History of South Dakota, Vol. I, Part 67

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 67

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).

Old Pierre Narcelle, who settled at the mouth of Chapelle creek in 1825, was employed by the American Fur Company at one thousand dollars per year and his expenses. He thus told his story shortly before his death : "Instead of send- ing my money back to the states, I invested it in ponies and articles that the fur company did not want to handle. The ponies I sent out on the range with those belonging to the Indians. The articles that I bought I sent back to friends, who sold them at a good profit and the money was

sent back to me. My money in those days was always in gold and silver and as there were no banks within hundreds of miles there was noth- ing to do but bank in the ground. In half a dozen places around my house between the years 1850 and 1860 I had at times from thirty thou- sand to sixty thousand dollars buried. These places were known to all the members of the family, but to no other persons. These banks were good. enough and safe enough until the spring of 1861, when three of them broke and I lost seventy-two thousand dollars in gold and silver. Just how my bank happened to break inay be of interest to those who have lost money through the operations of dishonest cashiers. Out in front of the house was a beautiful little park of perhaps five acres. It was filled with huge cottonwood trees. These were along the stream and deep down beneath their roots I placed my gold and silver wrapped in buckskin. All of these trees were marked and in the house I kept a plat, showing the location of each bag and the sum of money it contained. The winter of 1860-61 the snowfall was very heavy-at least three feet on the level. When warm weather came the snow went off rapidly and there was every prospect of high water. The little bottom about the house had never overflowed, so we felt secure. The house stood fully forty feet above the water, while the place where the money was buried was nearly as high. Day after day the warm weather continued and the river kept ris- ing. Suddenly there was a cold spell and the

474

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

flood was checked. One day some Indians came down the river and told us there was a great ice dam at Farm Island, near Bad river, and that the water had backed up for miles. That night the gorge broke and the water came down. When we arose in the morning the water had over- flowed the park in front of the house and had backed up to within a few feet of the door. All day it continued to rise and at night it was on the floor and we moved out and took refuge in the barn, which was higher up the bank. In the morning we were up bright and early, but a great change had come over the situation. The house was still standing, but the bank where I had kept my money was gone. There was noth- ing to mark its location except a waste of muddy water. All of the trees which had marked the spots where the money was located had been washed out by the roots and had floated down stream. After the water subsided the boys and myself hunted for the money, but not one cent did we find."

Felix Duboise, who lived upon an island a little way below Chapelle creek, lost forty-five thousand dollars in the same flood. His wife and four children and six hundred head of cattle also were lost.

For ten years after the beginning of the per- manent settlements at Yankton and in that vicinity no bank was established nor found necessary, but in 1869 L. D. Parmer estab- lished a bank in Yankton and for some years did a prosperous business. His bank was situated on Second street between Douglas and Walnut. making it more tributary to the eastern, or Capitol street, section of the city, hence there was an immediate necessity for another bank unon Broadway. This need was supplied in 1872 by Peter P. Wintermute, who continued in. the business until his unfortunate trouble with General Edwin S. McCook, in September, 1873. which resulted in the killing of the latter. Gov- ernor Newton Edmunds thereupon undertook to close up Wintermute's affairs and upon that foundation the banking house of Edmunds & Winn was established and which in the course of time developed into the strong Yankton Na-

tional Bank, still under the control of Gov- ernor Edmunds and his family.

In 1873 the First National Bank of Yank- ton was established by M. M. Parmer and Moses K. Armstrong, which a short time afterwards passed into the control of James V. and Wil- liam H. McVey, who still own and manage it. The two national banks of Yankton are among the strongest and most conservative banks of the northwest.

In 1878 L. D. Parmer's Bank, the original one, failed. This was the first bank failure in South Dakota. He effected a settlement with his creditors at forty cents on the dollar. The sec- ond bank in South Dakota was established at Vermillion in 1871 by Vernette E. Prentice and Henry Newton and was known as Prentice & Newton's Bank. Both gentlemen still reside at Vermillion, Mr. Prentice being the well-known partner in the firm of Lee & Prentice. They conducted a safe business and conservatism has been characteristic of banking in Vermillion. where the business is now represented by the First National Bank, under the management of Hon. Darwin M. Inman, and the Clay County Bank, directed by L. T. Sweezy. The third bank in Dakota was established at Elk Point in 1872 and was known as the Union County Bank. In 1873 E. E. Otis established the first bank in Sioux Falls, but he continued in business but a few months. On June 5. 1874. John D. Cameron established the Bank for Savings, which was operated for about two years.

