The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1932-05-11
PIONEER DESCRIBES
EARLY DAYS IN CITY
IN talk TO ROTARY
W. A. FaIconer Says Bismarck
Never as Black as Some
People Paint it.

Intimate sketches Of Bismarck In
its infancy were given by William A.
Falconer, pioneer, in a talk before the
Rotary club at its luncheon meeting
Wednesday.
Bismarck then was a wide-open
frontier town, with all classes Of peo-
ple,' Falconer said, but it never was
as black as some people painted it.
1t is true that there were many
saloons, gambling places, sporting
houses and public dance halls, but
the people conducting these establish
ments always kept their places"
Falconer came to Bismarck in the
summer Of 1874. when the village had
about 600 inhabitants and about 200
buildings of various descriptions. He
was Is years old. It took all day to
come from Fargo by train, with q
stop Of one hour being made at Fort
Seward, now Jamestown. There was
but one stopping place between Fort
Seward and Bismarck, called 18th
Siding, now Crystal Springs.
Camp Hancock, U. S. army garri-
son under Captain Charles E. Clarke
was important in the life of the COM
munity at that time, the soldiers TAX
ing part In local social functions and
giving a minstrel show each winter
Camp Hancock was located where the
U. s. weather bureau now stands.
Gold in Black Hills
Bismarck residents became consid-
erably excited in 1874, the pioneer
said, when gold was reported in the
Black Hills by General Custer, who
had been sent to explore the coun-
try. Bismarck was the nearest rail-
road point to the Black Hills at that
time.
Bismarck merchants did large
business during the Black Hills gold
rush. allowing customers $40 an
ounce for gold IN trade.
The old Mclean and MacNider
store. where Falconer worked for 10
years, was general headquarters for
army officers, steamboat men, gov
eminent contractors. freighters and
Indian scouts. among whom were
Lonesome Charlie Reynolds, Cali
fornia Joe, Texas Jack, Buffalo Bill
and Yellowstone Kelly.
More than 80 steamboats, made reg
ular trips from Bismarck to Fort
Benton on the Missouri river during
the summers Of 1876 and 1877, Fal-
coner said.
Teller Was First Farmer
Mike Teller. known as Dutch
Nike was the pioneer farmer in
Burleigh county. He raised $50 bushels
OF potatoes on one and a quarter
acres IN the river bottoms. Louis
Notmeyer, Henry Suite, Fred Edgar
and Jake Houser were other early
residents who had crops and yege-
table gardens on the bottoms, the
pioneer said.
The first church fair was held in
the Presbyterian church by the Ladies
Mite society in the fall Of 1874.
Bismarck had no train service dur
Ing the winters from 1872 to 1876,
Falconer described the first mass
OF the Catholic church here in June.
1875, with Rev. Father Genin Of
ficiating.
80 VAN ANhAe1AAAACA VI Ills Cclk, fNls
coner dealt with early residents,
including George Peoples, Louis
Aagard, John w. Plummer, DR.. Bur-
leigh. DR.. Slaughter, Asa Fisher,
John w. Proctor, E. A. Williams,
John A. Stoyell, w. M. Pye, Mark
Kellogg and Judge Carvelle.
Falconer was introduced by John
Peterson as the first manager of
organized baseball in Bismarck"
Pay Tribute to Wait
Tribute to Jason E. Wait, member
Of the club who died last week. was
paid by the club. The piano on
which Wait had played accompani-
ments to Rotary songs was closed
and on it was a mourning wreath.
H. j. Duemeland gave a short talk in
tribute to Wait and the club re-
NAMED silent for a minute in tribute
to him. In addition, no music was
included on the program.
John Hoffman, presiding in the
absence Of President Ray Bergeson,