattle 
and  hogs,  which  with  the  products  of  the  farm 
bring  him  a  liberal  income  and  he  is  today  one 
of  the  thrifty,  well-to-do  men  of  his  township 
and  county,  as  well  as  a  leading  citizen  of  the 
community  in  which  he  resides.  Mr.  Eymer  is 
a  Republican,  but  not  a  very  active  politician 
and  he  has  never  aspired  for  office  nor  to  any 
kind  of  public  station.  He  has  always  been  an 
honest,  hard-working,  law-abiding  citizen,  con- 
tent with  the  quiet  life  of  the  farm,  but  ready 
and  willing  to  lend  his  influence  and  support  to 
all  enterprises  and  progressive  measures  for  the 
advancement  of  the  country  and  the  welfare  of 
the  people.  In  addition  to  his  long  and  honorable 
career  in  civil  life,  he  has  a  military  record  also, 
having  served  in  the  late  Rebellion,  as  a  member 
of  Company  B.  Fifty-third  Kentucky  Mounted 
Infantry,  which  did  valiant  service  for  the  Union 
in  some  of  the  noted  campaigns  and  a  number 
of  the  bloody  battles  of  that  great  struggle.  Hfe 
enlisted  in  1863  and  shared  with  his  comrades 
all  the  vicissitudes  of  its  varied  experience  until 
the  close  of  the  war,  proving  under  all  circum- 
stances a  brave  soldier,  whose  loyalty  to  his 
adopted  country  was  as  strong  and  enduring  as 
if  he  had  been  born  and  bred  on  American  soil. 


Mr.  Eymer  was  married  in  the  year  1867  to 
Miss  Kate  Deiss,  of  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  who 
accompanied  her  parents  to  America  when  six 
years  of  age  and  grew  to  womanhood  in  Coving- 
ton, Kentucky.  Eleven  children  have  been  born 
of  this  union,  namely :  Albert,  a  farmer  living 
at  Tyndall,  this  state;  Charles,  who  lives  with 
his  parents;  Carrie,  wife  of  Charles  Bixby,  of 
Bon  Homme  county;  William  married  Anna 
Paddock  and  resides  in  Cleveland  township, 
where  he  is  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  and 
stock  raising ;  Kate  is  the  wife  of  Oscar  Snow- 
den  and  lives  in  Lyman  county.  South  Dakota ; 
Walter  is  deceased ;  the  younger  members  of  the 
family,  whose  names  are  Sophia,  Timothy. 
Arthur,  Mabel  and  Pearl,  are  still  inmates  of  the 
parental  home.  Religiously  the  subject  and  his 
wife  subscribe  to  the  IMethodist  Episcopal  creed 
and  are  consistent  and  respected  members  of  the 
local  church  with  which  thev  are  identified. 


JAMES  D.  REEVES,  of  Groton,  Brown 
county,  is  a  man  who  has  wielded  no  little  in- 
fluence in  the  public  and  civic  affairs  of  South 
Dakota,  having  been  prominently  identified  with 
the  newspaper  business  and  having  served  the 
commonwealth  for  four  years  in  the  responsible 
office  of  state  auditor.  He  is  a  citizen  who  com- 
mands public  confidence  and  esteem  and  his  life 
record  is  such  as  to  well  entitle  him  to  repre- 
sentation in  this  work. 

Mr.  Reeves  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  Min- 
nesota, having  been  born  in  the  village  of  Pleas- 
ant Grove,  Olmstead  county,  on  the  ist  of 
March,  1858,  and  bqing  a  son  of  Rev.  Michael 
D.  and  Martha  Reeves,  the  former  of  whom  is 
a  clergyman  of  the  Baptist  church,  while  he  was 
also  for  a  number  of  years  successfully  engaged 
in  farming  in  Minnesota.  The  early  educational 
advantages  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  were 
such  as  were  afforded  in  the  public  schools  of 
his  native  state,  while  as  a  youth  he  served  an 
apprenticeship  to  the  trade  of  printer,  at  Spring 
Valley,  ^Minnesota,  where  he  devoted  his  atten- 
tion to  this  preliminarj-  discipline  from  1874  to 
1878.  becoming  a  skilled  workman  and  not  fail- 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


667 


ing  to  duly  profit  by  the  experience  to  be  gained 
in  a  newspaper  office, — an  experience  which  has 
been  pertinently  designated  as  equivalent  to  a 
liberal  education.  On  the  9th  of  September, 
1881,  Mr.  Reeves  established  in  Groton,  South 
Dakota,  its  first  newspaper,  to  which  he  gave  the 
name  of  the  Groton  Mirror.  In  the  following 
}-ear  he  here  founded  the  Brown  County  (Co- 
lumbia) Sentinel,  while  in  1884  he  established 
the  Groton  Independent,  of  which  he  is  still 
editor  and  publisher,  this  paper  being  practically 
the  sticcessor  of  the  Groton  Mirror,  the  Groton 
News,  the  Groton  Eagle,  the  Groton  Advocate 
and  the  Groton  Gazette,  so  that  the  application  of 
the  law  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest  may  be  a 
subject  of  incidental  reference  in  the  connection. 
Mr.  Reeves  is  recognized  as  a  thoroughly  trained 
newspaper  man  and  as  one  of  progressive  ideas, 
and  these  facts  predicate  success,  which  has  not 
been  denied  him.  In  politics  he  has  been  known 
as  an  uncompromising  advocate  of  the  principles 
and  policies  of  the  Republican  party,  and  his 
services  in  the  connection  have  been  unstinted 
and  effective  during  the  years  of  his  residence  in 
South  Dakota.  He  served  for  two  years  as  a 
member  of  the  Groton  school  board  and  for  an 
equal  period  as  mayor  of  the  town,  his  adminis- 
tration as  chief  executive  of  the  municipal  gov- 
ernment being  such  as  to  gain  to  him  unequivocal 
commendation.  In  1899  he  was  elected  auditor 
of  the  state,  remaining  in  tenure  of  this  office 
until  1903  and  proving  a  most  discriminating 
and  efficient  incumbent.  Mr.  Reeves  has  been 
a  member  of  the  ^Masonic  fraternity  since  1879, 
having  been  initiated  and  raised  in  the  lodge  at 
Hastings,  Minnesota,  and  he  is  also  identified 
with  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  and 
the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America. 

In  Glencoe,  Minnesota,  on  the  20th  of  June, 
1883,  Mr.  Reeves  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Bertha  Snyder,  and  her  death  occurred  on  the 
2Sth  of  December,  1894.  Of  the  children  of  this 
union  we  record  that  Gertrude  V.  was  born 
August  13,  1884;  Jay  E.,  May  25,  1886:  and 
Jackson  D.,  October  21,  1888;  while  twin  sons, 
born  November  25,  1894,  died  in  infancy.  The 
other  three  children  remain  at  the  paternal  home. 


On  the  igth  of  April,  1899,  Mr.  Reeves  con- 
summated a  second  marriage,  being  then  united 
to  Miss  Mona  B.  Taubman,  of  Aberdeen,  South 
Dakota,  no  children  having  been  born  to  them. 


HOSEA  BRIDGMAN.— The  subject  of  this 
sketch  is  a  native  of  Cook  county,  Illinois,  and 
the  son  of  Chauncy  and  Betsy  Jane  (Miller) 
Bridgman,  the  father  born  J\Iay  i,  1814.  in 
Tioga  county.  New  York,  and  the  mother  on 
October  2,  1817,  in  the  same  state.  These  par- 
ents were  married  November  i,  1835,  and  two 
years  later  moved  to  Cook  county,  Illinois,  set- 
tling near  Elgin,  where  Mr.  Bridgman  engaged 
in  farming,  in  connection  with  which  he  also  did 
considerable  building  in  that  city  and  the  coun- 
try surrounding.  He  died  November  8,  1846, 
while  on  a  visit  to  New  York,  after  which  his 
wife  and  children  moved  to  Wisconsin,  where 
the  latter  were  reared  and  educated.  Mrs. 
Bridgman,  who  was  a  daughter  of  Alvah  and 
Sarah  Jane  Miller,  survived  her  husband  a  num- 
ber of  years,  departing  this  life  at  Springfield, 
South  Dakota,  on  April  3.  1883.  She  was  the 
mother  of  four  children,  namely :  Alvah  T.,  born 
j  July  25,  1836,  present  postmaster  of  Springfield, 
j  South  Dakota ;  Mary  L.  was  born  June  24,  1840, 
and  died  on  July  4th  of  the  same  year;  Hosea, 


of  this  review,  is  the  third  in  order  of  birth,  and 
Helen,  who  was  born  March  21,  1844,  lives  with 
the  subject  and  owns  valuable  real  estate  in  Bon 
Homme  which  she  entered  a  number  of  years 
ago  when  she  first  came  west. 

Hosea  Bridgman  spent  the  greater  part  of 
his  childhood  and  youth  in  Wisconsin  and  when 
a  young  man  traveled  quite  extensively  over  the 
counties  of  Rock  and  Green,  as  a  photographer, 
devoting  several  years  to  this  kind  of  work. 
Subsequently  he  opened  a  meat  market  and  con- 
tinued to  operate  the  same  until  1873.  when  he 
disposed  of  his  business  interests  in  Wisconsin 
and  came  to  South  Dakota,  locating  at  Spring- 
field, Bon  Homme  county,  in  the  spring  of  1874. 
During  his  residence  in  Springfield,  which 
covered  a  period  of  twelve  years,  Mr.  Bridg- 
j  man  devoted  his  attention  to  freighting  and  built 


6(;.8 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


up  a  lucrative  business,  running  a  number  of 
teams  and  handling  a  vast  amount  of  merchan- 
dise and  other  goods  and  heavy  articles.  Dis- 
continuing this  line  of  work  in  1885,  he  took  up 
a  quarter  section  of  land  in  section  61, 
township  93,  to  which  he  moved  his  fam- 
ily in  1885  and  from  that  time  to  the  present 
he  has  given  his  attention  to  agriculture  and  live 
stock,  meeting  with  encouraging  success  as  a 
tiller  of  the  soil  and  breeder  and  raiser  of  blooded 
and  high-grade  domestic  animals. 

Mr.  Bridgman  has  added  to  his  realty  until 
his  farm  now  contains  four  hundred  and  eighty 
acres  of  fine,  productive  land,  nearly  all  of  which 
is  under  cultivation  and  highly  improved.  He 
has  good,  substantial  buildings,  including  a  com- 
fortable and  commodious  dwelling,  supplied  with 
many  of  the  conveniences  and  not  a  few  of  the 
luxuries  of  life.  All  things  considered,  he  is 
well  situated  to  enjoy  the  liberal  fruits  of  his 
labors,  being  in  independent  circumstances,  with 
a  sufficient  competence  laid  up  for  future  years. 
]\Ir.  Bridgman  has  many  warm  friends  in  the 
community  where  he  resides  and  his  popularity 
is  bounded  only  by  the  limits  beyond  which  his 
name  is  unknown.  He  stands  high  in  the  esteem 
of  his  neighbors  and  fellow  citizens,  and  by  a 
course  of  conduct  above  the  suspicion  of  wrong- 
doing demonstrates  his  right  to  the  confidence 
reposed  in  him.  Politically  he  is  a  Republican, 
but  not  a  zealous  partisan. 

Mr.  Bridgman  was  married  in  Green  covmty, 
Wisconsin,  to  Miss  Hannah  H.  \'an  Curan,  of 
Edinburg,  Erie  county,  Pennsylvania,  the  union 
resulting  in  the  birth  of  three  children,  viz : 
.•\rthur,  manufacturer  and  dealer  in  harness, 
Perkins,  South  Dakota :  Edith,  one  of  the 
county's  efficient  and  popular  teachers,  and 
Nettie,  who,  in  addition  to  teaching,  is  skillful 
in  the  art  of  photography.  Mr.  Bridgman  spared 
no  expense  in  educating  his  children,  all  three 
having  taken  courses  in  the  State  Normal  School, 
at  Springfield.  They  are  intelligent,  more  than 
ordinarily  cultured  and  greatly  respected  in  the 
social  circles  in  which  they  move.  In  addition 
to  his  long  and  successful  career  as  a  farmer, 
Mr.  Bridgman  can  also  boast  of  creditable  mili- 


tary record,  having  served  during  the  latter  part 
of  the  late  Civil  war  as  a  member  of  Company 
I,  Forty-Sixth  Wisconsin  Volunteer  Infantry. 
He  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  period  of  en- 
listment in  Alabama,  and  later  did  guard  duty 
principally  until  the  downfall  of  the  rebellion. 


WILLIAM  W.  DO^^^XIE,  editor  and 
publisher  of  the  Herald  Advance,  at  Milbank, 
was  born  in  Hamilton,  Ontario,  on  the  2d  of 
March,  1855.  George  Downie,  his  father,  was 
]  born  in  Scotland  and  was  a  blacksmith  by  oc- 
cupation. \\'hen  \\'illiam  was  about  six  years 
old  his  parents  moved  to  ^Michigan  and  in  that 
state  he  spent  his  }-outh  and  early  manhood,  re- 
'  ceiving  a  common-school  education  and  on  leav- 
j  ing  home  he  entered  a  newspaper  office  in  Spring 
Lake.  After  becoming  an  efficient  workman  he 
I  was  employed  for  a  number  of  years  in  various 
offices  in  Michigan,  and  St.  Paul,  ^Minnesota,  and 
in  1879  came  to  Big  Stone  City,  South  Dakota, 
.  where  he  started  the  same  year  the  Herald,  the 
I  first  newspaper  published  in  Grant  county.  The 
1  Herald,  during  the  ten  years  of  its  publication 
at  Big  Stone,  acquired  a  liberal  patronage  and 
became  a  Republican  party  organ  of  no  small 
influence.  In  1889  it  was  moved  to  Milbank  and 
consolidated  with  the  Advance,  since  when  the 
Herald  Advance  has  made  its  weekly  appearance 
with  a  constantly  increasing  circulation  and  a 
steadily  growing  advertising  patronage.  In  its 
mechanical  make-up  it  is  a  creditable  e.xample  of 
the  art  preservative,  and  in  a  general  way  it  is 
designed  to  vibrate  with  the  public  pulse  and 
to  be  a  reflex  of  the  current  thought  of  the  day. 
It  is  the  official  Republican  organ  of  Grant 
county,  and  under  the  management  of  I\Ir. 
Downie,  who  is  a  keen  and  forceful  writer,  its 
influence  in  moulding  party  sentiment  and  con- 
tributing to  the  success  of  the  ticket  is  second  to 
none  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  state. 
Through  it  as  a  medium.  Mr.  Downie  has  done 
much  to  promote  the  material  welfare  of  Alil- 
bank  and  Grant  county,  being  a  strong  advocate 
of  all  enterprises  calculated  to  advance  the  in- 
terests of  the  people,  and  he  has  been  untiring  in 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


669 


his  efforts  to  improve  the  social,  educational  and 
moral  condition  of  the  community.  While  living 
at  Big  Stone  City  he  served  as  the  first  ma3'or 
of  the  city  and  for  some  years  as  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  since  coming  to  Milbank  has  been 
active  in  public  affairs,  being  honored  with  im- 
portant official  position,  having  been  appointed 
in  the  spring  of  1903  postmaster,  the  duties  of 
which  trust  he  has  since  discharged  with  credit 
to  himself  and  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the 
public.  He  also  served  on  the  board  of  educa- 
tion, and  as  president  of  that  body  labored  so 
eft'ectually  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  schools 
that  in  point  of  efficiency  they  now  compare 
favorably  with  those  of  the  larger  and  much 
more  pretentious  cities. 

In  addition  to  his  educational  and  official 
duties,  j\Ir.  Downie  owns  a  fine  farm,  under  a 
high  state  of  cultivation.  He  is  active  in  Masonic 
circles,  being  a  Sir  Knight,  and  is  also  identified 
with  the  ]\Iodern  Woodmen  of  America  and 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  having 
passed  all  the  chairs  in  the  latter  fraternity. 

Mr.  Downie  was  married  at  Big  Stone, 
August  15,  1882,  to  Miss  Henri'^tta  Molm, 
daughter  of  John  W.  Molm,  a  native  of  Germany 
and  one  of  the  early  pioneers  of  Grant  county. 
Mrs.  Downie  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  but  has 
spent  the  greater  part  of  her  life  in  South 
Dakota,  having  been  quite  young  when  her  par- 
ents came  to  Big  Stone.  The  marriage  of  Mr. 
and  l\Irs.  Downie  has  been  blessed  with  two 
children,  the  older  of  whom,  Jessie,  died  at  the 
age  of  seven  years.  The  other  is  Bessie  E. 
Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Downie  are  leading  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Milbank. 


J.  C.  HALL,  one  of  the  representative  ag- 
riculturists of  Brown  county,  also  a  merchant 
and  grain  dealer  and  a  breeder  of  full-blooded  ; 
Shropshire  sheep,  has  been  an  honored  resident 
of  South  Dakota  since  July,  1880,  at  which  time 
he  located  on  a  homestead  near  the  present  town 
of  Bath  and  lived  on  the  same  until  converting 
it  into  one  of  the  finest  farms  in  that  part  of  the 
country.      His    success    during   the    interim    has 


been  marked  and  all  of  his  undertakings  appear 
to  have  prospered  even  surpassing  his  most 
ardent  expectations.  After  living  where  he 
originally  settled  until  the  year  1897,  Mr.  Hall 
moved  to  his  present  home  on  Elm  river,  eight 
miles  north  of  Aberdeen,  where  he  owns  a  beau- 
tiful place  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  which 
he  devotes  chiefly  to  the  raising  of  highly  prized 
Shropshire  breed  of  sheep,  in  connection  with 
which  he  also  carries  on  agriculture,  buys  and 
ships  grain  and  runs  a  large,  general  store  in 
the  town  of  Ordway,  As  a  sheep  raiser  he  has 
a  wide  reputation,  many  of  his  animals  having 
been  exhibited  at  the  different  fairs  throughout 
the  state,  with  the  result  that  they  have  in- 
variably been  awarded  the  highest  premiums 
wherever  entered  for  competition.  His  flock  at 
this  time  consists  of  one  hundred  and  seventv- 
five  head,  all  registered  and  of  the  highest  grade 
of  excellence,  their  unmixed  blood  and  general 
supremity  over  the  best  animals  of  other  breeds 
creating  a  great  demand  far  in  excess  of  the 
owner's  inclination  or  ability  to  supply.  Mr. 
Hall  began  breeding  sheep  in  1878  and  since 
that  time  has  given  his  attention  exclusively  to 
the  Shropshire  variety,  which  he  finds  superior 
in  every  respect  to  any  other  species,  and  which 
he  hopes  to  see  generally  introduced  among  the 
tinners  and  stockmen  of  Dakota  at  no  distant 
day.  Through  his  instrumentality  a  number  of 
people  have  been  induced  to  improve  their  flock 
and  he  is  certainly  entitled  to  great  credit  for 
his  interest  in  behalf  of  one  of  the  large  and 
rapidly  growing  industries  of  the  west,  which 
is  destined  to  become  more  important  with  each 
recurring  year. 

As  already  stated,  Mr.  Hall's  attention  is  by 
no  means  confined  to  one  line  of  business,  his 
mercantile  interests  at  Ordway  being  large  and 
steadily  growing  and  his  grain  dealing  at  the 
same  place  has  given  him  marked  prestige  in 
the  business  circles  of  South  Dakota  and  other 
states.  He  manages  a  large  elevator  with 
capacity  sufficient  to  handle  all  the  grain  in  his 
part  of  the  country  and  he  buys  and  ships  upon 
an  average  of  fifty  thousand  bushels  a  year,  much 
of  which  he  grows,  and  all  coming  from  farms  in 


670 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


the  vicinity  of  his  place  of  business.  Essentially 
a  progressive  man  of  affairs  and  as  such  rank- 
ing with  the  most  enterprising-  and  success- 
ful of  his  contemporaries,  Mr.  Hall  has  also  been 
prominently  before  the  public  in  other  than 
business  capacities,  being  a  politician  of  much 
more  than  local  repute  and  a  leader  of  the  Re- 
publican party  in  Brown  count)-.  He  took  an 
active  and  vigorous  part  in  the  first  election  ever 
held  in  the  county,  the  one  to  decide  upon  the 
location  of  the  seat  of  justice,  and  in  1893  was 
elected  to  a  seat  in  the  general  assembly,  this 
being  the  third  session  of  the  legislature  after 
Dakota's  admission  to  the  Union  as  a  state.  Mr. 
Hall's  record  as  a  lawmaker  was  not  only 
creditable  to  himself  and  satisfactory  to  the 
constituency  he  represented,  but  proved  emi- 
nently honorable  to  the  state,  as  he  was  instru- 
mental in  bringing  about  legislation  which  had 
an  important  bearing  on  the  commonwealth  and 
proved  greatly  beneficial  to  the  people.  As  a 
member  of  the  committee  on  railroads  he  in- 
troduced the  first  bill  relating  to  the  railway  in- 
terests of  the  state,  but  a  strong  opposition  pre- 
vented its  passage  at  that  time,  although  the  wis- 
dom of  the  measure  was  recognized  by  every 
member  of  the  body  and  the  people  with  few 
exceptions  were  decidedly  of  the  opinion  that 
it  should  become  a  law.  Mr.  Hall  was  chair- 
man of  the  county  central  committee  in  1898, 
when  the  Populists  sustained  such  a  severe  de- 
feat, the  Republican  victor}^  of  that  year  being 
directly  attributed  to  the  complete  organization 
which  he  perfected  and  his  skillful  leadership  in 
the  campaign  that  followed. 

Mr.  Hall  has  an  abiding  faith  in  South 
Dakota  and  believes  that  it  is  destined  in  the  no 
distant  future  to  become  one  of  the  greatest  of 
western  commonwealths  and  second  to  few  states 
in  the  Union.  He  is  laboring  hard  and  using  his 
influence  to  the  end  that  this  high  ideal  may  be 
realized,  few  men  in  this  part  of  the  county 
being  as  enterprising  and  public-spirited  and 
none  are  doing  more  to  promote  the  general  wel- 
fare. He  is  a  western  man  in  the  full  sense  of 
the  term,  broad-minded,  generous  in  thought  and 
deed,  inflexible  in  his  honesty  and  integrity  and 


a  symmetrically  developed  American  whose  ideas 
of  citizenship  transcend  the  narrow  limits  of 
community  and  self-interest,  in  larger  bounds 
within  which  the  good  of  the  people  as  a  whole 
is  to  be  considered. 

Mr.  Hall  was  bom  October  18,  1857,  in  Hills- 
dale county,  Michigan,  and  the  first  twenty-one 
years  of  his  life  were  spent  there,  in  Erie  county, 
New  York,  and  in  Shelby  county,  Missouri,  com- 
ing from  the  latter  place  to  Dakota  in  IMarch, 
1879.  Mr.  Hall  was  married  in  Shelby  county, 
Missouri,  on  March  8,  1881,  to  Miss  Annie  M. 
Cox,  of  that  county,  the  union  resulting  in  the 
birth  of  three  children,  IMono  M.,  Moro  O.  and 
John  B. 


JAMES  KIRK.— The  honored  subject  of 
this  review  has  traveled  extensively  and  mingled 
much  with  men,  and  his  long  and  varied  ex- 
perience in  different  fields  of  endeavor  has 
greatly  strengthened  and  enriched  his  mind,  giv- 
ing him  a  fund  of  useful  and  practical  knowledge 
of  far  greater  value  than  a  collegiate  or  uni- 
versity training  could  have  imparted.  James 
Kirk,  farmer,  stock  raiser  and  representative 
citizen,  is  a  native  of  Dumfriesshire,  Scotland, 
and  the  son  of  John  and  Margaret  (McKean) 
Kirk,  both  parents  born  and  reared  in  Dumfries- 
shire, the  father  a  farmer  by  occupation.  John 
Kirk  was  a  man  of  substantial  worth,  indus- 
trious, upright  in  his  dealings,  and  he  lived  a 
God-fearing  life,  honored  and  respected  bv  all 
who  knew  him.  He  never  left  the  land  of  his 
birth  and  now  sleeps  beneath  the  soil  of  his 
native  heath,  having  died  in  the  year  1896.  His 
widow  is  still  living  in  Dumfriesshire  and  of  the 
family  of  six  children  three  are  citizens  of  the 
United  States.  Thomas,  the  oldest  of  the  family, 
is  a  worker  in  iron,  and  at  this  time  holds  the 
position  of  foreman  in  a  large  blacksmith  shop 
in  Scotland.  John,  the  second  son,  was  gradu- 
ated from  the  University  of  Glasgow,  came  to 
America  in  1888,  and  settled  in  Bon  Homme 
county.  South  Dakota:  later  he  moved  to  Sioux 
Falls,  near  which  place  he  purchased  farm  prop- 
erty  and    for  a   number   of  years   he   has   been 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


671 


actively  identified  with  the  civic  and  public  in- 
terests of  that  part  of  the  state.  He  has  held 
various  official  positions,  served  in  the  legislature 
and  is  now  in  the  assessor's  office  at  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.  William,  the  third  in  order  of  birth, 
came  to  the  United  States  a  number  of  years  ago 
and  is  now  a  prosperous  farmer  of  Oregon. 
Robert,  also  a  farmer  and  stock  raiser,  lives  in 
Bon  Homme  county.  South  Dakota,  and  Mar- 
garet, the  youngest  of  the  number,  now  the 
wife  of  David  Calvert,  has  never  left  the  land 
of  her  nativity. 

James  Kirk,  the  fifth  of  the  above  family,  was 
born  November  9,  1846,  and  spent  his  early  life 
in  Dumfriesshire,  receiving  a  good  education  in 
the  schools  of  his  native  place.  When  eighteen 
years  of  age  he  went  to  England,  where  for  a 
period  of  six  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  dry 
goods  business,  but  in  1869  he  closed  up  affairs 
in  that  country  and  came  to  the  United  States. 
.\fter  spending  some  time  in  Chicago  and  other 
cities,  he  went  to  Colorado  and  engaged  in  sheep 
raising,  to  which  he  devoted  his  attention  for 
about  six  years,  and  at  the  expiration  of  that 
time  returned  to  Scotland  and  spent  one  year  at 
his  old  home  in  Dumfriesshire.  Yielding  to  the 
solicitation  of  certain  friends  as  well  as  to  his 
own  inclinations,  Mr.  Kirk  in  1874  went  as  a 
missionary  to  Sierra  Leone,  Sherboro,  Africa,  and 
spent  the  ensuing  three  and  a  half  years  in  that 
colony,  instructing  the  natives  in  the  principles  ! 
and  truths  of  Christianity  and  teaching  them  in 
various  other  ways.  At  the  expiration  of  the 
time  noted  he  resigned  his  position  and  went 
back  to  England,  but  after  spending  one  year 
there  he  was  induced  to  resume  missionary  work 
in  western  Africa,  being  sent  a  second  time  by 
the  Church  of  England.  His  second  experience 
in  the  mission  field  covered  a  period  of  three  and 
a  half  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  returned 
to  England,  but  after  a  six  months'  sojourn 
he  again  went  to  Africa  and  engaged  in  mer- 
chandising at  Logos,  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Kirk.  Fairlcy  &  Company.  Disposing  of  his  in- 
terest in  the  business  at  the  end  of  three  years, 
Mr.  Kirk  returned  to  Scotland  and  spent  a  short 
time  at  his  old  home  in  Dunfriesshire,  after  which 


he  came  to  the  United  States,  arriving  in  South 
Dakota  in  the  year  1887.  Being  pleased  with 
the  appearance  of  Bon  Homme  county,  he  pur- 
chased a  half  section  of  land  in  the  same  and 
a  few  months  later  returned  to  Scotland,  where 
he  remained  until  1889,  when  he  again  came  to 
America  for  the  purpose  of  improving  his  land 
and  preparing  a  habitation  for  his  wife  and 
children.  Mr.  Kirk  brought  his  family  west  in 
1889  and  from  that  time  to  the  present  has  lived 
on  his  original  purchase,  devoting  his  attention 
the  meanwhile  to  agriculture  and  stock  raising. 
He  has  developed  his  land  from  a  wild  state  into 
one  of  the  finest  farms  in  the  county,  besides 
adding  to  his  possessions  at  intervals,  being  at 
this  time  the  owner  of  eight  hundred  acres  of 
valuable  real  estate,  four  hundred  of  which  are 
in  cultivation  and  otherwise  highly  improved. 
By  industry  and  good  management  he  has  not 
only  brought  his  place  to  a  successful  state  of  till- 
age, but  has  accumulated  a  sufficiency  of  this 
world's  goods  to  enable  him  to  rent  the  greater 
portion  of  his  land  and  live  a  life  of  compar- 
ative ease.  Despite  his  independent  circum- 
stances, however,  he  still  gives  personal  atten- 
tion to  his  various  business  interests,  making  a 
specialty  of  live  stock,  in  the  breeding  and  rais- 
ing cf  which  he  has  achieved  an  enviable  repu- 
tation. His  cattle,  of  which  he  keeps  a  large 
number,  are  of  the  noted  Galloway  breed  and  for 
several  years  past  he  has  given  considerable  at- 
tention to  the  Poland-China  breed  of  hogs  and 
fine-wooled  sheep,  also  blooded  horses  of  a  high 
grade,  meeting  with  encouraging  success  in  the 
raising  and  selling  of  his  dififerent  kinds  of 
domestic  animals. 

j\Ir.  Kirk  was  married  in  his  native  county, 
in  1879,  to  Miss  ]\[ary  ^lair.  of  Galston,  Ayr- 
shire, Scotland,  the  union  being  blessed  with  five 
children,  whose  names  are  as  follows :  John 
Robert,  a  student  of  the  Tyndall  high  school ; 
Margaret,  who  is  attending  school  in  Yankton ; 
Mary,  James  and  Louise,  the  last  three  at  home. 

Mr.  Kirk  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and  a 
stanch  supporter  of  his  party.  He  has  been  an 
earnest  and  devout  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church   for  manv  vears  and  his  zeal  and 


672 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


activity  in  all  lines  of  religious  work  were  the 
means  of  his  having  been  sent  on  the  important 
missions  alluded  to  in  preceding  paragraphs.  He 
keeps  in  close  touch  with  religious  thought 
and  action  throughout  the  world,  stands  firm 
for  Christian  enlightenment  and  moral  reform 
in  his  community,  and  is  a  leader  in  all  move- 
ments for  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  good  of 
the  people  among  whom  he  lives.  As  a  citizen 
he  is  public-spirited  and  progressive,  giving  his 
influence  and  support  to  enterprises  for  the  ma- 
terial advancement  of  his  county  and  state  and  in 
the  ordinary  relations  of  life  his  conduct  has 
ever  been  that  of  a  whole-hearted,  self-sacrificing 
philanthropist  and  true  benefactor  of  his  kind. 


HUGH  S.  GAMBLE.— The  family  of  which 
the  subject  of  this  review  is  an  honorable  repre- 
sentative is  an  old  and  respectable  one,  and  the 
name  is  not  only  widely  and  familiarfy  known 
throughout  South  Dakota  and  other  states,  but 
has  also  become  distinguished  in  the  annals  of  the 
national  government.  Hugh  S.  Gamble,  prom- 
inent citizen  and  representative  business  man  of 
Yankton,  is  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  inherits  to 
a  marked  degree  the  intelligence,  keen  mental 
alertness,  broad  sympathies  and  optimistic  tem- 
perament for  which  the  best  class  of  his  national- 
ity has  for  centuries  been  noted.  His  father, 
Robert  Gamble,  was  born  in  County  Down,  Ire- 
land, Jwly  5.  1812,  grew  to  maturity  in  his  native 
isle  and  on  reaching  manhood's  estate  engaged  in 
the  pursuit  of  agriculture,  which  calling  he  fol- 
lowed in  Ireland  until  1846.  In  that  year  he 
brought  his  family  to  the  ITnited  States  and.  set- 
tling in  Genesee  county.  New  York,  resumed 
farming  and  made  that  part  of  the  country  his 
home  until  his  removal,  in  1862,  to  Dodge  county. 
Wisconsin,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
life,  dying  there  on  June   I,   1893. 

In  many  respects  Robert  Gamble  was  much 
more  than  an  ordinary  man  :  intelligent  far  be- 
yond the  average  and  possessed  of  excellent  judg- 
ment and  superior  business  ability,  he  not  only 
managed  his  affairs  well  and  accumulated  a  com- 
fortable   fortune,    but    made    his    presence    felt 


among  all  with  whom  he  associated.  He  was  a 
zealous  Congregationalist,  exemplified  his  relig- 
ion in  his  relations  with  the  world,  and  always 
stood  for  what  was  correct  in  manhood  and  hon- 
orable in  citizenship.  In  politics  his  family  pre- 
sented a  striking  anomaly  in  that  he  was  an 
earnest  and  uncompromising  Democrat,  while 
all  his  sons  became  equally  zealous  and  deter- 
mined in  their  allegiance  to  the  Republican  party. 
Some  ten  or  twelve  years  prior  to  his  death  Mr. 
Gamble  turned  his  farm  and  business  affairs  over 
to  his  son  William  and  spent  the  remainder  of 
his   days    in   honorable    retirement. 

Jennie  Abernethy,  who  became  the  wife  of 
Robert  Gamble,  was  born  in  County  Down.  Ire- 
land, July  21,  1809,  and  departed  this  life  at  her 
home  in  Wisconsin,  on  the  i6th  of  November, 
1880.  She  bore  her  husband  seven  children,  of 
whom  the  following  survive :  James,  a  resident 
of  Fox  Lake,  Wisconsin  ;  Hugh  S.,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  ;  Isabella,  who  married  L.  B.  Bridge- 
man  and  lives  in  Vermillion,  South  Dakota ;  Hon. 
Robert  J.,  United  States  senator  from  South  Da- 
kota and  one  of  the  state's  distinguished  public 
men,  whose  biography  will  be  found  on  another 
page  of  this  volume ;  and  Margaret,  wife  of  S.  C. 
McDowell,  whose  home  is  at  Fox  Lake,  Wis- 
consin. Hon.  John  Gamble,  one  of  the  deceased 
members  of  the  family,  became  prominent  in  the 
public  affairs  of  South  Dakota,  and  at  the  time 
of  his  death,  August  14,  1891,  was  representing 
the  Yankton  district  in  the  United  States  con- 
gress. He  was  a  leading  Republican  politician, 
a  statesman  of  acknowledged  ability  and  bore  a 
distinguished  part  in  shaping  the  policy  of  his 
party  and  in  contributing  to  its  success.  He  was 
recognized  as  an  influential  factor  in  his  adopted 
state,  made  an  eminently  creditable  record  in  the 
honorable  legislative  body  to  which  he  was  chosen 
and  in  the  private  walks  of  life  acquitted  himself 
as  an  upright,  conscientious  man,  who  consecrated 
his  gifts  to  the  benefit  of  his  kind  and  made  the 
world  better  for  his  presence.  The  mother  of 
these  children,  Jennie  (Abernethy)  Gamble,  was 
a  woman  of  sterling  qualities,  generous  and  self- 
sacrificing  under  all  conditions  and  circumstances. 
Her  education  was  superior  to  that  of  most  of 


HUGH  S.  GAMBLE. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


673 


those  who  had  superior  advantages  to  hers.  She 
was  from  childhood  a  Christian  of  pronounced 
character.  She  was  an  active  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  in  her  native  land,  but  not 
finding  a  church  of  that  denomination  in  the 
locality  where  they  located  in  the  United  States, 
she  placed  her  membership  in  the  Congregational 
church,  with  which  she  remained  affiliated  until 
her  death.  Though  true  to  her  membership  in 
this  church,  she  was  a  broad-minded  Christian, 
whose  noble  actions  sprang  from  a  pure  and  un- 
selfish heart  and  extended  for  beyond  the  limits 
of  dogmas.  The  impress  left  by  her  on  her  im- 
mediate family  was  notably  marked.  The  lead- 
ing characteristics  of  her  ofifspring  have  ever 
been  marked  by  the  true  nobility  of  character, 
intellectuality  and  Christian  lives  they  have  ever 
led. 

Hugh  S.  Gamble  was  born  June  26,  1843,  in 
County  Down,  Ireland,  and  spent  his  childhood 
in  close  touch  with  nature,  amid  the  quiet  scenes 
and  wholesome  discipline  of  the  home  farm  in 
New  York  state,  the  family  having  removed  to 
this  country  when  he  was  about  three  years  old. 
Industry  and  thrift  appear  to  have  been  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  family,  and  the  subject's  early 
training  was  such  as  to  foster  correct  habits  and 
lead  him  while  still  young  to  lay  his  plans  for 
his  future.  At  the  proper  age  he  entered  the 
public  schools  near  his  New  York  home,  where 
he  received  the  major  part  of  his  educational 
training,  but  owing  to  serious  impairment  of  his 
eyesight  he  was  obliged,  greatly  to  his  regret,  to 
discontinue  his  studies  when  about  ready  to  enter 
upon  a  college  course.  This  affliction,  which  came 
upon  him  in  early  life,  proved  not  only  a  source 
of  much  sufifering  and  bodily  distress,  but  also 
interfered  very  materially  with  his  future  course 
of  action  as  it  prevented  him  carrying  to  success- 
ful issue  many  cherished  plans,  and  served  to 
blast  hopes  as  dear  almost  as  life  itself.  Not- 
withstanding his  ailment  and  the  many  sacrifices 
he  was  compelled  to  make  in  consequence  thereof, 
he  did  not  become  misanthropic,  but  continued 
ever  to  look  on  the  bright  side  of  things  and 
make  the  most  of  his  opportunities.  Actuated 
by  a  spirit  of  beautiful  and  lofty  optimism,  he 


bent  all  his  energies  in  the  direction  of  self-im- 
provement, prepared  himself  for  life's  practical 
duties  and,  coming  to  Wisconsin  when  a  lad  of 
nineteen  years,  found  in  that  state  opportunities 
for  advancement  such  as  could  not  have  been  ob- 
tained in  the  land  of  his  nativity. 

In  1872  Mr.  Gamble  associated  himself  in  the 
lumber  business  with  his  brother  James  and  dur- 
ing the  ensuing  eleven  years  the  firm  thus  con- 
stituted operated  quite  extensively  in  Monroe 
county,  Wisconsin,  also  in  various  other  parts 
of  the  state,  and  met  with  encouraging  financial 
success  from  their  undertaking.  Dissolving  the 
partnership  in  1883,  the  subject  came  to  Yankton, 
South  Dakota,  with  the  interests  of  which  grow- 
ing city  he  has  since  been  quite  actively  identified 
and  to  the  material  growth  and  prosperity  of 
which  he  has  greatly  contributed.  Since  locating 
at  Yankton  Mr.  Gamble  has  devoted  his  attention 
to  real  estate,  insurance  and  loaning  money,  in 
all  of  which  lines  he  has  built  up  a  large  and  lu- 
crative business  and  won  a  prominent  standing 
among  the  city's  enterprising  and  successful  men 
of  aflfairs.  In  addition  to  extensive  and  steadily 
growing  interests,  he  has  extended  his  operations 
over  a  large  part  of  the  state  and  now  numbers 
among  his  patrons  men  in  nearly  every  well-set- 
tled county  of  the  com.mon wealth. 

While  zealous  in  the  prosecution  of  his  busi- 
ness affairs,  and  financially  successful  far  beyond 
the  majority  of  his  contemporaries,  Mr.  Gamble 
has  not  been  unmindful  of  his  duties  to  the  pub- 
lic as  a  citizen.  As  indicated  above,  he  has  en- 
couraged all  legitimate  agencies  for  the  develop- 
ment of  the  city's  commercial,  industrial  and  gen- 
eral material  interests,  lends  his  influence  to  enter- 
prises for  the  intellectual  and  moral  welfare  of 
the  community  and  heartily  co-operates  in  any 
undertaking  which  promises  good  to  his  fellow 
man.  He  is  a  friend  of  education  and  is  now 
serving  on  the  board  of  trustees  of  Yankton  Col- 
lege. Mr.  Gamble  is  a  communicant  of  the  Con- 
gregational church  and  for  the  past  twelve  years 
has  been  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  congregation 
worshiping  in  Yankton.  As  indicated  in  a  pre- 
ceding paragraph,  he  is  a  zealous  Republican, 
and  as  such  has  rendered  his  party  yeoman  serv- 


6/4 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


ice.  not  from  personal  motives  or  an  ambition 
for  public  or  official  honors,  but  from  a  desire 
to  see  the  triumph  of  the  principles  in  which  he 
has  such  great  faith. 

Considering  the  great  disadvantages  under 
which  he  formerly  labored  and  the  inconvenience 
to  which  he  was  subject  by  reason  of  impaired 
vision,  the  success  of  Mr.  Gamble  in  business  and 
other  capacities  has  been,  to  say  the  least,  re- 
markable. From  1861  to  1872  his  eyes  were  so 
painful  as  to  prevent  him  from  going  where 
there  was  more  than  a  very  subdued  light,  conse- 
quently during  that  long  period  of  eleven  years 
he  was  obliged  to  remain  closely  indoors,  where, 
denied  the  blessed  privilege  of  reading,  it  appears 
more  than  ever  strange,  but  certainly  greatly  to 
his  credit,  that  he  did  not  pine  on  account  of  con- 
dition and  become  pessimistic.  Like  the  apostle 
Paul,  however,  he  was  enabled  to  bear  his  afflic- 
tion and,  notwithstanding  the  suffering  and  in- 
convenience resulting  therefrom,  it  doubtless 
proved  an  effective,  though  painful,  discipline  in 
teaching  him  the  sweet  lesson  of  patience,  and 
how  to  accept  with  true  philosophy  and  becoming 
grace  the  mysterious  dispensations  of  providence 
over  which  mortals  have  no  control. 

The  married  life  of  Mr.  Gamble  dates  from 
1880,  in  September  of  which  year  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Eva  Weed,  of  Fox  Lake, 
Wisconsin.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gamble  have  a  beauti- 
ful home  and  a  charming  familv  circle,  composed 
at  this  time  of  themselves  and  four  children,  one 
of  their  offspring,  a  daughter  by  the  name  of 
Margaret,  being  deceased ;  those  living  are  Jen- 
nie, Hugh  S..  Jr..  Edith  and  James  W.,  all  stu- 
dents, the  older  ones  pursuing  their  studies  in 
Yankton  College,  the  younger  attending  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  the  city.  IN'Irs.  Gamble  was  born 
April  2,  1852,  at  Ticonderoga,  western  New 
York,  and  accompanied  her  parents  upon  their  re- 
moval to  Fox  Lake,  Wisconsin,  when  she  was 
but  three  years  old.  She  attended  the  public 
schools  at  this  place  and  after  graduation  attended 
and  graduated  from  the  female  seminary  in  the 
same  town.  Since  early  life  she  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Congregational  church,  and  since  ar- 
riving at  maturity  has  taken  an  active  part  in  all 


church  work.  She  is  a  woman  of  high  character 
and  is  greatly  loved  and  honored  by  all  good 
people  within  the  circle  of  her  acquaintance. 


WILLIAM  A.  KRIESEL,  M.  D.,  one  of  the 
able  and  popular  members  of  the  medical  pro- 
fession, is  successfully  established  in  practice  at 
Milbank.  He  was  born  in  Holmesville,  Laporte 
county,  Indiana,  on  the  4th  of  September,  1870, 
and  is  a  son  of  August  G.  and  Julia  (Glander) 
Kriesel,  both  of  whom  were  born  and  reared  in 
German}^,  whence  they  emigrated  to  Indiana,  in 
1862,  where  they  remained  until  1874,  when  they 
removed  to  Stillwater,  Minnesota,  where  the  fa- 
ther has  since  been  engaged  as  a  successful  con- 
tractor and  builder.  His  wife  died  in  1893,  at 
the  age  of  forty-two  years,  and  of  her  three  sons 
and  four  daughters  the  subject  and  three  of  the 
daughters  are  living.  Dr.  Kriesel  received 
his  early  educational  training  in  Stillwater,  hav- 
ing been  graduated  from-  the  high  school  with- 
the  class  of  1891.  He  took  up  the  study  of  medi- 
cine in  the  city  hospital  of  Stillwater  under  Drs. 
Turner,  Clark  and  Merrill.  In  1893  he  was  ma- 
triculated in  the  medical  department  of  Hamline 
LTniversity.  in  the  city  of  Minneapolis,  and  was 
graduated  as  a  Doctor  of  Medicine  on  the  loth 
of  June,  1897.  On  the  21st  of  January.  1S98,  he 
was  united  in  marriage  at  Minneapolis  to  Miss 
Genevieve  A.  Loft.  Dr.  Kriesel  located  at  Big 
Stone  City,  Grant  county.  South  Dakota,  in  1898, 
and  was  there  engaged  in  practice  for  the  ensuing 
eighteen  months,  when  he  removed  to  JMilbank, 
where  he  has  attained  an  excellent  practice  of 
representative  order.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
State  Medical  Society  and  the  Aberdeen  District 
Medical  Society,  as  well  as  the  American  Medical 
Association  and  the  National  Association  of  Pen- 
sion Examining  Surgeons,  having  served  as  a 
member  of  the  board  of  pension  examiners  for 
Grant  county  since  1899.  He  is  president  of  the 
county  and  cit}'  boards  of  health  and  is  known 
as  an  able  and  discriminating  physician  and  sur- 
geon and  as  one  earnestly  devoted  to  the  work  of 
his  chosen  profession.  He  is  identified  with  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  the   Modern  Woodmen 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


675 


of  America.  The  Doctor  takes  a  deep  interest 
in  public  affairs  of  a  local  nature,  and  is  an  un- 
compromising Republican.  He  is  serving  as 
county  coroner  and  is  assistant  surgeon  of  the 
Second  Regiment  of  the  National  Guard  under 
the  rank  of  captain.  He  was  one  of  the  commit- 
tee of  physicians  which  formulated  the  bill  re- 
garding and  governing  the  practice  of  medicine 
in  the  state  as  enacted  in  the  last  general  assem- 
bly and  did  effective  work  in  the  "third  house" 
in  advocating  the  measure.  He  is  examiner  for 
a  large  number  of  leading  life-insurance  compan- 
ies, notably  the  Fidelity  Mutual,  the  Germania,  the 
Mutual  Life,  the  Washington  Life,  the  North- 
western Mutual  and  the  Home  Life,  as  well  as 
for  various  fraternal  insurance  orders.  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Kriesel  are  communicants  of  Christ  Protes- 
tant Episcopal  church,  and  are  actively  identified 
with  the  work  of  the  parish.  They  have  one 
daughter,  Leotta.  Their  attractive  residence  is 
located  on  South  Fourth  street,  and  is  a  center  of 
gracious  hospitality. 


EDWARD  Y.  MILES  is  one  of  the  well- 
known  and  prosperous  farmers  of  Jerauld  county, 
where  he  has  maintained  his  home  for  more  than 
twenty  years,  so  that  he  is  well  entitled  to  be 
considered  a  pioneer  of  this  attractive  section  of 
the  state.  He  is  a  native  of  Wessington,  Hardv 
county,  Virginia,  where  he  was  born  on  the  8th 
of  October,  1838,  being  a  son  of  Weston  and 
Sarah  (Simmons)  Aliles,  of  whose  ten  children 
eight  are  living  at  the  present  time.  The  subject 
attended  the  common  schools  in  a  somewhat  irreg- 
ular way  in  his  early  youth,  while  he  had  his 
full  quota  of  experience  in  connection  with  the 
.strenuous  work  of  the  farm.  At  the  age  of 
twenty  years  he  left  his  native  state  and  removed 
to  Illinois,  locating  in  Piatt  county,  where  he  was 
engaged  in  farming  at  the  time  of  the  outbreak 
of  the  Civil  war.  He  forthwith  manifested  his 
intrinsic  loyalty,  enlisting,  on  July  10,  1861,  as  a 
member  of  Company  F,  Second  Illinois  \^olunteer 
Cavalry,  with  which  he  proceeded  to  the  front, 
his  command  being  assigned  to  the  Army  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  he  participated  in  a  large  num- 


ber of  the  most  important  battles  of  the  great 
internecine  conflict,  being  sent  with  his  regiment 
to   New   Orleans  after  the  battle  of  Vicksburg, 
and    receiving   his    honorable    discharge    on    the 
nth  of  August,  1864.     The  history  of  his  regi- 
ment stands  as  the  history  of  his  personal  serv- 
ice, which  was  one  of  signal  fidelity  and  honor. 
After  the  close  of  his  military  service  of  more 
than  three  years  Mr.  Miles  returned  to  his  home 
in  Illinois,  where  he  resumed  his  farming,  and 
also  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  and  in 
the  buying  and  shipping  of  grain,  in  Ogden,  Illi- 
nois, and  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  being  successful 
in  his  efforts  and  thus  continuing  until  the  spring 
of   1882,   when   he   disposed   of  his   interests   in 
Illinois  and  came  to  what  is  now  Jerauld  county, 
South  Dakota,  where  he  entered  homestead,  pre- 
emption and  tree  claims,  about  three  and  one-half 
miles    northeast    of    the    village    of    Wessington 
Springs,  and  here  he  developed  and  improved  a 
valuable   farm,   still    retaining  the  original   four 
hundred  and  eighty  acres  and  being  known  as  one 
of  the  progressive  farmers  and  representative  citi- 
zens of  the  county.    In  June,  1903,  JMr.  Miles  dis- 
posed of  his  farm,  for  a  consideration  of  twenty 
thousand  dollars,  a  fact  which  indicates  the  great 
appreciation  of  its  value,  and  he  then  purchased 
property  in  Wessington   Springs,  where  he  has 
since  maintained  his  home,  being  practically  re- 
tired from  active  business  and  enjoying  the  re- 
wards   of   his    long  years   of   earnest   endeavor. 
Fraternally     he     is     affiliated     with     the     Ma- 
sonic     order      and      with      E.      O.      C.      Ord 
Post,  No.  89,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  at 
Wessington  Springs,  manifesting  a  deep  interest 
in  his  old  comrades  of  the  Civil  war,  and  it  may 
be  consistentlv  noted  in  this  connection  that  while 
in  active  service  he  was  detailed  by  the  colonel 
of    his    regiment    to    act    as    orderly    to    General 
Grant,  in  which  position  he  served   from  April 
to  the  4th  of  July  on  which  occurred  the  fall  of 
Yicksburg.     He  has  been  prominent  in  local  af- 
fairs and  assisted  in  the  organization  of  Jerauld 
county,  while  he  was  a  member  of  the  territorial 
council  at  the  time  when  South  Dakota  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  L^nion.     He  was  bill  clerk  of  the 
second  state  legislature,  in  session  at  Pierre,  South 


676 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Dakota,  and  his  name  figures  in  the  records  of 
that  session.  He  and  his  wife  are  members  of 
ihe  Congregational  church. 

On  the  7th  of  September,  1865,  Mr.  Miles  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Jennie  H.  Gale,  who 
\vas  born  and  reared  in  the  state  of  New  York, 
being  a  resident  of  Illinois  at  the  time  of  her 
marriage.  Of  this  union  were  born  nine  children, 
of  whom  four  are  deceased,  while  the  names  of 
the  survivors  are  as  follows :  Mrs.  Luella  A. 
Gay,  Nettie  Miles  Goepfert,  Nora  J.  Ruther- 
ford, Mrs.  Sadie  Miles  Hinter  and  Leon  S.  Miles. 
The  names  of  the  deceased  children  are  as  fol- 
lows :  Edward  W.  Gale  W.,  Noble  and  Boscoe  C. 


NILS  FORSBERG.  who  occupies  the  re- 
sponsible office  of  treasurer  of  Grant  county  and 
who  maintains  his  home  in  Milbank,  the  county 
seat,  is  a  representative  and  highly  esteemed  citi- 
zen of  this  section  of  the  state,  while  he  has  ex- 
emplified that  energy  and  progressive  spirit  which 
have  brought  about  so  marvelous  a  transforma- 
tion in  South  Dakota  within  the  past  two  decades. 

Mr.  Forsberg  is  a  native  of  the  fair  Norse- 
land,  though  he  has  passed  practically  his  entire 
life  in  America.  He  was  born  in  the  province 
of  Vermland,  Sweden,  on  the  13th  of  April,  i860, 
and  is  a  son  of  Henry  Hendricksson  and  Anna 
(Gustafsson)  Forsberg,  while  he  was  but  two 
years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  father's  death,  his 
mother  subsequently  becoming  the  wife  of  John 
Liljeman.  In  1872  the  family  came  to  America 
and  located  in  Duluth,  Minnesota,  remaining  un- 
til 1875,  when  they  removed  to  the  vicinity  of 
Rush  Point,  Chicago  county,  that  state,  where 
Mr.  Liljeman  engaged  in  farming,  and  where 
both  he  and  his  wife  still  reside.  The  subject  had 
attended  the  schools  of  his  native  land  as  a  boy, 
having  been  about  twelve  years  of  age  at  the  time 
of  the  family  emigration  to  America.  After  com- 
pleting the  curriculum  of  the  public  schools  he 
entered  Gustavus  Adolphus  College,  at  St.  Peter, 
Minnesota,  though  he  did  not  remain  to  complete 
the  full  prescribed  course.  In  September,  1887, 
he  came  to  South  Dakota  and  was  thereafter  suc- 
cessfully engaged  in  teaching  in  the  public  schools 


of  Grant  county  until  1894,  having  become  prom- 
inent in  the  local  educational  field  and  having  at- 
tained a  high  degree  of  personal  popularity  in 
the  county.  A  stanch  Republican  in  his  political 
proclivities,  he  was  then,  in  the  fall  of  1894,  made 
the  nominee  of  his  party  for  the  office  of  county 
auditor,  to  which  he  was  elected  by  a  gratifying 
majority.  Giving  an  admirable  administration, 
he  was  chosen  as  his  own  successor  in  1896,  so 
that  he  remained  in  tenure  of  the  office  four  con- 
secutive years.  He  thereafter  served  about  twO' 
vears  as  deputy  county  treasurer  under  J.  N.  Saf- 
ford  and  in  1900  was  elected  treasurer  of  the 
county,  in  which  capacity  he  showed  much  dis- 
crimination and  ability  in  the  handling  of  the  fis- 
cal affairs  of  his  jurisdiction,  while  a  due  mark 
of  popular  appreciation  was  that  which  cam.e  in 
his  re-election  to  the  office,  for  a  second  term  og 
two  years,  in  the  fall  of  1902.  Mr.  Forsberg 
progressive  and  public-spirited  in  his  attitude  and 
manifests  at  all  times  a  deep  interest  in  all  that 
touches  the  welfare  of  the  county  and  state  of 
his  adoption.  He  and  his  wife  are  prominent  and 
active  members  of  the  Swedish  Evangelical 
Lutheran  church. 

In  Marshall  county,  this  state,  on  the  loth  of 
October,  1895,  was  solemnized  the  marriage  pJ- 
Mr.  Forsberg  to  Miss  Anna  S.  Anderson,  who 
was  likewise  born  in  Sweden,  being  a  daughter 
of  C.  J.  Anderson,  who  became  one  of  the  early 
and  honored  pioneers  of  Marshall  county.  South 
Dakota.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Forsberg  have  five  chil- 
dren, namely:  Natalia  S.,  Paul  G.,  Wilhelm  E., 
Carl  G.  and  Florence. 


SAMUEL  S.  LOCKHART,  judge  of  the 
Grant  county  court,  is  one  of  the  representative 
citizens  of  Milbank  and  a  leading  member  of  the 
bar  whose  course  has  been  such  as  to  retain  to 
him  unqualified  confidence  and  regard  wher- 
ever he  is  known.  Judge  Lockhart  is  a  native  of 
the  fair  land  of  hills  and  heather,  having  been 
born  in  Tarbolton,  Ayrshire,  Scotland,  on  the 
20th  of  November,  1850,  being  a  son  of  John  and 
Agnes  (Gray)  Lockhart,  both  of  whom  were 
representatives  of  a  stanch  Scottish  stock.    John 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


677 


Lockhart  was  identified  with  agricultural  pur- 
suits in  his  native  land  until  1852,  when  he  immi- 
grated with  his  family  to  America  and  located  in 
Williamsburg,  New  York,  but  in  1854  he  came 
to  the  west  and  settled  in  Caledonia  township. 
Columbia  county,  Wisconsin,  where  he  has  ever 
since  maintained  his  home.  He  devoted  the  ma- 
jor portion  of  his  active  career  to  farming,  be- 
coming one  of  the  successful  and  respected  citi- 
zens of  the  Badger  state,  where  he  is  now  living 
practically  retired.  His  wife  was  summoned  into 
eternal  rest  on  the  6th  of  March,  1900,  at  the  age 
of  seventy-five  years.  They  were  the  parents  of 
seven  sons  and  three  daughters,  of  whom  one 
son  and  two  daughters  are  deceased. 

Samuel  S.  Lockhart,  who  was  the  eldest  of 
the  ten  children,  was  reared  to  manhood  on  the 
farm,  in  Wisconsin,  attending  the  district  schools  I 
of  Caledonia  and  later  completing  a  course  in  the  j 
high  school  at  Portage.  He  taught  for  five  years 
in  the  public  schools  and  then  began  to  read  law 
in  the  office  of  James  B.  Taylor,  of  Portage.  In 
the  fall  of  1878  he  was  elected  clerk  of  the  circuit 
court,  in  which  capacity  he  served  four  years, 
meanwhile  continuing  his  study  of  the  law.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Wisconsin,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1883  came  to  Milbank.  He  soon  estab- 
lished himself  in  practice  so  that  he  has  the  dis- 
tinction of  being  one  of  the  pioneer  members  of 
the  bar  of  Grant  county,  where  he  has  met  with 
distinctive  success  in  his  chosen  profession,  in 
which  he  has  gained  unmistakable  precedence. 
In  1885-6  he  served  as  district  attorney  for  this 
county,  and  in  1894  was  elected  state's  attorney, 
serving  two  years,  while  during  the  years  1893-4 
he  was  city  attorney  of  Milbank.  In  1890  he  was 
appointed  supervisor  of  statistics,  taking  data  rel- 
ative to  the  indebtedness  of  the  state,  in  connec- 
*.ion  with  the  federal  census,  and  in  1900  he  was 
elected  judge  of  the  county  court,  having  been 
chosen  his  own  successor  in  the  fall  of  1902.  The 
estimate  placed  upon  his  services  on  the  bench 
was  indicated  by  the  fact  that  he  was  re-elected 
without  opposition,  no  other  candidate-  being  en- 
tered for  the  contest.  For  a  decade  the  Judge  was 
sn  active  member  of  the  board  of  education,  vol- 
untarily resigning  the  office  in  the  spring  of  1903. 


He  is  the  owner  of  valuable  property  in  Milbank, 
and  also  has  a  finely  improved  farm  of  one  hun- 
dred sixty  acres,  eight  miles  southeast.  He  has 
attained  the  Knight  Templar  degree  in  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity,  and  is  the  present  worshipfvd 
master  of  Milbank  Lodge,  No.  20,  Ancient  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees,  and  is  at  present 
sergeant  of  the  grand  camp  of  the  order.  In  poli- 
tics the  Judge  is  a  Republican. 

On  the  29th  of  March,  1879,  Judge  Lockhart 
was  united  in  matrimony  to  Miss  Harriet  L. 
Marvin,  of  Randolph,  Wisconsin,  she  being  a  na- 
tive of  Columbia  county,  that  state,  and  a  daugh- 
ter of  George  G.  and  Harriet  J.  (Stultz)  Marvin, 
the  former  of  whom  was  born  in  Connecticut  and 
the  latter  in  New  York.  Air.  Marvin  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Wisconsin  legislature  in  187 1.  Judge 
and  Mrs.  Lockhart  have  five  children,  namely : 
Harriet  M.,  Agnes  G.,  John  G.,  Marvin  and  Mar- 
garet Janet. 


FRANK  W.  AIEEHAN  is  engaged  in  the 
abstract  business  in  Milbank.  having  a  complete 
and  valuable  set  of  abstracts  of  titles  for  Grant 
county.  He  is  a  native  of  the  Badger  state, 
having  been  born  on  the  parental  homestead  in 
Rock  county,  Wisconsin,  on  the  14th  of  June, 
1863,  and  being  a  son  of  Andrew  and  Mary 
(Topliff)  Meehan,  she  being  deceased  and  he 
residing  with  Frank,  Andrew  Meehan  was 
born  and  reared  in  Ireland,  whence  he  emigrated 
to  the  L'nited  States  as  a  young  man,  and  he  was 
engaged  in  farming  in  Wisconsin  until  1863,. 
when  he  removed  to  Steele  county,  Minnesota, 
where  he  continued  to  be  identified  with  the 
same  great  basic  industry  until  recently.  He 
rendered  valiant  service  in  defense  of  the  Union 
during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  having  been  a 
member  of  Battery  C.  in  a  Minnesota  regiment 
of  heavy  artillery.  The  Toplifif  family  was 
established  in  New  England  in  the  early  colonial 
days,  and  Mary's  paternal  grandfather  was  a 
soldier  in  the  Continental  army  during  the  war 
of  the  Revolution,  and  she  herself  was  a  native 
of  Massachusetts.     Andrew  and   Mary   Meehan 


678 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


became  the  parents  of  five  sons  and  one  daughter, 
and  the  only  survivors  are  the  subject  and  his 
sister,  Jennie  Louise,  who  is  the  wife  of  W.  B. 
Adsit,  of  Owatonna,  Minnesota. 

Frank  W.  Meehan  was  reared  to  maturity 
on  the  homestead  farm,  his  early  educational  ad- 
vantages being  those  afforded  in  the  public 
schools,  while  in  1880  he  entered  Pillsbury 
Academy,  in  Owatonna,  Minnesota,  where  he 
continued  his  studies  for  a  period  of  four  years. 
After  leaving  the  academy  he  was  engaged  in 
teaching  in  the  public  schools  of  Minnesota  about 
three  years,  when  his  health  became  so  impaired 
as  to  lead  him  to  seek  a  change  of  climate  and 
occupation.  Accordingly,  in  1889,  he  came  to 
^^•hat  is  now  the  state  of  South  Dakota  and  took 
up  his  residence  in  Grant  county,  where  he  se- 
cured one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land,  in 
Melrose  township.  Thereafter  he  devoted  five 
years  to  improving  his  farm  during  the  summer 
seasons,  while  during  the  winters  he  found  ready 
demand  for  his  services  as  a  teacher  in  the  local 
schools,  being  successful  and  popular  as  an 
educator.  He  is  at  the  present  time  the  owner  of 
three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  valuable  farm- 
ing land,  eight  miles  northwest  of  Milbank,  as 
well  as  of  an  attractive  modern  residence  in 
Milbank.  He  has  been  a  stanch  supporter  of 
the  cause  of  the  Republican  party  from  the  time 
of  attaining  his  majority,  and  early  became 
prominent  in  connection  with  local  public  affairs 
in  Grant  county.  In  1896  he  was  elected  register 
of  deeds,  giving  a  most  satisfactory  administra- 
tion and  was  chosen  his  own  successor  in  1898. 
He  has  since  been  engaged  in  the  abstract  busi- 
ness, having  personally  prepared  his  abstracts 
of  land  titles  from  the  official  records.  His  efforts 
have  resulted  in  a  complete  set  of  abstract 
books,  which  are  kept  in  fireproof  vaults,  spe- 
cially prepared  in  a  new  brick  office  building 
erected  by  T^Ir.  Meehan  and  designed  for  this 
particular  use.  Mr.  Meehan  has  ever  continued 
to  take  an  active  interest  in  educational  matters, 
as  well  as  in  all  other  affairs  touching  the  local 
welfare  and  progress,  and  he  is  at  the  present 
time   a    member   of   the   board   of   education    of 


^lilbank.  He  is  a  Master  Mason  and  a  ]\Iodern 
Woodman. 

On  the  26th  of  November,  1891,  was  solem- 
nized the  marriage  of  Mr.  Meehan  to  Miss 
Teresa  B.  Gibson,  who  was  born  in  Mower 
county,  ^Minnesota,  being  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
and  Elizabeth  Gibson,  both  of  whom  are  now 
deceased,  her  father  having  been  one  of  the 
prominent  farmers  and  honored  pioneers  of 
^linnesota.   ' 


I  WILLIAM  F.  RABBITT  is  inciunbent  of 
the  responsible  position  of  clerk  of  the  county 
and  circuit  courts  for  Grant  county,  is  known 
as  an  able  executive,  while  he  is  one  of  the  popu- 
lar young  men  of  the  county,  where  he  has  main- 
tained his  home  since  1897. 

Mr.  Rabbitt  is  a  native  of  the  fair  Emerald 
Isle,  having  been  born  in  County  Galway,  Ire- 
land, on  the  25th  of  March,  1872,  and  being  a 
son  of  James  and  Nora  (Dillon)  Rabbitt,  who 
were  born  and  reared  in  the  same  county  and 
who  are  now  both  deceased.  The  subject  re- 
ceived his  early  educational  discipline  in  his 
native    land,    and    came    to    America    in    1884, 

;  being  a   lad   of  twelve   years   at  the   time.     He 

i  thereafter  resided  in  the  city  of  Chicago  until 
1895.  attending  school  and  being  employed  in 
various   commercial   houses,    and   he   then    went 

I  to  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  where  he  was  em- 
ployed as  a  traveling  salesman  by  the  Dogley 
Tea  Company  until  1897,  in  which  year  he  came 
to  South  Dakota  and  took  up  his  residence  near 
Twin  Brooks,  Grant  county,  where  he  became 
the  owner  of  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres,  to  which  he  has  added  four  hundred  and 
eighty  acres,  making  one  of  the  most  valuable 
and  well  improved  farms  of  this  county.  He 
there  continued  to  be  actively  engaged  in  farm- 
ing and  stock  raising  until  his  election  to  his 
present  office,  in  November,  1900,  having  been 
chosen  as  his  own  successor  in  the  election  of 
1902,  which  fact  offers  patent  evidence  of  the 
acceptable  work  he  has  done  as  clerk  of  the 
courts.     He   is   a   stanch   advocate  of  the   prin- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


679 


ciples  of  the  Republican  party  and  was  elected 
on  its  ticket. 

He  has  taken  a  deep  interest  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  agricultural  resources  of  this  sec- 
tion, while  he  is  recognized  as  an  able  business 
man  and  essentially  public-spirited  citizen.  He 
is  the  owner  of  a  nice  home  in  Milbank,  and  the 
same  is  a  favorite  resort  of  the  large  circle  of 
friends  which  he  and  his  wife  have  drawn 
about  them.  Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America,  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen,  and  the  Improved  Order  of 
Red  Men. 

On  the  29th  of  March,  1900,  was  celebrated 
the  marriage  of  Mr.  Rabbitt  to  Miss  Augusta 
Runge,  who  was  born  in  Wisconsin,  being  a 
daughter  of  Julius  Runge,  one  of  the  honored 
pioneers  and  prominent  farmers  of  Grant 
county.  ]\Ir.  and  Mrs.  Rabbitt  have  two  chil- 
dren. Nora  Augusta  and  Elizabeth  Elmira  S. 


GEORGE  H.  PINCKXEY.  the  able  and  pop- 
ular auditor  of  Grant  county,  has  been  a  resident 
of  the  state  since  1887  and  has  attained  prestige 
and  success  through  his  well  directed  efiforts.  He 
was  born  in  Onondaga  county.  New  York,  on  the 
1st  of  January,  1867,  and  is  a  son  of  James  G. 
and  Mary  E.  (Wood)  Pinckney,  who  were  like- 
wise born  and  reared  in  the  old  Empire  state  of 
the  Union,  where  they  maintained  their  home  un- 
til 1869,  when  they  removed  to  Fillmore  county, 
Minnesota,  where  the  father  of  the  subject  en- 
gaged in  farming  and  where  the  mother  still 
maintains  her  home,  his  death  occurring  Decem- 
ber 12,  1903.    Of  their  five  children  all  are  living. 

George  H.  Pinckney  was  a  child  of  but  two 
years  at  the  time  of  his  parents'  removal  to  the 
west,  and  he  was  reared  to  maturity  in  Fillmore 
county,  Minnesota,  where  he  availed  himself  of 
the  advantages  of  the  public  schools.  After  leav- 
ing school  he  was  engaged  in  teaching  in  Minne 
sota  for  one  year,  at  the  expiration  of  which,  in 
1887,  he  came  to  what  is  now  the  state  of  South 
Dakota,  locating  in  Lake  county,  where  he  was 
engaged  in   farm  work  about  one  and  one-half 


years.  On  the  15th  of  November,  1888,  he  was 
there  married  to  Miss  Helen  Allen,  who  was 
born  in  Minnesota,  being  a  daughter  of  H.  W. 
and  Helen  (Tucker)  Allen.  Shortly  after  this 
important  event  in  his  life  history  Mr.  Pinckney 
returned  to  Minnesota  and  took  up  his  residence 
in  Fillmore  county,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
farming  for  the  ensuing  five  years.  He  then,  in 
1894,  came  again  to  South  Dakota,  and  located  in 
Grant  county,  where  he  became  the  owner  of  a 
fine  farm  of  one  hundred  sixty  acres,  in  Osceola 
township.  To  the  improvement  and  cultivation 
of  this  farm,  in  connection  with  the  raising  of  live 
stock,  he  continued  to  give  his  attention  until  his 
election  to  his  present  office,  in  the  fall  of  1902, 
and  he  still  retains  possession  of  the  farm,  which 
is  one  of  the  attractive  rural  demesnes  of  this 
section  of  the  state.  In  politics  Mr.  Pinckney  has 
ever  been  found  stanchly  arrayed  in  support  of  the 
principles  and  policies  of  the  Republican  partv, 
taking  an  active  interest  in  the  promotion  of 
its  cause,  while  on  its  ticket  he  secured  a  flattering 
endorsement  at  the  polls  on  the  occasion  of  his 
election  to  the  office  of  county  auditor.  He  is 
affiliated  with  Milbank  Camp,  No.  1887,  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America,  and  he  is  also  a  ?\ [aster 
Mason.  They  have  four  children.  Hazel  L,  Nada. 
Gladvs  and  Francis  'SI. 


THAD  L.  FULLER,  who  is  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession  in  Milbank,  has  gained 
a  position  of  prominence  at  the  bar  of  the  state, 
and  merits  recognition  in  this  work.  He  is  a 
native  of  Eldora,  Iowa,  being  a  son  of  Hon. 
Howard  G.  and  Maria  E.  (Leonard)  Fuller,  both 
of  whom  were  born  and  reared  in  the  state  of  New 
York,  the  father  being  one  of  the  associate  jus- 
tices of  the  supreme  court  of  the  state  and  one 
of  the  distinguished  members  of  its  bar.  The 
subject  of  this  review  was  about  ten  years  of 
age  at  the  time  of  his  parents'  removal  from 
Iowa  to  South  Dakota,  his  early  educational  dis- 
cipline being  received  in  the  public  schools,  while 
later  he  pursued  his  studies  in  Redfield  College, 
at  Redfield,  and  in  the  state  university.  He  then 
began     reading     law     in     the     office     of     the 


68o 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


old  established  and  well-known  firm  of  Aiken, 
Bailey  &  Voorhees,  of  Sioux  Falls,  and 
later  became  the  official  stenographer  in  the 
supreme  court.  He  retained  this  incumbency 
about  two  years,  having  in  the  meanwhile  been 
admitted  to  the  bar  upon  examination  before  the 
supreme  court.  The  examination  occurred  before 
he  had  attained  his  legal  majority,  and  he  was 
thus  compelled  to  wait  several  months  before  se- 
curing the  official  papers  which  made  him  eligible 
for  active  practice.  In  i8g8  Mr.  Fuller  entered 
into  a  professional  alliance  with  Burtin  D.  Gam- 
ble, under  the  firm  name  of  Gamble  &  Fuller,  and 
were  associated  in  practice  until  June  15,  1902, 
at  which  time  Mr.  Gamble  died.  Mr.  Fuller  is 
known  as  a  particularly  effective  and  discrimi- 
nating advocate,  and  has  made  an  enviable  record 
in  this  line,  while  as  a  public  speaker  he  has 
gained  distinctive  precedence,  being  called  upon 
for  addresses  on  various  occasions.  In  politics 
he  is  a  stanch  advocate  of  the  principles  of  the 
Republican  party,  and  in  1902  he  was  elected 
state's  attorney  of  Grant  county,  in  which  capacity 
he  is  serving  at  the  time  of  this  writing,  having 
proved  a  most  able  and  acceptable  public  prose- 
cutor. Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the  Ma- 
sonic order  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  while  he 
enjoys  marked  popularity  in  professional,  busi- 
ness and  social  circles. 


HOLLACE  LINCOLN  HOPKINS  has  been 
very  closely  identified  with  the  business  and  polit- 
ical history  of  South  Dakota,  and  his  activity 
has  made  him  perhaps  as  well  known  throughout 
the  state  as  any  other  man.  Hollace  Hopkins, 
manager  of  the  Sioux  Valley  Land  Company,  of 
Henry,  was  born  in  Olmstead  county,  ]\Iinnesota, 
January  3,  1864,  and  is  the  son  of  George  E.  and 
Caroline  (Cudney)  Hopkins,  natives  of  Ontario, 
and  pioneers  of  Minnesota  and  of  South  Dakota, 
coming  to  the  territory  in  1878.  George  E.  Hop- 
kins was  a  prosperous  farmer  and  represented 
his  county  in  the  state  legislature.  He  settled  in 
Deuel  county,  where  Hollace  received  the  greater 
])art  of  his  education,  in  the  public  schools  and 
in    the    agricultural    college    at    Brookings.      He 


manifested  a  preference  for  journalism,  and 
on  quitting  college  he  carried  out  a  desire 
of  long  standing  and  established  in  May,  1888,  at 
Henry,  The  Independent.  Mr.  Hopkins  contin- 
ued to  publish  and  manage  it  until  January  i, 
1900,  since  when  he  has  devoted  his  attention 
largely  to  the  Sioux  \''alley  Land  Company. 
Mr.  Hopkins  became  an  influential  force  in 
local  and  state  politics,  and  his  paper  not  only 
achieved  a  wide  reputation  but  attained  a  wide 
circulation. 

Mr.  Hopkins  was  the  leading  spirit  in  the 
organization  of  the  land  company  and  as  secre- 
tary and  general  manager  has  greatly  enlarged 
the  scope  of  its  operations.  During  President 
Harrison's  administration  he  was  postmaster  at 
Henry  and  was  re-appointed  by  President 
McKinley.  Mr.  Hopkins  was  influential  in  the 
Republican  party,  and  has  been  a  delegate  to 
nearly  every  county,  district  and  state  convention 
in  the  last  twelve  years,  and  he  served  as  secre- 
tary of  the  state  conventions  held  at  Yankton 
and  Madison.  He  manifests  a  pardonable  pride 
in  the  welfare  of  the  town,  and  has  used  his  en- 
deavors to  promote  its  advancement  along  social, 
moral  and  material  lines. 

Mr.  Hopkins  held  an  important  clerical  posi- 
tion in  the  house  of  representatives,  in  1893  and 
in  1895  he  was  chief  clerk  of  the  same.  Frater- 
nally Mr.  Hopkins  is  a  member  of  the  Pythian 
order,  and  has  passed  all  the  chairs  of  the  local 
lodge,  besides  representing  it  in  the  grand  lodge. 
Personally  he  is  companionable  and  agreeable. 

Mr.  Hopkins,  on  the  2d  day  of  July,  1889, 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Encie  Plank, 
a  native  of  the  same  county  as  himself,  and  a 
schoolmate.  She  is  the  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Diantha  (Schermerhorn)  Plank,  of  Olmstead 
county,  Minnesota,  and  has  borne  her  husband 
four  children,  Glenn  H.,  Leah,  Gail  and  Carrie  P. 


HON.  THOMAS  L.  BOUCK.— Holding 
worthy  prestige  among  the  public  men  of  South 
Dakota,  and  a  leading  member  of  the  Grant 
county  bar,  the  career  of  Hon.  Thomas  L. 
Bouck  presents  much  that  is  interesting  and  in- 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


structive,  having  risen  to  high  official  station  and 
demonstrated  in  different  spheres  the  ability  to 
discharge  worthily  responsible  duties.  Mr. 
Bouck  was  born  January  29,  1865,  in  Fulton, 
Schoharie  county,  New  York,  and  is  the  only 
son  of  Samuel  Bouck,  a  prominent  farmer  and 
a  descendant  of  one  of  the  old  Dutch  families. 
The  Boucks  were  there  represented  in  colonial 
times  and  several  of  the  name  bore  gallant  parts 
in  the  Revolution,  as  well  as  in  the  various  In- 
dian wars.  Samuel  Bouck  lived  a  long  and  use- 
ful life,  dying  in  March,  1897,  at  his  home  in 
New  York.  His  wife,  Mary  M.  A'roman,  sur- 
vived him  until  July,  1902,  and  lies  beside  him 
in  the  old  cemetery  at  Middleburg. 

Thomas  L.  Bouck  attended  Hartwick  Semi- 
nary, and,  deciding  to  make  the  legal  profes- 
sion his  specialty,  entered  the  Albany  Law 
School,  completing  the  prescribed  course  in 
1886,  immediately  after  which  he  came  to  South 
Dakota  and  opened  an  office  in  Milbank.  Here 
he  soon  won  recognition  and  in  due  time  built  up 
a  large  and  lucrative  practice.  For  a  number 
of  years  his  name  has  appeared  in  connection 
with  nearly  every  important  case  tried  in  Grant 
county.  He  was  elected  the  first  county  judge 
in  1889  ^'^'^1  served  by  successive  re-elections  for 
three  terms.  In  1897  he  was  elected  to  the  state 
senate,  serving  as  such  during  two  sessions,  serv- 
ing throughout  on  the  judiciary  committee  and 
as  a  member  of  the  temperance  committee  se- 
cured the  present  liquor  legislation.  Mr.  Bouck 
was  several  times  appointed  city  attorney,  and  in 
T893  he  was  the  Democratic  candidate  for  circuit 
judge,  failing  of  election  by  the  small  margin 
of  only  seventy-eight  votes.  In  1903  he  was 
further  honored  by  being  elected  mayor  of  Mil- 
bank,  which  office  he  still  holds.  Mr.  Bouck's 
personal  popularity  is  only  limited  by  his  ac- 
quaintance and  many  of  his  warmest  friends  and 
admirers  hold  political  opinions  directly  opposite 
to  his  own.  Not  endorsing  Bn'anism,  Mr. 
Bouck  became  identified  with  the  Republican 
party  in  1900. 

Mr.  Bouck  is  the  possessor  of  an  ample  com- 
petence, much  of  his  means  being  invested  in 
city  real  estate.     In  addition  to  a  fine  residence, 


one  of  the  most  attractive  homes  in  the  city,  he 
owns  a  large  two-story  fifty-foot-front  brick 
block  and  he  also  has  valuable  agricultural  and 
live  stock  interests  in  the  country,  owning 
several  earning  farms. 

Mrs.  Bouck  was  formerly  Miss  Margaret  L. 
McCarthy,  the  marriage  occurring  on  the  14th 
of  July,  1898.  She  was  born  at  Luverne,  Min- 
nesota, her  father,  Michael  McCarthy,  being  one 
of  the  early  pioneers  and  widely  known  citizens 
of  that  state.  They  have  two  children,  Thomas 
L.  and  Margaret  L.  Fraternally  Mr.  Bouck  is 
a  Knight  Templar  Mason  and  he  is  also  con- 
nected with  the  Pythian  and  Red  A  ten  brother- 
hoods. 


HON.  NICHOLAS  T.  LOWTHIAN,  one  of 
the  honored  pioneers  of  Grant  county,  has  been 
prominently  identified  with  the  industrial  .and 
civic  development  of  the  state.  He  is  a  native  of 
Ontario,  where  he  was  born  in  the  17th  of  March, 
1840,  being  a  son  of  Timothy  and  Dinah  (Irvin) 
Lowthian,  both  of  whom  died  when  he  was  an 
infant.  He  was  reared  b}-  h.is  sister  and  attended 
the  public  schools  of  his  native  province  until 
he  had  attained  the  age  of  fourteen,  after  which 
he  was  employed  in  a  telegraph  office  imtil  1856, 
when  he  removed  to  Worth  count}-,  Iowa,  where 
he  was  identified  with  farming  until  March  9, 
1862,  when  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company 
C,  Fifth  Minnesota  \'olunteer  Infantry,  the  regi- 
ment being  assigned  to  the  .\rmy  of  the  Tennes- 
see. He  participated  in  thirteen  battles  and  for 
eighteen  months  was  in  the  medical  department 
assisting  in  hospital  work  and  in  caring  for  the 
wounded.  He  received  his  honorable  discharge, 
at  St.  Paul,  on  the  9th  of  March,  1865,  and  then 
returned  to  Iowa  and  engaged  in  farming  in 
Worth  county.  In  1867  he  removed  to  Freeborn 
county,  Minnesota,  where  he  continued  to  follow 
agricultural  pursuits  until  his  removal  to  South 
Dakota,  having  in  the  meanwhile  served  for  five 
vears  as  captain  of  a  company  of  the  Minnesota 
National  Guard.  In  1879  Mr.  Lowthian  came 
to  what  is  now  Grant  county.  South  Dakota,  and 
entered  a  homestead  in   Melrose  township,  and 


68^ 


lilSTORV   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


there  developed  and  improved  a  fine  farm,  includ- 
ing one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  which  was  owned 
b}-  his  wife.  There  he  continued  to  be  actively 
and  successfully  engaged  in  farming  and  stock 
growing  until  the  spring  of  1903,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Milbank,  purchasing  a  pleasant  and 
commodious  residence  on  South  Grant  street, 
where  he  has  since  lived  practically  retired  from 
active  business,  though  still  maintaining  a  general 
supervision  of  his  farming  interests. 

Mr.  Lowthian  accords  an  unswerving  alle- 
giance to  the  Republican  party,  and  he  has  been  a 
prominent  figure  in  public  afifairs  since  coming 
to  the  state,  having  been  incumbent  of  various 
local  offices,  while  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  con- 
stitutional conventions  of  1883  and  1885,  and  a 
member  of  the  state  senate  in  1893  and  1895. 
From  1867  to  the  present  he  has  served  officially 
in  connection  with  schools  in  ^Minnesota  and  Da- 
kota. 

On  the  22d  of  December,  1859,  at  Gordons- 
ville,  Minnesota,  Mr.  Lowthian  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Susan  Beighley,  who  was  bom 
and  reared  in  Butler  county,  Pennsylvania,  being 
a  daughter  of  Peter  and  Elizabeth  Beighley,  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  three  children,  namely: 
W'illiam,  who  carries  on  the  farm  in  Melrose ; 
John  P.,  who  is  now  engaged  in  the  drug  busi- 
ness at  International  Falls,  Minnesota ;  and  Dr. 
George  H.  Lowthian,  who  is  now  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession  in  Hewitt,  Todd  county, 
]\Iinnesota.  The  subject  and  his  estimable  wife 
also  adopted  two  children,  Kate,  who  is  now 
the  wife  of  M.  McMillan,  of  Kansas  City,  Mis- 
souri, and  Nina,  who  still  remains  at  the  home  of 
her  foster  parents.  Also  on  his  return  from  the 
south.  Mr.  Lowthian  brought  a  Mississippi  boy, 
Jacob  Des  Muke,  to  Iowa  and  who  remained  in 
the  family  till  his  marriage.  He  is  now  a  resident 
of  Condee.  Spink  county,   South  Dakota. 


MERRITT  B.  WISEMAN  has  the  distinc- 
tion of  being  a  native  of  this  county  and  a  scion 
of  one  of  its  honored  pioneer  families,  while  he 
enjoys  distinctive  popularity  in  the  community 
which  has  been  his  home  throughout  life,  and  is 


one  of  the  representative  young  men  of  this  sec- 
tion. 

He  was  born  on  the  parental  homestead  in  Os- 
ceola township.  Grant  county,  on  the  28th  of  j\lay. 
1879,  and  was  the  first  white  child  born  within 
the  confines  of  said  county.    He  is  a  son  of  Mar- 

j  cellus  H.  and  Josephine  P.   (Palmer)   Wiseman, 

j  the  former  of  whom  was  born  in  Vermont,  a  rep- 
resentative  of  a  family  established  in  New  Eng- 
land in  the  colonial  era,  while  the  latter  was  born 

I  in  Illinois,  where  their  marriage  was  solemnized 

I  and  where  the  father  was  engaged  in  farming 
until  1879,  when  he  set  forth  for  the  territory  of 
Dakota,  transporting  his  family  and  their  few 
household  goods  in  a  covered  wagon  and  making 

1  the  entire  journey  overland  with  horse  teams.  He 
became  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  Grant  county. 

'  where  he  became  the  owner  of  valuable  property, 
and  he  and  his  wife  still  reside  in  Milbank,  being 
held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  all  who  know  them. 
JMarcellus  H.  Wiseman  was  for  a  number  of  years 
a  trusted  employe  of  the  Chicago,  ^Milwaukee  & 
St.  Paul  Railroad  Company,  and  was  thus  en- 
gaged for  a  number  of  years  after  coming  to 
South  Dakota,  being  now  practically  retired.  He 
has  ever  been  known  as  a  man  of  force  and  pro- 
gressive ideas,  and  has  manifested  distinctive 
public  spirit,  having  taken  a  particularly  active 
part  in  the  contest  which  resulted  in  the  estab- 
lishing of  the  county  seat  at  Milbank.  He  is  a 
Republican  in  politics.  They  have  four  children, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  being  the  only  son. 

Merritt  B.  Wiseman,  whose  name  initiates 
this  review,  has  passed  practically  his  entire  life 
in  Milbank,  though  the  village  was  not  founded 
until  some  time  after  his  parents'  location  in  the 
county,  and  he  duly  availed  himself  of  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  excellent  local  schools,  having 
completed  the  course  in  the  Milbank  high  school 

j  and  been  there  graduated  as  a  member  of  the 
class  of  1897.  He  then  practically  continued  his 
educational  work  by  the  valuable  discipline  gained 
through  association  with  the  "art  preservative  of 
all  arts,"  having  worked  at  the  printer's  trade 
about  four  years,  while  for  the  past  four  years 
he  has  rendered  efficient  service  in  the  office  of  the 
county  auditor,  having  been  appointed  deputy  au- 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


ditor  in  1900  by  John  E.  Truran.  At  present  he  is 
associated  with  the  chief  carpenter  of  the  Jim 
River  and  of  the  H.  and  D.  division  of  the  Chi- 
cago, Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railroad.  In  politics 
the  subject  is  one  of  the  alert  and  enthusiastic 
young  Republicans  of  his  native  county,  and 
takes  a  lively  interest  in  public  affairs  of  a  local 
nature,  while  he  also  keeps  well  informed  on  the 
national  issues.  Fraternally  he  is  identified  with 
Milbank  Lodge,  No.  20,  Ancient  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons,  of  which  he  is  secretary  at  the 
time  of  this  writing,  and  with  Banner  Lodge,  No. 
57,  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  Milbank  Camp,  No. 
1887,  Modern  Woodmen  of  America. 

On  the  24th  of  June,  1902,  Mr.  Wiseman  was 
united  in  marriage  to  jMiss  Lillian  Lau,  who  was 
born  in  Wisconsin. 


GUY  L.  WOOD. — Conspicuous  among  the 
successful  business  men  and  representative  citi- 
zens of  Grant  county  is  the  well-known  financier 
whose  name  furnishes  the  caption  of  this  review. 
G.  L.  Wood,  for  many  years  identified  with  the 
commercial  interests  and  material  growth  of 
Milbank,  and  now  president  of  the  Farmers' 
Bank,  is  a  native  of  Canada  and  one  of  six  chil- 
dren who  formerly  constituted  the  family  of 
Walter  A.  and  Martha  P.  (Jacobs)  Wood,  the 
father  born  in  Wales,  the  mother  in  New  Hamp- 
shire. Mrs.  Wood  was  descended  from  old 
colonial  stock,  her  ancestors  in  an  early  day  hav- 
ing been  prominent  in  the  annals  of  New  Eng- 
land, and  her  grandfather  fought  in  the  war  of 
the  Revolution.  Of  the  seven  children,  three 
sons  and  a  daughter  live  in  Milbank,  South 
Dakota,  one  brother  resides  in  New  York,  one 
brother  in  Minnesota  and  one  brother  is  dead. 

G.  L.  Wood  was  born  November  5,  i860, 
and  when  about  five  years  of  age  was  taken  by 
his  parents  to  Wisconsin,  and  later  to  the  south- 
ern part  of  Minnesota,  where  he  spent  his  child- 
hood and  youth,  receiving  his  preliminary  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools.  Actuated  by  a  laud- 
able desire  for  more  thorough  scholastic  training, 
he  entered  the  University  of  Minnesota  and  while 
attending  that  institution  devoted  his  vacations 


to  teaching  and  to  various  other  kinds  of  em- 
ployment in  order  to  defray  the  expense  of  his 
collegiate  course.  Leaving  the  university  in  the 
sophomore  year,  he  went  to  Ortonville,  South 
Dakota,  where,  in  connection  with  his  two 
brothers,  he  engaged  in  the  hardware  trade,  es- 
tablishing in  1878  a  prosperous  business  which 
they  conducted  until  1880.  In  that  year  the  firm 
added  lumber  and  machinery  and  continued 
handling  the  three  lines  during  the  ensuing  two 
years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  G.  L.  sold  his 
interest  to  his  brothers,  and  established  a  loan 
and  trust  business  which  he  conducted  in  Mil- 
bank  until  the  spring  of  i8gi,  when  he  organized 
the  Farmers'  Bank.  Later  this  institution  was 
incorporated  as  a  state  bank  with  G.  L.  Wood, 
president :  J.  C.  Wood,  vice-president,  and  J.  C. 
Elliott,  cashier,  under  which  official  management 
it  soon  became  an  influential  factor  in  the  finan- 
cial and  business  circles  of  Grant  county  and 
vicinity,  its  prestige  continuing  with  steadily 
growing  interest  to  the  present  time.  In  addi- 
tion to  his  connection  with  the  bank,  Mr.  Wood 
has  promoted  and  established  various  other  en- 
terprises, including  the  G.  L.  Wood  Farm  & 
Mortgage  Company,  which  has  extended  its 
operations  over  Grant  and  other  counties,  and 
which  now  has  several  branch  offices.  The  com- 
pany has  built  up  an  extensive  business,  owning 
at  the  present  time  about  four  thousand  acres  of 
land  in  different  parts  of  the  country  and  han- 
dling over  a  quarter  million  dollars  annually.  The 
business  is  constantly  growing  in  volume,  and  im- 
portance, and  it  is  not  too  much  to  claim  for  its 
energetic  president  the  credit  of  the  enterprise, 
as  it  has  been  largely  the  outgrowth  of  his  fertile 
mind  and  its  success  is  the  result  of  his  judg- 
ment, method  and  capable  management.  Mr. 
Wood  is  essentially  a  business  man  and  as  such 
easily  ranks  with  the  most  energetic  and  pro- 
gressive of  his  compeers  in  his  adopted  county 
and  state.  He  keeps  in  close  touch  with  the  times 
in  financial  and  general  business  matters,  is  fa- 
miliar with  economic  and  industrial  conditions 
of  the  section  of  the  country  in  which  he  operates 
and,  realizing  the  wants  of  the  people,  he  has 
supplied  the  same  generously  and  unsparingly. 


684 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Like  all  good  citizens  and  progressive  men, 
he  is  deeply  interested  in  his  own  community  and 
few  have  contributed  as  freely  as  he  to  its  ma- 
terial advancement,  and  none  have  been  more 
active  in  promoting  its  social  and  moral  welfare. 
His  relations  with  his  fellow  men  have  been  char- 
acterized by  a  high  sense  of  honor. 

I\ir.  Wood  is  a  jNIethodist  in  religion,  and  at 
this  time  is  on  the  official  board  of  the  church 
at  ]\lilbank.  Fraternally  he  belongs  to  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  Modern 
\\'oodmen  of  America,  and  in  politics  supports 
the  Republican  party. 

On  September  zy,  1883,  was  solemnized  the 
marriage  of  ^Ir.  ^^'ood  and  Miss  Frankie  L. 
Morrill,  daughter  of  Jefferson  and  Helen  E. 
}iIorrill,  the  father  being  connected  with  the 
Withington  Tool  Company,  of  Jackson.  iNIichi- 
gan.  Mrs.  Wood  is  a  native  of  that  state  and 
has  presented  her  husband  seven  children,  four 
sons  and  three  daughters,  whose  names  are  as 
follows:  Ray  ?i[.,  Helen  E.,  Hugh  J.,  Marion, 
Guv  L.,  A\'vant  A.  and  Rosamond. 


JOHN  D.  SMULL,  deputy  postmaster  at 
]\Iilbank,  was  born  in  DeKalb  county,  Illinois, 
on  the  31st  of  January,  1865,  and  is  a  son  of 
Joel  W.  and  Jennie  (Dixon)  Smull,  the  former 
of  whom  was  born  in  New  York  and  the  latter  in 
Pennsylvania.  He  is  deceased  and  she  resides  in 
Chicago,  John  D.  being  their  only  child.  Joel 
W.  Smull  devoted  the  major  portion  of  his  active 
business  life  to  the  vocation  of  contractor  and  be- 
came a  prominent  and  influential  citizen  of 
Illinois,  having  served  for  a  number  of  years  as 
a  member  of  the  state  legislature,  while  he  was 
at  one  time  grand  master  of  the  grand  lodge  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

When  John  D.  Smull  was  five  years  of  age 
his  parents  removed  to  Chicago,  in  whose  public 
schools  he  secured  his  education,  after  which  he 
became  identified  with  mercantile  pursuits,  hav- 
ing finally  established  himself  in  the  rolling  mill 
business  in  Chicago,  where  he  remained  until 
1892,  when  he  came  to  South  Dakota  and  took 
up  government  land  on  the  newly  opened  Sisse- 


ton  Indian  reservation.  He  assisted  in  the  or- 
ganization of  Blooming  Valley  township,  was  its 
first  clerk  and  was  otherwise  prominently  con- 
cerned with  local  industrial  and  civic  develop- 
ment. He  was  president  of  the  Settlers'  Associa- 
tion of  the  Sisseton  Reservation,  which  had  over 
one  thousand  members  and  which  was  formed 
to  secure  an  abatement  of  the  charge  of  two  and 
one-half  dollars  per  acre  demanded  by  the  gov- 
ernment, and  through  the  medium  of  the  organi- 
zation this  was  accomplished  and  the  government 
permitted  settlers  to  secure  free  homesteads,  as 
had  been  the  case  in  other  sections.  He  re- 
mained on  his  farm,  which  he  still  owns,  for  about 
seven  years,  since  when  he  has  resided  in  Mil- 
bank.  During  the  fifth  general  assembly  in  1898-9 
he  served  as  clerk  of  the  appropriations  com- 
mittee in  the  house.  He  is  a  stanch  supporter 
of  the  Republican  party  and  has  been  a  zealous 
worker  in  its  cause,  having  served  for  eight 
years  as  chairman  or  secretary  of  the  county  cen- 
tral committee.  In  March,  1899,  he  became 
deputy  postmaster,  in  which  capacity  he  has  since 
served,  except  for  a  short  interval.  He  is  popu- 
lar, courteous  and  obliging,  proving  to  be  the 
right  man  for  the  place.  He  is  affiliated  with 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  in  which 
he  has  passed  the  official  chairs,  taking  a  lively 
interest  in  the  work  of  the  lodge  and  in  the  wel- 
fare of  the  order  in  general. 

On  the  27th  of  October,  1892,  :\lr.  Smull  was 
united  in  marriage  to  ]\Iiss  Annie  Clouckey,  who 
was  born  in  Greene.  Butler  county,  Iowa,  being 
a  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Mary  Clouckey,  while 
she  was  a  resident  of  Greene  at  the  time  of  her 
marriage,  of  which  two  daughters  have  been 
born,  Jennie  C.  and  Marv  D. 


JOHN  S.  FARLEY  is  one  of  the  prominent 
merchants  and  representative  citizens  of  Milbank, 
where  he  conducts  a  prosperous  and  extensive 
business  in  hardware,  farming  implements,  etc. 
jMr.  Farley  is  a  native  of  Galena,  Illinois,  where 
he  was  born  on  the  28th  of  February,  1856,  be- 
ing a  son  of  John  J.  and  Lucina"  Farley,  the 
former  of  whom  was  born  in  the  state  of  New 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


York  and  the  latter  in  Ohio.  They  were  num- 
bered among  the  early  settlers  of  Illinois,  and 
John  J.  was  for  a  number  of  years  a  successful 
teacher,  though  he  devoted  the  major  portion  of 
his  active  career  to  agricultural  pursuits.  He  died 
in  JMilbank,  June  ii,  1893,  and  his  wife  passed 
away  in  Iowa  in  1883,  and  their  three  sons  and 
one  daughter  are  still  living.  John  S.  grew  to 
maturity  under  the  sturdy  discipline  of  the  home 
farm  in  Howard  county,  Iowa,  where  his  par- 
ents took  up  their  abode  in  1859,  and  there  re- 
ceived his  early  educational  training  in  the  dis- 
trict schools.  After  leaving  school  he  continued 
to  assist  in  the  management  and  work  of  the  home 
farm  until  1880,  when  he  came  to  Milbank,  and 
here  established  himself  in  the  hardware  busi- 
ness, being  one  of  the  pioneer  merchants  of  the 
town.  He  began  operations  on  a  modest  scale, 
and  with  the  development  of  the  county  and  the 
advancement  of  the  town  as  a  business  center, 
he  has  prospered  and  now  controls  a  large  and 
flourishing  business,  drawing  his  trade,  from  a 
wide  radius  of  country.  Correct  methods  have 
gained  and  retained  to  him  the  confidence  and  re- 
gard of  all,  the  result  being  that  his  business  has 
constantly  grown  in  scope  and  importance.  Mr. 
Farley  has  not  hedged  himself  in  with  his  per- 
sonal interests  and  affairs,  but  has  shown  that 
potent  ]niblic  spirit  which  ever  proves  a  factor 
in  the  upbuilding  and  advancement  of  any  com- 
munity. In  politics  he  gives  a  stanch  support  to 
the  Republican  party,  on  whose  ticket  he  was 
elected  treasurer  of  the  county  in  1888,  remain- 
ing incumbent  of  the  office  for  four  years  and  ably 
administering  the  fiscal  affairs  entrusted  to  his 
care.  In  1899  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
board  of  aldermen  of  JMilbank,  and  has  served 
about  four  years  in  this  capacity,  having  been 
elected  for  the  third  time  in  the  spring  of  1903. 
He  is  affiliated  with  the  Modern  Woodmen  of 
America  and  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Work- 
men, and  both  he  and  his  wife  are  communicants 
of  the  Catholic  church,  holding  membership  in 
the  local  parish  of  St.  Laurens  church. 

On  the  27th  of  June,  1883,  was  solemnized  the 
marriage  of  Mr.  Farley  to  Miss  Minnie  Dore, 
who  was  born  in  St.  Croix,  Wisconsin,  being  a 


daughter  of  Edward  and  Elizabeth  Dore,  the 
latter  surviving  upwards  of  thirty  years. 
To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Farley  have  been  born  nine 
children,  those  living  being  John  E.,  George  Stan- 
ley, Mary  E.,  Francis  and  Earl  S.  Paul,  Walter, 
Lucina  and  another  boy  died  in  infancy.  The 
family  home,  at  the  corner  of  Fourth  avenue  and 
Fifth  street,  is  one  of  the  attractive  residences  of 
the  town. 


LESTER  H.  BEXTLEY,  who  is  actively  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Mil- 
bank,  is  also  engaged  in  the  real-estate  and  loan 
business  and  is  prominently  identified  with  indus- 
trial affairs.  He  has  been  a  factor  in  political  and 
civic  matters  since  coming  to  the  state,  and  com- 
mands unqualified  esteem  wherever  known. 

Mr.  Bentley  is  a  native  of  Minnesota,  having 
been  born  in  Viola,  Olmsted  county,  on  the  29th 
of  January,  1871,  and  being  a  son  of  A.  L.  and 
Tamar  (Wiltse)  Bentley.  In  1881  they  settled 
on  a  homestead  near  Andover,  Day  county,  South 
Dakota,  and  there  Lester  learned  every  detail 
of  farm  work,  driving  cattle  to  break  the  original 
sod.  Lester  H.  was  reared  to  the  sturdy  disci- 
pline of  the  farm  in  Day  county,  and  his  prelim- 
inar\-  educational  discipline  was  secured  in  the 
district  schools,  while  he  later  continued  his  stud- 
ies in  the  high  school  at  Montevideo,  Chippewa 
county,  Minnesota,  where  he  was  graduated  as 
a  member  of  the  class  of  1889.  He  shortly  after- 
ward began  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of 
Smith  &  Fosnes,  of  that  place,  and  in  September. 
1889,  entered  the  University  of  Minnesota,  where 
he  spent  one  year  in  the  academic  course  and  was 
then  matriculated  in  the  law  department  of  the 
same  institution,  being  graduated  in  the  spring  of 
1892,  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws,  while 
he  was  simultaneously  admitted  to  the  bar.  Soon 
afterward  he  engaged  in  the  active  work  of  his 
profession  in  Montevideo,  where  he  entered  into 
a  professional  partnership  with  C.  A.  Fosnes,  with 
whom  he  was  associated  until  1893,  when  he 
came  to  JMilbank,  where  he  has  since  resided  and 
where  he  has  gained  high  prestige  in  his  profes- 
sion and  marked  success  in  business  connections. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


In  1892  he  stumped  Minnesota  in  the  interests  of 
the  RepubHcan  party,  of  whose  principles  he  is 
a  stahvart  advocate,  and  at  each  ensuing  cam- 
paign his  services  have  been  in  requisition.  He 
is  attorney  for  a  large  number  of  financial  insti- 
tutions, and  has  personally  identified  himself  with 
prominent  industrial  concerns.  He  was  one  of 
the  organizers  of  the  Wagner  Milling  Company, 
of  Milbank,  of  which  he  is  still  a  stockholder,  and 
is  also  one  of  the  interested  principals  in  the 
Wagner-Bentley  Cattle  Ranch  Company,  while 
he  is  vice-president  and  a  large  stockholder  of 
the  People's  Kanmare  Dry  Coal  Company  of 
Kanmare,  North  Dakota.  He  owns  and  is  presi- 
dent of  the  First  State  Bank,  of  Strandburg, 
Grant  county,  South  Dakota.  He  is  also  iden- 
tified with  the  farming  and  stock-growing  indus- 
try, and  is  a  man  of  marked  business  acumen  and 
progressive  ideas,  his  executive  and  administra- 
tive powers  being  exceptionally  pronounced.  He 
is  agent  for  large  and  valuable  tracts  of  farm- 
ing and  grazing  land  in  Assiniboia,  and  during 
the  year  1902  sold  more  than  a  million  dollars' 
worth  of  land  in  South  Dakota,  Minnesota  and 
Assiniboia.  while  he  also  has  the  best  of  facili- 
ties for  the  extending  of  financial  loans  upon  real- 
estate  security.  In  the  fall  of  1902  his  name  was 
brought  prominently  before  the  people  of  the 
state  in  connection  with  the  office  of  railroad  com- 
missioner, for  which  he  was  candidate  for  the 
nomination  on  the  Republican  ticket,  and  is  an 
earnest  worker  in  his  party.  With  his  manifold 
professional  and  business  interests  he  considers 
himself  favored  in  having  "escaped"  public  office. 
F"raternally  he  is  identified  with  the  Benevolent 
and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Knights  of  Pythias, 
the  Ancient  Order  of  United  \\'orkmen  and  the 
}ilodcrn  ^^'oodmcn  of  America.  ]\Ir.  Bentley  has 
one  of  the  finest  residences  in  Grant  county, 
which  he  completed  in  1903,  at  a  cost  of  aljout 
ten   thousand    dollars. 

On  the  6th  of  May,  1893,  was  solemnized  the 
marriage  of  Mr.  Bentley  to  Aliss  Mabel  I.  Tay- 
lor, of  Alexandria,  Minnesota,  in  which  state  she 
was  born  and  reared.  They  have  two  children, 
.Lester  H.,  Jr.,  and  Charles  E. 


EDWARD  P.  BROCKMAN,  the  efficient 
and  popular  register  of  deeds  of  Grant  county, 
was  born  in  Hastings,  Minnesota,  on  the  i6th  of 
October,  1868,  and  is  a  son  of  Edward  B.  and 
Susan  G.  (Powell)  Brockman,  the  former  of 
whom  was  born  in  England  and  the  latter  in  the 
state  of  W^isconsin,  while  they  were  among  the 
early  settlers  in  Minnesota,  where  they  took  up 
their  residence  in  1857.  He  was  a  tinsmith  by 
trade  and  followed  the  same  for  many  years, 
eventually  retiring  from  business.  The  family 
came  to  what  is  now  North  Dakota  in  1881,  lo- 
cating in  the  city  of  Fargo.  His  two  sons  and 
one  daughter  are  all  living,  Edward  P.  being  the 
second  in  order  of  birth. 

Edward  P.  Brockman  received  his  rudi- 
mentary education  in  the  public  schools  of  his 
nati\'e  town  and  was  about  thirteen  years  of  age 
when  his  parents  removed  to  North  Dakota.  He 
then  attended  the  public  schools  of  Fargo,  and, 
after  completing  a  course  in  the  high  school, 
entered  the  normal  school  at  INIoorehead.  He 
began  to  teach  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years,  and 
successfully  followed  this  vocation  until  he  en- 
gaged in  the  general  merchandise  business  at 
Tower  City,  North  Dakota,  where  he  remained 
until  1893,  when  he  came  to  Grant  county  and 
located  in  Milbank,  where  he  was  identified  with 
mercantile  pursuits  until  1896,  when  he  went  to 
Big  Stone  City,  where  for  more  than  two  years 
he  was  employed  in  the  banking  establishment  of 
Gold  &  Company.  He  then  engaged  in  the  gen- 
eral merchandise  business  in  that  town,  dispos- 
ing of  his  interests  after  a  period  of  about 
eighteen  months.  In  the  fall  of  1900  he  was 
elected  to  the  office  of  register  of  deeds  of  the 
county,  wdiereupon  he  took  up  his  residence  in 
Milbank.  and  was  re-elected  in  1902.  for  a  sec'- 
ond  term.  He  is  also  interested  in  the  abstract 
businesss.  the  headquarters  of  the  same  being 
located  in  his  office,  and  is  also  the  cashier  of 
the  Corona  State  Bank,  which  opened  its  doors 
in  November,  1903.  He  accords  a  stanch  al- 
legiance to  the  Republican  pirty.  and  has  taken 
a  deep  interest  in  local  affairs  since  coming  to 
the  county,  while  he  is  distinctively  alert  and 
public-spirited  and  is  one  of  the  loyal  citizens  of 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


687 


Grant  county.  Fraternally  he  is  identified  with 
the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  of  which  he 
is  worthy  advisor.  He  and  his  wife  are  promi- 
nent and  valued  members  of  the  First  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  of  Milbank,  he  being  super- 
intendent of  its  Sunday  school.  His  pleasant 
residence,  located  at  the  corner  of  West  Park 
avenue  and  Second  street,  is  one  of  Milbank's 
popular  homes.  On  the  17th  of  May,  1893,  at 
Tower  City,  Mr.  Brockman  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Elizabeth  E.  Wasem,  who  was  born 
in  Winona,  Minnesota,  being  a  daughter  of  John 
Wasem,  an  honored  pioneer  of  that  section.  Of 
this  union  have  been  born  two  children,  Clayton 
E.  and  Kenneth  Powell. 


OLE  J.  QUESTAD.— As  the  name  indi- 
cates, the  subject  of  this  review  is  of  foreign 
birth,  being  an  honorable  representative  of  the 
large,  thrifty  and  eminently  respectable  Nor- 
wegian element  that  has  exerted  such  a  potent 
influence  in  the  settlement  and  development  of 
South  Dakota  and  contributed  in  such  a  marked 
way  to  the  material  prosperity  of  the  state.  Ole 
J.  Ouestad  was  born  in  Norway  on  the  3d  day 
of  May,  1854,  and  spent  his  childhood  and  early 
youth  in  the  land  of  his  nativity,  receiving  the 
meantime  a  fair  education  in  the  schools  of  his 
neighborhood.  On  his  sixteenth  birthday  he  took 
passage  with  his  parents,  Jacob  O.  and  Rachel 
Ouestad.  for  the  United  States  and,  arriving  in 
this  country,  proceeded  direct  to  Freeborn 
count}-,  Minnesota,  where  he  labored  during  the 
ensuing  three  years  as  a  farm  hand.  In  1873 
he  came  to  South  Dakota,  and  for  some 
time  carried  on  farming  in  IMinnehaha 
county,  subsequently  on  attaining  his  ma- 
jority taking  •  up  a  homestead  in  the 
township  of  Rurk,  where  he  lived  and  cultivated 
the  soil  until  1885,  when  he  returned  to  the  town- 
ship in  which  he  originally  settled.  After  spend- 
ing one  year  on  his  farm  in  Lyons  Mr.  Questad, 
in  partnership  with  his  brother,  Thomas  J.,  en- 
gaged in  merchandising  at  Baltic,  the  firm  thus 
constituted  lasting  about  thirteen  years,  at  the  ex- 
piration of  which  period  the  subject  purchased  his 


partner's  interest  and  became  sole  proprietor. 
From  that  time  to  the  present  day  he  has  prose- 
cuted the  business  quite  successfully  and  is  now 
the  leading  merchant  of  the  place,  carrying  a 
large  stock  of  general  merchandise,  which  is  ad- 
vantageously displayed  in  a  fine,  commodious 
stone  building,  erected  by  him  in  the  year  1902. 
Mr.  Questad  is  an  enterprising,  up-to-date  man, 
familiar  with  the  principles  upon  which  success 
in  the  commercial  world  depends,  and,  by  con- 
sulting the  needs  and  tastes  of  his  customers,  as 
well  as  by  his  courteous  treatment  of  the  public, 
he  has  secured  a  large  and  lucrative  patronage, 
which  gives  every  promise  of  still  greater  mag- 
nitude as  the  years  go  by.  In  addition  to  his 
establishment  at  Baltic,  he  is  also  interested  in 
agriculture,  owning  a  well  improved  farm  in 
Lyons  township,  a  part  of  which  is  in  cultiva- 
tion. 

Mr.  Ouestad  has  been  honored  at  dift'erent 
times  with  official  positions,  having  served  as 
justice  of  the  peace  in  the  townships  of  Lyons 
and  Sverdrup  and  as  school  treasurer  and  town- 
ship treasurer  in  the  latter  jurisdiction.  He  ac- 
quitted himself  creditably  as  a  public  servant  and 
demonstrated  his  ability  to  discharge  worthily 
the  duties  of  any  important  trust  confided  to  him. 
Fie  is  a  man  of  sound  intelligence,  clear,  prac- 
tical mind  and  excellent  judgment,  as  the 
growth  and  continued  success  of  his  business 
attest,  and  among  his  fellow  citizens  he  is  held 
in  high  esteem  by  reason  of  his  honorable  course, 
correct  conduct  and  upright  life. 

From  April  i,  1881,  dates  the  domestic  life 
of  Mr.  Ouestad,  at  which  time  he  entered  the 
marriage  relation  with  Miss  Lena  Siveson,  of 
Iowa,  but  of  Norwegian  descent,  the  union  being 
blessed  with  the  following  children:  James  J.. 
Rosa  A.,  Julia,  Sander,  .\rthur,  Otella,  Lonard 
and  Earnest  Ferdinand,  all  living  and,  with  their 
parents,  constituting  a  happy  family  circle. 


HENRY  G.  SOLE M.— Practical  industry, 
wisely  and  vigorously  applied,  seldom  if  ever  fails 
of  success ;  it  carries  a  man  onward  and  upward, 
brings  out  his  individual  character  and  acts  as  a 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


powerful  stimulus  to  the  efforts  of  others.  The 
greatest  results  in  life  are  usually  attained  by 
simple  means  and  the  exercise  of  the  ordinary 
qualities  of  common  sense,  correct  judgment  and 
well  directed  perseverance.  The  every-day  life, 
with  his  cares,  necessities  and  duties,  affords  ample 
opportunities  for  acquiring  experience  of  the  best 
kind,  and  its  most  beaten  paths  provide  the  true 
worker  with  abundant  scope  for  effort  and  self- 
improvement.  These  facts  are  strikingly  exem- 
plified in  the  career  of  the  honored  citizen  of  Min- 
nehaha county  whose  name  appears  at  the  head 
of  this  article,  a  man  who  came  to  this  country  a 
number  of  years  ago  from  his  native  land  of 
Norway  with  barely  sufficient  capital  to  pay  his 
passage  and  with  no  resources  upon  which  to 
relv  save  his  strong  arms,  resourceful  mind  and 
determined  will.  Richly  endowed  with  these,  he 
resolutely  faced  the  future,  bent  upon  winning 
success  if  it  were  possibly  attainable  and  of  carv- 
ing out  for  himself  a  destiny  which,  if  not  dis- 
tinguished, should  at  least  be  worthy  and  honor- 
able. Beginning  at  the  very  bottom  of  the  ladder, 
he  has  steadily  ascended  the  same,  winning  suc- 
cess with  each  succeeding  step,  until  now  from 
the  topmost  round,  which  was  reached  after  long 
and  persevering  endeavor,  he  can  look  back  over 
a  well-spent  life,  to  find  therein  little  to  criticise, 
but  nuich  to  commend. 

Henry  G.  Solem,  farmer,  stock  raiser,  busi- 
ness man  and  financier,  was  born,  as  already 
stated,  in  Norway,  his  birth  having  occurred  in 
the  northern  part  of  that  country  on  November 
Q,  1833.  His  father  being  a  tiller  of  the  soil, 
he  too  was  reared  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  at 
intervals  he  attended  the  schools  of  his  native 
place,  thereby  acquiring  a  fair  educational  train- 
ing in  such  branches  as  were  taught.  For  some 
}-ears  he  assisted  in  cultivating  the  farm,  but, 
satisfied  that  better  opportunities  awaited  young 
men  in  the  I'nited  States  than  obtained  in  his  own 
land,  he  finally  severed  home  ties,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1872  sailed  for  New  York,  which  port 
he  reached  in  due  time,  after  a  pleasant  but  un- 
eventful voyage. 

From  New  York  city  young  Solem  went  to 
Goodhue  countv.  Minnesota,  where  a  number  of 


his  countrymen  were  then  living,  but  after  spend- 
ing a  few  months  there  he  decided  to  go  further 
west ;  accordingly,  in  the  fall  of  1872,  he  made 
his  way  to  Minnehaha  county.  South  Dakota, 
where  he  supported  himself  for  some  time  fol- 
lowing as  a  farm  laborer.  Continuing  this  kind 
of  work  until  he  had  earned  a  little  surplus  money 
Mr.  Solem  very  wisely  pre-empted  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  of  fine  land  in  Sverdrup  township, 
for  which  in  due  time  he  secured  a  patent  from 
the  government  and  which  he  at  once  proceeded 
with  his  characteristic  industry  and  earnestness 
to  improve.  Without  following  in  detail  his  life 
and  endeavor  from  that  time  to  the  present,  suf- 
fice it  to  state  that  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  ' 
he  had  a  large  portion  of  his  land  under  cultiva- 
tion, with  good  substantial  improvements,  and  in 
addition  thereto  purchased  other  real  estate  at 
intervals,  until  his  home  place  in  Sverdrup  town- 
ship now  embraces  an  area  of  eight  hundred 
acres,  besides  which  he  owns  land  to  the  amount 
of  six  hundred  and  eighty  acres  outside  of  ]\Iin- 
nehaha  county.  With  the  exception  of  five  >-ears 
spent  as  a  miner  in  the  Black  Hills,  he  has  lived 
from  1872  to  the  present  time  where  he  originally 
settled,  and  to  say  that  he  has  been  eminently 
successful  as  a  farmer  and  stock  raiser  or  that 
he  has  come  prominently  to  the  front  as  an  enter- 
]3rising,  public-spirited  citizen,  is  only  to  repeat 
what  everybody  at  all  acquainted  with  his  previ- 
ous course  of  life  and  cognizant  of  his  present 
high  standing  in  the  business  world  very  well 
know. 

While  primarily  interested  in  his  own  aft'airs. 
and  employing  every  legitimate  agency  to  pro- 
mote the  success  of  the  same,  Mr.  Solem  has  also 
!  been  deeply  concerned  in  the  welfare  of  the  com- 
munity, as  his  activity  and  influence  in  its  behalf 
abundantly   attest.      He  has   filled   nearly   every 
township  office  within  the  gift  of  the  people,  has 
I  taken  a  leading  part  in  nearly  every  public  enter- 
prise for  the  general  good,  and  at  the  present 
time  is  vice-president  of  the  bank  at  Baltic,  in 
addition   to   which   he  holds   the   dual   oflRce   of 
president    and   business    manager   of   the   Baltic 
;  Creamery  Company,  having  been  the  originator 
I  of  the  latter  concern  and  the  chief  spirit  in  its 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


organization.  Mr.  Solem  has  done  much  in  dif- 
ferent capacities  for  the  growth  and  development 
of  the  thriving  town  of  Baltic,  the  prosperity 
of  which  is  attributed  to  him  as  much  as  any 
other  man  interested  in  its  welfare,  being  now 
a  director  of  the  elevator  company  operating  in 
the  village,  besides  having  interests  in  various  [ 
other  enterprises  making  for  the  material  ad- 
vancement of  the  community.  It  is  not  too  much 
to  claim  for  Mr.  Solem  precedence  in  the  various 
undertakings  in  which  he  is  engaged,  as  his  lead- 
ership is  recognized  and  readily  acknowledged 
by  his  associates  ;  nor  is  it  exaggeration  to  say 
that  he  is  easily  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  his 
county  and  state,  this  too  being  cheerfully  ad- 
mitted by  all  who  know  him.  His  rise  from  a 
poor  daily  laborer  to  his  present  influential  posi- 
tion in  business  and  social  circles,  demonstrates 
much  more  than  ordinary  mental  endowment  and 
energy,  and  his  life,  taken  as  a  whole,  affords,  as 
already  indicated,  a  commendable  example  of 
what  a  young  man  animated  by  high  hopes  and 
lofty  purposes  can  accomplish  in  the  face  of 
circumstances  calculated  to  discourage  and  de- 
ter. The  ample  fortune  in  his  possession  is  the 
result  of  his  own  industry  and  correct  business 
methods,  and  the  high  esteem  in  which  he  is  held 
and  the  unusual  confidence  with  which  he  is  re- 
garded show  him  the  possessor  of  those  moral 
attributes  which  characterize  the  true  man  and 
the   upright  citizen. 

Mr.  Solem  was  married  at  Sioux  Falls,  South 
Dakota,  in  the  fall  of  1866  to  Miss  Lena  Hoel, 
a  native  of  Norway  and  a  lady  of  beautiful  char- 
acter and  womanly  ■  graces  ;  two  children  have 
blessed  this  union,  namely:  Gust  I.,  who  died 
i\Iarch  23,  1904,  and  John  E. 


WEARDUS  H.  WUMKES  is  a  native  of 
the  Fatherland,  having  first  seen  the  light  of  day 
in  the  province  of  Hanover,  Germany,  in  1859 
He  accompanied  his  parents  upon  their  emi- 
gration to  America  and  located  first  in  Hardin 
county,  Iowa.  Later  they  removed  to  Grundy 
county,  the  same  state,  where  the  subject  was 
reared  to  manhood.  Mr.  Wumkes'  father  was  a 


sea-captain  by  profession,  owning  his  own  vessel, 
and  he  sailed  to  nearly  every  part  of  the  world. 
The  subject  continued  to  reside  under  the  pa- 
ternal roof  until  1882,  assisting  his  father  the 
meantime  on  the  farm,  but  in  the  year  1884  he 
married  and  shortly  thereafter  came  to  Lennox, 
Lincoln  county,  Dakota,  and  there  engaged  in 
the  furniture  and  farm  implement  business.  Sub- 
sequently he  made  some  changes  in  the  character 
of  the  stock,  so  that  he  now  handles  farm  im- 
plements and  a  general  line  of  hardware.  He 
has  always  a  good  line  of  articles,  and  has  en- 
joyed a  satisfactory  patronage,  being  now 
counted  among  the  leading  merchants  and  enter- 
prising business  men  of  his  town.  Some  years 
ago  he  erected  a  splendid  home  at  Lennox,  in 
which  he  still  resides.  Five  and  a  half  miles 
northeast  of  Lennox  he  owns  a  section  of  land 
which  he  operates  himself,  and  in  all  owns 
seven  hundred  and  fifty  acres  in  the  state.  He 
operates  two  hardware  stores,  at  Lennox  and 
Chancellor,  under  the  firm  name  of  Wumkes 
Brothers,  his  partner  being  Justus  J.   Wumkes. 

In  1902  Mr.  Wumkes  organized  the  Lennox 
State  Bank,  of  which  he  is  president,  the  other 
officers  being  C.  C.  Kuper,  vice-president,  and 
M.  J.  Gotthelf,  cashier.  The  bank  was  opened 
for  business  September  8,  1902,  and  is  doing  a 
very  successful  business,  occupying  an  elegant 
banking  building  which  was  built  by  the  bank- 
ing company. 

March  14,  1884,  Mr.  Wumkes  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Talea  Huisman,  a  resident 
of  Franklin  count^^  Iowa,  and  to  them  have  been 
born  three  children,  Peter  T.,  Swannie  and  Wil- 
liam. In  politics  the  subject  is  a  Democrat  and 
has  taken  an  active  part  for  his  party,  having 
acted  as  a  delegate  to  several  state  conventions. 


WILLIAAI  M.  CUPPETT.— The  annals  of 
Lincoln  county  give  evidence  that  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  has  been  identified  with  the  history  of 
South  Dakota  from  the  early  territorial  days. 
He  located  in  Lincoln  county  at  a  time  when  it 
was  essentially  an  unbroken  prairie,  and  he  was 
one  of  the  first  to  institute  the  work  of  develop- 


690 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


nieiit  and  progress,  was  one  of  the  founders  and 
first  merchants  of  Canton,  and  has  been  promi- 
nent in  pubHc  affairs  and  in  furthering  the 
growth  and  upbuilding  of  this  attractive  and  ad- 
vanced section  of  our  commonwealth,  while  he 
still  retains  his  residence  in  Canton,  which  has 
been  his  home  during  the  long  intervening  years. 

Mr.  Cuppett  was  bom  in  Bedford  county, 
Pennsylvania,  on  the  26th  of  December,  1843, 
and  in  1850,  when  he  was  a  lad  of  seven  years, 
his  parents  removed  to  Iowa  and  located  in 
Colesburg,  Delaware  county,  where  he  was 
reared  to  maturity,  securing  his  education  in  the 
common  schools,  and  thereafter  assisting  his 
father  in  the  conduct  of  his  wagon  manufactur- 
ing business  until  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war, 
when  his  intrinsic  patriotism  was  roused  to  re- 
sponsive action.  On  the  22d  of  September,  1862, 
when  in  his  twentieth  year,  he  enlisted  in  Corn- 
pan}-  G.  Sixth  Iowa  Volunteer  Cavalry,  with 
which  he  served  during  the  remainder  of  the 
war,  being  mustered  out  in  November,  1865,  and 
receiving  his  honorable  discharge.  The  regiment 
was  assigned  to  duty  in  the  west,  and  its  work 
was  largely  that  of  protecting  the  settlers  from 
the  attacks  and  depredations  of  the  Indians,  who 
were  not  slow  in  taking  advantage  of  the  un- 
settled condition  of  the  nation  and  making  in- 
roads whenever  possible.  Mr.  Cuppett  partici- 
pated in  many  spirited  engagements  with  the 
Indians  and  border- ruffians,  and  served  for  much 
of  the  time  as  commissary  sergeant  of  his  com- 
pany. 

After  the  war  r^tr.  Cuppett  returned  to  Coles- 
burg, Iowa,  and  during  the  winter  of  1865-6 
was  engaged  in  teaching  school.  He  then  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacturing  of  wagons  and  car- 
riages in  Colesburg,  continuing  this  enterprise 
until  1868,  in  the  spring  of  which  year  he  came 
to  what  is  now  the  state  of  South  Dakota  and 
took  up  a  pre-emption  claim  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  near  the  site  of  the  present  city  of 
Canton,  Lincoln  county,  while  later  he  secured  a 
homestead  claim  adjoining.  Still  later  he  be- 
came associated  with  others  in  the  purchase  of  a 
tract  of  forty  acres  on  which  a  portion  of  the  city 
of    Canton    is    now    located.     Of   this    land    he 


erected  a  log  house  of  the  primitive  type  and 
soon  afterward  opened  a  general  merchandise 
store  in  the  embryonic  town.  In  the  autumn  of 
1868  he  was  elected  register  of  deeds  of  the 
county,  being  the  first  incumbent  of  this  office, 
and  in  November  of  the  following  year  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  territorial  legislature, 
of  which  he  was  again  chosen  a  member  in  1878. 
In  1868  he  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Can- 
ton, by  President  Grant,  continuing  in  tenure  of 
this  office  until  1871,  when  Judge  Kidder  con- 
ferred upon  him  the  appointment  of  clerk  of  the 
district  court,  in  which  capacity  he  served  con- 
secutively until  1885.  He  has  always  been  a  lead- 
ing spirit  in  the  furthering  of  public  enterprises 
in  the  town  and  county  and  has  been  a  loyal  and 
public-spirited  citizen  and  one  who  has  com- 
manded unqualified  popular  confidence  and  es- 
teem. He  was  largely  instrumental  in  the  or- 
ganization and  management  of  the  Canton 
Building  Association,  of  which  he  was  secretary, 
and  was  also  foremost  as  a  worker  in  securing  ■ 
the  erection  of  both  the  old  and  new  court  houses. 
He  served  for  many  years  on  the  board  of 
education,  and  at  different  intervals  was  clerk, 
president  and  treasurer  of  the  same.  In  his  sup- 
port of  church  and  public  benevolences  he  has 
been  liberal,  while  as  a  lifelong  adherent  of  the 
Republican  party  he  has  accomplished  much  in 
the  interests  of  the  grand  old  party  and  in  the 
insuring  of  good  legislation  in  his  adopted  ter- 
ritory and  state.  In  a  fraternal  way  he  is 
identified  with  Silver  Star  Lodge,  No.  4,  Ancient 
Free  and  Accepted  ]\Iasons,  and  with  Genera! 
Lyon  Post,  No.  11,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 
In  November,  T899,  ^^  was  elected  to  member- 
ship on  the  board  of  county  commissioners,  and 
was  chosen  as  his  own  successor  in  1902.  thus 
serving  two  terms. 

On  the  1st  of  September,  1870,  was  solem- 
nized the  marriage  of  Mr.  Cuppett  to  Miss 
Nancy  E.  ]Martin,  a  daughter  of  Isaac  N.  Mar- 
tin, one  of  the  sterling  pioneers  of  Lincoln 
county,  and  of  the  four  children  of  this  union 
three  are  living,  namely:  Mark  ^^'.,  Frank  P. 
and  Eva  A.  The  only  daughter  is  now  the  wife 
of  John  H.  Luers.  of  Cresco,  Iowa. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


691 


WALTER  B.  SAUNDERS.— Among  the 
enterprising  men  whose  business  careers  have 
been  closely'  identified  with  the  financial  interests 
and  material  development  of  Grant  county,  the 
name  of  Walter  B.  Saunders,  cashier  of  the  Mer- 
chants' Bank  of  Milbank,  stands  out  clear  and 
distinct.  Pre-eminently  a  progressive  man,  and 
as  such  deeply  interested  in  everything  relating 
to  the  advancement  of  his  adopted  city  and 
county,  he  fills  no  insignificant  place  in  public  es- 
teem, but  on  the  contrary  enjoys  worthy  prestige 
in  business  circles  and  has  won  much  more  than 
local  repute  as  an  able  and  farseeing  financier. 
Air.  Saunders  was  born  in  Cattaraugus  county, 
New  York,  May  13,  1859,  and  is  one  of  two  chil- 
dren constituting  the  family  of  Nelson  and  Maria 
(McCoy)  Saunders,  both  natives  of  the  Empire 
state.  The  father,  who  was  for  many  years  one 
of  the  most  distinguished  physicians  and  sur- 
geons of  western  New  York,  died  in  the  year 
1896,  the  mother  having  preceded  him  to  the 
other  world,  departing  this  life  in  1875.  Grace 
Saunders,  the  only  sister,  married  a  gentleman 
by  the  name  of  A.  D.  Hapgood,  and  died  in  1885, 
leaving  two  sons,  Karl  and  Chester. 

Walter  B.  Saunders  was  reared  in  his  native 
state,  and  received  his  education  in  Chamberlain 
Institute  at  Randolph,  being  graduated  from 
that  institution  with  the  class  of  1876.  His  first 
experience  in  practical  life  was  as  a  clerk  in  a 
bank  at  Randolph,  but  after  a  short  time  he  was 
made  assistant  cashier,  the  duties  of  which  posi- 
tion he  discharged  until  1882.  In  July  of  that 
year  he  came  to  Milbank,  and,  in  partnership  with 
A.  C.  Dodge,  organized  a  private  bank,  of  which 
he  was  made  cashier.  Subsequently,  in  1901,  the 
institution  was  incorporated  a  state  bank,  and  as 
such  it  has  since  continued,  its  history  presenting 
continued  success.  Mr.  Saunders  holds  the  posi- 
tion of  cashier  and  to  his  practical  knowledge  of 
banking  and  thorough  acquaintance  with  finance 
is  largely  due  the  credit  of  making  the  enterprise 
one  of  the  strongest  and  most  popular  local  mone-  j 
tary  institutions.  Mr.  Saunders  has  large  real 
estate  and  live  stock  interests  in  Grant  county,  to 
which  he  devotes  considerable  attention,  making 
a  specialty  of  graded  Durham  cattle,  in  the  rais- 


ing of  which  his  success  has  been  most  encour- 
aging. He  also  owns  valuable  property  in  New 
York.  He  is  a  man  of  fine  intellectual  ability,  a 
careful  and  discriminating  reader,  and  being  pub- 
lic-spirited, keeps  himself  well  informed  upon 
the  leading  questions  and  political  issues  of  the 
times.  Since  coming  to  Milbank,  he  has  been  an 
influential  factor  in  the  affairs  of  the  city,  served 
four  years  as  mayor  and  for  a  period  of  thirteen 
years  has  been  a  member  of  the  common  council. 
In  that  body  he  has  been  instrumental  in  bringing 
about  much  important  municipal  legislation, 
standing  for  progress  and  improvement  within 
the  legitimate  bounds.  Mr.  Saunders  is  one  of 
the  three  Louisiana  Purchase  Centennial  Exposi- 
tion commissioners  from  this  state,  and  is  presi- 
dent of  the  commission. 

Mr.  Saunders  is  a  prominent  Knight  Tem- 
plar Mason,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen. 

Mr.  Saunders,  on  the  25th  of  May,  1884,  was 
married  in  his  native  state  to  Miss  Kate  Crow- 
ley, whose  father,  Addison  Crowley,  was  a  prom- 
inent citizen  and  for  many  years  a  leading  and 
prosperous  business  man  of  Cattaraugus  county. 
He  dealt  largely  in  lumber  and  real  estate,  con- 
ducted for  a  long  term  of  years  a  successful  mer- 
cantile establishment  and  at  one  time  served  as 
sherifif,  having  always  been  prominent  in  public 
affairs.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Saunders  have  been 
born  four  children,  Pliil,  a  student  in  Northville 
College ;  Corinne,  attending  school  at  St.  Mary's 
Hall,  Faribault,  Minnesota;  Lewis  and  Earl  M. 
Mr.  Saunders  subscribes  to  the  Episcopal  faith, 
he  and  wife  being  active  members  of  the  church. 
Socially  they  are  popular  and  tlieir  home  is  one  of 
the  centers  of  culture  and  refined  influence  in  the 
citv  of  Milbank. 


JAMES  H.  BRANXON  is  one  of  the  sterling 
pioneers  of  Grant  county,  is  engaged  in  the  livery 
business  in  the  city  of  Milbank,  where  he  estab- 
lished the  first  enterprise  of  the  sort  and  where 
he  now  conducts  the  largest  livery  in  the  county, 
and  he  is  also  prominently  identified  with  the 
farming  and  live-stock  industries  in  this  section 


692 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


of  the  state,  having  gained  marked  prosperity 
through  his  well  directed  energy  and  honorable 
and  straightforward  methods. 

Mr.  Brannon  has  the  distinction  of  being  a 
native  of  the  fine  old  Bay  state  of  the  Union,  hav- 
ing been  born  in  Princeton,  Worcester  county, 
Massachusetts,  on  the  25th  of  November,  1859, 
and  being  a  son  of  John  and  Margaret  E.  Bran- 
non, both  of  whom  died  in  Massachusetts,  the 
father  having  been  a  native  of  Ireland,  whence  he 
came  to  the  United  States  in  his  youth,  while  he 
followed  the  vocation  of  farmer  during  the  ma- 
jor portion  of  his  life.  This  worthy  couple  be- 
came the  parents  of  nine  children,  and  of  the 
number  three  sons  and  three  daughters  are  still 
living.  The  subject  was  reared  in  his  native  place 
and  secured  his  early  educational  discipline  in  the 
public  schools.  At  the  age  of  twelve  years  he 
entered  upon  an  apprenticeship  at  the  trade  of 
cabinetmaking,  in  ^^'orcester,  Massachusetts,  and 
continued  to  be  employed  at  the  same  for  a  period 
of  four  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which,  in  the 
centennial  year.  1876.  he  came  west,  remaining 
for  a  few  months  in  Iowa  and  in  the  fall  of  the 
same  year  taking  up  his  residence  in  the  city  of 
Minneapolis,  Minnesota,  where  he  was  employed 
in  a  sash  and  blind  manufactory  for  the  ensuing 
year.  He  then,  in  1879.  came  to  Grant  county, 
South  Dakota,  and  filed  a  claim  to  a  homestead, 
in  Kilborn  township,  erecting  a  house  on  the 
place  the  same  year.  In  the  spring  of  1880  he 
put  in  a  crop  and  also  cut  that  season  about  forty 
tons  of  hay.  but  while  he  was  in  Milbank  a  prairie 
fire  swept  his  farm  and  destroyed  everything,  in- 
cluding his  buildings  and  about  seventy  dollars  in 
greenbacks  which  he  had  left  in  his  house.  In_ 
1880  Mr.  Brannon  erected  the  first  livery  and 
feed  barn  in  Milbank.  the  same  being  about  the 
fourth  building  constructed  in  the  village,  and 
here  he  has  ever  since  retained  his  home  and  con- 
tinued in  the  livery  business,  having  now  the  lar- 
gest barn,  the  best  equipment  and  controlling 
the  largest  business  in  the  line  in  the  countv, 
while  he  is  one  of  the  liberal  and  popu- 
lar citizens  of  the  county.  having  the 
esteem     of     all     who     know     him     and     beingf 


a  man  of  marked  geniality  and  courtesy.  He  is 
the  owner  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of 
valuable  farming  land,  near  Twin  Brooks,  this 
county,  and  there  gives  special  attention  to  the 
raising  of  high-grade  stock,  having  an  average  of 
about  fifty  head  of  graded  shorthorn  cattle.  He 
is  also  interested  in  some  fine  standard-bred  track 
horses,  taking  a  deep  interest  in  turf  affairs.  For 
the  past  eighteen  years  Mr.  Brannon  has  also  con- 
ducted an  ice  business  in  Milbank.  securing  a  rep- 
,resentative  patronage  and  having  the  best  of  facil- 
ities for  putting  up  pure  ice  and  also  for  dispens- 
ing the  same  to  his  many  customers.    He  is  pro- 

I  gressive  and  public-spirited,  wide-awake  and  eii- 

I  ergetic,  and  has  gained  a  position  of  prominence 
through  his  own  efforts,  in  connection  with  the 
industrial,   business   and    civic   affairs    of   Grant 

I  county.  In  politics  he  gives  his  allegiance  to  the 
Republican  party,  and  fraternally  is  identified 
with  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  !\Iodern 
Woodmen  of  America. 

i  On  the  14th  of  January.  1893.  Mr.  Brannon 
was    united     in    marriage    to    Miss     Mary    W. 

'  Preston,  who  was  born  in  Connecticut. 
being  a  daughter  of  Edward  Preston,  who 
is  now  living  at  Unionville,  Connecticut.  Of  this 
union  have  been  born  four  children,  all  of  whom 
remain  at  the  parental  home,  namely :  Edith  M., 
Roy  J.,  Irene  G.  and  Gladys  E.  The  attractive 
family  residence  is  one  of  the  hospitable  homes  of 
Milbank,  and  is  a  favored  resort  of  the  wide  cir- 
cle of  friends  whom  our  subject  and  his  family 
have  gathered  about  them  in  the  community.       1 


JAJMES  B.  BRADLEY,  of  Hudson,  Lincoln 
county,  is  numbered  among  the  sterling  pioneers 
and  captains  of  industry  who  have  aided  in  lay- 
ing so  broad  and  deep  the  foundations  of  our 
great  commonwealth,  and  he  stands  today  as  a 
representative  citizen  of  the  county  and  state  in 
which  he  took  up  his  residence  as  a  young  man. 
thirty-five  years  ago.  at  which  time  the  great 
undivided  territory  of  Dakota  was  considered  on 
the  verv  frontier  of  civilization.  It  is  well  that 
the   life   records   of  these   members   of  the   "old 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


693 


guard"  be  perpetuated   in  connection   with   this 
generic  history  of  the  state. 

A  son  of  John  and  Sarah  Bradley,  both  of 
whom  are  now  deceased,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  born  in  Morgan  county,  Indiana,  on 
the  I2th  of  January,  1849,  ^"^  there  he  passed 
his  early  childhood,  accompanying  his  parents 
on  their  removal  to  Iowa,  in  1854.  His  father 
became  one  of  the  pioneer  farmers  of  Appanoose 
county,  that  state,  and  thus  the  early  educational 
opportunities  of  our  subject  were  limited,  owing 
to  the  exigencies  and  conditions  then  in  evidence. 
He  continued  to  assist  in  the  work  of  the  home 
farm  until  1868,  when,  at  the  age  of  nineteen 
years,  he  came  as  a  youthful  pioneer  to  the  ter- 
ritory of  Dakota,  locating  in  Lincoln  county, 
where  he  has  ever  since  maintained  his  home. 
With  the  growth  and  development  of  the  county 
his  fortunes  have  kept  pace  and  he  has  no  reason 
to  regret  the  choice  which  led  him  to  cast  in 
his  lot  with  its  early  settlers.  In  1870  he  took 
up  a  homestead  claim  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  in  Marion  county,  and  this  figured  as  the 
nucleus  of  his  prosperity.  He  is  now  the  owner 
of  valuable  farming  lands  in  addition  to  liis  real 
estate  holdings  in  the  own  of  Hudson.  In  1882 
he  left  his  farm  and  took  up  his  residence  in 
Hudson,  which  then  bore  the  name  of  Eden,  and 
here  he  engaged  in  the  general  merchandise  busi- 
ness. In  November  of  the  same  year,  under  the 
administration  of  President  Garfield,  he  received 
the  appointment  of  postmaster  in  the  village,  and 
he  continued  to  serve  in  this  capacity  for  the  long 
period  of  twelve  years.  In  1883  he  established 
himself  in  the  grocery  business,  having  the  post- 
office  in  his  store,  and  in  1886  he  associated  him- 
self with  P.  H.  P..  Clement,  under  the  fimi 
name  of  Bradley  &  Clement,  in  the  purchase  of 
the  general  merchandise  business  of  S.  B.  Cul- 
bertson,  the  firm  continuing  to  conduct  the  en- 
terprise until  1897,  when  they  disposed  of  the 
same.  In  1899  Mr,  Bradley  engaged  in  the  retail 
drug  business,  becoming  the  silent  partner  in  the 
firm  of  W.  M.  Pigott  &  Company,  and  with  this 
enterprise  he  is  still  identified.  In  politics  Mr. 
Bradley  has  been  a  stalwart  supporter  of  the 
Republican  party  from  the  time  of  attaining  his 


legal  majority,  and  he  served  six  years  as  mayor 
of  Hudson,  though  he  has  never  been  ambitious 
for  public  office.  He  holds  the  esteem  of  the 
entire  community  and  is  one  of  the  best  known 
citizens  of  the  same. 


PETER  H.  H.\LL  is  one  of  the  represent- 
ative business  men  of  the  thriving  little  city  of 
Pludson,  Lincoln  county,  and  is  entitled  to  the 
distinction  of  being  numbered  among  the  sterling 
pioneers  of  the  county  and  state,  since  he  has 
here  maintained  his  home  for  nearly  thirty  years, 
while  he  has  gained  success  through  his  own 
efforts,  having  come  to  x\merica  as  a  young  man 
and  dependent  upon  his  own  resources  for  a 
livelihood.  His  career  illustrates  what  is  possible 
of  accomplishment  on  the  part  of  one  who  is 
animated  by  a  spirit  of  self-reliance,  energy  and 
industry  and  who  insistently  guides  his  course 
along  the  clearly  defined  path  of  honor  and  in- 
tegrity. Mr.  Hall  is  a  native  of  the  far  distant 
land  of  Norway,  which  has  contributed  so  ma- 
terially to  the  growth  and  normal  development 
of  the  great  northwestern  section  of  our  national 
domain.  He  was  born  in  June,  1852,  and  was 
reared  and  educated  in  his  native  land,  where 
he  remained  until  he  was  twenty  years  of  age, 
when  he  set  forth  to  seek  his  fortunes  in  the  new 
world,  whither  he  came  as  a  stranger  in  a 
strange  land  and  unfamiliar  with  the  language 
of  the  country.  He  arrived  in  New  York  city  in 
the  month  of  May,  1872,  and  thence  made  his 
way  westward  to  Sioux  City,  Iowa,  where  he 
resided  until  the  winter  of  1874,  being  variously 
employed.  He  then  came  to  Eden  township,  Lin- 
coln county.  South  Dakota,  where  he  took  up  a 
homestead  claim  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres, 
being  numbered  among  the  first  settlers  in  the 
county.  He  forthwith  inaugurated  the  develop- 
ment of  his  farm,  upon  which  he  made  excellent 
improvements,  in  the  meanwhile  adding  to  the 
area  of  the  same  until  he  became  the  owner  of 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres.  He  continued  to 
reside  on  his  place  until  1887,  when  he  removed 
to  the  village  of  Eden,  which  now  bears  the  name 
of  Hudson,  and  here  engaged,  in  the  hardware 


694 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


and  implement  business,  in  which  he  successfully 
continued  until  the  spring  of  1893,  when  he 
disposed  of  the  same.  For  the  ensuing  two 
years  he  was  employed  as  traveling  represent- 
ative of  the  Deering  Harvesting  ]\Tachine  Com- 
pany, and  then  again  took  up  his  permanent 
abode  in  Hudson,  where  he  purchased  the  lum- 
ber and  coal  business  of  Odell  &  Company,  as- 
sociating himself  with  H.  C.  Fitch,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Hall  &  Fitch.  In  January,  1898, 
he  purchased  his  partner's  interest  in  the  enter- 
prise, which  he  has  since  conducted  individually, 
controlling  an  excellent  business  and  having  the 
tuiqualified  confidence  of  the  community.  In 
politics  he  has  ever  been  a  radical  Republican 
and  has  done  all  in  his  power  to  further  the  party 
cause,  while  he  has  been  called  upon  to  serve  in 
various  local  offices  of  public  trust  and  responsi- 
bility. He  and  his  wife  are  zealous  members  of 
the  Norwegian  Lutheran  church,  and  fraternally 
he  is  affiliated  with  Hudson  Lodge,  No.  62, 
Knights  of  Pythias. 

On  the  nth  of  April.  1872,  Mr.  Hall  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  Johnson,  of 
Norway,  she  being  a  native  of  that  country. 


GEORGE  S.  ADAMS,  M.  D.,  is  one  of  the  | 
representative    young   members    of   the    medical 
profession   in    the   city   of   Yankton,    where   his  \ 
ability   and   pleasing  personality  have   been   the  | 
factors  in  gaining  him  an  excellent  and  gratify- 
ing  support.      The   Doctor   is    a   native    of  the  \ 
state  of  Michigan,  having  been  born  in  Lowell, 
Kent  county,  on  the  20th  of  December,  1876,  a 
son  of  Francis  D.  and  Jane    (Ashley)    Adams, 
of  whose  six  children  four  are  living  at  the  pres- 
ent time,   namely:    Persis,   who   is   the   wife    of 
Robert  F.  Reynolds,  of  Groton.   South  Dakota: 
George     Sheldon,     the     immediate     subject     of 
this    sketch :    John    F.,    who    is    a    member    of 
the     class    of    1905    in    the    medical  department 
of  the  L^niversity  of  Chicago,  and   Charles   E.,  1 
who     is     a     student     in     the     University     of 
Minnesota.     Francis   D.   Adams   was    born    in 
Waterbury,  Vermont,  in  the  year  1838,  and  when 
he  was  a  child  his  father  met  his  death  by  drown-  j 


ing,  and  thereafter  he  passed  some  time  in  the 
home  of  an  uncle,  but  at  an  early  age  he  began 
to  depend  upon  his  own  resources,  relying  upon 
his  own  efforts  to  attain  a  position  of  independ- 
ence. He  learned  the  trade  of  millwright,  to 
which  he  devoted  his  attention  for  a  number  of 
years,  in  Michigan  and  Indiana,  and  finally  he 
became  the  owner  of  a  flouring  mill  in  Groton, 
Michigan,  operating  the  same  for  a  number  of 
years  and  then  engaging  in  the  manufacture  of 
wagons  and  buggies  in  that  village.  Later  he 
removed  to  Lowell,  that  state,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged in  the  implement  business  until  1879,  when 
he  came  to  South  Dakota  with  a  view  to  finding 
a  permanent  location,  making  a  tour  through  va 
rious  parts  of  the  state  and  then  returning  to 
Michigan.  In  the  spring  of  1880  he  again  came 
to  the  state  and  filed  claim  to  a  tract  of  land  in 
Brown  county,  where  the  family  resided  for  a 
number  of  years,  after  which  they  removed  to  the 
village  of  Groton,  where  he  engaged  in  the  bank- 
ing business  for  several  years,  becoming  one  of 
the  prominent  and  influential  citizens  of  the 
county  and  having  the  high  regard  of  all  who 
knew  him.  There  he  continued  to  reside  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  on  the  17th  of  January, 
1899.  He  was  a  stanch  adherent  of  the  Repub- 
lican party  and  was  a  potent  factor  in  its  councils 
in  South  Dakota.  In  1893  he  represented  Brown 
county  in  the  state  senate,  and  for  several  years 
he  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  regents  of  state 
educational  institutions.  He  was  one  of  the  hon- 
ored pioneers  of  the  new  commonwealth  and  was 
closely  associated  with  the  upbuilding  and  prog- 
ress of  the  same,  ever  being  one  of  its  loyal  and 
valued  citizens.  His  wife  was  born  in  the  state 
of  New  York,  in  1840,  and  when  she  was  young 
she  accompanied  her  parents  on  their  removal 
to  the  state  of  Michigan,  her  marriage  to  Mr. 
Adams  being  solemnized  in  Groton,  that  state. 
She  is  still  living  and  resides  in  Groton,  South 
Dakota,  the  town  having  been  thus  named  at 
the  suggestion  of  the  father  of  the  subject. 

George  Sheldon  Adams  was  ten  years  of  age 
at  the  time  of  his  parents'  removal  from  Michigan 
to  South  Dakota,  and  thus  the  state  has  been  his 
home   during  practically   his   entire   life.     After 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


695 


availing  himself  of  the  advantages  afforded  in 
the  public  schools,  including  the  completion  of  a 
course  in  the  Groton  high  school,  he  was  matric- 
ulated in  the  State  Agricultural  College,  at 
Brookings,  where  he  continued  his  studies  for  one 
year.  In  the  autumn  of  1897  he  entered  that 
well-known  institution,  Rush  Medical  College,  in 
the  city  of  Chicago,  where  he  completed  a  thor- 
ough technical  course,  being  graduated  in  Jwne, 
1901,  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine. 
Immediately  after  his  graduation  the  Doctor  re- 
ceived an  appointment  as  assistant  physician  in 
the  state  hospital-for  the  insane,  in  Yankton,  and 
this  position  he  has  since  held,  while  his  service 
in  the  connection  has  been  of  the  most  able  and 
discriminating  order.  He  is  a  Republican  in  his 
political  proclivities  and  fraternally  is  identified 
with  St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  i.  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons. 


LEONARD  C.  MEAD,  M.  D.,  superintend- 
ent of  the  State  Hospital  for  the  Insane  at  Yank- 
ton, has  won  a  high  position  in  his  profession. 
It  is  not  fulsome  flattery  to  say  that  he  is  one  of 
the  most  capable  and  most  distinguished  physi- 
cians in  the  northwest.  He  is  the  son  of  Ezra 
and  Sylvia  (Barber)  Mead  and  few  parents  have 
been  blessed  with  a  more  loving  and  a  more  loyal 
son.  The  father  was  born  in  northeastern  New 
York  in  1821,  but  grew  up  in  the  western  por- 
tion of  that  state,  where  his  father  died  when  he 
was  nine  years  of  age,  leaving  the  care  of  a 
large  family  to  the  widowed  mother.  Young 
Ezra  from  the  •  first  assumed  a  share  of  his 
mother's  responsibility  and  by  unremitting  in- 
dustry contributed  to  the  support  and  comfort  of 
his  mother  and  brothers  and  sisters.  In  conse- 
quence his  opportunities  for  education  were 
limited,  but  he  made  the  most  of  the  common 
school  privileges  which  were  at  hand.  Soon 
after  attaining  his  majority  he  settled  at  Colum- 
bus, Columbia  county,  Wisconsin,  where  he  se- 
cured a  farm  and  followed  agricultural  pursuits. 
In  1886  he  sold  his  interests  there  and  removed 
to  Elkton.  Brookings  county.  South  Dakota, 
where  he  died  on  August  21,   1897. 


Ezra  ]\lead  was  a  man  of  exceptional  intel- 
ligence and  one  who  enjoyed  the  respect  and  high 
esteem  of  all  acquaintances.     Originally  he  was 
a  staunch  Whig  and  in  the  progress  of  events 
1  he   became   an   equally   zealous   Republican,   and 
though  active  in  support  of  his    political    prin- 
;  ciples  and  one  whose  advice  was  sought  in  party 
!  councils,  he  was  never  an  office  seeker  or  office 
holder.     He  read  and  thought  much ;  was  deeply 
informed  upon  many  subjects  and  possessed  the 
I   faculty  of  expressing  his  views  clearly  and  con- 
j  cisely  and  in  controversy,  of  which  he  was  fond, 
sought  to  convince  his  opponents  by  courteous 
and   gentlemanly   argument   rather  than   by   de- 
nouncing   their    positions.      He    was    especially 
noted   for  strong  convictions  and  decided  opin- 
ions, but  never  assumed  a  position  he  could  not 
maintain,  nor  surrendered  a  principle  when  con- 
vinced it  was  right. 

Mrs.  Mead,  the  mother,  who  is  enjoying  a 
serene  old  age,  is  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  and 
is  passing  her  declining  years  with  her  children, 
of  whom,  Henry,  of  Loup  City,  Nebraska, 
Leonard,  the  subject  of  this  article,  Mrs.  Adalia 
Young,  of  Elkton,  South  Dakota,  and  Ida,  the 
wife  of  Albert  Parks,  of  Kent  City,  Michigan, 
survive. 

Leonard  C.  j\Iead  was  born  on  the  family 
homestead,  near  Columbus,  Wisconsin,  January 
18,  1856.  He  spent  his  early  years  after  the  man- 
ner of  most  Badger  farmer  boys,  the  summer 
time  helping  in  the  fields  and  the  winter  in  the 
district  school.  He  was  enabled  to  complete  the 
high-school  course  at  Columbus,  and  then 
entered  the  State  University  at  Madison,  where 
he  defrayed  his  expenses  by  teaching,  having 
undertaken  that  occupation  at  seventeen  years  of 
age,  at  first  in  country  schools  but  after  two  years 
becoming  principal  of  the  Rio  schools  for  three 
years  and  also  for  a  time  filling  a  position  in  the 
grammar  department  of  the  Columbus  schools. 
While  teaching  he  took  up  the  study  of  medicine 
in  the  office  of  Dr.  S.  O.  Burrington,  of  Colum- 
bus, and  afterward  pursued  his  studies  in  the 
office  of  Dr.  Robert  W.  Earl,  of  that  city.  Both 
were  able  preceptors  and  he  made  such  progress 
that  in  the  fall  of  1878  he  entered  Rush  Medical 


696 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


College,  from  which  he  graduated  in  the  spring 
of  1881,  defraying  his  expenses  during  the  period 
by  teaching  during  the  vacations. 

After  graduation  Dr.  Mead  established  him- 
self in  practice  at  Good  Thunder,  Minnesota, 
but  a  year  later  removed  to  Elk  Point,  South 
Dakota,  where  during  eight  years  he  established 
so  excellent  a  reputation  that  on  the  5th  of 
May.  1890.  he  was  called  to  the  assistant  su- 
perintendency  of  the  State  Insane  Hospital  and 
after  a  vear  devoted  to  the  peculiar  requirements 
of  the  position  was  promoted  to  the  superintend- 
ency.  Up  to  this  date,  May,  1891,  the  hospital 
had  been  a  political  football,  kicked  about  to  re- 
ward political  services,  and  for  a  long  time  had 
averaged  one  superintendent  per  year,  the  work 
inaugurated  by  one  being  sure  to  be  undone  by 
his  successor.  It  was  Dr.  Mead's  first  business 
to  organize  the  institution  upon  a  business  and 
professional  basis  and  lift  it  from  the  degrading 
domain  of  party  politics,  and  he  has  brought  it 
to  a  position  which  bears  favorable  comparison 
with  the  leading  hospitals  of  the  kind  in  any 
country.  He  possesses  superb  executive  ability 
and  the  happy  faculty  of  directing  the  move- 
ment of  the  large  number  of  employes  and  of- 
ficers without  friction.  His  retentive  memory 
and  painstaking  methods  give  him  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  each  one  of  the  many  hundreds  of 
inmates  and  at  any  moment  he  is  prepared  to 
recite  the  history  and  present  condition  of  any 
one  of  them.  He  has  made  a  close  and  critical 
study  of  nervous  diseases  and  insanity  in  all  of 
their  forms,  and  to  perfect  himself  in  these  spe- 
cialties he  took  a  post-graduate  course  in  the  New 
York  Polyclinic,  in  1899- 1 900,  devoting  particu- 
lar attention  to  neurology  and  microscopy. 
Through  long  and  successful  experience  and 
special  preparation  Dr.  Mead  is  now  recognized 
authority  upon  all  nervous  diseases  and  as  such 
is  frequently  called  in  consultation  by  the  ablest 
physicians  in  the  west. 

Dr.  Mead  is  equally  as  successful  as  a  busi- 
ness man  as  he  is  as  a  physician  and-  executive 
and  is  especially  fertile  in  mechanical,  engineer- 
ing and  architectural  expedients  and  plans  for 
tlie   aeh'anccment   of  the   institution,   and   it   has 


been  his  good  fortune  to  be  permitted  to  put 
most  of  his  plans  into  execution.  Under  his 
management  and  as  a  consequence  of  his  long 
official  career  the  hospital  plant  has  been  largely 
remodeled  and  of  course  vastly  increased  in 
capacity,  the  additions  made  under  his  direction 
considerably  exceeding  the  extent  of  the  original 
plant.  In  the  location  and  planning  of  new 
buildings  he  has  been  unhampered  and  his  op- 
portunity for  impressing  his  individuality  upon 
the  place  has  been  limited  only  by  the  ability  of 
the  state  to  provide  means,  and  the  state  has  not 
been  niggardly  in  supplying  structures  and  all 
modern  appliances  for  the  most  favorable  treat- 
ment of  its  unfortunate  wards. 

Dr.  Mead  is  a  Mason,  belonging  to  the 
Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  and  the 
Mystic  Shrine,  and  he  is  also  identified  with  the 
Ancient  Order  United  ^^'orkmen  and  the  Benevo- 
lent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  South  Dakota  Medical  Society,  the 
Sioux  Valley  IMedical  Society,  the  American 
Medico- Psychological  Association  and  other  pro- 
fessional organizations,  local  and  general.  He 
was  married  in  June,  1886,  to  Miss  Matilda 
Frazer  Gardener,  of  Sparta,  Wisconsin,  and  their 
home  is  delightful  and  ideal.  They  have  not 
been  blessed  with  children,  but  have  opened  their 
hearts  and  home  to  a  little  boy  and  girl  who  are 
receiving  all  of  the  care  and  aflfection  which  de- 
voted parents  might  lavish  upon  them. 


EDWARD  F.  DONOVAN,  supervisor  of  the 
State  Hospital  for  the  Insane,  Yankton,  is  a  na- 
tive of  Michigan  and  the  son  of  Jeremiah  and 
Margaret  Donovan,  both  parents  born  in  Ireland. 
The  father,  a  native  of  the  count)-  of  Wicklow, 
came  to  the  United  States  when  a  }oung  man 
of  eighteen  years,  and  located  at  Marquette, 
Michigan,  where  later  he  became  captain  of  the 
Qivinzt  mine,  which  post  he  held  for  a  number 
of  years.  Resigning  his  position,  he  engaged  in 
the  mercantile  business  at  Independence,  Iowa, 
and  after  spending  ten  active  and  prosperous 
years  in  that  city,  he  disposed  of  his  establish- 
ment and  retired  to  a  farm  near  by,  where  he 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


697 


has  since  followed  agricultural  pursuits  and 
stock  raising.  Jeremiah  Donovan  is  a  man  of 
fine  business  ability  and  great  energy  and  has 
been  remarkably  successful  in  his  various  lines 
of  endeavor,  being  at  this  time  the  possessor  of 
a  large  and  valuable  landed  estate,  consisting  of 
two  hundred  and  forty  acres  in  one  of  the  finest 
agricultural  districts  of  Iowa,  besides  owning 
considerable  city  property  and  extensive  personal 
interests.  He  has  been  an  influential  factor  in 
the  civic  and  public  affairs  of  the  different  com- 
munities of  his  residence,  served  two  terms  as 
county  auditor,  one  term  as  county  commissioner, 
besides  filling  various  minor  official  positions. 
He  has  long  been  a  stanch  Republican  and  a 
leader  in  his  party  and  it  was  in  recognition  of 
his  valuable  services  to  the  same  as  well  as  on 
account  of  his  peculiar  fitness  that  he  was  hon- 
ored with  the  different  public  stations  referred 
to  above.  In  religion  he  is  a  Catholic  and  has 
al\va_\-s  been  loyal  to  the  mother  church,  having 
been  born  and  reared  in  the  same  and  descended 
from  a  long  line  of  Catholic  ancestors.  He  has 
reached  the  age  of  sixty-seven  and  retains  to  a 
marked  degree  his  physical  force  and  mental 
power,  being  as  ever  a  leader  of  thought  and  a 
moulder  of  opinion  in  his  community.  Mrs.  Mar- 
garet Donovan,  who  before  her  marriage  bore 
the  maiden  name  of  Kilfy,  was  born  in  Ireland 
and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  accompanied  her  parents 
to  America,  the  family  locating  at  Marquette, 
Michigan,  where  she  subsequently  met  the  gentle- 
man who  became  her  husband.  She  is  still  living, 
as  are  six  of  her  seven  children,  their  names  be- 
ing as  follows :  Michael,  of  Deadwood,  South 
Dakota ;  Daniel,  a  resident  of  Independence, 
Iowa ;  Edward  F.,  whose  name  introduces  this 
sketch  ;  Peter,  of  Yankton ;  Henry  lives  in  Dead- 
wood,  and  James,  whose  home  is  in  the  state  of 
Iowa. 

Edward  F.  Donovan  was  born  in  Marquette, 
Micl-.igan,  on  the  i6th  of  December,  1868.  His 
early  life,  devoid  of  striking  incident,  was  spent 
under  the  parental  roof  in  his  native  city,  in  the 
public  schools  of  which  he  received  his  prelim- 
inary educational  discipline.  After  the  family 
moved  to  Iowa  he  further  prosecuted  his  studies 


in  the  high  schools  at  Independence,  but  at  the 
age  of  sixteen  he  laid  aside  his  books  and,  invest- 
ing his  means  in  an  outfit  for  drilling  wells,  fol- 
lowed that  line  of  work  during  the  ensuing  three 
years.  At  the  expiration  of  the  time  noted  he  ac- 
cepted a  clerkship  in  a  general  store  at  Independ- 
ence and  after  holding  the  position  for  a  period 
of  eighteen  months,  resigned  to  engage  in  the 
produce  business  upon  his  own  responsibility. 
Mr.  Donovan  followed  the  latter  business  about 
one  year,  during  which  time  he  bought  and 
shipped  large  quantities  of  country  produce, 
building  up  an  extensive  trade  from  which  he 
realized  handsome  profits.  With  means  thus  ac- 
quired he  purchased  a  fine  stock  farm  in  Iowa, 
but  after  living  on  the  same  for  a  limited  period 
abandoned  agriculture  and  stock  raising  and  for 
two  years  thereafter  was  connected  with  the  In- 
dependence State  Hospital,  Independence,  Iowa. 
In  1 89 1  he  came  to  Yankton,  South  Dakota, 
where  he  was  shortly  afterwards  appointed  super- 
visor of  the  State  Hospital  for  the  Insane,  which 
responsible  position,  with  the  exception  of  a  part 
of  1900  and  1901,  he  has  held  continuously  ever 
since. 

Mr.  Donovan's  business  career,  as  already  in- 
dicated, has  been  eminently  successful  and  his 
management  of  the  important  institution  of  which 
he  is  now  the  supervisor  has  been  honorable  to 
himself  and  creditable  to  the  state.  His  record 
throughout  is  undimmed  by  the  slightest  suspi- 
cion of  disrepute  and  his  long  retention  as  custo- 
dian of  one  of  the  people's  most  sacred  interests, 
demonstrates  not  only  business  capacity  and  ex- 
ecutive ability  of  a  high  order,  but  also  a  faith- 
fulness to  trust  and  a  consecration  to  duty  which 
the  public  has  not  been  slow  to  recognize  and  ap~ 
predate.  Mr.  Donovan  has  been  prominent  in 
political  affairs  both  in  Iowa  and  Dakota  and 
while  a  resident  of  the  former  state  was  a  Repub- 
lican nominee  in  1901  for  sheriff  of  Buchanan 
county,  but  declined  to  make  the  race.  He  has 
been  active  in  party  councils  since  coming  to 
Yankton,  but  is  not  a  partisan  in  the  sense  the 
term  is  usually  understood,  nor  has  he  been  an 

'   aspirant   for   leadership   in   his   place   of   abode. 

I   Like  all  enterprising  citizens,  however,  he  mani- 


698 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


fests  a  pardonable  pride  in  his  adopted  city  and 
state,  has  unbounded  faith  in  the  future  growth 
and  prosperity  of  each  and  lends  his  influence.and 
encouragement  to  all  laudable  agencies  for  the 
promotion  of  these  ends.  Religiously  he  is  a 
Catholic  and  fraternally  a  member  of  the  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen,  belonging  to  Yank- 
ton Lodge.  No.  loi.  Mr.  Donovan,  on  June  19, 
1896,  was  united  in  marriage  with  Aliss  Ma- 
thilda \'inatien,  the  union  being  without  issue. 


MARK  D.  SCOTT.— One  of  the  alert  and 
thoroughly  trained  newspaper  men  of  South 
Dakota  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  is 
editor  and  publisher  of  the  Sioux  Falls  Jour- 
nal. Under  his  able  management  this  has  be- 
come one  of  the  most  influential  journals  in  the 
state. 

Mr.  Scott  is  a  native  of  Wisconsin,  having 
been  born  on  the  7th  of  April,  1866,  and  being 
a  son  of  Daniel  and  Augusta  H.  (Hunter) 
Scott.  The  subject  received  his  early  educa- 
tional training  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
county,  and  gained  his  initiation  into  the  mys- 
teries of  the  printing  business  before  he  had  at- 
tained the  age  of  ten  years.  In  1878  he  accom- 
panied his  parents  on  their  removal  to  Dead- 
wood,  South  Dakota,  and  in  this  celebrated  min- 
ing city,  then  on  the  frontier  of  civilization,  he 
became  a  newspaper  carrier  and  eventually 
gained  control  of  several  newspaper  routes  in 
the  town.  In  1883  'i^  came  to  Sioux  Falls  and 
secured  employment  in  a  printing  office,  and  in 
1885,  in  association  with  Hibbard  Patterson,  had 
charge  of  the  mechanical  work  on  the  Dakota 
Argus  for  a  period  of  six  months.  During  the 
year  1866  Air.  Scott  was  advertising  solicitor  for 
the  Rapid  City  Daily  Republican,  and  later  he 
was  for  six  months  employed  on  the  Lead  City 
Tribune.  In  1888  he  went  to  Burke,  Idaho, 
and  started  the  first  newspaper  in  the  town,  but 
disposed  of  the  business  after  six  months.  He 
then  went  to  LeGrande,  Oregon,  where  he  again 
became  associated  with  Mr.  Patterson,  the  two 
gentlemen  there  establishing  the  LaGrande  Jour- 
nal,    whose    publication     they    continued    until 


March,  1890,  when  they  sold  the  property.  Mr. 
Scott  continued  to  be  identified  with  newspaper 
interests  in  LeGrande  until  1892,  when  he  came 
again  to  Sioux  Falls,  where,  on  the  first  of 
January,  1893,  he  became  city  editor  of  the  Sioux 
Falls  Daily  Press.  This  incumbency  he  retained 
until  August  of  the  following  year,  when  he 
became  the  editor  and  publisher  of  the  Sioux 
Falls  Journal,  having  since  been  thus  connected 
with  this  well-known  and  popular  paper.  Of 
his  efforts  in  this  connection  another  publication 
has  previously  spoken  as  follows :  "During  the 
presidential  campaign  of  1896  JMr.  Scott  issued 
a  daily  paper  called  the  Daily  Journal.  There 
were  sixty-two  issues  of  this  paper,  and  every 
one  of  them  was  filled  with  what  newspaper 
men  call  Miot  stuff.'  It  was  published  in  the  in- 
terest of  Bryan  and  his  adherents  in  South  Da- 
kota, but  when  it  became  assured  that  McKinle}- 
was  elected  the  daily  issue  was  discontinued.  ^Ir. 
Scott  is  a  great  newsgatherer  and  always  has 
something  pertinent  and  timely  to  say  regarding 
the  issues  before  the  people.  He  is  strictly  in 
the  newspaper  business  and  is  an  earnest  advo- 
cate of  economy  in  public  affairs." 

On  the  23d  of  ]\Iarch,  1890,  Mr.  Scott  was 
united  in  marriage  to  ]\Iiss  Eva  Kuhn,  of  Le- 
Grande. Oregon,  and  they  have  three  children, 
Davne  K.,  Owen  L.  and  Xorman  D. 


JOHX  W.  TUTHILL,  who  is  one  of  the 
leading  business  men  of  the  state,  being  president 
of  the  John  W.  Tuthill  Lumber  Compau)-,  wliich 
controls  twenty-one  lumber  yards,  in  South  Da- 
kota. Minnesota  and  Iowa,  maintains  his  home 
in  Sioux  Falls  and  is  honored  for  his  sterling 
character  and  for  the  energy  and  sagacity  which 
have  enabled  him  to  attain  so  high  a  degree  of 
success  through  his  own  efforts. 

Mr.  Tuthill  was  born  in  the  village  of  Greene. 
Chenango,  county.  New  York,  July  6.  1846,  being 
a  son  of  George  and  Hannah  S.  (Davis)  Tuthill, 
both  of  whom  were  born  in  the  state  of  New 
York,  where  the  latter  died  in  1852.  The  father 
of  the  subject  removed  to  Pennsylvania  in  185 1 
and  was  a  resident  of  Carlx)ndale.  that  state,  until 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


699 


1856,  when  he  came  west  to  Iowa,  where  he  de- 
voted the  remainder  of  his  hfe  to  his  trade,  that 
of  millrig-ht,  his  death  occurring  in  1877.  The  sub- 
ject was  five  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  liis  fa- 
ther's removal  to  Pennsylvania,  where  he  received 
liis  early  scholastic  training  in  the  public  schools 
of  Carbondale,  and  he  was  ten  years  of  age  upon 
coming  to  Iowa,  where  he  completed  his  common- 
school  education.  In  1862  he  went  to  the  city  of 
Chicago,  where  he  was  employed  four  years  as 
bookkeeper  and  teller  in  the  banking  house  of 
Ciiolbaugh  &  Brooks.  In  October,  1865,  he  en- 
tered the  employ  of  C.  Lamb  &  Son,  lumber 
maiuifacturers  in  Clinton,  Iowa,  remaining  with 
this  firm  until  Jul}',  1869,  when  he  decided  to  en- 
gage in  business  upon  his  own  responsibility.  He 
accordingly  located  in  State  Center,  Iowa,  where 
he  established  a  lumber  yard,  the  same  proving 
the  nucleus  of  the  magnificent  business  which  he 
has  since  built  up  in  this  line.  In  March,  1882, 
Mr.  Tuthill  came  to  Sioux  Falls,  and  purchased 
the  lumber  business  of  Edwin  Sharpe  &  Com- 
pany, the  firm  of  Tuthill  &  King  being  then  or- 
ganized for  the  prosecution  of  the  enterprise. 
Air.  King  died  on  the  3d  of  February,  1884,  and 
then  the  subject  entered  into  partnership  with 
his  brother  Squire  G.,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Tuthill  Brothers.  On  the  i8th  of  August,  1884, 
the  John  \V.  Tuthill  Lumber  Company  was  incor- 
porated, having  now  a  capital  stock  of  two  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars,  and  controlling  an  exten- 
sive and  important  business  throughout  this  sec- 
tion of  the  great  northwest.  In  addition  to  the 
large  and  well  equipped  yard  in  Sioux  Falls,  the 
company  also  has  branch  yards  at  Hartford, 
Montrose,  Humbolt,  Salem,  Spencer,  Farmer, 
\'alley  Springs,  Ellis,  Fulton,  Trent,  Wentworth, 
Redfield  and  Athol.  this  state ;  Windom,  Worth- 
ington,  Beaver  Creek,  Hills  and  Round  Lake, 
Minnesota,  and  Merrill  and  Larchwood,  Iowa. 

Mr.  Tuthill  is  a  stanch  advocate  of  the  princi- 
ples of  the  Republican  party,  but  is  intrinsically 
and  essentially  a  business  man  and  has  never 
found  time  to  dabble  in  politics,  though  he  mani- 
fests a  public-spirited  interest  in  all  that  concerns 
his  home  city  and  state.  He  is  a  IMaster  Alason 
and  also  a  member  of  the  Ancient  Arabic  Order 


of  the  Xobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine.  He  takes  a 
deep  interest  in-  the  welfare  and  progress  of 
Sioux  Falls  and  is  one  of  its  valued  citizens.  In 
1903  he  presented  to  the  public  library  a  valuable 
collection  of  books,  the  same  representing  an  ex- 
penditure of  about  one  thousand  dollars. 

On  the  22d  of  September,  1868,  in  Columbus, 
Ohio,  Mr.  Tuthill  was  married  to  Miss  Jennie 
M.  Buck,  and  of  their  children  we  enter  the  fol- 
lowing brief  record  :  Arthur  W.  is  secretary  and 
treasurer  of  the  lumber  company  of  which  his 
father  is  president ;  George  B.  is  general  manager 
of  the  outside  yards,  and  Chauncey  L.  is  cashier 
of  the  company. 


VILROY  T.  WILSON,  M.  D.— In  the  en- 
tire category  of  avocations  to  which  a  man  may 
devote  his  energies  there  is  none  which  involves 
a  greater  responsibility  than  that  of  the  physi- 
cian and  surgeon,  in  whose  hands  often  rest  the 
issues  of  life  itself,  and  he  to  whom  genuine  suc- 
cess comes  in  this  exacting  profession  is  the  one 
thoroughly  appreciative  of  this  responsibility  and 
animated  by  the  deeper  pity  and  sympathy  which 
transcend  the  mere  emotion  to  become  a  motive 
— that  motive  being  the  relief  of  suffering.  The 
subject  of  this  review  is  one  of  the  able  members 
of  the  medical  profession  in  South  Dakota,  being 
established  in  a  thriving  practice  in  Hudson,  Lin- 
coln county,  where  his  services  and  ministrations 
have  been  such  as  to  gain  to  him  the  confidence 
and  esteem  of  the  community.  The  Doctor  is  a 
son  of  Harmon  V.  and  Lucy  A.  (Briggs)  Wilson, 
and  comes  of  stanch  New  England  ancestry,  both 
families  having  long  been  identified  with  the  an- 
nals of  American  history.  He  was  born  in  Wood- 
stock, Windsor  county,  \'ermont,  on  the  6th  of 
April,  1849,  and  there  he  attended  the  common 
schools  until  he  had  attained  the  age  of  fifteen 
years,  when  his  youthful  patriotism  was  kindled 
to  responsive  action,  as  the  integrity  of  the  Union 
hung  in  the  balance  through  the  menace  of  armed 
rebellion.  On  the  3d  of  August,  1862,  in  his 
native  town,  Dr.  Wilson  enlisted  as  a  private  in 
Company  C,  Sixth  Vermont  Volunteer  Infantry, 
with  which  he  proceeded  to  the  front,  his  com- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


niand  being  assigned  to  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac. He  participated  in  a  number  of  important 
battles  and  ever  stood  at  the  post  of  duty,  though 
a  mere  bov  at  the  time,  continuing  to  serve  until 
victory  had  crowned  the  Union  arms  and  being 
mustered  out,  at  Burlington,  Vermont,  on  July 
3.  1865. 

After  his  return  from  the  war  Dr.  \Vilson  re- 
sumed his  interrupted  educational  work  by  enter- 
ing Kimball  Union  Academy,  at  Meriden,  New 
Hampshire,  in  which  he  completed  a  three-years 
course,  being  graduated  as  a  member  of  the  class 
of  1868.  Soon  afterward  he  was  matriculated  in 
the  medical  department  of  famous  old  Dart- 
mouth College,  at  Hanover,  New  Hampshire, 
where  he  completed  the  prescribed  course  and  was 
graduated  in  1872,  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine.  In  1876  he  came  west  to  McGregor, 
Iowa,  where  he  was  successfully  engaged  in  prac- 
tice for  two  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  he  lo- 
cated in  Waterloo,  that  state,  where  he  continued 
his  professional  endeavors  until  1888,  when  he 
came  to  Hudson,  South  Dakota,  and  established 
himself  in  practice  as  one  of  the  early  physicians 
of  the  county.  He  has  received  a  representative 
support  from  the  start  and  is  one  of  the  leading 
practitioners  of  this  section  of  the  state,  keeping 
in  close  touch  with  the  advances  made  in  his  pro- 
fession and  thoroughly  devoted  to  its  work.  He 
has  been  a  member  of  the  United  States  pension- 
examining  board  of  the  county  since  1892,  and 
ever  shows  a  deep  interest  in  the  old  comrades  in 
arms  who  rendered  so  valiant  service  during  the 
most  crucial  epoch  in  our  national  history.  He 
holds  membership  in  the  South  Dakota  State 
Medical  Society,  in  whose  work  he  takes  an  ac- 
tive part,  being  held  in  high  regard  by  his  pro- 
fessional confreres.  Fraternally  the  Doctor  is 
identified  with  Jeptha  Lodge,  No.  132,  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons;  Hudson  Lodge,  No.  62, 
Knights  of  Pythias ;  and  Ft.  Donelson  Post,  No. 
108,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  of  which  he  is 
past  commander  and  at  present  medical  director. 

On  the  24th  of  June,  1874,  Dr.  Wilson  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Louise  D.  Davis,  of 
Plvmouth,  Vermont,  a  daughter  of  William  H. 


and  Sophia  Davis.     Thev  have  an  adopted  son, 
Paul  H. 


FRANK  MULLEN  is  one  of  the  honored 
pioneers  of  South  Dakota,  where  he  has  main- 
tained his  home  for  more  than  thirty  years, 
while  for  more  than  two  decades  he  has  held  the 
responsible  office  of  clerk  of  the  Rosebud  Indian 
agency,  with  headquarters  in  the  village  of  Rose- 
bud, Meyer  county.  He  is  held  in  high  esteem 
by  all  who  know  him_,  is  a  typical  westerner  in 
spirit  and  is  well  deserving  of  representation  in 
this  historical  compilation. 

Mr.  Mullen  is  a  native  of  the  great  Lone  Star 
state  of  the  Union,  having  been  born  in  Bexar 
county,  Texas,  on  the  6th  of  July,  1848,  and 
being  a  son  of  Ralph  and  Caroline  (Black)  Mul- 
len, natives  respectively  of  North  Carolina  and 
Vii;ginia  and  both  of  stanch  Irish  lineage.  They 
were  numbered  among  the  early  settlers  in 
Texas,  where  they  passed  the  closing  years  of 
their  lives,  the  father  having  there  devoted  his 
attention  to  the  vocation  of  law.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  received  his  educational  training  in 
the  schools  of  Austin,  Texas,  and  in  1863,  when 
but  fifteen  years  of  age,  he  was  appointed  to 
a  clerkship  in  the  quartermaster's  department  of 
the  Confederate  army,  the  Civil  war  being  in 
progress  at  the  time.  During  1864-5  he  ser\-ed 
as  captain  and  assistant  quartermaster  of  the 
Confederacy  in  his  native  state,  and  after  the 
close  of  the  war  he  became  clerk  in  the  same 
department  of  the  Union  service,  thus  serving 
in  Texas  from  1866  to  1869,  inclusive.  In  1870 
he  engaged  in  business  in  the  city  of  San  An- 
tonio, that  state,  continuing  operations  there  until 
1872,  when  he  came  as  a  pioneer  to  the  great 
undivided  territory  of  Dakota,  where  he  was  in 
the  employ  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad 
Company  until  1874,  when  he  took  uji  his  resi- 
dence at  the  old  Spotted  Tail  Indian  agency,  with 
whose  affairs  he  became  identified.  On  the  23d 
of  August,  1883,  he  was  appointed  clerk  at  this 
agency,  whose  name  had  been  changed  to  Rose- 
bud, its  present  cognomen,  and  he  has  since  re- 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH  DAKOTA. 


mained  incumbent  of  this  office,  in  which  he  has 
given  most  discriminating  and  acceptable 
service.  In  poHtics  he  gives  an  unquaHfied  al- 
legiance to  the  Republican  party,  and  fraternally 
he  is  one  of  the  prominent  Masons  of  the  state, 
having  passed  the  degrees  of  the  lodge,  chapter 
and  commandery  in  the  York  Rite  and  attained 
the  thirty-second  degree  and  been  proclaimed  a 
Sublime  Prince  of  the  Royal  Secret  in  the  con- 
sistory of  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish 
Rite  at  Aberdeen,  while  he  is  also  affiliated  with 
the  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  the  Nobles  of  the 
Mvstic  Shrine,  the  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks  and  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  com- 
municants of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church. 

On  the  25th  of  July,  1880,  was  solemnized 
the  marriage  of  ]Mr.  IMullen  to  Miss  Jennie 
Colomb,  who  was  born  on  the  i6th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1859,  being  a  daughter  of  John  B.  and 
Josephine  (Dorion)  Colomb.  They  are  the  par- 
ents of  three  children.  Amy,  Norah  and  John. 


WILLIAM  TATE  is  one  of  the  represent- 
ative business  men  of  Sioux  Falls,  where  he  is 
a  wholesale  and  retail  dealer  in  bar  glassware 
and  supplies,  wines  and  liquors,  etc.  He  is  a 
native  of  the  old  Green  Mountain  state,  having 
been  born  in  the  city  of  Rutland,  Vermont,  on 
the  15th  of  August,  1863,  and  being  a  son  of 
Charles  R.  and  Mary  (Clark)  Tate.  He  re- 
ceived his  rudimentary  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  city  and  when  he  was  a 
lad  of  eight  years  his  parents  removed  to  the 
city  of  Chicago,  and  later  to  Rochelle,  Illinois, 
where  he  continued  his  studies  in  the  public 
schools,  as  did  he  later  in  Sioux  Falls,  South  Da- 
kota, to  which  place  his  parents  came  in  1876, 
being  pioneers  of  the  city  and  state.  For  nine 
years  Mr.  Tate  was  engaged  in  herding  cattle  for 
different  individuals,  and  he  then  secured  em- 
ployment in  a  wholesale  liquor  house  in  Sioux 
Falls,  that  of  the  firm  of  Hickey  &  McNamara, 
with  whom  he  remained  until  1901,  in  which 
year  he  opened  his  present  place  of  business,  at 
229  North  Phillips  avenue,  where  he  has  built 


up  a  profitable  enterprise,  while  he  has  gained 
a  wide  circle  of  friends  in  the  city.  He  is 
identified  with  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen  and  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles, 
and  in  politics  exercises  his  franchise  in  support 
of  the  principles  and  policies  of  the  Democratic 
party,  though  he  has  never  taken  any  active  part 
in  public  affairs. 

On  the  9th  of  January,  1886,  Mr.  Tate  was 
united  in  marriage  to  JMiss  Hannah  J.  McCarty. 
who  was  born  in  Minneapolis,  Minnesota,  and 
who  was  a  resident  of  Sioux  Falls  at  the  time  of 
her  marriage.  They  have  one  child,  Lila  Mary, 
who  is  fourteen  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  this 
writing. 


CHARLES  H.  BARTELT,  one  of  the  repre- 
sentative young  members  of  the  bar  of  the  state, 
has  so  directed  his  course  as  to  retain  the  confi- 
dence and  esteem  of  his  professional  confreres 
and  of  his  clients.  Mr.  Bartelt  is  a  native  of  the 
city  of  Hamburg,  Germany,  where  he  was  born 
on  the  1st  of  June,  1876,  but  he  has  passed  prac- 
tically his  entire  life  in  the  United  States,  whither 
his  parents  emigrated  in  1882.  His  father,  Henry 
Bartelt,  followed  a  seafaring  life  prior  to  his  emi- 
gration to  the  United  States,  and  here  he  con- 
tinued to  be  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  until 
his  retirement  from  active  business.  He  and  his 
wife  now  reside  in  the  village  of  Holstein,  Iowa, 
and  are  persons  of  the  sterling  characteristics 
which  so  clearly  designate  the  true  German  type. 
The  subject  of  this  review  received  his  early 
educational  discipline  in  the  public  schools  of 
Cherokee  covinty,  Iowa,  and  Sioux  City,  Iowa, 
after  which  he  continued  his  studies  in  the  high 
school  at  P'onca,  Nebraska.  He  later  entered  the 
Western  Normal  College,  at  Lincoln,  that  state, 
where  he  completed  a  thorough  course  and  was 
then  matriculated  in  the  Nebraska  State  Univer- 
sity, in  the  same  city,  where  he  was  graduated 
as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1893.  He  then  took 
up  the  study  of  law,  under  the  preceptorship  of 
Hon.  Park  Davis,  of  Sioux  Falls,  prosecuted  his 
technical  reading  with  marked  appreciation  and 
scrupulous  care,  and  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


in  1899.  In  the  month  of  December.  1896.  he 
came  to  Sioux  Falls,  where  he  has  since  been 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession. 
On  June  i,  1903,  the  subject  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  J.  E.  IMcAIahon  and  they  have  already 
gained  a  satisfactory  share  of  patronage.  In  poli- 
tics Mr.  Bartelt  is  an  uncompromising  Republi- 
can, taking  a  deep  interest  in  the  issues  and  ques- 
tions of  the  hour  and  keeping  well  informed  on 
matters  of  public  policy.  Fraternally  he  is  identi- 
fied with  the  Masonic  order,  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  the  Knights  of 
Pythias. 

