Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1913-05-14

City was coated. Some think it was just
this side of the Old Point, some up near
Mr.. Jackman's place. In The spring of
1872 there were something like $50 men
here, living in tents and log shacks,
though ! think there were only one or
two log shacks. These men had camps
all through the bottoms here. waiting
for the railroad to come through.
The railroad, instead of going right
straight to the Missouri started down
toward Eurleigh City. You have prob
ably seer the road, or have seen the
cut between here and the fort. There
WAS quite Il large settlement started "
Burleigh city, comparatively large ana
these men took claims on D0th SIDES OF
the right of way to the river. In some
way the compan that was doing this
work went broke and that old cut was
abandoned and they afterward took the
straight road right directly to the river
in the same place that the road IS To-Day
About this tine l:dwintown was start
ed, after l;urlcigh City was plated
in the last of 1871, or the beginning
of 1872. it was not long after thls
uhc plating OF Edwintown that the
Vienna Fair over in Germany began,
and they wanted German Immigrants,
so they changed the name to BISMARCK
to attract the German immigrant, ana to
get IL little extra money to start TINS
cIly on the Northern Pacific.
At this tim in 1872, We probably would
have found only u few people along the
Missouri river in the colonies. Ihcrc
was Camp Hancock, with about thirty
five men, and il we had counted ali UP
we would find that there was
probably five hundred people in here in
the summer of 1872. There might ave
been more, but / think that is about
the right figure.
In this history of the beginnings OF
this town | have often looked back ana
talked with these pioneers. and | would
have liked to have been there ana 10
have seen the country and have seen
the town the way they saw 1t. In talking
with Mrs. Pye | almost hvcd at mat
time. She said that OF all the. cities
in the Northwest, she loved bismarck
the best. She said there was that rough
element here. but that it was the safest
place in the world to be. She never met
so many chivalrous men as she mad met
right here in Bismarck. Even the rough
or elements, she said, were very knightly
and polite, both in the day time and in
the night time.
nshoa-ii.iny 4-3a TO zach < claoinshrd
we tind two kinds of people here, the
rougher element and then the sturdy
pioneer from the middle states. from
New England, from New York. coming
here and leavemng the whole lump,
and it was not long before these plon-
GERS who really meant business when
they came here dominated, and this city
was so different from so many OF the
northwest cities in that way. Over in
Virginia City. and other settlements
around here the rougher element in the
beginning dominated, but that was not
T. OF this city.
There was another thing that always
struck the pioneer coming to this city,
and that was the diversified life in the
city. They came in close contact with
the fort life at Fort Abraham Lincoln,
Fort Rice, Fort Buford and Fort Stew
enson. Then there was the river life.
They met the men, the captains ana
the crews, right here in he city. They
got word from the north II the south,
from the east and from the west thru
that life. Besides the life of the river,
there was the Black Hills country, and
the people coming from that section. n
they got the news from another land
when they happened to come up from
the Back Hills. There were thousands
and thousands OF men who came from
the East to open up this great country
in the Black Hills, and this was 4 place
where friend met friend II where they
found out something of the world out
side.
They were also close n%eighbors to the
and Berthold Indians. l remember
one Of IN old pioneers telling o they
used to see the Indians coming up on
the other side of the river, and how they
saw xhe soldiers and the cavalry come
out from the fort and drive them back.
They were, all right near at hand. me
whole life had 4 fascination for the pion-
GERS. We cant blame them for stopping
here and wanting to stay here. The Old
Missouri river had that same fascina-
ton. We can laugh and talk about the
old river, but there is a fascination ior
the old water that no one can get away
from. The old Sioux and all the Indians
along the Missouri river loved the old
river and almost considered it a sacred
place to rive.
We wan, to remember that bismarck
part OF the year was partly cut or.
When the last train left III the fall, they
might have gotten their mail, but not
many people came in during the WINTER
and they were almost cut off from the
rest of the world. The old Sioux cOu'u
have come in here and very easily nave
wiped them all out Of existence, but they
did not. \ great many other things coulo
have happened. But they were OF the
old sturdy stock. They stayed here, ana
they had their fun. n they had the'r
entertainments. ard they had their be-
ginnings OF the church, and the school,
and they KEEP up interest and lived IN
that way.
In this state the thing we need more
than anything else is the tradition. we
need to listen to the pioneer OF the past.
When we consider that the real life or
New England is the traditional life, and
the reason why the New l~Inglander loves
his home back there is because OF the
tradition. The young men and the young