The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-07-22

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having arrived refreshments were the
uppermost thought. and while some
had carried picnic baskets others
gathered around the festal boards of
the various restaurants.
During thea stay at Stanton a
small party went out to the ruins of
the three Indian villages on the Knife
river. One of these villages is the
Arahowry village, and one beyond lis
the Hidasta (Gros Ventres) and the
one further up the original Mandan
village. There is an old road that
is as good as any built by white men.
The presence of numerous caches in
Dictated that much corn had been
buried here.
On the Historic Site.
On the historic Mandan village site
there had already been gathered a
group of vehicles which gave the
broad acres the appearances Of a
great fair. Stanton sent down a large
quota and pretty soon things began
to look . as if the whole of Mercer
county had turned out. Far to the
west the y caught the incoming
stream of vehicles, n when one
turned to the north or south the
same scene met the gaze of the be-
holder. When all had assembled and
unhitched their horses it seemed like
the encampment of a pioneer expe-
dition. Happiness was written on
every face.
Exercises Begin.
At 2 o'clock the ceremonies began.
President Stuttsman of the railroad
commission was master Of ceremonies
and he presided with a dignity befit-
ting the occasion. The programme
was informal, but this fact took away
any evidence of stiffness. The great
throng was asked to sing America and
in response 1900 throats swelled to the
breeze in rendering the patriotic re-
frain. Rev. DR.. A. Mac Beede was
then asked to invoke the divine bless
ing, which he did in a prayer that was
especially fitting to the occasion. Mr..
Stuttsman then followed in a few pre-
liminary remarks, his theme being the
preservation by the coming genera
ton and those of the present of all
those things that have g!oTiied the
state of greatness. His remarks were
received with applause and made a
deep impression.
Rev. DR.. Beede was then called and
made an address that kept the audi
ence by turns in a serious mood and
in a humorous one. He strongly
defended the Indians in certain prim-
tive rights without condemning the
whites. Space will not permit a fuller
dCtdlI u Ill IIlS SAS6tlc1L speeches
and the reader must be content with
What. is given.
Secretary Hall and Others.
Secretary Hall followed and out
lined the history of the Clark expedi-
ton, which is given as an appendix
to this article. Mr. Hall reviewed his
subject in a Conversations way thai
was pleasing to the audience.
Curator Fish told Of the old Saka-
wea village having a known identity
for 1870 years. His remarks we're re-
freshing n dealt with several feat
ures not found in historical books. He
told how the village was divided into
three sections. The first was that
presided over by the Indian police, who
directed the women in village build
ing and other lines Of work. The Sec
Ond section was composed of the war
riors, who took the scaIps of their enc
mics and hunted for game. The third
were the medicine men, whose sacred
house occupied the spot on which the
speaker stood. To the Indians it was
hallowed ground-hallowed in the
name of their feasts, their trials, their
sickness, and their joys. Here the
Indians came once a year from the
scenic hills around and performed
their rites Of joy or sorrow as occa-
sion demanded. He told Of the prowess
Of old Chief Four eBars n how the
village a been ravaged by smallpox
in 1887; that many when taken with
the dreaded disease had thrown them
selves in the river to escape their tor
ture; that how out of a population of
500, 750. had died; that at present only
fifteen Mandans were now left on the
Fort Berthold reservation.
Some Old Settlers Talk.
w. H. Mann of New Salem spoke
| in German m tho old EaftInrc He tn15
Of how they still maintain their Ger
man characteristics and at the same
time adapting themselves to their
new country. It was this f1eXibility in
their citizenship that made them such
good citizens. He also found time to
mention some recent events in Europe
which seemed to please his hearers
very much.
Some Old Timers Talk.
Mr.. Mann was followed by Charles
Skager of Fort Clark, one of the old
timers. He detailed the hardships of
the early settlers and was listened to
with rapt attention.
II. Danielson, the postmaster at
EDeapolis, told Of how in early days
he had. seen many buffalo heads around
the ancient graves Of the Indians in
the village. In some places there
| were two heads and this fact led him
to believe that the gruesome grave
marks were in honor of some noted
chiefs.
At the conclusion OF the speeches
Curator Fish n Mr.. Will took those
who cared to go with them around to
view the ancient rings which indicated
where the houses of the Indians were |
located. This was a pleasant duty and
heartily enjoyed by those who fol-
lowed.
The train had brought down quite a
crowd from Stanton, and as they were
allowed only two hours before the
train was to return, the programme |
had to be rendered hurriedly.
Feature Left Out.
One feature left out over which
Mr.. Fish expressed regret was
the fact that there stood
on the historic ground one mani
who in a sense was a connecting link
between the present and the past. He
had personally met a member of the
Lewis and Clark expedition. The oc-
casion was when the man was a little
boy in an Ohio river town. He had
seen Sergeant Patrick GszS III a car
riage, draped with the national colors,
conveyed to a polling booth during a