Chapter IV: Highways and Trails (10)

GRANDIN, =146 m.= (898 alt., 172 pop.), is the largest of these towns. It was named for J. L. Grandin, one of the two Tidioute, Pa., brothers who bought 99 sections of Red River Valley land and farmed them under the bonanza system. Dividing their land into 1,500-acre farms, each with a superintendent and a foreman, they harvested their first crop in 1878. They had 14,000 acres under cultivation near Grandin, and 6,000 at Mayville. Before the advent of the railroad the wheat raised on their land was hauled on barges towed by the steamers _Grandin_ and _Alsop_ to Fargo, a distance of 90 m.--overland Grandin is 35 m. from Fargo. The Grandin farm was one of the earliest practical users of the telephone, although whether the first in the State was installed on this or the Dalrymple farm (_see Tour 8_) is in dispute.

GARDNER, =154.5 m.= (891 alt., 108 pop.), named for the town site owner, was founded in 1880 when the surrounding territory was being developed as wheat country, but was not incorporated village until 1929.

ARGUSVILLE, =161.5 m.= (889 alt., 115 pop.), is believed to have received its name from the _Daily Argus_, Fargo newspaper published at the time of the town's founding in 1880.

HARWOOD, =169 m.= (892 alt., 82 pop.), was named for A. J. Harwood, a prominent Fargo real estate dealer who bought all the town sites between Fargo and Grand Forks when the G. N. Ry. was built.

At =179.3 m.= is the junction with a graveled road.

Right on this road to HECTOR AIRPORT, =0.5 m.=, a U. S. Department of Commerce A-1 field, land for which was donated by Martin Hector, pioneer Fargo banker, in 1931. The buildings include a city hangar of laminated truss-arch construction, completed in 1936 under the Works Progress Administration.

FARGO, 181 m. (907 alt., 28,619 pop.) (_see_ FARGO).

_Points of Interest_: North Dakota Agricultural College, Veterans'
Hospital, Dovre Ski Slide.

At Front and 13th Sts. is the junction with US 10 (_see Tour 8_).

The WILD RICE RIVER, which the route crosses at =188 m.=, was named for the wild grain which formerly grew on its banks. Near here, in a battle between the Sioux and Chippewa in 1807, Tabashaw, a Chippewa chief, was slain while avenging the death of his eldest son, who had been killed a short time before by the Sioux.

At =189 m.= is the junction with a dirt road.

Right on this road is HOLY CROSS CEMETERY, =0.3 m.=, one of the first cemeteries in the State, established in 1862. The first burial here is said to have been that of a priest who had been beheaded by an Indian. Another victim of frontier tragedy whose body rests here was Archibald Montrose, a young English nobleman who came to America to establish a home. He was found frozen within a few rods of his own door during a blizzard in 1871. His devoted young wife ordered a covered shelf built on the outside wall of their cabin beneath her bedroom window, and had his coffin placed there. In the spring, when the ground had thawed sufficiently to permit the digging of a grave, she unwillingly consented to the burial of her husband's body. Soon afterward their baby daughter, born after the father's death, died also, and the mother, her mind affected by the grief of her bereavements, joined them in the nearby burial ground. For many years a large wooden cross marked the spot where Montrose died.

WILD RICE, =191 m.= (909 alt., 35 pop.), is the center of a French-Canadian farming community.

HICKSON, =196 m.= (915 alt., 100 pop.), is named for the Ole Hicks family who were early farmers in the vicinity.

At =198.5 m.= is the junction with ND 46, a graveled highway.

Right on this highway to a bridge crossing the SHEYENNE RIVER, =9 m.= On the bridge a tablet has been placed reading: "Sibley Trail 1863. Sibley's Indian Expedition crossed the Sheyenne at this point Aug. 20, returning from the Missouri to Fort Abercrombie."

At =9.5 m.= is the junction with a graveled spur.

Right on this road to KINDRED, =1 m.= (948 alt., 429 pop.), a tree-shaded town named for F. E. and W. A. Kindred, surveyors who platted the town site and later were large landholders in the vicinity. The community is principally Scandinavian. An interesting COLLECTION (_open by arrangement_) of European museum pieces and Indian artifacts is owned by Hjalmer Rustad of Kindred, and is kept at his home.

ND 46 traverses a low range of sandy hills, the western rim of glacial Lake Agassiz. At =19 m.= is the junction with a dry-weather dirt road. Left on this road at =26.5 m.=, just across the river to the SHEYENNE RIVER PARK (_central building of native logs, spring-fed swimming pool, five picnic areas, cabins, and camp sites_), under development (1938) as a recreational center by a Federal land utilization project. The park includes an area of unusual scenic attraction. A road winds along the heavily wooded river bottom, and side roads and graveled trails lead out of the valley to the sand dunes which stretch away to the S. The great plain here was deposited in glacial days, when the rushing Sheyenne, then a large stream carrying the sediment-laden waters of the melting ice sheet, flowed into Lake Agassiz. As the lake retreated the sand was left to the winds, which pushed and whipped it into dunes that dip away toward the horizon. Hummocks of trees and shrubs appear like green islands in this wide sea of dull brown. In some places, to combat the moving sand, elm and oak bark has been laid lengthwise in the road to preserve the trail.

CHRISTINE, =204.5 m.= (926 alt., 204 pop.), has a population 95 percent Scandinavian. When Christine Nilsson, the noted Swedish operatic soprano, appeared in the United States in 1873, she was honored by American Scandinavians, who named this town for her. A COLLECTION (_open by arrangement_) of pioneer implements, including spinning wheels, brass kitchen utensils, and relics from Fort Abercrombie, is owned by Dr. M. U. Ivers.

ABERCROMBIE, =212.5 m.= (935 alt., 242 pop.), is a typically peaceful small town on the banks of the Red River. The air of serenity which lies over its tree-lined streets and substantial homes is in decided contrast with the bustling activity of the settlement which surrounded the pioneer post of Fort Abercrombie, first Federal fort in North Dakota, built in 1858. It was named for Lt. Col. John J. Abercrombie, officer in charge of its erection. The most westerly outpost of the settlers' advance during the 1860's, Fort Abercrombie became the gateway to the Dakotas. From here expeditions set out to the unexplored plains of the Northwest, and trains of settlers left by oxcart and covered wagons to seek homes on the prairie beyond.