On  the  25th  of  June,  1901,  j\Ir.  Bartelt  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Victoria  0"Laughlin, 
a  daughter  of  William  O'Laughlin,  of  Sioux 
Falls,  she  being  a  native  of  Iowa. 


ALBERT  N.  QUALE  has  well  equipped  offi- 
ces in  the  Minnehaha  building,  at  the  corner  of 
Ninth  street  and  Phillips  avenue,  in  the  city  of 
Sioux  Falls,  and  conducts  an  extensive  enterprise 
under  the  title  of  the  Quale  Land  Company,  buy- 
ing and  selling  farm  lands  in  both  North  and 
South  Dakota,  handling  wild  land,  improved 
farms  and  stock  ranches,  negotiating  exchanges 
and  managing  estates,  while  he  also  deals  in  im- 
proved and  unimproved  realt\-  in  the  various 
cities  and  towns  of  the  state. 

Albert  N.  Quale  was  born  in  Minnehaha 
county.  South  Dakota,  on  the  30th  of  September, 
1878,  this  being  many  years  prior  to  the  segrega- 
tion of  the  two  Dakotas,  which  then  comprised 
one  vast  territorial  division  of  the  national  do- 
main. He  is  a  son  of  Torgeli  T.  and  Agatha  (Es- 
tenes)  Quale,  who  came  as  pioneers  to  Dakota 
territory  in  the  spring  of  1878,  the  father  taking 
up  a  homestead  claim  in  Tarpi  township,  Minne- 
haha county,  and  having  become  one  of  the  prom- 
inent and  honored  farmers  and  stock  growers  of 
this  section.  He  and  his  wife  still  reside  on  the 
homestead,  on  which  he  has  made  the  best  of  im- 
jjrovements,  and  he  is  now  the  owner  of  a  valu- 
able landed  estate  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres. 
Both  he  and  his  wife  are  native  of  the  far  Norse- 
land,  having  been  born  in  Norway,  where  thev 


were  reared  to  maturity.  In  1876  they  set  sail 
from  Bergen,  Norway,  and  started  forth  to  seek 
their  fortunes  in  America,  landing  in  the  port  of 
New  York  in  due  course  of  time  and  thence  mak- 
ing their  way  westward  to  Iowa,  locating  in  Win- 
neshiek count}-,  where  they  remained  until  com- 
ing to  South  Dakota.  Of  their  six  children  five 
are  living,  and  the  family  is  held  in  high  estima- 
ton  in  the  county,  with  whose  history  the  name 
has  been  identified  for  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

The  subject  of  this  review  passed  his  youthful 
days  on  the  homestead  farm,  early  beginning  to 
assist  in  its  work,  while  his  educational  training 
was  secured  in  the  public  schools.  He  remained 
on  the  farm  until  1897,  when  he  secured  a  clerk- 
ship in  a  mercantile  establishment  at  Baltic,  while 
later  he  was  successfully  engaged  in  selling  farm- 
ing machinery  and  implements  at  Colton  and  Dell 
Rapids.  Finally  he  became  identified  with  the 
real-estate  business,  as  an  employe  of  a  firm  in 
Brown  county,  and  his  success  in  this  field  led 
him  to  engage  in  the  same  line  of  enterprise  on 
his  own  responsibility.  Accordingly,  in  the  win- 
ter of  1902,  he  came  to  Sioux  Falls  and  estab- 
lished the  Quale  Land  Company,  being  in  sole 
control  of  the  business.  In  politics  I\Ir.  Quale  is 
a  stanch  advocate  of  the  principles  of  the  Repub- 
lican party,  and  fraternally  he  is  identified  with 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 
He  enjoys  marked  popularity  in  business  and  so- 
cial circles  and  is  one  of  the  prominent  and  rising 
young  men  of  his  native  state. 


CORA  \\'.  CARPENTER,  :\I.  D.— Greater 
than  in  all  other  lines  of  endeavor  to  which  one 
can  direct  his  attention  is  the  responsibility  that 
rests  upon  the  physician  and  surgeon,  in  whose 
hands  often  rest  the  very  destinies  of  life  itself. 
This  noble  profession,  in  which  pity. must  be- 
come a  motive  rather  than  a  mere  emotion, 
most  consistently  may  enlist  the  services  of  the 
woman  practitioner,  and  each  year  shows  a 
greater  popular  appreciation  of  her  interposition 
in  this  great  work.  The  city  of  Sioux  Falls  has 
an  able  representative  of  the  medical  profession 
in  Dr.  Carpenter,  who  has  here  established  her- 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


self  in  a  successful  and  representative  practice, 
faithfully  doing  the  work  which  comes  to  her 
hand  and  demanding  no  concessions  by  reason 
of  her  sex,  as  she  is  strong  in  her  professional 
enthusiasm  and  in  the  intimate  technical  knowl- 
edge which  is  demanded  in  general  practice. 

Dr.  Carpenter  is  a  native  of  the  state  of 
Iowa,  having  been  born  in  the  city  of  DesMoines, 
on  the  30th  of  December,  1868,  and  being  a 
daughter  of  John  A.  and  Florida  (Boone)  White, 
who  are  yet  both  living,  the  former  being  a 
farmer  by  vocation,  being  a  native  of  Ohio,  and 
the  mother  of  Indiana.  The  Doctor  secured  her 
preliminary  educational  discipline  in  the  public 
schools  of  her  native  city,  and  accompanied  her 
parents  on  their  removal  to  Fargo,  North  Da- 
kota, in  1882,  completing  a  course  in  the  high 
school  of  that  city  and  being  graduated  as  a 
member  of  the  class  of  1888.  Having  deter- 
mined to  prepare  herself  for  the  medical  profes- 
sion. Dr.  Carpenter  was  matriculated  in  the  Col- 
lege of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  affiliated  with 
the  University  of  Illinois,  in  1897,  completing  the 
prescribed  course  and  being  graduated  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  class  of  1901,  receiving  her  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Medicine.  She  also  took  a  careful 
clinical  course  in  the  Frances  Willard  Hospital, 
in  the  city  of  Chicago,  thus  coming  forth  spe- 
cially well  fortified  for  the  active  work  of  her 
chosen  profession.  In  January,  1902,  Dr.  Car- 
penter came  to  Sioux  Falls  and  established  her- 
self in  practice,  and  the  best  evidence  of  her 
technical  ability  and  gracious  personalitv  is  that 
afforded  by  the  unequivocal  success  which  has 
attended  her  efforts,  her  attractive  and  well 
equipped  office  being  located  in  the  Minnehaha 
building. 


HANS  A.  USTRUD  is  a  prominent  figure 
in  educational  circles  and  is  now  incumbent  of 
the  office  of  county  superintendent  of  schools  of 
Minnehaha  county,  retaining  his  residence  in  the 
city  of  Sioux  Falls,  the  beautiful  county  seat. 
Mr.  I'strud  comes  of  stanch  Norwegian  ancestry 
and  is  a  native  of  ^Minnehaha  county,  having  been 
born  at   Baltic,  on  the  4th  of  November,    1871, 


a  son  of  Halvor  O.  and  Julia  (Kaasa)  Ustrud, 
both  of  whom  were  born  near  Skien,  Norway, 
whence  they  came  to  America  in  1866,  while  in 
1868  they  became  pioneers  of  Minnehaha  county, 
South  Dakota,  where  they  still  reside,  the  father 
devoting  his  attention  to  farming.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  received  his  early  educational  train- 
ing in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  county,  and 
the  scenes  and  incidents  of  the  pioneer  epoch  were 
familiar  to  him  in  his  boyhood.  In  1890  he  en- 
tered the'  Lutheran  Normal  School,  at  Sioux 
Falls,  where  he  was  graduated  as  a  member  of 
the  class  of  1895.  He  forthwith  became  a  suc- 
cessful and  popular  teacher  in  the  schools  of  his 
native  county,  with  whose  educational  interests 
he  has  ever  since  been  intimately  identified  with 
the  exception  of  three  years,  during  which  inter- 
val he  was  principal  of  the  public  schools  at  Rock- 
dale, Dane  county,  Wisconsin.  After  his  return 
to  South  Dakota  he  again  became  a  teacher  in  the 
schools  of  Minnehaha  county,  and  in  November, 
1902,  he  was  elected  county  superintendent  of 
schools,  in  which  capacity  he  has  accomplished 
most  effective  work,  systematizing  and  unifying 
the  school  work  in  his  jurisdiction  and  infusing 
zeal  and  enthusiasm  among  the  teachers.  As 
this  is  the  most  populous  county  in  the  state  it 
is  essential  that  its  educational  interests  should 
be  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  competent  executive, 
and  the  course  of  Mr.  Ustrud  has  been  such  as 
to  amply  justify  the  confidence  of  the  people  who 
placed  him  in  office.  In  politics  the  subject  is  an 
uncompromising  Republican  and  one  of  the  lead- 
ers in  the  local  ranks  of  the  "grand  old  party." 
He  has  been  delegate  to  both  state  and  county 
conventions  and  was  for  four  years  a  member  of 
the  Republican  central  committee  of  his  county. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church  and  ac- 
tive in  its  work. 


CHARLES  B.  COLLINS,  state  treasurer, 
was  born  in  1861  at  Rockbridge,  Wisconsin.  He 
is  a  pharmacist  and  engaged  in  drug  business  at 
Groton.  Delegate  to  national  convention  at 
Philadelphia,  1900,  and  elected  state  treasurer, 
1902. 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


MARK  WENTWORTH  SHEAFE.— In  a 
publication  which  purports  to  touch  upon  the 
history  of  the  men  and  forces  whose  contribution 
to  the  development,  splendid  advancement  and 
material  prosperity  of  the  great  commonwealth 
of  South  Dakota  has  been  of  distinctive  scope 
and  importance,  it  is  but  consistent  that  more 
than  passing  attention  be  accorded  to  the  distin- 
guished citizen  and  honored  pioneer  whose  name 
initiates  this  paragraph  and  who  has  been  of 
marked  service  to  the  state  through  various  ave- 
nues of  usefulness. 

General  Sheafe,  who  is  one  of  the  leading 
citizens  of  Watertown,  Codington  county,  is/  a 
native  of  the  Empire  state  of  the  Union,  having 
been  born  in  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  New  York, 
on  the  1 8th  of  May,  1844,  and  being  a  son  of 
Mark  Wentworth  Sheafe  and  Mary  Ann  (Cook") 
Sheafe.  His  father  was  a  shipper  and  merchant 
in  the  West  Indian  and  South  American  trade, 
and  for  twenty-six  years  was  a  sea  captain,  com- 
manding his  own  ship.  His  father  served  for  a 
short  period  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  subsequently 
was  for  many  years  a  resident  of  Buenos  Ayres, 
which  is  now  a  part  of  the  Argentine  Confedera- 
tion. In  the  agnatic  line  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  is  a  scion  of  the  family  of  Wentworths, 
whose  genealogy  is  traced  back  in  England  to 
as  early  a  date  as  the  year  910,  the  records  being 
authentic  and  still  extant.  This  ancient  family 
was  of  Saxon  origin  and  its  history  shows  that 
its  representatives  fought  against  William  the 
Conqueror  in  defense  of  their  native  land,  while 
the  annals  of  English  history  establish  the  fact 
that  members  of  the  family  held  in  the  various 
generations  positions  of  great  honor  under  the 
British  throne.  A  notable  case  was  that  of  Sir 
Thomas  Wentworth.  earl  of  Stafford,  who  was 
prime  minister  to  King  Charles  I  and  lord  lieu- 
tenant of  Ireland.  He  was  executed  in  the  Tower 
of  London  in  the  year  1615,  having  been  in  a 
most  dastardly  manner  abandoned  by  his  king, 
who.  in  the  hope  of  saving  his  own  life,  betrayed 
his  faithful  prime  minister  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemies,  the  Puritans.  Latterly  we  find  a  mem- 
ber of  this  historic  family  incumbent  of  the  posi- 
tion of  governor  of  one  of  the  New  Hampshire 


provinces  in  America  under  King  George  III, 
prior  to  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  Governor 
Benning  Wentworth,  one  of  the  last  of  the  royal 
governors  of  New  Hampshire,  was  the  great- 
grandfather of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  while 
it. may  be  further  noted  that  Hon.  John  Went- 
worth, commonly  known  as  "Long  John"  Went- 
worth, one  of  the  first  mayors  of  the  city  of  Chi- 
cago, was  a  second  cousin  of  the  General. 

The  family  of  Sheafe  originated  in  quaint  and 
historic  old  Cranbrook,  England,  and  the  ances- 
try is  authentically  traced  back  only  to  the  year 
1520.  Soon  after  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims 
in  Massachusetts  one  Jacob  Sheafe,  an  ancestor 
of  the  subject,  settled  in  Boston,  and  the  records 
of  that  city  indicate  that  he  died  in  1658,  and  his 
remains  now  lie  in  the  old  colonial  burving 
ground  in  the  heart  of  the  cit}'  of  Boston  and 
adjacent  to  the  old  "King's  Chapel,"  an  ante- 
Revolutionary  relic.  A  tablet  of  bronze  set  in 
the  iron  gate  of  the  fence  surrounding  the  little 
burying  ground  indicates  the  authenticity  of  the 
interment  mentioned.  The  history  of  Boston 
states  that  this  Jacob  Sheafe  brought  from  Eng- 
land the  first  carriage  introduced  into  the  ]\Jassa- 
chusetts  colony.  The  family  name  of  the  mother 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  Cook,  and  this 
family  at  one  time  owned  Bunker's  Hill,  at 
Charlestown,  T^Iassachusetts,  where  a  battle 
of  that  name  should  have  been  fought,  but  his- 
toric facts  determine,  unfortunately  for  the  ro- 
mantic associations  in  the  connection,  that  the 
conflict  actually  took  place  at  Breed's  Hill,  adja-  g 
cent  thereto.  Revolutionary  history  establishes  M_ 
the  fact  that  Captain  Enoch  Cook,  great-grandfa- 
ther of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  participated  in 
the  first  battle  with  the  British  at  Concord,  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  that  he  had  charge  of  the  arms 
and  munitions  of  war  while  the  Continental 
troops  made  their  famous  march  from  that  point 
to  Lexington  and  Bunker  Hill,  in  which  battles 
he  took  part. 

^lark  Wentworth  Sheafe.  to  whom  this 
sketch  is  dedicated,  received  his  early  educational 
discipline  in  the  city  schools  of  Boston,  being 
there  graduated  in  the  high  school  as  a  member 
of  the  class  of   1861,  having  fitted  himself  for 


GEN.  MARK  W.  SHEAFE. 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH  DAKOTA. 


705 


Harvard  College  and  having  passed  a  satisfactory 
examination  for  entrance  to  that  institution.  The 
habits  and  tastes  of  his  early  youth  were  decidedly 
toward  a  free  and  unconstrained  life,  his  hap- 
piest boyhood  days  being  passed  in  the  woods, 
with  his  dog  and  gun,  and  as  a  result  the  west 
soon  appealed  strongly  to  him  as  the  land  of 
promise,  so  that  shortly  after  leaving  school  he 
accompanied  his  father  to  Wisconsin,  desiring 
to  engage  in  business  in  the  new  and  progressive 
west.  In  1862  he  returned  to  Massachusetts  for 
the  purpose  of  tendering  his  services  in  defense 
of  the  Union,  whose  integrity  was  in  jeopardy 
by  reason  of  the  war  between  the  states,  and  be- 
ing desirous  of  going  to  the  front  with  those 
who  had  been  his  boyhood  friends  and  school- 
mates. After  serving  his  time  and  receiving  his 
honorable  discharge  he  again  repaired  to  the 
west  and  engaged  in  business  in  Evansville,  Wis- 
consin. About  that  time  the  great  territory  of 
Dakota  seemed  to  offer  a  field  of  great  promise, 
and  imbued  with  this  idea  General  Sheafe,  in 
1872,  journeyed  to  this  territory,  where  he  be- 
lieved he  could  find  a  broader  field  for  the  exer- 
cise of  his  energies  and  abilities,  and  settled  at 
Elk  Point,  which  is  now  the  county  seat  of  Union 
county.  South  Dakota,  where  he  engaged  in  the 
lumber  business,  meeting  with  distinctive  suc- 
cess. At  that  time  no  railroad  entered  the  great 
domain  of  the  territory  of  Dakota,  but  the  "Da- 
kota Southern"  was  building  toward  Yankton, 
and  when  the  track  was  laid  to  a  point  within  four 
miles  of  Elk  Point  he  was  enabled  to  ship  lumber 
over  this  road  instead  of  hauling  it  in  by  team 
from  Sioux  City,  Iowa,  to  which  means  he  had 
previously  had  recourse.  Thus  it  happened  that 
the  first  shipment  of  freight  by  rail  into  Dakota 
Territory  was  made  by  General  Sheafe,  this  being 
in  the  autumn  of  1872.  In  1877  he  purchased  the 
flouring  mills  at  Elk  Point,  one  of  the  first  plants 
of  the  sort  erected  in  the  territory,  and  he  there 
continued  to  be  engaged  in  business  until  1892. 
In  1885  he  received  the  appointment  as  register 
of  the  United  States  land  office  at  Watertown.  at 
the  hands  of  President  Cleveland,  and  took  up  his 
residence  in  this  city  in  July  of  that  year.  He 
then  became  interested  in  the  Watertown  National 


Bank,  of  which  he  was  vice-president,  and  also  the 
Dakota  Loan  &  Trust  Company,  an  important 
financial  institution  whose  stockholders  were  res- 
idents of  New  England.  In  1889  he  was  made 
president  of  this  company  and  continued  as  its 
chief  executive  officer  until  it  closed  up  its  busi- 
ness, on  November  i,  1903.  He  has  also  had 
large  interests  in  cattle  on  the  plains  and  ranges 
west  of  the  Missouri  river  and  has  valuable  min- 
ing interests  in  ]\[exico,  principally  silver  propo- 
sitions. 

Reverting  to  the  military  record  of  the  Gen- 
eral, we  will  say  that  it  had  its  inception  in 
June,  1862,  at  Boston,  Massachusetts,  where  he 
enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company  H,  Forty-fourth 
Alassachusetts  Volunteer  Infantry.  This  regi- 
ment was  made  up  of  young  men  of  high  stand- 
ing and  character  in  the  community,  the  average 
age  of  its  members  being  but  twenty-two  years. 
Its  nucleus  was  the  old  New  England  Guard, 
an  organization  which  had  been  in  existence  since 
the  war  of  18 12  and  which  had  sent  many  of 
its  members  into  that  war.  He  proceeded  to 
the  front  with  his  regiment  and  participated  in 
numerous  battles  and  skirmishes,  serving  faith- 
fully and  valiantly  until  the  expiration  of  his  term 
of  enlistment,  when  he  was  mustered  out  and 
received  his  honorable  discharge.  He  was  not 
thereafter  personally  identified  with  military  af- 
fairs again  until  1885,  when  he  organized  the 
Second  Regiment  of  the  Dakota  National  Guard, 
receiving  a  commission  as  colonel  from  Hon.  Gil- 
bert A.  Pierce,  who  was  then  governor  of  the 
territory.  This  position  he  held,  save  for  an  in- 
terim of  two  years,  until  the  outbreak  of  the 
Spanish-American  war,  having  in  the  meanwhile 
brought  the  regiment  up  to  a  high  standard  in  its 
personnel,  drill,  discipline  and  faithful  service. 
In  1898  he  received  a  commission  as  brigadier 
general  of  United  States  volunteers,  from  the 
late  lamented  President  McKinley,  and  was  as- 
signed to  duty  at  Camp  Alger,  Virginia,  in  com- 
mand of  the  First  Brigade,  Second  Division,  Sec- 
ond Army  Corps,  which  brigade  consisted  of  the 
Third  New  York,  the  One  Hundred  and  Fifty- 
ninth  Indiana  and  the  Twenty-second  Kansas 
regiments.     At  the  termination  of  the  war  with 


7o6 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


Spain  the  General  returned  to  his  home  in  Wa- 
lertown  and  resumed  his  duties  as  president  of 
the  Dakota  Loan  &  Trust  Company.  It  should 
be  noted  in  the  connection  that  at  the  time  of  this 
war  he  was  the  only  general  appointed  to  repre- 
sent the  three  states  of  North  and  South  Dakota 
and  Nebraska,  a  significant  distinction. 

In  1878  General  Sheaf e  was  elected  mayor  of 
Elk  Point,  retaining  this  incumbency  four  consec- 
utive years.  It  was  within  his  regime  as  head 
of  the  municipal  government  that  the  Missouri 
river  valley  was  inundated,  as  all  old  settlers 
will  remember,  and  to  add  to  the  distress  and 
danger  an  epidemic  of  smallpox  raged  simultan- 
eously in  the  state,  but  it  may  be  said  to  the 
credit  of  Elk  Point  and  its  executive  and  other 
officials  that  no  life  was  lost  either  by  flood  or 
disease  at  this  time.  As  before  noted,  the  Gen- 
eral was  appointed  register  of  the  land  office 
at  Watertown  in  1885.  remaining  in  tenure  of  the 
position  until  1889,  inclusive,  while  in  1893  ^^ 
was  again  appointed  to  this  office,  which  he  held 
for  another  four  years,  retiring  in  the  spring  of 
1897.  In  public  enterprises  he  has  contributed 
largely  in  the  way  of  adding  to  the  wealth  of  the 
territory  and  state,  in  the  construction  of  various 
buildings.  In  1874  he  was  elected  to  the  terri- 
torial senate,  from  Union  county,  and  at  this  ses- 
sion of  the  legislature  much  was  accomplished 
toward  hastening  the  development  of  the  terri- 
tory. In  1890  he  was  elected  to  the  state  senate 
from  Codington  county,  thus  being  a  member  of 
the  second  general  assembly  after  the  admission 
of  South  Dakota  to  the  Union,  and  he  proved 
a  valuable  working  member  of  the  upper  house, 
the  statutes  of  the  commonwealth  showing  many 
laws  which  are  the  result  of  bills  introduced  by 

In  his  political  views  General  Sheafe  is.  al- 
ways has  been  and  ever  hopes  to  be  a  Jeflferson- 
ian  Democrat,  with  all  that  the  term  implies,  be- 
lieving that  this  republic  was  intended  by  the 
Revolutionary  fathers  to  be  an  asvlum  for  the 
oppressed  and  a  "government  of  the  people,  for 
the  people  and  by  the  people,"  but  at  the  date 
of  this  writing  he  freely  gives  voice  to  the  opin- 
ion that  the  objects  of  the  founders  of  the  nation 


j  have  been  thwarted  and  that  it  has  become  a 
j  government  "of  the  many  for  the  benefit  of  the 
I  few,"  in  consequence  of  failing  to  heed  the  wise 
injunction  of  the  founder  of  the  Democratic 
party,  "Equal  and  exact  justice  to  all  and  special 
privileges  to  none."  The  conditions  today  obtain- 
ing he  holds  as  a  matter  of  personal  regret  and 
sorrow.  General  Sheafe  has  been  affiliated  with 
the  Masonic  fraternity  since  1865.  and  in  1870 
was  elected  master  of  I'nion  Lodge.  No.  32,  at 
Evansville.  Wisconsin ;  also  a  member  of  the  fra- 
ternity of  Elks.  He  was  reared  in  the  faith  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  and  is  a  com- 
municant of  the  same. 

At  Evansville.  ^^'isconsin,  in  1866,  General 
Sheafe  was  united  in  marriage  to  Aliss  Cassie  A. 
Hall,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  three  chil- 
dren, Mary  \\'entworth.  Anne  -Wentworth  and 
^Villiam  ^^^entworth.  the  first  named  having  died 
in  infancy.  In  1882  the  General  consummated  a 
second  marriage,  being  then  united  to  Miss  Agnes 
{  Spark,  who  was  born  in  Edinburgh,  Scotland, 
while  her  parents  were  residents  of  Elk  Point. 
this  state,  at  the  time  of  the  marriage,  which  was 
solemnized  in  the  city  of  Omaha,  Nebraska.  Of 
this  union  have  been  born  two  children,  }\Iark 
Wentworth,  Jr.,  and  Mary  Agnes. 

General  Sheafe  is  a  man  of  genial  and  com- 
panionable nature,  having  none  of  the  proclivities 
of  the  recluse,  and  he  has  the  faculty  of  gaining 
and  retaining  friends  in  all  classes  of  society, 
while  among  the  nxmiber  are  some  of  the  distin- 
guished citizens  of  the  nation,  notably  General 
Fred  D.  Grant,  son  of  the  President,  and  now  in 
command  of  the  Department  of  the  Lakes  of  the 
federal  military  service,  with  headquarters  in  Chi- 
cago. In  1877  our  subject  and  General  Grant 
made  an  expedition  into  the  Indian  country  west 
of  the  Missouri  river,  arranging  for  the  "right  of 
way,"  with  the  Sioux  Indians,  from  said  river 
to  the  Black  Hills. 

The  respect  and  admiration  of  General  Sheafe 
for  the  late  President  McKinley  are  unbounded. 
In  1897  he  was  delegated  to  represent  the  state  at 
the  inaugural  of  President  McKinley  and  was 
assigned  for  duty  as  his  body  guard  or  personal 
escort.     When,   in   a   private   interview,  he  was 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


707 


asked  by  the  President  how  it  chanced  tliat  he. 
a  Democrat,  should  have  been  thus  placed  as  a 
representative  of  his  state,  the  General  replied-by 
saying  that  he  had  come  out  of  admiration  for  the 
President  and  to  "lend  respectability  to  the  oc- 
casion." A  vear  subsequently,  when  in  Washin,^- 
ton  for  the  purpose  of  thanking  the  President  for 
his  commission  as  brigadier  general,  Mr.  ]\IcKin- 
ley  recalled  the  event  and  promised  that  he  would 
keep  his  eye  on  the  "lone  Democrat." 

Like  his  ante-Revolutionary  ancestors.  Gen- 
eral Sheafe  sought  the  west  and  its  freedom,  be- 
ing unable  to  content  himself  in  the  crowded 
cities  of  the  east,  with  their  narrow  ways  and 
avaricious  worship  of  money  alone.  In  the  terri- 
tory of  Dakota  he  foresaw  that  a  rich  empire 
would  be  carved  out  of  the  far-stretching  prairies 
which  were  then  inhabited  onlv  b}'  the  Indians 
and  that  a  splendid  and  advanced  civilization 
would  come- with  the  passing  of  the  years.  Pie 
has  lived  to  see  the  territory  of  Dakota  with  but 
five  or  six  organized  counties  in  1872  and  with 
a  population  not  exceeding  forty  thousand  per- 
sons, now,  after  a  residence  here  of  thirty-three 
years,  composed  of  two  immense  states  with  a 
population  aggregating  eight  hundred  thousand 
people,  happy  and  contented,  and  he  feels  proud 
of  the  part  that  has  been  his  in  aiding  in  this  de- 
velopment and  magnificent  progress. 


CHARLES  L.  LOFFLER,  "SI.  D..  is  a  na- 
tive of  the  state  of  Iowa,  having  been  born  in 
Hampton  county,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1871,  and 
being  a  son  of  Charles  and  Mary  R.  (Bowman) 
Loflfler,  who  are  now  residents  of  Yankton, 
South  Dakota,  having  been  numbered  among  the 
honored  pioneers  of  South  Dakota,  whither  they 
came  in  the  territorial  epoch.  When  the  subject 
was  but  six  months  of  age  his  parents  removed 
from  Iowa  to  Yankton,  South  Dakota,  and  there 
he  received  his  early  educational  training  in  the 
public  schools,  while  later  he  continued  his  stud- 
ies in  the  Yankton  College.  He  is  a  graduate  of 
P.arne's  Medical  College  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri, 
receiving  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  in 
1901.     He  was  thereafter  engaged  in  practice  at 


different  points  in  Iowa  and  South  Dakota  until 
November,  1902,  when  he  permanently  estab- 
lished himself  for  the  practice  of  his  special 
branches  in  the  city  of  Sioux  Falls,  where  he  has 
met  with  marked  success,  his  office  being  located 
in  the  jMinnehaha  building.  Dr.  Loffler  holds 
state  certificates  to  practice  in  South  Dakota, 
Minnesota,  Wisconsin,  Iowa,  Missouri,  Okla- 
homa and  Kansas.  Fraternally  he  has  attained 
the  thirty-second  degree  of  Scottish  Rite  Ma- 
sonry, is  also  identified  with  the  Ancient  Arabic 
Order  of  the  N'obles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  with 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  with  the 
Knights  of  Pxthias,  and  with  Lodge  No.  262, 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  at  Sioux 
Falls. 

On  the  22d  of  December.  1895.  Dr.  Loffler 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  T\Iarie  J\I.  Dres- 
selhuvs,  of  Lamars,  Iowa.  They  have  no  chil- 
dren. 


LEROY  D.  MILLER,  who  is  engaged  in  the 
livery,  hack  and  transfer  business  in  Sioux  Falls, 
also  conducting  an  auxiliary  undertaking  depart- 
ment, is  a  native  of  the  city  of  St.  Joseph,  iNIis- 
souri,  where  he  was  born  on  the  24th  of  Febru- 
arv,  1869,  being  a  son  of  William  and  Alartha 
( Hartman)  ^liller.  When  he  was  a  child  of  three 
years  his  father  died,  and  his  mother  subsequently 
became  the  wife  of  Joseph  N.  Davenport,  and 
when  the  subject  was  three  years  old  he  accom- 
panied them  on  their  removal  to  what  is  now 
South  Dakota,  the  family  locating  in  Minnehaha 
county,  where  'Mr.  Davenport  engaged  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits.  ]\Ir.  Davenport  is  dead,  but  his 
widow  is  still  living,  making  her  home  in  Cali- 
fornia. 

The  subject  was  reared  on  the  homestead 
farm  of  his  stepfather  and  secured  such  educa- 
tional advantages  as  were  afforded  in  the  public 
schools  of  the  locality.  At  the  age  of  twent\- 
three  years  he  engaged  in  buving  grain  for  the 
Pcavey  Elevator  Company,  of  Farmer,  South 'Da- 
kota, and  continued  to  be  thus  employed  for  a 
l^eriod  of  three  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which 
he  located  in   Montrose,   McCook  cmmt\-,  where 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


he  was  engaged  in  the  hvery  business  for  two 
years,  being  thereafter  identified  with  agricul- 
tural pursuits,  in-  Minnehaha  county,  for  four 
years.  In  1899  he  located  in  Sioux  Falls  and  es- 
tablished himself  in  the  livery  business,  while  in 
August,  1901,  he  established  in  connection  a  hack 
and  general  transfer  line,  and  in  1903  he  still 
further  expanded  the  scope  of  his  enterprise  by 
the  addition  of  an  undertaking  department.  His 
equipment  throughout  is  of  the  best  order,  in- 
cluding about  thirty-eight  horses  and  a  full  com- 
plement of  modern  vehicles  for  all  purposes,  and 
he  controls  a  large  and  representative  business, 
showing  the  result  of  his  own  energy  and  good 
management.  Mr.  Miller  is  a  stanch  advocate 
of  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party  and  fra- 
ternally is  identified  with  the  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks,  being  affiliated  with  Sioux 
Falls  Lodge,  No.  262. 

On  the  28th  of  December,  1893,  Mr.  Miller 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Minnie  C.  Roney, 
of  Decorah,  Iowa,  and  they  have  two  daughters, 
Ethel  A.  and  M.  Blanche. 


CHARLES  E.  HILL,  editor  and  proprietor 
of  the  Vidette,  one  of  the  leading  local  journals 
of  eastern  Dakota,  is  a  native  of  Greene  county, 
Ohio,  and  dates  his  birth  from  December  8,  1857, 
being  the  son  of  Samuel  J.  and  Sarah  J.  Hill. 
These  parents  moved  to  Cleveland  when  Charles 
E.  was  quite  young,  and  he  spent  his  childhood 
and  youth  in  that  city,  receiving,  the  meanwhile, 
a  fair  education  in  the  public  schools.  From  his 
boyhood  he  manifested  a  decided  taste  for  the 
printer's  trade  and  when  old  enough  he  yielded 
to  this  desire  of  long  standing  by  entering  the 
office  of  the  Cleveland  Daily  Herald,  where  he 
served  an  apprenticeship,  during  which  he  be- 
came personally  acquainted  with  a  number  of  the 
leading  Republican  politicians  and  strong  men  of 
Ohio,  among  whom  were  E.  V.  Smalley,  Marcus 
A.  Hanna  and  others  equally  as  distinguished  in 
public  affairs.  After  serving  his  time  and  be- 
coming a  skillful  typo,  young  Hill  became  ani- 
mated by  a  laudable  ambition  to  see  something 
of  the  world:  accordingly,  in  the  winter  of  1876, 


he  severed  his  connection  with  the  Herald  and 
went  to  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  where  he  worked  for 
awhile  on  the  old  Times-Journal,  later  holding  a 
case  in  the  office  of  the  Globe-Democrat  and  in 
the  spring  of  1876  he  left  that  city  for  New  York, 
thence  in  May  of  the  same  year  crossed  the  ocean 
to  England.  After  working  at  his  trade  for  sev- 
eral months  in  that  country,  he  went  to  Ireland 
and  Wales,  where  he  found  employment  on  differ- 
ent papers.  Satisfied  with  his  experience  in  the 
old  country,  Mr.  Hill  in  1876  returned  to  his 
native  land  and  for  several  years  thereafter 
worked  at  his  trade  in  nearly  all  the  large  cities 
in  the  United  States  and  Canada,  finally,  in  1891. 
making  his  way  to  Sioux  Falls,  South  Dakota, 
and  accepting  a  position  in  the  office  of  the  Daily 
Press  of  that  city.  Resigning  his  place  the  fol- 
lowing year,  he  came  to  \"alley  Springs  and  took 
charge  of  the  leading  hotel  in  the  town,  but  after 
a  brief  experience  in  the  capacity  of  "mine  host" 
he  gave  up  the  house  and  resumed  the  vocation 
for  which  he  was  better  fitted,  and  to  which  he 
had  devoted  so  much  of  his  life.  Sometime  after 
coming  to  Valley  Springs  a  stock  company  com- 
posed of  several  prominent  business  men  of  the 
town  established  the  \^idette,  a  weekly  paper, 
which  Mr.  Hill  purchased  shortly  after  the  enter- 
prise went  into  effect.  He  has  since  been  sole 
owner  of  the  plant,  which  the  meanwhile  has 
grown  into  quite  a  valuable  property,  and  under 
his  business  and  editorial  management  the  \1- 
dette  has  become  one  of  the  most  influential  local 
sheets,  not  only  in  Minnehaha  county,  but  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  state.  The  paper  is  ably  edited 
and  has  a  large  circulation,  also  a  liberal  adver- 
tising patronage  and  in  its  every  department  is  a 
creditable  sheet,  being  highly  prized  as  a  family 
paper  and  recognized  as  one  of  the  strong  Repub- 
lican organs  of  eastern  Dakota. 

Air.  Hill  has  always  stood  for  Republican 
principles  and  since  becoming  a  citizen  of  Dakota 
his  labors  and  influence  in  behalf  of  the  party 
have  contributed  greatly  to  its  success  in  a  num- 
ber of  local  and  state  campaigns.  He  has  attended 
every  county  and  state  convention  since  locating 
at  \'^allev  Springs,  being  universally  chosen  a  del- 
egate to  these  assemblages,  and  his  presence  has 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


been  felt  not  only  in  their  deliberations,  but  in 
formulating  platforms,  directing  party  policies 
and  planning  for  the  more  active  work  of  the  can- 
vass. He  has  also  been  c|uite  prominent  in  munic- 
ipal afifairs,  having  served  for  a  number  of  years 
on  the  town  board,  in  which  and  other  capacities 
he  has  labored  earnestly  to  promote  the  growth 
and  development  of  Valley  Springs,  and  advance 
its  various  industrial  and  business  interests.  Fra- 
ternally he  belongs  to  the  Knights  of  Pythias, 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the 
Renevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  in  all 
of  which  organizations  he  is  a  leading  spirit  and 
an  active  worker,  also  an  honored  official.  Mr. 
Hill's  influence  has  been  used  to  build  up  his 
town  and  few  enjoy  as  great  prestige  as  he  in 
public,  political  and  social  circles.  He  was  mar- 
ried on  March  14,  1892,  to  Mrs.  Emma  A.  Pix- 
ley,  of  Valley  Springs,  his  home  circle  consisting 
of  himself  and  wife  onlv. 


GEORGE  CASSADY  was  born  in  Hamil- 
ton county,  Ohio,  May  25,  1849,  the  son  of 
George  and  A.  M.  (Sampson)  Cassady.  He 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Cincin- 
nati and  when  a  young  man  learned  telegraphy, 
which  profession  he  followed  at  different  times 
in  the  west  from  1865  to  1878.  In  the  latter 
}ear  he  came  to  Valley  Springs,  South  Dakota, 
as  agent  for  the  Chicago,  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis 
&  Omaha  Railroad  at  this  place,  and  has  had 
charge  of  the  office  ever  since,  being  one  of  the 
oldest  local  agents  in  point  of  continued  service 
in  the  state.  The  year  following  his  arrival  in 
\'alley  Springs  Mr.  Cassady  began  experiment- 
ing in  horticulture  and  finding  the  soil  and  cli- 
mate of  this  part  of  Dakota  adapted  to  fruit 
growing,  he  planted  large  orchards  and  from 
that  time  to  the  present  has  prosecuted  the  busi- 
ness with  most  gratifying  success.  In  partner- 
ship with  J.  M.  Bailey,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Cassady  &  Bailey,  he  is  now  interested  in  one 
of  the  largest  nurseries  in  the  .state,  in  which  all 
kinds  of  fruit  trees,  shrubbery  and  small  fruits 
grown  in  this  latitude  are  reared  and  sold,  the 
business  being  so  extensive  as  to  give  the  pro- 


prietors a  wide  and  constantly  increasing  repu- 
tation. To  Mr.  Cassady  belongs  the  credit  of 
being  one  of  the  first  men  to  introduce  horti- 
culture into  South  Dakota  and  he  has  demon- 
strated beyond  a  doubt  that  the  state  is  destined 
at  no  distant  day  to  become  one  of  the  greatest 
fruit-producing  sections  of  the  Union.  He  has 
made  a  careful  study  of  the  business  in  its  every 
phase,  is  a  member  of  the  State  Horticultural 
Society  and  takes  an  active  interest  in  the  deliber- 
ations in  this  and  other  organizations  for  the 
promotion  of  the  fruit  industry  throughout  the 
west. 

Mr.  Cassady  has  held  a  number  of  local 
offices  since  becoming  a  resident  of  \"alley 
Springs  and  been  quite  prominent  in  municipal 
matters.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and  an 
influential  factor  in  the  councils  of  his  partv  in 
Minnehaha  county,  having  been  a  delegate  to 
state  conventions  and  a  leader  during  that  time 
in  local  affairs.  He  is  a  Master  Mason,  be- 
longing to  the  lodge  at  Sioux  Falls,  and  in  this 
fraternity,  as  elsewhere,  has  made  his  presence 
felt  among  his  associates. 

Mr.  Cassady  was  married  on  October  23, 
1870,  to  Miss  Anna  Costello,  of  jMinnesota,  who 
has  borne  him  children  as  follows :  Alice ;  Char- 
lotte, wife  of  J.  M.  Bailey,  of  Valley  Springs; 
Mabel,  now  Mrs.  E.  W.  Schmidt,  of  the  same 
place ;  Lulu  and  Ruth. 


HOLDEN  D.  KINYON,  the  popular  and 
efficient  postmaster  of  Valley  Springs,  South 
Dakota,  also  a  dealer  in  books,  stationery  and 
school  supplies,  was  born  in  Lomira,  Dodge 
county,  Wisconsin,  September  15,  1854,  being 
the  son  of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  (Mcintosh) 
Kinyon.  He  was  ueared  on  his  father's  farm 
near  Lomira,  received  his  elementary  education 
in  the  public  schools  of  the  town  and  subse- 
quently pursued  the  more  advanced  branches  of 
study  in  the  Mayville  high  school,  fitting  him- 
self for  teaching  in  the  latter  institution.  LTntil 
twenty-six  years  old  he  helped  cultivate  the 
home  place,  devoting  the  winter  seasons  to  edu- 
cational work,  but  at  that  age  he  left  his  native 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


state  and  came  to  South  Dakota,  purchasing 
in  1887  a  claim  about  five  miles  northwest  of 
\'alley  Springs,  in  the  county  of  Minnehaha. 
During  the  ensuing  year  and  a  half  he  lived  on 
his  land  and  labored  at  its  improvement,  but 
at  the  end  of  that  time  changed  his  abode  to 
Valle}-  Springs  where  he  spent  the  next  year  un- 
employed on  account  of  poor  health.  In  the 
year  1890  Mr.  Kinyon  was  appointed  postmaster 
at  Valley  Springs,  which  position  he  has  held 
to  the  present  time,  his  period  of  service  extend- 
ing over  four  administrations,  which  fact  attests 
not  onl}-  his  efficiency  but  his  great  popularity 
with  the  public,  irrespective  of  politics,  although 
his  allegiance  to  the  Republican  party  and 
activity  in  upholding  its  principles  have  made 
him  one  of  its  leaders  in  this  part  of  the  state. 
Mr.  Kinyon  has  a  fine  store,  in  which  are  found 
full  and  complete  lines  of  such  goods  as  he 
handles,  and  from  the  beginning  his  business  has 
steadily  grown  until  he  now  commands  a  large 
and  lucrative  trade.  His  relations  with  his  cus- 
tomers are  gentlemanly  and  obliging,  to  which 
fact  not  a  little  of  his  success  is  due,  and  as  an 
official  he  attends  strictly  to  his  duties,  the  peo- 
ple recognizing  in  him  a  most  courteous  and  ac- 
commodating servant,  whose  kindlv  nature  has 
won  a  warm  and  permanent  abiding  place  in 
public  esteem.  ]Mr.  Kinyon  owns  a  pleasant 
home  in  \'alley  Springs  and  has  a  wife,  but  no 
children,  his  marriage  dating  from  the  i8th  of 
March,  1876.  Mrs.  Kinyon,  formerly  Miss  Jennie 
F.  Palmer,  of  Wisconsin,  is  popular  in  the  social 
walks  of  life,  has  many  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances in  the  place  of  her  residence  and,  like  her 
husband,  is  respected  and  manifests  an  abiding 
interest  in  whatever  makes  for  the  good  of  the 
communitv. 


JOHX  F.  STRASS,  journalist,  editor  and 
publisher  of  the  Fremad,  the  most  influential 
Norwegian  paper  in  the  United  States,  was  born 
in  the  city  of  Trondjhem,  Xorway,  on  Xovember 
I,  1862.  He  was  reared  and  educated  in  the  land 
of  his  birth  and  there  remained  until  the  vear 
1878,  when  he  came  to  the  I'nited  States  and  set- 


tled at  Fergus  Falls,  >.linnesota.  linmediately 
thereafter  he  commenced  to  learn  the  printer's 
trade  and  becoming  an  efficient  workman  followed 
his  chosen  calling  in  various  newspaper  offices 
until  1881,  when  he  started  a  Scandinavian  paper 
at  Fergus  Falls,  which  soon  obtained  an  extensive 
circulation.  After  publishing  the  paper  one  year 
he  sold  the  plant  and  resumed  his  trade,  working 
at  dififerent  places  until  the  early  part  of  1894. 
when  he  located  at  Sioux  Falls,  South  Dakota, 
with  the  object  in  view  of  establishing  a  Populist 
paper  in  that  city,  to  be  printed  in  the  Norwegian 
language,  ^Meeting  with  the  desired  encourage- 
ment, he  soon  launched  the  enterprise  and  on 
May  17th  of  that  year  the  first  number  of  the 
Fremad  made  its  appearance  and  met  with  a 
hearty  welcome  from  his  fellow  countrymen 
throughout  the  state,  who  advocated  the  princi- 
ples of  the  People's  party.  In  due  time  the  Fre- 
mad achieved  a  wide  circulation  and  it  has  con- 
tinued to  grow  in  public  favor  until  it  now  has 
j  a  greater  number  of  regular  subscribers  than  any 
other  weekly  in  South  Dakota,  to  say  nothing  of 
extensive  general  sales  and  liberal  advertising 
patronage.  It  is  not  only  one  of  the  best  sup- 
ported papers  in  the  west,  but  also  one  of  the 
most  influential,  as  it  has  been  a  powerful  agency 
in  advancing  the  varied  interests  of  the  Scandina- 
vians in  the  Dakotas,  besides  proving  a  potent 
factor  in  political  circles,  having  had  much  to  do 
in  formulating  the  policy  of  the  party  of  which 
it  is  a  recognized  exponent  and  promoting  the 
success  of  the  same  at  the  polls. 

In  addition  to  his  newspaper  enterprise,  Mr. 
Strass  conducts  a  large  and  thoroughly  equipped 
printing  establishment  in  which  all  kinds  of  print- 
ing are  done  with  neatness  and  dispatch,  and  he 
also  deals  quite  extensively  in  Norwegian  liter- 
ature, keeping  in  stock  the  leading  books  and 
periodicals  published  in  that  country,  for  all  of 
which  there  is  a  large  and  constantly  increasing 
demand.  His  plant  is  one  of  the  most  valuable 
of  the  kind  in  the  state  and  its  success  speaks  well 
for  the  ability,  tact  and  excellent  judgment  dis- 
1)layed  by  JNIr.  Strass  in  all  of  his  undertakings. 
He  not  only  stands  high  in  the  esteem  of  his  fel- 
low countrymen,  but  is  regarded  bv  the  general 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


public  as  a  safe,  reliable  and  farseeing  business 
man,  also  as  a  leader  of  thought  and  a  nioulder 
of  opinion  in  political  affairs.  He  is  identified 
with  the  Scandinavian  Working  Men's  Associa- 
tion of  Sioux  Falls,  being  a  leading  spirit  in  the 
society,  and  his  name  is  always  prominent  in  en- 
terprises having  for  their  object  the  material  wel- 
fare of  the  city  of  his  residence  and  the  good 
of  the  people.  As  a  citizen  he  is  public-spirited 
and  progressive,  and  in  every  relation  of  life  his 
character  has  been  open  and  free  and  his  integ- 
rity above  reproach. 

The  domestic  life  of  Mr.  Strass  dates  from 
March  lo,  1888,  at  which  time  he  was  united  in 
the  bonds  of  wedlock  with  Miss  Lena  Brown, 
of  Fergus  Falls,  Minnesota,  who  has  borne  him 
children  as  follows :  Clara  E.,  Carl  T.,  Olaf  C, 
Lewis  F.,  Harrold  E.,  John  F.,  Albert  E.  and 
Helen  T. 


GEORGE  W.  ABBOTT  was  born  in  Sand- 
wich, Carroll  county,  New  Hampshire.  October 
10,  1858,  being  a  son  of  Lyman  and  Shnah  W. 
Abbott,  who  are  now  dead,  the  father  having  de- 
voted his  life  to  agricultural  pursuits.  The  sub- 
ject was  reared  under  the  vigorous  discipline  of 
the  old  homestead  farm  in  New  England,  and 
after  completing  a  course  of  study  in  the  high 
school  of  his  native  place  he  continued  his  stud- 
ies in  famous  old  Phillips  Academy,  at  Exeter, 
New  Hampshire.  At  the  age  of  twenty  years  he 
set  forth  to  seek  his  fortunes  in  the  west,  com- 
ing to  Colorado  as  secretary  for  a  mining  expert, 
and  he  continued  to  reside  in  that  state  until 
1882.  when  he  took  up  his  residence  in  the  terri- 
tory of  Dakota.  He  located  in  what  is  now  Mcin- 
tosh county.  North  Dakota,  having  assisted  in  the 
organization  of  the  county  and  having  been  its 
first  superintendent  of  schools,  as  was  he  also  its 
first  postmaster,  the  office  being  located  in  the 
frontier  hamlet  of  Ashley,  now  a  thriving  town. 
He  there  conducted  a  general  merchandise  busi- 
ness and  operated  a  cattle  ranch.  In  1887  Mr. 
Abbott  disposed  of  his  interests  there  and  re- 
moved to  Minneapolis.  Minnesota,  where  he  was 
engaged  in  the  furniture  and  hardware  business 


until  iSqi,  when  he  came  to  Sioux  Falls,  South 
Dakota,  and  became  the  general  manager  of  the 
Co-operative  Loan  and  .Savings  Association  of 
this  city,  retaining  this  incumbency  until  Septem- 
ber, 1894,  when  he  resigned.  He  then  efifected 
the  organization  of  the  Union  Savings  Associa- 
tion, to  the  promotion  of  whose  interests  he  has 
since  devoted  his  attention,  in  the  capacity  of  gen- 
eral manager,  as  well  as  secretary  and  treasurer. 
He  has  exceptional  initiative  and  administrative 
abiiit}-,  is  sincere  and  straightforward,  and  his 
reputation  as  a  business  man  has  done  much  to 
further  the  building  up  of  the  magnificent  enter- 
prise with  which  he  is  thus  identified.  In  1891, 
I  at  Minneapolis,  he  was  elected  vice-president  of 
I  the  International  Building  &  Loan  League,  which 
represents  a  paid-in  capital  of  about  six  hun- 
dred million  dollars,  and  of  this  office  he  remained 
in  tenure  until  1894.  The  deputy  public  exam- 
iner in  the  state  department  of  banking  and 
finance  wrote  of  the  corporation  of  which  Mr. 
Abbott  is  manager  in  the  following  words  of  en- 
I  florsement,  in  1902 :  "The  examination  of  the 
Union  Savings  Association,  conducted  by  this  de- 
partment, shows  a  most  satisfactory  condition 
of  affairs.  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  go  into  de- 
tails at  this  time,  but  you  certainly  have  an  insti- 
tution which  you  may  well  be  proud  of."  A  fur- 
ther and  more  personal  endorsement  is  that  given 
under  date  of  April  15,  1903,  by  Ed.  D.  Lewis, 
cashier  of  the  Farmers  &  Merchants'  Bank  of 
Worthing,  this  state,  this  being  a  sample  of  many 
other  commendations  received  by  the  association : 
"I  hereby  certify  that  I  became  a  member  of  the 
I'nion  Savings  Association  of  Sioux  Falls,  South 
Dakota,  in  December,  i8g6,  and  paid  as  dues  three 
hundred  and  sixty  dollars,  and  received  a  draft 
for  five  hundred  dollars,  making  me  thirteen  per- 
cent, per  annum  on  the  investment.  I  am  well 
satisfied  with  the  treatment  given  me  by  the  asso- 
ciation." December  14,  1903,  Samuel  T.  John- 
son, public  examiner  and  superintendent  of  banks 
for  the  state  of  Minnesota,  wrote  as  follows :  "T 
believe  the  Union  Savings  Association  of  Sioux 
Falls  to  be  solvent,  and  honorably  conducted." 
In  1902  the  Colton  State  Bank,  at  Colton,  Minne- 
haha county,  was  organized,  and  of  this  institu- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


tion  Mr.  Abbott  has  been  president  from  its  in- 
ception. 

In  politics  Mr.  Abbott  gives  his  allegiance  to 
the  Republican  party,  and  fraternally  he  is  a 
prominent  and  appreciative  member  of  the  Ma- 
sonic order,  being  affiliated  with  the  following 
bodies  of  the  same:  Minnehaha  Lodge,  No.  5, 
Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons ;  Sioux  Chap- 
ter No.  2,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  of  which  he  is 
king  at  the  time  of  this  writing;  Cyrene  Com- 
mandery.  No.  2,  Knights  Templar,  of  which  he 
is  past  eminent  commander  ;  and  El  Riad  Temple, 
Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  the  Nobles  of  the  Mys- 
tic Shrine,  of  which  he  is  potentate  and  represent- 
ative to  the  imperial  council  of  the  order.  He 
and  his  wife  are  prominent  and  zealous  members 
of  the  First  Congregational  church,  in  Sioux 
Falls,  of  whose  board  of  trustees  he  is  a  member, 
having  been  chairman  of  the  board  for  five  years. 

On  the  ist  of  June,  1896,  Mr.  Abbott  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  G.  Ouinlan,  of 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  they  have  four  children, 
George  L.,  Gladys,  Annie  Josephine  and  John 
Weslev. 


JAMES  W.  CONE  claims  the  old  Buckeye 
state  as  the  place  of  his  nativity,  having  been 
born  in  Conesville,  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  on 
the  4th  of  December,  1850,  and  being  a  son  of 
Beebe  S.  and  Lucinda  D.  (Davison)  Cone,  the 
former  of  whom  was  born  in  Massachusetts  and 
the  latter  in  Ohio,  while  the  genealogy  is  of 
Scotch  and  English  derivation.  The  ancestry  in 
the  agnatic  line  is  traced  in  a  direct  way  to  Daniel 
Cone,  who  came  from  Edinburg,  Scotland,  and 
settled  in  Haddam,  Connecticut,  in  1660.  Stu- 
art Beebe,  the  great-grandfather  of  our  subject 
in  the  agnatic  line,  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of 
the  Revolution,  and  William  Davison,  the  ma- 
ternal grandfather,  was  a  major  under  General 
William  Flenry  Harrison  in  the  Indian  wars  in 
the  west,  taking  part  in  the  memorable  battle  of 
Tippecanoe,  Indiana,  on  the  7th  of  November, 
181 1,  while  tlie  sword  which  he  carried  is  now 
in  the  possession  of  our  subject  and  is  treasured 
as    a    valuable    and    interesting    heirloom.      The 


maternal  ancestors  came  from  England  to 
America  in  an  early  day  and  settled  in  what  is 
now  West  Virginia,  while  both  families  were 
numbered  among  the  pioneers  in  Muskingum 
and  Coshocton  counties,  Ohio,  the  town  of 
Conesville  being  named  in  honor  of  the  Cone 
family. 

In  1854,  when  the  subject  was  a  child  of 
about  four  years,  his  parents  removed  from 
Ohio  to  Muscatine  county,  Iowa,  being  num- 
bered among  the  pioneers  of  that  section  of  the 
Plawkeye  state,  and  there  Mr.  Cone  was  reared 
to  maturity,  receiving  his  preliminary  educa- 
tional discipline  in  the  public  schools,  after  which 
he  continued  his  studies  in  the  Iowa  State  Uni- 
versity, at  Iowa  City,  and  being  graduated  in  the 
law  department  of  this  excellent  institution  as  a 
member  of  the  class  of  1873,  receiving  the  de- 
gree of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  In  the  summer  of 
1872  and  the  winter  of  1874  he  devoted  his  at- 
tention to  teaching  in  the  public  schools,  and  in 
March,  1874,  having  been  duly  admitted  to  the 
bar  of  the  state,  he  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
his  profession  in  Iowa  City,  where  he  remained 
until  1883,  having  gained  marked  prestige  in 
his  chosen  vocation.  In  April  of  that  year  he 
came  to  Brule  county.  South  Dakota,  and  settled 
upon  a  homestead  claim  which  he  had  secured  in 
May  of  the  preceding  year,  and  here  instituted 
the  reclamation  and  improvement  of  the  prop- 
erty, while  simultaneously  he  was  engaged  in 
practice  before  the  United  States  land  offices  in 
Mitchell  and  Yankton,  thus  continuing  until 
1893,  when  he  removed  to  Sioux  Falls  and  here 
compiled  a  set  of  abstracts  of  titles  of  INIinne- 
haha  county,  being  still  engaged  in  the  abstract 
business  and  also  identified  with  real  estate 
operations  to  a  considerable  extent. 

In  politics  Mr.  Cone  has  ever  accorded  a 
stanch  allegiance  to  the  Republican  party,  in 
whose  ranks  he  has  been  a  zealous  and  valued 
worker  since  coming  to  what  is  now  the  state  of 
South  Dakota.  He  cast  his  first  vote,  in  Iowa 
City,  in  1872,  for  General  U.  S.  Grant  for  presi- 
dent, and  his  first  official  identification  with 
political  aflfairs  was  made  in  1875,  when  he  was 
elected  township  clerk  in  Iowa  City,  by  thirty- 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


713 


seven  majority,  the  regular  Democratic  majority 
in  the  township  being  at  the  time  three  hundred 
and  fifty.  He  was  a  member  of  the  board  of 
commissioners  of  Brule  county,  Dakota,  in 
1884-5-6,  and  in  the  last  year  served  as  chairman 
of  the  board.  Soon  after  taking  up  his  residence 
here  Mr.  Cone  became  a  zealous  advocate  of  the 
division  of  the  territory  and  of  securing  the  ad- 
mission of  the  two  states  to  the  Union,  while  in 
1885,  under  the  constitution  of  that  year,  he  was 
chosen  a  member  of  the  lower  house  of  the 
legislature  and  continued  to  take  an  active  part 
in  the  work  looking  to  statehood  until  the  de- 
sideratum was  an  accomplished  fact.  He  was  a 
clerk  in  the  house  in  the  seventeenth  and  eigh- 
teenth general  assemblies  of  the  territorial  legis- 
lature, and  upon  the  organization  of  the  state 
government,  on  the  15th  of  October,  1889,  he 
was  chosen  chief  clerk  of  the  house,  being  re- 
elected to  his  position  in  the  second  and  third 
sessions,  while  up  to  the  present  time  he  is  the 
only  person  who  has  thus  been  honored  with  re- 
election to  the  office.  In  the  second  session  the 
Democratic  and  Populist  majority  in  the  house 
was  six,  and  yet  he  was  elected  by  a  majority 
of  one,  a  fact  indicating  his  personal  popularity 
and  the  confidence  reposed  in  him  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  body,  irrespective  of  partisan  affilia- 
tions. He  served  with  satisfaction  to  all  dur- 
ing that  stormy  and  somewhat  turbulent  session, 
and  in  the  third  session  he  had  the  further  dis- 
tinction of  receiving  the  vote  of  every  member 
of  the  house.  He  served  one  term  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  education  in  Sioux  Falls,  de- 
clining to  become  a  candidate  for  a  second  term. 
He  is  prominently  identified  with  the  Independ- 
ent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  in  which  he  is  past 
grand,  while  he  is  also  past  master  workman 
in  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  which 
he  has  represented  in  the  grand  lodge  of  the 
state.  He  also  holds  membership  in  the  Modern 
Brotherhood  of  America. 

On  the  23d  of  October,  1873,  Mr.  Cone  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Emily  M.  Staples, 
who  was  bom  in  Vergennes,  Vermont,  on  the 
26th  of  October,  1852,  being  a  daughter  of  Cyrus 
and    Sarah    M.    (Sedgwick)     Staples.      Of   the 


children  of  this  union  we  enter  the  following 
brief  data:  Arthur  H.  died  in  infancy;  Charles 
C,  who  was  a  private  in  Company  B,  Forty- 
ninth  Iowa  Volunteer  Infantry,  during  the 
Spanish-American  war,  is  now  residing  in  Sioux 
Falls ;  Roscoe  E.,  of  Mitchell,  South  Dakota ; 
Ralph  J.  remains  at  the  parental  home;  William 
C.  died  in  infancy ;  Myrtle  E.  is  at  home,  and 
Walter  S. 


GUSTAF  A.  ULINE  is  one  of  the  represent- 
ative citizens  of  Dell  Rapids,  Minnehaha  county,' 
with  whose  business  and  civic  advancement  and 
material  progress  he  has  been  prominently  iden- 
tified, while  he  has  gained  a  competence  through 
his  well  directed  efforts  since  coming  to  the  state 
and  is  held  in  the  highest  popular  confidence  and 
esteem  in  his  community.  Mr.  Uline  is  a  native 
of  Wermland,  Sweden,  where  he  was  born  on  the 
1 2th  of  October,  1849,  being  a  son  of  Andrew 
and  Charlotte  (Biraths)  Uline,  who  passed  their 
entire  lives  in  Sweden.  The  subject  secured  his 
educational  training  in  the  excellent  schools  of  his 
native  land,  having  taken  a  course  of  study  in  the 
Tecmcial  College.  As  a  young  man  of  nearly 
eighteen  years  he  severed  the  ties  which  bound 
him  to  home  and  fatherland  and  set  forth  to  seek 
his  fortunes  in  America.  He  located  in  Michi- 
gan, where  he  remained  a  few  months,  thence  go- 
ing to  Wisconsin,  where  he  was  employed  in  dif- 
ferent vocations  for  a  short  interval,  after  which 
he  moved  to  Minnesota  and  was  employed  in  rail- 
road work.  Later  he  moved  to  Lansing  and 
Cherokee,  Iowa,  in  the  meanwhile  gaining  valu- 
able knowledge  in  regard  to  the  country  and  its 
language  and  business  methods.  From  Iowa  he 
went  to  Jackson,  Minnesota,  where  he  was  em- 
ployed in  a  clerical  capacity  in  a  mercantile  es- 
tablishment for  three  years,  at  the  expiration  of 
which,  in  1874,  he  came  as  a  pioneer  to  what  is 
now  the  state  of  South  Dakota,  locating  in  Dell 
Rapids,  where  he  opened  a  general  store,  being 
one  of  the  first  merchants  in  the  town.  He  con- 
tinued this  enterprise  for  eighteen  years,  having 
initiated  operations  on  a  modest  scale  and  having 
eventually  built  up  a  large  and  profitable  busi- 


714 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


ness,  tlirough  the  conduct  of  which  he  had  accu- 
mulated a  competency.  He  disposed  of  his  inter- 
ests in  this  line  in  1892,  in  which  year  he  or- 
ganized the  Dell  Rapids  State  Bank,  of  which 
he  was  elected  president,  an  incumbency  which 
he  has  ever  since  retained,  while  the  institution 
has  become  one  of  the  solid  and  popular  financial 
concerns  of  the  state  and  controls  a  large  busi- 
ness. He  is  also  a  stockholder  in  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Dell  Rapids  and  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  its  directorate  for  a  number  of  years  past. 
Mr.  Uline  is  a  man  of  distinctive  business  and 
executive  ability  and  impregnable  integrity  of 
character,  and  is  known  as  a  loyal  and  public- 
spirited  citizen.  He  is  a  stalwart  advocate  of  the 
principles  of  the  Republican  party  and  has  been 
an  active  worker  in  the  party  cause  and  promi- 
nent in  its  councils,  having  been  a  delegate  to  va- 
rious state  and  county  conventions,  while  Gov- 
ernor Mellette  appointed  him  a  member  of  the 
first  state  board  of  charities  and  corrections  in 
which  capacity  he  served  six  years,  being  a  valued 
member  of  this  important  body.  In  1880  he  was 
elected  mayor  of  Dell  Rapids,  serving  two  years 
and  giving  a  most  able  and  satisfactory  adminis- 
tration of  municipal  affairs,  while  for  the  past 
decade  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  local  board 
of  education.  He  is  an  active  and  influential 
member  of  the  Baptist  church,  of  which  Mrs. 
Uline  is  also  a  zealous  member,  and  fraternally  is 
identified  with  the  Masonic  order,  in  which  he  has 
passed  the  Knight  Templar  degrees,  and  is  also 
identified  with  the  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  the 
Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine. 

On  the  13th  of  November.  1877,  was  solem- 
nized the  marriage  of  Mr.  Uline  to  Miss  Minnie 
Friborg,  who  was  likewise  born  in  Sweden,  and 
they  have  five  children.  Alma  C,  Mary  D.,  Grace 
B..  Minnie  and  Augusta  D. 


OLE  H.  SMITH  is  another  of  the  citizens  of 
foreign  birth  who  have  attained  success  in  con- 
nection with  the  commercial  and  industrial  de- 
velopment of  South  Dakota,  of  which  state  he  is 
a  pioneer,  having  come  here  as  a  young  man  and 
without    capitalistic   resources   and   being   today 


numbered  among  the  representative  and  influen- 
tial citizens  of  Dell  Rapids,  Minnehaha  county, 
where  he  is  president  of  the  Granite  City  Bank 
and  prominently  identified  with  the  live-stock 
industry. 

Mr.  Smith  was  born  near  the  city  of  Chris- 
tiania,  Norway,  on  the  nth  of  May,  1846,  and  is 
a  son  of  Ove  R.  M.  and  Sophie  Smith,  both  of 
whom  passed  their  entire  lives  in  Norway.  Our 
subject  received  his  early  educational  training  in 
the  schools  of  his  native  land,  where  he  remained 
until  he  had  attained  the  age  of  twenty-three 
years,  when  he  came  to  America,  in  1869,  believ- 
ing that  in  our  great  republic  were  to  be  had 
greater  opportunities  for  attaining  success 
through  individual  effort,  while  it  is  needless  to 
say  that  he  has  found  his  faith  amply  justified. 
He  first  located  in  Rushford,  Fillmore  county, 
Minnesota,  where  he  was  for  three  years  em- 
ployed as  clerk  in  a  general  store,  and  he  then  es- 
tablished himself  in  the  same  line  of  business  in 
that  town,  where  he  continued  operations  for  four 
years,  at  the  expiration  of  which,  in  1876,  he  came 
to  what  is  now  the  state  of  South  Dakota  and 
became  one  of  the  pioneer  merchants  of  Dell  Rap- 
ids, where  he  conducted  a  general  store  until 
1889,  having  built  up  a  large  and  prosperous 
business.  In  the  year  mentioned  he  disposed  of 
his  store  and  business  and  effected  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Granite  City  Bank,  of  which  he  has 
been  the  president  during  the  entire  period  of  its 
existence,  directing  its  executive  policy  with 
marked  ability  and  discrimination  and  making  it 
one  of  the  solid  financial  institutions  of  this  part 
of  the  state.  For  the  past  five  years  he  has  also 
been  prominently  interested  in  the  live-stock  in- 
dustry and  is  one  of  the  leading  stock  growers 
of  this  part  of  the  state,  giving  special  attention 
to  the  raising  of  registered  Hereford  cattle  and 
Poland-China  hogs  and  having  a  finely  improved 
stock  farm  of  nine  hundred  acres,  one  mile  north 
of  Dell  Rapids.  He  came  to  the  state  as  a  poor 
man  and  is  today  one  of  its  substantial  capitalists, 
having  attained  success  through  his  own  efforts 
and  by  properly  availing  himself  of  the  opportuni- 
ties presented.  Mr.  Smith  has  ever  shown  a  deep 
appreciation  of  the  state  and  nation  of  his  adop- 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH  DAKOTA. 


715 


tion  and  has  been  loyal  to  their  government  and 
institutions,  while  he  has  manifested  much  pub- 
lic spirit  and  civic  pride.  He  is  a  stanch  Republi- 
can in  politics  and  in  1896  was  elected  mayor  of 
Dell  Rapids,  giving  a  most  creditable  administra- 
tion and  being  chosen  as  his  own  successor  in 
1898,  so  that  his  regime  as  chief  executive  ex- 
tended over  a  period  of  four  years.  He  has 
sliown  a  lively  interest  in  the  party  cause  and  has 
been  a  delegate  to  numerous  territorial  and  state 
conventions,  besides  those  of  minor  order.  He 
and  his  wife  are  valued  members  of  the  Luth- 
eran church,  and  fraternally  he  is  identified  with 
the  local  lodge  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows. 

In  1873  I\Ir.  Smith  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Albertha  Olson,  who  died  in  the  following 
year.  In  1876  he  wedded  her  sister,  Miss  Ja- 
cobina  Wilson,  whose  death  occurred  in  1892. 
Of  the  children  of  this  union  we  record  that 
Rammel  ]\I.  is  a  resident  of  New  York  city ;  Gina 
A.  is  at  the  present  time  taking  a  course  of  mu- 
sical instruction  in  Berlin,  Germany;  Henrietta 
J.  is  a  student  in  the  University  of  Chicago  and , 
is  also  a  student  in  the  Chicago  Musical  College ; 
A^ilborg  S.  is  attending  Smith  College,  at  North- 
ampton, Massachusetts ;  and  Henry  M.  is  a  stu- 
dent in  the  high  school  of  his  home  town.  On 
the  29th  of  April,  1896,  yir.  Smith  consum- 
mated a  third  marriage,  being  then  united  to  Miss 
.\nna  Strom,  of  Dell  Rapids,  and  they  have  one 
child.  Bergliot  M. 


AMBROSE  B.  ROBINSON,  the  able  and 
popular  mayor  of  Frankfort.  Spink  county,  is  a 
native  of  the  old  Empire  state,  having  been  born 
in  Broome  county.  New  York,  on  the  i8th  of 
July,  1857,  and  being  a  son  of  Edward  and  Eu- 
nice Robinson,  who  were  born  and  reared  in  that 
state,  being  of  Scotch  ancestry.  There  the  fa- 
ther of  the  subject  was  engaged  in  lumbering 
until  the  early  'sixties,  when  he  removed  with  his 
family  to  Iowa,  locating  in  Scott  county,  where 
he  followed  farming  until  1868,  when  he  located 
in  Jackson  county,  Wisconsin,  and  continued  in 
the  same  line  of  enterprise,  both  he  and  his  wife 


being  now  in  the  state  of  Washington.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  review  was  reared  to  the  sturdy  disci- 
pline of  the  farm  and  his  educational  advantages 
were  such  as  were  afforded  in  the  public  schools 
of  Iowa  and  Wisconsin.  In  the  latter  state  he  was 
engaged  in  lumbering  until  1885,  when  he  came 
to  South  Dakota  and  took  up  his  residence  in 
Frankfort,  Spink  county,  where  he  has  ever  since 
made  his  home  and  where  he  has  been  most  suc- 
cessful in  his  business  enterprises,  which  have 
been  carried  forward  with  energy,  discrimination 
and  good  judgment,  while  his  reputation  as  a  reli- 
able, sincere  and  straightforward  business  man 
and  public-spirited  citizen  is  unassailable.  He  is 
well  known  in  the  county  and  commands  the  con- 
fidence and  esteem  of  all  with  whom  he  has  come 
in  contact  in  a  business  or  social  way.  He  is  a 
stalwart  advocate  of  the  principles  of  the  Re- 
publican party  and  has  been  called  upon  to  serve 
in  various  offices  of  local  trust  and  responsibility, 
including  that  of  mayor  of  his  home  city,  to 
which  position  he  was  elected  in  1902  and  in 
which  he  is  giving  a  progressive  and  able  admin- 
istration. He  is  identified  with  the  Masonic  fra- 
ternity and  also  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen. 

On  the  27th  of  Alarch,  1881,  occurred  the  mar- 
riage of  Mr.  Robinson  to  Miss  Alma  Jane  Ellis, 
who  was  born  in  the  city  of  LaCrosse,  Wiscon- 
sin, on  the  nth  of  December,  1861,  being  a 
daughter  of  William  and  Amanda  Ellis.  They 
have  five  children,  namely :  Bessie  M.,  Grace  D., 
Clark  A.,  Clare  and  Zedna. 


REV.  EDWARD  ASHLEY,  one  of  the 
prominent  and  honored  members  of  the  clergy  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  church  in  South  Da- 
kota, is  a  native  of  England  and  comes  of  stanch 
old  English  stock.  He  was  born  at  Road  Hill, 
Wiltshire,  on  the  12th  of  December,  1854,  and  is 
a  son  of  Jacob  William  and  Charlotte  (Watts) 
Ashley,  both  of  whom  passed  a  large  part  of  their 
lives  in  England,  coming  to  this  country  and  set- 
tling in  Michigan  in  1872.  While  in  England 
they  were  communicants  of  the  established  church, 
in    whose   faith   thev   reared   their   children,   the 


7i6 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


father  having  been  a  sawyer  by  vocation.  The 
subject  of  this  review  secured  his  prehminary 
educational  discipline  in  the  common  schools  of 
his  native  land,  and  thereafter  learned  the  trade 
of  carpenter.  He  came  to  the  United  States  in 
1873.  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years,  landing  in 
New  York  city  on  the  ist  of  September,  reaching 
Muskegon,  Michigan,  where  he  secured  work  at 
his  trade,  while  simultaneously  he  pursued  in  a 
private  way  the  studies  of  a  college  course,  in- 
cluding the  classics.  On  the  9th  of  May,  1874, 
he  began  his  services  as  a  missionary  teacher 
among  the  Sioux  Indians  in  the  territory  of  Da- 
kota, in  the  meanwhile  taking  up  the  study  of 
theology  and  being  ordained  a  deacon  in  the  Prot- 
estant Episcopal  church  on  the  27th  of  Novem- 
ber. 1877,  by  Rt.  Rev.  William  Hobart  Hare, 
bishop  of  the  missionary  district  of  Niobrara.  In 
1879  he  entered  the  Seabury  Divinity  School,  at 
Faribault,  Alinnesota,  where  he  was  graduated 
in  June,  1 881,  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Divinity,  while  on  the  3d  of  the  following  month 
he  was  ordained  to  the  priesthood,  receiving  holy 
orders  at  the  hands  of  Rt.  Rev.  William  H.  Hare, 
now  bishop  of  the  diocese  of  South  Dakota.  He 
was  a  missionary  on  the  Crow  Creek  reservation 
from  1874  to  1879,  thereafter  was  similarly  en- 
gaged in  service  on  the  Sisseton  reservation  from 
1 88 1  to  1889,  in  which  latter  year  he  assumed 
his  labors  in  his  present  important  field.  He  has 
been  successful  in  his  work  among  the  Indians, 
and  his  life  has  been  one  of  consecrated  zeal  and 
self-abnegation,  while  in  the  early  days  he  en- 
dured manifold  vicissitudes,  hardships  and  dan- 
gers in  his  earnest  efforts  to  bring  within  the  fold 
the  unfortunate  ward  of  the  government.  He 
has  been  at  all  times  mindful  of  those  "in  any 
way  afflicted  in  mind,  body  or  estate,"  and  has 
worked  unceasingly,  while  he  finds  that  his  tem- 
poral reward  has  not  been  denied,  in  that  he  has 
brought  spiritual  enlightenment  and  grace  to 
many  of  those  to  whom  he  has  ministered  in  his 
divine  calling.  Since  1885  he  has  held  the  office 
of  rural  dean  and  examining  chaplain  of  the  mis- 
sionary district  of  the  state,  as  previously  noted. 

On  the  6th  of  October,  1877.  at  Frome,  Som- 
ersetshire, England,  was  solemnized  the  marriage 


of  Air.  Ashley  to  Aliss  Elizabeth  Ann  Martin, 
who  was  born  in  that  county,  on  the  26th  of  Au- 
gust, 1854,  and  who  has  proved  a  gracious  and 
helpful  coadjutor  to  him  in  his  labors  as  a  mis- 
sionary. They  have  five  children,  Charlotte  Jes- 
sie, Winona,  who  is  the  wife  of  Gervais  Coulter, 
of  Culbertson.  Montana ;  and  Edward  Athelstan. 
Martin  Anselm,  William  Cuthbert  and  Robert 
Laud.  The  respective  dates  of  birth  are  as  fol- 
lows:  December  21,  1878;  December  9.  1881  ; 
April  22,  1884;  February  18,  1886,  and  July  28, 
1891. 

In  politics  Mr.  Ashley  maintains  an  independ- 
ent attitude,  giving  his  support  to  those  men  and 
measures  of  whom  and  which  his  judgment  ap- 
proves. Fraternally  he  has  attained  the  degrees 
of  ancient-craft,  capitular  and  chivalric  Masonry, 
in  the  York  Rite,  while  in  1903  he  passed  the 
thirty-third  degree  in  the  Ancient  and  Accepted 
Scottish  Rite,  being  identified  with  South  Dakota 
Consistorv',  No.  4,  at  Aberdeen,  while  he  is  also 
identified  with  the  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  the 
Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  the  Modern  Wood- 
men of  America  and  the  Modern  Brotherhood 
of  America.  He  is  a  man  of  genial  and  gracious 
presence  and  makes  and  retains  friends  in  all 
classes,  while  among  the  Indians  of  the  state  he 
is  well  known,  respected  and  admired. 


WILLIAM  H.  H.  BEADLE,  A.  M.,  LL.  D. 
The  honored  subject  of  this  sketch  has  lent 
dignity  and  distinction  to  his  state  as  a  scholar, 
an  educator,  a  legislator,  a  soldier  and  a  lawyer. 
He  has  continued  since  1889  as  president  of  the 
State  Normal  School,  at  Madison,  Lake  county, 
which  has  become  a  school  of  influence  and 
power. 

Dr.  Beadle  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  Indiana 
and  was  named  in  honor  of  its  most  eminent 
men.  General  William  Henry  Harrison.  He  was 
born  in  Liberty  township,  Parke  county,  Indiana, 
on  January  i,  1838,  in  a  log  house  built  by  the 
hands  of  his  father,  and  the  date  implies  that  he 
is  a  representative  of  one  of  the  pioneer  families 
of  the  Hoosier  commonwealth.  He  is  a  son  of 
James  Ward  and  Elizabeth  (Bright)  Beadle,  the 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


717 


former  of  whom  was  born  in  Kentucky  and  the 
latter  in  Maryland.  The  ancestry  in  the  agnatic 
line  is  traced  back  through  the  states  of  Ken- 
tucky, Virginia,  Pennsylvania  and  New  York  to 
an  English  origin,  mingled  somewhat  with  the 
Dutch  and  Scotch,  while  the  name  has  been 
identified  with  the  annals  of  American  history 
since  the  colonial  period.  The  maternal  great- 
grandfather came  from  Scotland  to  St.  Mary's, 
Maryland,  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury and  the  family  became  one  of  prominence 
in  that  state. 

Dr.  Beadle  was  reared  amid  the  scenes  and 
trials  of  the  pioneer  era  in  Indiana,  early  con- 
tributing his  quota  to  the  work  of  the  home- 
stead in  the  field  and  the  forest,  while  his  rudi- 
mentary education  was  secured  in  the  primitive 
log  schoolhouse  in  his  native  township.  To  one 
of  the  teachers  there,  Miss  Lavinia  Tucker,  one 
of  the  earliest  women  teachers  in  western  Indi- 
ana, he  loyally  attributes  helpful  incentives  that 
remain  with  him  yet.  His  father  was  elected 
sheriff  and  this  gave  him  four  years  in  the 
schools  of  Rockville,  which  he  continued  to  at- 
tend from  the  farm  near  town  that  became  his 
home.  In  1857  he  was  matriculated  in  the  liter- 
ary department  of  the  University  of  Michigan, 
at  Ann  Arbor,  which  had  attained  a  high  stand- 
ing even  in  that  early  day.  He  was  graduated 
as  Bachelor  of  Arts  with  the  class  of  1861.  In 
1864  his  alma  mater  conferred  on  him  the  de- 
gree of  Master  of  Arts.  The  history  of  the 
class  of  '61  of  the  University  of  Michigan  says 
of  him  :  "It  was  only  by  the  most  persistent 
effort  that  he  gained  his  father's  consent  to  go 
away  to  college;  but  he  finally  prevailed,  and 
with  his  brother,  John  Hanson  Beadle,  condi- 
tionally entered  the  class  of  1861.  As  their 
preparation  in  Greek  had  been  defective  they 
were  carried  the  first  years  as  'students  in  the 
partial  course,'  but  studied  with  such  diligence 
and  success  that  before  the  end  of  the  fresh- 
man year  they  were  admitted  to  full  and  un- 
conditional standing  in  the  classical  section,  and 
soon  took  high  rank  in  the  class.  He  was  an 
active  member  of  the  Alpha  Nu.  and  during  his 


senior  year  its  president.  He  assisted  in  found- 
ing in  the  university  the  chapter  of  the  Zeta  Psi 
fraternity,  and  during  his  senior  year  was  also 
a  charter  member  of  the  'Owls.'  He  was  one  of 
the  speakers  at  the  Junior  Exhibition  and  like- 
wise one  of  the  twenty-four  members  of  the 
class  who  spoke  at  the  commencement.  It  will 
be  seen  therefore  that  he  was  one  of  the  most 
active  members  of  the  class.  In  a  little  more 
than  one  month  after  graduation.  Classmate 
Beadle  enlisted  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States  and  became  first  lieutenant  of  Company  A, 
Thirty-first  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry,  Septem- 
ber 5,  1861,  and  was  promoted  captain  of  the  same 
November  9,  1861,  but  resigned  February  8, 
1862,  on  account  of  ill  health.  He  continued  with 
the  command  by  permission  of  the  general  com- 
manding and  participated  in  the  campaign  in 
west  Tennessee,  until  the  surrender  of  Corinth. 
Mississippi.  He  then  came  to  Michigan  and 
aided  in  organizing  and  drilling  the  Twenty- 
sixth  Michigan  Infantry  at  Jackson.  He  was 
tendered  the  post  of  adjutant  of  this  regiment, 
but  in  the  autumn  of  1862  was  commissioned  to 
recruit  for  the  First  Michigan  Sharpshooters  and 
was  commissioned  lieutenant  colonel  of  that  regi- 
ment." 

He  continued  with  that  regiment  until  June 
13,  1864,  when,  after  a  severe  illness,  he  was  ap- 
pointed major  in  the  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 
He  served  in  northern  Virginia,  in  the  defenses 
south  of  the  Potomac,  where  he  commanded  a 
brigade  for  a  time:  served  in  defense  of  Wash- 
ington against  Early  and  received  a  brevet  as 
lieutenant  colonel ;  served  in  Washington  City, 
where  on  President  Lincoln's  second  inaugura- 
tion he  was  detailed  by  special  orders  from  the 
war  department  to  command  the  military  guard 
in  and  about  the  capitol  on  that  critical  occasion. 
He  was  brevetted  colonel  United  States  volun- 
teers, and  March  13,  1865,  received  the  brevet  of 
brigadier  general  United  States  volunteers  "for 
gallant  and  meritorious  services  during  the  war." 
General  Beadle  was  mustered  out  and  honorably 
discharged  INIarch  26,  1866,  while  in  command 
of  the   southern   district  of   North   Carolina,   at 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH  DAKOTA. 


Wilmington.  He  entered  the  law  department  of 
Michig-an  University  and  was  graduated  with 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws. 

General  Beadle  practiced  law  in  Evansville, 
Indiana,  in  1867,  and  at  Boscobel,  Wisconsin,  in 
1868  and  1869.  Early  in  the  latter  year  President 
Grant  appointed  him  surveyor  general  of  the  ter- 
ritor\-  of  Dakota  and  he  continued  in  that  ca- 
pacity until  1873,  when  he  resigned.  For  many 
years  he  from  time  to  time  executed  important 
and  sometimes  difficult  surveys.  In  1876,  as 
secretary  of  the  commission  to  revise  the  codes, 
he  wrote  nearly  all  the  codes  of  Dakota,  and 
Judges  P.  C.  Shannon  and  Granville  G.  Bennett, 
with'  whom  he  worked,  declared  him  "learned  in 
the  law."  He  has  done  other  work  in  drafting 
statutes,  in  which  he  is  highly  skilled.  In  1877 
he  was  a  member  of  the  house  of  representatives 
of  the  territorial  legislature  and  chairman  of  the 
judiciary  committee,  which  had  charge  of  the 
codes,  and  secured  their  complete  adoption,  a 
most  valuable  service  to  the  new  commonwealth. 

General  Beadle's  great  familiarity  with  the 
territory,  its  people  and  its  laws  enabled  him 
to  be  of  great  service  to  Governor  William  A. 
Howard,  who  induced  him  to  accept  for  some 
time  the  position  as  private  secretary.  From 
1879  to  1885,  over  six  years.  General  Beadle  was 
superintendent  of  public  instruction  of  Dakota 
and  thoroughly  laid  the  foundation  for  the  sys- 
tem of  public  schools  that  is  the  highest  pride 
of  the  state.  To  him  has  been  due  in  a  large 
measure  the  upbuilding  and  success  of  the  State 
Normal  School  at  ]\Iadison. 

But  all  of  General  Beadle's  honorable  and 
useful  services  to  his  state  otherwise  are  less 
than  the  successful  labor  he  gave  toward  saving 
the  school  and  endowment  lands  of  the  state. 
This  must  be  regarded  as  his  most  enduring 
monument.  He  is  one  of  those  men  who  happily 
find  their  work.  By  every  talent,  experience  and 
inclination  he  was  fitted  for  it.  In  college  he 
won  position  not  only  as  a  scholar,  but  as  a 
writer  and  speaker.  In  his  early  life  questions  of 
vital  moment  concerning  public  education  were 
subjects  of  popular  and  legislative  concern.  He 
has  often  said  that  Miss  Tucker  called  attention 


to  the  pride  every  pupil  should  have  in  banish- 
ing illiteracy  from  Indiana.  The  school  lands 
of  that  state  were  important  in  the  plans.  In 
Michigan  he  met  and  heard  the  pioneers  of  edu- 
cation, like  Pierce.  In  Wisconsin  also  he  saw 
the  reckless  waste  of  school  lands.  Coming  to 
Dakota  and  seeing  its  vast  fertile  area,  he  was 
from  the  first  impressed  with  the  importance  and 
the  possibilities  of  the  future  of  this  great  gift  by 
the  nation.  He  began  immediately  to  draw 
public  attention  to  this  matter  and  in  private  con- 
versation and  public  he  sought  to  create  a  sen- 
timent which  was  slowly  accomplished.  To  the 
intelligent  and  earnest  people  who  settled  the 
territory,  who  saw  the  reserved  lands  lying  near 
them,  a  common  interest  soon  appeared.  Early 
in  his  service  as  superintendent  of  public  in- 
struction he  visited  the  capital  of  every  one  of  the 
old  northwestern  states  as  well  as  of  Iowa,  Min- 
nesota and  Nebraska,  and  consulted  the  older 
men  of  experience  and  records  concerning  the 
school  lands.  Thus  every  point  in  the  histon,^  of 
such  lands  in  these  states  was  brought  to  the 
attention  of  Dakota  to  guide  it  in  shaping  the 
future. 

\Mien  the  movement  for  division  and  state- 
hood began,  the  vital  opportunity  came.  I\Iany 
leaders  in  that  movement  adopted  the  policy  for 
which  Dr.  Beadle  had  long  stood  almost  alone, 
and  an  organized  party  struggling  for  statehood 
made  its  own  his  appeal  that  no  school  lands 
should  be  sold  for  less  than  ten  dollars  an  acre. 
It  is  said  that  he  delivered  not  less  than  two 
hundred  addresses  throughout  the  territory  (now 
North  and  South  Dakota)  in  which  this  appeal 
was  a  leading  if  not  the  sole  topic,  \\nien  in 
1885  the  constitutional  convention  met  at  Sioux 
Falls,  the  issue  was  in  a  balance.  The  members 
were  divided  and  in  doubt.  The  committee  on 
school  and  public  lands  was  divided.  Its  chair- 
man. Rev.  J.  H.  ^loore,  strongly  favored  the 
plan,  as  did  Rev.  Joseph  Ward.  Near  the  close 
of  the  session  Dr.  Beadle  appeared  before  the 
committee,  presented  the  draft  of  the  article  upon 
education  and  the  school  lands  practically  as  it 
stands  in  the  constitution.  After  an  earnest  ses- 
sion, a  majoritv  consented  to  re]iort  it  favorably 


History  of  south  dakota. 


719 


and  on  the  last  working  day  of  the  convention, 
when  Dr.  Beadle  had  personally  urged  most 
members,  a  majority  adopted  it.  The  sentiment 
then  rapidly  increased  and  this  article  became  a 
center  of  interest.  The  people  adopted  the  con- 
stitution. The  crisis  was  passed.  So  prominent 
did  the  subject  become  that  it  was  strongly  urged 
before  the  committees  of  congress  and  when  the 
enabling  acts  for  South  Dakota,  Idaho  and 
Wyoming  were  passed  the  provision  limiting  the 
price  at  which  school  lands  might  be  sold  for  not 
less  than  ten  dollars  per  acre  was  included  in 
every  one,  and  that  policy  is  in  force  in  all. 
"How  far  that  little  candle  throws  its  beams." 

Even  prior  to  the  convention  of  1885  General 
Beadle  had  advanced  the  claim  that  no  school  or 
endowment  lands  should  be  sold,  but  that  all 
should  be  permanently  held  and  leased,  using  the 
rentals  to  support  the  schools  instead  of  interest 
upon  the  invested  funds.  He  has  continued  to 
urge  this  until  now  a  constitutional  amendment 
has  been  submitted  substantially  adopting  this 
policy.  Thus  has  his  struggle  gone  on  for  over 
thirty  years,  while  he  has  not  sought  political 
office  or  fortune.  This  great  public  service  in 
and  for  the  cause  of  education  will  endure  to 
bless  the  commonwealth  as  long  as  any  political 
service  possible  to  anyone  at  any  time.  With  it 
his  name  must  be  forever  connected. 

General  Beadle's  life  has  been  one  of  in- 
tense activity  and  hard  work.  For  thirty-five 
years  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  work  of  a 
state  builder  on  the  frontier.  He  retains  the 
same  erect  carriage  and  dignified  bearing  that 
marked  him  as  a  young  man  and  during  his 
army  life.  He  has  found  time  in  his  busy  and 
strenuous  life  for  much  literary  work,  mostly 
connected  with  his  professional  life.  He  col- 
laborated, with  his  brother,  John  Hanson 
Beadle,  in  writing  "Life  in  Utah,"  and  is  the 
author  of  "Geography,  History  and  Resources 
of  Dakota,"  1888,  of  "The  Natural  Method  of 
Teaching  Geography,"  1899,  and  of  many  pam- 
phlets, reports  and  addresses,  mostly  upon  edu- 
cational subjects.  His  articles  in  the  "Michi- 
gan Alumnus"  have  attracted  attention. 

General  Beadle  is  a  companion  of  the  Loyal 


Legion  and  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity, 
having  attained  the  thirty-third  degree  in  the 
Scottish  Rite.  A  lifelong  Republican,  he  has 
preferred  educational  work  to  the  possibilities  of 
ordinary  political  office.  He  was  married  May 
18,  1863,  to  Ellen  S.  Chapman,  who  died  in 
1897.  She  was  descended  from  Moses  Rich,  a 
Massachusetts  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  army. 
They  have  one  child,  Mrs.  Mae  Beadle  Frink,  the 
wife  of  Fred  A.  Frink,  A.  M.,  an  instructor  in 
the  engineering  department  of  Michigan  Uni- 
versity. 

On  the  19th  of  June,  1902,  in  recognition  of 
his  college  record  and  of  his  able  services  in 
the  field  of  educational  work  and  in  his  profes- 
sion, his  alma  mater  most  consistently  conferred 
upon  him  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Laws. 


JOHN  P.  WOLF,  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
Spink  county,  where  he  is  the  owner  of  a  well 
improved  landed  estate  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres,  is  a  native  of  the  historic  and  beautiful 
old  city  of  Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
was  born  on  the  9th  of  December,  1854,  being 
I  a  son  of  Henry  G.  and  Margaret  F.  Wolf.  The 
mother  is  living,  but  the  father  died  in  Gettys- 
burg, where  he  passed  his  entire  life,  having 
served  for  many  years  as  justice  of  the  peace 
and  clerk  of  the  courts.  His  father,  George 
Wolf,  was  governor  of  Pennsylvania  in  1829  and 
was  one  of  the  influential  and  distinguished  citi- 
zens of  the  old  Keystone  state,  where  the  family 
was  founded  in  the  colonial  epoch  of  our  his- 
tory. 

John  P.  Wolf  was  reared  in  his  native  city, 
in  whose  public  schools  he  secured  his  early 
educational  discipline,  and  he  there  continued  to 
reside  until  1871,  when  he  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facturing of  paper  at  Mount  Holly  Springs,  that 
state,  severing  his  relations  with  this  enterprise 
in  April,  1876,  when  he  removed  to  Minnesota, 
in  which  state  he  was  engaged  in  farming  until 
1 88 1,  in  which  year  he  came  to  what  is  now 
the  state  of  South  Dakota,  arriving  in  Water- 
town  on  the  loth  of  Mav.  A  week  later  he  came 


720 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


to  Spink  county  and  cast  in  his  lot  with  its 
pioneer  settlers,  taking  up  a  homestead  and  a 
pre-emption  claim  fourteen  miles  north  of  Red- 
field,  near  the  present  village  of  Athol,  and  at 
once  initiating  the  improvement  and  cultivation 
of  his  land,  which  is  now  one  of  the  valuable 
farms  of  this  section.  He  continued  to  reside 
on  his  ranch  until  December  i,  1897,  when  he 
was  appointed  deputy  county  auditor  and  took 
up  his  residence  in  Redfield.  He  retained  this 
office  two  years  and  was  then  appointed  deputy 
county  treasurer.  Upon  retiring  from  this  posi- 
tion he  became  manager  of  the  real  estate  busi- 
ness of  the  firm  of  Bloom  &  Martin,  with  head- 
quarters in  Redfield,  and  was  thus  engaged  until 
January,  1903,  when  he  was  again  appointed 
deputy  county  treasurer,  of  which  position  he 
still  remains  incumbent.  In  politics  he  is  a 
stanch  Republican  and  fraternally  is  identified 
with  the  Masonic  order;  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows,  of  which  he  is  past  grand;  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  in  which  he  is  past  chan- 
cellor; the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  of 
which  he  is  clerk  in  his  camp ;  the  Benevolent 
and  Protective  Order  of  Elks ;  the  Improved 
Order  of  Red  Men,  in  which  he  is  past  sachem ; 
and  the  Dramatic  Order  of  the  Knights  of 
Khorassan. 


:\IICHAEL  GERIX  comes  of  stanch  old 
Irish  lineage  and  is  a  native  of  County  Limerick, 
Ireland,  where  he  was  bom  on  the  19th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1848,  being  a  son  of  Michael  and  Julia 
(Fitzgerald)  Gerin,  who  emigrated  from  the 
Emerald  Isle  to  America  when  he  was  a  child  of 
three  years,  settling  in  the  province  of  Ontario. 
Canada,  where  our  subject  was  reared  and  edu- 
cated. In  1877  he  came  to  what  is  now  the  state 
of  South  Dakota  and  passed  the  first  year  in  look- 
ing about  the  state  for  a  location.  He  arrived  in 
Sioux  Falls  in  August.  1878,  on  the  first  train 
run  over  the  line  of  the  recently  completed  St. 
Paul,  Minneapolis  &  Omaha  Railroad.  In  the 
following  December  he  established  himself  in 
business  here,  opening  a  grocery  and  crockery 
store  of  modest  order  and  thoroughly  identifying 


( 


himself  with  the  business  and  civic  affairs  of  the 
little  town.  With  the  growth  of  the  city  his  busi- 
ness expanded  rapidly  in  scope  and  importance 
and  at  the  time  when  he  disposed  of  the  same,  in 
September,  1902,  the  enterprise  was  one  of  the  2) 
leading  ones  of  the  sort  in  the  city.  For  the  past 
twelve  years  .Mr.  Gerin  has  given  much  atten- 
tion to  the  raising  of  live  stock,  having  the  high- 
est type  of  blooded  shorthorn  cattle  and  having  j 
gained  a  wide  reputation  as  a  breeder  of  thisl 
stock,  while  he  conducts  his  operations  upon  an  1 
extensive  scale,  owning  three  and  one-quarter  sec- 
tions of  the  finest  land  in  the  county  and  devoting 
practically  his  entire  time  and  his  ample  capital- 
istic resources  to  the  carrying  forward  of  his 
stock  and  agricultural  enterprises.  He  was  one 
of  the  organizers  of  the  Minnehaha  County  Agri- 
cultural Society,  of  which  he  has  been  president 
consecutively  from  the  time  of  its  inception  to  the 
present  and  having  done  much  to  further  its  prog- 
ress and  its  value  to  the  farmers  and  stockgrow- 
ers  of  the  state.  He  is  a  communicant  of  the 
Catholic  church  and  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Catholic  Knights  of  Columbus,  in  which  he  is  a 
grand   knight.     Mr.  Gerin  is  a  bachelor. 


ETON.  JASON  E.  PAYNE.— Among  the  na- 
tive sons  of  the  state  who  have  attained  prestige 
and  success  in  one  of  the  most  exacting  and  im- 
portant of  professions,  that  of  the  law,  is  Mr. 
Payne,  who  is  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession in  the  city  of  Vermillion,  where  he  is  also 
a  member  of  the  faculty  of  the  College  of  Law  at 
the  L^niversity  of  South  Dakota. 

Jason  Elihu  Payne  was  born  on  the  homestead 
farm  in  Qay  county,  this  state,  on  the  22d  of 
January,  1874,  and  is  a  scion  of  one  of  the  early 
pioneer  families  of  the  county.  His  parents  were 
Byron  S.  and  Qiarlotte  E.  (Wood worth)  Payne, 
the  former  a  native  of  Michigan  and  the  latter  of 
Wisconsin,  though  both  living  in  Clay  county, 
this  state,  at  the  time  of  their  marriage,  while 
they  still  remain  on  their  valuable  farm  in  this 
county.  The  subject  received  his  early  educa- 
j  tion  in  the  district  school  near  his  home,  and 
j   after   completing   the    curriculum   of   the    ]3ubHc 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


schools  entered  the  State  University  of  South 
Dakota,  at  Vermillion,  where  he  was  graduated 
in  1894,  receiving  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts. 
In  the  following  year  he  began  reading  law  un- 
der the  direction  of  ex-Governor  A.  C.  Mellette, 
of  this  state,  who  was  at  that  time  residing  in 
Pittsburg,  Kansas,  and  thereafter  continued  his 
technical  reading  under  the  preceptorship  of  E. 
M.  Kelsey,  of  Vermillion,  during  the  year  1896, 
while  in  1897-8  he  was  a  student  in  the  College 
of  Law  of  the  University  of  Minnesota,  in  the 
city  of  Minneapolis,  being  admitted  to  the  bar  of 
his  native  state  in  October  of  the  latter  year.  He 
began  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Vermillion 
on  the  1st  of  January,  1901,  and  has  already  built 
up  an  excellent  business,  retaining  a  representa- 
tive clientage.  He  is  specially  well  grounded  in 
the  science  of  jurisprudence,  so  that  his  prefer- 
ment as  assistant  professor  of  law  in  the  College 
of  Law  of  the  State  LTniversity  was  consistently 
accorded,  his  appointment  to  the  position  having 
been  made  in  September,  1903.  In  politics  Mr. 
Payne  gives  an  unqualified  allegiance  to  the  Re- 
publican party,  and  is  one  of  the  most  prominent 
of  the  younger  workers  in  its  ranks  in  the  state, 
while  in  igo2  he  was  elected  to  represent  his  dis- 
trict in  the  state  senate,  serving  with  marked  abil- 
ity as  a  member  of  this  body  during  the  eighth 
general  assembly,  while  his  term  will  expire  in 
the  present  year,  1904.  Mr.  Payne  is  popular  in 
professional,  business  and  social  circles  and  is 
well  known  throughout  his  native  county.  He 
has  not  yet  assumed  connubial  ties. 

Mr.  Payne  met  with  serious  misfortune  on  the 
29th  of  August,  1893,  when,  as  the  result  of  a 
runaway,  he  was  thrown  against  a  wire  fence, 
his  injuries  being  of  such  a  serious  nature  as  to 
necessitate  the  amputation  of  one  arm. 


CHARLES  F.  LOTZE  claims  the  splendid 
old  Buckeye  state  as  the  place  of  his  nativity,  hav- 
ing been  born  in  Vienna,  Trumbull  county,  Ohio, 
on  the  22d  of  February,  1857,  and  being  a  son 
of  George  and  Catherine  Lotze,  the  former  of 
whom  was  born  in  Germany,  while  the  latter  was 
born  in  the  United  States,  the  father  having  set- 


tled in  Ohio  soon  after  his  coming  to  America 
and  having  there  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life. 
He  was  a  merchant  by  vocation  and  was  a  man 
of  distinctive  integrity  and  honor  in  all  the  rela- 
tions of  life.  When  our  subject  was  a  child  of 
four  years  his  parents  removed  to  Girard,  Trum- 
bull count}',  Ohio,  where  he  was  reared  and  where 
he  completed  the  curriculum  of  the  public  schools. 
In  1875,  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  he  went 
to  Berrien  Springs,  Berrien  county,  Michigan, 
where  he  established  himself  in  the  jewelry  busi- 
ness and  where  he  continued  to  reside  until  1879, 
when  he  came  as  a  pioner  to  what  is  now  the 
state  of  South  Dakota,  locating  in  Vermillion, 
Clay  county,  where,  in  December  of  that  year, 
he  established  himself  in  the  jewelry,  book  and 
music  business,  in  which  line  of  enterprise  he  has 
ever  since  continued.  He  began  operations  on  a 
modest  scale  and  with  the  rapid  settling  of  the 
surrounding  country  and  the  steady  growth  and 
progress  of  Vermillion  his  business  increased  in 
scope  and  importance  and  is  now  one  of  the  lead- 
ing enterprises  of  the  sort  in  this  section  of  the 
state.  He  has  a  large  and  well  appointed  store 
and  carries  a  select  stock  in  each  of  the  three  de- 
partments, controlling  a  representative  trade  and 
being  one  of  the  popular  and  influential  business 
men  of  the  city.  In  politics  Mr.  Lotze  is  a  stanch 
adherent  of  the  Republican  party,  but  he  has 
never  sought  or  desired  public  office.  Fraternally 
he  is  identified  with  the  Masonic  order,  in  which 
he  has  attained  the  chivalric  degrees,  being  a 
member  of  Vermillion  Commandery,  No.  16, 
Knights  Templar,  in  his  home  city. 

On  the  2 1st  of  October,  1885,  Mr.  Lotze  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Martha  C.  Hurd, 
daughter  of  Jabez  and  Elizabeth  Hurd,  of  Lan- 
caster, Wisconsin,  in  which  state  she  was  born 
and  reared.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lotze  have  three 
daughters,  all  of  whom  remain  at  the  parental 
home.  Hazel  C,  Marie  L.  and  Laura  B. 


JAMES  ALFRED  COPELAND  was  born 
at  Fountaindale,  Winnebago  county,  Illinois,  on 
the  2ist  of  September.  1852,  being  a  son  of  Alfred 
Williams   Copeland,   who  was   born   in   Bridge- 


722 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


water,  Massachusetts,  June  i8,  1809,  and  who': 
died,  in  Fountaindale,  Illinois,  June  23.  1875.  He  j 
was  born  and  reared  in  Massachusetts,  and  was  j 
at  one  time  foreman  in  a  cotton  mill  at  Lowell, 
that  state.  He  came  to  Illinois  as  a  pioneer  and 
there  devoted  the  remainder  of  his  life  to  farming. 
His  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Hannah  Brew- 
ster, was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  died  at  Byron, 
Illinois,  in  1884.  She  was  a  descendant  of  El- 
der Brewster,  of  Mayflower  fame.  From  an  old 
family  Bible  still  in  the  possession  of  our  subject 
is  taken  the  following  record,  starting  with  his 
father,  Alfred  W.,  son  of  Alfred  Copeland.  who 
was  born  at  Bridgewater,  Massachusetts,  October 
7,  1782,  and  who  was  a  drummer  in  the  war  of 
1812.  He  married  Mary  Williams,  daughter  of 
Nathaniel  Williams,  a  minute-man  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary war.  Alfred  was  a  son  of  Daniel  Cope- 
land,  who  was  born  in  1741  and  who  married 
Susannah  Ames,  daughter  of  Joseph  Ames.  The 
next  in  direct  line  was  Jonathan  Copeland,  who 
was  born  in  1701,  and  who  married  Betty  Snell, 
daughter  of  Thomas  Snell,  Jr.  The  next  in  the 
direct  ancestral  line  was  William  Copeland,  bom 
in  1656,  at  Bridgewater,  Massachusetts.  He 
married  Mary  Bass,  daughter  of  John  Bass,  who 
married  Ruth  Alden,  a  daughter  of  John  Alden, 
the  Pilgrim  whose  name  is  so  prominent  in  New 
England  history  and  story  and  of  whom  it  is  said 
he  was  the  last  male  survivor  of  those  who  signed 
the  compact  on  board  the  "Ma3-flbwer."  The 
next  in  line  was  Laurence  Copeland,  who  was 
born  in  1589,  probably  in  England,  and  who  came 
to  .America  about  1620.  He  married  Lydia 
Townsend  in  165 1  and  he  died  in  1699.  at  the 
patriarchal  age  of  one  hundred  and  ten  years. 

Judge  James  A.  Copeland.  the  immediate  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  received  his  early  educational 
training  in  the  common  schools  of  his  native 
state,  and  for  a  time  was  a  student  in  Wheaton 
College,  at  Wheaton,  Illinois.  In  1879  he  took 
up  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  George  W. 
Fifield,  of  Fairmont,  Nebraska,  and  in  1883  he 
entered  the  employ  of  the  McCormick  Harvesting 
Machine  Company,  with  which  he  remained  until 
1890,  in  the  meanwhile  continuing  to  devote  as 
nnich  attention   as  possible  to  his  legal  studies. 


making  such  advancement  that  he  was  enabled  to 
secure  admission  to  the  bar  of  South  Dakota  in 
April  of  the  year  last  mentioned.  After  leaving 
school  our  subject  had  returned  to  the  homestead 
farm,  and  there  he  remained  until  1877,  when  he 
engaged  in  the  buying  and  shipping  of  live  stock 
at  Oregon,  Illinois,  being  thus  engaged  about  two 
years,  having  shipped  horses  to  Fairmont,  Ne- 
braska, where  he  remained  two  years,  devoting- 
his  attention  to  farming  and  to  the  law  and  loan 
business.  He  then  removed  to  Storm  Lake,  Iowa, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  the  cattle  business  until 
December,  1881,  when  he  came  to  South 
Dakota  and  took  up  his  residence  in 
Vermillion,  where  he  has  ever  since  main- 
tained his  home.  Fie  served  as  clerk  of  the  courts 
of  Clay  county  from  1891  to  1894,  while  he  also- 
held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  for  a  period 
of  ten  years.  In  1896  he  was  elected  to  the  office 
of  county  judge,  serving  until  January  i,  1899, 
and  in  1900  he  was  again  elected  to  this  office 
for  a  term  of  two  years.  Judge  Copeland  is  an 
uncompromising  Republican  in  his  political  pro- 
clivities, and  it  may  consistently  be  said  that  he 
has  held  to  the  ancestral  faith,  since  he  comes  of  a 
long  line  of  Republican  and  Whig  forbears.  Judge 
Copeland  is  identified  with  Incense  Lodge,  No.  2, 
Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  :  Vermillion 
Chapter.  No.  21.  Royal  Arch  ]\Iasons ;  Juno 
Chapter,  No.  44.  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star ;  and 
Dakota  Pine  Camp,  No.  450.  Modern  Woodmen 
of  America.  He  is  secretary  of  the  last  men- 
tioned, as  is  he  also  of  his  ?iIasonic  lodge  and 
chapter.  He  is  a  charter  member  of  the  Repub- 
lican Club,  No.  103.  of  \'ermillion.  this  being 
subordinate  to  the  Republican  League  of  South 
Dakota,  and  he  has  held  various  offices  in  each  of 
the  above  mentioned  organizations,  being  at  the 
present  time  secretary  of  the  Republican  Club. 
In  1870  Judge  Copeland  became  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  at  Middle  Creek,  Illinois, 
and  in  1901  he  joined  the  First  Baptist  church  of 
Vermillion. 

At  Rockford,  Illinois,  on  the  30th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1880,  Judge  Copeland  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Estella  E.  Hayes,  daughter  of  Alpheus  J> 
Hayes,  a  pioneer   settler  of   Minnehaha  county^ 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


723 


South  Dakota,  and  for  many  years  a  prominent 
business  man  of  Sioux  Falls.  Of  the  children  of 
this  union  we  enter  the  following  brief  record : 
Jay  Warren,  who  was  born  October  28,  1881. 
died  November  12th,  following;  Flora  E.  was 
born  January  11,  1883;  Winfield  O.  was  born 
July  12,  1884:  Nettie  was  born  August  8,  1887, 
and  died  September  20,  1891 ;  Jamie  was  bom' 
August  12,  1890,  and  died  September  23,  1891 ; 
Laurel  was  born  December  25,  1891  ;  Doris 
Louise.  August  18,  1897;  and  Susan  A.,  June  2, 
1899. 


CHARLES  J.  GUNDERSO'N,  who  is  a  rep- 
resentative of  one  of  the  sterling  pioneer  families 
of  South  Dakota,  is  a  resident  of  Vermillion, 
Clay  county,  where  he  has  passed  practically  his 
entire  life,  and  is  numbered  among  the  able  mem- 
bers of  the  bar  of  the  state.  Mr.  Gunderson  was 
born  in  Fillmore  county,  Minnesota,  on  the  13th 
of  October,  1868,  a  son  of  Harvey  and  Anna 
(Thompson)  Gunderson, both  of  whom  were  born 
in  Norway,  while  both  still  reside  in  Clay  county. 
South  Dakota,  whither  they  came  in  1869.  thp 
father  being  one  of  the  early  settlers  here,  where 
he  secured  a  relinquishment  claim,  upon  which  he 
proved,  becoming  one  of  the  successful  farmers 
of  the  locality. 

The  subject  was  not  one  year  of  age  at  the 
time  of  his  parents'  removal  to  what  is  now  the 
state  of  South  Dakota,  and  his  early  years  were 
passed  on  the  homestead  farm.  After  availing 
himself  of  the  privileges  of  the  public  schools 
he  was  enabled  to  continue  his  educational  train- 
ing in  the  L^niversity  of  South  Dakota,  in  which 
he  was  graduated  as  a  member  of  the  class  of 
1893,  receiving  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Science. 
He  thereafter  entered  the  law  department  of  the 
University  of  Minnesota,  where  he  completed  the 
prescribed  course  and  was  graduated  in  1896.  In 
the  autumn  of  the  same  year  he  established  him- 
self in  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Vermil- 
lion, where  he  has  secured  an  excellent  clientage 
and  gained  marked  success  in  his  chosen  field  of 
endeavor.  From  the  time  of  attaining  his  ma- 
jority  until    1896  he   exercised   his   franchise   in 


support  of  the  Republican  party,  and  then 
transferred  his  allegiance  to  the  Democracy, 
voting  for  William  J.  Bryan  for  presi- 
dent. He  has  since  been  an  advocate  of  the 
principles  for  which  this  leader  stands  sponsor 
and  has  been  an  active  worker  in  the  party  cause. 
Fraternally  he  holds  membership  in  the  Masonic 
order,  in  which  he  has  taken  the  Knights  Tem- 
plar degrees,  and  is  a  Shriner  of  Sioux  Falls, 
and  also  is  in  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows. His  religious  faith  is  that  of  the  Lutheran 
church,  in  which  he  was  reared. 

On  the  27th  of  August,  1902,  j\Ir.  Gunderson 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mamie  L.  Weeks, 
daughter  of  Canute  and  Carrie  (Nelson)  Weeks, 
honored  pioneers  of  Clay,  county,  where  they  still 
maintain  their  home. 


FRED  LaPLANT  is  one  of  the  extensive 
stock  growers  of  .the  state,  using  the  extensive 
range  on  the  Cheyenne  Indian  reservation  and 
having  the  best  of  facilities  for  carrying  on  his 
operations  as  a  cattle  raiser.  He  bears  a  name 
which  has  been  most  conspicuously  identified 
with  the  history  of  the  northwest,  his  father  hav- 
ing come  into  Dakota  among  the  very  first 
white  men  to  penetrate  its  untrammeled  wilds 
and  having  been  a  conspicuous  figure  in  the  stren- 
uous life  of  the  frontier.  He  is  frequently  men- 
tioned in  connection  with  the  general  historj^  ap- 
pearing in  this  work,  and  an  individual  sketch  of 
his  career  is  also  incorporated,  so  that  a  recapitu- 
lation is  not  demanded  in  this  connection. 

F"red  LaPlant  was  born  in  the  locality  known 
as  Deer's  Ear,  north  of  the  Black  Hills,  in  what 
is  now  North  Dakota,  the  year  of  his  birth  hav- 
ing been  1861.  He  was  reared  on  the  frontier  and 
thus  his  educational  advantages  were  limited,  but 
his  alert  mentality  has  enabled  him  to  overcome 
to  a  large  extent  this  early  handicap.  His  father, 
Louis  LaPlant,  was  among  the  first  to  engage  in 
the  raising  of  live  stock  in  the  territory  of  Da- 
kota, and  our  subject  early  became  familiar  with 
the  labors  involved  in  connection  with  this  indus- 
try, being  associated  with  his  father  during  his 
vouthful  da\'s  on  the  stock  range,  while  he  was 


724 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


also  identified  with  him  in  freighting  to  the  Black 
Hills  in  1876-8,  for  details  of  which  enterprise  see 
the  sketch  of  Louis  LaPlant.  In  1888  the  sub- 
ject engaged  in  the  raising  of  cattle  upon  his  own 
responsibility,  becoming  associated  with  his 
brother  George,  and  they  successfully  continued 
in  partnership  until  1893,  when  Fred  established 
himself  in  the  same  line  of  enterprise  individually, 
and  has  since  continued  operation  with  ever  in- 
creasing success.  He  for  some  time  utilized  the 
open  range  along  the  Bad  river,  while  since  1896 
he  has  availed  himself  of  the  unexcelled  range  of 
the  great  Cheyenne  Indian  reservation.  He  us- 
ually runs  as  high  as  five  or  six  thousand  head 
of  cattle,  and  he  has  shown  marked  discrimina- 
tion and  executive  ability  in  his  operations  in  con- 
nection with  this  great  industry,  while  he  has  not 
been  denied  a  due  reward  in  the  way  of  financial 
success.  On  June  i,  1903,  Mr.  LaPlant  also  be- 
came identified  with  the  general  merchandise  busi- 
ness, becoming  associated  with  Dr.  L.  P.  Michael 
in  the  opening  of  a  well  stocked  establishment  at 
the  Cheyenne  agency,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Michael  &  LaPlant. 

In  politics  the  subject  is  a  stanch  Republican 
and  fraternally  he  has  attained  distinguished  ad- 
vancement in  the  Masonic  order,  in  which  he  has 
passed  the  thirty-second  degree  in  the  Ancient 
and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  and  been  designated 
as  a  Sublime  Prince  of  the  Royal  Secret.  He  is 
a  member  of  Oriental  Consistory,  No.  i ,  at  Yank- 
ton. 

In  the  year  1889  ]Mr.  LaPlant  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Virginia  Travesty,  of  Sioux 
City,  Iowa,  she  being  a  daughter  of  August  Trav- 
esty, who  was  one  of  the  very  early  settlers  in  the 
territory  of  Dakota,  and  a  man  of  prominence  in 
the  stirring  life  on  the  frontier.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
LaPlant  have  four  children.  Maud  D.,  Lucille, 
Fred  Ellsworth  and  Irene. 


MYROX  D.  THOMPSON  was  born  in  Sar- 
atoga county,  New  York,  on  the  13th  of  January, 
1847.  being  a  son  of  Orville  W.  and  Fidelia  P. 
(Ingalsbee)  Thompson,  both  of  whom  were  like- 
wise native  of  the  old  Empire  state,  where  they 


passed  their  entire  lives,  the  former  passing  to  the 
life  eternal  in  1887  and  the  latter  in  1885.  The 
subject  secured  his  early  educational  training 
in  the  public  schools  of  Washington  county,  New 
York,  and  later  entered  Fort  Edward  Institute, 
that  state,  where  he  was  graduated  as  a  member 
of  the  class  of  1864. 

At  the  age  of  seventeen  years  Mr.  Thompson 
secured  a  clerkship  in  a  general  store  at  Warrens- 
burg,  New  York,  receiving  in  compensation  for 
his  services  the  munificent  salary  of  five  dollars 
a  month  and  being  compelled  to  defray  his  own 
I  incidental  expenses.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he 
came  west  to  Columbus,  Wisconsin,  where  he 
continued  to  be  employed  in  a  clerical  capacity 
until  1867,  when  he  came  to  the  territory  of  Da- 
kota and  located  in  what  is  now  the  thriving  town 
of  Vermillion,  where  he  instituted  his  independ- 
ent business  career  by  becoming  a  member  of  the 
finn  of  McHenry,  Thompson  &  Lewis  and  engag- 
ing in  the  general  merchandise  trade,  the  firm  be- 
ing one  of  the  first  of  the  sort  in  the  county.  Two 
years  later  the  firm  title  was  changed  to  Thomp- 
son, McKerclien  &  Company,  and  this  association 
continued  two  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which 
Mr.  Thompson  associated  himself  with  Martin  J. 
Lewis,  under  the  firm  name  of  Thompson  & 
Lewis,  and  engaged  in  the  handling  of  lumber, 
farming  machinery  and  implements,  grain 
and  live  stock,  and  with  these  important  lines 
of  industry  he  has  ever  since  been  conspicuously 
identified,  the  business  now  being  conducted  un- 
der the  title  of  the  Thompson-Lewis  Company. 
The  enterprise  has  attained  magnificent  propor- 
tions and  is  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  sort 
in  this  section  of  the  state,  while  by  careful  man- 
agement, honorable  methods  and  progressive 
ideas  it  has  brought  to  the  interested  principals  a 
high  degree  of  prosperity,  while  through  their 
extended  operations  they  have  in  turn  done  much 
to  promote  the  prosperity  and  material  upbuild- 
ing of  the  county  and  state.  Mr.  Thompson  has 
ever  stood  ready  to  lend  his  aid  and  influence  in 
support  of  all  enterprises  for  the  general  good, 
and  his  name  is  synonymous  with  public  spirit. 
He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Bank  of 
\^ermillion,  and   upon   its   reorganization  as  the 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


First  National  Bank,  he  was  elected  its  vice- 
president,  having  ever  since  continued  to  serve 
in  this  capacity.  He  is  a  stanch  adherent  of  the 
Republican  party  and  his  allegiance  has  been  one 
of  action,  since  he  has  at  all  times  been  a  zealous 
worker  in  the  party  cause.  He  and  his  family 
hold  membership  in  the  Baptist  church,  and  in 
the  Masonic  fraternity  he  has  risen  to  the  rank 
of  Knight  Templar,  while  he  is  also  identified 
with  the  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  the  Nobles  of 
the  Mystic  Shrine,  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  He  is  one 
of  the  pioneer  business  men  of  the  state  and  it  is 
gratifying  to  note  the  success  which  has  come 
to  him  during  the  long  years  of  toil  and  endeavor, 
for  he  has  been  essentially  the  architect  of  his 
own  fortune  and  has  so  ordered  his  course  as  to 
commend  himself  to  the  unqualified  respect  and 
regard  of  his  fellow  men,  standing  high  in  both 
business  and  social  circles. 

On  the  6th  of  January,  1870,  was  solemnized 
the  marriage  of  Mr.  Thompson  to  Miss  Anna 
E.  Lewis,  daughter  of  William  L.  Lewis,  of  Ver- 
million, and  a  niece  of  ex-Governor  James  T. 
Lewis,  of  Wisconsin.  Of  this  union  have  been 
born  two  sons,  Orville  W.,  of  whom  individual 
mention  is  made  elsewhere  in  this  work,  and  Mar- 
tin L.,  who  is  associated  with  both  his  father  and 
brother  in  business.  Both  sons  are  graduates  of 
the  State  L^niversity  of  South  Dakota,  which  is 
located  in  A'ermillion. 


GEORGE  P.  WINSTON  is  owner  of  one  of 
the  largest  and  best  improved  ranches  in  Brown 
county,  the  same  being  located  seven  miles  west 
of  Frederick,  and  he  is  also  known  as  one  of  the 
extensive  farmers  and  stock  growers  of  this  sec- 
tion of  the  state,  being  also  engaged  in  the  bu)'- 
ing  and  shipping  of  live  stock,  while  he  is  known 
as  a  progressive  business  man  and  a  loyal  and 
sterling  citizen  of  the  state  in  which  he  has  main- 
tained his  home  for  more  than  a  score  of  years. 

Mr.  Winston  claims  the  Badger  state  as  the 
place  of  his  nativity,  having  been  born  in  Evans- 
ville.  Rock  county,  Wisconsin,  on  the  29th  of 
June.  1857,  and  being  a  son  of  Nelson  and  Eliza 


A.  Winston,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  the 
state  of  New  York.  They  were  numbered  among 
the  pioneers  of  Wisconsin  and  the  father  of  the 
subject  was  for  many  years  one  of  the  prominent 
merchants  and  influential  citizens  of  Evansville. 
Our  subject  received  his  early  educational  train- 
ing in  the  schools  of  his  native  town  and  later 
supplemented  this  by  a  course  of  study  in  the 
Wisconsin  State  LTniversity,  at  Madison.  He 
thereafter  was  engaged  in  contracting  in  Evans- 
ville until  1881,  on  the  19th  of  June  of  which 
year  he  came  to  Frederick,  South  Dakota,  and 
took  up  a  pre-emption  claim  south  of  the  pioneer 
village.  There  he  turned  his  attention  to  farm- 
ing and  stock-raising,  eventually  augmenting  the 
area  of  his  farm,  and  there  continued  to  reside  for 
the  ensuing  fifteen  years,  within  which  period  he 
became  quite  extensively  engaged  in  the  buying 
and  shipping  of  cattle  and  sheep.  In  1900  Mr. 
Winston  purchased  his  present  magnificent  ranch, 
which  is  located  on  Elm  creek  and  which  com- 
prises fifteen  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  all  in  one 
body,  the  place  having  been  previously  known  as 
the  Mc Alpine  ranch.  He  keeps  an  average  herd 
of  about  two  hundred  head  of  cattle,  and  is  mak- 
ing a  specialty  of  breeding  the  Aberdeen  Angus 
cattle,  having  the  best  herd  of  black  cattle  in  the 
county  and  having  done  much  to  improve  the 
grade  of  stock  raised  in  this  locality.  He  still 
continues  to  ship  live  stock  and  also  wool,  in 
which  latter  line  he  handled  a  quarter  of  a  million 
pounds  in  1902.  Mr.  Winston  is  a  stanch  Repub- 
lican, but  has  never  desired  public  office,  prefer- 
ring to  be  known  as  primarily  and  essentially  a 
business  man.  He  is  prominently  identified  with 
the  Masonic  fraternity,  in  which  he  has  attained 
the  thirtieth  degree  of  the  Scottish  Rite,  being 
identified  with  the  consistory  at  Aberdeen. 

In  Madison,  Wisconsin,  on  the  loth  of  June, 
1877,  Mr.  Winston  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Florence  E.  Yager,  who  was  born  and  reared 
in  that  state.  Of  this  union  have  been  born  three 
sons,  namely:  Roy  N.,  who  is  engaged  in  the 
meat  business  in  Frederick ;  Earl  G.,  who  is  em- 
ployed in  the  drafting  department  of  the  West- 
inghouse  Electrical  Company  in  Pittsburg,  Penn- 
sylvania ;  and  Paul  G.,  who  remains  at  the  pa- 


726 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


rental  home  and  who  is  giving  much  time  and 
study  to  the  breeding  of  barred  Plymouth  Rock 
poultry. 


CHARLES  F.  HALBKAT  is  recognized  as 
one  of  the  representative  young  business  men 
of  the  state,  being  engaged  in  the  wholesale  and 
retail  jewelry  business  in  the  city  of  Watertown, 
the  official  center  of  Codington  county,  where 
he  controls  a  large  and  important  business  in  his 
line  and  commands  unqualified  confidence  and 
esteem  in  both  commercial  and  social  circles. 
The  enterprise  at  whose  head  he  stands  is  the 
oldest,  though  the  most  up-to-date,  of  the  sort 
in  this  section  of  the  state,  having  been  es- 
tablished here  in  the  early  days  of  the  town  by 
W.  R.  Arnold,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  place, 
who  was  succeeded  by  W.  T.  Keating,  from 
whom  the  subject  purchased  the  business  in 
January,  1898,  so  that  its  history  has  been  con- 
secutive from  the  pioneer  epoch.  The  finely 
equipped  and  appointed  establishment  is  eligibly 
located  in  the  Granite  block,  in  the  business  cen- 
ter of  the  city,  and  the  quarters  are  spacious  and 
are  attractive  in  all  particulars.  Mr.  Halbkat 
carries  a  large  and  complete  stock  of  jewelry, 
watches,  clocks,  silverware  and  other  specialties 
in  the  line  usually  found  in  metropolitan  estab- 
lishments ;  the  store  is  furnished  in  fine  black 
walnut  and  glass,  the  fixtures  being  of  modern 
design  throughout,  and  both  in  stock  and  ar- 
rangement the  establishment  compares  most 
favorably  with  the  first-class  houses  of  the  sort 
in  the  larger  cities.  A  well  equipped  optical  de- 
partment is  maintained  and  is  one  of  the  special 
features  of  the  enterprise,  the  same  being  in 
charge  of  two  graduate  opticians,  while  particu- 
lar attention  is  also  given  to  high-class  engrav- 
ing and  complicated  watch  repairing  of  all  sorts, 
much  work  being  done  by  our  subject's  skilled 
artisans  in  turning  out  this  sort  of  work  for  deal- 
ers in  neighboring  towns  where  expert  work- 
manship is  demanded.  Mr.  Halbkat  is  the 
official  watch  inspector  for  three  railroads  enter- 
ing Watertown,  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern 
Railway,  Chicago,  Rock  Island  &  Pacific  Rail- 


way, and  Minneapolis  &  St.  Louis  Railway,  each 
having  selected  him  to  inspect  and  look  after 
their  employes'  time-pieces. 

Charles  Frederick  Halbkat  is  a  native  of  the 
state  of  ^Minnesota,  having  been  born  on  a  fann 
near  Hamilton,  Fillmore  county,  on  the  20th  of 
June,  1870,  and  being  a  son  of  John  C.  and 
Helen  (Tessin)  Halbkat.  The  father  was  born 
in  Buffalo,  New  York,  to  which  state  his  parents 
came  from  Germany  about  the  year  1849,  and 
when  he  was  about  four  years  of  age  his  parents 
removed  to  Minnesota,  becoming  pioneers  of 
Mower  county,  and  later  Fillmore  county,  where 
he  was  reared  to  manhood  on  the  home  farm,  re- 
ceiving a  common-school  education.  He  has 
been  engaged  in  general  merchandising  in 
Spring  Valley,  Fillmore  county,  Minnesota,  since 
1875,  and  is  thus  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  state, 
as  is  he  also  one  of  the  prominent  and  influential 
citizens  of  his  locality.  In  Minnesota  was  cele- 
brated his  marriage  to  Miss  Helen  Tessin,  who 
was  born  and  reared  in  Germany,  whence  she 
came  to  America  when  a  young  woman,  and  of 
their  five  children  all  are  yet  living. 

Charles  F.  Halbkat  secured  his  educational 
discipline  in  the  public  schools  of  Spring  Valley, 
being  a  student  in  the  high  school  until  he  had 
attained  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  when  he  took 
a  clerical  position  in  his  father's  store,  where 
he  remained  one  year,  after  which  he  began  his 
apprenticeship  at  the  jeweler's  trade,  which  he 
completed  in  an  establishment  at  Waseca,  Min- 
nesota, where  he  continued  to  be  employed  at 
his  trade  until  1898,  when  he  came  to  Watertown, 
South  Dakota,  and  effected  the  purchase  of  his 
present  business,  which  was  the  leading  one  of 
the  sort  in  the  city,  its  proprietor  at  the  time 
having  been  mayor  of  Watertown.  He  has  ma- 
terially increased  the  scope  and  importance  of 
the  enterprise,  being  a  reliable  and  progressive 
young  business  man  and  one  whose  courteous 
and  genial  nature  has  gained  to  him  a  host  of 
friends  in  this  section.  He  has  made  judicious 
investments  in  farming  land  in  the  state  and  is 
also  the  owner  of  one  of  the  most  attractive  resi- 
dence properties  in  Watertown.  In  politics  he  is  a 
stanch  Republican  and  never  fails  to  exercise  his 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


727 


right  of  franchise.  Fraternally  he  is  prominently 
identified  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  while 
residing  in  jXIinnesota  was  captain  in  the  Uni- 
formed Rank  of  the  same,  while  he  is  also  a 
Knight  Templar  Mason  and  a  member  of  the 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

On  the  7th  of  June,  1899,  Mr.  Halbkat  was 
united  in  marriage  to  ]\Iiss  Georgia  Wert,  of 
Waseca,  Minnesota,  in  which  state  she  was 
reared  and  educated.  Mrs.  Halbkat  is  an  ac- 
complished musician,  being  a  skilled  pianist  and 
organist,  and  having  at  one  time  been  organist 
of  the  Congregational  church  in  Watertown. 
Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Halbkat  are  communicants 
of  Trinity  church,  Protestant  Episcopal,  in 
Watertown.  They  have  one  child,  Charles  Angus, 
born  December  7,  1902.  They  are  prominent 
in  the  social  life  of  the  community  and  their 
pleasant  home  is  a  favorite  rendezvous  for  their 
wide  circle  of  friends. 


ALOIS  JEZEWSKI  is  one  of  the  progressive 
young  business  men  of  the  state,  being  manager 
of  the  lumber  yards  of  the  firm  of  J.  H.  Queal 
&  Company,  at  Tabor,  Bon  Homme  county,  while 
he  has  previously  held  other  important  positions 
demanding  marked  executive  ability  and  discrim- 
ination. 

Mr.  Jezewski  is  a  native  of  Winona, 
Minnesota,  where  he  was  born  on  the  24th  of 
November,  1880,  being  a  son  of  Andrew  and 
Pauline  (Jajesky)  Jezewski,  both  of  whom  were 
born  in  Poland.  There  the  father  of  our  subject 
was  reared  and  educated,  and  when  about  seven- 
teen years  of  age  came  to  the  United  States  in 
company  with  his  parents,  locating  in  Minnesota, 
where  his  father  took  up  a  tract  of  land  and  en- 
gaged in  farming.  On  attaining  manhood  he 
became  identified  with  the  lumbering  industry  of 
that  state,  securing  a  position  in  the  sawmills  of 
the  firm  of  Laird.  Norton  &  Company,  at  Wi- 
nona. Here  his  skill  and  fidelity  met  with  appreci- 
ative recognition  and  he  was  soon  advanced  to 
the  position  of  edger,  and  has  ever  since  remained 
in  the  employ  of  the  same  concern,  having  filled 
the  position  noted  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 


tury. He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  a  man  of 
sterling  character  and  both  he  and  his  wife  are 
devout  communicants  of  the  Catholic  church. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  to  ma- 
turity in  his  native  town  of  Winona,  where  he 
completed  the  curriculum  of  the  public  schools, 
including  the  high  school.  At  the  breaking  out 
of  the  Spanish-American  war  he  was  a  member 
of  Company  E,  Second  Regiment  of  the  Union 
State  IMilitia,  and  when  his  command  was  called 
into  service  Mr.  Jezewski  became  a  member  of 
Company  E,  Twelfth  Minnesota  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, remaining  in  service  for  six  months  and 
then  receiving  his  honorable  discharge,  the  regi- 
ment having  been  stationed  at  Chickamauga 
Park.  He  was  discharged  as  corporal  of  his 
company  and  while  in  active  service  he  was  on 
detail  duty  in  the  hospital,  also  serving  as  com- 
pany clerk,  while  he  also  did  effective  work  as 
battalion  correspondent  for  the  St.  Paul  Globe. 
After  his  return  home  he  became  second  man 
at  Minnesota,  Minnesota,  for  the  Winona  Lumber 
Company.  Aiter  a  short  time  he  resigned  this 
position  to  accept  a  place  as  machine  salesman 
and  stock  buyer  with  Herman  Dahl,  in  virhose 
employ  he  remained  until  the  winter  of  1899- 
1900,  during  which  he  was  in  the  employ  of  the 
Lunds  Land  Agency  as  traveling  representative 
for  a  time,  then  engaging  in  selling  implements 
and  buying  stock  for  C.  M.  Anderson,  of  Canby, 
Minnesota.  In  the  winter  of  1900-1901  he  en- 
gaged in  teaching  school  and  was  also  leader  of 
the  band  at  Wilmo,  Minnesota,  being  an  accom- 
plished musician  in  this  line  of  renditions.  In  the 
spring  of  1901  he  accepted  a  position  as  salesman 
for  the  Dawson  Lumber  Company,  at  Ivanhoe, 
Minnesota,  and  in  the  following  August  the  com- 
pany disposed  of  its  interests  at  that  point.  Our 
subject  was  then  oflFered  a  position  with  the  com- 
pany in  connection  with  their  business  at  Madi- 
son, that  state,  but  he  did  not  accept  the  same 
but  entered  the  employ  of  the  Chicago  &  North- 
western Railroad  Company,  continuing  in  service 
during  the  busy  season  of  stock  transportation. 
In  December,  1901,  he  accepted  a  position  with 
the  lumber  firm  of  J.  H.  Queal  &  Company,  of 
Minneapolis,  and  forthwith  came  to  Tabor,  South 


728 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH  DAKOTA. 


Dakota,  to  assume  the  management  of  their 
yards  here,  and  he  has  since  retained  this  incum- 
bency, having  been  most  successful  in  forwarding 
the  local  interests  of  the  company  and  having 
control  of  a  large  and  constantly  increasing  busi- 
ness. He  is  a  stanch  Republican  in  his  political 
proclivities  and  takes  a  lively  interest  in  public 
affairs  of  a  local  and  general  nature.  He  and 
his  wife  are  both  communicants  of  the  Catholic 
church.  He  has  recently  completed  a  course  in 
architecture  through  the  International  Corre- 
spondence Schools,  of  Scranton,  Pennsylvania, 
finding  the  knowledge  of  great  value  to  him  in 
his  present  position,  while  he  is  also  well  equipped 
for  following  the  business  as  a  profession  should 
circumstances  justify  a  change  at  any  time. 

On  the  3d  of  June,  1902,  was  solemnized  the 
marriage  of  Mr.  Jezewski  to  Miss  Stella  Hakl, 
daughter  of  Frank  Hakl,  a  well-known  and  hon- 
ored farmer  of  Bon  Homme  countv. 


PETER  OSCAR  OLSON  was  born  on  the 
homestead  farm,  on  section  28,  township  94, 
range  54,  Yankton  county.  South  Dakota,  on 
the  1st  of  February,  1874.  His  father.  Chris- 
tian Olson,  is  a  native  of  Norway,  having  been 
born  at  Biri,  near  the  historic  and  beautiful  old 
city  of  Christiania,  on  the  i6th  of  December, 
1846,  and  having  been  there  reared  to  maturity. 
In  1866  he  emigrated  to  America  and  made  his 
way  to  Wisconsin,  where  he  remained  until  the 
spring  of  the  following  year,  when  he  came  to 
the  great  territory  of  Dakota  and  took  up  a  claim 
of  government  land  in  Yankton  county,  the  same 
being  the  homestead  on  which  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  born.  He  continued  to  reside  on 
this  place  until  1901,  when  he  removed  to 
another  farm,  which  he  had  recently  purchased, 
one  and  one-half  miles  distant  from  the  old 
homestead,  and  there  he  still  resides,  being  one 
of  the  honored  pioneers  and  prosperous  and  in- 
fluential farmers  of  the  county.  In  1873  was 
solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Thea  Louise 
Bagstad.  who  was  born  in  Vernon  county,  Wis- 
consin, January  23,  1856.  In  1867  she  ac- 
companied  her   parents   on   their   removal    from 


the  Badger  state  to  Yankton  county,  Dakota, 
where  she  was  reared  to  womanhood  and  where 
her  marriage  was  solemnized.  Of  this  union 
were  born  four  children,  namely :  Peter  O.,  Carl 
M.,  John  B.  and  Laura  C,  the  last  mentioned 
'being  deceased.  Mrs.  Olson  was  a  devoted  wife 
and  mother  and  her  gracious  personality  en- 
deared her  to  all  with  whom  she  came  in  con- 
tact, while  she  exemplified  her  Christian  faith 
in  her  daily  walk  and  conversation.  While  visit- 
ing her  sister,  at  Hamline,  Minnesota,  she  was 
attacked  with  an  illness  which  terminated  in  her 
death  a  few  davs  later,  on  the  23d  of  May, 
1888. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  to  the 
sturdy  discipline  of  the  home  farm  and  his  early 
educational  training  was  secured  in  school  dis- 
trict No.  7,  being  supplemented  by  four  terms 
in  the  preparatory  department  of  Yankton  Col- 
lege. He  has  always  been  fond  of  reading,  par- 
ticularly books  of  an  historical  nature,  and  this 
appreciation  has  led  him  to  add  materially  to  his 
store  of  information,  as  has  also  his  active  identi- 
fication with  the  practical  affairs  of  life.  JMr. 
Olson  has  never  abated  his  allegiance  to  the 
great  basic  art  of  agriculture,  of  whose  dignity 
and  value  he  is  fully  appreciative  and  through 
the  same  he  has  attained  a  success  wortliy  the 
name.  He  is  fond  of  outdoor  work  and  early 
decided  that  the  work  of  the  farm  offered  the 
safest  and  surest  method  of  obtaining  a  liveli- 
hood and  a  position  of  independence.  He  and 
his  two  brothers  have  always  worked  together 
with  their  father,  believing  that  "in  union  there 
is  strength,"  and  in  evidence  that  their  view  has 
been  authorized  we  may  say  that  since  1890  they 
have  purchased  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  of 
land  and  expended  several  thousands  of  dol- 
lars in  improving  the  same,  despite  the  fact  that 
they  encountered  no  few  obstacles  and  dis- 
couragements, including  the  protracted  drought 
in  1894,  causing  a  total  failure  of  the  com  crop ; 
a  hail  storm  in  1896.  entailing  a  similar  result; 
and  a  flood  in  the  following  year,  causing  a  small 
crop  in  all  lines.  Mr.  Olson  is  a  young  man  of 
distinct  individuality  and  strong  convictions,  and 
he  believes  that  if  a  young  man  is  to  succeed  on 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


the  farm  he  must  use  business  principles,  must 
be  on  time  and  make  each  day  count,  not  waiting 
for  the  morrow,  while  he  also  maintains  that 
resorting  to  saloons  and  gambling  dens  will  ac- 
complish the  failure  of  any  and  every  man.  He 
is  an  uncompromising  Republican  and  has  been 
zealous  in  advocating  the  party  cause  whenever 
opportunity  has  presented.  In  1888-9  he  served 
as  treasurer  of  school  district  No.  7,  having  been 
appointed  to  fill  a  vacancy.  His  religious  faith  is 
that  of  the  Lutheran  church,  and  he  holds  mem- 
bership in  the  church  near  Mission  Hill,  one  of 
the  oldest  in  the  state. 

At  Gayville,  Yankton  county,  on  the  24th  of 
October,  1901,  Mr.  Olson  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Bergine  Marie  Olson,  who  was 
born  at  Biri,  Norway,  February  2,  1883,  and 
who  came  to  Yankton  county  on  the  .20th  of 
April,  1898,  accompanied  by  her  sister  Julia. 
Her  parents,  Martinus  and  Karen  (Nilson) 
Olson,  became  residents  of  this  county  in  May, 
1899,  and  still  maintain  their  home  here.  They 
are  the  parents  of  eight  children,  all  of  whom 
were  bom  in  Norway  except  the  youngest,  their 
names,  in  order  of  birth,  being  as  follows  :  Nils, 
Pergine  M.,  Julia,  Oluf,  Adolph,  Peter,  Sigurd 
and  Clara  L.  The  subject  and  his  wife  are  the 
parents  of  a  winsome  little  daughter.  Laura  Caro- 
line, who  was  born  on  the  6th  of  August,  1902. 


FREDERICK  J.  BLT.LIS.— The  late  Fred- 
erick J.  Bullis  was  one  of  the  sterling  pioneers  and 
honored  citizens  of  Brookings  county,  which  was 
his  home  and  the  scene  of  his  earnest  and  suc- 
cessful endeavors  for  more  than  a  score  of  years, 
while  he  so  ordered  his  life  as  to  retain  the  un- 
qualified confidence  and  regard  of  those  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact.  Mr.  Bullis,  whose 
death  occurred  on  the  20th  of  April,  1903,  was 
a  native  of  the  Empire  state  of  the  Union,  having 
been  born  in  Schuyler's  Falls,  Clinton  county. 
New  York,  on  the  22d  of  July,  1841,  and  b»ing  a 
son  of  Alfred  and  Anna  Bullis,  who  were  repre- 
sentatives of  pioneer  families  of  that  common- 
wealth, where  both  died,  the  father  having  been 
a   prosperous   farmer  and   lumberman.      Of   his 


children  we  are  enabled  to  enter  the  following 
brief  record :  Jennette  is  the  wife  of  Eli  Kim- 
berly  and  resides  in  Niagara,  New  York;  Helen 
died  in  early  womanhood ;  Lucy  is  the  wife  of 
James  Burroughs,  of  East  Beakmantown,  New 
York;  Frederick  J.  is  the  subject  of  this  mem- 
oir; Addie  is  the  widow  of  a  Mr.  Daily  and 
resides  in  Plattsburg,  New  York ;  Charles  and 
Fannie  are  deceased ;  and  Emma  is  the  wife  of 
James  Stratton,  of  Plattsburg,  New  York. 

Frederick  J.  Bullis  was  reared  to  the  sturdy 
discipline  of  the  farm  and  secured  his  educational 
discipline  in  the  common  schools  of  his  native 
county.  He  there  continued  to  be  identified  with 
agricultural  pursuits  until  he  had  attained  the  age 
of  twentv-five  3'ears,  when  he  set  forth  to  seek  his 
fortunes  in  the  west,  proceeding  to  Owatonna, 
Minnesota,  in  the  vicinity  of  which  place  he  pur- 
chased one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land,  this 
being  in  the  year  1866.  He  was  one  of  the  early 
settlers  in  that  section  and  after  locating  on  his 
pioneer  farm  he  there  maintained  "bachelor's 
hall"  about  five  years.  On  the  12th  of  October, 
1870,  he  was  there  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Mary  A.  Morton,  who  was  born  in  Cattaraugus 
county,  New  York,  on  the  27th  of  February,  1851, 
a  daughter  of  Reuben  H.  and  Lois  (Cowley) 
Morton,  both  of  whom  were  likewise  native  of 
the  Empire  state,  being  of  stanch  Irish  lineage. 
Mr.  Morton  was  engaged  in  farming  in  New 
York  until  1863,  when  he  emigrated  with  his 
family  to  Minnesota  and  purchased  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  of  land  in  Steele  county,  later  dis- 
posing of  this  property  and  removing  to  Chip- 
pewa county,  that  state,  where  he  passed  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life,  his  death  occurring  in  1877, 
while  his  widow  there  continued  to  reside  until 
she  too  was  summoned  into  eternal  rest,  in  No- 
vember, 1902.  Of  their  fifteen  children  only  six 
are  now  living.  Charity,  who  became  the  wife  of 
William  Towne,  of  Leone,  New  York,  is  now 
deceased ;  Susan,  who  became  the  wife  of  Ben- 
jamin Sires,  of  Milbank,  South  Dakota,  is  now 
deceased ;  Melissa  is  the  wife  of  Sturat  McKann 
and  they  reside  in  the  state  of  Washington  :  Leon- 
ard is  a  resident  of  Milbank,  South  Dakota; 
Homer  is  deceased  ;  Marv  A.  is  the  widow  of  the 


"30 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


subject  of  this  sketch  ;  Charles  resides  in  Milbank. 
this  state ;  Flora  is  the  wife  of  Harry  Miller,  of 
that  place ;  Lois  and  Lela  and  Nellie  are  de- 
ceased :  Kate  is  the  wife  of  Lee  Amsden,  of  Mil- 
bank  ;  Edna  is  deceased :  the  fourteenth  child 
died,  unnamed,  in  infancy :  and  Reuben  is  a  resi- 
dent  of    Chippewa   county,    Aliiinesota. 

After  his  marriage  Air.  BuUis  continued  to 
reside  on  his  homestead  in  Minnesota  until  1882, 
when  he  disposed  of  the  property  and  came  as  a 
pioneer  to  Brookings  county.  South  Dakota,  this 
being  prior  to  the  admission  of  the  state  to  the 
L^nion.  Here  he  entered  claim  to  the  homestead 
farm  upon  which  his  widow  now  resides,  the 
only  improvement  made  on  the  farm  at  the  time 
he  came  into  possession  being  a  broken  tract  of 
about  twelve  acres.  He  erected  a  modest  house, 
eighteen  by  twenty-four  feet  in  dimensions,  the 
same  being  one  of  the  best  to  be  found  in  the 
locality  at  the  time,  while  its  equipment  was  far 
above  the  average,  since  he  had  brought  with  him 
a  good  supply  of  furniture  and  other  household 
goods  from  the  old  home  in  Minnesota.  Later  he 
erected  a  substantial  and  attractive  residence  of 
twelve  rooms  and  this  constitutes  the  family  home 
at  the  present  time,  while  the  other  improvements 
of  permanent  order  are  of  corresponding  excel- 
lence. Mr.  Bullis  added  to  the  area  of  his  landed 
estate  from  time  to  time,  becoming  the  owner  of 
three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  as  productive 
land  as  is  to  be  foimd  in  this  section,  while  he 
brought  the  farm  under  a  high  state  of  cultiva- 
tion and  also  raised  live  stock  of  the  best  grade, 
having  brought  considerable  stock  with  him  from 
Minnesota.  His  life  was  one  of  signal  usefulness 
and  honor  and  his  name  ever  stood  as  a  synonym 
of  integrity,  so  that  he  commanded  the  respect  of 
all  who  knew  him,  being  known  as  an  honest,  sin- 
cere and  public-spirited  citizen.  His  political  al- 
legiance was  given  to  the  Republican  party,  of 
whose  principles  and  policies  he  was  a  stanch  ad- 
vocate, and  his  religious  faith  was  that  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  of  which  his  widow 
and  children  are  likewise  members.  Of  the  chil- 
dren we  record  that  A.  Leroy  is  individually  men- 
tioned on  another  page  of  this  work,  he  having 
charge  of  the  homestead  farm :  Fred,  who  was 


born  on  the  27th  of  February,  1876,  is  a  farmer 
of  this  county ;  he  married  Miss  Nora  Peters  and 
they  have  one  child,  Henry  S. ;  Ira,  who  was  born 
on  the  6th  of  May,  1879,  is  associated  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  home  farm ;  Nellie,  who  was  born 
on  the  31st  of  May,  1881,  is  the  wife  of  Morris 
Sylvester  and  they  reside  in  Brookings  county : 
and  Bessie,  Lucy  and  Grace  still  remain  beneath 
the  home  roof,  being  aged  respectively  nineteen, 
fifteen  and  thirteen  years  ( 1903.) 


A.  L.  BULLIS  figures  as  one  of  the  most 
progressive  and  public-spirited  young  farmers 
and  stock  growers  of  Brookings  county,  where 
he  has  passed  the  major  portion  of  his  life,  being 
a  representative  of  one  of  the  honored  pioneer 
families  of  this  favored  section  of  the  state.  He 
was  born  in  Owatonna,  Steele  county,  Minnesota, 
on  the  28th  of  December,  1872,  being  a  son  of 
Frederick  J.  and  Mary  A.  Bullis.  concerning 
whom  specific  mention  is  made  on  other  pages 
of  this  work.  Our  subject  pursued  his  studies 
in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  state  until  he 
had  attained  the  age  of  ten  years,  when,  in  1882. 
he  accompanied  his  parents  on  their  removal  to 
South  Dakota,  the  family  locating  on  a  farm  in 
Afton  township,  Brookings  county,  where  he  was 
reared  to  maturity,  and  this  place  still  consti- 
tutes a  part  of  the  old  homestead,  of  which  our 
subject  has  the  supervision.  He  here  attended 
the  public  schools  until  fifteen  years  of  age. 
when  he  was  matriculated  in  the  State  Agricul- 
tural College,  in  Brookings,  in  which  institution 
he  completed  a  three-years  course,  the  college 
having  been  in  session  for  its  first  full  year  at 
the  time  when  he  was  a  student  therein.  After 
leaving  the  college  I\Ir.  Bullis  returned  to  the 
homestead  farm,  being  associated  with  his  father 
in  the  operation  of  the  same  until  he  had  at- 
tained his  legal  majority,  when  he  rented  land 
and  inaugurated  his  independent  career,  though 
he  still  continued  to  reside  at  the  parental  home. 
while  since  1900  he  has  had  the  general  charge 
of  the  homestead  farm,  also  continuing  to  utilize 
rented  land  for  some  years.  In  1896  he  pur- 
chased the  northeast  quarter  of  section  1 1 .  town- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


73^ 


ship  III.  for  a  consideration  of  twenty-four 
hundred  dollars,  and  he  has  placed  the  entire 
tract  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation.  He  now 
has  charge  of  four  hundred  and  eighty  acres  of 
land,  is  energetic  and  progressive  and  is  known 
as  one  of  the  representative  agriculturists  of  the 
count}-,  while  he  is  carefully  conserving  the  best 
interests  of  his  father's  estate  and  making  the 
best  possible  provision  for  his  widowed  mother 
and  the  other  members  of  the  family.  In  1902 
}ilr.  r.ullis,  in  company  with  his  brother  Fred, 
purchased  a  twenty-two-horse-power  Garr-Scott 
engine  and  separator  of  the  best  modern  design, 
and  in  the  operation  of  the  same  he  has  been  very 
successful,  his  equipment  being  in  constant  req- 
uisition during  the  season.  For  the  past  dec- 
ade he  has  given  special  attention  to  the  raising 
of  corn,  which  he  considers  one  of  his  best  crop3, 
and  through  his  experimentation  and  scientific 
methods  he  has  done  much  to  aid  in  proving  that 
corn  may  be  made  one  of  the  important  products 
of  this  section.  He  is  also  engaged  in  raising 
cattle  and  hogs  of  excellent  grade  and  all  de- 
]:>artments  of  his  farming  enterprise  give  evi- 
dence of  his  punctilious  supervision  and  effect- 
ive business  methods.  Air.  Bullis  is  stanchly 
arrayed  in  support  of  the  principles  of  the  Re- 
publican party,  and  he  has  served  as  delegate  to 
various  county  conventions  of  the  party  and 
otherwise  shown  an  active  interest  in  forward- 
ing its  cause.  He  served  as  clerk  of  the  school 
board  of  his  district  for  three  vears. 


F'RED  RILLING  is  known  as  one  of  the 
prominent  and  progressive  farmers  and  stock 
growers  of  Brookings  county  and  is  one  of  its 
honored  and  influential  citizens,  his  success 
standing  in  evidence  of  his  energy  an<l  abilit}-. 
He  was  born  in  West  Bend,  Washington  county, 
Wisconsin,  on  the  20th  of  March,  1859,  being  a 
son  of  George  and  Elizabeth  ( Sibert )  Rilling, 
both  of  whom  were  born  in  Germany.  As  a 
boy  George  Rilling  accompanied  his  parents  on 
their  emigration  to  America,  the  family  locating 
in  the  state  of  New  York,  where  he  was  reared 
to  maturit}-,  becoming  a  successful  farmer  and 


contractor.  His  wife  likewise  came  with  her 
parents  to  .\merica  when  she  was  a  child,  and  in 
the  Empire  state  of  the  L'nion  her  marriage  was 
solemnized.  Within  a  few  years  after  their  mar- 
riage Air.  and  Airs.  Rilling  removed  to  Wiscon- 
sin, locating  in  West  Bend,  where  they  resided 
for  five  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  they 
took  up  their  residence  on  a  farm  of  one  hundred 
and  forty-five  acres,  in  Barton  township.  Wash- 
ington county,  that  state,  where  Air.  Rilling  was 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  until  1895,  when 
they  removed  to  Naperville,  Illinois,  where  they 
still  maintain  their  home.  Of  their  children  we 
record  that  George,  Jr.,  is  a  resident  of  New 
Albany,  Indiana,  being  a  carpenter  by  vocation ; 
Albert  and  Charles  died  in  early  childhood:  Fred 
is  the  immediate  subject  of  this  sketch ;  Edward 
died  in  1895 ;  James,  who  is  a  clergyman  of  the 
Evangelical  church,  is  located  at  Wabash,  Indi- 
ana, at  the  time  of  this  writing ;  William  is 
pastor  of  the  Evangelical  church  at  Naperville, 
Illinois ;  Caroline  is  the  wife  of  Rev.  Louis 
Siewert,  Seymour,  Wisconsin ;  Emma  is  the  wife 
of  Louis  Heidner,  of  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  and 
John  is  likewise  a  resident  of  that  city. 

Fred  Rilling,  whose  name  introduces  this 
sketch,  was  reared  on  the  homestead  farm,  near 
Barton,  Wisconsin,  and  there  attended  the  pub- 
lic schools  until  he  had  reached  the  age  of 
twenty  years.  Upon  attaining  his  legal  majority 
he  left  the  homestead  farm,  in  1879,  ^"'^  came  as 
a  pioneer  to  South  Dakota,  imbued  with  the 
enthusiasm  and  characteristic  energy  which  have 
so  signally  conserved  the  development  of  our 
great  commonwealth.  He  entered  claim  to  a 
quarter  section  of  land  in  Brookings  county,  the 
same  being  a  portion  of  his  present  fine  landed 
estate,  and  he  forthwith  instituted  sucli  improve- 
n^ients  as  to  enable  him  to  hold  the  claim.  Within 
the  first  two  years  he  broke  ten  acres  of  ground 
and  placed  it  under  cultivation,  while  the  first 
residence  he  erected  on  the  farm  was  a  sod 
house  of  the  primitive  type  so  familiar  to  the 
early  settlers.  AA'hen  he  left  home  his  cash  capi- 
tal was  but  twenty  dollars,  and  he  borrowed  the 
money  with  which  to  file  claim  to  his  land.  Dur- 
ing the  first   year  of    his    residence    in    South 


732 


HISTORY  OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


Dakota  he  worked  at  Big  Stone,  while  the  second 
vear  he  worked  by  the  day  at  such  employment 
as  came  to  hand.  His  wages  for  the  first  sum- 
mer he  found  it  impossible  to  collect,  but  he 
was  not  disheartened  and  ever  held  the  goal  of 
success  and  prosperity  in  view,  having  faith  in 
the  future  of  the  state  with  whose  interests  he 
had  thus  identified  himself.  The  third  year  Mr. 
Rilling  purchased  a  yoke  of  oxen,  paying  one- 
half  in  cash  and  assuming  an  indebtedness  for 
the  balance.  He  then  turned  his  attention  to  the 
cultivation  of  his  own  farm,  in  the  meanwhile 
keeping  "bachelor's  hall"  in  his  little  cabin.  The 
fourth  year  he  bought  another  yoke  of  oxen,  on 
credit,  and  with  the  added  facilities  thus  af- 
forded he  succeeded  in  putting  in  thirty-five  acres 
of  grain.  That  his  struggle  was  a  somewhat 
strenuous  one  in  the  early  days  is  evident  when 
we  recall  further  that  in  purchasing  his  first 
breaking  plow  he  was  compelled  to  mortgage  his 
yoke  of  oxen  to  secure  the  same.  By  the  end 
of  six  years  he  had  accumulated  three  horses,  a 
cow,  a  wagon  and  other  requisite  farming  im- 
plements. In  1883  he  was  married,  bringing  his 
wife  to  the  farm  and  turning  with  renewed 
fervor  and  diligence  to  the  work  of  improving 
his  place  and  causing  the  earth  to  bring  forth  its 
increase.  Prosperity  attended  his  efforts  and  in 
the  valuable  farm  of  three  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  which  is  now  his  there  is  little  trace  of  the 
untrammeled  tract  upon  which  his  efforts  were 
inaugurated  in  the  pioneer  days.  The  farm -is 
all  in  one  bodv  and  is  in  a  good  state  of  cultiva- 
tion and  improved  with  substantial  and  attractive 
buildings,  good  fences,  etc.  In  addition  to  this 
home  place  Mr.  Rilling  owns  a  section  of  land 
near  Clear  Lake,  Deuel  county,  the  same  being 
well  fenced  and  devoted  principally  to  the  raising 
of  live  stock,  in  which  department  of  his  enter- 
prise our  subject  has  met  with  gratifying  suc- 
cess. Of  the  homestead  place  two  hundred  and 
forty  acres  are  given  over  to  the  cultivation  of 
grain,  and  in  addition  to  this  Mr.  Rilling  also 
rents  a  quarter  section  of  land  which  is  mainly 
devoted  to  grain.  His  stock  of  cattle  had  its 
nucleus  in  the  one  cow  to  which  reference  has 
been  made,  and  at  the  present  time  he  has  a  fine 


herd  of  about  seventy  cattle,  while  it  is  his  aim 
to  breed  at  least  a  carload  of  hogs  each  year, 
and  his  average  number  of  horses  is  about  twenty 
head.  His  present  commodious  and  attractive 
residence  was  erected  in  the  summer  of  1883, 
and  on  the  home  farm  he  has  constructed  one 
of  the  best  barns  to  be  found  in  the  county,  the 
same  having  been  erected  in  1896.  It  is  pleas- 
ing to  note  the  prosperity  which  has  come  to 
our  subject  as  the  result  of  his  good  judgment 
and  indefatigable  application,  and  he  has  at 
all  times  so  ordered  his  course  as  to  retain  the 
confidence  and  esteem  of  all  who  know  him, 
being  one  of  the  popular  and  honored  citizens 
of  the  county.  He  has  done  no  little  to  improve 
the  grade  of  cattle  raised  in  this  section,  breed- 
ing the  full-blood  shorthorn  type  and  having  for 
sale  at  all  times  excellent  specimens  at  reasonable 
prices,  so  that  recourse  is  had  to  his  stock  by 
those  who  wish  to  improve  the  grade  of  their 
I  cattle.  In  politics  Mr.  Rilling  is  found  stanchly 
arrayed  as  a  supporter  of  the  principles  and 
policies  of  the  Republican  party  and  while  he 
takes  a  proper  and  helpful  interest  in  public 
affairs  of  a  local  nature  he  has  never  been  a 
seeker  of  political  office.  Fraternally  he  holds 
membership  in  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen,  being  affiliated  with  the  lodge  at 
White,  and  he  is  also  a  member  of  the  lodge  of 
Yeoman  at  Brookings.  He  and  his  family  are 
consistent  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
I  church,  in  whose  work  he  and  his  wife  take  an 
■  active  part.  They  are  members  of  the  church  at 
i  Prairie  Home,  of  which  the  subject  is  a  trustee 
and  steward,  while  he  is  also  superintendent  of 
its  Sunday  school.  His  wife  is  a  teacher  in  the 
Sunday  school,  having  taught  the  same  class  for 
the  past  ten  years  and  being  known  for  her 
gentle  and  noble  character,  while  she  has  proved 
a  true  wife  and  helpmeet  and  has  ably  assisted 
her  husband  in  his  earnest  efforts  to  attain  a 
position  of  independence  and  definite  prosperity 
through  honest  and  earnest  endeavor. 

In  conclusion  we  will  revert  somewhat  in 
detail  to  the  domestic  chapter  in  the  life  history 
of  the  subject.  On  the  3d  of  October.  1883,  Mr. 
Rilling  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Hainiah 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


72,Z 


Smith,  who  was  born  in  Behnont,  Wisconsin,  on 
the  4th  of  March,  1865,  a  daughter  of  Stephen 
and  Martha  (Lincoln)  Smith,  both  of  whom  were 
born  in  the  province  of  New  Brunswick,  Canada, 
whence  they  removed  to  Wisconsin  in  the  pio- 
neer epoch,  the  father  being  there  engaged  in 
farming  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1869.' 
His  widow  is  still  living  and  resides  in  Stevens 
Point,  Wisconsin.  This  worthy  couple  became 
the  parents  of  twelve  children,  of  whom  eight  are 
still  living.  Mary  is  the  wife  of  Sardis  Turner, 
of  Willow  Springs,  Missouri ;  Thomas  is  de- 
ceased ;  John  is  a  resident  of  Stevens  Point,  Wis- 
consin :  Theodore  is  located  in  the  city  of  Chi- 
cago ;  Dorinda  is  the  wife  of  Robert  Sutherland, 
of  Mapleton,  Minnesota ;  Anna  is  deceased ;  An- 
jarona  and  Annetta  were  twins,  the  latter  being 
now  deceased,  while  the  former  is  the  wife  of 
William  Plank,  of  Almond,  Wisconsin  ;  Cordelia 
is  the  wife  of  Joseph  ]\IcKnight,  of  White,  South 
Dakota  :  \A'ashington  resides  in  Duluth,  Minne- 
sota ;  Amanda  is  the  wife  of  William  Soule,  a 
clergyman  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and 
they  reside  in  Wisconsin  ;  and  Hannah  is  the  wife 
of  the  subject  of  this  review.  Of  the  six  children 
born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rilling  four  are  living  at 
the  present  time.  Benjamin  was  born  on  the  27th 
of  August,  1884;  Earl  was  born  on  the  27th  of 
May,  1886;  Harry  was  born  on  the  21st  of  Janu- 
ary, 1891  :  Laura  died  at  the  age  of  one  month; 
Elsie  was  born  on  the  4th  of  February,  1894 ;  and 
Everett  died  at  birth. 


C.  FRANK  COLLINS.— Many  of  the  most 
successful  farmers  of  Yankton  county.  South 
Dakota,  are  devoting  much  of  their  attention  to 
stock  raising  and  this  branch  of  the  business  now 
claims  most  of  our  subject's  time.  He  is  a  native 
of  Illinois,  born  in  Jo  Daviess  county,  Septem- 
ber 7,  1863,  and  is  a  son  of  G.  W,  and  Anna 
(Fickes)  Collins.  In  1879  the  father,  in  com- 
pany with  his  family,  removed  to  Nebraska, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  farming  for  a  few 
years,  that  having  been  his  life  occupation.  He 
then   came   to   Yankton   county,    South    Dakota, 


and  purchased  a  small  farm  where  he  made  his 
home,  an  honored  and  respected  citizen  of  the 
community,  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  May  24, 
1903.     In  his  political  affiliations  he  was  a  Re- 
publican.   The  subject's  mother,  who  was  a  con- 
sistent member  of  the  United  Brethren  church, 
died  in  Blair,  Nebraska,  in  the  'eighties.  The  chil- 
'  dren  of  the  family  were  six  in  number.    Melissa, 
,  the  eldest,  is  now  the  wife  of  W.  F.  E.  Clark, 
i  a  farmer  of  Yankton  county;  Mary  is  .the  wife 
;  of  Charles  Dean,  a  railroad  man  living  in  Iowa; 
Ellen,  deceased,  was  the  wife  of  E.  D.  Wilson, 
whose  home  is  at  Silver  Creek,  Nebraska ;  Clara 
I  is  the  \/\ie  of  Henry  Dean,  a  resident  of  Gay- 
ville.  South  Dakota ;  C.  Frank  is  the  next  of  the 
family;  and  John  C.  married    Sarah    Robinson 
and  is  engaged  in  the  grain  and  lumber  business 
at  Wessington  Springs,  South  Dakota.    The  chil- 
dren were  all  provided  with  good  common-school 
educations  and  are  now  well  established  in  life. 

C.  Frank  Collins  accompanied  his  parents  on 
their  removal  to  Nebraska  and  under  the 
parental  roof  he  grew  to  manhood  in  that  state, 
giving  his  father  the  benefit  of  his  labors  until 
he  attained  his  majority,  when  he  started  out  in 
life  for  himself.  He  was  married  on  the  21st  of 
January,  1884,  to  Miss  Delight  Post,  a  daughter 
of  Dan  Post,  who  is  now  living  near  Bloom- 
field,  Nebraska.  She  is  the  first  in  order  of  birth 
in  a  family  of  five  children,  the  others  being 
Andy,  residing  near  Bloomfield,  Nebraska ;  Flor- 
ence, wife  of  Fred  Heviland,  of  Meckling,  South 
Dakota;  Ernest  and  Arthur,  making  their  home 
with  their  sister,  of  Meckling,  South  Dakota. 

On  his  arrival  in  Yankton  county  Mr.  Col- 
lins' capital  consisted  of  a  team  of  horses  and 
fifty-five  dollars  in  money,  but  by  industry,  per- 
severance and  good  management  he  has  steadily 
prospered  in  his  undertakings.  He  purchased 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  but  sub- 
sequently sold  forty  acres.  Upon  his  place  he 
built  a  nice  residence  in  1903  and  he  has  made 
many  other  good  and  substantial  improvements. 
He  has  at  present  one  hundred  and  ninety  head 
of  stock,  eighty-eight  of  which  he  is  fattening 
for  the  market,   and  he   has   some  good  horses 


734 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


and  hogs.  By  liis  Ijallot  Air.  Collins  supports  the 
Republican  part\-  and  he  takes  a  commendable 
interest  in  public  affairs. 


CL.ARK  S.  \\'EST  was  born  in  Chautauqua 
countv,  Xew  York,  on  the  gth  of  Alay.  1841,  and 
is  a  son  of  Louis  and  Amanda  (Husbrook) 
West,  the  former  a  native  of  the  Empire  state 
and  the  latter  of  \'ermont.  They  were  married 
in  New  York  and  the  father  engaged  in  conduct- 
ing a  hotel  and  was  also  employed  as  a  ma- 
chinist, possessing  considerable  mechanical 
ability.  In  1834,  however,  he  removed  westward 
and  purchased  a  farm  in  IMitchell  county.  Iowa, 
becoming  owner  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
which  he  secured  from  the  government  and 
which  he  cultivated  and  improved  throughout  his 
business  career.  He  was  engaged  in  the  lumber 
business  for  a  time  at  Carpenter,  but  his  last  years 
were  spent  in  honorable  retirement  from  labor 
and  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  fruits  of  his  former 
toil.  In  politics  he  was  an  active  and  influential 
Democrat  and  he  acceptably  served  in  a  number 
of  county  offices,  including  those  of  supervisor 
and  assessor.  His  wife,  a  most  estimable  lady, 
held  membership  in  the  Christian  church  and 
both  Air.  and  Airs.  West  passed  away  in  Iowa. 
In  their  family  were  four  children :  Warren  C. 
married  a  Aliss  Alusser  and  after  her  death  was 
again  married,  his  home  being  now  in  Eldora. 
He  had  two  children  by  each  wife.  Henry  P.  is 
married  and  resides  in  Saint  Ansgar,  Iowa,  and 
by  his  first  wife  he  had  one  child  and  by  his 
second  wife  had  two  children.  He  deals  in  real 
estate  and  is  also  engaged  in  the  butchering  busi- 
ness. Francelia  became  the  wife  of  John  Cran- 
dall  and  after  his  death  married  D.  C.  Beldon. 
who  is  auditor  of  the  Aloore  County  Transcript, 
of  Atistin,  Alinnesota.  Their  family  numbers 
four  children. 

Like  the  other  members  of  the  West  house- 
hold Clark  S.  West  of  this  review  received  good 
educational  privileges  in  his  boyhood  days.  He 
remained  with  his  father  until  twenty-six  years 
of  age  and  then  started  for  Dakota,  settling  in 
Yankton    county.      He    possessed    at    that    time 


cash  capital  of  nearly  seventy-five  dollars  and  a 
team  of  horses.  Flour  at  that  time  sold  for  seven 
dollars  a  hundred  pounds  and  the  first  mower 
which  was  placed  on  sale  brought  one  hundred 
and  thirty-five  dollars.  Air.  West  secured  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  government  land 
which  was  entirely  wild  and  unimproved.  He 
built  a  log  house  with  a  dirt  roof,  but  has  since 
replaced  this  pioneer  dwelling  by  a  nice  fann 
residence  which  was  erected  in  1875.  ^^  ^883 
he  built  a  good  barn.  Trials  and  difficulties  were 
encountered  by  him  and  the  other  pioneers,  for 
in  the  decade  between  i860  and  1870  grasshop- 
pers frequently  destroyed  the  crops  and  in  1881 
Air.  West  lost  five  thousand  dolfars  in  a  great 
flood,  when  the  Alissouri  river  broke  over  her 
banks  and  spread  across  the  country.  He  had 
forty  head  of  cattle  and  horses  destroyed  at  that 
time  and  his  wheat  crop  was  entirely  ruined. 
Such  things  would  have  utterly  discouraged 
many  a  man  of  less  resolute  spirit,  but  he  has 
persevered  in  the  task  which  he  has  assigned 
himself  of  making  a  farm  and  winning  a  com- 
petence in  Yankton  county  and  his  persever- 
ance and  labors  have  at  length  gained  their  re- 
ward. He  now  has  about  eleven  hundred  acres 
of  land,  including  property  in  Iowa,  and  he  like- 
wise has  town  property  in  this  state.  He  has 
raised  graded  cattle,  carried  on  general  farming 
and  for  twenty  years  has  successfully  conducted 
a  dairy  business.  In  September,  1863,  Air.  West 
was  united  in  marriage"  to  Aliss  Elizabeth  A'an 
Osdel,  a  daughter  of  Abraham  Van  Osdel,  and 
a  native  of  Minnesota.  Two  children  graced  this 
union.  A.  Louis,  the  eldest,  married  Ida  Harris 
and  is  a  successful  agriculturist  of  Yankton 
county.  They  have  had  five  children,  one  of 
whom  is  deceased.  The  younger  son,  Jesse  C, 
is  still  with  his  father  and  ably  assists  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  home  farm.  Airs.  West  is  a 
I  member  of  the  Congregational  church  and  the 
family  is  prominent  socially,  the  hospitality  of 
the  best  homes  of  this  portion  of  the  state  being 
extended  to  Air.  West,  his  wife  and  sons.  Fra- 
ternally he  is  a  Alason  and  politically  a  Re- 
publican, active  in  support  of  the  party.  He 
has  been  honored  with  public  office  and  for  eight 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


years  he  served  as  justice  of  the  peace,  his  de- 
cisions being  strictly  fair  and  impartial.  In 
1870  he  was  elected  to  the  state  senate  and 
proved  a  capable  member  of  the  law-making 
bod}-  of  the  commonwealth.  He  has  also  been 
active  in  school  work.  His  life  has  been  guided 
by  principles  that  in  every  land  and  clime  com- 
mand admiration  and  his  course  has  made  him 
an  honored  and  valued  representative  of  his 
adopted  country. 


THEODORE  RIX,  well  known  as  a  lead- 
ing and  representative  agriculturist  of  Yankton 
count}-,  South  Dakota,  was  born  in  Denmark  on 
the  nth  of  January,  1845,  ^^^^  is  a  son  of 
Joachim  and  Sarine  Rix.  His  mother  died  at  his 
birth  and  his  father  passed  away  in  1864,  both 
being  lifelong  residents  of  Denmark.  The  latter 
was  twice  married  and  had  four  children  by  the 
first  union,  our  subject  being  the  youngest,  and 
three  by  the  second. 

Theodore  Rix  was  reared  and  educated  in 
the  land  of  his  birth  and  was  twenty-five  years 
of  age  when  he  crossed  the  Atlantic  in  1870, 
landing  in  New  York  city.  He  had  previously 
learned  the  carpenter's  trade  and  soon  found  em- 
ployment in  a  sawmill  in  Michigan.  After  the 
great  Chicago  fire  in  the  fall  of  1871,  he  worked 
at  his  trade  in  that  city  for  a  time  and  was  also 
emploved  on  brick  work  in  Indiana.  Subse- 
quently he  worked  in  lumber  camps  and  sawmills 
in  ^Michigan  and  in  1876  went  to  Waterloo, 
Iowa,  where  he  was  employed  on  a  farm  for 
two  years.  On  the  expiration  of  that  time  he 
came  to  South  Dakota,  arriving  in  Yankton 
county  in  January,  1878,  and  there  he  bought 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  government  land. 
For  some  time  he  lived  in  true  pioneer  style,  his 
home  being  a  dugout,  and  he  began  the  cultiva- 
tion of  his  land  with  ox-teams.  In  1879  '''^  took 
a  timber  claim  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
and  has  since  added  another  eighty  acres  to  his 
farm,  so  that  he  now  has  four  hundred  acres  on 
which  there  is  a  nice  grove  of  about  sixty  thou- 
sand trees.  Mr.  Rix  has  not  confined  his  atten- 
tion wholly  to  agricultural  ])ursuits  but  has  con- 


tinued to  follow  his  trade  and  has  erected  many 
houses  throughout  the  county  besides  the  build- 
ings on  his  own  place.  In  1899  1''*^  built  for 
himself  a  fine  story-and-a-half  residence,  the 
main  part  of  which  is  twenty-four  by  twenty- 
six  feet  in  dimensions,  while  the  L  is  eighteen 
by  twenty-four  feet,  and  he  has  also  erected  a 
good  barn  and  substantial  outbuildings  upon  his 
place,  making  it  one  of  the  best  improved  farms 
of  the  locality. 

On  the  19th  of  December.  1883,  Mr.  Rix  led 
to  the  marriage  altar  Miss  Katherina  Jensen,  and 
to  them  have  been  born  an  interesting  family  of 
nine  children,  namely :  Joachim,  Christian, 
Maria,  Anna,  Frederick,  Bertha,  Louisa,  Sarah 
and  Ida.  They  have  been  provided  wjth  good 
educational  advantages,  and  Joachim  has  at- 
tended high  school  in  Nebraska  and  college  in 
Des  Aloines.  The  sons  assist  their  father  in  the 
operation  of  the  home  farm  and_  are  very  in- 
dustrious, energetic  young  men. 

Mr.  Rix  is  now  a  member  of  the  board  of 
directors  of  the  Farmers'  Mutual  Insurance 
Company  and  is  president  of  the  Irene  Creamery 
.Association.  He  carries  on  general  farming 
and  stock  raising,  feeding  quite  a  nimiber  of 
cattle  and  hogs  for  market.  His  political  sup- 
port is  given  the  Republican  party  and  its  prin- 
ciples and  he  is  actively  interested  in  school 
work.  Religiously  both  he  and  his  wife  are 
members  of  the  Lutheran  church  and  they  are 
held  in  high  regard  by  all  %\'ho  know  them. 


LOUIS  KUSSUTH  CHURCH,  ninth  terri- 
torial governor,  was  born  in  New  York  in  1850. 
He  served  in  the  New  York  legislature  in  1883 
when  President  Cleveland  was  governor.  He  was 
appointed  b}-  Cleveland  associate  justice  of  the 
supreme  court  of  Dakota  in  1885  and  twto  years 
later  was  promoted  by  the  President  to  the  gov- 
ernorship. He  was  removed  by  Harrison 
promptlv  at  the  beginning  of  his  administration 
and  shortly  afterward  removed  to  Seattle,  where 
he  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law.  In  1898  he 
made  a  trip  to  Alaska  in  the  interest  of  some 
clients  and  was  attacked  by  pneumonia  and  died. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


JAMES  W.  PARKER.— The  subject  of  this 
sketch  is  one  of  the  leading  business  men  of  Sioux 
Falls  and  one  of  its  representative  citizens,  hav- 
ing here  maintained  his  home  for  nearly  a  quarter 
of  a  century,  so  that  he  is  well  entitled  to  the 
distinction  applying  to  the  name  of  pioneer,  while 
he  has  contributed  materially  to  the  civic  and 
industrial  advancement  of  the  city.  On  another 
page  of  this  work  appears  a  memoir  of  his  fa- 
ther, the  late  and  honored  Joel  Webster  Parker, 
so  that  a  recapitulation  of  the  family  history  is 
not  demanded  at  this  juncture. 

James  Webster  Parker  was  born  in  Warren, 
Jo  Daviess  county,  Illinois,  on  the  24th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1855,  being  a  son  of  Joel  W.  and  Rebecca 
(Colburn)  Parker.  He  instituted  his  educational 
discipline  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town, 
and  later  continued  his  studies  in  the  schools  of 
.  Hillsboro,  Wisconsin,  to  which  state  his  parents 
removed  wher^  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age. 
Later  he  attended  an  academy  at  Evansville,  that 
state,  while  he  completed  his  specific  education  in 
Hillsdale  College,  at  Hillsdale,  Michigan,  one 
of  the  leading  educational  institutions  of  the  Wol- 
verine state.  After  leaving  college  he  initiated 
his  business  career  by  becoming  associated  with 
his  father  in  the  management  of  the  latter's  gen- 
eral store  at  Millston,  Wisconsin,  and  in  1881 
he  entered  into  partnership  with  his  father  in  the 
establishing  of  a  retail  lumber  business  in  the 
city  of  Sioux  Falls,  under  the  firm  name  of  J.  W. 
Parker  &  Son.  In  the  following  year  the  title 
was  changed  to  the  Sioux  Falls  Lumber  Com- 
pany, James  W.  Leverett  being  admitted  to  the 
firm  at  that  time.  A  few  years  later  both  Joel  W. 
Parker  and  Mr.  Leverett  retired  from  the  firm, 
their  interests  being  acquired  by  the  subject  of 
this  sketch.  The  Sioux  Falls  Lumber  Company 
was  then  incorporated,  the  subject  owning  the 
controlling  stock  and  having  been  secretary, 
treasurer  and  general  manager  of  the  company 
since  the  time  of  its  incorporation.  The  enter- 
prise is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  important 
of  the  sort  in  the  state  and  the  company  has 
gained  the  highest  reputation  for  reliability  and 
correct  business  methods,  having  built  up  a  mag- 
i:ificent  industrial  enterprise,   while  Mr.   Parker 


has  prestige  as  one  of  the  prominent  and  influ- 
ential citizens  of  Sioux  Falls.  He  is  a  stanch  Re- 
publican in  politics  and  has  ever  shown  a  proper 
interest  in  public  affairs,  particularly  those  of  a 
local  nature,  standing  ready  at  all  times  to  lend 
his  influence  in  support  of  all  worthy  measures 
projected  for  the  general  good.  He  has  served 
several  terms  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  educa- 
tion and  is  president  of  the  same  at  the  time  of 
this  writing,  being  deeply  interested  in  educa- 
tional work  and  being  a  valued  official.  He  is 
possessed  of  marked  musical  talent,  having  a 
finely  cultivated  tenor  voice,  and  is  prominent  in 
the  musical  and  social  circles  of  the  city.  He  is 
identified  with  several  fraternal  organizations  in 
Sioux  Falls  and  he  and  his  wife  are  active  sup- 
porters of  the  First  Congregational  church. 

On  the  19th  of  May,  1892,  was  solemnized  the 
marriage  of  Mr.  Parker  to  Miss  Nellie  Thomp- 
son, who  was  born  in  Carver,  Minnesota,  the 
county  seat  of  the  county  of  the  same  name,  on 
the  27th  of  April,  1866,  being  a  daughter  of  Peter 
and  Christine  Tliompson.  Of  this  union  have 
been  born  two  children,  James  Thompson  Parker 
and  Natalie. 


VACLAV  NO\'AK. — It  is  customary  when 
a  life  record  has  been  ended  to  review  the  history 
and  note  the  points  that  are  worthy  of  emulation 
and  in  an  analyzation  of  the  work  of  Vaclav 
Novak  we  see  much  that  is  commendable.  He 
was  born  in  Bohemia  in  March,  1832,  and  none 
of  the  sons  of  that  land  who  have  come  to  the 
United  States  have  been  more  worthy  of  public 
regard  or  the  confidence  of  their  fellow  citizens 
than  was  Mr.  Novak.  He  acquired  his  edu- 
cation in  the  schools  of  his  native  country  and 
became  a  teacher  of  music  there.  His  parents 
were  wealthy  people  of  that  land,  having  ex- 
tensive property  interests.  l\Ir.  Novak  had  ex- 
cellent opportunities  to  cultivate  his  artistic 
tastes  and  won  more  than  local  fame  as  a  violin- 
ist. He  played  the  violin  in  one  of  the  Catholic 
churches  of  his  native  country.  At  the  age  of 
twentv-two  years  he  was  married  in  Bohemia 
and  to  this  union  were  born  two  sons,  one  of 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


717 


whom  died  in  that  country.  The  other  son, 
A'aclav,  enlisted  in  the  American  army  during 
the  Spanish-American  war  and  is  now  in  the 
Philippines.  The  mother  passed  away  just  four 
years  after  their  marriage  and  in  1861  Mr. 
Novak  was  again  married,  his  second  union 
being  with  Miss  Barbara  Hurkova,  who  was 
born  in  Bohemia,  where  the  wedding  was  cele- 
brated. They  had  four  children  who  were  born 
in  Bohemia  and  after  the  emigration  of  the 
family  to  the  new  world  seven  more  children 
Avere  born. 

It  was  in  1870  that  Vaclav  Novak  came  to 
the  United  States,  his  destination  being  South 
Dakota,  for  he  had  received  favorable  reports 
concerning  this  portion  of  the  Union.  He  at 
once  purchased  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in 
Yankton  county  and  with  characteristic  energy 
began  its  development  and  improvement.  He 
was  systematic  and  methodical  in  his  work,  pro- 
gressive, practical  and  enterprising  and  not  only 
did  he  place  his  farm  under  a  high  state  of 
cultivation,  but  also  extended  its  boundaries  by 
the  purchase  of  an  additional  quarter  section,  so 
that  at  the  time  of  his  demise  he  was  the  owner 
of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  valuable 
land  which  he  personally  managed  and  cultivated. 

The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Novak  born 
in  Bohemia  were :  Mary,  Lewis,  Anton  and 
Antoine,  while  those  born  in  the  new  world  are 
Joe,  Albert,  Julia,  John,  Annie,  Cecelia  and 
Sophia.  All  married  with  the  exception  of  Ce- 
celia. Mary  is  now  the  wife  of  Frank  Kulis,  a 
resident  farmer  of  Yankton  county.  Lewis 
wedded  Annie  Slaba  and  carries  on  agricultural 
pursuits.  Anton  is  now  living  in  Omaha,  Ne- 
braska, where  he  occupies  the  position  of  sales- 
man in  a  clothing  house.  Antoine  is  now  the 
wife  of  Frank  Kastron,  a  resident  farmer  of 
Yankton  county.  Joe,  who  was  engaged  in 
business  in  the  city  of  Yankton,  died  March  i, 
1904,  aged  thirty-two  years,  Albert  wedded 
]\Iary  Sterna  and  is  a  farmer  of  this  county. 
Annie  is  the  wife  of  N.  Kaiser,  who  also  carries 
on  agricultural  pursuits  in  this  county.  John  mar- 
ried Miss  ]\Iary  Kronaizl,  a  young  lady  who  was 
born  in  Bon  Homme  countv  near  Tabor,  while 


her  parents  were  natives  of  Bohemia  and  are 
still  living  upon  the  farm  which  thev  purchased 
when  they  came  from  the  old  country  to  the  new 
world.  Sophia  is  the  wife  of  Joe  Kaiser,  a 
resident  of  Yankton  county.  Julia  is  the  wife  of 
James  Petrik,  a  resident  of  Bon  Homme  county. 
JMr.  Novak  departed  this  life  on  the  22d 
of  September,  1899.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  church  and  a  gentleman  whose 
integrity  was  above  question.  His  conduct  was 
ever  manly,  his  actions  sincere  and  his  sterling 
worth  was  widely  recognized  so  that  his  death 
was  sincerely  mourned  throughout  the  entire 
community  by  young  and  old,  rich  and  poor. 


JOHN  M.  LARSON.— It  is  astonishing  to 
witness  the  success  of  young  men  who  have 
emigrated  to  America  without  capital  and  from 
a  position  of  comparative  obscurity  have  worked 
their  way  upward  to  a  position  of  prominence. 
To  this  class  belongs  Mr,  Larson,  who  is  now 
so  ably  representing  his  district  in  the  state  legis- 
lature. He  was  born  near  Throndhjen,  Norway, 
April  17,  1862,  a  son  of  Lars  Olsen  and  Berit 
(Johnsdatter)  Kongsvig,  who  were  farming 
people  of  that  country,  where  they  spent  their 
entire  lives.  The  father  died  in  1864,  and  the 
mother  subsequently  married  again.  Her  death 
occurred  in  February,  1891,  Both  were  earnest 
and  consistent  members  of  the  Lutheran  church. 
Mr.  Larson  is  one  of  a  family  of  five  children, 
the  others  being  Karren,  now  deceased;  Anne, 
wife  of  Ole  Lykken,  a  farmer  of  Union  county. 
South  Dakota :  Ole,  who  is  married  and  is  a 
successful  farmer  and  prominent  politician  of 
Charles  Mix  county.  South  Dakota:  and  Maret, 
who  is  married  and  successfuHr  carries  on  farm- 
ing in  Norway.  All  were  well  educated  and  are 
now  quite  prosperous  citizens  of  the  communities 
in  which  they  live. 

