Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1901-08-22
IS AN OLD TIMER
Oldest Dakotan LIVING in State Talks
of the Early Days and
Buffaloes.
Herd of Buftaloes Which Took Two
Days to Pass a Given
Point.
Cavilier Celebrates Fiftieth Anniver.
sary of His Residence in
Pembina.

I1Ou. ClldElcS CdVlllcl, SClcDluCSu oAAC
fftieth anniversary of his residence at
Pembina, Aug. l6. An eventful half
century has passed since Mr.. Cavilier,
who is now in his eighty-ffth year,
settled there. When Mr.. Cavilier
located at Pembina that place was far
beyond the outskirts OF civilization,
little settlement of half breeds and
few white traders had made their
home their, if home it might be called,
for occasional periods after the de-
parture of Lord Selkirk's Scotchmen,
and the place had thus become trad
ing point where Indians disposed OF
furs to the traders of the great fur
companies. Later, as buffalo hides
came into more active demand, it was
a center of that trade. Pembina was
at that time in Minnesota, and at one
time 1,5OO Red river carts were in
commission" between St. Paul and
Pembina. For ages the American
bison had roamed these prairies un-
disturbed, except by the rowing red
man, but the demands of trade soon
commenced the war of determination.
An incident related by Mr.. Cavilier to
the writer will be OF interest, connect
ing, as it does, the past with the pres
ent. Although seemingly incredible,
yet the high reputation Of Mr.. Cavi-
lier leaves no room for doubt, and the
statement is confirmed by the thous-
ands of bleaching buffalo bones which
still Uttered the earth's surface in all
this section when it was broken up by
the slowshare comparatively a few
years ago:
ssThe first big lot OF buffaloes /
saw, y remarked Mr.. Cavllier, ''was in
what is now western Walsh county.
l was on my way with party of trad
ers out to Devils Lake on a trading
expedition, ALI at once one of the
traders, a veteran at the service,
who had been acting somewhat un-
easily for a few minutes, put
his head to the earth and
listened intently. Then suddenly
springing up he gave expression to the
one word 'buffaloes, and then gave
orders without any explanation to
form our carts into Y shaped fort
with the point to the southeast. We
had just finished carrying this order
into execution when, looking to the
southwark, where the sky had prev
iously been clear, we saw a cloud ap-
parently rising from the ground, and
then accompanied by heavy mutfled
sound, faint at first but rapidly in
,creasing in volume, the cloud was
spreading rapidly outward and up
ward, becoming visibly larger every
minute. Presently over the crest OF
one of the rolling hills of that section,
perhaps mile or two distant, some
buffaloes came into view. Some, l
say, for we only noticed few at first,
but there were others, and they were
coming our way, and l soon no longer
wondered that there was dust in the
air, for such the cloud proved to be-,
and soon the buffaloes were upon us.
They divided on either side of our
temporary fort, and we settled down
to wait until the drove had passed us
on their pilgrimage to the northwest.
We waited two and half days, and
during this time we could literally
see nothing but buffaloes all around
us. There were surely millions Of
them.'
Mr.. Cavilier represented the Penn
bina district, then covering thousands
of square miles, in the Minnesota
legislature, and was postmaster at
Pembina for years and also entertain
ed hundreds Of travellers during the
early days of the settlement OF the
northwest. He is highly esteemed by
all who have the honor Of his acquaint-
ance-Grand Forks Herald.
Feeding Wheat.