History of Dakota Territory, volume I, Part 108

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1198

USA > South Dakota > History of Dakota Territory, volume I > Part 108

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY

mittee visited Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, inter- viewed a number of substantial railway building companies, and returned to Yankton early in August following. A public meeting was then held and a report inade which stated that parties had been found who would build and operate the road, but demanded a substantial subsidy from the territory in the shape of county bonds, and the report advised the holding of an election under the new law passed by the unauthorized special session of the Legislature, and the voting of $200,000 of Yankton County bonds, to be used, if necessary, to secure the early construc- tion of the road.

Judge Brookings subsequently stated that he was in favor of making the dona- tion of bonds $150,000, and was satisfied the same results could have been secured, but he was overruled.

The fact that the territorial law was passed under circumstances that ren- (lered its legality doubtful was not considered a fatal objection, it being confi- dently expected that Congress, at the approaching session, would enact a law validating the railroad bond bill. It was also confidently expected that both Clay and Union counties would take action in line with Yankton County.

VOTING COUNTY BONDS

A committee was selected at this meeting to prepare, circulate and present a petition to the Board of Commissioners of Yankton County requesting that body to call an election, as the law provided, for the purpose of voting upon the propo- sition to issue the $200,000 of county bonds. The petition was duly prepared and signed by the following named citizens :

W. W. Brookings

C. G. Holquist

O. Wertare

Geo. D. Matthisen

A. C. Brownson L. Congleton M. Grady

G. W. Kingsbury

P. Cunningham

L. H. Litchfield

S. L. Spink

J. L. Kelly

H. C. Ash

Ole Oleson

George Herrick

D. T. Bramble

H. H. Smith

Benj. Hays

Nelson Learned

M. J. Brisbine

J. W. Albright, Jr.

Emory Guild

A. K. Marvin

Arthur Linn

J. Arp

J. G. Edgar

N. Learned

U. B. Robertson

G. H. Galbreath

H. B. Wynn Z. Richey

Mujer Siegler

A. F. Wood

A. J. Sweetser

Wm. Tripp

T. A. Kingsbury

J. Gray

O. II. Carney

W. M. Boomer

Adler & Ohlman

G. A. Batchelder

E. C. Dudley

S. P. Rees

T. A. McLeese

N. J. Cattell

M. M. Matthiesen

H. C. Burr

Henry Herd

J. W. Wheelock

C. E. Bramble

C. J. B. Harris

Samuel Vance

W. Osborn

C. F. Rossteuscher

WV. Fawcwett

I'm. Bordino,

MI. Schoening

D. E. Brownson

T. D. Flick

Thos. Fishbeck

W. T. Carther -

T. J. Aalseth

John S. Horst

Ole Halverson

James Comer

G. H. Wetmore

Win. Carens

E. Herrick

E. P. Wilcox

Bartlett Tripp

Frank V. Peterka

Silas Burton

Richard M. Lochber

J. M. Stonc

Geo. H. Miner

B. M. Semple

Thos. Royster

R. A. Ketchum

Sam'l H. Morrow

Chas. B. Wing

Even Segaard

J. Ingwerson

John Lawrence

G. Johnson

Stephen Flick

P. Cavalier

John F. Lenger

R. Dawson

L. M. Purdy

Mark Ml. Parmer

A. McLean, T. A.

P. C. Waldron

J. B. S. Todd

H. E. Cook

C. Van Epps

I. J. Baumann

John McGuire

WV. P. Lyman

George Pike, Jr.

J. L. Dunlap

MI. Hoyt

P. T. Rodgers

T. W. Brisbine

John J. Duffack

[ .. Biermeyer

D. F. Ilinman

James Rogers

John Otteson

T .1. Carey

Henry H. Nichols

C. C. Brookings

F. M. Ziebach

J. Riddell

- -

L. M. Griffith Wm. Leeper

Geo. H. Bell

H. McCumber

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HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY

John Spring Frank Bem Wm. Miner M. H. Ruch

J. T. Lovett

Walter H. Carr A. A. Nichols Wm. Banse John Killilay W. E. Babcock

N. Learned S. S. Buckwalter Frank Peterka P. K. Faulk

In accordance with the petition the county commissioners met on the 7th day of Atigtist, and issued a call for a special election, as follows :