John  M.  Larson  passed  the  first  nineteen 
years  of  his  life  in  the  "land  of  the  midnight 
sun"  and  then  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  become 
a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  In  i88r  he  ar- 
rived in  Yankton,  South  Dakota,  and  during  the 
following  three  years  he  was    employed    on    a 


738 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


steamer  plying  between  that  city  and  Fort  Ben- 
ton, Montana,  on  the  Missouri  river.  He  also 
worked  in  Yankton  one  simimer.  On  the  30th 
of  August,  1884,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Aliss  Guri  J.  Rye,  also  a  native  of  Norway,  and 
to  them  have  been  born  nine  children,  as  follows : 
Lena,  who  died  at  the  age  of  four  years ;  Albert 
died  at  the  age  of  one  year ;  John  ;  Lena  ;  Albert ; 
Bertha :  ^lary :  Carrie,  and  Louis.  They  con- 
stitute a  very  interesting  family. 

In  the  fall  of  1884  I\Ir.  Larson  located  on  his 
wife's  homestead  in  the  northeast  corner  of 
Yankton  county,  and  he  later  bought  the  right  to 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  and  filed  his 
claim.  After  erecting  a  shanty  he  began  to 
break  the  land  with  ox-teams  and  to  the  culti- 
vation and  improvement  of  his  farm  he  has 
since  devoted  his  energies  with  marked  suc- 
cess. He  has  added  to  his  property  from  time 
to  time  until  he  now  has  three  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  land,  all  under  a  good  state  of 
cultivation.  Most  of  this  he  has  broken  himself. 
For  his  first  reaper  he  paid  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  dollars  and  as  time  has  passed  he 
supplied  his  place  with  the  latest  improved  ma- 
chinen,-  of  all  kinds,  making  his  farm  a  model 
one  in  its  appointments.  He  carries  on  general 
farming  and  stock  raising,  expecting  to  ship  two 
carloads  of  cattle  and  one  of  hogs  to  the  city 
markets  in  1903,  and  he  is  also  interested  in  a 
creamery  at  Center  Point. 

In  religious  faith  both  Mr.  Larson  and  his 
wife  are  Lutherans  and  they  are  people  of 
prominence  in  the  community  where  thev  reside. 
As  a  Republican  he  has  taken  a  very  active  and 
influential  part  in  political  affairs  and  he  has  been 
honored  with  important  official  positions.  For 
six  years  he  served  as  deputy  assessor  of  his 
township  and  has  held  a  number  of  other  minor 
offices.  In  I  goo  he  was  elected  to  the  state 
legislature  and  so  acceptably  did  he  fill  that  110- 
sition  that  he  was  re-elected  in  1902,  being  the 
present  incumbent.  During  his  first  term  he  in- 
troduced and  put  through  the  bill  to  cut  down  the 
interest  on  school  funds  from  six  to  five  per  cent, 
and  the  following  term  introduced  four  bills, 
three  of  which  were  passed.     His  official  duties 


have  always  been  most  capably  and  satisfactorily 
performed  and  over  his  public  career  there  falls 
no  shadow  of  wrong  or  suspicion  of  evil,  while 
his  private  life  has  been  marked  by  the  utmost 
fidelitv  to  dutv. 


ROBERT  THOGERSEX,  now  deceased, 
was  born  in  Denmark  on  the  28th  of  July,  1841, 
and  to  the  schools  of  his  native  countr\-  he  was 
indebted  for  the  educational  privileges  he  en- 
joyed. The  favorable  reports  which  he  heard 
concerning  the  new  world  and  its  advantages 
attracted  him  and  when  twenty-eight  years  of 
age  he  made  arrangements  to  leave  his  native 
country  and  seek  a  home  in  the  L'nited  States. 
On  reaching  the  Atlantic  coast  he  made  his  way 
into  the  interior  of  the  country  and  secured  a 
homestead  claim  in  Turner  county.  South 
Dakota.  He  soon  took  another  step  toward  hav- 
ing a  home  of  his  own,  this  being  his  marriage 
to  Miss -Marie  IMadsen,  who  was  also  born  in 
Denmark.  The  wedding  was  celebrated  in 
Yankton  and  the  marriage  was  blessed  with 
six  children :  Arthur,  who  is  now  twent\-eight 
years  of  age;  Henry,  aged  twenty-six;  Charlie, 
twenty-five  years  of  age ;  Mary,  twenty-one 
years  of  age ;  Grant,  a  youth  of  seventeen ;  and 
William,  a  lad  of  fourteen  years.  The  two  eldest 
sons  are  attending  Brookings  College,  where 
Arthur  is  pursuing  a  course  in  mechanical 
engineering  and  Henrv  is  taking  a  commercial 
course.  Both  are  manifesting  good  ability  in 
their  chosen  lines.  The  daughter  is  in  business 
in  Iowa  and  the  younger  sons  are  attending  the 
,  home  schools  through  the  winter  months,  while 
in  the  summer  seasons  they  assist  in  the  opera- 
tion of  the  home  farm. 

For  a  number  of  years  ^^Ir.  Thogersen  en- 
gaged in  the  operation  of  a  farm  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  near  Yankton,  in  fact  continued 
its  cultivation  and  development  up  to  the  time 
of  his  death,  which  occurred  on  the  24th  of 
February,  IQ03.  He  was  a  prosperous  agri- 
culturist who  thoroughly  understood  his  work 
and  conducted  it  along  progressive  lines.  He 
made     excellent     improvements     there,     erected 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


739 


good  buildings  and  used  the  modern  machinery 
in  the  development  of  his  fields.  He  possessed 
a  resolute  nature  that  enabled  him  to  carry  for- 
ward to  successful  completion  whatever  he  im- 
dertook  and  he  was  highly  respected  by  all  who 
knew  him  because  of  his  fidelity  to  upright 
principles.  He  belonged  to  the  Lutheran  church, 
of  which  his  wife  and  children  are  also  members, 
and  his  honorable  career  gained  for  him  the 
respect  and  good  will  of  his  fellow  men.  The 
hope  that  led  him  to  leave  his  native  land  and 
seek  a  home  in  America  was  more  than  realized. 
He  found  the  opportunities  he  sought — which, 
by  the  way,  are  always  open  to  the  ambitious, 
energetic  man — and,  making  the  best  of  these,  he 
steadily  worked  his  way  upward.  He  possessed 
the  resolution,  perseverance  and  reliability  so 
characteristic  of  people  of  his  nation  and  his 
name  was  enrolled  among  the  best  citizens  of 
Yankton  county.  Mrs.  Thogersen  is  still  man- 
aging the  home  farm  left  her  by  her  husband. 
She  is  an  intelligent  lady  of  culture  and  refine- 
ment and  in  the  control  of  her  property  displays 
excellent  business  ability  and  executive  force. 
She  has  every  reason  to  be  proud  of  her  interest- 
ing family  and  she  is  preparing  them  for  the 
practical  and  responsible  duties  of  life  by  giv- 
ing them   excellent   educational   privileges. 


GEORGE  MADSEN.— On  the  peninsula 
of  Denmark  George  Madsen  first  opened  his 
eyes  to  the  light  of  day,  his  birth  there  occurring 
on  the  2ist  of  October,  1839.  He  was  educated 
in  the  schools  of  his  native  land  and  reared  under 
tlie  parental  roof.  He  had  two  brothers,  both  of 
whom  are  now  deceased,  and  he  has  a  sister,  Mrs. 
Robert  Thogersen,  who  is  now  a  widow  and  re- 
sides upon  a  farm  in  Yankton  county.  On  at- 
taining his  majority  Mr.  ^Madsen  of  this  review 
began  farming  on  his  own  account  in  Denmark 
and  remained  in  his  native  land  until  forty  years 
of  age,  when  he  sailed  for  the  United  States. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-nine  years  the  subject 
was  joined  in  wedlock  to  ]\Iiss  Elsie  Larsen, 
whose  father  was  a  farmer  of  Denmark.  She 
had   three  brothers :   Conrad,   Hause   and    Xclse, 


who  are  married  and  reside  in  that  country.  It 
was  there  that  she  gave  her  hand  in  marriage  to 
Mr.  ^ladsen.  They  became  the  parents  of  six 
children,  five  of  whom  were  born  ere  the  emi- 
gration to  the  new  world,  while  the  youngest  is 
a  native  of  South  Dakota.  These  are  Annie, 
Conrad,  Marie,  Johanna,  Louisa  and  Eleanor. 
The  eldest  daughter  is  the  wife  of  William  Nei- 
land,  who  is  a  prosperous  farmer  of  Yankton 
county.  Conrad  married  Aliss  Huber  and  is  now 
living  on  his  father's  farm,  which  he  has  recently 
purchased.  He  has  one  son,  Richard  Julius, 
while  ;\Irs.  Xeiland  has  four  children:  Clara, 
Henrietta,  Harvey  and  Arthur.  Marie  Madsen 
became  the  wife  of  George  Klise,  of  Vermillion, 
South  Dakota,  and  has  one  son,  Lester.  Louisa 
is  the  wife  of  Charles  Frick,  who  was  born  in 
Yankton  county,  and  who  has  purchased  a  farm 
on  BeaA'er  creek,  where  he  is  living.  The 
youngest  daughter  is  being  edficated  at  the 
Universit}'  of  South  Dakota,  located  in  A'er- 
million,  and  is  now  eighteen  years  of  age. 
Johanna  is  a  nurse  in  a  hospital  at  Pueblo,  Colo- 
rado. 

Upon  coming  to  the  new  world  Mr.  Mad- 
sen  made  his  way  across  the  country  to  Yankton 
county,  where  he  purchased  two  hundred  and 
twenty  acres  of  land,  upon  which  he  made  his 
home,  his  time  and  energies  have  been  de- 
voted to  its  development  and  cultivation.  He 
raised  considerable  stock  and  also  engaged  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  cereals  best  adapted  to  the  soil 
and  climate.  In  his  work  he  was  energetic  and 
practical  and  a  glance  at  his  place  indicates  to 
the  passerby  the  careful  supervision  of  the 
owner.  Whatever  success  he  has  achieved  has 
come  to  him  as  the  direct  result  of  his  own 
labors  and  his  life  indicates  what  it  is  possible 
to  accomplish  in  a  land  where  labor  is  not  ham- 
pered by  caste  or  class.  He  has  recently  pur- 
chased a  home  in  Yankton,  which  is  now  his 
home.  He  and  his  family  are  devoted  members 
of  the  Lutheran  church  of  Yankton,  of  which 
the  TR.ev.  Solberg  is  the  pastor.  As  a  sincere 
Christian  gentleman,  a  straightforward  business 
man  and  a  good  friend  and  neighbor,  as  well 
as  a   devoted   husband   and   father   Mr.    Madsen 


740 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


deserves    representation    in    this   volume    amon| 
the  leadinsr  citizens  of  Yankton  county. 


TORGE  THOMPSON.— From  the  land  of 
the  midnight  sun  Torge  Thompson  came  to 
America.  He  was  born  in  Norway,  February 
27,  1863,  and  is  a  son  of  Thomas  A.  and  Segri 
Thompson,  who  were  also  natives  of  that  coun- 
try. In  1869  the  father  came  to  the  United 
States  with  his  family,  making  his  way  into  the 
interior  of  the  country  and  settling  in  Qay 
county.  South  Dakota,  where  he  secured  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  government  land. 
The  first  home  of  the  family  was  a  log  cabin  in 
which  they  lived  in  true  pioneer  style.  The  work 
of  farming  was  carried  on  until  the  old  home- 
stead was  placed  under  a  high  state  of  culti- 
vation and  good  buildings  erected.  In  the  flood 
of  1881  the  father  sufifered  a  loss  of  two  thou- 
sand dollars,  but  he  possessed  a  resolute  spirit  and 
courage  and  with  characteristic  diligence  set  to 
work  to  retrieve  his  possessions.  He  has  been 
a  successful  man  and  one  who  owes  his  financial 
advancement  entirely  to  his  own  efforts.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Republican  and  both  he  and  his 
wife  are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Their 
family  numbers  six  children,  of  whom  Torge  is 
the  eldest ;  Anna  is  the  wife  of  L.  A.  Larson,  a 
farmer  of  Clay  county.  South  Dakota,  who 
served  as  postmaster  at  Lincoln  for  several  years 
and  who  has  a  family  of  nine  children ;  Lewis, 
Sarah  and  Thomas  Verner  are  now  deceased; 
Severin  Lewis  married  Dina  Steie,  and  is  a  pro- 
fessor in  the  Lutheran  College  of  Decorah,  Iowa, 
and  they  have  one  child. 

Mr.  Thompson  of  this  review  acquired  his 
education  in  the  public  schools  and  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  South  Dakota,  at  Vermillion,  where  he 
was  only  allowed  to  pursue,  his  studies  for 
several  winter  terms.  When  twenty  years  of 
age  he  took  charge  of  the  home  farm.  His 
mother  died  in  1895.  and  his  father  died  Janu- 
ary 6,  1904.  In  1900  he  bought  six  hundred 
and  forty  acres  of  land  in  Yankton  county  and 
in  1901  he  sold  the  farm  in  Clay  county,  taking 
up  his  abode  at  his  new  home.     He  has  a  splen- 


didly improved  property,  has  erected  a  fine  resi- 
dence, has  rebuilt  the  barns  and  has  artesian 
wells,  several  good  springs  and  two  miles  of 
river  front  upon  his  land.  He  carries  on  mixed 
farming  and  has  four  hundred  acres  of  his  land 
under  the  plow,  while  thirty  acres  is  planted  to 
alfalfa,  forty  acres  is  meadow  land,  thirty  acres 
is  covered  with  good  oak  timber  and  three  acres 
are  covered  with  fruit  trees.  In  addition  to  the 
cultivation  of  grain  he  raises  horses,  cattle,  sheep 
and  Poland-China  hogs  and  is  recognized  as 
one  of  the  most  active,  practical  and  energetic 
young  farmers  of  his  community. 

On  the  I2th  of  June,  1889,  ]\Ir.  Thompson 
was  married  to  Bertha  Brake,  a  daughter  of 
Andrew  Nelson.  Her  father  was  a  tailor  by 
trade,  as  was  Mr.  Thompson's  father.  L^nto  the 
subject  and  his  wife  have  been  born  five  chil- 
dren: Sarah  Maria,  born  March  6,  1890;  Thomas 
Anders,  born  April  9,  1892;  Torge  Barthol. 
born  September  17,  1894;  Lewis  Verner,  born 
October  4,  1896;  and  Arthur  Oliver,  born  Janu- 
ary 8,  1903. 

The  parents  hold  membership  in  the  Lutheran 
church  and  Mr.  Thompson  is  deeply  interested 
in  the  educational  and  moral  development  of  his 
locality.  He  has  served  as  school  officer  for 
several  terms  and  in  politics  he  is  a  Republican. 
Well  known  in  Yankton  county,  his  friends  ac- 
cord him  a  high  position  as  a  representative 
farmer  and  as  one  who  is  entirely  worthy  of 
public  confidence  and  respect. 


THOMAS  INCH.— A  splendid  farm  with 
its  well-tilled  fields,  its  good  buildings,  its  fine 
improvements,  modern  machinery  and  splendid 
equipments  is  the  property  of  Thomas  Inch,  one 
of  Ireland's  native  sons,  now  a  valued  resident 
of  Yankton  county.  His  birth  occurred  in 
County  Derry,  on  the  Emerald  Isle,  August  12, 
1888,  and  his  parents,  John  and  Katherine  Inch, 
spent  their  entire  lives  in  that  country.  In  the 
family  were  twelve  children,  six  of  whom  came 
to  the  United  States,  namely:  Thomas;  Joseph, 
now  deceased;  Katherine;  Sarah;  William,  who 
has  also  passed  away,  and  Major.     The  subject 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


741 


was  the  first  to  leave  his  native  land  and  seek 
a  home  in  the  new  world  and  was  followed  by  his 
brother  Joseph.  I^ter  the  two  sisters  came, 
then  William  and  lastl}-  i\Iajor.  Those  who  still 
survive  are  all  residents  of  South  Dakota. 
Katherine  is  the  wife  of  Joseph  West,  a  resident 
farmer  of  Volin,  South  Dakota,  and  they  have 
four  children.  Sarah  is  the  wife  of  William 
Fuller,  a  government  employe  at  the  Crow  Creek 
Agency.  He  is  a  boss  carpenter  and  has  held  the 
position  for  twenty-five  years.  Unto  him  and 
his  wife  have  been  born  three  children.  Major 
Inch  married  Anna  Erickson  and  has  two  hun- 
dred and  forty  acres  of  land  adjoining  the  fami 
of  Thomas  Inch  and  he  and  his  family  live  with 
the  subject.  There  are  five  children.  Thomas, 
]\Iary  Ann,  John,  Merrill  and  William. 

Thomas  Inch  spent  his  youth  in  the  land  of 
his  birth,  but  when  a  young  man  was  attracted 
by  the  possibilities  and  business  opportunities  of 
tlie  new  world  and  came  to  America  to  try  his 
fortune.  He  resided  for  twelve  years  in  Con- 
necticut, where  he  engaged  in  farming  and 
gardening  and  the  year  1868  witnessed  his  ar- 
rival in  South  Dakota.  He  met  a  minister  from 
this  state  who  interested  him  in  the  new  country 
and  by  rail  Mr.  Inch  made  his  way  to  Sioux 
Chr  and  thence  by  stage  to  Yankton.  This  was 
ril  open  country,  the  greater  part  of  which  was 
unclaimed  and  few  indeed  were  the  settlers 
scattered  over  the  prairies.  Mr.  Inch  secured 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  government  land 
on  section  9,  township  93,  range  54.  All  was 
uncultivated  and  he  built  a  frame  house,  four- 
teen by  twenty  feet.  He  then  began  to  improve 
his  farm  and  in  course  of  time  developed  a 
splendid  property.  In  1885  he  replaced  his  first 
home  by  a  more  commodious  and  modern  farm 
residence  and  in  1899  he  built  a  large  and  sub- 
stantial barn.  He  has  added  to  his  place  until 
he  now  owns  altogether  seven  hundred  and 
twenty  acres.  Not  long  after  his  arrival  he 
planted  small  trees  and  some  of  these  are  now 
four  feet  in  diameter  and  form  a  most  attractive 
feature  in  the  landscape.  They  cast  a  grateful 
shade  over  the  home  and  lawn  and  make  the 
farm  a  very  pleasing  one.  ^ 


In  1877  Mr.  Inch's  brother,  Major  Inch,  came 
to  South  Dakota  and  bought  a  tract  of  land  ad- 
joining that  which  our  subject  owns.  ]\Ir.  Inch 
has  never  married  and  his  brother  and  his  fam- 
ily live  with  him.  The  subject  carries  on  general 
farming  and  in  addition  to  the  tilling  of  the  soil 
has  engaged  in  the  raising  of  Durham  cattle, 
draft  horses  and  Poland-Qiina  hogs.  What  he 
undertakes  he  carries  forward  to  successful  com- 
pletion and  is  most  persevering  and  determined 
in  his  labors.  To  these  admirable  qualities  may 
be  attributed  his  success,  for  while  he  came  to 
America  empty-handed  he  is  now  one  of  the 
prosperous  citizens  of  his  community,  having 
risen  to  the  plane  of  affluence  within  a  com- 
paratively few  years.  His  political  allegiance 
is  given  to  the  Democracy  and  from  1891  until 
1897  he  served  as  county  commissioner,  dis- 
charging the  duties  of  the  office  in  a  most  ac- 
ceptable manner.  He  has  also  taken  a  helpful 
part  in  school  work,  as  does  his  brother.  Major, 
and  both  gentlemen  attend  the  Episcopal  church. 
The  hope  that  led  Mr.  Inch  to  the  new  world 
has  been  more  than  realized,  for  he  found  here 
the  business  opportunities  he  sought  and  gained 
the  satisfactory  reward  of  labor  which  is  ever 
accorded  in  this  country. 


PETER  K.  SLEAR.— This  well-known  and 
highly  esteemed  farmer  of  Y''ankton  county  was 
born  on  the  28th  of  January,  1838.  in  Lancaster 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  is  a  worthy  represent- 
ative of  an  old  and  honored  family  of  that  state. 
The  family  is  of  German  origin  and  the  name 
has  been  variously  spelled  Schleer,  Schlier, 
Schlear,  Sleer.  Slear  and  Slier.  Their  patriot- 
ism is  attested  by  the  fact  that  they  have  been 
represented  in  every  war  in  which  this  country 
has  taken  part  from  the  Revolution  down  to 
the  Spanish-American  war,  one  of  the  family 
being  now  with  the  United  States  regulars  in 
the  Philippines.  Soon  after  the  Revolutionary 
war  Charles  Slear  came  to  this  country  from 
the  Fatherland  and  first  settled  in  Berks  county, 
Pennsylvania,  but  later  removed  to  Union 
county,  that  state.     He  married  Marv  Hummel, 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


and  the  children  born  to    them    were    Charles, 
Kate,  Jacob.  John,  George,  Hannah.  Samuel  and   i 
Daniel.  | 

George  Slear.  of  this  family,  was  the  grand- 
father of  the  subject.  He  was  born  ]\Iarch  17, 
1783,  and  died  March  i,  1875.  He  was  a  farmer 
of  prominence  and  filled  various  public  positions. 
His  home  was  first  in  Dry  Valley  and  later  in 
Buffalo  Valley,  Union  county,  Pennsylvania. 
His  first  wife  was  Hannah  Kaufman,  b\-  whom 
he  had  four  children :  Daniel,  Esther,  Peter  and 
Margaret.  For  his  second  wife  he  married  Sophia 
Miller  and  to  them  were  born  three  children : 
Charles,  George  and  William,  while  his  third 
v,afe  was  Elizabeth  Barklow.  b>-  whom  he  had 
four  children  :  Fllizabeth,  Hannah,  Catharine  and 
James. 

Daniel  Slear,  the  oldest  child  of  the  first 
marriage,  was  the  father  of  the  subject.  He  first 
married  Elizabeth  Killenberger,  by  whom  he 
had  six  children,  and  three  of  the  number  are 
still  living,  namely :  Peter  K.,  of  this  review : 
John  Adam,  who  married  Fannie  Hittle  and  lives 
in  Lanark,  Illinois;  and  ]\Iary,  wife  of  Beniville 
Mench.  of  !\lifflinburg,  Pennsylvania.  For  his 
second  wife  the  father  married  Catherine  Long- 
acer. 

Peter  K.  Slear  was  quite  small  when  his 
mother  died  and  he  was  then  bound  out  to  a 
farmer,  for  whom  he  worked  for  his  board  and 
clothes  until  eighteen  years  of  age.  At  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Civil  war  he  offered  his  sendees 
to  the  country,  enlisting  in  Company  C,  Third 
\"olunteer  Regiment  of  Pennsylvania  Militia, 
and  he  remained  at  the  front  until  peace  was  de- 
clared, being  honorably  discharged  January  20, 
1866.  after  the  surrender  of  Lee  at  Appomattox. 
He  was  then  holding  the  rank  of  sergeant. 

Returning  to  his  home  in  Pennsylvania,  ]\Ir. 
Slear  continued  a  resident  in  that  state  until  after 
his  marriage  in  1870  to  Miss  Mary  J.  Babb,  of 
Stephenson  corntv,  Illinois,  a  daughter  of  Reu- 
ben and  Eliza  (Stall)  Babb.  Her  father  was 
born  and  reared  in  Pennsylvania  and  had  a 
family  of  eight  children,  three  of  whom  are  still 
living.  Mrs.  Slear's  brother  Eaton  is  now  a 
resident  of    Wauconda,    Illinois,    and    Solomon 


lives  in  Springfield.  Seven  children  were  born 
to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Slear,  but  three  are  now  de- 
ceased. Those  living  are  Reuben  William,  who 
married  Hattie  M.  Selley  and  has  three  children. 
Lonson  Peter.  Edna  IM.  and  Reuben  ^^'illiam. 
and  Alarietta  E.,  Mrginia  J.  and  Bernice  C. 

In  1869  ]\Ir.  Slear  came  to  Yankton  county, 
South  Dakota,  and  secured  the  homestead  on 
which  he  has  since  resided,  his  time  and  atten- 
tion being  devoted  to  his  cultivation  and  im- 
provement. He  is  an  honored  member  of  Phil 
Kearney  Post,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  of 
Yankton,  and  is  a  man  who  commands  the  re- 
spect and  confidence  of  all  with  whom  he  comes 
in  contact  either  in  business  or  social  life.  He 
has  led  a  very  temperate  life  and  has  no  bad 
habits,  has  never  played  cards,  and  is  very  do- 
mestic in  his  tastes,  being  devoted  to  home  and 
family.  He  has  served  as  treasurer  and  director 
of  the  school  board  but  has  never  sought  official 
honors  and  is  independent  in  politics,  voting  for 
the  best  men  regardless  of  party  ties. 


WILLIAM  C.  LAMPSOX  is  a  native  of 
the  old  Buckeye  state,  having  been  born  on  a 
farm  in  Medina  county.  Ohio,  on  the  17th  of 
July,  183 1,  and  being  a  son  of  Riley  and  Betsy 
(Gilford)  Lampson,  both  of  whom  were  born  in 
\'ermont,  being  representatives  of  families  es- 
tablished in  New  England  in  the  colonial  era  of 
our  national  history,  while  the  ancestry  is  of 
English  extraction  on  both  sides.  The  paternal 
great-grandfather  of  the  subject  was  a  valiant 
soldier  in  the  Continental  line  during  the  war  of 
the  Revolution.  The  father  of  our  subject  fol- 
lowed the  vocation  of  farming  throughout  life, 
having  removed  from  New  England  to  Ohio  in 
1829,  where  he  became  the  owner  of  nine  hun- 
dred acres  of  government  land,  the  same  being 
a  veritable  svlvan  wilderness  at  the  time  of  his 
securing  the  property.  He  attained  a  high  de- 
gree of  success  as  an  agriculturist,  having  re- 
moved to  i\IcHenry  county,  Illinois,  in  1855.  and 
there  became  a  prosperous  farmer.  His  death 
there  occurred  in  1859.  and  his  wife  passed  away 
in  1888.     They  became  the  parents  of  three  chil- 


HISTORY   OF   S01:TH   DAKOTA. 


743 


dren,  William  C,  the  immediate  subject  of  this 
sketch,  who  is  the  only  survivor;  and  George  R. 
and  ^Nlarv  i\I.,  who  are  deceased. 

]\Ir.  Lampson  was  reared  under  the  sturdy 
discipline  of  the  homestead  farm  in  Ohio,  and 
received  his  education  in  the  common  schools  of 
the  old  r>uckeyc  state,  while  as  a  young-  man  he 
was  for  some  time  a  successful  teacher  in  the 
district  schools.  He  accompanied  his  parents  on 
their  removal  to  McHenry  county,  Illinois,  and 
became  the  owner  of  the  farm  upon  the  death  of 
his  parents,  there  continuing  to  be  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits  until  1884,  when  he  disposed 
of  the  property  and  came  to  South  Dakota, 
purchasing  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of 
arable  land  in  Fremont  township,  Moodv  countv, 
the  tract  having  at  the  time  never  been  furrowed 
by  the  plowshare,  all  being  in  its  wild  state.  He 
has  since  added  to  the  area  of  his  landed  estate 
until  he  now  has  a  valuable  ranch  of  six  hun- 
dred and  ninety  acres,  the  greater  portion  being 
available  for  cultivation,  while  in  the  intervening 
years  he  has  transformed  the  wild  land  into  a 
fertile  and  productive  farm,  upon  which  are  to 
be  seen  substantial  and  well  equipped  buildings, 
making  the  ranch  one  of  the  most  attractive  to 
be  found  in  this  section  of  the  state,  while  all 
this  is  the  tangible  evidence  of  the  high  degree 
of  success  which  Mr.  Lampson  has  gained  since 
coming  to  the  state,  with  whose  development  and 
material  progress  he  has  thus  been  prominently 
identified.  Mr.  Lampson  devotes  his  attention  to 
diversified  farming  and  to  the  raising  of  high- 
grade  live  stock,  giving  special  preference  to  the 
registered  Galloway  cattle,  of  which  he  has  sold 
man}-  fine  animals  for  breeding  purposes,  while 
he  now  has  an  excellent  band  of  registered  and 
graded   Shropshire   sheep. 

In  politics  Mr.  Lampson  accords  a  stanch  al- 
legiance to  the  Republican  party,  and  he  takes 
a  deep  interest  in  the  cause  of  the  same,  having 
been  a  delegate  to  various  state  and  county  con- 
ventions, but  never  having  been  a  seeker  of 
official  preferment.  His  interest  in  the  cause  of 
popular  education  has  been  of  an  insistent  sort, 
and  he  has  served  as  a  school  officer  for  the  past 
thirt\-    \-ears.    He   has   been     a    member    of    the 


Masonic  fraternity  since  i860,  and  is  now  af- 
filiated with  Lodge  No.  11,  Ancient  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons,  at  Flandreau. 

On  the  17th  of  October,  1855,  at  River  Styx, 
Ohio,  Mr.  Lampson  was  married  to  ;\liss  Har- 
riet A.  Dean,  who  was  born  and  reared  in  Medina 
county,  Ohio,  being  a  daughter  of  Ansel  and 
Emeline  (]\Iunson)  Dean,  her  father  having  been 
a  successful  farmer.  Of  the  five  children  born 
to  Mr.  and  ;\Irs.  Lampson  three  are  living, 
namely  :  George  R.,  who  is  a  prominent  farmer 
and  veterinary  surgeon  of  this  county:  Albert, 
who  is  likewise  a  representative  farmer  of  the 
county;  and  Frank  E.,  who  is  engaged  in  busi- 
ness in  the  city  of  Minneapolis,  ?\Iinnesota.  \\i\- 
liam  C.  died  at  the  age  of  twelve  \-ears,  and 
Edgar  G.  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  vears. 


SOREN  MORTENSEX.— The  world  in- 
stinctivel}-  pays  deference  tO'  the  man  who  has 
risen  above  his  early  surroundings,  overcome  the 
obstacles  in  his  path  and  reached  a  high  posi- 
tion in  his  chosen  calling.  This  is  a  progressive 
age  and  he  who  does  not  advance  is  soon  left 
far  behind.  By  the  improvement  of  the  oppor- 
tunities b\-  which  all  are  surrounded  Mr.  :\Ior- 
tensen  has  steadily  and  honorably  worked  his 
way  upward  until  he  is  today  one  of  the  wealth- 
iest farmers  of  Yankton  county.  A  native  of 
Denmark,  he  was  born  April  21,  1846,  and  is 
a  son  of  Morten  and  Alary  '  Christensen )  Mor- 
tensen,  who  spent  their  entire  lives  in  that  coun- 
try. Bidding  good-by  to  home  and  friends,  the 
subject  sailed  for  New  Y'ork  in  1869  and  first 
located  in  Long  Island,  where  he  was  employed 
on  a  farm  for  seven  }-ears  and  a  half.  He  then 
brought  his  family  to  South  Dakota  and  since 
1876  has  been  an  honored  resident  of  this  state. 

In  1874  Mr.  Mortensen  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Meatha  Anielia  Larson,  who  died 
June  13.  i8g6,  leaving  nine  children,  namely; 
George,  who  married  Regina  Olson  and  is  now 
engaged  in  clerking  in  Gayville,  South  Dakota: 
Alartin.  a  farmer  of  Clav  countv,  this  state: 
Matilda,  now  the  wife  of  Ira  Harden,  a  resident 
of  Gayville;  and  Bena,  .\ndriea,  Giris,  Edward, 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH  DAKOTA. 


Mabel  and  Melvin.  All  are  being  provided  with 
good  educations  and  the  two  oldest  sons  have 
attended  the  State  University  at  Vermillion, 
South  Dakota.  Mr.  Mortensen  was  again  mar- 
ried June  23,  1900,  his  second  union  being  with 
;Miss  Nora  Grant,  a  daughter  of  H.  N.  and 
Catherine  (Pearson)  Grant.  Her  father  is  a 
prosperous  farmer  of  Douglas  county,  South 
Dakota,  and  one  of  the  leading  and  influential 
citizens  of  that  locality.  For  two  terms  he  most 
efficiently  served  as  sheriff  of  the  county,  was 
deputy  sheriff  the  same  length  of  time,  and  also 
filled  the  office  of  city  marshal  in  a  most  credit- 
able and  acceptable  manner.  During  the  dark 
days  of  the  Rebellion  he  manifested  his  love  of 
country  and  patriotic  spirit  by  his  service  in  the 
Union  army. 

On  coming  to  the  new  world  Mr.  Morten- 
sen's  capital  consisted  of  but  one  dollar,  but  he 
always  made  it  a  point  to  save  a  part  of  his 
earnings  and  on  his  arrival  in  South  Dakota  had 
twelve  hundred  dollars,  which  he  invested  in  an 
improved  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres. 
For  a  few  years  he  gave  his  attention  principally 
to  the  raising  of  wheat,  but  several  times  had  his 
crops  destroyed  by  the  grasshoppers  and  floods. 
In  later  years  he  has  made  stock  raising  a  spe- 
cialty and  now  handles  about  five  hundred  head 
of  cattle  and  shipped  two  hundred  and  five  head 
in  1903,  while  in  1902  he  marketed  one  hundred 
and  sixty-nine  head.  He  keeps  good  horses  and 
has  a  fine  drove  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  Ches- 
ter White  hogs.  As  he  has  prospered  in  busi- 
ness affairs  and  his  financial  resources  have  in- 
creased, Mr.  Mortensen  has  added  to  his  prop- 
erty from  time  to  time  until  he  now  owns  fifteen 
hundred  acres  of  fine  farm  land,  seven  hundred 
acres  of  which  is  under  cultivation  and  well  im- 
proved. In  1886  he  erected  upon  his  place  an 
elegant  brick  residence  and  has  also  built  good 
barns  and  cattle  sheds,  so  that  he  now  has  one 
of  the  best  improved  fanns  in  the  county.  Upon 
the  place  are  three  artesian  wells  which  amply 
supply  his  stock  with  water.  His  success  in  life 
is  due  entirely  to  his  own  well  directed  efforts, 
good  management  and  untiring  industry. 

In   politics   Mr.   Mortensen   is  a  Republican. 


His  wife,  who  is  a  most  estimable  lady,  was 
educated  in  the  schools  of  Armour,  South 
Dakota,  where  her  parents  make  their  home. 
Socially  the  family  is  one  of  prominence  in  the 
community  where  they  reside  and  their  many 
friends  are  always  sure  of  a  hearty  welcome  at 
their  hospitable  home. 


I 


E.  JM.  CRAMER  claims  the  old  Keystone 
state  as  the  place  of  his  nativity,  having. been 
born  in  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  on  the 
loth  of  May,  1849,  ^"d  being  a  son  of  Henry 
and  Ann  (Smith)  Cramer,  who  were  likewise 
born  in  that  state,  being  representatives  of  old 
and  sterling  families  of  the  commonwealth.  The 
father  of  the  subject  was  a  butcher  by  trade 
and  was  engaged  in  the  meat-market  business  in 
Pennsylvania,  until  1866,  when  he  removed  to 
Sterling,  Whiteside  county,  Illinois,  where  he 
engaged  in  the  general  merchandise  business,  in 
which  he  there  successfully  continued  for  a 
period  of  fifteen  years,  while  that  town  continued 
to  be  his  home  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
in  1897.  His  widow,  who  has  now  attained  the 
venerable  age  of  eighty-three  years,  still  resides 
in  Sterling,  and  is  a  devoted  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  as  was  also  her 
husband.  They  became  the  parents  of  eleven 
children,  of  whom  six  are  living. 

The  subject  received  his  educational  train- 
ing in  the  public  schools  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
was  about  seventeen  years  of  age  at  the  time  of 
the  family  Temoval  to  Illinois,  where  he  con- 
tinued to  reside  until  1880,  when  he  located  in 
the  city  of  Clinton,  Iowa,  where  he  was  engaged 
in  the  retail  grocery  business  until  1882,  when 
he  came  to  Plankinton,  South  Dakota.  Shortly 
after  his  arrival  he  took  up  a  homestead  claim 
six  miles  southeast  of  the  town,  and  located  on 
the  same  and  began  the  work  of  improvement, 
eventually  perfecting  his  title  to  the  property, 
which  he  retained  in  his  possession  until  1889, 
when  he  disposed  of  the  same  at  a  good  profit. 
After  proving  on  his  claim  Mr.  Cramer  took  up 
his  permanent  residence  in  Plankinton,  which 
had    at   that   time   a    population     of   about    one 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


745 


thousand  persons,  and  here  established  him- 
self in  the  general  merchandise  business,  in 
which  he  has  built  up  a  large  and  representative 
trade,  the  enterprise  having  expanded  in  scope 
and  importance  with  the  upbuilding  of  the  town 
and  the  settlement  of  the  surrounding  country. 
His  present  store  building  is  a  substantial  and 
commodious  structure  and  was  purchased  by 
him  about  twelve  years  ago,  and  in  the  same  he 
has  a  large  and  comprehensive  stock,  selected 
with  careful  discrimination,  so  that  he  caters  suc- 
cessfully to  the  demands  of  his  extensive  and  ap- 
preciative trade,  the  stock  representing  an  aver- 
age valuation  of  about  ten  thousand  dollars.  In 
politics  he  is  a  stanch  advocate  of  the  principles 
of  the  Republican  party,  but  has  never  been  an 
aspirant  for  public  office.  He  and  his  wife  are 
prominent  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  and  fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the 
Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  the 
Brotherhood  of  American  Yeomen  and  the 
Order  of  Hoine  Guardians. 

On  the  2ist  of  October,  1875,  Mr.  Cramer 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss'  Anna  Hecker- 
man,  who  was  born  and  reared  in  Hancock 
county,  Ohio,  being  a  daughter  of  Benjamin  F. 
Heckerman,  who  was  for  a  number  of  years  a 
conductor  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  and  who 
later  owned  and  operated  a  sawmill.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Cramer  became  the  parents  of  two  children, 
Mabel,  who  is  now  the  wife  of  G.  H.  Bryan,  who 
is  engaged  in  the  barbering  business  in  Plank- 
inton.  and   Noble,  who  died  at  the   age  of  ten 


HENRY  H.  PLATTS  is  a  native  of  the  old 
Granite  state,  having  been  bom  in  Cheshire 
county.  New  Hampshire,  on  Christmas  day  of 
the  year  1829.  He  is  a  son  of  Harvey  and 
Harriett  (Davis)  Platts,  and  both  families  were 
founded  in  New  England  in  the  colonial  epoch 
of  our  national  history,  while  several  represent- 
atives of  the  Platts  family  fought  in  the  cause 
of  independence  during  the  war  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  others  were  actively  participants  in  the 


war  of  1812.  The  subject  received  a  com- 
mon-school education  in  New  England  and  there 
continued  to  reside  until  1852,  when  he  came 
west  in  company  with  his  brother  Asa  (who 
also  resides  in  Moody  county  at  the  present  time, 
being  postmaster  at  Trent),  locating  in  Jones 
county,  Iowa,  where  he  took  up  a  claim  of  wild 
land,  while  later  he  removed  to  Worth  county, 
that  state,  where  he  became  a  pioneer  farmer, 
being  a  resident  there  at  the  time  of  the  outbreak 
of  the  Civil  war.  His  farm  was  isolated  in 
the  early  days,  and  he  was  compelled  one  winter 
to  haul  flour  a  distance  of  twenty-five  miles  on 
a  hand-sled  in  order  to  provide  for  the  family 
needs.  In  October,  1861,  he  enlisted  as  a  private 
in  Company  C,  Fourteenth  Iowa  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, the  captain  of  his  company  being  George 
H.  Wolfe.  His  command  was  in  sennce  to  a 
large  extent  in  the  states  of  Dakota  and  western 
Iowa,  the  most  notable  engagement  in  which 
the  subject  took  part  being  that  at  Falling  Water, 
west  of  Bismarck.  In  the  spring  of  1864  Mr. 
Platts  was  transferred  to  Company  M.  Seventh 
Iowa  Cavalry,  with  which  he  served  on  the  west- 
ern frontier,  as  had  he  also  while  a  member  of 
the  infantry.  In  1861  his  command  was  at  Sioux 
City  and  Yankton  during  the  fall,  and  in  De- 
cember of  that  year  was  stationed  at  Fort  Ran- 
dall, remaining  there  until  October  15,  1863,  and 
having  numerous  sorties  and  battles  with  the 
rebellious  Indians.  The  command  was  next  sent 
to  Fort  Sully,  this  state,  and  there,  in  the  spring 
of  1864,  having  been  granted  a  furlough,  the  sub- 
ject and  other  members  of  his  company  con- 
structed flatboats  on  which  they  made  their  way 
down  the  Missouri  river  to  Sioux  City,  where 
they  remained  about  six  months.  After  the  ex- 
piration of  his  original  term,  Mr.  Platts  re- 
enlisted,  as  a  member  of  the  same  regiment,  and 
thereafter  continued  in  service  until  June  26, 
1866,  when  he  was  mustered  out,  at  Sioux  City, 
where  he  received  his  honorable  discharge.  He 
was  with  General  Sully  in  nearly  all  of  that 
officer's  expeditions  against  the  Indians,  and  saw 
much  hard  and  hazardous  service,  while  his 
record  is  that  of  a  valiant  and  faithful  soldier. 
After  the  close  of  the  war  Mr.  Platts  returned 


746 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH  DAKOTA. 


to  his  farm,  near  Bristol,  Worth  county,  Iowa, 
and  thereafter  improved  his  land  and  brought  it 
under  effective  cultivation.  In  1876  he  disposed 
of  the  property  and  caitie  to  South  Dakota, 
making  the  trip  overland  with  team  and  wagon.  1 
He  located  in  Moody  county,  where  he  entered 
claim  to  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  gov- 
ernment land,  in  Egan  township,  and  here  he 
improved  one  of  the  best  ranches  now  to  be 
found  in  the  county,  having  erected  substantial 
and  commodious  farm  buildings  and  having 
placed  the  greater  portion  of  the  land  under 
cultivation.  The  farm  is  one  which  would  do 
credit  to  any  of  the  older  settled  states  of  the 
Union,  and  bears  slight  resemblance  to  the  bar- 
ren tract  which  was  here  represented  at  the  time 
when  the  subject  assumed  possession,  nearly 
thirty  years  ago.  Success  attended  his  efforts, 
and  though  he  encountered  the  various  vicissi- 
tudes and  hardships  ever  incidental  to  opening 
up  the  march  of  civilization  and  development  in 
a  new  country,  the  results  have  amply  compen- 
sated for  the  trial  and  for  the  strenuous  labors 
performed.  Mr.  Platts  continued  to  reside  on 
the  homestead  until  1893,  in  October  of  which 
year  he  removed  to  the  village  of  Egan,  where 
he  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business,  having  a 
general  store  and  securing  a  good  trade.  This 
enterprise  received  the  major  portion  of  hjs 
time  and  attention,  up  to  the  time  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  on  the  23d  of  February,  1904. 

Mr.  Platts  gave  a  stanch  allegiance  to  the 
Republican  party  from  the  time  of  its  organiza- 
tion, and  ever  showed  a  loyal  interest  in  the 
promotion  of  its  cause,  while  he  was  influential 
in  local  affairs  of  a  public  nature.  For  a  quar- 
ter of  a  century  he  served  almost  consecutively 
as  justice  of  the  peace,  and  his  wise  counsel  had 
much  to  do  in  bringing  about  amicable  adjust- 
ments of  the  minor  difficulties  among  his  neigh- 
bors, while  he  was  signally  fair  and  impartial  in 
all  his  decisions.  He  also  served  in  the  various 
other  township  offices,  and  ever  commanded  the 
unqualified  esteem  of  the  people  of  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  so  long  lived  and  labored. 
He  and  his  wife  were  zealous  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  fraternally  he 


was  identified  with  C.  C.  Washburn  Post,  No. 
15,  Grand  Anny  of  the  Republic,  at  Egan,  and 
with  Lodge  No.  71,  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  in  the  same  place. 

Mr.  Platts  was  first  married,  February  7. 
1854,  to  Miss  Emma  Sawtell,  and  to  them  were 
born  eight  children,  Harvey  E.  (married  Miss 
Laura  Neff),  Charles  F.,  Emma  A.  (married 
to  E.  R.  Hopkins  and  now  living  in  Canada), 
Ella  E.  (the  wife  of  E.  F.  Peck,  of  Austin,' Min- 
nesota), Hattie  R.  (wife  of  G.  H.  LaVanway, 
of  Egan,  South  Dakota),  Albert  W.  (married 
Bertha  Wilson),  Abel  H.  and  Jennie  L.,  of 
whom  Charles  and  Jennie  are  deceased.  Mrs. 
Emily  Platts  died  in  Iowa,  May  13,  1876,  and 
on  March  27,  1877,  in  Dakota,  Mr.  Platts  married 
Mrs.  Nancy  M.  LaVanway  (nee  Wilkins).  She 
was  born  March  30,  1831,  at  Stockholm,  St. 
Lawrence  county.  New  York,  and  on  July  10, 
1849,  was  married  to  Solomon  LaVanway,  who 
died  November  3,  1869.  She  became  the  mother 
of  ten  children,  all  of  whom  are  living.  Her 
death  occurred  at  Egan,  South  Dakota,  on  the 
i8th  of  January,  1901. 


PEDER  FRENG.— Norway  has  sent  many 
of  her  sons  to  the  new  world  and  the  northwest 
especially  owes  much  of  its  substantial  improve- 
ment and  growth  to  this  valuable  class  of  our 
American  citizenship,  for  they  who  come  from 
the  land  of  the  midnight  sun  are  industrious, 
energetic,  frugal  and  honest  people,  whose  value 
in  the  building  up  of  this  portion  ofthe  country 
is  widely  acknowledged.  Mr.  Freng  was  bom 
in  Norway  on  the  26th  of  April.  1846,  and  is  a 
son  of  John  and  Bertha  Freng,  who  spent  their 
entire  lives  in  their  native  land  where  his  father 
always  followed  the  occupation  of  farming.  The 
subject  was  there  reared  and  educated  and  then 
when  twenty-three  years  of  age  he  sought  a 
home  in  the  LTnited  States,  crossing  the  Atlantic 
in  1869.  He  settled  in  Yankton  county.  South 
Dakota,  and  he  has  a  brother  who  is  now  living 
near  him.  Locating  upon  his  present  farm,  he 
now  has  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  good 
land,    on   which   he    raises   crops   that  he    feeds 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


747 


annually  to  his  stock.  He  is  raising  both  cattle 
and  Poland-China  hogs  and  his  sales  bring  to 
him  a  very  creditable  and  gratifying  income.  He 
has  planted  all  of  the  trees  upon  his  farm  and 
has  made  valuable  improvements  which  consti- 
tute it  one  of  the  very  desirable  farm  properties 
of  the  locality.  Although  he  found  that  America 
afforded  good  advantages  to  its  citizens,  he  also 
found  that  difficulties  and  trials  were  to  be  borne 
at  times.  He  lived  here  when  the  grasshoppers 
destroyed  all  of  the  crops  and  was  also  bothered 
to  a  considerable  extent  with  the  crickets,  which 
were  so  numerous  that  they  in  some  localities 
stopped  trains.  His  brother's  property  suffered 
because  of  the  flood,  though  he  saved  most  of  his 
cattle  by  putting  them  on  top  of  a  shed.  Mr. 
Freng  has  gained  very  desirable  property  since 
coming  to  America  and  now  hss  a  nice  home,  in 
the  rear  of  which  stands  substantial  barns  and 
outbuildings  and  these  in  turn  are  surrounded  by 
good  fields  or  by  pasture  lands,  wherein  are  fed 
many  head  of  stock.  He  has  planted  an  excellent 
orchard,  including  both  cherry  and  apple  trees, 
having  two  acres  planted  to  fruit.  He  erected 
his  home  in  1890  and  also  built  large  barns. 

On  the  6th  of  January,  1874,  occurred  the 
marriage  of  i\Ir.  Freng  and  Miss  Anna  Freng. 
Her  mother  came  to  Yankton  countv  and  is  still 
living  in  this  locality,  having  attained  the  age 
of  eighty-one  years  in  April,  1903.  The  subject 
and  his  wife  have  six  children :  Mary,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Matt  Hanson;  Bertha,  the  wife  of 
Ole  Bruget ;  Ida.  who  was  educated  in  Yankton 
and  is  now  a  successful  school  teacher  at  James- 
vilje:  Emil.  at  home;  and  Karl  and  Clara,  who 
are  also  with  their  parents.  In  his  political  views 
Mr.  Freng  is  a  Republican  who  has  served  as  a 
school  officer  and  as  county  commissioner.  The 
cause  of  education  finds  in  him  a  very  warm 
friend,  for  he  realizes  its  importance  as  a  prepa- 
ration for  life's  practical  duties.  He  belongs  to 
the  Lutheran  church  and  in  citizenship  is  ver}' 
progressive,  doing  everything  in  his  power  to 
promote  the  material  development  of  his  com- 
munity. Intelligent  and  enterprising,  his  labors 
have  been  effective  and  far-reaching  for  the 
benefit  of  the  countv  and  at  the  same  time  he  has 


so  directed  his  business  eft'orts  that  he  has 
become  a  leading  representative  of  agricultural 
life  in  his  adopted  state. 


REV.  WILLIAM  LEWIS  MEINZER  was 
born  on  a  farm  in  Winnebago  county,  Illinois, 
on  the  26th  of  December,  1868,  and  is  a  son  of 
William  and  Mary  Julia  Meinzer,  both  of  whom 

i  were  born  near  Carlsruhe,  Baden,  Germany,  the 
former  being  a  lad  of  nine  years  when  he  ac- 
companied his  parents  on  their  emigration  to 
America,  while  his  wife  was  seven  years  of  age 
when  she  came  to  the  United   States  with  her 

I  parents,  both  families  being  numbered  among  the 
pioneer  settlers  in  northern  Illinois.  The  father 
of  the  subject  became  a  successful  farmer  and 
resided  for  half  a  century  on  his  homestead 
farm  in  Winnebago  county,  Illinois.  He  and 
his  wife  are  now  residing  in  Davis,  Illinois, 
having  retired  from  active  life.    The  ancestr\'  of 

■  the  subject,  in  both  the  paternal  and  maternal 
lines,  has  been  identified  with  the  history  of 
southern  Germany,  and  his  grandparents  were 
the  first  of  the   respective   families  to  locate  in' 

j  the  new  world.     The  maternal  grandfather  was 

I  prominent  in  the  revolution  of  1848,  and  this 
fact  led  to  his  emigration  from  the  Fatherland. 

I  One  of  his  brothers  was  for  manv  years  burgo- 
master of  the  village  of  Neureuth,  Baden. 

William    L.   Meinzer  secured  his   early  edu- 

I  cational  discipline  in  tlie  district  schools  of  his 

I  native  county,  and  as  a  mere  boy  began  to  assist 
in  the  work  of  the  home  farm,  having  followed 
the  plow  when  but  ten  years  of  age,  while  he 
was   able  to  attend   school    during    the    winter 

I  terms  of  about  four  months.  Of  alert  and 
respective  mentality,  his  ambition  to  secure  a 
broader  education  was  early  quickened,  and  in 
the  fall  of  1887  he  entered  Northwestern  Col- 
lege, at  Naperville.  Illinois,  but  by  reason  of 
illness  he  was  compelled  to  temporarily  abandon 

1  his  studies  there  a  few  months  later,  and  upon 

i   resuming    collegiate    work    he    interspersed    the 

!  same  with  periods  of  teaching,  in  order  to  secure 
the  means  with  which  to  further  prosecute  his 

I   studies.  In  the  autumn  of  1889  he  came  to  Lin- 


748 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


coin  county,  South  Dakota,  for  the  purpose  of 
teaching  in  the  public  schools,  and  in  the  follow- 
ing spring  he  entered  the  State  Agricultural 
College,  at  Brookings,  where  he  continued  his 
studies  until  the  spring  of  1893,  when  a  quarrel 
arose  between  the  faculty  and  a  large  number  of 
the  students,  whereupon  our  subject  left  the  in- 
stitution and  was  matriculated  in  the  Iowa  State 
College,  at  Ames,  being  there  graduated  as  a 
member  of  the  class  of  1894  and  receiving  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Science.  In  the  same  year 
he  took  up  the  study  of  theology,  prosecuting 
the  course  designated  by  the  Dakota  conference 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  he  con- 
tinued his  ecclesiastical  studies  after  entering 
upon  active  pastoral  work.  He  was  received  on 
trial  into  the  conference,  at  Aberdeen,  in  1895; 
was  ordained  a  deacon,  at  Mitchell,  by  Bishop 
Warren,  in  1897;  and  an  elder  by  Bishop  Hurst, 
at  Huron,  in  1899.  In  November,  1894,  Mr. 
Meinzer  became  pastor  of  the  church  at  Armour, 
Douglas  county,  and  in  1896  he  was  assigned  to 
the  pastorate  at  Howard,  where  he  remained 
until  1899,  when  conference  assigned  him  to  the 
pastoral  charge  of  the  church  at  Redfield,  Spink 
county,  where  he  rendered  most  eifective  service 
until  1902.  His  wife  died  in  April,  1902,  dur- 
ing the  pastorate  at  Redfield.  In  the  following 
June  he  resigned  his  charge  and  made  an  ex- 
tended European  tour,  returning  to  South  Da- 
kota in  October,  1902,  when  the  conference  ap- 
pointed him  to  Clark,  South  Dakota.  Since  his 
return  from  abroad,  in  connection  with  his  pas- 
toral duties,  Mr.  Meinzer  has  gained  high  com- 
mendation on  the  lecture  platform,  having  em- 
bodied his  experiences  and  observations  in 
Europe  into  a  most  interesting  and  original  lec- 
ture entitled  "Kings,  Crowns  and  Castles."  He 
is  a  man  of  high  intellectual  attainments  and  is 
instinct  with  enthusiasm  and  nervous  vitality, 
and  his  devotion  and  loyalty  have  made  him  a 
force  for  good  in  the  pulpit  and  on  the  platform, 
while  he  stands  as  a  type  of  the  best  citizenship. 
In  politics  he  has  ever  given  a  stanch  allegiance 
to  the  Republican  party,  having  cast  his  first 
presidential  vote  for  Benjamin  Harrison. 


On  the  31st  of  December,  1895,  Mr.  Meinzer 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Dora  Jane 
Squires,  the  ceremony  being  performed  at 
Armour,  this  state.  Mrs.  Meinzer  was  born  and 
reared  near  East  Fairfield,  Vermont,  and  came 
to  South  Dakota  in  1890,  being  for  four  years  a 
successful  and  popular  teacher  in  the  public 
schools  of  Armour.  She  died  in  Asbury  hospital, 
in  the  city  of  Minneapolis,  Minnesota,  on  the 
15th  of  April,  1902,  as  the  result  of  an  operation 
for    cancer.      No    children    were    born    of    this 


EDWARD  J.  .AIONFORE  is  a  native  of  the 
old  Empire  state  of  the  Union,  having  been  born 
in  Delaware  cotmty.  New  York,  on  the  13th  of 
March,  1828,  so  that  he  has  now  passed  the 
psalmist's  span  of  three  score  years  and  ten,  but 
is  a  man  of  marked  mental  and  physical  vigor, 
giving  slight  indication  of  the  years  which  stand 
to  his  credit.  He  is  a  son  of  Garrett  and  Paty 
(Smith)  ]\Ionfore.  and  is  the  eldest  of  their  four 
children,  all  of  whom  sun'ive,  the  others  being  j 
as  follows :  Rebecca,  who  is  the  wife  of  Rodney  I 
Chichester,  of  New  Canaan,  Connecticut ;  Mar\-,  ] 
who  is  the  wife  of  Henry  ]\Ionroe,  of  Council  I 
Grove,  Kansas ;  and  Elizabeth,  who  is  the  wife  of  j 
John  Waterman,  of  Broome  county,  New  York.  | 
The  maternal  grandfather  Smith  was  a  Revolu- 
tionary soldier  and  his  widow  drew  a  pension. 
The  father  of  the  subject  was  born  in  the  state 
of  New  York,  where  the  family  was  established 
in  the  early  pioneer  epoch,  and  there  he  passed 
his  entire  life.  As  a  young  man  he  learned  the 
blacksmith  trade,  which  he  followed  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  after  which  he  was  engaged  in 
farming  during  the  remainder  of  his  active  busi- 
ness career,  having  removed  from  Delaware 
county  to  Broome  county,  where  his  death  oc- 
curred in  1845.  He  was  a  Whig  in  his  political 
proclivities  and  was  an  ardent  abolitionist.  He 
and  his  wife  were  both  consistent  members  of 
the  Congregational  church.  The  latter  was  like- 
wise born  in  the  state  of  Connecticut  and  lived 
to  very  old  age.     They   were  persons  of  noble 


HISIORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


characteristics  and  lived  lives  of  signal  honor 
and  usefulness. 

Edward  J.  Monfore,  whose  name  initiates 
this  sketch,  was  reared  under  the  sturdy  dis- 
cipline of  the  home  farm,  and  after  attending  the 
common  schools  of  Broome  county  he  continued 
his  studies  for  some  time  in  an  excellent  academy 
at  Homer,  New  York.  As  a  young  man  he 
worked  on  the  farm  and  at  various  other  oc- 
cupations, being  signally  energetic  and  ambi- 
tious and  early  exemplifying  that  good  judgment 
which  has  conserved  his  success  in  later  years. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-five  years  he  entered  upon 
an  apprenticeship  at  the  trade  of  wagonmaking, 
becoming  a  competent  workman,  and  to  this  vo- 
cation he  continued  to  devote  his  attention  for 
about  a  decade,  ''n  the  meanwhile  carefully  hus- 
banding his  resources  and  exemplifying  the 
utmost  thrift  and  perseverance.  In  1864  he  left 
his  native  state  and  came  to  the  west,  locating  in 
Warren  county.  Iowa,  where  he  purchased  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land,  as  well  as  forty 
acres  in  the  adjoining  county  of  Marion.  One 
year  later  he  disposed  of  both  of  these  properties 
and  purchased  another  farm  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty-five  acres  in  Warren  countv,  to  which  he 
subsequently  added  until  he  had  a  good  farm  of 
two  hundred  and  five  acres.  There  he  continued 
to  be  successfully  engaged  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits for  nearly  eighteen  years,  becoming  one  of 
the  honored  and  influential  citizens  of  the  com- 
munity. He  there  served  two  terms  as  clerk  of 
Belmont  township,  and  one  term  as  a  member 
of  the  board  of  county  commissioners. 

In  the  spring  of  1882,  having  disposed  of  his 
interests  in  Iowa,  Mr.  Monfore  came  to  South 
Dakota,  and  located  in  Springfield,  Bon 
Homme  county,  where  he  has  since  maintained 
his  home,  being  one  of  the  founders  and  builders 
of  this  now  prosperous  and  attractive  little  city, 
and  having  also  been  identified  with  the  in- 
dustrial development  of  this  favored  section  of  our 
great  commonwealth.  He  is  the  owner  of  six 
hundred  and  forty  acres  of  valuable  farming 
land  in  the  county,  the  same  being  divided  into 
four  farms,  and  he  gives  a  general  supervision 
to   the    property,    which    is    well    improved    and 


under  effective  cultivation.  He  is  also  the  owner 
of  a  nice  residence  and  other  property  in  Spring- 
field. 

In  ])olitics  Mr.  Monfore  gave  his  allegiance 
to  the  Whig  party  until  the  organization  of  the 
Republican  party,  when  he  transferred  his  al- 
legiance to  the  latter,  of  whose  principles  and 
policies  he  has  ever  since  been  an  unswerving 
advocate,  having  been  one  of  those  who  aided  in 
the  election  of  the  delegates  to  the  first  Re- 
publican state  convention  in  New  York.  In 
1885  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  board  of 
commissioners  of  Bon  Homme  county,  in  which 
capacity  he  served  two  terms,  during  which 
period  he  gave  significant  manifestation  of  his 
loyalty  and  intrinsic  public  spirit.  He  was  also 
elected  and  served  nine  years  as  a  member  of 
the  board  of  education  at  Springfield.  He,  with 
George  W.  Snow  and  J.  L.  Turner,  constituted 
the  committee  having  in  charge  the  erection  of 
its  first  normal  school  building  here,  the  cost  of 
which,  ten  thousand  dollars,  was  donated  by  the 
citizens  of  Springfield,  the  subject  himself  con- 
tributing two  hundred  dollars.  Fraternally  he 
is  affiliated  with  Mount  Zion  Lodge,  No.  6, 
.\ncient  Free  and  z\ccepted  Masons,  and  the 
auxiliary  organization,  Springfield  Chapter,  No. 
II,  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  of  which  his  wife 
likewise  is  a  member;  and  he  is  also  identified 
with  Springfield  Lodge,  No.  7,  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  Deborah  Lodge,  No. 
52.  Daughters  of  Rebekah,  of  which  Mrs.  Mon- 
fore is  a  member. 

On  the  15th  of  June,  1852,  at  Centre  Lisle, 
New  York,  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Mr. 
Monfore  to  Miss  Clarissa  Chapin,  who  was  born 
in  Michigan  and  reared  in  Yorkshire,  Broome 
county,  New  York.  Of  this  union  were  born 
four  children,  of  whom  three  survive :  Edward 
C,  who  is  a  retired  merchant  of  Springfield ; 
George  J.,  who  is  engaged  in  farming  in  this 
county;  Carrie,  who  is  the  wife  of  Charles 
Melick,  a  farmer  of  this  county.  Mr.  Monfore's 
first  wife  passed  away  October  8,  1864,  dying  of 
typhoid  fever  at  Coloma,  Iowa.  He  subsequently 
married,  in  Putnam  county,  Illinois,  Miss  Lottie 
Melick,  who  was  born  in  New  Tersey  and  reared 


75° 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


in  East  Enterprise,  Indiana.  By  the  latter  union 
were  born  three  children,  all  of  whom  grew  to 
maturity  and  were  married.  The  eldest,  Fanny, 
who  was  the  wife  of  Dr.  R.  D.  Melvin,  now  of 
Parker,  this  state,  was  caught  in  a  folding  bed 
and  received  injuries  which  caused  her  death. 
She  had  one  son,  Adney.  The  next  child,  Frank, 
is  proprietor  of  the  Springfield  House,  at  Spring- 
field, this  state,  and  the  youngest,  Stella,  is  the 
wife  of  George  B.  Mead,  of  Port  Stanley,  Wash- 
ington. 


JOHN  A.  JOHNSON.— The  home  farm  of 
John  A.  Johnson  is  a  well  developed  property 
situated  in  Yankton  county  not  far  from  Irene. 
The  owner  was  born  in  Norway  April  29,  1867, 
and  is  a  son  of  Jonas  and  Olena  Johnson.  The 
father  came  to  Yankton  county  in  1886,  settling 
on  section  35,  Mayfield  township.  He  had  only 
a  few  days  before  arrived  in  America  and  South 
Dakota  was  his  destination  for  he  had  heard 
of  the  favorable  opportunities  here  afforded  for 
advancement  in  the  business  world.  Becoming 
identified  with  farming  interests,  he  here  con- 
tinued his  work  until  called  to  his  final  rest,  on 
the  17th  of  April.  1899,  while  his  wife  died 
October  24,  1900.  In  the  family  were  six  chil- 
dren :  Einer,  John  A.,  Nettha,  Olive,  Christina 
and  Gena. 

In  his  father's  home  John  A.  Johnson  was 
reared  and  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
county  aiTorded  him  his  educational  privileges. 
He  was  a  young  man  of  aliout  nineteen  when 
he  crossed  the  Atlantic  and  became  identified 
with  farming  interests  in  Yankton  county.  As 
a  companion  and  helpmate  for  the  journey  of  life 
he  chose  Miss  Bertha  Larson  and  they  were  mar- 
ried in  1894.  The  lady  is  a  daughter  of  Magnus 
Larson,  who  came  to  this  county  at  an  early  day. 
Mrs.  Johnson  passed  away  on  the  24th  of  March, 
1902,  leaving  two  children,  Martin  and  Lena, 
who  are  still  with  their  father. 

The  home  farm  of  Mr.  Johnson  comprises 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  knd,  all  under 
a  high  state  of  cultivation  with  the  exception  of 
a  tract  of  thirty  acres.     He  has  made  excellent 


improvements  upon  his  place,  including  the  erec- 
tion of  a  fine  residence  in  1902.  Two  years  be- 
fore he  built  large  and  substantial  barns  and 
other  outbuildings  upon  his  place  with  abundant 
shelter  for  grain  and  stock.  He  makes  a  spe- 
cialty of  the  raising  of  shorthorn  cattle  and 
Poland-China  hogs  and  in  addition  he  produces 
good  crops  in  his  well  tilled  fields.  His  desir- 
able property, ,  neat  and  thrifty  in  appearance, 
stands  as  a  monument  to  his  life  of  industry  and 
enterprise  and  he  is  widely  recognized  as  one 
of  the  more  progressive  and  successful  young 
farmers  of  Yankton  county.  He  holds  member- 
ship in  the  Lutheran  church  and  in  his  political 
views  he  is  a  Republican.  His  fellow  townsmen, 
recognizing  his  worth  and  ability,  have  called 
him  to  public  office  and  he  is  now  sending  as 
township  treasurer,  and  a  member  of  the  Re- 
publican central  committee.  He  is  also  a  share- 
holder and  director  in  the  Farmers'  Co-operative 
Stock  Company,  of  Irene,  South  Dakota. 


CINCINATUS  C.  WILEY.— In  the  career 
of  this  enterprising  business  man  and  gallant  ex- 
soldier  of  one  of  the  greatest  wars  in  the  annals 
of  history,  the  reader  will  not  only  find  much 
that  is  interesting  but  may  also  profit  by  those 
experiences  which  when  properly  applied  to  pre- 
vailing conditions  invariably  lead  to  success. 
Cincinatus  C.  Wiley,  of  the  firm  of  Wiley,  Allen 
&  Company,  real  estate  dealers,  Watertown,  is 
a  New  England  product  and  inherits  many  of 
the  sterling  qualities  for  which  the  people  of  that 
historic  section  of  the  Union  have  long  been 
distinguished.  His  father.  Dr.  Hazare  Wiley,  a 
well-known  physician  and  surgeon,  was  a  native 
of  Massachusetts  and  of  Scotch  descent,  and  his 
mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Mary 
Pierce,  was  also  born  and  reared  in  the  same 
state.  Cincinatus  C.  is  one  of  seven  children,  two 
now  living,  and  was  born  in  Frauklin  county, 
Massachusetts,  on  the  8th  day  of  October,  1842. 
At  the  proper  age  he  entered  the  public  schools 
of  his  native  place  and  prosecuted  his  studies 
therein  until  a  youth  in  his  teens,  the  meantime 
spending  his  vacations  on  a  farm,  with  the  rug- 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


751 


ged  duties  of  which  he  early  became  familiar. 
After  acquiring  his  education  he  followed  agri- 
cultural pursuits  until  the  breaking  out  of  the 
great  Civil  war,  when,  with  true  patriotic  fervor, 
he  tendered  his  services  to  the  country  in  the  time 
of  its  need,  enlisting,  in  1861,  in  Company  B, 
Tenth  Massachusetts  Infantry,  for  three  years, 
being  mustered  in  at  the  city  of  Springfield  on 
June  2 1st  of  that  year.  Mr.  Wiley's  regiment 
was  assigned  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  and 
took  an  active  part  in  many  of  the  noted  Vir- 
ginia campaigns  from  the  beginning  of  the  war 
until  near  its  close,  participating  in  some  of  the 
bloodiest  battles  of  the  struggle.  Among  these 
were  Fair  Oaks,  second  Bull  Run,  Antietam,  Mil- 
burn  Hill,  Mine  Run,  first  and  second  battles  of 
Fredericksburg,  Wilderness,  Spottsylvania  Court 
House,  Gettysburg  and  a  number  of  others,  to 
sav  nothing  of  numerous  skirmishes  and  minor 
engagements,  in  all  of  which  the  subject  bore 
himself  as  a  brave  and  gallant  soldier,  prompt 
in  his  response  to  every  duty  and  ready  at  all 
times  to  face  danger  and  death  in  defense  of  the 
great  principles  for  which  so  many  patriots  gave 
the  last  full  measure  of  their  devotion,  to  the 
end  that  the  union  of  the  states  might  be  pre- 
served inviolate.  He  was  wounded  at  Spottsyl- 
vania, but  not  seriously,  and  on  July  i,  1864,  at 
the  expiration  of  his  enlistment  was  mustered 
out  of  the  service,  immediately  after  which  he 
returned  home  and  the  following  spring  engaged 
in  the  lumber  business  in  the  state  of  Vermont. 
Mr.  Wiley  devoted  his  attention  to  this  line 
of  activity  from  1865  to  1876,  a  period  of  eleven 
years,  and  then  disposed  of  his  interests  in  New 
England  and  came  to  South  Dakota,  arriving  at 
Yankton  on  March  27th  of  the  latter  year.  The 
following  May  he  went  to  the  Black  Hills  and 
for  some  time  thereafter  devoted  his  attention  to 
prospecting  and  mining,  with  Deadwood  as  his 
headquarters,  returning  to  Yankton  the  ensuing 
fall.  In  the  spring  of  1877  he  came  to  Cod- 
ington county,  driving  from  Yankton  with  an  ox- 
team  and  taking  possession  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  land,  which  he  had  previously 
entered  by  filing  a  soldier's  claim  and  on  which 
he  lived  until  the  spring  of  1879,  when  he  moved 


into  town.  Some  months  later  he  had  his  build- 
ings moved  to  Watertown  and,  putting  up  an 
addition  thereto,  started  a  hotel  which  he  con- 
ducted from  1880  to  1894,  inclusive,  and  which 
the  meanwhile  became  a  well-known  hostlery  and 
one  of  the  most  popular  resorts  of  the  traveling 
public  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  state.  Disposing 
of  his  hotel  interests,  he  again  turned  his  at- 
tention to  mining  and  after  prosecuting  the  same 
almost  exclusively  until  the  spring  of  1899, 
principally  in  the  Black  Hills  district,  he  began 
dealing  in  real  estate.  The  real  estate  firm  of 
Wiley,  Allen  &  Company  does  the  largest  busi- 
ness of  the  kind  in  Watertown  and  one  of  the 
most  extensive  in  the  state,  having  lands  listed 
in  all  parts  of  the  Dakotas,  Oregon,  California 
and  other  states  and  territories,  their  operations 
being  far-reaching  and  important  and  of  a  mag- 
nitude which  demonstrates  their  capacity  as  enter- 
prising, progressive  and  thoroughly  reliable  busi- 
ness men.  Additional  to  his  real  estate  business, 
Mr.  Wiley  owns  valuable  mineral  properties 
in  various  parts  of  the  west,  the  most  important 
of  which  are  his  interests  in  the  group  of  gold, 
silver  and  lead  mines  on  Kittle  river,  one  hundred 
and  twenty-eight  miles  north  of  Spokane  in  the 
state  of  Washington.  These  are  being  developed 
as  rapidly  as  circumstances  will  admit  and  the 
richness  of  the  territory  and  the  vast  quantity 
of  ore  in  sight  indicate  independent  fortunes  for 
the  owners  at  no  distant  day.  Recently  Mr. 
Wiley  removed  to  Lents,  Oregon,  a  suburb  of 
Portland,  where  he  is  engaged  in  the  real-estate 
business  under  the  firm  style  of  C.  C.  Wiley  & 
Company. 

Mr.  AVilev  is  a  wide-awake,  public-spirited 
citizen,  deeply  interested  in  the  public  welfare, 
and  he  encourages  with  his  influence  and  finan- 
cial support  all  laudable  enterprises  to  promote 
the  same.  He  has  taken  an  active  part  in  county 
and  municipal  affairs,  served  two  terms  as 
treasurer  of  each,  and  as  custodian  of  the  people's 
funds  made  a  record  unshadowed  by  the  slightest 
suspicion  of  anything  dishonorable.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Republican  and  for  a  number  of  years 
has  been  considered  one  of  the  leaders  of  his 
party  in  the  county  of  Codington.     Fraternally, 


752 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


he  is  identified  with  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
pubhc,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and 
Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  and  he  has 
been  honored  with  the  highest  offices  within  the 
gift  of  the  different  local  lodges  to  which  he 
belongs. 

^Ir.  Wiley  was  married  April  12,  1865,  in 
North  Adams,  Massachusetts,  to  >\Iiss  Harriett 
P.  Sprague,  a  native  of  \'ermont  and  the  daugh- 
ter of  Farnum  and  Harriett  F.  Sprague,  the 
union  resulting  in  the  birth  of  five  children, 
namely :  Lewis  E..  of  Butte,  Montana ;  Elmer, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  seven  years ;  Alice  F. ; 
Cora  A.,  wife  of  Oscar  Eichiger,  of  Watertown, 
and  Birdie,  who  died  in  childhood.  Mrs.  Wiley 
departed  this  life  December  4,  1902,  and  her 
loss  was  deeply  mourned  in  Watertown  where 
she  had  a  large  circle  of  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances who  held  her  in  the  highest  personal  esteem. 
She  was  a  devoted  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church,  always  profoundly  interested  in 
religious  and  benevolent  enterprises  and  her 
beautiful  Christian  character  and  zealous  en- 
deavor in  every  good  work  endeared  her  to  all 
Avho  came  within  range  of  her  influence. 


WILLIAM  BYRNE,  who  is  one  of  the  rep- 
resentative farmers  and  stock  growers  of  Faulk 
county,  where  he  is  the  owner  of  a  large  and 
valuable  ranch,  is  a  native  son  of  the  great  west 
and  has  exemplified  its  progressive  spirit  in  a 
marked  degree,  gaining  success  through  his  well 
directed  efforts  in  connection  with  the  industrial 
development  of  South  Dakota,  where  he  has 
maintained  his  home  for  the  past  score  of  years, 
so  that  he  is  entitled  to  consideration  as  one  of 
the  pioneers  of  Faulk  county. 

Mr.  Byrne  was  born  in  Allamakee  county, 
Iowa,  on  the  i8th  of  September.  1861,  and  is 
a  son  of  Lawrence  and  Delia  Byrne.  This 
worthy  couple  became  the  parents  of  ten  children, 
of  whom  eight  are  living,  while  four  of  the 
number  are  residents  of  this  state. 

William  Byrne  was  reared  on  the  homestead 
farm  which  was  the  place  of  his  birth,  and  re- 
ceived   his    education     in    the    excellent    public 


schools  of  Iowa.     He  continued  to  be  associated      I 
in  the  management  of  the  homestead  until  1882,       ] 
when   the   property   was   sold,   and  he   then,   in       ! 
company  with  his  mother  and  the  other  members       j 
of  the  family,    came    to    South    Dakota.     They       i 
passed  the  winter  of  that  year  in  Turner  county       ' 
and  in  the  spring  of  1883  came  to  the  newly  or-       I 
ganized    county    of    Faulk,    where    each    of    the 
family  entered  claim  to  government  land.    The 
subject  took  up  a  pre-emption  claim,  six  miles 
east  of  the  present  village  of  Orient,  which  is  his 
postoffice  address,  and  at  once  instituted  the  im- 
provement of  his  land,  to   which  he  has   since 
added    until   he   has    a   valuable   estate    of   nine 
hundred  and  sixty  acres,  the  major  portion  of 
which   is   under   effective   cultivation,   being  de- 
voted to  the  raising  of  wheat,  oats,  com,  barley 
and  hay,  in  large  quantities.     He  is  also  giving 
careful   attention    to    the    raising   of   high-grade 
stock.    His  place  has  an  excellent  supply  of  pure 
water,  which  may  be  secured  at  a  depth  of  about 
sixteen  feet  on  almost  all  portions  of  the  ranch. 
He  is  a  stanch  supporter  of  the  principles  and 
policies  of  the  Republican  party  and  fraternally 
is  identified  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows  and  the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees. 

On  the  15th  of  May,  1895,  Mr.  Byrne  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  Paul,  who  was 
born  in  Muscatine  county,  Iowa,  being  a  daugh- 
ter of  August  Paul,  who  removed  from  that  state  r 
to  South  Dakota  in  1884,  locating  in  Faulk 
county,  where  he  remained  until  1894,  when  he 
removed  to  the  state  of  Virginia,  where  he  and 
his  wife  now  maintain  their  home.  He  is  a 
native  of  Germany,  and  his  wife,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Bertha  Schulz,  was  born  in  Germany. 
I\Ir.  and  jNIrs.  Byrne  have  four  children,  namely : 
Paul,  Ravmond,  Theodore  and  Leonard. 


THOMAS  DIGNAN.— The  fair  old  Emer- 
ald Isle  figures  as  the  place  of  Mr.  Dignan's 
nativity,  since  he  was  born  in  County  Cavan, 
Ireland,  on  the  12th  of  June,  1846,  being  a  son 
of  Michael  and  Ann  Dignan,  both  scions  of 
stanch  old  Irish  stock.  In  1849,  when  our  sub- 
ject was  a  child  of  about  three  years,  they  im- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


753 


migrated  to  America  and  located  in  Richland 
county,  Ohio,  whence,  three  years  later,  they 
started  for  Iowa,  arriving  in  Winneshiek  county, 
that  state,  in  August,  1853,  where  the  father  took 
tip  government  land  and  became  one  of  the  pio- 
neer farmers  of  the  Hawkeye  commonwealtli. 
He  was  prospered  in  his  efforts  as  the  years 
passed,  and  continued  his  residence  there  until 
1885,  when  he  disposed  of  his  farm  and  came 
to  South  Dakota,  locating  in  Faulk  county,  where 
he  was  identified  with  farming  and  stock  grow- 
ing until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  March, 
1893,  while  his  wife  died  in  September  of  the 
same  year.  ^^lichael  Dignan  had  been  engaged 
in  dealing  in  live  stock  in  Ireland  prior  to  his 
emigration  to  America,  and  was  an  excellent 
judge  in  the  line,  while  he  was  a  man  of  energy 
and  sterling  integrity  of  character.  He  was  a 
Democrat  in  politics  and  both  he  and  his  wife 
were  communicants  of  the  Catholic  church.  Of 
their  eleven  children  six  are  living,  and  of  the 
number  two  are  residents  of  South  Dakota. 

Thomas  Dignan,  whose  name  introduces  this 
sketch,  was  the  second  child,  and  was  reared  to 
maturitx-  on  the  home  farm  in  Iowa,  while  his 
educational  advantages  were  those  afforded  by 
the  public  schools.  In  1874,  at  the  age  of 
eighteen  years,  he  left  the  home  farm  and  in- 
itiated his  independent  career,  engaging  in  fann- 
ing and  stock  raising  on  his  own  account,  in 
Winneshiek  county,  Iowa,  where  he  remained 
until  1884.  when  he  closed  out  his  interests 
there  and  came  as  a  pioneer  to  Faulk  county. 
South  Dakota,  where  he  now  has  a  finely  im- 
proved ranch  of  four  hundred  acres  of  most 
arable  land,  all  of  which  is  under  cultivation  and 
devoted  mainly  to  the  propagation  of  wheat, 
barley,  pulse,  corn  and  millet,  in  each  of.  which 
lines  he  secures  large  returns  for  the  time  and 
labor  expended,  being  known  as  one  of  the  pro- 
gressive and  thoroughly  scientific  farmers  of 
this  section.  In  addition  to  the  agricultural  farm 
he  also  has  a  magnificent  range  of  six  thousand 
acres  under  fence,  which  is  utilized  for  the  graz- 
ing of  his  large  herds  of  stock.  He  raises  high- 
grade  Hereford  cattle,  breeding  from  registered 
stock,    and    running   an    average    of    from    five 


hundred  to  one  thousand  head.  He  also  raises 
large  numbers  of  hogs,  and  is  convinced  that  no 
section  of  the  Union  offers  better  advantages  for 
successful  enterprise  in  this  line,  as  the  swine 
attain  large  and  vigorous  growth,  while  he  has 
never  known  of  any  disease  prevailing  in  any 
herd  in  this  section.  On  his  fine  ranch  are  also 
found  the  finest  specimens  of  Percheron  horses, 
of  which  he  usually  has  a  large  herd,  while  he 
also  has  raised  some  very  superior  driving  and 
coach  horses.  In  the  spring  of  1903  he  sold  a 
magnificent  Percheron  stallion  for  thirteen  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars,  the  animal  weighing  two 
thousand  and  forty  pounds.  Mr.  Dignan  has 
attained  a  high  degree  of  success  in  South 
Dakota  and  is  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  the 
state  and  a  firm  believer  in  the  still  more  mag- 
nificent future  in  store  for  the  same,  while  he 
is  a  representative  citizen  of  Faulk  county,  pub- 
lic-spirited and  enterprising,  and  held  in  the 
highest  esteem  by  all  who  know  him.  On  his 
beautiful  ranch  he  has  erected  a  substantial  and 
commodious  residence  and  other  buildings  ample 
for  the  proper  care  of  live  stock,  farm  produce, 
machinery,  etc.  In  politics  he  accords  a  stanch 
allegiance  to  the  Republican  party,  and  at  the 
time  of  this  writing  he  is  serving  as  a  member 
of  the  board  of  township  trustees. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  1874,  were  spoken  the 
words  which  united  the  life  destinies  of  Mr. 
Dignan  and  Miss  Catherine  Hand,  who  was 
born  and  reared  in  Allamakee  county,  Iowa, 
being  a  daughter  of  Michael  Hand,  of  whom 
individual  mention  is  made  on  another  page  of 
this  work,  so  that  a  repetition  of  the  genealogical 
data  is  not  demanded  in  this  connection.  Of  this 
union  have  been  born  five  children,  concerning 
the  fate  of  the  eldest  of  whom,  George,  a  most 
pitiful  uncertainty  exists,  a  source  of  unremitting 
grief  to  his  parents.  George  was  a  young  man 
of  sterling  character  and  correct  habits,  and  in 
the  fall  of  1901  went  to  Chicago  for  the  purpose 
of  selling  a  shipment  of  stock  from  the  home 
ranch.  That  he  had  started  on  the  return  trip 
is  assured,  since  on  the  ist  of  October  he  sent 
his  father  a  telegram  from  Sioux  City,  Iowa, 
and  from  that  time  forward  all  trace  of  him  has 


754 


1-IISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


been  lost,  it  being  supposed  that  he  met  with  a 
violent  or  accidental  death.  The  disappearance 
causes  a  feeling  of  unqualified  grief  and  sym- 
pathy in  the  community  in  which  he  was  so 
well  known  and  well  liked.  The  other  children 
remain  at  the  parental  home,  their  names,  in 
order  of  birth,  being  as  follows :  Edward  M., 
Loretta,  Alice  and  Cleophas. 


S.  P.  WAXDAHL  was  born  in  ■  Norway, 
in  1847,  being  a  son  of  Peter  and  Bertina 
(Siverson)  Waxdahl,  both  of  whom  passed  their 
entire  lives  in  Norway,  where  the  father  de- 
voted his  active  life  to  agricultural  pursuits. 
This  worthy  couple  became  the  parents  of  seven 
children,  of  whom  six  are  living,  while  the  sub- 
ject is  the  only  representative  of  the  family  in 
South  Dakota.  S.  P.  Waxdahl  was  reared  and 
educated  in  his  native  land  and  there  continued 
to  be  identified  with  the  tilling  of  the  soil  until 
he  had  attained  the  age  of  twenty  years.  He 
sailed  from  Norway  on  the  Mediterranean  and 
Black  seas  from  1866  to  1869.  In  1869  he 
severed  the  home  ties  and  set  forth  to  seek  his 
fortune  in  America,  his  financial  resources  being 
very  limited,  while  he  had  no  influential  friends 
in  the  country  to  which  he  thus  came  as  a  veri- 
table stranger  in  a  strange  land.  He  made  his 
first  permanent  location  in  the  state  of  Wiscon- 
sin, and  his  early  labors  were  in  connection  with 
farming  and  work  as  a  sailor  on  Lake  Michi- 
gan. In  1875  ^^  went  to  California  and  for  the 
following  three  years  was  emplo_ved  on  various 
vessels  plying  out  of  the  port  of  San  Francisco. 
He  then  returned  to  Wisconsin,  where  he  re- 
mained for  a  short  time,  and  then  came,  in  1877, 
to  what  is  now  the  state  of  South  Dakota  and 
took  up  a  tract  of  wild  prairie  land  in  Moody 
county,  the  place  being  located  eight  miles  from 
the  thriving  little  city  of  Flandreau,  of  which 
scarcely  the  nucleus  was  to  be  seen  at  the  time 
when  he  came  here.  He  still  retains  his  original 
homestead,  which  he  secured  from  the  govern- 
ment, and  the  same  bears  little  resemblance  to 
the  virgin  prairie  represented  at  the  time  when 
he  secured  possession  of  the  property.    Mr.  Wax- 


dahl has  put  forth  the  most  strenuous  effort  in 
the  improvement  and  cultivation  of  his  farm  and 
the  same  is  now  one  of  the  attractive  and  valu- 
able places  of  this  favored  section  of  the  state. 
He  devotes  his  attention  to  diversified  farming 
and  stock  raising  and  is  recognized  as  one  of  the 
upright  and  industrious  citizens  of  the  county,, 
where  he  has  the  confidence  and  regard  of  all 
who  know  him.  In  politics  he  is  a  stanch  sup- 
porter of  the  Republican  party,  and  though  he- 
has  never  sought  public  office  he  has  shown  a 
deep  interest  in  the  welfare  of  his  chosen  state 
and  has  lent  a  helpful  influence  in  worthy  enter- 
prises for  the  good  of  the  community.  He  is 
now  serving  his  second  term  as  school  director 
of  his  district.  He  and  his  wife  are  worthy  and 
consistent  members  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

On  the  31st  of  January,  1880,  Mr.  Waxdahl 
married  Miss  Regina  Anderson,  of  this  county, 
and  they  have  six  children,  namely :  Regina, 
Bertina,  Albert,  Edward  P.,  Ing\'ald  and 
Sophia. 


GEORGE  WILLIAM  COOK,  who  is  the 
owner  of  a  finely  improved  farm  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres,  in  Grovena  township.  Moody 
county,  was  born  at  Elkader,  Clayton  county, 
Iowa,  on  the  loth  of  September,  1850,  being  a 
son  of  Henry  and  Mat}'  (Beckman)  Cook,  the 
father  being  a  farmer  by  vocation.  The  subject 
received  a  common-school  education  and  re- 
mained at  the  parental  home  until  he  had  attained! 
the  age  of  twenty-eight  years,  having  devoted  hisj 
attention  to  farming  up  to  that  time.  On  the 
4th  of  March,  1878,  he  arrived  in  Moody  county,^ 
whither  he  came  from  his  native  place,  and  here^ 
he  took  a  homestead  claim  and  forthwith  began 
its  improvement  and  cultivation.  He  has  "grown 
up  with  the  country,"  is  a  progressive  farmer 
and  stock  grower  and  has  attained  success 
through  his  indefatigable  .  and  well  directed 
eflforts.  In  addition  to  his  fanning  interests  he 
is  also  identified  with  the  Egan  Elevator  Com- 
pany and  the  Egan  Lumber  Company,  of  Egan, 
Moody  county,  which  is  his  postoffice  address. 
In  politics  Mr.  Cook  is  stanchly  arrayed  in  sup- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


port  of  the  principles  of  the  People's  party,  and 
he  was  elected  the  first  treasurer  of  Grovena 
township,  where  he  still  resides,  while  he  has 
also  served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors 
of  the  township.  Fraternally,  he  is  identified 
with  the  Modern  Brotherhood  of  America,  and 
his  religious  views  are  in  harmony  with  the 
tenets  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  which 
he  attends.  Mr.  Cook  remains  a  bachelor,  but 
his  home  is  a  center  of  genial  hospitality  and 
good  cheer,  while  his  friends  are  in  number  as 
his  acquaintances. 


FRANK  M.  RUBER  is  a  representative  of 
a  class  of  German-American  citizens  who  have 
done  so  much  in  advancing  general  progress  and 
at  the  same  time  have  gained  for  themselves 
gratifying-  prosperity  through  the  exercise  of 
business  activity.  He  was  born  in  Bavaria  on 
the  25th  of  July,  1862,  and  the  days  of  his  boy- 
hood and  youth  were  quietly  passed  unmarked 
by  any  event  of  special  importance  to  vary  the 
routine  of  life  during  that  period.  On  the  20th 
of  August,  1893,  however,  he  was  married,  the 
lady  of  his  choice  being  Miss  Nellie  Strunk,  a 
daughter  of  Henry  Strunk.  Three  children 
graced  this  marriage,  Nellie,  Mary  and  Herman. 
In  order  to  provide  for  his  family  Mr.  Huber 
follows  agricultural  pursuits  and  is  the  owner 
of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  in  Yank- 
ton county.  The  improvements  upon  this  place 
stand  as  monuments  to  his  enterprise,  labor  and 
progressive  spirit.  The  farm  is  pleasantly  lo- 
cated not  far  from  Jamesville  and  he  is  success- 
fully engaged  in  the  raising  of  hogs  of  the 
Poland-China  breed  and  also  shorthorn  cattle. 
Nearly  all  of  the  buildings  upon  his  place  have 
been  erected  by  him  and  that  the  farm  is  today 
a  well-improved  and  valuable  property  is  the  re- 
sult of  his  untiring  industry,  perseverance  and 
capable  management.  Annually  his  labors  bring 
him  a  desirable  hnancial  return. 

Mr.  Huber  exercises  his  right  of  franchise  in 
support  of  the-  men  and  measures  of  the 
Democratic  party.  He  has  served  as  school 
clerk    for    several    vears,    but    has     never   been 


active  in  the  sense  of  office  seeking,  preferring 
to  devote  his  time  and  energies  to  his  business 
affairs.  He  is  a  communicant  of  the  Catholic 
church  and  is  a  public-spirited  man  whose  life 
has  been  upright  and  honorable  and  those  actions 
have  brought  to  him  the  merited  return  of  well 
directed  labor. 


WILLIAM  W.  ROUNDS  hails  from  the  old 
Green  Mountain  state,  being  a  scion  of  stanch 
old  English  stock  early  established  in  New 
England.  The  ancestry  is  traced  in  a  direct  way 
to  the  noble  family  of  Walworth,  Lord  Wal- 
worth, lord  ma3'or  of  London,  having  been  an 
ancestor.  Mr.  Rounds  was  born  in  the  village 
of  Monkton,  Addison  county,  A^ermont,  on  the 
1st  of  June,  1857,  and  was  the  youngest  in  a 
family  of  six  children.  He  attended  the  com- 
mon schools  until  he  had  attained  the  age  of 
twelve  years,  when  he  left  the  parental  home  and 
faced  the  stern  battle  of  life  on  his  own  responsi- 
bility, so  that  he  is  well  deserving  of  the  proud 
American  title  of  self-made  man.  He  was  va- 
riously employed  in  the  east  until  1877,  when  he 
came  to  the  west  and  located  in  the  city  of  Chi- 
cago, where  he  was  variously  employed  until 
1882,  in  the  spring  of  which  year  he  came  to 
what  is  now  the  state  of  South  Dakota  and  lo- 
cated in  Spink  county,  where  he  took  up  a  pre- 
emption claim  of  a  quarter  section  of  govern- 
ment land  two  miles  south  of  the  postoffice  of 
Rose.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  disposed 
of  this  property  and  took  up  a  homestead  claim 
in  the  same  county,  the  place  being  the  site  of 
the  town  of  Conde,  as  before  noted.  Here  he 
continued  to  be  actively  engaged  in  farming  until 
1886,  when  the  railroad  was  completed  through 
the  county  and  he  sold  his  farm  to  the  Western 
Townsite  Company,  and  the  village  of  Conde 
was  soon  afterward  founded  and  platted,  being 
now  a  progressive  and  attractive  town.  He 
identified  himself  forthwith  with  the  business 
interests  of  the  new  village,  erecting  a  large 
livery  barn,  which  he  equipped  with  good  facili- 
ties, continuing  to  conduct  the  same  for  three 
years,   at  the  expiration   of  which,   in    1890,  he 


7S6 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


traded  his  barn  and  business  for  the  building 
and  stock  of  a  local  hardware  establishment. 
The  stock  was  a  small  one  and  the  enterprise 
was  one  of  modest  proportions  at  the  time  when 
he  came  into  control,  but  within  two  years  he 
had  so  increased  its  scope  as  to  necessitate  the 
building-  of  an  addition  to  his  store,  and  he  also 
installed  a  stock  of  furfiiture,  while  in  1896  he 
erected  another  addition,  so  that  he  has  a  large 
and  conveniently  arranged  store,  besides  a  large 
warehouse,  and  controls  a  flourishing  business, 
maintaining  also  a  branch  store  at  Groton, 
Brown  county.  In  politics  he  is  a  stanch  advo- 
cate of  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party, 
and  he  has  been  called  upon  to  serve  in  various 
positions  of  public  trust,  having  been  for  several 
years  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the 
village  and  also  a  member  of  the  board  of  edu- 
cation, while  he  also  rendered  excellent  service 
as  deputy  sheriff  of  the  county.  He  has  attained 
the  thirty-second  degree  in  Scottish  Rite  Ma- 
sonry, being  identified  with  the  consistory  at 
Aberdeen,  South  Dakota,  while  he  was  one  of 
the  charter  members  of  Conde  Lodge,  No.  134, 
Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  in  Conde, 
which  he  has  served  as  worshipful  master.  He 
has  also  passed-  the  official  chairs  in  the  local 
lodge  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
of  which  he  is  past  grand,  also  being  affiliated 
with  the  auxiliary  organization,  the  Daughters 
of  Rebekah,  and  being'  a  member  of  the  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen  and  the  Degree  of 
Honor. 

On  the  27th  of  November,  1884,  Mr. 
Rounds  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Margaret 
Park,  who  was  born  in  Michigan,  and  they  have 
one  daughter,  Hazel,  who  is  one  of  the  popular 
young  ladies  of  the  village  of  Conde. 


JAMES  P.  TURNER  comes  of  sturdy 
Scottish  ancestry  in  both  the  paternal  and  ma- 
ternal lines,  and  inherits  in  a  marked  degree  the 
dominating  characteristics  of  the  true  Scotch- 
man,— integrity  of  purpose,  broad  mental  per- 
spective and  indomitable  energy.  He  was  bom 
in    Elgin   countv,   near   the    town    of    Aylmer, 


province  of  Ontario,  Canada,  on  the  ist  of  De- 
cember, 1858,  and  is  a  son  of  James  and  Alary 
(Jardine)  Turner,  both  of  whom  were  bom  in 
Argyleshire,  Scotland,  where  they  were  reared 
to  maturity.  The  paternal  grandfather.  Donald 
Turner,  emigrated  with  his  family  to  .America 
about  the  year  185 1  and  located  in  Ontario, 
Canada,  passing  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  the 
province  of  Ontario  and  being  a  carpenter  by 
vocation.  His  son,  James,  father  of  the  subject, 
learned  the  trade  of  carpenter  under  the  direc- 
tion oi  his  honorable  sire,  and  was  successfully 
engaged  in  contracting  and  building  in  the 
province  of  Ontario  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred in  1864,  his  noble  wife  still  living.  Of 
their  five  children  James  P.  was  the  third,  while 
of  the  number  one  is  now  deceased. 

James  P.  Turner  was  reared  to  maturity  in 
his   native    province,    and   after    completing   the 

i  curriculum  of  the  common  schools  ser\'ed  a 
thorough  apprenticeship  at  the  blacksmith  trade, 
which  he  there  continued  to  follow  as  a  voca- 
tion until  1883,  when  he  came  to  South  Dakota, 
passing  the  first  year  in  Watertown,  while  in  the 
spring  of  1884  he  removed  thence  to  Faulk 
county,  becoming  one  of  its  earliest  settlers  and 
taking  up  his  abode  in  the  little  village  of  La- 
Foon,  which  was  the  original  county  seat.  He 
there  established  himself  in  the  blacksmith  busi- 
ness, and  there  successfully  followed  his  trade 
until  1887,  when  he  came  to  Faulkton,  which  had 
then  been  designated  as  the  capital  of  the  county, 
being  on  the  line  of  the  railroad,  which  ad- 
vantage was  lacking  to  La  Foon.  Here  he  has 
ever  since  been  engaged  in  blacksmithing,  being 
known  as  a  straightforward  and  reliable  business 
man  and  having  thus  gained  a  supporting  pat- 
ronage which  has  made  him  one  of  the  prosper- 
ous citizens  of  the  town.  Three  and  one-half 
miles  northeast  of  the  village  he  owns  an  entire 

I  section  of  land,  upon  which  he  has  made  good 
improveinents,  while  the  same  is  devoted  to 
stock-grazing  purposes  and  the  raising  of  hay 
and  grain.  In  politics  Mr.  Turner  is  a  stanch 
advocate  of  the  principles  and  policies  of  the 
Republican  party,  and  while  he  has  never  sought 
official  preferment  he  received  a  gratifying  testi- 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH  DAKOTA. 


757 


monial  of  popular  esteem  in  the  village  election 
of  the  spring  of  1902,  when  he  was  chosen 
iTia_vor  of  Faulkton,  in  which  capacity  he  has 
given  a  progressive,  economical  and  business-like 
administration  of  the  municipal  government, 
gaining  unqualified  endorsement  for  the  course 
which  he  has  pursued  with  marked  dis- 
crimination and  loyalty.  He  is  identified  with 
the  Masonic  fraternity,  in  which  he  has  passed 
the  capitular  degrees,  being  at  present  high 
priest  of  Faulkton  Chapter,  No.  30,  Royal  Arch 
Masons,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Knights 
of  Pythias,  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Work- 
men and  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America.  He 
and  wife  were  members  of  the  Baptist  church. 

On  the  3rd  of  February,  1887,  Mr.  Turner 
was  married  to  ]\Iiss  Belle  K.  Puntine,  who  was 
born  in  Ontario,  Canada,  on  the  22d  of  Sep- 
tember, i860,  being  a  daughter  of  John  and 
Maggie  (McDonald)  Puntine.  She  proved  a 
devoted  wife  and  helpmeet,  and  the  great  loss 
and  bereavement  of  the  subject's  life  was  that 
entailed  when  she  was  called  to  the  "land  of  the 
leal,"  her  death  occurring  on  the  15th  of  De- 
cember, 1899.  She  is  survived  by  five  children, 
namely :  Jesse  A.,  Hugh  A.,  Frank  A.,  Muriel  B. 
and  Charles  J. 


WILLIAM  H.  SMITH  is  a  native  of  the 
Badger  state,  having  been  born  in  Juneau 
county,  Wisconsin,  on  the  28th  of  April,  1857, 
and  being  a  son  of  John  and  Bridget  Smith, 
both  of  whom  were  born  and  reared  in  Ireland. 
The  father  of  the  subject  left  the  Emerald  Isle 
as  a  young  man  and  came  to  America  to  seek  his 
fortune,  believing  that  better  opportunities  were 
here  afforded  for  the  winning  of  success  through 
individual  effort.  He  was  employed  for  some 
time  in  connection  with  the  great  lumbering  in- 
dustry in  Wisconsin,  and  through  this  means 
accumulated  sufficient  money  to  send  home  for 
the  remainder  of  his  family.  He  finally  secured  a 
tract  of  land  in  Wisconsin,  and  turned  his  at- 
tention to  agricultural  pursuits,  in  which  he  has 
since  been  successfully  engaged,  being  now  the 
owner  of  a  well  improved  farm  of  two  hundred 


and  forty  acres,  in  Juneau  county,  Wisconsin, 
where  he  is  held  in  high  esteem.  He  and  his 
wife  are  the  parents  of  the  following  named  chil- 
dren :  William  H.,  who  is  the  subject  of  this 
review ;  Elizabeth,  who  is  the  widow  of  Daniel 
Murphy  and  who  resides  in  Brookings  county. 
South  Dakota;  Thomas,  who  is  a  successful 
farmer  of  Parnell  township,  Brookings  county. 
South  Dakota;  Margaret,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Michael  Mead,  of  Moody  county.  South  Da- 
kota; John,  Jr.,  who  resides  in  Mauston,  Wis- 
consin ;  Ellen,  who  is  a  teacher  in  the  schools  of 
Brookings  county ;  and  Rose  and  Mary,  who  re- 
main at  the  parental  home,  in  Wisconsin. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  to  the 
sturdy  discipline  of  the  home  farm  and  early  be- 
came inured  to  the  work  involved  in  its  improve- 
ment and  cultivation,  while  he  was  accorded 
good  educational  advantages,  prosecuting  his 
studies  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  county 
until  he  had  attained  the  age  of  eighteen  years, 
while  thereafter  he  assisted  in  the  work  of  the 
home  farm  until  he  had  reached  his  legal  ma- 
jority, when  he  initiated  his  independent  career. 
He  came  to  South  Dakota  in  the  spring  of  1878, 
and  in  May  of  that  year  filed  entry  on  a  quarter 
section  of  land  in  section  18,  Brookings  county, 
and  thereafter  he  continued  to  work  by  the  day 
or  month  for  one  year,  in  the  meanwhile  in- 
stituting the  improvement  of  his  claim,  to  which 
he  eventually  perfected  his  title.  In  1878  he 
built  a  sod  house  on  his  place,  the  same  being 
equipped  with  a  board  roof,  and  his  father  sent 
him  sufficient  money  to  enable  him  to  purchase 
two  yoke  of  oxen.  He  had  no  yoke  to  use  when 
he  first  began  the  breaking  of  his  land,  and  his 
finances  were  such  that  he  was  compelled  to  bor- 
row this  essential  accessory,  which  he  carried  on 
his  back  for  a  distance  of  ten  miles  when  he 
returned  it  to  the  owner.  He  remained  on  his 
first  claim  for  fifteen  years,  within  which  time 
he  made  good  improvements  on  the  property  and 
began  to  win  a  definite  success.  He  purchased 
his  present  home  place  in  1893,  paying  nineteen 
hundred  dollars  for  a  quarter  section,  in  Parnell 
{  township,  and  since  taking  up  his  residence  here 
he  has  made    many    substantial    improvements. 


758 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


having  extensively  remodeled  the  house,  which 
is  now  one  of  the  attractive  and  comfortable 
farm  homes  of  this  section,  while  he  also  erected 
a  fine  barn,  thirty-two  by  sixty-four  feet  in  di- 
mensions and  a  granary  eighteen  by  forty  feet. 
He  sunk  a  deep  well,  which  supplies  pure  water 
in  abundance,  and  this  improvement  was  made 
at  a  cost  of  about  five  hundred  dollars.  Mr. 
Smith  is  now  the  owner  of  ten  hundred  and 
forty  acres  of  land  in  Parnell  township,  this 
county,  and  also  owns  a  half  section  of  excellent 
land  in  Ransom  county.  North  Dakota.  He 
gives  his  attention  to  diversified  agriculture  and 
to  the  raising  of  an  excellent  grade  of  cattle  and 
hogs,  together  with  sufficient  horses  to  supply 
the  demands  of  his  farm.  He  is  energetic,  has 
excellent  business  judgment,  is  ever  fair  and 
honorable  in  all  his  dealings,  and  it  is  pleasing  to 
note  that  he  has  not  been  denied  the  due  reward 
of  his  labors.  When  he  came  to  this  state  his 
cash  capital  was  represented  in  the  sum  of  sixty 
dollars,  and  a  conservative  valuation  of  his 
property  today  is  placed  at  fifty  thousand  dollars. 
For  the  past  several  years  he  has  owned  and 
operated  a  threshing  outfit,  for  which  he  has 
found  a  read}'  demand  throughout  the  season. 
In  politics  he  maintains  an  independent  attitude, 
voting  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  judgment 
and  supporting  men  and  measures  rather  than 
be  guided  along  strict  partisan  lines.  He  and  his 
wife  are  communicants  of  the  Catholic  church, 
as  are  also  all  of  their  children.  Fraternally  he 
is  identified  with  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen  and  the  Modern  Woodmen  of 
America. 

On  the  26th  of  July,  1882,  Mr.  Smith  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  Buckley,  who 
was  born  in  Wisconsin,  being  a  daughter  of 
Edward  and  Ellen  Buckley,  who  were  early 
settlers  of  that  state,  where  they  remained  until 
1880.  when  they  came  to  Brookings  county, 
South  Dakota,  and  settled  in  Trenton  township, 
where  they  passed  the  remainder  of  their  lives. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  have  nine  children,  all  of 
whom  are  still  members  of  the  home  circle, 
narnely:  Nellie,  John,  Nora,  Hugh,  William, 
Edward,  Charles,  George  and  Fabian. 


LEANDER  LANE. — In  the  pioneer  epoch 
of  South  Dakota  Leander  Lane  came  to  this  state 
and  was  an  important  factor  in  the  substantial 
development  and  permanent  improvement  of 
Yankton  county.  He  was  born  on  the  23d  of 
April,  1838,  in  Clermont  county,  Ohio,  of  which 
state  his  parents,  Nathaniel  and  Martha   (Simp- 

I  son)  Lane,  were  also  natives.  The  father  was 
an  agriculturist,  owning  and  operating  a  well 
improved  farm  in  Clermont  county,  where  he 
died  in  1857.  In  politics  he  was  a  Whig  and 
both  he  and  his  wife  were  faithful  members  of 

;  the  iMethodist  Episcopal  church.  She  long  sur-' 
vived  her  husband,  passing  away  in  1896.  In 
their  family  were  eight  children,  four  of  whom 
are  still  living.  On  the  paternal  side  the  sub- 
ject's ancestors  were  originally  from  North 
Carolina. 

In  the  state  of  his  nativity  Leander  Lane 
grew   to  manhood   and   in    1861    he   led   to   the 

'  marriage  altar  Miss  Ann  Sheperdson,  by  whom 
he  had  one  child,  Elizabeth,  now  the  wife  of 
Albert  Young.     For  his  second  wife  Mr.  Lane 

I  wedded  Mrs.  INIary  (Chappel)  Case,  the  widow 
of  John  Chappel.  Her  parents,  Chauncey  and 
Mary  E.  Case,  were  natives  of  New  York  and 
were  also  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.     Mr.  Case  followed  farming  principally 

i  but  was  also  a  good  mechanic   and  patented  a 

I  turninglathe.     His  'political  support    was    given 

I  the  Democratic  party.  He  died  in  New  York 
state  in  1848,  and  his  wife  departed  this  life  in 

I  1882.  Their  family  numbered  six  children,  three 
of  whom   are   living  at  the   present  writing  in 

!   1903- 

It  was  in  1866  that  Mr.  Lane  left  the  east 
and  came  to  Dakota,  while  his  wife  came  to 
this  state  with  a  Dakota  colony  in  1868.  He 
first  located  on  Jim  river  near  the  present  site 
of  Henrv'  O'Neil's  home,  but  after  living  there 
six  months  he  moved  to  the  place  now  owned 
by  Joseph  J.  Volin.  Later  he  purchased  the 
present  home  place,  at  first  buying  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  of  government  land,  to  which  he 
added  from  time  to  time  as  his  financial  resources 
increased  until  he  owned  eight  hundred  acres 
of  fine   farming  land,   nearlv  all  under  cultiva- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


tion.  He  set  out  all  of  the  trees  upon  the  place 
and  erected  good  and  substantial  buildings  which 
stands  as  monuments  to  his  thrift  and  enterprise. 
He  was  a  natural  carpenter,  being  very  handy 
with  tools,  and  everything  about  his  farm  was 
kept  in  first-class  condition.  He  raised  a  good 
grade  of  shorthorn  cattle,  feeding  not  less  than 
one  hundred  and  forty  head  per  year  and  as 
high  as  two  hundred. 

During  his  early  residence  in  South  Dakota 
Mr.  Lane  encountered  many  discouragements, 
losing  hogs  to  the  value  of  one  thousand  dollars 
in  floods.  During  the  flood  of  1866,  when  the 
Missouri  and  Jim  rivers  so  overflowed  their 
banks,  he  was  forced  to  leave  his  house  at  three 
o'clock  at  night  and  seek  higher  ground.  The 
Indians,  though  friendly  at  that  time,  often 
visited  his  home  begging  for  something  to  eat, 
and  if  not  carefully  watched  they  would  steal 
considerable  corn.  Being  fond  of  hunting,  and  a 
good  marksman,  Mr.  Lane  took  great  delight  in 
that  sport  during  pioneer  days  and  his  trusty 
rifle  brought  down  many  a  deer,  elk  and  ante- 
lope, besides  smaller  game  such  as  ducks,  wild 
geese,  etc.  In  fact  the  early  settlers  depended  a 
great  deal  on  hunting  and  fishing  for  something 
to  eat.  Mr.  Lane  once  caught  a  catfish  in  Jim 
river  which  weighed  one  hundred  pounds  and 
was  over  five  feet  long.  It  pulled  him  a  half 
mile  down  the  stream  before  he  was  able  to 
land  it. 

Politically,  Mr.  Lane  was  a  stalwart  Demo- 
crat. He  held  school  offices  and  assisted  in 
establishing  the  first  school  conducted  in  his  part 
of  the  county,  each  family  at  that  time  doing 
their  share  toward  boarding  the  teacher.  He  was 
a  Universalist  in  belief,  but  also  a  liberal  sup- 
porter of  any  church  in  his  neighborhood,  and 
everything  that  was  for  the  betterment  of  hu- 
manity received  his  hearty  support.  Mr.  Lane 
passed  away,  after  an  illness  of  two  weeks,  on 
February  28,  1904,  at  his  home  south  of  Gay- 
ville,  having  attained  the  age  of  sixty-six  years, 
ten  months  and  four  days.  The  funeral  occurred 
Wednesday,  March  2,  1904,  from  the  Gayville 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  the  pastor  officiat- 
ing.    The  interment  was  held  at  Yankton  ceme- 


tery, at  which  the  Rev.  Mr.  Rosenberry,  of  • 
Yankton,  officiated.  Throughout  the  career  of 
Mr.  Lane  he  had  shown  himself  a  man  in  whom 
all  placed  the  highest  confidence.  He  was  a  loyal 
citizen  and  an  ardent  supporter  of  everything 
that  went  to  advance  the  general  welfare  of  the 
comnumity  of  which  he  was  a  member.  His 
memory  will  always  be  cherished  and  esteemed 
by  the  large  circle  of  kinsmen  and  friends  who 
are  left  to  mourn  his  loss. 


WILLIAM  B.  TOBEY.— For  more  than  a 
score  of  years  the  subject  of  this  review  has  been 
identified  with  the  industrial  life  of  Davidson 
county,  and  he  is  today  one  of  the  leading  busi- 
ness men  of  the  thriving  village  of  Ethan,  where 
he  has  a  well  equipped  general  store.  Mr.  Tobey 
was  born  in  Steuben  county.  New  York,  on  the 
2ist  of  September,  1856,  being  a  son  of  William 
and  Catherine  (Tobey)  Tobey,  both  of  whom 
were  born  and  reared  in  the  old  Empire  state, 
where  the  father  was  engaged  in  agricultural 
pursuits  during  the  major  portion  of  his  long 
and  useful  life,  having  come  to  South  Dakota  in 
1886  and  having  here  been  identified  with  farm- 
ing until  his  death,  which  occurred  January  21, 
1899,  at  which  time  he  was  seventy- four  years 
of  age.  His  devoted  wife  passed  to  the  "land 
of  the  leal"  in  1902,  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven 
years,  both  having  been  consistent  members  of 
the  Baptist  church,  while  in  politics  he  was  a 
stanch  Republican,  having  been  identified  with 
the  party  from  the  time  of  its  organization.  They 
became  the  parents  of  two  children,  William  B., 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  and  Louisa  E.,  who 
is  the  wife  of  N.  W.  Stilson,  of  Elmira,  New 
York. 

William  B.  Tobey  received  the  advantages  of 
the  public  schools  of  his  native  state  and  con- 
tinued to  be  identified  with  agricultural  pursuits 
in  New  York  and  Missouri  until  1882,  when  he 
came  to  what  is  now  the  state  of  South  Dakota 
and  took  up  a  homestead  claim  in  Davidson 
county,  where  he  was  actively  engaged  in  farm- 
ing for  fourteen  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which, 
in  1896,  he  took  up  his  residence  in  the  village 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


of  Ethan,  where  he  established  himself  in  the 
grain  commission  business,  having  an  elevator 
here  and  also  one  in  the  city  of  Mitchell.  In 
March,  1900,  Mr.  Tobey  opened  his  present  gen- 
eral merchandise  establishment  in  Ethan,  having 
a  comprehensive  and  select  stock  and  controlling 
a  large  and  representative  trade  throughout  the 
territon,'  nonnally  tributary  to  the  town,  while 
he  enjoys  the  confidence  and  good  will  of  the 
people  of  the  community  in  which  he  has  so  long 
maintained  his  home.  In  politics  he  gives  an 
unwavering  support  to  the  Republican  party,  and 
he  has  held  various  village  and  township  offices, 
and  also  been  a  member  of  the  board  of  educa- 
tion, while  in  the  year  1900  he  was  appointed 
postmaster  of  Ethan.  He  and  his  wife  hold 
membership  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
and  fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the  Masonic 
order  and  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows. Mr.  Tobey  retains  valuable  farm  property 
in  the  county  and  is  also  the  owner  of  real  estate 
in  the  village  in  which  he  lives.  He  was  one 
of  the  early  settlers  of  this  section  of  the  state, 
has  here  attained  success  and  independence  and 
is  intrinsically  loyal  to  South  Dakota,  in  whose 
further  advancement  he  has  unlimited  faith. 

On  the  14th  of  July,  1874,  Mr.  Tobey -was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Frances  Dabler,  who 
was  born  in  the  state  of  Ohio,  being  a  daughter 
of  Samuel  S.  and  Dnjsilla  Dabler,  who  now 
reside  in  the  home  of  the  subject,  Mr.  Dabler 
having  been  born  in  Ohio  and  having  later  been 
a  successful  farmer  in  Missouri.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Tobey  have  eight  children,  namely :  Frederick, 
Edna,  Eliphalus,  Emma,  Agnes,  Don,  Alfraretta 
and  Frances.  Frederick  married  Miss  Maggie 
Sexton  and  is  now  associated  in  the  management 
of  his  father's  mercantile  business;  and  Edna  is 
the  wife  of  C.  E.  Bordwell,  of  Westfield,  Iowa. 


CALEB  P.  TAYLOR,  one  of  the  represent- 
ative farmers  and  stock  growers  of  Davidson 
county,  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  Wisconsin, 
having  been  born  in  Grant  county,  on  the  25th 
of  April,  1855,  ^"^1  being  a  son  of  C.  and  Nancy 
(Coombs)    Taylor,   of   whose   fourteen   children 


eleven  are  living  at  the  time  of  this  writing.  The 
educational  advantages  afforded  the  subject  in 
his  youth  were  limited,  being  confined  to  a  some- 
what irregular  attendance  in  the  district  schools 
of  a  pioneer  section  of  the  Badger  state,  and  he 
continued  to  assist  in  the  work  and  management 
of  the  homestead  farm  until  he  had  attained  the 
age  of  twenty-two  years,  when  he  purchased  a 
farm  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  in 
Grant  county,  Wisconsin,  and  began  operations 
on  his  own  responsibility,  while  he  has  never 
wavered  in  his  allegiance  to  the  great  funda- 
mental industry  of  agriculture,  which  he  has 
found  worthy  of  his  best  efforts  and  through 
which  he  has  attained  definite  success  and  in- 
dependence. He  continued  to  reside  in  his  native 
state  until  the  spring  of  1900,  when  he  came  to 
South  Dakota  and  purchased  a  farm  of  two  hun- 
dred and  forty  acres,  in  Badger  township,  David- 
son county,  the  place  being  well  improved  and 
one  of  the  valuable  rural  estates  of  this  section. 
He  paid  eighteen  dollars  an  acre  for  the  land, 
and  its  market  value  at  the  present  time  is  forty 
dollars  an  acre.  In  addition  to  carrying  on 
diversified  agriculture  Mr.  Taylor  is  also  promi- 
nently and  successfully  engaged  in  the  raising 
of  live  stock  of  excellent  grades.  He  is  a  stanch 
Republican  in  politics,  is  progressive  and  public- 
spirited  and  has  gained  the  confidence  and  good 
will  of  the  community  in  which  he  resides.  He 
and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Congregational 
church. 

On  the  i8th  of  Janua^\^  1876,  Mr.  Tayloi 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Izella  Shanley, 
who  was  born  in  Grant  county,  Wisconsin,  being 
a  daughter  of  Thomas  Shanley,  and  of  this  union 
have  been  born  four  children,  namely :  Florence, 
Halbert,  Grace  and  Clvde. 


MARTIN  N.  TRYGSTAD  was  born  in 
Norway,  May  27,  1843,  his  parents  being  Nils 
O.  and  Kristiana  Trygstad.  When  eighteen 
years  old  he  enlisted  in  the  army  of  Norway  and 
served  till  1867,  when  he  came  to  Minnesota. 
He  lived  there  till  1869,  when  he,  with  his  par- 
ents  and   brothers,   moved   to   Dakota   territory. 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


761 


He  selected  a  piece  of  land  in  section  9,  Medary 
township,  but  as  the  government  had  not  sur- 
ve}-ed  any  land  in  that  locality  it  was  not  until 
1872  that  he  could  file  his  pre-emption  papers 
on  that  tract  of  land.  In  1870  he  married  Caro- 
line Johnson,  who  has  been  a  good  and  true 
wife  to  him,  and  they  have  been  blessed  with 
eight  children.  The  oldest  boy,  Norman,  and  the 
oldest  girl,  Ida,  are  married  and  have  their  own 
homes  in  the  neighborhood  of  their  parents.  The 
other  two  girls,  Emma  and  Catharine,  are  at 
home,  as  are  also  Carl  and  Ferdinand.  Wilhelm, 
a  graduate  from  St.  Olaf  College,  Northfield, 
Minnesota,  is  studying  theology  at  the  United 
Norwegian  Lutheran  church,  St.  Anthony  Park, 
St.  Paul,  Minnesota.  Michael,  the  youngest  son, 
studies  at  the  Augustana  College,  Canton,  South 
Dakota. 

In  1871  the  subject  succeeded  in  getting  a 
postoffice  established  at  his  home  and  was  made 
postmaster,  it  being  called  Medary.  The  same 
year  Brookings  county  was  organized  and  he 
was  appointed  county  commissioner,  an  office  he 
held  for  twelve  years. 

In  the  interesting  election  of  1872  he  was 
elected  a  representative  from  his  district  to  the 
territorial  legislature,  and  in  1878  he  was  again 
elected  to  the  same  office.  In  1902  he  was  elected 
state  senator  from  Brookings  county.  In  all  these 
years  he  has  taken  the  deepest  interest  in  the 
development  of  South  Dakota,  and  has  con- 
tributed by  words  and  deeds  to  the  upbuilding 
of  schools  and  churches.  Although  he  has 
always  been  a  hard-worked  farmer  and  stock 
raiser  and  extensively  employed,  as  we  have  seen, 
in  the  public  administration  of  his  county,  he  has 
always  found  time  and  means  to  encourage 
moral  and  religious  growth  and  development. 
Brookings  county  was  but  a  stretch  of  undula- 
ting prairie  when  he  came  here,  no  one  but  In- 
dians and  a  few  trappers  being  met  with,  but 
soon  a  few  families  came  and  made  their  home, 
and  then  Martin  N.  Trygstad  opened  his  home 
for  them  on  Sundays  for  the  reading  of  God's 
holy  scriptures,  the  singing  of  the  grand  old 
Lutheran  hymns  and  listening  as  he  read  Dr. 
]\Iartin   Luther's   sermon   for  the   dav,   delivered 


three  hundred  years  ago,  but  yet  as  bright  and 
inspiring  of  faith  and  hope  as  when  the  great 
man  preached  it  in  Wittenberg.  Martin  Tryg- 
stad taught  the  young  to  read,  to  pray  to  God, 
to  be  obedient  to  their  parents  and  good  to  their 
neighbors.  He  is  still  the  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday  school  in  Lake  Campbell  church.  The 
founding  of  this  church  on  the  then  wild  and 
bleak  Dakota  prairies  was  one  of  the  first  public 
acts  he  undertook  and  it  has  grown  from  a  small 
beginning  till  it  now  stands  in  our  public  records 
under  the  names  of  Brookings,  \"olga.  Lake  Sinai 
and  Lake  Campbell  Norwegian  Lutheran 
churches.  He  has  been  the  promoter  of  many 
enterprises  for  the  bettemient  of  the  people  in 
financial  matters  as  well.  The  Volga  Elevator 
Company,  the  Brookings  Shipping  Compan\', 
several  creameries  and  many  other  enterprises 
for  the  common  welfare  have  found  in  him  an 
earnest  advocate. 


GEORGE  WATSON,  who  was  formerly  a 
member  of  the  state  legislature,  from  Davison 
county,  is-  one  of  the  progressive  farmers  of  the 
state,  his  fine  landed  estate  being  located  in 
Davison  and  Hanson  counties.  Mr.  Watson  was 
born  in  the  province  of  Ontario,  Canada,  in  1851. 
being  one  of  the  four  children  of  Ebenezer  and 
Margaret  (Sims)  Watson.  The  father  of  the 
subject  was  born  and  reared  in  Scotland,  whence 
he  emigrated  to  Canada  as  a  young  man,  settling 
near  Ottawa,  Ontario,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
farming  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1890. 
His  wife,  who  was  a  native  of  Ontario,  passed 
away  in  1882.  and  all  of  their  children  are  still 
living. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  to  the 
sturdy  discipline  of  the  farm,  and  has  devoted 
the  major  portion  of  his  life  to  the  great  basic  in- 
dustry of  agriculture.  He  received  a  common- 
school  education  and  continued  to  reside  in  On- 
tario until  1873,  when  he  removed  to  Rock  ford, 
Iowa,  locating  in  Floyd  county,  where  he  was 
engaged  in  famiing  until  1879,  when  he  disposed 
of  his  interests  there  and  came  to  Dakota,  taking 
up   government  land   in   Davison   county,   where 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


he  has  ever  since  maintained  his  home.  He  has 
added  to  his  landed  estate  until  he  is  now  the 
owner  of  a  finely  improved  farm  of  seven  hun- 
dred and  twenty  acres,  located  in  Davison  and 
Hanson  counties,  about  three  hundred  acres  of 
the  tract  being  under  cultivation.  He  devotes 
special  attention  to  the  raising  of  com,  finding 
this  more  profitable  than  the  raising  of  wheat, 
while  he  also  devotes  a  number  of  acres  to  oats 
each  year.  Upon  his  place  are  to  be  found  short- 
horn cattle  of  high  grade,  while  he  also  raises 
hogs,  while  he  ships  each  }ear  to  the  eastern 
markets  an  average  of  four  carloads  of  cattle, 
the  greater  portion  of  which  are  from  the  thor- 
oughbred stock  which  he  keeps,  while  his  herd 
of  swine  is  of  the  Poland-China  type.  Upon 
coming  to  Davison  county  Mr.  Watson  took  up 
homestead  and  timber  claims,  and  this  half  sec- 
tion of  land  constituted  the  nucleus  of  his  present 
well  improved  farm.  He  now  has  a  fine  lot  of 
trees  on  his  place,  the  same  having  been  planted 
by  him  and  being  now  well  matured. 

In  politics  Mr.  Watson  is  a  stanch  Repub- 
lican, and  he  has  held  various  local  offices,  while 
in  1893  he  represented  his  district  in  the  state 
legislature,  making  an  excellent  record  in  the 
connection.  He  and  his  wife  hold  membership 
in  the  Baptist  church  at  Mitchell.  They  were 
pioneers  of  the  county,  and  have  the  high  regard 
of  the  community  in  which  they  have  so  long 
made  their  home. 

On  the  25th  of  October,  1883,  Mr.  Watson 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Livonia  Phelps, 
who  was  born  and  reared  in  Huston  county, 
Minnesota,  being  a  daughter  of  H.  M.  and 
Rebecca  Phelps.  Of  this  union  have  been  born 
six  children,  all  of  whom  still  remain  beneath  the 
parental  roof,  namely :  Florence,  Robert,  Fran- 
ces, Earl,  Richard  and  Herbert. 


JOHN  A.  BEANER,  who  is  postmaster  at 
Canastota,  McCook  county,  has  long  been  one 
of  the  representative  citizens  of  this  section  of 
the  state,  prominent  in  the  work  of  the  Republi- 
can party  and  in  business  affairs,  having  been 
the  first  grain  dealer  in  the  town,  while  he  has 


at   all   times   received    the    fullest    measure    of 
popular  confidence  and  esteem. 

Mr.  Beaner  is  a  native  of  the  state  of 
Illinois,  having  been  born  in  Winnebago  county, 
on  the  5th  of  July,  1853,  and  being  a  son  of  ■ 
Joseph  and  Gertrude  (Harig)  Beaner.  He  was  ^ 
the  only  child  and  his  mother  died  while  he  was 
an  infant.  The  father  of  the  subject  was  a 
carpenter  by  vocation  and  his  death  occurred  at 
Annapolis,  Maryland,  March  11,  1863.  He  was 
a  valiant  soldier  in  the  Union  army  during  the 
war  of  the  Rebellion,  having  enlisted  as  a  mem- 
ber of  Company  I,  Seventy-fourth  Illinois  \'ol- 
unteer  Infantry,  with  which  he  participated  in 
man)-  of  the  important  battles  of  the  great  con- 
flict. He  was  captured  by  the  enemy  and  was 
held  captive  in  the  famous  Andersonville  prison, 
where  he  contracted  disease  which  caused  his 
death  a  short  time  after  his  release,  so  that  our 
subject  was  doubly  orphaned  when  a  mere  boy, 
being  thereafter  reared  in  the  home  of  George 
Fisher.  He  attended  the  common  schools  of  his 
native  state  until  he  had  attained  the  age  of  six- 
teen years,  when  he  assumed  the  active  duties  of 
life  and  became  dependent  upon  his  own  re- 
sources. He  went  to  Black  Hawk  county,  Iowa, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  farming  for  two  years. 
after  which  he  returned  to  Illinois  and  located  in 
Durand  township,  where  he  followed  the  voca- 
tion of  farming  until  1874,  while  thereafter  he 
was  a  resident  of  Jesup,  Iowa,  until  October, 
1878,  when  he  first  came  to  what  is  now  South 
Dakota.  He  located  in  Turner  county,  where 
he  remained  about  two  months,  and  then  re- 
turned to  Iowa,  which  continued  to  be  his  home 
until  1880,  when  he  again  came  to  South  Dakota, 
improving  his  claim  of  government  land  in 
Turner  county  and  there  giving  his  attention  to 
farming  and  stock  raising  until  1889,  when  he 
located  in  Canastota,  McCook  county,  where  he 
has  ever  since  made  his  home.  Here  he  es- 
tablished himself  in  the  grain  business,  being 
the  first  to  inaugurate  this  line  of  enterprise  in 
the  town,  and  he  continued  to  be  actively  en- 
gaged in  the  buying  and  shipjiing  of  grain  for 
the  next  decade. 

Though  he  is  a  stanch  Rc|)ublican  in  politics    I 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


763 


and  an  active  and  influential  worker  in  the  party 
cause,  j\[r.  Beaner  was  appointed  postmaster  of 
Canastota  under  the  administration  of  President 
Cleveland,  and  served  in  this  capacity  for  four 
years,  while  in  1902  he  was  again  appointed  to 
the  office,  under  the  regime  of  President  Roose- 
velt, being  the  incumbent  at  the  present  time.  He 
has  been  consecutively  connected  with  the  ad- 
ministration of  postofifice  affairs  here  for  the  past 
eleven  years,  having  served  for  four  years  of  this 
time  as  deputy.  He  is  at  the  present  time  chair- 
man of  the  Republican  central  committee  of 
McCook  county  and  has  ably  managed  the  party 
work  in  this  field.  Fraternally,  ]\Ir.  Beaner  is 
identified  with  Prudence  Lodge,  No.  119, 
Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  in  Canas- 
tota, and  with  Salem  Chapter,  No.  34,  Royal 
Arch  Masons,  at  Salem,  the  county  seat.  He  is 
also  affiliated  with  Canastota  Lodge,  No.  13. 
Ancient  Order  of  L^nited  Workmen,  in  his  home 
town.  Mrs.  Beaner  is  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian church. 

On  the  8th  of  July,  1875,  ^^^-  Beaner  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  ]\Iary  E.  Ellis,  of 
Barclay,  Iowa.  She  was  born  and  reared  in  Bar- 
clay county  and  is  a  daughter  of  A.  J.  and  Jane 
Barclay  and  is  a  daughter  of  A.  J.  and  Jane 
Ellis.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beaner  have  one  daughter, 
Gertrude  M.,  who  is  now  the  wife  of  Grant 
Roberts,  who  is  engaged  in  the  meat  business  in 
Rock  \'allev,  Iowa 


RICHARD  FRANCIS  ROBINSON,  M.  D., 
has  the  distinction  of  being  a  native  of  the 
city  of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  where  he  was 
born  on  the  2d  of  January,  1868.  His  father, 
Richard  Tremaine  Robinson,  was  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  what  is  now  the  state  of  South 
Dakota,  having  come  here  in  June,  1879,  and 
taken  up  his  residence  in  Firesteel,  Davison 
county.  He  is  engaged  in  the  general  merchan- 
dise business  at  Egan,  South  Dakota,  at  the 
present  time.  He  served  with  distinction  in  the 
Civil  war,  as  a  member  of  Company  C.  Forty- 
fourth  Massachusetts  \'olunteer  Infantry,  and  is 
a  prominent  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the 


Republic,  while  his  wife,  whose  maiden  name 
was  Emma  Frances  Fisher,  is  past  department 
president  of  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps  of  the 
state.  William  Day  Robinson,  the  paternal 
grandfather  of  the  Doctor,  came  to  the  United 
States  from  Nova  Scotia,  about  1852.  His 
father.  Dr.  Henry  Robinson,  was  a  surgeon  in 
the  English  army.  He  was  assistant  surgeon  in 
the  Sixty-fourth  Foot,  from  May  8,  1801,  to 
June  15,  1804,  and  from  that  time  was  in- 
cumbent of  a  similar  position  in  the  Seventh 
Foot  until  December  15,  1804,  when  he  was 
made  surgeon  of  the  regiment,  in  which  capacity 
he  served  until  August  29,  1811,  when  he  re- 
signed and  thereafter  lived  retired  in  Halifax, 
Nova  Scotia,  this  record  being  given  in  the  war 
office  in  the  city  of  London.  Amos  Sargent, 
great-grandfather  of  the  mother  of  the  subject, 
was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution  and 
also  a  seaman  on  the  privateer  brigantine, 
"Hazard." 

Dr.  Robinson  was  about  twelve  years  of  age 
at  the  time  of  his  parents'  removal  to  what  is 
now  South  Dakota,  and  here  he  attended  the 
country  schools  of  Davison  county  until  he,  had 
attained  the  age  of  twenty  years,  when  he  re- 
turned to  his  native  state  of  Massachusetts,  lo- 
cating in  the  city  of  Cambridge  for  the  purpose 
of  learning  a  trade.  The  outlook  in  this  line, 
however,  did  not  satisfy  his  ambition  and  he  de- 
termined to  prepare  himself  for  the  medical  pro- 
fession. He  rounded  out  his  preliminary  edu- 
cation by  attending  night  schools  in  Cambridge, 
and  in  1890  was  matriculated  in  the  College  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons  in  the  city  of  Boston, 
where  he  was  graduated  on  the  4th  of  May. 
1803,  receiving  his  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine. 
Later  he  took  a  post-graduate  course  in  Tufts' 
^ledical  College,  in  the  same  city.  He  began  the 
practice  of  his  profession  in  Cambridge,  where 
he  remained  until  1894,  when  he  returned  to 
South  Dakota  and  established  himself  in  prac- 
tice in  Ethan,  Davison  county,  whence  he  later 
removed  to  the  city  of  Mitchell,  where  he  was 
in  practice  until  June  20,  1895,  when  he  came 
to  Egan,  which  has  ever  since  been  his  home. 
Here  he  has  built  up  an   excellent  professional 


764 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


business,  his  ability  gaining  to  him  distinctive 
recognition  and  a  representative  supporting  pat- 
ronage. The  Doctor  is  a  progressive  and  public- 
spirited  citizen  and  enjoys  marked  popularity  in 
the  community.  He  was  appointed  captain  and 
assistant  surgeon  in  the  Third  Regiment  of  the 
South  Dakota  National  Guard,  on  the  23d  of 
April,  1903.  In  April,  1902,  he  was  elected  a 
member' of  the  board  of  education  of  Egan,  serv- 
ing one  year.  He  is  treasurer  of  the  board  of 
pension  examining  surgeons  for  i\Ioody  county, 
having  been  a  member  of  the  board  since  1897, 
and  from  July,  1895,  to  the  present  time  he  has 
served  as  vice-president  of  the  board  of  health 
of  the  county.  He  served  as  county  physician 
from  June,  1895,  to  January,  1902,  and  in  1899 
and  I  goo  he  was  county  coroner,  having  been 
elected  on  the  Republican  ticket.  The  Doctor 
has  been  a  stanch  supporter  of  the  Republicsni 
party  from  the  time  of  attaining  his  majority, 
and  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  its  cause.  He  j 
has  been  a  member  of  the  Modern  Woodmen  of 
America  since  1896.  and  has  held  the  office  of 
clerk  of  the  local  camp  since  January,  1898, 
while  he  has  been  clerk  of  the  state  camp  since  ■ 
February,  icjoi,  and  in  1899  ^^'^s  a  delegate  to 
the  head  camp  of  the  order.  He  is  a  charter 
member  of  the  local  lodge  of  the  ^Modern  Broth-  ' 
erhood  of  .-Vmerica,  organized  in  1899,  and  is 
secretary  of  the  lodge  at  the  present  time,  having 
previously  served  two  years  in  this  office,  while  | 
he  was  a  delegate  to  its  first  supreme  conven- 
tion, in  October,  1900.  In  November,  1903,  the 
Doctor  was  raised  to  the  degree  of  Master  Ma- 
son in  Tyrian  Lodge,  No.  100.  Ancient  Free  j 
and  Accepted  Masons.  While  a  resident  of  Cam-  j 
bridge,  Massachusetts,  the  Doctor  became  a 
member  of  the  Wood  Memorial  Congregational 
church,  and  in  the  same  he  served  as  president 
of  the  Young  People's  Society  of  Qiristian  En-  i 
deavor,  while  at  the  present  time  he  is  super- 
intendent of  the  Sunday  school  of  the  T^lethodist 
Episcopal  church  in  Egan,  of  which  he  has  been 
a  member  since  taking  up  his  residence  here. 

On  the  18th  of  .August,  1897,  in  Egan,  Dr. 
Robinson  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  lennie 
Rrcnnan,    who    has    been    a    resident    of    ;\Ioodv 


county  since  her  childhood,  her  parents  having 
here  taken  up  their  residence  in  ]\Iarch.  1878. 
Her  father,  Roger  Brennan,  has  been  the  leading 
lawyer  of  the  count}-  for  a  quarter  of  a  century 
and  also  one  of  the  most  influential  men  in  the 
local  ranks  of  the  Republican  party.  Of  the 
three  children  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Robinson  we 
enter  the  names  with  respective  dates  of  birth : 
Richard  Tracy,  May  15,  1898:  Ada  Frances. 
June  15,  1901  ;  and  Roger  Chesley,  December  21, 
1902. 


PHILIP  H.  RISLIXG,  now  deceased,  was 
born  in  Pjedford  county,  Pennsylvania,  June  16, 
1825,  and  died  on  the  14th  of  May.  1893.  His 
life  record  covered  sixty-eight  years — a  period 
in  which  he  wrought  much  good  and  in  which 
he  gained  creditable,  success  so  that  he  left  to  his 
family  a  comfortable  competence  and  an  honor- 
able name.  He  was  a  son  of  Lewis  and  Mary 
(Holler)  Risling,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of 
German}-,  whence  they  crossed  the  Atlantic  to 
America,  settling  in  Bedford  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  they  spent  their  remaining  days. 
The  father  was  a  farmer  and  also  conducted  a 
woolen  factory.  L'nto  him  and  his  wife  were  born 
eleven  children,  two  of  whom  are  yet  living. 

Lender  the  parental  roof  Philip  H.  Risling- 
spent  his  boyhood  days  and  in  the  public  schools 
nearby  he  acquired  his  education.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  TS52  to  Elmira  Oldham,  a  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Elizabeth  ( Bowen )  Oldham,  of 
Bedford  county.  In  1855  the  parents  removed 
to  Clayton  county,  Iowa,  w-here  both  died.  Her 
father  was  a  gunsmith  by  trade,  but  became  a 
farmer  and  owned  a  well  improved  tract  of 
land.  In  his  family  were  five  children :  Mrs. 
Risling,  Mary,  Enoch  P..  Omer  B.  and  Uriah 
W.  In  his  political  view-s  Mr.  Risling  was  a  Whig 
until  the  dissolution  of  the  party,  w-hen  he 
joined  the  ranks  of  the  Republican  party.  The 
home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Risling  was  blessed  with 
eleven  children:  Truman  S.,  Loretta  H..  Mary 
E.,  Celia,  Florence,  Juliet,  George  W.,  Frank  P... 
Nellie  P.,  Daniel  \\'.  and  Lucinda.  Of  this  num- 
ber five  are  yet  living. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


765 


In  1856  Philip  H.  Risling  went  from  Clayton 
county,  Iowa,  to  Spirit  Lake  in  the  same  state, 
being  one  of  its  first  settlers,  and  helped  to  build 
the  first  cabin  there.  After  completing  prepa- 
rations for  winter,  he  returned  to  his  family  in 
Clayton  county,  the  snow  being  so  deep  he  was 
unable  to  use  a  team  and  was  compelled  to  walk 
the  entire  distance,  over  two  hundred  miles.  In 
March  of  the  following  spring  the  Indians  perpe- 
trated the  terrible  massacre  at  Spirit  Lake,  and, 
u])on  receipt  of  the  news,  i\Ir.  Risling,  with 
others,  purchased  coffins  and  gave  the  victims  de- 
cent burials.  In  1862  ]\Ir.  Risling  removed  from 
Spirit  Lake,  Iowa,  to  South  Dakota,  and  secured 
a  homestead  claim  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  land,  while  later  he  entered  an- 
other one  hundred  and  sixty  acres.  It 
was  covered  with  tall  prairie  grass,  but  not 
a  furrow  had  been  turned  or  an  improvement 
made  upon  the  place.  He  lost  almost  every  thing 
in  the  great  flood  which  caused  a  damage  of 
seven  thousand  dollars  to  his  property.  The 
grasshoppers,  too.  destroyed  his  crops  and  the 
drought  on  another  occasion  burned  up  all  that 
he  had,  but  he  persevered  and  would  not  allow 
discouragements  to  crush  out  his  enterprising 
spirit.  He  worked  on  year  after  year,  making 
excellent  improvements  upon  his  propertv  and  in 
course  of  time  he  triumphed  over  the  disadvan- 
tages which  had  attended  his  work.  For  thirteen 
years  he  conducted  a  market  garden,  doing  a  very 
extensive  business  in  this  way.  He  had  a  vege- 
table wagon  in  Yankton  and  enjoyed  a  large  busi- 
ness which  proved  very  profitable.  In  his  polit- 
ical aflFairs  he  was  a  Republican,  afterward  became 
a  Populist  and  later  was  an  independent  voter. 
He  belonged  to  the  Lutheran  church  and  in  that 
faith  he  died.  ]\Ir.  Risling  came  to  Yankton 
county  during  the  days  when  Indians  lived  here 
and  he  often  fed  many  of  them.  He  found  them 
friendly,  having  no  trouble  with  the  red  men. 
There  is  in  his  life  history  much  that  is  worthy 
of  emulation  and  commendation.  He  worked 
hard  and  though  he  had  no  special  advantages  at 
the  outset  of  his  career  he  progressed  as  time 
passed  by  and  as  the  result  of  his  earnest,  per- 
sistent labors  he  accumulated  a  handsome  compe- 


tence, thus  leaving  his  family  in  very  comfortable 
circumstances.  He  was  also  honorable  in  his 
dealings  with  his  fellow  men,  his  life  being  in 
harmony  with  his  professions  as  a  Christian. 
Airs.  Risling  and  her  son  Daniel  now  own  three 
hundred  and  ninety-five  acres  of  valuable  land,  a 
part  of  which  is  cultivated  while  the  remainder 
is  used  for  pastorage  purposes.  They  carry  on 
general  farming  and  Daniel  also  follows  black- 
smithing  to  some  extent.  The  family  has  long 
been  a  prominent  and  influential  one  of  the  com- 
munity, well  meriting  mention  in  this  volume. 


JOSEPH  C.  YOUNG.— The  subject  of  this 
review  has  had  a  varied  business  experience  and 
his  career  demonstrates  the  fact  that  a  man  of 
intelligence  and  well  balanced  judgment  may 
achieve  success  in  more  than  one  sphere  of  en- 
deavor. Joseph  C.  Young,  of  Springfield,  is  a 
native  of  Waukesha  county,  Wisconsin,  and  the 
son  of  Xoah  W.  and  Mary  (  Purrinton  )  Young, 
the  father  born  in  New  York,  the  mother  in  the 
state  of  New  Hampshire.  The  Purrintons  are 
one  of  the  oldest  and  best  known  families  of 
New  England,  being  directly  descended  in  one 
line  from  the  Tabors  who  came  over  in  the 
Mayflower,  and  they  have  figured  in  the  annals 
of  New  Hampshire  and  other  states  since  the 
early  davv^n  of  American  history.  Noah  Young 
was  a  carpenter  by  trade  and  when  a  young  man 
helped  build  the  locks  on  the  Erie  canal,  be- 
sides doing  other  mechanical  work^  in  various 
parts  of  his  native  state.  In  an  early  day  he 
and  his  wife  migrated  to  Wisconsin  and  were 
among  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Waukesha  county; 
after  living  in  that  part  of  the  state  until  1854 
he  moved  to  Fond  du  Lac  county,  of  which  he  was 
also  a  pioneer,  locating  at  Brandon,  where  he 
worked  at  his  trade  until  1861,  when  he  changed 
his  abode  to  Iowa  county.  After  a  residence 
there  of  about  eight  years  he  went  to  Brook- 
field,  Missouri,  where  he  spent  the  remainder 
of  his  life,  dying  in  the  year  1888,  his  wife  pre- 
ceding him  to  the  grave  in  i860.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Young  were  the  parents  of  four  children. 
I  namely:    Mrs.    Almira    Harker.    of    Brookfield, 


766 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


Missouri :  Thomas  W.,  a  manufacturer,  of 
Springfield.  South  Dakota;  Joseph  C,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  and  Martin  L.,  of  Bon  Homme 
county  and  a  painter  by  trade. 

Joseph  C.  Young  was  born  in  the  town  of 
Eagle,  Waukesha  county,  Wisconsin,  in  the 
month  of  March,  1853,  and  he  grew  to  man- 
hood in  his  native  state,  attending  the  common 
schools  at  intervals  the  meanwhile.  In  1878  he 
came  to  Bon  Homme  county.  South  Dakota,  and 
took  up  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land 
near  Springfield,  on  which  he  lived  during  the 
ensuing  five  years,  devoting  his  attention  the 
meantime  to  the  improvement  of  his  farm.  At 
the  expiration  of  the  period  noted  he  began  car- 
pentering, which  trade  he  had  previously  learned 
and  the  better  to  prosecute  the  same  left  his 
fami  and  took  up  his  residence  in  Springfield. 
He  followed  contracting  and  building  with 
marked  success  until  1890,  when  he  discontinued 
that  line  of  work  and  purchased  the  Springfield 
Times,  a  well  established  weekly  paper,  which 
he  conducted  for  a  period  of  seven  years.  Not 
finding  journalism  to  his  taste  he  sold  the  paper 
in  1897  and.  resuming  his  trade,  continued  con- 
tracting and  building  until  1901,  when,  in  part- 
nership with  Peter  G.  Monfore,  he  purchased 
the  harness  and  furniture  store  which  had  for- 
merh-  been  run  by  George  Mead  &  Son.  one  of 
the  largest  establishments  of  the  kind  in  Spring- 
field. The  firm  thus  constituted  is  still  in  ex- 
istence and  at  this  time  ]\Ionfore  &  Young  carry 
a  full  line  of  harness  and  furniture,  in  connec- 
tion with  which  they  also  conduct  a  well  equipped 
undertaking  establishment,  the  business  in  the 
diflferent  lines  being  large  and  lucrative  and,  as 
already  indicated,  their  house  is  now  the  lead- 
ing concern  of  the  kind  in  the  city,  with  a  pat- 
ronage much  more  than  local. 

In  addition  to  his  career  as  a  mechanic, 
journalist  and  merchant.  ^Ir.  Young  has  had 
some  experience  as  a  civil  engineer,  to  which 
profession  he  is  now  devoting  considerable  at- 
tention. In  1902  he  was  elected  official  sur- 
veyor of  Bon  Homme  county,  which  position  he 
now  holds  and  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties 
he  is  exceedingly  painstaking  and  accurate,  his 


record  thus  far  being  creditable  to  himself  and 
eminently  satisfactory  to  all  who  have  engaged 
his  professional  services.  Mr.  Young  has  been 
more  than  ordinarily  successful  in  his  different 
enterprises  and  is  today  one  of  the  financially 
strong  men  of  Springfield  as  well  as  one  of  the 
county's  progressive  and  public-spirited  citizens. 
His  influence  has  always  been  on  the  right  side 
of  every  moral  question  and  he  has  encouraged 
every  measure  and  movement  having  for  its 
object  the  material  advancement  of  the  com- 
munity and  the  social,  educational  and  moral 
welfare  of  the  people. 

On  December  25,  1875,  ^^^-  Young  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Florence  Britton, 
of  Rock  county,  Wisconsin,  a  union  blessed  with 
four  offspring.  The  oldest  of  these  children, 
^lay  E..  married  W.  A.  Schroder,  of  Yankton. 
South  Dakota,  and  is  now  the  mother  of  two 
daughters,  Eva  and  Marie :  Grace,  the  second 
of  the  family,  lives  at  home  and  is  bookkeeper 
for  a  business  firm  in  Springfield ;  Florence,  the 
third  daughter,  teaches  in  the  public  schools, 
and  Myrtle,  the  youngest  of  the  number,  is  a 
student  as  well  as  her  mother's  efficient  assist- 
ant in  conducting  the  affairs  of  the  household. 

In  politics  I\Ir.  Young  is  a  stanch,  uncom- 
promising Republican.  His  fraternal  relations 
are  represented  by  the  Odd  Fellows  order  and 
the  Modern  Woodmen  and  in  religion  he  is  a 
Congregationalist.  having  been  a  consistent 
member  of  the  church  for  over  a  quarter  of  a 
century,  during  which  time  his  life  has  been  in 
harmony  with  his  high  calling  as  a  faithful 
disciple  of  the  Nazarene.  Mrs.  Young  is  also 
deeply  interested  in  religious  and  charitable 
work,  and  is  a  consistent  member  of  the  same 
church  with  which  her  husband  is  identified. 


ALEXANDER  GARRICK  justly  takes 
pride  in  tracing  his  lineage  through  many 
generations  of  sturdy  Scotchmen,  and  is  of  the 
second  generation  of  the  family  in  America.  He 
was  born  on  a  farm  in  Delaware  county.  New 
York,  on  the  Sth  of  June.  1S45.  «i"*^'  '*  a  son  of 
William  and  Elisabeth  Garrick.     His  father  wa^ 


HISTORV   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


767 


born  and  reared  in  Scotland,  being  a  scion  of 
an  old  and  prominent  family,  and  as  a  young 
man  he  emigrated  thence  to  America,  settling  in 
New  York  state,  where  he  passed  the  remainder 
of  his  long  and  useful  life,  devoting  his  atten- 
tion to  agricultural  pursuits.  He  died  in  1893, 
and  his  wife,  who  was  born  in  Scotland  and 
reared  in  New  York,  passed  away  in  1897.  Of 
their  five  children  four  are  living. 

Alexander  Garrick  was  reared  on  the  old 
home  farm  and  early  began  to  assume  his  quota 
of  responsibility  in  connection  with  its  cultiva- 
tion, while  his  educational  advantages  were 
those  of  the  common  schools  of  the  locality  and 
period.  He  remained  on  the  home  farm  until 
1874.  when  he  came  to  the  west  and  located  in 
Cedar  county,  where  he  purchased  land,  becom- 
ing the  owner  of  a  good  farm,  and  there  he 
continued  to  devote  his  attention  to  agricultural 
pursuits  until  1883,  when  he  disposed  of  his 
property  and  came  to  South  Dakota,  where  he 
cast  in  his  lot  with  the  sterling  pioneers  of  Faulk 
county,  which  was  organized  in  that  year.  He 
first  located  near  the  present  village  of  Crebard, 
where  he  entered  claim  to  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  government  land,  reclaiming  much  of 
the  same  to  cultivation  and  there  continuing  his 
residence  until  1890,  when  he  sold  the  property 
at  a  profit  and  purchased  his  present  finely  im- 
proved ranch,  one  mile  east  of  Faulkton,  the 
county  seat.  The  greater  portion  of  his  section 
of  land  is  under  effective  cultivation,  and  he 
leases  about  six  hundred  acres  in  addition.  Dur- 
ing the  past  few  years  he  has  been  quite  largely 
engaged  in  stock  growing,  in  connection  with  his 
diversified  farming,  and  he  now  runs  on  his 
range  an  average  herd  of  about  one  hundred  head 
of  high-grade  cattle.  He  is  a  man  of  signal  energ\- 
and  business  sagacity  and  has  thus  secured  the 
maximum  returns  from  his  efforts  and  is  known 
as  one  of  the  public-spirited  and  substantial 
citizens  of  the  county.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
first  board  of  commissioners  elected  for  the 
county,  the  preceding  board  having  been  filled 
by  appointment,  and  he  served  three  terms  in 
this  oilfice,  doing  all  in  his  power  in  an  official 
and  personal  way  to   forward  the  best   interests 


of  the  county  and  its  people.  He  has  been  a 
member  of  the  school  board  practically  from  the 
time  of  coming  to  the  county  up  to  the  present 
time.  In  politics  he  gives  his  support  to  the 
Republican  party,  while  his  religious  affiliation- 
is  with  the  Congregational  church. 

On  the  29th  of  December,  1870.  in  his  native 
county  in  New  York,  Mr.  Garrick  took  unto 
himself  a  wife  in  the  person  of  Miss  Elizabeth 
Cowan,  who  likewise  was  born  and  reared  in 
Delaware  county.  New  York,  being  a  daughter 
of  Adam  and  Elizabeth  Cowan,  both  natives  of 
Scotland,  and  both  being  now  deceased.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Garrick  have  five  children,  namely : 
James,  who  married  Miss  Eva  Potter,  is  engaged 
in  the  grain  business  in  \\^ebster.  Day  county, 
being  associated  with  his  father-in-law  in  this 
enterprise,  while  they  own  a  well-equipped 
elevator  of  good  capacity ;  Isabella  is  the  wife 
of  William  Plante,  of  La  Foon,  this  county ; 
William  is  associated  with  his  father  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  home  ranch :  and  Alexander  A. 
is  engaged  in  running  an  express  business  in 
Faulkton. 


GILBERT  A.  PIERCE,  eighth  territorial 
governor  of  Dakota,  was  a  native  of  Cattaraugus 
county.  New  York,  but  removed  to  Indiana  at  an 
early  age.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the  Chicago  Uni- 
versity Law  School.  He  enlisted  in  1861  and  ■ 
served  throughout  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  and 
rose  to  the  rank  of  colonel.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Indiana  legislature  in  1868  and  was  one 
of  the  founders  and  managing  editor  of  the 
Inter-Ocean  for  twelve  years.  He  was  an 
author  of  several  popular  novels.  President 
Arthur  appointed  him  governor  of  Dakota  in 
18S4  and  he  resigned  the  position  in  1886.  The 
first  legislature  of  North  Dakota  elected  him  to 
the  United  States  senate.  In  1891  he  purchased  a 
half  interest  in  the  Minneapolis  Tribune,  but  a 
year  later  his  health  failed.  President  Harrison 
appointed  him  minister  to  Portugal.  He  did  not 
recover  his  health  and  returning  to  this  coun- 
try spent  some  time  in  California.  He  died  in 
1901. 


768 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


JOHN  REICH.— One  of  the  best  known  and 
most  honored  citizens  of  the  village  of  Scotland, 
Bon  Homme  county,  is  he  whose  name  initiates 
this  paragraph,  and  he  is  not  only  one  of  the  lead- 
ing merchants  of  the  town  and  postmaster  at  this 
point,  but  he  may  also  claim  the  distinction  of  be- 
ing one  of  its  pioneers  and  founders,  since  he  is 
in  point  of  residence  one  of  the  oldest  of  its  citi- 
zens, having  located  in  the  place  when  its  pre- 
tentions to  the  dignity  of  a  village  were  notable 
principally  by  their  absence.  Mr.  Reich  is  a  na- 
tive of  Russia,  where  he  was  born  on  the  i6th 
of  February,  1863,  so  that  it  may  be  seen  that  he 
is  still  a  young  man,  though  he  has  the  distinction 
of  being  a  pioneer  of  his  home  town.  He  is  a 
son  of  Simon  and  Dorothy  (Kiioepfle)  Reich,  of 
whose  eight  children  five  are  still  living,  namely : 
Jacob,  who  is  associated  with  our  subject  in  the 
hardware  business ;  Elizabeth,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Adam  Schaffer,  of  Yankton  county ;  Cather- 
ine, who  is  the  wife  of  Adam  Kayser,  of  Hudson 
county ;  John,  who  is  the  immediate  subject  of 
this  review,  and  Christian,  who  is  likewise  as- 
sociated with  the  subject  in  the  hardware  business 
in  Scotland. 

In  1873,  when  the  subject  was  a  lad  of  ten 
years,  his  parents  emigrated  to  the  United  States 
and  located  in  Bon  Homme  county,  Dakota,  this 
being  prior  to  the  division  of  the  territory  and 
the  organization  of  the  two  states.  He  took  up  a 
homestead  claim  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
and  a  timber  claim  of  equal  area,  and  here  he 
continued  to  reside  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
in  1879.  His  widow  subsequently  became  the 
wife  of  Christopher  Wieland,  and  they  still  re- 
side in  this  county.  Our  subject  received  his  ed- 
ucational training  in  the  public  schools  and  re- 
mained at  the  parental  home  until  he  had  attained 
the  age  of  seventeen  years,  when  he  began  to 
carve  out  his  independent  career  and  depend  on 
his  own  resources.  He  came  to  the  village  of  Scot- 
land, where  he  worked  at  odd  jobs  about  six 
months,  at  the  expiration  of  which  he  entered 
upon  an  apprenticeship  at  the  tinner's  trade,  be- 
coming a  skilled  workman  and  devoting  sixteen 
years  to  work  at  the  bench.  After  having  been 
employed  as  a  journeyman  for  six  years  he  opened 


a  small  shop  of  his  own  and  here  continued  busi- 
ness as  a  tinner  about  ten  years,  at  the  expiration 
of  which  he  became  associated  with  his  brother 
Jacob  in  opening  a  hardware  store  in  the  village, 
and  they  have  succeeded  in  building  up  an  excel- 
lent trade,  having  a  well  equipped  store  and  being 
numbered  among  the  representative  business  men 
of  the  town,  while  their  brother  Christian  has  also 
become  a  member  of  the  firm.  In  February, 
1902.  the  subject  was  appointed  postmaster  of 
Scotland,  taking  charge  of  the  office  on  the"  28th 
of  the  following  month,  and  he  has  made  an  effi- 
cient and  popular  official,  having  the  uniform  con- 
fidence and  esteem  of  the  community  and  being 
known  as  one  of  the  progressive  and  public-spir- 
ited citizens  of  the  town.  In  politics  he  is  a  stal- 
wart Republican,  and  he  served  several  terms  as 
a  member  of  the  village  coimcil.  He  and  his  wife 
are  consistent  and  valued  members  of  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  church. 

On  the  1 8th  of  April,  1886,  Mr.  Reich  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Otillie  Nieland,  of 
Yankton,  this  state,  she  having  been  born  in 
Guttenberg,  Iowa,  and  of  their  four  children  three 
are  living,  Robert  W.,  Helen  and  Delia. 


JOHN  D.  HERMAN,  M.  D.— Spink  county 
is  favored  in  having  numbered  among  its  coterie 
of  able  physicians  and  surgeons  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  who  is  successfully  established  in 
the  practice  of  his  noble  profession  in  Conde, 
one  of  the  thriving  and  attractive  villages  of 
this  section  of  the  state. 

Dr.  Herman  was  born  in  Freeborn  county, 
Minnesota,  on  the  27th  of  February,  1859,  and  ■ 
is  a  son  of  Philip  Herman,  who  was  born  in 
Germany,  whence  he  emigrated  to  America 
when  a  young  man,  first  locating  in  the  province 
of  Ontario,  Canada,  where  he  remained  until 
1857,  when  he  removed  to  Minnesota,  becoming 
one  of  the  pioneers  of  Freeborn  county,  where 
he  took  up  government  land  and  improved  a 
valuable  farm,  upon  which  he  still  maintains  his 
home,  being  one  of  the  honored  and  substantial . 
citizens  of  the  locality.  His  wife,  whose  maiden 
naine  was  Augusta   Otwine,   was  bom   in   Ger- 


JOHN   REICH. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


709 


many  and  is  still  living,  as  are  also  nine  of  their 
children.  The  Doctor  was  reared  to  the  sturdy 
discipline  of  the  pioneer  farm  and  after  com- 
pleting the  curriculum  of  the  public  schools  he 
began  the  work  of  preparing  himself  for  the 
profession  in  which  he  has  attained  so  marked 
prestige.  He  took  up  the  study  of  medicine 
i^ider  a  private  preceptor  and  had  been  actively 
engaged  in  professional  work  in  his  home  county 
prior  to  his  graduation.  He  was  matriculated 
in  the  Ohio  Medical  College,  in  Cincinnati,  in 
1882,  and  there  completed  the  prescribed  course, 
being  graduated  as  a  member  of  the  class  of 
1886  and  receiving  his  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine  from  this  old  and  prominent  institu- 
tion. He  had  attended  this  college  prior  to 
his  removal  to  South  Dakota,  in  1883,  and  later 
returned  to  his  alma  mater  to  complete  his  tech- 
nical studies.  In  the  spring  of  1883  he  came 
to  Spink  county  and  located  in  the  village  of 
Rose,  \\herf  he  remained  until  the  autumn  of 
1885,  when  he  returned  to  the  Ohio  Medical 
College  and  finished  his  course,  as  noted.  In  the 
spring  of  1886  he  returned  to  Rose,  where  he 
remained  until  the  following  autumn,  when  the 
village  of  Conde  was  platted  and  its  settlement 
instituted,  and  he  forthwith  took  up  his  residence 
here,  being  the  pioneer  physician  of  the  town, 
where  he  also  opened  the  first  drug  store,  and 
here  he  has  since  continued  in  the  active  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  and  also  to  conduct  his 
drug  business,  while  he  has  the  uniform  con- 
fidence and  high  regard  of  the  people  of  the 
community,  in  which  he  has  ministered  most 
successfully  to  those  in  affliction,  while  he  is 
known  as  one  of  the  loyal  and  public-spirited 
citizens  of  the  town  and  county.  He  is  medical 
examiner  for  the  leading  life-insurance  com- 
panies represented  here,  and  is  a  representative 
of  Spink  county  on  the  state  board  of  health. 
He  served  six  years  as  county  coroner  and  has 
held  other  local  offices  of  trust.  In  1900  Dr. 
Herman  completed  a  post-graduate  course  in  the 
College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  in  the  citv 
of  Chicago,  while  in  1898  he  took  a  special  optical 
course  in  Philadelphia,  so  that  he  is  well  equipped 
for  the  treatment  of  the  diseases  of  the  eve  and 


for  correcting  the  errors  of  refraction  bv  means 
of  proper  lenses.  He  is  a  stanch  Republican 
in  politics  and  is  identified  with  the  Masonic 
fraternit}",  the  Alodern  Woodmen  of  America, 
the  Ancient  Order  of  I'nited  Workmen  and  the 
Degree  of  Honor  of  the  last  named.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  the  South  Dakota  ^Medical  Society. 
The  Doctor  has  a  well  improved  and  valuable 
farm  of  eleven  hundred  acres,  adjoining  the 
town  site  of  Conde,  and  practically  the  entire 
tract   is    under   effective    cultivation. 

In  August,  1 888,  Dr.  Herman  was  married 
to  Miss  Anna  Cowan,  who  was  born  and  reared 
in  Illinois,  and  they  have  four  children,  Ruth, 
Lester,  Pearl  and  Neil. 


SEIGAL  B.  CAWOOD.— On  another  page 
of  this  work  is  entered  a  resume  of  the  life  his- 
tory of  Thomas  Cawood,  the  honored  father  of 
him  whose  name  initiates  this  paragraph,  and  in 
view  of  this  fact  it  is  not  demanded  that  here  be 
entered  a  recapitulation  of  the  data  there  given. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  on  the 
parental  homestead  farm,  in  Putnam  county,  Mis- 
souri, on  the  sth  of  December,  1861,  being  a  son 
of  Thomas- and  Ellen  (Starr)  Cawood.  He  was 
reared  to  maturity  in  his  native  county,  where  he 
received  his  educational  training  in  the  public 
schools.  He  thereafter  continued  to  be  associated 
with  his  father  in  the  work  and  management  of 
the  home  farm  until  1882,  when  he  came  to  South 
Dakota  and  took  up  his  residence  in  Beadle 
county,  where  he  remained  one  year.  He  then 
came  to  Hand  county,  where  his  father  had  m 
the  meanwhile  taken  up  his  abode,  and  here  the 
subject  took  up  a  homestead  claim  in  Pleasant 
Valley  township,  perfecting  his  title  to  the  same 
in  due  course  of  time  and  setting  himself  with 
characteristic  energy  to  the  reclaiming  and  im- 
provement of  his  land.  He  is  now  the  owner  of 
a  fine  ranch  of  six  hundred  and  fortv  acres,  a 
portion  of  which  he  devotes  to  the  raising  of  the 
various  agricultural  products  best  suited  to  the 
soil  and  climate,  while  t^e  balance  is  used  for 
grazing  purposes  and  for  the  raising  of  hay.  He 
is  extensively  engaged  in  the  raising  of  stock  of 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


tiie  best  type,  and  has  attained  gratifying  success 
through  his  well  directed  efforts,  having  come 
to  South  Dakota  as  a  young  man  of  twenty-one 
years  and  having  duly  availed  himself  of  the 
golden  opportunities  here  afforded  to  men  of  en- 
erg}-,  discrimination  and  industrious  habits.  In 
politics  ]Mr.  Cawood  is  a  stanch  Republican,  and 
he  is  known  as  a  progressive  and  public-spirited 
citizen.  He  served  for  five  years  as  a  member  of 
the  boafd  of  trustees  of  Pleasant  ^"alley  township 
and  has  at  all  times  given  his  aid  and  influence 
in  support  of  all  enterprises  and  undertakings  ad- 
vanced for  the  general  good.  Air.  and  Mrs. 
Cawood  have  long  been  deeply  interested  in  all 
movements  for  the  uplifting  of  their  fellow  men 
and  they  assisted  in  the  organization  of  the  first 
Congregational  church  in  Pleasant  Valley  tov«n- 
-  ship.  July  14,  1894.  Mr.  Cawood  was  one  of  its 
first  trustees  and  is  now  a  deacon.  They  had, 
however,  helped  to  organize  and  carry  on  Sunday 
school  since  1884  and  Mrs.  Cawood  has  taught 
its  primary  department  for  twenty  years.  Their 
son,  Ernest,  was  converted  and  joined  the 
church  at  the  age  of  nine  years. 

On  the  23d  of  March.  1886.  Air.  Cawood 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Alary  Alice  Pen- 
well,  who  was  born  in  Scotland  county.  Missouri, 
where  she  was  reared  and  educated,  being  a 
daughter  of  ^^'illiam  and  Electa  (Lewis)  Pemvell, 
the  former  of  whom  was  a  minister  by  vocation. 
Mr.  and  Airs.  Cawood  have  one  son.  Ernest  Ray, 
who  was  born  on  the  25th  of  January,  1891. 


LE\'I  AI.  \\-OOD.— The  name  of  the  la- 
mented subject  of  this  memoir  is  inseparably 
connected  with  the  history  of  Lincoln  county. 
South  Dakota,  as  he  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
La\'alley  township,  also  a  prominent  citizen  of 
his  community,  and  for  a  number  of  years  a 
leader  in  its  material  development  and  a  public- 
spirited  man  in  all  the  term  implies.  Levi  AI. 
Wood,  son  of  Alorris  and  Abashaba  (Sudnutt) 
^^'ood.  of  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  respectively, 
was  born  in  Ohio  on  January  2-j.  1842.  When 
(juite  young  he  accompanied  his  parents  upon 
their  removal  to  Iowa,  and  was  reared  in  Bremer 


criu".t\".  that  state,  growing  to  young  manhood  on 
a  farm  and  receiving  a  good  practical  education 
in  such  schools  as  the  country  in  the  early  days 
afforded.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  of  the 
Rebellion,  he  entered  the  service  of  the  govern- 
ment, enlisting  in  Company  C,  Second  Iowa  Cav- 
alry, with  which  he  served  until  the  close  of  the 
war,  taking  part  in  a  number  of  campaigns  in 
Alississippi,  Georgia,  Tennessee  and  other  south- 
ern states,  participating  in  some  of  the  most 
noted  battles  of  that  historic  period  and  earning 
an  honorable  record  for  dut}-  bravely  and  un- 
complainingly performed. 

After  his  discharge  Air.  \\'ood  returned  to 
Bremer  county,  where,  in  the  year  1866,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Mrs.  A^irbett  (Bent)  Lip- 
pincott,  a  native  of  New  Hampshire  and  the 
daughter  of  Nathan  and  Sarah  (Smith)  Bent, 
both  parents  born  in  that  state,  the  father  of  Irish 
descent,  the  mother  of  English-Welsh  lineage. 
By  occupation  Nathan  Bent  was  a  carpenter  and 
millwright,  which  trades  he  followed  in  New 
Hampshire  until  1853.  when  he  removed  to  Lee 
county.  Illinois,  thence,  one  year  later,  to  Fayette 
county,  Iowa,  where  he  and  his  wife  spent  the 
remainder  of  their  days.  They  were  the  parents 
of  four  children,  viz. :  Airs.  Wood,  the  oldest 
of  the  family:  Alerton  H.,  Franklin  P..  Eva  and 
Ida  E..  all  dead  except  Airs.  Wood. 

In  the  year  1872  Air.  and  Airs.  Wood  moved 
to  Lincoln  county.  South  Dakota,  and  settled  in 
LaA'^alley  township,  on  a  tract  of  public  land  to 
which  he  laid  claim  and  for  which  he  received 
in  due  time  a  deed  from  the  government.  This 
real  estate,  amounting  in  all  to  two  hundred  and 
forty  acres,  lies  in  one  of  the  richest  agricultural 
districts  in  the  county,  and  in  the  course  of  a 
few  years  he  had  the  larger  part  under  cultiva- 
tion, besides  making  a  number  of  substantial  im- 
provements in  the  way  of  buildings,  fences,  or- 
chards, etc..  converting  the  place  into  one  of  the 
finest  farms  in  the  township.  Alf.  Wood  was  an 
excellent  farmer  and  in  addition  to  raising  abun- 
dantly all  kinds  of  grains  and  fruits,  grown  in 
this  part  of  the  state,  devoted  considerable  atten- 
tion to  live  stock,  which  he  found  very  profitable 
and  the  sure  source  of  a  handsome  income.  Being 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


771 


among  the  earliest  settlers  of  LaValley,  he  very 
naturally  manifested  a  lively  interest  in  its  devel- 
opment, accordingly  he  assisted  other  settlers  to 
secure  homes,  and  in  many  other  ways  proved  a 
benefit  to  them  until  they  succeeded  in  getting  a 
substantial  start  in  the  new  country.  He  not  only 
exercised  a  strong  influence  in  the  material  af- 
fairs of  his  township,  but  took  an  active  part  in 
public  matters  and  at  different  times  held  every 
township  office  within  the  gift  of  the  people,  prov- 
ing in  all  of  these  positions  a  capable,  trust- 
Avorthy  and  exceedingly  popular  and  accommo- 
dating official.  Mr.  Wood  believed  in  the  gospel 
of  honest  toil  and  throughout  life  was  a  great 
worker  and  made  his  industry  and  thrift  redound 
greatly  to  his  financial  advantage.  He  not  only 
established  a  fine  home  and  acquired  a  sufficiency 
of  worldly  wealth  to  render  his  condition  inde- 
pendent, but  also  assisted  his  older  children  to 
get  a  start  in  life,  besides  providing  handsomely 
for  his  wife  and  the  younger  members  of  the  fam- 
ily against  the  day  of  his  death,  an  event  which, 
unfortunately  for  them  and  the  community,  took 
place  at  a  time  when  it  was  thought  he  could  least 
be  spared.  This  kind  neighbor  and  estimable 
citizen,  after  an  active  and  useful  life  of  nearly 
sixty  years,  was  called  from  the  scenes  of  his 
earthly  toils  and  achievements  on  the  27th  day  of 
.■\ugust,  1 90 1,  his  death  being  deeply  lamented, 
not  only  by  his  immediate  family  and  relations, 
but  also  by  a  large  circle  of  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances in  La\^alley  township  and  throughout  the 
county.  Six  months  before  his  death  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  \\'ood  left  the  farm  and  moved  to  the  village 
of  Worthing,  where  she  has  a  comfortable  home, 
in  which  she  has  since  lived  a  life  of  quiet  retire- 
ment. She  is  highly  esteemed  wherever  known, 
stands  high  in  the  confidence  of  the  people  of 
Worthing,  and  by  her  excellent  character  and 
many  kind  deeds  exercises  a  gentle  but  whole- 
some influence  among  all  with  whom  she  mingles. 
She  has  been  twice  married,  her  former  husband, 
Davis  Lippincott,  a  farmer  and  soldier,  of  West 
Union,  Iowa,  having  been  killed  in  battle  at  Jules- 
burg,  Colorado,  in  the  year  1863. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wood  reared  a  family  of  four 
children,  the  oldest  of  whom,  a  daughter  by  the 


name  of  Arminta,  is  the  wife  of  George  \'oger, 
a  farmer  of  Lincoln  county,  and  the  mother  of  a 
son,  Floyd ;  Herbert  L.,  the  second  in  order  of 
birth,  served  one  and  a  half  years  as  a  soldier  m 
the  late  Spanish-American  war,  and  is  now  a 
prosperous  young  farmer  of  LaValley  township ; 
Franklin  L.,  also  a  farmer  and  stock  raiser,  man- 
ages the  homestead  in  LaValley,  and  is  one  of 
the  enterprising  citizens  of  his  community;  he 
married  Miss  Ila  Grace,  of  Canton,  South  Da- 
kota, who  has  borne  him  two  children,  Ray  and 
Bernice ;  Eddie,  the  youngest  of  the  family,  is  un- 
married, and  lives  at  home  with  his  mother, 
managing  her  interests  and  looking  after  her 
comfort.  Mrs.  Wood  is  a  Methodist  in  her  re- 
ligious belief  and  is  one  of  the  respected  and  use- 
ful members  of  the  local  church  at  Worthing. 
]\Ir.  Wood  also  subscribed  to  the  same  belief,  and 
for  a  number  of  years  was  a  faithful  and  consist- 
ent communicant  of  the  above  congregation,  for 
the  material  support  of  which  he  contributed  lib- 
erally as  long  as  he  lived.  Fraternally  he  was  an 
active  worker  in  the  Odd  Fellows  order,  at 
Worthing,  and  his  name  appears  among  the  first 
on  the  records  of  the  Grand  Army  post  at  Can- 
ton. Politically  he  was  a  staunch  Republican, 
and  as  such  rendered  valuable  service  to  his 
part}  in  Lincoln  county,  having  long  been  one 
of  its  standard  bearers  in  this  part  of  South 
Dakota. 


ARTHUR  G.  HILL  is  a  native  of  War- 
wickshire, England,  where  he  was  born  on  the 
7th  of  December.  1863,  being  a  son  of  Thomns 
and  Harriet  L.  (Briant)  Hill,  of  whose  five  chil- 
dren four  are  living.  The  father  of  the  subject 
was  a  watch  manufacturer  and  he  died  in  his 
native  land,  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven  years,  while 
his  wife  recently  passed  away  at  the  age  of 
seventy-two  years.  Arthur  G.  Hill  received  his 
early  educational  training  in  the  common 
schools  of  his  native  county,  completing  a  course 
in  the  high  school  at  Coventn-  and  thereafter 
continuing  his  studies  in  Northampton  College, 
where  he  remained  four  years.  He  passed  the 
examination     for     matriculation     in    Cambridge 


772 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


University,  but  instead  of  entering  this  world- 
famed  institution  turned  his  attention  to  business 
atiairs.  He  was  employed  for  six  years  in  the 
office  of  a  prominent  business  concern  in  the  city 
of  Liverpool,  and  at  the  expiration  of  this 
period,  in  1884,  he  severed  the  home  ties  and  set 
forth  to  seek  his  fortunes  in  the  new  world.  He 
landed  in  the  city  of  New  York  and  shortly  after- 
ward started  for  the  territory  of  Dakota,  here  to 
establish  a  home  amid  scenes  and  conditions  radi- 
cally different  from  those  which  he  had  pre- 
viously known.  He  located  in  Buffalo  county  in 
April,  1884,  and  was  here  engaged  in  ranching 
for  six  years,  his  energ}^  and  discrimination  en- 
abling him  to  attain  success  in  connection  with 
his  new  industrial  venture,  while  he  became  the 
owner  of  a  valuable  farm  of  three  hundred  and 
twenty  acres.  In  the  spring  of  1897  hs  took  up 
his  residence  in  Gann  ^"alley,  where  he  became 
associated  with  Ellsworth  E.  Dye  in  the  real- 
estate  business,  under  the  firm  name  of  Dye  & 
Hill.  They  also  purchased  the  Dakota  Chief, 
a  weekly  paper,  of  which  they  have  since  con- 
tinued editors  and  publishers,  the  paper  being  an 
effective  representative  of  local  interests  and  of 
the  principles  of  the  Republican  party.  The 
firm  still  continue  their  real-estate  enterprise, 
which  has  become  one  of  no  inconsiderable  scope 
and  importance,  and  they  have  the  only  set  of 
abstracts  of  titles  in  the  county.  In  November, 
1898,  Messrs.  Hill  and  Dye  gave  a  further  ex- 
emplification of  their  enterprising  spirit  by 
establishing  the  Bank  of  Buffalo  Countv,  which 
they  still  conduct,  the  institution  being  one  of  the 
solid  monetary  concerns  of  the  state  and  secur- 
ing a  representative  su]3port. 

INIr.  Hill  is  a  stanch  advocate  of  the  prin- 
ciples and  policies  of  the  Republican  party  and 
is  a  zealous  worker  in  its  cause,  being  at  the 
present  time  a  member  of  the  state  central  com- 
mittee, as  a  representative  of  this  county.  In 
1890  he  was  elected  county  auditor,  in  which 
capacity  he  served  four  years,  while  in  1894  he 
was  elected  register  of  deeds,  of  which  position 
he  was  incumbent  for  two  years.  He  is  well 
known  throughout  the  county  and  both  he  and 
his  coadjutor,  IVlr.  Dye.  are  held  in  the  highest 


esteem  as  careful,  reliable  and  progressive  busi- 
ness men  and  public-spirited  citizens.  Air.  Hill 
is  also  one  of  the  stockholders  in  the  co-operative 
creamery,  a  prosperous  enterprise  in  Gann 
Valley,  and  is  at  the  present  time  treasurer  of 
the  company  controlling  and  operating  the 
same.  Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the  ]Ma- 
sonic  order  and  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen.  He  is  one  of  the  trustees  of  the 
Gann  Valley  Congregational  church. 

On  the  iSth  of  March,  1890,  Mr.  Hall  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  M.  Stroud,  a 
daughter  of  John  Stroud,  a  prominent  resident 
of  Buffalo  county,  and  of  this  union  have  been 
born  two  children,  Olive  L.  and  Florence  C. 
]\Irs.  Hill  was  born  and  reared  in  Polk  county, 
Iowa,  and  is  prominent  in  the  social  life  of  her 
home  citv. 


OLE  KJELDSETH.— In  taking  up  the  per- 
sonal history  of  Ole  Kjeldseth  we  present  to  our 
readers  the  life  record  of  one  of  the  worthy  sons 
of  Norway,  who  has  become  a  loyal  defender  of 
America  and  her  institutions.  He  has  enjoyed 
her  business  opportunities  and  by  the  improve- 
ment of  the  advantages  with  which  he  has  been 
surrounded  he  has  won  for  himself  very  comfort- 
able living  and  a  desirable  property.  He  is  also 
one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Yankton  county, 
his  residence  covering  one-third  of  a  century. 

Mr.  Kjeldseth  was  born  in  Bye,  Wardalen, 
Norway.  March  20,  1835,  and  left  that  country 
in  1864,  settling  first  at  Muskegon,  Michigan. 
He  there  worked  in  a  sawmill  for  two  and  a  half 
years,  after  which  he  engaged  in  farming  in  Wis- 
consin. Later  he  returned  to  his  native  land  upon 
a  visit  and  spent  three  years  there,  but  in  1870 
again  came  to  the  United  States,  locating  in 
South  Dakota  on  the  15th  of  September  of  that 
\ear.  He  held  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of 
land  and  for  a  time  lived  in  true  pioneer  style, 
his  original  home  here  being  a  dugout.  As  time 
has  passed  prosperity  has  attended  his  efforts  and 
he  now  has  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land, 
of  which  two  hundred  acres  is  under  cultivation. 
Between  the  years  1870  and  1874  he  lost  heavily 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


771 


because  of  the  destruction  of  his  crops  by  grass- 
lioppers.  In  1889  he  built  a  fine  barn  upon  his 
place  and  in  1880  had  replaced  the  little  pioneer 
home  by  a  splendid  residence.  He  raises  cattle 
and  hog-s  and  because,  of  his  practical  methods 
he  is  meeting  with  success  in  all  that  he  under- 
takes. 

On  the  2ist  of  June,  i860,  j\lr.  Kjeldseth  was 
married  to  Miss  Sarah  Kuntson,  also  a  native  of 
Norway,  and  they  have  four  children  :  Ellen,  the 
wife  of  Augustus  Holm,  a  farmer;  George  F., 
who  is  married  to  Johanna  Sothe  and  follows 
farming;  Karl,  who  wedded  Mary  Abilson  and 
is  a  farmer ;  Mary,  the  wife  of  S.  Erickson,  a 
di-uggist  of  Sioux  Falls,  South  Dakota. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Kjeldseth  is  an  earri- 
est  Republican,  believing  firmly  in  the  principles 
of  the  party  and  upon  its  ticket  he  has  been  elected 
to  several  public  offices.  He  sei-ved  as  county 
commissioner  for  three  years,  was  justice  of  the 
peace  for  seven  years  and  for  twenty  years  has 
served  as  a  school  officer.  His  son  George  has 
been  a  member  of  the  township  board  and  his 
son  Karl  is  now  clerk  of  the  township  and  both 
belong  to  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America.  The 
subject  is  pleasantly  located  on  a  farm  on  section 
24,  township  55,  range  54,  where  he  is  surrounded 
bv  many  of  the  comforts  of  life,  all  acquired 
through  his  energy  and  diligence  in  former  years. 
He  gave  to  his  children  good  educational  privi- 
leges and  has  also  divided  much  of  his  land 
among  them  so  that'  they  now  have  nice  homes 
and  are  among  the  progressive  farming  people  of 
Yankton  county.  Sound  business  judgment,  keen 
discernment,  unfaltering  labor  and  perseverance 
have  been  the  elements  which  have  contributed  to 
the  success  of  Mr.  Kjeldseth  and  made  him  one  of 
the  worthy  and  representative  citizens  of  Yank- 
ton county.  He  has  made  three  trips  to  Europe 
since  his  arrival  in  this  country,  and  expects  to  re- 
peat the  journey  again  soon. 


FRANK  M.  BROWNSON.— The  enter- 
prising spirit  which  has  been  the  dominant  factor 
in  the  wonderful  development  of  the  west  is 
manifested  in  the  life  record  of  Mr.   Erownson, 


who  is  a  most  energetic  and  progressive  voung 
farmer  of  Yankton  county.  He  was  born  in 
North  Dakota,  April  28,  1869,  his  parents  being 
Almon  C.  and  Hannah  J.  (Judd)  Brownson, 
the  former  a  native  of  Connecticut  and  the  latter 
of  the  Empire  state.  They  lived  in  New  York 
for  thirty  years  and  the  father  there  engaged  in 
farming.  In  1864  he  came  to  the  west,  settling 
in  South  Dakota.  He  traveled  across  the  coun- 
try from  Iowa  and  on  reaching  his  destination 
purchased  a  farm  near  Mechling,  this  state. 
After  a  year,  however,  he  came  to  Yankton 
county  and  secured  a  claim  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  government  land,  upon  which  not 
a  furrow  had  been  turned  or  an  improvement 
made.  Indians  still  visited  the  neighborhood 
and  pioneer  conditions  existed  on  every  hand, 
but  with  resolute  purpose  Mr.  Brownson  began 
the  development  of  his  farm  and  the  establish- 
ment of  his  home  on  this  western  district.  He 
improved  his  place  and  has  since  lived  upon  it, 
making  it  a  very  attractive  and  desirable  fann. 
His  political  support  is  given  to  the  Republican 
party,  of  which  he  has  ever  been  an  earnest  ad- 
vocate. His  wife  passed  away  in  November, 
1895,  in  the  faith  of  the  Methodist  church,  of 
which  she  was  long  a  devoted  member.  In  their 
family  were  eight  children:  Frederick  E.,  Daniel 
E.,  Carrie,  ^lary,  Herbert,  Martha  J.,  George 
and  Frank.  They  also  lost  one  child  that  died 
in  infancy. 

The  members  of  the  household  were  pro- 
vided with  good  educational  privileges,  which 
Frank  M.  Brownson  enjoyed  and  whereby  he 
became  fitted  for  life's  practical  and  responsible 
duties.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  years  he  took 
charge  of  the  home  farm  and  during  the  past 
eleven  years  he  has  rented  this  place,  carrying  on 
agricultural  pursuits. 

