Frances Densmore

By CAROL WILSON

Sept. 4 — In the summer of 1912, two peculiar figures trekked across the Ft. Berthold Reservation wearing high-collared dresses and heavy petticoats in the hot summer sun. Ms. Frances Densmore and her sister Margaret stuck out like a sore thumb as they hauled ungainly machinery such as a typewriter, a phonograph, and camera equipment across the natives’ land.

It was unusual for any woman of the time to travel to a reservation unescorted. But Frances Densmore was not a typical woman. She was an amateur anthropologist who traveled throughout the United States to gather wax cylinder recordings of Native American songs for the Smithsonian’s Bureau of American Ethnology.

Ms. Densmore’s interest in Native American music was sparked as a young child when she and her family lived across the Mississippi River from a tribe of Sioux in Red Wing, Minnesota. “We could hear the throb of the drum when they were dancing,” wrote Densmore, “and sometimes we could see the flickering light of their campfire.”

Densmore went on to receive a formal education in piano and organ music at a conservatory, yet her fascination with Native American music never faded. At a time when Indians were considered strange and their music uncivilized, Densmore recognized the importance of music in understanding native culture. “Indian song, in my observation, is far from being a spontaneous outburst of melody,” wrote Densmore. “On the contrary there is around it the dignity and control which pervade the whole life of the race.”

On this date in 1912, Ms. Densmore was recording and preserving tribal songs of the Indians at the Ft. Berthold reservation. While at the reservation, she transcribed the phonograms into sheet music, and with the help of a native woman named Scattered Corn, she was also able to provide the English translations of the songs.

During her visits to North Dakota, Densmore recorded songs and interviews with such tribes as the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Teton Sioux. Some of Densmore’s best work came out of her research on the Dakota Sioux. For example, she managed to convince Sioux tribal members at the Standing Rock Reservation to talk on the phonograph about their sacred Sun Dance — a ceremony that had been outlawed by the U.S. government in 1882.

Densmore’s work is an early example of oral history recordings, an increasingly important part of historical preservation. Much of her North Dakota collection was donated to the State Historical Society, where it remains today.

The Lewis and Clark Bridge

Sept. 5 — The Missouri River was a formidable obstacle to travel in North Dakota. Travelers were thrilled when the situation was resolved. On this date in 1916, traffic in the Williston area saw a most welcome improvement. The Grand Forks Herald announced that both the old and the new channels of the Missouri River had been crossed at Williston using thirty-five boats and wooden planks to form a pontoon bridge. The project had been finished with remarkable speed, and there were no accidents during construction. Once the materials arrived, the bridge took only a week to complete. Hundreds of spectators arrived every day to watch the construction.

The bridge was located at the narrowest point of the river. This resulted in a shorter bridge of only 500 feet, but the river current proved to be a challenge. While the old channel was described as slow and sluggish, the current in the new channel was swift. That remains the case today. From the Fort Peck Dam to Williston, a distance of 145 miles, the river drops 188 feet, and the current can reach seven miles an hour.

Less than two years after construction, the current became too much for the bridge, and it was destroyed by flood in 1918. A new, more substantial structure was built in 1927, but it eventually proved inadequate for the load of heavier cars and trucks. It was replaced in 1973.

As traffic increased in the modern era, the need for a four-lane bridge became clear. The new Lewis and Clark Bridge is part of the U-S 85 Four Lane Project, which created thirty-three miles of four-lane roadway from Watford City to Williston. Originally scheduled for completion in 2016, the bridge was finally opened to traffic this year (2017) – a far cry from the rickety pontoon structure a century before.

Hale-ing a Mother’s advice

By LUCID THOMAS

Sept. 6 — The 2001-2002 season was a rough one for the UND hockey team. It was the first time since 1994 that they played a losing season, and the first time in five years that they did not make the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s final five tournament. Many factors played into this, such as a large number of rookies. However, there was also the rough patch for two of the players – brothers Ryan and David Hale.

Ryan and David were from Colorado Springs. They were good hockey players. When Ryan first arrived for the 1999-2000 season, he was on the team that won North Dakota’s seventh NCAA national championship. Brother David joined the team the following season, but only played eight games with his brother before Ryan suffered a shoulder injury and had to sit out the rest of the schedule, watching from the sidelines as David and the rest of the team lost in overtime to Boston in the championship.

