Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1942-08-28
NORTH DAKOTAS
BADLAND REGION
DRAWS TOURISTS
ONE OF MOST UNUSUAL SCENIC
AREAS UNITED STATES
CAN BOAST

ONE OF MOST UNUSUAL SCENIC
AREAS UNITED STATES
CAN BOAST
Between the prairie lands of North
Dakota and the prairie lands Of Mon
tana there is a narrow strip Of broken
country so wild and fantastic in its
beauty that 1t seems as though some
unholy demon had carved 1t to mock
the loneliness Of God. On both sides
Of sinuous river rise 10000 buttes
cut into bizarre shapes by the waters
Of countless centuries. The hand of
man never dared to paint anything as
those hills are painted. Olive and law
ender, buff. brown and dazzling white
mingle with emerald and flaming
scarlet to make piece Of savage
splendor that is not without an ele-
ment of the terrible"
That is the way Herman Hagedorn,
Theodore Roosevelt's biographer, de-
scribes the bad lands of the Little
Missouri, one of the most unusual
scenic and geologic areas OF the United
States, which help make western
North Dakota a place of enchantment
for the tourist seeking something eX-
citingly different in his travels.
And these bad lands cover only
comparatively small section. There are
scores Of other interesting points in
the region extending from the Cana
dian border to the South Dakota line
Western North Dakota is land of
contrasts. OffSetting the weird and
colorful bad lands are rolling miles of
rich farm lands dotted with home
steadS, rough-surfaced plains and hills
upon which Craze thousands of cattle
and sheep and sluggish rivers cutting
irTegularly through the entire region.
And all this territory is seeped with
a historical background. highlighted
by the exploits of Theodore Roosevelt,
who picked up the nickname of "Old
-Four Eyes" during his residence from
1883 to 1886 near Medora, and the
Marquis de Mores, the handsome
French nobleman whose dreams of an
industrial empire in the west were
shattered but whose influence on the
territory was pronounced.
Stories Of the activities of these two
notables have enriched the history Of
North Dakota. Both came to the Me-
dora region in 1888.
Roosevelt, a New York assembly
and to forget the recent deaths of
his wife and mother From 1883 to
1886, the future president spent sew
eral months each year running cattle
on his two ranches, the Elkhorn and
the Maltese Cross, which he later
changed the name to Chimney Butte
Teddy, with his flashing smile and
athletic ways, won his way at once
into the hearts of the hardened cow
hands and he proved their equal often
in courage, stamina and spirit. One
evening at Medora, using his fists as
weapons, he knocked out and disarmed
a bully On another occasion, Roose-
welt with two ranch hands captured
three thieves who had stolen a boat
from his Elkhorn ranch and had
plundered almost every ranch house
along The river
Roosevelt's ranching enterprises
were rever financially successful, but
he reeained his health in the west
and that more than offset his none
tary losses. His visits west became
fewer after 1887. There are now only
a few foundation stones left of his
Elkhorn ranch home, but the CHM
ney Butte cabin has been preserved
on the state capitol grounds at Bis
marck
De Mores, soon after arriving in
America, came west on a hunting trip
with his bride, Medora Won Hoffman
Of New York. The country so fas-
cinated him that he decided to make
it his home. He built a chateau, a
two-story affair with % rooms, and
installed in it his red-haired bride
and retinue of servants.
The wealthy Frenchman purchased
a large tract Of land on the east side
of the Little Missouri river, built
packing plant in hopes of capitalizing
on the advantage of avoiding the cost
of shipping live animals to eastern
slaughterhouses, and watched town
grow around it which he named Me-
dora after his wife.
But his plan wasn't as successful
as he had dreamed. Eastern markets
undersold De Mores and forced ruin
ously low prices. Eastern diners turned
up their noses on CRASHED cattle in
preference to the granted variety.
De MoreS ran sheep, but hundreds
died. His Medora-Deadwood stage line
lost its customers to the smoother
Observation-Disclosures route He fenced
his land and this aroused the ire of
his neighbors. People OF the Little
Missouri valley became distrustful of
the nobleman and his refined manner.
This feeling became accumulated
after he killed man who had threat
ened his life. De Mores was acquitted
by a district court jury in Bismarck
in September, 1885. Seeing that his
venture was failure. he took his
family to Europe to live. While hunt
ing in Africa at the age of SO, he
was ambushed and killed by native
guides. The chateau, deserted and de-
teriorating, was taken over by the
state historical society in 1896 and
remains an outstanding tourist attrac-
ton. A statue of the marquis, erected
by his family in 1926, stands in De
Mores state park, comprised of II
acres and decided to the state his
torical society in 1896 by Louis, Count
de Vallombrosa, eldest son Of the
marquis.
Two state parks in the bad lands
have been named after the former