Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1900-04-27
FIRST SETTLEMENT.
Some Interesting Early History Re-
called by the Death of Alpheus
Fuller Recently.
First Settlement of Dakota Territory
and Attempts to form a Terri
torial Government.

Some interesting early history of
Dakota territory is recalled by the re-
cent death of Alpheus Fuller, a brief
of whose selection as a del
egate to congress before the ~organiza-
ton of the territory was made in yes
terday's Tribune. The first attempt
at settlement of southern Dakota was
made at Sioux Falls in the fall of 1856
by an organization called the Western
Town Company of Dubuque, Iowa. The
men who ventured to make the settle
ment were ordered off by the Indians
and returned to Sioux City, Iowa. In
December following a second attempt
was made by members of the same
company who took possession of 800
acres OF land about the falls and re-
turned to Sioux City for the winter.
In May 1897 otner representatives of
the company visited the falls and
erected a small stone house. The
Dakota Land Company, chartered by
the Minnesota legislature. made a
claim OF 80 acres of land south of
that first taken, it's members having
come part way from st. Paul by
steamer and part way overland. They
named several towns for prominent
M~lnnesotans. among them Flandreau,
after Judge Flandrau. Everything
went we'll until the latter part of July
When the Indians again compelled the
evacuation of the settlement. In the
latter part of august another party of
the Western Town Company came in
to start a saw mill and lay out the
town. The Indians stampeded their
only yoke of cattle. At the beginning
OF winter there were three dwellings,,
a store and a saw mill in the place
and a population of sixteen men. In
December 1857 the governor of Min
nesota appointed the first officers of
What is now Minnehaha county, South
Dakota. In May 1873 the eastern por-
ton of the territory of Minnesota
was admitted as a state leaving what
is now South Dakota without organi-
cation of any kind. In July 1858
there was another Indian scare and
many of the settlers left. Finding
themselves without a government. the
settlers left in the vicinity of Sioux
Falls resolved to organize a provi-
sional government and issued an cleo
ton notice, dated September 20. 1858,
calling for an election for a territorial
legislature. This notice was published
in the Dakota Democrat, published by
Samuel Albright, and the first news
paper published in Dakota. The pro-
visional legislature convened soon af-
ter and Henry Masters was elected
president Of the council and S. ]. AL
bright speaker of the house. The
session lasted only a lew days. in the
course of which a memorial was passed
asking congress to grant territorial or
ganlzatlon and Alpheus Fuller was Sc
lected to represent the territory in
congress. Masters died the fall of the
same year. the first death of a white
man in the valley.
Another election was held in the
fall of 1879 and J. P. Kidder was Sc
lected as delegate to congress and W.
w. Brookings as governor. The gov
ernment had sent out an agent to ne
sotiate with the Indians for the ces-
sion OF a portion Of their lands. This
effort was unsuccessful. but later J.
B. S. Todd of Fort Randall induced a.
number Of the chiefs to go to Wash
ington. where a treaty was finally ne
gotiated. In the fall of 1850 several
meetings were held and Todd was Sc
lected as delegate to carry to congress
the memorials asking for territorial
organization. In January 1861 an
other meeting was held and a petition
signed by over 500 residents of the
territory sent to Washington and fin
ally on March >. 1861. a bill was ap-
proved granting territorial organiza-
ton. Territorial officers were ap-
pointed afterward by President Lin
coin.