Then a month later, David’s luck took an unfortunate turn when he developed a kidney condition that affected his play. But the biggest struggle for the brothers was the loss of their mother. Jennifer Enoch died on this date in 2001 after an eight-year struggle with breast cancer.

Encouraging words she wrote a year before addressed the family’s challenges:

Adversity into adventure

Criticism into compassion

Trouble into tenacity

Problems into positives

Opposition into opportunity

Slump into success

Sorrow into support

Mistakes into miracles

After their season of hardships, the boys took on leadership roles as the team rebounded with a winning record of 26 and 12.

Lifesaving Whiskey

By CAROLE BUTCHER

Sept. 7 — North Dakota is home to many types of snakes. The largest is the bullsnake. It averages 83 inches long. The record length is 93 inches. They would rather escape than attack. If cornered, a bullsnake will open its mouth, hiss, vibrate its tail, and appear ready to strike. Fortunately, bullsnakes aren’t venomous, but they’re often killed because they appear dangerous. Bullsnakes are most common in the western part of the state.

Also found in the west are racers, a fast snake that’s difficult to catch. They usually live near water.

Another North Dakota snake is the common garter snake. They can be found throughout the state, often in populated areas. They are harmless to people, but useful because they eat bugs.

The prairie rattlesnake is North Dakota’s only venomous snake. It’s found west of the Missouri River. It averages three feet in length, with the largest nearly five feet. The prairie rattlesnake is most commonly spotted in the spring and fall. Their most recognizable feature is the rattle on their tail. Some people think the size of the rattle indicates the age of the snake, but there’s actually no connection. The sound of the rattle is a warning and should be taken seriously. The snake can strike quickly and its venom can cause death. However, people should remember that snakes help control pests like mice, rats, and gophers.

On this date in 1908, Mr. Dreveskracht of Stanton was bitten on the wrist. He had come across several young snakes, and thought he would find a stick and kill them, but hadn’t noticed an older rattler. He was able to kill it when it struck, but too late – it had already bitten him. The Washburn Leader reported that Dreveskracht “happened to have a flask of whiskey in his pocket which no doubt saved his life.” It is not clear, however, if he poured the whiskey on the bite or if he drank it.

Portable Lungs

By MERRY HELM

Sept. 8 — The polio virus attacks nerves in the spinal cord, causing paralysis. Of crucial importance was the diaphragm, a muscle above the stomach that controls the lungs, which don’t have their own muscles. As the diaphragm moves up, it pushes air out, and when it moves down, air is sucked inward. If the polio virus attacks the diaphragm nerves, the patient can die of suffocation.

To combat this problem, Philip Drinker and Louis Shaw of the Harvard Medical School introduced the iron lung in 1928. This sealed, tank-like contrivance served as the first form of artificial respiration. Polio patients lay inside a chamber with just their head showing at one end. Inside, the machine worked much like the bellows of an accordion. A vacuum within the chamber allowed patients’ lungs to fill with air, and a subsequent cycle of pressure forced them to exhale.

By 1952, the reported cases of polio reached an all-time high, and the public was panicking. As with previous epidemics, people grasped at straws, trying to understand what caused the disease. Water was tested, and all possible remedies were tried. Parents were known to climb ladders to visit their quarantined children through hospital windows.

Victims with paralyzed lungs were completely dependent on mechanical breathing machines; if the electricity went out, their lives were in danger. Also, patients in iron lungs couldn’t be moved until a portable iron lung was invented in 1937. It could be switched to battery power in emergencies.

It was on this date in 1953 that Cass County got its first portable lung. It was given to St. Luke’s Hospital by the Fargo Kiwanis Club, which raised the money through a network of gumball machines. Before the machine could be officially presented, it was put into use by Dale Carlson, a 14-year-old patient who had been hospitalized in Devils Lake for weeks.

The Fargo Forum reported, “The portable lung consists of a large plastic case, covering the chest of the patient, connected to a respirator apparatus.” Indeed, the portable lung looked like a space-age device compared to its submarine-like predecessor.

Interestingly, the hospital’s iron lungs were maintained by the fire department … probably because they could also be used to revive victims of smoke inhalation.

“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.