Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1921-12-01
PROMINENT SIOUX
FREQUENTED OLD
SHERIDAN HOUSE
Stories Of Recently Burned
Sheridan House at Bis
marck Replete With Inter-
esting Stories Of the Win
ming of the West

nlng OF the west.
Bismarck. n. d.. Nov. 20 The
story Of the recently burned Sheri-
dan house and of it's connection
with the Winning OF the West"
would not be complete without the
names Of it's many Indian guests.
Sometimes the big chiefs were pres
ent as honored attendants at some
function, in much the same manner
the reception of Marshal Foch.
Sometimes they came to the tables
of the Sheridan House as prisoners
of the stronger military power of the
United States. 1t was at the Sheri-
dan House that Sitting Bull was en-
tertained when he started on that
journey thru the East that was TO
impress him with the power of the
white men. 1t was to the Sheridan
House that General Miles brot Chief
Joseph, after that leader of the NeZ
Perces had eluded capture for
months in that almost miraculous
retreat with his tribe thru lands con-
sidered impossible. ending in the
brilliant coup by Miles and the cap
ture. 1t was from here that Joseph
started on his trip to the East to be
present in the parade in dedication
of the tomb of Grant. In that par
ade he rode beside a man who also
had his part in the life Of this coun
try, VIM. Cody (Buffalo Bid. 1t
was at the Sheridan House that Gall
the most stately of the Sioux Chiefs
poin IN, hc En DnI
met white men on almost equal
terms and it was here that kunning
Antelope, considered in local annals
as the greatest of the Sioux, brot
into play his rare powers of leader
ship and persuasion TO make the lot
Of his people more tol":abla.
Strangely enough, the name OF but
one Indian maiden is linked with
the hotel, and that is Shooting Star,
the daughter of Sitting Bull.
That the Indians had their attrac-
ton for the pale faced maidans or
that sometimes dares were made
seems to be proved from a story c'r-
culated in local circles. but from
which the name seems to have been
dropped. 1t was at the banaue: Civ
en- to General Miles at the time he
brot Joseph out from beyond the
Badlands. Miles sat at one end OF
the table, while the chief, who be-
cause of his exploits was ut that time
the center of the interest Of III, dar-
ing, sat al the other. One Of the
white maidens at the table was SO
chief, that she threw her arms a.
v,:, 1T, x,Io
her ring upon his finger. Joseph.
not to be outdone in any act Of gal
lantry, searched among his follow
ers until he found ring, it hap
pened to be d brass one, badly dis
figured, which he placed upon the
finger of the young lady, also re-
turning her salutatiOn. The names
of few women are listed in the stor-
les of the hotel. OF the many wives
of officers, Mrs. Col. Coppinger, a
daughter of the "Plumed Knight" +"
Mrs. James G. Blaine, and Mrs. Col.
HaZen, later the wife Of Admiral
Dewey, are the two it is possible to
identify at this time.
The Sheridan House saw much of
the romance Of the girding of the
empire by the Northern Pacific Rail-
road. In its first days it watched
the trains arrive each evening and
depart each morning, the event be-
ing the important one for the day in
the city. Then it was decided to
bridge the Missouri to meet the part
of the road being constructed from
the West. The Sheridan House be-
came at this time the center of this
westward movement. 1t was here
the big men of the road came to OBJ
serve progress. 1t was here the en-
gineers, who grappled with the pro-
blems of the mud bottoms Of the
Missouri River made their headquar-
ters. Material for the road was brot
here and transported across the Mis-
souri, one winter on the ice. that
natural bridge one winter supporting
track and trainloads. It was; here.
with the Sheridan House as head
quarters that one day in 1883 the
trains were gathered that started
westward that their passengers
might witness the driving OF the
golden spike that sienalized the.
meeting of rails touch ching, the Allan.
tic and the Pacific.
In the days Of the bull Tin q the. 4