The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1916-09-09
HISTORICAL LETTER NO.. 103
(Ry Rev. E. E. Saunders, MapIeton, N. D.

of The Minot Optic-Reporter, Vol. I,
No. 1. dated Jan. s. 1898, of which
Marshall Mcclure. the pioneer editor
of The jamestown Alert, was the
publisher, and the following from an
editorial on "The Advancement OF
the Past Ten years." is of interest to
the inhabitants of the now populous
city and surrounding country. more
than Is years later:
Low frame buildings that ten years
ago fringed Main street, have given
way to rows Of magnificent blocks.
Fine residences now nestle within the
folds Of garden trees. Within ten
years Minot has been made the center
Of the great Northwestern U. S. Land
district, the largest in the world-11,-
$50 square miles. longer than the
Northern railway has made Minot
division headquarters. The 500 line
has opened new and hitherto unex-
plored territory and brought hundreds
of settlers. The ranges are no longer
the undisputed domain of the milch
| cow and the frisky calf Thousands of
herds Of the believing steer range
the trails Of departed buffalo. Ten
years there was one coal mine, the
| Cotton. Now there are twenty. Hun
dreds of tons Of coal are mined and
hundreds of men are employed.
Hon. H. E.. Osgood was appointed
register of the land office by President
Harrison in 1891. In 1894 President
| Cleveland appointed a Democrat and
Osgood was elected states attorney
but declined reelection. A. L. Hans.
| com, register Of the land Office, came
to North Dakota in 1881 and did much
| to improve the agricultural and stock
| interests. After the expiration of his
! term he went to McHenry county and
was elected commissioner, and in 1895
was appointed senator of the Twenty
eighth district. Jan. IL, 1898, Miss
Mary Gullson. one Of Ward county's
most successful teachers, closed term
Of school. Rev. w. G. Hunter became
pastor of the. Presbyterian church.
| Senators Twichell and Mansfield and
| Representatives Sergeant, Hare and
Bason, returned from Saltwater, MINI.
penitentiary, after examining the twine
plant. The legislature was unanimous
ly in favor of installing plant with
a capacity of 1000 pounds daily, at an
estimated cost of $25.
| Feb. 2, 1898. the White Earth Red
Indians wanted to collect millions tc
| pay for lands upon which Bismarck
and Minot stand. Delegations were
headed by Chief Grow Fly High (Gros
Ventre), Sitting Bear, Old Dog Bears
Ghost, Black Hawk, Wounded Face
and Charles Burr. The reservation
was established in 1926 by a govern
| ment commission that came UP the
river in boats, Land from Little Hear
river, near Mandan, west to the head
waters of the Little Missouri, thence
to Powder river, along the Yellowstone
north to the Canadian boundary, wesi
to White Earth and vicinity, includ.
| ing the present site Of Minot, thence
south to Bismarck and Mandan, be.
| sides millions of acres of agricultural
and grazing lands. BY treaties ter
years apart these lands were ceded
The treaty is soon to- expire.
The Woman's Christian Temperance
union met with Mrs Nels Nelson oi
Oakland Park.
| Feb. 8, 1898, about. sixty. friends oi
| Mr.. and Mrs. w. j. Carroll gave them
| a pleasant surprise.
Rev. A. Hayes was given donation
/ OF $751;. 4a4 .s
/ The young ladies Of the Leland no.
tel gave a candy pull.
/ ]. Fl. Miller OF Sykeston, Wells coun.
ty, helped build the band wagon
equipped with rubber tires, and nov
has seat near the senatorial throne
i (To be continued.)