The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-12-27
EARLY NORTH DAKOTA CHRISTMAS
AS CELEBRATED N BISMARCK

wonderful transformation of this fav-
ored country from wilderness fraugnt
with many dangers to the diversified
aspect of prosperity and enterprise it
means today cannot but be happy to
contemplate the changes that the years
have brought, and feel proud of the
fact that they were pioneers in the
early days of the grand capital of a
grand state"
Joe Dietrich tells of his first Christ
mas in Bismarck neighborhood as be-
dng at old Fort Clarke some ten miles
north of the present site of Washburn
in SO, where he and others were get
ting out wood for sale to the boats
the following season. On Christmas
day he and others got out and killed
fourteen antelope by way of celebrat-
ing the holiday. In 70 he and others
owned section OF land where the
pump station for Fort Lincoln now
stands or close thereto, and where the
old grade of the N. p. is still discern
ible. All the townsites along the new
road were then owned by the Puget
Sound Land company, who tried to buy
the site owned by the party of which
Dietrich was one. That place was
what was known as Burleigh City and
there ware three or four stores, two
dance halls and half dozen saloons.
All that besides having the railroad
grade, which they imagined at the
time could not be changed after once
having been graded to the Point,
made them feel too rich and he says
that they would not have sold out for
a million apiece. However the follow
ing spring they all walked out and
came to the present site of Bismarck
and Burleigh City faded away. 1t was
at the latter place that he celebrated
the Christmas of ~. They had a
dance at my house and danced a solid
week."
Asked how he spent his first Christ
mas in Bismarck, Mr.. Yegen said: 81
started north from New Orleans in
'66. When we got to the head-waters
of the Red river We built fiat bolt
and started for Fort Garrw, now Win
nipeg, passed Fargo, which was then
but a few log shacks and later on
landed at Fort Garry, where we sold
our fiat boat for lumber In the spring
of 70 l arrived at Bismarck. The pres
ent site of my store was then owned
by John Millett, who had secured mis-
right by placing log thereon. I Sc
cured this right from him, however,
for $500 and later on after the town
site had been made, made it safe under
that act. 1 put tent on my newly ac-
qudred domain and took in boarders.
Along about June sometime, M. P.
Slattery walked in from the end of the
N. P. track, which was some forty
miles distant, with his blankets on his
back and applied to me for board. l
quoted 50 rate and he accepted. When
l required it in advance he asserted
had he followed that example while in
Brainerd ne would have been a rich
man. He then inquired for bed and
seeing that he had his blankets with
him told him he was allotted so much
room on the ground on which to make
his bed the same as we did: celebrat-
ed the next Christmas in that tent TAX
ing in boarders. We had Christmas
tree which We constructed out of
buck brush by tieing several of them
together and they answered the pur-
pose very we'll.
Mrs. Dunn another of the old set
tiers celebrated her nrst Christmas in
70 in the house that still stands in
the southwest corner of the block at
the corner of Sixth and Broadway. She
had guests for dinner on Christmas
and they sat with their front door open,
the weather was yet so pleasant. Later
on the weather changed and they had
to hang blankets along the wall to
keep out the snow, which was some
Tins effectual and at other times other
wise, they frequently arising to find
themselves covered with new white
blanket of SNOW Describing the way
the house was constructed Mrs Dunn
said that she was afraid to carry the
baby around for fear she would drop
her and she would go on through into
the cellar.
ooAh DuhAA anu @Ao<b flouCl, III Cuc
winter of 1872, were invited to take
dinner with Carahoof, in log shack
south of town. The piece de resist
ance of the feast was baked beans and
beaver tail-and appetite made amends
for any lack of variety in the menu.
Among others who celebrated in the
good old way-Tom and Jerry and the
accessOries-were E. A. Williams,
Bogue, Richards, Russ Marsh, and
many others of the we'll known old
timers.
The above are anecdotes related by
some of the early settlers whom the
Tribune editor was able to see.
1t is sadly noticeable that the ranks
of these old timers, who can draw on
their memory for such tales as the
above, are growing fewer and fewer
as the years roll on and for that rea-
son these little recollections here set
forth become doubly good, that those
of us later corners and younger gener-
alton may know, at least in part, how
our predecessors lived while they paw
ed the way for the comfortable homes
we now enjoy.
:NATIONAL CAPITAL GOSSIP.