The banking history of Sioux Falls is in- teresting and shows the marks of several "cam- paigns that failed." First and last, fifteen banks have been established there since Otis made his first venture, October 10, 1873. Two national banks, the First National and the Dakota Na- tional, each with fifty thousand dollars capital, have failed and one other, the Union National, has liquidated. There remain in the city six strong banking institutions, each doing a safe and profitable business and representing more than six hundred thousand dollars of capital. They are the Sioux Falls National Bank, one hundred thousand dollars. C. E. Mckinney,

475

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

president, D. L. Mckinney, vice-president, and C. L. Norton, cashier; Minnehaha National Bank, one hundred thousand dollars, P. F. Sher- man, president, George Perry, vice-president, W. L. Baker, cashier; State Banking and Trust Company, W. C. Hollister, president, F. H. Hollister, cashier; Sioux Falls Savings Bank, R. B. Dennis, president, and W. G. Knappen, cashier ; Security Savings Bank, J. N. Weston, president, and C. L. Norton, cashier ; Central Banking and Trust Company, H. H. Natwick, president, and C. G. Leyse, cashier.

The banks of Deadwood and Lead are ex- ceptionally strong. The American National and the First National of Deadwood and the First National of Lead, three great banks in alliance, have stood as a bulwark of financial integrity since their foundation, soon after the gold dis- coveries of 1876. These banks came to the re- lief of the state in 1895, when the Taylor de- falcation left the treasury empty, and provided the funds to bridge the state over the difficulty until the treasury could be replenished through the regular channels.

With the great homesteading and town- building boom, setting in about 1878, banks sprung up everywhere, and though in the very nature of things some adventurers came and set up wild-cat and unstable banks, the great ma- jority of the banks established in the early days were under the management of prudent men of high integrity, and a surprising number of the foundations, still the reliance and the pride of the several communities, date back to the early 'eighties and have withstood the storms of two panics and still are enjoying the confidence and the prosperity due to honest management and fair dealing. Among these old establishments of the newer era in South Dakota are the First National and Citizens' National of Watertown, the First National and Aberdeen National of Aberdeen, the three national banks of Pierre, the First National of Huron, the Fishback's and Morehouse banks of Brookings, Ruth & Carroll, of DeSmet, Kennedy's Bank and the First Na- tional of Madison, Uline, Kennefeck & Smith, of Dell Rapids, Lord's and Danforth's banks of

Parker, Snow & Groot, of Springfield, David- son's, at Mitchell, and Beebe, of Ipswich. It is not intended to make invidious comparisons, but it is believed that the banks enumerated com- prise the most of those which have continued under unchanged management from the foun- dation of the institutions soon after the towns were established in the days of the boom. To this list may be added many others which suc- cessfully withstood the panic of 1893 and the terrible days following it.

The banks of South Dakota are of three classes : National banks, under the supervision of the comptroller of the currency and regularly examined by the national bank examiner, and state and private banks, under the supervision of the public examiner, who examines into their condition at short intervals and to whom the banks are required to report upon call. The law affords the public every safeguard which can be devised and makes it extremely difficult for a rascal to engage in the banking business in South Dakota.

The exceptional prosperity which has favored the people of South Dakota for the past six or seven years has reflected itself in the extension of banks and the increase of deposits, and this good condition in turn proved very attractive to the Yegg men, who swooped down upon our banks in a manner to cause great alarm, but the enterprising managers were prompt to provide themselves with every protection against bank robbers which modern ingenuity has produced and the most invincible safes and sensitive sys- tems of burglar alarms have rendered the Yegg business so hazardous that successful bank breaking is becoming very rare.