On  the  .^oth  of  June,  1891,  l\Ir.  Brownson 
was  united  in  marriage  to  J\Iiss  Maggie  Seddon, 
a  daughter  of  Henry  and  .A-gnes  (Weir)  Seddon, 
both  of  whom  were  natives  of  Pennsylvania, 
whence  they  came  to  South  Dakota  in  1882,  the 
father  purchasing  the  farm  near  Yankton.  He 
became  well  known  as  a  successful  agriculturist 
and  his  death,  which  occurred  in   IMarch.   1894, 


774 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


was  deeply  deplored  by  many  friends.  His  wife 
has  since  become  the  wife  of  Rev.  J.  L.  Grey 
and  now  lives  upon  the  old  homestead.  Unto 
Mr.  and  Mrs,.  Brownson  have  been  born  four 
children:  Ethel,  eleven  years  of  age;  Edgar, 
seven  vears  of  age;  Dorothy,  a  little  maiden  of 
four  years;  and  Roy,  who  completes  the  family 
at  the  age  of  two  years.  The  parents  hold  mem- 
bership in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and 
Mr.  Brownson  is  connected  with  the  jNIodern 
Woodmen  of  America,  while  in  political  faith  he 
is  a  Republican.  Having  spent  all  of  his  life 
in  this  county,  he  is  well  known  and  the  fact 
that  many  of  his  stanchest  friends  are  those  with 
whom  he  has  been  acquainted  from  his  boyhood 
days  is  an  indication  that  his  has  been  an  honor- 
able and  upright  career. 


DAVID  H.  WEEKS,  who  is  one  of  the  ven- 
erable and  highly  honored  citizens  of  Hand 
countv,  where  he  is  the  owner  of  a  valuable  ranch 
of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  has  the  dis- 
tinction of  being  a  pioneer  of  two  states,  having 
settled  in  Illinois  in  1859  and  having  come  to 
Hand  county,  South  Dakota,  in  the  days  when  its 
settlement  had  just  been  instituted. 

Mr.  Weeks  was  born  in  Herkimer  county. 
New  York,  on  the  29th  of  March,  1821,  being  a 
son  of  Levi  and  Jane  (HoUenbeck)  Weeks,  of 
whose  twelve  children  the  subject  is  the  only 
representative  in  South  Dakota.  The  subject 
was  reared  on  the  homestead  farm,  and  he  early 
became  inured  to  the  strenuous  toil  involved, 
while  his  educational  advantages  were  such  as 
were  afforded  in  the  common  schools  of  the  lo- 
calitv  and  period.  He  continued  to  attend 
school  at  intervals  until  he  had  attained  the  age 
of  eighteen  years,  and  thereafter  continued  to  be 
associated  with  his  honored  father  in  the  work 
and  management  of  the  home  farm  until  he  was 
twentv-nine  years  of  age.  He  was  then,  on  the 
15th  of  January,  185 1,  united  in  marriage  to 
]\Iiss  Eliza  Shaul,  who  likewise  was  born  in  the 
old  Empire  state,  being  a  daughter  of  John  B. 
Shaul,  a  prominent  farmer  of  Herkimer  counts-. 
After  his  marriage  Mr.  Weeks  purchased  a  farm 


in  Herkimer  county.  Xew  York,  and  devoted 
himself  to  its  improvement  and  cultivation  for  the 
ensuing  six  years,  when  he  disposed  of  the  prop- 
erty. In  the  same  year,  1859,  he  removed  to 
Illinois  and  located  in  Ogle  count}-,  where  he  pur- 
chased a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres, 
upon  which  he  continued  to  reside  'until 
1883,  when  he  came  to  what  is  now  the 
state  of  South  Dakota,  having  previously- 
sold  his  farm  in  Illinois.  Upon  his  arrival 
in  Hand  county  he  secured  homestead  and.  pre- 
emption claims,  in  Pearl  township,  and  the  same 
comprise  his  present  finely  improved  and  valu- 
able ranch,  while  on  every  side  are  evidences  of 
the  energy  and  good  judgment  which  he  has 
brought  to  bear  in  connection  with  his  farming 
industry  during  the  score  of  intervening  years 
which  have  wrought  such  magical  changes  in 
this  section  of  the  Union.  He  is  one  of  the  most 
successful  farmers  and  stock  raisers  of  the  county 
and  as  a  man  and  citizen  commands  the  most 
unqualified  esteem  in  the  community.  Though  he 
is  an  octogenarian  his  years  rest  lightly  upon  his 
head  and  he  is  a  man  of  great  physical  and  men- 
tal vigor,  though  he  now  relegates  the  more  oner- 
ous work  of  the  ranch  to  his  sons.  Though  not  a 
member  of  any  religious  body  he  is  a  firm  be- 
liever in  the  Christian  faith  and  gives  his  support 
to  church  work,  regardless  of  denominational 
lines.  His  political  views  are  in  harmony  with 
the  principles  exempHfied  by  the  Populist  party. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Meeks,  who  have  walked  side  by 
side  on  the  journey  of  life  for  more  than  half  a 
century,  are  the  parents  of  seven  children, 
namely :  John,  Ida,  Alma,  Dayton,  Albert,  Henry 
and  George. 


JOPIN  H.  Mclaughlin.  —  Famillarly 
known  throughout  the  northwest  as  "Major" 
jNIcLaughlin,  the  honored  subject  of  this  sketch 
has  had  an  eventful  career,  having  followed  the 
sea  for  a  number  of  years,  been  in  the  govern- 
ment service  at  the  time  of  the  Civil  war,  and 
later  having  seen  long,  arduous  and  perilous 
service  as  a  member  of  the  regular  army  on  the 
great  frontier  at  a  time  when  the  Indians  were 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


a  constant  menace.  He  is  a  sturdy  type  of  the 
pioneers  of  the  northwest,  is  now  custodian  of 
Fort  Randall,  in  Gregory  county,  and  though 
venerable  in  years,  maintains  the  mental  and 
physical  vigor  which  little  indicate  his  age  or  the 
strenuous  duties  which  have  fallen  to  him  in 
the  past. 

Major  ^McLaughlin  was  born  in  the  city  of 
Limerick,  Ireland,  on  the  22d  of  June.  1826, 
being  a  son  of  William  and  Mary  ^IcLaughlin, 
the  former  being  of  Scotch  lineage  and  the 
latter  of  Irish.  Our  subject  received  good  edu- 
cational advantages  in  his  native  city,  where  he 
completed  a  course  of  study  in  a  classical  school. 
In  1847,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  he 
sailed  before  the  mast  and  continued  thereafter 
to  follow  the  sea  for  a  period  of  about  seven 
years,  within  which  time  he  visited  many  of  the 
principal  ports  of  the  world  and  met  with  nu- 
merous perils  and  adventures.  He  was  in  two 
or  three  shipwrecks,  and  at  one  time  the  vessel 
on  which  he  sailed  was  wrecked  and  lay  for 
thirty-seven  days  before  .those  on  board  were 
rescued  by  another  ship,  all  hojje  having  been 
practically  abandoned.  Soon  after  this  memor- 
able voyage  Major  McLaughlin  sailed  from  St. 
Thomas,  West  Indies,  for  Calcutta,  India,  and 
upon  reaching  that  port  he  was  ofifered  a  posi- 
tion as  chief  of  the  native  police,  but  as  he  was 
unable  to  speak  the  vernacular  of  the  country 
he  felt  compelled  to  decline  the  appointment. 
Shortly  afterward  he  was  attacked  by  the 
dreaded  Asiatic  cholera  and  smallpox  and  his 
strong  constitution  alone  enabled  him  to  recover, 
though  he  was  indebted  to  careful  nursing  by  a 
native  woman  after  the  English  physicians  had 
pronounced  his  case  hopeless.  Shortly  after  his 
recovery  he  sailed  for  the  West  Indies  and 
thence  came  to  Baltimore,  Maryland,  in  1846. 
where  he  abandoned  for  the  time  a  seafaring  life. 
As  a  young  man  he  had  learned  the  trade  of 
paper  making,  and  he  was  employed  at  the  same 
for  a  time  in  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  New  York. 
There,  in  T850,  he  enlisted  as  a  member  of  the 
mounted  rifles  of  the  Third  United  States  Cav- 
alry, in  which  he  was  eventually  promoted  to 
the  office  of  first  sergeant,  being  discharged  as 


such  at  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service. 
He  soon  after  re-enlisted,  becoming  a  member 
of  the  Sixth  Cavalry,  in  which  he  served  several 
years  under  General  Miles  on  the  western  fron- 
tier, taking  part  in  many  expeditions  against 
the  Cheyenne,  Arapahoe,  Comanche  and  other 
warlike  tribes  of  Indians.  In  1864  he  left  the 
army  and  shipped  as  a  seaman  on  the  United 
States  steamship  "Virginia,"  which  was  making 
ready  for  war.  He  was  later  transferred  to  the 
government  steamship  "Ida."  While  on  the 
man-of-war  he  participated  in  the  taking  of  Mo- 
bile, Fort  Gaines.  Blakely  and  Spanish  Fort  and 
thus  aided  in  the  dismemberment  of  the  Con- 
federacy. While  the  "Ida"  was  proceeding  down 
Mobile  bay  under  a  full  head  of  steam  a  great 
obstruction  was  encountered  in  the  channel  and, 
as  the  Major  expresses  it,  the  vessel  was  literally 
"blown  into  a  thousand  pieces."  Many  of  the 
crew  were  killed  or  wounded  and  drowned,  but 
Major  McLaughlin  managed  to  keep  afloat  on 
a  piece  of  timber,  though  seriously  injured,  and 
was  finally  picked  up  by  the  steamer  "Talla- 
hatchie." He  finally  recovered  from  his  injuries 
and  a  few  months  after  receiving  his  discharge 
he  enlisted  as  a  soldier  in  the  Third  United 
States  Infantry,  which  was  thereafter  stationed 
for  a  short  time  at  Fort  Lamed,  Kansas,  and 
later  the  subject  became  a  member  of  the  Sixth 
Cavalry,  with  which  he  was  in  many  spirited 
engagements  with  the  Indians,  being  much  of 
the  time  in  the  command  of  General  Miles.  In 
;  1874,  his  former  term  of  enlistment  having  ex- 
pired, the  Major  re-enlisted,  as  a  member  of 
the  Eighth  Cavalry,  with  which  he  again  served 
under  Miles,  and  during  this  term  of  service  he 
again  met  with  many  hazardous  and  dangerous 
exploits.  Since  1877  the  Major  has  lived  retired 
from  active  service,  residing  at  Fort  Randall, 
where  he  held  the  office  of  wagon  master  and 
forra-\-  master  for  several  years,  while  from  1891 
to  1897  he  was  postmaster  at  the  fort,  while 
since  1892  he  has  been  custodian  of  the  fort.  It 
is  signally  fitting  that  this  valiant  and  honored 
old  sailor  and  soldier  of  the  republic  should  be 
thus  placed,  and  it  is  a  pleasure  for  his  many 
friends   throughout  the  northwest  to  know  that 


7/6 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


this  historic  government  post  is  under  his 
charge.  The  Major  is  a  stalwart  Repnbhcan  in 
poHtics,  and  fraternally  is  identified  with  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Alasonic  order, 
in  which  last  he  has  attained  the  Knights  Tem- 
plar degrees.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Army 
and  Navy  Union,  while  he  served  for  three 
terms  as  cominander  of  his  post  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic.  In  1883  Major  Mc- 
Laughlin was  united  in  marriage  to  Mrs.  Mar- 
garet Moran,  widow  of  Michael  Moran.  She 
was  born  in  County  Clare,  Ireland,  being  a 
daughter  of  Patrick  Fitzgibbon  and  Susan 
Price,  of  the  town  of  Kelkee,  Ireland.  Mrs. 
■McLaughlin  has  four  children,  two  boys  and  two 
girls :  Dennis.  J-  F.,  Mary  Ann  and  Louisa  C. 
Moran,  all  living. 


GUSTA\'E  RIEDER  is  one  of  those  enter- 
prising and  industrious  citizens  of  Gregory  count}- 
who  have  won  distinctive  success  in  connection 
with  the  development  of  its  agricultural  resources, 
and  he  is  entitled  to  mention  in  this  work.  Mr. 
Rieder  is  a  native  of  the  province  of  Baden,  Ger- 
many, where  he  was  born  on  the  3d  of  June,  1846, 
being  a  son  of  Leopold  and  IMary  Rieder,  to 
whom  were  born  three  children,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  being  the  eldest  and  the  only  repre- 
sentative of  the  immediate  family  in  the  United 
States.  The  other  children  are  August  and 
Fidelia.  The  father  was  a  butcher  by  trade  and 
vocation  and  both  he  and  his  wife  have  been 
deceased  for  a  number  of  years,  having  been  peo- 
ple of  sterling  character. 

Gustave  Rieder  secured  his  educational  train- 
ing in  the  excellent  national  schools  of  his  native 
land,  where  he  was  reared  to  the  age  of  nineteen 
years,  when  he  valiantly  set  forth  to  seek  his 
fortunes  in  .Vmerica,  whither  he  came  in  1863,  as 
a  stranger  in  a  strange  hnd.  After  his  arrival 
he  passed  a  few  months  in  the  cities  of  Xew 
York  and  Philadelphia,  where  he  was  identified 
with  the  butchering  business,  having  learned  the 
trade  in  the  Fatherland.  That  his  lovalty  to  the 
institutions  of  his  adopted  country  soon  became  a 


prominent  characteristic  is  evidenced  by  the  fact 
that  in  1865  he  enlisted  in  the  United  States 
army,  as  a  member  of  Company  C,  Fifth  Artil- 
!  lery,  with  which  he  was  stationed  at  Fortress 
Monroe,  \"irginia,  about  three  years,  receiving  his 
honorable  discharge  in  February,  1869.  Soon 
afterward  he  re-enlisted,  becoming  a  member  of 
the  Sixth  Cavalr)-,  which  was  assigned  to  duty  in 
Texas.  He  was  thus  stationed  for  one  year  at 
Fort  Richardson,  that  state,  and  his  command 
was  then  sent  to  Kansas  to  assist  General  Custer 
in  his  operations  against  the  hostile  Indians.  Mr. 
Rieder  did  much  scouting  duty  in  this  connection 
and  later  was  in  active  service  against  the  Indi- 
ans in  various  portions  of  the  west  and  north- 
west, serving  under  General  Miles  and  making 
an  enviable  record  for  bravery  and  fidelity  to  duty, 
having  taken  part  in  many  spirited  skirmishes  and 
battles.  Finally  his  command  was  sent  to  relieve 
the  Fifth  Cavalry  in  Arizona,  and  thereafter  he 
served  until  the  expiration  of  his  second  term, 
on  the  20th  of  July,  1875,  when  he  received  his 
honorable  discharge.  His  military  ardor  was  not 
yet  satisfied,  however,  and  he  soon  afterward  en- 
listed as  a  member  of  the  First  United  States 
Infantry,  with  which  he  was  stationed  at  Fort 
Randall,  in  what  is  now  Gregory  countv.  South 
Dakota.  He  was  with  his  command  in  the  Black 
Hills  for  one  year  and  then  returned  to  Fort  Ran- 
dall, in  which  vicinity  he  has  made  his  home 
since  1875,  having  received  his  final  discharge 
from  the  service  in  1878.  Upon  the  opening  of 
the  reservation,  in  1897,  Mr.  Rieder  took  up  a 
quarter  section  of  land,  having  previously  lived 
on  the  reservation  through  the  special  permission 
of  the  secretary  of  war,  and  for  some  time  he  here 
operated  a  dairv  farm,  from  which  he  supplied 
Fort  Randall.  He  has  made  good  impi-ovements 
on  his  farm  and  now  has  forty  acres  under  eflfect- 
ive  cultivation,  devoted  principally  to  the  raising 
of  corn,  while  he  has  also  been  very  successful 
in  the  raising  of  live  stock  of  high  grade,  being 
one  of  the  energetic  and  progressive  farmers  of 
this  section.  In  politics  Mr.  Rieder  is  a  stanch 
Republican,  and  he  served  two  years  as  justice 
of  the  peace  and  four  years  as  county  assessor. 
His  religious  faith  is  that  of  the  Catholic  church. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


777 


and  fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the  lodge 
of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  at  Fort 
Randall  and  also  with  the  Army  and  Navy 
Union.  He  takes  much  interest  in  local  affairs 
and  has  served  as  a  school  officer  in  addition  to 
the  positions  previously  mentioned.  He  is  held 
in  high  esteem  as  one  of  the  sterling  pioneers  of 
the  state  and  as  one  who  deserves  well  of  the 
nation  in  whose  service  he  made  so  excellent  a 
record. 

In  1876  Mr.  Rieder  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Susan  Carroll,  daughter  of  John  Carroll, 
at  that  time  a  resident  of  Fort  Randall,  and  of 
this  union  have  been  born  six  children,  namely: 
Mary  and  Nellie  (twins),  Gustave  C,  Lizzie, 
Lucv  and  Susan. 


SOREN  MIKKELSON.— With  the  agricul- 
tural interests  of  Yankton  county.  South  Dakota, 
this  gentleman  has  been  actively  identified  since 
his  youth  and  he  is  today  regarded  as  one  of  the 
most  progressive  and  enterprising  farmers  of  his 
locality.  Like  many  of  the  leading  citizens  of  this 
state,  he  was  born  in  Denmark,  his  birth  occur- 
ring on  the  14th  of  February,  1865.  His  parents, 
Ole  and  Karen  Alikkelson,  were  also  natives  of 
that  country,  whence  they  emigrated  to  America 
in  1875,  first  locating  in  Illinois,  where  the  father 
worked  for  two  years.  In  1878  he  brought  his 
family  to  South  Dakota  and  here  made  his  home 
until  two  months  before  his  death,  when  he  re- 
turned to  Denmark,  dying  there  in  July,  1902. 
His  wife  had  departed  this  life  the  year  previous. 

Amid  frontier  scenes  Soren  Mikkelson  grew 
to  manhood,  early  acquiring  an  excellent  knowl- 
edge of  farm  work  in  all  its  various  departments. 
He  is  now  the  owner  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  of  good  land,  eighty  acres  of  which  is  un- 
der cultivation,  and  for  the  past  seven  years  he 
has  devoted  his  attention  to  dairy  farming.  He 
feeds  all  that  his  farm  produces  to  his  stock  and 
raises  from  seventy  to  one  hundred  head  of  hogs 
per  year. 

In  1890  was  celebrated  the  marriage  of  Mr. 
Mikkelson  and  Miss  Kitty  Stockland,  who  is  a 
native  of  Haugesund,  Norway,  born  in  1871,  and 


to  them  have  been  born  six  children  :  Ole,  Jennie, 
Walter  C,  Alma,  Roy  and  Herman.  The  family 
have  a  pleasant  home  erected  in  1900,  and  the 
barn  upon  the  farm  was  built  in  1898.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Mikkelson  hold  membership  in  the  Lutheran 
church  and  he  is  a  supporter  of  the  Republican 
party  and  its  principles.  He  takes  a  deep  interest 
in  educational  affairs  and  at  present  is  capably 
serving  as  chairman  of  the  school  board  in  his 
district.  He  is  at  present  chairman  of  the  school 
board,  vice-president  of  the  Lundquist  Mercan- 
tile Company,  which  was  established  in  1893  and 
incorporated  in  1903,  and  he  is  also  a  director  of 
the  Irene  Creamery,  and  is  supervisor  of  Turkey 
\''alley  township.  To  all  enterprises  which  he 
believes  calculated  to  prove  of  public  benefit  he 
gives  an  earnest  support  and  he  is  accounted  one 
of  the  most  progressive  and  public-spirited  citi- 
zens  of   his   community. 

Mrs.  Mikkelson's  father,  C.  C.  Stockland,  was 
for  thirty  years  a  prominent  business  man  in 
Haugesund,  Norway,  and  in  1887  brought  his 
wife  and  six  children  to  America.  He  died  in 
1895,  while  his  widow  passed  away  in  1902,  their 
farm  passing  into  the  possession  of  their  only 
son,  C.  Stockland. 


ANDREW  JOHNSON  is  one  of  the  prom- 
inent and  successful  farmers,  dairymen  and  stock 
growers  of  Douglas  county,  where  he  has  a  well 
improved  and  most  productive  farm,  and  his  suc- 
cess is  but  the  more  pleasing  to  note  in  view  of 
the  circumstances  that  it  has  been  gained  entirely 
through  his  own  efforts,  which  have  been  so  di- 
rected as  to  retain  to  him  the  unqualified  esteem 
of  all  who  know  him.  He  was  reared  and  edu- 
cated in  his  native  land,  Denmark,  where  he  con- 
tinued to  reside  until  1873,  when  he  emigrated  to 
America,  settling  in  Hartford,  Connecticut, 
where  he  resided  until  1877,  when  he  came  west 
to  Iowa,  where  he  became  the  owner  of  several 
farms,  being  there  successfully  engaged  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits  until  the  year  1900,  when  he 
disposed  of  his  interests  in  that  state  in  order  to 
cast  in  his  lot  with  the  new  and  progressive  com- 
monweahh  of  South  Dakota.    He  came  to  Doug- 


778 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


las  county  and  here  purchased  a  half  section  of 
land,  of  which  he  has  placed  fully  two  hundred 
and  twenty  acres  under  most  effective  cultiva- 
tion, while  such  is  the  excellence  of  the  perma- 
nent improvements  that  the  fine  homestead  is  one 
of  the  most  valuable  in  this  section  of  the  state. 
Mr.  Johnson  carried  on  general  farming,  includ- 
ing dairy  farming,  breeding  the  shorthorn  and 
Jersey  types  of  cattle,  of  the  latter  of  which  he 
has  a  fine  herd  of  one  hundred  cattle,  utilizing  the 
same  for  dairying  purposes,  while  he  also  raises 
an  excellent  grade  of  hogs,  and  has  shipped  much 
of  his  own  stock  to  market  in  the  various  seasons. 
In  politics  he  gives  his  support  to  the  Republican 
party,  but  has  never  sought  political  ofifice  of  any 
sort.  He  and  his  wife  are  zealous  members  of 
the  Presbyterian  church. 

In  1861  Mr.  Johnson  was  united  in  marriage, 
in  liis  native  country,  to  ]\Iiss  Hannah  Sorenson, 
and  they  have  one  daughter,  Meta  C,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Henry  Singleman. 


HARRY  D.  JAMES,  the  popular  young 
lawyer  of  Wagner,  belongs  to  a  family  whose 
culture  and  merit  have  given  them  unusual 
prominence  in  the  state  of  their  adoption.  His 
father,  Amos  C.  James,  was  born  in  New  York, 
August  3,  1838.  He  was  brought  to  Illinois 
at  so  early  an  age  that  he  has  hardly  been  able  to 
regard  himself  otherwise  than  as  a  native  of  the 
Sucker  state.  He  had  hardly  completed  his 
fourth  year  when  this  western  migration  took 
place  and  all  of  his  rearing  as  well  as  his  school- 
ing was  obtained  in  the  commonwealth  of  Lin- 
coln, Douglas  and  Grant.  Shortly  after  reach- 
ing manhood,  the  Civil  war  broke  out  and  Mr. 
James  enlisted  in  Company  B,  Ninth  Regiment 
Illinois  A^olunteer  Infantry,  with  which  he  served 
with  a  fidelity  and  gallantry  that  won  him  high 
commendation.  In  January,  1867,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Frances  Hewitt,  a  lady  whose  in- 
telligence and  worth  entitle  her  to  more  than  a 
passing  notice.  She  is  descended  from  the 
famous  New  York  family  of  that  name,  who 
trace  their  pedigree  back  to  the  Revolutionary 
war  period.     Mrs.  James  had  been  a  teacher  be- 


fore her  marriage,  and  after  the  passage  of  the 
Illinois  law  allowing  women  to  hold  certain 
ofUces  connected  with  the  educational  system, 
she  was  one  of  the  fifteen  women  in  the  whole 
state  elected  to  serve  as  a  school  trustee.  She 
filled  this  office  with  such  marked  ability  as  to  be 
urgently  importuned  by  prominent  citizens  to 
accept  political  places  of  various  kinds,  but 
owing  to  her  husband's  objections  she  declined 
all  such  overtures.  By  his  union  with  this 
talented  lady  Mr.  James  became  the  father  of  five 
children,  of  whom  the  four  survivors  are  Harvey, 
Harry  D.,  George  C.  and  Clara.  The  latter  mar- 
ried Walter  Wagner,  of  Bon  Homme  county, 
South  Dakota,  to  which  section  her  father  had 
removed  some  years  ago.  Since  settling  here 
Mr.  James  has  served  three  years  as  commis- 
sioner of  Bon  Homme  county. 

Harn*  D.  James,  the  second  son  and  one  of 
the  brightest  members  of  this  talented  family, 
was  bom  in  Ogle  county,  Illinois,  October  14, 
1869.  He  attended  Yankton  College  after  the 
removal  of  his  father  to  this  state  and  subse- 
quently took  a  course  at  the  agricultural  school 
in  Brookings.  After  completing  his  college  edu- 
cation, he  studied  law  in  the  office  of  Cherry  & 
Powers  at  Sioux  Falls  and  in  due  time  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  of  South  Dakota.  For  one 
year  he  practiced  his  profession  at  Sioux  Falls  , 
and  then  removed  to  Flandreau,  where  he  re-  | 
mained  until  three  years  ago.  During  his  resi-  I 
dence  at  Flandreau  he  was  appointed  state's  at- 
torney of  the  county,  was  retained  in  the  office 
at  the  subsequent  election  and  in  all  served  two 
terms  in  this  important  position.  During  his  in- 
cumbenc}'  Mr.  James  attracted  general  notice  by 
the  vigor  with  which  he  pursued  all  law  viola- 
tions, without  distinction  of  persons  and  utterly 
free  from  fear  or  favor.  Two  of  his  cases  are 
worthv  of  especial  comment  by  reason  of  the 
prominence  of  the  parties  and  the  peculiarly  ex- 
citing circumstances  accompanying  the  prosecu- 
tion. One  of  these  was  the  case  of  the  state 
against  Wilson,  the  charge  being  murder  in  cold 
blood  of  a  farm  hand,  which  caused  wide- 
spread comment  throughout  that  section.  In 
spite    of   a   vigorous    defense   by    eminent   legal 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


779 


talent,  Mr.  James,  after  a  protracted  trial,  se- 
cured a  conviction  and  the  defendant  is  now 
serving  a  life-sentence  in  the  state  penitentiary. 
Another  "cause  celebre"  in  which  Mr.  James 
played  the  star  role,  was  the  prosecution  of  a 
man  accused  of  adultery,  which  attracted  much 
interest  on  account  of  the  prominence  of  the 
parties  concerned.  In  this  case  also,  notwith- 
standing the  hardest  fight  that  could  be  put  up  by 
money  and  hired  talent,  the  plucky  young  prose- 
cutor succeeded  in  convicting  his  man.  About 
a  year  ago  Mr.  James  opened  a  law  office  at 
Wagner,  and  combines  professional  work  with 
stock  raising.  His  ideals  of  the  law  are  derived 
from  a  study  of  the  lives  and  examples  of  the 
great  jurists  of  England  and  America,  whose 
decisions  have  so  enriched  the  love  of  the  pro- 
fession and  he  aims  to  conduct  all  his  business 
on  the  high  lines  of  rectitude  and  morality.  Mr. 
James  believes  most  sincerely  that  an  attorney, 
in  his  intercourse  with  the  public,  should  be  like 
Ceasar's  wife — not  only  virtuous,  but  above  sus- 
picion. 

In  1895  Mr.  James  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Emeline  Seaman,  of  Flandreau,  and 
they  have  an  only  daughter  who  has  been  chris- 
tened bv  the  classic  name  of  Lucile. 


BENJAMIN  F.  REYNOLDS,  one  of  the 
prosperous  and  progressive  farmers  and  stock 
growers  of  Charles  Mix  county,  is  a  native  of  the 
state  of  Michigan,  having  been  born  on  a  farm 
in  Van  Buren  county,  on  the  19th  of  December, 
1853,  a  son  of  Benjamin  F.  and  Drusilla  (Whit- 
taker)  Reynolds,  natives  of  the  state  of  Ohio, 
while  both  are  now  deceased,  the  father  having 
been  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Van  Buren  county, 
Michigan,  where  he  gave  his  attention  to  agricul- 
tural pursuits.  This  worthy  couple  became  the 
parents  of  eight  children,  all  of  whom  are  living 
except  one,  the  names  being  here  entered  in  the 
order  of  birth  :  George  E.,  Ensign  M.,  Napoleon 
(deceased),  Newman,  John,  Benjamin  F.,  Lily 
and  Fidelia.  The  subject  secured  his  educational 
training  in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  state 
and  by  personal  application  after  becoming  de- 


pendent upon  his  own  resources,  since  he  missed 
no  opportunity  of  attending  school,  even  for  brief 
intervals,  and  also  continued  his  studies  at  night, 
thus  effectually  rounding  out  a  good  practical 
education.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  years  he  left 
Michigan  and  went  to  Minnesota,  where  he  was 
for  a  time  employed  on  a  farm,  while  later  he  se- 
cured work  in  the  pine  forests  of  Wisconsin,  aid- 
ing in  getting  out  timber  for  the  mills,  while  he 
also  worked  on  the  Mississippi  river  in  Minne- 
sota. During  the  winter  months  he  attended 
school,  while  he  also  attended  night  school  in 
Pierce  county,  Wisconsin.  In  the  autumn  of  1879 
Mr.  Reynolds  was  united  in  marriage  to  Mrs. 
Martha  (Ecker)  Hill,  of  Minnesota,  and  of  this 
union  have  been  born  no  children.  In  1876  Mr. 
Reynolds  came  to'  what  is  now  South  Dakota  and 
located  in  Charles  Mix  county,  this  section  at  the 
time  being  given  over  entirely  to  grazing  pur- 
poses, none  of  the  land  being  under  cultivation. 
Here  he  secured  employment  in  herding  cattle 
and  otherwise  caring  for  live  stock,  while  he 
brought  down  many  deer  and  antelope  with  his 
trusty  rifle,  game  of  all  kinds  being  then  found  in 
abundance.  He  continued  to  be  thus  employed 
for  a  period  of  five  years.  In  1879  he  entered 
claim  to  a  homestead  of  one  hundred  and  sixtv 
acres  near  Wheeler,  the  present  county  seat  of 
Charles  Mix  county,  and  to  his  landed  estate  he 
has  since  added  until  he  is  now  the  owner  of  five 
hundred  acres,  three  hundred  and  forty  acres 
of  which  he  purchased  at  an  average  price  of 
eight  dollars  an  acre,  while  the  same  land  will 
easily  command  thirty  dollars  an  acre  if  placed  on 
the  market  at  the  present  time. 

In  1888  Mr.  Reynolds  established  a  ferry 
across  the  Missouri  river  at  what  was  known 
at  Wheeler  Crossing.  He  began  operations  with 
an  old  flat  boat,  which  he  constructed  by  hand, 
while  later  he  built  a  new  boat,  which  he  operated 
by  tread  power,  while  finally  the  demands  placed 
upon  the  ferry  led  him  to  install  a  gasoline  en- 
gine for  its  operation.  He  conducted  the  ferry 
for  fourteen  years,  the  venture  proving  a  profit- 
able one  in  a  financial  way.  He  sold  his  interest 
in  the  ferry  in  1902  to  S.  M.  Lindley,  who  in  turn 
sold  to  H.  M.  Carroll,  who  still  continues  its  op- 


78o 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


eration.  Mr.  Reynolds  not  only  has  much  of  his 
land  under  cultivation,  but  also  raises  cattle  and 
swine  upon  an  extensive  scale.  He  has  made  ex- 
cellent improvements  on  his  place,  which  has 
good,  substantial  buildings,  while  thrift  and  pros- 
perity are  everywhere  in  evidence,  indicating  the 
energy  and  enterprise  which  he  has  brought  to 
bear  in  his  operations.  In  politics  he  gives  a 
stanch  allegiance  to  the  Republican  party,  frater- 
nally is  identified  with  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen.  Though  not  affiliated  with 
any  religious  society,  the  subject's  strongest  sym- 
pathies are  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
as  that  is  the  faith  in  which  he  was  reared. 


MIKE  CWACH  is  one  of  the  most  extensive 
landowners  of  Yankton  county,  his  possessions 
aggregating  eleven  hundred  and  sixty  acres. 
He  is  a  self-made  man  and  his  life  record  should 
serve  as  a  source  of  encouragement  and  inspir- 
ation to  others,  showing  what  may  be  ac- 
complished through  strong  purpose  and  unfalter- 
ing diligence.  He  was  born  in  Bohemia  in 
1851  and  educated  in  the  schools  of  that  coun- 
try. When  a  youth  of  seventeen  years  he  came 
to  the  United  States;  locating  in  Missouri,  where 
he  remained  for  three  years.  In  1872  he  arrived 
in  Yankton  county,  where  he  entered  land  from 
the  government  and  started  upon  what  has  been 
a  very  successful  career  as  an  agriculturist  and 
stock  raiser. 

In  1878  Mr.  Cwach  married  Miss  Josie 
Beachan,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Beachan,  one  of 
the  pioneer  settlers  of  South  Dakota.  Her  father 
was  born  in  Bohemia  in  1827  and  came  to  this 
state  in  1869,  being  at  the  head  of  a  Bohemian 
colony  which  settled  in  Yankton  county  and 
whose  descendants  are  now  among  the  most  pros- 
perous and  thrifty  citizens  of  this  portion  of  the 
state.  I\Ir.  Beachan  entered  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  land  from  the  government  and 
prior  to  his  death,  which  occurred  in  October, 
1902,  he  had  become  the  owner  of  more  than 
seven  hundred  acres.  He  held  membership  in 
the  Roman  Catholic  church  and  was  a  man  of 
strong  character    and    upright    principles.     He 


wedded  Miss  Lydia  Novak,  who  was  born  in 
Bohemia,  in  which  countr\-  they  were  married. 
She  proved  to  him  a  faithful  companion  and  help- 
mate on  the  journey  of  life  and  was  to  her 
family  a  devoted  wife  and  mother.  She  passed 
away  October  21,  1899.  There  were  seven 
children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beachan,  six  of 
whom  are  yet  living,  namely :  Frank,  Mary, 
Josie  (now  Mrs.  Covack),  Fannie,  Tony  and 
Aton,  all  of  whom  are  well-to-do  farming  peo- 
ple of  Yankton  county.  The  marriage  of  the 
subject  and  his  wife  has  been  blessed  with  ten 
children,  but  one  died  only  a  few  hours  after 
birth  and  another  was  killed  at  the  age  of  two 
years  by  falling  under  the  wheels  of  a  wagon. 
Those  still  living  are  John,  Mary  (the  wife  of 
Jim  Ripple),  Frank,  Lydia  (now  Mrs.  John 
Peterka),  Mctor,  Joe,  Emil,  Emily,  Helen  and 
Georgiana,  all  of  whom  are  still  with  their  par- 
ents with  the  exception  of  the  married  daughters. 
That  Mr.  Cwach  has  had  a  most  successful 
career  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  he  is  today 
the  owner  of  eleven  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
of  land,  of  which  he  rents  four  hundred  and 
eighty  acres,  while  to  the  cultivation  of  the  re- 
maining six  hundred  and  eighty  acres  he  gives 
his  personal  supervision.  He  is  extensively  en- 
gaged in  the  raising  of  stock  and  annually  ships 
a  large  amount  of  stock,  finding  profit  in  that 
work.  He  is  not  allied  with  any  political  party, 
but  casts  his  ballot  in  support  of  the  men  and 
measures  whom  he  thinks  best  qualified  for  office. 
In  religious  faith  he  is  a  Roman  Catholic  and  has 
reared  his  family  in  that  church. 


FRANK  NED\'ED.— The  Bohemian  settle- 
ment of  South  Dakota  is  largely  the  result  of  the 
efforts  of  Frank  Nedved.  His  influence  with  his 
fellow  countrymen  led  them  to  come  to  this  state 
and  to  aid  in  the  settlement  of  a  commonwealth 
which  has  grown  in  importance  until  it  now 
ranks  with  the  leading  states  of  the  Union.  Mr. 
Nedved  was  born  in  Bohemia  on  the  i8th  of  Au- 
gust, 1828,  and  is  yet  an  honored  resident  of 
South  Dakota,  although  he  has  passed  the  seven- 
tv-fifth  mile-stone  on  life's  journey.    He  pursued 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


781 


an  excellent  education  in  the  schools  of  his  native 
country  and  when  he  put  aside  his  text-books  he 
received  training  in  agricultural  pursuits  upon 
his  father's  farm.  At  the  age  of  twenty  years 
he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Veronica  Stad- 
nik,  also  a  native  of  Bohemia.  His  wife's  fortune 
consisted  of  a  nice  farm  which  Mr.  Nedved  man- 
aged until  he  came  to  the  United  States.  As  the 
years  passed  nine  children  were  added  to  the 
household  ere  they  left  their  native  country  and 
in  Ohio  and  also  in  South  Dakota  each  another 
child  was  born,  so  that  the  family  numbered 
eleven  altogether. 

It  was  on  the  7th  of  March,  1867,  that  Mr. 
Nedved  bade  adieu  to  his  native  country  prepar- 
atory to  seeking  a  home  in  the  new  world.  He 
sold  his  property  there  for  seven  thousand  dollars, 
but  because  of  the  depreciation  of  Bohemian 
money  when  it  was  changed  for  other  currency 
he  had  but  thirty-five  hundred  dollars.  Attracted 
by  the  possibilities  of  the  new  world  and  the  ex- 
cellent business  advantages  he  emigrated  to  Amer- 
ica, settling  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  where  he  resided 
for  two  years.  He  then  left  that  state  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  committee  of  intelligent,  enterprising 
Bohemian  people  who  started  ont  to  visit  Da- 
kota and  Nebraska  for  the  purpose  of  locating 
land  for  a  colony  of  about  five  hundred  Bohemian 
families,  who  were  contemplating  the  establish- 
ment of  homes  in  the  northwest.  After  a  careful 
investigation  of  the  land  in  Nebraska  Mr.  Ned- 
ved decided  that  it  did  not  compare  favorably 
with  the  Dakota  land,  hence  reported  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  proposed  colony.  In  1869  he  himself 
demonstrated  his  faith  in  this  portion  of  the 
country  by  settling  in  what  is  now  Yankton 
county,  where  he  secured  a  claim  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  which  was  then  in  possession  of 
the  government.  Not  a  furrow  had  been  turned 
or  an  improvement  made  upon  the  farm  but  he 
at  once  began  its  cultivation  and  soon  good  fields 
returned  to  him  desirable  crops.  He  still  lives 
upon  the  old  family  homestead  with  his  son 
Charles  and  although  he  is  now  seventy-five 
years  of  age  he  is  yet  very  active  and  energetic, 
seeming  to  possess  the  vigor  and  strength  of  a 
man  yet  in  his  prime.     In  1893  Mr.  Nedved  was 


called  upon  to  mourn  the  loss  of  his  wife,  who 
died  on  the  13th  of  November,  of  that  year. 
Their  children  were  as  follows :  Charles,  who 
married  Miss  Annie  Kafka,  a  native  of  Bohemia, 
is  now  operating  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  of 
land  which  he  purchased  from  his  father.  He 
had  three  children  by  his  first  wife,  Anton,  Annie 
and  Beatrice,  but  the  second  named  was  accident- 
ally drowned  by  falling  into  a  well  about  nine 
years  ago.  On  the  loth  of  December,  1895,  the 
death  of  Mrs.  Charles  Nedved  occurred  and  on 
the  26th  of  January,  1897,  he  married  Miss  Annie 
Pechous,  who  was  born  in  Bon  Homme  county. 
South  Dakota,  of  Bohemian  parentage.  This 
v.nion  was  blessed  with  six  children,  four  of 
whom  have  passed  away,  those  living  being  Mol- 
lie,  now  two  years  of  age,  and  Eddie,  a  little  boy 
of  less  than  one  year.  Joseph,  James,  Stanislaus 
and  Anton  are  four  sons  of  Mr.  Nedved,  who  are 
now  prosperous  farmers  of  either  Bon  Homme 
or  Yankton  counties.  Frank,  another  son  of  the 
family,  met  with  a  very  painful  accident  in  1872. 
He  was  caught  in  a  blizzard  and  his  legs  and 
fingers  on  his  right  hand  were  frozen.  This  re- 
sulted ir  the  necessary  amputation  of  both  legs 
and  the  fingers.  He  lives  with  his  brothers  and 
he  has  an  income  from  a  forty-acre  tract  of  land 
lying  within  the  city  limits  of  Tyndall.  Mary 
Nedved  became  the  wife  of  Jacob  Skvaril,  a  la- 
borer of  Yankton  county.  Annie  is  the  wife  of 
I.  A.  Walter,  a  resident  farmer  of  Knox  county, 
Nebraska. 

As  before  stated,  Mr.  Nedved  was  the  pioneer 
among  the  Bohemian  settlers  of  Dakota  and  it 
was  largely  through  his  influence  that  so  many 
people  of  his  nationality  established  homes  here 
and  became  active  and  helpful  factors  in  the  work 
of  general  improvement.  Being  a  man  of  su- 
perior education,  he  vvas  looked  upon  as  a  leader 
of  his  people.  He  is  a  man  of  highest  integrity 
in  both  public  and  private  life  and  over  the  record 
of  his  career  there  falls  no  shadow  of  wrong  or 
suspicion  of  evil.  He  enjoys  the  unqualified  re- 
spect of  the  entire  community  and  was  a  devoted 
and  faithful  member  of  the  Catholic  church,  as 
were  members  of  his  family.  The  first  Catholic 
church    in    Yankton    countv    was   built   on    land 


782 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


owned  by  him  and  the  cemetery  is  also  located 
on  a  tract  which  was  once  the  property  of  Mr. 
Nedved.  Prior  to  the  building  of  this  church  his 
home  was  used  by  the  priest  when  offering  up 
the  sacrifice  of  the  mass  and  it  is  said  that  one- 
half  of  the  Bohemian  settlers  of  this  section  of 
Yankton  county  received  Christian  baptism  in 
the  home  of  Mr.  Nedved.  In  political  thought 
and  action  he  has  always  been  independent,  car- 
rying out  his  honest  views  without  fear  or  favor. 
In  business  he  has  achieved  success  through  hon- 
orable effort,  untiring  industry  and  capable  man- 
agement, and  in  private  life  he  has  gained  that 
warm  personal  regard  which  arises  from  true  no- 
bility of  character,  deference  for  the  opinion  of 
others,  kindliness  and  geniality. 


AMLLIAM  S.  MAJOR  is  one  of  the  honored 
pioneers  of  Hand  county,  in  whose  organization 
and  development  he  has  played  an  important 
part,  while  he  represented  the  county  in  the  state 
senate  for  three  successive  terms  and  is  a  man 
of  prominence  in  industrial  and  civic  affairs  in 
this  section  of  the  state.  He  is  the  owner  of  a 
valuable  landed  estate  of  fifteen  hundred  acres, 
has  been  signally  prospered  in  temporal  affairs 
and  commands  the  unqualified  esteem  of  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  has  so  long  made  his  home. 

Mr.  Major  was  born  in  Qinton  county,  In- 
diana, on  the  23d  of  January,  1851,  being  a  son 
of  George  and  Amanda  (Snoddy)  Major,  the 
former  of  whom  was  there  engaged  in  farming 
until  his  death,  having  been  a  man  of  prominence 
in  his  section  and  having  served  two  years  as 
a  member  of  the  state  senate.  He  died  at  the 
age  of  eighty-two  years  and  his  devoted  wife 
entered  into  eternal  rest  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven 
years.  They  became  the  parents  of  eight  chil- 
dren, of  whom  five  are  living.  The  subject  early 
grew  inured  to  the  strenuous  work  of  the  home- 
stead farm,  in  which  connection  his  services 
were  so  much  in  requisition  that  his  educational 
advantages  were  much  curtailed  during  his 
youth,  this  handicap  having,  however,  been 
full}-  overcome  by  the  lessons  which  he  has 
learned  under  the'  direction  of  that  wisest  of  all 


headmasters,  experience.  He  has  been  a  close 
observer,  has  read  and  studied  with  discrimi- 
nation, and  has  thus  become  a  man  of  marked  in- 
tellectual breadth  and  comprehensiveness  and 
definite  information  in  regard  to  the  questions 
and  issues  of  the  day.  After  leaving  school  Mr. 
Major  continued  to  be  actively  identified  with 
the  great  basic  art  of  agriculture  in  Indiana  until 
the  year  1880,  when  he  went  to  the  state  of 
Washington,  where  he  remained  about  two  years. 
He  was  not  satisfied  with  the  outlook  in  that  sec- 
tion of  the  union,  and  returned  to  Indiana,  where 
he  remained  a  few  months,  at  the  expiration  of 
which,  in  February,  1882,  he  came  to  South 
Dakota  and  became  one  of  the  early  settlers  in 
Hand  county,  where  he  exercised  his  legal  pre- 
rogatives by  taking  up  three  claims  of  govern- 
ment land — homestead,  pre-emption  and  tree 
claims.  To  the  improvement  of  this  property  he 
forthwith  directed  his  attention  with  character- 
istic energy  and  ability,  and  the  prosperity 
which  has  attended  his  efforts  has  been  most 
gratifying.  He  is  now  the  owner  of  fifteen 
hundred  acres  of  valuable  land  in  the  county,  and 
of  this  amount  six  hundred  acres  are  under  cul- 
tivation while  the  remainder  is  used  for  grazing 
purposes  and  the  raising  of  hay.  He  has  erected 
substantial  modern  buildings  on  his  place  and  it 
is  one  of  the  model  farms  of  this  section  of  the 
state,  while  he  gives  his  attention  to  diversified 
agriculture  and  to  the  raising  of  live  stock  of 
high  grade.  He  was  prominently  concerned  in 
the  organization  of  the  county,  and  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  county  commissioners  at  the 
time  when  the  memorable  struggle  occurred  in 
regard  to  the  locating  of  the  county  seat,  in  which 
connection  he  favored  claims  of  the  village  of 
St.  Lawrence,  as  against  those  of  Miller,  to 
which  latter  the  victory  was  finally  gained.  In 
politics  Mr.  Major  was  reared  in  the  faith  of  the 
Democratic  party,  as  exemplified  by  Jefferson 
and  Jackson,  and  he  was  affiliated  with  the  same 
until  the  organization  of  the  Greenback  party, 
when  he  transferred  his  allegiance  to  the  same 
and  supported  Peter  Cooper  for  the  presidency. 
Upon  the  organization  of  the  Populist  party  he 
joined  its  ranks  and  has  ever  since  supported  its 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


783 


cause,  being  a  man  of  decisive  convictions  and 
ever  having  the  courage  of  the  same.  In  1890 
Mr.  Major  was  elected  to  the  state  senate,  in 
which  he  served  with  distinction,  being  chosen 
as  his  own  successor  in  1892  and  being  again 
elected  in  1896,  so  that  he  served  three  terms  in 
the  dignified  deHberative  body  of  the  state  legis- 
lature. He  is  one  of  the  prominent  and  valued 
members  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Wessing- 
ton,  Beadle  county,  which  is  his  postoffice  ad- 
dress, the  town  being  five  miles  distant  from  his 
fine  home  place. 


AUGUST  KING,  who  is  one  of  the  well- 
known  and  highly  honored  citizens  of  Brookings 
county,  has  the  distinction  of  being  its  represent- 
ative in  the  state  legislature  and  has  shown  him- 
self to  be  one  of  the  loyal  and  public-spirited  citi- 
zens of  the  great  commonwealth  in  whose  service 
his  efl^orts  are  thus  enlisted.  Mr.  King  is  a  na- 
tive of  the  German  empire,  having  been  born  in 
the  province  of  Saxony,  on  the  15th  of  December, 
1863.  He  is  a  son  of  Henry  and  Ernestine  King, 
the  former  of  whom  passed  his  entire  life  in  the 
German  fatherland,  where  his  widow  still  main- 
tains her  home.  Of  the  six  children  born  of  this 
union  five  are  yet  living,  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
having  been  the  eldest.  Mollie  is  the  wife  of 
\Mlliam  Rolberg  and  they  reside  in  Germany ; 
Henry  is  a  successful  baker  in  Germany,  as  is  also 
his  brother  Edmund ;  Hattie  still  resides  in  the 
fatherland ;  and  Minnie  is  deceased.  From  this 
brief  record  it  will  be  seen  that  our  subject  is  the 
only  representative  of  the  immediate  family  in  the 
United  States. 

August  King  was  reared  to  the  age  of  six- 
teen years  in  his  native  country,  in  the  meanwhile 
receiving  the  advantages  afforded  in  its  excellenr 
schools.  In  1880,  in  company  with  his  cousin, 
Carl  Miland,  he  bade  adieu  to  home  and  father- 
land and  set  forth  to  seek  his  fortunes  in  America, 
proceeding  to  Minnesota,  where  he  joined  rela- 
tives. Soon  after  his  arrival  Mr.  King  began 
work  on  the  farm  of  his  cousin,  being  thus  en- 
gaged for  a  period  of  five  months,  and  he  con- 
tinued to  work  by  the  month  until  the  spring  of 


1886,  having  been  frugal  and  industrious  and 
having  succeeded  in  saving  about  three  hundred 
dollars  from  his  wages.  In  the  spring  of  the 
year  mentioned  he  left  Minnesota  and  came  to 
South  Dakota,  locating  in  Brookings  county, 
where  he  secured  employment  on  the  farm  of 
Samuel  McBride,  with  whom  he  remained  about 
twenty  months,  after  which  he  was  for  three  years 
employed  by  Edward  Spurling.  On  Christmas 
day  of  the  year  1890  Mr.  King  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Pauline  Schulz,  a  daughter  of 
Christopher  and  Anna  Schulz,  both  of  whom  were 
born  in  Germany,  as  was  also  Mrs.  King,  who 
came  to  America  as  a  young  woman,  here  joining 
her  brothers,  who  had  emigrated  here  some  time 
previously.  Mr.  King  had  carefully  conserved 
his  resources  and  at  the  time  of  his  marriage  his 
accumulations  represented  about  one  thousand 
dollars.  In  the  spring  of  1891  he  purchased  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  unimproved  land,  in 
Brookings  county,  for  a  consideration  of  twelve 
hundred  dollars,  and  within  the  same  year  he 
erected  a  house  on  the  farm  and  there  took  up  his 
residence.  He  reclaimed  the  land  and  brought  it 
under  effective  cultivation,  the  while  making  per- 
manent improvements  of  a  substantial  order.  In 
1899  Mr.  King  purchased  a  tract  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  acres  adjoining  his  homestead  on  the 
east,  so  that  he  now  has  a  fine  farm  of  two  hun- 
dred and  eighty  acres,  all  in  one  body.  The  pros- 
perity which  has  attended  his  indefatigable  efforts 
is  indicated  in  the  appearance  of  his  place,  which 
is  improved  with  a  good  house  and  barn  and 
other  necessary  buildings,  a  windmill  and  other 
modern  facilities,  while  the  land  is  well  fenced 
and  shows  the  careful  attention  given  by  the  en- 
terprising and  progressive  proprietor,  who  is  rec- 
ognized as  one  of  the  representative  farmers  and 
stock  growers  of  the  county.  His  land  is  now 
valued  at  fifty  dollars  an  acre  and  constitutes  one 
of  the  attractive  and  valuable  farms  of  the  sec- 
tion. Mr.  King  has  devoted  considerable  atten- 
tion to  the  growing  of  corn  from  the  time  of  in- 
augurating his  farming  enterprise  and  has  been 
successful  in  securing  good  yields,  while  he  also 
raises  wheat  and  oats  and  a  general  line  of  high- 
grade  live  stock,  being  also  one  of  the  stockhold- 


784 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


ers  in  the  farmers"  grain  elevator  in  the  village  of 
White. 

In  politics  Mr.  King  accords  a  stanch  support 
to  the  Republican  party,  in  whose  cause  he  has 
taken  an  active  interest  from  the  time  of  attaining 
the  right  of  franchise  in  his  adopted  country. 
The  confidence  and  esteem  in  which  he  is  held 
in  his  home  county  has  been  signalized  in  divers 
ways.  For  the  past  four  years  he  has  been  in- 
cumbent of  the  oflfice  of  treasurer  of  his  school 
district ;  he  has  served  as  delegate  to  the  county 
and  state  conventions  of  his  party,  and  in  the  au- 
tumn of  1902  he  was  elected  to  represent  his 
county  in  the  lower  house  of  the  state  legislature, 
where  he  has  proved  himself  a  valuable  member 
of  the  legislative  body,  being  signally  faithful  to 
the  interests  of  his  constituents  and  of  the  state 
at  large  and  doing  all  in  his  power  to  further  good 
government  and  insure  the  progress  and  prosper- 
ity of  the  great  state  in  which  he  has  gained  so 
marked  personal  success.  In  the  house  he  was 
assigned  to  the  committees  on  corporations, 
banks  and  banking,  and  emigration,  and  in  each 
of  these  connections  his  work  has  been  of  no  per- 
functory order.  Fraternally  Mr.  King  has  been 
identified  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows  since  1890,  being  now  affiliated  with 
White  Lodge.  No.  135.  at  White,  while  he 
is  also  a  member  of  White  Lodge,  No. 
67,  Ancient  Order  of  L^nited  Workmen,  in 
the  same  village.  He  was  reared  in  the 
faith  of  the  Lutheran  church,  but  he  and  his 
wife  are  now  regular  attendants  of  the  Methodist 
I^iscopal  church,  in  whose  work  they  maintain 
an  active  and  helpful  interest.  When  Mr.  King 
arrived  in  New  York  city  his  capitalistic  resources 
were  summed  up  in  the  amount  of  five  dollars, 
and  the  position  of  independence  which  he  today 
holds  represents  the  result  of  his  own  efforts, 
while  he  has  so  guided  his  course  as  to  retain  un- 
bounded respect  and  esteem  on  the  part  of  all 
with  whom  he  has  come  in  contact.  He  has  con- 
tributed his  quota  to  the  development  and  mater- 
ial progress  of  South  Dakota  and  is  well  entitled 
to  representation  in  this  history.  In  conclusion 
we  would  state  that  the  marriage  of  the  subject 
has  been  blessed  with  six  children,  namely:  Alma, 


Edward,    Esther,    Frederick,    and    Minnie 
Anna,  twins,  and  an  infant  daughter. 


CHARLES  THOMSON  is  one  of  the  lead- 
ing business  men  and  sterling  citizens  of  Miller, 
Hand  county,  is  a  prominent  factor  in  public 
affairs  and  is  at  the  present  time  incumbent  of 
the  office  of  city  treasurer. 

Mr.  Thomson  is  a  native  of  the  Badger 
state,  having  been  born  on  the  parental  farm- 
stead in  Monroe  county,  Wisconsin,  on  the  12th 
of  October,  1855,  and  being  a  son  of  James  and 
Oliver  Thomson,  both  of  whom  are  still  living, 
maintaining  their  home  in  the  village  of  Hurley, 
South  Dakota.  The  father  of  the  subject  de- 
voted the  major  portion  of  his  active  life  to  ag- 
ricultural pursuits  and  is  now  living  retired, 
having  attained  the  venerable  age  of  seventy-five 
years  and  commanding  the  respect  of  all  who 
know  him.  The  subject  of  this  review  received' 
his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  of  his 
native  county,  while  later  he  attended  school  for 
one  year  in  Iowa,  and  during  one  year  was  a 
student  in  the  normal  school  at  Valparaiso, 
Indiana.  After  leaving  school  he  was  success- 
fully engaged  in  teaching  in  the  public  schools  of 
Buena  Vista  county,  Iowa,  for  a  period  of  seven 
years.  In  1883  he  came  to  what  is  now  the 
state  of  South  Dakota  and  took  up  his  residence 
in  Hand  county.  He  took  up  a  homestead  claim 
of  government  land,  and  eventually  perfected  his 
title  to  the  property.  He  thereafter  devoted  his 
attention  to  farming  and  teaching  school  until 
1893.  usually  teaching  during  the  winter  terms, 
when  his  attention  was  not  demanded  in  con- 
nection with  the  work  of  his  farm.  In  1886  Mr. 
Thomson  was  elected  a  member  of  the  board  of 
county  commissioners,  in  which  capacity  he 
served  one  term.  In  1892  he  was  elected  county 
auditor,  in  which  office  he  served  most  accept- 
ably for  four  years,  having  been  chosen  as  his 
own  successor  in  1894.  He  was  honored  by 
being  chosen  one  of  the  presidential  electors  of 
the  state,  on  the  Republican  ticket,  in  1900,  at 
the  time  of  President  McKinley's  second  election, 
and   he   received   the  still   further   distinction  of 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


785 


being  selected  to  take  the  ballots  to  Washington, 
D.  C,  where  he  thus  represented  his  state  in  the 
electoral  college.  Mr.  Thomson  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Republican  central  committee  of 
Hand  county  for  many  years,  most  of  the  time 
serving  either  as  chairman  or  secretary,  and  has 
done  most  effective  service  in  marshalling  the 
forces  at  his  command  and  furthering  the  in- 
terests of  the  party  in  his  section.  He  has  served 
as  city  treasurer  of  Miller  since  1893,  and  is 
one  of  the  honored  and  popular  citizens  of  the 
county.  He  is  at  the  present  time  engaged  in  the 
grain  and  coal  business,  as  representative  of  Van 
Dusen  &  Company,  of  Minneapolis. 

On  the  22d  of  October,  1895,  Mr.  Thomson 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Minnie  Duthie, 
of  Miller,  South  Dakota.  She  was  born  and 
reared  in  Rock  county.  Wisconsin,  and  came  to 
Hand  county.  South  Dakota,  with  her  parents, 
in  1883,  and  until  her  marriage  to  Mr.  Thomson 
taught  school  and  served  as  deputy  auditor  of 
Hand  county.  Her  father,  John  Duthie,  was 
one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  county  and  from  1884 
to  1887  was  a  member  of  the  county  board. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomson  have  one  child, 
Merle  C,  born  December  3.  1899. 


CHRIS  CALLESEN.— Among  the  citizens 
of  foreign  birth  residing  in  Yankton  county  is 
numbered  Chris  Callesen,  who  is  a  worthy  rep- 
resentative of  the  fatherland,  his  career  having 
been  a  credit  alike  to  Germany  and  to  America. 
He  was  born  June  18,  1854,  in  Schleswig  Hol- 
stein,  and  was  educated  in  the  schools  there. 
When  seventeen  years  of  age  he  came  to  this 
country,  his  parents  being  George  and  Annie 
(Peterson)  Callesen,  in  whose  family  were  thir- 
teen children,  two  of  whom  passed  away  in  in- 
fancy. The  others  are  Weis,  Helena,  Yep, 
Catherine,  Annie,  Christ,  George,  Tillie,  Mar- 
garet, Thomas  and  Christina.  Three  of  the 
number  are  now  in  this  country,  while  the  others 
are  in  Germany.  The  father  died  in  his  native 
country  two  years  ago  at  the  advanced  age  of 
€ighty-four  years  and  the  mother  died  there  in 
i860  at  the  age  of  forty-four  years. 


Crossing  the  Atlantic  to  the  new  world  when 
a  young  man  of  seventeen,  Chris  Callesen  at 
once  came  to  Yankton  county  and  when  he  had 
attained  his  majority  he  entered  land  from  the 
government.  Throughout  his  entire  life  he  has 
followed  farming.  Like  most  young  men  start- 
ing out  in  life  on  their  own  account,  he  desired  a 
companion  and  helpmate  for  the  journey  and  on 
the  1 2th  of  February,  1880,  he  wedded  Christina 
Nelson,  who  was  bom  in  Denmark  in  i860,  there 
remaining  until  fourteen  years  of  age,  when  she 
came  to  America  in  company  with  her  parents, 
Olsen  and  Juliana  (Hengen)  Nelson,  the  family 
home  being  established  in  Yankton  county  in 
1874.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nelson  were  the  parents 
of  nine  children,  namely :  Ole,  John,  Dorothy, 
Christina,  Cecelia,  Fred,  Christ,  Andrew  and 
Helena,  all  of  whom  are  residents  of  South  Da- 
kota with  the  exception  of  Andrew,  who  is  now 
deceased.  The  others  live  in  Yankton  and  Turner 
counties.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nelson  also  make  their 
home  in  Yankton  county  and  the  father,  having 
retired  from  active  business  life,  is  now  en- 
joying the  fruits  of  his  former  toil,  having 
amassed  a  very  comfortable  fortune.  He  has 
reached  the  age  of  seventy-four  years  and  his 
wife  is  now  seventy-one  years  of  age. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Callesen  have  had  no  children 
of  their  own,  but  have  reared  an  adopted  son, 
Nels  Anderson.  He  is  now  a  young  man  of  sev- 
enteen years,  splendidly  developed  both  physically 
and  mentally.  At  the  time  of  his  marriage  Mr. 
Callesen  took  his  bride  to  a  farm  and  he  has 
throughout  his  business  career  been  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits.  In  1881  the  big  flood  de- 
stroyed his  home,  this  being  but  a  year  after  his 
marriage.  He  then  removed  to  Yankton,  where 
he  was  engaged  in  the  dairy  business  for  three 
years,  and  on  the  expiration  of  that  period  he  took 
up  a  homestead  and  was  for  ten  years  engaged  in 
lanching.  He  was  very  successful  in  that  work 
and  when  the  decade  was  passed  he  came  to  Yank- 
ton county,  where  he  purchased  one  hundred  and 
Sixty  acres  of  land,  on  which  he  is  now  living. 
His  labors  have  been  attended  with  a  gratifymg 
degree  of  prosperity  and  he  is  now  one  of  the 
well-to-do  residents  of  his  adopted  county.    Polit- 


786 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


ically  Mr.  Callesen  has  no  party  ties,  supporting 
the  candidate  whom  he  thinks  best  qualified  for 
office,  although  perhaps  his  allegiance  has  been 
more  largely  given  to  the  Democracy.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  INIodern  Woodmen  of  America 
and  also  of  the  Lutheran  church  and  his  life  has 
been  passed  in  consistent  harmony  with  the  tenets 
of  one  and  the  faith  of  the  other. 


JOHN  DUNCAN  comes  of  sterling  Scotch 
lineage  and  is  himself  a  native  of  the  land  of 
hills  and  heather,  while  the  name  which  he  bears 
is  one  which  has  been  prominent  in  the  history 
of  Scotland  for  many  generations.  He  was  born 
in  Banffshire,  Scotland,  on  the  23d  of  May,  1851, 
being  a  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Barron") 
Duncan,  both  of  whom  passed  their  entire  lives 
in  Scotland,  the  father  having  been  a  farmer  by 
vocation.  Our  subject  was  reared  and  educated 
in  his  native  land,  and  was  there  engaged  in  farm- 
ing until  1883,  when  he  came  to  the  United 
States,  having  become  convinced  that  in  our 
great  republic  could  be  found  better  opportunities 
for  the  winning  of  independence  and  a  compe- 
tency through  individual  effort.  In  April  of  that 
year  he  arrived  with  his  family  in  Moody  county. 
South  Dakota,  where  he  purchased  a  farm  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres,  in  Elkton  town- 
ship, assuming  an  indebtedness  for  nearly 
the  entire  purchase  price,  his  capitalistic 
resources  at  the  time  being  but  two  and 
one-half  dollars.  He  disposed  of  this  prop- 
erty in  1890  and  purchased  his  present  well  im- 
proved farm  in  Ward  township,  the  same  com- 
prising a  quarter  section  of  most  arable  and  pro- 
ductive land,  while  the  place  is  equipped  with  a 
good  dwelling  house  and  other  excellent  farm 
buildings.  Mr.  Duncan  devotes  his  attention  to 
diversified  farming  and  to  the  raising  of  high- 
grade  live  stock,  while  he  makes  a  specialty  of 
breeding  shorthorn  cattle  and  full-blooded 
Clydesdale  horses.  He  is  a  stanch  Republican  in 
his  political  allegiance,  and  has  ever  taken  a  deep 
interest  in  local  affairs,  doing  all  in  his  power  to 
further  the  be.st  interests  of  the  county  and  state 
of  his  adoption.     He  has  held  all  the  township 


offices,  has  been  an  official  of  the  school  board  of 
his  district,  and  in  1902  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  board  of  county  commissioners,  of  which 
position  he  has  since  been  incumbent.  He  and 
his  wife  are  prominent  and  zealous  members  of 
the  Presbyterian  church,  and  fraternally  he  is 
identified  with  Camp  No.  2867,  Modern  Wood- 
men of  America,  at  Flandreau,  and  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Masonic  order. 

Mr.  Dimcan  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Mary  Jane  Minty.  who  like  himself  is  a  native  of 
Scotland,  whence  she  came  to  America  in  1885, 
to  reside  with  her  mother,  Mrs.  Joseph  !\Iorris,  re- 
siding in  Flandreau.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Duncan  have 
five  children,  all  of  whom  remain  at  the  parental 
home,  namely :  James  ^lorris,  Harr\-,  Alfred, 
Marjory  and  Leslie. 


ANDREW  MELGAARD  is  a  strong  and 
sturdy  citizen  of  foreign  birth,  one  of  Scanda- 
navia's  contributions  to  the  United  States.  He 
was  born  in  Norway,  September  15,  1842, 
spent  his  early  life  in  his  native  land  and  re- 
ceived a  good  education  in  the  public  schools  of 
the  locality  in  which  he  was  reared.  From  youth 
he  was  accustomed  to  honest  toil  and  inherited  a 
strong  character  and  a  tendency  to  make  the 
most  of  his  opportunities,  laid  well-grounded 
plans  for  the  future  and  determined  to  lead  a  life 
that  would  reflect  credit  upon  himself  and  be  of 
usefulness  to  the  world.  In  his  early  manhood 
he  entered  the  cavalry  arm  of  the  Norwegian 
army  and  after  two  years  in  a  military  training 
school  served  five  years  as  the  sergeant  of  his 
company.  At  the  expiration  of  the  period  of  his 
enlistment,  Mr.  Melgaard  resumed  the  pursuits 
of  civil  life  and  continued  to  live  in  the  land  of 
his  birth  until  1869,  when  he  came  to  the  LTnited 
States  and  located  at  Litchfield,  jNIeeker  county, 
Minnesota,  where  he  was  among  the  very  first 
settlers.  At  the  end  of  two  years  he  removed  to 
Minneapolis,  where  he  soon  secured  a  lucrative 
position  with  the  INIinneapolis  Harvester  Works, 
and  spent  seven  years  in  that  employment,  a 
greater  portion  of  the  time  in  the  shops  as  an 
artisan,  but  in  the  seasons  for  that  work  as  an 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


787 


expert  machinist  in  the  field,  and  in  that  capacity 
traveled  over  most  of  Minnesota  and  adjoining- 
states. 

Attracted  by  the  Dakota  land  boom,  he 
severed  his  relations  with  the  harvester  company 
in  the  spring  of  1880  and  came  to  the  wild 
prairie  of  Brown  county,  South  Dakota,  where 
he  took  up,  under  the  government  laws,  a  half 
section  of  land  about  one  mile  south  of  Aberdeen, 
and  turned  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits. 
At  that  time  the  country  was  so  new  and  sparsely 
settled  that  for  a  friendly  chat  with  a  neighbor 
he  was  obliged  to  go  a  distance  a  little  in  excess 
of  fifteen  miles.  His  first  dwelling  was  a  typical 
sod  house,  but  it  was  comfortable  and  answered 
every  purpose  until  a  better  home  was  completed 
early  the  following  spring.  It  was  his  intention 
to  bring  his  family  out  to  the  new  home  that 
autumn  of  1880,  but  the  phenomenally  early  ar- 
rival of  winter  caused  him  to  remain  in  Minne- 
apolis until  spring,  when  he  returned,  bringing 
his  wife  and  children  to  the  homestead,  where 
they  still  reside.  Without  following  the  family 
in  all  of  the  details  of  the  intervening  years,  it 
is  sufficient  to  say  that  each  member  was  satis- 
fied with  his  lot  and  the  mutual  interests  o\  the 
household.  In  due  season  a  handsome  modern 
residence  occupied  the  site  of  the  homestead's 
humble  dwelling;  many  improvements  were  in- 
augurated and  genuine  prosperity  smiled  upon 
them  in  the  recurring  years,  until  Mr.  Melgaard 
found  himself  the  owner  of  a  splendid  farm  and 
home  adjoining  a  splendid  city  where  he  is  rec- 
ognized as  one  of  the  substantial  men  and  lead- 
ing citizens  as  well  as  a  representative  farmer 
and  stock  raiser  of  Brown  count}-.  He  is  modern 
in  his  farming  methods,  fully  abreast  of  the 
times  in  everything  relating  to  his  calling,  and, 
possessing  cultivated  tastes  as  well  as  great  in- 
dustry, has  spared  no  reasonable  means  in  adding 
to  the  attractiveness  and  beauty  of  his  home. 
Shortly  after  taking  possession  of  his  land  he 
planted  upon  the  treeless  prairie  two  groves,  of 
ten  and  five  acres  respectively,  which  have  grown 
to  large  trees,  affording  most  grateful  shade  and 
rendering  the  landscape  attractive  and  pleasing. 
These  grounds  he  leaves  open  to  the  public  and. 


being  at  the  very  gates  of  the  city,  are  a  favorite 
resort  for  picnickers  and  pleasure  seekers,  who 
find  within  the  cooling  shade  the  rest  and  recre- 
ation which  the  heated  season  frequently  render 
imperative. 

Another  attractive  feature  of  Mr.  Melgaard's 
farm  and  one  which  makes  the  place  widely 
known  is  the  location  upon  it  of  the  Northern 
Normal  and  Industrial  School.  Mr.  Melgaard 
was  untiring  in  his  efforts  to  have  the  school 
built  upon  its  present  site,  which  is  indeed  a 
most  favorable  and  advantageous  one,  and  he 
heartily  lent  his  influence  toward  securing  the 
establishment  of  the  institution  by  the  state,  at 
Aberdeen.  It  has  no  doubt  greatly  enhanced  the 
value  of  his  property,  as  well  as  given  the  place 
wide  publicity,  to  say  nothing  of  the  additional 
attractiveness  to  the  locality  by  the  beautiful 
buildings,  and  the  advantages  to  the  youth  of 
the  neighborhood,  offered  by  the  splendid  edu- 
cational facilities  which  are  placed  within  the 
reach  of  all  who  see  fit  to  utilize  them.  Mr. 
Melgaard  is  a  friend  of  education  and  uses  his 
influence  and  all  of  the  means  within  his  power 
to  advance  its  interests  both  at  home  and 
throughout  the  county.  He  also  encourages  all 
laudable  enterprises  and  whatever  makes  for  the 
material  development  and  moral  welfare  of  the 
community  and  as  a  citizen  he  is  public  spirited 
and  aggressive,  inflexibly  honest  and  upright  in 
his  dealings  and  his  relations  with  his  fellow  men 
have  been  marked  by  that  probity  and  regard  for 
right  which  is  characteristic  of  the  true  lover  of 
his  kind.  Like  all  good  citizens,  he  takes  an  in- 
terest in  politics,  but  has  never  been  a  partisan  in 
the  strict  sense  of  the  term  nor  disturbed  the 
even  tenor  of  his  life  by  seeking  official  station. 
He  has  served  as  a  member  of  the  township 
board  and  his  interest  in  local  affairs  has  led  to 
a  number  of  improvements  within  his  civil  juris- 
diction, although  he  is  conservative  in  the  matter 
of  expenditures,  only  advocating  public  measures 
when  they  are  for  the  benefit  of  all  concerned. 
Religiously,  Mr.  Melgaard  was  reared  in  the 
I  Lutheran  church,  and  he  still  adheres  to  this 
!  faith.  He  was  one  of  the  original  members  of 
i  the  First  Lutheran  church  at  Aberdeen,  has  been 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


active  in  all  of  the  ,a:-ood  work  of  the  congregation 
ever  since,  and  at  the  present  time  is  serving 
the  society  in  the  capacity  of  trustee. 

Mr.  Melgaard  was  married  in  his  native  land, 
on  the  27th  of  July.  1867.  to  Miss  G.  Marie 
Hoel,  a  most  estimable  lady  and  genuine  help- 
meet, who  has  aided  him  in  his  struggles  for  a 
competence,  ministered  to  his  comfort  and  pre- 
sided over  his  home  with  true  wifely  interest. 
Nine  children  have  been  born  of  the  union,  three 
of  whom  died  in  infancy.  Of  the  survivors.  Al- 
fred was  born  in  Christiania.  Xonvay,  May  24. 
1868,  and  is  now  a  successful  druggist  in  Spo- 
kane, Washington ;  Harold,  born  at  Litchfield, 
Minnesota,  April  3.  1870.  was  formerly  a  teacher 
both  in  Dakota  and  Washington,  but  is  now  as- 
sociated with  his  father  in  his  farming  opera- 
tions ;  Rika,  a  native  of  Minneapolis,  born  July 
28,  1873.  is  now  the  wife  of  A.  Bjork.  a  promi- 
nent business  man  of  Aberdeen ;  Hilda,  born  Jan- 
uary 22.  1875,  now  residing  at  Miller,  South  Da- 
kota;  Ida,  born  October  28,  1876,  is  now  Mrs. 
J.  H.  Herrett.  the  latter  being  a  merchant  of 
Frederick,  South  Dakota,  and  Oscar,  born  May 
4,  1879,  resides  in  Spokane. 

Mrs.  ^lelgaard  is  also  a  Lutheran  in  religion 
and,  like  her  husband,  is  an  earnest  and  highly 
respected  member  of  the  church  in  Aberdeen. 


JACOB  D.  STEIXER.  representative  of 
Grant  county  in  the  eighth  general  assembly  of 
the  state  legislature,  is  the  owner  of  a  finely  im- 
proved farm  of  four  hundred  and  eighty  acres, 
in  Bigstone  township,  and  is  one  of  the  prom- 
inent and  highly  respected  citizens  of  the  county, 
being  also  president  of  the  Evangelical  Mutual 
Insurance  Company,  the  most  important  corpor- 
ation of  the  sort  in  the  state. 

Mr.  Steiner  is  a  native  of  the  Badger  state, 
having  been  born  in  Dodge  county.  Wisconsin, 
on  the  1 2th  of  June.  1861.  and  being  a  son  of 
John  B.  and  Agnes  (Caflich)  Steiner.  both  of 
whoiTi  were  born  in  Switzerland,  where  they  were 
reared  and  educated  tnider  the  beneficent  influ- 
ences of  that  fair  little  republic.  In  his  native 
land  John  B.  Steiner  learned  the  trade  of  harness- 


maker  and  saddler,  to  which  he  devoted  his  atten- 
tion for  some  time.  In  1851  he  immigrated  to 
America,  and  finally  located  on  a  farm  in  Dodge 
county.  Wisconsin,  becoming  in  the  course  of 
time  one  of  the  substantial  agriculturists  of  that 
state  and  commanding  unqualified  confidence  and 
esteem  in  the  community  in  which  he  has  so  long 
lived  and  labored.  He  still  resides  on  the  old 
homestead  farm,  which  has  been  the  abiding  place 
of  himself  and  his  devoted  wife  for  mo-e  than 
forty-five  years.  His  mother,  who  was  born  on 
Christmas  day  of  the  year  1807.  resides  in  his 
home,  and  in  her  venerable  age  is  accorded  the 
utmost  filial  care  and  solicitude.  The  subject  of 
this  review  is  the  second  in  order  of  birth  of  a 
family  of  nine  children,  of  whom  all  are  living. 

Hon.  Jacob  D.  Steiner  was  reared  on  the  old 
homestead  farm  and  under  the  gracious  environ- 
ment of  a  good  home,  while  his  educational  ad- 
vantages were  those  of  the  excellent  public 
schools  of  his  native  county.  At  the  age  of  twen- 
ty-one years  he  entered  upon  an  apprenticeship 
at  the  carpenter's  trade,  becoming  a  skilled  arti- 
san in  the  line  and  being  engaged  for  a  number 
of  years  in  the  work  of  his  trade  at  Lomira.  Wis- 
consin, while  he  also  attained  success  in  his  oper- 
ations as  a  buyer  and  shipper  of  grain.  He  con- 
tinued to  make  his  home  in  Dodge  county,  Wis- 
consin, until  July.  1891.  when  he  came  to  Grant 
county.  South  Dakota,  and  in  February  of  the 
following  year  purchased  two  hundred  and  forty 
acres  of  his  present  farm,  having  later  added  to 
the  original  tract  until  he  now  owns  four  hun- 
dred and  eighty  acres,  as  has  been  already  noted, 
while  he  has  -the  major  portion  of  his  fine  ranch 
under  effective  cultivation  and  devoted  to  diversi- 
fied farming,  v.-hile  he  also  raises  live  stock  of 
excellent  gi^de.  being  recognized  as  one  of  the 
energetic  and  capable  business  men  of  this  sec- 
tion and  having  his  farm  equipped  with  good 
buildings  and  the  best  of  improvements  in  other 
lines.  In  190T  he  was  elected  to  the  presidency 
of  the  Evangelical  Mutual  Insurance  Company, 
and  has  since  served  in  this  responsible  position, 
the  company  having  its  headquarters  in  Milbank, 
the  county  seat,  and  having  issued  policies  cover- 
ing over  three  millions  of  dollars.     It  is  thus  one 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


789 


of  the  strongest  and  most  popular  local  mutual 
companies  in  the  state,  and  its  affairs  are  man- 
aged with  consummate  skill  and  honor. 

In  politics  Mr.  Steiner  has  ever  given  an  un- 
swerving allegiance  to  the  Republican  party,  in 
whose  cause  he  has  shown  a  lively  interest.  He 
has  held  various  local  offices,  and  in  the  county 
convention  of  his  party  in  1902  he  was  nomi- 
nated by  acclamation  for  representative  in  the 
state  legislature,  and  in  the  ensuing  election  was 
elected  by  more  than  five  hundred  majority.  He 
was  a  most  logical  and  particularly  eligible  can- 
didate and  has  fully  justified  in  his  course  the  wis- 
dom shown  by  the  voters  of  the  county  in  accord- 
ing him  this  honorable  preferment.  He  has  been 
clerk  of  the  school  board  of  his  district  for  six 
years  and  at  all  times  has  manifested  a  deep  con- 
cern in  all  that  touches  the  welfare  and  material 
progress  of  his  county  and  state.  Air.  and  Airs. 
Steiner  are  prominent  and  zealous  members  of  the 
Evangelical  Association,  and  at  the  time  of  this 
writing  he  is  class  leader  and  trustee  in  the 
church  of  this  denomination  at  P.igstone  City. 

On  the  13th  of  November,  1890,  was  solem- 
nized the  marriage  of  Air.  Steiner  to  Aliss 
Amanda  Korte.  wlio  was  born  and  reared  in 
Dodge  county,  Wisconsin,  being  a  daughter  of 
Fred  Al.  and  Alary  (ATerten)  Korte  and  of 
stanch  German  ancestry.  Air.  and  Airs.  Steiner 
are  the  parents  of  five  children,  namely  :  John 
A.,  Edwin  W.,  Roy  J..  Allen  C.  and  Edna  AL, 
and  all  are  being  afforded  the  best  available  edu- 
cational advantasres. 


NEWTON  EDAIUNDS,  second  territorial 
governor  of  Dakota,  was  born  at  Hartland,  New 
York,  May  31.  1819,  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools  and  a  private  academy.  Came  to 
Dakota  in  1861  to  accept  a  clerkship  in  the  sur- 
veyor general's  office,  but  two  years  later  was 
appointed  governor  by  President  Lincoln. 
Served  three  years.  Obtained  great  influence 
over  the  hostile  Indians  and  was  upon  many  com- 
missions to  effect  treaties  with  them.  Engaged 
in  banking  business  and  became  wealthy.  He 
still   resides  at   Yankton. 


ELLSWORTH  E.  DYE  was  born  in  Deca- 
tur county,  Iowa,  on  the  14th  of  AIay,i863,  be- 
ing a  son  of  Robert  E.  and  Elizabeth  (Trippett) 
Dye,  of  whose  seven  children  all  are  living.  The 
father  was  born  in  Monroe  county,  Ohio,  and  the 
mother  at  Long  Reach,  West  Virginia,  at  which 
place  they  were  married  in  1851.  They  removed 
to  Iowa  in  1856,  becoming  pioneers  of  Decatur 
county,  where  the  father  engaged  in  agricultural 
pursuits,  becoming  one  of  the  prominent  and 
honored  citizens  of  that  section  of  the  Hawkeye 
state.  The  father  died  at  Leon,  Iowa,  on 
Alarch  13,  1904,  having  retired  from  the  farm 
a  few  years  ago.  The  mother  still  resides  at  that 
place.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  passed  his 
boyhood  days  on  the  homestead  farm  and  after 
completing  the  curriculum  of  the  public  schools 
continued  his  studies  in  the  Des  Aloines  Uni- 
versity. After  leaving  this  institution  he  was 
alternately  engaged  in  farming  and  teaching  in 
the  public  schools  of  his  native  state  until  1887, 
when  he  came  to  Buffalo  county.  South  Dakota, 
where  he  entered  claim  to  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  government  land,  in  Arlington  town- 
ship, and  there  engaged  in  fanning  for  the  en- 
suing five  years,  developing  and  improving  his 
property,  of  which  he  disposed  at  an  appreciable 
profit  in  1891'.  He  then  located  in  Gann  \'alley, 
where  he  taught  in  the  public  schools  for  the  en- 
suing three  years,  with  marked  success.  He  was 
then  elected  to  the  office  of  county  treasurer,  of 
which  he  remained  incumbent  for  two  terms.  At 
the  expiration  of  his  effective  service  in  this  office 
Air.  Dye  entered  into  partnership  with  Arthur 
G.  Hill,  concerning  whom  individual  mention  is 
made  on  other  pages  of  this  work,  and  engaged 
in  the  real-estate  business,  in  which  they  have 
ever  since  continued  operations  most  success- 
fully, being  one  of  the  leading  concerns  of  the 
sort  in  this  section  of  the  state  and  having  the 
only  set  of  title  abstracts  in  the  county.  In  1898 
the  firm  of  Dye  &  Hill  purchased  the  weekly 
newspaper  known  as  the  Dakota  Chief,  and  they 
have  since  continued  to  be  associated  in  its  publi- 
cation, having  a  well  equipped  plant  and  issuing 
a  most  creditable  paper,  which  is  a  welcome 
visitor   in   the  majority   of    the    homes    of    the 


790 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


county.  In  1898  ^Messrs.  Dye  and  Hill  founded 
the  Bank  of  Buffalo  County,  which  is  now  one 
of  the  popular  and  solid  financial  institutions  of 
this  section  of  the  state  and  one  which  controls  a 
large  and  constantly  increasing  business.  It 
would  be  a  work  of  supererogation  to  state  in  the 
connection  that  the  members  of  this  firm  are 
among  the  most  enterprising  and  progressive 
young  business  men  of  the  county,  for  the  fact 
is  patent  from  the  data  already  given  in  this 
sketch. 

In  politics  Mr.  Dye  is  a  stalwart  advocate  of 
the  principles  of  the  Republican  party,  and 
through  personal  effort  and  editorial  utterances 
in  his  paper,  he  has  done  much  to  promote  the 
party  cause.  Fraternally,  he  is  affiliated  with 
Gann  A'alley  Lodge,  No.  120,  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen.  It  may  be  said  in  the  con- 
nection that  J\Ir.  Dye  is  most  loyal  to  the  state 
and  county  of  his  adoption  and  has  unqualified 
confidence  in  the  still  brighter  future  in  store  for 
the  coinmonwealth.  As  an  active  real-estate 
man  he  is  thoroughly  familiar  with  propertv 
values,  and  thus  full  credence  can  be  given  his 
assertion  to  the  effect  that  realty  in  Buffalo 
county  has  appreciated  in  value  by  more  than 
two  hundred  per  cent,  within  the  last  three  years 
and  that  the  farmers  of  this  section  are  unifonnly 
independent  and  prosperous. 

On  the  14th  of  January,  1894,  Mr.  Dye  wa.s 
united  in  marriage  to  Mrs.  Anna  E.  Lockwood, 
who  was  born  and  bred  in  the  state  of  Indiana, 
being  a  daughter  of  Levi  A.  Creager,  a  member 
of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  who  died 
at  his  home  at  Burlington,  Iowa,  on  June  i, 
1903.  Of  this  union  have  been  bom  two  chil- 
dren, Wavne  and  Warren. 


GEORGE  L.  GILMAN.— Among  the  land- 
owners of  Yankton  county  is  George  L.  Gilman, 
a  gentleman  of  ability  and  discernment.  From 
1902  down  to  the  present  he  has  been  identified 
Avith  the  county  and  has  aided  materially  in  claim- 
ing the  wild  land  for  the  purposes  of  civilization. 
There  are  in  his  life  record  many  elements  worthv 
of  emulation  and  which  should  inspire  and  en- 


courage others,  for  he  started  out  in  McCook 
county  with  limited  means  and  throughout  hi« 
career  has  been  dependent  upon  his  own  efforts, 
his  prosperity  being  attributable  to  his  diligence 
and  perseverance. 

A  native  of  Connecticut.  Mr.  Gilman  was 
born  in  West  Hartland,  his  parents  being  Sam- 
uel B.  and  Harriet  T.  (Newton)  Gilman,  who 
were  also  natives  of  that  state  and  representatives 
of  old  colonial  families,  prominent  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary war.  The  father  was  a  farmer,  a  wag- 
onmaker  and  carpenter.  Both  he  and  his  wife 
always  lived  in  Connecticut  and  there  he  died 
at  the  age  of  forty-six  years.  jMr.  and  Mrs.  Gil- 
man held  membership  in  the  Congregational 
church  and  he  served  as  deacon  for  many  years, 
being  deeply  interested  in  everything  pertaining 
to  the  growth  of  his  church  and  the  extension  of 
its  influence.  In  his  political  views  he  was  a  Re- 
publican and  was  honored  with  various  township 
offices.  In  the  family  were  four  children,  of 
whom  George  L.  is  the  eldest.  Sarah  E.  is  the 
wife  of  W.  H.  Williams,  a  prominent  banker  and 
business  man  of  Wlnsted,  Connecticut.  Addie 
T.  is  the  wife  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  an  under- 
taker of  New  Haven,  Connecticut.  Ida  died  in 
infancy.  The  living  children  were  provided  with 
good  educational  privileges,  and  the  daughters 
successfully  taught  city  schools.  They  were  also 
proficient  in  music. 

Upon  his  father's  death  George  L.  Gilman. 
who  was  then  fifteen  years  of  age,  took  charge 
of  his  father's  farm  and  when  seventeen  years 
of  age  he  began  teaching  a  country  school  in  the 
winter  months,  while  in  the  summer  seasons  he 
continued  in  agricultural  work.  He  taught  alto- 
gether for  six  winters  in  the  district  schools  and 
afterward  for  two  years  in  an  intermediate  grade 
in  Winsted,  Connecticut.  His  farm  labors  were 
continued  through  the  summer  months  and  in 
1 881  he  sold  the  old  homestead  and  for  one  sum- 
mer he  worked  for  his  uncle  on  a  farm.  In  the 
fall  of  that  year  he  went  to  Illinois,  where  he 
visited  for  a  short  time  and  through  the  succeed- 
ing winter  was  employed  as  a  teacher  in  Illinois. 
In  the  spring  of  1882  he  removed  to  McCook 
countv.  South  Dakota,  where  he  secured  one  bun- 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


dred  and  sixty  acres  of  government  land  and  on 
the  25th  of  April  of  that  year,  which  was  his 
birthday,  he  built  his  first  house,  a  little  shanty 
eight  by  ten  feet.  Mr.  Gilman  dug  a  well  with 
a  spade,  and  broke  seventy-five  acres  of  land  ;  the 
first  crop  of  sod  corn  was  planted  with  a  hatchet. 
He  remained  iij  South  Dakota  for  one  year  and 
then  returned  to  Illinois,  teaching  this  former 
school  through  the  succeeding  winter  at  Western. 
In  the  spring  of  1883  he  brought  horses  and 
machinery  to  his  new  home,  employed  a  hired 
man  and  began  in  earnest  the  work  of  cultivating 
and  developing  his  farm.  ■  He  had  in  addition  to 
his  first  tract  taken  up  three  hundred  and  twenty 
acres,  making  in  all  four  hundred  and  eighty 
acres,  and  subsequently  he  added  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres,  so  that  he  had  an  entire  section.  He 
has  erected  a  good  residence  and  barns  and  he 
placed  two  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  his  land 
under  cultivation.  Upon  that  farm  he  resided 
until  December,  1892,  when  he  sold  one-half  of 
his  land  and  rented  the  remainder.  He  then  pur- 
chased one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  Yankton 
county,  where  he  has  since  lived.  In  1898  he 
erected  a  fine  residence  upon  his  home  farm  and 
has  placed  his  land  under  a  very  high  state  of 
cultivation. 

On  the  loth  of  June,  1884,  was  celebrated 
the  marriage  of  Mr.  Gilman  and  Miss  Emma  O. 
Gaines,  a  daughter  of  Nelson  and  Clarisa  (Hin- 
man)  Gaines,  the  former  of  Granville,  Massachu- 
setts, and  the  latter  of  Bristol,  Connecticut.  They 
were  married  in  Cambridge,  Illinois,  and  her  fa- 
ther was  the  first  postmaster  there  and  also  a 
pioneer  merchant.  In  public  affairs  he  was  ever 
prominent  and  influential,  supporting  the  Repub- 
lican party ;  he  was  a  member  of  the  Congre- 
gational church.  By  his  first  wife  he  had  three 
children:  George,  who  died  at  the  age  of  four 
years ;  Clarissa,  the  wife  of  E.  G.  Comstock,  of 
Missouri ;  and  Julia,  who  became  the  wife  of  J. 
W.  Stewart,  but  both  are  now  deceased.  By  his 
second  wife  Mr.  Gaines  had  the  following  chil- 
dren :  Hattie,  the  wife  of  Charles  Genung,  of 
IMenlo,  Iowa ;  Emma,  now  Mrs.  Gilman ;  Lucy, 
the  wife  of  Dr.  Miller,  a  resident  of  Los  An- 
geles, California ;  Frank  N.,  who  is  in  business  in 


Chicago ;  and  Harvey  S.,  who  is  a  business  man 
of  California.  For  his  third  wife  Mr.  Gaines 
chose  Amy  H.  Wilson,  but  they  had  no  children. 
Mr.  Gaines  died  in  1892  at  Geneseo,  Illinois,  aged 
seventy-five  years.  The  marriage  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Gilman  has  been  blessed  with  five  children : 
George  Gaines,  who  was  graduated  in  Yankton 
Academy  in  June,  1903 ;  Arthur,  who  died  at  the 
age  of  fourteen  months;  Howard  E.  and  Ray- 
mond N.,  who  are  attending  school ;  and  Alice 
T.,  who  is  now  a  little  maiden  of  nine  years. 

Politically,  Mr.  Gilman  is  a  Republican  with 
strong  Prohibition  tendencies,  for  he  is  an  ardent 
advocate  of  the  cause  of  temperance.  He  and  his 
wife  are  active  and  devoted  members  of  the  Con- 
gregational church,  in  which  he  serves  as  a  dea- 
con and  trustee.  He  has  a  very  wide  acquaint- 
ance and  an  honorable  career  well  entitles  him  to 
representation  in  this  volume  among  the  pioneers 
of  the  state.  His  life  history  shows  that  success 
is  not  a  matter  of  genius,  but  the  outcome  of 
judgment,  experience  and  diligence.  Integrity 
has  been  one  of  the  crowning  features  in  his  life 
work,  and  capability  with  unflagging  diligence 
gives  Mr.  Gilman  a  place  among  the  prosperous 
residents  of  Yankton  countv. 


HENRY  H.  FARRINGTON  is  a  native  of 
the  good  old  Hoosier  state,  having  been  born  in 
Lake  county,  Indiana,  on  the  lOth  of  February, 
1841,  and  being  a  son  of  Dr.  John  and  Emily 
(Bushwell)  Farrington.  His  father  was  for 
many  years  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine 
in  Indiana,  and  both  he  and  his  wife  died  in  that 
state.  Of  their  eleven  children  three  are  living 
at  the  present  time.  Owing  to  the  exigencies  of 
time  and  place  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  ac- 
corded only  limited  educational  advantages  in 
his  youth,  attending  the  common  schools  of  Indi- 
ana, in  a  somewhat  irregular  way,  until  he  had 
attained  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  while  during  his 
adolescent  years  he  gave  his  attention  to  work  on 
a  farm.  Through  personal  reading  and  study  and 
through  active  association  with  men  and  affairs 
during  the  course  of  his  active  and  honorable 
business  career  he  has  eflFectively  supplemented 


792 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


the  meager  scholastic  discipHne  of  his  boyhood 
and  is  a  man  of  strong  intellectuahty  and  ex- 
tended knowledge.  When  the  dark  cloud  of  the 
Civil  war  spread  its  gruesome  pall  over  the  na- 
tional firmament.  Mr.  Farrington  laid  aside  all 
personal  considerations  and  placed  them  in  sub- 
ordination to  his  country's  call.  In  1862  he  en- 
listed as  a  private  in  Company  A,  Seventy-third 
Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry,  which  was  com- 
manded by  Colonel  Hathaway.  The  regiment 
proceeded  to  the  front  and  became  a  part  of  the 
forces  commanded  by  General  Rosecrans.  In 
this  connection  our  subject  participated  in  the  bat- 
tle of  Stone  River,  while  later  he  took  part  in 
many  others  of  the  sanguinar\-  and  important 
battles  attending  the  progress  of  the  great  inter- 
necine conflict  which  determined  the  perpetua- 
tion of  the  Union.  At  Rome,  Georgia,  he  was 
captured,  and  was  held  as  a  prisoner  of  war 
about  one  month,  at  the  expiration  of  which  his 
exchange  was  eflfected  and  he  rejoined  his  regi- 
ment, which  was  then  a  part  of  the  Army  of  the 
Cumberland.  He  continued  in  active  service  until 
the  close  of  the  war,  receiving  his  honorable  dis- 
charge on  the  1st  of  July,  at  Nashville,  Tennes- 
see. He  perpetuates  the  more  gracious  memories 
of  his  long  and  faithful  service  in  the  ranks  by 
retaining  membership  in  John  B.  Wyman  Post, 
No.  115,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  in  Wes- 
sington.  South  Dakota. 

x-\fter  the  close  of  the  war  Air.  Farrington 
returned  to  the  North  and  located  in  Kankakee 
county,  Illinois,  where  he  followed  the  advice 
given  to  the  "boys  in  blue"  by  General  Grant, 
and  turned  his  hand  to  the  plow.  He  there  con- 
tinued to  be  engaged  in  farming  until  1870,  when 
he  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  at  Grant 
Park,  that  state,  where  he  thus  continued  opera- 
tions until  1883,  in  .\pril  of  which  year  he  came 
to  what  is  now  the  state  of  South  Dakota  and 
cast  in  his  lot  with  the  early  settlers  of  Hand 
county,  where  he  took  up  three  quarter  sections 
of  government  land,  entering  homestead,  pre- 
emption and  tree  claims.  He  forthwith  began 
the  reclamation  and  improvement  of  the  land  and 
in  due  time  perfected  his  title  to  the  same.  He 
there  continued  actively  engaged  in  farming  and 


stock  raising  until  1892,  when  he  disposed  of  his 
fine  property  and  took  up  his  residence  in  Wes- 
sington,  in  the  adjoining  county  of  Beadle,  where 
he  has  since  maintained  his  home.  Here  he  was 
engaged  in  the  buying  and  shipping  of  grain  and 
live  stock  until  1899,  when  he  engaged  in  the 
hardware  business,  to  which  he  has  ever  since 
given  his  attention,  having  a  large  and  well 
equipped  establishment,  in  which  he  handles  all 
kinds  of  heavy  and  shelf  hardware,  besides  agri- 
cultural implements,  while  the  confidence  reposed 
in  him  by  the  people  of  this  section  is  definitely 
indicated  in  the  substantial  and  representative 
trade  which  he  controls.  He  is  a  stalwart  Re- 
publican in  his  political  proclivities,  and  served 
for  three  years  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  com- 
missioners of  Hand  county,  though  he  has  never 
sought  public  office  of  any  description.  He  has 
been  identified  with  the  Masonic  fraternity  for 
the  past  thirty-five  years,  being  now  affiliated  with 
Wessington  Lodge,  No.  107,  Ancient  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons,  in  Wessington. 

In  Lake  county,  Indiana,  on  the  loth  of  Sep- 
tember, i860,  Mr.  Farrington  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Lodema  Pulver,  who  was  born  and 
reared  in  that  state,  being  a  daughter  of  David 
and  Alercy  Pulver,  the  former  of  whom  was  a 
farmer  by  vocation.  Of  this  union  have  been 
born  five  children,  namely:  Azetta,  married  to 
J.  D.  McNair,  of  Wessington :  Mercy,  who  mar- 
ried A.  B.  Saflford,  of  Wessington ;  Minnie,  the 
wife  of  C.  S.  Richardson,  of  Chicago  Heights; 
John  lives  at  Wessington  Springs,  South  Da- 
kota, and  is  engaged  in  the  hardware  and  imple- 
ment business. 


LOUIS  CHLADEK  is  a  native  of  Bohemia. 
Germany,  where  he  was  born  on  the  22d  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1852,  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Anna  Chladek. 
He  secured  his  early  educational  discipline  in  the 
schools  of  his  native  place  and  remained  at  the 
parental  home  until  he  had  attained  the  age  of 
fourteen  years,  when  he  set  forth  to  face  the 
stern  battles  of  life  on  his  own  responsibility. 
He  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  whither  he 
came   as    a    stranger    in    a    strange    land,    while 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


793 


he  was  the  further  handicapped  from  the  fact 
that  he  was  iinfamiHar  with  the  language  of  the 
country,  but  his  determination,  energy  and  self- 
reliance  stood  him  well  in  hand,  as  the  story 
of  his  future  career  well  indicates.  After  his  ar- 
rival in  the  United  States  he  proceeded  to  the 
city  of  Chicago,  where  he  joined  his  older 
brother,  Frank,  who  had  come  to  the  new  world 
some  time  previously.  He  arrived  in  the  west- 
ern metropolis  with  but  fifteen  dollars  in  cash, 
and  he  soon  secured  employment  in  a  furniture 
factory,  where  he  learned  the  trade  of  cabinet 
making,  to  which  he  continued  to  devote  his  at- 
tention about  five  years,  continuing  his  residence 
in  Chicago  until  the  1st  of  May,  1869,  when  he 
started  for  the  west.  He  finally  arrived  in  Nio- 
brara, Nebraska,  where  he  remained  about  two 
months,  leaving  that  point  on  the  3d  of  July  and 
continuing  his  westward  journey  to  the  territory 
of  Dakota,  having  crossed  the  river  and  made 
his  advent  in  Yankton  on  the  evening  of  July 
4th.  There  he  was  employed  in  a  furniture  store 
about  a  fortnight,  at  the  expiration  of  which  he 
proceeded  to  a  point  ten  miles  west  of  Yankton 
and  there  took  pre-emption  claim  for  himself  and 
also  one  for  his  brother  Frank.  In  preparation 
for  establishing  himself  as  a  western  farmer  in 
the  new  country  he  purchased  a  team  of  oxen, 
for  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars;  a 
wagon,  for  one  hundred  and  ten  dollars ;  a  break- 
ing plow,  for  thirty-five  dollars ;  and  a  cow,  for 
sixty-five  dollars.  It  may  be  noted  in  the  con- 
nection that  his  cow  proved  somewhat  wayward 
and  independent,  since  the  second  day  after  she 
came  into  his  possession  she  took  the  liberty  of 
starting  forth  on  a  predator}-  excursion  of  her 
own,  and  Mr.  Chladek  was  compelled  to  make  a 
journey  to  a  point  sixteen  miles  distant  before 
he  could  recover  his  property.  On  his  ranch 
he  built  a  small  shanty  of  cottonwood  lumber, 
and  also  a  small  enclosure  in  which  to  keep  his 
-live  stock.  He  then  set  himself  to  the  task  of 
breaking  his  land  and  making  ready  for  future 
cultivation,  and  it  is  needless  to  say  that  these 
initial  experiences  were  novel  ones  to  him,  since 
he  had  never  before  seen  a  breaking  plow  or 
milked  a  cow.     He  broke  about  five  acres  on  his 


claim  and  the  same  amount  for  his  brother,  and 
in  September  he  began  securing  his  crop  of  hay, 
utilizing  a  scythe  to  cut  the  same,  this  likewise 
being  an  implement  which  he  had  never  before 
handled,  and  from  the  long  grass  he  built  the 
1  winter  shelter  for  his  cattle.  With  financial  as- 
sistance from  his  brother  he  weathered  the  winter 
storms  without  great  discomfort,  and  in  the 
spring  he  constructed  a  harrow  and  seeded  the 
ten  acres  with  wheat.  The  season  proved  a  dry 
one  and  the  crop  proved  a  failure.  In  the 
autumn  Mr.  Chladek  returned  to  Chicago, 
where  he  passed  the  winter,  returning  to  his 
claim  in  the  spring.  The  summer  of  1871 
brought  disaster  to  the  crops,  owing  to  a  visita- 
tion from  the  grasshoppers,  and  our  subject  thus 
passed  the  ensuing  winter  in  Chicago,  where  he 
.  worked  at  his  trade,  as  he  had  done  the  winter 
before,  utilizing  the  money  thus  earned  in  carry- 
ing him  through  the  summers  on  his  farm.  The 
grasshoppers  again  devastated  the  countrv  in  the 
summer  of  1873,  and  though  the  outlook  was 
none  too  encouraging  Mr.  Chladek  was  not  dis- 
heartened, and  he  passed  the  winter  of  that  year 
in  Dakota,  and  he  had  duly  profited  by  his  ex- 
periences and  gained  valuable  knowledge  in  re- 
gard to  the  best  methods  to  be  emploved  in 
connection  with  the  improvement  and  cultivation  ' 
of  his  land.  The  following  summer  he  harvested 
a  good  crop,  and  from  that  time  forward  his 
efforts  were  attended  with  definite  success.  In 
1879  Mr.  Oiladek  was  employed  by  the  firm  of 
Bramble  &  Miner  in  setting  up  harvesters 
through  this  section  of  South  Dakota,  and  in  the 
following  year  he  entered  into  partnership  with 
his  brother  Frank,  who  had  taken  up  his  resi- 
dence here,  and  engaged  in  the  sale  of  farming 
implements  and  machinery,  with  headquarters  in 
the  city  of  Yankton.  Two  years  later,  after  the 
railroad  had  been  completed  through  the  town 
of  Scotland,  Bon  Homme  county,  they  removed 
their  business  headquarters  to  that  point  and 
there  they  built  up  a  large  and  prosperous  enter- 
prise. Four  years  later  they  established  a 
branch  house  in  Tyndall,  the  county  seat  of  the 
same  county,  and  the  partnership  thereafter  con- 
tinued until  TOGO,  when  it  was  dissolved  bv  mu- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


tual  consent,  the  brotlier  of  our  subject  finding 
it  expedient  to  give  his  undivided  attention  to 
his  large  real-estate  interests  in  Yankton  county. 
Our  subject  then  removed  the  Scotland  stock  to 
Tyndall,  where  he  continued  the  enterprise  suc- 
cessfully until  1902,  when  he  disposed  of  the  same 
and  has  since  lived  retired,  though  his  real-estate 
and  capitalistic  interests  are  such  as  to  afiford  him 
ample  scope  for  his  energies.  He  is  the  owner 
of  three  thousand  acres  of  land  in  Bon  Homme 
county,  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  in  Atchi- 
son county,  three  hundred  and  twenty  in  Camp- 
bell county,  four  hundred  and  eighty  in  Mc- 
Pherson  county,  and  three  hundred  and  twenty 
in  Nebraska,  and  thus  it  may  be  seen  that  he  is 
one  of  the  extensive  landholders  of  the  state. 
having  attained  a  high  degree  of  success  through 
his  own  efforts,  while  he  has  so  ordered  his  life 
as  to  commend  himself  to  the  unqualified  con- 
fidence and  regard  of  all  who  know  him,  being 
one  of  the  honored  pioneers  of  the  territory  and 
state.  His  land  in  South  Dakota  is  as  fine  agri- 
cultural land  as  to  be  found  in  the  confines  of 
the  state,  and  the  major  portion  of  the  same  is 
under  a  high  state  of  cultivation  and  well  im- 
proved. He  still  retains  his  home  in  Tyndall, 
where,  in  1897,  he  erected  one  of  the  most  attract- 
ive residences  in  the  town,  and  he  has  on  the 
premises  a  private  artesian  well,  vv'hich  proves  a 
most  valuable  accessory.  In  his  beautiful  home  he 
may  look  back  upon  the  labors  and  difficulties  , 
of  the  pioneer  days  and  congratulate  himself 
upon  the  steadfastness  of  purpose  which  caused 
him  to  remain  in  this  section  and  to  profit  in 
the  development  of  a  great  commonwealth,  of 
which  he  may  be  consistently  termed  one  of  the 
founders  and  builders.  He  is  signally  lo^'al  to 
the  state  in  which  he  has  so  long  made  his  home 
and  is  public-spirited  and  zealous  in  promoting 
its  welfare.  In  politics  he  renders  allegiance 
to  the  Democratic  party,  and  while  he  has  never 
been  ambitious  for  public  office  he  was  the  nomi- 
nee of  his  party  for  state  treasurer  in  1902,  meet- 
ing defeat  with  the  remainder  of  the  ticket.  He 
is  one  of  the  influential  citizens  of  the  state  and 
is  quoted  as  one  of  the  most  substantial  capital- 
ists  of   the    section    in    which    he    maintains   his 


home.  ^Ir.  Chladek  is  an  appreciative  member 
of  the  time-honored  ]\lasonic  fraternity  and  is 
one  of  its  prominent  figures  in  South  Dakota. 
He  is  affiliated  with  Bon  Homme  Lodge,  Xo. 
loi.  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  the  various 
other  bodies  of  the  York  Rite,  while  he  has  also 
taken  the  Scottish  Rite  degrees,  being  identified 
with  Yankton  Consistory,  Xo.  i.  while  he  is  also 
a  member  of  the  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  the 
Xobles  of  the  IMystic  Shrine,  at  Sioux  Falls. 
He  is  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Yankton 
^lasonic  temple,  and  was  one  of  the  leading 
spirits  in  the  promotion  of  its  erection,  having 
been  a  member  of  the  building  committee,  in 
which  connection  his  name  appears  with  others 
on  the  comer-stone  of  the  fine  structure. 

In  1882  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Mr. 
Chladek  to  !Miss  Louisa  ^'vborny,  of  Bon 
Homme  county,  and  of  their  four  children  we 
incorporate  the  following  data :  Emma  is  a 
student  in  Rockford  College,  at  Rockford. 
Illinois ;  Louis  is  attending  a  business  college 
in  Sioux  Falls ;  and  Bessie  and  an  infant  remain 
at  the  parental  home.  The  family  is  held  in 
the  highest  esteem  in  Tyndall  and  the  attractive 
home  is  a  center  of  unalloyed  hospitality  and 
good  cheer. 


CAPTAIX  JOSEPH  LEACH,  president  and 
general  manager  of  the  ^Missouri  River  Transpor- 
tation Company,  with  headquarters  in  the  village 
of  Running  Water.  Bon  Homme  county,  has  had 
a  varied  and  eventful  career  and  has  passed  prac- 
tically his  entire  life  in  the  great  west,  being  fa- 
miliar with  the  vicissitudes,  trials  and  dangers 
incidental  to  life  on  the  frontier,  while  he  has 
gained  success  through  his  own  efforts,  having 
been  dependent  upon  his  own  resources  from 
early  boyhood,  and  being  one  of  the  best  known 
citizens  of  South  Dakota,  where  his  friends  are 
in  number  as  his  acquaintances.  He  is  a  true  type 
of  the  stalwart,  straightforward,  honest,  bluff  and 
generous  westerner,  and  is  also  an  astute  and  able 
business  man  and  executive,  so  that  there  are 
many  points  which  render  most  compatible  a  re- 
view of  his  career  in  this  historv. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


Captain  Leach  was  born  in  Cambridgeshire, 
England,  on  the  7th  of  March,  1849,  ^"d  is  a 
son  of  William  and  Susan  (Edwards)  Leach,  who 
were  likewise  born  and  reared  in  the  "tight  little 
isle,"  where  the  former  was  engaged  in  merchan- 
dising until  1 85 1,  when  he  came  with  his  family 
to  .America,  the  voj^age  being  made  on  a  sailing 
vessel  and  the  trip  consuming  a  period  of  eight 
weeks.  Landing  in  New  York,  he  soon  after- 
ward made  his  way  westward  to  Cook  county, 
Illinois,  and  purchased  a  farm  in  the  district  now 
covered  by  the  beautiful  suburb  of  Washington 
Heights,  the  property  which  he  thus  owned  being 
now  worth  millions  of  dollars.  He  was  there  en- 
gaged in  farming  until  1857,  when  he  came  to 
what  is  now  Sioux  City,  Iowa,  the  largest  and 
most  imposing  building  in  the  little  frontier  vil- 
lage at  the  time  being  the  barn  of  the  Northwest- 
ern Stage  Company.  He  crossed  the  Missouri 
river  on  the  7th  of  June,  1857,  and  took  up  gov- 
ernment land  where  now  is  located  South  Sioux 
City.  L^pon  his  claim  he  constructed  as  the  first 
family  residence  a  rude  dugout  of  the  type  so 
common  in  the  early  days  in  that  section,  as  also 
at  a  later  date  in  the  Dakotas,  and  he  developed 
and  improved  a  good  farm,  becoming  one  of  the 
well-to-do  and  honored  citizens  of  that  locality. 
Privations  and  hardships  of  other  orders  were  the 
l)ortion  of  the  family  during  the  formative  era, 
and  at  times  it  was  impossible  to  secure  flour  and 
other  commodities  now  considered  absolutely  es- 
sential, and  the  first  flour  which  he  purchased 
cost  twenty  dollars  for  one  hundred  pounds.  Wil- 
liam Leach  continued  to  reside  in  Nebraska  until 
bis  death,  which  occurred  in  1869.  and  his  widow 
still  resides  on  the  old  homestead  farm,  in  Da- 
kota county.  Nebraska,  having  attained  to  the 
venerable  age  of  seventy-six  years  ('1904).  She 
has  long  been  a  devoted  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian church,  as  was  also  her  husband,  and  he 
was  a  stanch  Republican  in  politics,  having  iden- 
tified himself  with  the  party  at  the  time  of  its 
organization.  Of  the  thirteen  children  in  the 
family  our  subject  was  tlie  eldest,  and  only  he 
and  his  sister  are  now  living,  she  being  married 
and  a  resident  of  Chicago,  Illinois. 

Captain  Leach   was  about  two  years  of  age 


at  the  time  of  his  parents'  immigration  to  the 
L'nited  States,  and  he  attended  school  for  a  short 
time  in  Cook  county,  Illinois,  being  but  eight 
years  old  when  the  family  came  to  Nebraska.  It 
is  needless  to  say  that  in  the  pioneer  locality 
scholastic  advantages  were  notable  chiefly  for 
their  absence,  so  that  he  received  but  little  school- 
ing after  coming  to  the  west.  This  deprivation 
has  not  proved  a  serious  handicap,  however,  for 
under  the  direction  of  that  wisest  of  all  head  mas- 
ters, experience,  he  has  gained  a  wide  and  varied 
fund  of  practical  knowledge  and  is  a  well  in- 
formed man  of  mature  judgment.  The  Captain 
left  the  parental  roof  at  the  age  of  eleven  years 
and  began  to  fight  the  battle  of  life  on  his  own 
responsibility.  For  five  months  he  was  engaged 
in  driving  stage  between  Covington  and  Onidie, 
Nebraska,  and  then  entered  the  employ  of  the  firm 
of  Bozler  &  Hedges,  who  were  engaged  in  the 
freighting  business,  for  whom  he  drove  a  bull 
team  for  the  ensuing  eighteen  months,  after 
which  he  was  employed  in  the  office  of  the  firm 
and  later  their  general  store  at  Sioux  City,  Iowa. 
He  remained  with  the  firm  for  three  years  and 
then  remained  one  year  at  the  home  farm.  At 
the  age  of  seventeen  he  inaugurated  his  career 
in  connection  with  steamboat  transportation  on 
the  Missouri  river,  securing  a  position  on  the 
steamer  "Miner,"  commanded  by  Captain  Haw- 
ley,  and  plying  between  Sioux  City  and  Fort 
Benton.  Montana.  He  thus  penetrated  the  vari- 
ous sections  of  the  northwest  during  the  early  pio- 
neer epoch  when  the  venturesome  prospectors 
were  making  their  way  into  the  mountain  fast- 
nesses of  Montana  in  search  of  gold,  while  buf- 
faloes were  to  be  seen  by  thousands  and  wild 
game  of  all  sorts  were  abundant  and  the  Indians 
obstinately  disputed  the  encroachments  of  the 
white  men.  He  continued  to  be  thus  identified 
with  the  navigation  of  the  Missouri  for  a  few 
years,  and  upon  attaining  his  legal  majority  he 
started  in  the  agricultural,  grain  and  commission 
business  at  Covington.  Nebraska,  where  he  con- 
tinued operations  until  1875,  having  been  success- 
ful in  his  efforts.  It  should  be  noted  in  passing 
tliat  he  first  came  into  what  is  now  South  Dakota 
in     June,      1859,     when     he     accompanied     his 


796 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


father  here  with  a  load  of  produce,  for 
which  the}-  received  the  sum  of  three  hundred 
forty  dollars,  which  practically  paid  for 
the  farm  in  Nebraska.  After  retiring  from 
business  in  Covington,  Nebraska,  the  Cap- 
tain removed  to  Dixon  county,  that  state,  where 
he  erected  the  first  grain  elevator  and  established 
the  first  lumber  yard  in  the  village  of  Ponca.  In 
1877  he  traded  his  properties  there  for  mining 
properties  in  the  P'lack  Hills,  to  which  section 
he  made  his  way.  being  there  engaged  in  pros- 
pecting for  a  short  time,  after  which  he  returned 
to  Nebraska,  where  he  remained  until  1878,  when 
he  came  again  to  the  Hills,  bringing  about  fifteen 
buggies  and  harness,  of  which  he  disposed  at  a 
good  profit,  and  upon  his  return  to  Nebraska  he 
engaged  in  contracting  for  ties,  supplying  the 
Sioux  City,  Columbus  &  Black  Hills  Railroad, 
which  was  then  in  process  of  construction.  To 
this  enterprise  he  gave  his  attention  for  one  year 
and  then,  in  1882,  he  built  the  stea;mer  "Little 
Maude,"  which  he  put  into  requisition  in  connec- 
tion with  his  wood  trade,  securing  the  product 
from  his  land  on  the  river  and  selling  the  same 
in  the  markets  at  Sioux  City.  In  the  following 
\ear  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Chicago,  ]\Iil- 
\^•aukee  &  St,  Paul  Railroad  Company,  trans- 
porting passengers  and  baggage  with  his  boat, 
and  on  the  24th  of  August,  1883,  he  arrived  at 
what  is  now  his  home  village  of  Running  Water, 
Bon  Homme  count}',  where  he  has  ever  since  re- 
sided, while  he  has  built  up  a  large  and  important 
transportation  business  of  general  order  on  the 
Missouri  river,  while  he  has  been  the  owner  and 
operator  of  the  ferry  across  the  river  from  this 
point  to  Niobrara,  Nebraska,  from  1883  to  the 
present  time.  In  1893  ^^^  chartered  the  steamer 
"Last  Chance."  which  he  utilized  for  transporta- 
tion purposes  until  1898,  when  he  built  the 
steamer  "South  Dakota,"  which  continued  in  serv- 
ice until  May  10,  1902.  when  it  was  burned  to 
the  water's  edge,  at  the  dock  in  Hiles  Landing, 
entailing  a  loss  of  twenty  thousand  dollars,  with- 
out insurance.  In  January.  1903,  Captain  Leach 
purchased  the  steamer  "Bachelor."  which  he  now 
utilizes,  having  also  in  requisition  the  steamer 
"Little  Maude,"  both  of  which  are  operated  bv  ' 


the  company  of  which  he  is  president,  the  stock 
of  the  concern  being  owned  in  its  entirety  by  his 
family.  The  Missouri  River  Transportation 
Company,  of  which  he  is  president  and  general 
manager,  was  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the 
state  in  1902,  and  does  a  general  freight  and  pas- 
senger transportation  business,  having  landings 
at  the  following  named  points :  St.  Helena, 
Yankton,  Lyter,  Springfield,  Santee,  Running 
Water,  Niobrara,  Yankton  Agency,  Iron  Post, 
Scalp  Creek  and  Wheeler.  His  son.  Captain  Jo- 
seph, Jr.,  is  general  superintendent  of  the  com- 
pany ;  while  the  other  two  sons  of  the  official 
corps  are  William  A.,  who  is  secretary,  and 
Paul  Clifford,  who  is  treasurer.  The  company 
handles  a  large  annual  business  and  affords  fa- 
cilities which  are  of  great  value.  In  1893  the 
Captain  purchased  what  is  known  as  the  Chalk 
Clifif  ranch,  in  this  county,  and  he  made  many 
improvements  on  the  place,  which  is  one  of  the 
best  in  this  section.  He  disposed  of  this  property 
in  1 901.  In  1889  he  erected  his  present  fine  resi- 
dence in  Running  Water,  the  same  being  one  of 
the  most  attractive  homes  in  the  county,  while  it 
is  a  recognized  center  of  social  life  and  is  notable 
for  its  gracious  hospitality.  He  is  also  the  owner 
of  a  general  merchandise  store  at  Perkins,  this 
county,  and  is  known  as  one  of  the  progressive 
business  men  and  loyal  citizens  of  the  state  in 
which  he  has  made  his  home  for  so  many  years 
and  in  which  his  circle  of  friends  coincides  with 
that  of  his  acquaintances.  In  politics  he  gives  an 
uncompromising  allegiance  to  the  Republican 
party  and  is  well  fortified  in  his  convictions  on 
matters  of  public  polity,  as  is  he  also  in  the  other 
and  varied  relations  of  life.  He'  has  been  an  ac- 
tive and  influential  factor  in  public  affairs  and  has 
been  honored  with  offices  of  distinctive  trust  and 
responsibility.  In  1895  he  served  as  a  member 
of  the  state  legislature,  and  in  1900  was  elected  to 
represent  the  seventh  district  in  the  state  senate, 
making  an  excellent  record  in  both  assemblies 
and  gaining  the  unqualified  endorsement  of  his 
constituents.  He  is  an  appreciative  and  honored 
member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  having  been  a 
charter  member  of  ]Mt.  ^'ernon  .Springfield 
Lodge,  No.  7,  Ancient  Free  and  .Accepted  Ma- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


797 


sons,  at  Xiobrara,  Xebraska.  where  he  is  also 
affiliated  with  the  other  York  Rite  bodies,  and 
he  has  also  attained  the  thirty-second  degree  in 
the  Scottish  Rite,  being  affiliated  with  Yankton 
Consistory,  at  Yankton. 

At  Covington,  Nebraska,  on  the  2<1  of  Sep- 
tember, 1871,  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of 
Captain  Leach  to  Miss  Minnie  Seeley.  who  was 
born  in  Xew  York.  She  was  reared  and  edu- 
cated at  Waterloo,  Iowa,  being  a  daughter  of 
Clinton  F.  and  Mary  Seeley,  who  is  now  deceased, 
her  father  having  been  a  successful  contracting 
mason  and  now  living-  at  Anaconda,  Montana, 
aged  seventy-five  years.  Mrs.  Leach  is  a  member 
of  the  Congregational  church  in  Running  Water 
and  is  prominent  in  its  work  and  also  in  the  social 
life  of  the  community.  Of  the  ten  children  of 
Captain  and  Mrs.  Leach  we  enter  the  following 
brief  record  in  conclusion  of  this  sketch  :  Joseph, 
Jr.,  the  general  superintendent  of  the  company 
of  which  his  father  is  president,  is  captain  of  the 
steamer  "Bachelor ;"  ]\Iinnie  C.  is  the  wife  of 
Marion  A.  Farver,  who  has  charge  of  the  sub- 
ject's mercantile  establishment  at  Perkins ; 
George  is  engineer  of  the  steamer  "Bachelor ;" 
Paul  C.  is  clerk  on  the  steamer  "Bachelor :"  Wil- 
lard  A.  is  secretar\-  of  the  Missouri  River  Trans- 
portation Company,  as  has  been  previously  noted  ; 
Susan  B.  is  a  member  of  the  class  of  1903  in  All 
Saints'  College,  at  Sioux  Falls ;  Arthur  died  at  the 
age  of  two  years;  and  Vera.  ?\Iinnie  and  Alaude 
are  at  the  parental  home. 


JAMES  P.  COOLEY,  who  is  a  represent- 
ative of  Bon  Homme  county  in  the  state  senate 
at  the  time  of  this  writing,  is  one  of  the  leading 
citizens  of  the  county  mentioned  and  his 
precedence  and  personal  popularity  are  indicated 
in  the  important  office  to  which  he  has  been  called 
and  in  which  he  is  serving  his  constituency  and 
the  state  with  signal  ability. 

]Mr.  Cooley  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  Mary- 
land, having  been  born  in  Cecil,  Cecil  county, 
on  the  26th  of  February,  1845,  one  of  the  eight 
children  of  Corbin  and  IMary  (Shaw)  Cooley, 
and  being  the  eldest  of  the  four  surviving,  the 


others  being  as  follows:  ^lary  S.,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Robert  Christy,  of  Cecil  county,  Elaine; 
and  Charles  and  Emma,  who  are  twins,  the 
former  being  a  prominent  physician  of  ]\Iadelia, 
Minnesota,  while  the  latter  is  the  wife  of  David 
W.  Hutchinson,  of  East  Dowington,  Pennsyl- 
vania. The  father  of  the  subject  was  born  in 
Hartford  county,  [Maryland,  on  the  12th  of 
August,  1799,  being  a  son  of  Samuel  Cooley, 
who  was  a  valiant  soldier  in  the  Continental 
line  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  the  family 
name  having  been  long  identified  with  the  an- 
nals of  American  history.  Daniel  and  Charles 
Cooley,  sons  of  Samuel,  also  served  their  coun- 
trv  with  distinction,  having  been  active  partici-  . 
pants  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  they  were  in  Fort 
Henr}'  at  the  time  when  Key  and  another 
prisoner  there  composed  the  famed  national  ode, 
"The  Star  Spangled  Banner."  The  father  of 
the  subject  passed  his  entire  life  in  Maryland, 
where  he  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years. 
He  devoted  his  life  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and 
was  a  man  of  marked  intellectuality  and  in- 
dividuality, his  scientific  methods  of  farming 
having  placed  him  far  in  advance  of  his  time, 
while  he  was  a  successful  grower  of  live  stock 
and  a  man  of  ^influence  in  his  community,  his 
advice  being  frequently  sought  by  his  neighbors 
in  regard  to  business  aflfairs  and  matters  of  local 
concern  in  a  public  way.  His  wife  passed  away 
at  the  age  of  eighty-two  years. 

James  P.  Cooley,  the  immediate  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  reared  on  the  homestead  farm 
and  under  the  direction  of  his  able  and  honored 
father  gained  that  knowledge  of  business  prin- 
ciples which  has  so  signally  conserved  his  suc- 
cess in  temporal  aflfairs,  while  his  educational 
training  was  secured  in  the  common  schools  and 
in  the  academy  at  West  Nottingham,  Cecil 
Qounty,  ?\Iaryland.  He  continued  to  reside  in 
his  native  state  until  the  year  1870,  when  he 
came  to  what  is  now  the  state  of  South  Dakota, 
becoming  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Bon  Homme 
countv,  where  he  has  ever  since  maintained  his 
home.  Here  he  took  up  a  pre-emption  claim  of 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  while  later  he  added 
homestead  and  timber  claims,  while  he  has  since 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


added  to  the  area  of  his  landed  estate  by  pur- 
chase of  adjoining  tracts  and  is  now  the  owner 
of  ten  hundred  and  forty  acres  in  the  home 
farm,  while  his  holdings  in  the  county  include 
an  additional  two  thousand  one  hundred  and 
fifteen  acres,  so  that  he  is  one  of  the  extensive 
landed  proprietors  of  this  favored  section  of  the 
state,  the  property  last  mentioned  being  eligibly 
located  near  the  town  of  Springfield,  while  his 
fine  home  farm  is  located  ten  miles  from  Tyndall, 
the  county  seat.  He  raises  cattle  upon  an  ex- 
tensive scale  and  has  been  most  successful  in  his 
operations  in  connection  with  this  important  line 
of  industry,  being  a  man  of  indefatigable  energy 
and  one  whose  policy  is  ever  a  progressive  one. 
He  is  one  of  the  heavy  stockholders  ,in  the  Se- 
curity Bank  of  Tyndall,  and  a  member  of  its 
directorate,  while  his  course  has  been  such  as 
to  retain  to  him  the  highest  measure  of  popular 
confidence  and  esteem  in  the  county  and  state 
in  which  he  has  ,so  long  maintained  his  home. 

Mr.  Cooley  is  endowed  with  fine  mental 
powers  and  marked  business  acumen,  and  he  has 
ever  shown  a  definite  interest  in  public  affairs. 
He  gives  his  allegiance  to  the  Democratic  party 
but  is  liberal  in  his  political  views  and  ever 
shows  the  courage  of  his  convictions,  in  which 
he  is  amply  fortified.  He  served  as  a  member  of 
the  territorial  legislature  of  1872-3,  and  in  1902 
he  was  elected  to  his  present  dignified  ofiice  as 
a  member  of  the  state  senate.  He  is  in  no  sense  | 
a  politician  but  is  intrinsically  loyal  to  the  duties 
of  citizenship  and  is  thus  readv  to  serve  the 
public  wnth  fidelity  and  to  the  full  extent  of  his 
powers,  while  his  present  official  preferment  I 
shows  the  appreciative  estimate  placed  upon  his 
services  by  the  people  of  the  county.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  board  of  county  commissioners 
for  four  years,  and  no  resident  of  the  county  is 
better  known  or  held  in  more  uniform  respect.       ' 

In  :\Iarch,  1872,  Mr.  Cooley  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  ]Marv-  ^McColIum,  of  this 
county,  whither  she  came  with  her  parents  from 
Coon  Rapids,  Iowa,  where  she  was  born  and 
reared.  Of  the  twelve  children  of  'Mr.  and  I\Irs. 
Cooley  all  but  two  are  still  living,  and  of  them 
we  enter  the   following  brief  record :   Jessie  re- 


mains at  the  parental  home :  Emma  is  the  wife  of 
C.  C.  Torrance,  of  Tabor,  this  county;  Mary  is 
at  the  present  time  a  student  in  Vennillion 
University;  Lucille  is  the  wife  of  Lewis  Barber, 
of  West  Point,  Nebraska ;  Addie  is  likewise  a 
student  in  Vermillion  University,  as  is  also 
Ralph ;  and  Corbin,  IMorris.  Charles  and  George 
are  still  beneath  the  parental  roof. 


ALEXANDER  A.  SHOEMAKER  was 
born  in  Keokuk,  Iowa,  on  the  i8th  of  June, 
1849,  being  a  son  of  Jesse  and  Henrietta  ( Hur- 
ley) Shoemaker,  who  removed  to  that  state  in 
1842,  becoming  pioneers  of  Keokuk  county,  their 
nearest  neighbors  at  the  time  being  ten  miles 
distant.  In  1849.  the  ever  memorable  year  of 
the  great  exodus  of  gold  seekers  to  California, 
the  father  of  the  subject  started  with  his  family 
to  cross  the  plains  to  the  new  Eldorado.  The 
Indians  were  on  the  warpath  and  this  fact,  to- 
gether with  the  condition  of  the  mother  of  the 
subject,  which  was  such  that  she  was  not  able 
to  continue  the  journey,  caused  them  to  stop  at 
Council  Bluff's  and  to  return  to  their  homestead. 
The  maternal  grandfather  of  the  subject  con- 
tinued onward  with  the  wagon  train,  however, 
and  they  finally  reached  California  in  safety, 
having  had  several  skirmishes  with  the  Indians 
while  enroute.  Mr.  Hurley  remained  in  Cali- 
fornia about  three  years  and  was  ver}-  successful 
in  his  mining  operations.  In  1857  Jesse  Shoe- 
maker removed  with  his  family  and  located 
within  a  short  distance  of  the  present  city  of 
Omaha.  There  he  remained  until  1865,  when 
he  moved  up  the  Platte  river  to  Fort  Kearney, 
where  he  started  a  ranch  and  road  house,  the 
same  becoming  a  stopping  place  and  outfitting 
point  for  parties  enroute  to  ?\Iontana  and  other 
parts  of  the  west.  The  emigrants  were  com- 
pelled to  wait  at  this  point  until  they  had  re- 
cruited a  sufficient  number  to  form  a  train  and 
thus  secure  more  effective  protection  from  the 
Indians  and  border  outlaws.  Mr.  Shoemaker 
there  continued  to  reside  until  1877,  and  he  and 
his  wife  passed  the  closing  years  of  their  lives 
in  Peimington  county,  South  Dakota. 


••i/ 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


799 


The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  rearetl  on  the 
frontier  of  civilization  and  accompanied  his  par- 
ents on  their  various  removals.  The  conditions 
were  such  that  his  early  educational  advantages 
were  ver)-  meager,  but  he  has  ably  overcome  this 
handicap  by  the  lessons  of  experience  and  by 
personal  application.  Prior  to  1877  he  had  man^' 
freighting  trips,  with  ox  teams,  from  Texas  to 
^Montana,' Colorado  and  other  points,  and  in  that 
year  he  came  to  the  Black  Hills  of  Dakota, 
making  the  trip  by  the  Kearney  route  and 
through  the  Sioux  Indian  reservation.  In  the 
party  were  twenty-five  men,  and  their  equipment 
comprised  fifteen  wagons  in  the  train.  They 
were  stopped  by  the  Indians  a  number  of  times 
but  escaped  serious  difficulty,  the  wife  of  the 
subject  being  the  only  woman  in  the  company. 
They  reached  Hayward,  Pennington  countv,  on 
the  4th  of  July,  1877,  where  they  participated  ii; 
the  rousing  celebration  in  honor  of  the  day  in 
the  ragged  little  mining  town.  There  the  com- 
pany divided,  and  JMr.  Shoemaker  and  his  wife 
proceeded  to  Rapid  City,  to  which  point  and 
Deadwood  he  engaged  in  freighting  from  Fort 
Pierre  during  the  summer,  and  from  Sydney, 
Nebraska,  in  the  winter,  making  the  venture  a 
success  financially.  The  Indians  attempted  on 
several  occasions  to  stampede  hfs  stock,  but  were 
not  successful  in  their  efforts.  At  one  time  he 
and  his  partner.  James  Arbuckle,  held  off  the 
hostile  Indians  for  four  hours,  on  Rapid  creek, 
the  same  party  of  savages  having  killed  an 
emigrant  family  at  Bear  Butte  about  two  days 
prior  to  this.  In  1880  Mr.  Shoemaker  removed 
to  a  ranch  on  Rapid  creek,  eight  miles  below 
Rapid  Cit}-,  and  was  there  engaged  in  farming 
and  stock  raising  until  1884.  He  then  removed 
to  Hermosa,  Custer  county,  and  there  established 
himself  in  the  livery  business,  while  he  also  dealt 
in  and  raised  horses,  having  a  number  of  horses 
on  the  ranch,  which  he  still  retained  in  his  pos- 
session. He  was  very  successful  in  his  efforts 
and  continued  in  business  at  Hermosa  until 
189,^  when  he  took  up  his  residence  on  a  ranch 
ninety  miles  distant  from  Fort  Pierre,  on  the 
r.ad  river.  There  he  gave  his  attention  to  the 
raising  of  horses  and  cattle,  having  an  excellent 


supply  of  water  and  a  good  range,  and  he  re- 
mained there  until  1902,  when  he  purchased  a 
ranch,  almost  adjoining  his  former  property,  and 
has  since  made  his  home  on  the  same,  having  a 
well  improved  place  of  three  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  and  raising  cattle  and  horses  on  an  ex- 
tensive scale.  He  has  an  average  of  about  a 
thousand  head  of  Hereford  cattle  on  his  range 
each  season,  while  he  is  one  of  the  leading  horse 
raisers  of  this  section,  having  some  thoroughbred 
stock  and  raising  standard-bred  trotting  horses 
and  light  driving  horses,  for  which  he  finds  a 
ready  demand  at  excellent  prices.  In  politics  Mr. 
Shoemaker  is  a  stanch  Democrat,  and  while  re- 
siding in  Custer  county  he  served  as  deputy 
sheriff',  in  which  connection  he  met  with  a  num- 
ber of  hazardous  experiences.  In  1889-90,  dur- 
ing the  outbreak  of  the  Sioux  at  the  time  when 
Sitting  Bull  and  Big  Foot  were  killed,  he  ser\'ed 
as  a  government  scout,  and  also  as  lieutenant 
under  Colonel  Day,  and  when  the  Wounded 
Knee  massacre  took  place  he  was  engaged  in 
scouting  duty.  Eighteen  out  of  the  company 
volunteered  to  go  to  the  Bad  Lands  and  discover 
how  many  Indians  were  in  the  c-amp,  this  being 
some  three  days  prior  to  the  battle.  Mr.  Shoe- 
maker served  as  commander  of  this  brave  little 
band,  under  the  title  of  lieutenant,  and  after  they 
had  approached  to  within  ten  miles  of  the  camp 
the  Indians  discovered  them  and  made  an  at- 
tempt to  surround  them,  but  the  company  man- 
aged to  escape,  falling  back  to  the  Cheyenne 
river,  where  the  remainder  of  their  company 
came  to  their  support.  They  entrenched  them- 
selves in  a  log  corral  and  gave  battle  to  their 
wily  foes,  twenty-two  Indians  being  killed,  but 
none  of  the  company  being  badly  injured.  They 
afterward  had  several  other  spirited  encounters 
with  the  savages.  In  1900  the  subject  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  board  of  county  com- 
missioners, serving  one  term,  and  he  has  also 
been  a  member  of  the  school  board  of  his  dis- 
trict.    Fraternally,  he  is  a   !\Iaster   Mason. 

On  the  T8th  of  June,  1874,  Mr.  Shoemaker 
was  united  in  marriage  to  ^liss  Anna  Lawson, 
who  was  born  and  reared  in  Iowa,  and  of  their 
children    we    enter   the    following    brief    record : 


8oo 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


F.  A.  is  a  successful  young  stock  grower, 
his  place  being  near  the  home  ranch :  H.  W.  is 
likewise  engaged  in  the  stock  business  on  the 
Bad  river ;  Jessie  is  the  wife  of  H.  J.  Baird,  of 
Wallace,  North  Dakota;  and  Kate  and  Leo  re- 
main at  the  parental  home. 


THE  GOLD  BROTHERS.— The  progress- 
ive spirit  and  initiative  power  so  typical  of  the 
men  who  have  built  up  a  splendid  civilization  in 
the  great  northwest  are  significantly  shown  forth 
in  the  cai-eers  of  the  Gold  brothers,  five  in  num- 
ber, who  have  been  for  many  years  closely  asso- 
ciated in  their  business  operations  and  who  now 
control  interests  of  broad  scope  and  marked  im- 
portance not  only  in  South  Dakota  but  also  in 
Minnesota. 

Sidney  R.  Gold,  the  eldest  of  the  five,  was 
born  in  Northampton  county,  Pennsylvania,  on 
the  -th  of  JMarch,  1857.  The  Gold  family  is  of 
German  lineage  and  was  founded  in  the  Key- 
stone state  in  its  early  settlement,  though  the  re- 
ligious faith  of  the  family  was  that  of  the  Re- 
formed Lutheran  church  instead  of  that  of  the 
Society  of  Friends.  The  parents  of  these  five 
brothers  were  Aaron  and  Ellen  (Gaboon)  Gold, 
both  of  whom  were  born  and  reared  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  latter  being  of  English  extraction  and  a 
representative  of  one  of  the  old  families  of  Penn- 
sylvania. Of  the  family  of  thirteen  children,  five 
sons  and  five  daughters  are  still  living.  The 
names  of  the  five  brothers  are  Sidney  R.,  Frank 
O.,  James  A..  John  T.  and  William  H.  They 
are  engaged  in  the  banking  business  at  Big  Stone 
City  and  Albee,  South  Dakota,  and  also  in  Renn- 
ville,  Wabasso,  Revere,  Belview,  Vesta,  Red- 
wood Falls,  and  Marietta.  Minnesota,  while  they 
also  conduct  an  extensive  business  in  real-estate 
loans,  having  agencies  at  Milbank,  South  Dakota, 
and  at  Redwood  Falls,  Minnesota.  The  old  fam- 
ily home  was  located  in  eastern  Pennsylvania, 
eighty  miles  west  of  New  York  city,  and  thence 
the  parents  came  to  Illinois  in  1857,  becoming  pio- 
neer settlers  of  Stephenson  county.  From  Illi- 
nois each  of  the  five  sons  crossed  over  the  Missis- 
sippi into  Iowa  ere  he  had  attained  his  legal  ma- 


jority, and  there  all  became  associated  in  their 
business  operations,  following  various  pursuits 
until  1887,  when  they  all  moved  on  to  the  extreme 
western  section  of  Minnesota  and  eastern  South 
Dakota,  with  whose  interests  they  have  since 
been  prominently  identified,  contributing  mate- 
riall}-.  to  the  march  of  progress.  Here  they  began 
to  purchase  and  improve  farming  lands  and 
finally  to  loan  money  for  New  England  capitalists. 
In  the  year  1894  they  established  a  banking  in- 
stitution in  Big  Stone  City,  and  they  now  own  or 
have  the  controlling  interests  in  banks  in  the 
various  towns  mentioned.  They  aiso  have  con- 
trolling interest  in  three  land  and  loan  compan- 
ies, the  Gold-Stabeck  Land  and  Credit  Company, 
of  Renville,  ]\linnesota:  Gold- Brothers  Land  and 
Investment  Company,  of  Big  Stone  City :  and  a 
branch  of  the  latter  at  Indian  Head,  Assiniboia, 
Northwest  Territory.  They  own  and  have  un- 
der cultivation  about  fifteen  thousand  acres  of 
land,  mostly  in  South  Dakota,  and  are  also  largely 
engaged  in  the  raising  of  high-grade  live  stock. 
They  are  the  owners  of  the  Gold  Brothers  Brick 
Company,  of  Big  Stone  City,  which  could  dispose 
of  an  output  many  times  greater  than  the  present 
capacity  of  the  plant,  which  is  kept  constantly  in 
operation,  afifording  employment  to  about  twenty 
men.  They  were  also  identified  with  the  organ- 
ization of  the  Inter-State  Chautauqua  Associa- 
tion, whose  assemblies  are  held  at  Big  Stone 
Lake,  and  also  with  the  improvement  of  Simpson 
Park,  which  is  used  b>'  the  association  and  which 
is  pronounced  the  largest  and  handsomest  sum- 
mer resort  in  the  northwest.  From  a  brochure 
describing  this  park  we  quote  as  follows :  "There 
is  a  large  auditorium  and  pavilion  used  for  public 
meetings,  lectures,  etc.,  the  former  having  a  seat- 
ing capacity  for  about  two  thousand  persons. 
There  are  also  seventy-five  cottages  in  the  park 
that  can  be  secured  on  the  grounds.  This  park 
is  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  finest  and  most 
picturesque  lake  in  the  northwest,  its  length  be- 
ing between  thirty-five  and  forty  miles,  while  it 
varies  in  width  from  one-half  to  two  miles.  Its 
banks  and  islands  are  beautiful  and  pleasing  to 
the  eye.  being  fringed  with  groves,  and  numerous 
stony  points  may  be  seen  as  you  sail  over  the  pla- 


GOLD  BROTHERS. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


8oi 


cid  bosom  of  this  lake  of  all  lakes  for  grandeur 
and  sport."  It  may  also  be  said  that  the  hotel 
accommodations  are  excellent  and  that  fine  hunt- 
ing and  fishing  are  to  be  had.  Sidney  R.  Gold 
is  secretary  of  the  Inter-State  Chautauc[ua  Asso- 
ciation and  of  the  company  controlling  Simpson 
park,  where  are  also  held  the  summer  schools 
of  the  Inter-State  Teachers'  Association,  covering 
the  states  of  North  and  South  Dakota  and  ■Minne- 
sota. 

Sidney  R.  Gold  has  been  prominent  in  public 
affairs  and  is  a  stanch  advocate  of  the  principles 
of  the  Republican  party,  as  are  also  each  of  his 
brothers.  He  represented  Grant  county  in  the 
house  of  the  state  legislature  in  1893  and  1895, 
and  served  on  the  appropriation  committee.  Fra- 
ternally he  is  identified  with  the  Masonic  order 
and  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America. 

In  Clinton,  Iowa,  on  the  i8th  of  May,  1876, 
Sidney  R.  Gold  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Eva  M.  Sloan,  who  was  born  and  reared  in  Clin- 
ton, Iowa,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  seven  chil- 
dren, namely:  Mabel  E.,  who  is  stenographer 
in  the  Big  Stone  Bank  :  Edith  M.,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Charles  Wallace,  cashier  of  the  Albee 
Bank,  at  Albee  ;  Florenc&L.  and  Ruth  S.,  who  are 
students  in  the  Northwestern  University,  at  Ev- 
anston,  Illinois ;  and  Ralph  S.,  Milton  J.  and  Eva 
.\.  The  family  residence,  one  of  the  finest  in 
the  county,  is  located  on  the  hill  in  the  north  sec- 
tion of  the  town,  commanding  a  most  beautiful 
view  of  the  lake  and  surrounding  country,  while 
it  is  modern  in  all  its  appointments  and  equip- 
ments. 

Frank  O.  Gold  was  born  and  reared  in  Davis, 
Illinois.  He  is  the  president  of  the  Gold-Stabeck 
Land  Company  and  vice-president  of  the  First 
National  Bank,  both  of  Renville,  Minnesota, 
where  he  makes  his  home.  He  is  a  strong  Meth- 
odist, and  is  not  only  prominent  in  his  own  church, 
but  has  been  further  honored  by  being  chosen  as 
a  lay  delegate  from  the  Northern  Minnesota 
conference  to  the  general  conference  of  the 
Methodist  church,  held  at  Los  Angeles,  Califor- 
nia, in  the  early  summer  of  1904. 

James  A.  Gold  was  born  in  Davis,  Illinois, 
on  the  14th  of  May,  i860.    At  the  age  of  fifteen 


years  he  joined  his  older  brothers  in  Iowa,  and 
acted  as  station  agent  and  telegraph  operator  in 
the  various  towns  in  which  they  were  located, 
having  served  in  such  capacity  for  eight  years 
after  coming  to  Big  Stone  City.  He  has  served  as 
treasurer  of  the  school  district  for  the  past  dec- 
ade. He  is  affiliated  with  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  Amer- 
ica and  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the 
First  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Big  Stone 
City.  He  has  executive  charge  of  the  affairs  of 
the  Gold  &  Company  Bank,  of  which  he  has  been 
cashier  from  the  time  of  its  establishment,  in 
1894.  His  residence  is  the  finest  in  the  city  and 
one  of  the  best  to  be  found  between  Minneapolis 
and  Aberdeen.  At  Waubay,  Day  county,  on  the 
22d  of  December,  1884,  Mr.  Gold  wedded  Miss 
Ida  B.  Stone,  who  was  born  in  the  state  of  Maine, 
being  a  daughter  of  C.  C.  Stone,  now  a  resident 
of  Big  Stone  City.  Of  this  union  have  been  born 
nine  children,  namely :  Ray  E.,  Lee  A.,  Earl  S., 
Grace  M..  Irene  M.,  Verna  B.,  Mildred  C, 
James  C.  and  Kenneth. 

John  T.  Gold  was  born  in  Davis,  Stephenson 
county.  Illinois,  on  the  isth  of  November,  1862, 
and  he  joined  his  brothers  in  Iowa  in  1875.  He 
is  now  treasurer  of  the  Gold  Brothers  Land  and 
Investment  Company,  to  which  he  devotes  the 
major  portion  of  his  attention.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  village  council  of  Big  Stone  City  for 
eight  years,  and  is  one  of  the  public-spirited  and 
popular  citizens  of  the  county.  He  is  identified 
with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and 
the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  and  is  one 
of  the  stewards  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  having  held  this  office  from  the  time  of 
coming  to  the  county,  and  having  been  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sunday  school  for  the  past  twelve 
years.  His  attractive  modern  home  is  eligibly 
located  on  the  shores  of  Big  Stone  lake.  On  the 
iSth  of  September,  1885,  John  T.  Gold  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Miss  Alice  Harrington,  of  Delmar. 
Iowa,  and  they  have  three  children,  ?\Iarjorie  .\., 
Paul  J.  and  Malcom  L. 

William  H.  Gold  is  president  of  the  Gold- 
Stabeck  Bank,  at  Redwood  Falls,  where  he  re- 


802 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


sides,  and  devotes  his  attention  to  that  institution. 
Mr.  Gold  is  a  Methodist  and  in  the  early  summer 
of  1904  was  a  lay  delegate  from  the  Southern 
Minnesota  conference  to  the  general  conference 
of  the  ^lethodist  Episcopal  church,  held  at  Los 
Angeles. 


:\IAJOR  ROBERT  BOLLARD,  an  honored 
citizen  of  Scotland,  Bon  Homme  county,  is  a  rep- 
resentative member  of  the  bar  of  the  state,  has 
been  prominent  in  public  and  civic  affairs  in 
South  Dakota,  rendered  distinguished  service  as 
a  soldier  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  and  as  one 
of  the  sterling  pioneers  of  this  state  demands 
recognition  in  this  history. 

?\Iaior  Dollard  was  born  at  Fall  River,  Mas- 
sachusetts, Alarch  14,  1842,  and  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools  of  the  old  Bay  state.  His  fa- 
ther, Thomas  Dollard,  was  born  in  Thomastown, 
Ireland,  in  1810,  and  came  to  America  in  1836, 
residing  for  a  short  time  in  New  York  and  there- 
after making  his  home  in  Massachusetts  until  his 
death,  in  1882.  In  1838,  in  New  York,  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Mary  Collyer,  and  they  became  the  par- 
ents of  one  son  and  one  daughter,  the  death  of 
the  mother  occurring  in  1843. 

Prior  to  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war  Major 
Dollard  joined  a  company  of  the  Massachusetts 
militia,  and  in  the  winter  of  1860-61  was  one  of 
the  number  who  volunteered  for  service  in  sup- 
pressing the  rebellion.  He  was  called  to  active 
duty  on  the  15th  of  April,  1861,  bivouacing  with 
his  regiment  the  following  night  in  historic  old 
Faneuil  Hall,  in  the  city  of  Boston.  This  old 
building  has  been  consistently  called  the  "cradle 
of  liberty."  Within  its  ancient  walls  lay  in  state 
the  body  of  the  first  patriot  killed  in  the  war  of 
the  Revolution  and  there  the  eloquent  voices  of 
Daniel  Webster,  \\'endell  Phillips  and  other  fa- 
riious  orators  were  often  heard  in  the  stormy  days 
before  the  Civil  war.  Major  Dollard's  regiment 
was  called  into  service  for  three  months,  and  the 
men  who  coiupriscd  this  and  the  other  three  regi- 
ruents  of  infantry,  a  battalion  and  a  company  of 
light  artillery— about  thirty-eight  hundred  in 
number — were  called  the  "Minute-men  of  Massa- 


chusetts," and  it  is  claimed  they  were  the  first 
volunteers  to  enter  the  field  in  the  Union  cause. 
The  Major's  regiment  was  the  first  to  arrive  on 
what  eventually  proved  to  be  the  "dark  and 
bloody  ground"  of  the  war,  the  state  of  Virginia, 
and  on  the  day  which  marked  their  arrival  in  the. 
Old  Dominion  General  Robert  E.  Lee  resigned 
his  commission  in  the  United  States  army  to  cast 
in  his  lot  with  the  fortunes  of  his  native  state  and 
to  repel  the  invasion  of  the  northern  troops. 
Shortly  after  the  expiration  of  his  three  months' 
term  of  service  ^lajor  Dollard  re-enlisted,  becom- 
ing a  member  of  Company  I,  Twenty-second_ 
Massachusetts  Volunteer  Infantry,  to  which  Gen- 
eral Miles,  late  commanding  general  of  the  United 
States  army,  came  soon  afterward  as  a  lieutenant, 
while  the  commander  of  the  regiruent  was  Henry- 
Wilson,  then  L'nited  States  senator  and  later  vi 
president  with  President  Grant.  Major  Dol- 
lard's company,  however,  did  not  have  the  re- 
quired quota  of  men,  and  therefore  disbanded,  its 
members  joining  other  organizations  in  the  Twen- 
ty-third ^lassachusetts  Infantry,  while  our  sub- 
ject fell  in  with  a  company  of  "pilgrims"  from 
Plymouth  Rock.  He  served  with  this  comruand 
in  the  campaigns  in  Maryland,  North  and  South 
Carolir:a  and  \'irginia,  holding  the  office  of  ser^ 
geant  and  later  being  pr-omoted  first  sergeant,! 
then  lieutenant  and  finally,  in  December,  1863,; 
being  made  captain  in  a  regiruent  of  colored  cav- 
alry, which  was  believed  to  be  intended  to  become' 
a  part  of  the  regular  army  at  the  close  of  the 
war.  With  this  coriimand  he  served  in  the  Rv 
mond  and  Petersburg  campaign  of  1864-5,  '^"'^ 
he  was  seriously  wounded  while  commanding 
the  advance  of  an  attack  on  the  works  at  Rich- 
ruond,  while  in  the  general  orders  Major  General 
Benjamin  F.  Butler  thus  complimented  him  on 
this  occasion:  "Captain  Robert  Dollard,  Second 
l'nited  States  Colored  Cavalry,  acting  as  field 
officer  and  in  command  of  the  skirmish  line  at 
Newmarket  Heights,  inspired  his  corumand  by 
his  great  personal  bravery,  coolness  and  ability, 
until  he  fell  severely'  wounded  near  the  enemies"^ 
main  line,  is  hereby  promoted  to  major."  Major 
Dollard,  having  partially  recovered  from  his 
wound,  returned  to  the  field  and  commanded  his 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


803 


regiment  thereafter  until  the  close  of  the  war. 
Shortly  afterward  there  was  organized  a  corps, 
of  which  his  command  formed  a  part,  for  service 
on  the  Rio  Grande  in  Texas,  to  watch  the  move- 
ments of  Maximilian  in  Mexico.  The  cavalry 
brigade  of  which  the  Major's  regiment  formed 
a  part  seemed  to  be  under  a  high  state  of  disci- 
pline, being  comprised  of  regiments  commanded 
respectively  by  Colonel  Charles  Francis  Adams, 
of  Massachusetts ;  Colonel  Jeptha  Garrard,  of 
Cincinnati ;  and  Major  Dollard,  but  when  about 
to  take  transports  for  Texas  a  rumor  was  circu- 
lated to  the  effect  that  the  men  were  to  be  kept 
in  service  five  years,  though  their  term  of  enlist- 
ment would  expire  in  about  eighteen  months, 
and  that  they  were  to  be  taken  to  the  south  to 
raise  cotton  and  thereby  assist  in  pa}'ing  the  na- 
tional debt,  and  this  caused  an  outbreak  of  mutiny 
in  the  ranks.  The  Alajor  had  ten  of  his  twelve 
companies,  about  eight  hundred  men,  with  him 
and  armed  with  carbines  and  well  supplied  with 
ammunition  ;  and  all,  with  the  exception  of  the 
men  on  guard  duty,  declined  to  go  on  shipboard, 
breaking  out  in  turbulent  disorder  and  defiance, 
but  later  the  presence  of  a  large  white  regiment, 
well  armed  and  with  their  position  commanded  by 
two  or  more  cannon,  effectually  cooled  the  rebel- 
lious ardor  of  the  colored  regiment,  and  they 
went  on  board,  but  made  threats  to  take  the  ship 
when  out  at  sea — a  move  which  seemed  quite  pos- 
sible of  accomplishment,  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
there  were  but  thirteen  white  officers  to  control 
them.  This  plan  was  never  carried  out,  for  the 
white  officers  took  drastic  measures  when  well 
out  at  sea ;  thirty  of  the  ringleaders  were  dis- 
armed and  confined  in  the  coalhole  below  the 
engines ;  all  ammunition  in  the  possession  of  the 
men  was  thrown  overboard  and  that  in  reserve 
placed  beneath  the  officers'  cabin,  with  a  hint  that 
it  would  be  used  to  blow  up  the  ship  if  any  attempt 
were  made  to  take  it,  and  thus  quiet  and  order 
prevailed  for  the  remainder  of  the  journey,  from 
Portsmouth,  Virginia,  to  Brazos  Santiago,  Texas, 
where  the  troops  designated  for  service  on  the 
Mexican  border  were  landed.  They  were  dis- 
tributed along  the  Rio  Grande  until  the  early  part 
of  the  following  year,  when  they  were  discharged. 


Major  Dollard  was  in  active  service  throughout 
his  army  career  and  in  the  numerous  battles  in 
which  he  participated  he  won  credit  and  distinc- 
tion. Perhaps  no  better  testimony  as  to  the  merit 
of  his  military  service  could  be  given  than  that 
tendered  by  the  historian  of  a  certain  town  in 
Massachusetts,  a  talented  minister  of  the  gospel 
and  former  Union  soldier,  among  whose  parish- 
ioners was  a  millionaire  governor  of  the  state, 
for,  in  a  letter  to  iMajor  Dollard  touching  his 
place  in  the  history,  he  spoke  as  follows  :  "I  have 
given  vou  more  space  than  I  have  given  Governor 
Ames,  not  because  I  desired  to  punish  him  or  fa- 
vor you,  but  because  you  deserved  it." 

In  1866  Major  Dollard  located  in  Galeslnirg, 
Illinois,  subsequently  taking  up  the  study  of  law 
and  being  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1870.  In  1875 
he  married  Miss  Carrie  E.  Dunn,  no  children 
having  been  born  of  this  luiion.  Mrs.  Dollard  is 
a  talented  and  public-spirited  woman,  devoted  to 
art  and  music  and  to  the  advancement  of  projects 
for  the  betterment  of  the  race.  She  is  a  daugh- 
ter of  Imri  and  Jane  M.  Dunn,  formerly  of  Yates 
City,  Illinois,  and  is  one  of  a  large  familv  of  chil- 
dren. Her  father  was  born  near  Winchester, 
Virginia,  in  1810,  and  was  closely  related  to  the 
Thurman  familv,  of  which  the  late  Allan  G.  Thur- 
man  was  a  distinguished  representative,  and  be- 
ing a  strong  advocate  of  the  principles  of  the 
Free-soil  party,  he  early  emigrated  to  Ohio.  In 
Highland  county,  that  state,  in  1830,  he  married 
his  wife,  who  was  born  there  in  1813.  About 
1837  they  immigrated  to  Fulton  county,  Illinois, 
being  prominently  identified  with  the  develop- 
ment of  that  section,  of  which  they  were  hon- 
ored pioneers,  and  there  and  in  the  adjoining 
county  of  Knox  they  passed  the  remainder  of 
their  lives. 

In  April,  1879,  Major  Dollard  located  in  Doug- 
las county,  Dakota  territory,  being  its  first  settler. 
He  organized  and  led  the  fight  against  the  fraud- 
ulent organization  of  the  county  and  was  suc- 
cessful in  this  important  issue,  which  brought 
about  the  repudiation  of  fraudulent  warrants  to 
the  amount  of  sixty  thousand  dollars,  that  would 
have  proved  a  great  burden  on  the  taxpayers  of 
the  county.     He  was  a  prominent  and  influential 


8o4 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


member  of  the  constitutional  conventions  of  1883 
and  1885  and  a  leading-  member  of  the  last  terri- 
torial council.  He  also  has  the  distinction  of  hav- 
ing- served  as  the  first  attorney  general  of  the  new 
state  of  South  Dakota,  and  later  he  was  elected  a 
n-iember  of  the  state  legislature  and  also  of  the 
state  senate,  being  a  stanch  Republican  in  poli- 
tics. The  ]\lajor  has  been  continuously  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  law  for  thirty-three  years  and, 
in  the  full  strength  of  a  vigorous  manhood,  his 
usefulness  in  his  chosen  field  of  labor  bids  fair 
to  long  continue.  He  has  large  farming  interests 
in  the  state  but,  like  "Uncle  Jerry"  Rusk,  is  not 
a  farmer  but  an  agriculturist — he  does  his  farm- 
ing by  proxy. 


JAMES  D,  ELLIOTT,  of  Tyndall,  Bon 
Hon-ime  county,  stands  distinctively  forward  as 
one  of  the  able  and  honored  members  of  the  bar 
of  the  state  of  South  Dakota,  Mr,  Elliott  is  a 
native  of  the  state  of  Illinois,  having  been  born 
in  Mount  Sterling,  Brown  county,  on  the  7th  of 
October,  1859,  a  son  of  William  and  Mary  (Mc- 
Phail)  Elliott,  of  whose  seven  children  he  is  the 
eldest  of  the  five  surviving,  the  others  being  as 
follows :  Belle,  who  is  the  wife  of  Charles  E. 
Baker,  of  Condon,  Oregon ;  Eflfie,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Thomas  D.  Ferguson,  of  the  same  place: 
Lydia,  who  is  the  wife  of  John  Stanley,  of 
Parker,  South  Dakota;  and  ClifiSe,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Louis  L.  Fleeger,  also  of  Parker.  The 
father  of  the  subject  was  born  in  England,  in  the 
year  1833,  and  as  a  child  he  accompanied  his  par- 
ents on  their  removal  to  the  United  States,  the 
family  locating  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  His 
father  was  a  skilled  mechanic,  and  for  many 
years  after  locating  in  Pennsylvania  he  was  su- 
perintendent of  the  Sligo  iron  works,  understand- 
ing the  secret  processes  in  the  manufacture  of 
iron,  steel,  etc.  Early  in  the  'fifties  he  removed  to 
Brown  county.  Illinois,  where  he  purchased  land 
and  turned  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits, 
with  which  he  there  continued  to  be  identified 
during  the  remainder  of  his  life,  attaining  an  ad- 
vanced age.  The  father  of  the  subject  received 
his  early  educational  training  in  the  city  of  Pitts- 


burg, and  there  also  he  began  the  work  of  pre- 
paring himself  for  the  profession  of  law,  continu- 
ing his  technical  studies  after  the  removal  of  the 
family  to  Illinois,  where  in  due  time  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar.  Shortly  afterward  he  took  up 
his  residence  in  Alount  Air,  Iowa,  where  he 
opened  an  office  and  engaged  in  the  active  prac- 
tice of  his  profession.  At  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  of  the  Rebellion  he  enlisted  in  a  Alissouri 
regiment  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  great 
internecine  conflict  which  determined  the  in- 
tegrity of  the  Union,  while  he  was  mustered  out 
as  captain  of  his  company.  After  his  loyal  and 
valiant  military  career  'Sir.  Elliott  returned  to' 
Mount  Air  and  resumed  the  practice  of  the  law, 
becoming  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the  bar 
of  Iowa,  while  he  also  sensed  as  a  member  of  the 
legislature  of  the  state.  In  1872  he  came  as  a 
pioneer  to  the  territory  of  Dakota,  locating  a 
claim  in  Clay  county,  where,  by  reason  of  im- 
paired health,  he  continued  to  reside  until  1883, 
when  he  removed  to  Hurley,  Turner  county, 
where  he  resumed  the  practice  of  law,  soon  gain- 
ing distinctive  prestige.  About  1891  he  was 
elected  county  judge  and  removed  to  Parker,  the 
county  seat  of  Turner  county,  and  he  has  ever 
since  presided  on  the  bench  of  that  county,  where 
he  is  known  and  honored  as  one  of  the  leading 
legists  and  jurists  of  the  state.  Judge  Elliott  was 
a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention  and 
as  such  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittee to  which  was  assigned  the  work  of  deter- 
mining as  to  the  proper  division  of  the  territory 
into  the  two  states,  and  he  has  long  been  promi- 
nent in  public  affairs  and  in  the  civic  life  of 
the  territory  and  state.  In  politics  he  was 
originally  a  Democrat,  but  while  serving  in  the 
war  of  the  Rebellion  he  transferred  his  allegiance 
to  the  Republican  party,  of  whose  principles  he 
has  ever  since  been  a  stanch  advocate.  Fra- 
ternally, he  is  a  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic,  and  he  is  known  and  honored  as 
one  of  the  representative  citizens  of  the  state  of 
which  he  has  been  one  of  the  founders  and  up- 
builders.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  members  of 
the  Christian  church, 

James   D.   Elliott,   the   immediate   subject   of 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


this  sketch,  passed  his  boyhood  days  in  the  state 
of  Iowa,  and  his  early  education  was  obtained  in 
the  pubHc  schools  of  Mount  Air  and  Panora, 
that  state.  After  the  removal  of  the  family  to 
Dakota  he  continued  his  studies  in  the  public 
schools  of  Vermillion,  of  which  Professor  Culver 
was  superintendent  at  the  time,  and  under  this 
able  educator  he  also  received  a  course  of  special 
instruction  during  a  period  of  two  years,  and 
while  thus  attending  school  he  slept  in  an  empty 
building,  in  order  to  protect  the  owner  in  the 
insurance  carried  on  the  same,  while  he  also  did 
janitor  work  to  assist  in  defraying  his  expenses 
while  carrying  forward  his  studies.  He  was  an 
ardent  and  ambitious  student,  and  the  burning  of 
the  midnight  oil  while  pursuing  his  educational 
work  was  a  common  thing  with  him,  the  ex- 
pression having  no  trite  application  in  his  case. 
After  completing  his  more  purely  literary  edu- 
cation Mr.  Elliott  was  engaged  in  teaching  in  the 
]iublic  schools  for  a  period  of  three  years,  and 
he  invested  his  savings  in  cattle,  which  he  placed 
on  his  father's  farm,  his  plan  being  to  eventually 
place  his  stock,  as  appreciated  in  value,  on  the 
market  and  from  the  sale  of  the  same  secure  the 
funds  requisite  for  continuing  his  studies  in  the 
University  of  Michigan,  at  Ann  Arbor.  The 
Pood  of  1881,  however,  swept  away  and  drowned 
-U  his  cattle,  and  his  plans  being  thus  overthrown 
Mr.  Elliott  started  for  the  Black  Hills,  driving 
t'-rough  ivith  a  team  and  expecting  to  pass  the 
.nimmer  in  that  district.  In  the  autumn  of  that 
yeir  he  returned  home  and  for  the  following 
\ear  he  was  engaged  in  teaching  in  the  public 
schools  ^t  Lakeport,  Yankton  countv,  while  later 
he  taught  the  winter  term  in  the  school  at  Meek- 
ling,  Clay  county.  His  father  had  met  with  most 
serious  reverses  by  reason  of  the  flood  mentioned, 
and  under  these  conditions  it  became  necessar\- 
for  our  subject  to  return  home  and  aid  in  re- 
habilitating the  family  fortunes.  He  thus 
abandoned  his  plans  of  attending  the  university, 
but  was  still  determined  to  carry  on  his  study  of 
the  law,  which  he  had  initiated  some  time  pre- 
viously, and  while  engaged  in  teaching  he  read 
law  under  the  preceptorship  of  Colonel  John  L. 
Jolley,  of  \'ermillion.    In  1883  he  entered  the  law 


office  of  Gamble  Brothers,  at  Yankton,  and  in 
April  of  the  following  year  he  was  duly  admitted 
to  the  bar  of  the  state,  while  he  remained  with 
the  firm  mentioned  until  October  14th  of  that 
year,  when  he  located  in  Springfield,  Bon  Homme 
county,  and  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession. In  the  spring  of  the  following  year  Mr. 
Elliott  came  to  Tyndall,  the  county  seat,  having 
been  at  the  time  removed  from  Springfield  to 
this  point,  and  here  he  has  since  continued  to 
reside,  while  he  has  gained  distinction  and  suc- 
cess in  his  chosen  profession,  to  which  he  has 
applied  himself  with  marked  singleness  of  pur- 
pose, being  a  close  student,  an  able  advocate  and 
one  thoroughly  grounded  in  the  science  of  juris- 
prudence. In  1887  he  was  elected  to  the  office 
of  state's  attorney,  in  which  capacitv  he  served 
four  years,  and  in  iSgj,  under  the  administra- 
tion of  President  ■\lcKinley,  he  was  appointed 
United  States  district  attorney,  of  which  import- 
ant office  he  has  since  remained  incumbent,  by 
successive  reappointments,  his  last  appointment 
having  been  made  by  President  Roosevelt.  He 
has  proved  a  most  capable  and  discriminating 
officer  and  is  held  in  the  highest  confidence  and 
regard  by  his  professional  confreres  and  by  the 
people  of  the  state  at  large.  In  politics  Mr. 
Elliott  has  ever  given  an  unqualified  support  to 
the  Republican  party  and  he  has  been  an  active 
and  prominent  worker  in  its  cause,  having  been 
chairman  of  the  state  central  committee  in  1896, 
and  as  such  having  marshalled  his  forces  most 
admirably  during  the  presidential  campaign  of 
that  year.  He  has  been  very  successful  in  his 
profession  and  in  his  business  affairs,  and  is  dis- 
tinctively the  architect  of  his  own  fortunes.  He 
is  president  of  the  Security  Rank  of  Tyndall,  is 
the  owner  of  about  fifteen  hundred  acres  of  land 
in  Bon  Homme  county  and  is  largely  interested 
in  the  raising  of  live  stock.  Fraternally,  Mr. 
Elliott  is  identified  with  Bon  Homme  Lodge,  No. 
loi.  Free  and  Accepted  JMasons ;  Scotland  Chap- 
ter, Royal  Arch  ]\Iasons ;  Yankton  Commandery, 
Knights  Templar,  at  Yankton ;  Yankton  Consist- 
ory, Ancient  Accepted  Scottish  Rite,  and  El  Riad 
Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  the  Nobles  of 
the   Mvstic   Shrine,  at   Sioux  Falls,  while  he  is 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


also  affiliated  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and 
the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  in  Tyn- 
dall,  and  with  Sioux  Falls  Lodge.  No.  262, 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  at 
Sioux  Falls.  He  is  well  known  throughout  the 
state  and  enjoys  a  high  degree  of  popularity  in 
professional,  business  and  social  circles. 

On  the  29th  of  May,  1890,  Mr.  Elliott  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Agnes  Stilwell, 
daughter  of  Charles  H.  Stilwell,  the  present  post- 
master of  Tyndall  and  one  of  its  leading  citizens, 
individual  mention  of  him  being  incorporated  on 
other  pages  of  this  work.  "Sir.  and  Mrs.  Elliott 
are  the  parents  of  four  children,  namely :  Marion 
A..  Douglas  S.,  Hiram  :\IcP.  and  }ilary  H. 


JOSEPH  A'.  WAGXER,  who  is  incumbent  of 
the  office  of  treasurer  of  Pion  Homme  county,  re- 
taining his  residence  in  the  attractive  village  of 
Tabor,  the  county  seat,  is  one  of  the  popular  and 
highlv  esteemed  citizens  of  the  county  and  one 
of  the  representative  business  men  of  this  section 
of  the  state,  being  largely  interested  in  banking 
and  having  attained  prosperity  and  definite  pres- 
tige through  his  own  efforts,  being  thus  entitled 
to  be  termed  a  self-made  man.  which  is  ever 
a  title  of  honor  in  our  republic. 

Mr.  Wagner  is  a  native  of  Bohemia,  when- 
he  was  born  on  the  1st  of  March,  1855,  the  family 
having  been  resident  of  that  section  of  the  Ger- 
man empire  for  many  generations.  He  was 
there  reared  to  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  having 
received  his  educational  training  in  the  excellent 
schools  of  the  locality  in  which  he  was  born.  At 
the  age  noted  he  bade  adieu  to  home  and  native 
land,  in  company  with  his  elder  brother,  Albert, 
and  set  sail  for  the  United  States.  From  New 
York  city  they  proceeded  westward  to  Wisconsin, 
and  after  passing  about  ten  months  in  Keewaunee 
county,  that  state,  they  came  to  what  is  now 
South  Dakota,  this  being  prior  to  the  division  of 
the  territory.  Our  subject  located  in  Bon 
Homme  county,  where  he  secured  emplovment 
on  various  farms,  being  thus  engaged  for  several 
years,  during  which  time  he  carefully  saved  his  ! 
earnings.      In    1876   he    took   up    a    pre-emption 


claim  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  and  later 
filed  a  homestead  entry  on  the  same  property, 
which  was  located  about  twelve  miles  from  the 
present  county  seat  of  Bon  Homme  county.  He 
located  on  his  farm  and  vigorously  instituted  the 
work  of  cultivating  and  improving  the  same.  He 
resided  on  this  place  until  1887,  when  he  sold 
the  property,  which  had  greatly  appreciated  in 
value,  and  then  removed  to  Tabor,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  the  general  merchandise  business,  build- 
ing up  a  large  and  prosperous  enterprise  and  gain- 
ing the  good  will  of  the  people  of  the  surrounding 
country.  In  1901  he  disposed  of  his  store  and 
business  and  engaged  in  banking,  to  which  im- 
portant line  of  enterprise  he  has  since  devoted 
his  attention,  while  his  interests  are  of  wide 
scope  and  importance  and  he  is  recognized  as  one 
of  the  substantial  capitalists  of  this  section  of 
the  state.  He  is  president  of  the  Utica  State 
Bank,  the  Tabor  State  Bank  and  vice-president 
of  the  Lesterville  State  Bank,  all  of  which  have 
high  standing  among  the  monetary  institutions 
of  the  state,  being  ably  conducted  and  amply  for- 
tified in  a  capitalistic  way. 

In  his  political  adherency  Air.  Wagner  is 
found  stanchly  arrayed  in  support  of  the  princi- 
ples and  policies  of  the  Democratic  party,  and 
while  in  no  sense  a  politician  he  has  taken  at  all 
times  a  loyal  interest  in  the  success  of  the  party 
cause  and  has  been  an  influential  factor  in  further- 
ing the  same  in  a  local  way.  In  the  autumn  of 
1902  he  was  elected  to  his  present  office  as  county 
treasurer,  and  it  needs  not  be  said  that  the  fiscal 
affairs  of  the  county  have  been  placed  in  most 
competent  hands,  his  administration  being  typi- 
fied by  strict  business  principles  and  a  careful 
conservation  of  the  interests  of  the  county.  'Mr. 
Wagner  is  public-spirited  and  progressive  and 
takes  a  deep  concern  in  all  that  tends  to  promote 
the  well-being  of  the  state  in  which  he  has  gained 
fortune.  He  is  a  communicant  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church,  in  whose  faith  he  was  reared, 
ind  he  holds  membership  in  the  Bohemian  Catho- 
lic Central  Union,  being  president  of  the  lodge  of 
the  latter  in  Tabor. 

On  the  20th  of  October.  1877,  ^If-  Wagner 
was   imited    in   marriage   to   Miss   Rosa   Bumba, 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


807 


who,  like  himself,  is  a  native  of  Bohemia,  and  of 
their  seven  children  only  three  are  living,  namely : 
Joseph  J.,  who  is  cashier  of  the  Lesterville  State 
Bank  :  James  A.,  who  is  deputy  county  treasurer ; 
and  Thomas  J.,  who  is  cashier  of  the  Tabor  State 
Bank,  all  being  young  men  of  excellent  business 
ability  and  sterling  character. 


J.  -M.  DUXMIRE.  who  is  one  of  the  promi- 
nent farmers  and  stock  growers  of  Bon  Homme 
county,  and  who  is  serving  with  marked  ability 
as  a  member  of  the  board  of  county  commission- 
ers at  the  time  of  this  writing,  is  a  native  of  the 
fine  old  Buckeye  state,  having  been  born  in 
Holmes  county,  Ohio,  on  the  19th  of  April,  1850. 
a  son  of  Jacob  and  Rebecca  (Snediker)  Dunmire, 
of  whose  thirteen  children  eight  are  living  at  the 
present  time.  The  father  of  the  subject  was  born 
in  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  reared  to  matu- 
rit\'.  He  there  learned  the  trade  of  shoemaker, 
and  as  a  young  man  he  removed  to  Ohio,  locating 
in  Steubenville,  as  one  of  the  pioneers  of  that  sec- 
tion. After  his  marriage  he  removed,  in  1 83 1, 
to  Holmes  county,  where  he  entered  claim  to 
eighty  acres  of  land  in  the  midst  of  the  virgin 
forest,  where  he  cleared  and  improved  a  farm, 
there  retaining  his  residence  until  1853,  when  he 
removed  to  Knox  county,  that  state,  where  he 
purchased  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres, 
upon  which  he  continued  to  reside  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  Tune,  1874,  at  which  time  he 
was  seventy  years  of  age.  He  was  a  stanch 
Democrat  in  politics,  sincere  and  upright  in  all 
tiie  relations  of  life,  and  he  gained  a  position  of 
independence  through  indefatigable  labor  as  one 
of  the  sterling  pioneers  of  a  great  commonwealth. 
His  wife  passed  away  in  1897  at  the  age  of  eighty 
years. 

J.  M.  Dunmire,  with  whom  this  sketch  has  to 
do,  grew  to  manhood  amidst  the  environments 
and  conditions  of  the  pioneer  days  in  Ohio,  early 
beginning  to  contribute  his  quota  to  the  arduous 
work  of  tlie  home  farm  and  having  such  educa- 
tional advantages  as  were  afforded  in  the  common 
schools  of  the  locality.  As  he  was  the  youngest 
of  the  living  children  the  responsibility  of  caring 


for  and  aiding  his  parents  fell  upon  his  shoulders 
and  he  thus  remained  on  the  old  homestead  until 
the  death  of  his  honored  father,  conducting  the 
farm  on  shares  after  attaining  his  twentieth  year. 
In  1875  he  sold  his  interest  in  the  estate  to  his 
brother  Isaac  and  came  west  to  Iowa,  remaining 
one  year  in  Mahaska  county  and  then  removing 
to  Jasper  count}',  where  he  becan-e  the  owner  of 
a  fine  farm  of  two  hundred  and  forty  acres,  upon 
which  he  continued  to  reside  for  sixteen  years, 
developing  the  same  into  one  of  the  most  valuable 
properties  in  that  section.  In  1892  Mr.  Dunmire 
disposed  of  this  farm  and  removed  to  Dallas 
county,  that  state,  where  he  acquired  three  hun- 
dred and  twenty  'acres  of  land,  to  whose  cultiva- 
tion he  gave  his  attention  until  1901,  when  he 
disposed  of  the  property  and  came  to  Bon  Homme 
county.  South  Dakota,  where  he  is  now  the  owner 
of  a  valuable  and  well  improved  landed  estate  of 
five  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres,  the  entire 
tract  being  available  for  cultivation  and  of  the 
utmost  fertility.  He  has,  however,  given  his 
attention  more  particularly  to  shorthorn  cattle  and 
general  live  stock,  being  one  of  the  successful 
and  extensive  stock  growers  of  this  section  and 
having  shown  marked  discrimination  and  execu- 
tive ability  in  his  operations.  He  received  only 
five  hundred  dollars  from  his  father's  estate,  and 
the  gratifying  prosperity  which  he  today  enjoys, 
as  one  of  the  leading  farmers  and  stock  raisers 
of  Bon  Homme  county,  represents  the  results  of 
his  own  etlorts.  While  a  resident  of  Jasper 
county,  Iowa,  Mr.  Dunmire  served  three  terms 
as  county  assessor,  and  for  fourteen  years  he  was 
a  member  of  the  directorate  of  the  Farmers'  Mu- 
tual Insurance  Company,  of  that  count}-,  and  for 
an  equal  period  a  prominent  member  of  the  agri- 
cultural society  of  the  county.  While  a  resident 
of  Dallas  county,  that  state,  he  served  for  six 
years  as  vice-president  of  the  Farmers'  Mutual 
Insurance  Company,  later  was  one  of  the  adjust- 
ers and  served  one  year  as  president.  In  the  au- 
tumn of  1902  Mr.  Dunmire  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  county  commissioners  of  Bon 
Homme  county,  in  which  capacity  he  is  render- 
ing most  excellent  service  to  the  people  of  the 
county,  being  an  advocate  of  public  improvements 


8oS 


HISTORY    (")F    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


and  of  a  progressive  policy  in  directing  the  affairs 
of  the  county.  In  earher  years  he  was  a  Demo- 
crat in  pontics,  but  he  has  ever  had  the  courage 
of  his  convictions  and  has  recently  changed  his 
political  views  in  quite  a  radical  way.  .\t  the 
time  of  his  nomination  for  his  present  office  the 
question  as  to  his  political  allegiance  was  brought 
up,  and  he  refused  to  accept  the  nomination  un- 
less it  was  accorded  without  restrictions  and  con- 
ditions, and  his  election  testifies  to  the'  confidence 
reposed  in  him  by  the  voters  of  the  county,  while 
his  constant  aim  is  to  serve  all  the  people,  without 
regard  to  political  affiliations.  He  has  never  been 
ambitious  for  office,  and  such  preferment  as  he 
has  received  has  come  without  solicitation  on  his 
part.  He  has  served  many  years,  at  dift'erent 
times,  as  a  member  of  the  school  board,  and  has 
ever  shown  himself  to  be  a  loyal  and  public-spir- 
ited citizen.  He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  he  is  at  the 
present  time  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of 
the  church  in  Scotland.  Fraternally  he  is  identi- 
fied with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 
In  November,  1873,  Mr.  Dunmire  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Miss  Hannah  E.  Ruby,  of  Knox 
county,  Ohio,  and  of  their  six  children  all  are 
living  save  one.  Mary  Alice,  who  died  in  infancy. 
George  JM.  is  a  resident  of  Clark  county,  Iowa; 
Cora  E.  is  the  wife  of  J.  E.  Boot,  of  Hutchinson 
county.  South  Dakota ;  Rebecca  is  the  wife  of 
R.  W.  Anderson,  of  Des  Moines,  Iowa;  Marga- 
ret, who  is  the  wife  of  ^^'alter  A.  \\'ickham.  of 
Des  Moines.  Iowa:  and  Kirby  M..  who  remains 
at  the  parental  home. 


CHARLES  HIIX  merits  consideration  in 
this  work  for  many  reasons,  being  one  of  the 
honored  pioneers  of  the  state,  a  citizen  of  sterl- 
ing character  and  a  successful  and  prominent 
business  man  of  Springfield,  Bon  Homme  county, 
where  he  has  been  identified  with  the  banking 
business  since  the  year  1890,  while  he  early 
came  to  the  territory  of  Dakota  as  an  employe 
of  the  government  in  the  maintaining  of  the 
Indian  agencies.  He  is  familiarly  known  as 
]\laj(ir  Hill  and  is  a  man  whose  popularity  in  his 


section  of  the  state  is  of  the  most  unequivocal 
order.  Mr.  Hill  was  born  in  the  city  of  To- 
ronto, Canada,  on  the  12th  of  September,  1849, 
being  a  son  of  George  L.  and  Mary  (McKinzie) 
Hill.  \\ho  were, cousins.  Both  were  consistent  ex- 
ponents of  the  faith  of  the  Society  of  Friends, 
in  which  they  had  been  reared,  and  their  lives 
exemplified  this  faith  in  all  ways. 

Charles  Hill  was  reared  to  manhood  in  his 
native  city,  having  received  his  educational  dis- 
cipline in  the  excellent  schools  of  Toronto,  while 
he  had  learned  the  trade  of  millwright  and  had 
also  secured  excellent  training  in  the  office  of 
a  local  architect.  He  continued  to  reside  in 
Toronto  until  1873,  when  he  came  to  the  west 
in  the  employ  of  the  United  States  government. 
The  peace  policy  promulgated  by  President 
Grant  in  187 1  brought  up  the  question  of  plac- 
ing the  Indians  of  the  west  in  charge  of  various 
religious  bodies,  and  the  Society  of  Friends,  at 
their  general  yearly  meeting,  manifested  some 
hesitancy  in  accepting  the  responsibility  which 
would  be  placed  upon  them  in  this  connection, 
and  therefore  asked  that  the  government  select 
a  number  of  its  employes  from  their  members 
rather  than  ask  them  to  assume  more  exacting 
responsibility,  and  it  was  in  compliance  with 
this  request  that  IMajor  Hill  was  chosen.  Ac- 
cordingly, in  1873,  he  came  to  the  territory  of 
Dakota  as  an  official  at  the  Santee  Indian 
agenc\-,  where  he  remained  about  seventeen 
vears,  during  five  years  of  which  time  he  served 
as  Indian  agent,  rendering  most  capable  service. 
In  1890  he  came  to  Springfield,  where  he  as- 
sociated himself  with  Hon.  George  W.  Snow 
and  Hon.  Reuben  Groot  in  the  establishing  of 
a  banking  business,  which  has  since  been  success- 
fully conducted  under  the  title  of  the  Bank  of 
Springfield,  the  institution  being  ably  managed 
upon  the  highest  business  principles,  having  an 
ample  capitalistic  support  and  proving  a  valuable 
addition  to  the  business  interests  of  the  town  and 
surrounding  country,  while  the  interested  princi- 
pals command  the  unqualified  confidence  and  es- 
teem of  all  who  know  them.  In  politics  Mr.  Hill 
gives  his  allegiance  to  the  Republican  party,  and 
he  clings  to  the  religious  faith  in  which  he  was 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


809 


reared,  both  he  and  his  wife  being  members  of 
the  local  organization  of  the  Society  of  Friends 
at  Monroe,  Nebraska.  He  is  an  appreciative 
member  of  the  time-honored  fraternity  of  Free- 
masonry, in  which  he  has  passed  the 
various  degrees  of  the  York  Rite,  ex- 
cept those  of  the  commandery,  and  has 
attained  also  the  degrees  of  the  Scottish  Rite, 
being  a  member  of  Yankton  Consistory,  No.  i, 
being  elected  most  worshipful  grand  master  in 
1901,  while  he  also -holds  membership  in  the  ad- 
junct Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Daughters  of 
Rebekah. 

On  the  nth  of  June,  1877,  was  solemnized  the 
marriage  of  Major  Hill  to  Miss  Mary  Webster,  a 
daughter  of  Joseph  Webster,  of  Philadelphia, 
who  was  at  that  time  an  Indian  agent  in  South 
Dakota,  and  of  this  union  have  been  born  five 
children,  namely:  Emma,  Howard  J.,  Clarence, 
Helen  and  William-  Webster,  all  of  whom  remain 
at  the  parental  home  except  Howard,  who  resides 
in  Monroe,   Nebraska. 


JOSEPH  W.  WHITING,  a  member  of  the 
faculty  of  the  Springfield  Normal  School,  at 
Springfield,  Bon  Homme  county,  merits  distinc- 
tive representation  in  this  work  as  one  of  the  able 
and  popular  educators  of  the  state,  where  he  has 
maintained  his  home  for  more  than  fifteen  years 
past,  the  while  gaining  a  high  reputation  in  his 
chosen  vocation. 

