History of South Dakota, Vol. I, Part 41

Author: Robinson, Doane, 1856-1946. cn
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 998

USA > South Dakota > History of South Dakota, Vol. I > Part 41

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).

At Deadwood Christian Hoffman was shot and killed in his place of business by Edward Durham. Durham was protected from mob vio- lence, tried in circuit court and sentenced to eleven years in the penitentiary. Mrs. Hoffman, the wife of the murdered man, subsequently be- came the wife of Judge Dighton Corson, of the supreme court.

Gen. Wiliam Tripp died at his home in Yank- ton on March 31, 1878. General Tripp had been distinguished in the history of Dakota, both in civil and military life, having commanded Com- pany B of the Dakota cavalry during the Indian war. Prior to coming to Dakota he had been a member of the legislature and also lieutenant governor of his native state, Maine. He was fifty-seven years of age at his death.

On September 19th Rev. G. S. Codington, for whom Codington county was named, and who had served in two legislatures, from Minne- haha county, died. Mark W. Baily, also a dis- tinguished member of the legislature of 1877, from Lincoln county, died that year.

298

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

During this summer there was a general In- dian scare, the impression taking root that the Oglalas and Uncpapas were again going upon the warpath. It was happily unfounded.

In consideration of the assistance he had ren- dered in bringing in the hostiles, Spotted Tail was made a lieutenant in the regular army, with pay fixed at one hundred and fifty dollars per month. His appointment was made to date back for six months and he requested that the

nine hundred dollars coming to him be paid in one and two-dollar bills. The great package of bills were brought to him and he at once divided them up among his friends.

A detachment of military from Fort Thomp- son was sent to the James valley to bring into Crow Creek agency Drifting Goose and his band, who continued to make their home at Armadale. They came in without opposition, but almost im- mediately returned to their old haunts.

CHAPTER LI

THE RAILWAYS BREAK IN.

With 1879 the flood of immigration increased quite beyond the wildest hope of the old-time Dakotans. By the end of this year there was scarcely any desirable land left in the Sioux valley untaken and the flood was pouring across the middle coteau and settling along the Jim. The general plans of the railway companies had taken form and in the prosecution of them the Milwaukee Railway had extended its Hastings and Dakota division as far west as Big Stone. Its Northern Iowa division was completed through Canton to Marion Junction and its sur- veys made west from that point to Chamberlain and south to Running Water.

The Northwestern, with its restored Winona & St. Peter line resting at Watertown, had pro -. jected the Dakota Central division west from Tracy, Minnesota, to Pierre, and the line was completed by November 15th to Volga, in Brook- ings county. Along all of these lines new towns had sprung up over night. Elkton, Brookings, Volga, the latter at the time of vastly the great- est importance, and Goodwin and Kranzburg, were the northwestern towns dating from 1879. On the Milwaukee road Lennox, Parker, Mar- ion, Mitchell, Scotland and Tyndall resulted from the year's building, or surveys, the three latter being laid out by the railway land com- pany, and acquiring a good deal of importance long before the roads were constructed.

It was unquestionably the plan of the North- western at this time to push its Pierre extension on to the Black Hills, as it doubtless also was

the design of the Milwaukee to extend the Chamberlian line to the same terminus.

The Worthington and Sioux Falls (Omaha) Railway extended its lines west as far as Salem this year, and the Pembina division of the Da- kota Southern built from Beloit to Sioux Falls, and the Southern Minnesota reached Flandreau, the first train coming through on January I. 1880. Within a few months the Dakota South- ern and Southern Minnesota passed into the pos- session of the Milwaukee.

Boom was in the atmosphere, and that hope which has ever characterized the true Dakotan- hope that no untoward circumstances could blight-everywhere carried the people into new enterprises for development and growth.

The legislature convened in January. George H. Walsh, of Grand Forks, was made president of the council and John R. Jackson, of Minne- haha, speaker of the house. Governor Howard's message was exhaustive and practical. It was chiefly devoted to the condition of territorial finances, which were not prosperous. In this connection he presented some tables of figures which were construed to reflect upon Hon. E. A. Sherman, of Sioux Falls, territorial treasurer. Hon. Richard F. Pettigrew, councilman from Minnehaha, made a vigorous fight in behalf of Mr. Sherman, and though Governor Howard disclaimed any intention of doing Mr. Sherman an injury, and by appointing him at once terri- torial auditor showed his absolute confidence in Mr. Sherman's integrity, still a situation grew

300

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

up which interfered with legislation and was more or less embarrassing to all concerned. New- ton Edmunds was a member of this council and earnestly supported Governor Howard and par- ticularly urged the passage of the bill author- izing the insane asylum.