Whereas, more than sixty days intervenes between the filing of the petition and the next general election : now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the said board of commissioners of Yankton County, that a special election shall be, and is hereby ordered, to be held in said Yankton County, on Saturday, the 2d day of September, A. D. 1871, at which the question of donating aid to the said Dakota Southern Railroad Company to the amount of $200,000 in the bonds of said Yankton County, to run twenty years, bearing interest at the rate of 8 per cent per annum, said interest to be paid semi-annually in the City of New York, and the said principal also payable in the City of New York. Said bonds shall not be given or donated to said railroad company, except in payment for the grading, tieing, building, or other necessary work, on the said railroad, to be built by the said company ; and that said bonds shall only be given or donated in payment for work actually performed on said railroad, and shall in no ease be delivered faster than work on said railroad progresses; and provided that said bonds shall not be issued by the said county commissioners or delivered to said railroad company until said railroad is com- pleted and in running order to and within the present limits of the City of Yankton, or such assurances (security) given that said railroad will be so completed as said Yankton County shall require.

Resolved, That the ballots at such special election shall have printed or written thereon- "Aid to the Dakota Southern Railroad Company, Yes" or "Aid to the Dakota Southern Rail- road Company. No;" and the voting places for such election shall be the same as designated for the general election to be held in October, and the judges for such general election shall act as judges of the special election hereby ordered.

At the election, which was duly held as ordered, there was not a full vote, the total number cast being 668, while the vote of the county was very close to 1.000. The vote at the various precincts was as follows :

No.

Name

Yes

No 32

1. Haggins's Bend

Bagstad's

Yankton

463

Zeiner & Zine

Hughes

Total

5-42

126

The vote indicates that in the rural precinets there was a hostility to a bond Stibsidy. The farmers, though favoring the road which wottld greatly benefit them, held that the city would reap the largest benefit from it and ought to foot the bills. While this disposition was quite general among the rural populations, it was clearly apparent that they realized the advantages that would accrue as a result of success in bringing railway facilities to them. They thereafter disclosed greater energy in their farming operations, doubled their cultivated area, opened up and improved new roadways, improved their farm homes and buildings, estab- lished more schools, and manifested a most commendable public spirit in many ways. It must have been that they had been convinced that the railways would come juist as certainly and as early withotit their assistance, therefore why should they extend donations ?

CONTRACT TO BUILD THE DAKOTA SOUTHERN

The next step of prime importance was to find some company of railway builders who would build the road for the bonds. How would bonds issued with stich a questionable paternity look to the unsympathetic worldly-minded people who made a business of constructing railways, when asked to receive them in exchange for a million dollar railway ? This was considered more difficult of solu- Vol. 1-40

626

HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY

tion than any problem that had yet been confronted and disentangled, but it was not so serious as to deter the sanguine spirits that controlled the Dakota Southern Company from making a most determined effort and another embassy was sent forth for the purpose of enlisting the cooperation of some parties who would be willing to build and operate the railroad in consideration of the county bouds voted to the Dakota Southern corporation by Yankton County.

In .August, 1871, Mr. Harry Hargis, of Chicago, visited Yankton, on a pleas- ure trip. He was one of the pioneer settlers of the Dakota country, employed for years by Major Gregory as clerk of the old Ponca Agency, and also at Yank- ton, and Gregory was now one of the incorporators of the Dakota Southern. Hargis was a good business man, and had been requested by a firm of railroad builders in Chicago, Messrs. Wicker. Meckling & Company, with whom he had long been acquainted, to inquire into the condition of our railroad affairs, and the sentiment of the people; and being well informed regarding the country through which the proposed road would pass, he was able to give a favorable report on his return to Chicago.

Mr. Hargis was followed, late in the same month. September, by Milton Weston, representing the firm of Wicker, Meckling & Co., who came prepared to make a preliminary agreement with the Dakota Southern Company, to build the road. Owing to the lack of certain data connected with the survey of the line, no agreement was reached, and the negotiations were adjourned to be resumed at Chicago a week later, to which point the Dakota Southern directors repaired, and shortly after during the early days of October, John Newell, presi- dent of the Ilinois Central Railroad Company, and Mr. Tilton, a director, reached Yankton for the purpose of investigating the situation and the Dakota Southern directors returned with them. This party made a reconnaissance survey of the country west into Bon Ilomme county, piloted by Dr. Burleigh ; and a visit was then made to Sioux City, where a meeting was held at which, in addition to the Illinois Central officials and those of the Dakota Southern, there were present Horace Williams, of the Sioux City & Pacific, and W. W. Walker, of the Sioux City & Pembina. At this meeting the proposition appears to have been first intro- duced to build the road from Yankton to Sioux City and abandon the LeMars line. But no definite agreement was made; there was, however, a harmonious understanding among the railroad interests there represented, favorable to the early construction of the Dakota Southern road-an understanding that included the promise of the companies to make advantageous traffic arrangements with the proposed new highway.