Joseph  Williams  Whiting  is  a  native  of  the 
state  of  Wisconsin,  having  been  born  in  Spring- 
vale,  Fond  du  Lac  county,  on  the  4th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1864,  and  being  a  son  of  Amos  C.  and 
\'alucia  Violant  (Williams)  Whiting.  The  fa- 
ther of  the  subject  was  a  farmer  by  vocation  and 
died  May  7,  1900,  while  his  widow's  death  oc- 
curred on  November  5,  the  same  year.  In  the 
agnatic  line  Professor  Whiting  traces  the  direct 
ancestry  back  to  Nathaniel  Whiting,  who  settled 
in  Lynn,  Massachusetts,  in  1638,  while  oft  the 
maternal  side  the  lineage  is  traced  to  that  his- 
toric figure,  Roger  Williams,  the  founder  of  the 
Rhode  Island  colony.     In  Romeo  Elton's  history 


of  the  life  of  Roger  Williams,  published  in  1853, 
the  ancestral  record  shows  blood  relationship  of 
the  Williams  family  and  that  of  Oliver  Cromwell. 
The  subject  was  reared  under  the  sturdy  disci- 
pline of  the  homestead  farm,  and  after  availing 
himself  of  the  advantages  afforded  in  the  public 
schools  he  entered  the  Wisconsin  State  Normal 
School  at  Oshkosh,  with  a  definite  aim  of  pre- 
paring himself  for  the  pedagogic  profession.  He 
completed  a  thorough  course  in  this  excellent 
institution,  in  which  he  was  graduated  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  class  of  1887.  He  began  teaching  im- 
mediately after  his  graduation,  being  thus  en- 
gaged in  the  public  schools  at  Oconto,  Wisconsin, 
during  the  winter  of  1887-8,  while  in  the  autumn 
of  the  latter  year  he  came  to  Springfield,  South 
Dakota,  where  he  held  the  position  of  principal 
of  the  public  schools  for  the  ensuing  two  years, 
his  efforts  in  the  connection  meeting  with  marked 
appreciation  and  approval.  In  1891  he  was 
elected  principal  of  the  high  school  at  Scotland, 
Bon  Homme  county,  and  retained  this  incum- 
bency two  years,  after  which  he  returned  to 
Springfield  and  accepted  a  clerical  position  in  a 
local  mercantile  establishment.  His  tastes  and 
training,  however,  were  in  the  line  of  his  previous 
endeavors  and  he  was  thus  naturally  led  to  re- 
sume teaching.  In  1897  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  faculty  of  the  Springfield  Normal  School, 
and  in  this  capacity  he  has  since  continued  to 
serve  with  marked  efficiency,  being  one  of  the 
popular  and  enthusiastic  instructors  of  the  insti- 
tution and  having  marked  facility  in  begetting  a 
similar  spirt  of  enthusiasm  and  devotion  in  the 
students.  So  far  as  educational  matters  are  in- 
volved Profsessor  Whiting  believes  that  they 
should  be  entirely  segregated  from  politics  if  the 
best  ends  are  to  be  conserved,  but  in  local  and 
national  affairs  of  governmental  order  he  ac- 
cepts the  faith  of  the  Republican  party  and  is  a 
stanch  advocate  of  its  principles.  With  a  deep 
reverence  for  the  spiritual  verities.  Professor 
Whiting  is  tolerant  and  liberal  in  his  religious 
views,  contributing  to  the  support  of  all  churches 
and  being  personally  associated  principally  with 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  though  he  is 
not  a  communicant  of  the  same.    Fraternallv  he  is 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


identified  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  having  been  affiliated  with  Springfield 
Lodge,  No.  107,  since  1890 ;  and  with  the  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America,  holding  membership  in 
Seneca  Camp,  No.  3053,  in  which  he  is  at  the 
present  time  incumbent  of  the  office  of  clerk,  hav- 
ing been  identified  with  the  organization  since 
1900. 

In  Spring-field,  on  the  29th  of  March,  1890, 
Professor  Whiting  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Luna  B.  Monfore,  a  daughter  of  Peter  and 
Diana  (Howland)  Monfore,  who  settled  in 
Springfield  in  1871,  having  come  hither  from 
Iowa.  It  is  supposed  that  the  ancestry  of  the 
Monfores  may  be  traced  to  Simon  de  Monfort, 
the  founder  of  the  English  parliament.  Mrs. 
Peter  Monfore  is  a  lineal  descendant  from  one 
of  the  Howland  brothers  who  came  to  the  new 
world  in  the  Mayflower  and  were  closely  associ- 
ated with  the  history  of  Plymouth  colony.  The 
subject  and  his  wife  are  the  parents  of  a  winsome 
little  daughter,  Madge  Monfore  \Vhiting,  who 
was  born  in  Springfield,  on  the  8th  of  February, 
J894. 


CHARLES  L.  LAWRENCE  was  born  in 
St.  Lawrence  county,  New  York,  in  the  town  of 
Fort  Jackson,  on  the  15th  of  July,  1866,  being  a 
son  of  James  O.  and  Julia  A.  (Castle)  Lawrence 
and  the  younger  of  their  two  children.  His  sister, 
Elizabeth  M.,  is  the  wife  of  N.  J.  Johnson,  of 
Wakonda,  South  Dakota.  James  O.  Lawrence 
was  likewise  born  in  St.  Lawrence  county.  New 
York,  the  date  of  his  nativity  having  been  1843, 
and  he  was  reared  to  the  sturdy  discipline  of  the 
farm,  continuing  to  follow  agricultural  pursuits 
after  attaining  manhood.  In  1866  he  came  to  the 
west  in  search  of  a  location,  leaving  his  family 
in  the  east  until  he  had  selected  a  permanent  place 
of  abode.  He  entered  a  homestead  claim  in  Pope 
county,  Minnesota,  where  he  erected  a  primitive 
log  cabin  as  a  domicile  for  his  family,  and  he  then 
returned  to  the  east  and  brought  his  wife  and 
children  to  the  pioneer  home  in  Minnesota,  where 
they  continued  to  reside  until  1876,  when  he  came 
to  Yankton.  South  Dakota,  this  city  having  then 


been  the  capital  of  the  undivided  territory  of  Da- 
kota, and  here  he  turned  his  attention  to  govern- 
ment contracting.  In  the  spring  of  1879  h^  took 
up  a  pre-emption  claim  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres,  in  the  northeastern  part  of  Yankton  county, 
and  removed  to  this  farm,  which  he  improved 
and  placed  under  effective  cultivatioji.  while  he 
continued  to  add  to  the  area  of  his  landed  estate 
until  he  became  the  owner  of  a  fine  farm  of  four 
hundred  and  forty  acres.  In  1894  he  disposed 
of  his  property  in  this  state  and  removed  to  Mr- 
ginia,  purchasing  a  fruit  farm  about  twenty-five 
miles  southwest  of  the  city  of  Washington,  and 
there  his  devoted  wife  died,  and  in  April,  1902, 
he  returned  to  South  Dakota,  taking  up  his  resi- 
dence in  the  attractive  city  of  Sioux  Falls,  where 
he  is  now  living  retired  from  active  business,  be- 
ing well  known  as  one  of  the  honored  pioneers  of 
the  state.  In  politics  he  is  a  stanch  advocate  of 
the  principles  of  the  Republican  party,  having 
been  an  active  worker  in  its  cause,  but  never 
having  been  a  seeker  of  public  office. 

Charles  L.  Lawrence,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  reared  on  the  farm  and  secured  his 
educational  training  in  the  public  schools.  At 
the  age  of  seventeen  years  he  put  his  scholastic 
acquirements  to  practical  test  by  engaging  in 
teaching  in  the  district  schools  of  Yankton 
county,  having  been  thus  successfuly  employed 
for  several  winter  terms,  while  during  the  inter- 
vening summers  he  engaged  in  farm  work.  In 
November,  1892,  he  was  elected  county  assessor, 
of  which  office  he  continued  incumbent  for  four 
years,  having  been  elected  his  own  successor  at 
the  expiration  of  his  first  term.  In  the  summer 
of  1895  he  assigned  the  detail  work  of  this  office 
to  a  deputy  and  then  went  to  the  village  of  \^olin, 
where  he  accepted  the  position  of  stock  buyer 
for  the  mercantile  concern  of  the  J.  T.  Daugherty 
Company.  His  duties  in  this  connection 
were  of  varied  order,  since  he  maintained 
the  general  supervision  of  the  books  of 
the  company,  attended  to  the  buying  of 
stock  and  assisted  in  shaping  the  business  policy 
m  many  ways,  thus  contributing  materially  to  the 
upbuilding  of  the  extensive  business.  He  con- 
tinued with  this  concern  until  March,  1900.  when 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


he  resigned  his  position,  and  for  several  months 
thereafter  he  gave  his  attention  to  the  supervision 
of  his  fine  farm,  of  two  hundred  acres,  in  this 
county,  and  to  his  hve  stock  interests.  In  the 
autumn  of  that  year  lie  was  elected  county  audi- 
tor, and  he  served  with  so  great  acceptability  that 
he  was  chosen  as  his  own  successor  in  the  autumn 
of  1902,  and  is  now  serving  his  second  term  in 
this  important  office.  He  has  ever  accorded  a 
stanch  allegiance  to  the  Republican  party  and  has 
labored  zealously  to  forward  its  cause  in  the  local 
field,  having  been  a  delegate  to  various  county 
and  congressional  conventions  and  being  promi- 
nent in  the  local  ranks  of  the  "grand  old  party." 
Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  Yankton  Camp, 
No.  732,  Alodern  Woodmen  of  America. 

On  the  6th  of  December.  1891,  INIr.  Lawrence 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Evangeline  B. 
Case,  of  Yankton,  and  they  are  the  parents  of 
three  children,  Genevieve,  }\Iarjorie  and  Bernie. 


EDWARD  PARKER  WILCOX  is  a  native 
of  the  old  Empire  state  of  the  LTnion,  having 
been  born  in  Victor,  New  York,  on  the 
17th  of  December,  1837,  a  son  of  Jairus  and 
Mary  E.  Wilcox,  of  whose  nine  children  five  are 
yet  living,  namely :  Albert  B.,  who  is  a  resident 
of  San  Francisco,  California ;  Dr.  Robert  J.,  who 
resides  in  Wisconsin  ;'  Henry  M.,  deceased  ;  Ann 
A.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Benjamin  W.  Thomas,  of 
Oiicago,  and  Edward  P.,  the  immediate  subject 
of  this  sketch.  Jarius  Wilcox  was  born  in  Mid- 
dletown,  Connecticut,  about  the  opening  year  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  and  he  died  in  the  city  of 
Chicago,  Illinois,  in  1851,  having  been  one  of  the 
honored  pioneers  of  the  western  metropolis, 
which  was  a  mere  village  at  the  time  when  he 
there  took  up  his  abode.  His  death  resulted  from 
an  attack  of  cholera,  during  the  memorable 
epidemic  of  the  dread  disease  in  the  year  men- 
tioned. He  was  a  man  of  high  scholastic  at- 
tainments, having  been  graduated  in  Yale  Col- 
lege and  having  been  ordained  as  a  clergyman  of 
the  Presbyterian  church.  His  first  pastoral  charge 
was  in  the  state  of  New  York,  and  in  1837  he 
removed    to    Genesee.    Illinois,    being    called    to 


Chicago  in  1845,  and  being  one  of  the  early  min- 
isters of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  that  city. 
His  loved  and  devoted  wife  survived  him  many 
years,  her  death  occurring  in  1885.  The  paternal 
grandfather  of  the  subject  was  a  valiant  soldier 
in  the  Continental  army  during  the  war  of  the 
Revolution,  having  served  as  captain  of  a  Con- 
necticut company. 

Edward  P.  Wilcox  remained  at  the  parental 
home  until  the  death  of  his  father,  having  been 
fourteen  years  of  age  at  the  time,  and  he  forth- 
with initiated  his  independent  career,  bravely  fac- 
ing the  exigencies  and  showing  that  self-reliance 
which  has  been  the  conservator  of  his  pronounced 
success  in  later  years.     His  early  education  was 
secured  in  the  common  schools  and  he  had  also 
the  advantages  implied  in  the  environments  of  a 
cultured   and   refined  home.     From  the  age    of 
fourteen  until  1861  he  was  employed  in  the  lum- 
ber business  in  Qiicago,  and  he  then  withdrew 
from  the  vocations  of  peace  to  take  up  arms  in 
defense    of   the    republic.      During   about    seven 
months  of  the  year  1861  he  was  employed  in  the 
quartermaster's  department    at    General    Grant's 
headquarters,  and  in  August,  1862,  he  enlisted  in 
Battery  B,  First    Illinois    Light    Artillery.     He 
entered  as  a  private  and  was  later  promoted  ser- 
geant, orderly  sergeant  and  finally  lieutenant,  and 
in  1864,  when  his  battery  was  consolidated  with 
I  Battery  A,  same  regiment,  he  was  made  captain 
i  of  his  company  and  commanded  the  same  during 
j  many  spirited  engagements.     He  participated  in 
j  the  battles  of  Chickasaw  Bayou,  Arkansas  Post, 
the  siege  of  Vicksburg,  the  battles  of  Missionary 
Ridge,   Resaca,   Dallas,   Atlanta,    Nashville,   and 
many  other   of  the    important    engagements    in- 
I  cident  to  the  progress  of  the  great  civil  conflict, 
and  he  received  his  honorable  discharge  in  July, 
I    1865,  having  served  practically  during  the  entire 
course  of  the  war.     After  the  crown  of  victory 
rested  on  the  Union  arms  he  returned  to  Chicago, 
where  he  became  associated  with  his  brother-in- 
law,  Benjamin  W.  Thomas,  in  the  lumber  busi- 
1  ness,  under  the  firm  name  of  Thomas,  Wilcox  & 
I  Company.    The  business  of  the  firm  was  rapidly 
I  expanded  in  scope  and  importance  and  the  con- 
[  cern  became  one  of  the  leading  ones  of  the  sort 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


in  Chicago,  controlling  large  tracts  of  timber  land 
in  Michigan  and  manufacturing  lumber  upon  an 
extensive  scale.  In  1870  ^Ir.  Wilcox  'disposed 
of  his  interests  in  Chicago  and  came  to  the  ter- 
ritory of  Dakota,  locating  in  Yankton,  which  was 
then  the  capital  of  the  territon,',  and  here 
establishing  lumber  yards,  under  the  title  of  the 
Wilcox  Lumber  Company,  while  later  branch 
yards  were  established  in  other  places  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  territory.  Finally  the  con- 
cern also  began  dealing  in  grain  and  the  business 
in  both  departments  grew  to  be  one  of  extensive 
proportions,  while  the  firm  gained  the  confidence 
of  all  with  whom  it  had  dealings,  the  policy  fol- 
lowed being  one  of  the  highest  business  honor 
and  integrity.  In  1887  Mr.  Wilcox  withdrew 
from  the  firm  and  organized  the  American  ]\Iort- 
gage  Company,  which  was  incorporated,  and  of 
the  same,  he  has  since  continued  president,  the 
corporation  being  one  which  controls  a  large 
business  and  which  provides  facilities  in  the  ex- 
tension of  financial  loans  upon  reasonable  terms 
and  in  such  a  way  as  to  justify  the  confidence  of 
the  people  Avho  have  recourse  to  the  same.  In 
1890  Mr.  Wilcox  gave  distinctive  evidence  of  his 
public  spirit  and  his  interest  in  the  upbuilding 
and  progress  of  his  home  city,  since  he  then 
erected  one  of  the  finest  business  blocks  in  the 
city,  the  same  bearing  his  name,  and  in  this  fine 
structure  the  offices  of  the  American  Mortgage 
Company  are  now  located.  In  politics  he  accords 
an  unwavering  allegiance  to  the  Republican 
party,  and  while  he  has  never  sought  official  po- 
sition of  any  sort  he  consented  to  serve  as  a 
member  of  the  board  of  aldermen,  having  held 
this  office  for  one  term.  He  is  at  the  present 
time  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  Y^ank- 
ton  College,  having  been  in  tenure  of  this  office 
from  the  time  of  the  organization  of  the  college, 
save  for  the  interval  of  five  years  between  1886 
and  1891.  He  and  his  wife  are  prominent  and 
valued  members  of  the  Congregational  church, 
in  which  he  held  the  office  of  deacon  for  about  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  taking  a  zealous  interest  in 
all  departments  of  church  work  and  contributing 
liberally  to  its  support. 

On  the  19th  of  November,  1867,  I\Ir.  Wilcox 


was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Fannie  S.  Hurl- 
but,  of  Chicago,  Illinois,  and  they  are  the  parents 
of  two  children,  Jessie  H.,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Frederick  W.  Gurney,  of  Jamestown.  New 
York,  and  Dudley  B.,  who  is  a  resident  of  Los 
Angeles,  California. 


HON.  ELLISON  GRIFFITH  SMITH.— 
Distinguished  as  lawyer,  jurist,  legislator  and 
official,  also  enjoying  marked  precedence  as  a 
citizen,  few  men  of  South  Dakota  have  been  as 
prominently  before  the  public  as  Hon.  Ellison 
Griffith  Smith,  of  Yankton,  present  judge  of  the 
first  judicial  circuit.  Mr.  Smith  is  a  native  of 
Noble  county.  Ohio,  and  the  son  of  Amos  and 
Mary  (Ellison)  Smith,  the  father  born  April  14. 
1813,  in  Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania,  the  mother 
in  the  state  of  Ohio,  ^^^^en  a  child  Amos  Smith 
was  taken  by  his  parents,  George  and  Elizabeth 
(  Thornton)  Smith,  to  Noble  county,  Ohio,  where 
he  grew  to  manhood.  His  father  was  a  native  of 
Germany,  but  was  brought  to  this  country  when 
quite  young  and  spent  his  youth  and  early  mar- 
ried life  in  Pennsylvania,  subsequently,  as  stated 
above,  becoming  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Ohio. 
The  Thorntons  came  originally  from  England 
and  settled  in  one  of  the  eastern  colonies.  During 
the  war  of  the  Revolution  they  remained  loyal  to 
the  mother  country,  and  being  pronounced  in 
their  Tory  sentiments,  they  suffered  great  hard- 
ships at  the  hands  of  their  Whig  neighbors,  losing 
nearly  all  their  property-  besides  being  subjected 
to  many  personal  indignities. 

Amos  Smith,  the  subject's  father,  was  mar- 
ried at  the  age  of  thirty-eight  to  Miss  Mary 
Ellison  and  for  some  years  followed  merchandis- 
ing in  Noble  county.  By  reason  of  impaired 
health,  he  disposed  of  his  interests  and  removed 
with  his  family  to  Delaware  county  where  he  ac- 
quired large  landed  property  and  engaged  quite 
extensively  in  agricultural  pursuits  and  stock 
raising.  He  still  owns  about  five  hundred  acres 
in  the  richest  farming  districts  of  that  state  and 
is  one  of  the  wealthy  men  and  prominent  citizens 
of  the  county  in  which  he  lives.  To  Amos  and 
Marv    Smith    have    been    bom    seven    children. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


813 


namely :  Ellison  Griffith,  whose  name  introduces 
this  review :  Emma,  widow  of  E.  C.  Brown,  of 
Aberdeen ;  Amos,  an  architect,  living  at  Hopkin- 
ton,  Iowa;  Abbie,  wife  of  H.  C.  Jackson,  also 
resides  in  that  place;  Jason  T..  attorney  at  law, 
Yankton;  Carrie  B.,  now  Mrs.  Dr.  F.  A.  Wil- 
liams, of  Chicago,  Illinois,  and  Edith,  who  is 
still  with  her  parents,  all  living  and  well  settled 
in  life. 

Ellison  Griffith  Smith  was  born  December  5, 
185 1,  and  when  a  child  was  taken  to  Delaware 
county,  Iowa,  where  he  spent  his  youth  under  the 
wholesome  and  invigorating  discipline  of  the 
farm.  After  acquiring  his  preliminary  education 
in  the  common  schools,  he  took  a  course  in  Len- 
nox College,  and  later  entered  the  University  of 
Iowa,  from  which  institution  he  was  graduated 
in  1871  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  His 
literary  education  finished,  he  took  up  the  studv 
of  law  and  in  1873  was  graduated  from  the  law 
department  of  the  State  University,  after  which 
he  spent  some  time  on  the  farm  for  the  purpose 
of  recuperating  his  health,  which  had  become 
considerably  impaired  on  account  of  the  strenu- 
ous character  of  his  legal  studies.  In  the  fall  of 
1873  Mr.  Smith  was  elected  principal  of  the 
Mechamesville  high  school  and  at  the  close  of  the 
term  he  entered  the  office  of  a  prominent  attorney 
with  the  object  in  view  of  reviewing  his  studies 
preparing  to  engage  in  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession. Later  he  drifted  west  and  in  1876,  dur- 
ing the  gold  excitement  in  the  Black  Hills,  made 
his  way  to  Yankton,  South  Dakota,  where  he 
affected  a  co-partnership  in  the  law  with  Hon. 
G.  C.  Moody,  at  that  time  judge  of  the  circuit 
court,  but  later  federal  judge  and  United  States 
senator.  Mr.  Smith  began  the  practice  at 
Yankton  under  most  favorable  auspices  and  at 
once  stepped  into  a  large  and  lucrative  business 
which  his  distinguished  associate  had  previously 
acquired.  After  Mr.'  Moody's  election  to  the 
federal  judgeship  the  entire  business  fell  to  the 
subject,  including  the  office  of  register  in  bank- 
ruptcy, and  right  well  did  he  look  after  the  in- 
terests of  his  clientele,  winning  in  a  short  time  a 
conspicuous  place  among  the  representative  mem- 
bers of  the  Yankton  bar.     After  practicing  for 


some  years  with  a  large  measure  of  success  and 
gaining  much  more  than  local  repute,  he  was 
elected  reporter  of  the  supreme  court,  which  po- 
sition he  held  some  eight  or  ten  years,  the  mean- 
while looking  after  his  private  interests.  While 
serving  as  reporter,  Mr.  Smith  was  made  district 
court  judge  and  in  this  capacity  presided  at  the 
first  court  ever  held  in  the  city  of  Pierre.  He  was 
also  associated  for  some  time  with  Hon.  Hugh 
J.  Campbell  as  assistant  United  States  district 
attorney,  and  later  succeeded  to  that  office  and 
discharged  his  duties  in  an  able  and  satisfactory 
manner  for  a  period  of  about  four  years.  Mr. 
Smith,  in  1885,  was  elected  judge  of  the  first 
judicial  circuit  and  has  filled  this  high  and  re- 
sponsible position  by  continuous  re-elections  ever 
since,  his  career  on  the  bench  having  been 
eminently  satisfactory  and  honorable.  He  sel- 
dom commits  errors  of  sufficient  import  to  justify 
reversal  at  the  hands  of  the  supreme  court,  and 
to  the  lawyers  and  litigants  he  is  universally 
courteous,  thus  winning  the  confidence  and  high 
regard  of  all  having  business  to  transact  in  his 
jurisdiction. 

In  the  years  1887-8  Judge  Smith  represented 
the  first  senatorial  district  in  the  state  legislature 
and  took  an  active  part  in  the  deliberations  of  the 
session.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Yankton 
school  board  for  a  number  of  ^years  and  as  such 
has  labored  diligently  and  untiringly  to  advance 
the  standard  of  education  in  the  city.  The  Judge 
is  a  Mason  of  high  degree,  belonging  to  the  blue 
lodge  in  Yankton,  also  to  DeMolay  Commandary 
No.  I,  of  the  same  place.  His  name  adorns  the 
records  of  the  local  lodges  of  Odd  Fellows, 
Ancient  Order  L^nited  Workmen  and  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America,  in  all  of  which  he  is  a 
zealous  member. 

In  1877  Judge  Smith  was  united  in  marriage 
with  ^liss  Anna  Kirkwood,  of  Hopkinton,  Iowa, 
the  union  being  blessed  with  three  children : 
Agnes,  Ellison  G.  and  Amos  C,  who,  with  their 
parents,  constitute  a  happy  and  agreeable  home 
circle.  In  politics  the  Judge  is  a  stanch  Re- 
publican and  his  influence  has  had  much  to  do 
in  shaping  the  policy  of  the  party  in  this  state 
and  promoting  its  success. 


8i4 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH.  DAKOTA. 


FRANK  L.  VAN  TASSEL,  secretary  and 
manager  of  the  Excelsior  Mill  Company,  of 
Yankton,  is  a  native  of  the  old  Keystone  state  of 
the  Union,  having  been  born  in  Conneautville, 
Crawford  county,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  29th  of 
January,  1851.  He  is  a  son  of  Elizar  B.  and 
Rachel  (Litchfield)  Van  Tassel,  of  whose  ten 
children  seven  are  living  at  the  present  time, 
namely:  Clarence,  who  is  a  resident  of  Artesian, 
South  Dakota ;  Frank  L.,  who  is  the  immediate 
subject  of  this  sketch ;  Adella,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Dr.  W.  H.  H.  Brown,  of  Denver,  Colorado ;  Mina, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  Alva  Johnston,  of  Mead- 
ville,  Pennsylvania ;  Dr.  Willis,  who  is  a  prac- 
ticing dentist  of  Prescott,  Arizona ;  Nettie,  who 
is  the  wife  of  James  Van  Sommer,  of  Liverpool, 
England :  and  Harry,  who  is  a  resident  of  Wau- 
bay,  South  Dakota. 

Elizar  Van  Tassel  was  born  in  Mayfield,  New 
York,  his  parents  having  emigrated  to  America 
from  Holland.  He  was  reared  and  educated  in 
the  old  Empire  state,  where  he  took  up  the  study 
of  law,  being  graduated  in  one  of  the  leading  law 
schools  of  the  state.  He  finally  removed  to  Mead- 
ville,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  successfully 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession 
for  more  than  thirty  years,  becoming  one  of  the 
representative  members  of  the  bar  of  the  state. 
He  died  when  about  sixty  years  of  age,  honored 
by  all  who  knew  him.  His  wife  was  born  in 
Litchfield,  Connecticut,  of  stanch  old  New  Eng- 
land stock,  and  she  died  at  jMeadville,  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  1900,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years, 
having  been  an  active  and  devoted  member  of  the 
Universalist  church. 

Frank  L.  Van  Tassel,  with  whom  this  sketch 
has  more  specially  to  do,  was  reared  in  the  paren- 
tal home  until  he  had  attained  the  age  of  fourteen 
years,  his  early  educational  discipline  having  been 
received  in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  state. 
That  he  had  availed  himself  fully  of  the  advant- 
ages afforded  is  certain  when  we  revert  to  the  fact 
that  at  the  early  age  noted  he  engaged  in  teaching 
penmanship  and  bookkeeping,  by  means  of  which 
he  succeeded  in  defraying  the  expenses  of  his 
course  of  study  in  the  Meadville  Commercial 
College,  and  though  he  was  a  mere  bov  at  the 


time  he  attained  an  enviable  reputation  as  an  in- 
structor in  the  lines  mentioned.  At  the  age  of 
fifteen  years  he  accepted  a  position  as  professor 
in  penmanship  and  bookkeeping  in  the  Humiston 
Cleveland  Institute,  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  where  he 
did  most  effective  work.  In  1868,  at  the  age  of 
seventeen  years,  Mr.  Van  Tassel  came  to  Yank- 
ton, which  was  then  little  more  than  a  frontier 
village,  and  here  he  secured  a  position  as  book- 
keeper in  the  mercantile  establishment  of  Bramble 
&  Miner,  one  of  the  leading  concerns  of  the  town. 
About  eight  years  later  he  became  a  member  of 
the  firm,  having  been  previously  the  general  man- 
ager of  the  enterprise,  which  had  eventually  de- 
veloped from  a  retail  business  of  general  mer- 
chandise into  a  wholesale  grocery.  Operations 
were  conducted  upon  an  extensive  scale,  and  large 
amounts  of  goods  were  sent  into  the  Black  Hills 
district.  The  goods  were  brought  to  Yankton 
by  railroad,  thence  transferred  by  boat  to  Pierre, 
from  which  point  transportation  to  the  Black 
Hills  was  had  by  means  of  wagons.  How  great 
the  scope  of  the  business  became  may  be  partially 
appreciated  when  it  is  stated  that  frequently 
three  or  four  steamboats  were  loaded  with  the 
firm's  goods  in  Yankton  in  one  day.  Mr.  Bram- 
ble was  located  in  the  Black  Hills,  and  Mr.  Miner 
had  charge  of  the  Excelsior  mill,  which  was  es- 
tablished in  Yankton  in  1872,  and  thus  the  gen- 
eral supervision  of  the  wholesale  business  de- 
volved upon  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  The  firm 
retired  from  business  in  1883  and  in  the  following 
year  Mr.  \'an  Tassel  assumed  charge  of  the  Ex- 
celsior mills,  and  he  has  since  served  consecutively 
in  the  capacity  of  secretary  and  general  manager 
of  the  company,  being  known  as  a  progressive 
business  man  and  capable  executive,  while  he  has 
ever  held  the  confidence  and  good  will  of  the  peo- 
ple with  whom  he  has  come  in  contact  in  the  vari- 
ous relations  of  life.  He  was  prominently  con- 
cerned in  the  organization  of  the  company  which 
constructed  the  first  telephone  lines  in  South  Da- 
kota and  was  also  one  of  those  to  take  the  initia- 
tive in  the  construction  of  artesian  wells  in  the 
state,  the  enterprise  in  this  line  having  proved  of 
inestimable  value  and  benefit  in  a  public  way.  He 
is  president  of  the  Business  Men's  Club  of  South 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Dakota  and  is  ever  loyal  to  the  interests  of  the 
city  and  state  in  which  he  has  so  long  maintained 
his  home,  while  he  is  recognized  as  one  of  the 
representative  citizens  and  business  men  of  the 
state.  He  is  chairman  of  the  building  committee 
of  the  new  Carnegie  library  in  Yankton,  is  sec- 
1  etary  of  the  Yankton  Telephone  Company,  and  a 
member  of  the  directorate  of  the  First  National 
Bank.  In  politics  he  is  a  stanch  advocate  of  the 
principles  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  while  he 
has  never  sought  official  preferment  he  served 
three  years  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees 
of  the  state  hospital  for  the  insane.  His  religious 
faith  is  that  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church, 
of  which  he  is  a  communicant,  and  for  the  past 
four  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  vestry 
of  Christ  church,  taking  a  lively  interest  in  pa- 
rochial affairs  and  in  the  general  work  of  the 
church  at  large.  Fraternally  Mr.  Van  Tassel 
is  an  appreciative  member  of  the  Alasonic  order, 
in  which  he  has  attained  high  degrees,  being  af- 
filiated with  St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  i.  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons;  Yankton  Chapter,  No.  i. 
Royal  .\rch  Masons ;  DeMolay  Commandery, 
No.  3.  Knights  Templar :  Oriental  Consistory, 
No.  I.  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite,  of 
which  he  is  a  charter  member ;  and  of  El  Riad 
Temple.  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  the  Nobles  of 
the  ]\Iystic  Shrine. 

On  the  19th  of  October,  1875,  I\Tr.  A^an  Tassel 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Mrs.  Sarah  (White) 
Bordeno,  who  was  born  and  reared  in  the  citv 
of  Detroit,  Michigan.  She  had  one  child  by  her 
first  marriage,  William  Bordeno,  who  is  now  a 
resident  of  Spokane.  Washington,  and  bv  her 
marriage  to  ]\Ir.  A^an  Tassel  one  child  has  been 
born,  Frances  L.,  who  remains  at  the  parental 
home. 


AA^LLIAM  M.  PO^^'ERS.— Back  to  that 
cradle  of  so  much  of  our  national  history,  the 
Old  Dominion  state,  must  we  turn  in  designat- 
ing the  place  of  nativity  of  Mr.  Powers,  who  is 
one  of  the  honored  pioneer  citizens  of  Yankton 
and  a  veteran  of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion.  Mr. 
Powers  was  born  in  Culpeper  county,  Virginia, 


in  the  year  1845,  ^nd  is  the  only  survivor  of 
the  three  children  of  Thomas  and  Amelia 
Powers.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  both  his  par- 
ents died  when  he  was  a  child  he  knows  but 
little  concerning  the  family  history  on  either 
side.  His  father  was  born  in  Ireland,  whence 
he  came  to  the  United  States  as  a  young  man, 
and  his  marriage  was  solemnized  in  Virginia, 
where  he  lived  for  some  time  afterward.  He 
then  removed  to  Shellsburg,  Lafayette  county, 
Wisconsin.  He  was  a  miner  by  occupation,  and 
his  accumulations  usually  went  back  into  the 
ground,  as  the  subject  of  this  sketch  expressed 
it.  In  1852  he  made  the  long  and  perilous  over- 
land trip  to  California,  making  the  journey  with 
an  ox-team,  and  in  the  Golden  state  he  died  about 
four  years  later,  having  sent  back  to  his  family 
as  much  money  as  possible.  The  mother  of  the 
subject  died  of  cholera  while  he  was  a  mere 
child.  He  was  thus  left  dependent  upon  his 
own  exertions,  and  in  addition  to  this  untimely 
burden  he  also  had  a  younger  brother  for  whom 
he  felt  it  incumbent  to  provide.  Under  these 
unpromising  conditions  he  secured  a  posi- 
tion in  the  New  York  hotel,  in  Shellsburg, 
where  he  blackened  boots  and  shoes  and  did 
such  other  work  as  came  to  hand,  sparing  no 
pains  to  provide  for  the  proper  care  of  his  in- 
fant brother,  whom  he  placed  in  a  private  fam- 
ily, paying  one  dollar  and  a  quarter  a  week  for 
his  maintenance,  and  in  this  way  enabling 
the  boy  to  attend  school  when  of  proper  age. 
^The  task  of  making  this  provision  often  tasked 
his  energies  to  the  utmost  and  caused  him  to 
become  most  fertile  in  expedients,  while  there 
can  be  no  manner  of  doubt  that  thus  was  fos- 
tered that  spirit  of  self-reliance  and  independ- 
ence which  has  so  signallv  conserved  his  success 
in  the  mature  years  of  his  life.  After  being  em- 
ployed in  the  hotel  for  two  years  Mr.  lowers  se- 
cured a  place  to  work  on  a  farm  in  that  locality 
and  also  found  a  position  for  his  brother  on 
the  same  farm,  the  latter  becoming  a  general 
chore  boy.  and  while  thus  engaged  both  at- 
tended school  during  the  winter  terms  and  ap- 
plied themselves  diligently  to  study  at  night. 
They  passed  about  three  rears  on  the  farm  and 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


our  subject  then  secured  a  position  as  driver 
of  a  stage  on  the  route  between  Shellsburg  and 
Benton,  receiving  in  recompense  for  his  services 
the  sum  of  ten  dollars  a  month.  After  being 
thus  engaged  for  one  year  he  apprenticed  him- 
self to  learn  the  trade  of  harnessmaking,  at 
Shellsburg,  receiving  thirty-five  dollars  a  year 
for  the  first  two  years  and  fifty  dollars  the  third. 
Of  his  brother,  Richard,  it  may  be  said  that  he 
died  at  Vicksburg,  Mississippi,  in   1894. 

In  1861,  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  ]\Ir. 
Powers  tendered  his  services  in  defense  of  the 
Union,  whose  integrity  was  in  jeopardy  through 
armed  rebellion.  He  enlisted  in  Company  C, 
Seventh  Wisconsin  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  he 
continued  in  active  service  for  three  years,  gain- 
ing the  record  of  a  loyal  and  valiant  son  of 
the  Republic,  and  participating  in  many  im- 
portant battles.  In  the  battle  of  Gainesville, 
Virginia,  he  was  engaged  with  Jackson's 
division  of  Bragg's  brigade,  known  as  the  "Iron 
brigade,"  which  lost  eight  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  men  in  that  memorable  conflict.  He  also 
took  part  in  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run,  and 
in  the  battle  of  Antietam  he  was  wounded  so 
severely  as  to  render  it  necessary  for  him  to  re- 
main for  two  months  in  the  hospital  at  Wash- 
ington. He  then  rejoined  his  regiment,  w^ith 
which  he  proceeded  into  Virginia,  and  he  was 
at  the  front  in  the  battles  of  Fredericksburg, 
Gettysburg,  the  three  days'  battle  of  the  Wilder- 
ness. Spottsylvania,  etc.  His  command  was  a 
part  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  and  was  en- 
gaged in  conflict  with  the  Confederate  forces 
all  the  way  to  Petersburg.  He  was  mustered  out 
in  1864,  receiving  his  honorable  discharge  in 
September  of  that  year,  and  he  then  returned  to 
Lancaster,  Wisconsin,  where  he  had  enlisted.  He 
was  ill  for  a  period  of  six  months  after  his  re- 
turn ajjd  then  entered  into  partnership 
with  a  !Mr.  Collins,  under  whom  he  had 
served  his  apprenticeship  at  the  harness 
trade.  Three  months  later  he  purchased  his 
partner's  interest  in  the  harness  shop,  where 
he  gave  employment  to  nine  workmen,  and  he 
worked  assiduously,  secured  good  prices  for  his 
products   and    accumulated   money.      Finally   his 


health  became  so  impaired  that  he  found  it 
necessary  to  seek  other  occupation.  He  ac- 
cordingly purchased  a  livery  business  in  Lan- 
caster, and  one  month  later  disposed  of  his  har- 
ness business.  He  continued  the  livery  enter- 
prise about  three  years  and  was  successful  in 
the  same.  In  1873  he  came  to  the  territory  of 
Dakota,  arriving  in  Yankton,  which  was  then 
the  capital,  on  the  loth  of  April  of  that  year,  and 
shortly  afterward  he  purchased,  for  a  consider- 
ation of  ten  thousand  dollars,  a  livery  and  trans- 
fer business  in  this  city,  and  he  built  up  an 
extensive  and  important  enterprise,  operating  an 
omnibus  and  transfer  line  and  general  livery 
and  also  engaging  in  the  buying  and  selling 
of  horses,  which  he  shipped  in  from  Iowa  and 
Wisconsin.  He  showed  much  discrimination  and 
good  judgment  in  this  branch  of  his  business 
and  his  success  was  cumulative  from  the  start. 
In  1897  Mr.  Powers  retired  from  active  busi- 
ness, since  which  time  he  has  given  his  attention 
to  the  buying  and  handling  of  farm  and  city 
realty,  in  which  he  has  dealt  upon  an  extensive 
scale,  being  the  owner  of  much  valuable  real 
estate  in  Yankton  and  in  other  portions  of  the 
state.  He  is  a  Republican  in  his  political  pro- 
clivities, his  first  presidential  vote  having  been 
cast  for  Lincoln  while  he  was  with  his  regi- 
ment at  the  front,  and  he  has  ever  maintained 

I  his  allegiance  to  the  grand  old  party  which 
stood  exponent  of  the  government  policy  dur- 
ing that  most  crucial  epoch  in  our  nation's  his- 

I  tory.  He  served  four  terms  as  a  member  of 
the   board   of  aldermen   of  Yankton,   while   the 

I  strong  hold   which  he  has  upon  the  confidence 

1  and  esteem  of  the  people  of  the  city  is  manifest 
when  we  revert  to  the  fact  that  he  was  mayor 
of  the  city  for  four  terms,  giving  an  adminis- 
tration which  redounded  to  his  credit  and  to  the 
best  interests  of  the  municipality.  He  was  for 
two  terms  a  member  of  the  board  of  county 
commissioners   and   for   four  years   served   as   a 

I  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  state 
hospital  for  the  insane,  having  been  president 
of  the  board  during  his  last  year  of  service.  In 
the  spring  of  1903  a  further  appreciative  distinc- 
tion was  given   Mr.  Powers,  in  his  appointment 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


817 


as  a  member  of  the  state  board  of  charities  and 
corrections,  comprising  five  members,  the  board 
having  control  of  seven  state  institutions.  Fra- 
ternally, he  is  identified  with  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic,  the  Masonic  order  and  the  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

In  July,  1896,  Mr.  Powers  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  IMiss  Hattie  Ury,  of  Wisconsin,  one 
child  having  been  bom  of  this  union,  Ida 
Powers,  now  living  in  Chicago.  The  subject  was 
again  married,  in  Yankton,  to  Mrs.  L.  M.  Purdy, 
who  was  born  in  Yankton,  there  being  no  issue 
from  this  marriage.  Mr.  Powers  was  on  the 
World's  Fair  Commission  from  Dakota,  at  Chi- 
cago. Religiously  he  supports  the  Congrega- 
tional church.  He  is  one  of  the  well-known 
pioneers  of  the  state  and  it  is  a  matter  of  satis- 
faction to  be  able  to  enter  this  brief  outline  of 
his  career  in  this  historv. 


ELI  M.  MOREHOUSE,  M.  D.,  who  is  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession 
in  the  city  of  Yankton,  is  a  native  of  the  state 
of  Minnesota,  having  been  born  in  Owatonna, 
Steele  county,  on  the  30th  of  August,  1869. 
He  is  a  son  of  Dr.  Eli  M.  and  Lorinda  (Mc- 
Rostie)  Morehouse,  to  whom  were  bom  four 
children,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  being  the 
oldest,  while  the  others  are  as  follows :  Effie, 
who  is  the  wife  of  John  W.  Adsit,  of  Owatonna, 
^Minnesota ;  Timothy  N..  who  is  the  proprietor 
of  the  Owatonna  hotel,  in  that  place ;  and  Dr. 
Quel  G.,  who  is  a  physician  of  Chicago,  Illinois. 
The  father  of  the  subject  was  born  in  Warren, 
Ohio,  in  the  year  1833,  his  parents  being  rep- 
resentatives of  stanch  old  families  of  New  Eng- 
land stock,  while  the  original  ancestors  in  Ohio 
emigrated  thither  from  the  state  of  Connecti- 
cut. Eli  M.  Morehouse  was  reared  to  manhood 
in  Ohio  and  as  a  youth  determined  to  devote  his 
attention  to  the  medical  profession  as  a  vocation. 
In  harmony  with  this  idea  he  finally  entered 
the  Eclectic  IMedical  Institute,  at  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  where  he  continued  his  studies  for  a  time, 
after  which  he  was  a  student  in  the  medical  de- 
partment of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  in 


Philadelphia,  and  in  a  homeopathic  medical 
college  in  Cleveland,  Ohio.  After  securing  his 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  he  located  in  In- 
dependence, Iowa,  where  he  was  successfully  en- 
gaged in  practice  for  two  years,  at  the  expiration 
of  which  he  removed  to  Owatonna,  Minnesota, 
where  he  continued  his  professional  work  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  on  the  23d  of  May, 
1 89 1.  He  was  a  man  of  spotless  character  and 
one  of  marked  ability  in  the  line  of  his  profes- 
sion. In  politics  he  was  an  ardent  advocate  of 
the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  was 
a  power  in  its  councils  in  the  state  where  he 
resided.  He  served  as  a  member  of  the  state 
senate  of  Minnesota  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death  was  mayor  of  the  city  of  Owatonna,  while 
he  had  been  incumbent  of  various  other  offices  of 
public  trast  and  responsibility,  ever  command- 
ing unqualified  confidence  and  esteem  in  the  state 
where  he  so  long  maintained  his  home,  while 
he  was  prominently  identified  with  both  the 
Masonic  and  Odd  Fellows'  fraternities.  His 
widow  still  retains  her  home  in  Owatonna, 
where  her  friends  are  in  number  as  her  acquaint- 
ances. 

Eli  M.  Morehouse,  the  immediate  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  reared  to  maturity  in  his  native 
town,  acquiring  his  early  educational  discipline 
in  the  public  schools,  while  he  early  manifested 
a  predilection  for  the  profession  in  which  his 
father  had  won  so  marked  distinction  and  suc- 
cess, and  under  the  direction  of  the  latter  he 
began  the  study  of  medicine  while  he  was  still 
a  boy.  In  1887,  together  with  five  other  young 
men  who  had  been  prosecuting  their  medical 
studies  under  the  preceptorship  of  his  father, 
went  to  Des  IMoines,  Iowa,  where  they  were 
matriculated  in  the  medical  department  of  Drake 
University,  and  he  there  continued  his  technical 
studies  two  years,  while  in  1897  he  entered  the 
Bennett  Medical  College,  of  Chicago,  and  was 
graduated  in  this  well  known  institution  of 
eclectic  medicine  in  the  spring  of  1901.  He 
thereafter  passed  a  short  interval  in  Minnesota, 
after  which  he  came  to  Yankton,  where  he 
opened  an  office  and  engaged  in  the  genera! 
practice  of  medicine  and  surgery,  bringing  to  bear 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


the  most  thorough  preparation  and  the  personal 
attributes  which  ahvays  make  for  success  in  this 
most  exacting  of  all  professions.  He  has  suc- 
ceeded in  building  up  a  practice  of  represent- 
ative character,  and  his  reputation  is  one  which 
would  be  creditable  to  one  who  had  been  for 
many  years  established  in  practice,  for  com- 
parative youth  is  no  longer  held  as  inimical  to 
professional  precedence  in  cases  where  absolute 
ability  and  skill  are  in  evidence.  In  politics  the 
Doctor  accords  a  stanch  allegiance  to  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  and  while  a  resident  of  Owatonna, 
Minnesota,  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  board 
of  aldermen  and  also  as  a  member  of  the  board 
of  education.  Fraternally,  he  is  affiliated  with 
the  Masonic  order  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias 
and  he  is  popular  in  both  professional  and  social 
circles,  being  a  member  of  the  Minnesota  State 
Eclectic  Medical  Society  and  keeping-  in  close 
touch  with  all  advances  made  in  the  sciences  of 
medicine  and  surgery. 

On  the  28th  of  January,  1897,  Dr.  More- 
house was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Winifred 
L.  Hanna.  of  St.  Lawrence  county,  New  York, 
where  she  was  born  and  reared,  being  a  daughter 
of  James  and  Sarah  Hanna. 


HENRY  GREBE,  who  has  long  served  with 
signal  efficiency  as  register  of  deeds  of  Yank- 
ton county,  is  a  native  of  Germany,  where  he 
was  born  on  the  i6th  of  October,  1843.  being 
a  son  of  Christian  and  Elizabeth  (Dillon)  Grebe, 
of  whose  two  children  the  other  passed  away 
in  childhood.  The  father  of  the  subject  was  an 
officer  in  the  Revolutionary  army  in  Germany 
in  1848,  and  his  death  occurred  while  he  was  in 
service.  In  1853  h>s  widowed  mother  came 
M'ith  the  subject,  who  was  then  a  lad  of  ten 
years,  to  America,  taking  up  her  residence  in 
Fond  du  Lac  county,  Wisconsin,  where  she  later 
became  the  wife  of  Jacob  Petri,  one  child  being 
born  of  this  union.  George,  who  resides  on  the 
old  homestead  farm  in  that  county.  The  mother 
entered  into  eternal  rest  in  1877. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  received  his  pre- 
liminary educational  discipline  in  his  native  land 


and  continued  his  studies  in  the  common  schools 
after  coming  to  the  United  States.  Prior  to 
his  sixteenth  year  he  began  to  depend  on  his 
own  resources,  securing  work  on  neighboring 
farms  in  Wisconsin  and  receiving  for  some 
time  only  four  dollars  a  month  in  compensation 
for  his  services.  In  1859  ^^  entered  upon  an 
apprenticeship  at  the  tailor's  trade,  becoming  a 
skilled  workman  and  continuing  to  follow  this 
vocavion  for  a  long  term  of  years, — up  to  the 
time  of  his  election  to  his  present  office. 

On  the  15th  of  August,  1862,  Mr.  Grebe 
tendered  his  services  in  defense  of  the  L^nion, 
enlisting  as  a  private  in  Company  H,  Twentieth 
Wisconsin  Volunteer  Infantry,  with  which  he 
served  three  years,  being  promoted  from  time 
to  time  and  being  mustered  out  as  second  lieu- 
tenant. He  participated  in  the  battle  at  Prairie 
Grove,  Arkansas,  and  in  the  siege  of  Vicksburg. 
j  and  from  August  12  to  December  26,  1863, 
j  he  was  confined  in  the  hospital  at  New  Orleans, 
after  which  he  was  on  detached  duty,  serving  in 
various  capacities  and  thus  continuing  until  he 
received  his  honorable  discharge,  on  the  22d  of 
June,    1865. 

After  the  expiration  of  his  military  service 
Mr.  Grebe  returned  to  Wisconsin,  locating  in 
Ripon,  where  he  remained  until  the  following- 
autumn,  when  he  went  to  Chicago,  Illinois, 
where  he  took  a  course  of  study  in  a  commercial 
college.  In  April,  1866,  he  located  in  St.  Joseph. 
Missouri,  where  he  was  engaged  in  the  work  of 
his  trade  until  February  2,  1872,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Sioux  City,  Iowa,  where  he  became 
foreman  and  cutter  in  the  leading  merchant 
tailoring  establishment  of  John  A.  IMagee,  retain- 
ing this  position  for  the  ensuing  six  years,  at 
the  expiration  of  which,  in  1879,  he  came  to 
Yankton,  Dakota,  arriving  on  the  4th  of  June. 
and  here  he  continued  to  be  engaged  in  the  work 
of  his  trade  until  the  1st  of  January,  1895, 
I  when  he  entered  upon  his  duties  as  register  of 
!  deeds  for  Yankton  county,  having  since  been 
consecutively  the  incumbent  of  this  office  save 
;  for  an  interim  of  two  years.  He  is  well  known 
to  the  people  of  the  county  and  commands  un- 
qualiiied  confidence  and  esteem.     In  politics  he 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


819 


has  ever  given  a  stanch  support  to  the  Repub- 
hcan  party,  his  first  presidential  vote  having 
been  cast  in  support  of  Lincoln,  while  he  was  in 
the  service  during  the  Rebellion.  Fraternally, 
he  is  a  popular  and  honored  comrade  of  Phil 
Kearney  Post  No.  7,  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public, and  is  also  identified  with  St.  John's 
Lodge  No.  I,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons.  He 
and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church. 

On  the  3d  of  August,  i8fi8,  IMr.  Grebe  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Bacia  Wilbur,  and 
they  became  the  parents  of  one  child,  Harry 
W.,  who  is  now  a  traveling  salesman  for  the  ex- 
tensive pharmaceutical  house  of  Parke,  Davis 
&  Company,  of  Detroit,  IMichigan.  On  the  21st 
of  ]\Iarch,  1882,  Mr.  Grebe  consummated  a  sec- 
ond marriage,  being  then  united  to  Miss  Caro- 
line E.  Geyman,  of  Wisconsin,  and  they  are  the 
parents  of  three  children,  H.  George,  Walter  C. 
and  Elmer  E.,  all  of  whom  remain  at  the  parental 
home,  being  numbered  among  the  popular  young 
folks  of  the  city. 


ERNEST  JASPER  LACY,  present  official 
surveyor  of  Stanley  county,  South  Dakota,  was 
born  November  2,  1873,  at  Austin,  Minnesota, 
the  son  of  John  S.  and  Katherine  (Gibbs)  Lacy, 
natives  of  Ohio  and  New  York  respectively. 
The  father,  a  farmer  by  occupation,  removed  to 
South  Dakota  in  1881,  and  built  the  first  hotel 
at  Roscoe,  later  known  as  Egan,  which  he  con- 
ducted for  a  time,  subsequently,  by  reason  of 
financial  embarrassment,  changing  his  residence 
to  the  subject's  ranch,  six  miles  west  of  Flan- 
dreau.  Moody  counts'. 

Ernest  J.  was  but  four  years  of  age  when 
his  parents  moved  to  South  Dakota,  and  from 
that  time  to  the  present  his  life  has  been  mainly 
spent  within  the  boundaries  of  his  adopted  state. 
His  early  experiences  on  the  farm  were  similar 
to  those  of  the  majority  of  country  lads,  and  he 
grew  up  with  a  practical  acquaintance  with  ag- 
ricultural lalxir  in  its  various  phases,  attending 
of  winter  seasons  the  public  schools  of  his  neigh- 
borhood.    As   stated  in  a  preceding  paragraph. 


his  father  met  with  severe  business  reverses,  re- 
sulting in  the  loss  of  nearly  all  of  his  property, 
which,  with  failing  health  that  followed,  reduced 
the  family  to  somewhat  straitened  circum- 
stances. These  misfortunes  occurring  when 
Ernest  J.  was  a  youth  of  twelve,  he  nobly  gave 
up  some  of  his  ainbitions  and  started  out  to 
make  his  own  way  in  the  world,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  assist  his  parents.  Leaving  school,  he 
joined  a  surveying  party  under  F.  W.  Pettigrew, 
hoping  to  save  from  his  salary  money  sufficient 
to  prosecute  his  legal  studies,  after  contributing 
a  certain  amount  to  the  object  above  noted.  He 
started  with  this  party  in  the  summer  of  1895  as 
flagman,  discharging  his  duties  faithfully  and 
well,  and  while  thus  engaged  concluded  to  give 
up  the  idea  of  studying  law  and  turn  his  atten- 
tion to  civil  engineering.  He  made  such  rapid 
progress  in  the  latter  profession  that  during  the 
summers  of  1896  and  1897  he  was  given  charge 
of  a  party  running  a  transit,  under  the  direption 
of  Mr.  Pettigrew,  and  the  winter  of  the  latter 
year  he  spent  drawing  plats  and  writing  notes 
of  the  self-same  survey.  From  1898  to  1900  in- 
clusive Mr.  Lacy  -was  joint  contractor  with  Mr. 
Pettigrew  in  surveying  government  lands  in 
South  Dakota  west  of  the  Missouri  river,  and 
during  those  years  he  had  personal  charge  of 
a  party  that  helped  survey  over  four  thousand 
miles  of  the  general  domain,  an  experience 
beneficial  to  him  in  many  ways,  especially  in  that 
it  enabled  him  to  master  the  principles  of  his 
profession  and  become  a  skillful  and  thoroughly 
reliable  surveyor.  In  addition  to  engineering 
Mr.  Lacy  is  also  largely  interested  in  the  live 
stock  business,  owning  since  1900  a  fine  sheep 
ranch  in  Stanley  county,  on  which  he  makes  his 
home  and  which,  plentifully  stocked  with  the 
best  grade  of  sheep  obtainable,  yields  him  a 
large  share  of  the  liberal  income  he  every  year 
receives.  He  has  made  many  valuable  improve- 
ments on  his  property,  which  have  added  greatlv 
to  its  beauty  and  attractiveness,  and  in  addition 
to  his  live  stock  interests  he  is  at  the  present 
time  vice-president  of  the  South  Dakota  Horti- 
cultural Society.  He  is  also  engaged  in  real 
estate  business  in  connection  with  his  other  lines 


820 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


of  endeavor,  and  since  igoo  has  been  official 
surveyor  of  Stanley  county.  Mr.  Lacy  was 
reared  a  Republican,  but  of  recent  years  he  has 
been  practically  independent  in  politics,  though 
inclining  somewhat  towards  the  Prohibition 
party.  He  supports  the  candidates  best  qualified, 
mentally  and  morally,  for  the  positions  to  which 
they  aspire,  but  keeps  himself  well  informed 
relative  to  the  leading  questions  and  issues  of 
the  day,  on  all  of  which  he  has  strong  convic- 
tions and  decided  opinions.  Religiously  Mr. 
Lacy  is  a  Methodist,  and  he  exemplifies  his  faith 
by  his  daily  life  and  conversation,  being  a  liberal 
contributor  to  the  local  church  with  which  him- 
self and  wife  are  identified,  and  a  supporter  of 
all  charitable  and  benevolent  institutions  and  en- 
terprises. 

Reference  is  made  in  a  preceding  paragraph 
to'  Mr.  Lacy's  limited  school  privileges  during 
his  youth,  and  how  his  education  was  interfered 
with  by  circumstances  over  which  he  had  no 
control.  With  a  laudable  ambition  to  make  up 
in  part  at  least  for  this  deficiency,  he  afterwards 
entered  high  school  at  Sioux  Falls,  where  he 
pursued  his  studies  with  great  assiduity  until 
completing  the  full  course,  graduating  with  a 
high  standard  of  scholarship  in  the  year  1894. 
While  attending  the  above  institution  he  was  a 
member  of  Company  B,  South  Dakota  National 
Guards,  and  in  due  time  rose  by  successive  pro- 
motions from  private  to  the  rank  of  second  lieu- 
tenant. In  a  general  examination  on  tactics  and 
drill  he  had  the  honor  of  standing  second  to  but 
one  member  of  the  organization  in  the  state, 
making  ninety-nine  points  out  of  a  possible 
hundred,  an  achievement  of  which  he  and  his 
friends  feel  deservedly  proiid. 

September  11,  1900,  Mr.  Lacy  was  happily 
married  to  Miss  Estelle  Mae  Lyman,  whose 
father,  Lewis  Lyman,  was  one  of  the  early  pio- 
neer settlers  of  Minnehaha  county.  Standing 
forward  as  one  of  the  representative  young  men 
of  his  county,  and  as  one  of  its  most  intelligent, 
enterprising  and  valued  citizens,  Mr.  Lacy  owes 
his  pronounced  success  in  life  solely  to  his  own 
efforts  and  is  clearly  entitled  to  the  proud  ap- 
pellation of  a   "self-made  man."     He  possesses 


great  force  of  character  and  a  pleasing  person- 
ality, which,  combined  with  fine  social  qualitie.-^ 
and  superior  professional  ability,  make  him  not 
only  a  useful  man  in  his  day  and  generation,  but 
also  popular  with  all  classes  and  conditions  of 
his  fellow  citizens.  Warm-hearted,  affable  and 
pleasing  in  address  and  manner,  he  numbers  his 
friends  by  the  score  and  the  respectable  position 
he  has  already  reached  in  professional,  business 
and  social  circles  is  indicative  of  the  still  greater 
and  more  influential  career  that  awaits  him  in 
the  future. 


GEORGE  W.  LUMLEY,  who  maintains  his 
home  in  the  city  of  Pierre,  comes  of  distinguished 
ancestry  and  is  himself  a  native  of  the  Isle  of 
Wight,  England,  where  he  was  born  on  the 
9th  of  January.  1851,  being  a  son  of  James  R. 
and  Clara  ( Faithfull)  Lumley.  The  father 
died  in  1874,  at  Sutton,  Surry,  England,  and  the 
mother  is  still  living  at  Bexhill-on-sea.  Eng- 
land. The  father  of  the  subject.  Major  James 
Rutherford  Lumley,  was  for  many  years  first  as- 
sistant adjutant  general  in  Bengal,  under  his 
father.  Major  General  Sir  James  Rutherford 
Lumley,  K.  C.  B.,  for  many  years  adjutant  gen- 
eral of  the  English  army  in  Bengal.  The  mother 
of  the  subject  was  a  daughter  of  Major  General 
William  Conrad  Faithfull.  C.  B.,  who  was  like- 
wise in  the  military  service  of  England  in  Bengal. 

George  W.  Lumley  secured  his  early  edu- 
cational discipline  in  France  and  Belgium,  where 
his  parents  resided  during  his  childhood  days, 
and  from  the  age  of  eight  to  that  of  sixteen  he 
was  a  student  in  a  private  college  near  Dover, 
England.  In  1869  he  matriculated  at  the  Lon- 
don University.  In  1870-71  he  was  clerk  in 
the  office  of  the  secretary  of  state  for  India,  in 
the  city  of  London,  and  in  the  spring  of  the 
latter  year  he  came  to  the  United  States,  being 
for  the  ensuing  two  years  in  the  employ  of  the 
wholesale  dry-goods  house  of  JaflFrey  &  Com- 
pany. In  1873  Mr.  Lumley  came  west  to  Red 
Willow  county,  Nebraska,  this  being  before  the  or- 
ganization of  that  county,  and  he  continued  to 
be  identified  with  the  business  and  industrial  in- 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


terests  of  that  section  for  the  ensuing  decade, 
having  been  concerned  in  the  newspaper  and 
banking  business  at  Orleans,  Nebraska.  In  1883 
he  came  to  Vermillion,  South  Dakota,  and  or- 
ganized the  Clay  County  Bank,  disposing  of  his 
interests  in  the  same  in  1887.  In  1884  he 
effected  the  organization  of  the  Douglas  County 
Bank,  at  Grand  View  (later  at  Armour),  South 
Dakota.  In  1891  he  gave  up  his  residence  in 
Douglas  county  and  located  in  Pierre,  South 
Dakota,  where  he  soon  identified  himself  in  a 
prominent  way  with  the  raising  of  cattle  and 
horses,  his  place  being  known  as  the  Pierre 
ranch.  In  1902  he  brought  about  the  organization 
of  the  Pierre  Ranch  and  Cattle  Company,  and 
the  same  now  controls  the  Pierre  ranch  and  the 
Spring  Creek  ranch,  as  well  as  the  Little  Bend 
ranch,  the  company  controlling  an  aggregate  of 
eight  thousand  acres  of  land  and  leasing  an  ad- 
ditional ten  thousand  acres.  This  is  of  the  best 
agricultural  and  grazing  land  in  the  state,  and 
is  well  stocked  with  high-grade  horses  and  cat- 
tle, while  the  compan}-  is  interested  in  a  grazing 
lease  of  about  three  hundred  and  sixty  thou- 
sand acres,  which  fact  indicates  the  magnificent 
scope  of  the  industry  with  which  our  subject  is 
so  prominently  identified  in  both  a  capitalistic 
and  administrative  way.  He  is  president  of  the 
Pierre  Ranch  and  Cattle  Company ;  his  eldest 
son,  George  W.,  Jr.,  is  vice-president  of  the 
company  and  superintendent  of  the  Little  Bend 
ranch;  his  second  son,  Harry  C,  is  secretary  of 
the  company  and  superintendent  of  the  Pierre 
ranch ;  his  third  son,  William  C.  F.,  is  assist- 
ant cashier  of  the  First  State  Bank,  at  Beaver 
City,  Nebraska ;  and  the  youngest  son,  Robert 
\\'.,  is  superintendent  of  the  Spring  Creek  ranch. 
Mr.  Lumley  is  a  stanch  advocate  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Republican  party  and  is  known  as 
a  progressive  and  public-spirited  citizen.  He  is 
an  appreciative  member  of  the  time-honored 
order  of  Freemasons,  belonging  to  the  lodge 
and  chapter,  and  being  past  senior  warden  of 
the  former,  while  he  had  the  distinction  of  being 
the  first  Mason  initiated  in  Douglas  countv. 
South  Dakota,  in  which  countv  he  also  organized 
the  first  banking  institution,  while  his  eldest  son 


was  the  first  white  child  born  in  the  town  of 
Orleans,  Harlan  county,  Nebraska.  He  is  a 
man  of  indefatigable  energy  and  determination, 
and  this  is  best  evidenced  by  the  success  which 
has  attended  his  efforts  in  connection  with  in- 
dustrial and  business  enterprises  of  wide  scope 
and  importance. 

On  the  6th  of  May,  1871,  in  London,  Eng- 
land, was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Lum- 
ley to  Miss  Anne  Amelia  Rudderham,  of  Wis- 
beach,  Cambridgeshire,  and  of  their  four  sons 
due  mention  has  been  made  in  a  preceding  para- 
graph. Mr.  Lumley  is  a  member  of  Trinity 
Episcopal  church,  at  Pierre,  South  Dakota,  in 
which  he  holds  the  office  of  warden.  ]\Irs.  Lum- 
ley is  now  recording  secretary  of  the  State  Feder- 
ation of  Women's  Clubs,  state  delegate  to  the 
National  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  to  meet 
in  St.  Louis  in  May,  1904,  and  is  worthy  matron 
of  Capital  City  Chapter,  Order  of  the  Eastern 
Star.  Mr.  Lumley  is  also  now  secretary  of  the 
capital  committee  of  the  Pierre  Board  of  Trade, 
which  has  in  charge  the  campaign  against  the 
removal  of  the  state  capital  from  Pierre,  which 
question  will  be  submitted  to  the  voters  of  the 
state  in  November,  1904. 


CHARLES  J.  LA\-ERY,  M.  D.— Fort 
Pierre,  Stanley  county,  has  an  able  and  popular 
representative  of  the  medical  profession  in  the 
person  of  Dr.  Lavery,  who  is  a  native  of  the 
old  Empire  state  of  the  Union.  He  was  born 
in  the  town  of  Clinton,  Clinton  county,  New 
York,  on  the  5th  of  February,  1867,  and  is  a 
son  of  John  and  Jane  (Coulter)  Laver\',  both 
of  whom  were  born  in  the  fair  Emerald  Isle, 
the  former  in  County  Armagh  and  the  latter  in 
Countv  Mayo.  William  Lavery,  the  paternal 
grandfather  of  the  Doctor,  was  likewise  born  in 
County  Armagh,  Ireland,  whence  he  emigrated 
with  his  family  to  America  in  1831,  locating  in 
Ontario,  Canada,  near  Huntington,  and  not  far 
distant  from  the  line  of  New  York  state.  He 
there  engaged  in  farming  and  there  passed  the 
remainder  of  his  long  and  useful  life,  while  the 
old.  homestead  is   still   in  the  possession   of  his 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


descendants.  The  father  of  the  subject  remained 
at  the  parental  home  until  he  had  attained  the 
age  of  seventeen  years,  when  he  removed  to 
Chateaugay,  Franklin  county,  New  York,  where 
he  was  residing  at  the  time  of  the  outbreak  of 
the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  when  he  showed  his 
intrinsic  loyalty  by  promptly  tendering  hi.s 
services  in  defense  of  the  Union.  In  1861  he 
enlisted,  in  response  to  the  President's  first  call, 
as  a  private  in  the  Ninety-sixth  New  York 
Volunteer  Infantry,  with  which  he  served  until 
the  close  of  his  three  months'  term.  He  then 
re-enlisted  in  the  same  regiment  and  was  made 
first  lieutenant  of  Company  A.  He  participated 
in  many  of  the  most  notable  engagements  of  the 
great  conflict,  including  the  battles  of  the  Wil- 
derness, Seven  Oaks.  Lookout  Mountain,  Shen- 
andoah and  many  others,  while  he  continued  in 
active  service  until  practically  the  close  of  the 
war,  having  received  his  honorable  discharge  on 
the  25th  of  January,  1865.  He  then  returned  to 
New  York  and  took  up  his  residence  on  the 
farm  which  he  had  purchased,  in  Clinton  countv, 
and  there  he  continued  to  make  his  home,  hon- 
ored by  all  who  knew  him,  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  on  the  29th  of  July,  1896,  while  his 
devoted  wife  passed  away  on  the  14th  of  No- 
vember, 1902.  They  became  the  parents  of  three 
children,  Charles  J..  William  Burns  and  Ellen 
M.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  being  the  eldest, 
the  other  two  dying  in  childhood.  William 
Burns  at  the  age  of  six  years  and  Ellen  M. 
when  but  eight  months  old. 

Dr.  Laver}^  was  reared  to  the  sturdy  dis- 
cipline of  the  homestead  farm,  and  received  his 
rudimentary  education  in  the  district  schools  of 
the  locality,  after  which  he  completed  a  course 
of  study  in  the  high  school  at  Churubusco,  New 
York.  He  began  the  study  of  medicine  in  1885 
with  Dr.  M.  S.  Carpenter,  of  Ellenburg  Center, 
New  York.  In  1886  he  was  matriculated  in 
Starling  Medical  College,  in  Columbus,  Ohio, 
where  he  continued  the  study  of  medicine  and 
surgery  under  the  most  favorable  conditions  for 
the  ensuing  two  years,  when  his  health  became  so- 
impaired  as  to  demand  his  withdrawal  from 
school,  and  he  then  passed  about  two  years  on 


the  home   farm,   fully  recuperating  his  energie?.        ' 
He  then  came  to  the  west,  taking  up  his  residence       ' 
in  South  Dakota  in  1890,  on  the  i8th  of  Febru-       | 
ary  of  which  year  he   passed  the  required  ex- 
amination entitling  him  to  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Medicine  and  to  practice  his  profession  in  the 
state.     He  had  in  the  meanwhile  continued  his 
technical  studies  and  advanced  himself  to  high 
proficiency  in  his  chosen  profession.     From  1890       ] 
until    1893   the  Doctor  devoted   his  attention  to       I 
practice  at  Fort  Pierre,  this  state,  and  then  took       ; 
a  post-graduate  course  of  six  months'  duration       1 
in   the   College   of   Physicians   and   Surgeons   in       ■ 
Chicago.     Holding  nothing  less  than  the  most       j 
perfect    professional    knowledge    as    satisfactory 
in  a  personal  way,  he  then  took  a  post-graduate 
course    in    hospitals    in    the     city     of     Toronto. 
Canada,  and  later  a  special  hospital  and  clinical 
course  in  hospitals  under  professional  control  of 
the  celebrated  McGill  University,  in  the  city  of 
Montreal.     The  Doctor  then  made  a  visit  to  his 
old  home,  where  he  remained  a  brief  interval,  at 
the  expiration  of  which,  in  April,   1895,  he  re- 
turned to   Fort   Pierre  and   resumed   the   active 
practice  of  his  profession,  in  which  he  has  met 
with    most     gratifying     success.      His     services 
have  been  self-abnegating  and  often  arduous,  as 
he  has  been  frequently  called  to  minister  to  those 
forty,  fifty  and  even  one  hundred  miles  distant 
from  his  home,   while  in   nearly  all   such  cases 
he  has  had  to  make  the  journey  on  horseback  or 
j  with  team  and  vehicle,  and  often  over  country 
little   traveled.     His   devotion   to  his   profession 
and  to  the  cause  of  suffering  humanity  has  been 
shown    in    the    labors    which   he   has    thus    per-       ' 
formed,   while  he   has  been   specially   successful       ! 
in  his  surgical  practice,  in  which  he  has  attained 
a  high  reputation  and  a  business  excelled  by  that 
of  but  few  physicians  in  the  state,  if  indeed  any. 
He  has  the  best  standard  and  periodical  literature 
pertaining  to  his  profession  and  keeps  in  close 
touch   with   the  advances    made,   while   once   or 
twice  each  year  he  visits  certain  of  the  leading 
metropolitan  hospitals  and  medical   colleges   for 
the  purpose  of  further  study  and  investigation,        | 
while  in  his  office  will  be  found  all  the  newest       ' 
appliances  and  most  recent  instruments  for  the       j 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


823 


treatment  of  disease,  both  medical  and  surgical. 
The  Doctor  served  for  a  number  of  temis  as 
county  coroner,  and  was  also  county  physician 
for  several  years,  while  he  also  had  the  distinc- 
tion of  being  the  first  superintendent  of  the  first 
board  of  healtli  of.  Stanley  county,  and  has  ever 
since  been  an  active  and  valued  member  of  thv? 
board.  In  1900  he  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  board  of  trustees  of  the  South  Dakota  State 
Medical  Society,  at  the  annual  meeting,  in 
Aberdeen,  and  at  the  annual  meeting -of  1903,  at 
Mitchell,  he  was  selected,  with  Dr.  Rock,  of 
Aberdeen,  to  represent  the  state  association  at 
the  meeting  of  the  American  Medical  Association 
at  Atlantic  City,  New  Jersey,  in  May,  1904,  and 
in  August,  1903,  he  was  elected  secretary  at  the 
organization  of  the  Fourth  District  Medical  So- 
ciety and  was  re-elected  in  December,  1903.  Dr. 
Lavery  was  the  first  president  of  the  Republican 
League  of  Stanley  county,  which  was  organized 
in  1890,  and  served  until  1894,  taking  a  most 
active  part  in  the  party  work  in  the  county.  In 
1896  he  showed  the  courage  of  his  convictions 
by  transferring  his  allegiance  to  the  Democratic 
party  and  supporting  Bryan  for  the  presidency, 
and  he  has  since  been  a  prominent  advocate  of 
the  principles  of  this  party.  He  has  attained  the 
thirty-second  degree  in  the  Scottish  Rite 
Masonry,  being  identified  with  Oriental  Consist- 
ory, No.  2.  at  Yankton,  South  Dakota,  and  at 
the  time  of  this  writing  he  is  worshipful  master 
of  Hiram  Lodge  No.  123,  Ancient  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons,  in  his  home  town,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Royal  Arch  chapter  and  Eastern  Star 
in  Pierre.  He  is  also  identified  with  the  Sons 
of  Veterans,  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  the 
Ancient  Order  of  LTnited  A¥orkmen.  He  is  a 
thoroughly  loyal  citizen  of  his  adopted  state  and 
deeply  interested  in  all  that  conserves  its  pros- 
perity and  advancement. 

On  the  20th  of  February,  1895,  Dr.  Lavery 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Matilda  I.  Wid- 
meyer,  of  Qearwater,  Manitoba,  she  having  been 
a  daughter  of  Charles  Widmeyer,  an  extensive 
and  prominent  farmer  of  that  section  of  the 
Canadian  northwest.  Mrs.  Lavery  entered  into 
eternal  rest  on  the  6th  of  October,  1896,  leaving 


one  child.  Ruble  St.  Elmo,  who  was  born  March 
22,  1896.  On  the  14th  of  October,  1897,  the 
Doctor  wedded  Miss  Margaret  Ethel  Whitney, 
of  Emmettsburg,  Iowa.  She  is  a  daughter  of 
Dr.  Joshua  J.  Whitney,  who  was  surgeon  of  the 
Eighteenth  Wisconsin  Volunteer  Infantrv  dur- 
ing the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  and  who  later  be- 
came one  of  the  pioneers  of  Fort  Pierre,  South 
Dakota,  where  he  opened  what  was  probably  the 
first  drug  store  in  the  town  and  being  one  of  the 
most  influential  citizens  of  this  locality  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death,  on  the  Sth  of  October,  1890, 
at  the  age  of  sixty  years.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Laverv 
have  one  child,  a  little  girl,  born  January  14, 
1904.  They  are  both  communicants  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  church,  both  having  been 
brought  up  in  that  belief.  The  Doctor  is  war- 
den of  the  church  in  Fort  Pierre  and  always  has 
been  an  active  church  worker. 


CHARLES  H.  FALES.  who  is  now  in- 
cumbent of  the  ofiice  of  postmaster  at  Fort 
Pierre,  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  Missouri,  hav- 
ing been  born  in  the  city  of  St.  Joseph,  Bu- 
chanan county,  on  the  i6th  of  November,  1868. 
and  being  a  son  of  Richard  P.  and  IMary  F. 
(Striblin)  Fales,  the  former  of  whom  was  born 
in  Indiana  and  the  latter  in  Missouri.  The  par- 
ents of  the  subject  came  to  Fort  Pierre  in  1881, 
and  here  the  father  continued  to  reside  until 
his  death,  on  the  30th  of  August,  1898,  at  the 
age  of  fifty-five  years,  his  vocation  here  having 
been  that  of  blacksmith.  His  widow  still  re- 
sides in  Fort  Pierre,  and  of  their  six  children 
four  are  living  at  the  present  time.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  received  his  early  educational 
discipline  in  the  public  schools  of  his  beautiful 
native  city,  on  the  shores  of  the  Missouri  river, 
and  was  fifteen  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  the 
family  removal  to  what  is  now  the  state  of  South 
Dakota,  where  he  was  reared  to  manhood.  From 
the  age  of  fifteen  until  1894  he  was  in  the  em- 
ploy of  various  stock  growers  in  this  section, 
and  he  then  opened  his  present  store  in  Fort 
Pierre,  and  has  built  up  a  prosperous  business, 
while  he  has  continued  to  be  identified  with  the 


824 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


cattle  industry  from  the  time  of  establishing  his 
store  to  the  present,  being  the  owner  of  much 
good  land  in  this  county.  He  is  a  stanch  ad- 
vocate of  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party, 
to  whose  cause  he  has  given  his  support  from 
the  time  of  attaining  his  legal  majority,  having 
cast  his  first  presidential  vote  for  Harrison  and 
having  been  an  active  worker  in  the  party  ranks. 
In  1897  he  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Fort 
Pierre,  and  has  ever  since  continued  in  tenure 
of  this  office,  whose  affairs  he  has  administered 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  local  public.  He  is 
well  known  throughout  the  county  in  which  he 
has  maintained  his  home  for  more  than  a  score 
of  years,  and  his  friends  are  in  number  as  his 
acquaintances.  He  is  a  Mason,  being  identified 
with  Hiram  Lodge  No.  123,  Free  and  Accepted 
IMasons,  and  has  attained  to  all  the  Scottish  Rite 
degrees,  being  a  member  of  Oriental  Consistorv 
No.  I,  at  Yankton,  and  also  of  the  Ancient 
Arabic  Order  of  the  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine 
at  Sioux  Falls.  He  is  also  a  member  of  Capital 
City  Lodge  No.  37,  Knights  of  Pythias. 


LESTER  H.  CLOW,  who  is  a  member  of 
the  city  council  of  Pierre  and  the  local  manager 
for  the  extensive  interests  of  the  Rust-Owen 
Lumber  Company,  was  born  at  Highgate,  Frank- 
lin county,  ^^ermont,  on  the  2d  of  November, 
1843,  and  is  a  son  of  John  H.  and  Catherine  D. 
(Smith)  Clow,  the  former  of  whom  died  in  the 
old  Green  Mountain  state,  in  1853,  -while  the 
latter  now  resides  in  Evanston,  Illinois,  having 
attained  the  venerable  age  of  ninety-seven  years. 
The  subject  attended  the  common  schools  of  his 
native  town  until  he  had  attained  the  age  of 
fifteen  years,  when,  in  1857,  he  accompanied 
his  mother  on  her  removal  to  Chicago,  Illinoi';, 
where  he  continued  his  studies  in  the  public 
schools,  finally  entering  the  Bryant  &  Stratton 
Business  College  in  that  city,  in  which  he  was 
graduated  in  1862,  In  1858  he  had  entered  the 
employ  of  a  lumber  concern  in  Chicago,  and  he 
there  remained  until  1875,  when  he  went  to 
Hamburg.  Wisconsin,  where  he  conducted  a 
lumber  yard  for  the  ensuing  two  years,  thereafter 


being  identified  with  the  same  line  of  enterprise 
in  Sparta,  that  state,  for  three  years ;  at  Mer- 
rillan  for  two  years,  and  at  Eau  Qaire  for  four 
years,  at  the  expiration  of  which,  in  1885,  he 
located  in  Blair,  Nebraska,  where  he  was  in  the 
lumber  business  for  seven  years.  In  1892  he 
went  to  Hinkley,  Minnesota,  where  he  was  con- 
cerned in  the  same  line  of  business  until  Janu- 
ary, 1895,  when  he  came  to  Pierre,  as  manager 
of  the  interests  of  the  Rust-Owen  Lumber  Com- 
pany, of  Eau  Claire,  Wisconsin,  in  which  con- 
nection he  has  built  up  a  large  and  important 
trade  and  gained  the  confidence  and  esteem  of 
all  with  whom  he  has  had  dealings,  while  he 
has  also  been  interested  in  the  cattle  business  to 
a  considerable  extent.  While  a  resident  of  Chi- 
cago I\Ir.  Clow  was  a  member  of  the  Ellsworth 
Zouaves,  who  made  so  enviable  a  record  during 
the  Civil  war,  but  on  account  of  his  age  he  was 
not  accepted  for  service  when  his  command 
volunteered  for  enlistment.  He  cast  his  fir.st 
presidential  vote  for  Lincoln  and  has  ever  since 
been  a  stalwart  supporter  of  the  Republican 
party.  He  is  now  serving  his  third  term  as  a 
member  of  the  city  council  of  Pierre,  as  a  rep- 
resentative of  the  second  ward.  He  is  one  of  the 
oldest  Freemasons  in  the  state,  being  identified 
with  the  lodge,  chapter,  commandery  and  Mystic 
Shrine,  and  also  with  correlated  Order  of  the 
Eastern  Star  and  the  Veterans.  He  was  secre- 
tary of  the  blue  lodge  in  Qiicago  for  eight  years, 
and  for  a  number  of  years  was  secretary  of 
Washington  Lodge  No.  21,  Ancient  Free  and 
Accepted  ]\Iasons,  at  Blair,  having  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  order  since  1864.  He  is  also  affiliated 
with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  his  religious 
faith  is  that  of  the  Congregational  church,  in 
whose  work  he  takes  an  active  part,  contributing 
liberally  to  its  support.  He  is  essentially  pro- 
gressive and  public-spirited  and  is  one  of  Pierre's 
most  loyal  citizens,  being  one  of  those  who  did 
efficient  work  in  securing  the  location  of  the 
capital  here  and  doing  all  in  his  power  to  ad- 
vance the  welfare  of  the  city  along  normal  lines 
of  progress. 

On   the   3d   of   September,    1868.    Mr.    Clow 
married  Miss  Adella  J.  Taft,  of  Paxton.  Illinois. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


825 


and  she  died  January  5.  1878,  leaving  two  chil- 
dren, Irma,  who  is  now  the  wife  of  Charles  A. 
Raver,  of  Tekamah,  Nebraska,  and  Byron  L., 
who  is  engaged  in  business  in  Sioux  Falls.  On 
the  8th  of  August,  1880,  Mr.  Clow  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Miss  Delia  Franck,  of  Beaver 
Dam,  Wisconsin,  and  they  have  five  children, 
Franck  Alice,  Dorothy  Iris,  Dudley  Sebastian, 
Louise  Markham  and  Ruth  Delia. 


JOHX  SUTHERLAND,  who  is  success- 
fully engaged  in  the  ]iractice  of  law  in  the  capital 
(,-ity  of  the  state,  is  a  representative  member  of 
liis  profession,  in  which  he  has  attained  un- 
equivocal prestige.  He  was  born  in  the  county 
of  Charlotte,  New  Brunswick,  Canada,  on  the 
18th  of  February,  1858,  and  is  a  son  of  Andrew 
and  Catherine  ( McVicar)  Sutherland,  who  re- 
moved thence  to  Eau  Claire,  Wisconsin,  about 
i860,  where  they  are  now  living.  The  subject 
attended  the  public  schools  of  Eau  Claire  in  his 
youthful  days  and  in  1874  entered  the  University 
of  Chicago,  where  he  continued  his  studies  until 
1879,  when  he  entered  the  classical  department 
of  Brown  University,  at  Providence,  Rhode 
Island,  where  he  was  gt-aduated  in  1880,  with 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  During  the  fol- 
lowing four  years  he  was  instructor  in  Greek 
and  Latin  in  Wayland  University,  at  Beaver 
Dam,  Wisconsin,  and  in  August,  1884,  he  came 
to  Pierre,  Dakota  territory,  in  which  place  he 
has  ever  since  been  actively  engaged  in  the  prac- 
tice of  his  chosen  profession,  while  he  also 
practically  controls  the  abstract  business  in  the 
capital  city  and  has  been  prominently  and  suc- 
cessfully identified  with  real-estate  enterprises 
for  a  number  of  years  past.  His  loyalty  to  the 
city  and  state  is  unbounded  and  he  has  ever 
manifested  a  zealous  interest  in  the  advancement 
of  both,  being  held  in  the  highest  esteem  in  busi- 
ness, professional  and  social  circles  and  being 
known  as  a  lawyer  of  high  ability,  and  a  man  of 
recondite  knowledge.  He  was  for  six  years 
president  of  the  board  of  education  of  Pierre, 
ser^red  five  terms  as  president  of  the  board  of 
trade,    and    was   also   president    of    the    capital 


committee,  being  a  prominent  figure  in  public 
and  civic  affairs.  He  has  ever  been  a  stalwart 
advocate  of  the  principles  of  the  Republican 
party  and  has  done  much  to  further  its  cause. 
His  religious  faith  is  that  of  the  Baptist  church, 
of  which  Mrs.  Sutherland  likewise  was,  in  her 
lifetime,  a  devoted  member,  and  fraternally  he 
is  identified  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias  an<l 
the  Ancient  Order  of  Laiited  Workmen. 

On  the  5th  of  September,  1881,  was  solem- 
nized the  marriage  of  Mr.  Sutherland  to  Miss 
Laura  Paulina  Aiken,  of  Beaver  Dam,  Wiscon- 
sin, and  to  them  were  born  two  children,  Martha 
Emma  and  Laura  Paulina. 


WILLIAM  R.  BORST  was  born  in  Mar- 
quette county.  Wisconsin,  on  the  15th  of  Janu- 
ary, i860,  and  is  a  son  of  Daniel  and  Emma 
(Kelly)  Borst,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania  and  the  latter  in  Ireland.  R. 
Borst,  the  grandfather  of  the  subject,  was  born 
in  Germany,  whence  he  emigrated  to  America 
and  settled  in  Pennsylvania,  where  he  made  his 
home  for  a  number  of  years,  after  which  he  re- 
moved with  his  family  to  Wisconsin,  becoming 
one  of  the  sterling  pioneers  of  that  state,  where 
he  engaged  in  farming.  Eventually  he  removed 
to  Caldwell  county,  ]\Iissouri,  where  he  bought 
land  and  also  a  flouring  mill,  the  latter  being 
located  in  the  village  of  Kingston.  There  he 
passed  the  remainder  of  his  life,  his  death  oc- 
curring in  1866,  and  later  his  widow  removed 
to  Valparaiso,  Indiana,  where  she  died  at  the 
venerable  age  of  ninety-two  years.  The  father 
of  the  subject  continued  to  be  engaged  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits  in  South  Dakota  until  1886, 
when  he  removed  to  the  state  of  Washington, 
where  he  has  since  been  engaged  in  general 
farming  and  cattle  raising.  It  should  be  noted 
that  he  was  numbered  among  the  pioneers  of 
what  is  now  the  state  of  South  Dakota,  since  he 
came  here  in  1869,  taking  up  land  in  Alinnehaha 
county,  three  miles  west  of  old  Fort  Dacotah, 
and  there  developing  a  good  farm,  upon  which 
he  continued  to  reside  until  his  removal  to  Wash- 
ington, as  previously  noted.     In  his  family  were 


826 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


nine  children,  of  whom  eight  are  hving  at  the 
present  time. 

\\'iniam  O.  Borst  secured  his  rudimentary 
education  in  the  pubhc  schools  of  Wisconsin  and 
was  a  lad  of  about  nine  years  at  the  time  of  the 
famil}-  removal  to  South  Dakota,  where  he  was 
reared  to  manhood  on  the  homestead  farm  and 
under  the  conditions  of  the  pioneer  era,  in  the 
meanwhile  continuing  his  educational  work  as 
opportunity  presented.  In  the  spring  of  1877 
he  came  to  Fort  Pierre,  and  from  this  point  and 
Cheyenne  and  Bismarck,  engaged  in  freighting 
to  the  Black  Hills,  in  which  connection  he  met 
with  a  number  of  hazardous  experiences.  In 
the  fall  of  1877  his  cousin,  Curtis  Borst,  who 
was  likewise  a  freighter,  was  murdered  near 
Frozen  Man  creek,  robbery  undoubtedly  being 
the  cause  which  led  to  his  death.  Attempts 
were  made  to  apprehend  and  convict  the  mur- 
derers, but  all  proved  futile,  owing  to  the  lack  of 
conclusive  evidence.  Our  subject  himself  met 
with  several  narrow  escapes,  and  he  was  upon 
the  scene  shortly  after  the  massacre  of  the  family 
at  Bear  Butte.  The  atrocities  of  the  Indians  led 
the  residents  of  the  Black  Hills  district  to  offer 
a  reward  of  one  hundred  dollars  a  head  for  every 
Indian  killed  west  of  the  Oieyenne  river,  but 
the  wily  savages  learned  of  this  and  thereafter 
confined  their  operations  to  the  country  east  of 
that  stream.  Mr.  Borst  continued  to  be  actively 
engaged  in  the  freighting  business  until  1883, 
when  he  secured  and  opened  up  the  ranch  now 
occupied  bv  C.  K.  Howard,  on  the  Gieyenne 
river,  in  Meade  county.  He  there  remained  four 
years,  giving  his  attention  principally  to  the 
raising  of  live-stock.  In  1889  he  disposed. of 
his  cattle  and  ranch  property  to  Mr.  Howard 
and  located  in  the  northeastern  part  of  Ziebach 
county,  adjoining  the  Big  Foot  camp,  where  oc- 
curred the  trouble  with  the  Indians  in  connection 
with  the  battle  at  Wounded  Knee,  and  the  post- 
ofiRce  of  Pedro  is  located  on  the  site  of  the  Indian 
village  which  was  there  at  the  time  the  subject 
came  to  the  locality.  Here  he  has  since  continued 
to  be  engaged  in  the  raising  of  cattle  upon  an 
extensive  scale,  having  at  times  as  many  as 
thirty-five   hundred    head,   and   being   known    as 


one  of  the  progressive  and  successful  stock 
growers  of  this  section,  while  he  has  made  good 
improvements  upon  his  ranch  and  controls  an 
excellent  grazing  range.  In  Alay,  1903,  Mr. 
Borst  established  himself  in  the  hardware  busi- 
ness in  the  city  of  Pierre,  also  handling  farming- 
implements  and  machinery,  and  the  enterprise 
has  proved  a  successful  one,  while  he  still  gives 
a  general  supervision  to  his  cattle  business.  He 
has  maintained  his  home  in  Pierre  since  1896, 
and  his  is  one  of  the  attractive  residences  of  the 
place.  His  principal  object  in  removing  to  the 
capital  city  was  that  his  children  might  secure 
better  educational  advantages.  In  politics  he 
gives  his  allegiance  to  the  Republican  party  and 
fraternally  is  identified  with  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Work- 
men, while  he  is  held  in  high  regard  in  both 
business  and  social  circles. 

On  the  12th  of  October.  1889.  ^If-  Borst 
was  united  in  marriage  to  ]\Iiss  iNIatilda  A. 
Mason,  who  was  born  and  reared  in  Minnehaha 
county,  this  state,  the  date  of  her  nativity  having 
been  February,  1871,  and  so  far  as  can  be  learned 
she  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  white 
child  born  in  said  county.  She  is  a  daughter  of 
William  and  Mary  (Powell)  Mason,  sterling- 
pioneers  of  the  state,  who  now  reside  in  the  city 
of  Sioux  Falls.  'Sir.  and  Mrs.  Borst  have  three 
children,  Olney  H.,  ]\Iargaret  and  Jessie. 


JOHN  L.  LOCKHART  was  born  near 
Portage  City,  Columbia  county,  Wisconsii-i,  on 
the  17th  of  April,  1856,  being  a  son  of  John  and 
Agnes  (Gray)  Lockhart,  both  of  whom  were 
born  in  Scotland,  whence  they  emigrated  to  the 
United  States  in  1852,  locating  in  Wisconsin, 
where  the  former  still  resides,  his  devoted  wife 
having  passed  away  in  March,  1901.  The  edu- 
cational advantages  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
were  such  as  were  afforded  in  the  common 
schools  of  his  native  county,  and  at  the  age  of 
twenty-four  he  became  identified  with  the  great 
limibering  industry  in  Wisconsin,  as  a  foreman 
in  a  logging  camp,  for  two  years.  In  the  spriiig 
of   1882  he  came  to  Clark  county,  Dakota,  and 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


827 


took  up  homestead  and  pre-emption  claims,  there 
continuing  to  reside  for  one  year  and  then  re- 
moving to  Alilbank,  Grant  county,  where  he  was 
engaged  in  the  hardware  business  for  the  en- 
suing five  years,  when  he  disposed  of  his  in- 
terests in  the  same  and  turned  his  attention  to 
the  real-estate  and  insurance  business.  In  1894 
he  was  elected  commissioner  of  school  and  public 
lands  for  the  state  of  South  Dakota,  and  there- 
upon took  up  his  residence  in  Pierre,  where  he 
has  ever  since  maintained  his  home.  In  1899 
he  here  engaged  in  the  general  merchandise  busi- 
ness, which  he  has  since  continued,  having  se- 
cured a  large  and  representative  supporting  pat- 
ronage, and  having  the  implicit  confidence  and 
esteem  of  all  who  know  him.  In  1889,  while  a 
resident  of  Millbank,  he  was  elected  clerk  of  the 
courts  of  Grant  county,  and  was  re-elected  three 
times,  while  an  idea  of  the  confidence  in  which 
he  was  held  in  the  party  ranks  is  conveyed  when 
we  state  that  he  was  thrice  nominated  by  ac- 
clamation for  this  office.  In  the  spring  of  1893 
Air.  Lockhart  was  elected  mayor  of  Milbank, 
having  been  nominated  for  the  office  while  ab- 
sent from  home,  serving  one  term  and  refusing 
a  renomination.  In  1894,  as  before  stated,  he 
was  elected  commissioner  of  school  and  public 
lands,  being  chosen  as  his  own  successor  two 
years  later,  on  which  occasion  he  was  one  of  the 
five  candidates  on  the  Republican  ticket  suc- 
cessful at  the  polls.  He  has  ever  been  a  stanch 
advocate  of  the  claims  of  Pierre  as  the  permanent 
capital  of  the  state,  in  which  connection  he  did 
most  efifective  and  enthusiastic  work  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  executive  committee  of  the  board  of 
trade  and  also  of  the  capital  commission  of 
Pierre,  while  he  has  long  been  a  prominent  figure 
in  the  Republican  party  ranks  here,  un- 
compromising in  the  advocacy  of  its  principles. 
Fraternally,  he  is  identified  with  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  being  past  chancellor  commander  of  the 
lodge  at  Milbank  and  also  a  member  of  the 
grand  lodge  of  the  state,  while  he  also  holds 
membership  in  the  grand  lodge  of  the  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen. 

On  the  1st  of  December,  1885,  Mr.  Lockhart 
was  married  to  Miss  Delilah  C.  Burman,  daugh- 


ter of  William  T.  and  Eliza  ( Russell )  Burman, 
of  Grant  county,  this  state,  and  they  are  the  par- 
ents of  four  children,  John  B.,  William  H., 
Margaret  E.  and  Grace  G. 


BURTON  A.  CU-MMIXS,  one  of  the  most 
loyal  and  influential  citizens  of  Pierre,  is  a  na- 
tive of  the  old  Green  Mountain  state  and  is  a 
scion  of  families  long  identified  with  the  annals 
of  New  England  history.  He  was  born  in  Alont- 
pelier,  Vermont,  on  the  3d  of  April,  1869,  being 
a  son  of  Albert  Oren  and  Mary  (Frances)  Cum- 
mins. The  subject  secured  his  early  educational 
discipline  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  city, 
and  after  leaving  the  high  school  continued  his 
studies  and  graduated  in  the  Washington 
County  Grammar  School  at  Alontpelier,  \"'er- 
mont,  as  valedictorian  of  the  class  of  1887.  He 
shortly  afterward  went  to  the  city  of  Boston, 
where  he  took  a  successful  examination  for 
matriculation  in  Harvard,  but  instead  of  enter- 
ing that  famous  institution  he  decided  to  come  to 
the  west  and  at  once  identify  himself  with  the 
practical  activities  of  life.  He  located  in  the 
city  of  Sioux  City,  Iowa,  where  he  secured  a 
position  as  note  teller  in  the  Sioux  National 
Bank,  showing  a  distinctive  predilection  for  the 
banking  business  and  being  promoted  from  one 
position  to  another  in  that  institution,  in  whose 
services  he  continued  until  1890,  when  he  re- 
signed. On  the  3d  of  July  of  that  year  he  set 
forth  for  Pierre,  South  Dakota,  and  was  elected 
cashier  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  this  city, 
being  at  the  time  but  twenty-one  years  of  age 
and  having  the  distinction  of  being  the  youngest 
cashier  of  all  national  banks  in  the  Union.  He 
has  held  this  office  ever  since,  showing  jnarked 
discrimination  and  judgment  in  the  handling  of 
his  exacting  executive  and  administrative  duties 
and  gaining  a  high  reputation  in  the  financial 
circles  of  the  state.  In  1901  Mr.  Cummins  was 
appointed  colonel  on  the  staff  of  Governor  Her- 
reid,  retaining  this  office  during  both  terms  of 
Governor  Herreid's  office.  He  was  president  of 
the  Pierre  board  of  trade  from  1892  to  1894,  in- 
clusive, was  chairman  of  the  Pierre  capital  com- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


mittee  in  1902,  and  has  been  a  most  zealous 
worker  in  the  interests  of  his  home  city  at  all 
times  and  seasons.  In  politics  he  accords  an  un- 
swerving allegiance  to  the  Republican  partv, 
and  has  been  a  prominent  figure  in  its  councils 
in  this  state,  having  been  a  member  of  both  the 
state  and  central  committee  and  the  state  exe- 
cutive committee  in  1898.  In  1902  he  was  elected 
president  of  the  South  Dakota  State  Bankers" 
Association.  Fraternally,  he  is  affiliated  with 
Pierre  Lodge,  No.  27,  Free  and  Accepted  Ma- 
sons ;  Pierre  Chapter  No.  22,  Royal  Arch  Ma- 
sons :  La-Co-Tah  Commandery  No.  6,  Knights 
Templar,  and  El  Riad  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic 
Order  of  the  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  in 
Sioux  Falls,  and  has  been  for  years  treasurer  of 
his  blue  lodge. 

On  the  3d  of  April,  1890,  was  solemnized 
the  marriage  of  ]\Ir.  Cummins  to  Miss  Clara 
Belle  Merrick,  a  daughter  of  Fred  L.  and  Nancy 
i\Ierrick,  of  Kankakee,  Illinois,  and  they  be- 
came the  parents  of  two  children,  Albert  O.,  who 
was  born  on  the  24th  of  February,  1892,  and 
who  died  on  the  26th  of  February,  1895:  and 
Aline,  who  was  born  on  the  19th  of  February, 
1897.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cummins  are  prominent 
and  active  in  the  social  life  of  the  community, 
and  their  attractive  home  is  a  center  of  refined 
hospitality. 


HENRY  EUGENE  CUTTING  was  born  in 
Woodstock,  McHenry  county,  Illinois,  on  the 
26th  of  May,  1851,  being  a  son  of  Henry  P.  and 
Laurensy  E.  (Newell)  Cutting,  both  of  whom 
were  natives  of  New  Hampshire.  The  father 
of  the  subject  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Illinois, 
and  there  followed  the  vocation  of  wagon  manu- 
facturing, his  death  occurring  while  in  the  amiv 
in  1S63.  while  his  wife  passed  away  in  1884  in 
Sioux  City,  Iowa.  The  subject  received  the 
advantages  of  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
town  and  later  attended  the  Presbyterian  Col- 
lege in  that  place,  being  graduated  as  a  member 
of  the  class  of  1869.  In  the  same  year  he  came 
west  to  Sioux  City,  Iowa,  which  was  then  a 
small  village,  and  there  remained  until  the  fall 


of  1873  in  the  employ  of  H.  D.  Booge  &  Com- 
pany, engaged  in  the  wholesale  and  retail  gro- 
cery business,  when  he  went  to  Chicago,  Illinois, 
and  there  passed  one  year  as  cashier  in  the 
Brown-Delmonico  restaurant.  He  then  returne.1 
to  Sioilx  City,  and  during  two  seasons  thereafter 
was  clerk  on  a  Missouri  river  steamboat.  In 
1875  he  came  to  Yankton,  which  was  then  the 
capital  of  the  great  undivided  territory  of  Da- 
kota, and  there  engaged  in  the  grocery  business, 
forming  a  partnership  with  John  B.  Cloudas, 
and  in  the  early  days  the  firm  was  commonly 
known  as  Gene  &  Jack,  the  two  partners  enjoy- 
ing marked  popularity  and  building  up  an  ex- 
cellent trade.  In  1878  J\lr.  Cutting  disposed  of 
his  interests  in  this  enterprise,  and  during  the 
year  1879  served  as  city  clerk  of  Yankton,  while 
during  the  following  year  he  was  identified  with 
newspaper  work,  in  the  employ  of  the  Press  and 
Dakotain  Publishing  Company,  of  Yankton.  In 
July,  1880,  'Sir.  Cutting  came  to  Pierre,  where  he 
entered  the  employ  of  the  ^Merchants'  Trans- 
portation Company,  engaging  in  freighting  to 
the  Black  Hills,  where  the  gold  excitement  was 
then  at  is  height.  Later  he  was  in  charge  of  the  ■ 
freight  department  of  the  Giicago  &  North-  | 
western  Railroad  in  Pierre,  resigning  his  position  1 
in  1886,  while  in  October,  1886,  he  was  ap-  | 
pointed  agent  for  the  quartermaster's  department  ! 
of  the  garrison  then  located  in  Fort  Sully  and  | 
Bennett,  retaining  this  position  until  1894.  when  ' 
the  troops  were  removed  from  the  fort,  after 
which  he  was  made  custodian  of  the  Fort  Sulh 
reservation,  in  which  capacity  he  served  two 
years.  In  the  meanwhile,  in  1889,  he  had  es- 
tablished himself  in  the  real-estate  and  insurance 
business,  and  he  has  ever  since  continued  in 
this  enterprise,  in  which  he  controls  an  excellent 
business. 

I\Ir,  Cutting  has  always  been  a  stalwart  ad- 
vocate of  the  principles  and  policies  of  the  Re- 
publican party,  and  in  1889  he  was  elected  cit\ 
treasurer  of  Pierre,  retaining  this  office  for 
seven  years,  and  at  the  expiration  of  this  time, 
in  1896,  he  was  elected  treasurer  of  Hughes 
county,  serving  four  vears  and  giving  a  most 
satisfactorv   administration    of   the   fiscal    affairs 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


of  the  county.  In  1890  he  was  made  chairman 
of  the  Hughes  county  RepubHcan  central  com- 
mittee, and  this  important  party  office  he  has 
still  continued  to  hold,  having  shown  much  tact 
and  ability  in  the  marshaling  of  his  forces  in  the 
various  campaigns  and  having  done  much  to 
further  the  cause  of  the  "grand  old  party"  in 
the  state.  On  the  ist  of  January,  igoo,  Mr. 
Cutting  was  appointed  by  President  McKinley 
as  receiver  of  the  United  States  land  office  in 
Pierre,  and  still  holds  office,  being  appointed  for 
four  years.  Mr.  Cutting  has  been  identified  with 
the  ]\Iasonic  fraternity  since  1876,  when  he  be- 
came an  entered  apprentice  in  St.  John's  Lodge 
No.  I,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  in  Yankton, 
being  duly  raised  to  the  master's  degree  and 
being  now  affiliated  with  Pierre  Lodge  No.  27, 
in  Pierre,  while  he  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  which  he  likewise  joined  in 
die  centennial  year.  The  subject  is  one  of  the 
state's  most  loyal  and  public-spirited  citizens, 
has  taken  a  most  lively  interest  in  its  develop- 
ment and  material  advancement,  and  has  long 
been  a  power  in  the  political  fields,  while  he  is 
well  known  throughout  the  state  and  has  hosts 
of  stanch  friends. 

On  the  2 1st  of  February,  1878,  Mr.  Cutting 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Josephine  A. 
Dawson,  who  was  born  in  the  state  of  Min- 
nesota, being  a  daughter  of  Richard  and 
Amanda  M.  Dawson,  who  were  numbered 
among  the  pioneers  of  the  state,  having  been 
residents  of  Yankton  at  the  time  of  their  daugh- 
ter's marriage.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cutting  have 
three  children,  Mabel  W.,  who  is  now  the  wife 
of  B.  C.  Thayer,  of  Peru ;  Helen  E.,  who  is 
at  All  Saints'  Schools,  Sioux  Falls,  and  Henry 
Newell,  who  is  at  home. 


CHARLES  L.  HYDE  was  born  in  Pike 
county,  Illinois,  on  the  23d  of  June,  1861,  being 
a  son  of  James  F.  and  Hattie  (Blake)  Hyde, 
the  former  of  whom  was  born  in  Massachusetts, 
in  1812,  and  the  latter  in  Maine,  in  1830.  The 
father  of  the  subject  is  an  expert  accountant  and 
mathematician,     and    though    now    more    than 


ninety-two  \'ears  of  age  he  is  incumbent  of  the 
office  of  city  treasurer  of  Lincoln,  Illinois,  and 
is  also  acting  as  deputy  city  auditor,  haviag 
charge  of  five  diflferent  sets  of  books.  He  is 
certainly  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  his 
age,  both  mentally  and  physically,  that  can  be 
found  in  the  entire  Union.  The  subject  of  this 
review  received  his  early  education  in  the  public 
schools  and  supplemented  this  by  attending  for 
three  years  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  College, 
at  Lincoln,  Illinois.  He  early  became  imbued 
with  a  great  ambition  to  prepare  himself  for  the 
medical  profession,  but  overstudy  caused  a 
difficulty  of  his  eyes  anfl  he  was  compelled 
thereby  to  leave  college.  At  the  age  of  seven- 
teen he  went  to  Colorado,  and  for  two  years  was 
there  employed  as  a  "cowboy"  on  the  great  cattle 
ranches,  the  free  and  exhilarating  life  enabling 
him  to  fully  recuperate  his  energies.  At  the  age 
of  nineteen  he  became  a  commercial  traveler  in 
the  hardware  trade,  following  this  vocation  until 
he  had  attained  the  age  of  twenty-five.  In  the 
meanwhile  he  began  investing  his  surplus  earn- 
ings in  western  lands  and  town  properties.  In 
the  fall  of  1886  he  was  married  and  shortly  after- 
ward engaged  in  the  wall  paper  and  carpet  busi- 
ness at  Lima,  Ohio,  the  venture  proving  suc- 
cessful. In  January,  1888,  Mr.  Hyde  disposed 
of  this  enterprise  and  came  to  Sioux  Falls, 
South  Dakota,  turning  his  attention  to  the  real- 
estate  business.  In  April,  1889,  he  removed  to 
Pierre,  where  he  had  previously  acquired  large 
realt}-  holdings,  and  from  that  time  forward 
his  operations  in  the  real-estate  line  have  in- 
creased in  scope  and  importance  until  he  is  now 
one  of  the  most  prominent  and  successful  rep- 
resentatives of  this  great  branch  of  industry  in 
the  northwest.  His  holdings  at  the  time  of  this 
writing  include  about  fifty  thousand  acres  of 
land  in  South  Dakota ;  town  property  in  Pierre, 
Sioux  Falls,  Aberdeen,  Watertown.  Huron, 
Brookings,  Chamberlain  and  Rapid  City,  this 
state ;  together  with  large  holdings  at  Duluth, 
Minnesota,  and  Superior,  Wisconsin ;  Sault  Ste. 
Marie,  Michigan ;  Winnipeg,  Manitoba :  Spo- 
kane, Washington ;  Bismarck,  North  Dakota,  and 
other  towns  and  cities.     He  also  owns  land  and 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


town  property  in  Ohio.  Illinois,  Iowa,  Indiana, 
Kansas,  Texas,  Nebraska,  Tennessee,  Alabama 
and  other  states,  besides  large  mining  interests 
in  Colorado  and  some  in  the  Black  Hills.  He  is 
the  owner  of  a  large  and  finely  equipped  flouring 
mill  in  Pierre,  and  it  is  stated  upon  competent 
authority  that  he  is  today  the  largest  taxpayer 
in  South  Dakota  and  is  probably  its  wealthiest 
citizen,  while  he  is  yet  a  comparatively  young 
man  and  has  gained  this  great  prosperity  through 
his  own  well  directed  endeavors  and  business 
sagacity.  Of  him  it  has  been  well  said  "He  has 
unflinching  confidence  in  the  future  greatness  of 
Pierre,  his  chosen  city,  and  in  South  Dakota  as 
a  whole,  and  is  ever  ready  to  defend  the  state 
against  criticism.  He  is  a  man  who  will  do 
much  toward  the  upbuilding  of  our  state  and  its 
capital  city.  Pierre."  In  fact,  Mr.  Hyde  states 
emphatically  that,  initiating  his  business  career 
with  no  capital,  he  has  gained  his  fortune 
through  the  manifestation  of  his  confidence  in 
the  future  of  the  western  states  and  cities,  es- 
pecially South  Dakota.  He  is  a  man  of  un- 
assuming and  genial  personality,  tolerant  in  his 
judgment  of  his  fellow  men  and  imbued  with 
a  deep  appreciation  of  the  dignity  of  honest  toil 
and  endeavor.  He  finds  his  greatest  solace  and 
pleasure  in  the  sacred  precincts  of  his  beautiful 
home,  is  a  stanch  advocate  of  temperance,  has 
been  a  student  of  science  from  his  youth  up,  is 
fond  of  hunting,  being  an  expert  shot  with  rifle, 
shotgim  and  revolver, — in  short  is  a  clean-cut, 
sane  and  vigorous  man  and  one  whose  labors 
both  dignify  and  advance  the  interests  of  the 
great  state  with  which  he  has  so  prominently 
identified  himself.  While  engaged  as  a  traveling 
salesman  he  acted  also  as  a  detective  and  as  a 
reporter  for  the  Chicago  Inter  Ocean.  In 
politics  Mr.  Hyde  maintains  'an  independent  at- 
titude, following  the  dictates  of  his  own  judg- 
ment without  fear  or  favor.  He  was  originally 
a  supporter  of  the  Republican  party  and  was  a 
delegate  to  its  national  convention  in  Minne- 
apolis, in  1892,  while  in  1900  he  was  a  delegate 
to  the  Democratic  national  convention,  in 
Kansas  City.  He  and  his  wife  are  prominent 
and    valued    members     of    the     Congregational 


church,  and  fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the 
Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  the  Alod- 
ern  Woodmen  of  America,  the  Knights  of  the 
Maccabees,  the  American  Brotherhood,  the 
Yeomen  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 

In  Trumbull  county.  Ohio,  on  the  28th  of 
July,  1886,  ]\Ir.  Hyde  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Katherine  Robinson,  whose  ancestry  is  of 
Scotch-Irish  extraction,  her  parents  having  been 
pioneers  of  Ohio,  where  her  father  took  up  gov- 
ernment land  in  1835.  ]\Ir.  and  Mrs.  Hyde  have 
four  children,  whose  names  are  here  entered, 
together  with  respective  dates  of  birth :  Ruth 
EHzabeth,  October  23,  1888;  Charles  L..  Jr., 
February  27,  1892:  Dorothy,  July  8,  1896:  and 
Franklin  R..  June  9,   1901. 


HON.  ALFRED  B.  KITTREDGE.— Down 
in  New  England  they  have  a  word  which  ought 
to  be  in  the  dictionaries,  for  it  expresses  a  type 
of  men  not  easily  defined  by  another  term.  They 
sa}-  a  man  is  "judgmatical,"  if  he  is  sane,  cor- 
rect and  evenly  balanced  in  judgment,  and  no 
other  characteristics  are  so  prominent  in  Senator 
Kittredge  as  are  those  elements  which  would  in- 
duce the  Yankee  of  his  native  land  to  say  that 
he  is  a  judgmatical  man.  Unfailing  common 
sense  is  the  fundamental  quality  which  has 
brought  to  him  success  in  his  undertakings,  pro- 
fessionally and  politically,  and  has  won  for 
him  the  esteem  and  admiration  of  a  state-wide 
constituency.  Founded  in  his  great  common 
sense  are  those  other  characteristics  of  industry, 
persistence  and  loyalty  which  have  so  strongly 
marked  his  career  from  boyhood,  to  the  com- 
manding success  which  he  has  attained  in  his 
yet  early  manhood. 

Senator  Kittredge  is  a  native  of  Cheshire 
county,  New  Hampshire,  where  he  was  bom 
i\Iarch  28,  1861.  His  parents  were  farmers  and 
he  was  thoroughly  instructed  in  agriculture,  as 
it  is  practiced  by  the  thrifty  people  of  the  White 
]\rountain  country  and  even  yet,  upon  occasion, 
he  surprises  trained  and  practical  farmers  with 
his  complete  understanding  of  the  mysteries  of 
crop  culture  and  stock  breeding.     He  was  edu- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA 


S3 1 


cated  in  the  public  schools  and  after  a  season 
of  special  preparation,  under  a  private  tutor, 
entered  Yale  College  in  1878  and  graduated  with 
honor  four  years  later.  From  Yale  he  entered 
the  law  office  of  Judge  Veasy,  of  Rutland, 
\'ermont,  and  later  studied  in  the  office  of 
Batchelder  &  Faulkner,  of  Keene,  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  in  1884  returned  to  Yale  where  he 
completed  the  law  course  the  following  year 
and  at  once  came  to  Sioux  Falls  where  he  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  his  profession  with  a 
degree  of  success  which  has  easily  placed  him 
among  the  very  first  attorneys  practicing  in  the 
west.  For  many  years  he  represented  the  legal 
interests  of  the  Milwaukee  and  of  the  Great 
Northern  railways  in  South  Dakota,  only  re- 
signing from  such  relations  when  entering  the 
United  States  senate. 

Air.  Kittredge  began  his  political  career  as 
senator  from  Minnehaha  county  in  the  first  and 
second  state  legislatures,  where  his  good  judg- 
ment impressed  him  upon  the  public  men  of  the 
state  and  at  once  marked  him  for  leadership. 
He  demonstrated  exceptional  powers  of  organi- 
zation and  next  year  was  chosen  national  com- 
mitteeman for  the  Republican  party  for  South 
Dakota  and  from  that  time  has  been  the  ac- 
knowledged leader  of  the  party  in  the  state.  He 
was  re-elected  national  committeeman  in  1896, 
continuing  in  that  position  until  1900,  when  he 
declined  re-election.  When  a  vacancy  in  the 
United  States  senate  was  caused  by  the  death 
of  Senator  James  H.  Kyle  in  1901,  Governor 
Herreid  promptly  carried  out  the  common  desire 
of  the  party  by  appointing  Mr.  Kittredge  to  the 
position.  He  received  the  unanimous  endorse- 
ment of  his  party  in  state  convention  for  elec- 
tion by  the  next  legislature  and  when  the  legis- 
lature was  chosen  upon  that  issue  it  was  found 
that  only  thirteen  Democrats  out  of  a  total  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty-two  members  had  been 
chosen,  and  after  the  final  choice  of  Senator  Kit- 
tredge had  been  made  for  both  the  short  and  the 
long  terms  the  legislature  unanimously  joined 
in  a  resolution  to  telegraph  congratulations  to 
the  Senator,  who  had  remained  at  his  post  in 
Washington,  and  the  Democratic  members  joined 


in  support  of  the  resolution.  At  this  writing 
(June,  1903)  Senator  Kittredge  has  participated 
in  two  sessions  of  the  national  legislature  and 
has  impressed  himself  upon  that  body  much 
more  forcibly  and  favorably  than  it  is  the  for- 
tune of  new  members  often  to  do,  in  fact  it  is 
doubtful  if  another  new  member  has  ever 
achieved  so  much  in  his  first  term.  He  was 
placed  upon  the  Isthmian  canal  committee  and 
at  once  set  out  to  master  all  of  the  facts  involved 
in  the  canal  question.  At  that  time,  as  de- 
monstrated by  repeated  tests  in  the  senate,  the 
preponderance  of  favor  was  for  the  Nicaragua 
route,  but  as  Senator  Kittredge  proceeded  witli 
his  examination  of  the  subject  the  conviction 
began  to  grow  upon  him  that  the  Panama  route 
was  the  more  feasible  and  when  he  had  com- 
pleted his  study  of  the  matter  he  was  firm  in  this 
view  of  the  case.  Two  propositions  were  in- 
volved :  The  feasibility  of  the  Panama  route  and 
the  legality  of  it,  i.  e.,  the  power  of  the  French 
people  to  give  good  title  to  the  property.  On 
both  of  these  propositions  the  Senator  prepared 
himself  with  the  same  care  with  which  he 
habitually  prepared  his  cases  for  trial  and  his 
speeches  upon  the  topic  were  so  conclusive  that 
the  senate,  in  spite  of  the  strong  opposition  of 
several  members  and  the  influence  of  a  most 
powerful  lobby,  accepted  Mr.  Kittredge's  view 
and  adopted  the  Panama  route. 

In  those  matters  by  which  the  success  of  a 
Western  senator  is  most  generally  determined — 
the  securing  of  loaves  and  fishes  for  his  con- 
stituents— Senator  Kittredge  has-  been  extra- 
ordinarily successful,  without  permitting  this 
class  of  work,  to  which  every  new  senator  is 
doomed,  to  distract  his  attention  from  questions 
of  great  national  policy. 

As  a  speaker  Senator  Kittredge  is  earnest- 
and  convincing,  avoiding  all  flamboyant  manner- 
isms, but  going  directly  and  forcibly  to  the  heart 
of  his  subject  with  the  first  stroke  and  adducing 
argument  after  argument  in  logical  sequence 
and  in  a  manner  both  interesting  and  irresistible. 
While  bearing  a  reputation  for  taciturnity,  he  is 
delightful  in  his  social  relations,  possessing  an 
inexhaustible   fund   of  anecdote   and   illustration 


832 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


and  a  graciousness  of  manner  which  captivates 
and  holds  all  who  come  within  the  sphere  of  his 
social  influence.  He  is  unmarried,  but  main- 
tains an  extensive  and  elaborate  bachelor 
establishment  in  Sioux  Falls  where  his  friends 
from  every  section  delight  to  congregate. 


HIRAM  E.  McNUTT,  A.  M.,  M.  D.,  of 
Aberdeen,  is  a  native  of  Warren  county, 
New  York,  where  he  was  born  on  the  21st  day 
of  September,  1848.  His  lineage  is  of  a  dis- 
tinguished order  and  has  long  been  noted  for 
high  intellectuality  and  scrupulous  honor.  His 
father,  Hiram  McNutt,  who  was  also  a  jihysician 
and  surgeon,  rose  to  a  position  of  signal  use- 
fulness in  the  profession  and  practiced  for  many 
years  in  the  state  of  New  York.  After  receiv- 
ing a  preparatory  education,  the  subject,  when 
a  young  man,  entered  Dartmouth  College,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  in  1869,  with  the  de- 
gree of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  and  two  years  later 
received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine 
from  the  same  institution,  in  addition  to  which 
he  was  also  honored  with  the  degree  of  Master 
of  Arts.  With  a  mind  thoroughly  disciplined 
by  intellectual  and  professional  training,  the 
Doctor,  in  the  early  seventies,  began  practicing 
with  his  father,  but  two  years  later  left  New 
York  and  located  at  Huron,  Erie  county,  Ohio, 
where  he  built  up  a  lucrative  professional  busi- 
ness and  remained  until  1879,  when  he  found  a 
new  field  in  Wilwaukee,  Wisconsin.  His  career 
in  the  latter  city  covered  the  greater  part  of  four 
years,  during  which  time  he  continually  added 
to  his  reputation  as  an  able  physician  and  sur- 
geon and  rose  to  a  high  rank  among  his  pro- 
fessional associates. 

Gosing  out  his  practice  in  Milwaukee  in  the 
spring  of  1883,  Dr.  McNutt,  on  April  23d  of 
that  year,  came  to  Aberdeen,  South  Dakota,  be- 
ing among  the  first  medical  men  to  open  an 
office  in  this  city.  He  soon  won  an  extensive 
practice,  which  for  some  years  extended  over 
thirteen  of  the  surrounding  counties,  and  to 
visit  his  patients  scattered  throughout  this  large 
territory  required  almost  constant  travel  and  an 


expenditure  of  vital  energy  of  which  the  present- 
day  physician  can  form  but  a  faint  conception. 
He  has  been  continuously  in  practice  ever  since, 
and  is  now  regarded  as  the  leading  physician  and 
surgeon  of  Aberdeen  and  one  of  the  ablest  men 
of  his  profession  in  the  state  of  South  Dakota. 
In  1885  Dr.  !\IcNutt  took  a  leading  part  in 
organizing  the  State  ^Medical  Society,  of  which 
he  served  for  several  years  as  secretary.  He  was 
also  prominent  in  establishing  the  District  Medi- 
cal Society  of  Aberdeen,  serving  for  several 
years  as  its  secretary.  He  was  honored  bv  a 
place  on  the  state  board  of  health,  retiring  from 
the  position  in  March,  1903,  to  accept  the  ap- 
pointment as  a  member  of  the  state  board  of 
medical  examiners  under  the  new  law  of  that 
year,  of  which  body  he  has  ever  since  been  sec- 
retary. He  served  as  United  States  pension  ex- 
aminer for  some  years,  and  has  for  several 
years  held  the  position  of  local  surgeon  for  the 
Northwestern  Railroad  Company.  For  several 
years  he  has  served  as  superintendent  of  the 
Brown  county  board  of  health.  Perhaps  the 
greatest  service  rendered  South  Dakota  by  Dr. 
McNutt,  greater  than  that  of  any  other  man  in 
his  profession,  was  his  work  in  bringing  about 
favorable  action  of  the  legislature  in  creating 
the  state  board  of  medical  examiners,  and 
regulating  the  practice  of  medicine  and  surgery 
in  the  state.  This  was  accomplished  in  1903,  in 
March  of  which  year  Governor  Herreid  signed 
the  bill  providing  for  a  board  of  seven  members 
representing  the  different  schools  of  medicine, 
the  object  of  the  board  being  the  issuance  of 
licenses  to  physicians  practicing  in  the  state  and 
for  the  protection  of  the  people  against  quacks, 
charlatans  and  itinerant  doctors  without  profes- 
sional standing.  This  bill,  which  embodies  the 
most  careful  investigation  in  the  matter  of  medi- 
cal supervision,  has  received  not  only  the  sanc- 
tion, but  the  highest  encomiums  from  the  lead- 
ing men  of  the  profession  in  the  United  States 
and  stands  as  a  model  document  of  the  kind, 
both  from  a  literary  and  professional  standpoint. 
Suitable  recognition  has  been  accorded  Dr.  Mc- 
Nutt for  his  earnest  and  untiring  efforts  in  se- 
curing its  passage,  and  in  the  capacity  of  sec- 


HIRAM  E.  McNUTT,  M.  D. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


833 


retary  of  the  board  he  has  been  equally  as  strenu- 
ous in  enforcing  all  of  the  provisions  and  re- 
quirements of  the  much  needed  law. 

While  living  in  Milwaukee,  Dr.  AlcXutt  be- 
came identified  with  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen,  joining  Lodge  No.  74,  of 
A\-hich  he  was  a  charter  member.  He  rose  rapidly 
in  the  councils  of  the  order  in  Wisconsin,  was 
chosen  representative  to  the  grand  lodge  in 
1882,  and,  after  removing  to  South  Dakota,  was 
elected  grand  overseer  of  the  grand  lodge  of  this 
state  in  1891,  two  years  later  being  honored  with 
the  highest  office  within  the  gift  of  the  organiza- 
tion, that  of  grand  master.  During  his  in- 
cumbency in  the  latter  position,  he  traveled  ex- 
tensively over  the  jurisdiction,  which  includes 
both  North  and  South  Dakota,  at  a  great  sacrifice 
to  his  professional  business,  visited  and 
established  lodges  in  a  number  of  counties,  in- 
creased the  membership  by  over  three  thousand, 
and  not  only  greatly  strengthened  the  order,  but 
systematized  its  work  and  added  much  to  its 
efficiencv  and  usefulness.  The  impetus  given  the 
work  of  the  organization  under  his  official  direc- 
tion is  still  maintained,  and  today  the  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen  of  Dakota  is  in  as 
good  if  not  better  condition  than  in  anv  other 
state  in  the  Union. 

Dr.  !\IcNutt  is  prominent  in  Masonic  circles. 
being  a  thirty-second-degree  Scottish-rite  Mason. 
He  holds  membership  with  the  \'alley  of  Aber- 
deen Consistory  Xo.  4,  and  served  two  years  as 
venerable  master  of  the  Lodge  of  Perfection.  In 
addition  to  this  high  station,  he  has  been  honored 
with  other  important  positions  in  the  order  from 
time  to  time.  Being  a  man  of  scholarly  tastes, 
he  is  well  read,  not  only  in  his  profession  but 
in  general  literature,  and  is  well  informed  on  the 
leading  questions  and  political  issues  of  the  day. 
Since  his  twenty-first  year  he  has  been  an  ardent 
and  uncompromising  Republican,  and  as  such 
has  attended  a  number  of  county,  district  and 
state  conventions  as  a  delegate.  He  has  always 
manifested  a  pardonable  pride  in  the  city  of 
Aberdeen  and,  as  a  member  of  its  common  coun- 
cil for  two  years,  was  instrumental  in  bringing 
about  a  number  of  needed  reforms  and  improve- 


ments, although  conservative  in  the  matter  of 
public  expenditures.  He  has  faith  in  the  future 
of  South  Dakota  and.  being  imbued  with  the 
energetic  and  optimistic  spirit  characteristic  of 
the  true  western  man  of  today,  lends  his  energy 
and  influence  to  whatever  makes  for  the  present 
growth  and  ultimate  development  and  prosperity 
of  the  commonwealth. 

On  the  20th  (lay  of  May,  1874.  Dr.  :McXutt 
married  }iliss  Delia  L.  Snow,  of  Albany,  New 
York,  a  lady  of  many  estimable  qualities  of  head 
and  heart.  Airs.  McNutt  was  reared  and  edu- 
cated ill  New  York,  and  a  number  of  vears  ago 
united  with  the  Presbyterian  church  from  which 
time  to  the  i)resent  her  life  has  been  consecrated 
to  the  Master's  ,  service  and  to  the  good  of 
humanity.  She  has  borne  her  husband  a  daugh- 
ter, named  Fanny,  who  is  now  pursuing  her 
studies  under  favorable  auspices  at  St.  Mar- 
guerite's Boarding  School  for  Y^oung  Ladies  at 
Buffalo,   New  Y'ork. 


ALBERT  WHEELOX,  an  honored  veteran 
of  the  Civil  war,  and  at  the  present  time  in- 
cumbent of  the  office  of  register  of  the  L'nited 
States  land  office  in  Pierre,  being  also  engaged 
in  the  real-estate  business,  is  a  native  of  Eliza- 
bethtown,  Ontario,  Canada,  where  he  was  born 
on  the  14th  of  March,  1844,  being  a  scion  of 
sterling  old  families  and  a  son  of  Oiarles  and 
Mary  (Marshall)  Wheelon,  natives  respectively 
of  Canada  and  New  York  state.  The  father  of 
the  subject  was  engaged  in  farming  in  Canada 
until  1857,  when  he  removed  with  his  family 
to  ]McHenry  county,  Illinois,  becoming  a  pioneer 
of  that  state,  where  he  was  engaged  in  farming 
until  his  death,  in  1888,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
eight  years ;  his  wife  is  still  living.  They  be- 
came the  parents  of  eight  children,  of  whom 
six  are  living.  The  subject  was  reared  to  ma- 
turity in  Illinois,  where  he  secured  his  edu- 
cational discipline  in  the  common  schools  of 
McHenry  count}',  and  he  continued  to  assist  his 
father  until  there  came  the  call  to  a  higher  duty, 
when  the  integrit}-  of  the  L'nion  was  placed  in 
jeopardy  through  armed  rebellion.     In   1862,  at 


834 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


the  age  of  eighteen  years,  Mr.  ^^■heelon  enlisted 
as  a  private  in  Company  E,  Ninety-fifth  IlHnois 
A'ohmteer  Infantry,  with  which  he  proceeded 
to  the  front,  the  regiment  being  assigned  to  the 
Army  of  the  Tennessee.  He  participated  in 
many  important  battles  and  was  wounded  in  the 
siege  of  A'Tcksburg.  and  was  incapacitated  for 
further  service  in  the  field,  being  attached  to 
the  headquarters  of  the  regiment  thereafter  until 
the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service,  three  years, 
when  he  received  his  honorable  discharge,  hav- 
ing acted  as  postmaster  and  clerk  at  headquarters 
after  being  wounded,  until  the  close  of  the  war, 
receiving  his  discharge  at  Springfield,  Illinois, 
in  August,  1865.  He  continues  to  take  a  deep 
interest  in  his  old  comrades  in  arms  and  per- 
petuates the  memories  of  his  army  days  by  re- 
taining membership  in  Sully  Post  No.  13,  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  in  Pierre,  of  which  he 
is  past  commander. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  ^Ir.  ^^l^eelon 
passed  one  year  in  Illinois  and  then,  in  the 
autumn  of  1866,  went  to  Iowa,  engaging  in  ag- 
ricultural pursuits  in  Butler  and  Clay  counties 
and  being  numbered  among  the  pioneers  of  that 
state.  In  1868  he  was  elected  sheriff  of  Clay 
county,  an  office  which  he  acceptably  filled  for 
t\\(.  tenns,  and  he  continued  to  reside  in  the 
Hawkeye  state  until  1877,  when  he  disposed  of 
his  interests  there  and  came  to  the  Black  Hills 
district  of  Dakota,  where  he  engaged  in  pros- 
pecting and  in  contracting.  A  year  later  he 
went  to  the  mining  regions  of  Colorado,  where 
he  continued  to  reside  until  1889,  having  been 
there  engaged  in  mining.  In  the  year  mentioned 
he  took  up  his  abode  in  Pierre  and  established 
himself  in  the  real-estate  business,  in  which  he 
has  since  continued,  having  built  up  a  prosperous 
enterprise.  In  1892  he  was  appointed  deputy 
auditor  of  the  county,  holding  this  office  four 
years,  and  in  1896  he  was  elected  county  auditor, 
in  which  he  served  four  years,  having  been  re- 
elected for  a  second  term  in  1898.  On  the  ist 
of  January,  1900,  President  jMcKinley  conferred 
upon  him  the  appointment  of  register  of  the 
I'nitcd  States  land  office  in  Pierre,  and  he  has 
since  continued  in   tenure  of  this  position.     He 


has  always  been  an  active  worker  in  the  cause 
of  the  Republican  party,  with  which  he  identified 
himself  upon  attaining  his  legal  majority,  having 
cast  his  first  presidential  vote  for  U.  S.  Grant. 
Fraternally,  he  belongs  to  Lodge  Xo.  444, 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  to 
the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America. 

On  the  22d  of  February,  1866,  Mr.  Wheelon 
was  united  in  marriage  to  ]\Iiss  Susan  Weeks,  a 
daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mt:s.  Arvice  A.  Weeks,  at 
that  time  resident  of  Woodstock,  Illinois,  and  of 
this  union  were  born  two  children.  Dr.  Charles 
A.,  who  is  a  successful  physician  and  surgeon  in 
Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico,  and  Nellie,  who  is  the 
wife  of  John  D.  Buroughs,  of  Denver,  being 
employed  as  cashier  in  the  offices  of  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad  Company.  On  the  17th  day 
of  jMay,  1886,  the  subject  married  Miss  Gertrude 
E.  Farrington.  of  Newark,  New  York,  who 
died  on  the  loth  of  August,  1897,  having  borne 
one  child,  which  died  in  infancy,  while  in  1895 
she  and  her  husband  adopted  a  daughter,  Myrna 
Rebecca.  On  the  21st  of  June,  1900,  Mr. 
Wheelon  consummated  a  third  marriage,  being 
then  united  to  Miss  ^Minnie  ^^'eischedel.  of  EI 
Reno.  Oklahoma,  and  they  have  one  child.  Lena 
Minnie. 


EDWIN  A.  SHERMAN  was  born  in  Mid- 
dlesex   county.    Massachusetts,    on    the    19th    of| 
June,    1844,  and  he  was  there  reared  and  edu- 
cated, having  been  graduated  in  the  high  school] 
at  ^A'ayland,  Massachusetts,  when  sixteen  years! 
of  age.     During  the  ensuing  four  years  he  was| 
engaged   in  agricultural   pursuits,  and  upon   at- 
taining his  majority  he  went  to  the  city  of  Bos 
ton,  where  he  secured  a  position  as  clerk  in  an 
oil  commission  house.     Two  years  later  he  wa 
admitted  to  partnership  in  the  enterprise,  unde 
the  firm  name  of  Capen.  Sherman  &  Company^ 
but  his  health  became  so  impaired  that  he  re 
tired   from  the  firm   four  years  later  and  came 
to  the  west.     During  the  first  winter  he  was  en-- 
gaged  in  teaching  school  near  Sioux  City,  Iowa,] 
and  in  June.  1873,  he  came  to  Sioux  Falls,  South 
Dakota,  a  cit\-  with  whose  progress  and  material ' 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


835 


upbuildino-  he  was  destined  to  become  most 
prominently  identified,  and  in  which  he  has  con- 
secutively maintained  his  home.  His  initial 
business  venture  here  was  to  purchase  a  half  in- 
terest in  the  Independent,  a  newspaper  published 
by  C.  W.  McDonald,  and  he  was  actively 
identified  with  the  publication  of  the  same  for 
the  ensuing  eighteen  months,  when  he  sold  his 
interest  in  the  business  to  T.  J.  White.  From 
1874  to  1876,  inclusive,  Mr.  Shermaji  held  the 
office  of  superintendent  of  schools  of  Minnehaha 
county,  organizing  within  this  time  a  large  num- 
ber of  districts  and  doing  much  to  forward  the 
cause  of  education  in  his  jurisdiction.  Con- 
cerning his  subsequent  labors  and  efforts  we  are 
pleased  to  quote  from  a  previously  published  re- 
view of  his  career :  "Since  his  arrival  in  Sioux 
Falls  Mr.  Sherman  has  been  one  of  the  most  act- 
ive, enterprising  and  successful  business  men  of 
the  city.  He  built  the  first  brick  building  in  the 
city,  in  1875,  this  being  the  third  building  on  Phil- 
lips avenue  south  of  the  Edminson-Jameson 
block.  John  Bippus  was  then  postmaster  and  the 
postoffice  was  located  on  Phillips  avenue  north, 
and  ]\Ir.  Sherman  put  up  this  new  building  with 
the  understanding  that  the  postoffice  should  be  re- 
moved to  the  same  when  completed,  an  arrange- 
ment which  was  duly  carried  out.  In  1877  he 
purchased  what  is  now  the  Cascade  milling 
property,  comprising  five  acres  of  ground.  In 
this  enterprise  Isaac  Emerson  and  J.  G.  Bots- 
ford  were  associated  with  him,  and  they  built 
the  stone  dam  and  the  Cascade  mill,  Mr.  Bots- 
ford  afterward  selling  his  interest  to  George  E. 
Wheeler.  In  1887  the  electric  light  works  were 
added  to  the  business  and  the  Cascade  Milling 
Company  was  incorporated  with  a  capital  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  but  the 
ownership  of  the  property  is  practically  un- 
changed. This  manufacturing  establishment  has 
been  in  operation  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century  and  has  been  prosperous  from  the  be- 
ginning. In  fact,  in  this  respect  it  challenges 
comparison  with  any  manufacturing  concern  in 
the  state.  Mr.  Sherman  has  engaged  quite  ex- 
tensively in  the  building  of  residences  as  well 
as  business  blocks.     In  1878  he  erected  a  stone 


building  on  the  southeast  corner  of  !Main  avenue 
and  Ninth  street,  and  he  also  built  all  the  build- 
ings east  to  the  alley  on  Ninth  street  as  well  as 
all  the  buildings  south  of  Main  avenue,  except 
the  Schaetzel  building,  at  the  south  end.  The 
stone  building  mentioned  was  rented,  before  it 
was  built,  to  the  county,  to  be  used  for  county 
offices  and  a  court  room.  In  1883  Mr.  Sher- 
man erected  the  building  which  was  occupied  as 
the  postoffice  until  May  18,  1895,  and  this  also 
was  built  for  the  county.  The  Cascade  block 
was  erected  by  him,  and  also  the  Union  Trust 
Company  block;  and  a  few  years  ago  he  built 
a  very  fine  and  attractive  residence  on  block  i, 
Sherman's  addition  to  Sioux  Falls,  this  fine 
division  of  the  city  having  been  platted  by  him. 
He  was  instrumental  in  securing  the  location  of 
the  state  school  for  deaf  mutes  in  Sioux  Falls, 
engineering  the  bill  through  the  legislature,  and 
he  gave  to  the  institution  five  acres  of  land, 
upon  which  the  buildings  of  the  institution  are 
located.  He  was  one  of  the  first  trustees  of  this 
school  and  president  of  the  board.  Mr.  Sher- 
man effected  the  organization  of  the  Minnehaha 
National  Bank  in  1886,  being  its  first  president 
and  holding  this  office  two  years.  In  1887  he 
organized  the  Union  Trust  Company,  and  in  the 
following  year  resigned  the  presidency  of  the 
Minnehaha  National  Bank  to  devote  his  atten- 
tion to  the  business  of  the  Union  Trust  Com- 
pany, which  soon  afterward  transferred  its 
banking  business  to  the  Union  National  Bank, 
of  both  of  which  companies  he  was  at  all  times 
president.  In  1887  he  became  associated  with 
John  M.  Spicer,  of  Willmar,  under  the  direction 
of  James  J.  Hill,  of  the  Great  Northern  Railroad 
Company,  and  undertook  the  projectof  building 
the  Willmar  &  Sioux  Falls  Railroad.  Together 
these  two  gentlemen  located,  named  arid  platted 
all  the  towns  along  this  line,  a  distance  of  one 
hundred  and  forty-nine  miles.  Mr.  Sherman 
has  a  large  interest  in  the  Willmar  &  Sioux  Falls 
Townsite  Company,  incorporated.  Although 
engrossed  in  such  extensive  business  transactions 
as  the  above  record  indicates,  Mr.  Sherman  has 
found  time  to  perform  such  official  duties  as 
have  been  assigned  to  him  by  the  people,  who 


836 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


have  manifested  a  signal  appreciation  of  his 
abihty  and  sterUng  manhood.  He  was  terri- 
torial treasurer  in  1877-8  and  territorial  auditor 
in  1879-80,  being  tendered  the  latter  office  in 
1881  but  declining  the  same.  When  Sioux  Falls 
became  incorporated  as  a  village,  he  was  elected 
one  of  its  first  trustees,  while  he  has  frequently 
served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  education. 
The  success  of  his  business  enterprises,  his 
fidelity  to  official  duties,  his  constant  zeal  in  pro- 
moting the  growth  of  the  city,  all  stamp  him  as 
one  of  the  most  reliable  and  progressive  citizens 
in  the  state,  while  he  commands  the  unequivocal 
confidence  and  esteem  of  all  who  know  him  per- 
sonally or  through  business  or  official  associ- 
ation." 

Mr.  Sherman  has  ever  been  found  stanchly 
arrayed  in  the  ranks  of  the  Republican  party,  in 
whose  cause  he  has  shown  a  lively  interest,  and 
his  religious  faith  is  indicated  in  his  holding 
membership  in  the  Congregational  church. 

On  the  isth  of  September,  1873,  Mr.  Sher- 
man was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Florence 
L.  Cowdrey,  of  Melrose,  Massachusetts,  whose 
death  occurred  on  the  ist  of  February,  1890. 
She  is  survived  by  two  daughters,  Jessie  L.,  who 
is  a  graduate  of  Wellesley  College,  and  Mabel 
F.,  both  of  whom  remain  at  the  paternal  home. 
On  the  9th  of  June,  1901,  Mr.  Sherman  was 
married  to  Miss  Catherine  Elwell,  of  London, 
England,  and  they  have  one  son,  Philip  F. 


WILLIAM  HEXRY  JAAIES,  grain  and 
coal  dealer,  Valley  Springs,  also  secretary  of  the 
\'alley  Springs  Telephone  Company,  was  born 
December  25,  1858,  in  Dodgeville,  Wisconsin, 
and  is  the  son  of  Cornelius  and  Mary  Ann 
(Hambly)  James.  He  was  reared  in  his  native 
town,  attended  the  public  schools  of  the  same 
at  intervals  during  his  minority  and  at  the  age 
of  twenty-one  purchased  an  interest  in  his 
father's  mill,  at  Dodgeville.  having  become  fa- 
miliar with  the  business  the  meanwhile.  ^Ir. 
James  continued  the  manufacture  of  flour  during 
the  ensuing  four  years,  at  the  expiration  of 
which    time    he    turned    his    attention    to   butter- 


making  and  later,  1885.  started  a  creamery  at 
Winthrop,  Minnesota,  which  he  operated  for  a 
period  of  one  year.  Disposing  of  the  business 
at  the  end  of  that  time,  he  spent  the  following 
year  running  an  engine  in  the  town  of  Adrian, 
and  in  1887  came  to  Valley  Springs,  South  Da- 
kota, to  take  charge  of  the  Hubbard  &  Palmer 
Elevator  Company,  at  this  place,  which  position 
he  still  holds,  and  in  the  management  of  which 
he  has  achieved  worthy  prestige  as  an  able,  dis- 
creet and  far-seeing  business  man.  In  connec- 
tion with  buying  and  shipping  grain,  in  which 
the  company  he  represents  commands  the  bulk 
of  the  trade  in  ]\Iinnehaha  county.  ]\Ir.  James 
deals  quite  extensively  in  coal,  his  patronage  in 
this,  as  in  his  other  line  of  business,  being 
larger  than  that  of  any  other  man  or  firm  in 
Valley  Springs  similarly  engaged.  ^Ir.  James 
was  one  of  the  originators  of  the  Valley  Springs 
Telephone  Company,  took  a  leading  part  in  its 
organization  and  in  many  ways  has  contributed 
to  the  success  of  the  enterprise,  much  of  its 
prosperity  being  directly  attributed  to  the  in- 
terest he  has  manifested  in  its  behalf.  He  has 
been  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors  ever 
since  the  company  went  into  eflfect,  and  as  sec- 
retary has  been  untiring  in  his  efforts  to  pro- 
mote its  efficiency,  and  make  it  one  of  the  best 
local  systems  in  the  state,  which  reputation  it 
has  always  sustained.  This  company,  which 
was  incorporated  with  a  capital  of  ten  thousand 
dollars,  is  composed  of  business  and  professional 
men  of  high  standing  and  unimpeachable  in- 
tegrity. Dr.  George  W.  Bliss  being  president. 
L.  S.  Hetland.  vice-president,  W.  H.  James,  sec- 
retary, and  P.  E.  Howe,  treasurer,  the  same 
gentlemen,  with  J.  Dunham,  a  well-known  capi- 
talist, constituting  the  board  of  directors. 

In  addition  to  his  business  interests  and  in 
connection  with  the  telephone  company,  Mr. 
James  conducts  a  local  insurance  agency,  in 
which  a  number  of  the  leading  companies  of  the 
United  States  are  represented,  and  does  a  flour- 
ishing business  in  \'alley  Springs  and  through- 
out die  count}-  of  3,Iinnehaha.  He  has  long  been 
influential  in  public  aft'airs,  has  served  as  town 
clerk   for  a  period  of  ten  years  and  his  activit\- 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


837 


as  a  politician  has  gained  him  favor  and  high 
standing  in  the  RepubHcan  party,  of  which  he 
is  an  earnest  advocate  and  a  zealous  supporter. 
His  fraternal  relations  include  membership  with 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  in  addition  to  which  he 
encourages  benevolent  enterprises  under  what- 
ever name  they  may  appear,  being  charitable  and 
ready  at  all  times  to  extend  help  to  the  needy 
and  minister  to  the  comfort  of  those  in  sickness 
or  distress. 

On  the  1st  day  of  Januar}-,  igoo,  Mr.  James 
entered  the  marriage  relation,  choosing  for  his 
life  companion  Miss  Carrie  Hendrickson,  who 
was  born  in  Postville,  Allamakee  county,  Iowa, 
but  at  the  date  mentioned  was  living  in  South 
Dakota.  In  addition  to  himself  and  wife,  his 
home  circle  at  this  time  includes  five  children, 
whose  names  in  order  of  birth  are  Wilmer,  Cora, 
Xeal,  Harrold  and  Byrle.  Mr.  James'  life  has 
been  an  exceedingly  busy  one  and  his  record  in 
all  of  his  undertakings  is  without  stain.  As  a 
business  man  he  ranks  with  the  most  successful 
of  his  contemporaries  and  by  reason  of  a  long 
and  active  experience  his  opinions  carrv  weight 
and  his  ideas  receive  due  consideration.  He  is 
regarded  as  safe  and  reliable  in  matters  involv- 
ing large  and  important  interests,  careful  in  the 
management  of  affairs  intrusted  to  him  and  he 
lays  his  plans  with  wise  forethought  and  forms 
his  opinions  only  after  mature  reflection. 


JOHX  T.  LEE,  who  is  incumbent  of  the 
important  office  of  treasurer  of  Minnehaha 
county,  was  born  in  the  city  of  Christiania, 
Norway,  on  the  .nth  of  February,  1855,  being 
a  son  of  Thorsten  and  Anne  (Okre)  Lee,  who 
emigrated  from  the  far  Norseland  to  America  in 
1867,  at  which  time  the  subject  of  this  review 
was  a  lad  of  twelve  years,  his  preliminary  edu- 
cational training  having  been  secured  in  his  na- 
tive land,  while  after  his  parents'  location  in 
Iowa,  on  their  arrival  in  the  new  world,  he  at- 
tended the  public  schools  somewhat  less  than  a 
year,  his  future  education  being  that  supplied 
in  the  great  school  of  practical  experience  and 


personal  application.  In  the  autumn  of  i86g  he 
came  to  the  territory  of  Dakota  and  located  a 
year  later  on  a  farm  in  Minnehaha  count}-,  where 
his  father  had  taken  up  a  claim  of  government 
land,  the  same  being  entirely  unreclaimed. 
There  the  subject  continued  to  be  successfully 
engaged  in  farming  and  stock  growing  until 
the  year  i8qi,  having  in  the  meanwhile  become 
the  owner  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of 
land.  In  the  year  mentioned  he  located  in  the 
village  of  Brandon,  where  he  assumed  the  man- 
agement of  the  grain  business  of  the  Farmers' 
Association.  In  1898  iMr.  Lee  disposed  of  his 
interest  in  this  concern  and  since  that  time  has 
been  agent  for  the  American  Grain  Company, 
at  Brandon,  having  the  general  supervision  of 
its  extensive  business  and  having  shown  marked 
executive  ability  in  the  connection.  From  the 
time  of  attaining  his  legal  majority  he  has  been 
deeply  interested  in  the  success  of  the  Republican 
party  and  has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  promo- 
tion of  its  cause  in  the  state,  while  he  has  been 
called  upon  to  serve  in  various  offices  of  local 
trust  and  responsibility.  In  1891  he  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  board  of  county  commissioners 
of  Minnehaha  county,  and  it  may  be  consistently 
said  that  he  has  acted  in  some  official  capacity  for 
his  party  ever  since  attaining  years  of  sufficient 
maturity.  In  the  autumn  of  1902  Mr.  Lee  was 
chosen  to  the  responsible  office  of  county  treas- 
urer, and  his  administration  of  the  fiscal  affairs 
of  this  populous  and  important  county  has  been 
distinguished  by  marked  discrimination,  fidelity 
and  administrative  ability,  so  that  his  retention 
in  the  office  can  not  but  prove  a  wise  provision 
on  the  part  of  the  electors.  He  has  been  a  dele- 
gate to  several  state  conventions  of  his  party 
and  to  county  conventions,  and  his  influence  has 
been  potent  in  public  affairs  of  a  local  order. 
He  holds  thirty-second-degree  membership  in 
the  Masonic  fraternity  and  its  social  adjunct,  the 
jj^ncient  Arabic  Order  of  the  Nobles  of  the 
Mystic  Shrine,  and  is  also  identified  with  the 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  while 
his  religious  faith  is  that  of  the  Lutheran  church. 
In  the  summer  of  1S76  was  solemnized  the 
marriage  of  ^Ir.  Lee  to  Miss  Christina  Nelson, 


838 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


of  Brandon,  this  state,  and  she  died  on  the  3d 
of  January.  1894.  having  been  a  devoted  wife 
and  mother  and  having'  held  the  aflfectionate  re- 
gard of  all  who  knew  her.  Of  the  children  of 
this  union  we  give  the  following  brief  record  : 
Edward  is  manager  of  the  Lee-Egge  Lumber 
Company,  at  Brandon ;  Anthon  T.  is  a  partner  in 
the  Edward  Lee  Hardware  Company,  of  Bran- 
don, as  is  also  his'  brother  Albert ;  and  Hannah, 
the  only  daughter,  remains  in  the  pleasant 
home  in  Siou.x  Falls,  Where  the  family  is  held 
in  the  highest  esteem.  On  December  31.  1903, 
;\[r.  Lee  married  Mar\-  Holm,  of  Sioux  Falls. 


THOAIAS  H.  BROWN  was  born  in  Porto- 
bello,  Durham  county.  England,  on  the  17th  of 
August,  1S37,  being  a  son  of  Richard  and 
Ellenor  Brown,  who  came  to  the  United  States 
in  184S,  locating  in  the  state  of  Wisconsin, 
where  they  passed  the  residue  of  their  lives,  the 
father  having  there  followed  the  vocation  of 
hardware  merchant.  The  subject  was  a  lad  of 
about  ten  years  at  the  time  of  the  family  re- 
moval to  America,  and  had  initiated  his  educa- 
tional training  in  his  native  town,  later  continu- 
ing his  studies  in  the  somewhat  primitive  schools 
of  Wisconsin,  of  which  state  his  parents  were 
pioneers.  There  he  grew  to  manhood,  devotiiig 
his  attention  to  farming  and  mining  until  the  out- 
break of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  when  he 
showed  forth  his  loyalty  to  the  land  of  his  adop- 
tion by  enlisting,  in  June.  1861,  as  a  private  in 
Company  L  Third  Wisconsin  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, and  he  continued,  in  the  service  of  the 
L'nion  until  victory  was  won,  receiving  his  hon- 
orable discharge  in  August,  1865,  and  having 
participated  in  several  battles  of  the  great  inter- 
necine conflict. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  yir.  Brown  went 
as  one  of  the  pioneers  to  the  present  state  of 
Montana,  where  the  gold  excitement  was  thelfr 
rife,  and  he  there  devoted  his  attention  to  placer 
mining  for  a  year  and  a  half,  at  the  expiration  of 
which  he  returned  to  Wisconsin  and  located  in 
Brodhead,  Green  county,  where  he  engaged  in 
the    hardware    business.      In    1872    he    came    to 


Sioux  Falls,  taking  up  his  abode  in  the  first 
dwelling  house  erected  in  the  embryonic  city,  this 
little  domicile  having  been  located  on  the  site  of 
his  present  attractive  residence,  at  the  corner  of 
Phillips  avenue  and  Twelfth  street.  The  next 
spring  he  entered  into  a  co-partnership  with  Ben- 
jamin F.  Roderick  and  engaged  in  the  lumber 
business,  but  within  the  following  year  retired 
from  the  firm  and  bought  a  half  interest  in  the 
business  of  Xye  Phillips,  who  was  dealing  in 
hardware,  drugs  and  leather.  This  firm  was  in 
existence  about  five  years,  and  Air.  Brown  then 
entered  the  employ  of  the  Chicago  &  North- 
western Railroad  Company,  his  labors  in  the  con- 
nection being  in  the  obtaining  of  the  right  of 
,  way  and  locating  town  sites  on  the  Dakota  Cen- 
[  tral  division.  In  1888  he  purchased  the  job- 
j  printing  office  and  bookbinding  plant  of  Samuel 
I  T.  Clover,  and  when  the  efi^ects  of  the  Insurance 
Company  of  Dakota  were  offered  for  sale  by  the 
receiver  he  purchased  the  printing  outfit.  On  the 
1st  of  May,  1889,  Mr.  Brown  admitted  Eugene 
Saenger  to  partnership,  and  the  firm  of  Brown 
&  Saenger  has  now  the  largest  and  most  com- 
])lete  bookbinding  and  printing  establishment 
in  the  state. 

Since  coming  to  Sioux  Falls  Air.  Brown  has 
been  active  in  Masonic  matters.  He  organized 
the  first  lodge  in  the  county,  and  was  its  master 
for  the  first  three  years.  He  was  also  the  first 
grand  master  of  the  grand  lodge  of  the  territory 
of  Dakota,  and  a  few  years  later  was  again 
elected  to  this  office.  He  has  taken  an  active 
interest  in  educational  matters  and  was  president 
and  member  of  the  school  board  for  several 
years.  He  also  took  a  prominent  part  in  secur- 
ing to  Sioux  Falls  the  Burlington.  Cedar  Rapids 
&  Northern  Railroad,  now  the  Chicago.  Rock 
Island  &  Pacific  Railway,  and  has  been  a  director 
of  the  company  since  that  time.  He  was  one 
of  the  South  Dakota  commissioners  to  the 
World's  Columbian  Exposition,  in  Chicago,  in 
1893.  and  was  the  executive  officer  of  that  com- 
mission. It  is  needless  to  add  anything  to  the 
foregoing  record  to  establish  the  fact  that  Mr. 
Brown  is  a  prominent  man  of  aflfairs  and  that  he 
takes  great  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  state  in 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


839 


general  and  the  city  of  Sioux  Falls  in  pan'.cii- 
lar. 

On  the  20th  of  August.  1867,  ^Ir.  Brown  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Alary  Morse,  daugh- 
ter of  Marshall  and  Albina  Morse,  at  that  time 
residents  of  Brodhead,  Wisconsin,  and  of  this 
union  have  been  born  the  following  named  chil- 
dren, all  residing  in  Sioux  Falls :  IMarshall  R., 
connected  with  the  firm  of  Brown  &  Saenger ; 
Oscqr  A.,  connected  with  the  Brown  Drug 
Company ;  Harry  T.,  connected  with  the  An- 
thony Candy  Company. 


CHARLES  H.  ROSS.— An  article  which 
appeared  in  the  American  Lumberman  of  May 
31.  1902.  offered  an  epitomized  review  of  the 
career  of  the  able  young  business  man  whose 
name  introduces  this  paragraph,  and  from  the 
same  we  make  the  following  excerpt : 

Charles  H.  Ross  is  an  up-to-date  young  business 
man — progressive,  efficient,  cultured  and  gentlemanly. 
He  is  no  doubt  a  lumberman  because  he  has  followed 
his  desire  in  the  matter;  at  any  rate  he  thinks  there 
is  no  other  business  like  it.  Heredity  may  have  had 
to  do  with  his  choice  of  calling,  for  not  only  has  his 
father  been  a  lifelong  lumberman,  but  so  also  was  his 
grandfather,  Hiram  J.  Ross,, who  operated  a  saw-mill 
in  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  as  early  as  1837,  having 
gone  there  in  1835,  when  the  place  was  settled.  His 
father,  Hiram  W.  Ross,  has  figured  as  a  well-known 
lumberman  in  the  northwest,  in  earlier  years  running 
a  mill  at  Colby,  Wisconsin,  and  now  known  as  presi- 
dent of  the  H.  W.  Ross  Lumber  Company,  which  oper- 
ates a  line  of  twenty  yards  in  Minnesota  and  South 
Dakota,  with  head  office  in  the  Lumber  Exchange. 
Minneapolis.  In  this  company  there  are  only  three 
stockholders — H.  W.  Ross,  president  and  treasurer; 
and  his  sons,  Hiram-  E..  vice-president,  and  Charles 
H..  secretary. 

Charles  H.  Ross  was  born  in  Milwaukee,  on  the 
23d  of  August,  1870,  and  moved  with  his  parents  to 
Canton,  Dakota,  in  1879,  Mr.  Ross,  Sr.,  choosing  this 
little  town  as  a  lookout  point.  He  was  of  the  opinion 
that  the  chief  town  of  what  was  then  Dakota  terri- 
tory would  be  either  Yankton  or  Sioux  Falls  and  that 
if  he  lived  in  neither  he  could  best  judge  of  their 
comparative  merits  and  development.  Following  a 
two  years'  residence  in  Canton,  he  regarded  Sioux 
Falls  as  the  more  promising  town  and  took  up  his 
residence  there.  Charles  H.  Ross  was  graduated  in 
the  Sioux  Falls  high  school  and  received  his  college 


education  in  the  University  of  South  Dakota,  located 
at  Vermillion.  Though  born  in  the  Badger  state  he 
comes  nearly  being  a  South  Dakota  product.  On  leav- 
ing college  he  took  a  position  in  a  lumber  yard,  where 
for  four  years  he  did  the  work  of  a  day  laborer.  He 
was  ambitious  to  learn  the  business  and  he  knew  that 
to  do  so  thoroughly  he  must  begin  at  the  bottom. 
It  is  not  often  that  the  college  graduate  takes  up 
manual  labor,  and  that  Mr.  Ross  voluntarily  did  this 
is  additional  evidence  as  to  the  sterling  material  of 
which  he  is  made.  To  him  work  is  work,  whether  of 
brain  or  hand,  and  one  as  honorable  and  necessary  as 
the  other.  He  says  that  this  experience  in  the  yard 
was  of  value  to  him,  as  he  is  now  familiar  with  every 
detail  of  yard  work.  He  does  not  hold  his  present 
position  by  reason  of  being  his  father's  son,  but  be- 
cause, having  mastered  the  business,  he  is  competent 
to  hold  it.  In  1893  Mr.  Ross  was  made  secretary  of 
the  company,  and  two  years  thereafter  became  its 
buyer.  In  1900  he  turned  the  buying  over  to  his 
brother  and  took  the  management  of  the  outside 
yards,  with  his  residence  in  Sioux  Falls.  *  *  * 
The  Ross  Company  has  been  highly  successful  in  its 
selection  of  local  managers.  S.  H.  Hurst,  in  charge  of 
the  Sioux  Falls  yard,  has  filled  his  present  position 
twenty-one  years.  Another  manager  has  been  with 
the  company  sixteen  years,  and  several  others  ten 
and  twelve  years  each.  The  confidence  must  be  mu- 
tual, for  Mr.  Ross  remarked  that  he  had  not  a  man- 
ager in  his  employ  whose  honesty  he  in  the  slightest 
degree  questioned.  Efficient  men  well  paid  is  one  of 
his  mottoes.     *     *     * 

In  association  work  Mr.  Ross  has  taken  a  keen  in- 
terest. He  believes  that  were  it  not  for  the  existence 
of  the  retail  associations  the  selling  of  lumber  at  a 
profit  that  would  at  all  compensate  for  the  use  of  the 
eopital  inve=ted  in  the  business  and  the  time  in  car- 
ing for  it  would  be  well-nigh  impossible.  In  1901, 
when  in  Florida,  he  received  a  telegram  announcing 
his  election  as  vice-president  of  the  Northwestern 
Lumbermen's  Association,  and  he  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  same  organization  at  the  annual  meeting 
held  in  Minneapolis,  in  January,  1902.  His  election 
as  vice-president  was  a  surprise  to  him,  the  selection 
having  been  made  by  the  members  of  that  associatioa 
who  are  ever  on  the  lookout  for  capable  official  tim- 
ber. 

While  Mr.  Ross  has  constantly  a  great  amount  of 
work  on  his  hands  he  has  accepted  the  conclusion 
that  has  been  reached  by  the  wisest  everywhere, 
namely,  that  work  is  beneficial  to  only  one  side  of 
man's  nature.  As  a  counterbalance  there  must  be 
recreation,  and  fortunately  the  idea  has  been  imbibed 
by  Mr.  Ross  while  he  is  yet  a  young  man.  Mr.  Ross 
is  an  enthusiast  with  the  rod  and  gun.  He  hunts  in 
the  Black  Hills  and  in  Montana,  and  ten  years  ago. 


840 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


on  a  hunting  trip,  crossed  the  p-lains  with  President 
Roosevelt.  He  has  hunted  moose  in  Canada,  deer  in 
northern  Wisconsin,  and  even  alligators  in  the  south. 
In  1899  he  spent  four  months  in  Europe,  visiting 
eleven  countries  and  bringing  back  with  him  a  bound- 
less fund  of  Information  concerning  people  and  gov- 
ernments. 

The  domestic  animals  find  in  Mr.  Ross  a  friend  and 
admirer,  these  animals  being  much  In  evidence  at  his 
beautiful  home  in  Sioux  Falls.  He  is  the  owner  of 
Hulda  R..  a  pacing  mare  that  has  a  mark  of  2:18  1-2; 
s  high-bred  Jersey  cow  has  the  run  of  his  yard,  and 
a  bird  dog  for  which  he  has  repeatedly  refused  into 
the  hundreds  welcomes  him  when  he  comes  from 
town.  He  also  has  pens  of  high-scoring  barred  Plym- 
outh Rock  chickens.  Mr.  Ross  is  interested  in  music 
to  so  marked  a  degree  that  he  visits  New  York  and 
remains  through  the  season  of  grand  opera.  Art  also 
Interests  him.  On  his  European  trip  he  saw  twelve 
of  the  most  famous  pictures  of  the  world,  traveling 
three  hundred  miles  to  see  one  of  them.  While 
neither  wanting  nor  seeking  political  favors  he  joins 
with  the  men  who  control  politics  in  order  to  have 
as  good  men  as  possible  in  office.  Mr.  Ross  is  a  type 
of  the  young  business  man  that  is  altogether  too  rare 
— a  man  who  is  good  to  himself  and  good  to  others. 
Plenty  of  dollars  roll  his  way.  and  they  are  neither 
miserly  hoarded  nor  senselessly  squandered. 

The  foregoing  paragraphs  indicate  quite  ade- 
quately the  position  which  our  subject  holds  in 
the  business  world,  and  it  should  be  noted  that 
he  stands  essentially  at  the  head  of  one  of  the 
most  important  lumbering  enterprises  in  South 
Dakota,  .while  he  is  held  in  the  highest  confidence 
and  esteem  in  the  city  and  state  in  which  the 
major  portion  of  his  life  has  been  passed.  In 
a  recapitulatory  way  it  may  be  stated  that  he  was 
graduated  in  the  Sioux  Falls  high  school  in 
1888,  while  he  was  graduated  in  the  University 
of  South  Dakota  in  1890.  He  is  at  the  present 
time  a  member  of  the  board  of  education  of  his 
home  cit\-  and  is  thoroughly  public-spirited  in 
his  attitude,  his  political  allegiance  being  given 
to  the  Republican  party.  He  and  his  wife  hold 
membership  in  the  Congregational  church  of 
Sioux  Falls,  and  he  is  also  serving  as  a  member 
of  its  board  of  trustees.  Fraternally,  he  has 
completed  the  circle  of  York  Rite  Masonry,  is 
identified  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  is  an 
enthusiastic  affiliate  of  the  great  social  organiza- 
tion of  lumbermen,  the  Concatenated  Order  of 
Hoo-Hoos. 


On  the  24th  of  October,  1900,  was  solem- 
nized the  marriage  of  ;\lr.  Ross  to  Miss  Ellen 
May  Goodrich,  of  State  Center,  Iowa,  and  they 
are  the  parents  of  one  child,  Hiram  Earl,  who 
was  born  on  the  8th  of  August,  1901.  On 
another  page  of  this  work  appears  a  sketch  of 
the  life  of  the  subject's  father,  and  to  the  same 
reference  may  be  made  for  further  ancestral 
data. 


WILLIAM  J.  SHEPPARD.  president  of 
the  Mutual  Cash  Guaranty  Fire  Insurance  Com- 
pany of  Sioux  Falls,  was  born  in  the  beautiful 
old  city  of  Quebec,  Canada,  on  the  24th  of 
July,  1862,  being  of  English  and  Welsh  ancestry 
and  a  son  of  Percival  Edward  and  Ellen  ( Lloyd ) 
Sheppard.  His  father  was  one  of  the  honored 
and  distinguished  citizens  of  Quebec  and  held 
prominent  offices  in  the  Canadian  -  government 
for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century.  The  subject 
of  this  review  received  a  collegiate  education 
in  the  city  of  Ottawa,  and  subsequently  came  to 
the  United  States  and  secured  a  position  in  the 
Second  National  r>ank  of  Detroit,  IMichigan,  re- 
maining with  this  institution  until  the  death  of 
his  father,  in  1883.  when  he  returned  to  his 
home  in  Canada.  He  eventually  accepted  a 
position  in  the  auditor's  office  of  the  .\merican 
Express  Company  in  the  city  of  Montreal,  where 
he  remained  one  year,  at  the  expiration  of  which 
he  became  bookkeeper  for  the  Woods  Manufac- 
turing Company,  of  Winnipeg,  in  whose  employ 
he  remained  until  the  outbreak  of  the  Riel  re- 
bellion, when  he  went  out  as  a  soldier  with  the 
Winnipeg  Field  Battery,  of  which  he  had  pre- 
viously been  a  member  for  some  time,  and  with 
this  command  he  served  through  the  campaign 
of  1885.  He  participated  in  the  .famous  battles 
of  Fish  Creek  and  Batoche,  and  received,  as 
did  all  others  who  took  part  in  these  engage- 
ments, a  silver  medal  conferred  as  a  mark  of 
distinction  by  Queen  \'ictoria. 

After  the  close  of  the  rebellion  ?\Ir.  Shep- 
pard removed  to  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  and  be- 
came traveling  salesman  for  the  Berrisford  Bis- 
cuit ^Manufacturing  Company,  with  which  he 
remained  seven  years,  at  the  expiration  of  wliich 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH  DAKOTA. 


841 


he  accepted  a  similar  position  with  the  house  of 
MoKibbin  &  Company,  of  that  city,  with  whom 
he  remained  for  eleven  years  and  to  whose  in- 
terests he  gave  his  attention  until  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  company  of  which  he  is  now  presi- 
dent. He  established  his  home  in  Sioux  Falls 
in  1896,  and  has  ever  since  resided  here,  and  he 
is  the  owner  of  a  fine  farm  of  four  hundred 
and  eightv  acres  in  McCook  county,  this  state, 
besides  property  in  Sioux  Falls  and  in  Min- 
neapolis, Minnesota.  In  September,  1896,  Mr. 
Sheppard  became  associated  with  four  other 
gentlemen  in  Siou.x  Falls  in  instituting  here  a 
council  of  the  Order  of  the  United  Commercial 
Travelers,  this  having  been  the  first  established 
in  the  state  and  being  now  a  large  and  flourishing 
organization,  known  as  Sioux  Falls  Council  No. 
100.  He  was  made  its  first  past  councillor,  is 
at  the  present  time  a  member  of  its  executive 
committee,  as  is  he  also  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee of  the  grand  council  of  Minnesota  and 
North  and  South  Dakota. 

On  the  28th  of  May,  1903,  Mr.  Sheppard 
organized  the  Mutual  Cash  Guaranty  Fire  In- 
surance Company,  being  associated  in  the  enter- 
prise with  other  substantial  and  representative 
capitalists  and  business  men  of  the  state,  and 
of  this  company  he  was  elected  president,  -while 
he  now  gives  his  entire  time  and  attention  to  the 
administration  of  its  large  and  rapidly  increas- 
ing business,  the  plan  and  policy  of  the  com- 
pany being  so  ecjuitable  and  attractive  and  its 
solidity  so  assured  that  it  has  met  with  most 
favorable  reception  among  those  seeking  in- 
demnity for  loss  from  fire  upon  economical  terms, 
the  interests  of  the  policy  holders  being  identical 
with  those  of  the  company,  which  is  purely  mu- 
tual and  on  a  cash  basis,  not  being  a  stock  com- 
pany, so  that  the  share  to  the  policy  holder  is  in 
proportion  to  the  amount  of  insurance  carried  by 
him.  ]\Ir.  Sheppard  is  a  man  of  marked  initi- 
ative and  executive  ability  and  business  acumen, 
and  the  company  of  which  he  is  president  has 
already  taken  high  rank  among  the  fire  under- 
writing companies  doing  business  in  the  state. 
December  3,  1903,  Mr.  Sheppard  bought  out  the 
entire  interests  of  Mr.   Dwight  in  the  Anothy- 


Dwight  Candy  Company,  of  Sioux  Falls,  and 
then  sold  to  Thomas  H.  Brown,  of  Sioux  Falls, 
one-half  of  his  interest.  They  reorganized  the 
company,  increasing  the  capital  stock  to  thirty 
thousand  dollars,  and  officered  as  follows :  T. 
H.  Brown,  president ;  E.  A.  Anothy,  vice-presi- 
dent ;  H.  C.  Brown,  secretary  and  treasurer ;  and 
W.  J.  Sheppard,  general  manager.  They  have 
put  in  a  steam  plant,  which  is  the  only  one  in 
the  state,  and  it  is  their  intention  to  branch  out 
in  every  way  to  reach  business. 

In  politics  Mr.  Sheppard  gives  his  allegiance 
to  the  Republican  party  and  fraternally  is 
identified  with  the  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks,  while  his  religious  faith  is  that  of 
the  Episcopal  church,  of  which  both  he  and  his 
wife  are  communicants.  He  is  a  man  of  refined 
tastes  and  high  social  attainments,  and  enjoys 
the  respect  and  esteem  of  all  who  know  him.  On 
the  3d  of  July,  1887,  INIr.  Sheppard  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Miss  Caroline  Mary  Harder, 
daughter  of  William  Harder,  general  traffic 
manager  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railroad,  and 
a  resident  of  Winnipeg.  Of  this  union  have  been 
bom  two  children,  Stuart  Harder  and  William 
Percival. 


EDWARD  TEARE  TAUBMAN  was  bom 
December  18,  1853,  near  the  city  of  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  where  his  parents,  Edward  and  Margaret 
(Teare)  Taubman,  natives  of  the  Isle  of  Man, 
settled  the  preceding  fall.  The  year  of  his  birth 
witnessed  the  family's  emigration  to  Iowa,  in 
which  state  he  spent  his  childhood  and  youth, 
growing  to  young  manhood  near  the  town  of 
Maquoketa,  where  he  also  received  his  pre- 
liminary education  by  attending  the  public 
schools.  The  training  thus  received  was  supple- 
mented later  by  a  business  course  in  the  Qinton 
Commercial  College,  after  which  he  followed 
teaching  for  four  or  five  years,  during  which 
time  he  also  taught  classes  in  penmanship  at 
diflferent  places.  While  thus  engaged  Mr.  Taub- 
man began  the  study  of  law  under  the  direction 
of  Cotton  &  Wolfe,  leading  attorneys  of  De- 
Witt,   Iowa,   and   in    September,    1878,   was   ad- 


842 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


mitted  to  the  Clinton  county  bar,  immediately  fol- 
lowing which  he  began  practicing  his  profes- 
sion in  the  town  of  Delmar.  After  spending 
some  months  at  that  place,  he  moved  to  Spencer, 
the  same  state,  where  he  practiced  until  1883, 
in  March  of  which  year  he  closed  up  his  busi- 
ness in  Iowa  and  came  to  South  Dakota,  locat- 
ing at  Aberdeen,  where  he  opened  an  office  and 
in  due  season  secured  a  liberal  share  of  patron- 
age. Twenty  years  ago  and  more  Aberdeen 
appears  to  have  been  a  mecca  for  lawyers,  ]Mr. 
Taubman  having  been  the  seventy-fourth  legal 
light  to  swing  his  shingle  to  the  breeze,  of  which 
large  number  but  five  besides  the  subject  are 
in  active  practice  in  the  city  at  the  present  time, 
namely,  C.  N.  Harris,  John  H.  Perry,  C.  J.  Hute, 
A.  W.  Campbell  and  Captain  Houser. 

Mr.  Taubman's  professional  career  since 
coming  west  has  been  eminently  successful  and, 
as  already  indicated,  he  is  now  recognized  not 
only  as  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the  Brown 
county  bar,  but  stands  as  the  peer  of  any  of  his 
contemporaries  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the 
state.  Thoroughl}-  grounded  in  the  basic  prin- 
ciples of  jurisprudence,  he  is  able  and  patient  in 
the  preparation  of  his  cases ;  in  the  trial  of  them, 
is  skillful,  resourceful  and  fertile  in  expedient. 
In  the  preparation  of  a  case  and  presenting  it  to 
court  or  jury,  he  has  few  equals  in  discovering 
in  advance  the  controlling  points  and  so  mar- 
shaling the  testimony  and  handling  it  in  argu- 
ment as  to  produce  the  conviction  that  the  cause 
of  his  client  is  just  and  ought  to  prevail.  He  is 
an  excellent  judge  of  human  nature,  remarkably 
conversant  with  the  modes  of  thought  on  the 
part  of  jurors  and  with  these  and  other  equally 
admirable  qualifications,  notably  his  power  as  a 
public  speaker,  he  is  especially  forcible  and  uni- 
formly successful  in  jury  trials.  Since  1885  he 
has  confined  himself  closely  to  his  practice, 
which  in  the  meanwhile  has  grown  greatly,  his 
services  being  retained  in  nearly  all  the  leading 
cases  in  his  own  and  neighboring  counties,  to 
say  nothing  of  important  business  in  higher 
courts  of  the  state.  In  1889  he  was  elected 
prosecuting  attorney  and  served  as  such  two 
years,  being  the  last  person  to  hold  the  office  in 


Brown  county  under  the  territorial  government 
and  the  first  after  the  admission  of  South  Da- 
kota to  statehood.  Politically,  Mr.  Taubman  is 
staunchly  and  uncompromising!}-  Republican, 
and  has  always  stood  firmly  for  the  traditional 
principles  of  the  party,  remaining  true  to  the 
same  when  the  majority  of  the  Republicans  in 
the  western  states  and  the  territories  were  de- 
luded and  carried  away  by  the  popular  fallacy  of 
free  silver.  Believing  in  a  strong  and  stable  cur- 
rency, based  upon  the  gold  standard,  he  took 
issue  with  the  plank  in  the  platform  favoring 
the  ratio  of  sixteen  to  one  and  unlimited  coinage, 
defended  his  position  on  the  platform,  and, 
through  the  medium  of  the  press  and  despite  the 
formidable  opposition  arrayed  against  him,  made 
his  influence  felt  and  did  much  to  redeem  the 
party  from  the  error  into  which  it  had  been 
thrown  under  the  direction  of  unwise  leadership. 
Rather  than  sacrifice  his  honest  conviction^,  he 
preferred  to  fight  the  battle  for  sound  money 
alone,  but  his  able  arguments  gained  many  ad- 
herents and  he  came  out  of  the  contest  with  the 
respect  of  his  political  foes  of  both  parties  as 
well  as  the  admiration  of  those  who  successfully 
resisted  all  attempts  to  be  led  away  by  false  and 
pernicious  theories.  Mr.  Taubman  has  been  a 
delegate  to  many  conventions,  local,  district  and 
state,  and  his  influence  in  these  bodies  has  had 
not  a  little  to  do  in  making  of  platforms,  shaping 
the  policy  of  the  party  and  contributing  to  its 
success  at  the  polls.  He  is  nevertheless  more  of 
a  lawyer  than  a  politician  and,  being  devoted  to 
his  profession,  makes  it  paramount  to  ever\-  other 
consideration,  his  aim  having  always  been  to  rise 
superior  to  mere  expediency,  and  become 
thorough  in  all  branches  of  legal  knowledge  and 
efficient  in  applying  the  same  to  practice.  Mr. 
Taubman  is  one  of  the  leading  Masons  of  South 
Dakota,  having  taken  all  the  degrees  in  the 
order  up  to  and  including  the  thirty-third,  being 
one  of  a  very  few  men  in  the  west  to  reach  that 
exalted  station.  He  is  an  active  member  of  the 
supreme  council  of  the  state,  has  attended  several 
councils  and  consistories,  and  the  high  position 
in  every  branch  of  th^  order  nnth  which  he  has 
l^een  honored  attests  his  popularity  and  standing 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


843 


among  his  fellow  Masons  of  South  Dakota  and 
elsewhere.  As  indicated  above,  he  has  taken 
every  degree  that  can  be  conferred  in  the 
United  States,  which  fact  has  made  his  name 
familiar  to  the  brotherhood  throughout  the  entire 
countr}-  and  today  there  are  few  Masons  on  this 
side  of  the  Atlantic  more  widely  or  familiarly 
known. 

On  June  26,  1879,  Judge  Taubman  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Margaret  Ken- 
nedy, of  Ohio,  the  ceremony  being  solemnized 
in  Linn  county,  Iowa,  where  the  bride  was  liv- 
ing at  that  time.  Mrs.  Taubman  is  an  educated 
and  cultured  lady,  taught  school  for  some  years, 
after  graduating  from  an  educational  institution 
of  high  grade,  and  is  an  active  and  popular 
member  of  St.  Mark's  Episcopal  church  of 
Aberdeen,  also  belongs  to  the  Ladies'  Guild  of 
that  denomination,  under  the  auspices  of  which 
she  has  been  prominent  in  religious  circles,  not 
only  in  her  home  city,  but  in  a  number  of  states, 
especially  in  the  east.  She  has  borne  her  hus- 
band three  children,  the  oldest  of  whom,  a 
daughter  by  the  name  of  Genevieve,  is  now  a 
student  of  Cornell  College,  in  the  junior  year; 
Olive  T.,  the  second,  is  attending  the  Aberdeen 
high  school,  and  the  youngest,  who  answers  to 
the  name  of  Morton  McKinley,  is  also  pursuing 
his  studies  in  the  schools  of  the  latter  city. 


GEORGE  E.  COUNTRYMAN,  M.  D.,  is 
one  of  the  successful  physicians  and  surgeons  of 
the  state,  being  established  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession  in  the  city  of  Aberdeen,  where  he  has 
maintained  his  home  since  1888,  having  the  con- 
fidence and  esteem  of  his  professional  confreres 
and  of  the  community  at  large.  George  Edwin 
Countryman  is  a  native  of  Hastings,  Dakota 
county,  Minnesota,  where  he  was  born  on  the 
31st  of  July,  1865,  being  a  son  of  Peter  F.  and 
Elizabeth  (Gleason)  Countryman,  respectively 
of  Holland  Dutch  and  English  ancestry,  while 
both  were  bOrn  in  the  state  of  New  York, 
whence  they  removed  to  Minnesota  in  1851.  The 
mother  died  in  Minneapolis,  Minnesota,  in  1900; 
the  father  now   resides  in  Hastings,  Minnesota. 


The  Doctor  is  a  direct  descendant  of  Baron 
Johana  Von  Konderman,  who  was  e.xiled  from 
Holland  in  1608  and  who  came  to  New  Eng- 
land with  the  earliest  Puritan  settlers,  while  he 
rendered  distinguished  service  for  the  colonies  in 
their  conflicts  with  the  Indians,  participating  in 
the  protracted  wars  with  the  aborigines,  and  in 
recognition  of  his  long  and  valiant  service  he 
was  given  a  grant  of  land  in  the  Mohawk  valley, 
I  in  the  state  of  New  York,  and  the  same  has  been 
I  largely  in  the  possession  of  his  descendants 
through  all  the  succeeding  generations.  The 
name,  through  years  of  careless  and  indifferent 
pronunciation  and  spelling,  has  assumed  divers 
forms,  notably  Konderman  and  Countryman. 
Baron  \'on  Konderman's  descendants  have  set- 
tled in  many  different  states  of  the  Union,  but 
the  major  portion  have  undoubtedlv  remained 
in  New  York,  where  the  name  is  found  spelled 
in  both  forms  just  mentioned. 

Dr.  Countryman  completed  a  course  in  the 
high  school  of  his  native  town  and  then  con- 
tinued his  studies  in  Washington  L'niversity,  in 
St.  Louis,  Alis.souri.  In  1885  he  was  matricu- 
lated in  the  Missouri  Medical  University,  in  that 
city,  in  which  institution  he  was  graduated  in 
1 888,  receiving  his  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medi- 
cine. He  instituted  the  active  practice  of  his 
profession  by  opening  an  office  in  Mellette,  South 
Dakota,  in  June,  1888,  and  in  1894  he  took  up 
his  residence  in  Aberdeen,  where  he  now  has 
a  large  and  representative  practice.  He  served 
as  coroner  of  Brown  county  for  two  terms  of 
four  years  each,  and  for  five  years  he  acted' 'as 
librarian  of  the  Alexander  Mitchell  Free 
Library.  He  is  a  member  of  the  South  Dakota 
State  Medical  Society ;  is  a  stanch  Republica'rt  "In 
politics,  fraternally  is  identified  with  the  Malsbnic 
order  and  the  Ancient  Order  of  L'nited  Wortt- 
men,  and  both  he  and  his  .wife  hold  membet^sHfp 
in  the  First  Presbyterian  church  of  Abel-tieefi, 
being  prominent  in  the  social  life  of  the  citV:^^" 
On  the  15th  of  November,  1888,  Dr.^  Coun- 
tryman was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Kktfe'A. 
Van  Auken,  who  was  born  in  Hannibaly^iMis- 
souri,  January  30,  1865,  being  a  da'ag*IWe1^"(>f 
William    A.   and    Maria    \'an    Auken'.'''"'''i3r. 'iSii<l 


844 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Mrs.   Countryman   have   one   child,    Marguerite, 
who  was  born  August  zj,  1890. 


HOWARD  W.  COLE,  who  has  been  promi- 
nently identified  with  the  development  of  the 
agricultural  and  stock-growing  industries  in 
Brown  county,  and  is  at  the  present  time  render- 
ing effective  service  as  sheriff  of  the  county,  was 
bom  in  the  town  of  Eureka,  Montcalm  county, 
Michigan,  on  the  2gth  of  March,  1857,  and  is 
a  son  of  I.eander  T.  and  Sarah  Jane  (Stout) 
Cole.  The  father  of  our  subject  was  bom  in  the 
state  of  New  York,  where  he  was  reared  to  the 
age  of  fourteen  years,  when  he  accompanied  his 
parents  on  their  removal  to  Michigan,  the  family 
settling  in  Jackson  county.  In  185 1  he  took  up 
his  residence  in  Greenville,  that  state,  where  he 
formed  the  acquaintance  of  Miss  Sarah  J.  Stout, 
whom  he  wooed  and  won  as  a  companion  on 
the  journey  of  life.  Immediately  after  their 
marriage  they  located  on  a  farm  in  Eureka 
township.  The  father  died  January  17.  1900. 
the  widow  still  surviving.  Mr.  Cole  served  for 
two  years  as  a  member  of  the  Twenty-first  Regi- 
ment of  Michigan  Volunteer  Infantry  during 
the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  receiving  his  honorable 
discharge  at  the  close  of  the  great  conflict 
through  the  results  of  which  the  perpetuity  of 
the  Union  was  insured.  Leander  T.  and  Sarah 
J.  Cole  beckme  the  parents  of  four  children,  of 
whom  the  subject  of  this  review  is  the  eldest. 

Howard  W.  Cole  was  reared  under  the  in- 
vigorating discipline  of  the  homestead  farm  and 
his  early  education  was  received  in  the  public 
schools.  He  contmued  to  be  associated  with  his 
fatlier  in  the  work  and  management  of  the  farm 
until  his  marriage,  in  1880,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
three  years,  and  he  then  came  to  what  is  now  the 
state  of  South  Dakota,  arriving  in  Brown  county 
on  the  Qth  of  August.  1881.  and  settling  on  a 
pre-emption  claim  ten  miles  north  of  the  present 
town  of  Groton.  In  1882  he  sold  this  property 
and  took  up  a  homestead  claim  in  what  is  now 
Claremont  township,  his  claim  being  the  south- 
east quarter  of  section  25.  township  125,  range  60, 
and     shortlv    afterward     he    entered    the     em- 


ploy of  H.  M.  Fuller  as  foreman  on 
the  latter's  farm.  In  the  spring  of  1884 
he  entered  into  partnership  with  S.  W. 
Weber,  F.  D.  Adams  and  H.  C.  Sessions  and 
they  effected  the  purchase  of  what  is  known  as 
the  Fuller  farm,  to  which  they  added  from  time 
to  time  until  the  same  has  now  an  area  of  twelve 
hundred  and  eighty  acres.  The  co-partnership 
continued  until  the  death  of  Mr.  Adams,  in 
1898.  and  our  subject  still  retains  his  interest  in 
this  fine  property.  He  continued  to  reside  on  the 
ranch  until  the  autumn  of  1902,  when  he  was 
elected  sheriff  of  the  county  and  forthwith  re- 
moved to  Aberdeen,  the  judicial  center  of  the 
county,  and  entered  upon  the  active  discharge  of 
his  official  duties.  He  has  proved  a  most  dis- 
criminating, fearless  and  faithful  executive,  and 
his  course  has  been  such  as  to  amply  justify  the 
confidence  reposed  in  him  by  the  voters  of  the 
county  in  making  him  their  choice  for  the  shriev- 
alty. Mr.  Cole  assisted  in  the  organization  of 
Claremont  township  and  for  a  number  of  years 
was  an  active  and  valued  member  of  the  town- 
ship board.  He  also  served  for  nine  years  as 
treasurer  of  his  school  district,  and  represented 
his  township  in  nearly  all  of  the  county  and  state 
Republican  conventions,  having  ever  been  a  stal- 
wart advocate  of  the  principles  and  policies  of 
the  "grand  old  party."  He  served  for  two  years 
as  postmaster  of  Huffton,  and  has  at  all  times 
been  recognized  as  a  loyal  and  progressive  citizen. 
Conceming  the  fraternal  relations  of  Sheriff  Cole 
we  enter  the  following  data :  He  is  affiliated 
wnth  Cement  Lodge,  No.  103,  Ancient  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons,  at  Claremont ;  Aberdeen  Chap- 
ter. No.  14,  Royal  Arch  Masons;  Damascus 
Commandery,  No.  10,  Knights  Templar,  at 
Aberdeen ;  Adah  Chapter,  No.  52.  Order  of  the 
Eastern  Star,  at  Claremont ;  and  has  attained  the 
thirty-second  degree  of  the  Ancient  and  Accepted 
Scottish  Rite,  in  which  division  of  Masonry  he 
holds  membership  in  James  C.  Bachelor  Lodge 
of  Perfection.  No.  6;  Aberdeen  Giapter.  No.  4, 
Rose  Croix ;  Albert  Pike  Council,  No.  4,  Knights 
of  Kodosh;  and  South  Dakota  Consistory,  No. 
4,  Sublime  Princes  of  the  Royal  Secret.  He  is 
also    identified    with    Claremont    Lodge.    No.    5, 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


845 


Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen ;  Claremont 
Tent,  No.  25,  Knights  of  the  Maccabees:  and 
Claremont  Camp,  No.  6199,  Modern  Woodmen 
of  America,  all  of  Claremont. 