There has been but little of the spectacular in South Dakota banking. Primarily of course conditions have not been favorable to much plunging, but financial Napoleons have not found favor, and however adventurous the South Da- kotan may have been he has selected for his banker the man of calm pulse, conservative judgment and good habits. In times of pros- perity the banker has been the backbone of every enterprise for the advancement of the community

476

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

and in times of adversity the community has looked to him for the assistance to tide over the emergency. The bankers of South Dakota or- ganized themselves into an association in 1884, being now the oldest bankers' association in the United States. The present officers are: Presi-

dent, E. L. Abel, president First National Bank of Bridgewater ; vice-president, W. A. Mackay, president banking house of Mackay Brothers, Madison; secretary, George C. Fullinweider, cashier Standard Savings Bank, Huron; treas- urer, S. Drew, president Bank of Highmore.

CHAPTER LXXXI

PHYSICIANS AND THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE.

REVISED BY DR. DE LORME W. ROBINSON.

Some one may make a valuable contribution to scientific knowledge by collecting and classify- ing the plants, roots, herbs, blossoms and berries which the Dakota Indians, in the primitive days, used for the cure and alleviation of human ills. An old French history of Louisiana, printed in Paris in 1750, attempted to do this, but its information was so meager and its descriptions so obscure that at this distance it is difficult to identify many of those enumerated. It is cer- tain, however, that they used quite an extended range of plants for medicine, a few of them with an intelligent understanding of their medi- cal properties, others with only a hint of their value, while in the main, it may be assumed, with no more reason than they applied to the mummery of the medicine men. The observations of many trustworthy witnesses prove, however, that they used emetics and physics; and also poultices for inflammations, and to counteract the poisons from wounds and snakebites, with commendable judgment.

Sweating was a favorite treatment among all of the Indians, and, though carried to ex- cess in many instances, was probably their most convenient and efficient method of treating dis- ease. Many writers tell of instances where pa- tients have been so weakened by the Indian sweats that swooning was common. They, too, practiced a rough, almost brutal kind of sur- gery, but with little success, as the large num- ber of cripples among them testify. Supersti- tion generally dominated and if the medicine

man was present the case was turned over to him, and his brand of Christian science, faith cure or what you will, was not very effective in setting a broken limb or healing a lesion. Like all sorts of suggestion, by whatever name called, he could rouse the patient to a belief in the possibility of cure, and of course that con- trol of the mind is in most cases helpful. It should be noted too that the Dakotas used mas- sage intelligently and effectively.

No regular physician accompanied Lewis and Clarke, but Captain Clarke possessed a fair knowledge of "simples," as it was said in his day, and he carried a well-stocked medicine chest, from which he ministered to the ills of the company, which, however, were few. In the case of Sergeant Floyd, who died in sight of Dakotaland, even as Moses gave up the ghost when in sight of the land of Canaan, Dr. Clarke's simples were not effective. He diagnosed the case as "inflammation of the bowels," a disease unknown to the modern practitioner. Captain Clarke was more proficient in surgery and the treatment of wounds, as evidenced by the happy event of his treatment of the serious wound re- ceived by Captain Lewis upon the return trip. from which he made a splendid recovery.

The Leavenworth expedition against the Rees, in 1823, brought the first lawyer into South Dakota as we have seen in another chap- ter, and the first doctor of medicine also. Major John Gale, surgeon on the staff of General At- kinson, accompanied the expedition and covered

478

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

himself with glory, not in the practice of his profession, for it does not appear that he had any calls upon his medicine case, but for prompt and efficient action in each of the shipwrecks which befell the enterprise, in that way saving both lives and property. Dr. Gale was back again with the Atkinson-O'Fallon expedition of 1825, but there is no record that his professional services were called into requisition upon either trip. Dr. Gale, however, had a fine record as a physician and surgeon. He was a native of New Hampshire, from which state he entered the army as a volunteer in 1812 and continued in the service until his death, on July 27, 1830.

The fur companies never employed any regu- lar resident physicians at the posts, but after the awful smallpox scourge of 1837 they regularly sent up from St. Louis each year doctors to vaccinate as many Indians as could be prevailed upon to submit to the operation. The coming of these doctors was an event eagerly looked for- ward to by the tribes who early came to have faith in the efficiency of vaccination. As early as 1832 the Fort Pierre Journal notes that "Dr. Martin arrived to vaccinate the men."

