Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1913-08-02
BY Tribune overlander.

III -
No history of the DEVELOPMENT OF
the great Northwest can ever be com
plete or comprehensive without the
story OF the early days Of Napoleon
the county seat of Logan, for 1t was
at Napoleon that the settlers gather
ed preparatory to settling up the
county, and counties further west.
NAPOLEON is now a thriving little
community Of 400 population. With
schools, churches, a we'll established
newspaper and scores OF modernly
conducted business places. The coun-
try round about is peopled with home
steaders who are yearly learning
more and more of the possibilities OF
the soil, and many of them are well
fixed financially from the wheat. the
corn, the livestock they have raised
on their farms.
There are many in. Napoleon and
tributary country who remember
when things were different. They
can remember when Nopaleon vas =
group of two or three small frame
buildings-a hump on, the surface OF
the great prairies stretching toH
miles in every direction, with not
another house or fence or other sign
of Notwithstanding but an occa'
sionals glimpse of a herd Of anteloDe
ar buffalo quietly feeding on the
plaiR.~~-n-- -s--
It was the great western prairie
as the indian -ieft it. Stories. partly
true and greatly exaggerated, pene-
trated to the east. They hinged on
the dry hot winds which swept aver
the barren Dakotas, whitening the
grain. 1t was not an inviting pros
pect. but the east was becoming
crowded and opportunities were few.
Emigration to the west, to the land
Of immense acreage and opportunity
was the only way out.
Stories Of the richness OF the soil.
coupled with the generous offers or
free land from the government: mred
many to cast their fortunes with the
Dakotas. From the beginning Of the
eighties rumors of railroads to be
built were CURRENT nSnrVeys . We're
begun on three different routes
through Logan county. The Napoleon
ToWnsite company was formed to
take care of the e~xpacter thrush to
beat the railroad on the ground, With
the backing Of this pr0motive com
pan Geo. A.. Bryant, editor of q
paper in Nebraska, moved his eQuiD-
meIlt to NAPOLEON and actively tool
the field in~slOcally booming the town
and iaOgsH county fhe first issue
at the Homestead was issued June
II, 1886. The county was organized
in 1884, in April, under the admin
stration Of Governor Ordway Of the
territory. It contains t~wenty-elght
townships, and is bounded on the
north by Kidder and Stutsman com
ties, on the eastsaAy LaMoure, on the
south by McIntoM md N NE west
by Emmons. ItssB next to uff61lontll:
ern tier Of counties in the south cen
trail part Of the state. y
$TheYfirst census was completed b.Y
Frank S. Corwin in July of 1885, and
gave the county a population of aSS.
This has cince, been commonly dis.
credited, old settlers generally agree.
ing that there were not a hundred
souls in the county at the time, Still.
It aided in the boom and brought
settlers. so the estimate, if somewhat
optimistic. can hardly be regretted.
The boom had actively begun In
1888. In 'S6 a group OF M hundred
Pennsylvanians, headed by T. Spear
Dickson. settled in Logan COUNTY: but
that year witnessed a crop failure,
and the winter was an unusually bit
ter one. SO by the. end of the year
MANY of them had given up all hope
Of making a living in Dakota, and
had returned.
The railroad, too delayed its
project. The grade had been made
in 1887, and from then on every is
sue Of the Homestead contained some
bit of railroad news"-some rumor
of new railway plans for the county,
or encouragement to the waiting set.
tiers. For eleven weary years the
struggling pioneers waited before the
railroad came in 1898. All that time
the nearest railway was the Northern
Pacific, which brought the mail 10
Steele and Dawson and from where
IL was brought to Napoleon by stage.
Sometimes N the bitterly cold win.
ters mail failed to come for three
weeks. Geo. A. Bryant. his son. o. r..
and a printer. Walter Leonard,
'batched' in a little. cabin which is