| Summary: | 568 The North Dakota Indians The Red River Cart Invented About 1820 The Red Fiver Cart was invented at Pembina before 1820. It was made entirely of wood, the wheels being sawed off the end of round logs for that especial purpose. An ox was hitched to each cart for propelling power. As early as 1820 much of the winter travel between Fort Douglas (Winnipeg) and Pembina was carried on by means of dog teams of four or six dogs hitched to a sledge or cariole, with a load of a couple hundred pounds or more, and fair time was made en route. In the '70s, mail was- carried in this manner during the winter months between St. Paul and Winnipeg via Pembina; also between Fort Abererombie and Fort Totten and to other points. A pound of pemmican was a day's feed for each of the dogs. The Gen. George A. Custer Expedition to the Black Hills in 1874 and the Jenny Expedition sent there by the U. S. Interior Department in 1875 made known to the world the discovery of gold and other wonders of that part of the territory. Their route from Bismarck was long known as the Territorial Highway. Sir Francis Sykes, of England, led a big buffalo hunt in the Red River Valley in 1861. THE STEVENS EXPEDITION, 1853 Early in March, 1853, the 33rd Congress of the United States passed a bill authorizing, and carrying an appropriation of $40,- 000.00 to finance, an exploration and survey for a railroad from the Mississippi River to Puget Sound, between the 47th and 49th parallels of North Latitude. President Franklin Pierce approved the act, and had Isaac I. Stevens, an army officer of varied military experiences, assigned to command the expedition and at the same time appointed him the first governor of Washington Territory, to take up the reigns of government as soon as he reached Olympia. Jefferson Davis, later president of the Southern Confederacy, was then secretary of war, and directed the movements of the expedition. Gov. Stevens assumed command on April 8, 1853, and at once dispatched Lieut. A. J. Donel- son, to Montreal, to confer with Sir George Simpson, of the Hudson Bay Company, regarding routes and help and food sup- Scanned with a Zeutschel Zeta book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited with Multi-Page TIFF Editor.
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