Dr. Joseph 'N. Nicollet, who visited South Dakota in 1838 and 1839, was, among his many accomplishments, a doctor of medicine, but his visits here had nothing to do with medicine. It is probable that Dr. Williamson, the missionary, was frequently in South Dakota, among the Sissetons, at Big Stone and Chanopa at about this time, but I am not able to verify the fact.

When General Harney wintered at Fort Pierre in 1855-6 he was accompanied by his brother, Major Benj. F. Harney, who was his staff surgeon, assisted by Dr. David L. Ma- gruder, the latter having the rank of captain. Dr. Harney spent the winter at Pierre, but Dr. McGruder went down to the camps along the river and put in the most of the winter at Handy's Point.

Among the little band of sixteen hopeful pioneers who spent the winter of 1857-8 at Sioux Falls was Dr. J. L. Phillips, then but recently graduated in medicine. He came from Dubuque the previous August. When Wilmot W. Brook-

ings returned from his unfortunate expedition to secure the Yankton townsite in February, 1858, with his feet so badly frozen that decay set in, Dr. Phillips, with no other instrument than a butcher knife and a tenon saw, amputated both his feet, and though the operation was performed in a bachelor's shanty without any of the aseptic appliances, or even cleanliness now con- sidered so essential in surgery, his patient, bunked on a bed of buffalo robes, came out all right, and is still living, a most valuable citizen. Dr. Phillips remained in Sioux Falls until the place was abandoned, but returned again after the Indian troubles and lived and died, a most respected citizen of that community. He was the first regular physician to establish himself as a practitioner in Dakota.

With the first settlers who located at Yank- ton was Dr. Justus Townsend, a physician, who found the community so horribly healthy that he was scarcely able to subsist himself, the seeing which Dr. William Jayne, the governor, took pity upon him and added to his cares by making him territorial auditor. The salary was fifty dollars a year, but there was no money to pay even that, so it is yet an open question whether or not he was assisted or burdened by the gov- ernor's kindness.

The same time, that is in the fall of 1859, Dr. James Caulkins came down the river- which predicates the fact that he at some time must have gone up-river-to Vermillion, where he opened an office, but, like his brother profes- sioner at Yankton, was sorely afflicted by the good health of the people. An opportunity was opened to him, however, to patch out a living by teaching a school in the village, which was prob- ably the first school in the civil settlements ever taught in Dakota, antedating by a few months the school taught in the first school house, by Miss Bradford at Bon Homme. . Dr. Caulkins' school was conducted in an upper room in James McHenry's house.

Dr. Caulkins, like the other Dakota physi- cians mentioned, Drs. Phillips and Townsend, was public spirited and was active in every movement looking to the upbuilding of the com-

479

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

munity. He was secretary of the mass meeting in November, 1859, which memorialized congress to create Dakota territory.

As above mentioned, Governor Jayne was a physician, and a very successful one too at home in Springfield, Illinois, where he was President Lincoln's family physician and it was largely due to this relation that he received the appoint- ment .· In Dakota, however, he was "working at something else," and therefore was not a medical practitioner here. After his Dakota experience he returned to Springfield and resumed his prac- tice and accumulated a fine competence.

In the early years the doctors found even harder picking than the lawyers. For months at a time there was literally nothing for them to do in a professional way, but as that was like- wise true of most other lines of business, their bad plight was not the subject of especial notice. It seems almost miraculous that many of the pioneers were able to sustain themselves at all. Living, however, such as it was, was very cheap. Social requirements made few demands, and openhanded hospitality on the part of those who had the means made life very endurable.

