Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1914-05-15

Once a steamboat landing Of con-
sequennce-now the county seat OF
Mclean county and leading CONNER
cial exchange.
Once the home Of god, the pride
o. nation, and a shelter for two
of our national heroes; now the cen
ter of commercial, political and So
cial empire larger than many of the
minor nations Of Europe-this, in a
nutshell, is Washburn. North Dakota
The praises of Washburn as a gar
den spot have long. been sounded
even in the legends of the first Amer
leans Indian tales would tell us that
it was long ago the home of a god.
Once the Great Spirit was very hun
cry, we are told, and pulled a turnip
to satisfy his appetite. Through the
small hole left by the root he could
see far beneath the skies to a beauti'
full spot on the earth beneath. AS
he beheld, through the, peekhole in
the sky, the Garden of Eden below
he was seized with a desire to live
there always.
And then the primitive mind of the
savage, limited in its experiences,
conjured up plan to get the Great
Spirit down. He, with his infinite
power, transformed himself into an
arrow, that he might drop to the de.
sired spot. But should the arrow
alight on its head it would be buried
forever, and should it alight on its
side it would be broken to fragments
by the fall. The descent, however,
was made in great storm, while the
wind waited the arrow hither and
thither, blowing it in great circles, fin
ally laying it peacefully on the earth
Here, half mile from the present
city of Washburn, the. Great Spirit
took the form of an Indian and lived
happily until the coming of the
whites, 49,
For many years the Mandan lndi.
ans cultivated this Garden of the
Gods before the willie man ever set
foot on the soil that is now known
as Dakota. The records of the earli
est explorers tell us how great fields
OF corn were grown along the banks
of the Missouri. Lewis and Clarke
in their account of the first transcon
tinental journey speak only too high
ly of the Mandans and their corn
fields, taking up their abode for the
winter at Fort Mandan, which was 10.
Gated: only a few miles from the pres
ent county seat Of Mclean county
The region was the pride of this In.
dian nation and the battle-won hunt.
ing grounds of several tribes. The
people Of today find that the soil has
not lost it's fertility, though the Indi
an legends have been proven a myth
Fort Mardan Erected 1904. +'
The Oldest temporary settlement
to be made in this section was locat
ed about half a mile up the river
from this present city of the slope
TT. Mandan was erected here in the
fall of 1904, as the winter quarters
for the Lewis and Clark party. II
consisted of two rows of huts, each of
four rooms, surrounded by a strong
stockade. On Dec. 7, 1904, the party
partook Of the famous buffalo hunt
which supplied them with meat for
the winter following, which was long
and severe.
Mclean County Organized.
Mclean county was organized in
1888, by Governor Ordway, and at
that time included the present county
of Sheridan and sections of most of
the surrounding counties. John Wee
der, Chas. P. Martinson and Warbler
F. Lewis were the first county com
missioners. This county can boast
OF more river frontage than any other
in the state and has an area of 2SO5
square miles. Washburn prospered
as river town until the Aberdeen