Senator Pettigrew promoted the passage of a bill locating the penitentiary, which passed late in the session without much opposition. Im- mediately after the passage of this bill he brought in a new bill to issue forty-five thousand dollars of territorial bonds for the erection of the penitentiary and insane asylum. The bill was fought by Hon. John R. Gamble, of Yankton, and the entire Yankton and Bon Homme dele- gations, the latter lead by Maj. James H. Steph- ens, of Springfield. In the light of subsequent developments the issue of so small a sumı in bonds appears to have been a very innocent prop- osition, but the conservative men of January, 1879, saw only bankruptcy in it. By a combina- tion with members from North Dakota and with Hon. Alfred Brown, of Hutchinson county, Senator Pettigrew was able to make his point and force the passage of the bond bill. Yankton influence, however, prevailed and Governor Howard vetoed it.

Mr. Brown, of Hutchinson, was deeply inter- ested in the consolidation of Hutchinson and Armstrong counties and, incidental to this ob- ject, he had a bill which completely changed the map of the territory. In 1872 the entire unset- tled portion of the territory was divided up into counties, chiefly for the purpose of compliment- ing prominent citizens by applying their names to the respective counties so created. Under the former arrangement the present Hutchinson county approximately constituted Hutchinson and Armstrong, divided by an east and west line. Davison and Hanson, also divided by an east and west line, Davison occupying the north half of the present territory of the two counties. Miner and Sanborn were then Bramble and Miner. Aurora was Cragin and Jerauld was Westmore. Eastern Kingsbury was Wood county. Kingsbury itself extended west to Hu- ron, and west of that lay Burchard county.

Hyde and Hand divided east and west. Coding- ton and Hamlin was Adair county. The south half of Spink was called Spink and the north half Thompson. The north half of Brown was Beadle and the south half Mills. Marshall was Stone and Day, Greeley county. Potter was then called Ashmore.

Brown's bill, said to have been prepared by Senator Pettigrew, arranged the counties about as they at present exist, and also remodeled the map of North Dakota. Brown's only interest was the consolidation of Hutchinson and Arm- strong, but to accomplish this he found he could secure support by the general consolidation scheme, and so it was brought about. By con- solidating the strength centered upon Brown's bill with the penitentiary scheme sufficient force was acquired to dominate legislation.

The first legislative railway lobby appeared before this legislature. Charles S. Simmons rep- resented the Northwestern and G. W. San- born the Milwaukee. Their demands were emi- nently proper, being simply safeguards for the large investments with which these lines pro- posed to build at once through the territory. These were gladly granted.

A bill to tax the net products of the mines was presented, but was intended simply as a club over the Black Hills members. Captain Miner introduced a bill giving the right of suf- frage to women, which passed the council, but got no further.

Mr. Gray, of Burleigh, presented a bill re- moving the capital to Bismarck, but it was in- definitely postponed upon first reading.

An elaborate school code, drafted by Prof. Amherst W. Barber, was passed, which, under the administration of Gen. W. H. H. Beadle, whom Governor Howard appointed superintend- ent of public instruction, brought about many de- sirable educational reforms.

By a bit of characteristic satire Senator Pet- tigrew killed a bill to require a certain number of laws to be printed in the German language. Mr. Pettigrew said he favored the bill, but would like it better if it were more far-reaching. There were more Sioux than Germans in Dakota and

301

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

he would like it if a large number of the laws were printed in the Sioux tongue. "Then," he said, "when the fierce buck follows the war path with butcher knife in one hand and reeking scalp in the other, he will have full knowledge of the herd law and will not lay himself liable to an- noyance for violating its provisions."

During the winter the legislature accepted the invitation of the Dakota Southern Railway to make an excursion to Beloit and thence by car- riages to Canton, where an elaborate banquet was tendered them by the citizens.

