Trending
Red Letter Circus
By MERRY HELM
Aug. 14 -- Barrett's Red Letter Circus was in Bismarck during this week in 1887. Among the featured attractions were Master Albert, the Wizard-like "human fly;" Zolo, the human projectile; the three Bryant sisters, the only lady acrobats in the world; and Madame Duvall, the iron-jawed phenomenon, performing electrifying feats of strength.
Jo-Jo the Human Skye Terrier was described as: "A canine carved head, framed in fleecy, shimmering hair. In him reality outstrips exaggeration and dumbfounded science pronounces him the most wonderful and inexplicable mystery of life. Not an insipid idiot, but a bright, alert, vivacious being. By command of the Czar, he returns to St. Petersburg at an early day."
Resort on Devils Lake
By JIM DAVIS
Aug. 15 -- When the Devils Lake area was settled in 1883, the beautiful lake drew many people to its shores. In July of 1886, the local business and professional men of Devils Lake began a movement to establish a summer resort on the lake.
A site selection committee was formed and the spot chosen was along the straits that led from Creel Bay into Devils Lake Bay on land owned by Captain Jessie W. Palmer. Once the deed was transferred, men were immediately put work with scythes and axes to clear away the underbrush. The heavily wooded area was soon transformed into a delightful park with a canopy of large elm, ash and oak trees.
Lawrence Grant, a local contractor, was engaged to construct a building on a point of land overlooking the straits, from which the outline of Fort Totten could be seen ten miles distant on the south shore. The spot was also chosen because the point of land provided an area of shallow water for wading and a deeper area next to it for swimming in the water much touted for its medicinal qualities.
The shoreline also offered prime fishing for the abundant pike that filled the lake. With a sweeping view of the straits and of both bays, the location offered an excellent site for sailboats and the regattas that were bound to be held there. Another advantage of the location was that it was within four miles of the city and offered access by land or by water, with Captain Edward Heerman's line of steamers passing within a few hundred yards of the clubhouse every day.
With the steamboat Minnie H transporting the lumber at no charge, a 20- by 24-foot building was completed on this date, less than a month after the planning began. A few days later, the Minnie H steamed away from the city pier at 6:30 in the evening carrying approximately 125 passengers with a cornet band and violins playing.
Once at the clubhouse the lunch baskets were opened and dinner was served, followed quickly by an evening of dancing or strolling along the pebbly beach, listening to the gentle lapping of the waves upon the shore. At 11 o'clock the whistle of the Minnie H sounded an end to the evening's festivities and the guests embarked for the short trip back to the city. Thus 125 years ago, Devils Lake's first country club was dedicated.
Jefferson Plan
By LANE SUNWALL
Aug. 16 -- Part of Thomas Jefferson's plan, when sending the Corps of Discovery across the American continent, was to foster positive relationships with the American Indians encountered along the way. Initial contact between Lewis and Clark and Native Americans would be a crucial first step, but Jefferson hoped to further cement US-Indian relationships by inviting tribal leaders to Washington D.C. to introduce them to the wonders of American civilization and impress upon them the advisability of an alliance with the United States.
As Lewis and Clark struggled back towards St. Louis in the summer of 1806, they set the President's plan into motion, but delays meant there was little time to convince tribal leaders to accompany them. With the oncoming winter and an outbreak of tribal warfare along the Missouri involving the Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Assiniboine, Teton Sioux, and Blackfeet, the plan would be severely cut back. Thus, on this date in 1806, having already limited their ambitions, Lewis and Clark sent their interpreter and negotiator, Rene Jusseaume, to the Mandan nation, in the hopes of quickly convincing one of their chiefs to accompany the Corps back to Washington.
While relations with other tribes were unsteady, the Corp remained on good terms with the Mandan. Yet, given the rash of tribal warfare, a trip to the East was an uncertain and potentially dangerous prospect. The Mandan weighed the situation, and eventually Chief Sheheke agreed to make the hazardous journey.
With Sheheke and his family in tow, Lewis and Clark left for the East. While the situation was tense, the party avoided open conflict, receiving only a small show of defiance from the Teton Sioux. Rowing hard for home, the Corps of Discovery reached St. Louis on September 23rd, 1806.
