History of Dakota Territory, volume I, Part 28

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

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ELK POINT AND COLE COUNTY

The Town of Elk Point was first laid out on an eighty acre tract by the Elk Point Townsite Company, of which E. B. Wixson was president. There have been additions made to the town of which quite a portion was on Wixson's land. Frost, Todd & Company had nothing near this place. Doctor Burleigh bought 160 acres of Hastings Scamond and laid it out in town lots. The Pinckney and Carpenter additions were a part of Wixson's claim. The main street of Elk Point is the territorial road located by the Federal Government in 1865 when Colonel Moody or A. B. Miller was superintendent of that enterprise. Mr. Wix- son is still living at Elk Point, which has grown to be a thriving and prosperous city, vindicating fully the promise it hekl out when Mr. Wixson made his settle- ment there nearly half a century ago.

Mrs. George Stickney was the first white woman to settle in that section. She came in 1860. Her husband was a prominent lawyer, legislator and politician of that county for a number of years. Early in the spring of 1860. John R. Wood and family, George Stickney and family, Wm. Adams, Myron Sheldon, Hastings Seamond, David Benjamin and Mr. Bartlett, settled near Wixson and N. J. Wallace came a little later, taking up land adjoining Michael Ryan's claim at Jefferson. J. A. Wallace, attorney at law, was an early settler.

According to the recollection of Mr. M. B. Kent and data that he has been collecting and preserving, the first settlers at Richland and on Brule Creek, be- ginning in 1860, were Myron Kuykendall. A. R. Stoddard. Amos Dexter, Orin Fletcher, Milton M. Rich, John Reams, Thomas C. Watson, E. B. LaMoure.

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Judson LaMoure, Elmer and Lester Seward, Thaddeus Andrews, Carl Kingsley, Patrick Comfort and a brother, Thomas Olson, John Thompson, J. O. Taylor, Chris Thompson. J. E. Hoisington, W. H. H. Fate, James Fate, and their father, Thomas Fate, Ole Bottolfson. West of Elk Point were Hiram Stratton. E. C. Collins, William Flannery, K. P. Ronne, John Morris, Emory Morris, Joseph La- Barge, David Benjamen, Runyan Compton and M. D. Weston. South of Elk Point were AAlvin Cameron, R. 11. Langdon, David Pennell, Sherman Clyde, John Donovan, David Walters, R. R. Green, Howard Mosier, Solomon B. Stough, Daniel Ballinger, Silas Rohr, Hegeick Townsend, Anthony Summey, Josiah Bowman, Charles Patton. East were John R. Wood, Preston Hotchkiss, George Stickney, James Phillips, Benjamin Briggs, F. W. Smythe, Jacob Keplinger, Patrick Carey, Daniel Connolley, Michael Curry, Wesley McNiel, George Geisler.

Among the first settlers in Elk Point were Eli B. Wixson, J. W. Vandevere, Timothy Bryan, L. K. Fairchild, Henry Rowe, C. W. Briggs, C. M. Northrup, Hyram Gardner, William Baldwin, Frederick Stroble, D. M. Mills. W. W. Adams, Joseph Dufraw. M. U. Hoyt, J. P. Bennet. The early settlers at Jefferson (the twelve mile house ) were Michael Ryan, Charles LaBreche, Joseph Yerter, Desire Chaussee, the Beaubeans. Antonia Remillards and the Fountains. This vicinity was known as the French settlement.

In 1859 a large colony of French Canadians who were excellent farmers, exceedingly industrious, moved in and formed what was called the French Settle- ment between Elk Point and the Big Sioux in the central portion of the future Cole County. For many years following, this settlement was famous for its well improved farms, the superior quality of its products, including live stock, its substantial improvements, and the hospitality and enterprise of the inhabitants. So attractive was it that pleasure parties from Sioux City made it daily visits dur- ing the growing seasons; and the most enterprising of the pioneer real estate dealers and agents conveyed their customers there to exhibit the improvements and to show them what could be done with Dakota soil in the hands of skillful farmers. This was in the early years of Dakota's settlement when its agricul- tural value was an unproved problem-when even its friends shook their heads in doubt as to its fitness for general farming ; when frequent drouths afflicted, and myriads of hungry shark-teeth grasshoppers paid the Dakota settlements annual visits. Chiefly among American settlers this skeptical feeling was preva- lent and bore most heavily and it was remarked as the seasons grew better that during the years when these scourges were most serious, the Scandinavians, Irishmen, Germans and Canadians were seldom known to complain.

