Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-07-04

east.
.Creel City, Dakota Territory. SIT
tated on the north shore Of Devils,
Lake about eighteen miles directly
north al Government Post Fort Tot,
3ustsfthis side Of Hell, II
s'The ground was frozen SO solid
that we couldn't even dig a cellar for
Y provisions, and we left them right
out on the open ground Did they
freeze? They certainly did; potatoes
and ali-but frozen potatoes aren't
SO bad eating after 5a1l-not when you
get used to EN-
He smiled to himself az he&looked
back on those first days. of settle
ir1ent.
And then YOU built your steamers
on Devils Lake--what did they do 2"
ISagsin interrupted.
felNell, YOU see at thattinne all pro-
visions, all supplies OF any Kind what
soever, had to be carried overland by
team and oxen, from St. Cloud, Mn
nesota to Fort Totten, North Dakota.
which the government outpost estab-
lished in 1857. With the coming OF
1.-THE Northern Pactacs Railroad to
jamestown. the overland trip was cut
down. Then. too, the Great Northern
was building Its line acros what is now
North Dakota. and by the fall Of 1852
had progresssto LAriYnore, with plans
Of reaching Devils Lake the next year.
That's why the Minnie Fl was begun
lin the fall Of 80. tss
TT was a Big Ttaak---buildtng that
boat in this NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. all be-
cause We built most Of 1t during the
dead winter. We had to haul all
lumber from Larimore overland, and
later from B%artlett4t to the shore Of
Devils Lake. Snowstorms often t d
tally covered the lumber and mater
ials, and often the workmen refused
to work on account of the bitter cold.
We had Indian huuAws cutting down
the trees that WI scould use In the con-
available n at work on the boat
itself. It took the entire crewSthirteen
days to haul the boiler alone from
Bartlett to the place of construction.
Why. before we could sven begin
building the boat, we had to build a
cabin to live in--as there wal no kind
of shelter
but in snite5o f these ~difhculties the
Minnie H was successfully launched
IN May of 1883, and on July 4th it
made It's first trip, meeting the first
passenger train and settlers. that day
the beginning Of the great number
of settlers that sw'armed into this re-
gion from then or.
Didn't you have another boat too
a smaller one?"
Eyes, we built the Rock island. a
steamer of As ton burden to take care
of the extra freight and passenger
traffic Of the ext two a We also
had another smaller boat. the Maris
Teresa. which was later put into ser
vice. You've probably seen pictures
of the old docks thAt we built right up
along the Great Northern tracks. with
spurs running out onto the piers, SO
that we could load and unload direct
from cars to boat. With the coming
kan. on the western end of the lake,
similar docks were built there. These
boats carried the entire freight, pas
senger, and u. S. Mail service, from
Devils Lake to Fort Totten and Min
newaukan. Oftentimes as much as
fourteen hundred tons of coal. luf-
Der or other freight was carried in a
single season; building up this region
into what 1t is today. We also carried
in single trips. most Of them settlers
coming into this region to take ur
land. Later on. when I leased to the
i Chautaudua Association the land for
the -Chautaudua, we carried as many
as three thousand tourists. excursion
lists and settlers during the two week
session.
What a become Of the boats
do you still run them 2" YOU, ask.
mo. they've been heached inc torr
down. You see, the Lakesreceeded sc
fast, each year weShad to build new
docks and move all our equipment al
each landing place, Finally, in 1905
it became practically impossible tt
carry on this business. The shoreline
that had once nearly touched the
Post Of Fort Totten and the settle.
waukan, has now receded to- about a
mile and a half from Fort Totten
four miles from Devils Lake n 81,
miles from Minnewaukan.
mo, the steamers work Is done
the railroad has taken its place. The
country is settled now-it wasn't il
those days. It's hard for people now
a-days to realize the Importance OF
these boats back in the pioneer days
brought into Dakota Territory, the
thousands of tons of freight Of al!
kinds that they carried to build up the
State. stand alone as monuments tc
the service that they have DONE
And you have done all thfs?" ]
said. -
NO, not I. Give the credit to the
boats" was his unassuming answer.
With that our visit Is ended. After
a. CHEEKY "Good-day." weswalk slowly
Idown the steps and along the; front
sidewalk. We turn for a moment tc
view the old flagstaff and the cabin
Of the Minnie H. as they stand there
silent reminders OK the great work
this ma has done in the settlement OF
Dakota. We are inspired by the simple
stories he has told, stories of early
settlement, stories of bravery, stories
Of achievement. We realize the i'm
portance of these early pioneers Of
Dakota-those, who came here when
there was nothing but one vast ex-
panse Of prairie wilderness and built
the State into what it is today. I'm
portant among5these pioneers, vi con-
clude, is Captain E. f. Herman.