About this time, October 7th-8th, occurred the great Chicago fire, an event so disastrous that for the time being it paralyzed all branches of business, and especially railroad building. It was feared that its effects would be so serious as to cause a breaking off of negotiations for the construction of the Dakota South- ern, but this did not follow, though they were delayed, and the beginning of actual work on the line, for which Dakotans were impatient, was postponed.

However, an arrangement for the construction of the line was concluded, and articles of agreement were entered into between the Dakota Southern Railroad Company and Wicker, Meckling & Co., on Tuesday, October 24, 1871, and are here appended :

Ist. The parties to this contract are J. M. Stone, W. W. Brookings, D. T. Bramble, J. R. Hanson, Geo. H. Wetmore, W. A. Burleigh and M. K. Armstrong, directors of the Dakota Southern Railroad Company, of the first part, and J. H. Wicker. C. G. Wicker, J. S. Meck- ling and Milton Weston, of Chicago, as construction company, parties of the second part.

2d. The parties of the second part contract to build, construct and equip, for the Dakota Southern Railroad Company, a railroad from the City of Yankton, Dakota Territory, to Sioux City or LeMars, Iowa, as the said construction company shall select. All the grad- ing and bridging of the road through Yankton County to be completed and ready for the iron before the 15th day of May, 1872, and the whole road to be completed and the cars run- ning to the City of Yankton by the last day of December, 1872, which road, when completed, shall be in all respects, equal to any newly constructed road in the West.

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HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY

3d. In consideration of the foregoing. the directors of the Dakota Southern Railroad Company agree to procure the right of way for said road through Yankton County free of cost to said construction company : also all necessary depot grounds and lands for side tracks, turnouts and connections with the steamboats and Government warehouses on the levee in the City of Yankton.

4th. The Dakota Southern Railroad Company further agree to immediately pass over to the said construction company, one-half of all the capital stock of said railroad company, amounting to $750,000, and to give to said Wicker. Meckling & Co., the right to elect three of the seven directors constituting the board of said Dakota Southern Railroad Company.

5th. The directors of the Dakota Southern Railroad Company further agree that the $200,000 in bonds voted by Yankton County to said railroad company, and all further county and township bonds that may hereafter be voted to the company along the line of said road, shall be issued at the earliest moment compatible with law, and deposited with the president of the Manufacturers National Bank, of Chicago, who shall act as trustee of such fund, and shall pay out the same only upon the certificate of the chief engineer, and approved by the executive board of the Dakota Southern Railroad Company, to be used for construction pur poses and purchase of material only.

Oth. The Dakota Southern Railroad Company further agree to deliver to the construction company aforesaid, the first mortgage bond upon the Dakota Southern Railroad, in amount not exceeding twenty thousand dollars per mile, bearing 8 per cent semi-annual interest, and running not less than twenty years, whenever the process of construction shall require.

7th. The active management of all matters pertaining to the constructing shall be under the control of and superintendence of the constructing party aforesaid, and all donations of whatever character which may be subscribed or obtained for the benefit of said road, shall be passed over to the hands of said construction company.

8th. It is further and finally agreed that during the construction of said road, the books af the Dakota Southern Railroad Company shall be open at all times to the inspection of each member of the construction company aforesaid.

The agreement was regarded as extremely liberal on the part of the Dakota Southern Company, but inasmuch as it seemed to give assurance of the early con- struction of the long-desired commercial highway that was to connect the capital of Dakota with the outside world, and bring to Yankton the fleets of steamboats that were then making Sioux City their base of operations, there was no unfriendly voice raised against it.

On the ist of November the stockholders of the Dakota Southern represent- ing about one hundred and eighty-eight thousand dollars of the capital stock met and elected a new board of directors consisting of J. S. Meckling. Milton Weston, J. R. Hanson, J. M. Stone. W. W. Brookings, G. H. Wetmore and D. T. Bramble. who were elected by ballot. The stockholders participating and the number of votes cast by each were thus given :

J. S. Meckling, 13,901 votes: Milton Weston, 13.835: J. R. Hanson, t4,000; J. M. Stone, 6,435; W. W. Brookings, 0,435: Geo. HI. Wetmore, 0,433; D. T. Bramble, 4,532; W. A. Everleigh, 1,803: Geo. N. Propper, 125; Geo. W. Kings- bttry, 100. M. K. Armstrong and William Miner were present as stockholders. but did not vote. The directors so chosen as stated above elected the following officers: W. W. Brookings, president ; D. T. Bramble, vice president ; G. H1. Wet- more, treasttrer : J. R. Hanson, secretary ; Milton Weston, superintendent : Chas. W. Allendorph. chief engineer.