The first political convention held in the future Cole and later Union County, convened at Big Sioux Point some time after the governor's proclamation was issued in 1861, when the following proceedings were had :

Big Sioux Point, Aug. 17, 1861.

Pursuant to notice the voters of the First Council District in Dakota Territory met in Mass Convention at the house of Mr. Ryan, the Fourteen Mile House.

The Convention was organized by electing Dr. R. Phillips, Chairman, and Judson LaMoure, Secretary.

The Chairm'in then stated the object of the Convention to be the nomination of two Councilmen to represent said District in the First Territorial Legislature.

Mr. Brookings, of Sioux Falls, asked permission to address the Convention, which being granted, he spoke at some length on the policy of allowing one Councilman to the Red River of the North.

By permission, Mr. Cole addressed the Convention on general topics, after which the Convention proceeded to the nomination of Councilmen, voting for one at a time. A ballot being had. it appeared that Austin Cole had received a majority of all the votes cast and was declared duly nominated.

On motion the Convention proceeded to ballot for the second Councilman, which resulted in Eli B. Wixson receiving a majority of all the votes polled. and was declared duly nomi- nated for Councilman.

No further business appearing, on motion the Convention adjourned.

JUDSON LAMOURE, Secretary.

R. PHILLIPS, Chairman.

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At the first election held under the Governor's proclamation in September, 1861, the first council election district extended from the mouth of the Big Sioux River to Pembina or to the 49th parallel, a distance in an air line of about four hundred and thirty miles, probably the longest legislative district ever defined. The nominees for the two council positions were W. W. Brookings, of Sioux Falls, and Austin Cole, E. B. Wixson and William Matthews, of Elk Point, Big Sioux Point and Brule Creek. Another candidate, James MeFetridge, was in the field in the Pembina section. There was no effort made by the candidates from either end of the district to stump the entire territory covered by the legal boun- daries, so that Mr. MeFetridge had everything his way at St. Joseph and Pem- bina and received more votes twice over than all his rivals received added together. MeFetridge had 158 votes at St. Joseph and 15 at l'embina, giving him 173. Cole received 27 votes at Big Sioux Point ; Wixson, 15: William Matthews, 15; and Brookings, 13. And at Elk Point Cole had 16; Wixson, 15; Matthews, 12; and Brookings, 12. At the Sioux Falls precinct Brookings had 9: Cole, 5 ; and Wix- son, 3. Cole and Brookings were elected and owing to the failure of the Red River returns to reach the governor, the candidates named received the certificates from the governor, to whom the election returns were made.

The first representative district included only a small fraction of the Sioux Valley. The vote for representative at Elk Point gave A. R. Phillips 12 votes ; John McBride, 4: Christopher Maloney, 10: and John R. Wood, 18. At Big Sioux Point the vote stood for Phillips, 10; McBride, 23; Maloney, 25; and Wood. 11 ; electing McBride and Maloney after an exciting contest.

In June, 1859, it having been officially stated by one of the early exploring parties that the Big Sioux River was a navigable stream, the steam ferry boat at Sioux City called the Lewis Burns, with a party of ladies and gentlemen from that town, made a voyage up the Big Sioux to the mouth of Rock River. The Lewis Burns was a good sized boat and this trip was very successful as a social affair and as demonstrating the practicability of navigating the Big Sioux for that distance for light draught boats. The subsequent settlement and develop- ment of the valley does not show that the experimental trip was of any prac- tical value. We do not learn that a similar voyage has ever been undertaken since the pioneer trip was made, and it is safe to presume that there was not sufficient business prior to the advent of railroads, to warrant the construction of a light draught boat for that forty miles of river.

The first death in Cole county ( now Union ), that there is record of, occurred May 25, 1862, and was that of Susan Oleson, a young girl of fourteen years of age, and was occasioned by drowning in Brule Creek. She was residing in the family of William Frisbie, and had been sent on some errand to the creek near the house, and not returning search was made, and the lifeless body discovered some distance below where she had accidentally fallen in. Efforts were made to revive her, and Doctor Phillips was summoned, who tried to resuscitate the unfortunate child, but all efforts were unavailing. She was buried in a plot of ground selected with reference to a permanent location for cemetery purposes.

Unlike the other sections that were settled about the same time, the carly comers to Union County did not center at one point, but located and built up four and perhaps five central or trading points for as many farming communities. These were Big Sioux Point, Elk Point, Richland. Jefferson and one other not far west of the Big Sioux bridge, which was called Willow P. O. and afterwards McCook.