Sheheke spent the next five months as a guest of the United States, reveled in American society and left convinced he was no longer the President's "son," but his "brother." While the chief's time in the East was the success Jefferson had hoped for, getting Sheheke back home was not a simple a matter. It would take two attempts, two years, an armed force of 600 soldiers, the lives of four men, and the reputation of Meriwether Lewis to return the Mandan chief to his home village.
Bismarck Bachelors' Club
By JIM DAVIS
Aug. 17 -- As the frontier pushed westward, the majority of those who participated were young men or married men with families. Few single women took up the challenge, so there was an extremely high ratio of single men to single women. On this date in 1883, John T. Steen of Bismarck, himself a married man who had enjoyed the blessings of a fine home and family, announced his plan to aid those lonely, less fortunate brothers in the city. He proposed the formation of the Bismarck Bachelors' Club to promote their mutual happiness.
Mr. Steen believed that by forming a supportive fraternal organization many an hour could be consumed with fun and good-natured discussion instead of "a gloomy reflection on the mistakes of the past," whereby the bewitching smile of some rosy-cheeked maiden was forever gone.
He invited all of the marriageable young men between the ages of 21 and 35, who were of good moral character, to form a club. Mr. Steen's plan was to give an encouraging word or a helping hand to, quote: "the many unfortunates who have drugged along for years in the lonely vale of celibacy."
The club was fairly unstructured. Nothing stronger than alcohol was allowed as a beverage, and a tax would be levied to cover the necessary expenses, including refreshments. No more than six members could hold the floor at one time, and the individual elected as chaplain was not allowed to pray more than three minutes. While all of this was tongue-in-cheek, Steen was serious about establishing the organization. As he put it, "nothing was so conductive to happiness as social gatherings and the nourishment of true friendships."
Although it was listed as a bachelors' club, the underlying tone was to encourage matrimony while providing comradeship until the event occurred. If such a club was to evolve, one of the commendable and elevating rules was that the first among their number to be married would be granted a handsome endowment, and the first child born would receive a stipulated sum from each of the members.
Although the Bismarck Bachelors' Club did nothing to reduce the ratio of men to women in the territory, it did fill the hours as they waited for some lovely damsel to fill the void in their hearts.
Maple Creek Crossing State Historic Site
By LANE SUNWALL
Aug. 18 -- While North Dakota is known for its beautiful, yet often dry prairies, the eastern edge of the state is bordered by a series of rivers. For early settlers of the Dakotas, these bodies of water proved to be a significant obstacle for travel, and bridges were simply unavailable. As a result, fords, shallow stretches in a river, provided easy access points by which people of all types could enter the Dakota plains. Among the most important of these fords was the Maple Creek Crossing; a gateway to the Northern Plains.
The first recorded crossing at the Maple Creek ford by Europeans was in 1822 when members of the Selkirk Colonies traveled east from the Pembina area towards Fort Snelling, now modern-day St. Paul, Minnesota. By 1843 a trade route was established using the Maple Creek ford. Oxcart teams regularly traversed the crossing, carrying goods between St. Paul and the western settlements of Pembina and St. Joseph along the Canadian border. Later, in 1853, the site was scouted by the governor of Washington Territory, General Isaac I. Stevens, as a possible route for a transcontinental railroad.
Yet, it was not just settlers, traders and developers who frequented the ford. The crossing was important for military expeditions and politics on the upper plains. In 1849 Major Samuel Woods traversed Maple Creek Crossing as the military worked to more firmly establish the country's position in the Red River Valley, maintain the perhaps grudging support of Metis settlers and local American Indians, and keep British interests out of American territory.
In 1851 Alexander Ramsey, the governor of Minnesota Territory, used the crossing on his way to negotiations with the Chippewa people to open their section of the Red River Valley to American settlement. And in 1863, General Sibley used the ford as he returned to Minnesota following his campaign through the Dakotas.
Today, the Maple Creek Crossing no longer serves as a central access point to the state. Bridges have since been built, circumventing the historic ford. Yet, the important role the site had in the development of the state is still remembered. The State Historical Society acquired the area on this date in 1956, and a stone marker stands at the site, informing visitors that they are now looking at the former gateway to North Dakota.
"Dakota Datebook" is a radio series from Prairie Public in partnership with the State Historical Society of North Dakota and with funding from Humanities North Dakota.