It was between Fort Abercrombie and Fort Garry that the first steamboat to ply the waters of the Red River of the North carried passengers and freight. Built in Georgetown in 1859, the _Anson Northrup_, named for its owner, who hauled the machinery overland from the Mississippi River, made its maiden trip to the Canadian post the same summer.

Because of its position on the outskirts of the white settlement, Fort Abercrombie was particularly vulnerable to Indian attacks, and during the Minnesota uprising of 1862 was besieged for five weeks by the hostile Sioux. The first attack, September 3, was repulsed with the loss of one man. At the close of this encounter the defenders discovered that only 350 rounds of rifle ammunition remained--- a supply had been ordered in the spring but had not arrived. The ingenuity of the garrison was exercised; canister shells for the 12-pound howitzers contained balls which fitted the rifles, so the women in the fort were put to work opening the canisters. The makeshift ammunition served its purpose well.

The fort had no stockade; consequently, after the first attack, the defenders threw up around the entire fort a cordwood breastwork 8 ft. high. In the meantime messengers had slipped through the Indian lines to summon aid from Fort Snelling at Minneapolis. On September 6 a force estimated at 400 warriors again attacked the fort, but was driven back after a long fight in which two soldiers were killed and many wounded. The Indians made no more determined attacks on the fort, but continually harassed the beleaguered settlers with desultory sniping until the arrival of a detachment of 350 infantrymen from Fort Snelling relieved the garrison September 23.

In November of the same year 10 acres of the fort reserve were enclosed by a heavy oak-log stockade with blockhouses at three corners, and about the same time a larger garrison was stationed at Abercrombie. It was from this enlarged post that the Sibley expedition set forth to punish the Sioux the following summer (_see_ HISTORY). The enlarged garrison was maintained until the abandonment of the fort in 1877. During the 1870's Fort Abercrombie was the point from which trails led W. to Forts Totten, Ransom, Wadsworth, and Garry, and many a train of home seekers or gold seekers spent a few days there before embarking on the hazardous trip through Dakota.

Fort Abercrombie in 1870 was the scene of a treaty between the Chippewa and Sioux, concluded through the influence of Father J. B. Genin, a Roman Catholic priest. After this treaty the eastern part of the Territory was comparatively free from fear of Indian attacks.

FORT ABERCROMBIE STATE PARK, on the eastern edge of the town, preserves 7 acres of the original 7 sq. m. of military reservation. The park lies along the river, and its natural beauty makes it a pleasant recreation center. An old cabin in the park houses a collection of early-day relics. Nearby stands a Red River oxcart whose wooden wheels once creaked over the old river trail before the days of railroads and highways.

DWIGHT, =224 m.= (959 alt., 104 pop.), was named for Jeremiah W. Dwight, head of a large bonanza farm company organized here in 1879, and was the home of John Miller, first Governor of North Dakota. Miller was superintendent of the Dwight Farm and Land Company, which operated 27,000 acres, and was established with a cash capital of $150,000. The MILLER RESIDENCE (_private_), former home of the family, is R. of US 81 in the southeastern corner of the village.

At =227.5 m.= is the junction with ND 13, a graveled highway.

Right on this road is MOORETON, =7 m.= (966 alt., 147 pop.). Here is the headquarters farm of F. A. Bagg, one of the largest landowners in the Red River Valley. He maintains three airplanes in a hangar on his farm and supervises his holdings by air.

WAHPETON (Sioux, _village of the leaves_), =233 m.= (969 alt., 3,176 pop.), is at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux (Fr., _forest of the Sioux_) and Ottertail Rivers, where the two streams meet to form the Red River of the North. From 1871 to 1893 the town was known as Chahinkapa (Sioux, _top of the trees_), an old Indian name given this area by the Sioux who, coming from the W. to fight the Chippewa, would here see the tops of the trees appear over the level prairie.

Alexander Faribault, for whom Faribault, Minn., was named, has told of visiting the present site of Wahpeton in 1810 when 3,000 Indians were encamped and engaged in hunting buffalo and drying the meats for food. At that time the grasslands along the Red River were black with bison, who summered on the grazing lands here, and wintered on the uplands of the Missouri Slope W. of the Missouri River.

That politics was a momentous vocation when Wahpeton was a young county seat is indicated in this political advertisement in an 1880 issue of the Richland County _Gazette_:

"Republicans of Richland County, please remember and vote for me
on election day. Come old and young, father and son, one and all
and vote for me. Do not look on money or on the rich man but on an
honest man. I have come to this lovely country and have made my
happy home and I will be a good citizen of Richland County. You
know I am a candidate for County Treasurer of Richland County. Come
and spend the whole day on election day and vote for me. We are all
brothers and sisters. It makes no difference whether a man is rich
or poor, if he is honest; then he is a good man. Come all and see
me on election day, in our nice town of Wahpeton."

The RICHLAND COUNTY COURTHOUSE here, built in a modified Classic style with a cupola, is considered a good example of the official buildings in this State. The first floor exterior is of Kettle River sandstone, with upper stories and dome of Bedford limestone. Across the street from the courthouse is the LEACH PUBLIC LIBRARY, a light-colored brick and sandstone building presented to the city in 1923 by Mr. and Mrs. O. A. Leach, Wahpeton residents since 1896. The library contains 14,000 volumes.

