Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1905-09-21
OFFICIAL COUNTY PAPER.
NORTH DAKOTA HISTORICALLY.

NORTH DAKOTA HISTORICALLY.
\ recently issued bulletin from the
office of the Commissioner of Agriculture
at Bismarck gives the following very en-
cellent compilation of historical facts
regarding our state that cannot fail to
be of great interest to the general
reader:
Name-Dakota is an Indian name,
signifying "confederated" or "leagued
together. and originally applied to the
Sioux confederation of Indians.
Lewis and Clark-LewiS and Clark
spent the winter Of lS0l-G among the
Mandan Indians at a point opposite the
mouth of the Knife river, which is about
twelve miles above Washburn in Mclean
county.
First Settler-The first settler on
North Dakota soil is claimed to be a
Canadian French trader who located at
Pembina in 17S0. During the next
thirty years a number of traders were
located at or near Pembina for the pur-
pose of trading with the Indians. No
attempt was made to cultivate the soil
except in the raising of vegetables.
First Railroad The first railroad to
reach Dakota was the Northern Pacific
at Fargo, January LIST, 1872
LN;r.- rxo~- Tbo Er.+ .rop Of opy-
moment was harvested in October. 1903,
and consisted of 800 cabbages, l6
bushels of onions. and 420 bushels of
potatoes, the latter being the produce
of seven bushels, exclusive of what had
been eaten before the final digging. In
the old Indian mounds along the Mis-
souri, river above Bismarck and Mandan
burnt corn cobs are found. indicating
that at some remote period a species of
corn was raised by the native tribes.
First Settlement-The first settlement
for the purpose Of cultivating the soil
was by a colony of Scotch H~ighlanders
under Lord Selkirk at Pembina in 1911.
Observation-Disclosures Territory, in
Guiding both North and South Dakota,
was organized in 1861. lankton was
the capital of the territory until 1888,
when it was moved to Bismarck.
North Dakota was admitted a, a state
November ., 1889.
Wheat-Ihe latest federal census gave
the per capita production of wheat in
North Dakota as 1875 bushels. her near
est competitor having only 1913 bushels
per capita.
The average per capita production of
wheat for the last four years has been
1861 bushels, having an average farm
value of $3.50.
Oats-During the last four years the
average yield of oats in North Dakota
has been 33.9 bushels compared with
3O.2 bushels for the United States. Ac-
cooling to the census of 1900 the state
ranks second in the per capita produc-
ton Of oats. Iowa alone having a higher
rank.
Barley The acreage of barley in
North Dakota has more than trebled
since 1901. The average yield per acre
since 1901 has been 1913 bushels, com
pared with an average of the United
States Of 27.l bushels.
Flax-For number Of years North
Dakota has easily ranked first in the
production Of faxseed. The past four
years the United States has produced
lO3,9S5,OOO bushels of taxseed. of which
34,823,OOO bushels or y per cent were
grown in North Dakota.
Corn An increase from less than one
bushel per capita in 1880 to over four
bushels per capita in 1900 is noted in the
production Of corn, Notwithstanding an
increase in population Of E.7 per cent is
recorded for the same period. The in
crease in corn ha- been sill greater since
1900
Live stock According to the bureau
of statistic, United States department
OF agriculture, the value Of live stock N
North Dakota January i. 1909. wa-
3iG,365,2 vi, or 2iI3G5 per capita. The
value d il -t@a shipped out Of the
state n aa ,l1i.732. ~ ~ 50 per
capita.
i.or .a. man. coma" and chile in
E>Gt1 ,1tkota thor arc two head Of al.