It was not a political year. As before stated, Governor Howard appointed E. A. Sherman au- ditor, and General Beadle superintendent of edu- cation. He also named W. H. McVey, of Yank- ton, for treasurer. Congress having having pro- vided for a fourth judge for Dakota, Judge Kid- der, whose term as delegate in congress expired on March 4th, was appointed to the new judge- ship about April Ist.

The coteau region along the Sioux valley is covered with glacial drift which has been car- ried down from the auriferous region about the Rainy lake, and consequently contains more or less gold, though necessarily always in small quantities. During the early spring of 1879 a gravel bar in Lake county was found to show the color of gold and the find being noised about there was a stampede to the locality and for a few days Lake county mining stock commanded a premium. The truth soon became apparent and the whole matter resolved itself into a good joke.

For the better protection of the agencies and the control of the Indians it was deemed wise to place small forts at Cheyenne river and Lower Brule, and consequently Forts Bennett and Hale were located this spring at the respective agen- cies. Fort Bennett was named for Capt. Andrew S. Bennett, of the Fifth Cavalry, who was killed by Bannock Indians at Charles Fork, Montana, on September 4, 1878, and Fort Hale for Capt. Owen Hale, of the Seventh Cavalry, who was killed September 30, 1877, by the Nez Perces.

Two years of the administration of civil law in the Black Hills had produced a very great change for the better and the Hills country had settled down to as orderly a community as the west afforded. The blockhouse at Rapid was found no longer to be of service and it was torn down. Schools and churches were estab- lished in every town and camp; the road agents disappeared, order prevailed and prosperity abounded.

It was during this year that H. N. Ross, one of the miners who accompanied Custer in 1874. discovered the hot springs in Fall River county. Returning to Custer from the springs, he in- formed Prof. Jenny and Col. W. J. Thornby of his find and they at once went down to examine the healing waters. Colonel Thornby located a claim covering the now famous Minnekahta spring.

Two great disasters came upon the territory during this year. Great prairie fires swept the Sioux valley at the end of March. From Sioux City to Canton the valley was aflame and many homesteaders lost all of their improvements. Only with the utmost exertion were the villages saved from the fires. This disheartening event was a severe blow to the newcomers, but they went energetically to work to repair the loss, and by the following winter they were again mostly recovered.

The great fire in Deadwood occurred on Sep- tember 25th. The town was practically de- stroyed. The deep, narrow gulch, filled as it was with buildings of pine, became a veritable furnace. No accurate estimate of the loss can be given, but the people, who had come through fire and snow, across the hostile lined wiles, in defiance of the government and its military arm to make homes in the Hills, were not daunted by the loss of their savings and their homes. The ground was cleared for better building and they earnestly set to work to build a city not so liable to go up in smoke and the substantial mod- ern Deadwood is the result.

CHAPTER LII

THE SWELL OF THE BOOM IN 1880.

By the spring of 1880 the boom in immigra- tion and railroad building in the Dakota country had reached its great height and though it did not abate for several years, it still did not at any time reach greater proportions. During that year the Dakota Central division of the North- western was built from Volga to Pierre, giving rise to Huron, Desmet, Miller, Highmore and all- of the bright towns along that line. The Mil- waukee was extended from Marion to Chamber- lain, and Mitchell, Alexandria, Plankington and the towns along that railway came into being. Its Hastings and Dakota division was con- structed from Big Stone to Webster, giving birth to Milbank and Webster. The road from Egan to Sioux Falls was constructed and the South- ern Minnesota extended from Flandreau to Madison. In the early spring of this year the ' directors of the Dakota Southern Railway, rep- resenting a bare majority of the stock, sold the road to the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, but John I. Blair, of St. Louis, the owner of forty- eight per cent. of the stock of the road and its financial sponser and its creditor for a large sum, attempted to restrain the sale by injunction. The matter dragged in the courts for several months, preventing the Milwaukee from making exten- sions in the southern portion of the territory, which it had in contemplation. The suit was compromiscd in July and the Milwaukee took the road.