In the northern part of Wahpeton are the STATE SCHOOL OF SCIENCE and the U. S. INDIAN SCHOOL. The science school is a vocational institution and junior college with a trades educational program that has received recognition outside the State. Near the entrance to the landscaped campus is a cast bronze life-size bust of the Norwegian poet-dramatist Henrik Ibsen, the work of Jacob Fjelde, distinguished Norwegian sculptor who made his home in Minneapolis from 1877 until his death in 1896. Another portrait of Ibsen in Como Park in St. Paul, Minn., is also the work of Fjelde; these are said to be the only statues of Ibsen in the U. S. The bust at Wahpeton was a gift to the city and Richland County from the Norwegian people of the county, and was unveiled at ceremonies held on Norwegian Independence Day, May 17, 1912. The figure stands on a tapering rough-hewn 8-foot granite pedestal.

The Indian school consists of 40 red-brick buildings housing 300 students, mainly Sioux and Chippewa from reservations in North and South Dakota and Minnesota. In addition to academic work through the ninth grade, vocational training in farm methods is taught the boys, while the girls receive instruction in home economics and sanitation.

CHAHINKAPA PARK, in the northeastern part of Wahpeton, lies between the high banks of the old bed of the Red River and the present channel, its inviting woods cut off from the mainland by meandering lagoons. Improvements and recreational facilities (_swimming pool, playgrounds, athletic field_) by Federal agencies were completed under the Works Progress Administration (1937).

Wahpeton was the home of the late U. S. Senator Porter J. McCumber, who gained national recognition for his work on the Fordney-McCumber Tariff Bill.

The route leaves Wahpeton by way of 2nd St., and for 5 m. follows a winding course parallel to the Bois de Sioux. This portion of the highway runs over a trail used in 1823 by the military expedition of Maj. Stephen H. Long sent to establish the Canadian boundary, and still later as a freight route between St. Cloud, Minn., Fort Abercrombie, and Pembina in the 1860's and 1870's.

FAIRMOUNT, =247.5 m.= (985 alt., 611 pop.), named for Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, Pa., was platted in 1887 until which time it was known as Michigan Settlement because many of its settlers came from that State. Of interest in the town is the widely known SERMON IN STONE, an obelisk erected in St. Anthony's Roman Catholic churchyard by Rev. G. C. Bierens. Stones and ores, some semiprecious, have come from all parts of the world to be patterned into this bright-colored shrine. The Ten Commandments, Faith, Hope, and Charity, the Trinity, the Sacraments, and many other abstractions are symbolized in stone.

Father Bierens is an authority on bird life in the Red River Valley, and operates a U. S. Biological Survey BIRD BANDING STATION (1937), one of the few in the State. Since he began the work in 1928 he has banded more than 10,000 birds, never less than 1,000 a year, and as many as 70 species in one season, not including field and shore or water birds. In April 1935 he banded the first European starling caught in North Dakota.

At the F. P. Nelson store in Fairmount is a COLLECTION (_open by arrangement_) of Indian artifacts and of firearms, including a Chinese gun made in 1526.

Right from Fairmount on ND 11, a graveled road, is HANKINSON, =11 m.= (1,068 alt., 1,400 pop.), named for R. H. Hankinson, town site owner. Here are the CONVENT AND ACADEMY OF THE SISTERS OF ST. FRANCIS, the mother house of the order in the United States. This order was established in Germany in 1241. The convent and academy, founded in 1927-29, are housed in a three-story Renaissance-style building of tapestry brick trimmed in Indiana limestone. In a niche over the entrance is a statue of St. Francis, carved in Danube limestone by the Joseph Mueller Art Institute of Munich, Germany, and donated to the order.

South of Fairmount the distant Coteau des Prairies is visible (R). Back in these hills, which form part of the watershed between the Gulf of Mexico and Hudson Bay, live the Sioux Indians of the Sisseton Reservation, a triangular section of which juts into the State from South Dakota.

At =256.5 m.= US 81 crosses the North Dakota Line, 106 m. N. of Watertown, S. Dak. (_see S. Dak. Tour 10_).

SIDE TOUR 1A

Junction US 81--Mayville--Portland--Hatton. ND 7 & 18.

Junction with US 81 to Hatton, 27 m.

G. N. Ry. branch line parallels route between Mayville and Hatton.

Graveled roadbed entire route.

Accommodations in principal towns.

This short route traversing a fertile farming area twice crosses the Goose River, which the French Canadians who first explored it called Rivière Aux Outardes (_River of the Geese_), because of the great number of wild geese that nested on its banks. The route proceeds along the western edge of glacial Lake Agassiz. The rich, black soil--a sandless, clayey silt, peculiar to western States and locally known as gumbo--becomes a muggy, sticky mass when wet. Before the era of graveled highways, travel was virtually impossible after even the lightest rainfall, as wagon or automobile wheels became clogged with the heavy, gummy earth; even today this is true on unimproved roads.

ND 7 branches W. from US 81 (_see Tour 1_) 5 m. S. of Cummings.

MAYVILLE, =12 m.= (891 alt., 1,199 pop.), was named for May Arnold, first white child born in the Hudson's Bay Co. trading post established near the present town site in the early 1870's. It is a small, tree-shaded, staid college town on the banks of the Goose River. First settled in 1881, it was moved to the railroad which was built through here in 1883. In that year Mayville and Portland conspired to win the county seat for a new town, Traill Center, platted midway between the two older towns, planning that if their candidate won the election the three towns would merge into one city. So brisk was the campaign that the ballots cast outnumbered the legal voters, and Traill Center won 2,011 to 450. The election was contested, however, and while the case was in litigation the Territorial legislature transferred the two western tiers of townships in Traill County to Steele County. This lost Traill Center its strategic position and with it the county seat.

MAYVILLE STATE TEACHERS COLLEGE, in the northern part of the town, founded in 1889, held its first classes in 1893. When Gov. Roger Allin in 1895 vetoed funds for operating the colleges in North Dakota, enterprising citizens kept the schools open by popular subscription. Bud Reeves, wealthy Minneapolis man who pioneered at Buxton and later became a political figure in the State (_see Tour 1_), was one of the leaders in the drive for funds to support the schools. In one day he collected $2,000 from heads of large Minneapolis grain firms.

On the college campus is a log cabin built in 1879 and used as the first schoolhouse in the Mayville area.