On  the  9th  of  December,  1880,  Mr.  Cole  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Theresa  M.  Howell, 
who  was  born  in  the  province  of  Ontario, 
Canada,  whence  she  accompanied  her  parents  to 
IMichigan  when  a  child,  being  there  reared  and 
educated  and  having  been  a  resident  of  Mont- 
calm county,  that  state,  at  the  time  of  her  mar- 
riage. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cole  became  the  parents 
of  five  children,  all  of  whom  are  living  except 
the  eldest,  who  died  in  infancy',  the  names,  in 
order  of  birth,  being  as  follows :  Charles  Henry, 
Arthur  Maxwell,  Mildred  N.,  Mary  J.  and  Wal- 
ter G. 


DeWITT  CLINTON  FOWLER,  M.  D.,  of 
Aberdeen,  is  a  native  of  New  York,  born  No- 
vember 6,  1841,  in  the  town  of  Delphi,  Madison 
county,  where  his  father.  Smith  T.  Fowler,  a 
representative  of  an  old  and  highlv  respected 
Quaker  family,  long  made  his  home.  The 
Doctor's  early  years  were  spent  in  his  native  vil- 
lage, and  after  attending  for  some  time  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  the  same,  he  finished  his  education 
in  the  old  Cazenovia  Seminary,  an  institution  of 
high  grade,  five  miles  distant  from  Delphi.  Hav- 
ing decided  to  make  the  medical  profession  his 
life  worlv,  he  subsequentlv  began  the  study  of 
the  same,  and  after  a  three  years'  course  in  the 
College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  New 
York  Citv,  was  graduated  in  186,^.  Immediately 
following  the  completion  of  his  professional 
course,  the  Doctor  was  appointed  assistant  sur- 
geon of  the  First  New  York  Dragoons,  origin- 
allv  the  old  One  Hundred  and  Thirtieth  New 
York  Infantry,  which,  after  two  years'  service, 
was  converted  into  a  cavalry  regiment,  and  as 
such  took  an  active  part  in  the  Virginia  cam- 
paigns, until  the  close  of  the  rebellion.  In  his 
official  capacity.  Dr.  Fowler  accompanied  his 
command  through  all  its  varied  experiences  of 
march  and  battle,  participating  in  a  number  of 
hard-fought  engagements,  notably  among  which 


were  the  battles  of  the  Wilderness,  Cedar  Creek, 
the  various  fights  in  the  Shenandoah  valley,  and 
Winchester,  being  captured  at  the  last  named 
place  and  sent  to  Libby  prison  at  Richmond, 
where  for  a  period  of  six  months  he  was  kept 
in  close  confinement,  suffering  great  hardships 
the  meanwhile.  From  Libby  he  was  transferred 
to  Macon.  Georgia,  and  after  spending  three 
months  in  the  prison  pen  at  that  place,  his  ex- 
change was  effected,  after  which  he  rejoined  his 
regiment  in  readiness  for  duty.  At  the  close 
of  the  war  he  was  mustered  out  of  the  service 
at  Rochester,  New  York,  and  during  the  ensuing 
three  years  lived  at  Syracuse,  where,  in  addition 
to  trying  to  recover  his  health,  he  further  prose- 
cuted his  professional  studies,  his  later  reading 
leading  him,  in  1868,  to  adopt  the  homeopathic 
school  of  medicine,  in  preference  to  the  one  in 
which  he  had  previously  practiced. 

From  1868  to  1873  Dr.  Fowler  practiced  in 
Oswego,  New  York,  and  the  latter  year  changed 
his  abode  to  Fayetteville,  in  the  same  state,  where 
he  enjoyed  a  large  and  lucrative  professional 
business  until  his  removal,  in  1882,  to  South 
Dakota.  He  was  induced  to  come  west  by  reason 
of  continued  poor  health,  his  lungs  having  be- 
come seriously  affected.  In  the  hope  of  finding 
the  pure  and  invigorating  atmosphere  of  the  Da- 
kotas  conducive  to  improvement,  he  joined  a 
colony  consisting  of  about  forty  persons,  with 
whom  in  due  time  he  reached  what  is  now  Brown 
county,  where  he  at  once  took  up  a  claim,  and 
opened  an  office  in  Aberdeen,  being  the  third  phy- 
sician in  this  part  of  the  country.  His  success, 
since  coming  west,  has  been  marked,  and  the  dis- 
tinction accorded  him  of  being  one  of  the  lead- 
ing physicians  and  surgeons  in  the  northeastern 
part  of  the  state  has  been  fairly  and  honorably 
earned.  His  career  has  also  been  fortunate, 
when  considered  from  a  financial  point  of  view. 
Being  a  prudent  and  sagacious  business  man,  his 
earnings  have  been  judiciously  invested  from 
time  to  time,  until  he  now  possesses  an  ample 
competence,  owning,  in  addition  to  valuable  city 
property,  several  fine  tracts  of  land  in  Brown 
county,  from  the  proceeds  of  which  no  small 
share  of  his  income  is  derived.     He  is  also  in- 


846 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


terested  in  mining,  having  good  mineral  proper- 
ties in  the  Black  Hills,  some  of  which  have 
already  been  developed  and  pay  well,  and  others 
promising  rich  returns  at  no  distant  day. 

Dr.  Fowler  is  a  member  of  the  state  and 
national  medical  associations,  also  belongs  to 
several  local  societies,  and  in  his  practice  works 
in  harmony  with  the  different  schools  of  medi- 
cine, his  long  and  valuable  professional  ex- 
perience enabling  him  to  appropriate  what  is  best 
in  each.  During  the  past  twelve  years  he  has 
held  the  position  of  United  States  pension  ex- 
aminer, being  a  member  of  the  board  at  Aber- 
deen. In  politics  he  is  staunchly  Republican, 
but  party  work  not  being  exactly  to  his  taste, 
he  has  never  aspired  to  leadership  nor  sought 
public  office  at  the  hands  of  his  fellow  citizens. 
He  is  first  of  all  a  physician,  thoroughly  wedded 
to  his  profession  and  appreciating  its  usefulness 
and  dignity,  consequently  he  has  made  every 
other  consideration  subordinate  to  the  one  idea 
of  becoming  a  true  healer  of  men  and  a  bene- 
factor of  humanity.  The  Doctor  is  one  of  the 
prominent  Masons  of  South  Dakota,  standing 
high  in  the  order,  and  at  different  times  has  filled 
important  official  stations  in  the  various  branches 
with  which  he  is  identified.  He  belongs  to 
Damascus  Commandery,  No.  10.  Knights 
Templar,  which  organization  he  has  represented 
in  national  conclaves,  first  at  Boston.  He  is 
also  identified  with  the  \"allev  of  .Aberdeen  Con- 
sistory Xo.  4.  Scottish  Rite,  being  a  thirty- 
second-degree  Mason  and  one  of  the  leading 
and  influential  spirits  among  his  brethren  in 
that  high  branch  of  the  mystic  tie.  Religiously, 
the  Doctor  is  an  Episcopal,  the  parish  of  St. 
Marks  of  .\berdeen.  having  been  organized  in 
his  office  and  largely  through  his  instrumentalitv 
in  the  year  1882.  Since  that  date  he  has  served 
as  warden  of  the  vestry,  in  addition  to  which 
he  has  also  been  actively  identified  with  the  gen- 
eral work  of  the  church,  contributing  of  his 
means  and  influence  to  its  growth  and  watching 
over  the  varied  interests  of  the  parish  with  a 
kind  and  fatherly  care.  The  strenuous  life  the 
Doctor  has  led  has  been  fruitful  of  great  good 
and   lasting  benefits   to  his    fellow   men,   and   to 


say  that  he  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  notable 
physicians  and  leading  citizens  of  this  day  in 
South  Dakota,  is  to  express  what  the  public  wil- 
linglv  and  cheerfullv  concedes. 


WILLIAM  F.  BANCROFT,  postmaster  at 
Wessington  Springs  and  editor  and  publisher  of 
the  True  Republican,  was  born  in  ^lonmouth, 
Illinois,  on  the  21st  of  October,  1868,  being  a 
son  of  Charles  L.  and  Louise  P.  Bancroft,  who 
removed  to  the  territory  of  Dakota  and  located 
in  Yankton  when  he  was  a  child  of  but  two 
years.  The  subject  is  the  youngest  of  the  two 
children,  his  sister,  Xellie.  being  the  wife  of 
Giarles  X.  Wright,  a  resident  of  Sioux  Falls. 
South  Dakota.  \Mlliam  F.  Bancroft  secured  his 
early  educational  discipline  in  the  public  schools 
of  the  city  of  Yank-ton  and  supplemented  the 
same  by  a  course  of  study  in  Yankton  College. 
.\fter  leaving  college  he  worked  at  the  printing 
trade  in  Yankton,  going  from  there  to  Yer- 
million,  where  he  remained  for  two  years,  de- 
voting his  attention  principally  to  working  at  his 
trade.  In  February,  1893,  he  came  to  \\'essing- 
ton  Springs  and  two  years  later  purchased  the 
True  Republican,  of  which  he  has  since  been 
the  editor  and  publisher,  making  the  paper  an 
able  exponent  of  local  interests  and  a  power  in 
the  field  of  politics  in  this  section  of  the  state, 
the  policy  of  the  paper  in  a  political  way  being 
uncompromisingly  Republican,  which  fact  indi- 
cates the  political  proclivities  of  the  owner,  who 
has  been  an  active  worker  in  the  party  cause 
during  the  years  of  his  residence  in  the  county. 
On  the  loth  of  September,  1898,  under  the  ad- 
ministration of  President  McKinley,  Mr.  Ban- 
croft was  appointed  postmaster  of  Wessington 
Springs,  and  is  still  incumbent  of  this  position. 
While  a  resident  of  Clay  county  our  subject 
served  as  deputy  clerk  of  the  courts,  and  he  has 
held  various  local  offices  in  connection  with  the 
municipal  government  ef  his  home  town,  being 
at  present  the  city  clerk.  Fraternally,  he  is 
identified  with  Frontier  Lodge,  No.  87,  -\ncient 
Free  and  .Accepted  Masons,  and  with  Wessing- 
ton Springs  Lodge,  Xo.  8r,  Independent  Order 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


847 


of  Odd  Fellows;  while  he  has  been  specially 
prominent  in  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America, 
being  a  member  of  Wessington  Springs  Camp, 
No.  2962.  He  served  as  state  clerk  of  the  order 
for  two  years,  was  delegate  to  the  head  camp  in 
1899,  and  from  February  13,  1901,  to  May  6, 
1903,  he  was  state  advisor,  being  then  elected  to 
the  important  office  of  state  consul,  of  which  he  is 
incumbent  at  the  time  of  this  writing. 

On  the  3d  of  July,  1894,  Mr.  Bancroft  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Maud  S.  Spears, 
daughter  of  J.  M.  Spears,  a  well-known  resident 
of  Wessington  Springs,  and  of  this  union  have 
been  born  four  children,  all  of  whom  remain  at 
the  parental  home,  namely :  Merrill,  Lowell. 
Darrell  and  Melba. 


HENRY  FRAWLEY.— Among  the  pioneers 
of  the  state  the  subject  of  this  sketch  has  a 
place  of  priority,  while  he  is  one  of  the  leading 
members  of  the  bar  of  the  commonwealth,  hav- 
ing been  actively  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession  in  the  city  of  Deadwood  since  1877, 
and  he  is  also  one  of  the  extensive  land  owners 
of  Lawrence  county  and  interested  in  valuable 
mining  properties.  Mr.  Frawley  comes  from 
staunch  Irish  ancestry,  and  is  a  native  of  the  Em- 
pire state,  having  been  born  in  Washington 
county.  New  York,  on  the  13th  dav  of  March, 
1831,  being  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Honora  (Ho- 
gan)  Frawley,  both  of  whom  were  born  and 
raised  near  the  citv  of  Limerick,  Ireland,  in 
which  section  both  families  have  been  established 
for  many  generations.  The  old  Frawlev  home- 
stead, which  is  still  standing  near  Rathkeal,  is 
in  a  fine  state  of  preservation,  having  been  con- 
tinually in  the  possession  of  the  family  for  more 
than  one  hundred  and  fiftv  vears,  while  the  name 
has  been  identified  with  the  great  basic  art  of 
agriculture  in  the  Emerald  Isle  from  the  days 
to  which  the  memory  of  man  runneth  not  to  the 
contrary.  The  parental  grandparents  of  the  sub- 
ject were  Thomas  and  !\Tary  (Fitzgerald) 
Frawley.  who  passed  their  entire  lives  in  the 
countv  of  Limerick,  and  the  maternal  grand- 
parents  were   Michael   and    Elizabeth     (Burke) 


Hogan,  who  also  passed  their  entire  lives  in  the 
same  country.  The  parents  of  the  subject  emi- 
grated to  America  in  1848  and  remained  a  short 
time  in  the  state  of  New  York,  after  which  they 
removed  to  Wisconsin,  being  numbered  among 
the  sterling  pioneers  of  Dane  county,  and  there 
passed  the  remainder  of  their  long  and  useful 
lives.  The  father  became  one  of  the  prominent 
and  influential  stock  growers  and  farmers  of 
that  section.  He  was  a  man  of  inflexible  in- 
tegrity and  strong  intellectuality,  and  was  ever 
held  in  confidence  and  esteem  by  those  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact.  Through  his  well- 
directed  eiiforts  he  attained  a  fair  degree  of  pros- 
perity. He  died  at  Eau  Claire,  Wisconsin,  in 
Januan-,  1896.  His  wife  passed  away  in  1884 
on  the  old  homestead  in  Dane  county.  They  be- 
came the  parents  of  eight  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters. Both  daughters  are  dead  and  one  son 
died  when  quite  young.  Another,  T.  F.  Fraw- 
ley, who  became  a  very  prominent  lawyer,  died 
at  Eau  Gaire,  Wisconsin,  June  28,  1902.  It 
may  be  consistently  noted  that  five  of  the  sons 
were  graduates  of  the  literary  department  of  the 
L'^niversity  of  Wisconsin,  and  three  in  the  law 
department  of  that  institution,  while  at  the 
present  time  four  members  of  the  family  are 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  law.  The  two  daugh- 
ters were  graduates  of  the  normal  school ; 
Honora  A.  graduated  in  June,  1885,  and  died  in 
September.  l\Iary  E.  graduated  in  1882,  taught 
school  for  many  years  and  died  at  Eau  Gaire, 
in    1893. 

Henry  Frawley,  the  immediate  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  raised  on  the  homestead  and 
secured  his  rudimentary  education  in  the  dis- 
trict school,  after  which  he  continued  his  studies 
at  Albion  Academy,  Dane  county,  and  in  1872 
entered  .the  L^niversity  of  Wisconsin,  graduating 
therefrom  in  1874  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor 
of  Arts.  He  then  entered  the  law  department 
of  that  institution  and  completed  the  course  pre- 
scribed and  graduated  as  a  member  of  the  class 
of  1876  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Law 
and  was  at  once  admitted  to  practice  in  the  courts 
of  that  state.  He  read  law  during  his  course 
at   law  school   in   the   office   of   P.   L.    Spooner, 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


father  of  Senator  J.  C.  Spooner,  of  Wisconsin. 
Almost  immediately  after  his  graduation  he  was 
nominated  for  state's  attorney  of  Dane  county 
and  was  defeated.  In  the  fall  of  1876  he  went 
to  Eau  Claire  and  was  associated  with  Henry 
Cousins  in  the  practice  of  law  until  the  spring 
of  1877.  In  June  of  that  year  he  started  for  the 
Black  Hills  district,  making  the  trip  by  rail- 
road to  Bismarck  and  thence  going  onward  to 
Deadwood  with  a  party  of  immigrants  traveling 
in  wagon  trains,  encountering  no  trouble  with 
the  Indians.  He  arrived  in  Deadwood,  then  a 
stirring  mining  town,  opened  an  office,  com- 
menced the  practice  of  law  and  was  fairly  suc- 
cessful from  the  start.  In  November,  1879,  he 
formed  a  co-partnership  with  Edward  L.  Kohen, 
which  continued  until  1881  under  the  firm  name 
of  Frawley  &  Kohen.  From  then  until  1894  he 
practiced  law  by  himself,  having  from  1886  John 
P.  Laffey  associated  with  him,  and  in  1894  John 
P.  Laffey  and  James  Frawley.  a  brother  who 
graduated  from  the  University  in  1892  and 
studied  law  under  the  preceptorship  of  the  sub- 
ject, became  members  of  the  firm,  adopting  the 
title  of  Frawley  &  Lafifey.  This  association  con- 
tinued until  1896.  when  James  Frawley  re- 
moved to  Nome,  Alaska,  where  he  has  since  be- 
come established  in  the  practice.  Messrs.  Fraw- 
ley &  Laffey  continued  the  practice  under  the 
partnership  until  February,  1903,  when  Mr. 
Laffev  became  the  general  counsel  for  the  Re- 
pauno  Chemical  Company  of  Wilmington, 
Delaware.  The  firm  then  became  Frawlev  & 
Frawlev,  E.  J.  Frawley  succeeding  Mr.  Laffey. 
and  it  has  done  a  large  and  important  law  busi- 
ness of  a  general  nature.  Mr.  Frawley  was  the 
attorney  for  John  Fitzgerald  &  Brother  during 
all  their  litigation  in  the  construction  of  the  line 
of  the  Burlington  &  Missouri  River  Railroad 
from  Edgemont  to  Deadwood.  and  since  the 
completion  of  that  road  has  continually  served 
the  company  as  its  counsel.  He  is  also  the  at- 
torney of  the  Golden  Reward  Consolidated  Gold 
Mininsf  Company,  the  American  National  Bank, 
the  Hidden  Fortune  Gold  Mining  Company 
and  a  number  of  other  mining  corporations.  In 
politics  he  is  a  staunch  advocate  of  the  Jeffer- 


sonian  principles  of  the  Democratic  party,  though 
he  supported  McKinley  in  1896  and  in  1900. 
While  taking  an  active  interest  in  the  promotion 
of  the  general  interests  of  the  state,  he  has  not 
permitted  the  use  of  his  name  for  nomination  to 
any  public  office  of  any  description  since  his 
nomination,  a  few  months  after  his  graduation, 
to  the  office  of  prosecuting  attorney  of  Dane 
county. 

Mr.  Frawley  is  the  most  extensive  real  estate 
owner  in  Lawrence  county ;  has  a  finely  improved 
stock  farm  located  on  the  road  between  Dead- 
wood  and  Spearfish,  comprising  more  than  three 
thousand  acres,  and  is  known  as  one  of  the  best 
improved  ranches  in  the  state.  It  is  commonly 
called  the  Centennial  Home  farm.  Here  the 
subject  is  extensively  engaged  in  raising  live 
stock,  principally  horses  and  cattle.  He  raises 
the  shorthorns  from  thoroughbred  stock  and  also 
the  Hereford  type,  while  upon  his  farm  are 
always  found  a  large  number  of  draft  and  road 
horses.  The  Centennial  farm  is  one  of  the  show 
places  of  the  state  and  attracts  many  visitors 
each  year,  especially  those  interested  in  breeding 
cattle  and  horses.  Mr.  Frawley  also  became 
early  interested  in  the  gold  mining  of  the  Black 
Hills  and  owns  valuable  properties  in  this  line. 
He  sold  the  Iowa  and  Brunett  properties  to  the 
Hidden  Fortune  Gold  Mining  Company,  in 
which  he  still  retains  a  large  block  of  stock.  He 
also  owns,  personally,  one  hundred  acres  of 
patented  mining  property  situated  at  Portland  in 
the  Bald  Mountain  ore  zone,  reputed  to  be  very 
valuable,  besides  other  mining  interests  over 
different  parts  of  the  ore  zone  of  the  Black 
Hills. 

Fraternally,  Mr.  Frawley  is  a  charter  mem- 
ber of  Lodge  No.  508,  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks,  in  whose  affairs  he  has  taken 
much  interest  from  its  inception.  He  enjoys  un- 
qualified confidence  and  esteem  in  professional 
and  business  circles. 

On  the  22d  day  of  July,  1800,  'Sir.  Frawley 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Christine  Ander- 
son, who  was  born  and  reared  in  the  city  of 
Yankton,  the  original  capital  of  the  territory  of 
Dakota.     She  is  the  only  child  of  James  Ander- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


849 


son,  who  came  to  Deadwood  in  1877,  being  a 
prominent  farmer  and  stock  raiser,  largely  in- 
terested in  mining  properties  and  owning  a  large 
hardware  store  in  the  city  of  Deadwood  for 
many  years.  He  was  a  man  who  stood  high  in 
the  public  estimation  and  was  a  member  of  the 
first  state  legislature.  His  death  occurred  on  the 
1st  day  of  September,  1890.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Frawley  have  three  children,  Henry  J-.  Wil- 
liam G.  and  Honora  C. 


JOHN  E.  WATKINS  is  a  native  of  the 
old  Buckeye  state,  having  been  born  in  Delaware 
county,  Ohio,  on  the  7th  of  May,  1858,  and 
being  the  first  in  order  of  birth  of  the  five  chil- 
dren of  Edward  and  Sarah  (Evans)  Watkins, 
both  of  whom  died  in  Ohio,  where  the  father  de- 
voted his  active  life  to  farming.  Our  subject's 
early  educational  advantages  were  confined  to  a 
somewhat  irregular  attendance  in  the  common 
schools  of  his  native  state,  and  as  a  mere  boy 
he  had  occasion  to  learn  what  is  implied  in  the 
term  hard  work.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  years 
be  gave  up  his  school  in  order  to  assist  in  the 
labors  incidental  to  the  improvement  and  culti- 
vation of  the  homestead  farm,  and  he  continued 
to  be  thus  engaged  until  he  had  attained  the 
age  of  twenty-seven  years,  when  he  inaugurated 
his  independent  career  by  coming  to  what  is  now 
South  Dakota.  He  arrived  here  in  the  fall  of 
1885  and  took  up  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
of  government  land,  in  Badger  township,  Davi- 
son county,  the  same  constituting  the  nucleus  of 
his  present  fine  farm  of  four  hundred  and 
eighty  acres,  upon  which  he  has  made  substantial 
improvements,  including  the  erection  of  a  com- 
modious and  attractive  residence.  About  one- 
half  of  his  farm  is  under  cultivation  and  de- 
voted to  the  raising  of  the  various  cereals  best 
adapted  to  the  soil  and  climate,  while  the  balance 
is  given  over  to  pasturage  and  the  raising  of 
hay.  He  has  a  high  grade  of  live  stock  upon 
his  place  and  is  known  as  one  of  the  energetic 
and  wide-awake  farmers  of  the  county.  His 
valuable  property  indicates  the  success  which  has 
tended   his   assiduous   and   well-directed   eflForts, 


and  he  has  unbounded  admiration  for  the  state 
of  his  adoption  and  great  faith  in  its  still  more 
brilliant  future.  Mr.  Watkins  is  a  stanch  Re- 
publican in  politics  and  has  been  prominent  in 
local  affairs  of  a  public  nature.  He  has  served 
for  twelve  years  as  school  treasurer  of  Badger 
township,  and  for  three  years  was  incumbent  of 
the  office  of  township  assessor.  Both  he  and  his 
wife  are  valued  members  of  the  Congregational 
church,  being  zealous  workers  in  the  same. 

On  the  24th  of  December,  1881.  Mr.  Wat- 
kins was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Anna 
Streeter,  daughter  of  Rev.  A.  W.  Streeter,  of 
Stockton,  Kansas,  and  the  seven  children  of  this 
union  still  remain  beneath  the  home  roof,  their 
names,  in  order  of  birth,  being  as  follows : 
Edward  L.,  Sarah  M.,  Mabel  E.,  William  Neill, 
Clarence.  Clara  and  Norvel. 


SAMUEL  H.  B.\KEWELL.— No  member 
of  the  bar  of  Aurora  county  has  attained  more 
distinctive  prestige  and  honor  than  has  Judge 
Bake  well,  who  has  been  for  many  years  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Plankinton 
and  who  has  been  a  prominent  figure  in  public 
and  civic  affairs  in  this  section  of  the  state. 

Judge  Bakewell  was  born  on  a  farm  near 
Lansing,  Allamakee  county,  Iowa,  on  the  4th 
of  April,  1855,  being  one  of  the  nine  children  of 
John  and  Sarah  Ann  (Hunt)  Bakewell.  He  is 
of  English  descent.  He  received  his  early  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools,  and  in  the  seminary 
at  Waukon,  Iowa.  He  taught  school  several 
winters.  He  continued  his  studies  in  the  State 
University  of  Iowa,  at  Iowa  City,  in  the  law  de- 
partment of  which  he  graduated  as  a  member  of 
the  class  of  1879.  Soon  after  his  graduation 
he  came  to  the  territory  of  Dakota  and  located 
at  Plankinton.  Aurora  county,  in  1881,  being  one 
of  the  pioneers  of  his  profession  in  the  county. 
During  the  first  few  years  he  was  largely  en- 
gaged in  locating  homeseekers  on  the  public 
lands  of  his  county  and  representing  them  pro- 
fessionally before  the  local  land  office  at 
IMitchell,  and  the  general  land  office  at  Washing- 
ton. D.  C.     He  became  prominent  in  the  public 


850 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


affairs  of  the  county  in  the  territorial  days,  and 
has  continued  since  South  Dakota  was  admitted 
to  the  Union  to  hold  many  positions  of  honor 
and  trust.  In  1884  he  was  elected  to  the  office 
of  probate  judge  of  the  county,  and  was  re- 
elected in  1886.  After  the  admission  of  South 
Dakota  as  a  state  he  was  elected  judge  of  the 
county  court,  and  twice  elected  state's  attorney 
of  his  county.  His  self-poise  and  his  thorough 
knowledije  of  the  science  of  jurisprudence  has 
won  him  a  large  and  renumerative  practice  in 
his  profession.  He  has  taken  advantage  of  the 
opportunities  of  a  new  country  and  has  acquired 
large  and  valuable  property  interests.  The 
Judge  is  one  of  the  old-time  Republicans  and  is 
one  of  the  leaders  of  that  party  in  his  county. 
Fraternally,  he  is  identified  with  the  time- 
honored  order  of  Freemasonry,  and  his  religious 
faith  is  that  of  the  Congregational  church,  of 
which  he  and  his  family  are  members. 

On  the  17th  of  April,  1884,  was  solemnized 
the  marriage  of  Judge  Bakewell  to  Miss  Martha 
A.  Cawley,  who  was  born  and  educated  in  Wis- 
consin, having  graduated  from  the  Oshkosh 
Normal  School  in  1879,  and  who  was  principal 
of  the  Plankinton  public  schools  the  year  pre- 
vious to  her  marriage.  They  are  the  parents 
of  two  sons.  Robert  C.  and  George  S.,  aged 
seventeen  and,  fifteen  years  respectively. 


GEORGE  P.  SCOTCHBROOK  is  one  of 
the  leading  business  men  and  honored  citizens 
of  Wessington.  Beadle  county,  where  he  has  for 
many  years  operated  a  grain  elevator  and  been 
successfully  engaged  in  the  buying  and  shipping 
of  wheat  and  other  products. 

]\Tr.  Scotchbrook  is  one  of  the  many  loyal 
citizens  contributed  by  the  state  of  Illinois  to 
our  great  and  prosperous  commonwealth.  He 
was  born  in  Whiteside  county,  that  state,  on  the 
25th  of  August,  1857,  and  is  a  son  of  Edward 
and  I\Tan-  A.  CPope)  Scotchbrook.  of  whose 
five  children  four  are  living.  The  father  of  the 
subject  was  numbered  among  the  pioneers  of 
Illinois,  whither  he  removed  in  1854.  and  his 
active  life  was  devoted  primarily  to  farming  and 


stock  raising.  His  wife  died  in  Illinois  in  1890. 
George  P.  Scotchbrook  secured  his  early  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  state, 
and  in  1879  was  matriculated  in  the  State  Uni- 
versity of  Illinois,  at  Champaign,  where  he  com- 
pleted the  engineering  course  and  was  graduated 
as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1883,  receiving  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Science.  Before  and 
after  leaving  college  the  subject  became  identified 
with  the  practical  work  of  civil  engineering,  in 
connection  with  the  government  survey  of  the 
Mississippi  river,  and  he  was  thus  engaged 
until  1884.  in  September  of  which  year  he  came 
to  Wessington,  South  Dakota,  where  he  engaged 
in  the  grain  business,  operating  an  elevator  at 
this  point  in  1884  for  G.  W.  \'an  Dusen  &  Com- 
pany, and  now  having  the  best  of  facilities  for 
the  carrying  on  of  his  large  and  important  en- 
terprise, while  he  is  known  as  a  progressive  and 
reliable  business  man,  commanding  the  high  re- 
gard of  all  who  know  him.  He  is  a  stanch  Re- 
publican in  his  political  proclivities,  fraternally 
is  affiliated  with  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen,  and  both  he  and  his  wife  are  active 
and  valued  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
in  their  home  town. 

On  the  9th  of  June,  1887,  was  solenmized 
the  marriage  of  Mr.  Scotchbrook  to  INIiss  Nettie 
Barden,  who  was  reared  in  Wellington,  Ohio, 
being  a  daughter  of  George  L.  and  Charlotte 
(Young)  Barden.  Of  this  union  have  been  bom 
two  children,  Francis  Willard  and  Carl  Edward, 
both  of  whom  remain  at  the  parental  home. 


.\LA'IN  M.  SHA\^^  who  is  incumbent  of 
the  responsible  executive  office  of  cashier  of  the 
Delmont  State  Bank,  of  Delmont,  Douglas 
county,  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  able  young 
business  men  of  the  county,  where  he  is  held  in 
high  esteem  and  is  personally  popular.  He  was 
born  on  a  farm  in  Joe  Daviess  county,  Illinois, 
on  the  3d  of  Februarv-,  1876,  being  a  son  of 
Henn-  and  I^Tary  E.  Shaw,  of  whose  seven 
children  four  are  living,  namely:  William  H.. 
who  is  cashier  of  the  Hutchinson  County  Bank, 
at  Parkston,  this  state;  Ora  P..  who  is  a  grain 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


851 


buyer  at  Scotland,  Bon  Homme  county ;  Ida, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Frank  L.  Wheeler,  also  a  resi- 
dent of  Scotland :  and  Alvin  M.,  who  is  the  im- 
mediate subject  of  this  sketch.  Henry  Shaw 
was  born  in  the  state  of  New  York,  in  1828,  and 
as  a  young  man  he  removed  thence  to  Joe 
Daviess  county,  Illinois,  where  he  was  engaged 
in  agricultural  pursuits  until  1886,  when  he  came 
to  South  Dakota  and  took  up  his  residence  in 
Parkston,  where  he  became  associated  with  his 
eldest  son,  William  H.,  in  the  organization  of 
the  Hutchinson  County  Bank,  of  which  he  was 
president  from  the  time  of  its  inception  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  in  October,  1902.  He 
also  acquired  considerable  valuable  farming  land. 
to  the  supervision  of  which  he  gave  his  atten- 
tion, while  his  son  W'illiam,  as  cashier,  had 
charge  of  the  bank,  of  which  he  is  still  cashier. 
The  father  was  an  uncompromising  Republican 
in  his  political  proclivities,  and  his  religious  faith 
was  that  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  was 
a  man  of  strong  intellectual  powers  and  marked 
business  acumen,  and  his  life  was  one  of  signal 
usefulness  and  honor.  His  widow,  who  is  a  na- 
tive of  the  state  of  New  York,  retains  her  home  | 
in  Scotland,  this  state. 

Alvin  I\T.  Shaw  was  reared  to  the  age  of  ten 
years  in  his  native  county  in  Illinois,  where  he 
secured  his  preliminary  educational  discipline  in 
the  public  schools,  and  after  the  removal  of 
the  family  to  South  Dakota  he  continued  his 
studies  in  the  Scotland  Academy,  in  which  he 
was  graduated  as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1893. 
He  shortly  afterward  went  to  Vermillion  and 
entered  the  commercial  department  of  the  state 
university,  where  he  completed  a  thorough  course 
and  was  graduated  in  1895.  Shortly  after  his 
graduation  he  became  the  assistant  cashier  in 
the  Plutchinson  County  Bank,  at  Parkston.  being 
thus  engaged  until  the  ist  of  Januan',  1901, 
when  he  came  to  Delmont  to  assume  the  position 
of  cashier  of  the  Delmont  State  Bank,  of 
which  Alfred  Shepard.  a  prominent  manufac- 
turer of  threshing  machines,  is  president,  and 
since  that  time  he  has  ably  managed  the  execu- 
tive affairs  of  the  institution,  in  the  capacity  of 
cashier  and  manager.     The  bank  does  a  heavy 


business  in  the  extension  of  loans  on  farming 
property  and  is  known  as  one  of  the  strong 
monetary  institutions  of  this  part  of  the  state. 
Mr.  Shaw  gives  an  unwavering  allegiance  to  the 
Republican  party,  is  progressive  and  public- 
spirited  and  is  one  of  the  representative  young 
business  men  of  the  county. 

In  July,  1 901,  was  solemnized  the  marriage 
of  Mr.  Shaw  to  Miss  Nina  P.  Simmons,  daugh- 
ter of  Frank  Simmons,  a  prominent  citizen  of 
Parkston,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  a  winsome 
little  daughter,  Margaret. 


GEORGE  A.  JOHNSTON,  who  has  main- 
tained his  home  in  the  city  of  Mitchell  for  nearly 
a  quarter  of  a  century,  is  a  native  of  the  old 
Bucke^-e  state,  having  been  born  in  Guernsey 
county,  Ohio,  on  the  14th  of  August.  1847.  ^ 
son  of  George  and  Margaret  (Simpson')  John- 
ston, the  former  of  whom  was  born  near  Ennis- 
killen.  County  -Fermanagh.  Ireland,  while  the 
latter  was  bom  in  Pennsylvania,  whither  her  par- 
ents emigrated  from  the  north  of  Ireland,  the 
ancestry  being  of  stanch  Scotch-Irish  extraction. 
The  father  of  our  subject  came  to  the  United 
States  as  a  yovmg  man  and  here  turned  his  at- 
tention to  the  great  basic  art  of  agriculture.  He 
was  a  man  of  studious  habits  and  strong  in- 
tellectuality, impressing  his  individuality  upon 
the  various  communities  in  which  he  lived  and 
ever  commanding  unqualified  esteem.  He  re- 
moved from  Ohio  to  Iowa  in  1856.  becoming  one 
of  the  pioneers  of  that  state,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged in  farming  until  1880.  when  he  came  to 
Mount  ^^ernon,  South  Dakota,  where  he  and 
his  wife  passed  the  remainder  of  their  lives,  his 
death  occurring  in  1887,  and  hers  in  1889.  ^'^^■ 
Johnston  was  an  uncompromising  abolitionist  in 
the  crucial  epoch  leading  up  to  the  Civil  war, 
and  was  one  of  the  conductors  on  the  historic 
"underground  railway,"  through  which  so  many 
fugitives  were  assisted  in  gaining  freedom.  He 
was  a  forceful  public  speaker  and  effective  de- 
bater, holding  very  radical  views  and  ever  show- 
ing the  courage  of  his  convictions,  but  he  was 
too  honest  and  too  inflexible  to  prove  a  success- 


852 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


ful  politician.  His  religious  faith  was  thoroughly 
orthodox  and  both  he  and  his  wife  were  devoted 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
They  became  the  parents  of  nine  children,  of 
whom  four  are  living  at  the  present  time. 

George  A.  Johnston,  the  immediate  subject 
of  this  sketch,  completed  the  curriculum  of  the 
public  schools  and  then  continued  his  studies  in 
the  Iowa  College,  at  Grinnell.  Iowa,  where  he 
remained  three  years.  After  leaving  college  he 
was  identified  with  the  nursery  business  for  some 
time,  and  he  defrayed  the  expenses  of  his  col- 
legiate course  by  teaching  in  the  public  schools. 
He  met  with  an  accident  in  the  gymnasium  of 
the  college,  breaking  his  left  wrist,  and  this  in- 
jury led  to  his  leaving  the  institution  prior  to 
graduation.  In  1876  Mr.  Johnston  came  to 
South  Dakota,  then  a  portion  of  the  great  un- 
divided territory  of  Dakota,  and  located  in  Can- 
ton. Lincoln  county,  where  he  entered  the  law 
office  of  Bailey  &  Gifford,  having  previously 
devoted  no  inconsiderable  attention  to  the  read- 
ing of  the  law.  In  the  spring  of  1877  he  went 
to  the  Black  Hills,  his  intention  being  to  en- 
gage in  the  practice  of  law  in  that  locality,  but 
expenses  at  the  time  were  very  high  and  his 
means  were  limited,  and  thus  he  consulted  ex- 
pediency and  abandoned  the  law  to  engage  in 
civil  engineering  and  contracting,  in  which  con- 
nection he  was  identified  with  the  construction 
of  the  toll  road  between  Deadwood  and  Centen- 
nial Prairie,  while  during  the  time  he  also  en- 
gaged in  prospecting  in  the  neighboring  dis- 
tricts. In  the  late  fall  of  1877  he  returned  to 
the  eastern  part  of  the  state  and  later  went  to 
Iowa,  where  he  engaged  in  teaching  for  some 
time,  as  did  he  later  in  South  Dakota,  thus  con- 
tinuing to  follow  the  pedagogic  profession  about 
two  years.  In  the  spring  of  1879  Mr.  Johnston 
filed  entry  on  government  land  near  the  present 
city  of  IMitchell.  and  of  this  propertA'  he  still 
retains  in  his  possession  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres.  He  has  consecutively  maintained  his 
residence  in  !\Iitchell  since  1870,  and  here  he  was 
for  some  time  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law, 
having  secured  admission  to  the  bar  of  Iowa  in 
T876  and  to  that  of  the  territory  of  Dalcota  two 


)ears  later.  Finally  he  became  identified  with  the 
real-estate  business,  in  which  his  operations  be- 
came so  extended  and  successful  that  he  with- 
drew entirely  from  the  practice  of  his  profession, 
and  he  has  ever  since  continued  to  be  identified 
with  the  important  line  of  enterprise  mentioned. 

At  the  time  of  the  Civil  war  Mr.  Johnston 
manifested  his  youthful  patriotism  and  ardor  by 
enlisting  as  a  private  in  Company  H,  Seventh 
Iowa  Cavalry,  being  but  fifteen  years  of  age  at 
the  time,  and  he  continued  in  active  service  for 
a  term  of  three  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which 
he  received  his  honorable  discharge.  From  his 
youth  up  he  has  manifested  a  deep  interest  in 
public  affairs  and  has  been  an  active  factor  in  the 
councils  of  the  Republican  party.  In  1875  he 
was  elected  railroad  commissioner  of  Dakota 
Territory.  After  the  admission  of  South  Da- 
kota to  the  Union,  in  1890.  he  was  chosen  a 
member  of  the  first  state  senate,  in  which 
capacity  he  was  retained  for  three  terms,  his 
effective  labors  in  the  connection  being  an  in- 
j  tegral  part  of  the  legislative  history  of  the  state 
during  that  period.  He  has  held  various  offices 
of  local  trust,  including  that  of  mayor  of 
Mitchell  and  member  of  the  board  of  commis- 
sioners of  Davison  county.  He  has  been  a  dele- 
gate to  the  territorial  and  state  conventions  of 
his  party,  and  in  1892  was  a  delegate  to  the 
Republican  national  convention,  in  ^ilinneapolis. 
as  an  alternate.  Fraternally,  he  is  affiliated  wth 
Resurgam  Lodge.  No.  31.  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons:  Mitchell  Chapter,  No.  16.  Royal  Arch 
Alasons;  St.  Bernard  Commandery.  No.  11. 
Knights  Templar:  and  El  Riad  Temple  of  the 
.\ncient  Arabic  Order  of  the  Nobles  of  the 
Mystic  Shrine,  in  Sioux  Falls.  He  is  one  of  the 
prominent  and  popular  members  of  the  fra- 
ternity in  this  state,  and  in  1891  served  as  grand 
master  of  the  grand  lodge  of  South  Dakota.  He 
also  holds  membership  in  Ransom  Post,  No.  6, 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 

On  the  2d  of  July.  1882,  Mr.  Johnston  was 
united  in  marriage  to  IMiss  Qara  R.  Hallowell.  a 
daughter  of  Rev.  Peter  Hallowell.  a  clergyman 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  at  that 
time  a  resident  of  Blackhawk  county.  Iowa,  this 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


853 


marriage  being  solemnized  on  die  day  of  the 
assassination  of  President  Garfield.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Johnston  became  the  parents  of  two  chil- 
dren, a  son  who  died  in  infancy,  and  Lucile,  who 
remains  at  the  parental  home. 


CHARLES  COOK  is  a  representative  citi- 
zen of  Yankton  county,  of  foreign  birth,  having 
first  opened  his  eyes  to  the  light  of  day  in  Ger- 
many in  December,  1845.  His  parents  were 
Henry  and  Elizabeth  (Hyland)  Cook.  He  was 
educated  in  the  schools  of  his  native  country  and 
when  twenty-two  years  of  age  crossed  the  At- 
lantic to  the  United  States,  settling  in  Missouri, 
where  he  remained  for  two  years,  following 
blacksmithing.  He  then  went  to  California, 
walking  most  of  the  way  and  carrying  his  pro- 
visions on  his  back.  He  suffered  many  hard- 
ships and  trials  during  that  long  journey,  but 
ultimately  reached  his  destination  and  remained 
in  the  Golden  state  for  five  years,  working  at 
the  blacksmith's  trade.  At  that  time  wages  were 
high  on  the  coast  and  ordinary  workmen  often 
made  as  much  as  twenty  dollars  per  day.  About 
1872  Mr.  Cook  left  California  for  New  York, 
making  the  journey  by  way  of  the  Panama  route. 
For  a  short  period  he  lived  in  the  metropolis  of 
the  east  and  then  paid  a  visit  to  his  friends  in 
Germany,  remaining  for  six  months  in  the 
fatherland.  His  interest,  however,  centered  in 
the  new  world,  for  he  believed  that  its  privileges 
and  advantages  were  far  superior  to  those  of 
his  native  country.  Accordingly,  he  returned  to 
this  country,  and,  making  his  way  to  Missouri, 
he  was  there  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Cather- 
ine Hoffman,  of  Canton,  Missouri,  the  wedding 
taking  place  on  the  3d  of  June,  1877.  Her  par- 
ents were  Michael  and  ^Marguerite  (Buchner) 
Hoffman,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  Ger- 
many and,  coming  to  this  country,  established 
their  home  in  Missouri. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Cook  remained  in 
Missouri  for  three  years  and  then  removed  to 
Illinois,  where  he  spent  one  year.  In  1882  he 
came  to  Yankton  county.  South  Dakota,  where 
he   purchased   one   hundred   and    sixtv   acres   of 


land,  which  he  has  since  owned  and  operated, 
having  now  a  well  developed  farm.  As  the 
years  have  passed  he  has  extended  the  bound- 
aries of  his  property  by  additional  purchases 
until  he  now  owns  about  four  hundred  acres  of 
land  in  this  county.  His  business  affairs  are 
capably  conducted  and  his  energy,  diligence  and 
strong  determination  have  formed  the  founda- 
tion upon  which  he  has  builded  his  success. 

ITnto  ]Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cook  have  been  born 
nine  children,  but  four  of  the  number  have 
passed  away.  Those  still  living  are  George,  now 
seventeen  years  of  age;  Mary,  sixteen  years  of 
age ;  Clara,  a  maiden  of  fourteen :  Charlie,  a 
youth  of  ten ;  and  Willie,  who  completes  the 
family  and  is  seven  years  of  age.  All  are  still 
under  the  parental  roof  and  are  attending 
school.  The  parents  and  family  are  members  of 
the  Lutheran  church  of  Yankton  and  ^Mr.  Cook 
is  an  active  Republican,  but  has  never  sought 
or  desired  office,  preferring  to  give  his  time  and 
attention  to  his  business  affairs,  in  which  he 
has  met  with  creditable  success.  His  wife  has 
been  to  him  an  able  assistant  on  the  journey  of 
life  and  is  a  most  estimable  lady.  Both  enjoy 
the  warm  regard  of  many  friends  and  the  life 
record  of  Mr.  Cook  stands  an  exemplification  of 
what  may  be  attained  through  industry  if  one 
has  the  perseverance  to  continue  in  a  given 
course  and  guides  his  efforts  by  sound  judgment 
and  integrity. 


GEORGE  W.  CASE  merits  representation 
in  this  history  as  one  of  the  prominent  and  suc- 
cessful members  of  the  bar  of  the  state  and  as 
one  of  the  popular  and  influential  citizens  of 
Watertown.  He  is  a  native  of  the  old  Keystone 
state,  haying  been  born  on  a  farm  in  Luzerne 
county,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  3d  of  March,  1861, 
and  being  a  son  of  Lorenzo  D.  and  Susan  M. 
(Scofield)  Case.  In  1868  his  parents  removed 
to  Mason  City,  Illinois,  where  his  father  became 
a  prominent  contractor.  Both  are  now  deceased, 
having  both  died  at  Watertown. 

George  W.  Case  was  reared  in  Mason  Cit\-, 
and  after  completing  a  course  in  the  high  school 


854 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


was  variously  employed  until  he  had  attained 
the  age  of  twents-,  when  he  began  reading  law. 
In  1883  he  came  to  South  Dakota  and  took  up 
a  preTcmption  claim  in  Sully  county,  and  in- 
stituted its  development,  so  that  in  due  time  he 
perfected  his  title.  He  remained  on  his  ranch 
for  five  years,  during  which  time  he  assiduously 
continued  the  study  of  the  law,  being  admitted 
to  the  bar  of  the  territory  before  Judge  Andrews, 
at  Watertown,  in  1891.  The  following  year  he 
was  admitted  to  practice  before  the  supreme 
court.  He  became  identified  with  the  active 
work  of  his  profession  by  entering  the  employ 
of  the  law  firm  of  Mellette  &  Mellette,  of  Water- 
town  and  Pierre,  the  senior  member  of  the  firm 
having  been  governor  of  the  state.  In  this  re- 
lation he  gained  valuable  experience  and  so 
clearly  proved  his  mettle  that  at  the  expiration 
of  ten  months  Governor  Mellette  came  to  Water- 
town  and  offered  him  a  membership  in  the  firm, 
and  he  thereafter  continued  to  be  associated 
with  the  two  gentlemen  until  the  Messrs. 
Mellette  retired  from  practice  in  the  state,  in 
1896,  when  he  succeeded  to  the  entire  business 
of  the  firm.  From  the  start  Governor  ]\Iellette 
had  pushed  him  forward  into  the  active  business, 
and  he  assumed  much  of  the  court  practice,  thus 
gaining  prestige  as  an  able  trial  as  well  as  con- 
sulting attorney.  He  has  built  up  a  large  and 
representative  general  practice  and  his  standing 
in  the  profession  is  second  to  that  of  none  of 
the  members  of  the  bar  of  this  section  of  the 
state.  Mr.  Case  is  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
Republican  party  in  the  state  and  is  prominent 
in  its  councils.  He  served  as  a  member  of  the 
state  senate  in  1896-7,  and  was  chairman  of  the 
joint  house  and  senate  committee  which  selected 
Hon.  James  H.  Kyle  for  United  States  senator 
for  a  second  term.  In  1898  he  received,  at  the 
hands  of  President  McKinley,  the  appointment 
as  receiver  of  the  United  States  land  office  in 
A\'^atertown,  of  which  office  he  remained  in- 
cumbent four  years.  He  is  at  present  chairman 
of  the  Republican  judicial  committee  of  the 
third  judicial  district.  He  was  one  of  the  in- 
corporators and  stockholders  of  the  Watertown 
State  Bank,  while  he  is  the  owner  of  several  citv 


properties,  including  his  own  residence,  which 
he  erected  and  which  is  one  of  the  handsomest 
of  the  many  modern  homes  which  embellish 
Watertown.  He  and  his  wife  are  valued  and 
zealous  members  of  the  First  Baptist  church,  and 
fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Knights  of  Pythias, 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks, 
the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America  and  the 
Ancient  Order  of  United  ^^'orkmen. 

At  Jacksonville,  Illinois,  in  1882,  Mr.  Case 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Capitola  Pierce, 
a  daughter  of  Christopher  Pierce,  a  prominent 
and  influential  citizen  of  Menard  county,  that 
state.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Case  have  six  children,  I 
namely :  Howard  B.,  Claude  E.,  Stella  Bernice,  I 
Ruth  L.,  l^erue  R.  and  Lillian  E.  The  elder 
son  is  at  the  time  of  this  writing  a  student  in 
the  State  Universitv  of  South  Dakota. 


HENRY  F.  LIVINGSTON.  M.  D.,  was 
born  in  the  province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  in  1843. 
In  1858  Mr.  Livingston  went  to  Iowa,  where  he 
completed"  his  education  and  received  his  degree 
from  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of 
that  state  in  1865.  Previous  to  this  he  had  at- 
tended lectures  at  the  Rush  Medical  College, 
Chicago,  as  well  as  had  much  practical  ex- 
perience in  the  government  hospital  during  the 
Civil  war.  In  1865  Dr.  Livingston  came  to 
South  Dakota,  locating  in  Yankton,  where  he 
practiced  his  profession  until  May,  1878,  when 
he  entered  the  service  of  the  LTnited  States  gov- 
ernment in  the  capacity  of  physician  to  the  Sioux 
Indians,  with  headquarters  at  Fort  Thompson, 
The  territory  over  which  his  duties  called  him 
extended  along  the  Missouri  river  from  Fort 
Thompson  to  Fort  Rice,  which  was  located  not 
far  from  Bismarck,  North  Dakota,  and  em- 
braced the  Indians  now  located  at  Crow  Creek, 
Lower  Brule,  Cheyenne  River  and  Standing 
Rock  agencies,  as  well  as  many  of  the  Indians 
now  at  Red  Goud  and  Spotted  Tail  agencies. 
In  "November,  1870,  Dr.  Livingston  was  ap- 
pointed United  States  Indian  agent,  in  which 
capacity   he  served   eight   years,   making  a   con- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


855 


tinuous  service  of  twelve  years  in  the  Indian 
service.  At  the  expiration  of  this  period  he  re- 
turned to  Yankton,  where  he  has  since  remained 
engaged  in  the  private  practice  of  his  profession, 
excepting  a  period  of  four  years,  beginning  in 
June,  1886,  during  which  time  he  was  connected 
with  the  State  Hospital  for  the  Insane  at  Yank- 
t6n,  the  first  two  years  as  assistant  superintend- 
ent and  the  last  two  years  as  medical  super- 
intendent. 

In  1 87 1  Dr.  Livingston  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  ^liss  Anna  E.  Hoyt,  the  daughter  of 
Rev.  Melancthon  Hoyt,  D.  D.  Of  this  union 
there  are  three  sons  living,  Guy  F.,  Harry  L. 
and  Everett  Y.  In  politics  the  Doctor  is  a  Re- 
publican and  takes  a  keen  interest  in  the  success 
of  his  partv.  He  has  for  some  years  served  on 
the  board  of  United  States  examining  surgeons. 
He  is  identified  with  the  Episcopal  church. 


WILLIA^M  JAYNE,  first  territorial  governor 
of  Dakota,  was  born  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  in 
1826.  Graduate  of  the  University  of  Illinois  and 
of  the  Missouri  ]\Iedical  School,  .\ppointed  gov- 
ernor by  Lincoln  in  1861  and  served  until  March, 
1863,  when  he  resigned  to  take  his  seat  as  delegate 
in  congress,  from  which  he  was  ejected  upon  the 
contest  of  Gen.  J.  B.  S.  Todd.  Returned  to 
Springfield,  where  he  engaged  in  his  profession 
and  amassed  a  fortune.  He  is  president  of  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Springfield  and  has  held 
many  places  of  honor  at  the  Illinois  capital. 


WILLIA^l  E.  RAYMOND  is  a  native  of 
the  state  of  Wisconsin,  having  been  born  on  the 
homestead  farm,  near  Ripon,  on  the  19th  of 
August,  1857.  He  is  a  son  of  Ezra  and  Armine 
(Monette)  Raymond,  the  former  of  whom  was 
born  in  Vermont  and  the  latter  in  the  state  of 
New  York.  In  the  agnatic  line  the  genealogy 
is  traced  back  to  distinguished  French  stock,  the 
subject  of  this  review  being  a  direct  descendant 
of  the  fourth  count  of  Toulouse,  France,  while 
the  name  figures  prominently  in  the  early  annals 
of  French   historv.      Ezra   Ravmond   was   num- 


bered among  the  pioneers  of  Wisconsin,  and  was 
there  engaged  in  farming,  though  now  residing 
in  Morri.son  county,  Minnesota.  Three  broth- 
ers were  active  participants  in  the  war  of  the 
Rebellion,  and  the  name  is  one  which  has  ever 
stood  for  loyalty  and  patriotism  as  well  as  for 
a  high  order  of  citizenship. 

The  subject  of  this  review  was  the  second 
in  order  of  birth  in  a  family  of  five  children, 
all  of  whom  are  yet  living.  He  received  his 
early  educational  training  in  the  public  schools 
of  his  native  county,  and  supplemented  the  same 
by  attending  Ripon  College,  in  the  meanwhile 
having  materially  assisted  in  the  work  and  man- 
agement of  the  home  farm.  He  finally  began 
reading  law,  with  a  view  to  preparing  himself 
for  the  practice  of  the  same,  but  his  financial 
resources  were  limited  and  he  was  compelled  to 
abandon  his  technical  studies  in  order  to  earn 
a  livelihood.  He  thus  engaged  in  teaching 
school,  having  been  successful  in  his  pedagogic 
work  and  having  been  employed  in  various 
schools  in  Wisconsin  and  southern  Minnesota, 
while  later  he  was  for  three  years  engaged  in 
the  photographic  business  in  Wisconsin. 
Thereafter  he  devoted  his  attention  to  teaching 
during  the  winter  terms,  while  he  worked  at  the 
carpenter  trade  during  the  sumrner  seasons,  thus 
continuing  until  1886,  when  he  left  Wisconsin  to 
cast  in  his  lot  with  the  coming  state  of  South 
Dakota.  In  that  year  he  established  himself  in 
the  general  merchandise  business  in  the  em- 
br\'onic  village  of  Twin  Brooks,  being  the  pio- 
neer merchant  of  the  town  and  one  of  its  found- 
ers, as  is  evident  when  we  revert  to  the  fact  that 
when  he  located  here  the  village  was  repre- 
sented by  but  one  building,  and  that  not  com- 
pleted. Within  six  months  the  town  had  gained 
as  large  a  population  as  it  now  boasts,  but  its 
fortunes  waned  during  the  hard  times  and  the 
population  dwindled.  It  is  gratifying  to  note 
that  the  era  of  prosperity  and  substantial  prog- 
ress has  come  once  more  to  the  village,  which 
can  not  fail  to  hold  its  own  owing  to  the  mag'- 
nificent  resources  of  the  country  in  which  it  is 
placed.  Mr.  Raymond  continued  in  the  mer- 
cantile   trade   here    until    i88g,    after   which    he 


8s6 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


conducted  a  general  repair  shop  for  five  years, 
also  teaching  at  intervals,  in  Twin  Brooks  town- 
ship. In  1893  he  entered  claim  to  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  of  his  present  farm,  which  now 
comprises  an  entire  section,  and  upon  his  place 
he  has  made  the  best  of  permanent  im- 
provements, having  a  nice  residence  and  other 
good  buildings,  while  the  entire  farm  gives 
evidence  of  thrift,  excellent  management  and 
prosperity.  In  addition  to  the  agricultural  fea- 
ture of  his  enterprise  Mr.  Raymond  gives  special 
attention  to  the  raising  of  live  stock,  having 
some  fine  specimens  of  full-blooded  Durham 
cattle  and  having  his  entire  herd  well  graded 
up,  while  the  same  is  true  in  connection  with  his 
swine,  in  which  line  he  gives  preference  to  the 
Poland-China  type. 

j\Ir.  Raymond  is  a  man  of  strong  in- 
lectuality  and  liberal  ideas,  and  his  public  spirit 
is  exemplified  in  the  support  which  he  lends  to 
all  worthy  measures  and  enterprises  tending  to 
enhance  the  general  welfare  and  material  prog- 
ress of  his  county  and  state.  In  politics  he  ac- 
cords an  uncompromising  allegiance  to  the  Re- 
publican part}-,  and  served  in  the  office  of  justice 
of  the  peace  of  his  township  for  twelve  years, 
showing  marked  discrimination  and  good  judg- 
ment in  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties,  while 
his  advice  is  often  sought  by  his  neighbors, 
who  have  confidence  in  his  ability  and  integrity. 
Fraternally,  he  is  identified  with  the  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen  at  Twin  Brooks. 
Mr.  Raymond  is  a  man  of  broad  information 
and  is  a  vigorous  and  able  writer  upon  subjects 
of  various  orders,  being  a  frequent  contributor 
to  leading  newspapers,  while  he  gives  particu- 
lar attention  to  the  consideration  of  topics  of 
interest  to  farmers  and  stock  growers.  He  is 
one  of  the  associate  editors  of  the  Northwestern 
Agriculturist,  published  in  the  city  of  Minne- 
apolis, contributing  to  its  various  departments, 
and  having  charge  of  the  department  devoted 
to  sheep  breeding. 

On  the  tith  of  November.  1880,  Mr.  Ray- 
mond was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mina  B. 
Stymiest.  who  was  born  in  the  province  of 
New  Brunswick.  Canada.     Of  the  nine  children 


of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Raymond  we  incorporate  the 
following  brief  record  in  conclusion  of  this 
sketch :  Jessie  M.,  who  was  a  successful  and 
popular  teacher  in  the  schools  of  Grant  count}- 
for  several  years,  is  now  the  wife  of  S.  W.  Bur- 
dine,  a  prosperous  farmer  of  Assiniboine;  and 
the  other  children  all  remain  at  the  parental 
home,  their  names,  in  order  of  birth,  being  as 
follows :  Frances  M..  Charlotte  A..  Ernest  A., 
Ethel  I.,  Phoebe  E.,  Gladys  B..  Benjamin  G. 
and  Layton  L.  The  family  is  one  of  prominence 
in  the  community  and  the  pleasant  home  is  a 
center  of  gracious  hospitality. 


WILLIA.AI  L.  NIELAND.— During  the 
early  epoch  in  the  development  of  Yankton 
county  William  L.  Nieland  first  opened  his  eyes 
to  the  light  of  day  within  its  borders.  He  was 
here  born  on  the  17th  of  October,  1867,  and  is 
a  well-known  representative  of  a  worthy  and 
honored  pioneer  family.  His  parents  were 
Henry  and  Henrietta  (Zeanter)  Nieland,  whose 
family  numbered  five  children.  The  parents 
were  natives  of  Germany  and  on  coming  to  the 
United  States  settled  in  South  Dakota  in  June, 
1865.  The  father  then  secured  a  homestead 
claim  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  and.  fol- 
lowing the  occupation  of  fanning,  he  thus  pro- 
vided the  needs  and  wants  of  his  family.  His 
death  occurred  about  twelve  years  ago,  but  the 
mother  is  still  living  and  is  now  sixty-two  years 
of  age.  Like  the  others  of  the  household,  the 
son  William  L.  attended  the  public  schools  of  his 
native  state  and  continued  his  studies  until 
twenty-one  years  of  age.  He  early  began  work 
in  the  fields  and  soon  became  familiar  with  all 
the  duties  and  labors  that  fall  to  the  lot  of 
the  agriculturist.  The  occupation  to  which  he 
was  reared  he  chose  as  his  own  life  work  and 
has  become  one  of  the  most  prosperous  farmers 
of  his  native  county. 

On  the  14th  of  December,  1891,  I\Ir.  Nieland 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Anna  Madsen, 
who  was  born  in  Denmark  and  was  brought  to 
this  countn-  by  her  parents,  both  of  whom  are 
now    living   upon    a    farm    in    Yankton    county. 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


857 


Mr.  and  ]\Irs.  Nieland  became  the  parents  of 
four  children,  as  follows :  Clara  L.,  Henrietta, 
Arthur  E.  and  Harry  E. 

Mr.  Nieland  operates  about  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  land  and  owns  more  than  seven 
hundred  acres.  He  has  recently  planted  an 
orchard,  having  set  out  plum,  cherry  and  apple 
trees  in  the  present  year  1903.  The  improve- 
ments of  his  farm  are  still  in  progress  and  he 
is  continually  directing  his  labors  along  lines  that 
are  proving  of  practical  benefit  and  that  con- 
tribute in  large  measure  to  the  attractive  ap- 
pearance as  well  as  to  the  success  of  his  eflforts. 
He  has  recently  erected  one  of  the  best  farm 
residences  in  the  county  and  he  also  has  large 
bams  and  other  good  outbuildings. 

Politically,  Mr.  Nieland  is  independent,  sup- 
porting the  men  whom  he  thinks  best  qualified  for 
office,  regardless  of  party  affiliations.  He  has 
served  for  a  number  of  years  as  a  member  of  the 
school  board  and  his  eiTorts  in  behalf  of  edu- 
cation have  been  effective  and  beneficial.  He 
belongs  to  the  Woodmen  of  the  World  and  to 
the  Lutheran  church  and  is  always  found  on  the 
side  of  progress,  of  right  and  of  justice.  He 
stands  as  a  high  type  of  our  American  man- 
hood and  his  life  record  is  indicative  of  the 
splendid  opportunities  which  the  west  ofifers  to 
those  who  ally  their  interests  with  hers  and  who 
are  not  afraid  to  engage  in  the  laborious  work 
which  fields  need  in  bringing  desirable  returns. 


GEORGE  C.  WAGNER  is  a  western  man 
by  birth,  training  and  preference,  thoroughly 
imbued  with  the  progressive  spirit  which  has 
ever  dominated  this  section  of  the  country  and 
has  led  to  its  splendid  growth  and  its  marvelous 
achievements.  He  was  born  in  Clayton  county, 
Iowa,  December  30,  1855.  His  father,  Constant 
Wagner,  was  a  native  of  Germany  and  in  the 
year  1854  came  to  the  United  States,  settling  in 
Clayton  county,  Iowa,  where  he  purchased  forty 
acres  of  timber  land.  At  once  he  began  to  clear 
away  the  trees  and  to  improve  his  land.  He  was 
not  long  permitted  to  enjoy  his  new  home,  how- 
ever,  for  his   fleath   occurred   when   the   subject 


of  this  review  was  only  two  years  of  age.  His 
wife  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Caroline  Helf- 
esrider,  and  was  also  a  native  of  Germany.  They 
have  but  t\yo  children.  Constant,  the  brother  of 
the  subject  dying  when  about  fourteen  years  of 
age. 

George  C.  Wagner  attended  the  public 
schools  and  was  instructed  in  both  German  and 
English.  He  pursued  his  studies  until  fourteen 
years  of  age  and  then  began  working  upon  the  old 
homestead  where  he  remained  until  eighteen 
years  of  age.  At  that  time  he  started  out  in 
life  on  his  own  account,  being  employed  as  a 
farm  hand  until  his  removal  to  South  Dakota  in 
1876.  Knowing  that  the  government  offered 
good  inducements  for  the  settlement  of  this  sec- 
tion of  the  country  and  wishing  to  become  the 
owner  of  a  tract  of  land,  he  bought  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  in  Yankton  county  located  seven 
miles  northeast  of  Utica.  For  this  he  paid  two 
and  a  half  dollars  per  acre.  It  was  entirely 
wild  and  unimproved  and  with  characteristic 
energy  he  began  its  development  and  in  course 
of  time  he  afterward  brought  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  acres,  for  which  he  paid  thirteen 
dollars  per  acre.  He  now  owns  and  operates 
two  hundred  and  eighty-five  acres  and  has  one 
of  the  best  farm  properties  of  his  locality.  He 
erected  a  very  fine  fafm  residence  at  a  cost  of 
two  thousand  dollars  and  his  bams  and  other 
outbuildings  are  models  of  convenience  for  the 
commodious  shelter  for  grain  and  stock.  He 
uses  the  latest  improved  machinery  in  carrying 
on  his  farm  work  and  all  of  the  equipments  and 
accessories  of  the  model  farm  of  the  twentieth 
century  are  found  upon  his  place. 

In  October,  1880,  was  celebrated  the  mar- 
riage of  Mr.  Wagner  and  Miss  Annie  Kramer, 
of  Yankton  county.  They  have  become  the  par- 
ents of  nine  children:  Katie,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Peter  Hasker,  a  well-to-do  farmer  of  Yankton 
county  and  a  son  of  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers 
of  the  state;  Theresa,  deceased;  Josie  Lucy  and 
George,  who  are  with  their  parents ;  Peter  and 
Joseph,  who  have  also  passed  away ;  Rosie,  who 
is  yet  under  the  parental  roof;  and  two  who 
died    in    infancy.       With    the  exception    of  the 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


eldest,  all  of  the  living-  children  are  yet  under 
the  parental  roof. 

In  religious  faith  ^Ir.  \\'agner  is  a  German 
Catholic,  while  in  politics  he  is  independent,  but 
while  he  has  never  sought  or  desired  office  he 
has  ever  been  deeply  interested  in  measures  for 
the  substantial  improvement  and  advancement 
of  his  county.  He  has  been  connected  with  the 
school  for  many  years  and  what  he  has  done 
in  behalf  of  education  entitles  him  to  the  grati- 
tude of  the  public.  His  life  has  ever  been  an 
active,  industrious  and  useful  one  and  the 
strongly  marked  traits  of  his  character  are  such 
as  commend  him  to  the  good  will  and  respect  of 
those  with  whom  business  or  social  relations 
have  brouafht  him  in  contact. 


FRANK  W.  FAN  SLOW  is  a  native  of  the 
state  of  Wisconsin,  having  been  born  in  the  town 
of  Beaver  Dam,  Dodge  county,  on  the  6th  of 
October.  1862,  the  son  of  Michael  and  Bridget 
(Kuich)  Fanslow,  of  whose  thirteen  children 
six  are  living,  namely:  John,  who  is  associated 
with  the  subject  in  business  ;  Frank  W. ;  August, 
a  mechanic  employed  at  the  state  hospital  for 
the  insane  at  Yankton;  Adam,  a  resident  of 
Des  Moines,  Iowa;  Anna,  who  resides  in  Chi- 
cago. Illinois,  is  the  widow  of  Henry  Gotts- 
chalk;  Martha  is  the  wife  of  Clarence  Fisher, 
of  Yankton. 

!\Iichael  Fanslow  was  born  near  Bromberg, 
Germanv,  in  1819,  being  a  son  of  Francis  Fans- 
low,  who  was  of  French  lineage  and  birth,  hav- 
ing been  an  active  participant  in  the  war  be- 
tween France  and  Crermany  in  1812.  He  was 
captured  by  the  German  forces  and  later  was 
released,  upon  swearing  allegiance  to  Germany, 
in  which  country  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  His  son  Michael  vras  thus  reared  and 
educated  in  the  German  empire,  and  there  he 
learned  the  trade  of  blacksmith,  while  he  was 
in  service  in  three  different  wars  in  which  Ger- 
many was  engaged.  In  1856  he  emigrated  to 
America,  landing  in  New  York  city,  where  he 
remained  six  months,  at  the  expiration  of  which 
lie  wont  to  Buffalo,  that  state,  thence  to  Detroit. 


Michigan,  later  to  Chicago,  and  thence  to  Mil- 
waukee, Wisconsin,  from  which  point  he  made 
his  way  to  Beaver  Dam,  where  he  took  up  his 
abode  in  1858.  becoming  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
the  place.  He  there  continued  to  reside  until 
1877,  having  become  one  of  the  representative 
business  men  and  honored  citizens  of  the  town, 
and  he  then  came  to  what .  was  then  the  ter- 
ritory of  Dakota,  locating  in  Alilltown.  Arm- 
strong county,  in  what  is  now  the  state  of  South 
Dakota.  He  was  there  engaged  in  the  flouring 
mill  business  for  a  number  of  years,  and  in  1882 
he  came  to  Yankton  and  purchased  property, 
and  here  he  has  since  maintained  his  home,  being 
eighty-three  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  this 
writing.  It  may  be  further  stated  that  his 
father  held  a  permanent  government  position  in 
Germany  and  accumulated  a  considerable  for- 
tune. Bridget  (Kuich)  Fanslow,  the  subject's 
mother,  was  bom  in  Lissa,  province  of  Posen. 
Germany,  where  she  was  reared  and  educated, 
and  her  marriage  to  Michael  Fanslow  was 
solemnized  in  her  native  country.  She  is  still 
living  and  both  she  and  her  husband  are  com- 
municants and  worthy  members  of  the  Catholic 
church,  while  in  politics  the  latter  gives  his  al- 
legiance to  the  Democratic  party.  He  is  one  of 
the  venerable  pioneers  of  the  state  and  is  well 
known  and  highly  honored  in  Yankton. 

Frank  W.  Fanslow  passed  his  bo3^hood  davs 
j  in  his  native  town  in  Wisconsin,  receiving  his 
!  earlv  education  in  the  parochial  schools  of  Beaver 
!  Dam  and  later  continuing  his  studies  under  the 
private  instmction  of  old  Professor  DeGrote. 
Tn  able  educator  of  that  pbce.  While  -st-'ll  a 
bov  he  began  to  assist  in  the  work  of  his  father's 
blacksmith  shop,  and  attained  proficiencv  in  the 
trade,  as  well  as  in  that  of  wheelwright.  He 
thus  learned  to  appreciate  the  dignity  of  honest 
toil  and  recalls  the  fact  that  in  his  boyhood  da>s 
he  arose  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  put 
in  good  time  at  work  before  going  to  school, 
while  his  services  were  also  in  requisition  after 
the  close  of  the  school  day.  He  was  about 
fifteen  years  of  n"e  st  the  tiire  of  the  fami'y 
removal  to  what  is  now  South  Dakota  and  thus 
he  has  been  a  witness  of  the  inception  and  rise 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


859 


of  this  g^reat  and  prosperous  state  and  has  con- 
tributed in  no  small  degree  to  its  civic  and  in- 
dustrial development.  In  1882,  when  his  father 
removed  to  Yankton,  the  subject  became  as- 
sociated with  his  brother  John  in  the  establish- 
ing of  a  blacksmith  and  wagon-making  estab- 
lishment at  Milltown.  where  they  continued 
operations  until  1886,  when  they  also  came  to 
Yankton  and  here  effected  the  organization  of 
the  firm  of  Michael  Fanslow  &  Sons,  engaging 
in  the  operation  of  the  grist-mill  which  their 
father  had  previously  acquired,  and  also  con- 
ducting a  blacksmithing  business.  In  1888  the 
partnership  dissolved  and  the  subject  and  his 
brother  John  thereafter  continued  the  black- 
smithing  business,  to  which  they  have  since 
added  a  complete  line  of  agricultural  implements 
and  heavy  hardware,  doing  a  wholesale  business 
in  the  latter  line,  while  they  also  handle  heavy 
and  light  vehicles,  their  stock  in  the  various 
departments  comprising  one  of  the  largest  in 
this  section  of  the  state,  while  the  trade  of  the 
concern  is  widely  disseminated  and  of  repre- 
sentative character.  The  enterprise  is  conducted 
under  the  firm  name  of  Fanslow  Brothers,  and 
the  interested  principles  are  numbered  among  the 
wide-awake  and  public-spirited  business  men  of 
the  city,  while  their  course  has  ever  been  such 
as  to  retain  to  them  the  fullest  measure  of  popu- 
lar confidence  and  regard.  In  politics  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  gives  an  unqualified  support 
to  the  Democratic  party,  in  whose  cause  he  takes 
a  lively  interest,  as  does  he  also  in  all  that  con- 
cerns the  welfare  of  his  home  city.  In  1898  he 
A\-as  elected  a  member  of  the  board  of  aldermen 
of  the  city,  and  served  two  terms  in  this  ca- 
pacity, or  four  consecutive  years.  That  his 
services  in  this  office  did  not  lack  of  proper  ap- 
preciation is  evident  when  we  take  cognizance  of 
the  fact  that  in  1902  he  was  further  honored  by 
the  voters  of  this  city  by  being  chosen  as  the 
chief  executive  of  the  municipal  government, 
while  his  administration  wa>s  so  acceptable  that 
he  was  re-elected  mayor  in  1903,  and  is  incum- 
bent of  this  office  at  this  time.  His  policy  has  been 
a  progressive  one,  and  yet  marked  by  discrimi- 
nation and  wise  economy.     He  is  a  man  of  dis- 


tinct individuality  and  has  ever  shown  the  cour- 
age of  his  convictions,  and  he  has  made  his  ad- 
ministration of  municipal  affairs  a  thoroughly 
businesslike  one,  sparing  no  pains  to  secure  the 
most  eft'ective  service  in  all  departments  of  the 
local  government.  He  is  an  earnest  and  ardent 
advocate  of  municipal  ownership  and  has  made 
a  strenuous  fight  against  the  iniquitous  practice 
of  indiscriminately  granting  private  franchises. 
In  October,  1903,  the  Yankton  Electric  Lighting 
Company  passed  into  the  hands  of  private  parties, 
who,  seeing  the  advantage  of  operating  a  water 
system  with  the  power  wasted  at  the  lighting 
plant,  applied  to  the  city  council  for  a  franchise. 
Mayor  Fanslow,  however,  firmly  opposed  the 
grant  and  was  supported  in  his  stand  by  a  part 
of  the  city  council.  Finallv  the  owners  of  the 
plant  made  an  offer  to  sell  it  to  the  city  at  a 
fraction  of  its  original  cost,  and  of  this  move  the 
Mayor  at  that  time  said :  "This  is  he  oppor- 
tunity of  a  lifetime  for  Yankton.  At  present  our 
city  water  system  is  in  a  deplorable  condition. 
We  have  let  the  contract  for  a  new  artesian  well, 
but  that  does  not  promise  permanent  pressure. 
If  we  buy  the  electric  lighting  plant  we  will 
have  power  enough  to  pump  Missouri  river 
water  into  the  city  and  maintain  a  pressure  suf- 
ficient to  safeguard  the  city  against  fire.  We  will 
increase  the  number  of  arc  lights  on  the  streets 
to  fifty  and  will  be  able  to  double  that  number 
later  on.  We  will  be  able  to  cut  the  cost  of 
private  lights  squarely  in  two  and  we  will  im- 
prove the  service  a  hundred-fold.  In  place  of 
Yankton  paying  thousands  yearly  for  street 
lights,  the  city  will  be  receiving  a  substantial 
revenue  from  private  lights.  We  have  tried 
artesian  wells  and  they  have  failed.  \W"  have 
private  ownership  of  the  lighting  plant  and  it 
has  been  unsatisfactory.  By  the  proposed  com- 
bination we  can  do  away  with  the  former  bad 
conditions  and  in  their  place  will  be  ideal  con- 
ditions. If  the  people  of  the  city  will  stand  be- 
hind me  and  the  city  council,  and  I  am  sure 
they  will,  we  will  give  to  the  city  pure  water, 
ample  fire  protection  and  the  best  of  lights.  I 
have  gone  into  this  fight  for  the  benefit  of  the 
city  of  Yankton  and  I  expect  to  win." 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


On  the  14th  of  November.  1886,  Mr.  Fanslow 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Eunice  E. 
Grav,  of  Milltown,  this  state,  and  of  their  six 
children  all  but  one  are  living,  Lilly  having  died 
at  the  age  of  seven  weeks.  The  five  surviving 
all  remain  at  the  parental  home  and  are  named, 
in  order  of  birth.  Geneva,  Clarence.  Ruth, 
Frank  E.  and  Svlvia. 


HON.    EDWIN     TERRY    WHITE.— For 
many  years  prominent  in  the  legal  and  general 
business  circles  of  Yankton,  Hon.  Edwin  Terry 
\Miite  ranks  with  the  city's  most  distinguished 
citizens,   besides  occupying  a  conspicuous  place 
in  the  annals  of  South  Dakota.    He  springs  from 
sterling   New   England   ancestry   and  traces  his 
genealogv  in  this  country  to  an  early  period  in  j 
the  history  of  the  colonies.     Some  time  in  the  j 
early    part    of   the     seventeenth     century     three  j 
brothers  by  the  name  of  White  came  from  Eng-  j 
land  to  America  and  settled  in  one  of  the  New 
England  colonies,  the  one  from  which  the  Judge 
is  descended  eventually  making  his  way  to  New 
Hampshire,  where  he  reared  a  family  and  where  j 
he  is  supposed  to  have  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
life.     From  that  remote  day  to  the  present  time 
the  name  has  been  a  familiar  one  in  the  Granite 
state  and  it  is  also  widely  and  favorably  known  1 
throughout  New  England,  many  bearing  it  hav- 
ing filled  high  official  stations  or  otherwise  be-  | 
come   useful   in   various   spheres   of   public   and  j 
civic   life. 

Samuel  White,  the  Judge's  father,  the  son  of  j 
a  Revolutionary  soldier,  was  born  in  January, 
1800.  in  New  Hampshire,  being  descended  pa- 
ternally, as  already  stated,  from  English,  and 
maternally  from  Scotch,  antecedents.  When 
young  he  served  a  seven-year  apprenticeship  at 
wood  can'ing.  became  an  expert  and  highly  ar- 
tistic workman,  and  the  evidences  of  his  skill 
may  still  be  seen  in  the  state  capitol  building  at 
Montpelier.  \^ermont,  on  which  he  did  all  the 
fine  carving.  He  followed  his  chosen  calling 
during  the  active  years  of  his  life,  achieved  a 
wide  reputation  throughout  New  England,  and 
especially  in  the  state  of  \'ermont.  where  he  lived 


for  many  years.  Samuel  White  married,  in  his 
native  commonwealth.  Miss  Elizabeth  Elliott, 
whose  father  served  with  distinction  in  the  war 
of  181 2,  and  later  became  an  early  settler  of 
Lawrenceburg,  Indiana,  where  he  acquired  a 
large  landed  estate  and  where  his  death  occurred 
during  the  cholera  epidemic  of  1833.  To 
Samuel  and  Elizabeth  White  were  born  eleven 
children,  namely:  George  (deceased)  serv-ed 
during  the  late  Civil  war  in  the  Sixth  A'emiont 
\"olunteers ;  John  E.,  of  Auburn,  New  Hamp- 
shire, was  the  leader  of  a  New  Hampshire  band 
in  the  same  war ;  Stephen,  a  member  of  Company 
C,  Sixth  Vermont  Infantry.  Sixth  Army  Corps, 
was  killed  in  the  second  battle  of  Winchester, 
\^irginia ;  Samuel  G.,  who  also  served  in  the 
above  regiment,  has  of  late  years  been  living  in 
Oregon ;  Charles  K.,  a  resident  of  Randolph. 
Vermont ;  Edwin  Terry,  whose  name  introduces 
this  sketch :  Elizabeth,  deceased :  Emily  B..  an 
unmarried  lady  living  in  ^Manchester.  New 
Hampshire;  Frances,  deceased:  and  ]\Iary  C.  V., 
who  makes  her  home  in  the  city  of  Concord, 
New  Hampshire. 

Edwin  Terry  White  was  born  in  Woodstock, 
^^ermont.  on  the  6th  day  of  June.  1847.  and  ac- 
quired his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  his 
native  place.  At  the  early  age  of  fourteen  years 
he  began  shifting  for  himself,  and  for  some 
years  his  experiences  were  varied,  working  at 
anything  he  could  find  to  do,  including  farm 
labor,  peddling  notions  through  the  country,  and 
carpentry.  By  money  thus  earned,  he  paid  his 
expenses  while  attending  high  school,  and  after 
finishing  his  course  he  followed  the  above  and 
other  vocations  until  1869,  when  he  was  ap- 
pointed second  assistant  clerk  in  the  ^"ermont 
legislature.  Meanwhile,  at  the  age  of  eighteen, 
he  began  the  study  of  law  at  Woodstock,  in  the 
office  of  Converse  &  French,  the  leading  legal 
firm  of  that  place,  and  during  this  time  sup- 
ported himself,  as  before  stated,  devoting  his 
evenings  and  such  leisure  as  he  could  find  to 
his  books.  Hampered  by  the  necessity  of  self- 
support,  Mr.  White  pursued  his  studies  under 
peculiar  difficulties  and  it  was  not  until  his 
twentv-third  birthdav  that  he  was   formally  ad- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


86i 


mitted  to  the  bar.  About  three  days  after  this 
event  he  started  west  in  search  of  a  location  and, 
after  stopping  for  a  short  time  at  Cedar  Rapids, 
Iowa,  he  proceeded  to  IMarshalltown,  in  that 
state,  where  C.  J.  B.  Harris,  a  friend  of  his,  was 
then  Hvino-.  In  1870  ^lessrs.  \M:ite  and  Harris 
came  to  South  Dakota,  reaching  Yankton  on 
Jul}-  7th  of  that  year,  and  immediately  there- 
after they  opened  an  office  and  entered  upon  the 
practice  of  their  profession.  One  year  later  this 
partnership  was  dissolved  and  Mr.  White  then 
associated  himself  with  Hon.  S.  L.  Spink,  for- 
merly a  delegate  to  the  United  States  congress, 
the  firm  thus  constituted  lasting  about  three 
}-ears  and  winning  worthy  prestige  at  the  Yank- 
ton bar.  Since  severing  his  connection  with  Mr. 
Spink,  Judge  White  has  practiced  alone,  but  of 
recent  years  he  has  withdrawn  largely  from  gen- 
eral legal  and  court  business  and  now  devotes 
his  attention  mainh-  to  insurance,  real  estate, 
loans,  etc..  in  which  line  he  enjoys  an  extensive 
and  lucrative  patronage.  In  1890  he  was  elected 
judge  of  the  courts  of  Yankton  county,  which 
office  he  filled  by  successive  re-elections  for  seven 
years,  discharging  the  duties  of  the  same  in  an 
eminently  creditable  manner  and  establishing 
the  reputation  of  an  able,  impartial  and  exceed- 
ingly careful  and  painstaking  public  servant.  He 
was  the  first  man  elected  to  the  judgeship  after 
the  admission  of  South  Dakota  to  the  Union, 
and  in  addition  to  this  office,  he  has  also  been 
United  States  commissioner  since  i8qo,  besides 
serving  at  different  times  as  justice  of  the  peace, 
city  justice  and  city  clerk,  in  all  of  which  posi- 
tions he  displayed  marked  ability  and  devoted 
himself  untiringly  to  the  public  welfare. 

On  Januar}'  i.  1874,  Judge  White  was 
married  to  Miss  Mary  L.  Bagley,  of  Bethel, 
Vermont,  an  estimable  and  accomplished  lady, 
who  has  not  only  presided  over  his  home  and 
looked  carefully  after  his  domestic  comfort,  but 
who.  like  a  true  helpmate,  has  co-operated  with 
him  in  his  various  enterprises  and  endeavors,  and 
by  her  wise  counsel  and  judicious  assistance  has 
contributed  in  no  small  degree  to  the  success 
with  which  his  life  has  been  crowned.  Judge 
and  Mrs.  ^\^^ite  have  no  children  of  their  own. 


but  they  have  done  much  in  the  way  of  helping 
others,  being  alive  to  all  charitable  and  benevo- 
lent work  and  ready  at  all  times  to  lend  their 
influence  and  active  assistance  to  the  promotion 
of  these  and  other  worthy  ends. 

Politically,  the  Judge  has  long  been  one  of 
the  leading  Republicans  of  Yankton  and  his  in- 
fluence as  an  organizer  and  efficient  party  worker 
is  by  no  means  confined  to  his  own  city,  but  is 
felt  with  considerable  force  throughout  the  state. 
Fraternally,  he  is  a  member  of  the  }iIasonic 
order,  belonging  to  St.  John's  Lodge  No.  i,  at 
Yankton,  of  which  he  served  as  worshipful  mas- 
ter for  three  consecutive  years.  He  is  also 
a  leading  spirit  in  the  Ancient  and  Accepted 
Scottish  Rite  of  Freemasonry,  in  which  he  has 
held  high  office,  being  at  the  present  time  sec- 
retary, recorder  and  registrar  of  these  bodies  at 
Yankton  and  also  secretary  of  the  Scotish  Rite 
Temple  Association  here.  For  a  number  of 
years  his  name  has  also  been  prominent  in  local 
Odd  Fellowship,  he  being  an  active  worker  in 
Dakota  Lodge  No.  i,  and  he  is  also  ser\-ing  as 
wortliy  patron  of  Keystone  Chapter,  Order  of 
the  Eastern  Star,  at  Yankton.  He  is  one  of  the 
best  known  men  in  Yankton  and,  as  indicated 
in  preceding  paragraphs,  his  name  has  been 
closely  interwoven  with  the  history  of  South 
Dakota.  He  has  long  had  the  welfare  of  his 
adopted  state  at  heart,  and  as  a  public-spirited, 
progressive  citizen,  lends  his  generous  support 
and  active  co-operation  to  all  enterprises  calcu- 
lated to  promote  its  development  and  foster  ]iros- 
perity.  Personally,  he  is  held  in  high  esteem, 
and  his  career  as  an  honorable  business  man  and 
trusted  official  demonstrates  that  the  confidence 
reposed  in  him  bv  his  fellow  citizens  has  not  been 
misplaced. 


WILLIAM  A.  HOWARD,  sixth  territorial 
governor  of  Dakota,  was  a  native  of  Vermont, 
where  he  was  born  in  1812.  He  was  a  graduate  of 
Middlebury  College.  Removed  to  Detroit  and 
served  in  congress  from  1856  to  1863 :  was  after- 
ward postmaster  of  Detroit.  He  was  appointed 
governor  in  1878  and  died  in  office  in  t88o. 


862 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


HERVEY  A.  TARBET.L.  M.  D.,  is  one  of 
the  representative  physicians  and  surgeons  of  the 
state,  being  established  in  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession in  Watertown,  Codington  county,  where 
he  has  built  up  a  large  and  lucrative  business. 
The  Doctor  comes  of  stanch  old  New  England 
stock  and  is  a  native  of  the  Green  Mountain 
state,  having  been  born  in  Windsor  county,  Ver- 
mont, on  the  i6th  of  November,  1854,  and  being 
a  son  of  Addison  and  Florella  (Parker)  Tarbell. 
His  father  was  a  farmer  by  vocation  and  passed 
his  entire  life  in  Windsor  count}-,  being  a  son  of 
Captain  Oliver  Tarbell,  who  was  likewise  a  prom- 
inent farmer  and  a  man  of  much  influence  in  his 
locality,  having  been  captain  of  a  company  of 
militia  during  the  progress  of  the  war  of  1812. 
The  mother  of  the  Doctor  was  likewise  born  in 
\'ermont,  the  Parkers  having  been  the  first  set- 
tlers in  Cavendish,  that  state,  in  the  early  colonial 
epoch,  while  the  lineage  is  traced  back  to  Scotch- 
Irish  derivation.  Rev.  J.  W.  Parker,  brother 
of  Mrs.  Tarbell.  was  a  prominent  clergyman  of 
the  Baptist  church  and  held  for  many  years  an 
important  pastorate  in  the  city  of  Washington, 
while  another  brother.  Rev.  H.  I.  Parker,  was 
likewise  a  clergyman  of  the  same  church,  the 
family  name  having  for  many  generations  been 
prominently  identified  with  public  affairs  and  pro- 
fessional work, 

•  Dr.  Tarbell  passed  his  boyhood  days  on  the 
home  farm  and  after  completing  the  curriculum 
of  the  common  schools,  he  continued  his  studies 
in  the  Kimball  Union  Academy,  at  Meriden, 
New  Hampshire,  where  he  was  graduated  as  a 
member  of  the  class  of  1874.  He  was  soon  after- 
ward matriculated  in  the  famous  old  Dartmouth 
College,  where  he  completed  the  classical  course 
and  was  graduated  in  1878.  After  leaving  college 
he  came  west  to  IMinnesota,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged in  teaching  in  the  public  schools,  in  the 
meanwhile  devoting  much  attention  to  the  read- 
ing of  medicine,  with  a  view  to  adopting  the 
practice  of  the  same  as  a  life  work.  He  entered 
the  medical  department  of  the  Universitv  of  New 
York,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1883,  receiving 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  ]\Icdicine  and  coming 
fortli  well  fortified  for  the  practical  work  of  his 


chosen  profession.  In  1896  he  took  a  special 
post-graduate  course  in  the  New  York  Post- 
Graduate  INIedical  College,  while  he  continues  at 
all  times  a  close  and  discriminating  student  of  the 
sciences  of  medicine  and  surgery  and  keeps  in 
touch  with  the  advances  made  in  both  depart- 
ments of  his  profession.  After  receiving  his  pro- 
fessional degree  Dr.  Tarbell  came  to  South  Da- 
kota and  located  in  Plankinton,  Aurora  county, 
where  he  built  up  a  fine  practice,  continuing  his 
lesidence  there  until  1890,  when  he  removed  to 
Watertown,  where  he  now  controls  a  large  and 
representative  practice,  which  places  exigent  de- 
mands upon  his  time,  attention  and  energies. 
He  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  physicians 
and  surgeons  of  this  section  and  his  friends  are 
in  number  as  his  acquaintances,  since  he  enjoys 
marked  popularity  in  business,  professional  and 
social  circles.  He  and  his  brother,  Oliver  H.,  es- 
tablished the  first  drug  store  in  Watertown,  in 
1879,  but  the  Doctor  finally  sold  his  interest  in 
the  enterprise  to  his  brother,  who  had  had  the  su- 
pervision of  the  business  from  its  initiation.  The 
Doctor  was  also  one  of  those  primarily  instru- 
mental in  the  establishing  of  that  noble  and  val- 
ued institution,  the  Watertown  hospital,  of  which 
he  is  secretary  at  the  present  time.  For  several 
years  he  served  as  county  physician,  and  at  the 
time  of  this  writing  is  incumbent  of  the  office  of 
count}'  coroner,  while  for  a  number  of  years  he 
held  the  same  offices  in  Plankinton.  He  is  identi- 
fied with  various  professional  and  fraternal  or- 
ganizations, and  both  he  and  his  wife  are  prom- 
inent members  of  the  Congregational  church  in 
Watertown,  of  whose  board  of  trustees  he  has 
been  a  member  for  several  years.  In  politics  the 
Doctor  gives  his  allegiance  to  the  Republican 
party. 

In  Mankato,  Minnesota,  on  the  24th  of  May, 

1884,  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Dr.  Tar- 

I  bell  to  Miss  Anna  M.  Gleason,  who  was  born  and 

}   reared   in  that  state,  having  been  graduated  in 

the  State  Normal  School  at  Mankato.  and  hav- 

j   ing  been  for  several  years  a  popular  and  success- 

j   ful  teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  that  city.  Dr. 

and  Mrs.  Tarbell  have  three  children.  Lilla  '\L. 

!   Helen  I.  and  Hervev  Gleason.     The  familv  home 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


is  one  of  the  most  attractive  and  modern  resi- 
dences in  the  city,  being  pleasantly  located  on 
Warner  avenue  and  having  been  erected  at  a  cost 
of  about  eight  thousand  dollars,  while  it  is  rec- 
ognized as  a  center  of  gracious  and  refined  hos- 
pitality'. 


handle  agricultural  implements  and  machinery, 
flour,  coal,  etc.,  and  they  have  built  up  a  pros- 
perous industry  and  gained  the  unqualified  con- 
fidence and  esteem  of  the  people  of  the  section 
covered   bv  their  operations. 


R.  E.  HAYES,  senior  member  of  the  firm  of 
Haves  &  Black,  dealers  in  grain  and  agricultural 
implements  in  Pollock,  Campbell  county,  merits 
mention  in  this  work  as  one  of  the  representative 
business  men  of  this  section  of  the  state. 

]\Tr.  Hayes  is  a  native  of  the  old  Keystone 
state,  having  been  born  in  Erie  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, on  the  24th  of  December,  1862.  The  sub- 
ject was  reared  in  his  native  county  and  his  edu- 
cational advantages  were  those  afforded  in  its 
public  schools.  He  continued  to  reside  in  Penn- 
sylvania until  1882,  when  he  came  to  what  is 
now  the  state  of  South  Dakota,  where  he  joined 
his  uncle,  J.  L.  Thompson,  who  had  come  here 
two  years  previously  and  located  on  a  ranch 
near  \''anderbilt,  on  the  Missouri  river.  Our 
subject  remained  with  his  uncle  for  one  year  and 
thereafter  passed  one  year  in  a  store  on  Beaver 
creek.  North  Dakota.  He  then  returned  to  \'an- 
derbilt,  where  he  continued  in  the  same  line  of 
enterprise  and  also  engaged  in  the  cattle  busi- 
ness until  1894,  when  he  went  to  the  Qieyenne 
Indian  agencv.  where  he  assisted  in  the  conduct 
of  a  trading  business  there  conducted  by  J-  E. 
Horton.  Oncv  and  one-half  years  later  Mr. 
Haves  removed  to  Eureka,  McPherson  county, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  buying  and  shipping  of 
grain  until  the  autumn  of  1901,  when  he  came 
to  Pollock.  He  removed  to  this  place  a  ware- 
house from  Eureka,  transporting  the  building  on 
n-agons,  and  bought  the  first  grain  ever  shipped 
from  this  station,  the  same  being  stored  on  the 
ground  while  the  weight  was  determined  by 
guessing  as  definitely  as  possible.  His  partner, 
David  Black,  accompanied  him  from  Eureka, 
and  they  have  been  since  associated  in  business. 
Pollock  has  become  an  important  station  for  the 
shipping  of  grain,  and  in  addition  to  this  im- 
portant   feature  of  their  business   the   firm   also 


JOHN  M.  SCHAEFER,  who  is  incumbent 
of  the  office  of  treasurer  of  Hutchinson  county 
and  is  also  one  of  the  representative  business  men 
of  the  attractive  village  of  Tripp,  is  a  native  of 
southern  Russia,  where  he  was  born  on  the  12th 
of  April,  1861,  being  a  son  of  John  M.  and 
Christiana  (Klopfer")  Schaefer.  The  father  of 
the  subject  was  born  in  Germany,  about  1814, 
and  when  he  was  about  fifteen  years  of  age  he 
accompanied  his  parents  on  their  removal  across 
the  border  into  southern  Russia,  where  he  was 
reared  to  manhood  and  where  he  continued  to 
be  identified  with  agricultural  pursuits  until  his 
death,  at  the  age  of  fifty  years.  In  1886,  which 
vear  witnessed  the  founding  of  the  town  of 
Tripp.  Air.  Schaefer  came  hither  as  one  of  the 
first  permanent  settlers,  and  here  he  opened  a 
general  store  in  partnership  with  Gottlieb  Doer- 
ing,  with  whom  he  continued  to  be  thus  associ- 
ated for  many  years,  the  partnership  being  dis- 
solved in  the  spring  of  1901,  while  the  business 
of  the  concern  had  grown  to  be  one  of  the  most 
prominent  and  prosperous  in  the  county.  In  the 
fall  of  1900  Mr.  Schaefer  was  elected  to  the  office 
of  county  treasurer,  and  he  disposed  of  his  mer- 
cantile interests  the  following  spring,  his  partner 
simultaneously  retiring.  In  the  spring  of  1903 
]\Ir.  Schaefer  purchased  of  F.  F.  Mayer  his  in- 
terest in  the  mercantile  business  of  Mayer  & 
Wildermuth.  and  the  business  has  since  been 
continued  under  the  title  of  Schaefer  &  Wilder- 
muth, while  the  well  equipped  establishment  of 
the  firm  caters  to  a  large  and  discriminating  pat- 
ronage, its  trade  extending  throughout  a  wide 
radius  of  country  normally  tributary  to  the  thriv- 
ing town  of  Tripp.  He  was  re-elected  county 
treasurer  in  November,  1902,  and  his  adminis- 
tration of  the  fiscal  affairs  of  the  county  has 
brought  to  him  unqualified  commendation.  He 
is   a   stanch    supporter  of  the  Republican   part}-. 


864 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


and  he  and  his  wife  are  valued  members  of  the 
Lutheran  church. 

On  the  13th  of  September,  1885,  Mr. 
Schaefer  married  Miss  Christina  Doering,  a 
daughter  of  Gottheb  Doering,  of  Hutchinson 
county,  and  of  their  ten  children  six  are  living, 
namely:  Albert,  Hulda,  Amanda,  Gustave, 
Edwin  and  Ella,  all  of  whom  remain  at  the 
parental  home. 


THOMAS  B.  McMARTIN  has  been  a  resi- 
dent of  South  Dakota  for  more  than  a  score  of 
years  and  has  risen  to  a  place  of  distinction  and 
honor  as  a  member  of  the  bar  of  the  common- 
wealth, being  actively  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  his  profession  in  the  city  of  Sioux  Falls. 

Thomas  Bell  McMartin  is  a  native  of  the  state 
of  Iowa,  having  been  born  in  Fairfield,  on  the 
30th  of  October,  1857,  a  son  of  Finlay  and  Mar- 
tha McMartin.  In  1865  the  family  removed  to 
Dixon,  Illinois,  where  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  reared  to  maturity,  completing  the  curricu- 
lum of  the  public  schools  and  later  pursuing  stud- 
ies under  private  tutors.  In  1877  he  began  reading 
law  under  the  direction  of  Eugene  Pinckney,  of 
Dixon,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  state 
on  the  i8th  of  March.  1879.  He  served  his  novi- 
tiate as  a  practitioner  in  Dixon,  where  he  remained 
about  one  year  after  his  admission  to  the  bar, 
and  in  ]\Iay.  1880.  he  came  to  Sioux  Falls.  South 
Dakota,  where  he  has  ever  since  been  actively 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession, 
having  rapidly  forged  forward  to  the  front  rank, 
by  reason  of  his  ability,  devotion  to  his  work  and 
his  well  directed  energy.  After  coming  to  Sioux 
Falls  he  was  a  clerk  in  the  law  office  of  the  firm 
of  Kershaw  &  Flagg  about  nine  months,  at  the 
expiration  of  which  he  entered  into  a  professional 
partnership  with  Eugene  Coughran,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Coughran  &  McMartin,  and  this 
alliance  continued  until  October.  1889,  when  it 
was  dissolved  by  mutual  consent.  Of  Mr. 
McMartin's  efforts  during  this  period  another 
writer  has  spoken  as  follows :  "During  this  time 
he  had  a  constantly  growing  practice  and  was 
cmjiloyed   in   some   very   important  cases,   which 


he  conducted  with  distinctive  abilit\-."  In  1889 
our  subject  entered  into  partnership  with  Judge 
John  E.  Garland,  under  the  title  of  ^McMartin  & 
Garland,  and  this  association  obtained  until  Sep- 
tember 23,  1893,  since  which  time  ]\Ir.  McMar- 
tin has  conducted  an  individual  practice  of  gen- 
eral order.  He  is  known  as  an  able  advocate  and 
safe  counsel,  being  well  grounded  in  the  learning 
of  the  law  and  sparing  no  pains  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  his  cases,  so  that  he  is  ever  able  to  present 
his  causes  with  clearness  and  power.  He  has 
had  a  particularly  wide  and  important  experience 
as  attorney  for  receivers  of  insolvent  institutions, 
having  thus  been  retained  by  the  receivers  of  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Sioux  Falls,  the  Gham- 
berlain  National  Bank,  the  Madison  National 
Bank,  the  Bank  of  South  Dakota  (at  Madison), 
the  Dakota  National  Bank  and  the  Insurance 
Company  of  Dakota.  Of  him  it  has  been  said  in 
the  connection  that  "in  the  case  of  the  Sioux 
I  Falls  National  Bank  versus  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Sioux  Falls,  which  grew  out  of  the  at- 
tachment of  the  assets  of  the  First  National  by 
the  Sioux  Falls  National,  he  won  the  admiration 
of  the  bar  by  his  persistent  and  successful  prose- 
cution of  the  case  on  the  part  of  the  defendant 
bank.  He  was  defeated  in  the  circuit  and  su- 
preme courts  of  the  state,  but  took  the  case  to  the 
United  States  supreme  court  and  there  prevailed. 
He  took  this  final  recourse  against  the  advice  of 
the  comptroller  of  the  currency  and  the  opinions 
of  distinguished  lawyers,  and  his  victory  was  thus 
the  more  gratifying  and  the  more  indicative  of  his 
tenacity  of  purpose  and  his  professional  ability." 
Mr.  ]\IcMartin  has  served  several  years  as  United 
States  commissioner  since  taking  up  his  residence 
in  the  state,  and  while  he  is  a  stalwart  supporter 
of  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party  he  has 
in  no  sense  been  ambitious  for  political  prefer- 
ment. He  is  a  close  observer  of  the  ethics  of  his 
profession  and  stands  high  in  the  regard  of  his 
confreres  and  the  general  public,  having  a  host 
of  friends  in  the  city  in  which  he  has  so  long 
maintained  his  home. 

On  the  28th  of  February,  1888,  Mr.  :\rc^Iar- 
tin  was  united  in  marriage  to  ?iliss  Jennie  M. 
Bowen.  of  Broadhead,  Wisconsin,  and  they  have 
one  child  living,  named  Thomas  Bowen. 


o^^^^^^^^^ 


\ 


i 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA: 


ASA  E.  CURTISS  has  been  incumbent  of  tlie 
office  of  postmaster  at  Wessington,  Beadle  count) . 
since  1897  and  is  one  of  the  honored  and  repre- 
sentative citizens  of  this  section  of  the  state, 
where  the  circle  of  his  friends  is  circumscribed 
only  by  that  of  his  acquaintances. 

i\Ir.  Curtiss  is  a  native  of  Derby,  Connecticut, 
where  he  was  born  on  the  21st  of  January,  1832, 
being  a  scion  of  stanch  old  New  England  stock 
and  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Mary  (Hart)  Curtiss. 
His  father  was  a  sea  captain,  and  stood  as  a  rep- 
resentative of  that  class  of  sturdy  and  noble  sea- 
faring men  which  has  gained  so  wide  a  reputa- 
tion and  respect  the  world  over.  He  was  one  of 
the  first  captains  employed  in  connection  with  the 
navigation  of  the  Great  Lakes,  having  removed 
to  the  westerji  part  of  New  York  state  when  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  a  lad  of  eight  years. 
.Asa  E.  Curtiss  received  his  early  educational 
training  in  the  common  schools  of  New  York, 
and  though  his  advantages  were  necessarily  lim- 
ited he  made  the  best  use  of  them  and  thus  gained 
a  foundation  for  that  broad  and  exact  fund  of 
information  and  practical  knowledge  which  he 
has  since  gained  by  personal  application  and  by 
active  association  with  men  and  affairs.  As  a 
youth  he  became  identified  with  navigation  on  the 
lakes,  and  continued  to  be  identified  with  this  im- 
portant industry  for  many  years,  being  at  the  age 
of  twenty-one  years  master  of  the  steamer  "Alle- 
gheny," plying  between  Buffalo  and  Chicago,  and 
known  as  the  youngest  master  on  the  lakes,  while 
he  resided  in  Ozaukee  county,  Wisconsin,  until 
his  removal  to  what  is  now  the  state  of  South 
Dakota.  In  1855  Mr.  Curtiss  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Sarah  A.  Davison,  who  was  born 
and  reared  in  the  state  of  New  York.  She  proved 
a  devoted  wife  and  helpmeet  until  her  death, 
which  occurred  on  the  23d  of  November,  1894, 
and  she  is  survived  by  her  only  son,  Charles  N., 
of  whom  specific  mention  is  made  on  another 
page  of  this  work.  On  the  20th  of  October,  1898. 
Mr.  Curtiss  consummated  a  second  marriage, 
being  then  united  to  Miss  Mary  B.  Spiller.  of 
Ashland,  Kentucky.  No  children  have  been  born 
■of  this  marriage. 

Mr.  Curtiss  came  to  South  Dakota  in  the  vear 


1882  and  settled  in  Beadle  county,  where  he  took 
up  three  claims  of  government  land,  under  home- 
stead, pre-emption  and  timber-culture  entries, 
and  developed  the  property,  where  he  has  main- 
tained his  residence  since  1882.  In  politics  Mr. 
Curtiss  has  ever  been  aligned  as  a  stalwart  advo- 
cate of  the  principles  and  policies  of  the  Republi- 
can party,  and  he  has  been  an  active  factor  in  the 
promotion  of  its  cause.  In  1897,  during  the  re- 
gime of  the  late  lamented  President  McKinley,  he 
was  appointed  postmaster  at  Wessington,  and  he 
has  ever  since  continued  to  serve  in  this  capacity, 
while  he  is  known  as  a  capable  e.xecutive  and  as 
one  whose  administration  of  postal  affairs  has 
met  with  unqualified  popular  approval.  He  also 
served  for  several  years  as  justice  of  the  peace 
of  Beadle  countv. 


CHARLES  X.  CURTISS.— Elsewhere  in 
this  work  will  be  found  an  individual  sketch  of 
the  life  of  Asa  E.  Curtiss,  the  honored  father  of 
the  subject,  so  that  a  recapitulation  of  the  family 
history  will  not  be  demanded  at  this  juncture. 

Charles  N.  Curtiss,  who  is  one  of  the  repre- 
sentative business  men  of  Wessington,  Beadle 
county,  was  born  in  Port  Washington,  Ozaukee 
county,  Wisconsin,  on  the  7th  of  August,  1858, 
and  his  early  educational  discipline  was  received 
in  the  public  schools  of  that  state,  after  which 
he  was  for  two  years  a  student  in  the  LTniversity 
of  Notre  Dame,  at  South  Bend.  Indiana.  In 
1876  he  was  matriculated  in  the  University  of 
Chicago,  where  he  completed  the  course  and 
was  graduated  as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1878. 
After  leaving  college  he  secured  a  position  in  a 
leading  wholesale  house  in  Chicago,  and  re- 
mained with  this  concern  until  1882,  gaining  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  details  of  the  busi- 
ness. In  April  of  the  year  mentioned  he  came 
to  what  is  now  the  state  of  South  Dakota  and 
took  up  his  residence  in  Wessington,  where  he 
established  himself  in  the  lumber  trade  and  also 
in  the  general  merchandise  business,  being  one  of 
the  pioneer  business  men  of  the  town  and  having 
ever  since  continued  the  merchandise  enterprise 
mentioni^d.     He  has  the  unequivocal  confidence 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


and  esteem  of  the  community  and  has  built  up  a 
large  and  prosperous  trade  in  the  line  mentioned, 
while  he  is  known  as  a  man  of  progressive  ideas 
and  one  straightforward  in  all  his  dealings.  He 
has  been  and  continues  an  active  worker  in  the 
ranks  of  the  Republican  party  and  stands  forward 
as  one  animated  by  a  helpful  and  insistent  public 
spirit.  He  is  identified  with  the  Masonic  frater- 
nty  and  also  with  the  Modern  Woodmen  of 
.A.merica,  while  he  enjoys  marked  popularity-  in 
both  business  and  social  circles. 

On  the  14th  of  April,  1892,  Mr.  Curtiss  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Clara  L.  Ahlers,  of 
Dubuque.  Iowa,  a  lady  of  refinement  and  gra- 
cious social  qualities.  She  was  born  in  Dubuque 
and  is  a  daughter  of  Herman  and  Sophia  (Sani- 
ter )  Ahlers.  her  father  having  been  for  many 
years  engaged  in  fruit  growing  in  Iowa.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Curtiss  have  two  children,  Adele  and 
Charles  A. 


CHARLES  WESLEY  ATKINS.— The  sub- 
ject of  this  review  has  been  a  citizen  of  South 
Dakota  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century,  during 
which  time  he  has  resided  in  Brown  county  and 
taken  an  active  interest  in  the  growth  and  devel- 
opment of  the  thriving  town  of  Columbia. 
Charles  W.  Atkins,  lawyer,  farmer  and  stock 
raiser,  was  born  in  Lancaster  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, on  the  first  day  of  July,  1844.  When  a 
youth  he  went  to  Illinois  and  received  his  early 
education  in  Wesleyan  LTniversit>-.  at  Blooming- 
ton,  that  state,  after  which  he  began  the  study 
of  law  at  Streator  under  the  direction  of  Hon. 
^^■alter  Reeves,  a  leading  attorney  of  the  latter 
city  and  for  a  number  of  years  a  representative 
in  the  United  States  congress. 

After  his  admission  to  the  bar  :\rr.  Atkins 
practiced  in  Streator,  built  up  a  lucrative  profes- 
sional business  and  soon  took  high  rank  among 
the  successful  young  lawyers  of  the  local  bar. 
He  remained  in  Streator  until  1882,  when  he  dis- 
posed of  his  interests  there  and  came  to  Colum- 
bia, South  Dakota,  where  he  opened  an  ofifice 
and  engaged  in  the  general  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession.    His    success   from   the   beginning   was 


encouraging  and  he  soon  rose  to  a  prominent 
place  in  the  legal  circles  of  Brown  county,  ac- 
quiring a  lucrative  practice  in  the  courts,  besides 
an  extensive  office  business.  He  devoted  his 
attention  exclusively  to  the  law  until  about  the 
3'ear  1898.  when  he  became  interested  in  farm- 
ing and  stock  raising,  and  since  that  time  he 
has  carried  on  the  latter  in  connection  with  his 
legal  work. 

j\Ir.  Atkins  owns  a  fine  farm  of  four  hundred 
and  eighty  acres,  about  two  miles  east  of  Co- 
lumbia, and  to  the  management  of  the  same 
he  devotes  the  greater  part  of  his  time,  being 
largely  interested  in  agriculture  and  the  live- 
stock business,  both  of  which  he  prosecutes  with 
marked  financial  results.  The  farm  is  admirably 
situated  and  especially  adapted  to  grain  and 
pasturage.  Mr.  Atkins  employs  modern  methods 
in  cultivating  the  soil,  raises  large  crops  of  corn 
and  cereals  and  is  accounted  one  of  the  most 
enterprising  and  successful  farmers  in  the  county 
of  Brown.  He  has  also  achieved  worthy  pres- 
tige in  the  live-stock  business,  being  one  of  the 
largest  cattle  raiseis  in  the  community,  and  as 
a  citizen  he  also  occupies  a  prominent  place  in 
public  esteem,  being  enterprising  in  all  the  term 
implies  and  ever  ready  to  give  his  encourage- 
ment and  support  to  progressive  measures  for 
the  material  improvement  of  the  country  and  the 
advancement  of  the  people's  interests. 

Mr.  Atkins  was  reared  a  Republican  and 
gave  his  support  to  the  party  of  that  name  until 
a  few  years  ago,  when,  becoming  dissatisfied 
with  its  policies,  he  became  an  earnest  advocate 
of  the  People's  party.  Soon  after  adopting  the 
principles  of  the  latter  he  was  nominated  for 
the  office  of  county  judge,  but  by  reason  of  the 
overwhelming  strength  of  the  opposition  he 
failed  of  election.  He  ran  a  second  time  for  the 
same  position,  with  similar  results,  although  he 
made  an  able  canvass  and  ran  far  ahead  of  other 
candidates  on  the  Populist  ticket. 

^^'hile  not  actively  engaged  in  the  law  as  for- 
merly, ^tr.  .\tkins  keeps  in  close  touch  with 
court  affairs,  does  a  large  office  practice  and  if 
he  felt  so  disposed  could  easily  stand  among  the 
foremost  attornevs  of  the    Brown    countv    bar. 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH  DAKOTA. 


867 


Farming  and  stock  raising  being  more  to  his 
taste  and  far  more  satisfactory  than  the  labor 
and  care  entailed  by  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion, he  has  gradually  withdrawn  from  the 
latter  in  order  to  devote  his  attention  more  thor- 
oughly to  the  kind  of  work  for  which  he  mani- 
fests such  decided  inclinations.  Mr.  Atkins  en- 
joys a  wide  acquaintance  throughout  the  county, 
and  his  popularity  among  all  classes  of  people 
is  the  direct  result  of  his  sterling  character  and 
genial  personality.  In  everything  tending  to  the 
building  up  of  the  community,  materially  or 
otherwise,  he  lends  a  helping  hand,  and  his  in- 
fluence has  always  been  on  the  right  side  of 
every  moral  issue.  As  a  lawyer  he  possesses  the 
qualities  essential  to  success,  being  well  grounded 
in  the  underlying  principles  of  his  profession,  apt 
in  applying  his  knowledge  to  practice  and  his 
strong  reasoning  powers  and  fluency  of  speech 
make  him  especially  strong  as  a  logical  and 
eloquent  advocate  whose  power  before  jurists 
usually  results  in  the  obtaining  of  a  verdict  for 
his  clients. 

On  August  28,  1879,  Mr.  Atkins  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Emma  L.  Burgess,  of 
Streator,  Illinois,  in  which  city  the  ceremony 
was  duly  solemnized.  ?\Ir.  and  Mrs.  Atkins  have 
a  family  of  four  children,  namely:  Fred  W., 
Arthur  Burgess,  Walter  Carlos  and  Jay  Willard. 
Religiously,  the  subject  and  wife  are  respected 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and 
as  such  are  deeply  interested  in  the  good  work 
of  the  congregation  to  which  they  belong. 


C.  LORAN  ROBERTSON,  M.  D.,  who  is 
successfully  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  hu- 
mane profession  in  the  village  of  Delmont, 
Douglas  count}-,  is  a  native  of  the  old  Buckeye 
state,  having  been  born  in  the  town  of  Zaleski, 
A'inton  county,  Ohio,  on  the  nth  of  April,  1867, 
a  son  of  Henry  and  Avaline  (Smith)  Robertson, 
the  former  of  wdiom  was  born  in  Ross  county, 
Ohio,  and  the  latter  in  Athens  county,  that  state, 
both  being  representatives  of  sterling  pioneer 
families  of  that  commonwealth.  The  father  of 
the  Doctor  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter  in  his 


youth,  and  became  one  of  the  leading  contractors 
and  builders  of  Vinton  county,  having  located  in 
Zaleski  after  his  marriage.  He  also  read  law  and 
was  engaged  in  the  practice  of  the  same  to  a 
greater  or  less  degree  for  a  number  of  years, 
while  for  about  ten  years  he  served  with  marked 
efficiency  as  president  of  the  village  council, 
being  one  of  the  honored  and  influential  citizens 
of  the  C(5unty,  while  in  politics  he  gave  an  un- 
qualified allegiance  to  the  Democratic  party,  his 
religious  faith  being  that  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  of  which  his  wife  likewise  was 
a  devoted  member.  He  died  in  1894  and  his  wife 
is  now  living  at  Zaleski,  Ohio.  Henry  Robertson 
served  with  marked  loyalty  as  a  Union  soldier 
during  the  Civil  war,  having  been  in  the  service 
for  four  years,  and  he  was  a  valued  member  of 
the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  at  the  time  of 
his  death. 

'  Doctor  Robertson  may  consistently  be  said  to 
be  the  architect  of  his  own  fortunes,  since  he  ac- 
quired his  professional  education  through  his 
own  efforts.  His  preliminary  training  was  se- 
cured in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  village, 
where  he  was  graduated  in  the  high  school,  as 
a  member  of  the  class  of  1882,  after  which  he 
was  engaged  in  teaching  for  three  terms,  having 
in  the  meanwhile  determined  to  prepare  himself 
for  the  medical  profession.  He  accordingly  sup- 
plemented his  more  purely  literan.^  education  by 
entering  the  nonnal  school  at  Atwood,  Ohio, 
where  he  was  graduated  in  1888,  and  then  took 
up  his  technical  studies.  As  his  financial  re- 
sources were  very  limited  he  was  compelled  to 
carry  on  his  medical  studies  at  interv^als,  attend- 
ing a  course  of  lectures  and  then  teaching  until 
he  had  acquired  sufficient  funds  to  continue  his 
professional  studies.  He  began  the  study  of 
medicine  in  1889  and  graduated  from  the  Ameri- 
can Medical  College,  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri, 
May  10,  1899,  receiving  his  coveted  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Medicine.  In  the  meanwhile,  in  1894, 
he  had  taken  up  his  residence  in  South  Dakota, 
and  after  his  graduation  he  established  himself 
permanently  in  practice  in  Delmont,  Douglas 
county,  this  state,  where  he  has  since  been  lo- 
cated, having  built  up  a  most  satisfactory  busi- 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


ness  and  gained  prestige  as  one  of  the  able  prac- 
titioners of  the  state.  He  is  fraternally  identified 
with  the  ]\Iasonic  order,  the  Modern  Woodmen 
of  America  and  the  Yeomen.  He  holds  mem- 
bership in  the  American  INIedical  Association, 
and  in  politics  he  is  a  stanch  adherent  of  the 
Democratic  party. 

In  1897,  Dr.  Robertson  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Edith  W.  \'aughn,  of  Olivet,  this 
state,  no  children  having  been  born  of  this  union. 


MOTOR  K.  STILLWELL.  cashier  and 
general  executive  manager  of  the  Farmers'  Bank 
of  Alexandria,  was  born  in  Kilbom  City.  Co- 
lumbia county,  Wisconsin,  on  the  8th  of  De- 
cember. 1856.  a  son  of  David  and  Melissa  X. 
(Augir)  Stillwell,  to  whom  were  born  three 
children,  namely :  Arthur,  who  died  in  Alex- 
andria, this  state,  on  the  2_|th  of  February.  1882 ; 
Victor  K.,  who  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch ; 
and  Wendell  H.,  who  is  a  division  superintend- 
ent of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  with  head- 
quarters in  the  city  of  New  Orleans.  David 
Stillwell  was  bom  in  the  state  of  New  Jersey, 
and  as  a  boy  accompanied  his  parents  on  their 
removal  to  Waukesha  county,  Wisconsin,  where 
he  was  reared  to  manhood  and  was  married.  In 
1855  he  removed  to  Kilbom  City,  that  state, 
where  he  purchased  property.  He  was  a  man 
of  versatility,  and  was  employed  in  various  me- 
chanical pursuits,  working  in  a  sash  and  door  | 
factory,  as  an  engineer  and  as  a  stone-mason,  at  ! 
different  intervals,  the  last  mentioned  business 
constituting  his  principal  vocation.  He  pur-  ! 
chased  and  operated  stone  quarries  near  the  town 
and  as  a  stone-cutter  did  a  large  and  profitable 
business.  He  died  there,  on  the  24th  of  July,  ! 
T883.  ^t  the  age  of  fifty-eight  years,  honored  by  | 
all  who  knew  him.  He  was  a  stanch  Republican  ; 
in  politics  and  was  a  member  of  the  Freewill 
Baptist  church,  while  he  was  strenuously  opposed 
to  secret  societies  of  all  descriptions.  His 
widow,  Melissa  N.  Stillwell.  is  now  living  at 
Alexandria,  South  Dakota. 

Mctor  K.  Stillwell.  whose  name  initiates  this 
article,    was    reared    to    maturitv    in    his    native  ' 


town,  and  after  availing  himself  of  the  ad- 
vantages afforded  in  its  public  schools  he  con- 
tinued his  studies  in  Rochester  Seminarv,  at 
Rochester,  Wisconsin.  At  the  age  of  eighteen 
he  began  teaching  in  the  district  schools,  and  he 
successfully  continued  to  follow  this  vocation 
about  twelve  terms,  giving  his  attention  to  farm 
work  during  the  intervening  summer  vacations. 
In  August.  1880,  ]\Ir.  Stillwell,  in  company  with 
his  brother.  Arthur  N.,  came  to  South  Dakota, 
both  filing  entry  on  homestead  claims  in  Taylor 
township.  Hanson  county,  where  they  took  up 
their  residence  and  inaugurated  the  work  of  im- 
proving and  developing  their  famis.  In  1881 
our  subject  returned  to  Rochester.  Wisconsin, 
where,  on  the  25th  of  May,  of  that  year,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Eugenia  A.  Clark, 
daughter  of  Samuel  Clark,  a  prominent  citizen 
of  that  place.  He  soon  afterward  returned  to  his 
new  home  in  South  Dakota,  being  accompanied 
by  his  bride,  who  proved  a  true  helpmeet  to  him 
during  the  days  of  his  early  experiences  as  a 
farmer  in  a  new  country.  He  continued  to  be 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  and  stock  grow- 
ing until  February,  1888,  when  he  disposed  of 
his  farm  and  took  up  his  residence  in  Alexandria, 
where  he  accepted  a  position  in  the  Farmers' 
Bank.  On  the  ist  of  January,  189 1.  he  was 
made  cashier  of  the  institution  and  has  since 
managed  its  business  with  consummate  dis- 
crimination and  ability.  He  is  a  Republican  in 
his  political  proclivities,  and  in  the  'eighties  he 
served  two  years  as  county  assessor,  while  he  has 
also  held  the  office  of  mayor  of  the  town  and 
been  a  member  of  its  board  of  education,  of 
which  he  was  president  for  a  time,  also  having 
been  clerk  of  the  board.  In  the  fall  of  1898 
Mr.  .Stillwell  was  elected  to  represent  his  district 
in  the  state  senate,  and  so  acceptable  was  his 
work  in  that  body  that  his  constituents  honored 
him  with  re-election  in  1900,  his  second  term 
expiring  December  31,  1902.  He  is  a  member 
of  Alexandria  Camp.  No.  2956,  Modern  Wood- 
men of  America,  and  of  Alexandria  Lodge.  No. 
II.  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen.  In  the 
latter  order  he  was  for  three  years  grand  re- 
ceiver of  the  grand  lodge  of  the  state,  while  in 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


his  local  lodge  he  has  held  the  offices  of  recorder, 
receiver  and  master  workman.  His  religious 
faith  is  that  of  the  Freewill  Baptist  church,  but 
lie  is  liberal  in  his  views  and  has  ever  shown 
himself  ready  to  aid  all  denominations  in  their 
work.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stillwell  occupy  a  promi- 
nent position  in  the  social  life  of  the  community 
and  their  attractive  home  is  a  center  of  refined 
hospitality.  They  are  the  parents  of  four  chil- 
dren, namely:  Elmer  W.,  who  is  a  graduate  of 
the  State  University  of  South  Dakota,  at  Ver- 
million :  Clarke  H.,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the 
Alexandria  high  school,  being  a  member  of  a 
government  surveying  party  in  New  Mexico  at 
the  time  of  this  writing:  A'^erna  K.,  who  is  like- 
wise a  graduate  of  the  high  school :  and  Ellis  D., 
who  is  still  a  student  in  the  public  schools. 


REA'.  HUGO  MOTOR,  resident  priest  of 
the  Catholic  church  in  Alexandria,  was  born  in 
Osnabruck,  province  of  Hanover,  Germany,  on 
the  15th  of  November,  1842,  being  a  son  of 
Henry  and  Mary  (\'on  Ende)  Victor,  the  latter 
being  of  the  nobilit\-  of  the  great  German  empire, 
a  representative  of  the  well-known  hou^e  of 
]\Iagdeburg.  The  father  of  the  subject  was  born 
in  Doenitz,  in  the  Black  Forest  district,  on  the 
border  between  France  and  Germanv,  his  par- 
ents having  been  natives  of  France.  He  was  ac- 
corded excellent  educational  advantages  and  be- 
came a  musician  of  distinction,  having  been  a 
composer  of  high  reputation.  His  musical  tal- 
ents led  to  his  being  selected  as  leader  of  the 
band  of  th"  Red  Hussars,  this  being  the  official 
band  of  the  king  of  Hanover.  His  death  re- 
sulted from  an  attack  of  cholera,  in  1847,  the 
subject  of  this  review  being  about  five  years  of 
age  at  the  time.  Father  Victor  was  then  taken 
into  the  home  of  his  uncle.  Daniel  Sickel.  with 
whom  he  remained  about  four  years,  at  the  ex- 
piration of  which,  in  1852,  he  came  to  America 
in  companv  with  his  mother  and  her  second  hus- 
band, Frederick  Halthaus,  the  family  locating  in 
the  city  of  Baltimore,  RTaryland.  Though  but 
ten  vears  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  arrival  in 
the  United  States,  Father  \Mctor  soon  besran  to 


depend  upon  his  own  resources,  finally  entering 
upon  an  apprenticeship  at  the  trade  of  cigar 
making,  to  which  he  devoted  his  attention  until 
he  had  attained  the  age  of  sixteen,  when  he  be- 
gan the  work  of  preparing  himself  for  the  priest- 
hood. In  1859  he  entered  the  Redemptorist 
Brothers'  College,  in  Annapolis,  where  he  was 
graduated  in  18 — ,  being  ordained  to  the  priest- 
hood on  the  30th  of  June,  i86g.  by  Archbishop 
Spaulding,  in  Baltimore.  He  was  soon  after- 
ward sent  to  Savannah,  Georgia,  where  he  was 
assistant  in  the  cathedral  to  Bishop  William 
Gross.  In  1874  Father  A^ictor  was  given  a 
charge  at  Oconomowoc.  Wisconsin,  being  trans- 
ferred eight  months  later  to  a  neighboring 
parish,  where  he  remained  one  year,  at  the  ex- 
piration of  which  he  was  assigned  to  a  pastorate 
at  Lancaster,  that  state.  About  one  year  later 
he  was  sent  to  take  charge  of  St.  Joseph's 
church,  at  Racine,  Wisconsin,  but  his  health  be- 
came impaired  and  after  serving  a  few  months 
he  made  a  trip  to  Europe,  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
cuperation, where  he  remained  a  fewi  months. 
Upon  his  return  to  Wisconsin  he  was  assigned  to 
the  pastorate  of  St.  Joseph's  church,  at  Waterloo, 
remaining  one  year  and  then  being  sent  to  the 
church  at  Eagle,  that  state,  where  he  continued 
to  labor  zealously  and  effectively  during  the  en- 
suing four  years,  being  thereafter  stationed  at 
East  Troy,  Wisconsin,  for  three  ycrs.  He  then 
passed  a  short  time  in  Waterloo  and  was  then 
sent  to  LeSeuer.  Minnesota,  where  he  remained 
one  year,  passing  the  succeeding  year  at  North- 
field,  that  state.  He  then  made  a  tour  through 
Mexico  and  upon  his  return  established  the 
parish  organization  at  Marshall,  Alinnesota, 
where  he  was  resident  priest  four  years,  at  the 
expiration  of  which,  in  1892,  he  came  to  South 
Dakota.  For  the  first  year  he  was  located  at 
Hoven  and  was  then  transferred  to  Krausburg, 
where  he  was  stationed  eight  years,  within  which 
time  he  effected  the  erection  of  a  new  church 
edifice  and  also  left  other  unmistakable  evidences 
of  his  spiritual  and  temporal  zeal.  In  June,  1902, 
Father  A'ictor  came  to  Alexandria,  and  since  that 
time  he  has  accomplished  a  notable  work,  erect- 
ing a   new   parish   house,   which   was   completed 


870 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


within  the  year  1904.  Father  Mctor  is  known 
as  an  able  executive  and  organizer,  and  the  work 
whicli  he  has  done  in  the  various  fields  in  which 
he  has  lived  and  labored  has  been  earnest,  de- 
voted, consecrated  and  signally  fruitful  in  the 
furthering  of  the  cause  of  the  divine  blaster  and 
in  the  uplifting  of  his  fellow  men.  Father  A'ictor 
is  a  forceful  and  logical  speaker,  his  utterances 
being  marked  by  earnest  conviction,  and  he  has 
the  high  regard  of  all  with  \vhom  he  comes  in 
contact. 


PHILIP  A.  ZOLLIMAX.  who  is  successfully 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  in 
Alexandria,  Hanson  county,  merits  recognition 
in  this  work  as  one  of  the  representative  members 
of  the  bar  of  the  state.  He  was  born  in  Charles- 
town,  Clark  county,  Indiana,  on  the  14th  of  Oc- 
tober, 1866,  a  son  of  Philip  and  Catherine 
(Schaid)  Zollman,  to  whom  were  born  eight 
children,  of  whom  the  following  named  six  sur- 
vive :  Elizabeth,  widow'  of  Frederick  Weigel, 
resides  in  Louisville,  Kentucky ;  Amelia  is  the 
wife  of  Emil  Achneman,  of  that  city:  William  is 
a  resident  of  Otisco,  Indiana,  as  is  also  Lena, 
who  remains  at  the  parental  home  in  that  place ; 
Louise  is  the  wife  of  Herbert  Gregorv,  of  Wes- 
sington  Spring,  South  Dakota;  and  Philip  A.  is 
the  immediate  subject  of  this  sketch.  The  father 
was  born  in  Germany  and  was  there  reared  to 
the  life  of  a  farm.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two 
years  he  emigrated  to  the  United  States  and  lo- 
cated in  Clark  county,  Indiana,  where  he  became 
a  prosperous  and  influential  farmer,  there  con- 
tinuing to  reside  until  his  death,  in  1879,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-two  years.  He  was  a  Democrat  in 
politics  and  his  religious  faith  was  that  of  the 
Lutheran  church,  of  which  his  wife  also  was  a 
devoted  member.  She  likewise  was  born  in  Ger- 
many, where  she  came  with  her  parents  to  the 
United  States  as  a  young  woman,  the  family 
locating  in  Louisville,  Kentucky.  She  was  sum- 
moned into  eternal  rest  in  February,  1903,  at 
the  aee  of  seventv-two  years. 

Philip  A.  Zollman  remained  at  the  parental 
home  until  he  had  attained  his  eighteenth  vear. 


having  early  begun  to  assist  in  the  work  of  the 
farm,  while  his  preliminary  education  was  se- 
cured in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  county. 
In  1886  he  entered  Drake  L'niversity,  at  Des 
?vIoines,  Iowa,  where  he  continued  his  studies 
for  three  years,  later  being  matriculated  in  the 
law  department  of  the  Iowa  State  University, 
at  Iowa  City,  where  he  remained  as  a  student 
for  one  year,  being  then  compelled  to  discontinue 
his  technical  course  by  reason  of  lack  of  funds. 
In  1890  he  entered  the  law  office  of  C.  W.  Steele, 
of  Coridon,  Iowa,  having  previously  been  en- 
gaged in  teaching  in  the  district  schools  in  order 
to  secure  sufficient  money  to  enable  him  to  con- 
tinue his  professional  studies.  Under  the  pre- 
ceptor mentioned  he  continued  his  technical  read- 
ing until  he  was  thoroughly  well  informed  in  the 
science  of  jurisprudence,  being  admitted  to  the 
bar  of  Iowa  in  ^larch,  1893,  upon  examination 
before  the  supreme  court  of  the  state.  In  Sep- 
temper  of  the  same  year  he  came  to  Alexandria 
and  opened  an  oiifice  for  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession, his  novitiate  being  of  brief  duration, 
since  he  soon  proved  his  skill  as  an  advocate  and 
his  conservative  ability  as  a  counsellor,  gaining 
thus  a  hold  upon  popular  confidence.  He  has 
built  up  an  excellent  practice  and  is  one  of  the 
leading  lawyers  of  the  county,  retaining  a  repre- 
sentative clientage.  He  served  as  state's  attor- 
ney for  this  county  from  1894  until  1898,  having 
been  appointed  to  the  office  in  the  former  year, 
to  succeed  Judge  Frank  B.  Smith,  and  having 
been  chosen  as  his  own  successor  in  the  election 
of  1896.  Prior  to  1900  Mr.  Zollman  was  affili- 
ated with  the  Democratic  party.  He  was  a  dele- 
gate to  the  Democratic  state  convention  of  1896, 
held  in  Aberdeen,  and  after  that  time  he  had  but 
little  influence  in  the  party  councils,  since  it  was 
his  privilege  in  that  convention  to  show  the  cour- 
age of  his  convictions  and  to  cast  the  deciding 
vote  which  placed  the  party  in  the  state  in  line 
of  support  for  sound  money,  repudiating  the  sil- 
ver heresy,  the  result  being  that  the  state  was 
"turned  down"  in  the  national  convention.  In 
the  McKinley  campaign  of  1900  Mr.  Zollman 
identified  himself  unreservedly  with  the  Re- 
publican   party    and    wielded    nnich    influence    in 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


871 


securing-  the  success  of  the  party  in  the  state 
that  year.  He  has  been  a  zealous  worker  in 
the  party  cause  and  has  been  chairman  of  the 
RepubHcan  county  central  committee  since  the 
summer  of  1902.  yir.  Zollman  is  an  enthusiastic 
and  appreciative  member  of  the  Masonic  fra- 
ternity, in  which  he  has  risen  to  the  thirty-second 
degree  of  the  Scottish  Rite,  being  identified  with 
the  following  bodies :  Celestial  Lodge.  No.  37, 
Free  and  Accepted  ]\Iasons ;  Mitchell  Chapter,  I 
Ro>'al  Arch  Masons ;  Mitchell  Commandery.  j 
Knights  Templar;  Oriental  Consistory,  No.  i,  j 
Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite,  in  Yankton, 
and  EI  Riad  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of 
the  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  in  Sioux  Falls. 
He  is  also  identified  with  Alexandria  Lodge,  No. 
36.  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  with 
Mitchell  Encampment,  No.  9,  of  the  same  order, 
and  also  holds  membership  in  Alexandria  Camp, 
No.  2956.  Modern  Woodmen  of  America. 


TAMES  L.  HANNETT,  junior  member  of 
the  prominent  law  firm  of  Preston  &  Hannett,  of 
Mitchell,  was  born  in  Washington  county.  New 
York,  on  the  28th  of  March,  1855,  being  a  son 
of  Edward  and  Elizabeth  (Bailev)  Hannett,  of 
whose  seven  children  six  are  living  at  the  present 
time,  the  subject  having  been  the  youngest  in 
the  family.  Edward  Hannett  was  bom  I'n 
County  Down,  Ireland,  where  he  was  reared  and 
educated,  there  learning  the  trade  of  shoemaker. 
His  wife  was  bom  in  the  same  countv,  and  there 
three  of  their  children  were  born.  In  1837  they 
emigrated  to  the  United  States,  and  for  three 
years  they  remained  in  the  eastern  states,  the 
father  working  at  his  trade  in  various  tbwns 
and  cities,  and  he  then  came  to  the  west,  locating 
in  the  citv  of  Chicago,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
the  shoe  business  for  a  number  of  years,  being 
successful  in  his  efforts  and  living  retired  in 
that  city  for  several  years  prior  to  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1884.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Catholic  church,  as  was  also  his  wife,  who 
is  now  dead,  and  in  politics  he  gave  his  support 
to  the  Democracy. 

The  subject  of  this   review  remained  at  the 


parental  honie  until  he  had  attained  the  age  of 
sixteen  years,  his  educational  advantages  in  the 
meanwhile  having  been  such  as  were  afforded  in 
the  public  schools.  At  the  age  mentioned  he 
entered  Masson  College,  near  the  city  of  Alon- 
treal,  Canada,  and  during  the  pursuit  of  his 
studies  there  lived  in  the  home  of  his  brother. 
William,  at  Middle  Granville,  New  York.  He 
was  graduated  in  the  college  as  a  member  of  the 
class  of  1874,  and  soon  afterward  was  matricu- 
lated in  the  law  department  of  the  University  of 
Michigan,  at  Ann  Arbor,  having  previouslv 
taken  up  the  study  of  law  under  the  preceptor-- 
ship  of  Hon.  M.  C.  Betts,  of  the  firm  of  Betts 
&  Grover,  of  Granville,  New  York,  the  junior 
member  of  said  firm  now  being  the  general  coun- 
sel of  the  Great  Northern  Railroad.  Mr.  Hannett 
completed  the  prescribed  course  in  the  law  de- 
partment of  the  university  and  was  there  gradu- 
ated as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1876,  receiving 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  He  then  went 
to  Amsterdam,  New  York,  where  he  continued 
his  study  of  the  law  in  the  office  of  Z.  A.  West- 
brook  about  one  year,  after  which  he  located  in 
the  town  of  Whitehall,  that  state,  where  he  was 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  about 
four  years.  In  1882  ]\Ir.  Hannett  came  to 
Mitchell,  South  Dakota,  and  in  Juh-  of  that  vear 
here  opened  a  law  office,  forming  a  professional 
partnership  with  T.  E.  Blanchard,  with  whom 
he  continued  to  be  associated  in  practice  for 
seven  years,  after  which  he  continued  an  indi- 
vidual practitioner  until  1892,  when  he  entered 
into  partnership  with  H.  C.  Preston.  This  alli- 
ance continued  for  five  years,  at  the  expiration 
of  which  J\Ir.  Preston  removed  to  the  citv  of 
Sioux  Falls,  the  subject  continuing  in  practice  at 
Mitchell.  In  1901  Mr.  Preston  returned  to 
Mitchell,  and  the  two  attorneys  again  entered 
into  partnership  relations,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Preston  &  Hannett,  the  firm  having  to  do  with 
much  important  litigation  and  having  a  repre- 
sentative clientele. 

Mr.  Hannett  is  a  stalwart  advocate  of  the 
principles  of  the  Republican  party,  and  in  1888 
he  was  elected  district  attorney,  in  which  ca- 
pacity he  served  two  years,  making  a  most  credit- 


HISTORi    OF   SOUTH  DAKOTA. 


able  record  as  a  prosecutor.  In  1891  he  was 
elected  county  judge,  presiding  on  the  bench  for 
a  term  of  two  years.  He  is  at  the  present  time 
a  member  of  the  board  of  aldermen  of  the  city 
of  ^Mitchell  and  is  president  of  the  municipal 
colmcil.  Fraternally,  he  is  identified  with  the 
Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  the  ^Modern 
Woodmen  of  America  and  the  Home  Guard- 
ians, while  his  religious  faith  is  that  of  the 
Catholic  church,  of  which  he  is  a  communicant. 
On  the  I2th  of  August,  1877,  was  solemnized 
the  marriage  of  Judge  Hannett  to  Miss  Martha 
Ryan,  of  Schenectady  county.  New  York,  and 
of  their  nine  children  all  are  living  except  Leo, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  eleven.  The  others  are 
Ray.  Nellie,  William,  Edward,  Bessie,  James  L.. 
Alary  and  Rachel,  and  all  remain  at  the  parental 
home. 


RE\'.  HARLAN  PAGE  CARSON.  D.  D., 
was  born  on  a  farm  near  Medora,  Macoupin 
county,  Illinois,  January  3,  1845,  being  a  son 
of  James  M.  and  Eliza  (Jane)  Carson,  the  line- 
age on  the  paternal  side  being  traced  back  to 
Scotch-Irish  origin,  and  on  the  maternal  side  to 
the  Holland  Dutch.  The  father  of  the  subject 
was  a  farmer  by  vocation  and  continued  to  reside 
in  Illinois  from  1834  to  1887,  his  death  occurring 
near  Belleville,  Kansas,  in  1891,  he  having  re- 
moved there  four  years  previous.  He  was  a 
strong  abolitionist  and  a  conscientious  and  in- 
sistent advocate  of  temperance.  The  paternal 
grandfather  of  the  Doctor  was  a  successful 
teacher  in  North  Carolina,  and  the  mother  of  the 
subject  likewise  engaged  in  teaching  before  her 
marriage,  her  death  occurring  when  he  was  a 
lad  of  seven  years.  Her  grandfather  was  a 
patriot  soldier  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution, 
being  a  member  of  a  New  Jersey  regiment  and 
taking  part  in  the  battle  of  Princeton,  his  widow- 
being  accorded  a  pension  after  his  death.  The 
father  of  the  Doctor  was  an  elder  in  the  Presby- 
terian church,  and  his  wife  clung  to  her  ancestral 
faith,  being  a  member  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 
church,  both  being  earnest  and  devoted  Chris- 
tians and  exemplying  their  faith  in  their  daily 


walk  and  conversation.     James  ]\I.   Carson  was 
!   seventy-five  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  de- 
mise, while  his  wife  passed  away  at  the  age  of 
thirty-seven  years. 

Dr.  Carson  was  reared  to  the  sturdy  dis- 
cipline of  the  homestead  farm  and  secured  his 
early  educational  training  in  the  common  schools 
of  his  native  county.  In  1863  he  was  matricu- 
lated in  Blackburn  L'niversity,  at  Carlinville, 
Illinois,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1870,  re- 
ceiving the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  while  the 
master's  degree  was  conferred  upon  him  three 
years  later  by  the  same  institution.  In  1889  his 
alma  mater  gave  further  evidence  of  apprecia- 
tion of  his  ability  and  services  by  conferring 
upon  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity.  In 
this  institution  he  completed  both  the  classical 
and  divinity  courses,  and  he  was  ordained  to  the 
ministry  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  1872.  He 
worked  his  way  through  college,  securing  the 
requisite  funds  by  teaching  and  other  such  work 
as  came  to  hand.  He  was  for  one  year  principal 
of  the  public  schools  of  Whitehall.  Illinois,  and 
then  took  up  the  active  work  of  the  ministry. 
He  held  pastoral  charge  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  at  Hardin.  Illinois,  for  more  than  eight 
years,  was  thereafter  pastor  of  the  church  at 
Taylorville,  that  state,  for  one  year,  and  in  May, 
1880.  he  came  to  South  Dakota  and  assumed  the 
pastorate  of  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Scot-  '* 
land,  over  which  he  continued  to  preside  for 
more  than  eight  years.  Since  resigning  this 
pastorate  Dr.  Carson  has  served  consecutively  as 
superintendent  of  home  missions  for  this  state, 
in  which  connection  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to 
say  that  he  has  .proved  a  vitalizing  and  amplify- 
ing power  in  the  promotion  of  the  work  assigned 
to  his  care.  At  the  time  of  the  war  of  the  Re- 
bellion the  Doctor  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the 
One  Hundred  and  Thirty-third  Regiment  of 
Illinois  Volunteer  Infantn.-.  remaining  in  the 
service  for  his  term  of  one  hundred  days.  He 
has  been  unabating  in  his  zeal  for  the  advance- 
ment of  church  work  in  South  Dakota,  and  his 
influence  has  permeated  all  departments  of  the 
same.  He  aided  materially  in  the  founding  and 
operating    of    Pierre    University    and    Scotland 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH  DAKOTA. 


873 


Academy-  until  they  were  merged  into  Huron 
College ;  he  was  the  editor  and  publisher  of  the 
Presbyterian  Chronicler,  the  church  monthly  of 
the  state,  for  five  years,  at  the  expiration  of 
which  it  was  sold  to  the  publishers  of  a  church 
paper  in  Minneapolis,  Minnesota.  He  has  been 
indefatigable  in  his  opposition  to  the  liquor 
traffic :  and  he  has  ever  aimed  to  be  tolerant  in 
his  views.  Though  he  is  liberal  in  his  views  he 
is  not  lacking  in  conservatism,  is  firm  in  his 
convictions,  in  which  he  is  ever  found  amply 
fortified,  and  in  the  essentials  of  the  religion 
of  the  Master  he  serves  he  will  never  show  the 
slightest  flexibility  or  deviation.  He  is  genial, 
benevolent  and  always  helpful ;  earnest  and  ani- 
mated as  a  public  speaker,  his  every'  utterance 
ringing  true  and  bespeaking  confidence,  sin- 
cerity and  conviction.  Dr.  Carson  has  organized 
several  churches  and  has  taken  the  leadership  in 
the  erection  of  four  different  church  edifices.  He 
has  been  president  of  the  Hon  Homme  County 
Bible  Society  since  1883,  was  for  eight  years 
stated  clerk  of  the  presbytery  of  South  Dakota, 
has  been  stated  clerk  of  the  synod  of  the  state 
from  the  time  of  its  organization,  in  1884,  and 
he  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the 
Omaha  Theological  Seminary,  as  well  as  of  the 
directors  of  Huron  College.  It  may  be  said 
that  the  Doctor  is  taking  a  particularly  active 
part  in  the  establishing  of  the  Omaha  Seminary 
upon  a  proper  basis,  the  high  function  of  the  in- 
stitution being  to  ofifer  proper  accommodations 
for  the  training  of  ministers  of  the  gospel  for 
work  in  South  Dakota  and  other  sections  nor- 
mally tributary  to  the  city  of  Omaha.  The  Doc- 
tor is  an  independent  Republican  in  his  political 
proclivities,  and  he  is  essentially  public  spirited 
and  most  loyal  to  the  state  in  which  he  is  liv- 
ing and  laboring  to  so  goodly  ends. 

On  the  8th  of  October,  1873,  was  solemnized 
the  marriage  of  Dr.  Carson  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
Holliday,  daughter  of  Arthur  D.  Holliday,  of 
A'irden,  Illinois,  and  she  was  summoned  into 
eternal  rest,  at  her  home  in  Scotland,  South  Da- 
kota, on  the  4th  of  July,  1886,  being  survived 
by  her  two  children,  Rollin  G.,  who  was  born 
September  25,   1874,  and  Elizabeth,  born  Janu- 


ary 3,  1877.  On  the  19th  of  June,  1888,  the 
Doctor  consummated  a  second  marriage,  being 
then  united  to  Mrs.  Sarah  (Child)  Keating,  of 
Hardin,  Illinois,  widow  of  William  Keating, 
Esq.,  to  whom  she  bore  one  daughter,  Helen  S., 
who  remains  in  the  home  of  her  stepfather.  Mrs. 
Sarah  Carson  passed  to  the  life  eternal  on  the 
19th  of  June,  1896,  in  Hardin,  Illinois.  By  her 
union  to  Dr.  Carson  was  born  one  child,  Harriet 
I.,  the  date  of  whose  nativity  was  February  i, 
1892. 


EUDELL  J.  MILLER  is  a  native  of  the 
state  of  Iowa,  having  been  born  on  a  farm  in 
Cedar  county,  on  the  15th  of  June,  1859,  ^nd 
being  a  son  of  Henr\-  and  Nancy  Miller,  the 
former  of  whom  was  born  in  the  state  of  Ohio. 
April  II,  1825,  and  died  February  15,  1897,  and 
the  latter  born  in  Ohio,  November  13,  1831,  and 
died  May  26,  1902.  They  were  numbered  among 
the  pioneers  of  Iowa,  being  among  the  first  set- 
tlers in  Cedar  county.  William  Miller,  the 
grandfather,  was  one  of  the  first  county  super- 
visors and  came  to  Dakota  territory  in  1881. 
When  the  subject  was  a  child  of  four  years  his 
parents  removed  to  Benton  county,  Iowa,  from 
Cedar  county,  that  state,  where  he  was  reared 
to  manhood,  growing  up  under  the  sturdy  train- 
ing of  the  farm  and  securing  his  rudimentary' 
education  in  the  common  schools  of  the  locality. 
Later  he  was  able  to  avail  himself  of  the  ad- 
vantages aiTorded  in  the  academy  at  Blairstown, 
that  state,  where  he  acquired  an  excellent  prac- 
tical education,  coming  forth  well  equipped  for 
the  active  duties  of  life,  while,  like  all  persons  of 
alert  mentality  and  receptive  powers,  he  has 
found  each  year  of  his  life  cumulative  in  edu- 
cational discipline  gained  under  the  direction  of 
that  wise  headmaster,  experience.  He  con- 
tinued to  be  identified  with  agricultural  pursuits 
until  1879,  when,  at  the  age  of  twenty  years,  he 
engaged  in  the  furniture  business  in  Audubon, 
Iowa,  continuing  this  enterprise  two  years,  at  the 
expiration  of  which  he  disposed  of  his  interests 
and  came  with  his  father,  in  July,  1881,  to  what 
is  now  Hand  county.  South  Dakota,  for  the  pur- 


874 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


pose  of  selecting  a  favorable  location  for  a  colony 
which  had  been  organized  in  Audubon,  Iowa. 
They  made  choice  of  the  present  site  of  the  vil- 
lage of  ]\Iiller,  with  its  environs,  and  here,  Sep- 
tember 9,  1 88 1,  thirty-six  claims  were  taken  up 
h\  the  members  of  the.  colony.  At  that  time  the 
prairie  swept  far  and  wide  with  no  sign  of  im- 
provement or  civilization  in  this  district,  and  the 
little  colony  formed  the  nucleus  of  a  nowl  pros- 
perous and  attractive  farming  section  and  of 
the  fine  little  city  of  Miller,  which  dates  its  in- 
ception back  to  the  year  1881.  From  a  copy  of 
the  Miller  Daily  Press,  published  on  the  19th 
of  October,  1882,  we  find  it  interesting  to  make 
the  following  quotation:  "How  different  does 
everything  look  in  Hand  county  today  from 
what  it  did  one  year  ago.  Then  all  was  a  blank 
for  a  distance  of  over  one  hundred  miles;  not 
a  single  farm  house  could  be  seen  in  the  county 
and  all  was  quiet  as  death.  In  one  short  year 
.people  from  Iowa,  Illinois  and  other  eastern 
states  have  come  to  this  county  and  have  made 
for  themselves  beautiful  homes.  To  the  eastern 
farmer  this  will  seem  almost  impossible,  yet  such 
is  the  case.  Farm  houses  worth  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  hundred  dollars  can  be  seen  in  almost 
every  direction ;  a  small  grove  is  started  on  nearly 
evtry  farm,  while  in  our  towns,  or  rather  cities — 
for  thev.  three  in  number,  are  almost  that — as 
large  and  commodious  buildings  may  be  seen  as 
would  grace  the  streets  of  our  eastern  cities."  If 
such  improvement  was  made  in  one  year,  none 
can  wonder  at  the  almost  marvelous  changes 
which  may  be  made  in  the  succeeding  two  dec- 
ades, and  no  section  of  the  state  is  more  favored 
than  is  this.  It  may  be  said  in  this  connection 
that  the  paper  mentioned  above  was  published 
by  the  subject  and  his  brother,  William  H.,  the 
latter  of  whom  died  February  10.  1892.  The 
subject  was  intimately  associated  with  his  father 
and  brother  in  the  establishing  and  conducting  of 
many  of  the  enterprises  which  have  proved  so 
potent  in  conserving  the  advancement  and  up- 
building of  the  town  of  Miller.  He  was  as- 
sociated with  his  brother  William  in  publishing 
and  editing  the  Hand  County  Press,  the  first 
paper    in   the   county,    its    initial    issue    having 


greeted  the  people  on  the  2d  of  January,  1882, 
while  during  the  count}--seat  contest,  which  re- 
sulted in  victory  for  ^Miller,  they  published  a 
daily  edition,  from  a  copy  of  which  the  fore- 
going extract  was  made.  For  the  past  four 
years  Mr.  Miller  has  been  associated  with  Judge 
George  C.  Briggs  in  the  real-estate  business, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Briggs  &  Miller,  and 
they  have  built  up  a  large  and  flourishing  enter- 
prise, while  through  the  same  much  has  been  ac- 
complished for  the  advancement  of  the  general 
welfare  and  progress. 

In  politics  ^Ir.  }ililler  gives  his  allegiance  to 
the  Republican  party,  and  while  he  has  never 
sought  political  preferment  he  has  been  called 
upon  to  serve  in  various  township  and  village 
offices,  and  having  been  incumbent  of  the  ofifice 
of  justice  of  the  peace  for  six  years.  He  has 
been  identified  with  nearly  even-  enterprise  and 
undertaking  which  has  had  for  its  object  the 
promotion  of  the  best  interests  of  the  town  and 
county,  and  is  known  and  honored  as  one  of  the 
reliable  and  progressive  business  men  and  loyal 
citizens  of  this  section  of  the  commonwealth. 
He  and  his  wife  are  prominent  and  zealous  mem- 
bers of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  fraternally 
he  is  identified  with  the  IModem  Woodmen  of 
America  and  ]\Iodern  Brotherhood  of  i\merica. 

On  the  28th  of  December,  1882,  was  solem- 
nized the  marriage  of  Mr.  Miller  to  Miss  Anna 
E.  Humphrey,  who  was  born  August  4,  1858, 
and  reared  in  Benton  county,  Iowa,  being  a 
daughter  of  Joseph  and  Margaret  Humphrey, 
the  former  of  whom  was  born  Januars^  19,  18 16, 
and  the  latter  boni  May  30,  1818,  being  now 
deceased.  To  the  subject  and  his  wife  have 
been  bom  two  children,  both  of  whom  remain  at 
the  pleasant  parental  home,  in  Miller,  namely: 
Bessie  E.  and  Earl  H. 


JAMES  T.  JACOBSON  was  bom  in  Nor- 
way, on  the  25th  of  September,  1854.  being  a 
son  of  Ole  T.  and  Gurena  Jacobson.  who  were 
born  and  reared  in  Norway,  the  father  being  a 
fanner     by     vocation.        They     emigrated      to 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


875 


America  in  1895  and  passed  the  closing  years 
of  their  Hves  in  the  state  of  Ilhnois.  The  sub- 
ject secured  his  early  educational  training  in  his 
native  land  and  was  a  lad  of  about  eleven  years 
at  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  the  United  States,  in 
1865.  He  remained  in  LaSalle  county,  Illinois, 
about  two  months  and  then  removed  to  Living- 
ston county,  that  state,  where  he  continued  to 
be  identified  with  agricultural  pursuits  until  1882, 
when  he  came  to  South  Dakota  and  settled  in 
Aurora  county,  where  he  took  up  homestead, 
tree  and  pre-emption  claims,  in  Palatine  town- 
ship, eventually  perfecting  his  title  to  the  tract 
of  four  hundred  and  eighty  acres  which  he  had 
thus  secured  from  the  government.  He  is  now 
the  owner  of  twelve  hundred  and  eighty  acres  of 
land  in  the  county  and  has  been  signally  pros- 
pered in  his  temporal  affairs,  having  been  an  as- 
siduous worker  and  having  gained  success 
through  his  earnest  and  well  directed  endeavor. 
About  four  hundred  acres  of  his  land  are  under 
cultivation,  and  all  of  his  estate  is  well  fenced, 
the  remainder  being  used  for  range  purposes  in 
connection  with  his  live-stock  enterprise.  He 
raises  shorthorn  and  Hereford  cattle  and  an  ex- 
cellent grade  of  swine,  of  which  latter  he  ships 
about  a  carload  each  year,  while  his  average 
herd  of  cattle  numbers  about  one  hundred  head, 
Mr.  Jacobson  has  made  excellent  improvements 
on  his  place,  including  a  good  residence  and 
other  substantial  buildings  properly  adapted  to 
the  uses  to  which  they  are  applied,  while  he  has 
about  twenty  acres  of  cottonw'ood  and  ash  trees, 
which  were  planted  by  himself  and  which  are 
now  well  matured,  adding  materially  to  the  at- 
tractions of  his  fine  ranch.  He  is  a  man  of 
marked  public  spirit  and  has  ever  shown  a  deep 
interest  in  all  that  concerns  the  welfare  of  the 
community.  He  is  a  stanch  Republican  in  his 
political  proclivities,  and  has  served  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  township  board,  while  he  has  also 
held  office  in  his  school  district,  being  an  earnest 
supporter  of  the  cause  of  education  and  having 
given  his  children  the  best  possible  advantages 
in  the  line.  He  and  his  wife  are  consistent  mem- 
bers of  the  Lutheran  church,  and  are  folk  who 
have   the   high    regard   of  all   who   know   them. 


while  he  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  substantial 
farmers  and  business  men  of  the  county. 

On  the  14th  of  January,  1885,  ]\Ir.  Jacobson 
wBs  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Isabelle  Johnson, 
who  was  born  in  Livingston  county,  Illinois, 
being  a  daughter  of  John  and  Caroline 
(Mitchell)  Johnson,  who  were  born  and  reared 
in  Norway,  whence  they  came  to  America  and 
settled  in  Illinois  in  an  early  day.  He  and  his 
wife  became  the  parents  of  seven  children,  of 
whom  five  are  living.  'Sir.  and  Mrs,  Jacobson 
have  five  children,  all  of  whom  still  remain  be- 
neath the  parental  roof,  their  names,  in  order  of 
birth,  being  as  follows:  Grace  O.,  Qara  J.,  Jes- 
sie E.,  Martha  T.  and  James  E. 


JOHN  PUSEY,  one  of  the  leading  members 
of  the  bar  of  Hand  count}',  and  who  has  been 
called  upon  to  serv^e  in  various  offices  of  public 
trust,  including  that  of  county  judge,  while  he 
was  also  a  member  of  the  state  legislature  for 
two  terms  and  postmaster  at  Miller  for  four 
years,  is  a  native  of  Champaign  county,  Illinois, 
having  been  born  on  the  parental  farmstead  on 
the  Sth  of  May,  i860,  and  being  a  son  of  Wil- 
liam R.  and  ^Margaret  (White)  Pusey,  of  whose 
eight  children  he  was  the  fourth  in  order  of 
birth,  while  of  the  number  five  are  living  at  the 
present  time.  "Sir.  Pusey  was  reared  to  the  life 
of  the  farm  and  his  early  educational  training 
was  secured  in  the  district  schools,  after  which 
he  continued  his  studies  in  the  high  school  in 
the  city  of  Champaign.  In  the  meantime  he  had 
taken  up  the  study  of  law,  in  that  city,  having  as 
preceptors  the  firm  of  Lothrop  &  Pusey,  the 
junior  member  of  the  firm  being  his  brother,  who 
was  one  of  the  representative  members  of  the 
bar  of  that  county.  After  attending  high  school 
at  Champaign  he  attended  college  at  Westfield, 
Illinois.  While  pursuing  his  collegiate  course 
he  also  devoted  his  attention  to  teaching  in  the 
public  schools  at  such  intervals  as  seemed  ex- 
pedient, and  after  leaving  college  he  resumed  the 
reading  of  law  under  his  former  perceptors.  In 
June,  1882,  Mr,  Pusey  came  to  South  Dakota 
and  located  in  the  village  of  Miller,  as  one  of 


876 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


the  first  practitioners  of  law  in  Hand  county,  the 
village  of  Miller,  now  the  county  seat,  having 
been  founded  only  the  year  previous.  He  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  territory  of  Dakota 
shortly  after  locating  here,  and  has  ever  since 
been  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession, 
save  for  the  intervals  during  which  his  time  and 
attention  have  been  demanded  in  connection  with 
official  duties.  ;\Ir.  Pusey  founded  the  first 
Democratic  newspaper  on  the  line  of  the  Chicago 
&  Northwestern  Railroad  between  Huron  and 
Pierre,  in  what  is  now  South  Dakota.  This 
paper  was  known  as  the  Miller  Gazette  and  had 
its  inception  in  1883.  He  continued  as  editor 
and  publisher  of  the  Gazette  until  1884,  making 
the  same  a  power  in  connection  with  political 
affairs  in  this  section  of  the  state,  and  in  the 
year  noted  he  disposed  of  the  property,  the  pub- 
lication of  tlie  paper  being  continued  at  the 
present  time. 

Mr.  Pusev  has  been  specially  active  in  con- 
nection with  public  affairs  and  is  one  of  the 
leaders  of  the  Democratic  party  in  the  state, 
while  it  was  his  distinction  to  hold  the  position 
of  chainrian  of  the  Democratic  state  central  com- 
mittee in  1900  and  1902.  He  is  a  man  of  positive 
character  and  marked  executive  ability,  and  in 
the  capacity  noted  he  marshalled  his  forces  with 
consummate  ability  and  discrimination.  In  1892 
he  was  elected  to  the  bench  of  the  counts'  court 
and  served  thereon  for  a  term  of  two  years,  at 
the  expiration  of  which,  under  the  administra- 
tion of  President  Cleveland,  he  was  appointed 
postmaster  of  Miller,  serving  until  1899,  when 
he  was  elected  to  represent  his  district  in  the 
state  legislature,  serving  during  the  general  as- 
sembly of  1899  and  making  a  most  enviable 
record  as  a  conscientious  and  able  legislator  and 
one  signally  true  to  the  interests  of  his  constit- 
uency. In  this  connection  he  gained  prominence 
and  marked  popular  commendation  by  reason  of 
his  able  and  uncompromising  efforts  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  bill  introduced  in  the  house  to  create 
a  system  of  state  dispensatories  for  the  sale  of 
intoxicating  liquors,  such  as  is  in  existence  in 
South  Carolina  at  the  present  time,  and  it  was 
largely  due  to  him  that  the  bill  met  a  decisive 


defeat,  thus  avoiding  to  the  commonwealth  the 
ignominy  of  legalized  partnership  in  the  liquor 
traffic-  In  1900  Mr.  Pusey  was  elected  state's 
attorney  of  Hand  county,  in  which  office  he 
served  one  term,  since  which  time  he  has  given 
his  attention  to  the  active  work  of  his  profes- 
sion, retaining  a  large  and  representative  client- 
age and  having  high  prestige  at  the  bar  of  his 
adopted  state.  Fraternally,  he  is  identified  with 
the  Masonic  order,  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Mod- 
ern Woodmen  of  America,  in  which  last  men- 
tioned he  was  delegate  to  the  head  camp  in  1894 
and  state  consul  for  the  preceding  three  years. 


ANDREW  J.  FAULK,  third  territorial  gov- 
ernor of  Dakota,  born  at  jMilford,  Pike  county, 
Pennsylvania,  November  26,  1814,  while  his 
father,  John  Faulk,  was  absent  in  the  war  of  1812, 
Came  to  Dakota  in  1861  and  was  appointed  gov- 
ernor by  President  Johnson  in  1866,  serving 
four  years.  He  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life 
in    Yankton,    where   he    died    on    September    5. 


JAMES  E.  ^^'ELLS,  who  represents  the 
fourth  ward  on  the  board  of  aldermen  of  the 
city  of  Mitchell,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Cam- 
bria, Columbia  county,  Wisconsin,  on  the  23d  of 
May,  1858.  being  a  son  of  Ora  B.  and  Sarah  T. 
(Campbell)  Wells,  to  whom  were  born  four 
children,  namely:  Roderick  C,  who  is  a  resident 
of  La  Crosse,  Wisconsin:  Charles  L.,  who  re- 
sides in  Lincoln  county.  South  Dakota :  Sarah 
A.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Isaac  R.  Bagley,  of  Can- 
ton, this  state;  and  James  E.,  who  is  the  im- 
mediate subject  of  this  sketch.  Ora  B.  Wells 
was  born  in  Genesee  county.  New  York,  and  his 
wife  was  bom  in  the  province  of  Ontario, 
Canada,  having  moved  thence  to  the  state  of  New 
York  when  a  child  and  being  reared  in  the  home 
of  relatives,  her  parents  having  died  when  she 
w<as  about  one  year  of  age.  The  father  of  our 
subject  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  as  a  young  man,  he  was  employed 
by  a  merchant  in  the  capacit\-  of  teamster,   all 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


877 


merchandise  at  that  time  having  been  trans- 
ported bv  wagon.  In  the  early  'fifties  he  came  ; 
west  to  Wisconsin,  in  which  state  he  followed 
various  vocations,  having  been  engaged  in  the 
grain  business  for  some  time  and  also  having 
been  a  contractor  and  builder,  while  for  several 
years  he  was  assistant  postmaster  at  Bangor.  In 
1873  ^^  came  as  a  pioneer  to  what  is  now  the 
state  of  South  Dakota,  locating  seven  miles  north 
of  Canton,  Lincoln  county,  where  he  purchased  a 
quarter  section  of  land,  thereafter  devoting  his 
attention  to  farming  and  stock  growing  until 
1886,  when  he  retired,  coming  to  Mitchell,  where 
he  and  his  devoted  wife  died.  He  wfas  a  stanch 
advocate  of  the  principles  of  the  Republican 
party,  while  his  four  brothers  all  gave  allegiance 
to  the  Democracy. 

James  E.  Wells  acquired  his  early  educational 
discipline  in  the  public  schools  of  Wisconsin, 
and  when  but  thirteen  years  of  age  began  to  de- 
pend to  a  certain  extent  upon  his  own  re- 
sources, manifesting  that  energy  and  self- 
reliance  which  have  been  dominating  character- 
istics of  the  man  during  his  entire  career.  In 
1879,  after  the  crops  had  proved  a  failure  for 
five  successive  years,  he  left  the  homestead  farm 
in  Lincoln  county,  this  state,  proceeding  to  Jack- 
son, ]\Iinnesota.  before  he  succeeded  in  finding 
employment.  He  went  to  work  in  a  harvest  field 
in  that  locality.  He  then  secured  a  position  in  a 
lumber  yard  at  Jackson,  where  he  was  employed 
about  eight  months,  then  resigning  by  reason  of 
the  fact  that  business  was  so  slack  that  he  found 
nothing  to  do,  though  his  employer  wished  him 
to  continue  in  his  service.  Mr.  Wells,  however, 
felt  that  this  was  hardly  expedient  and  he  thus 
secured  employment  in  a  hardware  store  in  the 
same  town,  where  he  remained  until  the  spring 
of  1880,  when  he  started  to  return  to  his  home 
in  South  Dakota,  the  nearest  railroad  station  at 
the  time  being  at  Luverne,  Minnesota,  twenty- 
one  miles  distant,  and  this  portion  of  his  journey 
he  traversed  on  foot.  He  assisted  his  father  in 
putting  in  the  spring  crops  and  also  those  of  a 
neighbor,  aiding  in  the  seeding  of  all  the  crops 
raised  on  the  two  farms  that  year,  the  resulting 
harvest  giving  but  thirty-five  bushels  of  oats,  by 


machine  measure,  with  a  weight  of  fourteen 
pounds  to  the  bushel,  grasshoppers  having  de- 
stro\'ed  the  crops.  After  the  planting  was  com- 
pleted Mr.  Wells  went  to  the  village  of  Canton, 
where  he  secured  employment  in  a  lumber  yard 
conducted  by  C.  A.  Bedford.  He  resigned  about 
four  months  later  and  shortly  afterward  H.  W. 
Ross,  of  the  Oshkosh  Lumber  Company,  ten- 
dered him  a  position  in  the  company's  yards  at 
Mitchell,  in  which  city  he  took  up  his  residence 
in  the  fall  of  1880.  The  following  summer  he 
was  offered  a  more  remunerative  position  by  F. 
E.  Moses,  a  local  lumber  dealer,  and  continued 
in  the  employ  of  this  gentleman  about  four  years, 
when  Mr.  Moses  sold  out.  The  subject  then  se- 
cured a  position  with  the  J.  M.  LeVake  Lum- 
ber Company,  with  which  he  continued  to  be 
thus  identified  until  January,  1889,  having  been 
elected  to  the  office  of  register  of  deeds  of 
Davison  county  the  preceding  fall.  He  continued 
incumbent  of  this  office  for  six  successive  years, 
and  after  the  expiration  of  his  second  term  en- 
gaged in  the  abstract,  insurance  and  real-estate 
business  in  Mitchell,  his  previous  official  work 
having  proved  of  much  value  to  him  in  the 
handling  of  his  new  enterprise,  in  which  he  has 
since  continued,  having  built  up  a  large  and 
prosperous  business.  During  the  greater  portion 
of  this  interval  he  has  also  been  the  local  agent 
of  the  American  Express  Company,  being  in- 
cumbent of  the  position  at  the  present  time.  He 
is  a  stanch  Republican  in  his  political  proclivities, 
and  in  addition  to  serving  as  register  of  deeds,  as 
noted,  he  held  the  office  of  clerk  of  the  board  of 
education  for  two  years,  while  he  was  alderman 
from  the  second  ward  for  two  terms,  and  is  the 
present  representative  of  the  fourth  ward,  in 
which  he  now  resides.  He  is  a  prominent  frater 
of  the  Masonic  order,  being  affiliated  with  Resur- 
gam  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons; 
Mitchell  Chapter,  Rfjyal  Arch  IMasons ;  St.  Bern- 
ard Commander}-,  No.  16,  Knights  Templar;  El 
Riad  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  the 
Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  in  Sioux  Falls; 
and  Starlight  Chapter,  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star. 
He  is  also  identified  with  Mitchell  Lodge,  No. 
69,   Ancient  Order  of    United    Workmen,    and 


878 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


4 

1 


with   the   organization   of   the   Order  of   Home 
Guardians  at  Canton. 

In  October,  1883,  ^^^-  Wells  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Fanny  Wedehase,  of  Lancaster, 
Wisconsin,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  three 
children,  Ora  B.,  Frederick  A.  and  James  Earl, 
the  two  elder  sons  being  assistants  in  their 
father's  office. 


GEORGE  A.  SILSBY  is  a  native  of  the  city 
of  Rock-ford.  Illinois,  where  he  was  born  on  the 
28th  of  March,  1847,  being  a  son  of  Harvey 
Hammond  and  Melinda  (Stearns)  Silsby,  both 
of  whom  were  born  in  New  Hampshire,  coming 
of  English  lineage,  while  both  family  names  have 
been  identified  with  the  annals  of  "New  England 
from  the  early  colonial  era  in  our  national  his- 
tory, the  first  of  the  Silsbys  in  the  new  world 
having  come  here  in  1634.  The  father  of  the 
subject  was  numbered  among  the  pioneers  of 
Illinois,  where  he  followed  the  vocation  of  a 
merchant  and  where  both  he  and  his  wife  passed 
the  closing  }ears  of  their  lives,  honored  by  all 
who  knew  them.    . 

The  subject  of  this  review  was  reared  in  his 
native  city,  in  whose  public  schools  he  secured 
his  early  educational  training,  initiating  his  in- 
dependent career  while  still  a  mere  lad,  since  at 
the  age  of  fourteen  years  he  entered  upon  an  ap- 
prenticeship at  the  machinist's  trade,  becoming  a 
skilled  mechanic  and  being  engaged  in  the  work 
of  his  trade  at  the  time  of  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  of  the  Rebellion.  In  1862  he  manifested  his 
loyalty  to  the  Union  by  enlisting  as  a  private  in 
Company  F,  Seventy-fourth  Illinois  Volunteer 
Infantry,  with  which  he  went  to  the  front  and 
served  until  the  expiration  of  his  term,  when  he 
re-enlisted,  becoming  a  member  of  Company  K, 
One  Hundred  and  Thirty-second  Illinois  Vol- 
unteer Infantry,  in  which  he  was  made  corporal 
of  his  company,  and  he  thereafter  continued  in 
active  service  as  such  until  the  close  of  the  war, 
when  he  received  his  honorable  discharge,  hav- 
ing taken  part  in  many  of  the  important  engage- 
ments of  the  great  fratricidal  conflict  and  having 
proved  himself  a  faithful  and  valiant  soldier  of 


the  republic.  After  the  close  of  his  military 
service  he  returned  to  Illinois,  where  he  was 
engaged  in  the  work  of  his  trade  for  a  few  years 
and  then  established  himself  in  the  shoe  busi- 
ness at  Rockford,  while  later  he  became  a  travel- 
ing salesman  for  one  of  the  leading  wholesale 
shoe  houses  in  the  city  of  Utica,  Xew  York, 
being  thus  engaged  until  1880,  when  he  came  to 
what  is  now  the  state  of  South  Dakota  and  cast 
in  his  lot  with  the  people  of  Mitchell,  which  was 
then  a  small  and  straggling  village.  Here  he 
was  for  a  number  of  years  engaged  in  the  United 
States  land  office,  while  he  became  one  of  the 
representative  citizens  and  business  men  of  the 
place.  In  18S3  he  was  appointed  postmaster  of 
the  city,  in  which  capacity  he  served  two  and 
a  half  \ears,  having  been  removed  by  President 
Cleveland  to  make  place  for  a  Democrat.  He  is 
at  the  time  of  this  writing  holding  the  office  of 
mayor  of  the  city,  giving  a  most  capable  and 
satisfactory  administration  of  the  municipal 
government  and  doing  all  in  his  power  to 
forward  the  best  interests  of  the  city  by  a 
straightforward  and  progressive  business  and 
executive  policy.  In  1899  he  was  appointed 
national  bank  examiner  for  the  state,  in  which 
I  capacity  he  has  since  continued  to  render  most 
'  efficient  service.  In  politics  he  has  ever  been  an 
uncompromising  advocate  of  the  principles  and 
policies  of  the  Republican  party  and  has  been 
one  of  its ,  wheel-horses  in  the  state.  He  is  one 
of  the  leading  memljers  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic  in  South  Dakota,  being  identified 
with  Ransom  Post,  No.  6,  at  ]\Iitchell,  while  in 
1889-90  he  had  the  distinction  of  being  com- 
mander of  the  Grand  Army  for  the  department 
of  Dakota  territor\-,  having  been  incumbent  of 
the  office  at  the  time  the  territory  was  divided 
and  the  two  states  admitted  to  the  Union.  He 
early  became  identified  with  the  National  Guard 
of  the  state,  and  from  1891  to  1895  served  as 
adjutant  general  of  the  same.  He  is  also 
affiliated  with  the  Masonic  fraternity,  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks. 

On  the  25th  of    February,    1868,    was    cele- 
brated the  marriage  of  Mr.  Silsby  to  Miss  Emily 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


879 


Denvent,  who  was  born  in  Rockford,  Illinois,  on 
the  1st  of  October,  1847,  being  a  daughter  of 
Edmond  Derwent,  a  prominent  citizen  of  that 
place,  where  she  was  reared  and  educated.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Silsby  have  two  children,  Mabel  Claire, 
who  is  now  the  wife  of  Herbert  E.  Hitchcock, 
and  Maude  Muller,  who  is  the  wife  of  Harrv  G. 
Nichols. 


W.  E.  TIPTON,  of  Armour,  Douglas 
county,  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  Missouri,  hav- 
ing been  born  in  Schuyler  county,  on  the  loth  of 
June,  1854,  a  son  of  Jabez  B.  and  Isabel 
(Wright)  Tipton.  The  ancestry  in  the  agnatic 
line  is  traced  back  to  two  brothers  who  emi- 
grated from  England  to  America  and  landed  in 
either  Baltimore  or  Philadelphia,  while  finally 
one  ofthem  located  in  Virginia  and  the  other  in 
the  state  of  New  York,  and  the  Virginian  later 
came  west  and  took  up  his  permanent  residence 
in  Kentucky,  and  it  is  from  this  pioneer  of  that 
state  that  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  descended. 
Joel  Tipton,  grandfather  of  the  subject,  was  one 
of  the  colony  which  accompanied  Daniel  Boone 
from  Kentucky  to  Missouri,  and  for  a  number 
of  \ears  he  was  an  associate  of  that  historic  char- 
acter, being  a  close  personal  friend.  Jabez  B. 
Tipton  passed  his  entire  life  in  Missouri,  his  vo- 
cation being  that  of  farming.  His  wife,  the 
mother  of  the  subject,  was  an  Illinoisan  by  birth. 

W.  E.  Tipton  was  reared  on  the  homestead 
farm  in  Missouri  and  after  availing  himself  of 
the  advantages  afforded  in  the  public  schools  he 
continued  his  studies  in  the  state  normal  school, 
at  Kirksville.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  years  he 
began  teaching  in  the  public  schools,  and  by  this 
means  he  earned  the  money  with  which  he  was 
enabled  to  carry  forward  his  studies  in  the  nor- 
mal school,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1880, 
with  the  highest  honors  in  his  class,  and  after- 
ward taking  the  post-graduate  course,  with  the 
degree  of  Master  of  Arts.  He  served  as  su- 
perintendent of  schools  at  Queen  City,  Glenwood, 
Lathrop  and  Lamar,  iMissouri,  and  while  in  ten- 
ure of  the  position  in  Lamar  he  also  served  as 


superintendent  of  schools  of  Barton  county.  At 
that  time  also  he  began  the  study  of  law  with 
the  definite  intention  of  preparing  himself  for 
the  practice  of  this  profession,  having  previously 
carried  on  his  studies  along  the  line,  but  in  a 
somewhat  desultory  way.  While  at  Lamar  he 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  faculty  of  the  state 
normal  school  at  Warrensburg,  but  the  school 
board  refused  to  accept  his  resignation,  and  such 
was  the  estimate  of  his  value  and  ability  as  an 
instnictor  that  the  position  as  a  member  of  the 
faculty  of  the  normal  school  was  held  open  for 
him  for  a  period  of  two  years.  Within  this  time, 
however,  Mr.  Tipton  had  decided  to  withdraw 
from  the  pedagogic  profession  and  devote  his  at- 
tention to  that  of  the  law,  and  in  consonance 
with  this  decision  he  resigned  the  position  at  the 
normal  without  having  actually  filled  it  at  any 
time.  His  duties  in  Lamar  had  been  so  varied 
and  onerous  that  his  health  became  seriously 
impaired,  and  this  is  not  to  be  considered  strange 
when  we  take  cognizance  of  the  fact  that  not 
only  was  he  superintendent  of  the  city  and 
county  schools,  but  was  also  associate  editor  of 
the  State  Teachers'  Journal,  editor  of  the  edu- 
cational department  of  a  local  paper,  interested 
in  the  real-estate  business,  and  the  while  care- 
fully continuing  his  legal  studies.  He  was  thus 
compelled  to  call  a  halt  and  endeavor  to  recuper- 
ate his  wasted  energies.  In  1883  he  resigned 
his  position  as  county  superintendent  of  schools 
and  came  to  South  Dakota  for  the  benefit  of  his 
health,  locating  in  Douglas  county.  He  had 
been  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Missouri  the  pre- 
ceding year,  and  after  his  removal  to  South 
Dakota  he  opened  an  office  in  Grand  View,  which 
was  tlien  the  county  seat  of  Douglas  county,  and 
there  continued  to  be  successfully  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession  until  the  town  of 
Armour  was  projected.  He  then  became  one  of 
the  founders  and  builders  of  the  new  town,  in 
which  he  was  one  of  the  early  settlers,  and  here 
he  has  ever  since  maintained  his  home,  having 
contriliuted  materiallv  to  the  advancement  of  its 
best  interests  and  being  one  of  its  most  honored 
and  valued  citizens,  while  he  has  gained  a  state 
reputation  as  one  of  the  leading  members  of  its 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH  DAKOTA. 


bar,  his  talent  and  devotion  to  his  profession 
having  gained  him  distinctive  prestige,  while  his 
clientage  is  of  representative  order.  He  is  a 
stanch  Republican  in  his  political  views,  and  he 
was  appointed  district  attorney  in  1884,  serving 
two  years,  while  he'  was  elected  to  the  office  in 
1886.  for  a  tenn  of  two  years.  He  also  served 
one  term  as  state's  attorney  of  Douglas  county, 
while  for  two  terms  he  presided  with  marked 
ability  on  the  bench  of  the  county  court.  Judge 
Tipton  was  president  of  the  board  of  education 
of  Armour  for  several  years,  and  for  five  years 
was  a  member  of  the  board  of  regents  of  the 
State  University,  having  ever  retained  a  lively  in- 
terest in  the  cause  of  popular  education.  In  1901 
he  was  appointed  president  of  the  state  board 
of  charities  and  corrections,  serving  two  years, 
and  recently  the  board  was  reorganized  and  our 
subject  was  chosen  secretary,  this  executive  posi- 
tion being  one  for  which  he  is  particularly  well 
qualified,  and  he  resigned  the  presidency  because 
he  felt  that  as  secretary  he  could  make  his 
services  of  more  definite  value. 

In  politics  Judge  Tipton  is  a  stalwart  advo- 
cate of  the  principles  and  policies  of  the  Re- 
publican party,  and  he  is  prominently  identified 
-with  the  Masonic  fraternity,  being  affiliated  with 
the  various  bodies  of  the  York  Rite  and  having 
also  attained  the  consistory  degrees  in  the  Scot- 
tish Rite.  He  also  holds  membership  in  the  ad- 
junct order  of  the  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine, 
and  in  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  in  which  he  is  now 
supreme  representative,  having  held  the  highest 
offices  in  the  lodge  for  the  past  eight  years.  He 
and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  and  take  a  zealous  interest  in 
the  various  departments  of  its  work. 

On  the  29th  of  December.  i88r.  Judge  Tip- 
ton was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Myra 
Amsden.  of  Greene  county.  Iowa,  who  died  in 
1890,  being  survived  by  her  only  child,  Gerald 
P..  who  is  now  in  business  in  Quincy,  Illinois. 
On  the  loth  of  October.  1894,  Judge  Tipton 
contracted  a  second  marriage,  being  then  united 
to  Miss  Emily  Rogers,  of  Mitchell,  South  Da- 
kota, and  they  are  the  parents  of  four  children, 
Bernice.  Mark  R..  Sterling  J.  and  Gwyneth. 


REV.  JOHN  J.  REIUAND.— The  priest- 
hood of  the  great  mother  church  has  an  able  and 
earnest  young  representative  in  the  person  of 
Father  Reiland.  who  is  installed  in  charge  of  the 
congregation  of  Sacred  Heart  church,  in  Parks- 
ton.  Hutchinson  county,  the  parish  organization 
having  been  effected  in  1891,  while  through  the 
zealous  efforts  of  the  pastor  and  people  the  fine 
new  church  building  will  have  been  completed 
by  the  time  this  histor\'  is  issued  from  the  press. 

Father  Reiland  is  a  native  of  Luxemberg, 
Europe,  where  he  was  bom  on  the  9th  of  May, 
1868,  being  a  son  of  John  and  Ann  Mary^ 
(Ba^tholome)  Reiland.  who  bade  adieu  to  home 
and  native  land  in  1869  and  emigrated  to  the 
United  States,  locating  in  Wabasha  county.  ^lin- 
nesota,  as  pioneers  of  that  section,  where  they 
still  maintain  their  home.  The  subject  of  this 
tribute  has  thus  passed  practically  his  entire  life 
in  America,  having  been  about  one  year  of  age 
at  the  time  of  his  parents'  removal  to  the  new 
world.  After  receiving  his  rudimentarv-  edu- 
cational discipline  in  the  parochial  schools  he 
passed  six  years  in  St.  Francis  Seminan',  at  St. 
Francis.  Wisconsin,  after  which,  in  pursuance 
of  his  definite  plans  of  preparing  himself  for  the 
priesthood  of  the  church,  he  went  to  the  city  of 
Rome,  where  for  four  years  he  was  a  student 
in  the  Propaganda  College,  being  ordained  to 
the  priesthood,  at  the  Gregorian  University,  on 
the  28th  of  October,  1891.  After  his  return  to 
America  he  came  to  South  Dakota  and  was  pas- 
tor at  White  Lake  for  one  and  one-half  years, 
then  ^eing  in  charge  of  the  parish  of  Sacred 
Heart  church  at  Aberdeen  for  the  ensuing  four 
years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  he  came  to 
Parkston,  as  pastor  of  the  parish  of  Sacred 
Heart  church,  over  which  he  has  remained  in 
charge  for  the  past  six  years,  infusing  zeal  and 
devotion  into  the  spiritual  and  temporal  affairs 
of  the  church,  gaining  the  affection  and  co- 
operation of  his  people  and  the  respect  and  con- 
fidence of  all  who  know  him,  and  showing  in  all 
the  relations  of  life  his  earnest  consecration  to 
his  holy  calling.  Father  Reiland  may  well  look 
with  satisfaction  on  the  work  he  has  here  ac- 
complished, and  the  new  and  attractive  church 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


edifice  will  stand  as  a  monument  to  his  earnest 
labors  and  indefatigable  energy  and  his  devo- 
tion to  the  service  of  the  divine  Master.  In  con- 
nection with  the  church  there  is  a  parochial 
school  in  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph 
(Concordia,  Kansas),  with  an  attendance  of  one 
■hundred  and  twentv  children. 