At this time every prospect pointed to the

early construction of both the Pierre and Cham- berlain extensions to the Hills, and it was un- doubtedly the intention of the management of hoth lines to do so. Through the promotion of the railways the head men of the Tetons went to Washington to consider the means of selling the right of way for the railways through the reservation, and an agreement was reached and both companies paid a large sum of money for the concession. The Northwestern bought out the squatters upon the section of land on the west side of the Missouri, opposite Pierre, and cov- ered the land with "Valentine script." More- over extensive surveys were made and the imme- diate building of the extensions announced. There is reason to believe that at this juncture the Northwestern contemplated extending the Pierre line to the Pacific. Both the Northwest- ern and Milwaukee this year began the construc- tion of the north and south lines in the Jim valley.

Immigration everywhere flowed in the wake of the railways and not infrequently preceded it. There is no record of the numbers who came, but the ordinary estimates of the newspapers of the day placed the new arrivals of the year at one hundred thousand.

Governor Nehemiah G. Ordway, who was appointed to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Governor Howard, arrived on the 24th of June and at once set out upon a personal ex- amination of the territory. He delivered the

303

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Fourth of July oration at Mitchell and went thence to the Black Hills and Bismarck, across to Fargo and Grand Forks and in a short time had familiarized himself with the entire terri- tory and made many acquaintances. He gath- ered up a car load of Dakota grains and vegeta- bles and made an extended trip through the east exhibiting them and induced much additional immigration from the New England region. The harvest of the year proved excellent.

Beginning on the 15th of October of this year, when the new settlers, many of them, had not completed their houses and stables, and were therefore illy provided for such a visitation, a terrific snow storm set in and continued for four days. The storm was unprecedented in its fury, when the season is considered; the snow fell to a great depth, blockading all of the railways for a long period and causing much suffering. Much stock perished and a few human lives were lost in South Dakota. This was the beginning of a winter which has become historic, a date line from which all pioneers reckon time. The hard winter of 1880 has become a proverb.

The Ist day of May, 1880, the United States land office was removed from Springfield to Wa- tertown. Arthur C. Mellette was register and L. D. F. Poore receiver. On September 21st the land office at Sioux Falls was removed to Mitchell, the lands in the vicinity of the Falls having all been taken, and the convenience of the homeseekers requiring that the office be brought nearer the point of general new settlement.

During this season there was a general dis- cussion of the possibility of obtaining water from sinking artesian wells. This was a topic of the first interest to the prairie towns and the boomers took up the exploitation of it with a will, but it remained for conservative old Yankton to make the first attempt and the first demonstration of its practicability. This, however, was not ac- complished until the next year.

The total assessed valuation of the territory this year was eleven million eight hundred and eight thousand dollars. The population by the census on the first of June was one hundred and

thirty-five thousand and for the portion now South Dakota eighty-six thousand.

This was a political year. Governor How- ard died on April Ioth and the appointment of a successor was a matter of great interest. A strong movement was started favorable to the appointment of George H. Hand, the secretary. He did not find favor with the administration. President Hayes offered the position to Judge Kidder, but the latter preferred to continue upon the bench. Finally Nehemiah G. Ordway, of New Hampshire, was chosen. Ordway had been sergeant-at-arms of the house of representatives. He was a gentleman of large means, and as sergeant-at-arms he had become a sort of private banker to a very large number of the impecuni- ous congressmen, and in this way was enabled to bring to his support an almost irresistible de- mand for his appointment. It may be noted as an interesting coincident that he was a nephew of the Sergeant Ordway, who, in 1804, accom- panied Lewis and Clarke through Dakota.

The first convention of the season was held at Fargo May 19th by the Republicans for the purpose of electing delegates to Chicago for the national convention. There was a very full at- tendance, indicating the interest the newcomers took in public affairs. Charles T. McCoy, then of Bon Homme county, and Porter Warner, of Deadwood, were chosen as delegates, and they were instructed to support Newton Edmunds for national committeeman, but no choice was expressed by the convention as to the candi- date for President, the sentiment of the territory - being apparently divided about equally between Grant and Blaine. At Chicago Mr. McCoy supported Grant and they united in support of Garfield. Mr. Warner did not understand that he was under instruc- tions for Governor Edmunds for national com- mitteeman and supported Seth Bullock. As a result of this disagreement no committeeman was appointed at the time for Dakota, but later in the season Mr. McCoy was chosen for the position by the territorial committee. The Dem- ocrats did not hold a spring convention, hut the

304

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

committee selected gentlemen to represent that party in the convention at Cincinnati, which nominated Hancock.