CHARLES. MIX COUNTY

That portion of Dakota called Charles Mix County was the home of a few white men as early as 1858, and in 1861 had a population of about fifty white per- sons, nearly all contractors and their employees, who furnished supplies to the garrison at Fort Randall.

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A French Canadian named Antoine Bijou established a trading post in the upper portion of that county and conferred upon that long stretch of rugged eminences that run parallel with the river for forty miles the name of Bijou Hills. These hills are bold irregular bluffs, much more elevated than the coun- try surroundings. His settlement is supposed to have been made in 1813. He had serious trouble with the Indians, who finally compelled him to abandon his post, and some of his trading stock. He was doubtless the first white man to settle in that section.

Just above the Yankton reservation line in Charles Mix County was the Pease settlement, with F. D. P'ease, E. M. Wall, Felicia Fallas, Colin La Mont, John Mallert, Ed Fletcher, G. A. Fisher and Joe Ellis. About twenty miles beyond was Pratt Creek, the seat of the Hamilton settlement, and the actual jumping off place of civilization. Here were Joseph V. Hamilton, a lifelong frontiersman who had been for thirty years connected with the American Fur Company. He was the leader and patriarch of this settlement, with Paul Harol, Napoleon Jack, Colin Campbell, William Bartlett, Abel Forcess and John Archambeau as com- panions. The Pease settlement was also somewhat famous in early days as being the home of Mr. Cardinelle Grant, who was the oldest white man in Dakota, and so far as known the oldest in the West. He was born in 1765, in the Canadian Province of Quebec.

Lake Andes, in Charles Mix County, is the largest lake in the southern portion of Dakota. It is shaped somewhat like a new moon and has a length of fifteen miles, with an average width of one and a quarter miles. It was surveyed a number of years before Dakota was settled by a surveyor named Edward Andes, an employe of the American Fur Company, and bears his name. It has a depth of about fifteen feet. No species of fish are indigenous to its waters, but the experiment is being made of planting some of the ordinary varieties. Two creeks empty into it draining a large section of the country. Its outlets are concealed beneath its surface. Its waters are good and it was a famous buffalo watering place during the first half of the eighteenth century and prior. It is now the most popular resort in the southern part of Dakota for hunting parties in quest of water fowl, a number of the varieties abounding there in great numbers.

Maj. J. V. Hamilton, founder of what was known as the Hamilton settle- ment on Pratt Creek, in Charles Mix County, died at Fort Randall, where he had been taken for medical treatment, on Friday, the 23d of August, 1867. He had been on the frontiers since his boyhood, and was one of the oldest of western pioneers at the time of his death. He was appointed agent of the Omahas and Pawnees, at Council Bluffs, by Pres. Andrew Jackson, was at one time the sutler at Fort Leavenworth, and held a like position at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. He had also spent some years in the fur trade in the employ of the American Fur Company on the Yellowstone, and removed from the Yellowstone to settle on Pratt Creek, Dakota Territory, with his sons in 1859. ' This point was thirty miles above Fort Randall, and up to the time of his death it was an outpost on this frontier. Major Hamilton was a son of Maj. Thomas Hamilton, of the United States Army, and grandson of Col. John Whistler, also a regular army officer. He was born at Fort Madison, Iowa, on the Mississippi River, in 18II. His two sons, Charles and Grant, were with him at the time of his death. Major Hamilton was known among the Indians as the "man that fears nothing," and received this name from the following audacious incident in his career: In 1839 or '40, Gen- eral Kearney was ordered to Council Bluff's with a detachment of troops to hold a council with the Indians, there being at that time some disturbance among them. When the Indians came in, having been summoned by their agent, they showed signs of an ugly temper. General Kearney thought to appease them by appear- ing in council with his soldiers all unarmed, to prove to the red men that he had no hostile intentions. The subordinate officers remonstrated, deeming it very imprudent, but they could not move the general, and then turned to Hamilton and urged him to see the general and dissuade him from such a dangerous step.

MRS. LIZZIE LASIE ECCLES

First white child born in Yankton. Date of birth, 1863. Now a resident of Belle Fourche.