ALM'S PARK, on the eastern edge of the city, is a tourist park and camp; ISLAND PARK, in the western part, is a recreational center. RAILROAD PARK, E. of the Great Northern depot, contains a tall marble pillar on which is a bronze plaque bearing a relief of Bjornstjerne Bjornson, famed Norwegian author. The plaque is the work of Paul Fjelde, who once attended the Valley City Teachers College (_see Tour 8_).

In Mayville is the home of Rev. and Mrs. A. M. West, parents of the etcher Levon West (1900-), who has also won recognition for photography under the pseudonym of Ivan Dmitri.

At the western end of the long business street of PORTLAND, =14.5 m.= (987 alt., 500 pop.), is the gravel ridge of CAMPBELL'S BEACH, second hump of sand laid down in prehistoric times by the retreating waters of Lake Agassiz. Portland has four producers and consumers cooperatives--an oil company, elevator, creamery, and store. Across the street from a large Lutheran church in the western part of the town stand the now unused buildings of BRUFLAT ACADEMY, one of the first private educational institutions in the State, established by the local Lutheran Church in 1889. Portland and vicinity were first settled in 1871, and the place became a boom town when the railroad arrived in 1881.

At =19 m.= is the junction (R) with ND 18, a graveled highway on which the route proceeds N.

At =24 m.= is the junction with a county dirt road.

Left on this road to the THORVAL STAVENS FARM, =1 m.=, where the success story of an outstanding but nevertheless typical Norwegian immigrant family is told by the buildings ranging from the lowly sod house of Hans Anderson Stavensbraaten, who homesteaded here in 1870, to the 15-room home and the airplane hangar of his grandson, Thorval Stavens. The original family home and its contents are preserved as a MUSEUM. Across the road is the first school in the district, built in 1879.

HATTON, =27 m.= (1,085 alt., 804 pop.), named for Frank Hatton, Third Assistant Postmaster General when the town was founded in 1882, is at the southern end of the Elk River Delta, a rich, fertile deposit laid down in ancient times as the waters of the melting glacier flowed into Lake Agassiz.

Hatton was the birthplace and boyhood home of Col. Carl Ben Eielson (1897-1929), pioneer Alaskan aviator. Eielson left the University of Wisconsin to enlist in the Army Air Service in 1916. Following the World War he barnstormed in North Dakota and neighboring States in a plane purchased for him by friends in the vicinity of Hatton. In 1922 he went to Alaska where he pioneered in aviation and flew the first air mail in the Territory. His experience as an Arctic flyer drew the attention of the English explorer Sir Hubert Wilkins, and in 1928 the pair made their flight across the top of the world from Point Barrow to Spitzbergen. When Wilkins gave his attention to the Antarctic, Eielson piloted him on several flights over that continent. He returned to Alaska in 1929 and late that year was killed while attempting to save the passengers and cargo of the ice-bound ship _Nanuk_ off North Cape, Siberia. He had already made one trip to the ship, bringing back six passengers and part of the fur cargo, when a fierce storm took its toll. Eielson and his mechanic, Earl Borland, crashed, and it was more than a month before their bodies were found in the wreckage of their plane. Eielson's body was returned with honors to Hatton, where it was interred in the family plot, marked with an unpretentious stone. In the CITY HALL is the _Alaskan_, a plane he used in his explorations with Wilkins in 1926, and at the ELMER OSKING HOME is a collection of the many medals he received. A part of the fin of the Hamilton all-metal plane in which he died is displayed in the museum of the State historical society (_see_ BISMARCK).

TOUR 2

(Brandon, Man., Can.)--Hansboro--Cando--Minnewaukan--Jamestown--
Edgeley--Ellendale--(Aberdeen, S. Dak.). ND 4 & US 281.

Canadian boundary to South Dakota Line, 253 m.

Branch of G. N. Ry. parallels route between Cando and Churchs
Ferry, branch of N. P. Ry. between Brinsmade and Jamestown, Midland
R. R. between Jamestown and Edgeley.

Graveled roadbed entire route except for 3 m. dirt grade from
Canadian boundary to Hansboro.

Accommodations in principal towns.

South of the international boundary the route traverses an uneven terrain formed by mighty glaciers as they retreated across the region during the ice age. It passes Devils and Arrowood Lakes and crosses the pleasant wooded valleys of the Sheyenne and James Rivers. Between the groves and farmhouses along the way are thousands of acres of open fields and grasslands. Brown and black in spring, these soon turn green with the crops of wheat, oats, barley, corn, and cultivated grasses grown in this diversified farming area. The southern part of the route passes through some of the best pheasant-hunting country in the State, while grouse and duck are also plentiful.

ND 4 crosses the Canadian boundary, =0.0 m.=, 8 m. S. of Cartwright, Man., Canada.

HANSBORO, =3 m.= (1,595 alt., 176 pop.), is named for Henry Clay Hansbrough, the first Representative (1889-91) sent to Congress from North Dakota, and later U. S. Senator (1891-1909). The town is a port of entry, and the U. S. customhouse is here.

At =15 m.= is the junction with ND 5 (_see Tour 5_), a graveled highway, which between this point and =20 m.= is identical with ND 4.

ROCK LAKE, =21 m.= (1,548 alt., 279 pop.), is on the southern end of the long, narrow, fresh-water lake of the same name. The U. S. Biological Survey has created a migratory waterfowl sanctuary by constructing a large, earthfill dam on the lake just NE. of town. Overflow from the water impounded will be sufficient to raise the levels of a number of smaller lakes in the area. At Rock Lake is a junction (L) with ND 5 (_see Tour 5_).

At =35 m.= is a junction with a county road.

Left on this road to SNYDER LAKE, =3 m.=, a recreational center (_swimming and picnicking facilities_).

CANDO, =44.5 m.= (1,486 alt., 1,164 pop.), received its name at a county commissioners' meeting in 1884, when, during the heat of an argument over the selection of the Towner County seat, P. P. Parker, chairman of the board, called out above the confusion, "There has been much talk about our not having power to locate this county seat where we see fit. But we'll show you that we can do it. And furthermore, just to show you what we can do, we'll name this county seat 'Can-do.'"

