The long ago : facts of history from the writings of Captain Alexander Henry, Hon. Charles Cavileer, H.V. Arnold, Colonel C.A. Lounsberry and others

• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: State Historical Society of North Dakota
• Subjects: Hudson; Hudson Bay
• Online Access: http://cdm16921.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/ndsl-books/id/38871

L, s-i &-<* kL( o o o o PART j complete history of Pembina County, or at least that par* of it alor.g the northern boundary and lying next to the International line, commencing at the Red River of the North at Pembina and west to the Pembina mountains, would be of the greatest interest to the people who nov reside on and cultivate the fertile farms which give maintenance and wealth to the industrious, but such an history appears to be impossible, as those who were the actors in the scenes of those early days did not. ap parently. think their acts worth recording or else they considered their time more valuable. In our articles under this head we shall only attempt to give such matter as is recorded, and in no instance shall we draw on our imagination to fill in and make more interesting these sketches of "The Long Ago," a practice which many of our more learned and able historians are sometimes accused oi. These simple naratives are enough to give the novelist food for many wild, harrowing and exciting scenes, with but little stretch of the imagination, while the marvelous experiences of many are more startling and interesting than fiction could make them. The first settler on North Dakota soil is claimed to be a Canadian French trader who located at Pembina in 1780. While his name has not been preserved, the fact is nevertheless mentioned by Prof. Keating, the chronichler of Major Long's expedition. This party found the trader still living at Pembina 43 years subsequent to the period of his location at that place. In 1784 David Thompson, a person of some scientific attainments, entered the service of the Hudson Bay company and was appointed clerk. Latter he was employed by the Northwest company as explorer and geographer. He was also an accomplished astronomer. In 1797 he visited the valleys of the Scanned with a Zeutschel Zeta book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited with Multi-Page TIFF Editor.