| Summary: | And Its Pioneers 21 of Governor Stevens' Final Narrative and Reports of his U. S. Pacific R. R. Explorations and Surveys made in 1853, between the 47th and 49th Parallels. These hunters killed 250 buffalo in one day near this cam]) and over 1100 on this trip. The Red River Buffalo Hunters began coming to hunt in the Butte de Morale vicinity as early as 1840, or before. They were preceded by the Hudson Bay Company's Hunters. Two hunts were made each year. The June hunt was made for the purpose of preparing pemmican which was their principal food. This they did by drying the meat and packing it in the sewed up hides and then pouring the melted fat and tallow over it. A special kind was made with berries pressed into it. The hides were later used for lodge skins and moccasins. The fall hunt took place late in October and buffalo robes were then their main quest as the animals had taken on their winter coats of long thick hair. The Indian names for the buffalo are Dakotas, "Tatanka"; Mandans, "Peroke"; Chippewas, "Mashkodi Pajiki." These hunters came out via Devils Lake and were accompanied by their entire families, and a French Roman Catholic priest, who ministered to the spiritual welfare of the party. Prayers at sunrise and vespers at sunset was the routine custom. The first religious worship ever held in Wells county was conducted by these priests on these hunting trips. These trips were called "going to the prairies." Pierre Bottineau, the noted guide piloted the Stevens Expedition of 1853, and the Capt. Risk Expeditions of 1862 and 1863. Capt. J. L. Fisk Expedition, 1862 Captain James L. Fisk, U. S. A. escorted a party of Gold Hunters from St. Paul to the Salmon River Gold Fields in 1862. They traveled via Fort Abercrombie and Fort [Union over nearly the same route as Gov. Stevens covered in 1853. The trip required 19 weeks' travel overland. He led a second expedition over the same route in 1863. On July 19, 1862, the expedition reached Wells county, traveling a few degrees north of west, and camped for the night on the James River just west of the Wells-Eddy county line in the Scanned with a Zeutschel Zeta book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited with Multi-Page TIFF Editor.
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