Left from Cando on ND 17, a graveled highway, to a DUNKER (Dunkard) COLONY, =8 m.= (about 100 members), the first settlement of this religious organization in the State. The sect, known officially as the German Baptist Brethren, originated in Germany in 1708. Shortly thereafter its members began to come to Pennsylvania, whence they spread westward. The group at Cando was brought in by the G. N. Ry. in 1894 to aid in colonizing the land along their route. The practices and tenets of the Dunkers (Ger., _those who dip or immerse_) are similar to those of the Baptists. Older members still retain many of the early customs of plain dress, no jewelry or other adornment, simple living, and no form of insurance; the women wear the small lace prayer cap for church attendance. A harvest festival in early October has become an outstanding holiday of the church life.

MAZA, =53.5 m.= (1,463 alt., 70 pop.), is the center of a wheat-producing and stock-raising community. The derivation of the name of the town is not definitely known, but is believed to have been from _maize_, the Indian word for corn.

At =54 m.= is the junction with a graveled county road.

Left on this road is LAC AUX MORTES (Fr., _lake of the dead_), =4.5 m.=, named by French trappers who visited the region in the early 1860's. Indian tradition says that one winter during a severe smallpox epidemic the dead were so numerous that the trees were filled with bodies. Fire destroyed the woods a few years later. At the present time (1938) the lake is nearly dry.

At =59 m.= is the junction with US 2, which unites with US 81 between this point and =66 m.=

Between BRINSMADE, =72 m.= (1,560 alt., 199 pop.), named for a noted Congregational minister, the Rev. S. Brinsmade, of Beloit, Wis., and MINNEWAUKAN (Sioux, _spirit water_), =84 m.= (1,458 alt., 480 pop.), the road makes several sharp, right-angle turns, necessitating cautious driving. Minnewaukan, the Benson County seat, during its early years stood on the western shore of Devils Lake, and there was a steamboat landing on the eastern edge of town, where the Benson County fairgrounds now stand. The shore line of the lake has receded, however, and for many years the water has not reached within several miles of this point.

South of Minnewaukan the road skirts land that was the bed of Devils Lake when that body of water was truly an inland sea, and crosses drift prairie, from which the chain of high morainic hills bordering Devils Lake is visible (L) in the distance, and reaches the pretty valley of the SHEYENNE RIVER, named for the Cheyenne (Sioux, _people of alien speech_) Indians. Early explorers misspelled the name, changing C to S--an error that aids in distinguishing this river from the Cheyenne of South Dakota. In crossing the stream here the route descends into the valley over terraces cut by glacial waters thousands of years ago.

SHEYENNE, =105.5 m.= (1,476 alt., 417 pop.), on the river, originally was a mile and a half from its present site, and was moved when the survey for the N. P. Ry. was made.

NEW ROCKFORD, =116 m.= (1,533 alt., 2,195 pop.), on the James River approximately 25 m. from its source, was first called Garrison, later Rockford, and still later, with the coming of the N. P. Ry., New Rockford. It is the Eddy County seat and the home of Ole H. Olson, a Governor of the State (1934).

LAW BUILDING, UNIVERSITY, GRAND FORKS]

ROOSEVELT MONUMENT, MINOT]

BARLOW, =124 m.= (1,537 alt., 322 pop.), was named for its founder, F. G. Barlow, who as a member of the first North Dakota Legislature (1889) fought the Louisiana Lottery bill (_see_ HISTORY).

CARRINGTON, =132.5 m.= (1,579 alt., 1,717 pop.), is named for M. D. Carrington, who platted the city in 1882, and gave sites for the school, churches, and Foster County Courthouse. It has a 10,000-volume MUNICIPAL LIBRARY in the City Hall on Central Ave. and 1st St. N. On the western side of town is a landscaped and well-equipped tourist camp. Here is a junction with US 52 (_see Tour 7_), which unites with US 281 between this point and Jamestown.

MELVILLE, =142 m.= (1,597 alt., 50 pop.), was originally laid out as New Port, but because of a disagreement over the price of the site the railway company moved the town one-half mile W. and called it Melville.

At EDMUNDS, =149 m.= (1,594 alt., 100 pop.), is the junction with a graveled county road.

Left on this road to ARROWOOD LAKE, =6 m.=, the largest of the chain of three lakes through which the James River flows. Before white settlement the Indians came here from great distances to obtain Juneberry shoots for their arrow shafts. On the southeastern shore is a CCC CAMP, and on the western shore the buildings of the ARROWOOD MIGRATORY REFUGE. This reserve is highly valued by the Biological Survey as a summer breeding ground, and is an important feeding place for pelicans.

PINGREE, =155 m.= (1,547 alt., 266 pop.), was named for Hazen Senter Pingree, who, with a rack and wagon and a team of oxen, came to Dakota Territory in 1880 to start a potato plantation. His venture was a failure, so he went to Michigan, where he became an important shoe manufacturer, was made mayor of Detroit, and twice served as Governor of the State (1897-1900).

BUCHANAN, =163 m.= (1,546 alt., 150 pop.), was named for its founder, James A. Buchanan, a prominent early settler.

South of Buchanan the route continues over rolling terrain toward the valley of the James River, a steep-sided, flat-bottomed trough, approximately a mile wide.

JAMESTOWN, =176 m.= (1,405 alt., 8,187 pop.) (_see Tour 8_).

_Points of Interest_: Jamestown College, State Hospital for the
Insane, Fort Seward State Park.

At 5th Ave. and 3rd St. is the junction with US 10 (_see Tour 8_).

The area L. of the route here was once the scene of one of those devastating prairie fires that terrorized and impoverished the early farmers of the Plains States. This blaze, which began Sept. 25, 1888, swept the entire region from near Jamestown to LaMoure.

