Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1904-12-02
Early Days IN Charles Nix Go.
"A Reminiscent Sketch Of Men and
Politics and Conditions during
1S7O--Betore White Women Came
to the County. - *


safe to kick if you even got water.
The dance ended with daylight, al
though the writer and famous char
acter named w. T. Mckay retired 4
his ranch about 2 o'clock in the morn
ing The dance got to hot for evor
Mckay. who realized that stray bul
let might find him as he had some bit
ter enemies in the room especially on,
named Bennett. who Mckay and seven
others started out to hang. They miss
cd Bennett but hung his partner
Hartert and Hyer. Bennett was after
wards hung In Wyoming.
When Mckay and the writer return
ed to Pspinesu's in the morning the
crowd had gone down to Wilson's.
where we found them still in q condi-
tion to shoot at anything. Wilson.
chairman Of the central COMMITTEES, had
been at Pspineau's all night and when
the crowd got to his place he brought
ont his only table and placed it on the
virgin sod and was soon fast asleep
upon it The secretary "a young man
from White Swan was in just as happy
frame of mind as the chairman, only
his head was hanging over The back Of
his chair
The supply of whiskey soon gave out
and the boys were anxious to elect the
three delegates to the territorial con-
vention and return to Pap's for another
night of 1t.
The writer was looking after DR..
Burleigh's interests in the convention,
and short time before the appointed
time to arouse Wilson and Jerry F., =,
the whole Yankton agency seemed to
be coming with the agent and Delegate
Sphinx in the lead. Mr.. Sphinx was del
egate In congress at the time, and the
arrival Of himself and the entire agency
crowd was unexpected, but the Bur-
leigh crowd won out, after the writer
had summoned reserve force from
Cedar Island, and the getting Of that
reserve force to the convention In time
was the most remarkable bit Of work
that ever took placs along the Missouri
river II required ! big mulssteam and
wagon and a wild young half bEsed for
. driver, and the undressing Sok one
man and his wsding more thsn half
way across the river with revolver in
each hand with which to aronse the
men in Cedar Island who were cutting
timber for Post Trader Hamilton at
Fort Randall. The men from The
Island. 8 Of them, took ! boat and
rushed for the bank while the man who
waded the river did the same thing and
dressing az the mules made
for Wilson's on the run. The reserve
force saved the day. and Mr. Sphinx re-.
turned to the Yankton agency much
as he had no idea that be
could be defeated in his own strong.
hold. W.
That was the writer's frs. experience
in Charles Mix county politics, and it
was an experie nee that hardly ever
comes to anyone more than once in
even on the frontier.
In 1872 conditions along the river in
Charls Mix began to improve. and by
1874 many new men had settled along
the river, which changed conditions
and during the Black Hills
rush many of the restless spirits went
across the reservation in 1875 Z, and
from tina. time the county began to fill
up rapidly.
JIG. Jones was one of the first Of the
new settlers to locate in Charles Mix
and he has stood by her interests faith.
fully ever since.
Charles Mix has had a good deal Of
politics in her time and this little
sketch will illustrate the evolution
from the days of squaw men up to the
time Bro. Jones and others deemed .
necessity.