The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1906-10-18
MINOT IS JUST
TWENTY YEARS OLD
On Oct. g., 1886, the Great Northern Laid
Steel Into the Tented City=-Fifty Saloons
Were Here-=A Hard Winter Ahead

when the Great Northern entered
the little tented city known as
Minot, the city OF Destiny, and
the last spike was driven. The
track was laid as far as the ma
terial yard, near where the 500
depot now stands. The road
was continued as far as the big
bridge four miles west OF town
that winter, but all work had to
be suspended after that until
spring, on account OF the terrible
winter which visited this coun-
try at the time.
1t was unusual to have such
terrible winters as the people ex-
perienced in 1SS6-S7. The con-
tractors who had charge ofmak-
ing the grade, Shepard, Winston
4 Co. believed that if they were
able to reach the Mouse river in
the fall, they would have no Diff
ficulty in going right thru to
Great Falls, Mont. When the
winter set in on the 18th day OF
November that year, it caught
several thousands of men and
teams working on the grades be-
tween Minot and White Earth.
The men had to give up their
work and within three days,
seven or eight thousand men
with their teams focked into the
valley surrounding the little
white city. The men had to
come here for their provisions
and feed for their horses.
The Great Northern first in
tended to side track Minot, which
however was not on the map at
the time. The road would have
gone to Burlington, but for the
fact that the railroad company
and the proprietor of the town
site, Jos. Cotton, got into a
dispute. Both we're stubborn
and the Great Northern, instead
of keeping close to the foot hills
on the north, angled across the
Mouse river and the future OF Mi
not was assured.
There were but a few log huts,
a general store or two, besides
the hundreds of tents. One OF
the old timers says that there
we're not less than fifty saloons,
besides nearly, as many dives.
The tents we're set up here and
there without any regard to
streets.
The winter of 1SS6-S7 will long
be remembered by the few old
times who are here now. Ed
Kelley walked in from Devils
Lake with a trade dollar in his
pocket. Ed built a tepee up at
Buffalo Lodge lake northeast
from Granville and that fall
traded the Indians out Of the
buffalo bones which they had
picked up from the prairies.
Ed lived on fish which which he
caught in the lake. He enter
tanned all OF the old timers who
came out his way. His tepee
door always had its latch string
out and many an old timer re-
members the good hot "Boo-
yaa" or Indian soup which KEEL
ley served in his tepee.
Kelley was not the only one
who walked into Minot. All who
"stuck" have ''made good.'
Jack Shields and VIM Gaskell
spent the winter on a ranch IS
miles southeast of Minot where
Dogdens now stands. They were
caught on the ranch without
much grub and for three months
never left the place. Their to-
bacco gave out and for six weeks
all they had to chew was the
rag.
After a long seige OF winter,
the first man who showed him
self was Tom Johnson, one OF
our popular liverymen, on snow
shoes.
The deer were pretty nearly
killed off that winter and when
the snow melted in the coulees in
the spring often fifteen or twen-
ty dead ones would be found.
Neil McDougal. our bridge
builder, was here and at the time
was doing carpenter work.
Alderman James Scofeld, one
of Minot's prosperousimplement
dealers, came that winter, and
liked it so we'll that be remained
ever since. Dan kimball had
lust come from Boston and was
engaged in watching material in
the yards.
Men Wanted at Once.