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Hamilton saw that the Indians were in an ugly mood and prepared to commit some desperate act, and therefore went to the general and represented the critical situation to him, stating that he would run the risk of losing the life of every soldier and his own if he persisted in disarming his men. Kearney refused to change his plan, however, and required his officers and men to appear at the council without their arms. There were a number of kegs of powder and other ammunition on the council ground. designed as peace gifts from the "Great Father." Hamilton with his interpreter took his station immediately in front of the Indians, who were seated some four or five deep, in a semi-circle, in num- bers from four to five hundred. General Kearney and his staff were on one side of Hamilton, and the soldiers, numbering one hundred men, on the other. The council had not proceeded far when Hamilton discovered that the Indians were awaiting a signal to begin a massacre, and he understood their character so well that he believed the life of every white man present was about to be sacrificed, and would be unless the Indians could be turned from their purpose. Quick as thought he sprang into the ring, seized a glowing ember from the council fire, and jumped upon an open keg of powder, exclaiming to the Indians: "If you do not every one of you instantly lay down your arms and retire from the ring, I will set fire to the powder and we will all go to the Spirit Land together." The Indians were appalled, and unconsciously dropped their arms and precipitately retired beyond the danger point, and the tragedy was averted, for it was sub- sequently ascertained that the Indians knew the whites were unarmed and in- tended to scalp the entire party. After recovering from their demoralization and being assured that they would not be punished for their premeditated offense, the Indians were allowed to state their grievances, which were not serious and were adjusted with presents and promises and cautioned to maintain peaceful relations with the "Great Father." Agent Hamilton's wonderful nerve had so won their admiration that they all came up, shook his hand with many ejaculations commending his bravery, and declared that he was a man that was afraid of nothing, and his Indian title from that time had that significance. Hamilton had been in peril a number of times during his career, and his body exhibited scars inflicted by knife and bullet, received in encounters with the Indians.

WEST OF THE MISSOURI RIVER

Crossing the Missouri at White Swan to Fort Randall, and coming east by south, Mixville, near the Ponca Indian Agency, was the first settlement. It was about twenty miles from the fort. The Poncas were comparatively well advanced in civilized methods at that time and did not mingle with other tribes, though many of their warriors were inclined to make forays upon the white settle- ments for plunder. They had a permanent village; their houses made of dirt were called Dirt Lodges. They were much more comfortable and a much better quality of dwelling than the tepee of the Yanktons. At this agency and at Mix- ville were found J. Shaw Gregory, Judge James Tufts, Robt. M. Hagaman, Peter Keegan, Jonathan Lewis, Harry Ilargis, Joel A. Potter, Geo. Detwiler, Charles McCarthy and Robert Barnum. Gregory was the agent, and was the eldest son of Rear Admiral Gregory, then one of the foremost of our naval commanders. All whom we have named stamped the impress of their genius upon the material and intellectual advancement of the territory, and all except Barnum, Keegan, Mc- Carthy and Detwiler, subsequently removed to Yankton.

As originally bounded. Dakota Territory included the eastern portion of the Niobrara River to the point of confluence with the Keha Paha, thence up that stream to the 43d parallel. In 1882 an act of Congress approved March 28th ceded to the State of Nebraska all the territory lying south of the 43d parallel and west of the Missouri, which cession was accepted by a vote of the people of that state at an election held May 23, 1882. The tract so ceded amounted to about six hundred square miles and had been organized as the County of Todd, Dakota

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Territory, in 1862. This will explain why and how Todd County came to be lost from the map of the territory, and its membership in the Legislature dropped from the rolls.

.At the first election held under the governor's proclamation in 1861 the set- tlements west of Choteau Creck on the east side of the Missouri River and the communities on the west side of the river cast of Fort Randall constituted the Sixth Council and Representative District, and at the September election J. Shaw Gregory. of Ponka Precinct, was elected councilman, and John L. Tiernon, of Fort Randall, representative. Gregory received twenty-six votes on the east side and twenty-nine at Ponka Precinct on the west, giving him fifty-five votes. His opponent. Freeman Norval, received thirty votes on the east side and none at Ponka. For the House, Tiernon received twenty-seven votes west of Choteau Creek and twenty-eight at Ponka, giving him fifty-five. Henry Price, his unsuc- cessful opponent, received twenty-seven votes west of Choteau, but had no sup- port whatever at Ponka. It was claimed at the time that Gregory was an Indian agent, and Tiernon an army officer, which was a fact, but no objection was raised in either llouse to their eligibility to serve as legislators.