DAKOTA SOUTHERN ABSORBS THE NORTHWESTERN

The Board of County Commissioners of Yankton County at that time was made up of Charles Eiseman, George Hoffman and John J. Thompson, with Eric Iverson, clerk, and this board was heartily cooperating with the railroad enter- prises. There does not appear to have been a day's delay in starting the pre- liminary work of construction. During November surveys were made, and the line located, but only partially on the old survey of the Dakota & Northwestern. which had been or was about to be merged with the Dakota Southern ; and the contracts for the bridges over the James, Vermillion and Big Sioux were let and arrangements were made for the furnishing of 180,000 ties, the number required for the entire line, with various parties owning timber tracts along the Missouri. before the close of the year.

628

HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY

A railroad bond election was held in Clay County on the 11th of November, 1871, for the purpose of voting aid to the Dakota & Northwestern road; the intention being to merge that corporation with the Dakota Southern, and as the former company was supposed to have more supporters, for local reasons, in Clay County than the Dakota Southern, which was a Yankton enterprise, it was deemed best to submit the question of aid to the road that could poll the most votes, but the proposition was defeated by a heavy majority. The question was taken on donating $60,000 to the railroad. There were five voting precincts in the county, and the election was held on the same day as the regular election. The following gives the vote at each precinct :

Yes

First Precinct

122

201

Second Precinct

Third Precinct

135

Fourth Precinct

Fifth Precinct

150

Total

168

601

Following this election and in order to secure harmony among the leading men of the Missouri slope on railroad matters within Dakota, there was a change in the directory of the Dakota Southern in December, 1871. J. S. Meckling and J. R. Hanson resigned and Walter A. Burleigh and Jefferson P. Kidder were elected in their stead. The Dakota Southern effected a perpetual lease of the franchises of the Dakota & Northwestern. The two last named directors repre- sented the leased corporation. It was doubtless intended that the eastern con- nection of the leased company should be at Sioux City, though that had not been definitely settled. But by uniting the two corporations which were working prac- tically for the same purpose, harmony among the interests to be affected was secured, and this united sentiment and interest was expected to bring Clay and Union counties to the substantial support of the enterprise. Mr. Burleigh had been closely identified with the Dakota & Northwestern from its inception, and had also contributed liberally of his time and money to secure the construction of the Dakota Southern, and besides this he was regarded as one of the strongest factors in the territory in the promotion and success of any public enterprise.

The proposition of a citizens' meeting held at Elk Point to vote a direct tax of 21/2 per cent on the taxable property of Elk Point Township for the term of three years, to be donated toward the building of the Dakota Southern Railroad, was not endorsed by the people of the township outside the village. There was a divided sentiment in the town and throughout the county, and many heated argu- ments grew out of the zeal with which each party advocated its view of the matter. A number of Elk Point business men threatened to remove to Richland, five miles north. unless the people of the Point would vote to secure the location of a depot at that place. Among the removers were C. M. Northrup, E. S. Northrup, H. H. Blair, J. M. Talcott. J. Talcott, C. W. Beggs, E. W. Miller, J. A. Wallace, C. H. Freeman, Charles Mallahan, D. W. C. Smith and Alex Hughes, all leading citizens. It was finally determined at this meeting to ascer- tain the sentiment of the people of the township on the matter of voting aid under the new territorial law. A petition was circulated and signed as the law provided, and 130 names out of a total of 180 names of voters in the township secured. This looked very promising to the friends of affirmative action. as the vote of the township at the last election was 180, and over three-fourths that number had signed the petition. The petition was presented to the board of county commissioners and that body was requested to call an election. This the chairman of the board refused to do, claiming, it was understood, that many of the signers were not voters. The matter was appealed to Judge Kidder, of that judicial district, who, desiring to induce the official to act without resorting to legal measures, sent him an advisory letter, counselling the calling of the election

+ .

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HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY

as the law required. But the recalcitrant official was not to be influenced by friendly counsel, and would not consent to issue the call for the election unless compelled thereto by a writ of mandamus, which the judge finally issued. The election was called and held on the ist of May, 1872. The question submitted was: "Shall the Township of Elk- Point donate $1 5,000 in bonds to run ten years and draw interest at the rate of 10 per cent?" The election resulted in favor of the proposition by a majority of fifty-two.

