Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1904-05-25
In EAR ]. | I DAYS Z
a l.535 U S9 Of the Great IVES" I'LL s5 $

AZ Extracts from Moses K. Armstron!
II u ny 4; /. y Of the CT
TT. Abercrombie, d. T., Aug. 8, 1867.
! Leaving Yankton on the afternoon
Of tle 18th OF July with six men
and two teams, we commenced a pre-
liminary survey Of the Minnesota &
Missouri River Railroad by running
along under the foot Of the table-land
back of town to and along the terri
torial road leading to the ferry on
James river. From there the line OF
survey passes over a gently rolling
prairie, crossing Clay creek, Turkey
creek, Vermillion river, and the Big
Sioux river in the great bend west Of
the falls, reaching the state line Of
Minnesota at the distance of sixty
eight miles, thirtyseven, chains and
eighty links, at which point a connec-
l tion is made with the Southern Minne'
sofa Railroad, and also the surveyed
line of the Minnesota Valley Railroad
from st. Paul via Mankato to the Mis-
souri, river. The road passes over 9
1 fine agricultural country, easy grades
:. and convenient water privileges, with
timber stations at no points over
) eleven miles anart p ~ '3E$' r a..--.. ~ (,
| At Fort Dakota, or Sioux Falls, we
! received the Inequalities of Major
Knox, commanding, who, giving me
! letters of recommendation to the COM
: manders of Fort Abercrombie and
Fort Ransom on the Sheyenne, bid us
good cheer on our long and lonely
/ journey. Leaving Fort Dakota on the
: 21st, we travelled eight days over the
4 great plains in the direction Of the
Upper Minnesota river, passing by
1 way Of the head of the Des Moines
! river, the Great Oasis, Lake Shetek,
and the Red Wood river. reaching the
/ Minnesota on the 10th, having endured
4 the. most inexpressible suffering and
i fatigue in the way of swimming
/ streams-men and horses-and ferry
ing our loads over in wagon boxes,
doubling teams and wading sloughs
s seven times in one day, and then ly-
!, ing down nights only to fight swarms Of
mosquitoes till daylight. Our mos
quito bars were no more protection
j against these swarming pests than
/ thin moonshine. s: 4 ..&&$s* y
/ Recruiting one day at Redwood
Falls, we started out. on the I'd for
!, Fort Abercrombie on Red river, dis
tanoe Of $50 miles. We passed up the
4 west side of the Minnesota river
1 through the Bloody Grounds of the
i Indian massacre OF, 1862, described in
Judge Elan dreau's history. The bat
= tie grounds, rifle pits and breastworks
!, were still visible along the trail pur-
!, sued by the retreating savages when
followed by the troops after the :hor-
4 rid work was done. The crumbling
brick walls of the buildings burned by
I the Indians are still standing at the
i upper and lower agencies and fol-
I. many miles above along the river
:, very many of which are. being occu
pied and repaired by emigrants who
:, have lately moved up the valley. Pass
3 ing on up the west side Of Big Stone
lake and Lake Traverse, under the
i foot of the picturesque Coteau on our
1, left, for fifty miles, we arrived on the
4 great fiat divide where the waters are
4 sleeping and meditating as to the
course to pursue, north or south which
region / must call the Dead Lands
Here our severest troubles commenced
with armies OF mosquitoes and buffalo
gnats which beggar description. The
whole country has been flooded with
rains, and morning fogs hang over the
dead level Of the country undisturbed
, by al breeze. Our bars, tents and
blankets and every other available
means Of fertilization against the
swarming hordes proved ineffectual
The sting Of these little insects Il
fairly poisonous, and cause men and
horses to roll, and fret, and pitch, and
kick, and groan all night. Our horses
4 are almost as poor as skeletons, and
our own faces look like the last run
1 Of the measles. This region Of dead
lands extends along the whole Length
Of Lake Traverse to the point where
the world leans to the north, and
where THE people say down north and
& up south, Red river here beginnin,
its slow and sluggish crawling north
ward. In crossing this divide W.
passed the ground on which were
frozen to death IN snow storm u
February, 1865, the unfortunate sol
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