TIIE DAKOTAH INDIAN NATION

llistory furnishes a very satisfactory account of the Dakotah nation of In- cians beginning in the sixteenth century, when they inhabited the country west of Lake Michigan. They were a warlike people, as all Indians were, but their wars were altogether with other Indian tribes-the Hurons, Iroquois and Algonquins- in which they were uniformly successful. They were known as a very honorable nation, truthful and faithful to their agreements. Garreau, a young French mis- sionary, writing of the Dakotahs, whom he termed the Nadoweah Sioux, in the sixteenth century, says that "they are a people to be dreaded, who though using only bow and arrow, are so skillful and unerring in their aint as to make them a most formidable enemy. They can fire their arrows swiftly and with deadly aim while running, and even shoot behind with fatal accuracy, simply turning their heads in their flight and taking momentary aim." Their language differed rad- ically from all other tribes, and they were credited with the virtue of always telling the truth and abiding by the letter and spirit of their promises. They were humane in the treatment of captives taken in their wars, and frequently released them. They were at war a great deal with their traditional enemies, though the cause or purpose of their contests could never be ascertained unless it was for the purpose of exterminating the other nations or tribes in order to have sole pos- session and occupation of the land and its resources. These wars, however, sel- dom resulted in a battle where a force was engaged on either side. It was a condition of animosity that remained from generation to generation, in which neither party neglected an opportunity to wreak its hatred upon the other. The possession of the scalp of an enemy was a trophy of great importance to an Indian brave. It increased his influence among his fellows and gave him conse- quence in council, and in time would aid materially in raising him to the dignity of a chieftain, the ultimate ambition of the warrior.

The first capital of the Territory of Dakota derives its name from the Yankton Indians. In this way Dakota stands related to that tribe of the aboriginal inhab- itants of the country, and it will be therefore appropriate to inquire briefly into the history of the tribe in order to discover something of its past career. It will be gratifying at least to show that the name "Yankton," with which our city, county and college have been endowed, has come down to us through a long line of illustrious ancestors from an honorable, ancient and numerous family of the abo- riginal inhabitants of the Northwest. That they were not a small branch of a tribe, or a band of modern organization, but part of a great and powerful and honorable nation that has stood in the forefront of defense against the aggressive

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progress of civilization for many centuries, battling heroically but unsuccessfully against a destiny that has been beyond the power of human forces to control.

To be proud of an honorable lineage is a part of our human nature, whether that nature is clothed in a white or a red skin, and whether it is the nature of an untutored savage or a civilized being. The people of civilization sift their geneal- ogies for centuries, ransacking the archives of government and every suspected repository of ancestral secrets, to learn from whom they are descended, and their hearts expand with joyous pride whenever they stumble upon some ancient hero or illustrious statesman whose name offers a hook whereon to hang a claim to a renowned ancestry. The Indian, undisturbed by the vices of civilization, is the embodiment of pride, and his greatest pride is in his ancestry. His traditions are filled with the marvelous feats of the great warriors who have distinguished them- selves in war and in the chase, and much of this tradition when sifted of its fanciful ornamentation has been found nearly as reliable as the written records of a civilized people. The Yanktons have their traditions that tell of mighty bat- tles between tribes of gigantic stature when so much red blood was spilled that it saturated the earth and colored the rocks at Pipestone and left them with the ruddy tint which they bear today; but they have traditions of another kind in which the imagery of fancy forms very little if any part. These traditions have also been passed down from father to son, just as the ancient people of our own race recorded and perpetuated their histories, through centuries of time, and have been, not infrequently, verified by comparison with the written records left to us by those whose lives were spent in teaching them the story of the Cross. Rev. John P. Williamson, D. D., who is a general missionary of the Presbyterian Church, has resided with the Dakota Indians for a lifetime and may safely be regarded as among the best authorities today regarding their past career-their language, their tribal histories, or whatever would be interesting and useful to know of them. The following sketch has been kindly furnished by that reverend gentleman to the readers of this history, and is taken from the manuscript fur- nished by the missionary himself. Mr. Williamson now resides at Greenwood, on what was the Yankton reservation. He was a missionary to the Santees in Minnesota at the time of the Little Crow outbreak in 1862. and long before. and when the Santees were removed to Crow Creek, Dakota Territory, in 1863. he came with them and remained with them at Crow Creek and at Santee, Nebraska, until 1869, when he moved over to the Yankton Agency, where he has since been laboring as a missionary among the Yanktons. The letter was addressed to the writer of this work:

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History of Dakota Territory, volume I, Part 28

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