"A heavy and smoke laden atmosphere and a sky streaked with a
dull red reflection of burning grass proclaimed the fierce raging
of prairie fires north, south and west of the city last night,"
reported the Jamestown _Daily Alert_.... "For at least 40 miles
in width the fire burned off every vestige of grass unprotected by
breaks. One could hardly recognize the charred land the next day.
Thousands of bushels of grain were burned and many men lost all
they had, grain, buildings and stock."

EDGELEY, =215 m.= (1,565 alt., 821 pop.), was named by Richard Sykes, once owner of the site, for his former home in England. It is the meeting point of an N. P. Ry. branch line, a branch of the Milwaukee R. R., and the Midland main line.

From Edgeley to the South Dakota Line, the hills of the Missouri Plateau loom (R) in the distance.

At =237 m.= is a junction with a graveled county road.

Left on this road to WHITESTONE HILL BATTLEFIELD STATE PARK, =16 m.=, where Gen. Alfred Sully and his command met a band of Sioux Indians on the evening of Sept. 3, 1863, in the most severe engagement fought on North Dakota soil since the coming of the white man. A granite monument 25 ft. in height, bearing the figure of a mounted cavalryman, has been erected about three-fourths of a mile NW. of the site of the battle. Reinterred about the base of the monument, each with an appropriate marker, are the remains of the soldiers who died here. Generals Sully and Sibley had been sent out from Minnesota to punish the Indians who had taken part in the Minnesota Massacre of 1862. Sully was to move up the Missouri, while Sibley marched W. across the country. When Sully, delayed by low water, arrived in the neighborhood of present Bismarck, where he was to meet Sibley, he found the latter had given up the idea of the proposed meeting and started on the return journey to Minnesota. He also discovered that the Sioux, who had fled over the Missouri upon Sibley's approach, had now recrossed to their old hunting grounds on the James River. He immediately set out in pursuit, and overtook them in a three-day march. The Indians retreated while the soldiers, on higher ground, poured in a murderous fire. Sully's casualties were 34 men wounded and 19 killed, while the Indian loss was estimated at 150. It is now believed that the Sioux encountered here did not take part in the Minnesota Massacre. The perpetrators of the massacre were known to have fled W., however, and it was natural for the soldiers to regard any Indians they met as enemies.

ELLENDALE, =248 m.= (1,448 alt., 1,264 pop.), named for Ellen Dale Merrill, wife of a Milwaukee R. R. official, is the Dickey County seat. At the end of Main St. on the eastern edge of the trim little town, attractively arranged on a well-kept campus, are the six brick buildings of the STATE NORMAL AND INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL, a teachers college and vocational institution. When it opened its doors in 1889 it offered the first free course in manual training in the United States.

At =253 m.= US 281 crosses the South Dakota Line, 35 m. N. of Aberdeen, S. Dak. (_see S. Dak. Tour 11_).

TOUR 3

(Virden, Man.,
Can.)--Westhope--Minot--Washburn--Bismarck--Linton--(Pierre, S.
Dak.). US 83.

Canadian boundary to South Dakota Line, 278.5 m.

Soo Ry. branch parallels route between Max and Bismarck, N. P.
Ry. main line between Bismarck and Sterling, N. P. branch roughly
parallels between Sterling and Linton, Milwaukee R. R. branch
between Linton and Strasburg.

Graveled roadbed except for about 75 m. bituminous-surfaced.

Accommodations in principal towns.

South of the Canadian boundary US 83 follows a southwesterly course across the flat fertile bed of glacial Lake Souris, over the central Drift Prairie and the hilly upland of the Coteau du Plateau du Missouri, crossing the South Dakota Line near the center of the boundary.

Most of the area is diversified dry-farming country, where the emerald blades of young grain in summer blend with the green and blue of flax and the verdant stalks of growing corn. As the crops mature the chief tones of the landscape gradually change to amber and gold, until after harvest the fields are covered with tawny, violet-shadowed stubble, dotted with the dull taupe of Russian thistle. Along the Mouse River and the Missouri, the timberland is a vivid green in summer, and in autumn becomes a fantasy of fall color in which yellows, ochers, scarlets, and copper all strive for dominance.

US 83 crosses the Canadian border 8 m. S. of Coulter, Man., Canada. Here is a customhouse.

WESTHOPE, =6 m.= (1,508 alt., 521 pop.), is a port of entry to Canada. It was named by an official of a G. N. Ry. town site company, who expected exceptional agricultural prosperity for the town. Far to the L., beyond the level prairie that is the bed of the great prehistoric lake, are the blue shadows outlining the Turtle Mountains (_see Tour 5_).

At =12.5 m.= is the junction with ND 5 (_see Tour 5_), which unites with US 83 to =29.5 m.=

MINOT, =66.5 m.= (1,560 alt., 16,099 pop.) (_see_ MINOT).

_Points of Interest:_ Minot State Teachers College, Roosevelt Park
and Zoo.

At 2nd St. and 4th Ave. SW. is the junction with US 2 (_see Tour 6_) and US 52 (_see Tour 7_).

South of Minot the route is over level drift prairie, gradually rising to a ridge of hills at =85 m.= This is the HEIGHT OF LAND, the northern rim of the Plateau du Missouri, which is the watershed between the Gulf of Mexico and Hudson Bay, and also marks the farthest advance of the last glacier. In addition to its geologic interest, the elevation commands a view northward almost to the Canadian border.

MAX, =96 m.= (2,100 alt., 500 pop.), a Russo-German community, was named for the eldest son of an early settler.

At =109 m.= is the junction with ND 37 (_see Side Tour 3A_).

COLEHARBOR, =118 m.= (1,900 alt., 153 pop.), derives its name from the unsuccessful attempt to make this a river shipping point for lignite coal, which is mined in this vicinity.

UNDERWOOD, =126 m.= (2,020 alt., 488 pop.), is the center of a large diversified farming area. The railway conductor for whom it was named, in appreciation of the honor, donated a bell to the school. The town has a circulating library, begun by a 72-year-old man, Edward Erickson, who bound newspaper and magazine stories into books. With these he began his collection, and by the time of his death in 1932 his work, together with donations, had resulted in a library of 8,000 volumes, most of them now available to the public at the office of the Underwood _News_.