JOHN  A.  BURBANK,  fourth  territorial  gov- 
ernor of  Dakota,  born  in  Centerville,  Wayne 
county,  Indiana,  in  1827.  Was  appointed  gov- 
ernor to  succeed  Andrew  J.  Faulk  by  President 
Grant.  At  the  close  of  his  term  returned  to  In- 
diana and  still  resides  at  New  Richmond,  that 
state. 


JOHN  S.  MUELLER,  one  of  the  prominent 
and  essentially  representative  young  business 
men  of  Parkston,  Hutchinson  county,  \vas  born 
in  the  southern  part  of  Russia,  on  the  24th  of 
March,  1870.  being  a  son  of  Johann  and  Wil- 
lielmina  (Hass)  Mueller,  who  emigrated  from 
the  fatherland  to  America  in  May,  1881,  landing 
in  New  York  city  and  thence  coming  to  what 
is  now  the  state  of  South  Dakota,  where  the 
father  entered  homestead  and  pre-emption  claims 
nine  miles  southeast  of  Parkston,  becoming  one 
•of  the  pioneers  of  the  county  and  here  continu- 
ing to  reside  until  his  death,  on  the  ist  of  Sep- 
tember, 1898,  at  which  time  he  was  sixty-six 
years  of  age.  He  was  a  Republican  in  politics, 
a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church  and  a  man  of 
inflexible  integrity  in  all  the  relations  of  life. 
His  widow  has  now  attained  the  age  of  seventy 
years  and  still  resides  on  the  homestead  farm, 
while  she  likewise  is  a  devoted  member  of  the 
Lutheran  church. 

The  subject  of  this  review  was  about  eleven 
years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  parents'  emi- 
gration to  America,  his  early  educational  in- 
struction having  thus  been  secured  in  the 
fatherland,  while  after  locating  in  South  Dakota 
"he  was  enabled  to  attend  the  public  schools  and 
also  the  academy  at  Scotland.  In  1890  he  se- 
cured  employment  as  salesman   for  a   dealer  in 


agricultural  implements,  in  Scotland,  being  thus 
employed  during  one  summer,  while  during  the 
following  winter  he  was  engaged  in  teaching, 
as  was  he  also  for  two  winters  succeeding,  while 
during  the  intervening  summers  he  found  em- 
ployment as  assessor  and  also  in  various  mer- 
cantile establishments,  in  a  clerical  capacity.  In 
January',  1893,  he  was  appointed  deputy  county 
treasurer  of  Hutchinson  county,  continuing  to 
retain  this  preferment  about  four  years.  In  the 
autumn  of  1896  he  was  elected  auditor  of  the 
county,  and  this  incumbency  he  retained  two 
terms,  giving  a  most  able  and  satisfactory  ad- 
ministration, while  during  his  last  year  of  service 
he  was  also  engaged  in  the  real-estate  and  loan 
business.  In  ]\Iarch,  1901,  at  the  expiration  of 
his  second  term,  Mr.  Mueller  came  to  Parkston 
and  purchased  stock  in  the  Hutchinson  County 
Bank,  of  which  he  was  made  assistant  cashier, 
the  agreement  made  in  the  connection  being  that 
he  might  withdraw  at  any  time  within  the  year 
should  he  so  desire.  He  was  unable  to  secure 
as  much  stock  in  the  institution  as  he  wished  and 
also  found  the  sedentary  occupation  somewhat 
irksome,  and  thus,  at  the  end  of  six  months,  he 
resigned  his  executive  position  and  purchased  the 
interest  of  Christian  Rempfer  in  the  implement 
business  of  the  firm  of  Rempfer  &  Doering,  the 
enterprise  being  then  extended  in  scope,  and 
carried  forward  under  the  title  of  the  Parkston 
Land  and  Implement  Company.  On  the  nth  of 
April,  1903,  the  company  was  incorporated  under 
the  laws  of  the  state,  with  Mr.  Mueller  as  secre- 
tary and  treasurer,  and  ere  this  work  is  issued 
from  the  press  the  company  will  have  completed 
their  modern  brick  block,  in  which  they  will 
carry  a  full  line  of  hardware,  in  connection  with 
their  land  and  implement  business.  Mr.  Mueller 
is  also  a  stockholder  in  the  South  Dakota  Grain 
Company,  one  of  the  leading  concerns  of  the  sort 
in  this  section  of  the  state,  and  he  is  known  as  a 
man  of  progressive  ideas,  high  administrative 
and  executive  ability  and  sterling  integrity  of 
purpose.  He  is  a  stalwart  advocate  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Republican  party,  and  both  he  and 
his  wife  are  prominent  and  valued  members  of 
the   Lutheran  church,  he  being  an  elder  in  the 


882 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


local  organization  and  treasurer  of  the  three  con- 
gregations constituting  this  parish. 

On  the  22d  of  January,  1892,  was  solemnized 
the  marriage  of  Mr.  iMueller  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
C.  Gall,  of  Menno,  this  state,  and  they  are  the 
parents  of  six  children,  Edmund  J.,  Leontina  C, 
Amalia  A.,  Reinhart  R.  G.,  Berthold  E.  L.  and 
Laura  L.  L. 


JOHN  DOERING,  a  representative  and 
progressive  business  man  of  Parkston,  Hutchin- 
son county,  was  born  in  the  southern  part  of 
Russia,  .which  great  empire  has  contributed  a 
not  inconsiderable  quota  to  the  valued  population 
of  South  Dakota,  the  date  of  his  nativity  having 
been  February  2,  1868,  while  he  is  a  son  of 
Gottlieb  and  Juliana  (Lempke)  Doering,  who 
emigrated  to  America  when  he  was  about  twelve 
years  of  age,  coming  to  South  Dakota  and  pass- 
ing one  year  in  IMenno,  Hutchinson  county,  after 
which  they  removed  to  a  farm  seven  miles  south- 
oast  of  Parkston,  where  they  have  since  main- 
tained their  home,  being  numbered  among  the 
worthy  pioneers  of  this  section  of  the  state. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  received  excellent 
educational  advantages  in  his  native  country, 
but  was  able  to  attend  school  only  three  months 
after  the  removal  of  the  family  to  the  United 
States,  for  institutions  of  learning,  even  of  the 
primitive  sort,  were  notable  more  specially  for 
their  absence  in  the  pioneer  districts  of  South 
Dakota  at  the  time  when  the  family  located  here. 
On  June  7,  1892,  Mr.  Doering  was  married  to 
Miss  Louisa  Eberhard,  of  this  county,  and 
shortly  afterward  he  came  to  Parkston,  where  he 
erected  and  equipped  a  grist  mill,  operating  the 
same  for  two  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  he 
disposed  of  the  property  and  engaged  in  the 
giain  business  as  a  buyer  for  others,  thus  con- 
tinuing about  three  years.  In  1897  he  turned  his 
attention  to  dealing  in  agricultural  implements 
and  machinery  and  the  same  year,  in  compan)- 
with  two  others,  purchased  two  elevators  in 
Parkston.  operating  one  under  the  finn  name  of 
Doering  &  Company  and  the  other  under  the 
title  of  Rempfer,   Kayser  &  Company.     Subse- 


quently the  interested  principals  effected  the  or- 
ganization of  the  South  Dakota  Grain  Company 
and  purchased  nine  other  elevators,  at  different 
points,  and  these  nine  elevators  are  conducted 
by  the  company  mentioned,  while  the  original 
two  in  Parkston  are  still  maintained  under  the 
control  of  the  firms  previously  noted,  while  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  has  held  the  responsible 
office  of  general  manager  of  the  South  Dakota 
Grain  Company  from  the  time  of  its  organiza- 
tion, the  concern  being  among  the  heaviest  buy- 
ers and  shippers  of  grain  in  the  state,  while  the 
responsibilities  devolving  upon  Mr.  Doering  in- 
dicate that  he  is  a  man  of  excellent  executive 
ability.  Mr.  Doering  and  John  Kayser  are  now 
the  sole  owners  of  the  nine  elevators  outside,  and 
Mr.  Doering  holds  stock  in  the  Parkston  Land 
and  Implement  Company,  of  which  he  is  vice- 
president,  and  he  is  also  manager  of  the  South 
Dakota  Grain  Company.  He  is  candid  and 
honorable  in  all  his  transactions  and  retains  the 
unequivocal  confidence  and  esteem  of  all  who 
know  him.  while  he  is  recognized  as  one  of  the 
substantial  men  and  representative  citizens  of 
the  county.  He  is  the  owner  of  two  hundred  and 
eighty  acres  of  valuable  farming  land  in  Hutch- 
inson county  and  has  reason  to  be  gratified  with 
the  success  which  he  has  attained  through  his 
energetic  and  progressive  efforts.  In  politics  he 
holds  the  faith  of  the  Republican  party,  being  a 
member  of  the  common  council  of  his  home  cit}- 
at  the  time  of  this  writing,  and  both  he  and  his 
wife  are  zealous  members  of  the  Lutheran 
church. 


MAZAR  JANDREAU  comes  of  stanch 
French  lineage  and  was  born  in  Canada  on  the 
4th  of  July,  1853,  being  a  son  of  Ferdinand  and 
Estracia  (Igout)  Jandreau,  whose  five  children 
are  all  living.  When  the  subject  was  two  years 
of  age  his  parents  came  from  Canada  to  the 
northwest,  settling  in  Sioux  City.  Iowa,  which 
was  then  a  small  village,  and  there  contiiuied  to 
reside  for  five  years.  They  then  removed  into 
Nebraska,  which  state  continued  to  be  their 
home  for  forty  years  and  up  to  the  time  of  their 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


death,  while  they  were  numbered  among  the 
sterling  pioneers  of  that  commonwealth,  where 
the  father  devoted  his  attention  to  farming  and 
stock  raising.  Our  subject  secured  his  early 
educational  discipline  in  the  schools  of  Nebraska 
and  while  still  a  boy  set  forth  to  carve  out  an  in- 
dependent career.  In  187 1  he  came  to  the  ter- 
ritory of  Dakota  and  secured  a  position  as  stage- 
driver  on  the  route  between  Fort  Randall  and 
Fort  Thompson,  being  thus  employed  for  a 
period  of  three  years.  In  1875  he  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Louise  Redfield.  a  quarter- 
blooded  Indian  of  the  Yankton  Sioux  extraction, 
her  father  having  been  one  of  the  early  Indian 
agents  in  the  government  employ  in  Dakota. 
After  his  death  his  widow  became  the  wife  of 
Lizzim  Archambean,  of  whom  specific  mention 
is  made  on  another  page  of  this  work.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Jandreau  became  the  parents  of  twelve 
children,  of  whom  seven  are  living.  The  subject 
and  his  family  jointly  own  five  hundred  and  j 
eight  acres  of  land,  the  major  portion  of  which 
is  used  for  grazing  purposes.  Mr.  Jandreau  is 
a  member  of  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America 
and  he  and  his  famih-  are  members  of  the 
Catholic  church. 

Mr.  Jandreau  has  traveled  extensively 
through  the  west,  both  in  the  early  days  and  in 
later  years.  At  the  age  of  twelve  years  he  left 
his  father's  home  in  Nebraska  and  made  the 
trip  across  the  plains  and  mountains  to  Denver, 
Colorado,  having  driven  a  freight  team  from 
Nebraska  City  to  Denver,  in  1866,  while  there- 
after he  followed  freighting  along  the  Missouri 
river  for  a  number  of  years,  having  been  fre- 
c|uentl}'  attacked  by  the  Indians. 


DAVID  M.  POWELL  had  the  distinction  of 
being  a  representative  of  Davison  county  in  the 
first  state  legislature  of  South  Dakota  and  is 
also  a  member  of  this  body  at  the  time  of  this 
writing,  while  he  is  known  as  one  of  the  pro- 
gressive and  successful  farmers  and  stock  grow- 
ers of  said  county,  where  he  has  maintained  his 
home  since  1883,  thus  being  one  of  the  pioneers 
of  this  section.    He  served  long  and  faithfully  in 


the  ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
and  is  still  active  in  church  work,  though  not 
exercising  his  clerical  functions  in  a  specific  way. 
Mr.  Powell  was  born  in  Roxbury,  Delaware 
county.  New  York,  on  the  13th  of  April,  1836, 
and  is  a  son  of  Reuben  and  Catherine  (Gould) 
Powell,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  in  the 
state  of  New  York,  to  which  the  family  had 
removed  from  Connecticut  a  few  months  pre- 
viously, and  the  latter  was  a  native  of  Connecti- 
cut, both  families  being  of  Welsh  and  English 
extraction  and  both  having  been  established  in 
New  England  in  the  colonial  epoch  of  our  na- 
tional history.  The  mother  of  our  subject  died 
when  he  was  but  nine  months  of  age,  and  his 
father  subsequently  consummated  a  second  mar- 
riage, passing  his  entire  life  in  the  old  Empire 
state,  where  he  followed  the  vocation  of  farming. 
David  M.  was  reared  on  the  home  farm  and 
secured  his  early  educational  discipline  in  the 
common  schools  of  his  native  town,  while  later 
he  continued  his  studies  in  an  academy  at  Harp- 
ersfield,  Delaware  county,  New  York,  and  sup- 
plemented this  by  a  course  in  an  academy  at 
Roxbury,  that  state.  Thereafter  he  taught  for 
two  years  in  the  schools  of  Halcott,  Greene 
county,  and  three  years  at  Stone  Ridge,  Ulster 
county,  New  York.  In  April,  1859,  after  due 
preliminary  preparation,  he  was  ordained  to  the 
ministrv  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and 
thereafter  continued  uninterruptedly  in  minis- 
terial labors  until  the  spring  of  1883,  when  he 
came  to  what  is  now  the  state  of  South  Dakota 
and  purchased  three  hundred  and  twentv^  acres 
of  deeded  land,  in  Davison  county,  where  he  has 
ever  since  maintained  his  home.  He  has  made 
the  best  of  permanent  improvements  on  his  farm 
and  has  been  successful  in  his  operations  as  an 
agriculturist  and  stock  grower,  notwithstanding 
the  serious  obstacles  which  he  was  compelled  to 
encounter  in  connection  with  the  transformation 
of  virgin  prairies  to  a  condition  of  fruitfulness 
in  the  production  of  crops  for  the  support  of  man 
and  beast.  He  may  well  look  with  naught  of  re- 
gret on  the  toils  and  privations  of  the  pioneer 
days,  in  view  of  the  success  which  has  come  to 
him  iuvu'viduallv  and  the  magnificent  civilization 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


which  has  been  established  in  the  great  domain 
of  the  sovereign  commonwealth  of  which  he  was 
an  early  settler.  Mr.  Powell  became  a  subscriber 
to  Horace  Greeley's  Tribune  in  1854,  and  was 
not  a  voter  at  the  time  of  the  inception  of  the 
Republican  party,  being  thus  unable  to  exercise 
his  franchise  in  support  of  its  first  presidential 
^candidate.  General  John  C.  Fremont,  but  he 
voted  for  Lincoln  in  i860  and  has  ever  since 
been  stanchly  arrayed  in  support  of  the  "grand 
old  party,"  for  whose  even,'  succeeding  presi- 
dential candidate  he  has  voted.  In  the  autumn 
of  1888  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  last  ter- 
ritorial legislature  of  the  territory  of  Da- 
kota, and  in  the  ensuing  general  assembly  did 
effective  service  in  the  framing  of  wise  legisla- 
tion for  the  new  commonwealth,  while  he  was 
again  elected  to  represent  his  district  in  the  first 
state  legislature,  in  the  election  of  November, 
1889.  thus  being  a  member  of  the  first  state  gen- 
eral assembly.  His  interest  in  the  work  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  continues  to  be  of 
fervent  and  practical  order,  and  his  services  are 
in  demand  not  infrequently  as  a  clergA^man,  his 
membership  in  the  church  dating  back  to  the 
time  when  he  was  but  sixteen  years  of  age. 

On  the  4th  of  Februan,',  1864,  was  solemnized 
the  marriage  of  Mr.  Powell  to  Miss  -Ada  Elvira 
Sherwood,  who  was  born  in  Liberty,  Sullivan 
county,  New  York,  on  the  4th  of  February,  1838, 
so  that  the  marriage  was  celebrated  on  her  birth- 
day anniversary'.  The  result  of  this  marriage 
was  one  son,  Arthur  S.,  who  was  born  January 
12,  1865,  but  who  was  summoned  into  eternal 
life  November  2,  1886.  l\Irs.  Ada  Powell  died 
September  6,  1870.  and  on  the  24th  of  October, 
1871,  Mr.  Powell  married  Adaline  Annette  Sher- 
wood, a  sister  of  his  first  wife,  and  to  this  union 
also  was  bom  a  son,  Jason  Gould,  the  date  of  his 
nativity  being  November  24.  1873.  He  is  en- 
gaged in  farming  and  resides  in  Sanborn  county, 
South  Dakota.  Mrs.  Adaline  Powell  died  Janu- 
ary- 28,  1877.  o^  quick  consumption,  and  on 
May  4,  1878,  the  subject  was  married  to  Adelia 
Davidson,  of  Rockland,  Sullivan  county,  New 
York,  and  to  them  was  born  a  daughter,  Elvira. 
l\Trs.  .^dclia  Powell  was  stricken  with  peritonitis 


and  after  an  illness  of  but  four  days  passed 
away  April  8,  1882.  On  the  4th  of  December, 
1883,  Mr.  Powell  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Virginia  E.  Crary,  of  Roxbury,  Delaware  county. 
New  York. 


PETER  SCHENCK.— It  is  signally  fitting 
that  in  this  work  be  entered  a  memoir  of  this 
well-known  pioneer  of  Faulk  county,  for,  while 
he  was  a  resident  of  the  state  for  but  a  few 
years  prior  to  his  death,  he  was  prominently 
identified  with  the  early  history  of  the  develop- 
ment of  Faulk  county.  Mr.  Schenck  came  of 
the  staunch  old  Holland  Dutch  stock  which  had 
so  much  to  do  with  the  early  history  of  the  Em- 
pire state  of  the  union,  of  which  he  was  himself 
a  native,  having  been  born  in  Elmira,  New'  York, 
on  the  9th  of  August,  1845.  While  still  a  child 
his  parents  left  New  York  and  removed  to  Jef- 
ferson county,  Wisconsin,  where  his  father  be- 
came a  pioneer  farmer  and  where  the  subject 
was  reared  to  maturity.  At  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  of  the  Rebellion  he  was  but  sixteen  years 
of  age,  and  his  patriotism  was  roused  to  such  a 
degree  that  when  he  had  attained  the  age  of 
nineteen  he  tendered  his  services  in  defense  of 
the  Union,  enlisting  as  a  private  in  a  regiment  of 
volunteers,  Company  B.  Twenty-ninth  \Vis- 
consin,  and  with  the  same  continued  in  active 
service  until  the  close  of  the  great  conflict,  mak- 
ing the  record  of  a  valiant  and  loyal  young 
soldier  of  the  republic.  After  receiving  his 
honorable  discharge,  Mr.  Schenck  returned  to 
his  home  in  Jeflferson  county,  Wisconsin,  where 
he  remained  a  short  time  and  then  removed  to 
Rock  county,  that  state,  where  he  owned  and 
managed  the  Columbia  Hotel,  at  Emerald  Grove, 
until  1883,  when  he  disposed  of  his  interests 
there  and  came  to  Faulk  county,  South  Dakota, 
where  he  took  up  the  homestead  ranch  of  six 
hundred  and  fort}'  acres  now  owned  by  his 
widow  and  family,  the  same  being  located  eight 
miles  east  of  Faulkton,  the  thriving  count\'  seat. 
j  The  family  were  numbered  among  the  first  set- 
'■  tiers  in  this  section  and  Mr.  Schenck  at  once 
I  initiated  the  improvement  of  his  farm,  continu- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


ing  his  labors  earnestly  and  effectively  until  the 
time  of  his  death,  on  the  19th  day  of  February, 
1887.  He  was  a  man  of  spotless  character,  sig- 
nally true  and  faithful  in  all  the  relations  of  life, 
and  his  death  was  a  grievous  blow  to  his  family, 
though  his  devoted  wife  bravely  assumed  the 
added  responsibility,  and  with  inflexible  deter- 
mination worked  on  with  head,  heart,  and  hands 
for  the  attainment  of  the  ideals  established  years 
before  by  herself  and  husband  for  their  home  and 
family.  She  has  given  her  children  excellent 
educational  advantages  and  all  of  them  have  well 
repaid  her  devotion  and  self-abnegation  by  their 
filial  solicitude  and  willing  assistance  and  co- 
operation. ]\Ir.  Schenck  was  a  Republican  in 
his  political  proclivities  and  took  an  active  and 
intelligent  interest  in  the  questions  of  the  hour, 
being  a  man  of  strong  individuality  and  high 
mentality.  He  was  a  consistent  member  of  the 
•  ]\'Iethodist  church,  as  is  also  his  widow.  He 
was  a  Mason  of  good  standing,  being  a  member 
of  the  Mutual  Masonic  lodge  of  Chicago. 

On  the  2fith  day  of  October,  1866,  at  Luck- 
now,  Ontario,  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of 
l\Ir.  Schenck  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Henderson,  who 
was  born  in  Toronto,  Canada,  being  a  daughter 
of  James  and  Jane  Henderson.  Her  father  was 
a  native  of  Scotland,  whence  he  emigrated  to 
America  when  a  young  man,  locating  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  city  of  Toronto,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  farming  and  where  both  he  and  his 
wife  passed  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  To 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schenck  were  born  ten  children, 
six  sons  and  four  daughters,  six  of  whom  still 
survive :  William  S.  married  Miss  Katie  Joynt, 
an  estimable  young  lady  who  was  connected  with 
the  public  schools  of  Faulk  county  several  years 
prior  to  their  marriage.  He  operates  a  large 
farm  near  the  homestead  ranch ;  Ida  was  married 
Januan-  20,  1904,  to  M.  R.  Staight,  a  prominent 
and  wealthy  mineowner  at  Republic.  Wash- 
ington ;  Florence  is  the  wife  of  G.  F.  Scollard,  a 
Chicago  publisher:  Frank  and  Charles,  who  still 
manage  the  home  place.  Though  mere  boys  at 
the  time  of  their  father's  death,  they  assumed 
full-grown  responsibilities  and  have  at  all  times 
shown    marked    discrimination    and    good   judg- 


ment. They  have  attained  a  success  that  many 
men  of  maturer  minds  could  well  envy,  having 
one  of  the  best  improved  and  most  valuable 
properties  in  the  county ;  Elizabeth  Hazel,  the 
youngest  of  the  family,  also  remains  at  the  home. 
She  is  a  young  lady-  of  vivacious  manner  and 
sparkling  wit,  and  rivals  her  city  friends  in  ar- 
tistic accomplishments.  Next  year  she  will  enter 
the  New,  England  Conservatory  of  Music  at 
Boston,  Massachusetts. 


S.  L.  SPINK,  born  in  Illinois,  1830:  died  in 
Yankton,  188 1.  Came  to  Dakota  in  1865  as  sec- 
retary of  the  territory.  Delegate  to  congress. 
1869-70.    He  was  a  man  of  great  ability. 


^lARTIN  E.  HITT.— The  subject  of  this 
review  is  an  honorable  representative  of  an  old 
and  highly  respected  American  family,  which 
has  been  closely  identified  with  the  history  of 
several  states  and  it  is  also  well  known  that  cer- 
tain of  its  members  have  risen  to  distinguished 
position  in  the  public  aflfairs  of  the  nation. 
Martin  Emory  Hitt  is  a  native  of  Ohio  and  the 
son  of  Rev.  Thomas  and  Emily  Hitt,  the  father 
born  in  Kentucky,  the  mother  in  the  state  of 
Pennsylvania.  Thomas  Hitt  was  reared  in  his 
native  commonwealth  and  when  a  young  man 
entered  the  ministr\'  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  in  which  capacity  he  traveled  extensively 
throughout  Ohio,  Indiana  and  other  states, 
preaching  at  various  points  and  becoming  widely 
and  favorably  known  as  an  able  and  faithful 
minister  of  the  gospel.  After  spending  a  num- 
ber of  years  in  the  itinerancy  he  located  at  Ur- 
bana,  Ohio,  but  three  \-ears  later  removed  to 
Mt.  Morris,  Ogle  county.  Illinois,  where  he  sub- 
sequently closed  a  long  and  useful  career  by  re- 
tiring from  active  life  on  account  of  failing 
health.  Later  he  took  up  his  residence  on  a  farm 
near  the  above  city  and  spent  the  remainder  of 
his  days  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  quiet  and  con- 
tent which  he  had  so  nobly  earned,  dying  about 
the  year  185 1. 

Rev.  Hitt,  in   1830,  was  united  in  marriage 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


with  Miss  Emily  John,  of  Pennsylvania,  who 
bore  him  eight  children  and  departed  this  life 
in  1881.  The  oldest  of  the  children,  a  son  by 
the  name  of  John,  lives  in  Chicago,  where  for 
the  last  thirty-seven  years  he  has  been  serving 
as  first  deputy  collector  of  internal  revenue. 
Hon.  Robert  R.  Hitt,  the  second  of  the  family, 
was  one  of  the  distinguished  public  men  of 
Illinois  and  for  over  twenty  years  represented 
the  old  thirteenth  district  in  the  United  States 
congress.  He  was  first  assistant  secretary  of 
state  under  James  G.  Blaine,  also  served  as  first 
secretary-  to  the  American  legation  to  Paris, 
France,  and  accompanied  General  Grant  on  his 
tour  of  the  world,  having  been  a  warm  friend 
and  personal  confidant  of  the  famous  soldier  and 
distinguished  ex-President.  His  name  has  not 
only  added  luster  to  his  native  state,  but  his 
services  to  the  government  in  different  capacities 
have  won  for  him  a  conspicuous  place  among  the 
leading  statesmen  of  the  Union.  Martin  Emory 
Hitt,  whose  name  introduces  this  sketch,  is  the 
third  in  order  of  birth,  the  fourth  being  Eliza- 
beth, widow  of  Captain  P>enjamin  R.  Wagner, 
of  Washington  count}-,  Maryland.  Captain 
Wagner  entered  the  army  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Civil  war  as  first  lieutenant  of  Company  H, 
Thirty-fourth  Illinois  Infantn^  was  wounded 
at  the  battle  of  Shiloh  and  after  his  recovery  rose 
to  the  rank  of  captain,  in  which  capacity  he 
served  until  the  downfall  of  the  rebellion.  His 
military  career  embraced  a  period  of  nearly  five 
years,  during  the  greater  part  of  which  time  he 
was  on  duty  at  Rock  Island.  Subsequently  he 
was  honored  with  various  public  positions,  in- 
cluding among  others  that  of  deputy  United 
States  marshal,  sheriff,  representative  and  sen- 
ator, in  all  of  which  he  rendered  distinguished 
service  and  made  himself  popular  with  the  peo- 
ple. In  1874  he  came  to  Bon  Homme  county. 
South  Dakota,  and  purchased  a  large  tract  of 
land  to  which  he  moved  his  family  four  years 
later  and  from  1878  to  his  death  he  was  promi- 
nently identified  with  the  public  affairs  of  his 
adopted  state.  He  represented  Bon  Homme 
county  in  the  general  assembly  from  1882  to 
1885    inclusive,    served    for    several    years    as 


trustee  and  commissioner  of  the  board  of  edu- 
cation and  was  also  president  of  the  state  board 
of  education,  in  which  capacity  he  did  much  to 
promote  the  eflficiency  of  the  schools  and  bring 
the  system  up  to  its  present  high  standard  of  ex- 
cellence. Captain  Wagner  possessed  a  broad, 
well-balanced  mind,  a  keen  intellect  and  ripe 
judgment,  and  he  honored  every  station  in  the 
public  service  to  which  he  was  called.  He  was  as 
deeply  interested  in  local  matters  as  in  state 
affairs  and  during  his  residence  in  Bon  Homme 
county  encouraged  every  laudable  enterprise  for 
the  material  development  of  the  country  and  used 
his  influence  in  behalf  of  all  progressive  measures 
for  the  social,  educational  and  moral  welfare  of 
his  fellow  men.  He  was  popular  with  all  classes 
and  conditions  of  people,  stood  especially  high 
in  the  esteem  of  the  large  circle  of  personal 
friends  who  learned  to  value  him  for  his  sterling 
worth  and  his  death,  which  occurred  in  Febru- 
ary, i8g8,  was  deeply  lamented  by  all  w-ho  knew 
him.  Since  the  latter  year  his  widow  has  lived 
with  her  brother,  Martin  E.,  over  whose  home 
she  presides  and  after  whose  interests  she  looks 
with  more  than  sisterly  regard.  She  bore  her 
husband  two  children,  the  older  of  whom, 
Howard  H.,  ex-sheriff  of  Bon  Homme  county, 
is  now  a  prominent  resident  of  the  county  of 
Qiarles  ]\Iix,  where  he  is  quite  extensively  en- 
gaged in  fanning  and  stock  raising.  He  mar- 
ried Miss  Lydia  Peck  and  at  this  time  has  a 
family  of  five  children,  whose  names  are  Mary 
E.,  Benjamin  H.,  Nina  M.,  Howard  W.  and 
Harold.  Walter,  the  second  of  Captain  Wag- 
ner's sons,  farms  the  old  Wagner  homestead  and 
is  one  of  the'  rising  young  men  of  the  county  of 
Bon  Homme.  He  took  up  one  of  the  first  claims 
in  the  Yankton  reservation,  wias  postmaster  at 
Wagner  for  some  years  and  also  conducted  a 
mercantile  establishment  in  that  city,  of  which 
place  he  was  founder  and  the  name  of  which 
was  given  in  his  honor.  Walter  Wagner  mar- 
ried Miss  Clara  James,  of  Bon  Homme  county, 
and  is  the  father  of  two  children,  Morris  and 
Francis. 

Thomas  M.  Hitt.  the  fifth  of  the  children  of 
Rev.   Thomas   and     Emilv     Hitt.    is    a    retired 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


fanner  and  stock  raiser,  living  at  this  time  in 
Tyndall,  South  Dakota.  He  served  four  years 
in  the  army  as  a  member  of  the  Fourth  Ilhnois 
Cavalry,  participated  in  a  number  of  battles 
and  earned  an  honorable  record  as  a  brave,  gal- 
lant and,  under  all  circumstances,  faithful  and 
trustworthy  soldier. 

Henry  P.  Hitt,  the  next  in  succession,  was 
also  a  farmer  and  stock  reiser,  but.  like  his  older 
brother,  is  now  living  a  life  of  retirement  in  the 
enjoyment  of  the  fruits  of  his  many  years  of 
labor  and  thrift.  Margaret,  the  seventh  in  order 
of  birth,  married  A.  W.  Newcomer  and  lives  at 
]\It.  Morris.  Illinois,  where  her  husband  is  en- 
gaged in  business  pursuits.  Sarah,  the  youngest 
of  the  family,  whose  home  is  also  in  Mt.  Morris, 
is  the  wife  of  Giarles  Newcomer,  a  well-known 
and  popular  resident  of  that  city. 

Reverting  to  Martin  Emor\r  Hitt,  the  direct 
subject  of  this  sketch,  it  is  learned  that  his  birth 
occurred  in  Urbana.  Champaign  county.  Ohio, 
on  April  2".  1836.  \Yith  his  brothers  and  sis- 
ters, he  received  his  preliminary  education  in  the 
schools  of  Mt.  Morris  and  later  entered  the 
Rock  River  Seminar}',  of  Illinois,  where  he  pur- 
sued his  studies  until  finishing  the  prescribed 
course.  He  remained  on  the  old  home  place  in 
]\It.  Morris  until  the  year  1874.  when  he  came 
to  Bon  Homme  county.  South  Dakota,  and, 
entering  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land 
in  Hancock  township,  began  the  task  of  its  im- 
provement, in  which  enterprise  his  labors  were 
in  due  time  crowned  with  the -most  encouraging 
success.  By  persevering  industry-  he  soon  suc- 
ceeded in  reclaiming  his  land  from  a  wild  state 
and  converting  it  into  one  of  the  best  and  most 
desirable  farms  in  the  above  township,  the  mean- 
time adding  to  its  area  until  he  now  owtis  six 
hundred  and  forty  acres,  the  greater  part  of 
which  is  leased  to  other  parties,  the  portion  re- 
served for  his  own  use  being  largely  devoted  to 
pasturage. 

Mr.  Hitt  has  been  a  model  farmer,  but  hav- 
ing accumulated  an  ample  competence  he  is  no 
longer  under  the  necessity  of  laboring  for  a  live- 
lihood, consequently  he  spends  the  most  of  his 
time  looking  after  his   live-stock    interests    and 


managing  his  other  business  affairs.  Few  men 
in  the  community  are  as  well  known  and  cer- 
tainly no  one  individual  has  taken  a  more  active 
part  or  exercised  greater  influence  in  forward- 
ing the  development  of  this  section  of  the  state 
and  developing  its  various  resources.  He  en- 
courages and  supports  every  enterprise  having 
for  its  object  the  material  growth  of  his  town- 
,ship  and  county  and  the  interest  he  has  ever 
manifested  in  public  affairs  has  given  him  pres- 
tige second  to  that  of  few  of  his  contemporaries, 
his  generosity,  unswerving  integrity  and  pro- 
nounced ability  having  gained  him  a  distinctive 
position  as  an  intelligent,  broad-minded  citizen 
and  progressive  man  of  affairs. 

As  already  indicated,  Mr.  Hitt  is  a  man.  of 
fine  intellectuality  and.  being  a  wide  and  dis- 
criminating reader,  he  keeps  in  close  touch  with 
the  trend  of  modern  thought  and  with  current 
events,  having  well  grounded  opinions  on  the 
leading  questions  and  issues  of  the  times  con- 
cerning which  men  and  parties  are  divided.  His 
studv  of  political  economy  and  kindred  subjects 
has  made  him  an  independent  thinker ;  neverthe- 
less he  is  a  politician  in  the  broad  sense  of  the 
term  and  believes  that  every  good  citizen  should 
manifest  an  abiding  interest  in  the  elective 
franchise.  Of  recent  years  he  has  given  his  al- 
legiance to  the  Populist  party  as  more  nearly 
representing  his  ideas  than  any  other  and.  while 
zealous  in  maintaining  the  soundness  of  his  con- 
victions and  active  in  supporting  his  favorite  can- 
didates, he  has  never  been  an  office  seeker  in  this 
regard,  preferring  to  labor  in  behalf  of  others 
rather  than  press  his  own  claims  to  public  recog- 
nition. 

Mr.  Hitt  has  never  assumed  the  responsi- 
bility of  family  ties,  being  an  unmarried  man, 
and,  as  already  stated,  his  home  at  this  time  is 
presided  over  by  his  sister  who  spares  no  pains 
in  making  the  domestic  circle  mutually  pleasant 
and  happy.  A  great  lover  of  home,  he  has 
done  much  to  beautify  the  same  and  add  to  its 
comfort  and  his  free-handed  hospitality  has  at- 
tracted to  him  a  large  circle  of  warm  friends 
and  admirers,  who  find  beneath  his  roof  a  wel- 
come characteristic  of  the  typical  gentleman  of 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


the  old  school.  ]Mr.  Hitt's  career  has  been  emi- 
nently honorable  and  crowned  with  usefulness 
and,  sustained  by  genuine,  popular  approval,  he 
is  destined  long  to  be  remembered  as  one  of  the 
leading  men  and  representative  citizens  of  his 
dav  and  generation  in  the  countv  of  Bon  Homme. 


D.  GRANT  STEWART  is  a  native  of  the 
state  of  New  York,  having  been  born  in  York 
Center,  Livingston  county,  on  the  2d  of  Novem- 
ber, 1845,  and  being  a  son  of  David  and  Mary 
Ann  Stewart,  both  of  whom  died  in  that  state, 
the  father  having  been  a  plow  manufacturer  bv 
vocation.  Our  subject  received  an  education  in 
the  schools  of  his  native  town  and  Brockport 
Collegiate  Institute,  and  remained  in  the  old  Em- 
pire state  until  he  had  attained  the  age  of  nine- 
teen years,  when  he  set  forth  to  seek  his  for- 
tunes in  the  west.  He  located  in  Hamilton,  Fill- 
more county,  Minnesota,  and  was  there  engaged 
in  merchandising  for  the  ensuing  decade,  at  the 
expiration  of  which,  in  1879,  he  came  as  a  pioneer 
to  -what  is  now  the  state  of  South  Dakota.  He 
took  up  a  homestead  and  tree  claims  ten  miles 
south  of  the  present  village  of  Bath,  in  Rondel 
township,  and  also  secured  a  pre-emption  claim. 
In  the  following  year  he  began  the  improvement 
of  his  property,  all  three  claims  now  being  under 
cultivation  and  well  improved  with  substantial 
buildings,  good  fences,  etc.,  while  the  timber  on 
the  tree  claim  is  now  well  grown.  He  remained 
on  the  farm  for  ten  years  and  since  that  time  has 
resided  in  Bath,  while  he  still  owns  the  fine  prop- 
erty which  he  secured  in  its  wild  state  from  the 
government  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago. 
He  was  married  in  Minnesota  to  Miss  Emma  F. 
Doten,  in  1881,  and  she  survived  her  marriage  by 
only  one  year.  Prior  to  her  marriage  she  also 
had  filed  on  a  tree  and  homestead  claim  in  Brown 
county  and  in  the  same  township  as  the  property 
secured  by  her  husband.  His  sister,  Mrs.  Cath- 
erine J.  Anderson,  also  came  to  Brown  county 
and  took  up  a  claim,  in  1880,  and  she  died  a  few 
months  later.  On  the  19th  of  March.  1885.  Mr. 
Stewart  consummated  a  second  marriage,  being 


united  to  Miss  Celia  Hanson,  who  was  born  in 
Denmark,  but  reared  and  educated  in  Minnesota 
and  Iowa,  whence  she  came  to  Brown  county  and 
took  up  a  claim  prior  to  her  marriage,  having 
also  perfected  her  title  to  the  property.  This  was 
the  same  claim  on  which  Mr.  Stewart's  sister  had 
previously  filed  entry,  and  the  claim  is  now  in- 
cluded in  the  full  section  of  land  which  consti- 
tutes the  fine  landed  estate  of  our  subject  and 
his  estimable  wife,  who  has  been  a  true  helpmeet 
to  him.  He  also  owns  an  eightj'-acre  tract  sepa- 
rate from  the  main  farm.  In  connection  with  the 
growing  of  the  various  agricultural  products  best 
suited  to  the  soil  and  climate,  Mr.  Stewart  also 
raised  cattle  upon  a  quite  extensive  scale.  The 
subject  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  public  af- 
fairs of  a  local  nature  and  is  well  informed  upon 
current  topics  and  upon  the  vital  questions  of  the 
day.  In  politics  he  maintains  an  independent 
attitude,  and  he  was  prominent  in  the  reform 
movement  which  was  so  strongly  in  evidence  in 
the  west  a  few  years  since.  He  is  a  student  of 
sociological  matters  and  is  a  firm  believer  in  many 
of  the  teachings  of  those  who  classify  themselves 
as  socialists.  Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the 
Modern  Woodmen  of  America  and  the  Bankers' 
Union,  while  both  he  and  his  wife  are  members 
of  the  Presbyterian  church.  They  have  six  chil- 
dren, all  of  whom  remain  at  the  parental  home, 
namely:  Emma,  Anna,  Fay,  Florence,  Frances 
and  Carlisle. 


ED  D.  LEWIS.— The  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  born  in  1856  and  was  a  native  of  the  state 
of  Virginia,  in  which  state,  Ohio  and  Wisconsin, 
he  was  reared  and  attended  the  public  schools. 
His  father  is  a  native  of  Wales  and  after  coming 
to  this  country  he  signified  his  allegiance  to  the 
Union  by  servng  from  1861  to  1865  in  the  Fed- 
eral army  during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion.  After 
his  return  from  the  army  he  removed  to  Girard, 
Ohio,  where  he  still  resides,  being  in  comfortable 
financial  circumstances. 

In  1877  Ed  D.  Lewis  removed  from  Ohio  to 
Spring  Green.  Sauk  county,  Wisconsin,  where 
he  engaged  successfully  in  the  drug  business,  and 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


while  there  he  was  also  assistant  postmaster  for 
two  years.  Believing  that  the  new  and  rapidly 
developing  west  afforded  better  opportunities  for 
a  young  man,  he.  in  1882,  came  to  Dakota  terri- 
tory, locating  at  Worthing,  Lincoln  county,  where 
he  started  a  general  merchandise  business.  He 
was  thus  engaged  until  1886,  when  he  went  to 
Sioux  Falls  and  entered  into  the  retail  boot  and 
shoe  business,  in  which  he  successfully  continued 
until  1891,  when  he  returned  to  Worthing.  About 
the  time  of  his  return  he  was  appointed  postmaster 
of  ^^'orthing,  and  three  years  later,  in  1894,  he 
bought  the  banking  business  of  the  late  Charles 
Judd,  and  which  is  now  known  as  the  Farmers 
and  Merchants'  Bank.  Upon  taking  hold  of  the 
banking  business  Mr.  Lewis  relinquished  the  post- 
office  to  his  wife.  He  was  eminentlv  successful 
in  all  his  business  enterprises  and  was  considered 
one  of  the  foremost  citizens  of  Worthing. 

On  December  11,  1882,  Mr.  Lewis  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  ;\Iary  Morgan,  of  Spring  Green, 
Wisconsin,  and  they  have  one  child,  Evan  Elias 
Lewis,  who  is  a  cadet  at  West  Point.  Fraternallv 
Air.  Lewis  was  identified  with  the  Masonic  order, 
belonging  to  the  blue  lodge  at  Lennox,  the  chap- 
ter at  Canton  and  the  commanderv  at  Sioux 
Falls.    He  died  January  21,  1904,  at  Worthing. 


ROLLIN  J.  WELLS,  senior  member  of  the 
well-known  and  prominent  law  firm  of  Wells  & 
Blackman,  of  Sioux  Falls,  was  born  in  the  city  of 
]\Toline,  Illinois,  on  the  24th  of  June,  1848,  and  is 
a  son  of  Luke  and  Harriet  (Robinson)  Wells. 
.A.fter  completing  the  curriculum  of  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  city  Mr.  Wells  was  matricu- 
lated in  the  University  of  Michigan,  at  Ann  .-Xr- 
bor,  in  the  literary  department  of  which  celebrated 
institution  he  continued  his  studies  for  two 
years,  after  which  he  was  for  a  time  engaged  in 
teaching  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  state. 
He  began  the  reading  of  law  in  the  office  and  un- 
der the  direction  of  Judge  George  E.  Waite,  of 
Geneseo,  Illinois,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of 
the  state  in  1878.  In  the  same  year  he  came  to 
Sioux  Falls  and  established  himself  in  practice  as 
one  of  the  pioneer  members  of  the  bar  of  this 


state,  while  in  1887  he  was  admitted  to  practice 
in  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States.  Mr. 
Wells  conducted  an  individual  practice  until  1881, 
when  he  entered  into  a  professional  partnership 
with  William  A.  Wilkes,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Wilkes  &  Wells,  this  alliance  continuing  until 
1890,  when  he  entered  into  his  present  profes- 
sional association  with  George  T.  Blackman.  Mr. 
Wells  has  attained  high  prestige  as  an  able  advo- 
cate and  counselor,  being  thoroughly  well  in- 
formed in  the  minutiae  of  the  science  of  jurispru- 
dence, preparing  his  causes  with  most  punctilious 
care  and  presenting  the  same  with  force  and  di- 
rectness, so  that  he  has  naturally  been  success- 
ful as  a  trial  lawyer,  while  he  has  so  ordered  his 
course  as  to  retain  the  unqualified  respect  of  his 
professional  confreres  as  well  as  the  general  pub- 
lic. His  firm  has  a  clientage  of  a  distinctively 
important  and  representative  character  through- 
out and  incidentally  it  should  be  noted  that  it 
has  charge  of  the  financial  business  in  the  state  of 
the  Phoenix  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company,  of 
Hartford,  Connecticut. 

Mr.  Wells  is  known  as  one  of  the  city's  most 
public-spirited  and  loyal  citizens  and  has  been 
identified  with  a  large  number  of  important  enter- 
prises, while  he  has  lent  his  aid  and  influence  in 
the  furtherance  of  all  measures  tending  to  con- 
serve the  material  and  civic  advancement  and 
prosperity  of  his  home  city  and  state.  In  politics 
he  may  be  designated  as  an  independent  Republi- 
can, having  taken  an  active  interest  in  public  af- 
fairs but  never  having  sought  the  honors  or  emol- 
uments of  political  office.  Fraternally  he  is  a 
master  Mason,  and  he  and  his  wife  are  members 
of  the  Congregational  church. 

It  is  signally  consonant  that  in  this  connection 
reference  be  made  to  the  exceptional  literary  taste 
and  ability  possessed  by  Mr.  Wells,  who  has  writ- 
ten several  books,  the  most  notable  of  which  is  a 
dramatic  poem  in  three  acts,  entitled  Hagar,  and 
having  to  do  with  the  pitiful  story  of  Hagar  and 
her  son,  Ishmael,  whose  tragic  wanderings,  as  told 
in  the  Bible,  have  been  a  favored  theme  of  paint- 
ers and  poets  from  the  earliest  times.  That  in 
the  midst  of  an  intensely  busy  and  practical  life 
Mr.  Wells  should  have  found  time  and  inclina- 


890 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


tion  to  bring  forth  even  this  one  beautiful  literary 
gem  speaks  well  for  his  appreciation  and  insistent  ! 
gift  of  poesy.  The  work  is  one  which  merits  a 
place  in  every  ecclesiastical  and  secular  library 
and  is  a  distinctive  contribution  to  the  sum  total 
of  pure  and  undefiled  English — a  veritable  classic 
in  its  dignity  and  exaltation  of  thought  and  felic- 
ity of  expression.  Concerning  this  work  the  Chi- 
cago Chronicle  spoke  as  follows  : 

From  Sioux  Palls,  South  Dakota,  comps  an  unex- 
pected piece  of  literary  work  that  commends  itself 
to  public  attention.  "Hagar,"  by  Rollin  J.  Wells,  is 
a  dramatic  poem  in  three  acts.  The  story,  as  given 
in  the  Bible,  is  altered  somewhat,  but  not  in  any  wise 
distorted.  Mr.  Wells  has  accented  and  modified  cer 
tain  points,  as  the  literary  artist  has  the  right  to  do  j 
in  order  to  heighten  poetic  effect.  The  beauty  of 
Hagar,  her  misfortunes  through  no  fault  of  her  own, 
the  important  part  her  descendants  have  played  in 
history,  have  made  a  frequent  and  worthy  subject  for 
pen  and  pencil.  A  special  merit  of  Mr.  Wells'  poem 
is  that  he  has  brought  out  in  strong  light  the  moral 
character  of  the  heroine. 

The  maid  Hagar  has  a  lover,  Athuriel.  The  bond 
between  them  is  the  purest,  and  nothing  seems  possi- 
ble to  mar  their  happiness.  Suddenly  Hagar  is  in- 
formed through  a  priest  that  it  is  the  will  of  God 
that  she  should  be  the  proud  mother  of  Abraham's 
race.  The  heart  of  the  girl  instinctively  rebels  at  the 
proposition  and  she  declares  she  will  die  before  sub- 
mitting to  such  a  violation  of  her  love.  Deeply  re- 
ligious, and  accustomed  to  venerating  the  commands 
of  God,  she  has  a  prolonged  struggle  between  what  is 
pointed  out  as  duty  and  what  seems  to  her  the  rights 
oX  her  own  heart.    Finally  she  yields,  knowing 

The  ways  of  God  are  strange  to  men,  but  he 
Makes  known  his  wishes  through  his  priests. 

This  moral  beauty  in  Hagar's  character  lends 
added  pathos  to  the  situation.  The  poet,  however, 
does  not  leave  his  heroine  a  mere  helpless  victim  of 
the  priest's  command.  Ethical  justice  steps  in,  and 
the  final  scene  shows  Abraham  kneeling  at  the  feet  of 
the  banished  Hagar,  who  is  now  the  happy  wife  of 
Athuriel.  The  poem  is  characterized  by  simplicity, 
strength  and  beauty,  and  with  slight  modification 
could  easily  be  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  stage. 
The  fitting  illustrations  are  by  William  L.  Hudson. 
(Broadway  Publishing  Company.   New  York.) 

Of  the  work  the  South  Dakotan,  a  monthly 
magazine,  gave  the  following  estimate: 

South  Dakota  may  take  proper  pride  in  its  booked 


literature,  and  no  single  piece  of  it  is  more  pride- 
engendering  than  the  last  contribution  to  it — ilr. 
Rollin  J.  Wells'  dramatic  poem,'  "Hagar. "  It  is  a 
rare  proposition  for  a  busy  and  successful  lawyer  to 
give  up  his  leisure  to  refined  literature,  but  Mr. 
Wells  has  found  his  most  congenial  recreation  in 
producing  verses  of  graceful  measure  and  exquisite 
diction,  and  in  "Hagar,"  his  most  ambitious  produc- 
tion, he  has  reached  a  high  plane.  It  is  the  Biblical 
story  elaborated  into  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
pages  of  heroic  verse,  introducing  many  dramatic 
situations  and  lines  of  extraordinary  strength,  stamp- 
ing Mr.  Wells  a  poet  of  high  order. 

As  showing  the  stately  measure  employed  we 
quote  a  few  lines  from  the  third  act  of  this  re- 
markable work,  the  action  being  carried  into  the 
field  of  battle,  as  Athuriel  has  sworn  to  avenge 
Hagar's  wrongs  : 

Most  gloriously  to  battle  goes  the  King  of  Kings. 
The   heavens   are   rent   asunder,   while   the   earth    in 

tremor  swings; 
The  mountains  smoke  before  Him  and  the  moon  grows 

dark  with  blood: 
And  the  angry  seas  are  lifted  in  a  great  and  swelling 

flood. 

In  concluding  this  brief  sketch  we  enter  the 
following  data  in  regard  to  the  domestic  chapter 
in  the  life  of  Air.  Wells :  On  the  20th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1870,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Susan  L.  Little,  of  Geneseo.  Illinois,  and  they 
have  five  children,  Robert  L.,  who  is  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  great  wholesale  grocery  house  of 
Sprague,  Warner  &  Company,  of  Chicago :  Ber- 
tha, who  remains  at  the  parental  home  ;  Helen  W.. 
who  is  the  wife  of  Frederick  E.  Phillips,  of  Sioux 
Falls  :  Ruth,  who  is  a  popular  teacher  in  the  higli 
school  of  this  citv.  and  i\Iarv  L..  who  is  at  home. 


WOLLERT  HILDAHL.— As  the  name  in- 
dicates, the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  of  Scandi- 
navian birth,  being  a  native  of  Norway,  born 
at  Odda.  Harclanger.  on  the  26th  of  August. 
1875.  ^^^^en  two  years  old  he  was  taken  bv  his 
parents  to  the  city  of  Bergen,  where  he  spent 
his  childhood  and  youth,  receiving  his  educational 
training  at  "Hans  Tank  of  Hastrus  og  Ham- 
bro's"  schools  of  that  place.  In  1893  ^f"".  Hil- 
dahl  came  to  the  United  States  and  .proceeding 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


891 


direct  to  South  Dakota,  has  since  been  a  resident 
ot  die  city  of  Sioux  Falls.  He  is  a  gentlemau 
of  scholarly  attainments  and  refined  tastes,  a 
Clean,  forcible  and  fluent  writer  and  since  becom- 
ing a  resident  of  the  United  States  has  made 
rapid  progress  in  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  this 
country  and  its  institutions,  being  widely  in- 
formed upon  the  leading  questions  and  issues  of 
the  times  and  keeping  himself  in  close  touch  with 
the  trend  of  inodern  thought  throughout  the 
world.  He  has,  since  his  naturalization,  given 
evidence  of  his  full  sympathy  with  our  govern- 
ment and,  with  an  abiding  faith  in  its  per- 
petuity, he  upholds  its  principles,  standing  at 
all  times  for  good  order  and  strict  enforcement 
of  the  law.  He  is  interested  in  secret  fraternal 
and  benevolent  work,  belonging  to  the  Masonic 
fraternity  at  Sioux  Falls  and  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Flks  at  the  same  place,  being 
an  active  participant  in  the  deliberations  of  both 
organizations.  I\lr.  Hildahl,  on  IMarch  14,  1902, 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Emma  Julia 
Lien,  of  Sioux  Falls,  the  union  resulting  in  the 
birth  of  one  child,  a  son  to  whom  has  been  given 
the  name  of  Jonas  Lien. 

Mr.  Hildahl  has  for  many  years  been 
afifiliated  with  the  leading  Scandinavian  musical 
organization  of  the  state,  the  Minnehaha  Mand- 
skor,  and  has  served  it  in  various  capacities,  as 
well  as  the  Northwestern  Scandinavian  Singers' 
Association,  of  which  the  !Mandskor  is  a  member. 
The  Mandskor  was  organized  December  11, 
i8go.  and  became  a  member  of  the  Northwestern 
Scandinavian  Singers'  Association  at  the  time  of 
its  organization  at  Sioux  Falls  in  1891. 

Mr.  Hildahl  has  served  as  treasurer  of  the 
Minnehaha  Mandskor,  twice  as  its  president  and 
upon  two  occasions  was  sent  as  a  delegate  to 
the  national  convention  of  the  Northwestern 
Scandinavian  Singers'  Association.  By  the  latter 
body  he  was  elected  vice-president  of  the  conven- 
tion at  Duluth  in  1898  and  in  1890,  at  St.  Paul, 
he  was  honored  by  being  chosen  president. 

In  the  year  1902  Mr.  Hildahl  took  charge 
of  the  Syd  Dakota  Ekko,  a  paper  devoted  to  the 
interests  of  his  nationality  in  Dakota  and  the 
northwest  and   which    for  many  vears   has   also 


served  the  Northwestern  Scandinavian  Singers' 
Association  as  its  official  organ,  having  published 
what  is  knovm  to  the  singers  as  "Sangernes 
Spalte,"  this  department  being  the  especial  work 
of  the  present  editor.  Through  the  medium  of 
his  paper  and  otherwise,  yir.  Hildahl  exercises 
a  wide  and  powerful  influence  among  his  fellow 
countrymen  and  is  held  in  high  esteem  not  only 
by  the  Scandinavian  populace  of  the  Dakotas. 
but  by  the  general  public  as  well. 


ALPHA  F.  ORR,  attorney  at  law,  Sioux 
Falls,  was  born  in  Jersey  City,  N-ew  Jersey,  April 
28,  i860,  the  son  of  James  and  Susan  (Royle) 
Orr.  When  two  years  old  he  was  taken  by  his 
parents  to  Florence,  New  York,  where  he  spent 
his  childhood  and  youth  and  received  his  prelim- 
inary education.  After  finishing  the  public-school 
course,  he  attended  Whitestown  Seminary,  and 
from  that  institution  became  a  student  of  Hamil- 
ton College,  where  he  pursued  his  literary  studies 
for  a  period  of  two  years.  On  quitting  college  he 
took  up  the  study  of  law  and  in  1882  was  admit- 
ted to  the  bar  in  the  city  of  Rochester,  New  York, 
after  which  he  opened  an  office  in  Rome,  New- 
York,  where  he  practiced  for  one  year.  From  the 
latter  place  Mr.  Orr  went  to  Camden,  New  York, 
where  he  soon  built  up  a  lucrative  professional 
business  and  achieved  marked  prestige  in  legal 
circles.  He  continued  in  that  city  until  the  fall 
of  1889  when  he  came  to  Sioux  Falls,  South 
Dakota,  where  he  has  since  been  actively  engaged 
in  professional  work,  achieving  the  meanwhile 
distinctive  precedence  as  an  able  lawyer  and  suc- 
cessful practitioner. 

Mr.  Orr  is  an  untiring  worker,  a  close  student 
with  a  profound  knowledge  of  jurisprudence  and 
occupies  a  prominent  place  among  the  leading 
lawyers  of  his  adopted  state.  While  devoted  to 
his  profession,  he  is  also  deeply  interested  in  pol- 
itics and  ever  since  locating  in  his  present  field  of 
labor  he  has  been  active  in  upholding  the  princi- 
ples of  the  Republican  party  and  zealous  in  his 
efforts  for  its  success. 

Mr.  Orr  has  never  been  an  office  seeker  nor 
an  aspirant   for  any  kind   of  public   distinction, 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


notwithstanding  which  he  is  always  an  active  and 
influential  participant  in  political  campaigns,  tak- 
ing the  field  in  the  interest  of  his  party's  candidate 
and  rendering  valuable  service  on  the  hustings. 
He  is  an  able  and  logical  speaker,  a  clear,  concise, 
reasoner,  and  by  his  eloquence  has  contributed 
much  to  the  success  of  the  ticket,  not  only  in  local 
affairs,  but  throughout  the  state.  He  has  served 
one  tenn  as  city  attorney  of  Sioux  Falls,  aside 
from  which  he  has  held  no  office,  preferring  the 
duties  of  his  profession  and  the  simple  title  of 
citizen  to  any  honors  within  the  power  of  the  peo- 
ple to  bestow.  jNIr.  Orr  has  a  pleasing  personality, 
enjoys  high  professional  and  social  standing  and 
is  one  of  the  popular  men  of  the  city  in  which  he 
resides.  He  is  identified  with  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  and  at  the  present  time  holds  the  title 
of  past  chancellor  in  the  latter  organization.  He 
is  a  married  man  and  has  a  pleasant  and  attractive 
home  in  Sioux  Falls,  his  wife  having  formerly 
been  ^liss  Eva  E.  Green,  of  Knoxboro,  New 
York. 


EDWARD  \V.  SCHMIDT  is  one  of  the  in- 
fluential citizens  and  honored  business  men  of 
X'alley  Springs,  Minnehaha  county,  and  has 
passed  the  major  portion  of  his  life  in  South  Da- 
kota, being  a  representative  of  one  of  its  pioneer 
families.  He  was  born  in  Oshkosh,  Wisconsin, 
on  the  28th  of  October,  1862,  and  is  a  son  of 
Frederick  W.  and  Augusta  (Barr)  Schmidt, 
both  of  whom  were  born  in  Germany,  whence 
they  came  to  America  when  young.  The  subject 
secured  his  rudimentary  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  Fond  du  Lac,  Wisconsin,  and  was 
but  eight  years  of  age  when,  in  1872,  he  came  with 
his  parents  to  South  Dakota,  his  father  becoming 
one  of  the  pioneers  of  Lincoln  county,  where  he 
took  up  homestead  and  timber  claims  and  eventu- 
ally developed  a  good  farm.  He  and  his  wife  are 
now  both  dead.  As  no  public  schools  were  estab- 
lished in  the  section  at  the  time  of  the  family  re- 
moval to  this  state,  our  subject  was  denied  farther 
educational  advantages  in  a  specific  way,  but  by 
personal  application  and  by  active  association  with 


men  and  affairs  he  has  become  a  man  of  broad 
information  and  one  well  equipped  for  coping 
with  the  world,  as  is  evident  from  the  position  he 
has  attained  as  a  successful  business  man,  having 
accumulated  every  dollar  through  his  own  exer- 
tions and  good  management.  He  continued  to 
assist  in  the  improvement  and  cultivation  of  the 
home  ranch  until  he  had  attained  the  age  of  nine- 
teen years,  when  he  returned  to  Oshkosh,  Wis- 
consin, where  he  devoted  two  years  to  learning 
the  tinners'  trade,  becoming  a  skilled  workman. 
He  then  returned  to  South  Dakota  and  was  em- 
ployed at  his  trade  for  one  year  in  Sioux  Falls. 
In  April,  1885,  he  came  to  Valley  Springs,  where 
he  followed  his  trade  for  the  ensuing  two  years, 
at  the  expiration  of  which  he  associated  himself 
with  E.  J.  Whaley  and  engaged  in  the  hardware 
and  harness  business  under  the  firm  name  of  E. 
^^^  Schmidt  &  Company.  Five  years  later  he  pur- 
chased Mr.  Whaley's  interest  in  the  business  and 
has  since  conducted  the  enterprise  individually, 
having  built  up  a  large  and  representative  trade 
and  having  the  high  regard  and  unqualified  confi- 
dence of  all  who  know  him  and  being  one  of  the 
pioneer  merchants  of  the  town.  He  has  a  finely 
equipped  and  stocked  establishment  and  his  annual 
business  transactions  now  reach  an  average  an- 
nual aggregate  of  about  ten  thousand  dollars.  He 
is  progressive  and  imbued  with  distinctive  public 
spirit  and  civic  loyalty.  In  politics  he  is  a  stal- 
wart adherent  of  the  Republican  party,  and  he 
served  two  years  as  president  of  the  village,  while 
she  has  also  been  incumbent  of  the  office  of  vil- 
lage treasurer  and  a  member  of  the  local  board 
of  education.  He  and  his  wife  are  prominent  and 
valued  members  of  the  Congregational  church 
in  their  home  town  and  he  is  a  member  of  its 
board  of  trustees,  while  fraternally  he  is  affiliated 
with  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America. 

Mr.  Schmidt  has  been  twice  married.  On  the 
17th  of  September,  1886,  was  solemnized  his 
union  to  ^Nliss  Emma  Zick,  of  Oshkosh,  Wiscon- 
sin, who  was  summoned  into  eternal  rest  on  the 
13th  of  June,  1898,  leaving  three  children,  Albert 
R.,  Walter  H.  and  Edward  R.  The  eldest  son 
is  a  member  of  the  United  States  navv  and  at  the 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DxMvOTA. 


893 


time  of  this  writing  is  serving  on  the  cruiser 
"Hartford."  On  the  17th  of  October,  igoo,  Mr. 
Schmidt  married  Miss  ^Mabel  Cassidy,  of  Valley 
Springs,  and  they  have  two  children,  Margaret 
A.  and  Mabel  S.  ' 


JEFFERSON  PARRISH  KIDDER,  born 
Braintree,  Orange  county,  \'ermont,  June  4,  1814. 
Lieutenant  governor  Vermont,  185 1.  Delegate  to 
congress  from  provisional  territorial  government 
at  Sioux  Falls,  1859.  Associate  justice  supreme 
court  of  Dakota  from  1865  to  death  in  1883,  ex- 
cept four  years,  from  1875  to  1879,  when  he 
was  delegate  to  congress.  Chief  promoter  of  in- 
corporation of  State  University,  at  Vermillion. 


HON.  LEONARD  RENNER.— Prominent 
in  the  progress  of  every  enterprising  community 
is  its  agricultural  interest,  and  the  men  devoting 
their  energies  and  power  of  mind  to  the  develop- 
ment and  prosecution  of  this  useful  and  time- 
honored  vocation  contribute  more  perhaps  than 
any  other  class  to  the  development  and  sub- 
stantial prosperity  of  a  new  and  rapidly  growing 
state.  Among  the  leading  agriculturists  of  Min- 
nehaha county.  South  Dakota,  Leonard  Renner, 
of  Mapleton  township,  occupies  a  conspicuous 
place.  He  has  been  prominently  identified  with 
this  part  of  the  state  for  a  number  of  years,  has 
taken  an  active  part  in  promoting  its  material 
welfare  and  in  addition  to  the  noble  calling  to 
which  he  so  successfully  devotes  his  attention, 
he  has  also  made  his  influence  felt  in  the  public 
and  political  affairs  of  the  commonwealth. 

Mr.  Renner  is  a  native  of  Gemiany  and  a 
creditable  representative  of  this  strong,  virile 
nationality,  a  nationality  which,  perhaps  more 
than  any  other,  has  made  for  the  material  wel- 
fare, intellectual  advancement  and  general  pros- 
perity of  the  great  American  republic.  He  was 
born  June  9,  1840,  in  the  kingdom  of  Baden, 
and  is  the  sixth  of  a  family  of  eight  children, 
five  sons  and  three  daughters,  whose  parents 
were  Casper  and  Elizabeth  Renner.  He  spent 
the   first    eight   years   of   his    life    in    his    native 


land,  and  in  1840  was  brought  by  his  parents 
to  the  United  States,  the  family  settling  in  Racine 
county,  Wisconsin,  where  he  grew  to  maturity 
on  a  farm.  Coming  to  America  when  quite 
_\oung,  he  soon  became  habituated  to  the  man- 
ners and  customs  of  his  environment,  secured  a 
good  practical  education  in  the  public  schools, 
and  as  he  advanced  in  years  and  knowledge  his 
love  and  admiration  for  his  adopted  country 
and  its  institutions  increased  in  like  ratio. 
He  remained  with  his  parents  until  he  was 
twenty-three  years  of  age.  On  the  8th  day  of 
July,  1863.  he  enlisted  in  Battery  B,  First  Illi- 
nois Light  Artiller}-,  with  which  he  served  two 
years  to  a  day,  being  discharged  July  8,  1865, 
with  an  honorable  record  as  a  brave  and  fearless 
defender  of  the  national  union.  He  accom- 
panied his  command  through  all  the  varied  vicis- 
situdes of  warfare,  and  his  two  years  at  the 
front  were  marked  by  almost  continued  activity. 
Among  the  many  battles  in  which  he  participated, 
the  following  were  the  most  noted :  Chicka- 
mauga,  Chattanooga,  Missionary  Ridge,  Rocky 
Face  Gap,  Resaca,  Peach  Tree  Creek,  Kenesaw 
Mountain,  Franklin.  Nashville,  besides  numer- 
ous skirmishes  and  minor  engagements,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  long  marches  and  other  thrilling 
experiences  encountered  by  the  soldier  in  con- 
stant and  active  service.  Mr.  Renner  retired 
from  the  army  with  the  rank  of  corporal  and, 
returning  home,  resumed  his  usual  vocation, 
which  he  carried  on  with  success  and  financial 
profit  in  Wisconsin  until  1878.  when  he  disposed 
of  his  interests  in  that  state  and  removed  to 
Minnehaha  count}'.  South  Dakota.  Purchasing 
a  valuable  tract  of  land  in  Mapleton  township, 
he  at  once  addressed  himself  to  the  task  of  its 
improvement  and  in  due  time  he  not  only  erected 
a  number  of  substantial  buildings  on  his  place, 
but  took  leading  rank  as  an  enterprising  farmer 
and  successful  raiser.  Mr.  Renner's  farm,  situ- 
ated in  one  of  the  finest  agricultural  districts  of 
South  Dakota,  embraces  an  area  of  nine  hundred 
and  sixty  acres,  the  greater  part  under  a  high 
state  of  cultivation,  the  rest  being  devoted  to 
live  stock,  which,  as  stated  above,  he  has  car- 
ried  on   with    most   gratifying   financial    results. 


894 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


His  home,  beautiful  for  situation  and  surrounded 
by  natural  and  artificial  features  which  enhance 
its  attractions,  is  supplied  with  all  the  comforts 
and  conveniences  calculated  to  make  rural  life 
pleasant  and  agreeable,  and  without  prevarica- 
tion it  can  be  called  one  of  the  finest  and  on  the 
whole  one  of  the  most  desirable  country  homes 
in  the  county  of  Minnehaha. 

Mr.  Renner,  on  March  19,  1873,  '^^'^s  married 
in  Racine  county,  Wisconsin,  to  i\Iiss  Catherine 
Kaiser,  whose  birth  occurred  November  22, 
1845,  in  Lafayette,  that  state,  being  the  daughter 
of  George  L.  and  ]\Iargaret  (Taupert)  Kaiser, 
both  natives  of  Germany.  Of  the  seven  children 
born  of  this  union,  three  died  in  infancy,  those 
sun-iving  being  Charles  H.,  George  L.,  Frank 
T.  and  Nellie  A. 

^Ir.  Renner,  as  already  indicated,  has  been 
influential  in  the  alTairs  of  his  township  and 
county,  and  for  several  years  served  on  the  town 
board  of  Mapleton,  of  which  body  he  was  chair- 
man during  the  greater  part  of  his  incumbency. 
In  1901  he  was  elected,  on  the  Republican  ticket, 
to  represent  Minnehaha  county  in  the  legislature 
of  South  Dakota,  and  his  course  as  a  lawmaker 
meeting  the  endorsement  of  his  constituency,  he 
was  re-elected  in  the  fall  of  1902,  his  record 
throughout  being  eminently  creditable  to  him- 
self and  an  honor  to  the  county.  During  the 
session  of  1901  he  was  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittee on  education,  one  of  the  most  important 
committees  of  the  house,  and  he  also  served  dur- 
ing that  time  and  the  ensuing  two  years  on  the 
committee  of  public  health,  besides  taking  an 
active  part  in  the  general  deliberations  of  that 
body.  For  the  last  twenty  years  he  has  been 
school  treasurer  of  IWapleton  township,  and  as 
such  has  labored  zealously  for  the  cause  of  edu- 
cation, sparing  no  pains  to  raise  the  system 
within  his  jurisdiction  to  the  highest  standard  of 
excellence  attainable.  He  is  a  zealous  member 
of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  belonging 
to  Joe  Hooker  Post,  which  at  various  times  has 
honored  him  with  important  official  positions. 
'Mr.  Renner  is  a  broad-minded,  intelligent  man 
of  generous  impulses,  enterprising,  progressive, 
and   a  typical   representative   of  that   large   and 


eminently  respectable  class  of  citizens  that  have 
done  so  much  for  the  development  of  the  young 
and  growing  commonwealth  of  South  Dakota. 
He  is  highly  esteemed  by  his  neighbors  and  bv 
the  public,  and  his  private  and  official  life  de- 
monstrates that  the  large  measure  of  confidence 
reposed  in  him  has  not  been  misplaced. 


FRANK  R.  AIKENS  was  born  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  on  the  14th  of  December,  1855, 
and  in  the  public  schools  of  Rome  secured  his 
preliminary  educational  discipline,  though  he  be- 
came a  student  in  a  law  office  at  so  early  an 
age  that  he  may  practically  be  said  to  have  been 
educated  under  the  benign  panoply  of  the  great 
profession  of  which  he  is  a  devotee.  After  five 
years  of  careful  and  discriminating  study  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  Empire  state,  on  the 
5th  of  January,  1877.  and  he  initiated  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  in  Rome,  that  state,  where 
he  remained  until  August,  1880,  when  he  came 
to  Sioux  Falls,  South  Dakota,  whence  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Canton,  Lincoln  county,  where  he 
opened  an  office  on  the  ist  of  the  following  Sep- 
tember. Of  his  subsequent  career  the  following 
succinct  outline  has  been  given  in  a  previous 
publication :  "From  the  first  he  had  a  good 
practice,  took  an  active  part  in  politics,  and  in 
1885  was  elected  to  the  provisional  state  senate. 
He  was  also  elected  to  and  sen-ed  in  the  ter- 
ritorial assemblies  of  1887  and  1889,  being  chair- 
man of  the  judiciary  committee  in  the  former 
year,  and  serving  as  a  member  of  the  same  com- 
mittee, and  as  practically  its  chairman,  in  1889. 
He  was  a  prominent  and  influential  member  of 
the  legislature  during  both  sessions,  and  was 
recognized  as  one  of  its  ablest  debaters.  He  is 
always  clear,  concise  and  forcible  in  presenting 
his  views,  and  has  enough  of  the  attributes  of  the 
orator  in  his  composition  to  command  the  at- 
tention of  any  audience  he  may  address.  On 
the  19th  of  March,  1889,  he  was  appointed  as- 
sociate justice  of  the  territorial  supreme  court, 
and  the  following  October  was  elected  to  the 
bench  of  the  second  judicial  circuit  for  the 
first  term  thereof.     At  the  expiration  of  his  term 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


895 


of  office  he  resumed  the  practice  of  law  at  Can-  j 
ton,  where  he  remained  until  July,  1895,  at  which 
time  he  removed  to  Sioux  Falls  and  entered  into 
a  co-partnership  with  the  established  firm  of 
Bailey  &  Voorhees,  under  the  new  title  of  Aikens, 
Bailer  &  \^oorhees,  being  the  trial  lawyer  of  the 
firm  during  the  period  of  its  existence,  which  ter- 
minated in  October.  1897.  On  the  22d  of  that 
month  he  entered  into  partnership  with  Harold 
E.  Judge,  under  the  firm  name  of  Aikens  & 
Judge,  and  this  effective  alliance  has  since  con- 
tinued, the  firm  controlling  a  large  and  import- 
ant business." 

Judge  Aikens  is  a  man  of  high  attainments, 
of  profound  erudition  and  practical  ability  as  a 
lawyer,  and  has  won  prestige  because  he  has 
worked  for  it.  He  is  endowed  with  a  keen, 
analytical  mind,  and  his  powers  as  a  trial  lawyer 
are  admirable,  while  his  course  on  the  bench 
shows  that  he  is  not  lacking  in  those  qualities 
which  make  for  the  best  exercise  of  the  judicial 
functions. 

He  stands  high  in  professional,  business  and 
social  circles  and  his  whole-souled,  generous  na- 
ture has  won  to  him  a  host  of  friends  in  South 
Dakota. 


ED\\'ARD  G.  KENNEDY  is  a  representative 
and  highlv  esteemed  citizen  of  Sioux  Falls,  and  is 
incumbent  of  the  responsible  office  of  United 
States  marshal  for  the  district  of  South  Dakota, 
in  which  c.ipacity  he  has  rendered  most  able  serv- 
ice. Flis  is  the  distinction  of  being  a  veteran  of 
the  great  war  of  the  Rebellion,  in  which  he  made 
an  honorable  record  as  a  loyal  and -valiant  son  of 
the  republic,  while  in  the  "piping  times  of  peace" 
he  has  shown  the  same  integrity  of  purpose  and 
devotion  to  the  right  as  he  manifested  when  fol- 
lowing the  stars  and  stripes  on  the  sanguinary 
battlefields  of  the  south. 

'Sir.  Kennedy  is  a  native  of  the  Keystone 
state  of  the  Union,  having  been  born  in  Hollidays- 
burg.  Blair  county.  Pennsylvania,  on  the  17th  of 
December,  1844.  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Rebecca 
(Hayes)  Kennedy,  both  of  whom  were  born 
and  reared  in  that  state,  where  they  passed  their 


entire  lives,  the  father  having  been  a  school 
teacher  by  vocation  during  the  major  portion  of 
his  active  career.  He  passed  to  his  reward  in 
1884  and  his  cherished  and  devoted  wife  was 
summoned  into  eternal  rest  in  1898.  They  be- 
came the  parents  of  five  children,  of  whom  three 
are  living  at  the  present  time.  Both  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  in  politics 
Samuel  Kennedy  was  a  supporter  of  the  princi- 
ples of  the  Republican  party  from  the  time  of  its 
organization  until  his  death. 

The  subject  of  this  review  secured  his  early 
education  in  the  common  schools  of  the  various 
localities  in  Pennsylvania  in  which  his  parents 
resided  during  his  youthful  days,  and  he  supple- 
mented this  discipline  by  a  course  of  study  in 
Eldersridge  Academy,  in  Indiana  county,  that 
state.  After  leaving  school,  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen years,  he  gave  distinctive  evidence  of  his  in- 
trinsic patriotism  by  tendering  his  services  in  de- 
fense of  the  Union,  then  in  jeopardy  through 
armed  rebellion.  In  August.  1862.  he  enlisted 
as  a  private  in  Company  C.  One  Hundred  and 
Thirty-ninth  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry, 
which  he  continued  to  serve  until  the  close  of  the 
war,  receiving  his  honorable  discharge,  in  the 
city  of  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  in  July,  1865. 
He  was  an  active  participant  in  the  battle  of  An- 
tietam  and  in  all  the  engagements  in  which  the 
First  Brigade  of  the  Second  Division,  Sixth  Army 
Corps,  took  part,  his  regiment  having  been  at- 
tached to  this  brigade  during  the  greater  part  of 
its  term.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  secured  a 
clerical  position  in  Pittsburg,  and  was  thus  em- 
ployed in  that  city  and  Allegheny  until  1889,  when 
he  determined  to  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  new 
territory  of  Dakota.  He  first  located  in  Potter 
countv,  where  he  engaged  in  the  cattle  business, 
in  partnership  with  his  brother,  F.  H.  Kennedy, 
later  removing  to  Walworth  county,  where  he 
continued  in  the  same  line  of  enterprise  until 
1898.  when  he  located  in  Eureka.  McPhcrson 
county,  where  he  established  himself  in  the  grain 
and  agricultural  implement  business,  and  con- 
tinued operations  in  the  line  until  1902,  when  he 
closed  out  his  interests  in  order  to  devote  his 
undivided  attention  to  his  official  duties.     In  1897 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


President  McKinley  appointed  Mr.  Kennedy  to 
the  office  of  United  States  marshal  for  the  dis- 
trict of  South  Dakota,  and  he  has  served  in  this 
capacity  continuously  since,  being  on  the  12th  day 
of  January,  1902,  reappointed  to  the  office,  by 
President  Roosevelt.  He  is  a  man  of  resource- 
fulness and  mature  judgment  and  has  given  a 
most  creditable  and  satisfactory  administration 
of  his  official  duties,  while  he  is  recognized  as  one 
of  the  stalwart  and  uncompromising  representa- 
tives of  the  Republican  party  in  the  state,  having 
been  an  active  worker  in  its  cause  and  having 
been  identified  with  the  party  from  the  time  of 
attaining  his  legal  majority  and  the  concomitant 
right  of  franchise. 

On  the  15th  of  December,  1891,  was  solem- 
nized the  marriage  of  Mr.  Kennedy  to  Miss  Mary 
B.  Brundage,  of  Bismarck,  North  Dakota,  and 
they  became  the  parents  of  two  children,  Ruth  and 
Donald  B.  Mrs.  Kennedy  died  on  the  5th  of 
April,  1900. 


JOHN  SCHAMBER.— The  career  of  the 
honored  subject  of  this  sketch  offers  both  lesson 
and  incentive,  since  it  indicates  what  is  possible 
of  accomplishment  on  the  part  of  the  young  man 
of  foreign  birth  who  comes  to  our  great  republic 
and  bends  his  energies  to  legitimate  industry, 
availing  himself  of  the  resources  at  his  command 
and  gaining  a  success  worthy  the  name.  Mr. 
Schamber  has  been  a  prominent  figure  in  the 
public  and  business  affairs  of  South  Dakota,  of 
which  he  is  a  pioneer,  and  has  been  called  upon 
to  serve  in  offices  of  high  trust  and  responsibility, 
as  this  context  will  later  indicate.  He  is  one  of 
the  leading  business  men  of  Hutchinson  county, 
being  engaged  in  the  banking  business  in  Menno, 
and  is  eminently  entitled  to  consideration  in  this 
history. 

I\Tr.  Schamber  was  born  in  the  historic  Crim- 
ean district  of  southern  Russia,  within  sixty  miles 
of  the  famed  old  city  of  Sebastopol,  on  the  6th 
of  March.  1856,  being  a  son  of  Peter  and  Wil- 
helmina  fLuese)  Schamber,  of  whose  six  chil- 
dren four  are  now  living,  namely:  Peter,  a  resi- 
dent  of  Yankton   county,   this   state :   John,   the 


immediate  subject  of  this  sketch  ;  Rosina,  wife  of 
Joseph  Bohrer,  of  Mercer  county,  Xorth  Da- 
kota ;  and  George,  a  prominent  merchant  of  Free- 
man, Hutchinson  coimty.  The  parents  were  born 
in  southern  Russia,  where  they  were  reared  and 
where  their  marriage  was  solemnized.  Peter 
Schamber  was  there  engaged  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits until  1875,  when  he  came  with  his  wife  to 
the  United  States,  whither  our  subject  had  pre- 
ceded him  by  one  year.  The  former  took  up  a 
homestead  claim  in  Yankton  county,  where  he 
resided  until  1884,  when  he  removed  to  the  vil- 
lage of  Freeman,  where  he  passed  die  residue  of 
his  life,  his  death  occurring  in  May,  1901,  while 
his  devoted  wife  passed  away  in  1883. 

John  Schamber  was  reared  on  the  home  farm 
and  secured  his  education  in  the  common  schools 
and  the  teachers'  seminary  in  his  native  land,  and 
there  he  taught  school  during  one  winter  term 
prior  to  his  emigration  to  America.  His  English 
education  has  been  acquired  by  self-application 
and  absorption  since  he  came  to  the  United 
States.  Mr.  Schamber  arrived  in  New  York  city 
in  August,  1874.  and  thence  came  westward  to 
Towa,  where  he  gave  his  attention  to  farm  work 
for  one  year,  then  coming  to  South  Dakota  and 
taking  up  a  pre-emption  claim  in  Yankton  county, 
six  miles  southeast  of  the  present  town  of  Menno. 
Later  he  filed  a  homestead  entry  on  this  claim, 
while  in  the  same  locality  his  father  also  took  up 
a  homestead.  In  1880  the  subject  left  his  farm, 
upon  which  he  had  made  excellent  improvements, 
and  came  to  Menno,  where  he  secured  a  position 
as  clerk  in  a  general  store.  In  1882  he  removed 
to  Freeman,  where  he  engaged  in  the  general 
merchandise  business,  in  partnership  with  his 
brother  George.  They  continued  to  be  the  lead- 
ing merchants  of  the  town  until  1900,  when  our 
subject  retired  from  the  firm,  selling  his  interest 
in  the  business  to  his  brother,  with  whom  he  had 
been  so  long  and  pleasantly  associated.  In  1886 
the  farmers'  elevator  was  erected  in  Freeman,  the 
same  being  controlled  by  a  stock  company  of  lead- 
ing farmers  in  the  locality,  and  our  subject  and 
his  brother  became  numbered  among  the  heaviest 
stockholders  in  the  new  concern.  In  1894  they 
acquired  control  of  the  enterprise,  and  finally  be- 


JOHN  SOHAMBER. 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


897 


came  sole  owners  of  the  property.  In  1902  our 
subject  sold  his  interests  in  this  line  to  his 
brother,  who  still  remains  in  control  of  the  same. 
In  1900  Mr.  Schaniber  became  one  of  those  prin- 
cipally concerned  in  the  organization  of  the  Mer- 
chants' State  Bank  at  Freeman,  being  made  presi- 
dent of  the  same  and  retaining  this  office  until 
Februar\-.  1902,  when  the  bank  was  sold  to  the 
present  owners.  In  November,  1901,  he  organ- 
ized the  Exchange  State  Bank  of  Menno.  of 
which  he  is  now  the  sole  owner,  the  institution 
being  recognized  as  one  of  the  solid  and  reliable 
monetary  establishments  of  the  state  and  con- 
trolling an  excellent  business.  He  has  maintained 
his  home  in  Freeman. 

Mr.  Schamber  is  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
Republican  party  in  the  state,  and  his  hold  upon 
public  confidence  and  esteem  has  been  manifested 
in  no  uncertain  way.  He  has  held  numerous  lo- 
cal offices  of  minor  order,  and  in  1886  was  elected 
treasurer  of  Hutchinson  county,  serving  three 
successive  terms.  In  1893  he  was  elected  to  rep- 
resent his  district  in  the  state  senate,  being  chosen 
as  his  own  successor  in  the  election  of  1895  and 
proving  a  valuable  member  of  the  deliberative 
body  of  the  general  assembly.  In  1898  still  fur- 
ther distinction  became  his.  in  that  he  was  elected 
to  the  important  office  of  state  treasurer,  in  which 
he  served  two  terms,  having  been  re-elected  in 
1900  and  continuing  incumbent  of  the  office  until 
Januarys  I,  1903.  He  retired  from  this  position 
with  the  record  of  having  given  a  most  able  and 
discriminating  administration  of  the  fiscal  affairs 
of  the  state.  He  is  ever  alive  to  the  best  interests 
of  his  home  town,  as  well  as  the  state  in  general, 
and  his  public  spirit  is  manifested  in  a  most  help- 
ful way.  He  is  at  the  present  time  chairman  of 
the  board  of  trustees  of  Freeman.  He  and  his 
wife  are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church,  and 
both  are  prominent  in  the  best  social  life  of  the 
community. 

On  the  Tith  of  November,  1881.  was  solem- 
nized the  marriage  of  Mr.  Schamber  to  Miss 
Maria  Kayser,  daughter  of  Adam  Kayser,  of 
Parkston,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  ten  chil- 
dren, namely:  I.  Adolph,  who  is  a  student  in 
Concordia    College,    in    IMilwaukee.    Wisconsin. 


preparing  himself  for  the  ministry  of  the  Luth- 
eran church  ;  Robert  E..  who  is  cashier  of  the 
Exchange  Bank  of  Menno ;  Otto  G.  is  manager 
of  the  J.  H.  Leval  &  Company  lumber  vard  at 
Lesterville  and  is  said  to  be  the  )-oungest  manager 
in  the  employ  of  that  company  :  Hildegard.  Herta, 
Edgar,  Udo.   Hedwig,   F.erthold  and  Alfred,  all 

I  of  whom   are  still  at  the  parental   home. 

I  


JOHN  R.  GA:^IBLE.  born  Geneseo  county. 
New  York,  i8-|8.  Graduate  Lawrence  University. 
Appleton,  Wisconsin.  Brother  of  Senator  Rob- 
ert J.  Gamble.  Located  in  Yankton,  1873.  Held 
many  local  offices,  and  was  elected  to  congress, 
1890,  but  died  on  August  14,  1891,  before  taking 
his  congressional  seat. 


CHARLES  P.  BATES  is  a  native  of  the  old 
Empire  state  of  the  Union,  having  been  born  in 
Oneida  county.  New  York,  on  the  4th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1859,  and  being  a  son  of  Rev.  Laban  E.  and 
Caroline  (Bronson)  Bates,  his  father  having  been 
a  clergyman  of  the  Congregational  church,  in 
whose  ministry  he  served  until  the  time  of  his 
death,  in  1896,  his  wife  passing  away  in  1869. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  on  a  farm, 
his  father  having  been  engaged  in  agricultural 
pursuits  in  addition  to  his  ministerial  labors,  and 
after  attending  the  public  schools  until  he  had 
completed  the  curriculum  he  continued  his  stud- 
ies in  the  Genesee  Wesleyan  Seminary  at  Lima, 
New  York,  and  from  the  age  of  eighteen  until 
that  of  twenty-three  he  devoted  a  portion  of  his 
time  to  teaching  and  to  the  study  of  law  in  con- 
nection with  his  course  in  the  seminary,  having 
initiated  his  technical  reading  of  the  law 
in  the  city  of  Rochester.  In  1883  Mr. 
Bates  came  to  what  is  now  the  state  of 
South  Dakota  and  located  in  Ipswich,  Ed- 
munds county,  where  he  was  identified  with 
the  hardware  business  about  two  years.  In 
March,  1885,  he  came  to  Sioux  Falls  and  resumed 
the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  H.  H.  Keith,  being 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  January,  1887,  but  continu- 
ing in   the  employ  of  his  preceptor,   ^^Ir.  Keith, 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


until  January.  1889,  when  they  formed  a  partner- 
ship, under  the  title  of  Keith  &  Bates, 
this  association  continuing  until  January,  1893, 
after  which  ]\Ir.  Bates  was  independently 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  until 
Januar}-,  1898,  when  he  entered  into  partnership 
with  P.  J.  Rogde,  under  the  firm  name  of  Bates 
&  Rogde.  On  Januar}-  i,  1904,  this  partnership 
was  dissolved  and  Mr.  Bates  formed  a  business 
alliance  with  Ralph  W.  Parliman,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Bates  &  Parliman. 

In  May,  1894,  Mr.  Bates  was  appointed  city 
attorney,  being  chosen  as  his  own  successor  in 
the  following  year  and  thus  remaining  incumbent 
of  the  office  until  May.  1896.  During  the  spirited 
campaign  of  1894  he  was  chairman  of  the  Repub- 
lican central  committee  of  Minnehaha  county. 
marshaling  his  forces  with  consummate  skill  and 
discrimination  and  proving  himself  well  qualified 
for  leadership.  After  the  nomination  of  William 
McKinley  for  the  presidency  in  1896  he  identified 
himself  with  the  silver  wing  of  the  party,  receiv- 
ing the  nomination  for  state's  attorney  on  the  Fu- 
sion ticket  and  being  elected  by  a  gratifying  ma- 
jority, the  entire  ticket  being  victorious  in  the 
county.  In  1898  he  was  re-elected,  serving  as  a 
tangible  mark  of  the  popular  appreciation  of  his 
ability  and  his  effective  services  as  public  prose- 
cutor, and  in  the  campaign  of  that  year  he  was 
also  chairman  of  the  e-xecutive  committee  of  the 
Fusion  party  in  the  county  and  had  charge  of  the 
campaign  in  the  county.  In  1902  Mr.  Bates  re- 
newed his  allegiance  to  the  Republican  party  and 
has  since  been  an  advocate  of  its  principles.  He 
is  devoted  to  the  work  of  his  profession,  giving 
a  careful  preparation  to  all  his  cases  and  present- 
ing every  cause  with  directness  and  with  a  full 
appreciation  of  the  salient  points  involved,  while 
his  thorough  knowledge  of  the  basic  principles, 
and  the  minutiae  of  the  law,  as  well  as  of  prece- 
dents, has  gained  him  marked  prestige  as  a  trial 
lawyer  and  as  a  safe  and  conservative  counsel. 
Fraternally  Mr.  Bates  is  one  of  the  prominent 
members  of  Granite  Lodge,  No.  18,  Knights  of 
Pythias,  in  which  he  has  passed  all  the  official 
chairs,  and  has  frequently  represented  the  lodge 
in  the  grand  lodge  of  the  state.    He  is  also  affili- 


ated with  Sioux  Falls  Lodge,  No.  262,  Benevo- 
lent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  of  which  he 
is  past  exalted  ruler,  having  also  represented  this 
organization  in  the  grand  lodge.  His  religious 
faith  is  that  of  the  Congregational  church,  in 
which  he  was  reared. 

On  the  5th  of  February,  1891,  Mr.  Bates  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Grace  Chester,  of  El- 
mira.  New  York,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two 
sons,  Chester  Bronson  and  Lawrence  Russell. 


EDWARD  OLSON,  the  third  president  of 
the  State  LTniversity,  was  a  native  of  Wisconsin, 
a  graduate  of  the  Wisconsin  L'niversity,  and  was 
a  professor  in  the  old  Chicago  L'niversity.  The 
university  was  highly  prosperous  under  his 
management.  He  lost  his  life  in  the  ^Minneapolis 
Tribune  fire,  November  3,  1889. 


ORVILLE  CLYDE  CAD^^•ELL  is  a  native 
of  the  Buckeye  state,  having  been  bom  in  Fay- 
ette, Ohio,  on  the  20th  of  August,  1861.  a  son 
of  Alpha  Dow  and  Alta  Delight  Cadwell.  who 
removed  from  Ohio  to  Minnesota  in  1863,  being 
numbered  among  the  early  settlers  of  Fairmont. 
Martin  county,  where  the  father  engaged  in  the 
mercantile  business,  becoming  one  of  the  in- 
terested principals  in  the  Ward  &  Cadwell  Com- 
pany, of  that  place,  whose  business  has  grown 
to  be  one  of  the  largest  of  the  sort  in  southern 
Minnesota.  The  father  of  the  subject  died  in 
1899,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years,  and  his 
widow  is  now  living  at  Chokio,  ]\Iinnesota. 

When  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  but 
five  years  of  age  he  was  rendered  totally  blind, 
as  a  result  of  an  attack  of  fever,  and  his  early 
educational  training  was  therefore  secured  in  the 
school  for  the  blind  at  Faribault,  iNlinnesota. 
while  later  he  was  afforded  excellent  advantages 
in  being  permitted  to  prosecute  his  studies  in  the 
celebrated  Perkins  Institute,  in  South  Boston. 
IMassachusetts.  where  he  was  graduated  as  a 
member  of  the  class  of  1881.  His  alert  and  re- 
ceptive mentality  enabled  him  to  make  notable 
progress,   and   he  early  evinced  a  marked   taste 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


for  music  and  for  the  reading  of  good  literature, 
while  he  was  fortunately  endowed  with  a  strong 
physique  and  buoyant  spirit,  so  that  his  handi- 
cap has  not  been  as  great  as  might  be  imagined, 
for  he  is  a  man  of  fine  attainments  and  excellent 
business  ability,  while  his  generous  and  genial 
nature  has  won  him  stanch  friendships.  He  re- 
ceived the  best  of  musical  instruction  and  also 
learned  the  art  of  piano  tuning,  and  after  his 
graduation,  in  order  to  still  farther  advance  him- 
self, he  devoted  one  year  to  teaching  music  and 
to  the  practical  work  of  his  trade.  In  1882  Mr. 
Cadwell  secured  a  position  as  tuner  and  pianist 
in  the  prominent  music  house  of  Dyer  &  Howard, 
in  the  city  of  St.  Paul,  [Minnesota,  and  con- 
tinued in  the  employ  of  this  firm  until  1889, 
when  his  health  became  so  impaired  as  to  lead 
to  his  resignation.  In  the  autumn  of  that  year 
he  came  to  Sioux  Falls  and  engaged  in  the 
music  business,  his  father  being  associated  with 
him  in  the  same  until  his  death,  when  he  left 
his  interest  to  the  subject,  who  is  now  the  sole 
owner,  while  the  success  of  the  undertaking  is 
shown  when  we  note  that  this  is  the  largest, 
best  known  and  most  popular  music  house  in  the 
state,  having  well  equipped  sales  and  store  rooms 
and  a  full  line  of  the  best  musical  instruments 
and  merchandise.  To  this  attractive  enterprise 
]\Ir.  Cadwell  devotes  his  entire  attention,  and  he 
has  manifested  great  tact  and  administrative 
ability  in  the  connection  and  personally  attained 
the  highest  popularity  in  the  business,  social  and 
musical  circles  of  the  city.  He  is  a  stanch  sup- 
porter of  the  Republican  party,  and  in  1899  was 
elected  to  represent  the  fifth  ward  on  the  board 
of  education,  being  still  in  tenure  of  this  office 
and  taking  a  lively  interest  in  educational  af- 
fairs and  in  all  else  that  makes  for  the  well-being 
of  his  home  city.  He  is  liberal  and  tolerant  in 
his  religious  views,  and  both  he  and  his  wife 
are  members  of  the  Unitarian  church.  He  has 
been  affiliated  with  Sioux  Falls  Lodge,  No.  262, 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  since 
August,  1902,  and  is  one  of  its  valued  mem- 
bers. 

In  the  city  of   St.   Paul,   ^linnesota,  on   the 
i8th    of    November,     188;.    ^Ir.     Cadwell     was 


united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Minnie  A.  Burdick, 
who  was  born  in  Fairmont,  Martin  county,  Alin- 
nesota,  being  a  daughter  of  John  and  Rebecca 
(Swearengen)  Burdick,  and  of  the  children  of 
this  gracious  union  we  enter  the  following  brief 
record:  Grace  B.  was  bom  August  26,  1886; 
Muriel  C,  April  22,  1890,  and  Ralph  K.,  No- 
vember 2,  1894. 


FREDERICK  C.  WHITEHOUSE  was  born 
in  the  town  of  Boone,  Iowa,  on  the  i8th  of 
March,  1870,  being  the  eldest  son  of  Julius  F. 
and  Elizabeth  (Duckworth)  Whitehouse,  the 
former  of  whom  was  born  in  Maine  and  the  lat- 
ter in  Iowa,  the  ancestry  in  the  agnatic  line  being 
traced  back  to  English  and  Holland  derivation, 
while  the  maternal  ancestry  was  of  Scottish  ex- 
traction. Isaac  and  Mary  C.  Whitehouse,  the 
paternal  grandparents  of  the  subject,  removed 
from  the  old  Pine  Tree  state  to  Iowa  in  1867,  lo- 
cating in  Boone  county,  where  Mr.  Whitehouse 
continued  to  be  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits 
until  1870,  when  he  removed  with  his  family  to 
Cherokee  county,  where  he  and  three  of  his  sons 
took  up  homestead  claims  of  government  land,  en- 
during the  hardships  and  encountering  the  vicissi- 
tudes which  ever  are  the  portion  of  the  pioneer, 
but  ultimately  meeting  with  a  due  measure  of 
success.  About  1880  the  father  of  the  subject  dis- 
posed of  his  farm,  which  had  greatly  appreciated 
in  value  under  his  manipulations  and  through  the 
rapid  settling  of  the  country,  and  removed  to  the 
town  of  Cherokee,  where  he  engaged  in  the  work 
of  his  trade  as  a  carpenter  and  builder,  which  he 
has  since  followed,  he  and  his  wife  being  now 
residents  of  Primghar,  O'Brien  county,  Iowa.  The 
maternal  grandfather  of  our  subject  was  one  of 
the  earliest  settlers  in  Boone  county,  Iowa,  where 
he  became  a  prosperous  and  influential  farmer 
and  there  both  he  and  his  wife  passed  the  clos- 
ing years  of  their  lives,  honored  by  all  who  knew 
them. 

Frederick  C.  Whitehouse,  the  immediate  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  received  his  early  educational 
discipline  in  the  public  schools  of  Cherokee,  Iowa, 
where   he   completed   a   course   of   study   in   the 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


high  school.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  years  he  en- 
gaged in  the  loan  and  abstract  business  in  Prim- 
ghar,  Iowa,  and  simultaneously  held  the  office 
of  deputy  auditor  of  O'Brien  county.  After  be- 
ing thus  engaged  for  one  year  he  was  tendered 
the  responsible  office  of  cashier  of  the  Primghar 
State  Bank,  of  which  position  he  continued  in- 
cumbent for  three  years,  when  his  impaired 
health  led  him  to  resign  and  he  thereupon  estab- 
lished himself  in  the  land,  loan  and  abstract  busi- 
ness in  the  same  town,  continuing  the  enterprise 
most  successfully  until  December  i,  1896,  when 
he  disposed  of  his  interests  there  and  came  to 
Sioux  Falls,  where  he  has  ever  since  maintained 
his  home  and  where  he  has  attained  a  position 
of  prominence  as  a  citizen  and  business  man. 
From  a  copy  of  the  O'Brien  County  Bell,  bearing 
date  of  November  26.  1896,  we  quote  the  follow- 
ing words  as  indicating  the  estimate  placed  upon 
the  subject  in  the  town  where  he  was  formerly 
engaged  in  business :  "During  his  residence  in 
Primghar  Mr.  Whitehouse  has  won  for  himself 
the  reputation  of  dealing  honorably  and  fairly 
with  those  who  have  had  business  transactions 
with  him,  and  has  always  been  identified  with 
whatever  he  considered  for  the  best  interests  of 
the  town  and  good  of  the  commvmity,  and  as  an 
indication  of  the  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  we 
may  point  to  the  fact  that  our  citizens  for  three 
successive  terms  elected  him  mayor  of  our  city, 
which  office  he  filled  acceptably  to  the  citizens 
and  creditably  to  himself.  This,  together  with  the 
further  fact  that  he  has  held  several  other  posi- 
tions of  trust,  among  which  are  the  deputy  audi- 
torship  of  O'Brien  county  and  the  cashiership  of 
the  Primghar  State  Bank,  prompts  us  to  say  that 
with  the  departure  of  Mr.  Whitehouse  Primghar 
loses  one  of  its  best  citizens ;  and  it  is  safe  to  say 
that  none  will  be  missed  more,  by  a  large  circle 
of  friends,  than  Mrs.  Whitehouse,  who  accompan- 
ies her  husband  in  a  few  days  to  their  future 
home." 

Upon  coming  to  Sioux  Falls  Mr.  Whitehouse 
at  once  established  himself  in  the  real-estate  and 
loan  business,  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Scott, 
Whitehouse  &  Company,  under  which  title  oper- 
ations were  continued  until  1893.  when  the  pres- 


ent firm  of  F.  C  ^^'hitehouse  &  Company  was 
formed,  the  junior  member  being  John  AI.  Zeller. 
The  firm  has  operated  extensively  in  lands  in  east- 
ern South  Dakota  and  has  been  the  means  of 
bringing  hundreds  of  eastern  people  to  this  sec- 
tion, the  greater  portion  of  the  number  still  occu- 
pying the  homes  purchased  from  the  firm  and  be- 
ing contented,  prosperous  and  happy.  Mr.  White- 
house  is  also  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Alinne- 
haha  Land  and  Investment  Company,  of  Sioux 
Falls,  the  same  being  capitalized  for  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars,  and  he  is  recognized  as  one  of  the 
loyal  citizens  and  progressive  young  business  men 
of  the  state.  In  politics  he  gives  his  support  to 
the  Republican  party,  and  fraternally  is  identified 
with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
Knights  of  Pythias,  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks  and  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen. 

On  Christmas  day  of  the  year  1889  was  solem- 
nized the  marriage  of  Mr.  Whitehouse  to  Aliss 
Abigail  C.  Blake,  who  was  born  in  Shell  Rock, 
Iowa,  being  a  daughter  of  George  G.  and  Mary 
E.  Blake.  IMr.  and  Mrs.  Whitehouse  have  three 
children,  R.  Harold,  Leland  B.  and  Marie  A. 


ALFRED  REID  is  a  native  of  Aberdeen. 
Scotland,  where  he  was  born  on  the  i6th  of 
Januan\  1870,  being  a  son  of  Alexander  and 
Sarah  Reid,  both  representatives  of  stanch  and 
honored  Scottish  ancestry.  The  father  of  the 
subject  is  a  stone  contractor  by  vocation;  both  he 
and  his  wife  are  now  residents  of  Aberdeen, 
Scotland. 

They  became  the  parents  of  ten  children,  of 
whom  nine  are  living.  The  subject  was  reared 
in  his  native  city,  in  whose  public  schools  he  re- 
ceived his  preliminary  educational  discipline, 
after  which  he  was  for  two  years  a  student  in 
Gordons  College,  a  prominent  educational  in- 
stitution in  Aberdeen.  In  1887,  at  the  age  of 
seventeen  years,  Mr.  Reid  came  to  America, 
whither  two  of  his  brothers  had  preceded  him. 
and  he  made  his  way  directly  from  New  York 
to  Sioux  Falls,  where  he  was  employed  as  a 
hotel   clerk   for   some   time,   and   thereafter   fol- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


lowed  various  vocations  until  1890,  when  he  lo- 
cated in  Rowena,  where  he  engaged  in  the  gen- 
eral merchandise  business,  conducting  the  enter- 
prise individually  until  1899,  when  he  admitted 
his  brothers  James  R.  and  Alexander  to  partner- 
ship, and  they  have  since  continued  the  business, 
in  connection  with  their  other  important  indus- 
trial enterprise.  From  1894  to  1897  Mr.  Reid 
was  the  local  manager  of  the  Minnehaha  Granite 
Company,  of  Qiicago,  said  company  operating 
the  quarries  at  Rowena,  and  he  then  entered  into 
partnership  with  his  two  brothers  and  acquired 
the  quarries,  which  they  have  since  successfully 
operated,  controlling  a  large  and  profitable  busi- 
ness. The  products  of  the  fine  quarries  include 
granite  paving  blocks,  building  and  dimension 
stones,  broken  ashler,  range  rock  and  crushed 
granite,  and  the  firm  makes  a  specialty  of  con- 
tracting on  all  kinds  of  street  improvements  in 
their  line. 

Mr.  Reid  is  a  stanch  adherent  of  the  Repub- 
lican party  and  has  been  a  most  active  worker  in 
its  cause  for  a  number  of  years  past,  while  he 
has  been  a  frequent  delegate  to  the  county  and 
state  conventions  of  the  party.  He  has  been  in- 
cumbent of  the  office  of  postmaster  at  Rowena 
since  1897,  served  for  nine  years  as  treasurer  of 
Split'  Rock  township,  and  was  for  seven  years 
"a  valued  member  of  the  board  of  education,  hav- 
ing at  all  times  given  a  ready  support  to  all 
measures  and  enterprises  tending  to  conserve  the 
general  welfare  and  progress.  Fraternally,  he 
is  identified  with  Sioux  Falls  Lodge,  Benevolent 
and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  at  Sioux  Falls. 

On  the  27th  of  May,  1896,  Mr.  Reid  was 
united  in  marriage  to  I\Iiss  Nellie  M.  Davidson, 
a  daughter  of  James  F.  Davidson,  a  well-known 
and  influential  citizen  of  Rowena.  She  was  born 
in  the  state  of  Iowa  and  has  been  a  resident  of 
South  Dakota  for  the  past  fifteen  years.  Mr. 
r-ul  Mrs.  Reid  have  four  children,  namely  :  Emma 
Ra>-,  Alfred  Nelson,  Alexander  Davidson  and 
Nellie  Ma\-.  ]\Tr.  Reid  is  a  member  of  the  Mod- 
ern Woodmen  of  America  at  Rowena  and  the  An- 
cient Order  of  United  Workmen,  at  Sioux  Falls. 
Mrs.  Reid  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church  and  a  prominent  worker  in  the  same. 


AXDRE\\'  E.  LEE,  born  in  Norway  in  1847, 
came  to  America  in  1850,  locating  at  Madison, 
Wisconsin.  Came  to  Vermillion,  South  Dakota, 
in  1869,  where  he  has  since  engaged  in  mercan- 
tile business,  farming  and  stock  growing. 
Elected  governor  upon  Populist  ticket,  1896;  re- 
elected, i8g8.    One  of  the  state's  wealthiest  men. 


FRANK  BOWEN.— The  subject  of  this  me- 
moir was  a  young  man  of  sterling  character  and 
marked  business  acumen,  and  had  gained  dis- 
tinctive precedence  in  the  commercial  affairs  of 
Minnehaha  county,  having  been  engaged  in  the 
grain  brsiness  in  the  village  of  Benclare.  His 
life  was  brought  to  a  close  by  the  hand  of  a  das- 
tardly assassin,  and  he  thus  passed  away  in  the 
very  prime  of  an  honorable  and  useful  manhood, 
while  the  crime  which  caused  his  death  proved  a 
shock  to  the  people  of  the  county  in  which  he 
lived,  while  his  loss  was  felt  as  a  personal  be- 

I   reavement  by  his  wide  circle  of  loyal  friends. 

j  Mr.  Bowen  was  born  in  Benton  county,  Iowa, 
on  the  7th  of  February,  1865,  being  a  son  of  Pat- 
rick and  Catherine  Bowen,  and  his  father  was  a 
farmer  by  vocation,  having  been  numbered  among 
the  early  settlers  of  the  Hawkeye  state.  The  sub- 
ject received  his  educational  training  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  his  native  county  and  remained  on 
the  parental  homestead,  assisting  in  the  work  and 
management  of  the  farm,  until  he  had  attained 
the  age  of  nineteen  years,  when  he  inaugurated 
his  independent  business  career  by  going  to  Cher- 
okee county,  Iowa,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
farming  about  three  years,  after  which  he  followed 

I  the  same  line  of  enterprise  for  a  time  near  Rock 
Valley.  Sioux  county,  that  state,  and  thereafter 
he  was  engaged  in  the  real-estate  business  in  the 
town  mentioned  and  later  in  Latchwood,  where 
he  also  conducted  an  insurance  enterprise,  re- 
maining there  three  years,  at  the  expiration  of 
which,  in  1890,  he  came  to  South  Dakota  and  took 
up  his  residence  in  the  village  of  Benclare,  Min- 
nehaha county,  where  he  ]nirchased  an  established 
general  merchandise  business,  in  connection  with 
the  conducting  of  which  he  also  became  one  of 

I  the  leading  grain  and  stock  dealers  of  this  section. 


902 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


while  he  also  handled  lumber  and  coal  and  was 
the  owner  of  the  well  equipped  grain  elevator  in 
the  town.  He  was  an  honored  and  progressive 
business  man  and  did  much  to  forward  the  indus- 
trial and  civic  advancement  of  the  village,  while 
he  held  the  respect  and  confidence  of  all  those 
who  had  an  appreciation  of  his  sterling  worth  of 
character.  He  was  a  stanch  adherent  of  the  Dem- 
ocrat party,  but  never  sought  the  honors  or  emolu- 
ments of  political  office. 

On  the  23d  of  December,  1889,  Air.  Bowen 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Kate  E.  Smith, 
who  was  born  and  reared  in  Benton  county,  Iowa, 
being  a  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Catherine 
(Melville)  Smith,  while  her  father  is  one  of  the 
prominent  and  influential  farmers  of  that  section. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bowen  became  the  parents  of  seven 
children,  all  of  whom  are  living  except  one,  and 
all  of  whom  remain  with  their  widowed  mother 
in  the  pleasant  home  in  Benclare,  their  names,  in 
order  of  birth,  being  as  follows :  Earl  T.,  Teresa 
K.,  Francis  S.,  Evaline  A.,  Lorena  M.,  Cecilia 
M.  and  Louella  A.,  the  last  mentioned  having 
died  in  infancy,  on  the  i8th  of  September,  1903. 

Mr.  Bowen  met  his  death  on  the  27th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1904,  and  of  the  details  of  the  tragedy  we 
ofifer  the  following  data,  extracted  from  the  cur- 
rent number  of  the  Grain  Dealers'  Journal,  pub- 
lished in  the  city  of  Chicago : 

How  hard  it  is  to  keep  on  friendly  terms  with  the 
station  agent  who  tries  to  enforce  the  unjust  rules 
of  the  company,  grain  dealers  know  to  their  cost. 
In  stirring  up  animosity,  the  matter  of  demurrage 
claimed  on  cars  not  unloaded  promptly  is  most  pro- 
lific. A  life  has  been  sacrificed  to  this  creator  of 
strife.  Frank  Bowen.  a  progressive  and  enterprising 
grain  dealer  of  Benclare,  South  Dakota,  has  been 
shot  down  by  the  railroad  station  agent  after  a  qtiar- 
rel  over  demurrage.  Mr.  Bowen  paid  the  demurrage 
and  thought  no  more  of  the  matter,  but  not  so  the 
station  agent.  When  Bowen  visited  the  station  the 
next  day  the  agent  called  him  to  receipt  for  an  ex- 
press package.  Bowen  never  finished  writing  his 
name.  As  he  stood,  pen  in  hand,  the  agent  shot  him 
in  the  head,  and  Bowen  slipped  to  the  floor,  the  pen 
making  a  scrawl  after  the  letters  "Fra ." 

When  the  citizens,  who  highly  esteemed  Mr.  Bowen 
for  his  integrity  and  fair  dealing,  learned  of  the 
agent's  deed  the  latter  was  with  difficulty  protected 
from  their  vengeance.     He  has  been  lodged  in  Jail, 


and  the  defense  made  by  the  railroad  company  will 
not  avail,  as  the  agent  did  not  succeed  in  killing  the 
only  witness.  Bowen's  twelve-year-old  son,  who  will 
recover  from  a  wound  in  the  shoulder.  The  esteem  in 
which  Mr.  Bowen  was  held  by  the  commission  mer- 
chants to  whom  he  consigned  grain  is  shown  by  their 
messages  of  sympathy  and  requests  that  the  bereaved 
widow  may  draw  on  them  for  any  money  she  may 
need. 

At  the  trial,  held  at  Sioux  Falls  the  following 
May,  the  assassin  was  adjudged  insane  and  was 
committed  to  the  insane  asvlum  at  Yankton. 


j         ^\TLLIAM  HANDLEY  is  a  sturdy  Scotch- 
man and   is   endowed  with  those  sterling  char- 
acteristics so  typical  of  the  race  from  which  he  is 
sprung.     He  was  born  in  Dumfriesshire,   Scot- 
land, on  the  27th  of  October,  1853,  being  a  son 
j  of   James   and    I\Iar\'    (Barrett)    Handler,   both 
I  of  whom  passed  their  entire  lives  in  the  fair  land 
I  of  hills  and  heather,  the   father  having  been   a 
laborer  by  vocation.     Our  subject   received   his 
'  educational  discipline  in  the  excellent  schools  of 
i  his  native  place,   and   learned   in  his  youth   the 
trade  of  stone  cutting,  becoming  a  very  skillful 
j  artisan  in  the  line,  having  served  his  apprentice- 
ship in   Shapfaels,   Westmoreland  county,   Eng- 
land,  where  he   remained   until    1875,   'w'hen   he 
immigrated  to  the  United  States,  locating  near 
Rockland,  Maine,  where  he  remained  one  year, 
employed  at  his  trade,  after  which  he  was  simi- 
larly engaged  for  three  years  at  Westerly,  Rhode 
Island.    He  then  came  to  the  west  and  located  in 
I   St.  Cloud,  Minnesota,  and  one  year  later  entered 
i   the  employ  of  the    Northern    Pacific    Railroad 
I   Company,   working   at   his   trade    in    connection 
I  with   the   construction   of   the   line   through    the 
state  of  Washington,  and  having  been  thus  en- 
i  gaged  at  the  time  when  the  lines  from  the  east 
and  west  were  joined  and  the  important  event 
celebrated  by  the  driving  of  the  golden  spike,  in 
I  honor  of  the  completion  of  the  splendid  enter- 
j  prise.     In   March,    1883,   Mr.   Handley  came  to 
I   Sioux    Falls,    where    for    seven    years    he    had 
I   charge  of  the  operation  of  the  Drake  Polishing 
Works,  and  at  the  expiration  of  this  period  he 
i   located    in   East    Sioux   Falls   and   assuiued   the 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


903 


management  of  the  works  of  the  East  Sioux 
Falls  Granite  Company,  of  which  he  eventuahy 
came  into  control,  conducting  the  enterprise  in- 
dividually for  three  years,  and  then,  in  1895, 
entering  into  partnership  with  W'iley  ^^  Lowe. 
under  the  finn  name  of  Lowe  &  Handley,  and 
they  have  since  continued  the  business  niost  suc- 
cessfully, having  a  well  equipped  plant  and 
turning  out  work  of  the  highest  grade,  both  for 
architectural  and  cemetery  purposes. 

In  politics  Mr.  Handley  is  a  stanch  advocate 
of  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party,  but  has 
never  sought  office.  Fraternally  he  is  affiliated 
with  the  Ancient  Order  of  L^nited  Workmen 
Lodge,  and  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order 
of  Elks,  at  Sioux  Falls. 

On  the  27th  of  October.  1901,  Air.  Handley 
was  united  in  marriage  to  ]\Iiss  Frances  Ann 
Jones,  who  was  born  and  reared  in  ^Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin,  being  a  daughter  of  John  and  Fan- 
nie Jones,  who  are  now  residents  of  Sioux  Falls. 
No  children  have  been  born  of  this  union.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Handley  have  a  pleasant  home  in  East 
Sioux  Falls,  and  enjoy  marked  popularity  in  the 
social  circles  of  the  communitv. 


DIGHTON  CORSON,  judge  of  supreme 
court,  native  of  Somerset  county.  Maine,  educated 
at  Waterville.  Came  to  Wisconsin  at  early  period 
and  was  member  of  Wisconsin  legislature  in 
1857.  and  district  attorney  for  Milwaukee 
county  in  1858.  Afterwards  settled  in  Nevada 
and  was  for  many  years  district  attorney  at 
A^irginia  City.  Came  to  Black  Hills  in  1876. 
'Wrs  member  of  constitutional  conventions  of 
1883  and  1889.  Elected  supreme  judge  at  state- 
liood  and  has  continued  in  the  position. 


H.  A.  DUNHA^r.— A  native  of  Newark. 
New  Jersey,  the  subject  of  this  review  was  born 
on  the  i8th  of  September.  1846,  and  is  a  son  of 
S.  H.  and  Dianthe  (Alden)  Dunham.  The  fa- 
ther was  the  owner  of  a  rubber  factory  in  the  east 
and  when  his  son  was  but  six  years  of  age  he  re- 
moved from  New   Jersev  to  Indiana,  where  he 


remained  for  six  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time 
he  went  to  Illinois,  where  he  entered  land  from 
the  government  and  began  farming,  carrying 
on  agricultural  pursuits  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred in  1885.  He  had  five  children:  Albur, 
who  was  killed  at  Bowling  Green,  Kentucky,  dur- 
ing the  Civil  war ;  Eugene,  who  is  a  veterinary 
surgeon ;  C.  L.,  who  was  also  a  soldier  of  the 
L'nion  army  and  now  resides  in  Iowa ;  and  Her- 
sey,  who  is  the  wife  of  Ed.  Alden,  of  Cleveland, 
(5hio. 

H.  A.  Dunham  continued  under  the  parental 
roof  until  fourteen  years  of  age,  when  he  left 
home  and  became  a  sailor,  following  the  sea  for 
five  years,  during  which  time  he  visited  man^^  for- 
eign ports.  Within  that  period  he  also  gained 
a  knowledge  of  the  coopering  business  and  fol- 
lowed that  pursuit  for  two  years  in  Yankton, 
South  Dakota.  He  was  married  in  1867  to  Mrs. 
Jane  Grant,  of  Randeau  county,  and  the  follow- 

'  ing  year  came  to  this  state.  He  secured  a  home- 
stead  in  Yankton  county,  on  which  he  still  re- 
sides and  his  time  and  energies  have  been  devoted 
successfully  to  agricultural  pursuits.     His  wife 

j  had  been  previously  married  and  by  the  first 
union  had  a  daughter,  who  is  now  the  wife  of 

j  James  Ewing,  a  prominent  farmer  of  Yankton 
county.  L'nto  Air.  and  Mrs.  Dunham  have  been 
born  four  daughters  and  a  son :  Hersey,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Ezra  Willis  and  resides  in  the  Black 
Hills;  Cora,  the  wife  of  William  McNichols,  a 
farmer  of  Yankton  county;  Anna,  who  lives  at 
home ;  Hiram,  who  is  married  and  is  engaged  in 
farming ;  and  Grace,  the  wife  of  Nels  Anderson, 
a  resident  farmer  of  this  county.  In  1893  the 
family  were  called  upon  to  mourn  the  loss  of  the 
wife  and  mother,  who  was  a  most  estimable  lady, 
her  loss  being  deeply  -deplored  not  only  by  her 
husband  and  children,  but  also  by  many  friends. 

Throughout  an  active  business  career  Mr. 
Dunham  has  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  and 
is  now  the  owner  of  a  valuable  farm  of  three 
hundred  and  twenty  acres,  on  which  he  has  placed 
splendid  improvements.  He  gives  his  attention 
more  largely  to  the  raising  of  stock  than  to  the 
cultivation  of  grain  and  through  his  active  and 
energetic  efforts   in   this   line  he  has   won  very 


904 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


desirable  prosperity.  In  politics  he  is  a  Repub- 
lican and  he  is  connected  with  the  Improved  Or- 
der of  Red  Men.  In  friendship  he  is  faithful,  in 
citizenship  loyal  and  to  his  family  he  is  most  de- 
voted. His  business  affairs  have  ever  been  con- 
ducted honorabh-  and  he  is  today  one  who  well 
merits  the  confidence  and  esteem  in  which  he  is 
uniformly  held.  Mr.  Dunham  is  in  his  religious 
belief  a  free  thinker. 


M.  E.  JOHXSON,  now  deceased,  was  a  na- 
tive of  Norway,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  the 
land  of  the  midnight  sun  in  1842.  He  there  re- 
mained until  fourteen  years  of  age  and  then 
started  out  in  life  on  his  own  account.  He  was 
a  young  boy  to  face  the  stern  realities  of  life,  but 
he  showed  courage  and  stability  in  his  work  and 
gradually  he  advanced  in  his  chosen  vocation. 
He  first  went  to  sea  and  remained  a  sailor  until 
1871,  during  which  time  he  visited  many  ports. 
In  that  year  he  c^me  to  the  United  States  and 
spent  a  short  time  on  the  Atlantic  coast  in  New 
York,  Boston  and  Baltimore.  He  then  went  to 
[Michigan  and  was  identified  with  the  central 
west,  its  business  opportunities  and  its  develop- 
ment throughout  his  remaining  days.  In  1873  he 
was  imited  in  marriage  to  ]\Iiss  Malvina  Antonc 
Johnson,  who  was  a  native  of  Denmark,  their 
wedding  being  celebrated  in  Michigan,  where 
they  lived  for  about  a  year.  Mrs.  Johnson's 
birth  occurred  in  1848  and  she  came  to  America 
in  1872,  remaining  a  resident  of  Michigan  from 
that  time  until  a  year  after  her  marriage.  Her 
parents  both  died  in  their  naive  land,  bu  she  has 
a  brother  and  sister  in  this  country — residents  of 
Dane  county,  Wisconsin. 

It  was  in  the  year  1874  that  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Johnson  removed  to  Nebraska,  where  they  spent 
the  summer,  and  in  the  succeeding  autumn  they 
came  to  Yankton  county  and  in  the  city  of  Yank- 
ton Mr.  Johnson  engaged  in  the  express  business, 
in  which  he  continued  up  to  the  time  of  his  death 
in  1885.  He  received  a  liberal  patronage,  his 
time  being  employed  in  the  conduct  of  the  enter- 
prise and  he  made  considerable  money  as  an  ex- 
pressman.   With  the  capital  thus  acquired  he  pur- 


chased a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  near 
Yankton  and  thus  at  his  demise  he  left  a  valuable 
property  to  his  family.  His  iife  was  character- 
ized by  earnest  labor,  for  having  no  familv  or 
pecuniary  advantages  to  aid  him  at  the  outset  of 
his  career  he  worked  persistently  and  capably  un- 
til he  had  gained  for  himself  a  very  desirable 
position  among  the  men  of  affluence  in  his  adopted 
county. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Johnson  were  born  six 
children,  but  three  of  the  number  have  passed 
away.  Those  still  living  are  Edward  Johnson, 
who,  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight  years,  is  operat- 
ing the  home  farm ;  Tillie,  who  is  also  with  her 
mother ;  and  Marcus  Enoch,  who  has  recently 
graduated  in  the  public  schools  of  Yankton.  Mr. 
Johnson  was  a  member  of  the  Odd  Fellows  so- 
ciety and  belonged  to  the  Congregational  church. 
He  was  loyal  to  its  teachings  and  its  principles 
and  his  life  was  ever  honorable  and  upright.  His 
political  allegiance  was  given  to  the  Republican 
party  and  he  was  a  worthy  son  of  his  adopted 
country,  being  true  to  her  institutions  and  taking 
a  great  pride  in  what  was  accomplished  in  this 
state.  Because  of  his  worth  and  fidelity  to  every 
duty  that  devolved  upon  him  he  enjoyed  in  an  un- 
usual degree  the  respect  of  his  fellow  men  and 
when  he  was  called  from  this  life  his  loss  was 
deeply  deplored  by  all  who  knew  him. 


JOHN  OWENS.— Among  the  citizens  of 
foreign  birth  now  living  in  Yankton  county, 
South  Dakota,  is  numbered  John  Owens,  who 
was  born  in  North  Wales  in  the  year  1839,  his 
parents  being  Thomas  and  Ellen  (Rowlands) 
Owens.  In  their  famil_\'  were  seven  children, 
five  of  whom  are  deceased,  the  living  being  the 
subject  and  his  sister,  Ellen,  who  yet  resides  in 
Wales.  Edward  Owens,  who  came  to  this  coun- 
try with  his  brother  John,  died  in  Minnesota 
about  seven  years  ago,  leaving  a  widow  and 
eight  children. 

The  subject  of  this  review  pursued  his  edu- 
cation in  the  schools  of  his  native  country,  but 
early  he  put  aside  his  text-books  because  of  the 
financial  condition  of  the  family,  it  being  neces- 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


905 


sary  that  he  earn  his  own  liveHhcx>d  and  also 
assist  in  tlie  support  of  his  brothers  and  sisters. 
Realizing  that  the  business  possibilities  of  the 
new  world  were  greater  than  those  afforded  in 
Great  Britain,  he  left  home  when  twenty  years 
of  age  and  sailed  across  the  broad  Atlantic.  Mak- 
ing his  way  to  Chicago,  he  spent  two  years  in 
that  state,  working  for  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road Company.  He  next  went  to  Minnesota, 
where  his  brother  Edward  resided,  and  there 
he  made  his  home  for  several  years,  removing 
subsequently  to  Iowa,  where  he  spent  about  five 
years,  being  employed  on  a  farm  in  the  latter 
state.  The  year  1884  witnessed  his  arrival  in 
Decatur  and  his  home  was  established  in  Yank- 
ton county. 

In  September  of  the  same  year  ]\Ir.  Owens 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Henrietta 
Kuhler,  of  Clay  county.  South  Dakota,  and  a 
daughter  of  John  William  and  Mary  Catherine 
(Funkei  Kuhler.  They  were  natives  of  Ger- 
manv  and  were  married  ere  leaving  the  father- 
land. Mr.  Kuhler  was  a  miller  by  trade  and  al- 
ways followed  that  pursuit  while  in  his  native 
country.  In  the  year  1849  he  came  with  his  fam- 
ily to  the  United  States,  settling  in  Iowa,  where 
he  secured  a  tract  of  land  of  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres.  It  is  located  in  a 
pioneer  district  and  he  paid  for  it  two 
thousand  dollars.  With  characteristic  energy 
he  began  its  further  development  and  im- 
provement and  continued  to  make  it  his  home 
until  his  removal  to  Clay  county.  South  Dakota. 
There  he  lived  with  his  son,  August,  for  two 
years,  when  he  and  his  wife  came  to  live  with 
Mrs.  Owens.  His  death  occurred  about  eighteen 
years  ago.  His  widow  is  also  deceased.  In  the 
family  of  this  worthy  couple  were  nine  children : 
August  Kuhler,  a  brother  of  Mrs.  Owens,  is 
now  living  in  LeMar,  Iowa,  having  retired  from 
active  business  life;  another  brother,  William, 
is  a  retired  farmer  of  Missouri ;  while  a  sister, 
Rosella,  is  the  wife  of  August  Hoppe,  of  Ne- 
braska: and  Julia  is  the  wife  of  Peter  Christina, 
of  Iowa. 

The  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Owens  has  been 
blessed   with  but  one   child,   William,   who   was 


educated  in  the  public  schools  and  is  now  as- 
sisting his  father  in  the  management  of  the  home 
farm.  He  is  an  intelligent  and  industrious  young 
man  whose  labors  are  of  great  benefit  to  his 
parents. 

A  short  time  after  his  marriage  Mr.  Owens 
purchased  two  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land, 
and  since  then  purchased  eighty  acres  more, 
which  he  has  since  engaged  in  cultivating  and 
he  now  has  a  valuable  property.  About  one-half 
of  his  land  has  been  transformed  into  rich  fields, 
planted  to  the  cereals  best  adapted  to  the  soil 
and  climate,  and  he  is  also  extensively  engaged 
in  the  raising  of  stock.  He  is  a  man  of  resolute 
purpose  and  strong  will  and  carries  forward  to 
successful  completion  whatever  he  undertakes, 
brooking  no  obstacles  that  can  be  overcome  by 
earnest  labor  and  perseverance.  He  and  his  fam- 
ily are  devoted  members  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church,  contributing  generously  to  its  sup- 
port and  doing  everything  in  their  power  for  its 
growth  and  upbuilding.  He  is,  indeed,  a  ver^' 
highly  respected  citizen,  enjoying  in  unusual  de- 
gree the  trust  and  good  will  of  his  fellow  men 
and  his  integrity  stands  as  an  unquestioned  fact 
in  his  career.  His  word  has  always  been  as 
good  as  any  bond  solemnized  by  signature  or 
seal  and  whatever  Mr.  Owens  says  can  be  de- 
pended upon. 


CHARLES  K.  HOWARD,  born  Delaware 
county.  New  York,  1836.  Settled  in  Sioux  Falls, 
i86g.  Promoter  of  many  enterprises  for  develop- 
ment of  territorv. 


RICHARD  LUCID.— In  an  analyzation  of 
the  life  record  of  Richard  Lucid  we  note  many 
of  the  sterling  traits  of  character  of  the  Irish 
people,  including  the  adaptability  to  circum- 
stances which  has  ever  been  one  of  the  salient 
traits  of  the  sons  of  the  Emerald  Isle.  He  also 
has  the  energy  and  the  progressive  spirit  for 
which  they  are  noted  and  it  is  to  these  qualities 
that  he  owes  his  success.  He  is  now  the  posses- 
sor of  two  hundred  acres  of  rich  and  arable  land 


9o6 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


in  Yankton  county  and  is  classed  among  the  rep- 
resentative farmers  here. 

Mr.  Lucid  was  bom  in  County  Kerry,  Ire- 
land, in  the  year  1843  ^.nd  there  remained  until 
eighteen  years  of  age,  when  he  came  to  the 
United  States,  settling  first  in  Ohio,  where  he 
remained  but  a  year.  He  afterward  located  in 
Michigan,  where  he  resided  for  seven  years, 
working  in  the  iron  mines.  On  the  expiration  of 
that  period  he  removed  to  Iowa  and  purchased 
a  farm  there  in  the  year  1871.  For  twenty-two 
years  he  thus  carried  on  agricultural  pursuits  in 
the  Hawkeye  state,  placing  his  land  under  culti- 
vation and  adding  many  improvements  to  his 
farm  so  that  it  became  one  of  the  desirable 
properties  there.  It  was  adjacent  to  the  city  of 
Independence  and  he  and  his  family  were  highly 
respected  in  that  place  and  throughout  the  sur- 
rounding district. 

Mr.  Lucid  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Hannah  Hart,  of  Independence,  Iowa,  the  wed- 
ding taking  place  on  the  gth  of  May,  1879,  the 
ceremony  being  perfomied  by  Father  Sweeney, 
of  Independence.  Mrs.  Lucid  is  a  daughter  of 
Patrick  and  Julia  (Reilly)  Hart,  who  were  mar- 
ried in  Illinois,  whence  they  removed  to  Iowa, 
where  the  father  took  up  land  from  the  govern- 
ment and  engaged  in  farming.  L^nto  him  and 
his  wife  were  born  eleven  children :  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lucid  have  also  become  the  parents  of 
eleven  children :  Richard,  Julia,  Rosanna,  Lizzie, 
Daniel,  Charles,  Clarence,  Cornelius,  Edna, 
Bemice  and  Clara.  Of  these  Rosanna,  Julia, 
Daniel,  Cornelius  and  Clarence  are  now  deceased. 
Lizzie  is  a  most  successful  and  capable  school 
teacher,  now  having  charge  of  the  Huber  school. 
She  has  thirteen  rooms  and  has  given  excellent 
satisfaction  by  her  capable  work.  The  other 
children  of  the  family  are  attending  school  or 
assisting  the  father  in  the  operation  of  the  home 
farm.  As  before  stated,  Mr.  Lucid  has  two 
hundred  acres  of  land  and  is  engaged  in  stock 
raising,  good  grades  of  cattle,  horses  and  hogs 
being  seen  upon  his  place.  He  regards  South 
Dakota  as  one  of  the  finest  farming  states  of  the 
LTnion  and  his  own  valuable  properts-  indicates 
that  he  is  accurate  in  this  opinion,  for  his  land 


is  rich  and  productive  and  everything  about  the 
place  indicates  his  careful  supervision.  He  and 
his  family  are  communicants  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church  in  Yankton  and  are  widely  and 
favorably  known  in  this  community.  He  has  led 
a  very'  industrious  life  and  is  one  of  the  highly 
respected  and  prosperous  citizens  of  his  adopted 
state. 


WILLIAM  T.  \'AN  OSDEL  is  a  native  of 
Indiana,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  ^Madison 
county  on  the  ist  of  March,  1847.  His  parents, 
Abraham  and  Mary  (Taylor)  A'an  Osdel,  were 
natives  of  Kentucky  and  the  father  was  a  skilled 
physician  who  practiced  medicine  successfully  in 
Indiana,  Minnesota,  South  Dakota  and  Kansas, 
his  death  occurring  in  the  last  named  state.  The 
subject  of  this  review  accompanied  his  parents  on 
their  removal  to  Faribault,  Minnesota,  where  he 
attended  the  public  schools  until  he  was  sixteen 
years  of  age.  Although  but  a  boy,  he  then  entered 
the  Union  army,  becoming  a  member  of  Company 
B,  South  Dakota  Volunteers,  under  command  of 
Captain  William  Tripp,  a  brother  of  Bartlett 
Tripp.  For  three  years  he  remained  in  the  army, 
faithful  to  the  old  flag  and  the  cause  it  repre- 
sented, and  was  about  twenty  years  of  age  when 
honorably  discharged.  For  a  number  of  years 
thereafter  he  engaged  in  farming  and  later  turned 
his  attention  to  freighting,  in  which  business  he 
continued  until  the  advent  of  railroads.  He  accu- 
mulated considerable  money  in  that  way  and  when 
he  ceased  to  follow  that  pursuit  he  entered  from 
the  government  a  claim  of  a  quarter  section  of 
land  and  also  a  timber  claim.  He  then  turned 
his  attention  to  the  stock-raising  business,  in 
which  he  has  since  continued  with  splendid  suc- 
cess. He  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  best  judges 
of  stock  in  this  state  and  his  knowledge  has 
enabled  him  to  make  judicious  purchases  and 
profitable  sales  until  he  has  become  a  wealthy 
man.  He  is  now  the  owner  of  four  hundred  acres 
of  land  which  he  farms  and  the  products  which  he 
raises  he  feeds  to  his  stock.  His  business  is  car- 
ried on  extensively  and  his  opinions  are  regarded 
as  authority  in  his  special  line.     For  the  past  fif- 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH  DAKOTA. 


907 


teen  or  more  years  Mr.  Van  Osdel  has  been 
largely  engaged  in  buying  and  shipping  live  stock. 
In  connection  with  shipping  from  this  point,  he  is 
president  of  a  commission  house  in  Sioux  City, 
Iowa. 

In  1871  Mr.  Van  Osdel  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Permelia  Morey,  of  New  York,  and  they 
have  become  the  parents  of  two  daughters :  Cora 
and  Lura,  aged  respectively  twenty-four  and 
twenty-two  years.  Both  attend  the  public  schools 
and  were  graduated  in  the  high  school  of  Yank- 
ton. Cora  is  now  the  wife  of  B.  E.  Pickett,  a 
member  of  the  firm  of  Grant  &  Pickett,  propri- 
etors of  the  marble  works  in  Yankton.  Lura  is 
the  wife  of  Frank  Frick,  a  well-known  farmer 
and  stock  raiser  of  this  countv. 


SIMON  SCHIAGER  is  one  of  the  sturdy 
sons  of  the  far  Norseland  who  has  aided  in  the 
development  of  the  resources  of  Lincoln  county, 
of  which  he  is  an  honored  pioneer.  He  was  born 
in  Norway,  on  the  21st  of  August,  1838;  being  a 
son  of  Gunder  and  Mary  Schiager,  both  of  whom 
passed  their  entire  lives  in  that  land.  The  subject 
and  his  brother  Paul  were  reared  and  educated 
in  Norway,  whence  they  emigrated  to  America  in 
1866,  locating  in  Iowa,  where  they  remained  un- 
til June,  1868,  when  they  came  with  ox  teams 
and  wagons  to  what  is  now  Lincoln  county.  South 
Dakota,  where  each  took  up  a  quarter  section  of 
government  land. 


DOANE  ROBINSON  was  born  at  Sparta, 
Wisconsin,  October  19,  1856,  the  son  of  George 
McCook  and  Rhozina  (Grow)  Robinson.  Both 
father  and  mother  are  from  old  Revolutionary 
stock.  The  family  were  farmers  in  the  Beaver 
Creek  valley,  three  miles  north  of  Sparta.  Mr. 
Robinson  received  his  early  education  in  the  coun- 
try schools  and  in  his  youth  became  a  country 
school-teacher.  Upon  attaining  his  majority  he 
went  to  Lyon  county,  Minnesota,  and  settled 
upon  a  government  homestead,  soon  thereafter 
taking  up  the  study  of  law  under  the 
preceptorship    of    a    firm    of    lawyers    in    the 


neighboring  village  of  Marshall.  After  ad- 
mission to  practice,  in  June,  1882,  he  en- 
tered the  Wisconsin  Law  School,  taking  the  sen- 
ior-year course.  On  August  4,  1883,  he  became  a 
resident  of  Watertown,  South  Dakota,  and  has 
since  been  an  enthusiastic  Dakotan.  In  1884  he 
engaged  in  the  newspaper  business  at  Watertown 
and  from  that  date  has  generally  been  interested 
in  the  publishing  business.  In  1896  he  became 
editor  of  the  Yankton  Gazette,  continuing  in  that 
position  until  November,  1899,  when  he  withdrew 
from  the  Gazette  to  give  his  entire  attention  to 
the  Monthly  South  Dakotan,  a  literary  and  his- 
torical magazine  which  he  had  established  May  i, 
1898,  and  of  which  he  is  still  the  editor.  Mr. 
Robinson  has  enjoyed  moderate  success  in  legiti- 
mate literary  lines,  both  in  prose  and  verse,  and 
his  work  has  for  the  past  fifteen  years  appeared 
regularly  in  the  standard  magazines,  particularly 
the  Century.  Through  his  efforts  the  State  His- 
torical Society  was  organized  and  chartered  by 
the  legislature  in  January,  1901,  and  he  has  since 
been  secretary  and  executive  officer  of  that  organ- 
ization, which  is  doing  commendable  work.  In 
addition  to  this  history,  he  is  the  author  of  two 
books,  "Midst  the  Coteaus  of  Dakota,"  verse,  and 
"xA.  History  of  South  Dakota  from  the  Earliest 
Times,"  a  school  text-book. 

On  December  4,  1884,  Mr.  Robinson  was  mar- 
ried, at  Leon,  Wisconsin,  to  Miss  Jennie  Austin, 
whose  death  occurred  on  January  24,  1902.  Two 
sons  were  born  to  them,  Harry  Austin,  now  aged 
fifteen,  and  Will  Grow,  aged  ten. 

Mr.  Robinson  is  a  Republican  and  as  such 
served  his  party  as  secretary  of  the  last  railroad 
commission  of  Dakota  territory  and  the  first  com- 
mission of  South  Dakota.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Congregational  church  and  of  several  fraternal 
orders. 


PORTER  PASCAL  PECK  was  born  in  the 
village  of  Caledonia  Springs,  province  of 
Longale,  Canada,  on  the  i6th  of  April.  1843,  be- 
ing a  son  of  Hosea  and  Susanna  (Southworth) 
Peck,  the  former  of  Whom  was  born  in  Massa- 
chusetts and  the  latter  in  Middleburv,  \'ennont. 


9o8 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


wliere  her  father  was  one  of  the  first  professors 
in  the  Middlebury  Academy,  having  been  one  of 
the  leading  educators  of  the  state.  The  parents 
of  the  subject  removed  from  Canada  to  South- 
port,  Kenosha  county,  Wisconsin,  in  the  early 
■fifties,  the  father  there  engaging  in  brick  manu- 
facturing, and  there  he  passed  the  remainder  of 
his  life,  his  death  occurring  in  1855.  His 
widow  surviving  him  by  many  years,  her  death 
occurring,  in  Harvard,  Illinois,  in  1897.  The 
subject  of  this  review  was  about  ten  years  of 
age  at  the  time  when  his  parents  removed  to  the 
new  state  of  Wisconsin,  and  he  continued  to  at- 
tend the  common  schools  in  an  irregular  way 
until  he  had  attained  the  age  of  eighteen  years, 
having  in  the  meanwhile  been  employed  in  farm 
work  the  major  portion  of  the  time.  At  the  out- 
break of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  he  manifested 
his  intrinsic  loyalty  by  enlisting,  in  April,  1861, 
in  the  Geneva  Light  Guards,  a  company  which 
was  attached  to  the  Fourth  Wisconsin  A^olunteer 
Infantr}-,  with  which  he  served  ninety  days. 
After  his  discharge  he  re-enlisted,  becoming  a 
member  of  Company  K,  Second  Wisconsin 
\'olunteer  Cavaln-,  with  which  he  remained  at 
the  front  until  the  expiration  of  his  three  years' 
temi,  when  he  veteranized  and  rejoined  the  same 
company  and  regiment,  with  which  he  continued 
in  active  service  until  the  close  of  the  war,  having 
been  mustered  out  in  the  fall  of  1865,  when  he 
received  his  honorable  discharge.  His  was 
known  as  one  of  the  best  cavalry  regiments  in 
the  service  and  was  at  various  times  in  command 
of  all  the  noted  cavaln,'  leaders  except  General 
Pleasanton,  being  under  command  of  General 
Custer  at  the  close  of  the  great  conflict  which 
determined  the  integrity  of  the  Union.  Mr. 
Peck  was  never  seriously  wounded,  nor  was  he 
ever  taken  prisoner.  He  participated  in  many 
of  the  most  notable  engagements  of  the  war  and 
was  ever  found  at  the  post  of. duty,  being  first 
lieutenant  of  his  company  at  the  time  of  his 
final  discharge. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  his  militar\-  career 
Mr.  Peck  located  in  West  Union,  Iowa,  where 
he  engaged  in  the  livery  business,  also  being 
identified    with    agricultural    enterprises    in    the 


locality.  In  1872  he  visited  Sioux  Falls  and 
was  so  favorably  impressed  with  its  attractions 
and  surroundings,  though  it  was  but  a  small 
village  at  the  time,  that  he  decided  to  take  up  his 
residence  here.  Early  in  the  following  year  he 
located  in  the  town  and  at  once  established  him- 
self in  the  liver}'  business,  being  one  of  the  pio- 
neers in  this  line  of  enterprise  in  the  town.  He 
brought  the  first  two-seated  covered  carriage  into 
the  state,  and  also  introduced  the  first  omnibus 
and  the  first  landau  in  Sioux  Falls.  In  1878  he 
was  associated  with  Col.  Melvin  Grigsby  in  the 
erection  of  the  substantial  building  opposite  the 
Cataract  hotel,  on  Phillips  avenue,  and  in  the 
construction  of  the  same  were  utilized  the  first 
pressed  brick,  metallic  cornice  and  plate  glass 
used  in  the  city  of  Sioux  Falls.  He  has  done 
much  building  in  the  city  and  in  this  way  has 
contributed  very  materially  to  its  progress  and 
attractiveness,  having  undoubtedly  erected  more 
buildings  here  than  has  any  other  one  man  ex- 
cept C.  K.  Howard.  A  previously  published  re- 
sume of  his  career  has  spoken  as  follows :  "He 
has  also  done  his  share  in  farming,  having 
broken  fourteen  hundred  acres  of  prairie  land 
contiguous  to  the  city.  He  is  a  man  of  great 
energy  and  force  and  has  been  identified  with 
nearly  all  the  public  enterprises  of  the  city. 
While  in  Iowa  he  was  deput}-  sheriflF  several 
years.  The  Dakota  National  Bank  was  or- 
ganized through  the  efforts  of  I\Ir.  Peck  and  his 
long-time  friend  and  associate,  Mr.  Grigsby,  and 
he  was  its  first  cashier.  He  was  a  director  and 
vice-president  of  the  Minnehaha  National  Bank 
at  the  time  of  the  death  of  its  president,  J-  M. 
Bailey,  Jr.,  and  was  subsequently  elected  presi- 
dent, holding  this  oiifice  until  June,  1898.  He  has 
also  been  prominent  in  municipal  affairs,  serving 
as  alderman  and  treasurer  and  receiving  two 
elections  as  mayor.  No  one  will  claim  that  Sioux 
Falls  ever  had  a  citizen  of  greater  activity  and 
energy  than  Porter  P.  Peck.  He  never  'sent 
a  boy  to  mill.'  .A.s  a  'single-handed  talker'  he 
stands  in  the  front  rank,  and  the  language  of 
which  he  makes  use  on  extra  occasions,  although 
somewhat  unique,  is  always  explicit  and  full  of 
meaning.     His   administration  as  mayor  of  the 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


909 


city  of  Sioux  Falls  was  beset  with  difficulties 
that  would  have  baffled  a  man  of  less  self- 
reliance  and  determination,  owing  in  part  to  the 
desire  of  some  of  the  good  people  to  push  public 
enterprises,  while  others  wanted  to  go  slow. 
Again,  the  enforcement  and  non-enforcement  of 
the  prohibitory  law  had  been  zealously  cham- 
pioned by  the  friends  and  foes  of  the  measure, 
respectively,  and  he  had  this  disagreement  to  con- 
tend with.  But  he  has  never  been  found  'on  the 
fence.'  He  is  always  on  the  ground  fighting  out 
the  battle,  right  or  wrong,  and  always  showing 
a  spirit  of  sturdy  independence.  At  his  first 
election  for  mayor  he  defeated  Captain  W.  E. 
Willey,  and  at  the  second  the  Rev.  E.  B. 
Meridith,  which  fact  alone  offers  full  proof  that 
he  has  a  host  of  friends  among  the  people  that 
know  him  best.  Still  in  the  prime  of  life,  with 
unabated  zeal  and  enterprise,  it  can  safely  be 
predicted  that  he  will  for  a  long  time  to  come  be 
an  important  factor  in  public  affairs." 

'SIt.  Peck  has  capitalistic  interests  of  wide 
scope  and  variety  in  the  city  and  county  and  is 
at  the  present  time  a  member  of  the  directorate 
of  the  Minnehaha  National  Bank.  In  politics, 
Mr.  Peck  gives  an  unfaltering  allegiance  to  the 
Republican  party,  in  whose  cause  he  takes  an 
active  interest.  Fraternally,  he  is  identified  with 
the  various  bodies  of  York-Rjite  Masonry  in 
Sioux  Falls,  and  has  also  attained  the  thirty- 
second  degree  in  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  , 
Scottish  Rite,  being  a  member  of  Oriental  Con- 
sistory, Xo.  I.  He  is  identified  with  the  Loyal 
Legion  in  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  and  of  Jo 
Hooker  Post,  Xo.  10,  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public, of  which  he  has  been  commander  for 
three  years. 

On  the  30th  of  March.  1866,  Mr.  Peck  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Alice  G.  Caskey.  of 
Farmington,  Minnesota,  and  she  passed  away 
on  the  i8th  of  X'oveniber,  1875,  being  survived 
by  three  children,  Ella  M.,  who  is  now  the  wife 
of  Frank  P..  Snook,  of  Mankato,  Minnesota ; 
Florence  L.,  who  remains  at  the  parental  home, 
and  Porter  C,  who  is  a  resident  of  Minneapolis, 
Minnesota.  On  the  12th  of  July,  1877,  Mr.  Peck 
was  married  to  Miss  Catherine  W.  Corime,  of 


Linn,  Wisconsin,  and  they  have  two  sons,  Harry 
C,  who  resides  in  Moline,  Illinois,  and  Clifford 
H.,  who  is  a  student  in  the  historic  old  Phillips 
Academy,  at  Exeter,  X^ew  Hampshire. 


EDGAR  S.  KN<1WLES,  senior  member  of 
the  firm  of  Morcom  &  Knowles,  numbered  among 
the  leading  fire  insurance  underwriters  of  the 
state,  with  headquarters  in  Sioux  Falls,  is  .1 
native  of  the  old  Empire  state  of  the  L'nion,  hav- 
ing been  born  on  a  farm  near  Riga,  Monroe 
county,  X"ew  York,  on  the  24th  of  February, 
1 86 1,  a  son  of  James  P.  and  Cornelia  L.  (Har- 
mon) Knowles,  both  of  whom  were  likewise 
born  in  that  state,  where  the  former  has  followed 
agricultural  pursuits  as  a  permanent  vocation. 
The  subject  completed  the  curriculum  of  the  pub- 
lic schools  and  thereafter  continued  his  studies  in 
the  Rochester  .Vcademy,  at  Rochester,  X^ew  York. 
In  1878  he  removed  to  Illinois,  and  he  there  en- 
tered the  Danville  high  school,  where  he  was 
graduated  as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1881.  On 
the  14th  of  April  of  the  following  year  'Sir. 
Knowles  arrived  in  Sioux  Falls,  South  Dakota, 
and  here  engaged  in  the  grocery  business,  under 
the  firm  name  of  Mighton  &  Knowles.  In  1884 
he  was  in  the  employ  of  the  Insurance  Company 
of  Dakota,  while  in  the  following  year  he  repre- 
sented in  this  section  the  interests  of  the  Luverne 
Granite  Company,  of  Luverne,  Minnesota.  There- 
after he  was  identified  with  the  clothing  business 
in  Sioux  Falls  until  December,  1894,  when  he 
engaged  in  the  fire-insurance  business,  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Knowles  &  Carpenter,  this  as- 
sociation continuing  until  December,  1896,  when 
our  subject  entered  into  partnership  with  Edmund 
D.  r^Iorconi,  in  the  same  line  of  enterprise,  under 
the  title  of  Morcom  &  Knowles,  having  gained  a 
representative  clientele  and  acting  as  underwriters 
for  a  number  of  the  leading  insurance  companies 
offering  fire  indemnity.  In  politics  Mr.  Knowles 
has  ever  given  an  unqualified  support  to  the  Re- 
publican party,  and  fraternally  he  is  identified  with 
the  Masonic  order,  in  which  he  has  taken  the 
Knights  Templar  degrees,  being  a  member  of 
Cvrene  Commanderv,  X^o.  2,  of  Sioux  Falls,  and 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Yankton  Consistory,  Ancient  Accepted  Scot- 
tish Rite,  while  he  is  also  affihated  with  El  Riad 
Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  the  Nobles  of 
the  Mystic  Shrine.  He  has  been  incumbent  of 
the  office  of  recorder  of  his  commandery  since 
1890,  and  is  distinctively  popular  in  fraternal, 
business  and  social  circles. 

On  the  15th  of  January,  1891,  was  solemnized 
the  marriage  of  Mr.  Knowles  to  Miss  May  L. 
Davis,  daughter  of  Park  Davis,  a  representative 
member  of  the  bar  of  Sioux  Falls,  whither  he 
came  from  Vermont,  where  Mrs.  Knowles  was 
born.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Knowles  have  two  children, 
Helen  D.,  who  was  born  on  the  7th  of  February, 
1899.  and  Alice  M..  who  was  born  on  the  28th  of 
October,  1901. 


ARNE  ZETLITZ,  M.  D.,  was  born  in  Stav- 
anger,  Norway,  on  the  i6th  of  June,  1864,  being 
a  son  of  Henrik  O.  and  Bolette  (Jaeger)  Zetlitz, 
representatives  of  sterling  old  Norseland  stock 
and  known  as  persons  of  worth  and  integrity. 
He  was  graduated  in  the  high  school  of  his  native 
city,  his  father  having  there  been  engaged  in  the 
banking  business,  and  later  he  was  favored  in  be- 
ing able  to  prosecute  his  studies  for  two  years 
in  an  excellent  school  in  Germany.  He  then  re- 
turned to  his  native  land,  where  he  studied  phar- 
macy for  two  years,  this  work  undoubtedly  lead- 
ing him  to  eventually  adopt  the  allied  profession 
of  medicine.  In  1886  the  Doctor  severed  the  ties 
which  bound  him  to  home  and  fatherland  and  set 
forth  for  America,  landing  in  New  York  city  in 
July  of  that  year  and  thence  making  his  way 
westward  to  Lyon  county, -.Minnesota,  where  he 
resided  until  1887,  when  he  went  to  Toledo, 
Ohio,  where  he  was  matriculated  in  the  Toledo 
Aledical  College,  in  which  he  was  graduated  in 
March,  1891,  having  completed  a  thorough  tech- 
nical course  and  coming  forth  well  equipped  for 
the  active  work  of  his  profession,  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Medicine  having  been  conferred  upon 
him  at  the  time  of  his  graduation.  His  standing 
in  the  college  was  such  that  his  services  were  en- 
listed as  instructor  in  nervous  diseases  in  the 
institution  until  1894,  in  January  of  which  year 


he  came  to  Sioux  Falls  and  established  himself  in 
the  general  practice  of  his  profession.  Through 
his  high  ability  and  his  singleness  of  devotion  to 
his  profession  he  soon  gained  precedence,  and  he 
now  controls  a  large  and  representative  practice 
and  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  physicians  of 
the  city.  He  served  for  three  years  as  county 
physician,  but  has  never  desired  official  prefer- 
ment aside  from  his  profession.  The  Doctor  is  a 
member  of  the  State  Medical  Society,  is  a  close 
student  and  keeps  fully  abreast  of  the  advances 
made  in  the  various  departments  of  the  medical 
and  surgical  science.  He  was  one  of  the  principal 
promoters  of  the  building  and  equipment  of  the 
Sioux  Falls  Hospital,  which  has  proved  of  in- 
estimable value,  and  it  is  largely  through  his 
efforts  that  the  institution  has  been  maintained 
at  so  high  a  standard.  He  was  also  the  one  prin- 
cipall}-  concerned  in  the  organization  of  the  Sioux 
Falls  Training  School  for  Nurses,  in  whose  wel- 
fare he  has  taken  a  deep  and  lively  interest.  His 
political  allegiance  is  given  to  the  Republican 
party ;  fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Benevo- 
lent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  For  a  num- 
ber of  years  past  the  Doctor  has  been  extensively 
engaged  in  the  raising  of  live  stock,  devoting 
special  attention  to  the  breeding  of  high-grade 
shorthorn  cattle,  and  he  is  the  owner  of  a  fine 
stock  farm  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres, 
eligibly  located  seven  miles  east  of  Sioux  Falls. 

On  the  20th  of  January,  1895.  Dr.  Zetlitz 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Pauline  Dahl,  of 
Lyon  county,  Minnesota.  She  was  born  in  Dane 
county,  Wisconsin,  and  is  a  daughter  of  N.  T. 
and  Tori  Dahl,  who  are  now  resfJents  of  Min- 
neota,  Minnesota.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Zetlitz  have 
two  children.  Hazel  R.  and  T.  Caroline  D. 


DOWNER  T.  BIL\MBLE  was  born  on  a 
farm  near  the  city  of  Montpelier.  A'ermont,  on 
the  28th  of  February.  1831,  and  was  a  son  of 
Charles  and  Matilda  L.  Bramble,  both  of  whom 
were  likewise  born  and  reared  in  the  old  Green 
Mountain  state,  where  they  passed  their  entire 
lives,  his  father  having  bjsen  a  fanner  by  voca- 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


tion.  The  Bramble  family  is  of  English  extrac- 
tion and  was  established  in  New  England  in  the 
early  colonial  epoch,  while  representatives  of 
the  name  were  found  valiantly  fighting  in  the 
cause  of  independence  during  the  war  of  the 
Revolution.  The  subject  received  a  common- 
school  education,  attending  the  schools  of  his 
native  county  until  he  had  attained  the  age  of 
seventeen  years,  and  in  the  meanwhile  assisting 
in  the  work  of  the  home  farm.  At  the  age  of 
seventeen  Mr.  Bramble  left  the  home  roof  and 
went  to  Nashville,  Tennessee,  where  he  became 
associated  with  his  older  brothers,  George  and 
Oilman,  in  the  drug  business,  being  thus  engaged 
about  three  years,  within  which  period  the 
memorable  cholera  scourge  swept  the  country. 
At  this  tim^e  he  went  to  Memphis,  that  state,  and 
there  opened  a  branch  store,  in  company  with 
his  brother  Oilman  F.  In  later  years  he  often 
recalled  the  horrors  of  the  cholera  epidemic. 
What  was  known  as  the  dead  wagon  would  pass 
through  the  streets  at  frequent  intervals,  and  the 
driver  would  call  in  loud  tones,  "Bring  out  your 
dead,"  the  deaths  being  so  numerous  that  no 
ceremony  could  be  observed.  Men  would  come 
into  Mr.  Bramble's  store  and  beg  piteously  for 
something  to  ease  their  agony,  and  not  a  few 
fell  dead  on  the  floor.  Mr.  Bramble  remained 
in  ■Memphis  two  years  and  thence  removed  to 
Ponce,  Nebraska,  where  he  engaged  in  the  gen- 
eral merchandise  business.  While  there  he  mar- 
ried, his  wife  dying  only  six  months  later.  About 
1856  'Sir.  Bramble  loaded  a  wagon  with  goods 
suitable  for  trading  with  the  Indians,  and  started 
for  Yankton  in  what  is  now  the  state  of  South 
Dakota.  He  was  a  man  of  kind  and  genial 
nature,  and  he  won  the  firm  friendship  of  the 
Indians,  who  always  called  him  the  "big  trader." 
He  came  to  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Yank- 
ton in  1858,  there  being  but  one  white  man  living 
there  at  the  time.  He  was  successful  in  his 
transactions  with  the  Indians,  and  made  many 
trips  back  to  Sioux  City  for  goods,  utilizing  an 
ox-team  and  usually  walking  the  greater  portion 
of  the  distance.  On  the  third  trip  he  had  ac- 
cumulated sufficient  money  to  enable  him  to  pur- 
chase   some    lumber,    with    which    he    built    his 


house,  which  was  the  first  frame  building  erected 
in  Yankton,  while  it  was  also  utilized  as  a  store, 
being  the  first  mercantile  establishment  in  Yank- 
ton. It  may  be  said  that  this  lumber  was  green 
Cottonwood,  and  by  the  time  he  had  transported 
the  same  to  its  destination  it  had  become  so 
warped  that  strenuous  exertions  were  necessary 
to  sufficiently  untwist  it  for  the  purpose  of  erect- 
ing the  building.  It  is  worthy  of 'historical  note 
that  this  fine  building  was  erected  on  the  river 
front  on  First  street,  between  Douglas  and  Wal- 
nut streets,  of  the  present  city.  About  1861  Mr. 
Bramble  erected  a  more  substantial  building,  one 
and  one-half  stories  in  height,  and  in  the  same  he 
continued  to  conduct  a  general  store  almost  a 
quarter  of  a  century.  The  devastation  worked 
by  the  flood  of  1881  caused  him  to  fail  in  busi- 
ness, and  he  closed  up  the  enterprise  in  the  fol- 
lowing year,  much  to  the  regret  of  his  host  of 
friends  and  acquaintances.  During  much  of  the 
time  in  the  earlier  portion  of  his  business  oper- 
ations in  Yankton  Mr.  Bramble  ran  a  large  trans- 
portation train,  in  which  enterprise  he  was  as- 
sociated with  Captain  Veigh  and  Commodore 
Coleson  as  the  Northwestern  Transportation  Com- 
pany, transporting  freight  and  passengers  from 
eastern  points  to  Yankton  and  he  continuing  to 
the  Black  Hills  district  and  other  points.  He 
had  a  large  warehouse  in  Yankton,  and  while 
General  Custer  was  stationed  in  the  locality  a 
terrible  snow  storm  swept  this  section,  causing 
the  entire  military  force  to  be  snowbound,  under 
which  conditions  the  warehouse  mentioned  was 
opened  for  the  accommodation  of  the  horses. 
The  next  3'ear,  1877,  Mr.  Bramble  took  a  freight- 
ing outfit  to  Deadwood  and  other  Black  Hills 
points.  He  placed  in  operation  the  first  steam 
ferry  across  the  river  from  Yankton  to  the  Ne- 
braska shore  of  the  Missouri,  erected  the  first 
steam  flouring  mill  in  Yankton,  which  building 
is  still  standing,  and  was  ever  found  at  the  fore- 
front in  promoting  and  aiding  all  enterprises  for 
the  general  good  and  tending  to  forward  the  de- 
velopment and  progress  of  the  city  and  territory. 
For  a  number  of  years  he  maintained  a  branch 
store  at  Fort  Pierre,  the  same  being  completely 
washed  awav  in  the  flood  of  188 1.     He  was  one 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


of  the  organizers  of  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Yankton,  and  was  a  member  of  its  directorate. 
In  politics  he  ever  accorded  an  uncompromising 
allegiance  to  the  Democratic  party,  but  invariably 
refused  to  pemiit  the  consideration  of  his  name 
in  connection  with  candidacy  for  public  office. 
In  1883  Mr.  Bramble  went  to  the  city  of  Chicago, 
where  he  remained  about  one  year,  and  he  was 
then  appointed,  by  President  Cleveland,  receiver 
of  the  land  office  at  Watertown,  in  1884,  and  he 
continued  incumbent  of  this  federal  position  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  on  the  9th  of  October, 
1887,  as  the  result  of  cancer.  He  was  greatly 
loved  by  all  who  knew  him,  and  well  exemplified 
in  his  character  the  truth  of  the  statement  that 
"the  loving  are  the  daring,  the  bravest  are  the 
tenderest."  He  was  a  charter  member  of  St. 
John's  Lodge,  No.  i.  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  at  Yankton,  with  which  he  continued  to 
be  affiliated  until  his  death,  while  he  served  as 
master  of  the  same  for  a  number  of  terms.  He 
was  a  government  trader  with  the  Indians  about 
six  years,  under  Major  Conger,  having  received 
this  appointment  from  the  national  capital. 

In  February,  1861,  while  visiting  in  Con- 
necticut, Mr.  Bramble  consummated  a  second 
marriage,  being  then  united  to  Miss  Martha 
Perry,  who  was  born  and  reared  in  that  state 
and  whose  father  was  a  clergyman  of  the  Presby- 
terian church.  She  died  about  sixteen  months 
after  her  marriage,  shortly  after  giving  birth  to 
a  daughter,  Carrie,  who  was  laid  by  her  side 
soon  afterward,  having  survived  her  by  only 
three  months,  the  two  being  interred  in  the  first 
cemetery  plot  in  Yankton,  where  also  were  laid 
to  rest  the  remains  of  the  husband  and  father, 
many  years  later. 

On  the  15th  of  January,  1866,  Mr.  Bramble 
was  married  to  Miss  Virginia  L.  VanDerhule,  who 
survives  him  and  who  still  resides  in  the  pleasant 
home  in  Watertown.  She  was  born  in  New 
York  city  and  is  a  daughter  of  Jesse  D.  and 
Hannah  (Woodward)  VanDerhule,  the  former  of 
whom  was  born  in  the  state  of  New  York,  a 
scion  of  the  stanch  old  Holland  stock,  while  the 
latter  was  born  in  Vermont,  being  of  English  ex- 
traction, and  who  died  when  Virginia  was  a  child 


of  five.  They  came  to  Yankton  in  1865,  making 
the  change  on  account  of  the  delicate  health  of 
Mr.  VanDerhule,  and  here  they  passed  the  re- 
mainder of  their  lives,  his  death  occurring  March 
26,  1 87 1.  In  Yankton  Mrs.  Bramble  began  teach- 
ing when  but  thirteen  years  of  age,  and  in  order 
to  give  evidence  of  the  consistent  pedagogic  dig- 
nity she  donned  "long  dresses"  at  this  time.  She 
has  the  distinction  of  having  been  the  first  woman 
teacher  in  the  territory  of  Dakota,  and  the  build- 
ing in  which  she  held  her  school  was  a  primitive 
log  structure,  equipped  with  cottonwood  benches, 
and  the  same  was  located  on  what  is  now  Walnut 
street,  below  Second  street.  She  taught  for  five 
months  and  had  enrolled  sixty-seven  pupils,  vary- 
ing in  age  from  six  to  twenty-three  years.  She 
had  met  Mr.  Bramble  in  her  eastern  home,  and 
their  acquaintance  ripened  into  love  after  she  had 
come  to  the  west,  while  their  married  life  was 
one  of  signal  mutual  devotion  and  ideal  harmony. 
They  became  the  parents  of  two  children.  Harry 
J.,  who  enlisted  in  Company  H,  Thirty-first  Mich- 
igan Volunteer  Infantry,  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
Spanish-American  war,  was  in  active  service  in 
Cuba,  and  after  being  mustered  out  he  re-enlisted, 
becoming  a  member  of  Company  H,  Forty-second 
United  States  Volunteers,  with  which  he  contin- 
ued in  service  in  the  Philippines  until  the  regi- 
ment was  mustered  out,  in  the  city  of  Manila,  in 
the  spring  of  1901.  He  was  then  given  a  position 
in  the  government  commissary  in  that  city,  where 
he  still  remains.  Frank  L.,  the  younger  son,  mar- 
ried Miss  Dana  Lewis,  who  was  born  and  reared 
in  Michigan  and  who  was  a  teacher  in  the  Water- 
town  schools  for  four  years  prior  to  marriage. 
Frank  L.  received  his  education  in  Yankton,  and 
was  employed  in  the  postoffice  at  Watertown  for 
six  years,  while  he  served  two  terms  as  county 
auditor.  He  is  at  the  present  time  deputy  bank 
examiner  for  South  Dakota,  his  duties  demanding 
his  entire  attention.  He  is  identified  with  St. 
John's  Lodge,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Ma- 
sons, of  which  he  is  treasurer  at  the  time  of  this 
writing ;  and  he  is  secretary  of  the  lodge  of  Be- 
nevolent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

Reverting    to    the    honored    subject    of    this 
memoir,   it   should  be   noted   that   he   materiallv 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


913 


assisted  in  securing  the  establishing  of  the  first 
school  in  Yankton  and  in  the  organization  of  the 
first  church,  while  Mrs.  Bramble  was  equally 
prominent  in  forwarding  these  enterprises,  having 
been  a  member  of  the  organization  of  ladies  who 
raised  the  money  with  which  to  erect  the  first 
school  building,  while  she  was  especially  prom- 
inent in  organizing  the  first  church,  now  that  of 
the  parish  of  Christ  church,  Protestant  Episco- 
pal. She  has  long  been  a  communicant  of  the 
church  and  has  been  active  in  the  various  depart- 
ments of  parish  work.  Mrs.  Bramble  is  an  artist 
of  ability,  having  been  a  teacher  of  painting  as 
well  as  having  produced  several  works  that  have 
received  attention  wherever  exhibited,  including 
the  World's  Fair  in  Chicago. 

For  twenty-five  years  Mrs.  Bramble  has  been 
greatly  handicapped,  having  been  crippled  as  the 
result  of  a  runaway  and  which  has  necessitated 
the  use  of  a  crutch.  Though  under  the  serious 
disadvantage  she  has  nobly  done  her  duty  to  her 
family  and  friends. 


ARTHUR  CAL\TN  MELLETTE,  tenth 
and  last  governor  of  Dakota  territory,  and  first 
governor  of  the  state  of  South  Dakota,  was  born 
in  Henry  county,  Indiana,  in  1842.  He  was  of 
French  Huguenot  stock.  He  graduated  from 
Bloomington  L'niversity  in  1863  and  at  once  pro- 
ceeded to  a  recruiting  camp  to  enlist,  but  while 
waiting  in  the  camp  he  learned  that  an  elder  in- 
valid brother  had  been  drafted.  He  at  once  pro- 
ceeded to  the  provost  marshal's  office  and  offered 
himself  as  a  substitute  for  his  brother  and  served 
to  the  end  of  the  war  in  the  Ninth  Indiana  as  a 
conscript's  substitute.  After  the  war  he  studied 
law  and  engaged  in  practice.  He  was  also  pub- 
lisher of  the  Muncie  Times.  He  served  in  the  In- 
diana legislature  and  was  the  author  of  Indiana's 
efficient  school  law.  He  came  to  Dakota  in  1878 
and  served  as  register  of  the  Springfield  land 
office,  which  in  1880  was  removed  to  Water- 
town.  He  was  a  member  of  the  constitutional 
convention  of  1883  and  in  1885  was  elected  gov- 
ernor under  the  constitution  of  that  year.  He 
devoted  himself  to  the  cause  of  the  division  of 


Dakota  territory,  being  profoundly  convinced 
that  it  would  be  a  crime  against  future  genera- 
tions to  allow  the  territory  to  be  admitted  as  a 
single  state.  He  was  in  prosperous  circum- 
stances and  spent  large  sums  of  money  to  further 
this  cause,  defraying  much  the  larger  portion  of 
the  expense  incident  to  the  campaign  which  was 
protracted  over  many  years.  Among  the  first 
acts  of  President  Harrison  was  the  appointment 
of  Mr.  Mellette  to  be  the  governor  of  Dakota  ter- 
ritory. That  season  of  1889  he  was  elected  first 
governor  of  South  Dakota  and  was  re-elected 
in  1890.  After  his  retirement  from  office,  Janu- 
ary I,  1893,  he  was  afflicted  with  Bright's  disease 
and  his  death  resulted  ]May  25,   1895. 


THOMAS  H.  PRITCHARD,  proprietor  of 
the  Watertown  Marble  and  Granite  Works,  is  a 
native  of  Wales,  having  been  born  on  the  31st  of 
July,  1857,  and  being  a  son  of  Hugh  and  Ellen 
(Barnette)  Pritchard,  the  former  of  whom  was 
born  in  Wales  and  the  latter  in  France.  The  fa- 
ther of  the  subject  was  a  farmer  by  vocation  and 
both  he  and  his  wife  continued  to  reside  in  Wales 
until  their  death. 

The  subject  secured  his  educational  training 
in  the  excellent  schools  of  his  native  land,  and 
after  leaving  school,  in  1872,  he  came  to  the 
United  States,  locating  in  the  state  of  Wisconsin, 
where  he  was  variously  employed  for  the  first  two 
years,  at  the  expiration  of  which,  in  1874,  he 
entered  upon  an  apprenticeship  at  the  trade  of 
marble  cutting,  in  Evansville,  Wisconsin,  while 
he  was  thereafter  employed  at  his  trade  in  that 
town  and  also  in  the  city  of  Chicago.  In  1877 
he  engaged  in  the  marble  business  in  Evansville, 
on  his  own  responsibility,  and  there  continued 
operations  in  the  line  until  1882,  when  he  disposed 
of  the  business  and  came  to  Watertown,  South 
Dakota,  arriving  in  the  spring  of  that  year  and 
establishing  the  first  marble  and  granite  shop 
in  the  town,  and  one  of  the  first  in  the  state,  it  be- 
ing now  the  oldest  in  the  state.  He  began  busi- 
ness upon  a  modest  scale,  but  by  perseverance,  en- 
ergy and  good  management,  as  combined  with  his 
distinctive  skill  in  the  work  of  his  trade,  he  has 


914 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


built  up  a  large  and  flourishing  business,  securing 
his  patronage  from  a  wide  radius  of  territory, 
while  his  well  equipped  establishment  is  located 
on  the  corner  of  Dakota  avenue  and  Elm  street. 
He  keeps  a  corps  of  experienced  workmen  em- 
ployed throughout  the  }-ear,  and  the  work  turned 
out  is  of  the  highest  grade  of  excellence,  the  busi-  j 
ness  reputation  of  our  subject  being  unassailable. 
He  ships  work  into  the  most  diverse  sections  of 
North  and  South  Dakota,  as  well  as  into  Minne- 
sota and  Iowa,  and  his  business  is  constantly  ex- 
panding in  scope  and  importance.  It  should  be 
noted  that  Mr.  Pritchard  is  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
the  state,  since  he  came  here  as  early  as  1878  and 
took  up  government  land  in  Codington  county, 
eventually  perfecting  his  title  to  the  same  and 
passing  a  considerable  portion  of  his  time  here 
prior  to  taking  up  his  permanent  residence  in 
Watertown,  in  1882.  In  politics  he  is  arrayed 
as  a  supporter  of  the  Republican  party,  and  both 
he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Episcopal 
church.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  in  which  he  has 
passed  the  various  official  chairs  in  his  lodge, 
while  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  grand  lodge  of  the 
state  in  1902  and  1903,  and  he  is  also  affiliated 
with  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks,  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen, 
and  the  Alodern  Woodmen  of  America. 

In  Evansville,  Wisconsin,  on  the  28th  of  Sep- 
tember. 1878,  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Mr. 
Pritchard  to  Miss  Blanche  Love  joy,  who  was  born 
and  reared  in  Wisconsin,  being  a  daughter  of 
Captain  William  C.  and  Harriet  M.  Lovejoy,  both 
of  whom  are  now  deceased.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Pritchard  have  four  children,  Ethel  E.,  who  has 
an  art  studio  in  Watertown,  and  Lyle  H.,  Wini- 
fred M.  and  Sybil  L..  who  remain  at  the  attractive 
family  home,  which  is  located  on  the  corner  of 
Oak  street  and  ^^'ashington  avenue. 


WALTER  D.  MORRIS,  president  of  the 
Citizens"  National  Bank  of  Watertown,  is  a  na- 
tive of  the  old  Empire  state,  having  been  born 
in  Fredonia,  Giautauqua  county,  New  York,  on 
the   1 2th  of  April,   1856,  and    being    a    son    of 


Lorenzo  and  Fannie  (Strong)  Morris,  who  were 
likewise  born  and  reared  in  New  York.  Lorenzo 
Morris  died  October  2,  1903,  his  wife  in  1872, 
both  honored  and  revered  by  all  who  knew 
them.  The  father  of  the  subject  was  long  one 
of  the  influential  members  of  the  bar  of  Qiau- 
tauqua  county,  was  a  member  of  the  state  senate 
for  several  terms,  and  was  a  member  of 
the  state  constitutional  convention  which  framed 
the  present  constitution  of  that  great  common- 
wealth. He  is  a  son  of  David  Morris,  .who  was 
one  of  the  pioneer  farmers  of  Chautauqua 
county,  whither  he  came  with  an  ox-team  at  a 
time  when  that  beautiful  section  was  still  an  un- 
trammeled  wild.  The  family  is  of  Scotch-Irish 
descent  and  was  founded  in  America  in  the  early 
colonial  epoch,  while  representatives  of  the  name 
were  found  enrolled  as  valiant  soldiers  in  the 
continental  cause  during  the  war  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. 

The  subject  of  this  review  attended  the  com- 
mon schools  of  Fredonia,  New  York,  in  his  boy- 
hood and  there  prepared  himself  for  entrance 
to  the  State  Normal  School  in  Fredonia,  where 
he  continued  his  studies  for  four  years.  In  1880, 
at  the  age  of  twenty-four  years,  he  came  to  Min- 
nesota, locating  in  Rochester,  where  he  was  made 
assistant  cashier  of  the  Union  National  Bank, 
retaining  this  incumbency  five  years  and  show- 
ing ability  in  the  handling  of  the  executive  de- 
tails of  the  banking  business.  In  1885  he  came 
to  Watertown,  where  he  became  one  of  the  or- 
ganizers and  incorporators  of  the  Citizens'  Na- 
tional Bank,  which  institution  opened  its  doors 
for  the  transaction  of  business  on  the  15th  of 
June  of  that  year,  and  with  Mr.  Morris  in 
charge  of  its  affairs  in  the  capacity  of  cashier. 
This  office  he  held  until  January.  1898,  when  he 
was  elected  to  the  presidency  of  the  bank,  which 
had  prospered  under  his  direction,  and  of  which 
he  has  since  continued  at  the  head.  The  bank  is 
capitalized  for  $50,000  and  is  known  as  one  of 
the  solid,  popular  and  ably  conducted  financial 
institutions  of  the  state.  While  Mr.  ISIorris's 
political  allegiance  'is  given  to  the  Democratic 
part}',  he  has  never  desired  public  office.  He  is 
the  owner  of  valuable  real  estate  in  Watertown, 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


915 


including  his  attractive  residence,  at  623  Cod- 
ington avenue.  Fraternally,  he  is  identified  with 
the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  and  v^^ith 
the  Elks,  and  he  is  a  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church. 

In  Fredonia,  New  York,  on  the  i  ith  of 
August,  1880,  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of 
Mr.  Morris  to  Miss  Mar}'  A.  Archibald,  a  daugh- 
ter of  William  B.  and  Amanda  (Buell)  Archi- 
bald, her  father  being  a  prominent  music  dealer 
of  Fredonia,  while  both  he  and  his  wife  are  rep- 
resentatives of  pioneer  families  of  the  Empire 
state.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morris  have  four  children, 
namely:  Archibald  J.  and  Lorenzo  T.,  who  are 
assistants  in  the  bank  of  which  their  father  is 
president ;  Walter  D.,  Jr.,  who  is  attending  the 
military  academy  at  Faribault,  Minnesota,  and 
Fannie,  who  is  a  student  in  the  home  schools. 


HIRAM  A.  PARK,  who  is  engaged  in  the 
wholesale  grocery  business  in  Watertown,  is  a 
native  of  the  old  Keystone  state  of  the  Union, 
having  been  born  in  Montrose,  Susquehanna 
county,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  28th  of  March, 
1838,  and  being  a  son  of  Dr.  Ezra  S.  and  Man' 
A.  (Warner)  Park,  both  of  whom  were  natives 
of  Connecticut  and  members  of  old  and  honored 
New  England  families,  the  latter  having  been  a 
direct  descendant  of  Colonel  Seth  Warner,  who 
was  an  officer  in  a  regiment  of  sharpshooters 
during  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  The  father  of 
the  subject  was  an  able  and  successful  physician 
and  surgeon,  and  continued  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession  for  many  years,  both  he  and  his  wife 
dying  at  Red  Wing,  Minnesota.  They  became 
the  parents  of  six  children,  of  whom  four  are 
living  at  the  present  time.  The  subject  of  this 
review  received  an  academic  education  in  his 
native  state,  and  there  continued  to  reside  until 
1858,  when,  as  a  young  man  of  twenty  years, 
he  came  west  to  seek  his  fortunes,  locating  in 
Minnesota,  and  being  there  engaged  in  clerking 
in  mercantile  establishments  until  the  outbreak 
of  the  Civil  war.  In  June.  1861,  he  enlisted  as 
a  private  in  Company  L.  First  Iowa  Volunteer 
Cavalrv,  with  which  he  continued  in  service  for 


four  years,  taking  part  in  many  important  battles 
and  skirmishes  and  being  once  captured  by  the 
enemy,  his  command  having  been  assigned  to 
the  Army  of  the  West  for  two  years  and  from 
that  to  the  Anny  of  the  Potomac.  He  received 
his  honorable  discharge  in  June,  1865,  being 
mustered  out  as  first  lieutenant  of  his  company, 
and  having  served  until  victory  crowned  the 
Union  arms.  Having  thus  made  the  record  of  a 
valiant  and  loyal  son  of  the  republic,  Mr.  Park 
returned  to  Minnesota,  locating  in  the  city  of 
Red  Wing,  where  he  engaged  in  the  grocery 
business,  to  which  line  of  enterprise  he  has  ever 
since  continued  to  give  his  attention.  In  1886 
he  came  to  Watertown  and  established  his 
present  wholesale  business,  having  disposed  of 
his  interests  in  Minnesota.  In  1893,  in  company 
with  F.  F.  Grant  and  E.  L.  Morris,  Mr.  Park 
started  a  similar  establishment  at  Fargo,  North 
Dakota,  under  the  name  of  Park,  Grant  &  Mor- 
ris, and  the  growth  of  this  house  has  been  such 
that  its  annual  business  now  surpasses  that  of 
the  Watertown  house.  He  has  never  been 
troubled  with  political  ambition,  though  he  is  a 
stanch  advocate  of  the  old  and  recognized  prin- 
ciples of  the  Democratic  party.  His  religious 
faith  is  that  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church, 
being  a  communicant  of  the  church  in  Water- 
town.  Fraternally,  he  has  advanced  through  the 
chivalric  degree  of  the  Masonic  order,  still  hold- 
ing relation  to  the  lodge,  chapter  and  command- 
ery  at  Red  Wing,  Minnesota. 

On  the  1st  of  June.  1863,  Mr.  Park  was 
united  in  marriage  to  ]\Iiss  Theodosia  C.  War- 
ner, who  was  born  and  reared  in  Pennsylvania, 
where  their  marriage  was  solemnized.  She  was 
summoned  into  the  life  eternal  on  the  2d  of  De- 
cember, 1884,  at  the  age  of  forty-two  years, 
having  been  a  devoted  wife  and  mother  and  a 
woman  of  noble  and  gracious  character.  She 
was  survived  by  tour  sons,  namely :  Robert  E., 
a  tutor  in  Harvard  University,  having  gradu- 
ated at  the  famous  University  of  Strassburg, 
Germany:  Asa  E.  died  in  1885,  at  the  age  of 
fifteen  years;  Herbert  A.  assists  his  father  in  the 
management  of  his  grocery  business :  and 
Augustine  H.  died  in  iSqq,  at  the  age  of  eighteen 


9i6 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


^•ears.  Mr.  Park  was  married  a  second  time, 
June  I,  1887,  to  Miss  Anna  H.  Oleson,  of  Red 
Wing,  Minnesota,  a  lady  who  is  active  in  all 
church  and  social  life  in  W'atertown. 


RE\-.  JOSHUA  \'AUGHN  HIMES,  Epis- 
copal missionary,  born  W'ickford,  Rhode  Island, 
1805.  Spent  his  life  in  religious  work,  for  many 
years  as  an  ardent  follower  of  ]\Iillerism  or  Sec- 
ond Adventism,  in  support  of  which  he  published 
many  papers,  books  and  phamphlets.  In  his  life 
he  organized  more  than  three  hundred  churches. 
Was  for  many  years  near  the  close  of  his  life 
rector  at  Elk  Point  and  A'ermillion.  Died  about 
1894. 


ROBERT  M.  HUTCHIXSOX,  of  Delmont, 
Douglas  county,  one  of  the  able  and  popular  mem- 
bers of  the  legislature  of  the  state,  is  a  native  of 
the  state  of  Illinois,  having  been  born  in  Hender- 
son county,  on  the  8th  of  September,  1858,  a 
son  of  Benjamin  and  Anna  B.  (Moore)  Hutchin- 
son, to  whom  were  born  six  children,  namely: 
John  M.,  who  resides  in  Charles  ]Mix  county. 
South  Dakota :  James  G.,  who  is  a  resident  of 
Delmont,  this  state ;  Robert  M.,  who  is  the  im- 
mediate subject  of  this  review ;  Sarah  E.,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Elmer  F,  Whitney,  of  Delmont; 
George  W,,  who  died  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years  ; 
and  Thomas  H.,  of  Delmont,  The  father  of  the 
subject  was  born  in  Harrison  county,  Ohio,  in 
1821,  and  his  death  occurred  on  the  26th  of  June, 
1896.  As  a  boy  of  twelve  years  he  removed  with 
his  parents  to  the  military  tract  in  Henderson 
county,  Illinois,  where  he  was  reared  and  edu- 
cated, eventually  becoming  the  owner  of  the  old 
homestead  farm,  where  he  resided  for  the  long 
period  of  sixty-three  years, — to  the  hour  of  his 
death.  It  was  his  wish  that  some  of  the  heirs 
should  purchase  the  homestead  so  that  it  might 
remain  permanently  in  the  possession  of  the  fam- 
ily, and  his  second  wife  now  resides  on  the  farm. 
The  mother  of  the  subject  died  in  1869,  and  his 
father  later  married  Mrs.  Anna  (Evans)  Grant, 
and  they  became  the  parents  of  two  children,  Ben- 


jamin Ralph,  who  has  charge  of  the  old  home 
farm,  and  Anna  M,,  who  is  the  wife  of  Charles 
Smith,  of  Benton  county,  Iowa. 

Robert  M.  Hutchinson  was  reared  on  the 
homestead  farm  in  Illinois,  while  he  received  his 
educational  training  in  the  public  schools.  In 
1880  he  rented  land  and  began  farming  on  his 
own  responsibility,  and  in  the  following  year  his 
father  came  to  South  Dakota  to  look  up  locations 
for  his  sons,  finally  entering  three  claims  in  the 
bottom  lands  near  Delmont,  Douglas  county,  the 
same  being  the  most  arable  and  valuable  land  in 
this  section  of  the  state.  In  the  spring  of  1882 
our  subject,  in  company  with  his  two  brothers 
and  their  sister,  came  to  South  Dakota  and  each 
of  the  brothers  located  on  the  claim  selected  for 
him  by  his  father.  Robert  M.  devoted  himself 
with  characteristic  energy  and  judgment  to  the 
improvement  and  cultivation  of  his  fine  farm, 
which  he  has  developed  into  one  of  the  most  valu- 
able in  the  county,  and  there  he  continued  to  re- 
side until  the  autumn  of  1891,  when  he  removed 
to  Delmont.  where  he  became  associated  with 
Henry  S,  Wilson  in  the  handling  of  grain  and  live 
stock,  as  well  as  coal,  flour  and  agricultural  ma- 
chinery. This  partnership  continued  about  one 
year,  and  INIr.  Hutchinson  then  entered  into  a 
partnership  association  with  James  M.  Doyle,  in 
the  buying  and  shipping  of  stock,  and  they  now 
control  an  extensive  and  profitable  business  in  this 
line,  being  numbered  among  the  enterprising  and 
representative  business  men  of  this  locality  and 
having  the  highest  reputation  for  reliability  and 
honorable  methods  in  all  transactions. 

