| Summary: | many prominent people spending the night there. The building burned in 1886 and was never rebuilt. The Larrabee family moved back to New England. Here are some excerpts from a letter written to a friend back east: "At last after traveling by rail, prairie schooner, and ox team we arrived at Fort Totten to find that William's trial was on and he was found guilty and sentenced to two years in a Federal prison. "I was simply crushed but— after talking things over with our friends here and taking their advice we got his sentence changed to ten years of life on the prairie; so my dear we will not see you for ten years for we are going to live somewhere not very far from where we are now. "General L.C. Hunt is in command at Fort Totten and last winter several cavalry regiments were quartered here. "We just received word that Custer and the L. Troops of the 7th Cavalry were all massacred June 20,1876. "This was the regiment quartered here last winter. We are all feeling frightened and dismayed about it. "The Indians are restless and dissatisified and are feeling very much elated over their victory. "This relay station was formerly kept by an old Frenchman by the name of Belland. He was what is called by the settlers a "Squaw-man" having bought a squaw from some Indian and living with her as his wife. "This station is very isolated there being no settlements west of Fargo and for that reason it is very difficult to get anyone to live there. Also the emigrants going into Montana, and Idaho to the mining camps all followed this trail prior to the opening of the posts at Jamestown and Bismarck. Dakota Territory Sept. 1876 Dear Patty: A beautiful September day and at last we have left the post and are settled on the Fort Totten Trail about thirty miles from Fort Totten. Mr. Larrabee sought out a man by the name of Joseph Hayes who owned a log house near the James River Valley. The valley is sheltered by hills and is open to the east where the waters of Lake Belland come into the river through a little creek. It is a good place for raising stock and that is Mr. Larrabee's intention. We will also keep the relay station where the mail carriers and freighters can keep their relay horses. Let me describe our surroundings. To the east lies Lake Belland, a nice little sheet of water with a few trees on the north and south shores. On the south and north the hills shut off the view. The river runs out of the valley to the west. Mr. Larrabee is very busy making hay and getting in supplies. The relay station will use up huge quantities of this for all the supplies freighted to Fort Totten and the Indian Agency go by our door along the trail. Herds of antelope pass near grazing as they go, in this valley, the fine grass and running water, which is not often to be found, for you may travel miles upon the prairie without finding water. The geese and ducks and prairie chickens are here in immense numbers and sometimes they cover vast spaces. The sand hill cranes look at a distance like huge herds of cattle. About the lake is the breeding place of the ducks and they will remain until the frosts^send them southward. You asked me about the buffalo. There are no buffalo here now as they left the region around Devils Lake about 1868. They used to be very numerous about there as the grass is good and there is plenty of water but the Indians and Red River half-breeds became so numerous and hunted them so persistants that they went west and south. They made pem- mican of their flesh in immense quantities and sold it to the Hudson Bay and American Fur Companies. With love, Dakota Territory, May 24,1877 Dear Patty, We have no neighbors nearer than Fort Totten except the Indians who visit us frequently and so far as I know I am the only white woman in Foster County. We have a new baby at our house, a boy, which we have named Berkley Terry Larrabee who arrival on the 12th was very much dreaded by me because we had no doctors or nurses. This boy so far as we know is the first white child born in Foster county. The little girls have come in with their hands full of some beautiful flowers and wanted to know what they were called. Hunting out my old Botany book I found that they were the Pasque flowers with their quaint furry hoods that cover the buds. The hills are covered with them as they begin to bloom so early. There is no grass and the leaves come after the flower. We welcomed them eagerly as they are the first but we will have an abundance of wild flowers all summer long. The lake is full of fish and as they go up Sluogullion Creek (so named by me because it's such a tiny stream beside our creeks at home), usually we get numbers which are a welcome change in our menu though they are not so fine as the salt water fish at home. Oh, how homesick I get for the sight of a white woman's face. I have seen none since I came here in September. The Indian women visit us frequently. Five came a few days ago. One is always the spokeswoman and introduces the others by pointing to them, "This Lizzie, this Fanny, this Mary". We always have to give them lunch when they come as they will remain until they are fed. We had five or six fat little puppies and Mr. Larrabee gave each of them one which was received with broad smiles and great pleasure. I was glad he 25 Scanned with a Zeutschel Zeta book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited with Multi-Page TIFF Editor.
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