WASHBURN, =143 m.= (1,731 alt., 753 pop.), McLean County seat, on the eastern bank of the Missouri River, is named for Gen. W. D. Washburn of Minneapolis, who was instrumental in its development. One of the earliest Missouri boat landings was established at Washburn, and the town was an important trading post in pioneer days. Where the waterworks stand NW. of the city is the SITE OF A SIOUX-ARIKARA BATTLE fought on May 22, 1869; it resulted in the death of Swift Runner, young Ree chieftain. On E. Main St. stands the LOG CABIN OF JOSEPH HENRY TAYLOR (_open by arrangement_; _inquire at_ Leader _office_), trapper, hunter, and author, who built the house near Painted Woods (_see Side Tour 3B_) in the early 1870's. He established a woodyard there, and also became the first postmaster of the settlement; the post office was a hole cut in the trunk of an oak tree. Taylor printed his books in his own shop, writing the stories as he set the type by hand. His books include _Frontier and Indian Lives_ and _Kaleidoscopic Lives_, both reflecting the somewhat florid literary style of the time, but nevertheless giving a colorful and engrossing picture of the frontier of his day.

Right from W. Main St. in Washburn on a well-marked country road to FORT MANDAN STATE PARK, =14 m.=, site of Fort Mandan on the north bank of the big bend in the Missouri. Here the Lewis and Clark expedition spent the winter of 1804-5 with the friendly Mandan Indians. It was here that Sakakawea, or Bird Woman, a young Shoshone Indian girl, joined the expedition which she helped to guide to the Pacific (_see_ BISMARCK). Warring Sioux destroyed the buildings of the fort in 1805, and the ever changing river channel has altered the landscape so that it is impossible to identify the exact site (_see Tour 10_). Near the markers that have been erected are the trenches of unidentified expeditions.

At =150.5 m.= is the junction with a county dirt road (_see Side Tour 3B_).

WILTON, =160 m.= (2,152 alt., 1,001 pop.), named for Wilton, Maine, is on the McLean-Burleigh County line and is the center of a Ukrainian settlement. These people come from Galicia, a province of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, and found work in the lignite mines which at that time were just opening here. One group arrived in 1897 and a second two years later. Many old customs are preserved, including folk dances performed in picturesque, brightly colored costumes by both old and young people. The Ukrainians are fond of flowers and their homes usually have beautiful gardens, in which they can be seen working in the early hours of summer days.

On opposite sides of the highway at the northern end of town are two unusual churches, both focal points of the Ukrainian settlement. SS. PETER AND PAUL GREEK CATHOLIC CHURCH (R) has two steeples topped with fourchée crosses. It is of the Greco-Slavonic branch of the Greek Church. The RUSSIAN ORTHODOX GREEK CATHOLIC CHURCH (L) belongs to the Russo-Greek branch; a cruciform building, it has three steeples, each bearing the Greek schismatic cross of papal design, symbolizing the Trinity, with the lowest member set obliquely to denote that the church does not recognize the authority of the Pope. Both churches use the Julian calendar and have similar services and holidays.

A bird-banding station established in Wilton in 1931 by Mrs. W. H. Gray under the U. S. Biological Survey banded 5,805 birds of 86 species in its first five years.

Left from Wilton via Main St. to the second largest LIGNITE STRIP MINE of the Truax-Traer Co., =2 m.= Formerly one of the largest underground lignite mines in the world (_see Tours 5 & 7_), in 1934-35 it yielded 185,381 tons of coal.

BISMARCK, =184.5 m.= (1,672 alt., 11,090 pop.) (_see_ BISMARCK).

_Points of Interest_: State Capitol, Liberty Memorial Building,
State Historical Society Museum, Roosevelt Cabin.

At 6th St. and Main Ave. is the junction with US 10 (_see Tour 8_), which unites with US 83 between this point and STERLING, =209.5 m.= (1,807 alt., 110 pop.).

MOFFIT, =219 m.= (1,738 alt., 130 pop.), is on the west shore of LONG LAKE, now under development by the U. S. Biological Survey as a migratory waterfowl refuge. The town is named for the Moffit family, who were the first settlers.

As HAZELTON, =233 m.= (1,975 alt., 446 pop.), is neared it has the appearance of an oil town, due to its numerous windmills which a forerunner of the modern high-pressure salesman succeeded in selling in the community. The town is named for Hazel Roop, the daughter of the town site owner.

South of Hazelton the route enters a Russo-German farming area. The odd, brilliant colors of some of the houses and farm buildings are characteristic of the taste of these people. Diagonal stripes of alternating bright colors form a favorite decorative scheme for barn and granary doors. Since the American influence has made itself felt, however, many gaily painted buildings have been dimmed by coats of conservative white or buff paint.

TEMVIK, =242.5 m.= (1,925 alt., 75 pop.), is a small Russo-German settlement.

LINTON, =251 m.= (1,706 alt., 1,192 pop.), was named for George W. Lynn, an early settler. Protected by high, flat-topped hills, the town is in a valley at the confluence of Beaver and Spring Creeks. The most prominent building in town is the EMMONS COUNTY COURTHOUSE, of modern design, constructed of North Dakota brick. Hand carving on the spandrels above the first floor windows depicts the story of progress in Emmons County. Several of the public buildings in Linton, including the hospital and the Episcopal church, are constructed of native sandstone quarried a short distance from the town. SEEMAN'S PARK (_picnicking, swimming, camping_) on Beaver Creek, named for L. D. Seeman, its donor, is a recreation and tourist camp.

Right from Linton on an improved county dirt road to the junction with an unimproved road, =0.5 m.=; L. on this prairie road, unsuitable for trailers, to what appears to be an almost perfect specimen of an INDIAN TURTLE EFFIGY MOUND, =1.5 m.= The road passes directly over the turtle's back, and from the top of the mound the outlines of the head to the E. and the tail to the W. are clearly visible.