In  politics  J\Ir.  Hutchinson  is  a  stalwart  advo- 
cate of  the  principles  and  policies  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  in  whose  cause  he  has  been  an  active 
and  effective  worker.  In  the  autumn  of  1898 
he  was  elected  to  serve  his  district  as  representa- 
tive in  the  state  legislature,  in  which  his  course 
fully  justified  the  choice  of  the  voters  of  the  dis- 
trict, and  in  the  autumn  election  of  1902  he  again 
appeared  as  the  candidate  of  his  party  for  the 
same  oflfice,  in  which  he  is  serving  at  the  present 
time.  He  has  been  signally  prospered  in  his  busi- 
ness aflfairs  and  is  now  the  owner  of  five  quarter 
sections  of  as  fine  bottom  land  as  the  state  affords. 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


917 


seyen  hundred  acres  of  the  same  being  under  cul- 
tivation and  the  balance  utilized  for  pasturage. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  village  council  of  Delmont 
and  for  several  years  also  served  as  a  member  of 
the  board  of  education.  He  and  his  wife  are 
valued  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  and  in  the  community  the)'  enjoy  the  high 
regard  of  all  who  know  them.  It  is  the  intention 
of  Mr.  Hutchinson  to  remove  in  the  near  future 
to  Pierson,  Iowa,  but  he  will  still  retain  his  landed 
interests  in  South  Dakota,  to  whose  development 
and  splendid  progress  he  has  so  materially  con- 
tributed. 

On  the  23d  of  February,  1896,  was  solemnized  i 
the  marriage  of  Mr.  Hutchinson  to  Miss  Etta  M. 
Culler,  of  Delmont,  and  they  are  the  parents  of 
two  children.  Earl  C.  and  Rav  H. 


BARTLETT  TRIPP,  born  in  Harmony, 
Maine,  July  15,  1842,  is  of  Revolutionary  stock. 
Mr.  Tripp  is  a  graduate  of  Waterbury  College, 
and  of  the  Albany  Law  School,  where  he  was  a 
classmate  of  William  McKinley's.  He  has 
always  taken  a  deep  interest  in  education,  was 
a  teacher  in  his  younger  days ;  was  an  incorpo- 
rator of  the  South  Dakota  University,  and  has 
from  the  foundation  been  a  trustee  of  Yankton 
College.  He  was  a  member  of  the  commissions 
that  revised  the  laws  in  1877  and  again  in  1903. 
He  was  chairman  of  the  constitutional  conven- 
tion of  1873  and  was  chief  justice  of  Dakota  dur- 
ing Cleveland's  first  administration.  During 
the  second  Cleveland  administration  he  was 
United  States  minister  to  the  court  of  Austria- 
Hungary  and  in  1899  served  by  appointment  of 
President  McKinley  as  a  member  of  the  inter- 
national high  joint  commission  to  settle  the 
Samoan  difficulties.  Mrs.  Tripp  is  a  sister  of  the 
late  Senator  Cushman  K.  Davis,  of  Minnesota. 
Mr.  Tripp's  home  is  at  Yankton. 


GARRETT  DROPPERS,  B.  A.,  president 
of  the  South  Dakota  State  University,  at  Ver- 
million, is  a  native  of  the  city  of  Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin,  where  he  was  born  on  the   12th  of 


April,  i860,  being  a  son  of  John  Dirk  and  Ger- 
trude (Boyink)  Droppers.  He  was  graduated  in 
the  high  school  of  his  native  city  and  was  there- 
after assistant  instructor  in  Latin  and  history 
in  the  same  school  for  a  period  of  five  years,  at 
the  expiration  of  which  he  entered  Harvard  Col- 
lege, where  he  was  graduated  as  a  member  of 
the  class  of  1886,  receiving  his  Bachelor's  de- 
gree the  following  year.  While  at  Harvard  he 
devoted  his  attention  principally  to  the  subject 
of  economics,  also  taking  courses  in  German  and 
philosoph}-.  Of  his  work  at  this  time  President 
Droppers  spoke  as  follows  to  the  representative 
of  this  publication:  "I  have  always  taken  as 
much  interest  in  the  men  who  taught  certain  sub- 
jects as  I  have  in  the  subjects  themselves,  and 
I  remember  with  especial  pleasure  at  Harvard 
Professor  Dunbar,  now  deceased,  who  was  for 
that  time  the  most  learned  of  American  econo- 
mists ;  Professor  William  James,  who  is  unques- 
tionably the  most  original  of  American  psychol- 
ogists ;  and  Professor  Royce,  one  of  the  most 
lucid  philosophical  writers  in  the  country."  After 
his  graduation  Professor  Droppers  was  engaged 
in  teaching  for  one  year  in  the  public  schools  of 
Orange,  New  Jersey,  ,  and  Westchester,  New 
York.  Then  was  presented  an  opportunity  for 
him  to  go  to  Germany,  where  he  passed  a  year 
in  the  University  of  Berlin,  under  the  w^ll- 
known  economists,  Wagner  and  Schooller.  He 
was  urged  by  Harvard  professors  to  thus  prose- 
cute his  study  of  economics  in  Germany,  because 
it  was  thought  expedient  and  the  part  of  wisdom 
for  him  to  secure  a  different  economic  point  of 
view  from  the  one  existing  in  America.  Of 
the  admonition  thus  followed  out  he  has  spoken 
as  follows :  "I  think  this  advice  was  sound.  I 
am  indebted  to  the  German  economists  for  what 
I  consider  to  be  many  original  economic  con- 
ceptions, especially  their  doctrine  that  there  are 
utilities  belonging  to  society  as  a  whole  as  well 
as  to  the  individual.  This  point  of  view  as  taken 
b\-  the  German  economists  is  reinforced  in  Ger- 
man universities  wdth  wonderful  vigor  and  pene- 
tration." 

Just   at   the   close   of  his   first   year   in    Ger- 
many,    Professor     Droppers     received     through 


9i8 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


Harvard  University  the  offer  of  the  chair  of 
political  economy  and  finance  in  the  University 
of  Tokyo,  Japan.  He  accepted  this  oft'er  and 
prepared  at  once  to  enter  upon  his  new  work, 
leaving-  Germany  in  September,  1889,  and  re- 
turning to  the  United  States.  At  Cambridge, 
Massachusetts,  on  the  nth  of  September,  of  that 
year,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Cora 
Augusta  Rand,  of  Cambridge,  and  immediately 
afterward  departed,  in  company  with  his  bride, 
for  Tokyo,  reaching  his  destination  the  last  of 
October,  1889,  and  that  he  profited  by  the  ex- 
perience in  the  Orient  is  manifest  from  the  fol- 
lowing statements  made  by  him  apropos  of  his 
sojourn  and  work  in  that  section  of  the  world : 
"I  am  very  glad  that  I  had  an  opportunity  of  liv- 
ing in  Japan  and  thus  gaining  a  comprehension 
of  a  life  essentially  different  from  our  own.  It 
taught  me  to  sympathize  with  the  sensibilities  of 
a  weaker  nation.  If  Americans  were  not  so 
bound  up  in  their  own  interests  they  would,  I 
think,  prove  a  much  greater  power  for  good  in 
the  world  than  they  are."  During  the  last  five 
years  of  his  stay  in  Japan  Professor  Droppers 
was  secretary  of  the  Asiatic  Society  of  Japan,  a 
well-known  organization  dating  its  inception 
back  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  While 
there  he  was  also  an  irregular  correspondent  for 
the  New  York  Nation ;  contributed  several  valu- 
able articles  to  the  Transactions  of  the  Asiatic 
Society,  and  also  wrote  articles  on  the  economic 
phases  of  Japan  for  various  periodicals.  In  1896 
he  wrote  a  report  on  the  currency  of  Japan  for 
the  United  States  government,  this  contribution 
being  published  in  the  consular  reports  for  that 
year.  The  subject  is  a  member  of  the  American 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science;  of 
the  American  Academy  of  Science,  in  Philadel- 
phia :  and  of  the  American  Economic  Association. 
Fraternally,  he  is  affiliated  with  the  Masonic 
order,  of  which  noble  and  time-honored  organiza- 
tion he  is  most  appreciative,  having  attained  the 
chivalric  degree  in  Vermillion  Commandery,  No. 
16,  Knights  Templar,  in  Vermillion,  and  being 
also  a  member  of  El  Riad  Temple  of  the  Ancient 
Arabic  Order  of  the  Nobles  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine,  in  Sioux  Falls. 


In  December,  1898,  Professor  Droppers,  re- 
ceived an  offer  from  the  regents  of  South  Da- 
kota to  accept  the  presidency  of  the  State  Uni- 
versity and  he  forthwith  left  Japan  and  came  to 
Vermillion  to  canvass  the  situation,  accepting  the 
position  a  few  days  after  his  arrival,  and  of  his 
work  as  chief  executive  of  the  institution,  its 
advancement  and  high  standing  offers  the  best 
testimony. 

Mr.  Droppers  lost  his  first  wife  in  Japan 
August  17,  1896.  He  married  again,  a  sister 
of  his  former  wife,  Jean  Tewkesbery  Rand,  in 
Cambridge,  September  3,  1897,  returning  to 
Japan  for  an  additional  year  immediately  after 
his  marriage.  There  were  no  children  by  the 
first  marriage.  Since  his  second  marriage  there 
have  been  three  children  born,  Seton  Rand, 
August  12,  1S98;  Cora  Rand,  August  3,  1900, 
and  Elizabeth  Rand,  January  22,  1904.  Prof. 
Droppers  tries  to  be  independent  in  politics,  but 
holds  most  emphatically  to  the  program  that  the 
cure  for  many  of  our  present  economic  evils  is 
the  government  ownership  of  public  utilities. 
He  affiliates  with  the  Unitarian  church. 


NILS  B.  NILSON,  a  representative  farmer 
of  Lincoln  county,  was  born  in  Norway,  on  the 
nth  of  October,  1837,  and  is  a  son  of  Nels  and 
Margaret  Nilson,  who  passed  their  entire  lives 
in  that  far  distant  land  of  the  north.  The  sub- 
ject was  reared  and  educated  in  his  native  coun- 
try, whence  he  emigrated  to  the  United  States 
in  1867,  locating  in  Fayette  county,  Iowa,  where 
he  remained  until  1869,  when  he  drove  from  Fay- 
ette county  through  Iowa,  with  ox -teams,  taking 
up  government  land  in  Canton  township,  where 
he  has  developed  and  improved  a  valuable  farm. 
His  first  dwelling  was  a  log  house,  but  when  he 
first  came  to  the  county  his  financial  resources 
were  represented  in  the  sum  of  fifty  cents  after 
paying  necessary  expenses ;  flour  was  selling  for 
six  dollars  per  hundred  pounds ;  he  had  neither 
sugar  nor  coffee  and  no  stove,  being  compelled  for 
some  time  to  do  his  cooking  over  the  camp  fire, 
while  the  first  few  months  he  lived  in  his  wagon. 
At  the  time  when  the  grasshoppers   swept   the 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH  Dx\KOTA. 


919 


country  and  destroyed  the  crops  Mr.  Nilson  man- 
aged to  provide  for  himself  by  burning  Hme  from 
rock  secured  on  his  place,  the  product  being  sold 
all  over  this  section.  He  now  has  two  hundred 
and  ten  acres,  well  improved  and  yielding  good 
returns,  so  that  he  can  look  back  with  no  regret 
on  the  trijils  and  labors  of  the  early  years.  He 
gives  his  attention  to  diversified  farming  and  has 
on  his  place  a  good  orchard  and  an  attractive 
grove.  He  is  a  Republican  in  his  political  pro- 
clivities and  he  and  his  family  are  members  of  the 
Lutheran  church. 

In  1863  Mr.  Nilson  was  married  to  Miss  Car- 
rie Anderson,  this  being  before  his  emigration  to 
America,  and  they  have  nine  children,  namely: 
Andrew,  who  is  a  successful  farmer  in  Lyon 
county,  Iowa,  married  Anna  Rynes  and  they  have 
six  children  ;  Anders,  who  resides  in  Canton,  mar- 
ried Nettie  Hanseth  and  they  have  three  chil- 
dren ;  Nicholine  is  the  wife  of  Ludvig  Danielson, 
a  farmer  of  Iowa,  and  they  have  four  children ; 
Marie  is  the  wife  of  Hans  Craning,  of  Canton, 
and  they  have  four  children ;  Lena,  who  was 
formerly  a  successful  school  teacher,  is  now  the 
wife  of  Jesse  Feay,  a  farmer  in  Iowa,  and  they 
have  three  children ;  Olephine  is  the  wife  of  Al- 
bert Runsvold,  of  North  Dakota  :  Emma  remains 
at  the  parental  home :  Nels  is  in  North  Dakota : 
and  Ludvig  is  still  beneath  the  home  roof. 


THOAIAS  CAWOOD,  one  of  the  honored 
representatives  of  the  agricultural  industry  in 
Hand  county,  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  Indiana, 
having  been  born  in  Daviess  county,  on  the  1st 
of  March.  1838,  and  being  a  son  of  John  and 
Lucinda  (Wells')  Cawood,  who  were  numbered 
among  the  pioneers  of  that  section  of  the  Hoosrer 
commonwealth.  They  became  the  parents  of 
four  children,  all  of  whom  are  living  at  the  time 
of  this  writing.  The  subject  was  born  on  the 
pioneer  farm  of  his  father,  and  his  early  educa- 
tional training  was  secured  in  a  subscription 
school  of  the  primitive  sort  common  to  the  local- 
ity and  period.  He  was  but  two  years  of  age 
at  the  time  of  his  father's  death,  and  when  he 
had  attained  the  age  of  eight  years  his  mother 


removed  with  her  family  to  Putnam  county, 
Missouri,  where  he  was  reared  to  manhood,  still 
being  identified  with  farming. 

When  the  dark  cloud  of  civil  war  obscured 
the  national  horizon,  Mr.  Cawood  was  among 
the  first  to  indicate  his  fealty  and  loyalty  to  the 
union  by  tendering  his  services  to  its  defense. 
On  the  1st  of  September,  1861,  he  enlisted  as  a 
private  in  Company  G,  Eighteenth  Missouri  Vol- 
unteer Infantry,  and  continued  in  active  service 
until  the  close  of  the  war,  receiving  his  honorable 
discharge,  at  St.  Louis,  on  the  25th  of  July,  1865. 
His  command  was  assigned  to  the  Army  of  the 
Tennessee  and  he  took  part  in  many  of  the  most 
notable  battles  of  the  greatest  civil  war  known 
to  histor}-,  beginning  with  the  battle  of  Shiloh 
and  continuing  the  course  of  contest  until  the  en- 
gagement at  Bentonville,  North  Carolina. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  Mr.  Cawood  re- 
turned to  his  farm  in  Putnam  county,  Missouri, 
where  he  continued  to  follow  agricultural  pur- 
suits until  1883,  when  he  disposed  of  his  interests 
there  and  came  to  Hand  county.  South  Dakota, 
where  he  took  up  three  claims  of  government 
land,  to  which  he  has  since  added  two  other 
quarter  sections,  so  that  he  is  now  the  owner  of 
a  valuable  landed  estate  of  eight  hundred  acres, 
the  property  being  admirably  improved  and  con- 
stituting one  of  the  most  atractive  places  in  this 
section  of  the  state.  Mr.  Cawood  has  been 
actively  identified  with  the  management  of  town- 
ship affairs  from  the  time  of  the  organization  of 
his  township,  while  in  1894  he  was  elected  to 
represent  his  district  in  the  state  legislature,  in 
which  he  served  one  term,  ably  upholding  the 
interests  of  his  county  and  state.  In  politics  he 
has  ever  been  stanchly  arrayed  in  support  of  the 
principles  of  the  Republican  party,  having  cast 
his  first  presidential  vote  for  Abraham  Lincoln. 
He  and  his  wife  are  valued  and  zealous  mem- 
bers of  the  Congregational  church  at  Pleasant 
Valley,  and  fraternally  he  is  affiliated  with 
Canby  Post.  No.  12.  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public, at  Miller. 

In  18.S7  Mf.  Cawood  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Ellen  Starr,  of  Putnam  county,  Missouri, 
and  they  became  the  parents  of  three  children, 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


namely:  John  A.,  who  died  in  1864;  Lucinda, 
who  is  the  wife  of  John  ]\Iillan,  of  Wessington, 
South  Dakota,  and  Seigle  B.,  of  whom  individtial 
mention  is  made  elsewhere  in  this  work.  Mrs. 
Cawood  was  summoned  into  eternal  rest  in  1865, 
and  on  the  23d  of  February,  1868,  the  subject 
wedded  Miss  Elmira  McAtee,  wiho  was  born  and 
reared  in  Missouri.  Of  their  seven  children  four 
are  living,  namely :  Emma,  Sarah.  Minnie  and 
Mollie.  Sarah  married  T.  V.  Wallace,  of  Hu- 
ron, South  Dakota ;  Minnie  is  married  to  W.  W. 
Johnson,  of  Ames,  this  state,  and  Mollie  mar- 
ried E.  C.  Johnson,  also  of  Ames. 


OREN  STREVEL,  one  of  the  successful 
and  highly  esteemed  farmers  and  stock  raisers  of 
Faulk  county,  is  a  native  of  the  Wolverine  state, 
having  been  born  near  the  city  of  Port  Huron, 
iMichigan,  on  the  9th  of  October,  1858,  and  being 
a  son  of  Wesley  and  Sarah  A.  Strevel,  the  former 
of  whom  was  born  in  the  province  of  Ontario, 
Canada,  of  German  lineage,  and  the  latter  in  the 
state  of  Maine.  The  father  of  the  subject  removed 
with  his  parents  to  Michigan  in  his  youth  and 
the  family  became  numbered  among  the  pioneers 
of  St.  Clair  county,  where  he  and  his  wife  still 
maintain  their  home  and  where  he  was  long  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  pursuits.  Of  the  eleven 
children  in  the  family  eight  are  living  at  the  pres- 
ent time. 

Oren  Strevel  was  reared  on  the  homestead 
farm,  near  Port  Huron,  and  received  his  edu- 
cational training  in  the  public  schools.  He  there- 
after continued  to  be  associated  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  home  farm  until  1883,  when  he  set 
forth  to  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  people  of  South 
Dakota.  He  at  once  located  in  Faulk  county, 
which  was  organized  in  that  year,  taking  up  a 
homestead  claim  six  and  one-half  miles  southeast 
of  Faulkton,  the  present  county  seat,  and  at  once 
initiating  the  work  of  reclaiming  and  otherwise 
improving  his  property,  to  which  he  has  since 
added  until  he  has  a  valuable  ranch  of  three  hun- 
dred and  twenty  acres,  in  addition  to  which  he 
controls  about  fifteen  hundred  acres  of  leased 
land,  which  he  uses  principally  for  grazing  pur- 


poses. He  gives  his  attention  to  diversified  agri- 
culture and  to  the  raising  of  high-grade  stock, 
specially  the  Durham  type  of  cattle,  while  he  has 
still  farther  shown  his  energy  and  progressive 
ideas  by  engaging  in  the  dairying  business,  con- 
ducting operations  on  a  small  scale  and  having 
made  the  venture  a  most  profitable  one.  His 
ranch  has  substantial  buildings,  and  the  place  is 
one  of  the  many  fine  ones  which  have  been  de- 
veloped in  this  section  of  the  state  within  the 
past  twenty  years.  Mr.  Strevel  is  a  man  of  ster- 
ling characteristics  and  commands  unqualified  es- 
teem in  the  community.  His  political  proclivities 
arc  indicated  in  the  stanch  support  which  he  ac- 
cords to  the  Democratic  party,  and  he  ever  mani- 
fests a  deep  interest  in  all  that  concerns  the  prog- 
ress and  material  prosperity  of  his  county  and 
state.  At  the  time  of  the  Spanish-American  war 
our  subject  showed  the  intrinsic  loyaltv  and  patri- 
otism of  his  nature  by  enlisting,  in  May,  1898, 
as  a  member  of  Troop  E,  First  South  Dakota 
Cavalry,  under  Captain  P>inder,  and  proceeded 
with  his  command  to  Chickamauga,  Georgia, 
where  the  regiment  remained  in  reserve,  awaiting 
a  call  to  active  service.  The  signal  victory  gained 
by  the  American  forces  in  Cuba,  however,  ren- 
dered it  unnecessary  to  call  his  regiment  to  the 
scene  of  action,  and  Mr.  Strevel  was  mustered 
out,  with  the  remainder  of  his  regiment,  in  Octo- 
ber. 1898,  receiving  his  honorable  discharge  at 
Chickamauga  and  then  returning  to  his  home. 


THOMAS  C.  HANSEN,  a  prosperous  and 
progressive  farmer  and  stock  grower  of  Brule 
county,  was  born  in  the  province  of  Schleswig, 
Germany,  on  the  12th  of  November,  1842,  and 
was  there  reared  and  educated,  being  there  identi- 
fied with  agricultural  pursuits  until  he  was  twen- 
ty-five vears  of  age,  when  he  bade  adieu  to  home 
and  native  land  and  set  forth  to  seek  his  fortunes 
in  America.  Upon  arriving  in  the  new  world  he 
made  his  way  westward  to  Iowa,  settling  in  Scott 
county,  where  he  continued  to  be  engaged  in  farm- 
ing about  eighteen  years,  gradually  rising  on  the 
ladder  of  success  and  making  his  way  to  a  posi- 
tion of  independence.     In  the  early  seventies  he 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


921 


was  there  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
Willrodt,  a  sister  of  L.  H.  Willrodt,  who  is  now 
a  prominent  citizen  of  this  county,  being  individ- 
uall}-  mentioned  on  another  page  of  this  vohime. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hansen  have  two  children,  Adolph, 
who  is  a  resident  of  Lyon  county,  Iowa,  and 
Annie,  who  is  the  wife  of  Jacob  Jurgensen,  a  suc- 
cessful farmer  of  Brule  county.  South  Dakota. 

In  1883  Mr.  Hansen  came  to  Brule  county, 
Dakota,  where  he  purchased  a  relinquishment 
claim  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  his 
brother,  later  purchasing  a  timber  claim,  while 
by  subsequent  purchases  he  had  added  to  the  area 
of  his  holdings  until  he  is  now  the  owner  of  eight 
hundred  acres  of  fine  land,  of  which  about  three 
hundred  acres  are  maintained  under  effective  cul- 
tivation, while  the  remainder  of  the  land  is  used 
principally  for  pasturage,  since  Mr.  Hansen  is  a 
successful  raiser  of  cattle,  horses  and  hogs,  giv- 
ing a  careful  supervision  to  all  details  of  his  busi- 
ness and  being  one  of  the  substantial  farmers  of 
the  county.  He  has  made  the  best  of  improve- 
ments on  his  place,  including  a  commodious  and 
supbstantial  residence,  which  is  surrounded  by  a 
fine  grove  of  trees,  which  were  planted  by  himself. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat  and  in  religion  a 
free  thinker. 


JOHN  BARRON,  one  of  the  prosperous  and 
highly  honored  young  farmers  and  stock  raisers 
of  Moody  county,  comes  of  a  long  and  sterling 
line  of  Scottish  forbears,  and  is  himself  a  native 
of  Banflfshire,  Scotland,  where  he  was  born  on 
the  26th  of  May,  1869,  being  a  son  of  John  and 
Elizabeth  (Johnston)  Barron,  who  were  born  and 
reared  in  the  same  county  of  the  fair  land  of  hills 
and  heather,  the  father  of  our  subject  having 
been  there  engaged  in  farming  and  the  raising 
of  fine  horses  for  many  years,  and  having  gained 
a  high  reputation  in  connection  with  the  latter 
feature  of  his  enterprise,  as  did  he  later  in 
America.  In  1880  John  Barron,  Sr.,  immigrated 
with  his  family  to  the  United  States,  and  in  Oc- 
tober of  that  year  the  family  took  up  their 
residence  in  Moody  county.  South  Dakota,  be- 
coming pioneers  of  this  section  of  the  state.    The 


father  bought  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of 
land  in  Ward  township.  Moody  count)',  and 
later  added  to  the  same  until  the  landed  estate 
comprised  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  the  best  land  in  the  district,  while  the 
old  homestead,  or  the  home  farm,  which  con- 
sists of  six  hundred  and  forty  acres,  still  remains 
in  the  possession  of  John  Barron,  the  rest  being 
divided  among  the  other  members  of  the  family. 
The  father  made  a  specialty  of  raising  fine  draft 
and  coach  horses,  while  he  imported  a  number 
of  splendid  Clydesdale  horses  from  Scotland, 
thus  breeding  from  pure-blooded  stock.  He 
also  raised  and  dealt  in  cattle  and  swine,  having 
the  shorthorn  type  of  cattle  and  giving  prefer- 
ence to  the  Poland-China  hogs.  It  may  be  said 
that  each  department  of  the  fanu  enterprise  as 
established  by  him  is  being  successfully  carried 
forward  under  the  capable  direction  of  his  son, 
our  subject.  John  Barron,  Sr.,  was  a  man  of 
broad  and  liberal  ideas,  unbending  in  the  recti- 
tude of  his  character,  endowed  with  distinctive 
business  sagacity,  and  held  in  unqualified  con- 
fidence by  all  who  knew  him.  He  was  a  Demo- 
crat in  his  political  proclivities,  and  served  for 
several  terms  as  supervisor  of  his  township  and 
also  as  a  member  of  the  school  board  of  the  dis- 
trict. He  was  summoned  to  his  reward  on  the 
30th  of  July,  1903,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six 
years,  passing  away  in  the  fullness  of  years  and 
well-earned  honors,  while  his  death  was  held 
as  a  personal  bereavement  to  the  people  of  the 
community  in  which  he  had  so  long  maintained 
his  home.  He  was  a  consistent  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  as  is  also  his  widow,  who 
still  resides  on  the  old  homestead,  which  is  hal- 
lowed to  her  by  the  memories  and  associations 
of  the  past.  The  children,  in  order  of  birth,  are 
as  follows :  Georgia,  Caroline,  John,  Alexander 
J.,  William  J.  and  George  E.  The  home  is 
eligibly  located  about  ten  miles  northeast  of  the 
town  of  Flandreau,  the  count v  seat,  and  three 
miles  southwest  of  Ward,  the  postoffice  village 
of  the  locality. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  a  lad  of 
about  ten  years  at  the  time  of  the  family  im- 
migration to  America,  and  he  was  reared  to  man- 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


hood  on  the  farm  which  is  now  his  home,  while 
he  completed  his  educational  discipline  in  the 
schools  of  this  county,  finishing  in  Sioux  Falls 
Business  College,  and  thereafter  he  was  closely 
associated  with  his  father  in  the  work  and  man- 
agement of  the  farm  until  the  death  of  the  latter, 
since  which  time  the  supervision  of  the  home- 
stead has  devolved  largely  upon  him,  while  he 
has  gained  a  high  reputation  as  a  reliable  and 
honorable  business  man  and  as  a  progressive  and 
public-spirited'  citizen.  In  politics  he  clings  to 
the  faith  in  which  he  was  reared,  and  is  a  stanch 
advocate  of  the  principles  and  policies  of  the 
Democratic  party,  while  both  he  and  his  wife 
are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

On  the  15th  of  Januan.^  1891,  Mr.  Barron 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Maud  Estella 
Peart,  who  was  bom  in  Illinois  and  reared  in 
South  Dakota,  being  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
Peart,  a  retired  farmer  of  Moody  county  and  now 
residing  in  Flandreau.  Fraternally,  Mr.  Bar- 
ron is  a  member  of  Flandreau  Lodge,  No.  11, 
Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons;  Orient 
Qiapter,  No.  19,  Royal  Arch  Masons;  Ivanhoe 
Commandery,  No.  13,  Knights  Templar;  El 
Riad  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  the  Nobles 
of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  at  Sioux  Falls;  and  of 
Oriental  Consistory,  No.  i,  Ancient  Accepted 
Scottish  Rite,  at  Yankton.  Mrs.  Barron  is  a 
member  of  Buelah  Chapter,  Order  Eastern  Star, 
at  Flandreau,  and  of  Sioux  Valley  Rebekah 
Lodge,  No.  66,  also  at  Flandreau.  Among  some 
old  relics  in  the  possession  of  the  subject  are 
some  old  pieces  of  linen  which  were  woven  by 
his  great-grandmother. 


land  office  and  in  1874  was  made  secretary'  of 
the  territory,  a  position  he  filled  for  eight  years. 
After  closing  his  official  career  he  became  the 
counsel  for  the  Northwestern  Railway  for  Da- 
kota and  served  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
while  attending  a  session  of  the  legislature  at 
Pierre  on  March  10,  1891. 


GEORGE  A.  HAND,  secretary  of  Dakota 
territory  and  acting  governor  from  the  illness  of 
Governor  Howard  until  the  appointment  of  his 
successor,  a  period  of  almost  one  year,  was  born 
at  Akron,  Ohio,  on  the  9th  of  August,  1837.  He 
was  a  lawyer  and  served  in  the  Civil  war  as  a 
member  of  the  Chicago  Board  of  Trade  Battery. 
He  came  to  Dakota  and  settled  at  Yankton  in 
1865  and  was  two  years  later  appointed  United 
States  attorney.     Later  he  was  register  of  the 


DAMOSE  RAYMOND,  one  of  the  substan- 
tial and  prosperous  farmers  and  stock  growers  of 
Charles  Mix  county,  comes  of  stanch  French  lin- 
eage, and  is  a  native  of  St.  Michel,  Canada,  where 
he  was  born  in  the  year  1857,  his  parents  having 
passed  their  entire  lives  in  the  dominion.  He 
secured  a  common-school  education  and  early 
became  dependent  upon  his  own  resources,  having 
been  engaged  in  various  lines  of  work  in  Canada 
until  he  had  attained  the  age  of  sixteen  years, 
when  he  went  to  the  northern  part  of  the  state 
of  Michigan,  where  he  remained  four  years  as  a 
workman  in  the  great  pineries,  in  connection  with 
the  lumbering  operations  of  a  large  concern.  He 
then  returned  to  Canada  and  located  in  St.  Phil- 
ippe, where  he  conducted  a  meat  market  for  the 
ensuing  five  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  he 
again  came  to  "the  states,"  taking  up  his  abode 
in  Fremont,  Nebraska,,  where  he  rented  a  farm 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty-seven  acres,  to  whose 
cultivation  he  continued  to  devote  his  attention 
for  three  years,  when  he  came  to  South  Dakota 
and  took  up  a  homestead  claim  in  Jackson  town- 
ship. Charles  Mix  county,  the  same  being  an  in- 
tegral portion  of  his  present  finely  improved 
ranch.  He  began  life  here  in  the  primitive  pioneer 
style,  his  first  dwelling  being  a  rude  sod  house, 
which  in  time  gave  place  to  his  present  comfort- 
able and  commodious  frame  residence,  while  he 
has  made  other  well  ordered  improvements  on 
the  place.  The  major  part  of  the  place  is  under  a 
high  state  of  cultivation,  while  the  balance  is  de- 
voted principally  to  grazing  purposes  and  to  the 
raising  of  hay  for  his  stock.  He  gives  special 
attention  to  the  raising  of  red  polled  cattle  of 
high  grade,  and  also  keeps  a  good  herd  of  Poland 
China  hogs.  In  politics  he  maintains  an  indepen- 
dent attitude,  and  both  he  and  his  wife  are  com- 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


municants  of  the  Catholic  church,  in  whose  faith 
he  was  reared. 

In  the  year  1877  was  solemnized  the  marriage 
of  Mr.  Raymond  to  Miss  Olivine  Brindamour, 
who  was  born  in  1862  in  St.  Philippe,  and  of  this 
union  were  born  the  following  children :  Millen, 
Mary,  Rosa,  William,  Casimir,  Damase,  Joseph- 
ine, Victoria  and  Florence.  Mrs.  Olivine  Ray- 
mond (lied  in  1899  '^^'^^  '"  ^Ooo  the  subject  mar- 
ried Miss  Zelia  Cote. 


nUSTAA'TTS  R.  KRAUSE,  who  is  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  the  city  of 
Dell  Rapids,  Minnehaha  county,  is  known  as  one 
of  the  successful  and  representative  members  of 
the  South  Dakota  bar.  He  is  a  native  of  the 
Badger  state,  having  been  born  in  Dodge  county, 
Wisconsin,  on  the  9th  of  February,  1859.  and 
being  a  son  of  Godfrey  H.  and  Amelia  (Schmidt) 
Krause.  who  were  born  in  Germany,  and  who 
early  located  in  Wisconsin,  where  the  father  de- 
voted his  life  to  farming.  The  subject  received 
his  preliminary  discipline  in  a  German  private 
school  in  his  native  county,  and  thereafter  was 
for  two  years  a  student  in  the  Baptist  college  at 
Monee,  Illinois,  being  there  graduated  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  class  of  1873,  in  which  year  his  parents 
removed  to  Columbus,  Nebraska,  where  he  con- 
tinued his  studies  for  a  time  in  the  public  high 
school,  later  entering  a  business  college  in  the  city 
of  Burlington.  Iowa,  where  he  was  graduated  in 
1878,  after  which  he  returned  to  his  home  in  Co- 
lumbus. Nebraska,  in  which  town  he  eventually 
engaged  in  the  mercantile  business,  in  which  he 
continued  for  a  period  of  several  years.  In  1889 
he  disposed  of  his  interests  there  and  came  to 
South  Dakota,  locating  in  Dell  Rapids,  where  he 
engaged  in  the  real-estate  and  loan  business,  and 
later  took  up  the  study  of  law  under  excellent 
preceptorship,  and  lie  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of 
the  state  upon  examination  before  the  supreme 
court  during  the  October  session  of  1897.  After 
his  admission  to  the  bar  Mr.  Krause  at  once  es- 
tablished himself  in  practice  in  Dell  Rapids,  and 
here,  through  his  ability,  devotion  to  his  profes- 
sion and  unflagging  energy  and  application,  he 


has  succeeded  in  attaining  high  prestige  at  the 
bar  of  the  county  and  controls  a  large  and  impor- 
tant business.  Though  he  has  never  been  ambi- 
tious for  personal  preferment  in  an  official  way 
Mr.  Krause  has  long  been  an  active  and  loyal 
worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Republican  party,  of 
whose  principles  and  policies  he  is  an  able  advo- 
cate, while  fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the 
Ivanhoe  Lodge,  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  is  an  ac- 
tive member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  his 
home  town,  where  he  is  held  in  high  regard  as  a 
lawyer  and  citizen.  Since  coming  to  the  state 
Mr.  Krause  has  accumulated  here  several  pieces 
of  valuable  land,  besides  a  fine  home  and  valuable 
business  property.  He  has  won  success  through 
his  own  efforts,  having  been  dependent  upon  his 
own  resources  since  he  attained  the  age  of  fifteen 
years. 

On  the  8th  of  October,  1881,  Mr.  Krause  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Delia  P.  Christison, 
of  Trempealeau  county,  Wisconsin,  daughter  of 
Rev.  Dr.  Christison.  They  are  the  parents  of  two 
sons.  Homer  G.  and  Claude  G.,  both  bright  young 
men  now  away  from  home  receiving  a  college 
education. 


WILIMOT  W.  BROOKINGS,  born  Wool- 
wich, Lincoln  county,  Maine,  1833.  Came  to  Da- 
kota, 1857,  among  first  to  settle  at  Sioux  Falls. 
Several  times  member  of  Dakota  legislature,  as- 
sociate justice  supreme  court  of  Dakota,  1869- 
1873.  Graduate  Bowdoin  College.  Built  South- 
ern Dakota  Railway,  Sioux  City  to  Yankton, 
1872,  first  railway  in  territory.  Now  resides  in 
Boston. 


EDWIN  S.  JOHNSON,  who,  in  connection 
with  banking  and  real-estate  operations  has.  with 
his  brothers,  attained  distinctive  precedence  and 
a  high  degree  of  success,  being  a  resident  of  the 
attractive  town  of  Armour,  was  born  on  a  farm 
near  Spencer,  Owen  county,  Indiana,  on  the  26th 
of  February,  1857,  a  son  of  Allison  C.  and  Emily 
(Brenton)  Johnson,  of  whose  ten  children  six  are 
living  at  the  present  time,  namely:    Eudora.  who 


924 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


is  the  wife  of  Byron  Allen,  of  Sioux  City,  Iowa : 
Edwin  S.,  who  is  the  immediate  subject  of  this 
sketch:  Homer  W.,  who  is  intimately  associated 
with  the  subject  in  business  and  who  is  individ- 
ually mentioned  on  other  pages  of  this  work  :  Belle 
J.,  who  is  the  wife  of  W.  W.  Sparks,  of  Sioux 
City,  Iowa;  Frank  H.,  who  resides  in  Geddes, 
South  Dakota,  being  likewise  associated  in  busi- 
ness with  the  subject ;  and  Cornelia,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Dr.  P.  E.  Sawyer,  of  Sioux  City-,  Iowa. 
The  father  of  these  children  was  a  representative 
of  an  old  Virginia  family,  whence  his  parents  re- 
moved to  the  state  of  Indiana  in  the  pioneer 
epoch,  and  there  he  was  born  in  the  year  1827, 
being  reared  on  a  farm  and  securing  such  edu- 
cational advantages  as  were  aflforded  in  the  pio- 
neer community.  His  wife  was  born  in  Indiana, 
in  the  year  1832,  and  after  their  marriage  he  con- 
tinued to  be  identified  with  agricultural  pursuits 
in  his  native  state  until  1857,  when  he  removed 
with  his  wife  and  two  children  to  Iowa,  which 
was  then  considered  in  the  far  west  and  on  the 
frontier  of  civilization,  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
being  an  infant  of  three  months  at  the  time,  while 
the  trip  was  made  overland  in  a  covered  wagon. 
The  family  located  in  Osceola,  where  the  father 
turned  his  attention  to  mercantile  pursuits  and  also 
became  concerned  in  real-estate  operations,  and 
continued  his  residence  there  until  1886.  when  he 
came  to  South  Dakota  and  joined  his  sons  in 
.\rmour,  where  he  passed  the  residue  of  his  long 
and  useful  life,  his  death  occurring  on  the  5th  of 
January,  1899.  For  ten  years  prior  to  his  demise 
he  was  afflicted  with  blindness,  but  he  bore  this  af- 
fliction with  resignation  and  was  always  cheer- 
ful and  kindly,  his  having  been  the  faith  that 
makes  faithful.  His  cherished  and  devoted  wife 
was  summoned  into  eternal  rest  in  December. 
1895.  3t  the  age  of  sixty-three  years,  both  having 
been  active  and  zealous  members  of  the  Metho- 
dist Protestant  church,  in  whose  work  he  took  a 
nrominent  part  during  the  years  of  his  active  life, 
having  been  for  eighteen  consecutive  years  super- 
intendent of  the  Sunday  school  of  the  church  at 
Osceola.  Iowa,  while  he  exemplified  his  Chris- 
tian faith  in  his  daily  walk  and  conversation.  In 
politics  he  was  originally  an  adherent  of  the  ^^^^ig 


party  but  upon  the  organization  of  the  Republi- 
can party  he  identified  himself  therewith  and  ever 
afterward  supported  its  cause.  He  served  as  reg- 
ister of  deeds  in  Clarke  county,  Iowa,  and  also 
was  incumbent  of  other  offices  of  trust  and  respon- 
sibility. Fraternally  he  was  identified  with  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

In  reviewing  the  career  of  Edwin  S.  Johnson, 
whose  name  initiates  this  sketch,  we  can  not  per- 
haps do  better  than  to  quote  from  an  appreciative 
article  which  appeared  in  a  recent  issue  of  the 
Armour  Herald,  making  such  metaphrase  as  may 
seem  expedient  in  the  connection :  "He  grew  to 
manhood  in  Iowa  and  under  the  influences  of  pio- 
neer hardships  and  vicissitudes  incident  to  those 
early  days  he  cultivated  and  expanded  the  indom- 
itable energy  that  has  since  made  him  the  pos- 
sessor of  honor  and  wealth.  His  education  was 
limited  to  the  public  schools  of  Osceola,  and 
having  acquired  all  the  knowledge  possible  to 
attain  in  a  graded  school  he  formed  a  partnership 
with  his  father  in  the  clothing  business,  with 
which  he  continued  to  be  identified  for  several 
}ears.  In  1880  he  went  to  Wheeler  county,  Ne- 
braska, becoming  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
that  section,  establishing  the  county  seat 
of  Cedar  City  (now  Harrington)  on  his 
claim.  Shortly  afterward  he  sold  his  in- 
terests on  the  Nebraska  frontier  and  re- 
turned to  Osceola,  where  he  was  employed  for 
three  years  in  the  Osceola  Bank.  In  1884  he  vis- 
ited his  brother  Homer,  who  was  then  in  Sioux 
Falls,  Dakota,  and  together  they  came  to  Douglas 
county  in  that  year  and  established  the  present 
Citizens'  Bank  at  Grand  View.  The  firm  has  al- 
ways prospered,  and  though  starting  in  life  with- 
out a  cent  other  than  that  acquired  through  their 
own  hard  labors,  their  parents  being  in  moderate 
circumstances,  they  are  today  rated  among  the 
leading  capitalists  of  the  state. 

"The  subject  of  this  sketch  has  always  been 
a  force  in  politics,  and  in  1892  he  was  elected 
state's  attorney  for  Douglas  county,  having  at- 
tained sufficient  knowledge  of  the  law  to  be  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar,  in  Armour,  in  1888.  To  the 
practice  of  the  law.  however.  Mr.  Johnson  never 
gave  many  years  of  his  time.     In  1894  he  was- 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


925 


honored  by  his  party  with  the  nomination  and 
election  to  the  state  senate,  but  in  the  upheaval  of 
party  sentiment  in  1896  and  the  radical  change 
of  front  by  the  Republican  party  on  many  ques- 
tions, he  severed  party  ties  and  voiced  his  con- 
victions by  voting  and  working  for  the  success 
of  William  J.  Bryan  for  president.  Since  that 
time  he  has  been  a  Democrat,  and  his  many  friends 
throughout  the  state  have  frequenth-  mentioned 
his  name  in  connection  with  candidacy  for  the 
United  States  senate." 

In  company  with  his  brother  Homer  W.,  the 
subject  of  this  review  organized  the  Johnson 
Brothers  Company,  the  same  being  incorporated 
under  the  laws  of  the  state  and  capitalized  for 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  in  1886  the 
headquarters  of  the  company  were  removed  from 
Grand  View  to  Armour,  with  whose  advancement 
and  substantial  upbuilding  the  brothers  have  been 
most  prominently  identified.  Of  the  company 
mentioned  the  subject  of  this  sketch  has  been 
president  from  the  time  of  its  organization,  and 
its  operations  have  been  of  wide  scope  and  im- 
portance as  land  and  loan  brokers,  their  real- 
estate  interests  being  of  most  extensive  order, 
while  the  operations  of  the  company  extend 
throughout  the  state  of  South  Dakota  and  also 
into  Minnesota  and  Iowa.  The  company  pur- 
chased the  first  lot  in  Armour  after  the  town  was 
platted,  J.  C.  Lawler,  of  Mitchell,  having  been 
the  owner  of  the  town  site.  In  1893  the  company 
purchased  Mr.  Lawler's  interests  here  for  ten 
thousand  dollars,  shortly  afterward  selling  an  im- 
divided  half  interest  to  C.  E.  Foote.  Shortly  after 
coming  to  Armour  the  brothers  organized  the 
Citizens'  State  Bank,  which  has  become  one  of 
the  leading  financial  institutions  in  this  section, 
and  of  the  same  our  subject  continued  as  cashier 
until  1902.  when  he  and  his  brother  disposed  of 
their  interests  in  the  same,  as  also  in  the  banking 
houses  which  they  had  established  at  Geddes, 
this  state,  and  at  Horning,  Iowa,  and  they  are 
now  devoting  their  entire  attention  to  their  real- 
estate  and  loan  business,  which  is  one  of  the  most 
important  in  the  state. 

Edwin  S.  Johnson  is  a  man  of  strong  indi- 
viduality, as  may  be  inferrerl   from   the  epitom- 


ized record  of  his  career  here  entered,  and  while 
he  has  attained  marked  success  and  prestige  he 
is  unassuming  in  all  the  relations,  of  life,  genial 
and  kindly  in  his  intercourse  with  his  fellow  men. 
He  was  chairman  of  the  Democratic  state  central 
committee,  from  June,  1902,  until  the  state  con- 
vention at  Sioux  Falls  in  March,  1964.  when  he 
tendered  his  resignation  and  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  national  committee  for  South  Dakota. 
He  was  married  October  i,  1884,  to  Miss  Anna 
Thoreau,  at  Osceola,  Iowa,  and  they  have  five 
children  living.  The  subject  and  his  wife  are 
members  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  church. 


LEWIS  A.  FOX,  editor  and  proprietor  of 
the  Tripp  Ledger,  was  born  in  Faribault  county, 
Minnesota,  August  30,  1874,  a  son  of  Cyrus  A. 
B.  and  Sarah  H.  (Alvey)  Fox,  of  whose  seven 
children  five  are  living,  namely:  Estella,  wife 
of  M.  H.  SkiflF,  of  Minneapolis,  Minnesota; 
John  C. ;  Lewis,  the  subject  of  this  sketch ;  Don- 
ald H.,  a  resident  of  Madison,  this  state,  and 
employed  as  express  messenger  on  the  Chicago, 
Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railroad:  and  C.  Roy.  a 
clerk  in  the  postoffice  at  Sioux  Falls.  The 
father  of  the  subject  was  born  in  Washington 
county,  Missouri,  in  1846,  and  soon  after  his  ad- 
vent in  the  world  his  parents  removed  to  Stark 
county,  Illinois,  where  he  was  reared  and  edu- 
cated. In  1862,  when  but  fifteen  years  of  age,  he 
enlisted  in  Company  H,  Eighty-sixth  Illinois 
Volunteer  Infantry,  in  the  capacity  of  fifer.  and 
he  continued  in  active  service  for  nearly  three 
vears,  being  mustered  out  in  June,  1864,  a  youth- 
ful veteran  of  the  greatest  civil  war  known  in 
the  annals  of  history.  He  returned  to  Illinois, 
where  he  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter,  also 
teaching  school  for  a  time.  In  1870  he  removed 
to  Faribault  county,  Minnesota,  where  he  was 
for  a  number  of  years  in  the  employ  of  the  Chi- 
cago, Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railroad  in  the  ca- 
pacity of  bridge  builder.  In  1880,  while  en- 
gaged in  the  work  noted,  he  received  a  severe 
injury  as  the  result  of  an  accident,  and  he  then 
resigned  his  position  and  finally  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  the  Hodge  &  Hyde  Elevator  Company, 


(J26 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


having  charge  of  the  erection  of  their  elevators 
along  the  line  of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  & 
St.  Paul  Railroad  from  La  Crosse,  Wisconsin,  to 
Woonsocket,  South  Dakota,  and  also  between 
Madison  and  Bristol,  this  state.  He  remained 
with  this  concern  until  1889,  when  he  was  com- 
pelled to  resign  on  account  of  impaired  health, 
and  since  that  time  he  has  followed  various  vo- 
cations, he  and  his  wife  being  now  residents  of 
Sioux  Falls.  He  is  a  prominent  and  popular 
comrade  in  the  Grand  Arm}'  of  the  Republic,  and 
always  attends  the  national  encampments  of  the 
same,  taking  with  him  on  these  occasions  his  or- 
ganization known  as  Fox's  Martial  Band,  of 
which  he  is  commander.  He  is  familiarly  known 
by  all  his  comrades  and  friends  as  "Colonel" 
Fox. 

The  subject  of  this  review  received  his  early 
educational  discipline  in  the  public  schools  of 
Kingsbury  county.  South  Dakota,  his  parents 
having  there  taken  up  their  abode  in  1887.  At 
the  age  of  fifteen  years  he  secured  employment 
in  the  Farmers'  Bank  of  South  Dakota,  at  Lake 
Preston,  in  which  town  the  family  located  in 
1887,  having  come  to  Forestburg,  Sanborn 
county,  in  1883.  and  there  resided  until  the  year 
mentioned.  The  parents  have  been  residents  of 
the  city  of  Sioux  Falls  since  1890.  The  subject 
was  employed  in  the  bank  for  one  year  and  then 
be^an  his  apprenticeship  at  the  "art  preservative 
of  all  arts''  by  entering  the  printing  office  of  L. 
J.  Bates,  publisher  of  the  Lake  Preston  Times, 
where  he  remained  about  three  years,  becoming 
a  skilled  workman  and  acquiring  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  country'  newspaper  business. 
On  the  1st  of  September,  1893,  h^  removed  to 
Alexandria,  where  he  acquired  a  half  interest 
in  the  Alexandria  Journal,  but  two  months  later 
he  disposed  of  his  interest  and  came  to  Tripp, 
where  he  purchased  from  J.  B.  Stout  &  Company 
the  plant  and  business  of  the  Tripp  Ledger, 
whose  publication  he  has  since  successfully  con- 
tinued, making  it  one  of  the  best  local  papers  in 
the  state.  In  politics  Mr.  Fox  is  a  stanch  ad- 
herent of  the  Republican  party,  in  wiiose  sup- 
port his  paper  is  effectively  enlisted.  He  served 
seven  years  as  justice  of  the  peace,  refusing  to 


longer  continue  incumbent  of  the  office.  Fra- 
ternally, he  is  a  member  of  Tripp  Camp,  No. 
5931,  ]\'Iodern  Woodmen  of  America. 

On  the  22d  of  June,  1898,  Mr.  Fox  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Elsie  E.  Morris,  a 
daughter  of  H.  V.  Morris,  a  well-known  citizen 
of  Tripp,  and  of  this  union  has  been  born  a  win- 
some little  daughter,  Ruth  B. 

It  may  be  said  in  conckision  that  Mr.  Fox 
comes  of  military  stock  in  both  the  paternal  and 
maternal  lines.  Two  of  his  paternal  uncles  were 
prominent  in  the  militan,-  operations  in  Dakota 
in  the  early  'sixties.  His  mother's  parents  were 
born  in  England,  and  her  grandfather  was  a 
participant  in  the  battle  of  Waterloo.  C.  A.  Fox, 
grandfather  of  the  subject,  took  part  in  the  Black 
Hawk  war,  in  Illinois,  and  both  of  the  great- 
grandfathers in  the  paternal  lines  were  partici- 
pants in  the  war  of  181 2.  Two  of  ]\Ir.  Fox's 
brothers  maintained  the  military  prestige  of  the 
name  by  their  service  in  the  Spanish-.American 
war.  being  on  duty  in  the  Philippines.  John 
C.  was  first  lieutenant  of  Company  B,  First 
South  Dakota  A^olunteer  Infantry,  and  Donald 
H.  was  quartermaster's  sergeant  in  the  same 
company. 


PAUL  WILDERMUTH.  one  of  the  lead- 
'  ing  merchants  and  influential  citizens  of  the  town 
j  of  Tripp.  Hutchinson  county,  was  born  in  the 
state  of  Bassirabia.  in  southern  Russia,  on  the 
28th  of  June,  1862,  a  son  of  Karl  and  Rosa 
(  Tsler)  ^^'ildermuth,  of  whose  six  children  we 
enter  the  following  record :  Frederick  still  con- 
tinues to  reside  in  southern  Russia :  Paul  is  the 
imiuediate  subject  of  this  sketch :  Karl  is  a  clerk 
in  the  mercantile  establishment  of  the  subject; 
Jacob  remains  in  his  native  land :  Christiana  is 
the  wife  of  Mathis  Geigle,  of  Tripp,  this  state, 
and  Gotlob  is  still  a  resident  of  Russia.  The 
father  of  the  subject  was  born  in  Gennany.  and 
when  he  was  a  lad  of  eight  years  he  accompanied 
his  parents  on  their  removal  across  the  border 
into  southern  Russia,  where  he  was  reared  to 
manhood,  having  devoted  his  life  to  agricultural 
I  pursuits,  and  he  and  his  worthy  wife  still  reside 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


in  Russia,  honored  as  folk  of  sterling  character. 
Paul  Wildermuth  passed  his  youth  on  the 
homestead  farm  and  received  his  early  educa- 
tion in  the  excellent  schools  of  his  native  land. 
On  the  6th  of  November,  1884,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Magdalena  Gebhard,  and  on 
the  same  day  they  set  forth  for  America,  for- 
tified by  mutual  confidence  and  affection  and  de- 
termined to  wrest  fortune  from  the  hands  of 
fate,  even  though  strangers  in  a  strange  land. 
They  came  at  once  to  what  is  now  the  state  of 
South  Dakota  and  located  in  Campbell  county, 
where  JMr.  Wildermuth  took  up  a  homestead 
claim  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  gov- 
ernment land.  The  young  couple  continued  to 
reside  on  this  embr\'onic  farm  for  two  years, 
proving  on  the  property  in  due  course  of  time 
Our  subject  then  sold  the  farm  and  in  the  spring 
of  1887  he  came  to  Tripp,  which  was  then  a 
hamlet  of  only  a  few  houses,  a^id  his  is  now  the 
distinction  of  being  one  of  the  oldest  citizens 
of  the  town  in  point  of  years  of  residence.  Upon 
locating  here  he  engaged  in  work  at  the  car- 
penter trade,  having  served  an  apprenticeship 
in  his  native  land,  and  he  devoted  his  attention 
to  the  same  about  six  years.  He  then  engaged 
in  the  grain  business,  buying  for  the  Hunting 
Company.  In  1896  he  purchased  an  elevator 
and  began  buying  and  shipping  on  his  own  re- 
sponsibility, thus  continuing  until  the  fall  of 
1899.  when  he  disposed  of  his  elevator  and  as- 
sociated himself  with  C.  C.  Frederick  in  the  pur- 
chase of  the  old  established  mercantile  business 
of  C.  Frederick,  one  of  the  pioneer  merchants  of 
Tripp.  About  two  years  later  F.  F.  Myer  pur- 
chased the  interest  of  Mr.  Frederick,  and  the 
enterprise  was  thereafter  conducted  under  the 
firm  name  of  Meyer  &  Wildermuth.  until  Feb- 
ruary, 1903,  when  Mr.  Meyer  sold  his  interest 
to  J.  M.  Schaefer,  with  whom  our  subject  has 
since  been  associated,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Schaefer  &  Wildermuth.  The  firm  has  a  well 
equipped  establishment  and  transacts  a  large  and 
constantly  expanding  business,  theirs  being  one 
of  the  leading  mercantile  concerns  in  this  section 
of  the  state. 

In  politics  Mr.  Wildermuth  is  a  stalwart  Re- 


publican and  he  has  served  repeatedly  as  dele- 
gate to  state  and  county  conventions  of  his  party, 
being  one  of  its  influential  members  in  this  dis- 
trict. In  1898  he  was  elected  to  represent  his 
county  in  the  state  legislature,  serving  during 
the  sixth  general  assembly  and  making  an  excel- 
lent record.  He  and  his  wife  are  prominent 
and  devoted  members  of  the  Lutheran  church 
and  are  closely  identified  with  the  best  social  life 
of  the  community.  They  have  nine  children,  all 
of  whom  still  remain  at  the  parental  home, 
namely :  Rosa,  Lena,  Robert  and  Richard 
("twins),  Bertie,  Emil,  Otto,  William  and  Her- 
bert. 


CHARLES  ZEHNPFENING.  one  of  the 
representative  business  men  of  Farkston,  Hutch- 
inson county,  is  a  native  of  the  beautiful  city  of 
Madison,  captial  of  the  state  of  Wisconsin,  where 
he  was  born  on  the  20th  of  August,  1868,  being  11 
son  of  Frank  and  Margaret  (Bauer)  Zehnpfen- 
ing,  to  whom  were  born  twelve  children,  of  whom 
the  eight  surviving  are  as  follows :  Catherine, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Lawrence  Bowar,  and  Theo- 
dore, Edward,  Bertha,  Harry,  William,  Henry 
and  Charles.  The  father  was  born  in  Germany, 
m  the  year  1839,  and  when  he  was  six  years  of  age 
his  parents  emigrated  to  America,  locating  in 
Dane  county,  Wisconsin,  where  he  was  reared 
and  educated,  eventually  engaging  in  the  shoe 
business  in  the  city  of  Madison,  where  he  re- 
mained until  1880,  when  he  disposed  of  his  busi- 
ness interests  there  and  came  to  South  Dakota, 
entering  homestead  and  tree  claims  in  Hutchin- 
son county  and  turning  his  attention  to  agricul- 
tural pursuits,  in  which  he  has  since  been  success- 
fully engaged.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  his  political 
proclivities  and  both  he  and  his  wife  are  devoted 
communicants  of  the  Catholic  church. 

Charles  Zehnpfening,  the  immediate  subject 
of  this  review,  received  his  early  educational  dis- 
cipline in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  city,  and 
was  about  twelve  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  the 
family  removal  to  South  Dakota,  where  he  com- 
pleted a  course  of  study  in  the  high  school  at 
Mitchell.     Upon  attaining  his  legal  majority  he 


928 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


purchased  a  quarter  section  of  land  in  Hutchinson 
county  and  thereafter  devoted  himself  to  its  im- 
provement and  cultivation  for  six  years,  at  the  ex- 
piration of  which,  in  1895,  he  located  in  the  thriv- 
ing town  of  Parkston,  where  he  established  him- 
self in  the  grain  business,  forming  a  partnership 
with  A.  H.  Betts,  president  of  the  Truax  &  Betts 
Elevator  Company,  of  Mitchell.  The  subject  has 
gained  a  high  reputation  as  an  energetic  and  reli- 
able business  man,  being  progressive  in  his  meth- 
ods and  being  successful  in  his  chosen  vocation. 
He  is  a  stanch  Republican  in  politics  and  both 
he  and  his  wife  are  communicants  of  the  Catholic 
church.  He  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  educa- 
tion of  his  home  town,  and  is  thoroughly  public- 
spirited  in  his  attitude. 

In  1889.  Mr.  Zehnpfening  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Anna  M.  Puetz,  of  this  county,  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  six  children,  namely :  Dora 
A.,  Herbert  P.,  Frank  J..  Clara  J.,  Fred  L.  and 
Carl  M. 


I 

CHARLES  H.  LUGG,  who  is  the  incumbent 
of  the  exacting  and  important  office  of  super- 
intendent of  schools  in  Hutchinson  county,  was 
bom  in  Geneva,  Freeborn  county,  Minnesota, 
on  the  2 1st  of  October,  1862,  being  a  son  of 
Edward  and  H.  Almifa  (Williams)  Lugg,  to 
whom  were  bom  six  children,  he  being  the 
eldest  of  the  four  surviving;  the  others  are  as  fol- 
lows :  James  E.,  who  is  a  resident  of  Oakland, 
Minnesota;  Samuel  R.,  who  remains  at  the 
parental  home,  as  does  also  Laura  Z.  The  father 
of  the  subject  was  born  in  Cornwall,  England, 
in  the  year  1834.  and  there  he  was  reared  and 
educated.  In  1838,  at  the  age  of  twenty- four 
years,  he  severed  the  home  ties  and  set  forth  to 
seek  his  fortunes  in  America,  landing  in  Quebec 
and  thefice  coming  westward  to  Wisconsin.  He 
lived  in  Racine  county  that  state,  a  year  and  a 
half,  at  the  expiration  of  which  he  went  to 
Freeborn  county,  Minnesota,  where  his  marriage 
was  solemnized.  There  he  filed  entn-  on  a  quar- 
ter section  of  land,  and  while  he  was  waiting  for 
the  passage  of  the  homestead  act,  through  the 
provisions  of  which  he  intended  to  secure  title 


to  his  property,  another  person  "jumped"  the 
claim,  filing  a  pre-emption  claim  and  thus  secur- 
ing title  to  the  land.  'Sir.  Lugg  later  removed  to 
Blue  Earth  county,  that  state,  where  he  entered 
land,  disposing  of  the  same  about  a  year  later 
and  returning  to  Freeborn  county,  where  he  pur- 
chased a  farm,  to  whose  improvement  and  culti- 
vation he  has  since  given  his  attention,  being  one 
of  the  well-known  and  highly  honored  pioneers 
of  that  section  of  the  state.  His  loyalty  to  the 
land  of  his  adoption  has  ever  been  of  the  insistent 
and  uncompromising  order  and  was  manifested 
in  a  distinctive  way  at  the  time  when  the  in- 
tegrit}^  of  the  LTnion  was  menaced  by  amied  re- 
bellion. In  August.  1864,  he  enlisted  as  a  private 
in  Company  E.  Tenth  Minnesota  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, in  which  he  served  until  the  close  of 
the  war.  having  made  the  record  of  a  valiant  and 
loyal  son  of  the  republic.  He  was  mustered  out 
in  August,  1865,  having  participated  in  the  battle 
of  Nashville,  after  which  he  took  part  in  the 
closing  campaign  which  brought  the  crown  of 
victory  to  the  Union  amis.  He  is  a  stanch  ad- 
vocate of  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party 
and  a  consistent  and  valued  member  of  the 
Baptist  church.    His  wife  died  in  July,  1892. 

Professor  Charles  H.  Lugg  was  reared  on 
the  old  homestead  farm,  and  after  availing  him- 
self of  the  advantages  afforded  in  the  district 
schools  he  entered  the  high  school  at  Albert  Lea, 
while  later  he  continued  his  studies  in  the  North- 
ern Indiana  Nomial  School  and  Business  Uni- 
versity, at  \^alparaiso.  At  the  age  of  nineteen 
years,  just  after  leaving  the  high  school,  he  be- 
gan his  career  as  a  teacher,  and  his  efforts  in 
connection  with  the  pedagogic  profession  have 
been  attended  with  most  gratifying  success, 
while  he  has  devoted  his  attention  to  the  same 
for  more  than  twenty-one  years,  in  ]\Iinnesota 
and  South  Dakota.  He  was  for  one  year  superin- 
tendent of  the  public  schools  at  Olivet,  this  state, 
while  for  the  long  period  of  nine  years  he  served 
in  a  similar  capacity  in  the  Parkston  schools. 
In  the  autumn  of  1902  he  was  elected  to  his 
present  office  of  county  superintendent  of  schools, 
the  preferment  being  one  justly  due  him,  by  rea- 
son of  his  ability  as  an  educator  and  organizer 


CHARLES  H.  LUGG. 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


929 


as  well  as  on  the  score  of  his  long  and  able 
service  in  the  schools  of  the  county.  He  as- 
sumed the  discharge  of  his  official  duties  on  the 
1st  of  January,  1903,  and  has  shown  marked  ad- 
ministrative power  and  unlimited  enthusiasm  in 
his  work,  aiming  to  bring  the  schools  of  the 
county  up  to  the  highest  possible  standard  of 
efficiency,  while  his  personality  is  such  that  he 
enlists  the  hearty  co-operation  of  the  teachers  of 
the  county  as  well  as  of  the  official  boards.  In 
politics  Professor  Lugg  gives  an  uncompromis- 
ing allegiance  to  the  Republican  party,  and  his 
religious  faith  is  indicated  in  the  fact  that  both 
he  and  his  wife  are  devoted  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  in  which  he  was  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sunday  school  for  several  years, 
while  at  the  present  time  he  is  an  elder  in  the 
Parkston  church  and  has  charge  of  the  Bible 
class  in  its  Sunday  school.  Fraternally,  he  is 
identified  with  Parkston  Lodge,  No.  99,  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  also  with 
the  adjunct  organization,  the  Daughters  of  Re- 
bekah,  as  well  as  the  local  lodge  of  the  Home 
Guardians, 

On  Christmas  day  of  the  year  1894  was 
solemnized  the  marriage  of  Professor  Lugg  to 
Miss  Mar\-  A,  Parrott,  of  Dubuque  county,  Iowa, 
and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  children,  Laura 
A.  and  Esther  A. 


CHRISTIAN  REMPFER,  representative 
from  Hutchinson  county  in  the  state  legislature 
and  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  prominent  and 
influential  business  men  of  Parkston,  was  born  in 
southern  Russia,  on  the  i8th  of  July,  1859,  and 
was  there  reared  to  manhood,  securing  excellent 
educational  advantages.  In  1880  he  severed  the 
ties  which  bound  him  to  home  and  fatherland  and 
emigrated  to  America,  believing  that  here  were 
afforded  superior  opportunities  for  the  attaining 
of  success  and  independence  through  personal  en- 
deavor. From  New  York  city  he  came  westward 
to  South  Dakota,  which  was  at  that  time  still  an 
integral  portion  of  the  great  undivided  territory 
of  Dakota.  He  remained  for  a  short  interval  in 
Yankton,  which  was  at  the  time  the  capital  and 


most  populous  city  of  the  territory,  and  then  re- 
moved to  Scotland,  Bon  Homme  county,  where 
he  secured  a  clerical  position  in  a  grocery,  being 
thus  employed  about  two  years,  within  which  time 
he  filed  claim  to  a  homestead  in  Douglas  county. 
In  1885  he  came  to  Hutchinson  county,  where  he 
has  ever  since  retained  his  home.  L^pon  taking 
up  his  residence  here  he  turned  his  attention  to 
agricultural  pursuits,  in  which  he  was  success- 
fully engaged  about  eight  years.  In  the  autumn 
of  1893  Mr.  Rempfer  removed  with  his  family  to 
the  village  of  Parkston,  having  previously  dis- 
posed of  his  live  stock  and  grain,  from  the  sale  of 
which  he  realized  four  thousand  dollars.  It  was 
his  desire  to  engage  in  business  of  different  order, 
and,  feeling  the  need  of  more  technical  knowledge 
in  regard  to  business  methods,  in  the  autumn  of 
1894  he  entered  the  Dakota  University,  at  Mitch- 
ell, where  he  completed  a  commercial  course,  after 
which  he  returned  to  Parkston,  where,  in  the 
spring  of  1895,  he  engaged  in  the  handling  of 
agricultural  implements  and  machinery.  He  de- 
veloped marked  executive  and  business  ability 
and  his  enterprise  was  attended  with  most  gratify- 
ing, success.  He  continued  the  same  until  the 
1st  of  January,  1902,  when  he  disposed  of  his 
mercantile  interests  and  turned  his  attention  ex- 
clusively to  the  buying  and  shipping  of  grain. 
In  the  following  summer  he  associated  himself 
with  other  prominent  business  men  in  the  pur- 
chase of  a  series  of  elevators,  twelve  in  number, 
operations  being  conducted  under  the  corporate 
title  of  the  South  Dakota  Grain  Company,  and 
Mr.  Rempfer  being  made  president  of  the  com- 
pany at  the  time  of  its  organization.  The  con- 
cern handles  a  large  amount  of  business,  having 
the  best  of  facilities  and  being  one  of  the  most 
important  of  the  sort  in  the  state.  The  subject 
is  the  owner  of.  extensive  tracts  of  valuable  farm- 
ing land  and  is  also  interested  in  other  business 
enterprises    of    important    order. 

Mr.  Rempfer  is  an  uncompromising  Republi- 
can in  his  political  allegiance  and  has  been  an  ef- 
fective worker  in  the  promotion  of  the  party 
cause  in  this  section  of  the  state.  In  the  autumn 
of  1900  he  was  made  the  candidate  of  his  party 
for  representative  of  his  district  in  the  legislature 


930 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


of  the  state,  and  his  able  and  straightforward 
course  while  a  member  of  the  legislative  body  at 
this  time  led  to  his  being  chosen  as  his  own  suc- 
cessor in  the  fall  election  of  1902,  so  that  he  is 
now  serving  his  second  term.  He  and  his  wife 
are  active  members  of  the  Baptist  church. 

On  the  1 6th  of  February,  1883.  Mr.  Rempfer 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Christina  Krin, 
of  Scotland,  Bon  Homme  county,  and  they  are 
the  parents  of  four  children,  namely:  Henry  G., 
who  is  a  student  of  telegraphy  at  Janesville,  Wis- 
consin ;  William  C,  who  is  a  student  in  the  State 
University  of  South  Dakota,  at  Mitchell ;  and 
Helena  and  Emma,  both  of  whom  are  attending 
the  Parkston  high  school. 


CHRISTIAN  FRIEDERICH.  a  successful 
banker  of  the  town  of  Tripp,  Hutchinson  county, 
was  born  in  the  southern  part  of  Russia,  on  the 
14th  of  November,  1854,  and  was  there  reared  to 
the  sturdy  discipline  of  the  farm,  receiving  a 
common-school  education.  In  1876  he  emigrated 
to  America,  arriving  in  Yankton,  South  Dakota, 
on  the  5th  of  May  of  that  year.  Shortly  after- 
ward he  took  up  a  homestead  claim  four  miles 
east  of  the  present  village  of  Tripp,  Hutchinson 
county,  and  there  he  took  up  his  abode  and  turned 
his  attention  to  the  improving  of  his  farm,  being 
dependent  upon  his  own  exertions  for  a  liveli- 
hood. He  was  there  engaged  in  farming  and 
stock  growing  about  ten  years,  and  his  success 
was  cumulative,  owing  to  his  energ)-  and  good 
management.  In  1886,  when  the  town  of  Tripp 
was  founded,  he  came  here  as  one  of  the  first 
settlers.  He  had  learned  the  trade  of  shoemak- 
ing  in  his  native  land,  and  upon  locating  in  the 
new  town  he  opened  a  shoe  and  harness  shop 
and  thus  became  numbered  among  the  first  busi- 
ness men  of  the  village.  He  carried  on  this  en- 
terprise one  year,  after  which  he  was  employed 
as  clerk  in  a  local  hardware  establishment  about 
six  months.  He  then  engaged  in  the  buying  and 
shipping  of  hogs  and  grain.  In  1893  J\Ir. 
Friederich  embarked  in  the  hardware  and  farm- 
ing-implement business,  which  he  continued 
about  two  vears,  in  the  meanwhile  carrying  on 


the  operation  of  his  grain  elevator  and  the 
shipping  of  hogs,  with  which  enterprise  he  was 
prominently  concerned  until  1901,  having  built 
up  an  extensive  and  prosperous  business.  In 
1897  the  subject  also  established  himself  in  the 
general  merchandise  business,  and  this  branch 
of  his  enterprise  he  continued  until  the  fall  of 
1899,  when  he  disposed  of  his  interests  in  the 
same.  In  March,  1903,  he  purchased  the  Tripp 
State  Bank,  and  he  is  now  devoting  his  attention 
primarily  to  the  management  of  the  institution, 
which  stands  in  high  favor  and  controls  a  large 
and  representative  business.  He  is  a  stalwart 
supporter  of  the  Republican  party,  but  has  never 
sought  or  desired  official  preferment.  He  and 
his  wife  are  prominent  and  honored  members  of 
the  Lutheran  church. 

In  the  year  1875  ^^'^^  solemnized  the  mar- 
riage of  Mr.  Friederich  to  Miss  Christina  Vetter, 
who  was  born  and  reared  in  southern  Russia, 
and  of  their  ten  children  six  are  yet  living, 
namely :  Christiana.  Jr.,  George,  Ed\\iard,  Carl 
O.,  Lvdia  and  Leonora. 


THEODORE  A.  SCHLIESSMANN.  sen- 
ior member  of  the  prominent  mercantile  firm  of 
Schliessmann  Brothers,  of  Tripp,  Hutchinson 
county,  was  born  in  Portage  Cit>-,  Wisconsin,  on 
the  1st  of  December,  1866.  He  is  the  eldest  of 
the  three  survivors  in  a  family  of  five  children 
born  to  John  and  Mary  (Kiehm)  Schliessmann. 
the  other  two  surviving  children  being  Otto,  who 
was  born  July  13.  1868,  and  who  is  associated 
with  the  subject  in  business ;  and  John,  who  is 
assistant  cashier  of  the  Dakota  State  Bank,  in 
Tripp.  The  father  was  born  in  Germany,  about 
the  year  1834.  and  when  he  was  seventeen  years 
of  age  he  accompanied  his  parents  on  their  emi- 
gration to  America,  the  family  locating  in  Port- 
age City,  Wisconsin,  where  he  learned  the  trade 
of  butcher,  to  which  he  devoted  his  attention  for 
a  number  of  years,  continuing  to  reside  in  Port- 
age City  for  some  time  after  his  marriage.  In 
1879  he  came  with  his  family  to  South  Da- 
kota, and  here  he  filed  entr>'  on  homestead  and 
tree  claims  in  Bon  Homme  county,  eight  miles 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


931 


south  of  the  present  village  of  Tripp,  and  there 
he  developed  a  valuable  fami,  upon  which  he 
continued  to  reside  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred in  1882.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  his  po- 
litical faith  and  was  a  member  of  the  Catholic 
church,  as  is  also  his  widow,  who  now  resides 
in  the  town  of  Tripp. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Wisconsin  until  he  had  reached  the 
age  of  twelve  years,  and  such  further  discipline 
as  has  been  his  has  come  as  the  result  of  self- 
application  and  association  with  the  principal 
duties  of  life.  After  the  death  of  his  father  he 
and  his  brothers  remained  in  charge  of  the  home 
farm  until  1890,  in  the  meanwhile  having  pur- 
chased an  additional  quarter  section.  In  1888 
Otto  Schliessmann  left  the  home  farm,  and  dur- 
ing the  following  three  years  he  was  employed 
as  clerk  in  mercantile  establishment  in  Alpena, 
this  state,  and  West  Superior,  Wisconsin.  In  the 
fall  of  1 891  he  returned  to  his  home  and  soon 
afterward  became  associated  with  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  in  the  general  merchandise  busi- 
ness which  they  have  ever  since  successfully  con- 
ducted. Under  the  firm  name  of  Schliessmann 
Brothers  &  Company,  their  mother  being  the 
silent  member  of  the  firm,  the  business  was  car- 
ried on  until  the  autumn  of  1902,  when  the  two 
active  principals  purchased  the  interest  of  their 
mother  and  have  since  continued  the  enterprise 
under  the  firm  name  noted  in  the  opening  para- 
graph of  this  sketch.  The  brothers  are  pro- 
gressive and  reliable  young  business  men  and 
their  success  comes  as  a  just  reward  for  earnest 
and  honest  endeavor.  In  politics  both  are  adher- 
ents of  the  Democratic  party,  and  their  religious 
faith  is  that  of  the  Catholic  church.  All  three 
of  the  brothers  also  hold  membership  in  Tripp 
Camp.  No.  5931.  Modern  Woodmen  of  America. 
The  immediate  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Catholic 
church,  in  Tripp,  taking  a  deep  interest  in  all  de- 
partments of  the  parish  work. 

On  the  30th  of  August.  1893,  Theodore  A. 
Schliessmann  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Catherine  Rath,  of  Tripp,  and  they  have  three 
children.  William  O.,  ]\Iildred  M.  and  Ireine  G. 


Otto  Schliessmann  has  been  twice  married. 
On  the  14th  of  February,  1895,  he  wedded  Miss 
Anna  Mesmer,  of  Tripp,  who  died  June  24,' 
1897,  without  issue.  On  the  21st  of  May,  1903, 
he  married  Miss  Marie  Faust,  daughter  of  John 
Faust. 


JOHN  L.  PENNINGTON,  fifth  territorial 
governor,  was  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  and  a 
printer  by  occupation.  He  remained  in  his  native 
state  until  his  appointment  to  the  governorship 
by  President  Grant  in  1874.  He  served  four 
years  with  credit,  and  continued  to  reside  in 
Yankton  until  1S91,  when  he  returned  to  the 
South  and  established  himself  in  the  newspaper 
business  at  North  Anniston,  Alabama.  He  died 
in  1900.  Mr.  Pennington  before  the  war  was 
a  Douglas  Democrat,  and  was  a  Union  man  dur- 


A.  D.  LONG,  county  judge  of  Hutchinson 
county  and  one  of  the  prominent  real-estate  men 
of  the  state,  was  born  in  Delaware  county,  Iowa, 
on  the  22d  of  February,  1858.  being  a  son  of 
William  H.  and  Abigail  (Whitehead)  Long,  and 
the  elder  of  their  two  children,  his  sister  Hattie 
being  now  the  wife  of  Dr.  C.  A.  Bradley,  of 
Beatrice,  Nebraska.  The  parents  of  Judge  Long 
were  both  born  in  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana,  and  both 
removed  with  their  respective  parents  to  Laporte 
county,  that  state,  when  they  were  children,  be- 
ing there  reared  to  maturity  and  there  married. 
Shortly  after  the  consummation  of  their  marital 
vows  they  removed  to  Delaware  county.  Iowa,  as 
did  also  the  parents  of  Mr.  Long.  He  there  pur- 
chased one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  govern- 
ment land,  which  constituted  the  nucleus  of  his 
present  magnificent  landed  estate,  which  com- 
prises sixteen  hundred  and  eighty  acres.  He  has 
attained  a  high  degree  of  temporal  prosperity 
through  his  well-directed  efforts,  principally  in 
the  raising  and  dealing  in  live  stock  and  in  land 
speculation  of  legitimate  order.  For  the  past 
five  years  he  has  leased  his  land  and  lived  in  prac- 
tical retirement  in  IManchester,  Iowa,  being  one 


932 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


of  the  honored  and  influential  men  of  the  state 
and  one  of  its  sterling  pioneers.  While  a  stanch 
•advocate  of  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party 
from  the  time  of  its  organization,  he  has  never 
sought  official  preferment,  though  he  has  taken 
a  zealous  part  in  the  promotion  of  the  party 
cause. 

Judge  Long  was  reared  on  the  homestead 
farm  in  Iowa,  and  his  early  educational  advan- 
tages were  such  as  were  afforded  in  the  public 
schools.  He  then  entered  Lenox  College,  at  Hop- 
kinton,  Iowa,  where  he  was  graduated  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  class  of  1880.  Later  he  completed  a 
commercial  course  in  the  L^pper  Iowa  L'niversity, 
at  Fayette,  and  was  matriculated  in  the  law  de- 
partment of  the  L^niversity  of  Iowa,  at  Iowa  City, 
being  there  graduated  in  1881.  For  the  ensuing 
three  j'ears  he  was  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession  at  Earlville,  that  state,  and  at  the  ex 
piration  of  that  period,  in  1884,  he  came  to  Pierre, 
South  Dakota,  where  for  two  years  he  devoted  his 
attention  to  the  real-estate  and  insurance  business. 
He  then  went  to  the  Black  Hills,  where  he  re- 
mained about  six  years,  following  various  lines 
of  enterprise.  He  then  returned  to  his  native 
county  in  Iowa  and  turned  his  attention  to  the 
breeding  of  blooded  cattle  from  imported  stock, 
the  enterprise  proving  successful  and  gaining  him 
marked  precedence.  In  1898  Judge  Long  came 
to  Tripp,  South  Dakota,  and  established  himself 
m  the  real-estate  and  insurance  business,  in  which 
he  has  since  successfully  continued,  his  transaction 
having  reached  wide  scope  and  importance.  He 
has  ever  been  an  uncompromising  Republican, 
and  in  1900  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  county 
judge,  for  which  position  his  professional  train- 
ing and  natural  mental  characteristics  eminently 
fit  him,  and  so  ably  did  he  discharge  the  duties 
of  the  office  that  in  the  election  of  1902  no  oppos- 
ing candidate  was  enlisted  against  him.  his  ma- 
jority being  about  thirteen  hundred  votes.  He  is 
the  owner  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of 
land  in  Douglas  county,  two  hundred  acres  in 
Delaware  county,  Iowa,  and  is  known  as  one 
of  the  leading  real-estate  dealers  in"  the  state.  He 
is  a  member  of  Square  Lodge,  No.  286.  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons,  at  Earlville,  Iowa,  and  of  Ma- 


hogany Camp,   Xo.  849,    Modern  Woodmen  of 
America,  at  Delaware,  that  state. 

In  June,  1890,  Judge  Long  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Caroline  B.  Carpenter,  of  Earl- 
ville, Iowa,  and  to  this  union  have  been  born  four 
children,  namely :  Wade,  Ruby,  Irving  and  Gert- 
rude. Judge  and  ]\Irs.  Long  are  prominent  in  the 
social  life  of  the  community  and  their  pleasant 
home  is  a  center  of  gracious  hospitality. 


GEORGE  D.  R(~)CKWELL  is  the  owner  of 
fourteen  hundred  acres  of  valuable  land  in 
Moody  count}-,  and  passes  a  portion  of  each  year 
in  the  active  supervision  of  the  same,  while  he 
maintains  his  home  in  Rockwell,  Cerro  Gordo 
county,  Iowa,  which  place  was  named  in  his 
honor,  as  he  was  one  of  the  founders  and  builders 
of  the  town  and  is  today  one  of  its  most  promi- 
nent and  influential  pioneer  citizens.  He  is  a 
representative  of  stanch  old  colonial  stock,  in 
both  the  paternal  and  maternal  lines,  and  is 
himself  a  native  of  the  old  Empire  state  of  the 
Union,  having  been  born  in  West  Milton,  Sara- 
toga county.  New  York,  on  the  6th  of  December. 
1828,  and  being  a  son  of  David  J.  and  Ruth 
(Keeler)  Rockwell,  both  families  being  of  Eng- 
lish Puritan  descent.  The  original  American 
ancestor  in  the  agnatic  line  was  John  Rock-^vell. 
who  was  a  resident  of  Stamford,  Connecticut,  in 
1 641.  and  on  the  maternal  side  the  lineage  is 
traced  back  to  Ralph  Keeler,  whom  the  records 
show  to  have  been  a  resident  of  Hartford,  Con- 
necticut, in  1639.  The  father  of  the  subject  was 
bom  in  Bethel,  Fairfield  county,  that  state,  while 
his  wife  was  a  native  of  Saratoga  county.  New 
York,  and  they  passed  the  greater  portion  of 
their  lives  in  the  state  of  New  York,  where  Mr. 
Rockwell  gained  success  in  connection  with  the 
great  basic  industry  of  agriculture.  He  was  a 
man  of  broad  information  and  liberal  views,  and 
both  he  and  his  wife  were  zealous  and  devoted 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in 
whose  work  they  were  specially  active  for  many 
years,  the  father  having  for  a  long  period  been 
a  class  leader  in  the  church.  He  was  originally 
a  Democrat  in  politics,  later  espoused  the  cause 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA, 


933 


of  the  Whig  party,  to  which  he  gave  allegiance 
until  the  organization  of  the  Republican  party, 
to  whose  cause  he  ever  afterward  gave  his  sup- 
port. He  died  in  Akron,  New  York,  in  1874, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-one  years,  and  his  devoted 
wife  was  summoned  into  eternal  rest  in  1842, 
at  the  age  of  thirty-six  years.  They  became  the 
parents  of  seven  children,  of  whom  three  are 
living. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  grew  to  maturity 
on  the  homestead  farm,  and  received  an  academic 
education  in  his  native  state,  while  as  a  young 
man  he  was  a  successful  teacher  for  several 
terms,  and  later  found  his  services  in  requisition 
as  a  teacher  in  Rockwell,  Iowa,  working  on  the 
farm  during  the  intervening  summer  months. 
He  continued  to  reside  in  the  state  of  New 
York  until  1853,  when  he  came  to  the  west  and 
located  in  Kane  county.  Illinois,  where  he  be- 
came the  owner  of  a  good  farm  and  wielded  no 
slight  influence  in  public  affairs  of  a  local  na- 
ture, having  been  a  member  of  the  board  of  su- 
pervisors nf  the  county  for  two  years,  prior  to 
and  during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion.  He 
identified  himself  with  the  Republican  party  at 
the  time  of  its  formation  and  continued  to  sup- 
port the  same  until  within  the  last  decade,  having 
been  during  this  interval  an  advocate  of  the 
cause  of  the  Prohibition  party  and  having  con- 
sistently voted  its  ticket.  He  continued  to  re- 
side in  Illinois  until  1864,  when  he  disposed  of 
his  interests  there  and  removed  to  Cerro  Gordo 
county,  Iowa,  being  one  of  the  early  settlers  in 
that  section,  and  having  been  specially  active  in 
the  work  of  securing  the  extension  of  the  Iowa 
Central  Railroad  through  the  country,  and  in  the 
upbuilding  of  the  now  thriving  and  attractive 
village  of  Roclavell,  which  was  named  in  his 
honor  and  in  recognition  of  his  services  in  the 
connection  noted,  as  well  as  in  other  lines  of 
public  enterprise  and  progressiveness.  He  was 
for  many  years  activel}^  identified  with  farming 
in  Cerro  Gordo  county,  where  he  still  owns  valu- 
able property  in  Rockwell.  In  1877  Mr.  Rock- 
well met  with  a  seemingly  slight  accident,  which 
finally  necessitated  the  amputation  of  his  left 
arm    above    the    elbow.      He    received    a    slight 


wound  from  a  thorn,  which  penetrated  his  hand, 
and  the  resulting  blood-poisoning  rendered  the 
operation  necessary.  In  1877  ^^^  engaged  in  the 
raising  of  thoroughbred  shorthorn  cattle,  to  which 
he  devoted  his  attention  for  twelve  years,  carry- 
ing on  an  extensive  business  and  meeting  with 
marked  success  in  the  enterprise.  In  1891  Mr. 
Rockwell  made  his  first  investment  in  lands  in 
South  Dakota,  and  he  now  owns  fourteen  hun- 
dred acres  in  Moody  county,  as  previously  stated. 
In  the  supervision  of  his  interests  here  he  passes 
about  half  of  his  time  each  year  in  the  county, 
making  his  headquarters  in  Flandreau,  the 
county  seat.  All  of  his  land  is  under  cultivation, 
and  yields  good  returns.  He  rents  about  one- 
half  of  the  land,  while  the  remainder  is  cultivated 
under  his  direction,  bv  hired  workmen.  In  1903 
eight  hundred  acres  of  crops  on  his  land  here 
were  destroyed  by  hail.  In  addition  to  his  own 
properties,  he  also  has  charge  of  a  ranch  of  three 
hundred  and  thirty  acres,  in  this  county,  which 
is  owned  by  his  son-in-law,  William  F.  Mc- 
Clelland. Mr.  Rockwell  is  a  man  of  most  cor- 
rect and  abstemious  habits,  and  is  hale  and  vig- 
orous in  mind  and  body,  though  he  is  now  near- 
ing  the  age  of  four  score  years.  He  has  never 
used  tobacco  or  intoxicating  liquors  in  any  form, 
and  is  specially  active  as  a  temperance  worker. 
He  and  his  wife  are  prominent  and  valued  mem- 
bers of  the  Congregational  church  at  Rockwell, 
Iow<a,  and  he  has  been  a  deacon  in  the  same 
for  the  past  twenty  years. 

On  the  31st  of  August.  1853,  in  Newstead, 
Erie  county.  New  York,  was  solemnized  the 
marriage  of  Mr.  Rockwell  to  Miss  Elizabeth  P. 
Jackson,  who  was  born  and  reared  in  that  state, 
being  a  daughter  of  William  and  JNIary  Ann 
(Havens)  Jackson,  the  former  of  whom  was  a 
tanner  and  currier  by  vocation,  while  he  was 
also  a  successful  farmer,  both  he  and  his  wife 
passing  their  lives  in  New  York  state.  Of  the 
children  of  the  subject  and  his  estimable  wife 
we  are  able  to  enter  the  following  brief  informa- 
tion :  Mary  E.  is  the  wife  of  John  A.  Felthouse, 
who  is  president  of  the  Minnesota  Farm  Land 
Company,  of  St.  Paul :  Julia  R.  became  the  wife 
of  Albert  A.  Moore,  who  is  now  a  grain  dealer 


934 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


at  Hampton,  Iowa,  where  she  died  on  the  14th 
of  September,  1888;  Grace  is  the  wife  of  Wil- 
liam F.  IMcClelland.  who  is  a  prominent  business 
man  of  Rockwell,  Iowa. 


HOMER  W.  JOHNSON.— On  other  pages 
of  this  publication  appears  a  sketch  of  the  career 
of  Hon.  Edwin  S.  Johnson,  brother  of  the  sub- 
ject and  his  associate  in  business,  and  in  the  con- 
nection is  given  an  adequate  outline  of  the  family 
history,  so  that  a  recapitulation  at  this  point  is 
not  demanded.  Hon.  Homer  W.  Johnson,  present 
state  senator  of  South  Dakota  from  the  eighth 
senatorial  district,  and  secretary  and  treasurer  of 
the  Johnson  Brothers  Company,  one  of  the  most 
extensive  real-estate  and  loan  concerns  in  the 
state,  is  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Douglas 
county,  maintaining  his  residence  and  business 
headquarters  in  the  thriving  town  of  Armour,  of 
which  he  is  one  of  the  founders  and  builders.  Mr. 
Johnson  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  Iowa,  having 
been  born  in  Osceola,  Clarke  county,  on  the  i6th 
of  March,  1859.  Of  the  early  steps  in  his  career, 
as  well  as  of  his  later  life,  an  outline  has  been 
given  in  an  edition  of  the  .\rmour  Herald,  and 
to  the  same  we  have  recourse  at  this  juncture: 
"A  common-school  education  in  the  educational 
institution  of -his  home  town  was  all  that  young 
Johnson  was  able  to  obtain,  and  in  1877,  at  the 
age  of  eighteen  years,  he  took  the  position  of 
deputy  recorder  of  deeds,  his  father  at  that  time 
being  the  recorder  of  Clarke  county.  He  filled 
this  position  four  years  and  thus  obtained  a  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  and  insight  into  all  matters 
pertaining  to  conveyancing  papers  and  abstract 
work,  and  of  late  years  he  has  turned  this  knowl- 
edge to  wonderful  account  as  a  money-producing 
agenc)-.  After  leaving  the  recorder's  office  Mr. 
Johnson  went  to  Corning,  Iowa,  where  he  secured 
a  position  in  the  Sigler  Rank,  having  charge  of  the 
land-mortgage  department  of  the  business  for 
three  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  he  removed 
to  Council  Bluffs,  where  he  became  land  exam- 
iner for  the  firm  of  Burnham,  Tulleys  &  Com- 
pany. At  the  end  of  the  first  year  he  became  a 
partner  in  the  firm  and  removed  to  Sioux  Falls. 


Dakota,  where  he  opened  a  branch  office,  in  1882, 
loans  being  made  throughout  southwestern  Min- 
nesota, northwestern  Iowa  and  southeastern  Da- 
kota. This  leads  up  to  the  formation  of  the  part- 
nership with  his  brother  Edwin  S.,  in  Douglas 
county,  Dakota,  and  the  establishment  of  their 
interests  here.  The  subject  became  interested 
with  his  brother  in  the  banking  business  and  was 
president  of  the  Citizens'  State  Bank  of  Armour, 
from  the  time  of  its  organization  until  June.  1903. 
when  he  and  his  brother  disposed  of  their  interests 
in  this  institution,  as  well  as  of  their  banking  in- 
terests in  Geddes,  this  state,  and  Hornick,  Iowa. 
the  demands  of  their  extensive  real-estate  and 
loan  business  requiring  their  undivided  attention. 
"The  subject  of  this  sketch,  like  his  brother 
Edwin,  has  always  been  a  force  in  local  politics 
and  he  was  affiliated  with  the  Republican  party 
up  to  1898,  when  he  formally  severed  his  connec- 
tion with  the  same,  his  convictions  leading  him  to 
disapprove  of  the  specific  policies  of  the  party, 
and  in  1900  he  was  made  the  nominee  of  the  Fu- 
sionists  for  state  senator,  carrying  the  district  bv 
more  than  one  hundred  majority,  while  the  na- 
tional Republican  ticket  secured  a  majority  of 
about  two  hundred.  Thus  was  his  personal  pop- 
ularity attested  by  hundreds  of  citizens  through- 
out the  eighth  senatorial  district,  who,  when  the 
opportunity  was  thus  offered,  gave  him  their  un- 
qualified support,  as  a  testimonial  of  their  confi- 
dence in  his  ability  and  strict  integrity."  In  the 
election  of  November.  1902,  ]\Ir.  Johnson  was 
returned  to  the  senate,  by  a  rnajority  of  two  hun- 
dred twenty-four,  although  the  Republican  state 
ticket  carried  his  district  by  about  five  hundred 
majority,  he  having  been  the  nominee  of  the 
Democratic  party,  to  which  he  gives  his  alle- 
giance, being  one  of  the  important  figures  in  its 
councils  in  this  state  and  being  known  as  a  man 
of  distinctive  business  ability  and  as  one  who 
gives  to  his  constituency  the  best  that  is  in  his 
power  to  accord  in  their  ser\'ice.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  a  number  of  important  committees  in  the 
senatorial  body  and  is  one  of  its  most  active  and 
faithful  working  members,  ever  aiming  to  con- 
serve wise  and  effective  legislation  and  to  advance 
the  interests  of  the  state  of  which  he  is  a  pioneer 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


935 


and  a  most  leal  and  loyal  citizen.  Of  him  and  his 
brother  it  has  been  consistently  said  that  they 
"are  the  same  jolly,  honorable,  sociable  fellows 
that  they  were  when  working  for  their  daily 
bread  at  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  a  day.  The 
accumulation  of  wealth  has  made  no  change  in 
them,  and  a  pleasant  word  and  cordial  greeting 
are  always  received  by  their  hundreds  of  per- 
sonal friends."  The  third  member  of  the  John- 
son Brothers  Company  is  Frank  H.  Johnson,  who 
is  vice-president  of  the  company  and  president 
of  the  Charles  Mix  County  Bank,  at  Geddes.  He 
was  born  in  March,  1867,  at  Osceola,  Iowa,  and 
was  married  there  to  Miss  Candus  Folger.  Four 
children  have  been  born  to  them,  all  of  whom  are 
living.  He  is  a  man  of  sterling  character  and 
fine  business  qualifications,  and  is  respected  and 
honored  by  all  who  know  him.  He  has  been  a 
resident  of  South  Dakota  for  eighteen  vears. 


JAMES  P.  WILSON,  of  Lead  City,  widely 
known  in  legal  circles  throughout  the  state  of 
South  Dakota,  is  descended'  from  sturdy  Scotch 
ancestry,  the  history  of  his  family  in  the  United 
States  dating  from  about  the  year  1842.  His 
father,  James  Wilson,  a  native  of  Dumfries, 
Scotland,  was  the  son  of  James  Wilson,  who,  in 
the  above  year,  in  company  with  a  number  of  his 
friends  and  relatives,  came  to  America  and 
founded  in  Columbia  county,  Wisconsin,  a  pio- 
neer colony  to  which  they  gave  the  name  of 
Caledonia.  Among  these  settlers  was  one  Peter 
McKenzie.  a  representative  of  an  old  and  promi- 
nent Scotch  family  who  bore  an  active  part  in 
the  affairs  of  the  colony,  and  whose  daughter, 
Isabella,  subsequently  became  the  wife  of  James 
Wilson  and  the  mother  of  the  subject  of  this 
review.  The  Wilsons  were  tillers  sf  the  soil  and 
achieved  success  as  such,  quite  a  number  of  the 
family  accumulating  large  estates,  others  mov- 
ing to  different  parts  of  the  country  and  acquir- 
ing considerable  prominence  in  their  respective 
localities.  The  McKenzies  were  mostly  busi- 
ness men,  the  brothers  of  the  above  Peter  having 
been  noted  in  commercial  and  financial  circles  of 
Europe  for  many  years  as  successful  merchants 


and  bankers.  One  of  the  number,  Kenneth  ^Ic- 
Kenzie,  who  died  in  September,  1900,  was  the 
possessor  of  a  princely  fortune  and  the  proprietor 
of  a  large  wholesale  establishment  in  London, 
with  branch  houses  in  Spain ;  James,  another 
who  died  recently  in  Edinburg,  Scotland,  was 
for  many  years  a  leading  banker  of  that  city,  also 
one  of  its  wealthy  and  influential  citizens ;  still 
another,  William  McKenzie,  who  came  to 
America  with  his  brother  Peter  in  1842,  was  the 
pioneer  stock  and  grain  buyer  of  Wisconsin; 
like  the  others,  he  too  accumulated  a  large 
fortune,  and  at  this  time  is  living  a  retired  life  in 
California,  at  the  ripe  old  age  of  eighty-nine 
years. 

James  P.  ^^^ilson.  the  eldest  child  of  James  and 
Isabella  Wilson,  was  born  in  Caledonia,  Colum- 
bia cotmty,  Wisconsin,  on  the  23d  day  of  Febru- 
ary, 1855.  As  a  pupil  in  the  public, schools  of  his 
native  place,  he  received  his  preliminary  edu- 
cational training,  and  after  completing  the  high- 
school  course  he  entered  the  University  of  Wis- 
consin, where  he  prosecuted  his  studies  for  some 
years,  with  the  object  in  view  of  preparing  him- 
self for  the  law.  Leaving  the  university,  he  be- 
gan his  legal  studies  with  T.  L.  Kennan,  attorney 
for  the  Wisconsin  Central  Railroad  and  a  lawyer 
of  marked  ability,  under  whose  instruction  he 
continued  for  some  time,  subsequently  entering 
the  oflfice  of  J.  H.  Rogers,  one  of  the  leading 
members  of  the  Columbia  county  bar.  Mr.  Wil- 
son was  formally  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1881, 
and  immediately  thereafter  began  the  practice 
of  his  profession  in  Sauk  county,  Wisconsin, 
where  he  soon  took  high  rank  as  a  lawyer, 
building  up  a  large  and  lucrative  business,  which, 
in  addition  to  his  duties  as  state's  attorney,  oc- 
cupied his  attention  until  1891.  In  August  of 
that  year  Mr.  Wilson  came  to  South  Dakota  and 
located  at  Lead  City,  where  he  has  since  de- 
voted himself  closely  to  his  profession,  rising 
the  meanwhile  to  a  conspicuous  place  among  the 
leading  lawyers  of  this  part  of  the  state,  and 
achieving  success  second  to  that  of  none  of  his 
professional  brethren  of  the  Lawrence  county 
bar.  Since  coming  to  South  Dakota  Mr.  Wil- 
son  has   been   identified   with    nearlv   evers'   im- 


936 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


portant  case  tried  in  the  courts  of  Lead,  among 
the  most  noted  of  which  was  the  great  legal  con- 
test involving  the  ownership  of  the  town  site, 
in  which  he  appeared  as  attorney  for  the  people 
versus  the  Homestake  IMining  Company.  This 
celebrated  case,  which  attracted  wide  attention 
and  in  which  some  of  the  most  distinguished 
legal  talent  of  the  state  appeared,  was  hotly 
contested  and,  after  being  in  litigation  for  ten 
years,  was  finally  decided  in  favor  of  the  peo- 
ple, the  victory  being  largely  due  to  the  untiring 
interest  and  resourceful  management  of  Mr. 
Wilson,  who,  as  leading  counsel  for  the  town 
site,  left  nothing  undone  to  meet  and  successfully 
overcome  the  formidable  opposition  arranged 
against  him.  The  prestige  gained  by  reason  of 
his  victory  in  this  long-protracted  contest  placed 
Mr.  Wilson  in  the  front  rank  of  the  state's  suc- 
cessful lawyers,  a  reputation  he  still  sustains. 
He  is  well  grounded  in  the  principles  of  his  pro- 
fession, his  ability  in  the  preparation  of  his  cases 
and  in  their  presentation  to  the  court  being  sec- 
ond to  none,  and  as  an  advocate  he  ranks  with 
the  best,  being  a  fluent,  logical  and  eloquent 
speaker,  seldom  failing  by  this  means  to  convince 
juries  and  win  verdicts  for  his  clients.  In  addi- 
tion to  his  large  private  practice,  he  has  served 
five  years  as  city  attorney,  and  for  several  years 
he  was  a  member  of  the  local  board  of  education, 
in  which  capacity  he  did  much  to  bring  the 
schools  of  Lead  City  up  to  the  high  standard  of 
excellence  for  which  they  are  noted. 

Mr.  Wilson,  on  the  15th  day  of  June,  1881, 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Julia  Frances 
Howe,  of  Poynette,  Columbia  county,  Wiscon- 
sin, daughter  of  Hon.  O.  C.  Howe,  of  that  state, 
and  a  cousin  of  Hon.  Timothy  Howe,  ex-United 
States  senator  and  postmaster  general  in  the 
cabinet  of  President  Arthur.  Besides  himself 
and  wife,  Mr.  Wilson's  family  circle  includes  two 
children,  James  H.  and  Oliver  Chester,  and  his 
home  is  a  favorite  rendezvous  for  the  best  so- 
ciety people  of  Lead  City.  In  politics  he  is  a 
pronounced  Republican,  and  while  always  tak- 
ing an  active  interest  in  campaigns  and  con- 
tributing not  a  little  to  the  success  of  his  party, 
he  has  never  sought  public  honors  or  official  posi- 


tion. Fraternally,  he  is  a  member  of  the  Benevo- 
lent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  belonging  to 
Lodge  No.  747.  in  Lead,  of  which  he  is  now 
exalted  ruler. 


DICK  HANKY,  judge  of  the  supreme  court, 
born  at  Lansing,  Iowa,  1852.  Educated  at  Iowa 
Wesleyan  University  and  Iowa  Law  School. 
Judge  of  fourth  circuit,  1889,  supreme  judge 
since  1896. 


If.LLEF  SOLEM,  one  of  the  most  successful 
and  progressive  farmers  and  stock  raisers  of 
Yankton  county,  was  born  in  Norway  in  1852 
and  there  grew  to  manhood.  The  year  1874 
witnessed  his  emigration  to  America  and  on  land- 
ing in  this  country  he  came  at  once  to  South  Da- 
kota, locating  in  Yankton  county,  where  he  was 
in  the  employ  of  others  for  about  seven  years. 
In  1880  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  ]\Iiss  Mary 
Anderson,  a  native  of  Denmark,  and  they  now 
have  one  son,  Albert,  who  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools  of  this  locality  and  is  now  assist- 
ing his  father  in  carrying  on  the  home  farm. 

Mr.  Solem  secured  a  homestead  of  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres  in  Y'ankton  county  and  he 
and  his  wife  went  to  housekeeping  in  a  sod  house 
he  erected  thereon.  It  was  later  replaced  by  a 
small  frame  residence  and  in  1898  he  built  his 
present  comfortable  home,  which  is  complete  in  all 
its  appointments.  Mr.  Solem  was  one  of  the  first 
to  take  up  land  in  his  part  of  the  county  and  in 
those  early  days  he  underwent  many  hardships 
and  privations.  His  first  crop  of  corn  was  en- 
tirely destroyed  by  the  grasshoppers  and  he  has 
met  with  other  misfortunes,  but  notwithstanding 
these  he  has  steadily  prospered  and  is  now  quite 
well-to-do,  owning  three  hundred  and  twenty 
acres.  He  has  set  out  all  the  trees  now  seen 
upon  the  place  and  made  many  other  improve- 
ments which  add  greatly  to  the  value  and  attrac- 
tive appearance  of  the  farm.  In  the  operation  of 
his  land  he  uses  the  latest  improved  machinery 
and  is  a  thoroughly  up-to-date  farmer.  He  has 
become  interested  in  the  dairy  business  and  gives 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


considerable  attention  to  the  raising  of  shorthorn 
cattle  and  a  good  grade  of  hogs,  feeding  all  the 
products  of  his  farm  to  his  stock.  He  carries  on 
his  farm  with  the  aid  of  hired  help  and  raises 
from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  tons 
of  hay.  He  is  a  very  hard  working  man  and  to 
his  industry  and  excellent  business  ability  is  due 
his  success  in  life. 

Mr.  Solem  has  never  been  an  aspirant  for  pub- 
lic office,  though  he  has  filled  some  school  offices, 
and  he  is  independent  in  politics,  voting  for  men 
and  not  for  party.  Religiously  he  is  a  member  of 
the  Lutheran  church.  He  is  now  serving  as 
treasurer  of  the  Center  Point  creamery,  also 
treasurer  of  Turkey  \'alley  township,  and  is  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  best  and  most  reliable  busi- 
ness men  of  his  community. 


JOHN  H.  GASKIN,  proprietor  of  one  of  the 
largest  mercantile  establishments  in  Columbia, 
Brown  county,  is  a  native  of  Dane  county.  Wis- 
consin, and  spent  his  earl\-  life  on  a  farm  in  that 
state,  receiving  a  fair  intellectual  discipline  in 
the  district  schools  and  an  academy,  which  he  at- 
tended at  intervals  until  a  youth  in  his  'teens.  In 
the  fall  of  1882  he  came  to  South  Dakota  and 
since  that  time  has  been  actively  identified,  being 
especially  interested  in  the  commercial  advance- 
ment of  the  city  and  in  its  prosperity  along  gen- 
eral business  lines.  Having  early  manifested  de- 
cided predilection  for  business  pursuits,  it  was  but 
natural  that  he  should  decide  upon  a  career 
which  would  call  into  exercise  the  faculties  of 
judgment,  concentration  and  foresight  with 
which  nature  so  bountifully  endowed  him.  On 
leaving  school  he  turned  his  attention  to  mercan- 
tile Hfe,  and  in  due  time  was  sufficiently  expe- 
rienced to  embark  in  business  for  himself,  accord- 
ingly in  1882  he  established  the  well-known 
house  of  which  he  has  since  been  the  head  and 
which  under  his  able  and  effective  management 
has  become  one  of  the  largest  and  most  success- 
fully conducted  establishments  of  the  kind  in 
Brown  count>-.  Mr.  Gaskin  carries  a  complete 
stock  of  general  merchandise,  including  full 
lines  of  dry  goods,  clothing,  hats,  caps,   gents' 


furnishings,  boots,  shoes,  hardware,  provisions, 
groceries,  in  fact  every  article  for  which  there  is 
any  demand,  his  stock  representing  a  capital  of 
from  five  to  eight  thousand  dollars,  and  his  sales 
averaging  as  high  as  thirty-five  thousand  dollars 
a  year.  In  addition  to  the  general  goods  business, 
he  buys  and  ships  all  kinds  of  produce,  which 
constitutes  no  small  share  of  his  trade,  and  his 
patronage,  already  extensive  and  far-reaching,  is 
steadily  growing.  Mr.  Gaskin  is  widely  known 
throughout  Brown  and  adjacent  counties,  and  his 
honor  and  integrity  have  been  such  as  gain  him 
notable  popularity  and  the  universal  esteem  and 
confidence  of  his  fellow  men.  He  is  a  Democrat 
in  politics,  but  not  an  active  worker,  and  his  fra- 
ternal relations  are  represented  by  the  Masonic 
order,  of  which  he  has  been  an  earnest  and  con- 
sistent member  for  a  number  of  years. 

Mr.  Gaskin  is  essentially  a  man  of  the  times 
and  possesses  in  a  marked  degree  the  sterling 
qualities  of  head  and  heart  that  command  respect 
and  make  him  an  influential  factor  in  business 
circles  and  a  power  in  the  world  of  affairs  gener- 
ally. Mr.  Gaskin  married,  in  the  state  of  Wis- 
consin, Miss  Louise  J.  Martin,  and  his  home  at 
this  time  is  made  bright  by  the  presence  of  two 
children,  a  daughter  by  the  name  of  Effie  Jean  and 
a  son,  Frank  Jay. 


HARRY  A.  SIMONS,  owner  of  one  of  the 
leading  hardware  stores  at  Platte,  is  descended 
from  a  New  York  family,  long  identified  with  the 
west  by  early  immigration.  His  father,  Calvart 
Simons,  left  his  native  state  when  a  young  man, 
settled  in  Wisconsin  and  was  engaged  in  fanning 
for  about  fifteen  years.  He  then  moved  to  South 
Dakota,  purchased  four  hundred  acres  of  land, 
and  spent  sixteen  years  in  the  cultivation  of  the 
same.  At  the  end  of  this  period  he  went  to  White 
Lake,  South  Dakota,  where  he  devoted  six 
years  of  his  time  to  the  implement  busi- 
ness. He  married  Mary  Allen  and  Harry 
A.  Simons,  one  of  the  children  of  this 
union,  was  bom  in  Wisconsin  in  1866.  He  re- 
mained on  the  farm  until  the  completion  of  his 
twenty-third  year,  when  he  learned  practical  en- 


938 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


gineering  and  followed  that  occupation  for  six 
years.  The  following  two  years  and  a  half  were 
devoted  to  the  blacksmithing  business,  after 
which  Mr.  Simons  located  at  Castalia,  South  Da- 
kota, as  a  hardware  merchant.  In  1900  he  re- 
moved to  Platte,  where  he  continued  in  the  same 
line  until  he  eventually  built  up  a  large  trade  and 
now  does  a  flourishing  business  with  the  sur- 
rounding country.  In  addition  to  his  hardware 
store,  Mr.  Simons  owns  other  town  property  and 
is  one  of  the  thriving  citizens  of  Platte.  Person- 
ally he  is  popular,  indicating  that  he  is  honest  in 
his  dealings  and  a  man  who  can  be  relied  on  to 
help  in  any  movement  which  promises  public 
benefit  and  municipal  growth.  His  political  af- 
filiations are  with  the  Republican  party,  though 
he  has  never  held  office  and  wastes  no  time  seek- 
ing for  such  honors.  In  religious  faith  he  has 
always  been  an  adherent  of  the  doctrines  taught 
by  the  Christian  church. 

On  March  30,  1890,  ]\Ir.  Simons  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Delia,  daughter  of  Abra- 
ham C.  and  Sarah  (Heath)  Holden,  of  Iowa,  and 
thev  have  five  children,  Blanche,  Raymond,  Er- 
nest. Ronald  and  Mildred. 


WILLIAM  McINTYRE,  born  in  Schoharie 
county,  New  York,  in  1842,  removed  to  Wiscon- 
sin in  childhood,  served  throughout  Civil  war  in 
Wisconsin  Volunteers.  First  settler  at  Water- 
town,  South  Dakota.  1877.  Promotor  of  many 
enterprises.  Built  Duluth,  Watertown  &  Pacific 
Railway  from  Benson,  Minnesota,  to  Huron. 
Died  at  Aransas  Pass,  Texas,  1897. 


FREDERICK  CAMP,  one  of  the  influential 
and  popular  citizens  of  Twin  Brooks,  Grant 
county,  is  a  native  of  the  Badger  state,  having 
been  bom  in  Waukesha  county,  Wisconsin,  on 
the  31st  of  July,  1845,  and  being  a  son  of 
Thomas  and  Mary  (Haylett)  Camp,  both  of 
whom  were  born  and  reared  in  England.  The 
name  was  originally  spelled  Kemp,  but  as  the 
father  of  the  subject  received  no  educational  ad- 
vantages in  his  youth  and  was  unable  to  read  or 


write,  the  name  was  changed  to  its  present  form 
after  he  had  located  in  Wisconsin.  The  de- 
scendants of  his  brother  retain  the  original  orthog- 
raphy. Thomas  Camp  became  a  well-to-do 
farmer  of  Wisconsin,  having  settled  in  Wauke- 
sha county  in  1842,  while  both  he  and  his  wife 
there  passed  the  remainder  of  their  lives,  being 
persons  of  sterling  character  and  commanding 
the  high  regard  of  all  who  knew  them.  They  be- 
came the  parents  of  two  sons  and  four  daugh- 
ters, all  of  whom  are  living  excepting  the 
younger  sister,  who  died  about  1877. 

Frederick  Camp  was  reared  to  the  sturdy  dis- 
cipline of  the  home  farm,  while  his  educational 
advantages  were  such  as  were  afforded  in  the 
district  schools  of  his  native  county.  He  con- 
tinued to  be  associated  with  the  work  and  man- 
agement of  the  farm  until  he  had  attained  the 
age  of  twenty-two  years,  when  he  went  to  ]\Iis- 
souri  and  located  in  Andrew  county,  where  he 
was  engaged  in  farming  for  four  years,  at  the 
expiration  of  which  he  returned  to  Wisconsin  and 
established  his  home  in  Milwaukee,  where  he 
initiated  his  career  as  a  railroad  man,  having 
served  three  years  as  brakeman,  while  for  the  fol- 
lowing seven  years  he  held  charge  of  trains,  in 
the  capacity  of  conductor,  making  a  record  as  a 
faithful  and  discriminating  official.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1882,  Mr.  Camp  came  to  South  Dakota,  and, 
with  headquarters  in  Milbank,  was  conductor  of 
a  train  on  the  Chicago,  IMilwaukee  &  St.  Paul 
Railroad  for  the  ensuing  three  years.  He  then, 
in  July.  1885,  came  to  what  is  now  the  thriving 
and  attractive  village  of  Twin  Brooks,  where  he 
assisted  in  the  erection  of  the  first  grain  elevator, 
which  is  owned  and  conducted  by  the  Strong  & 
Miller  Company.  He  had  charge  of  the  building 
of  the  elevator,  and  has  been  in  charge  of  its 
operation  from  the  time  of  its  completion,  in 
1886,  since  which  time  he  has  never  lost  a  day 
from  business,  a  record  which  stands  to  his  credit 
and  which  indicates  that  he  has  enjoyed  the  boon 
of  good  health.  Upon  coming  here  Mr.  Camp 
purchased  the  quarter  section  of  land  on  which 
the  town  is  located,  including  the  vacant  lots  in 
the  town  site,  while  he  has  since  platted  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  his  land,  which  virtually  sur- 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


939 


rounds  the  village.  In  1887  he  built  a  substan- 
tial and  commodious  residence,  upon  which 
he  has  since  made  various  improvements,  making 
it  one  of  the  attractive  homes  of  the  village.  Mr. 
Camp  has  ever  manifested  a  deep  interest  in  all 
that  has  touched  the  upbuilding  and  advance- 
ment of  his  home  town,  and  his  influence  has 
been  cast  on  the  side  of  progress,  while  he  has 
been  a  prominent  figure  in  local  affairs  of  a  pub- 
lic nature.  He  is  a  stalwart  advocate  of  the 
principles  and  policies  of  the  Republican  party, 
and  while  he  has  served  as  delegate  to  various 
state  and  county  conventions  he  has  never  been 
ambitious  for  personal  preferment  in  an  official 
way,  finding  that  his  business  interests  placed  too 
exigent  demands  on  his  time  and  attention  to 
render  it  consonant  for  him  to  accept  office.  He 
was  one  of  the  very  active  members  of  Order  of 
Railroad  Conductors  and  was  a  charter  mem- 
ber of  the  organization  of  the  order  on  the  Mil- 
waukee division,  while  he  assisted  in  the  or- 
ganization of  the  order  in  South  Dakota  and  was 
thus  one  of  the  first  members  in  the  state,  hold- 
ing the  office  of  deputy  organizer  for  three  years. 
During  the  memorable  snowstorm  of  the  winter 
of  T884  Mr.  Camp  started  from  Milbank  with  a 
gang  of  men  to  open  the  road  through  to  Aber- 
deen, and  twenty-five  days  were  consumed  in 
making  the  round  trip,  covering  an  aggregate  of 
two  hundred  miles.  From  one  hundred  and  fifty 
to  two  hundred  men  were  engaged  in  shoveling 
snow  all  the  time,  and  three  engines  were  also 
utilized  in  clearing  the  track.  Associated  with 
several  other  of  the  progressive  and  public- 
spirited  citizens  of  Twin  Brooks,  Mr.  Camp  was 
instrumental  in  the  establishing  here  of  the 
Grant  County  News,  in  1903,  and  all  other 
worthy  enterprises  tending  to  advance  the  in- 
terests of  the  communitv'  have  received  his  un- 
qualified support. 

In  Menomonee,  Wisconsin,  on  the  30th  of 
December,  1867,  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of 
Mr.  Camp  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Wildish,  who  was 
born  and  reared  in  that  state.  She  entered  into 
eternal  rest  in  1873,  and  is  survived  by  two  chil- 
dren, Hattie,  who  is  the  wife  of  Harry  Steeres.  of 
Oconto  countv,  Wisconsin,  and   Elmer  C.  who 


married  and  who  is  engaged  in  business  in  the 
city  of  j\Iilwaukee.  On  the  2d  of  August, 
1878,  Mr.  Camp  consummated  a  second  mar- 
riage, being  then  united  to  Miss  Mary  Barker, 
who  was  born  in  Hastings,  New  York,  and  who 
was  a  resident  of  Wisconsin  at  the  time  of  her 
marriage.     The^-  have  no  children. 


NEHEMIAH  G.  ORDWAY.  seventh  terri- 
torial governor  of  Dakota,  was  born  at  Warner, 
New  Hampshire,  November  10,  1828.  He  had  for 
a  long  time  been  sergeant-at-arms  of  the  house  of 
representatives  at  Washington.  He  came  to 
Dakota  to  succeed  Governor  Howard  in  June, 
1880,  and  continued  in  office  four  }ears.  At  the 
close  of  his  term  he  resided  in  North  Dakota 
for  a  period,  but  soon  returned  to  Washington 
where  he  is  the  owner  of  the  Washington 
Market. 


W.  S.  L.  HENLP:Y,  at  present  a  resident  of 
Geddes,  has  had  a  varied  experience  in  different 
lines  of  business.  For  many  years  a  farmer,  he 
later  became  a  dealer  in  real  estate,  lender  of 
money  and  clerk  in  a  hardware  store.  It  is  cred- 
itable to  his  ability  that  in  all  these  pursuits  he 
achieved  a  fair  measure  of  success  and  when  the 
inevitable  "rainy  day"  arrives  it  will  not  find  him 
unprovided  with  the  means  for  comfort  in  old 
age.  His  father,  H.  W.  Henley,  was  an  Indian- 
ian  by  birth  and  a  farmer  by  occupation,  who 
removed  to  Iowa  in  1836  and  lived  there  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  twelve  years  ago.  He  mar- 
ried a  Miss  Lee,  at  present  a  resident  of  Mis- 
souri, and  of  their  eight  children,  all  boys,  five 
are  still  living. 

W.  S.  L.  Henley,  one  of  the  survivors  above 
mentioned,  was  born  in  Scott  county,  Iowa,  near 
Davenport,  June  4,  1853,  and  spent  the  earlier 
years  of  his  life  on  his  father's  farm.  About 
twenty  years  ago  he  removed  to  Dakota  and 
homesteaded  one  hundred  sixty  acres  of  land, 
which  was  subsequently  doubled.  Thus  he  was 
engaged  in  farming  until  1900,  when  he  located 
in  Geddes  and  began  to  deal  in  real  estate,  loaning 


940 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


and  selling  machinery  of  various  kinds.  He  buys 
and  rents  town  property  and.  being  a  shrewd 
business  man,  has  enjoyed  a  thriving  patronage 
since  his  arrival  in  town.  His  political  affilia- 
tions are  with  the  Republican  party  and  at  present 
he  holds  the  position  of  city  treasurer  of  Geddes. 
He  has  held  various  minor  offices,  such  as  justice 
of  the  peace  and  member  of  the  school  board. 
His  fraternal  connections  are  with  the  Knights 
of  Pythias.  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen 
and  Modern  Woodmen  of  America.  At  present 
Mr.  Henley  is  clerking  in  a  hardware  store  at 
Geddes.  He  has  a  wide  acquaintance  over  the 
countv  and  is  regarded  as  a  successful  man  of 
affairs. 


CHARLES  FRANCIS,  of  Meade  county, 
was  born  near  New  Orleans.  Louisiana,  on  Octo- 
ber 22.  1837,  and  remained  at  home  until  he 
reached  the  age  of  sixteen,  receiving  a  district- 
school  education.  Having  a  love  for  adventure 
and  a  strong  desire  to  see  some  of  the  world,  at 
that  age  he  accepted  employment  with  an  exten- 
sive horse  dealer  whose  bands  of  horses  he  drove 
across  the  plains  from  Missouri  to  Colorado, 
where  he  disposed  of  them.  He  made  a  number 
of  trips  in  this  way  and  experienced  all  the  priva- 
tions and  hardships  incident  to  such  occupation, 
having  had  many  experiences  of  adventure  and 
danger  that  were  exciting  in  the  extreme.  He 
also  drove  horses  to  Central  America  at  times, 
conducting  a  trade  which  was  very  large  and 
profitable.  When  the  gold  excitement  over  the 
discovery  of  Alder  Gulch  in  Montana  broke  out 
he  joined  the  stampede  to  that  prolific  region  and 
located  a  number  of  valuable  claims  there.  From 
Mrginia  City  he  went  north  to  the  neighborhood 
of  Helena  with  a  party  and  became  a  discoverer 
and  locator  of  several  of  the  mines  that  afterward 
became  famous  in  that  section.  He  remained 
there  mining  and  prospecting  with  good  success 
until  1867.  when  he  made  a  trip  east,  and  on  his 
return  in  1868  located  at  Fort  Thompson,  where 
he  had  charge  of  the  distribution  of  government 
cattle  and  supplies  to  the  Indians.  He  spoke  the 
language  of  the  natives   fluently   and    was   well 


adapted  to  the  work  in  which  he  was  engaged. 
He  was  well  acquainted  with  Father  De  Smet, 
the  renowned  Catholic  missionary,  who  told  him 
of  the  promise  of  great  riches  in  the  Black  Hills. 
In  February.  1869,  in  company  with  Judge  La 
Moure,  he  came  to  the  Hills  to  look  over  the 
country,  and  in  passing  through  what  is  now 
the  Rosebud  agency  he  discovered  gold  there, 
but  as  it  was  against  the  law  then  to  stop  in  the 
Hills  they  continued  their  journey.  Air.  Francis 
never  looking  up  his  discoveries  until  1902.  thir- 
ty-four years  later,  when  he  made  other  valuable 
findings.  On  the  trip  in  1 869  they  had  some  rene- 
gade Indians  with  them,  and  these,  seeing  signs  of 
other  Indians  in  the  vicinity,  and  being  afraid  of 
being  killed  in  consequence  of  their  conduct  in 
leaving  the  tribes,  deserted  from  Mr.  Francis 
and  his  party  while  they  were  encamped  between 
the  \\'hite  and  P!ad  rivers,  leaving  them  without  a 
guide  in  an  unexplored  country  with  which  they 
were  wholly  unfamiliar.  They  were  obliged  to 
discard  their  pack  animals  and  make  their  way  to 
Fort  Thompson,  which  they  reached  about  the 
last  of  ;\Iarch  after  many  adventures  and  passing 
through  a  terrible  storm.  In  1870.  in  company 
with  Mr.  La  Moure  and  a  few  others.  Mr.  Francis 
went  into  the  northeastern  corner  of  North  Da- 
kota where  they  bought  scrip  from  half-breed 
Indians  and  settled  on  land  to  which  they  after- 
ward got  a  title  from  the  government.  There 
Mr.  Francis  was  occupied  in  the  stock  industry 
until  early  in  1876.  He  then  moved  to  Bismarck 
where  he  got  together  a  freighting  outfit  and  be- 
gan freighting  between  that  town  and  the  Black 
Hills,  being  among  the  first  to  engage  in  this  busi- 
ness there  and  running  two  large  teams,  one  with 
oxen  and  the  other  with  mules.  To  the  manage- 
ment of  this  enterprise  he  gave  his  whole  atten- 
tion, making  his  trips  mostly  on  horseback.  Ke 
settled  his  family  at  Crook  City,  being  one  of 
the  first  to  take  up  a  residence  at  that  place,  and 
occupying  land  on  Whitewood  creek  not  far  from 
the  town,  which  he  developed  into  a  fine  stock 
farm  and  equipped  with  every  appliance  for  car- 
rying on  its  work  in  the  best  manner.  He  alscr 
ran  a  freighting  outfit  between  Sidney.  Pierre 
and  Deadwood  at  times,  and  while  doing  this  was- 


HISTORY  OF   SOUTH  DAKOTA. 


941 


engaged  in  the  cattle  business  as  well.  His  cus- 
tom was  to  go  to  Texas  and  buy  cattle  and  horses 
and  bring  them  to  this  state.  In  1879  he  placed 
cattle  on  the  Belle  Fourche,  and  the  next  year  he 
took  up  land  on  that  stream.  He  helped  to  move 
the  effects  of  the  first  man  who  became  a  resi- 
dent of  the  present  city  of  Sturgis,  the  town  site 
being  located  on  his  ranch.  Mr.  Francis  has 
interests  so  extensive  and  varied  that  he  is  kept 
continually  on  the  move  during  the  greater  part  of 
the  time,  but  makes  his  home  at  Sturgis,  where 
his  daughter,  Mrs.  H.  E.  Perkins,  resides.  For 
a  number  of  years  he  has  had  large  interests  in 
.\rizona  and  New  Mexico,  where  he  owns  valu- 
able copper  mines,  and  down  to  the  fall  of  1902 
he  was  heavily  engaged  in  the  stock  business  in 
South  Dakota.  He  also  has  extensive  mining 
interests  in  the  Black  Hills  and  is  one  of  the  di- 
rectors and  heaviest  stockholders  of  the  Meade 
County  Bank  at  Sturgis.  Thus  in  almost  every 
line  of  commercial  and  industrial  development  in 
the  state  he  has  been  engaged,  and  each  has  felt 
the  force  of  his  active  mind  and  quickening  hand. 
He  is  one  of  the  leading  and  most  representative 
citizens  of  the  commonwealth,  and  is  held  in  high 
esteem  as  such  bv  all  classes  of  the  people. 


CHARLES  F.  RAYMOND,  a  representative 
farmer  and  stock  grower  of  Davison  county, 
is  a  native  of  the  state  of  Illinois,  having  been 
born  in  Kane  county,  on  the  5th  of  April,  1856, 
and  being  a  son  of  Granville  C.  and  Sophia 
(Bumpus)  Raymond,  to  whom  were  born  seven 
children,  namely :  Laura.  Albert,  Harvey,  Flora, 
Millie,  Belle  and  Charles  F.  The  subject  was 
reared  on  the  homestead  farm,  and  early  began 
to  assist  in  its  cultivation,  waxing  strong  in 
mind  and  bodily  vigor  under  the  sturdy  dis- 
cipline, while  he  duly  availed  himself  of  the  edu- 
cational advantages  afforded  in  the  common 
schools.  He  continued  to  be  associated  with 
agricultural  pursuits  in  his  native  state  until  he 
had  attained  the  age  of  twenty-seven  years,  when 
he  decided  to  follow  the  sage  advice  of  Horace 
Creely  and  "go  west  and  grow  up  with  the  coun- 
try."    Accordingly,  in  1883,  he  came  to  what  is 


now  the  state  of  South  Dakota  and  forthwith 
took  up  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  govern- 
ment land  in  Davison  county,  where  he  has 
ever  since  made  his  home  and  to  whose  industrial 
progress  he  has  contributed  in  no  slight  degree. 
In  addition  to  general  farming  Mr.  Raymond 
devotes  special  attention  to  the  raising  of  high- 
grade  live  stock,  and  his  herd  of  Hereford  cattle 
is  unexcelled  in  this  section  of  the  state,  while 
he  has  gained  a  wide  reputation  in  the  raising  of 
•Standard-bred  horses,  taking  special  pride  and 
interest  in  this  branch  of  his  farm  enterprise. 
Mr.  Raymond  is  a  stanch  adherent  of  the  Re- 
publican party  and  has  been  actively  identified 
with  the  promotion  of  its  cause  in  his  county, 
while  his  distinctive  eligibility  for  positions  of 
trust  and  responsbility  has  not  failed  of  recogni- 
tion, since  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  lower 
house  of  the  state  legislature  in  1891  and  in  1893 
was  elected  to  represent  the  thirteenth  district, 
comprising  the  county  of  Davison,  in  the  state 
senate.  He  acquitted  himself  well  in  both 
branches  of  the  legislative  body  and  effectively 
represented  the  interests  of  his  constituents  and 
of  the  state  at  large. 

In  Kane  county,  Illinois,  on  the  15th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1877,  Mr.  Raymond  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Carrie  Humiston,  who  was  born 
in  that  state,  being  a  daughter  of  Clark  ^I. 
Flumiston,  and  of  this  union  have  been  born  six 
children,  namely :  Emily  I.,  Jesse  F.,  Clarence, 
Elliott,  Giarles  and  Ethel,  all  of  whom  remain  at 
the  parental  home. 


GILMORE  FRY  was  born  in  Freeport,  Illi- 
nois, in  June,  1863.  His  father,  Joel  Fry,  was  a 
native  of  Pennsylvania  and  in  1854  removed  to 
Illinois,  where  he  remained  until  1869,  when  he 
started  for  Yankton  county.  South  Dakota,  trav- 
eling by  stage  between  Sioux  City.  On  reaching 
his  destination  he  pre-empted  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  land  north  of  Yankton  and  began 
the  development  of  a  farm,  although  living  in  the 
city.  He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade  and  engaged 
in  contracting  to  some  extent.  In  1874,  however, 
during  the  grasshopper  scourge  he  left  Yankton 


942 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


and  since  that  time  has  engaged  in  farming,  own- 
ing and  operating  four  hundred  and  eighty  acres 
of  farming  land.  He  also  has  town  property  and 
has  made  judicious  investments  in  real  estate  so 
that  his  realty  holdings  are  valuable  as  well  as 
extensive.  He  has  also  engaged  in  the  stock 
business  and  at  the  present  time  he  makes  his 
home  in  Irene,  South  Dakota,  which  town  was 
named  in  honor  of  his  daughter.  In  early  man- 
hood he  wedded  Elizabeth  Forry  and  they  be- 
came the  parents  of  four  children :  Jemima,  now 
deceased ;  Alice,  the  wife  of  W.  P.  Swartz,  a 
druggist  of  Pueblo,  Colorado ;  Gilmore  ;  and  Irene, 
who  is  the  wife  of  H.  P.  Hartwell,  a  business  man 
living  in  the  town  of  Irene,  .South  Dakota.  Both 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fry  yet  survive  and  are  esteemed 
people  of  the  community  in  which  they  reside. 
They  hold  membership  in  the  Evangelical  church, 
taking  an  active  part  in  its  work  and  in  the  cause 
of  education  Mr.  Fry  is  deeply  interested  and  has 
done  effective  service  in  its  behalf  as  school  treas- 
urer. His  political  support  was  given  in  early  life 
to  the  Whig  party  and  upon  its  dissolution  he 
joined  the  ranks  of  the  Republican  party,  of 
which  he  is  a  worthy  representative.  On  this 
ticket  he  was  elected  to  its  legislature  in  1895  and 
in  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties  proved  him- 
self a  most  loyal  citizen. 

Under  the  parental  roof  Gilmore  Fry  was 
reared  amid  the  wild  scenes  of  pioneer  life  in 
Yankton  county.  He  was  only  six  years  of  age 
when  he  arrived  here.  All  around  him  was  a  wild 
unbroken  prairie  and  it  was  only  at  long  distances 
that  pioneer  homes  were  to  be  seen.  In  iSgq  he 
wedded  Nettie  Lawrence,  a  daughter  of  D.  O. 
and  Harriet  (Branch)  Lawrence.  Her  father, 
formerly  a  farmer  and  stock  raiser  of  Minnesota, 
came  to  Yankton  county  about  1875  and  after- 
ward removed  to  Clay  county,  where  his  death 
occurred  in  1897.  His  political  allegiance  was 
given  to  the  Republican  party.  Unto  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Frv  have  been  born  three  children,  Agnes, 
Alice  and  Willard. 

In  his  business  affairs  as  the  vears  passed  bv 
Mr.  Fry  has  prospered  and  he  now  owns  five 
hundred  acres  of  land,  most  of  which  is  devoted 
to  pasturage  and  this  he  rents.    He  is  the  manager 


for  the  Atlas  Elevator  Company,  of  Minneapolis; 
having  charge  of  their  lumber  yard  and  elevator 
business  at  Mission  Hill.  He  has  acted  as  its 
representative  for  about  a  year,  and  prior  to  that 
time  he  was  engaged  in  the  grain  business  for  the 
Kansas  City  &  St.  Paul  Company.  He  votes 
.with  the  Republican  party  and  has  held  some 
school  offices,  yet  has  never  been  an  active  poli- 
tician in  the  sense  of  office  seeking.  He  also  has 
some  lodge  relations  and  he  and  his  family  be- 
long to  the  Congregational  church  at  Mission 
Hill.  Mr.  Fry  can  remember  when  the  Indians 
were  more  numerous  than  the  white  settlers  in 
this  portion  of  the  country  and  as  the  years  have 
advanced  he  has  been  a  witness  of  the  wonderful 
transformation  that  has  occurred  here  and  has 
borne  his  full  share  in  the  work  of  advancement. 


FRANK  M.  ZIEBACH,  pioneer  editor,  is  a 
native  of  Pennsylvania,  born  1830.  Established 
the  Dakotan  at  Yankton,  June  6,  1861.  Was 
mayor  of  Yankton,  1876  to  1879.  Member  legis- 
lature, 1877.     Still  resides  at  Yankton. 


ABRAHA:\I  BOYNTON,  who  is  now  living 
practically  retired  from  active  business  in  the 
citv  of  IMitchell,  was  born  at  Campton,  Grafton 
county.  New  Hampshire,  on  the  15th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1843,  being  a  son  of  Pickens  and  Emily 
.\nn  (Gilman)  Boynton,  the  former  of  whom 
was  a  clerg}man  of  the  ^Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  and  was  actively  engaged  in  ministerial 
work  until  his  death,  in  June,  1869,  at  Westfield, 
Wisconsin.  He  was  born  at  Lemington,  Essex 
county,  A'ermont,  in  November,  1815,  being  a 
son  of  Abraham  and  Martha  (Pickens)  Boynton 
— the  former  of  whom  was  bom  in  April,  1783, 
in  Newburyport,  Massachusetts,  and  who  served 
with  distinction  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  Vermont  legislature  one  term  and 
of  the  legislature  of  New  Hampshire  for  three 
terms,  while  he  was  also  a  member  of  the  con- 
stitutional convention  of  the  latter  state,  in  1850. 
He  died  in  Dakota  territory,  in  1875.  and  was 
laid   to  rest  at  Westfield,   Wisconsin,   to   which 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


943 


place  he  had  removed  from  New  Hampshire  in 
1855.  His  wife  passed  away  in  1868.  Both 
family  names  have  been  identified  with  the  annals 
of  American  history  from  the  colonial  epoch,  and 
the  genealogical  lines  are  clearly  and  fully  traced 
back  through  many  generations,  the  date  being 
far  too  voluminous  for  reviewing  in  such  a  work 
as  the  one  at  hand. 

The  rudimentary  education  of  the  subject 
was  received  in  the  public  schools  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  he  was  about  twelve  years  of  age  at 
the  time  of  the  family  removal  to  Wisconsin, 
where  he  continued  to  attend  the  public  schools 
and  finally  entered  Brunson's  Institute,  at  Point 
Blufif,  that  state,  being  a  student  there  at  the 
time  of  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war.  He  was 
pursuing  the  classical  course  but  withdrew  to 
tender  his  services  in  defense  of  the  Union,  in 
consequence  of  which  he  was  never  graduated. 
He  worked  on  the  home  farm  when  not  attending 
school,  but  his  ambition  was  quickened  to  pre- 
paring himself  for  a  broader  sphere  of  endeavor 
and  he  spared  no  pains  in  the  prosecution  of  his 
educational  work  during  his  youthful  days. 

On  the  23d  of  April,  1861.  Mr.  Boyiiton  en- 
listed in  Company  D,  Fourth  Wisconsin  Vol- 
unteer Infantr}^,  which  afterward  became  a  cav- 
alry regiment,  and  with  this  command  he  served 
during  the  entire  period  of  the  war,  being  mus- 
tered out  in  September,  1865.  He  was  promoted 
to  the  position  of  a  non-commissioned  officer,  later 
being  made  second  lieutenant  of  his  company  and 
finally  first  lieutenant.  His  command  was  as- 
signed to  the  Army  of  the  Gulf  and  he  saw  much 
hard  service,  participating  in  many  of  the  im- 
portant battles  which  marked  the  progress  of  the 
great  internecine  conflict.  After  the  war  Mr. 
Boynton  was  elected  and  served  four  years  as 
county  superintendent  of  schools  and  continued 
to  reside  in  \\'estfield,  Wisconsin,  until  1872, 
when  he  came  to  the  territory  of  Dakota  and 
located  in  Lincoln  county,  becoming  one  of  the 
pioneer  merchants  of  this  section  of  the  state, 
being  engaged  in  the  hardware  business  prin- 
cipally, in  the  town  of  Lennox,  where  he  con- 
tinued to  reside  until  1887.  when  he  was  ap- 
pointed a  railroad  commissioner  of  the  territory. 


serving  two  years.  From  1889  to  1894  he  was 
engaged  in  the  milling  business  at  Elk  Point,  and 
in  the  latter  year  he  removed  to  Mitchell,  where 
he  has  since  maintained  his  home.  From  1894 
to  1898  he  served  as  register  of  the  United  States 
land  office  in  this  place  and  since  that  time  has 
lived  practically  retired,  giving  a  general  super- 
vision to  his  various  capitalistic  interests.  In 
1898  he  held  the  office  of  referee  in  bankruptcy, 
having  been  appointed  by  Judge  Caland.  Mr. 
Boynton  has  ever  been  a  stalwart  advocate  of  ' 
the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  he 
has  been  one  of  its  leaders  both  in  the  territory 
of  Dakota  and  the  state  of  South  Dakota,  having 
been  a  member  of  the  Democratic  territorial  cen- 
tral committee  for  twelve  years  and  of  the  state 
central  committee  for  two  years,  while  he  served 
four  years  as  a  member  of  the  Democratic  con- 
gressional committee  from  this  state.  Mr.  Boyn- 
ton became  a  Master  Mason  in  1865,  and  he  was 
a  charter  member  of  Lennox  Lodge,  No.  35, 
Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  at  Lennox, 
being  its  first  worshipful  master.  He  was  made 
a  Royal  Arch  Mason  in  1866  and  has  also  passed 
the  cryptic  and  chivalric  degrees,  thus  complet- 
ing the  circle  of  York-rite  Masonry.  He  was 
a  charter  member  of  the  first  lodge  of  the  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  in  Lennox  and 
was  the  first  commander  of  Lennox  Post,  No. 
21,  Grand  Army  of  the  Reptiblic.  He  is  also  a 
charter  member  of  Mitchell  Council,  U.  D., 
Royal  and  Select  Masters,  in  Mitchell,  of  which 
he  was  the  first  illustrious  master,  while  for 
seven  years  he  was  an  officer  in  the  Masonic 
grand  lodge  of  the  territory  of  Dakota.  At  the 
present  time  he  is  identified  with  the  various 
Masonic  bodies  in  Mitchell,  still  retaining  his 
affiliation  with  the  Grand  Army  post  at  Lennox. 
Mr.  Boynton  is  a  communicant  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  church,  he  having  been  confirmed  by 
Bishop  Clarkson  in  1876,  and  he  is  one  of  the 
valued  members  of  .St.  Mary's  parish,  in  Mitchell. 
On  the  I2th  of  June,  1866,  was  solemnized 
the  marriage  of  Mr.  Boynton  to  Miss  Minnie 
Schultz.  of  Harris,  ^^'isconsin,  she  being  a 
daughter  of  Gottlieb  and  Augusta  ^Schultz. 
who    emigrated    from    Germany    to    the    United 


944 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


States  in  1861,  being-  natives  of  Prussia,  where 
they  were  born  and  reared.  Abraham  Albert, 
the  only  child  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Boynton,  was 
born  at  Westfield,  \\'isconsin,  on  the  2d  of  June, 
1867,  and  resides  in  Mitchell,  having  been  for 
the  past  ten  years  a  clerk  in  the  United  States 
land  office  in  this  citv. 


MILO  EMERSON  NETTLETON,  a  suc- 
cessful farmer  of  Lincoln  county,  is  a 
native  of  the  Hawkeye  state  of  the  Union, 
having  been  born  on  a  farm  near  Shell- 
rock,  Butler  county,  Iowa,  on  the  21st 
of  December,  1869,  and  being  a  son  of  Amos  and 
Louisa  Xettleton,  both  of  whom  were  born  in  the 
province  of  Ontario,  Canada,  while  in  the  lineage 
are  found  English,  Irish  and  Dutch  strains.  The 
ancestors  in  an  early  day  emigrated  from  the 
state  of  New  York  to  Ontario,  Canada,  and  set- 
tled near  Prescott,  on  the  St.  Lawrence  river, 
and  thence  the  paternal  grandparents  of  our  sub- 
ject removed  to  Ogle  county,  Illinois,  where  they 
took  up  their  residence  in  1855,  being  numbered 
among  the  pioneers  of  that  section.  There,  in 
1858,  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Amos  Net- 
tleton  and  Louisa  Hart,  and  they  later  followed 
the  western  march  of  civilization  and  immigra- 
tion into  Iowa,  where  they  remained  until  1872, 
when  they  came  to  Lincoln  county.  South  Dakota, 
which  was  then  on  the  very  frontier  of  civiliza- 
tion, and  cast  in  their  lot  with  the  first  settlers 
of  this  section,  while  it  was  theirs  to  endure  the 
hardships,  dangers  and  deprivations  which 
marked  the  formative  epoch  of  history  in  the 
great  undivided  territory  of  Dakota.  The  father 
here  took  up  government  land,  and  he  and  his 
wife  are  still  residents  of  Lincoln  county,  having 
lived  to  witness  the  marvellous  transformation 
which  has  here  been  wrought  in  the  last  quarter 
of  a  century,  while  with  the  development  of  the 
resources  of  the  state  they  have  become  prosper- 
ous and  are  now  enabled  to  pass  the  golden  even- 
ing of  their  lives  in  peace  and  contentment  and 
to  rest  from  the  strenuous  labors  which  marked 
their  early  years  in  the  territory. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  a  child  of  about 


three  years  at  the  time  of  his  parents'  removal  to 
South  Dakota,  and  he  was  reared  under  the  influ- 
ences and  conditions  of  the  pioneer  era,  assisting 
from  his  boyhood  in  the  work  of  the  farm  and 
securing  his  educational  training  in  the  somewhat 
primitive  common  schools  of  the  locality  and  pe- 
riod. He  continued  on  the  old  homestead  until 
1892,  when  he  purchased  a  quarter  section  of  land 
in  Dayton  township,  Lincoln  county,  where  he 
has  developed  a  good  farm,  upon  which  he  has 
made  substantial  improvements,  while  he  is  now 
numbered  among  the  prosperous  farmers  and 
stock  growers  of  the  county  and  is  one  of  its 
steadfast  and  loyal  citizens,  meriting  the  confi- 
dence and  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  in  the  section 
which  has  so  long  been  his  home.  In  politics  he 
gives  his  support  to  the  Republican  party,  and 
fraternally  he  is  a  charter  member  of  Homestead 
No.  680,  Brotherhood  of  American  Yeomen,  at 
Harrisburg,  which  was  organized  in  1901,  and  of 
which  he  has  been  master  of  accounts  from  the 
time  of  its  inception. 

On  the  2Sth  of  November.  1807,  Mr.  Nettle- 
ton  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Clara  Anna 
Lyon,  who  was  born  in  Oakland,  Illinois,  on  the 
28th  of  March,  1879,  being  a  daughter  of  Henry 
and  Ida  Lyon,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  four 
children,  whose  names  and  dates  of  birth  are  here 
entered:  Emma  Ray,  March  19,  1899;  Henry 
Tawney,  January  19,  1901  :  .-\.mos  Arthur,  Sep- 
tember 13,  1902,  and  Floyd  Lyman.  February  16, 
1904. 


PIERRE  ROMEO  PINARD.  M.  D.,  is  a 
native  of  the  town  of  Batiscan,  province  of  Que- 
bec, Canada,  where  he  was  born  on  the  4th  of 
May,  1870,  being  a  son  of  John  Noel  and 
Amelia  (St.  Cyre)  Pinard,  of  whose  thirteen 
children  the  following  named  eight  survive :  Dr. 
Philip  H.  A.,  who  is  a  practicing  physician  at 
Jefferson,  South  Dakota:  Denise.  who  is  the 
wife  of  Eugene  Lemire,  of  Chassel,  Michigan: 
Turibe,  who  is  engaged  in  the  grocer\-  business 
in  IMilwaukee,  Wisconsin:  Horace,  who  is  a 
resident  of  Waterbury,  Connecticut;  Mary  L., 
who  is  the  wife  of  Horace  Boiverre,  of  Montreal, 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


845 


Canada ;  Arthur,  who  is  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facturing business  in  Madison,  Wisconsin ; 
Archie,  who  is  a  photographer  in  New  York 
city ;  and  Pierre  R.,  who  is  the  immediate  sub- 
ject of  this  review.  The  parents  were  both  born 
in  Canada,  and  there  the  father  of  the  Doctor 
prepared  himself  for  the  priesthood  of  the 
Catholic  church,  but  shortly  before  the  time  when 
he  was  to  have  been  ordained  he  found  that  his 
heart  insistently  demanded  the  object  of  its  de- 
votion and  he  accordingly  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  jMiss  St.  Cyre.  He  then  engaged  in 
teaching  as  a  vocation,  and  with  the  exception 
of  a  brief  period,  during  which  he  served  as 
government  revenue  inspector  in  Canada,  he  con- 
tinued to  follow  the  pedagogic  profession,  both 
he  and  his  wife  being  devoted  members  of  the 
Catholic  church,  while  they  resided  in  Montreal, 
Canada,  until  their  deaths. 

Dr.  Pierre  R.  Pinard  received  his  early  edu- 
cational training  in  the  parochial  schools,  and 
he  was  but  fifteen  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his 
father's  death,  being  thus  doubly  orphaned,  since 
his  mother  passed  away  when  he  was  a  child  of 
but  tl^ree  years.  Being  deprived  of  his  father's 
care  and  guidance  the  lad  was  thrown  upon  his 
own  resources  at  the  age  noted,  and  for  the 
ensuing  four  years  he  worked  for  his  board  and 
clothing  and  a  very  small  financial  recompense, 
■while  he  continued  to  attend  school  during  this  pe- 
riod. At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  had  saved  enough 
money  from  his  small  earnings  to  enable  him  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  one  year  in  college,  and  he 
accordinglv  entered  the  Victoria  College  of 
?iledicine  and  Surgery,  in  Montreal,  where  he 
pursued  his  technical  studies  for  one  year.  His 
brother  Philip,  who  was  then  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  medicine,  then  advised  him  to  come 
to  the  United  States  to  continue  his  medical 
studies,  and  in  June,  i8qo,  he  accordingly  came 
to  jNIilwaukee,  Wisconsin,  where  he  secured  em- 
ployment, devoting  the  early  morning  hours  and 
the  evenings  to  the  study  of  his  chosen  profes- 
sion, having  as  preceptor  Dr.  Messhoflf,  a  promi- 
nent physician  and  surgeon  of  Milwaukee.  In 
IMarch,  1891,  the  subject  came  to  JeflFerson, 
South  Dakota,  where  he  continued  his  medical 


studies  under  the  direction  of  his  brother  until 
the  following  autumn,  when  he  was  matriculated 
in  the  St.  Louis  College  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons, in  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  where  he  remained 
during  the  winter,  while  the  following  summer 
was  passed  in  JeflFerson,  this  state,  and  Mil- 
waukee, Wisconsin,  where  he  continued  his 
studies  under  his  former  preceptors  and  also 
found  employment,  in  order  to  secure  the  funds 
with  which  to  continue  his  collegiate  work.  In 
the  autumn  he  again  entered  the  college  in  St. 
Louis,  where  he  was  graduated  with  honors  in 
the  spring  of  1893,  receiving  his  degree  of  Doc- 
tor of  Medicine  and  coming  forth  well  qualified 
for  the  active  practice  of  the  profession  in  pre- 
paring himself  for  which  he  had  labored  so 
indefatigably  and  earnestly.  He  located  in  Oias- 
sel,  Michigan,  where  he  remained  a  short  time 
and  then  came  to  South  Dakota,  establishing 
himself  in  practice  in  Lesterville,  where  he  suc- 
cessfully continued  for  six  years,  after  which 
he  passed  a  year  in  the  city  of  Milwaukee,  Wis- 
consin, at  the  expiration  of  which  he  located 
in  Geddes,  being  numbered  among  the  founders 
of  the  town,  and  here  he  has  since  been  actively 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  hav- 
ing the  confidence  and  high  regard  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  community  and  being  recognized  as 
one  of  the  skilled  physicians  and  surgeons  of  the 
state.  He  is  a  member  of  the  South  Dakota 
.State  Medical  Society  and  on  June  i,  1903,  he 
was  appointed  medical  examiner  on  the  board  of 
pension  examiners  in  this  section.  On  May  i, 
1903,  he  was  appointed  vice-president  of  the 
Charles  Mix  county  board  of  health.  In  1903 
the  Doctor  took  a  two-months  post-graduate 
course  at  Chicago  Polyclinic  and  three  weeks  at 
the  Illinois  School  of  Electro-Therapeutics,  of 
Chicago.  He  and  his  wife  are  communicants  of 
the  Catholic  church,  and  fraternally  the  Doctor 
is  identified  with  the  Modern  Woodmen  of 
America  and  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen. 

On  the  23d  of  June,  1896,  was  solemnized 
the  marriage  of  Dr.  Pinard  to  Miss  Susie  Law- 
rence, of  Lesterville,  this  state,  and  they  are  the 
parents    of    two    children,    Xoel    Lawrence    and 


946 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


Kenneth  Oscar.  Dr.  and  ]\Irs.  Pinard  are  promi- 
nent in  the  social  Hfe  of  the  community  and  are 
numbered  among  the  most  popular  citizens  of 
Geddes. 


EPHRAni  EPSTIEN,  a  Russian  Jew,  was 
first  president  of  the  State  University,  at  Vermil- 
lion. Was  a  graduate  of  the  College  of  Physi- 
cians and  Surgeons  of  New  York  and  of  Andover 
Theological  Seminary,  and,  having  abandoned  his 
mother  faith,  became  a  Baptist.  He  was  a  ripe 
scholar  and  a  linguist  of  the  highest  order.  He 
still  lives  in  Chicago. 


DA\'ID  D.  ^^'IPF,  auditor  of  Hutchinson 
county  and  also  editor  and  publisher  of  the  Olivet 
Leader,  was  born  in  southern  Russia,  on  the  4th 
of  August.  1872,  being  a  son  of  David  and  Kath- 
erina  (Stahl)  Wipf,  of  whose  eleven  children 
seven  are  living,  namely:  David  D.,  subject  of 
this  sketch ;  Anna,  wife  of  Paul  Wollmann.  of 
Wells  county.  North  Dakota ;  Katherina,  wife  of 
Jacob  P).  Hofer,  of  that  county ;  Paul,  a  resident 
of  Hutchinson  county.  South  Dakota ;  and  ^laria, 
Rebecca  and  Sarah,  who  remain  at  the  parental 
home.  The  parents  were  both  natives  of  southern 
Russia,  whence  they  emigrated  to  the  United 
States  in  1879,  being  numbered  among  the  pio- 
neers of  the  territory  of  Dakota  and  being  now 
resident  of  Hutchinson  county,  the  father  having 
devoted  his  life  to  agricultural  pursuits.  Upon 
coming  to  the  territory  he  took  up  a  homestead 
claim  in  Hutchinson  county,  eight  miles  north- 
west of  the  present  village  of  Freeman,  where  he 
still  resides,  now  having  a  valuable  landed  estate 
of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  and  having 
been  signally  prospered  in  his  efforts  as  a  farmer. 
He  is  a  Republican  but  has  never  consented  to  be- 
come a  candidate  for  political  office,  and  he  and 
his  wife  are  devoted  members  of  the  German 
Mennonite  church. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  a  lad  of  seven 
years  at  the  time  of  his  parents"  emigration  to 
America,  and  he  was  reared  on  the  homestead 
farm  in  Hutchinson  county,  while  his  educational 


advantages  were  those  afforded  in  the  public 
schools.  That  he  made  good  use  of  the  same  is 
evident  when  we  revert  to  the  fact  that  at  the 
age  of  nineteen  he  began  teaching  in  the  district 
schools,  continuing  to  devote  his  attention  suc- 
cessfully to  this  work  for  about  five  years,  during 
the  winter  months,  while  during  the  summer 
seasons  he  was  engaged  in  farm  work,  ^^'^ithin 
this  period  the  Sioux  Indian  reservation  was 
thrown  open  to  settlement  and  he  filed  entry  on  a 
quarter  section  in  Lyman  county,  but  as  the  land 
did  not  come  up  to  his  expectations  he  finally 
abandoned  it.  In  June.  1897,  ]\Ir.  Wipf  resigned 
his  position  as  teacher  in  district  No.  31,  Hutch- 
inson county,  where  he  had  taught  for  three 
terms,  and  accepted  a  position  in  the  office  of  the 
county  treasurer,  where  he  worked  one  month  in 
a  clerical  capacity  and  was  then,  on  the  ist  of 
March,  appointed  deputy  treasurer,  under  Gnris- 
tian  Buechler,  and  of  this  position  he  continued 
incumbent  until  January  I.  1901.  In  the  fall  of 
the  preceding  year  he  was  nominated  for  the  office 
of  county  auditor,  to  which  he  was  duly  elected, 
and  on  the  ist  of  March.  1901.  he  entered  upon 
the  discharge  of  his  duties.  He  gave  a  most  ac- 
ceptable administration  and  was  chosen  as  his  own 
successor  in  the  fall  of  1902.  for  a  second  term 
of  two  years.  He  is  a  stanch  advocate  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Republican  party  and  has  been  an 
active  worker  in  its  cause.  In  I\Iay,  1903,  ^Ir. 
Wipf  purchased  an  interest  in  the  Olivet  Printing 
Company,  publishers  of  the  Olivet  Leader,  a 
weekly  paper  and  one  of  the  best  and  most  popu- 
lar in  the  county,  and  he  has  since  been  editor  of 
the  same.  G.  W.  ]\Iurner  is  president  of  the  com- 
pany and  J.  B.  Ashley  secretary  and  treasurer. 
Mr.  Wipf  is  a  member  of  Eureka  Lodge.  No.  71, 
Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  at  Bridge- 
water ;  Scotland  Chapter,  No.  52,  Royal  Arch 
Masons,  at  Scotland :  and  Oriental  Consistory, 
No.  I,  Ancient  Accepted  Scottish  Rite,  in 
Yankton,  while  he  is  also  identified  with  Menno 
Camp.  No.  3071.  jModern  Woodmen  of  America. 
He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Alennonite 
church. 

On  the  1st  of  June.  i8qi.  Mr.  Wipf  wedded 
Miss  Katharina  Wipf,  of  this  county,  she  likewise 


HISTORY   OF    SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


947 


being  a  native  of  southern  Russia,  whence  her 
parents  came  to  the  territory  of  Dakota  in  1877. 
Of  this  union  have  been  born  two  children,  one 
of  whom  died  in  infancy,  while  the  surviving 
child  is  John  D.,  who  was  born  on  the  19th  of 
July,    1895. 


B.  T.  BOYLAN,  one  of  the  influential  citi- 
zens and  business  men  of  Armour,  Douglas 
county,  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  Wisconsin,  hav- 
ing been  born  in  Beaver  Dam,  Dodge  county,  on 
the  19th  of  August,  1858.  He  was  the  second  in 
order  of  birth  of  the  eleven  children  of  Howard 
and  Delight  (Howe)  Boylan,  and  of  the  number 
nine  are  still  living,  namely:  Charles  F.,  who  is 
engaged  in  the  real-estate  business  in  ]\Iitchell, 
this  state  :  B.  T.,  who  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch  ; 
Lucy  M..  who  is  the  wife  of  B.  I.  Salinger,  of 
Carroll,  Iowa;  Daisy  D..  who  is  the  wife  of  F. 
^^^  Lindsay,  of  Arelia,  Iowa;  Samuel  H.,  who  is 
a  law  student  at  Carroll,  Iowa ;  Thomas  H.,  who 
is  chief  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  Iowa  state^  rail- 
road commissioner,  in  Des  Moines  ;  Nellie,  who  is 
the  wife  of  J.  W.  Powers,  of  Mitchell.  South  Da- 
kota :  Henry  A.,  who  is  agent  for  the  J.  I.  Case 
Threshing  Machine  Company  at  Mitchell;  and 
David  W.,  who  is  court  stenographer  at  Carroll. 
Iowa.  Howard  Boylan.  the  father  of  the  sub- 
ject, was  horn  in  the  state  of  New  York,  and 
when  he  was  still  a  boy  his  parents  removed 
thence  to  Dodge  county.  Wisconsin,  locating 
near  Beaver  Dam.  where  he  was  reared  to  matu- 
rity. He  there  learned  the  trade  of  marble  cut- 
ting and  was  engaged  in  this  line  of  enterprise 
in  Beaver  Dam  for  a  number  of  years,  during 
which  time  he  continued  to  reside  on  his  farm, 
in  the  immediate  vicinity.  In  1877  he  removed 
to  Cherokee  county,  Iowa,  becoming  one  of  the 
honored  pioneers  of  that  section,  where  he  was 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  until  his  .death, 
which  occurred  in  1884.  He  rendered  valiant 
and  arduous  service  as  a  government  scout  dur- 
ing the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  and  the  results  of 
this  rigorous  service  were  to  so  seriously  impair 
his  health  that  he  died  in  the  prime  of  life,  hav- 
ing been  about   forty-eight   years  of  age   at   the 


time  of  his  demise.  He  was  a  stanch  Republi- 
can in  politics  and  his  religious  faith  was  that 
of  the  Methodist  church,  while  he  was  a  man  of 
sterling  character,  commanding  the  respect  of  all 
who  knew  him.  His  devoted  wife,  who  was 
born  in  New  York,  is  now  living  at  Aurelia, 
Iowa. 

B.  T.  Boylan  remained  at  the  parental  home 
until  he  had  attained  the  age  of  seventeen  years, 
while  his  early  educational  advantages  were  such 
as  were  afforded  in  the  public  schools.  In  1876, 
in  company  with  his  brother  Charles,  he  went 
to  Cherokee  county,  Iowa,  settling  on  a  farm 
owned  by  their  father,  who  joined  them  there  a 
year  later,  whereupon  our  subject  and  his 
brother  purchased  farms  of  their  own  in  that 
count}-,  where  he  continued  to  devote  his  atten- 
tion to  the  cultivation  of  the  same  until  1882, 
when  he  came  to  South  Dakota,  locating  on  a 
homestead  claim  nineteen  miles  northwest  of  the 
present  town  of  Armour.  He  proved  up  on  this 
farm,  and  two  years  later,  in  1884,  took  up  his 
residence  in  Grand  View,  which  was  then  the 
county  seat  of  Douglas  county,  where  he  engaged 
in  the  implement  business.  In  1887,  when  the 
town  of  Armour  was  platted  and  established  he 
removed  his  business  to  this  place,  where  he 
has  since  conducted  operations  in  the  line,  though 
he'  now  handles  only  heavy  farm  machinery. 
In  1899  Mr.  Boylan  also  engaged  in  the  real- 
estate  business  and  he  is  now  one  of  the  success- 
ful operators  in  this  line  in  the  state. 

In  politics  Mr.  Boylan  gives  a  stanch  and 
unequivocal  allegiance  to  the  Republican  party. 
In  1894  he  was  elected  county  treasurer,  giving 
a  most  careful  and  able  administration  and  being 
chosen  as  his  own  successor  two  years  later.  In 
1900  he  was  elected  to  represent  his  district  in  the 
state  legislature,  serving  one  term  and  proving 
a  valuable  working  member  of  the  house.  Fra- 
ternally he  is  identified  with  Lodge  No.  97.  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons,  in  Armour ;  the  chapter  of 
Roval  Arch  Masons,  at  Mitchell,  and  Command- 
erv  No.  11.  Knights  Templar,  in  Mitchell.  He 
also  holds  membership  in  the  Knights  of  Pyth- 
ias, the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  and 
the  Knights  of  the  ]\Iaccabees. 


948 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


In  November,  1886,  Mr.  Boylan  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Miss  IMary  E.  Lawrence,  of 
Beaver  Dam.  Wisconsin,  and  they  are  the  par- 
ents of  three  children.  Lawrence  H..  Baird  T. 
and  Luhi. 


WILBUR  S.  CLASS,  one  of  the  prominent 
members  of  the  bar  of  South  Dakota,  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Watertown, 
Codington  county,  is  a  native  of  the  state  of 
New  York,  having  been  born  in  Genesee  county, 
on  the  27th  of  April.  1852.  and  being  a  son  of 
Chester  F.  and  Alarv  (Brown)  Glass,  the  for- 
mer of  whom  was  born  in  the  state  of  New 
York  and  the  latter  in  Vermont.  In  1857  they 
removed  from  New  York  to  Marengo,  Illinois, 
where  the  father  of  the  subject  was  engaged  in 
business  for  manv  years,  having  been  one  of 
the  influential  citizens  of  his  community.  He 
died  at  iMarengo  in  1872,  while  the  widow 
died  at  Winfield,  Kansas,  in  September.  1897. 
The  subject  of  this  review  was  but  five  vears 
of  age  at  the  time  of  his  parents'  removal  to 
Illinois,  where  he  was  reared  to  maturity,  re- 
ceiving his  rudimentary  education  in  the  public 
schools,  and  thereafter  entering  the  Illinois  State 
University,  at  Champaign,  where  he  continued 
his  studies  for  two  years.  In  1S74  he  was  ma- 
triculated in  the  law  department  of  the  famous 
University  of  ^Michigan,  at  Ann  Arbor,  where 
he  was  graduated  in  the  spring  of  1876.  Shortly 
afterward  he  entered  a  law  office  in  Marengo, 
Illinois,  and  in  June.  1878,  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  of  the  state,  upon  examination  before  its 
supreme  court.  He  continued  in  the  practice  of 
his  profession  in  Illinois  until  the  spring  of  1880, 
when  he  came  to  Watertown,  South  Dakota,  and 
here  established  himself  in  a  practice  which  has 
grown  to  large  proportions  and  which  is  im- 
portant in  the  nature  of  its  clientele. 

In  politics  Mr.  Glass  has  given  an  unwaver- 
ing allegiance  to  the  Republican  party,  in  whose 
cause  he  has  put  forth  most  effective  personal 
efforts.  In  1894  he  was  elected  to  represent 
his  district  in  the  state  legislature,  and  so  ac- 
ceptable was  his  work  in  the  connection  that  his 


constituents  honored  him  with  re-election  in 
1896  and  again  in  1898.  thus  serving  three  con- 
secutive terms,  covering  the  fourth,  fifth  and 
sixth  sessions  of  the  legislature.  In  1897  he  re- 
ceived from  President  McKinley  the  appoint- 
ment as  L'nited  States  consul  at  Kiehl.  Ger- 
many, where  he  remained  until  May.  1898.  when 
he  resigned  the  office  and  returned  to  his  home 
in  Watertown.  Fraternally,  he  is  identified  with 
the  local  organizations  of  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Work- 
men. 

On  the  3d  of  October,  1899.  was  solemnized 
the  marriage  of  ^Ir.  Glass  to  Miss  Kathrvn 
Garner,  of  Anoka.  ^Minnesota,  in  which  state  she 
was  born  and  reared,  and  they  are  the  parents 
of  two  children.  Louise  and  Wilbur  S..  Jr. 


COL.  LEE  STOVER,  register  of  the  Ignited 
States  land  office  at  Watertown,  Codington 
county,  and  who  is  also  prominent  as  a  land  and 
corporation  attorney,  was  born  in  Iowa  county. 
Iowa,  on  the  i6th  of  June,  1867,  being  a  son  of 
I\I.  W.  and  Laura  R.  (Ricord)  Stover,  the  for- 
mer of  whom  was  born  in  Ohio  and  the  latter  in 
Iowa.  M.  W.  Stover  was  engaged  in  the  bank- 
ing business  at  Marengo,  Iowa,  for  many  years, 
was  a  man  of  marked  influence  and  sterling  char- 
acter, commanding  the  unequivocal  confidence 
and  esteem  of  all  who  knew  him.  At  the  time 
of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Twenty-second  Iowa  Volunteer  Infantrv. 
with  which  he  .saw  long  and  arduous  service,  and 
being  captain  of  Company  K  at  the  time  of  the 
battle  of  A^icksburg.  where  he  received  a  wound 
which  necessitated  the  amputation  of  his  right 
arm,  his  regiment  having  been  the  only  one  to 
enter  the  works  of  the  enemy  in  this  memorable 
conflict,  while  of  those  who  were  wounded  in 
the  regiment  in  that  engagement  he  was  the  one 
of  the  verv  few  to  survive.  Tliis  valiant  regiment 
placed  its  flag  on  the  works  and  there  main- 
tained it  for  seven  hours  during  the  sanguinary 
conflict  on  the  22d  of  May.  1863.  The  paternal 
grandfather  of  the  subject  was  George  Stovor. 
who  was  born  in  the  Shenandoah  vallev.  of  Vir- 


HISTORY    OF    SOUTH    DAKOTA. 


949 


ginia.  and  who  served  with  distinction  in  the  war 
of  1812,  while  his  father,  Colonel  Hiram  Stover, 
served  as  colonel  under  Washington  during  the 
war  of  the  Revolution,  so  that  it  will  be  seen 
tliat  our  subject  comes  of  patriotic  stock,  while 
he  himself  has  seen  military  service,  as  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  fourth  generation  of  the  family 
in  this  department  of  the  country's  service. 

Lee  Stover  received  his  early  educational  dis- 
cipline in  the  public  schools  of  Marengo,  Iowa, 
and  then  entered  the  Iowa  State  University,  at 
Iowa  City,  where  he  completed  the  scientific 
course  and  was  graduated  as  a.  member  of  the 
class  of  1887.  He  then  became  a  student  in  the 
law  department  of  the  same  institution,  and  was 
graduated  in  the  same  in  1880,  in  June  of  which 
year  he  came  to  Watertown,  South  Dakota,  and 
initiated  the  active  practice  of  his  profession,  his 
devotion  to  his  work  and  his  legal  acumen  and 
power  soon  gaining  him  representative  clientage. 
(In  the  1st  of  April,  1898,  Colonel  Stover  was 
appointed  register  of  the  United  States  land  of- 
fice, but  on  the  30th  of  the  same  month  he  re- 
signed the  office  to  accept  the  position  of  lieu- 
tenant colonel  of  the  First  South  Dakota  Volun- 
teer Infantry,  which  was  sent  to  the  Philippine 
Islands,  where  it  remained  in  active  service  until 
October,  1899.  The  subject  made  a  record 
worthy  of  the  name  he  bears,  was  known  as  a  bold 
and  fearless  commander,  was  loved  by  all  his 
men  and  revered  by  his  fellow  officers.  On  his 
return  to  Watertown,  at  the  expiration  of  his 
term  of  service  in  the  Orient,  Colonel  Stover  re- 
sumed the  practice  of  his  profession,  his  absence 
having  greatly  interfered  with  his  regular  work 
in  the  line,  but  he  .soon  regained  his  precedence 
and  today  controls  a  large  and  lucrative  practice. 
On  the  1st  of  November,  1899,  he  again  received 
appointment  as  register  of  the  land  office,  of 
which  position  he  has  since  been  incumbent,  giv- 
ing a  most  able  administration  of  its  affairs.  He 
served  four  years  as  state's  attorney  of  Coding- 
ton county,  and  is  known  as  a  strong  and  skill- 
ful advocate  and  prosecutor  and  a  counsellor  well 
grounded  in  the  science  of  jurisprudence  in  its 
various  branches.  Fraternally  he  is  a  Mason,  a 
Knight  of  Pythias  and  a  member  of  the  Inde- 


pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Benevolent 
and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen,  and  Modern  Woodmen  of 
America,  all  of  Watertown.  While  in  service  in 
the  Philippines  Colonel  Stover  was  one  of  the 
three  members  of  the  supreme,  or  provisional, 
court  of  the  island  of  Luzon,  and  while  there 
was  also  with  his  regiment  on  the  line  for  one 
hundred  and  twenty-six  days  and  nights  without 
lemoving  clothing,  shoes,  etc. 

On  the  nth  of  February,  1890,  at  Burling- 
ton, Wisconsin,  Colonel  Stover  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Maude  Newell  Gipson,  who 
was  born  and  reared  in  that  state.  Of  this  union 
have  been  born  two  children,  Walter  E.  and  Lee 
Rov. 


JAMES  S.  FOSTER,  first  superintendent  of 
public  instruction,  was  born  in  Salisbury,  Con- 
necticut, in  1828.  He  conducted  the  famous  New 
York  colony  to  Dakota  in  1864.  Was  superin- 
tendent of  schools  and  commissioner  of  immi- 
gration. He  was  accidentally  killed  by  the  dis- 
charge of  a  gun  at  Mitchell  in  1890. 


WILLIAM  ^^■.  WADDELL,  the  popular 
and  efficient  sheriflf  of  Codington  county,  is  a 
native  of  the  state  of  Illinois,  having  been  born 
in  the  city  of  Freeport  on  the  nth  of  Septem- 
ber, 1844,  and  being  a  son  of  William  G.  and 
Ann  Eliza  (Donaldson)  Waddell,  the  fonuer 
of  whom  was  born  in  Ohio  and  the  latter  in 
Indiana,  while  both  were  of  sterling  Scottish 
lineage.  The  father  of  our  subject  was  a  suc- 
cessful contractor,  being  engaged  in  business 
for  a  number  of  years  in  Freeport  and  later  in 
the  city  of  Chicago. 

The  subject  of  this  review  secured  his  edu- 
cational discipline  in  the  public  schools  of  his 
native  town,  being  graduated  in  the  high  school, 
after  which  he  was  employed  as  a  bookkeeper 
until  there  came  the  call  to  higher  duty,  when 
the  integrity  of  our  nation  was  thrown  into 
jeopardy  through  armed  rebellion.  Responding 
to  President   Lincoln's   first  call   for  volunteers. 


950 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


he  enlisted,  on  the  8th  of  Alay,  1861,  at  Free- 
port,  as  a  private  in  Company  A,  Forty-sixth 
Illinois  \'olunteer  Infantry,  with  which  he  pro- 
ceeded to  the  front,  while  at  the  expiration  of 
his  three  months'  term  he  re-enlisted  in  the  same 
company  and  reg-iment.  with  which  he  continued 
in  active  service  until  Januar\-  20.  1866.  when 
he  was  mustered  out  at  Baton  Rouge,  Louisi- 
ana, having  served  faithfully  and  valiantly  dur- 
ing practically  the  entire  period  of  the  great 
civil  conflict,  the  last  year  being  detached  as 
clerk  at  brigade  headquarters.  He  participated 
in  many  important  battles,  including  those  of 
Fort  Donelson,  Vicksburg,  and  Shiloh,  the  siege 
and  capture  of  Mobile,  etc.,  his  regiment  being 
under  command  of  Generals  Grant  and  Canby 
at  different  periods. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  Mr.  Waddell  re- 
turned to  Illinois,  where  he  was  connected  with 
various  enterprises  as  bookkeeper  until  1883, 
when  he  came  as  a  pioneer  to  Codington  county, 
where  he  has  ever  since  maintained  his  home, 
while  he  has  contributed  his  quota  to  the  prog- 
ress and  material  upbuilding  of  this  attractive 
.section  of  the  state.  For  nine  years  he  held  the 
position  of  deputy  sheriff  of  Codington  count^^ 
and  at  the  expiration  of  this  period,  in  the  fall  of 
1902.  he  was  elected  sheriff,  as  the  candidate 
on  the  Republican  ticket,  being  a  stanch  advo- 
cate of  the  principles  of  the  "grand  old  party," 
with  which  he  has  been  identified  since  he  at- 
tained his  legal  majority.  He  had  done  most 
eflfective  work  as  deputy  and  since  entering  upon 
the  office  of  sheriff  he  has  materially  added  to 
his  prestige  as  an  able  and  discriminating  officer, 
being  alert  and  imbued  with  great  daring  and 
courage,  so  that  his  name  is  one  which  is  held  in 
fear  by  malefactors,  in  whose  apprehension  he 
has  been  most  successful.  He  is  one  of  the  popu- 
lar citizens  of  Watertown  and  the  county,  and 
is  prominent  in  both  official  and  social  circles, 
while  he  commands  the  respect  of  all  who  know 
him.  Mr.  Waddell  has  been  identified  with  the 
Masonic  fraternity  for  the  past  thirty  years,  and 
has  attained  the  degrees  of  the  lodge,  chapter, 
council  and  commandery. 

In    Kasota.    Minnesota,    on    the    22d   of   De- 


cember, 1899,  ^Ir.  Waddell  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  i\Iittie  Whitford,  who  was  born 
and  reared  in  Minnesota,  and  they  have  two  chil- 
dren, Hazel  J.  and  Willard  W. 


EDWARD  C.  ADAMS,  ^I.  D.,  of  Water- 
town,  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  New  Jersey  and 
comes  of  distinguished  ancestry,  the  name  which 
he  bears  having  long  been  prominently  identified 
with  the  history  of  the  nation,  while  the  two  Pres- 
idents of  the  name  were  of  the  same  family  line. 
He  was  born  in  the  town  of  Hudson,  New  Jer- 
sey, on  the  20th  of  ^lay,  1855,  being  a  son  of 
Rev.  Edward  W.  and  Mary  P.  (Purdy)  Adams, 
his  father  being  a  widely  known  clergyman  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  a  descend- 
ant of  the  famous  Massachusetts  family  of  the 
name.  His  death  occurred  at  Aurora,  Illinois, 
as  the  result  of  an  accident,  in  February,  1904, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-four  years,  while  the  Doc- 
tor's mother  died  in  1902  at  Maywood,  a  suburb 
of  Chicago.  Rev.  Edward  Adams  came  to  Da- 
kota in  1885  and  devoted  two  years  to  establish- 
ing the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  throughout 
South  Dakota.  When  the  subject  was  a  child 
his  parents  removed  to  Illinois,  and  the  Doctor 
secured  his  early  educational  training  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  that  state,  later  attended  a  sem- 
inary in  Plainfield,  that  state,  and  after  a  pre- 
paratory course  at  Evanston.  he  entered  the  cel- 
ebrated Northwestern  University,  in  that  beau- 
tiful suburb  of  Chicago,  and  there  completed  the 
classical  course,  being  graduated  as  a  member  of 
the  class  of  1879  and  receiving  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Arts,  and  in  1882  the  degree  of  Mas- 
ter of  Arts  was  bestowed.  He  then  passed  two 
years  as  a  student  in  Jefferson  Medical  College, 
graduating  in  1881.  He  then  devoted  two  years 
to  hospital  work,  which  proved  of  inestimable 
value  to  him,  and  was  engaged  in  private  practice 
for  one  year,  when  he  took  a  course  in  Hahne- 
mann Medical  College,  Philadelphia,  graduating 
in  1886.  Soon  afterward  he  came  to  South  Da- 
kota and  located  in  Watertown,  where  he  has 
ever  since  maintained  his  home  and  where  he 
has  Iniilt  up  a  very  large  and  distinctively  rep- 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


resentative  practice,  the  while  gaining  high  pres- 
tige in.  professional  circles  in  the  state.  The  Doc- 
tor is  essentially  loyal  and  public-spirited  as  a 
citizen  and  shows  a  lively  interest  in  all  that 
makes  for  the  advancement  and  well-being  of 
the  city  and  state  of  his  adoption,  while  he  has 
served  in  various  city  and  county  offices  and  was 
for  nine  years  a  member  of  the  state  militia.  He 
is  a  stanch  Republican  in  his  political  proclivities 
and  is  identified  with  various  professional  so- 
cieties and  fraternal  organizations.  He  is  a  zealous 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
while  ^Irs.  Adams  is  active  in  the  Episcopalian 
church. 

In  Watertown,  on  the  20th  of  September. 
1892,  Dr.  Adams  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Marion  Flint,  who  was  bom  in  Iowa,  being  a 
daughter  of  Mortimer  D.  and  Ella  Flint.  To  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Adams  were  born  two  children,  Violet 
Marion,  who  died  January  9,  1900,  at  the  age  of 
eighteen  months,  and  Edward  M.,  who  was  born 
on  the  i6th  of  August,  1899. 


JOHN  CARI.YLE  SOUTHWTOK  is  one 
of  the  representative  business  men  of  Water- 
town,  where  for  fifteen  years  he  has  been  en- 
gaged in  the  abstract  business,  being  the  owner 
of  a  complete  set  of  abstracts  of  title  for  Cod- 
ington count}',  compiled  by  him  personally, 
under  a  system  of  his  origination,  the  excellence 
of  which  is  attested  by  the  fact  that  it  has  been 
adopted  by  many  abstracters  in  the  Northwest. 
Mr.  Southwick  is  a  representative  of  one  of 
the  honored  pioneer  families  of  this  section  of 
the  state,  and  is  a  native  of  the  city  of  Wauke- 
gan.  Lake  county,  Illinois,  where  he  was  bom 
on  the  28th  of  June,  1866,  being  a  son  of  John 
C.  and  Helen  M.  (Gates)  Southwick.  both  of 
whom  were  bom  and  reared  in  Chautauqua 
county.  New  York,  whence  they  removed  to 
Illinois  about  the  year  1852.  There  the  father 
engaged  in  general  mercantile  business  and  in 
1878  removed  to  Dakota  territory  and  took  up 
a  tract  of  government  land  in  Kingsbury  county, 
where  he  became  one  of  the  prominent  and  in- 
fluential   citizens   of   this   section,    having   taken 


up  his  residence  at  Arlington  in  1880,  and  hav- 
ing been  engaged  in  the  real-estate  and  loan 
business  there  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
on  the  4th  of  July,  1901. 

He  represented  Kingsbury  county  in  the  ter- 
ritorial legislature  in  1885,  and  was  an  active 
factor  in  public  atfairs  during  his  residence  here, 
having  been  a  staunch  Republican  in  politics. 
The  death  of  Helen  M.  Southwick  occurred 
June  6,  1888,  at  Waukegan,  Illinois,  where  she 
was  visiting  her  former  home. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  secured  his  early 
education  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  city, 
having  been  graduated  in  the  Waukegan  high 
school  in  1883,  on  the  seventeenth  anniversary 
of  his  birth.  In  the  following  August  he  joined 
his  parents  in  what  is  now  South  Dakota,  and 
in  the  next  few  years  familiarized  himself  with 
the  business  of  abstracting  titles  to  real  estate, 
having  been  employed  in  the  office  of  the  register 
of  deeds  of  Kingsbury  county,  and  later  by  the 
Kingsbury  County  Abstract  Company.  In  De- 
cember, 1889,  he  located  in  Watertown,  and  be- 
gan the  compilation  of  a  complete  set  of  ab- 
stracts from  the  records  of  Codington  county, 
and  in  1893  was  elected  register  of  deeds  for 
the  county,  serving  two  years  in  this  capacity, 
and  afterward  being  called  upon  to  serve  in 
j  other  municipal  and  county  offices.  He  takes 
a  prominent  part  in  public  affairs  of  a  local  na- 
ture, being  a  stalwart  Republican  in  his  political 
proclivities.  He  has  continued  in  the  abstract 
business  and  his  records  are  in  constant  and 
popular  use,  the  same  being  admirably  system- 
atized. 

Mr.  Southwick  is  one  of  the  most  prominent 
members  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  in  the  state, 
being  affiliated  with  Trishocotyn  Lodge,  No.  17, 
in  Watertown,  in  which  he  passed  the  various 
official  chairs,  attaining  the  honor  of  past  chan- 
cellor on  the  6th  of  July,  1893.  In  1894  he 
represented  his  lodge  in  the  grand  lodge  of  the 
state,  and  has  since  attended  every  session  of 
the  grand  lodge.  In  1895  he  was  elected  grand 
prelate  of  this  body,  and  in  1897  was  chosen 
grand  tribune,  while  in  the  following  year  he 
was  elected  (jfiief  tribune  of  the  grand  tribune 


952 


HISTORY   OF   SOUTH   DAKOTA. 


of  the  order,  retaining  this  office  until  the  meet- 
ing of  the  grand  lodge. in  1899,  when  he  re- 
signed to  accept  the  position  of  grand  keeper 
of  records  and  seal,  in  which  capacity  he  served 
the  order  until  1903,  when  he  was  elected  grand 
chancellor.  He  is  also  a  leading  member  and 
officer  of  Watertown  Lodge  No.  838,  of  the 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  Mr. 
Southwick  has  been  successful  in  his  business 
aflfairs  and  is  one  of  the  popular  young  men  of 
his  citA'  and  county.  He  is  the  owner  of  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  city  property,  including  the 
two-story  brick  block  on  the  corner  of  Coding- 
ton avenue  and  Oak  street,  where  his  offices 
are  located. 


HON.  JOHN  F.  SOPHY,  one  of  the  lead- 
ing business  men  and  popular  citizens  of  the 
thriving  city  of  Garretson,  is  a  native  of  OMario, 
Canada,  born  December  13,  1846,  near  the  town 
of  Prescott.  His  early  life  on  his  father's  farm 
was  devoid  of  any  particular  interest,  having 
been  spent  after  the  usual  manner  of  country 
lads,  working  in  the  fields  in  the  summer  time 
and  of  winter  seasons  attending  the  public 
schools.  When  about  eight  years  old  he  was 
taken  by  his  parents  to  Clinton  county,  Iowa, 
where  the  family  settled  in  the  fall  of  1854,  and 
from  that  time  until  1869  he  devoted  his  atten- 
tion to  agriculture  and  grew  to  manhood  well 
qualified  to  cope  with  the  varied  problems  which 
the  future  might  present.  Subsequently,  in  the 
fall  of  1871,  he  took  up  a  homestead  in  Plymouth 
county,  Iowa,  and,  addressing  himself  to  the 
task  of  improvement,  soon  had  a  goodly  portion 
of  the  land  under  cultivation  and  well  stocked 
with  cattle.  Mr.  Sophy  continued  to  live  in 
Plymouth  and  Woodbury  counties  until  1889, 
at  which  time  he  disposed  of  his  interest  in  the 
above  state  and  came  to  Garretson,   South  Da- 


kota, where  he  foimd  a  favorable  opening  for  a 
lumber  and  coal  yard.  After  devoting  his  at- 
tention for  one  year  to  these  lines  of  business, 
he  added  grain  and  live  stock  and  in  due  time 
built  up  a  large  and  lucrative  patronage,  sup- 
plying the  local  market  with  lumber  and  coal, 
and  shipping  vast  quantities  of  grain  and  a  great 
many  cattle  to  various  eastern  points.  Later  he 
disposed  of  his  lumber  and  coal  interests  and 
since  1896  has  given  his  attention  exclusively 
to  the  handling  of  grain  and  live  stock,  in  the 
buying  and  selling  of  which  he  has  a  large  and 
far-reaching  business.  In  addition  to  his  regu- 
lar business  in  Garretson  Mr.  Sophy  owns  and 
personally  manages  a  valuable  farm  of  two 
hundred  and  eighty  acres  a  short  distance  from 
the  town,  in  which  he  pastures  many  fine  cattle 
and  from  which  he  derives  no  small  part  of  his 
income.  In  many  respects,  he  is  a  typical  west- 
ern man,  in  that  he  is  energetic,  wide-awake  and 
fully  abreast  the  times,  taking  broad  views  of 
men  and  things,  and  manifesting  a  lively  con- 
cern in  whatever  makes  for  the  material  pros- 
perity of  his  city,  county  and  state.  In  1899 
he  was  elected  on  the  Democratic  ticket  to  the 
state  legislature,  where  he  achieved  honorable 
distinction  as  a  lawmaker,  and  he  has  also 
served  several  terms  as  mayor  of  Garretson,  dur- 
ing which  he  administered  the  municipal  govern- 
ment in  a  straightforward,  business-like  manner 
that  won  the  confidence  of  the  people  of  all 
parties  and  shades  of  political  opinion.  His  per- 
sonal relations  are  of  the  most  pleasant  and 
agreeable  character,  he  being  sociable  and  com- 
panionable to  an  eminent  degree,  and  few  men 
in  the  city  of  his  residence  enjoy  to  as  marked 
degree  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  com- 
munity. 

Miss  Anna  O.  Meara,  who,  on  November  24, 
1869,  became  the  wife  of  Mr.  Sophy,  was  bom 
August  17,  1851 ;  she  has  presented  him  with 
two  sons,  whose  names  are  John  F.  and  ]\Iyron  J. 


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