The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1906-08-31
B B0TTINEAU BOYS
A Herald Correspondent mt
from Hibbing Gives a
Little History.

Henry Bottineau, lumberjack. and
a graduate of Carlyle, was in Hibbing
today looking for his brother George
who he claimed won 5000 "on the
Wheel at Kelliher. a Beltrami coun-
ty numbering camp, Monday night.
4 ~ want to help George have a time
with that money! he declared, "and
if l get to him before he blows it he
will give me half of whatever he has
left. - Bottineau had traced his broth
er from Kelliher to Bemidji and thence
to Hihbing without success and has
now gone to Grand Rapids on fresh
scent. His story, while unusual, is
not at all improbable as such strikes
are often made at roulette. a game
played throuhgout the lum bering coun-
try.
/ The two Bottineau boys are we'll
known characters throughout the log
,ging district of Mime sofa. They
are of tho Red Lake tribe. with
enough Of French in them to let
them work only part of the time
Both are expert loggers. Their moth
er was French woman OF force and
3renfemen+ Their father was the fa-
nous Chief Bottineau who figured so
prominently in the early history of
Minnesota. 1t was the guide Botti-
neau who walked from Winnipeg to
st. Paul with James J. Hill; it was
the scout Bottineau who headed Jay
Cooke s first Northern Pacific survey
across the continent; it was the chief
Bottineau who gave his nRpe to Botti-
neau county, North Dakota. and it
was the gambler Bottineau who had
three queens in his hand. stakel Nicol.
let Island and lost. The old chief was
man OF parts and his abilities were
granted by the white men of early
Minnesota equal to their own. His
wealth at one time was estimated at
more than ha'f million.
Henry Bottineau, the chiefs son, is
ia brilliant conversationalist Seated
in the railway station, dressed in the
untidy garb Of the shiftless lumber
jack, he recounted the scenes Of his
life. the deeds Of his father, the ira
ditions of the Indians with a perfect
command of English and with start
ing flashes of wit; while his auditors
gaped with wonder. For more than
an hour he held his listeners SPELL
bound. He had ideas upon every SUBJ
ject-war. rebellion, philosophy. poll
tics-and he fortified his position by a
readiness in quotation Of authors both
living and dead which could come
only of wide and constant reading
He punctured the claims of the social.
lists and demanded to know how social
ism could prevail so long as men differ
in energy and ambition. Holding
aloft a flask of whisky he denounced
it as the curse of the white and the
red man alike, then drained half of it
at the climax he advanced highly un-
orthodox theories as to marriage as an
institution and delivered a genuine
philippe in favor of the government
regulation of marriage. Asked why
he would not save half Of his brother g
winnings, be shrugged his shoulders
and replied: "What's the use? My
brother will lose his half and then
he will come to me and what can I
do What one of us has, the other
has. We might as we'll enjoy it to-
gether. The sooner it is spent the
sooner we will be SOBER
Bottineau is much in demand as an
expert logger. It is said that no man
in the whole north country can equal
him for expedition or sureness in piling
upon sleds the great loads Of pine logs
that are drawn to the skidway. It is
the only thing of which he is proud.
Of his learning, OF his eloyuence, (and
he is equally happy whether express
ing himself in English. French or
Chippewa), he cares nothing. He is
known as Happy Henry for his good
hulnor is perpetual. The pittance
necessary to take him to Grand Rap
ids he had to borrow from a more pro-
vident brother of the woods. but he
was as full of the joy of living as
though he had already received his
half Of the 5000 from his brother.
Real Estate Transfers.
j. G.. Walstad to John M Graves,
SEQ and NED sw4 sec. 23- 1898, $45OO.
Citizens State Bank Omemee to