STRASBURG, =262 m.= (1,800 alt., 695 pop.), gets its typically German name from a German settlement in Russia whence many of its settlers came. It marks the dividing line between the Russo-German and Dutch settlements of this vicinity. Both racial groups make up the population of the town, which is the center of a large grain and dairy area. Rising from the compact little village is the double spire of the Roman Catholic church, which is attended by the largest rural Catholic congregation in the State. The feast day of SS. Peter and Paul (_June 29_) is an annual occasion for celebration.

South of Strasburg the route passes through territory settled by Hollanders, and the landscape is dotted with their neat, well-kept farms. Although many of them are American-born, the native tongue is retained in their homes. The Dutch Reformed Church forms the focal point in their communities; many of their children attend college at Holland, Mich., and members of the settlement annually go to Michigan for the Holland Tulip Festival.

HULL, =270.5 m.= (1,800 alt., 50 pop.), is one of the Dutch communities, named for Hull, Iowa.

At =272.5 m.= is the junction with ND 11, a graveled highway.

Left on this highway is HAGUE, =5 m.= (1,899 alt., 125 pop.), named for The Hague in the Netherlands. In a level farming area, it is one of the market towns for the Dutch settlements, although its population is principally Russo-German. The Roman Catholic church is the outstanding building of the community.

US 83 crosses the North Dakota-South Dakota boundary at =278.5 m.=, 141 m. N. of Pierre, S. Dak. (_see S. Dak. Tour 12_).

SIDE TOUR 3A

Junction US 83--Garrison--Nishu--Elbowoods--Shell Creek--Van
Hook--Stanley. ND 37 & 8, county and reservation roads.

Junction with US 83 to US 2, 117 m.

Dry-weather, dirt, reservation roads most of route. Gravel 28 m. W.
of junction with US 83, and 28 m. between Van Hook and Stanley.

Limited accommodations on reservation.

ND 37, which runs through the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, branches W. from US 83 (_see Tour 3_) midway between Max and Coleharbor.

GARRISON, =7 m.= (1,920 alt., 1,024 pop.), named for nearby Garrison Creek, was formerly the center of a large wheat area, and is now a primary turkey market. Lignite is mined in the surrounding country.

At =20 m.= is the junction with ND 28 and a county graveled highway. Straight ahead on the county highway to a small store and filling station, where is the junction with an unimproved dirt road, =29 m.=; L. to enter the FORT BERTHOLD INDIAN RESERVATION at =33 m.= Established in 1870 with an area of more than 2,000,000 acres, it has now been reduced to 625,000. The region is principally rugged and broken--typical Badlands, best suited for grazing, although the eastern portion of the reservation contains some good farming land. The population figures for 1936 list 600 Arikara, 711 Hidatsa, and 337 Mandans (although few of the latter are of pure blood), remnants of the three agricultural Indian tribes that once occupied the Missouri River Valley.

At =38 m.= is the junction with a dirt road, not suitable for trailers.

Left on this road to the junction with another dirt road, =3 m.=; R. on this road to another junction at =4 m.=; L. to another junction at =5 m.=; R. to a fence gate, =5.8 m.=; R. through the gate, pass a small farmhouse to the SITE OF FORT BERTHOLD, =6 m.= Above the river bottoms, overlooking a bend in the Missouri's course, are the ruins of a trading post built in 1845 by Bartholomew Berthold, a Tyrolese. He had traded in the river country for many years, and his success at this new fort named for him made it one of the most important Missouri River posts. Harassed by the warlike Sioux, the Hidatsa Indians left their village at the mouth of the Knife River and came to live at Fort Berthold, where, because of the bend in the river, they named their new home Like-a-fish-hook Village. The Mandan Indians later joined the Hidatsa at this site. From the first the history of Fort Berthold is a tale of many assaults by wandering parties of Sioux. In 1864 a portion of the second Sully expedition was sent to protect the outpost, and the following year Fort Berthold became a military post. It was garrisoned until 1867, when Fort Stevenson, 12 m. E., replaced it. The rough-hewn log buildings which Berthold and his men erected were later replaced by frame buildings, the dismantled remains and cellars of which are all that mark the site today.

The GRAVES OF SON-OF-THE-STAR AND WHITE SHIELD, famed Arikara chiefs, are marked by a cement monument about 250 yd. NW. of the fort site. Both chiefs were friendly to the white men and helped them in their conquest of the region. Son-of-the-Star was head of the Arikara tribe during the trying times with the Sioux in 1876, and through his reputation for gentleness and a lofty sense of justice stood high in the estimation of both red and white leaders. The two graves are sacred to the Arikara Indians.

A few yards SW. of the monument are the graves of more than 100 Indians of the reservation who served as scouts or enlisted as soldiers with the U. S. Army since the founding of the reservation in 1870. The white marble slabs marking the individual graves stand in precise rows as an army quietly at salute. Each Memorial Day the American Legion posts of Elbowoods (Indian) and Garrison (white) hold joint services here.

At =39 m.= is the junction with a dirt road, rutted and winding; not suitable for trailers.

Left on this road to the MISSOURI RIVER, =2 m.=, known to the Mandans as Mata (_division between two parts of land_), and to the Hidatsa as Anati (_navigable water filled with earth_). A ferry (_65c per car, 10c per person_) crosses the river. Here in the area adjacent to the route live the Mandan Indians. Left to BEAVER CREEK STORE, =6 m.=, a tiny trading post known locally as Ree. Right to the JAMES HOLDING EAGLE FARM, =12 m.=, typical of the modern Mandan home, and far removed from the earth lodges used by the Indians a century ago.

About 200 ft. L. of the farm is a circular depression believed by the Mandans to be the SITE OF GRANDMOTHER'S LODGE. Grandmother, according to legend, is The-Woman-Who-Never-Dies. She built her home on the first bench of the river, and on the bottom land below planted her vast cornfield, which the deer and blackbirds helped her cultivate. She now lives in the moon, where prayers for favorable weather for crops are addressed to her.