Dr. Burliegh had been a physician but had taken up law, and in fact devoted no time to medicine and very little to law after he came to Dakota. Among the carliest physicians were Dr. Frank Wixson, who settled in Yankton and eked out his practice by serving at least one term as chief clerk of the legislature. Dr. Henry F. Livingstone arrived in the autumn of 1865, and almost at once went into the Indian service. Up to this time not a single. Dakota doctor had been able to sustain himself solely by his pro- fession, notwithstanding which fact a bill regu- lating the practice of medicine was introduced in the legislature of 1866, by William Gray, of Union county. The committee upon public health reported that it was a very worthy bill, but under existing circumstances it was against public policy to pass it. The first law of Dakota affecting the physicians was passed by the first .session and exempted him from jury duty, but at the same time made him guilty of a mis- demeanor if he poisoned a patient while in-

toxicated, if the life of the patient was ell- dangered thereby, but if the poison killed the patient then the physician was to be deemed guilty of manslaughter in the second degree.

The first legislative enactment of the ter- ritory to regulate the practice of medicine, fur- ther than as above stated, was passed by the session of 1868-9 and was entitled, "An act to protect the citizens of Dakota territory and elevate the standing of the medical profession," and was introduced by A. N. Hampton, of Clay county. It contained two sections, the first of which provided that it should be unlawful for anyone to practice medicine or surgery, for pay, without first having taken at least two full courses of lectures and instruction and have graduated from a medical college, and the second section provided that anyone violating the pro- visions of section one should be subject to a fine of one hundred dollars for the first offense and to fine and imprisonment for the second offense. Persons who had practiced for ten years and dentists were exempted from the operation 'of this law.

The legislature of 1885 passed the first elaborate law for the safeguarding of the public health and the licensing of physicians. This act was drafted by Delorme W. Robinson, M. D., of Pierre, and was introduced into the legislature by J. H. Westover, representative in the house from the Pierre district. This act created a ter- ritorial board of health. It consisted of the at- torney general, who was ex-officio president of the board, and a vice-president and superintend- ent to be appointed by the governor and con- firmed by the council. It gave to this board large powers in the administration of the health laws and provided that every physician must be a graduate of a medical college, or in lieu thereof pass an examination before the superin- tendent of the board of health and two other selected physicians.

After this enactment there was very little legislation affecting physicians, except some change in the exemption laws in favor of doctors' bills, until the legislative session of 1891, when a state board of health was created, providing

480

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

for three members who should be resident phy- sicians in good standing. This act provided for the licensing of physicians by the board, but it vested the board with no discretionary power. If the applicant could produce the diploma of a reputable medical school and a certificate of good moral character, the board was bound to license him regardless of his ability to cure. Notwith- standing the weakness of this law, which at the time of its enactment was the strongest measure it was possible to secure, no change of material import was made in it until the session of 1903,

when the present efficient board of medical ex- aminers' law was enacted through the persistent efforts of Doctors McNutt, Hawkins, Robinson and Stewart, supported by all of the reputable members of the profession in the state.

There are state medical societies of both the regulars and the homeopaths, as well as several district societies. In recent years a better un- derstanding has grown up between these two major branches of the medical profession and there is now a likelihood of a merger into one society.

CHAPTER LXXXII

THE DAKOTA CENTRAL TELEPHONE LINES.

The largest business proposition in South Da- kota, organized exclusively by South Dakota men and conducted with South Dakota capital, is the corporation known as the Dakota Central Telephone Lines. The history of this institution deserves more than passing notice, for it is the story of success won by persistent effort against obstacles which appeared insurmountable.

The genius who by unflagging zeal has wrought out this success is J. L. W. Zietlow, a gentleman who works with the handicap of a single hand to perform the labor which he has so arduously contributed to the enterprise. Mr. Zietlow is naturally of a mechanical turn and deeply interested in electrical science, and when the telephone first came into general use in the early 'eighties and the instruments were all em- braced in the Bell patents, he determined to pro- duce an instrument of his own. The successful Bell machines all used an undulating current and scientists did not deem it possible to make a satis- factory telephone upon any other principle. Mr. Zietlow took up an invention, brought out by Professor Ries, of Germany, some time prior to the Bell invention. This instrument, on account of using a "make and break" current, was held to be capable of reproducing musical and mechani- cal sounds only, but, after much experimenting, he brought out a machine that reproduced human speech. With this telephone he interested Gov- ernor Mellette and other prominent business men of the state and in the fall of 1886 organized a company for the purpose of building exchanges

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 67

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