Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1908-02-27
ROOSEVELT WAS
DEPUTY SHERIFF
OF DUNN COUNTY
Captured Thieves Who Stole
His Boat-..An Historic
Battle Ground.

Lennon. s. d., Feb. 20.--If President
Roosevelt were to visit his former
stamping grounds" directly north OF
here. he would scarcely recognize the
region. SO wonderful has been the
change the past year or two.
The steam pillow. the buildings of the
settlers, their titled fields and rural
schoolhouses have taken the place of
the bucking bronchos and the immense
nerds of cattle of the Roosevelt days.
The territory now is included within
the limits OF Dunn county, North Da-
kota. which was recently organized.
1t was while President Roosevelt was
ranching in what now is Dunn county
that sneak thieves stole his boat and
went down the Little Missouri river.
The president at that time was a dep
uty sheriff. and he started in hot pur-
suit of the thieves, overtaking them not
far from kildeer placing them UNI
der arrest.
1t was in Dunn county that General
Sui!y in 1864 fought a decisive battle
with the Sioux Indians who were re-
sponsfble for the Minnesota massacre.
n expedition started from st. Paul
IN the spring of that yea M proceeded
into what is now North Dakota, estab-
fishing Fort Rice on the Missouri river.
:At k1ldeer mountain in July OF that
year was fought the principal battle Of
the campaign.
Early Morning Attack.
After marching all night. Sully's men,
IN the early morning came in from the
a 8 n o by surprise the big In
|olan village on the south slope Of Kill
e mountain. The Indians fled pre-
'cip1tately to the northward, leaving be-
hind all their camp paraphernalia.
Sully lost six men in the battle, and
they were buried at Kildeer noun
tain.
IN the eighties when a rach was es-
tablished on the site OF the Indian amp
n battle-ground, ~unexploded shells
and solid shot were found in the bank.
ana tepee poles. arrowheads and cook
ing utensfls were strewn around.
among the latter were brass Kettles
which the Indians had stolen from set
tiers IN their raids in Minnesota. Sully
and his men. led by a Blackfoot In
.alaE guide. Were the first white men
70 the famous Bad Lands OF
western North Dakota. That fall the
troops, avfng ACCOMPLISHED their work
returned to st. Paul.
UP to 1882 and 1883 Dunn county was
known to the white settlers of eastern
x only as q good buffalo hunting
Deer n elk also were numer-
Gus. The frontier town Of Dickinson
became IN 1883 a great center for the
hunters and q shipping point for hides.
norns and a little later. bones. In the
frontier newspapers of that year is told
lne palmetto story Of the wanton
slaughter OF the buffalo.
a Bozeman man contracted for 20. 600
buffalo hides to be delivered at Dickin-
son. and on June 2. 5000 hides were
brought In; on June 8. t%hirty-one OK
teams brought in hides, the weeks rec
ora pelng 1000. The teams Of one firm
IN July brought in 1000 hides. And so
the work Of determination went m In
n fall of h same year reports came
from Kildeer that hunters We're slau1h-
tering deer for the f'des alone. leaving
the on the prairie.
Union q hill northwest OF the new
town OF Manning. Dunn county. are the
graves of four Of General Sully's pick
cts who We're surprised and murdered
by the Indians.