The Republicans made a red-hot pre-conven- tion campaign for delegate in congress. Senator Pettigrew, Delegate Bennett and John B. Ray- mond were active candidates. Alex Hughes, chairman of the central committee, called his committee to meet at Elk Point on July 24th to fix the time and place for holding the nominat- ing convention, but found that Mr. Pettigrew had already secured from a majority of the com- mittee a call for a convention to meet at Sioux Falls without consulting Hughes. A serious split was threatened, but a compromise was reached and the convention called to meet at Ver- million September Ist. In that convention seven ballots were taken before a choice was made, the original strength being Bennett and Pettigrew, fifty-five each, Raymond thirty-one. On the sev- enth ballot a break was made to Pettigrew and he received one hundred and twenty-five votes.

The Democratic convention met in Sioux Falls in September and Capt. M. L. McCormack, of Grand Forks, was nominated without opposi- tion. The only contest was over the selection of the chairman of the central committee, the result of the election in Maine having encour- aged the Democrats to hope that Hancock might be elected, in which event the position of state chairman would carry a great deal of power in the matter of patronage. D. M. Inman was finally agreed upon as chairman. The election of course resulted in a great Republican victory, as the new immigration was almost entirely Repub- lican.

The administration of affairs in Lawrence county fell into the hands of a corrupt ring which resulted in the almost bankruptcy of the county. Bonds for more than three hundred thousand dollars were issued. Colonel Moody, as judge of the district court, took a strong position in op- position to the methods in operation there and was for a time deeply involved in a political-ju- dicial turmoil, but came out with such credit that lie was at once discussed as one of the United

States senators to represent the new state, which at that time was thought to be near at hand.

Brown county was organized July 20th,' Beadle July 9th, Clark December 21st, Hughes November 20th and Miner November 8th. The last named county then included Sanborn county and the county seat was located at Forestburg.

Among the notable deaths of the year was that of Governor Howard, which occurred at Washington on April Ioth. Gov. William A. Howard was a native of Vermont, where he was born in 1812. He was a member of congress from Detroit, Michigan, from 1856 to 1862, after which he was postmaster at Detroit for eight years. As an executive he ranks among the wis- est and best Dakota has known. He was suc- ceeded during the interregnum before the ap- pointment of .Ordway by George H. Hand, sec- retary and acting governor.

Dr. Frank Wixson, a pioneer of 1860 and sur- geon of Company B, of the Dakota Cavalry, died May 13th. He was also secretary of the coun- cil in 1867. Judge E. G. Wheeler, a lawyer of prominence, long a citizen of Yankton but re- cently removed to Beadle county, died July 25th. Mrs. Mary A. Kidder, wife of Judge Kidder. died in October. The great storm of October has already been mentioned. The entire season was characterized by storms of unusual violence. On May 17th a storm somewhat cyclonic struck the vicinity of Ashton and destroyed many home- steaders' improvements. Another of similar character wrought havoc in the vicinity of Mitchell and still later a violent storm devastated a portion of Lake county. Fortunately no lives were lost from this cause.

While the public health was in general very good, an epidemic of smallpox, exceedingly vir- ulent and fatal, occurred at Jefferson, in Union county, in December.

A few notable crimes are recorded for the vear. William E. Gleason, first United States attorney for Dakota territory and later a judge of the territorial supreme court, for which he re- signed to accept a consulate in Italy, had taken up the practice of law at his former home in Bal-

305

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

timore, Maryland, where during this summer he was convicted of perjury and disbarred from practice.

John D. Cameron, a somewhat notorious resi- dent of Sioux Falls, was indicted for subornation of perjury in the United States court, growing out of an attempt to secure title to forty-five quarter sections of government land near Huron, through fraudulent entries. Cameron was for a long period almost constantly under indictment

for fraudulent practices relating to the public lands.

Silas F. Beebe was sentenced by Judge Shan- non to be hanged for the murder of George Lan- phere, near Crow creek agency on July 4, 1879. He was reprieved and his sentence commuted to life imprisonment by the President.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of South Dakota, Vol. I, Part 41

Author: Robinson, Doane, 1856-1946. cn Publication date: 1904 Publisher: [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen Number of Pages: 998

Author: Robinson, Doane, 1856-1946. cn
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 998