A history of Foster County

• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: North Dakota State Library
• Subjects: Arctic; Bald Hill; Flint; Hale; Haugen; Indian; James River; Juanita; Melby
• Online Access: http://cdm16921.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/ndsl-books/id/32786

"Mr. Larrabee has to haul his wood from Lake Doe, 14 miles to the north." An Old Ox Cart and Stage Line used the same trail. This line was established in 1871 but not surveyed before 1881. E. Wells Fargo Express: (by E. L. Horton) The Wells Fargo and Company Express was incorporated in 1852. William Frederick Hamden said to his friend, James W. Hale, "I want to make a mark in the world." Mr. Hale replied, "Why don't you run errands between New York and Boston?" Carrying small pieces of valuable freight that people don't like to entrust to unknown agents." Equipped with a modest carpet bag, he approached bankers, brokers, business men and volunteered to carry valuable letters, greenbacks, jewelry, heirlooms, and etc. It was from this humble beginning that the great Wells Fargo Co. emerged. There was an urgent need of such service for the great Railway Express today has over 50,000 employees instead of a single messenger as the Ham- den's express began. (1930s) The Wells Fargo Co. Express Line between Fort Seward and Fort Totten crossed Foster county north and southwest of the James River almost paralleling the Old Stage Coach Trail, leaving Jamestown west of the Jim River and east of Pipestem passing about two miles east of Buchanan, two miles east of New Port (Melville) seven miles east of Carrington and passing into Eddy county. F. Continental Divide: Located on the northeast edge of Lake Juanita is an old water course that is connected with Stony Lake on Section 15-147-63. It is an unnoticed continental divide where the waters of the Arctic drainage pass into the Upper Bald Hill Creek while the Juanita water goes south into the James and the Gulf of Mexico. G. Signal Hill: A high peak of the James River bluffs one-half mile north of State Highway 200 on SEy4-16-146-64. It is from this point the Indian smoke signals were sent up. The U.S. Geological Survey erected and operated a signal tower at this point in the fall of 1934. The tower is still standing. The land is owned by Sigvart Holland, Juanita, N.D. H. Melby Hill: A bold promentory one and one-half mile south and two miles west from Grace City on NEVi Section 29-147-64. On top of this hill are three well worn rings or circles. One large and two small. The drawing indicated the shape and dimensions. Evidently an old Indian pow-wow ground. Possibly, Indian Spirit dance ground. Ed Halaas, Carrington was possibly the first white man to view this hill. In 1884, while gathering buffalo bones went over this hill. The U.S. Geological survey in 1934 erected a signal tower on this hill. The unknown people who toiled on Melby's Hill erected two memorials. One, a mound forty feet in diameter. The other an embankment four feet high and one hundred feet long extending to the northwest. It was here that the Sioux Indians burned various Council fires during the last half of the seventeenth and the first half of the eighteenth centuries between the Yankton and Yanktonai Sioux who lived along the upper course of the James River in the early historic period, and the Sioux nations of the western Great Lakes region, when attacks were being planned against the Mandan, Hidatsas, Cheyenne, Arikara and the Chippewa nations. It was in the middle of the seventeenth century that the white man brought firearms to the Chippewa, the traditional enemy of the Sioux. Thus the Chippewa were able to hold the forest while the Sioux were forced to take to the prairie which they held as far west as the Missouri and White rivers. Flint arrowheads, scrapers and broken fragments have been found in a number of places in the county. Yet, no local flint quarries are known. Many of the arrowheads, well shaped and polished are from the western quarries. Some are very crude, evidently brought in by Indians from the North. (Hartosa) Other names for Melby Hill are "Brogus Haugen", or "Miller's Point". It rises about 100 feet above the surrounding prairie. (Hortan's report) I. Indian Campsite— Leo Gauderman pasture: On the east side of the Lake Juanita are where large numbers of Indians camped for many years. Quite a few relics have been found here through the years but only these tepee rings are left of many that have been here. These rings of stones were used to hold down the edge of wigwams. A general camp ground evidently was maintained at Lake Juanita, possibly for centuries, but the findings do not warrant that an ancient village site ever existed at that point. Pieces of flint, crushed bone tipi rings are quite numerous. The boulder-ring effigies are undisturbed. More than likely they were buried by soil erosion hundreds of years ago. During the late dust storms they have been unearthed to the present generation. This particular field has been under cultivation for possibly 40 years. The owners did now know of the boulder-rings until in the 1930s. The dust storms removed the soil to a depth of from a few inches to two or more feet in places. J. Indian campsite— Hoffman's pasture: Here in Hoffman's pasture can be seen three teepee rings. This must have been a good camping area for the Indians. K. John Aarestad Museum— located in McHenry: A large and most interesting museum in the county. Many collections have been gathered from Indian relics to a steam engine. 395 Scanned with a Zeutschel Zeta book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited with Multi-Page TIFF Editor.