Our local railway builders had now progressed so far that they had secured an unauthorized session of the Legislature, which passed a railroad law author- izing the issue of county and township bonds, and Yankton County and Elk Point Township, acting under that law, had voted $200,000 in county bonds and $15,000 in township bonds, for the purpose of building the Dakota Southern Railway from Yankton to some point on the Big Sioux River south of the mouth of Rock River, lowa. This point had not been definitely located. Up to about this time the company had not definitely decided whether to unite its road with the Sioux City or LeMars interest, though the vote at Elk Point would indicate that Sioux City would be favored, which was the case. There was no sentiment supporting LeMars except at that point and at Yankton. The outside railroad interests, all of which were centered at Sioux City, and the Dakota Southern Construction Company, had concluded that Sioux City offered the best facilities to the Dakota enterprise ; and accordingly the Sioux City and Pembina Railway Company was incorporated to build a line from that point to the Big Sioux River where it would form a junction with the Dakota Southern and would be leased and operated by that company. The Sioux City and Pembina was further projected to a point on the Big Sioux called Portlandville, about twenty-five miles from its initial point.

CHAPTER LI BUILDING THE DAKOTA SOUTHERN 1872-73

CONSTRUCTING THE DAKOTA SOUTHERN RAILROAD-LEMARS NO LONGER CONSIDERED -RAILROAD COMPANY PROVIDES FOR BONDING THE ROAD-YANKTON COUNTY OPPOSED TO THIS-BUILDING THIE ROAD IN 1872-COMPLETED IN FEBRUARY, 1873 -EXCURSION AND NAMES OF EXCURSIONISTS-UNITED STATES JUDGES BARNES AND SHANNON COME IN- JUDGES FRENCH AND BROOKINGS RETIRED-COURT ISSUES A BOND-RESTRAINING ORDER-DILATORY PROCEEDINGS-TIIE MCCOOK TRAGEDY REFERRED TO-JUDGE BARNES GRANTS CHANGE OF VENUE TO CLAY COUNTY-PARTIES THEN AGREE TO AN AMICABLE SETTLEMENT-THE INDICT- MENT AGAINST WINTERMUTH-ACTING GOVERNOR REASSIGNS JUDGES.

The survey and location of the Dakota Southern had already been made by the Dakota & Northwestern in 1868, and this company having been merged with the new organization, its survey was largely adopted, and grading began at Yankton just east of the Rhine Creek, on the 24th day of June, 1872; Hanson & Mcintyre being the sub-contractors for a section reaching to the James River ; the section east of the James extending to the Clay County line was graded by Maj. J. 31. Stone, and east of that point to Vermillion by Messrs. Morgan & Gilfillan. While the country between the James and Vermillion rivers through which this railway passed is an unbroken level of the Missouri bottom, it was found necessary to construct five pile bridges along this stretch of railway, in order to cross running streams that were supposed to have their source in the overflow of Clay Creek. This section of country is now drained by a permanent canal dug through the bottom and having its outlet in the Vermillion River.

On the 5th of June, 1872, the directory of the Dakota Southern Company held a meeting and adopted resolutions ,declaring its purpose to issue $1,200,000 of first mortgage bonds secured by a mortgage on the railway as it will be when completed and in operation. The resolutions are given below :

Whereas, It is advisable to raise money by the sale of bonds secured by a deed of trust in the usual form, and to that end to divide the road of the company into divisions; there- fore be it

Resolved, That the railroad of the company now being constructed at a point from or near Sioux City in the State of lowa, to the City of Yankton, in the Territory of Dakota, shall be, and constitute the first division of the railroad of this company, and that an amount of money not exceeding twelve hundred thousand dollars be borrowed upon the said first division, to aid in its construction and equipment, and that the bonds of the company there- for, to the said amount, be executed and issued for the same, under the seal of the company, and signed on its behalf by its president and attested by its secretary, in sums of $1,000 each. and bearing date July 1, 1872, and having twenty years to run to maturity, and bearing inter- est at the rate of 8 per cent per annum, free of Government tax, and payable semi-annually on the first days of January and July in each year, at the office of the Farmers Loan and Trust Company, of New York, in the State of New York, where both the principal and interest shall be made payable, all of which bonds shall bear the same date, and shall stand equally secured by the deed of trust, to be executed to secure them, and shall be duly stamped. and shall be numbered from number one ( I) to number twelve hundred (1,200), all of which bonds to be authenticated by a certificate signed by the trustee aforesaid ; and also that a deed of trust, in the usual form, be executed to the said Farmers Loan and Trust Company, as trustee therein, under the seal of the company, and signed by its president and attested by its secretary, by which shall be conveyed to said trustee in trust to secure the payment of the prin- cipal and interest of said bonds, all the present and future to be acquired property of the

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History of Dakota Territory, volume I, Part 108

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920 Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1198

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1198