1882 to 1S60 HISTORY of MERCER COUNTY NORTH DAKOTA by C. B. HEINEMEYKK MRS. BEN JANSSEN NUKIH DAKOTA NORTH DAKOTA STATE LIBRARY BOOK OR AUTHOR 331 05 00038 8478 HISTORICAL DITS I* of M MERCER COUNTY < :- North Dakota Dedicated To The School Children by C. B. Heinemeyer Published by The Hazen Star INDIANS So far as is known the early inhabitants of what is now Mercer ounty, were the tribes of Indians now known as the Mandans, Rees, [and Grosventre. The Assinoboines, Crows, Cheyennes, and Sioux frequently visited some of the aforementioned tribes. Sometimes it {was a friendly visit to barter and trade, and at times it was a hunting party, or a war party. Traces of one village, also many of the temporary camps on the upper Knife River and Spring Creek marked by teepee rings, denote by their arrangements that they are not of Mandan, Ree, or Grosventre origin^x The Mandans The origi•l n of this tribe is a much disputed question. Some writers claim that!they had seceded from the Sioux, others that they were descendants of white men, while another writer says that their original home was Ion the southeast coast of the United States. The Mandans were one of the most famous of the tribes in the west; they lived in fortified villages and most of their time was devoted to the growing of crops, especially corn. The Rees claim that the Mandans received their knowledge of cultivating corn from them, but! it is probable that the Mandans, while still at their old home in the southeastern part of the United States, were taught to plant corn; by the Indians of Mexico, where the corn plant undoubtedly originated; j The Rees These Indians are sometimes called Panamas, Panis, Aricara, Arickarees and Rus. Their kinfolks were the Pawnees with whom they carried on a large trade in horses. Like the Mandans, they were extensive corn growers and traded much of their surplus to neighboring tribes. Many of their traditions are about the growing, cultivating, STATE LIBRARY C0.«W!'SS!Oft r>iou« n/1!/ and harvesting of corn. The women did all this work, and the different ...,.<?.. fflf Phases of their work were conducted with much ceremony. Some writers claim that the Rees knew the value of seed selection, which was supervised byL the Medicinemen. The Sioux called the Rees, "The Corn Planters." The Grosventies (Grovans) Known also by the name of Minnetarees and Hidatsa, the Gros- ventres were friendly to the whites and lived at peace with the other nations. Because of their long residence with the Mandans they adopted many of the latter's customs and mode of living, and also became corn growers. The Crows On the plains west of the Little Missouri and Yellowstone rivers, lived the Crows, also known as the Grosventres of the Prairies. They were of a roving nature and did not raise corn, though related to the first mentioned Grosventres, who were known as the Grosventres of the Missouri. The Assinoboines In the earlier part of our history these Indians lived in the northern portion of what is now North Dakota and Montana, but are now located in Canada, and originally belonged to the confederation of Sioux tribes from which they seceded prior to the year 1656. They were friendly to the Mandans, who would trade them corn for knives, beads and other articles of merchandise which appealed to the redman, and which the Assinoboines procured at the Hudson Bay company posts. There is nothing of record that the Assinoboines were an agricul­ tural people or that they raised corn. The Cheyennes This nation lived in the southwestern portion of Dakota, subsisting mainly by hunting and trapping. Some of the bands also carried on a lively trade in horses, and while history does not credit them with having raised corn, some authorities insist that they did. The Sioux The Sioux, called by many of the early writers Naduwessi, were a confederation of tribes. According to their traditions they originally came from north of the Mississippi river, up in the lake country of northern Minnesota. Their main reason for leaving the northern woods was because their numbers were becoming too great, and because the Chippewas to the north were continually at war with them. Their chief occupation was hunting, and they were also fond of making war excursions on the neighboring tribes. None of the travelers ever referred to them as being corn-growers, though some state that they had corn in their possession. They roamed over a territory now comprising part of Minnesota, southern North Dakota, all of South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana. They were never friendly to the white man. Most of Indian troubles in the northwest were instigated by one or more of the tribes of the Sioux nation. The Country of the Mandans To most of us, the vast territory lying west and south of the great bend of the Missouri river seems to be a newly settled section of our state. , To be sure, as a political subdivision we ai'e comparatively young, only a matter of half a century; but every foot of it is historic ground. Long before the event of the first white man, thriving villages, inhabited by blue-eyed, white haired Indians, who lived in houses, were located here and there along the west bank of the "Big Muddy," near the mouths of the smaller streams. The valleys swarming with buffalo and antelope, the woodlands along the rivers with its deer and grouse, the numerous streams teeming with fish; these together with well tended patches of corn, beans and squash, kept the people of these villages from want. This was the life of the fabled Mandans when that gallant French- Canadian explorer, Chevalier de la Verendrye, found them in the year 1738. A peaceful nation, so different from their neighboring tribes, not only in their physical make-up, but also in their customs, usages and mode of living. From whence they came we do not know. The story of the Welsh Prince Madoc and his followers, who was supposed to have ruled them in 1170, is discredited by many. More likely they may be descendants of the once powerful Mayas of Central America. At any rate, they did not depend entirely on the hunt and chase for their subsistence. Strange as it may seem they worshiped one God, long before they had ever heard of the white man's God, whom they called by an Indian name meaning "The Elderman" (the High One). They had laws for the tribe, the village, the clan, and the indi­ vidual. A criminal, a civil code, and laws on health and santitation. Elaborate ceremonies were conducted in connection with birth, puberty, marriage, and death, both of males and females. Ceremonies, before and after the hunt, at planting time, at harvest, at the beginning of the four seasons, and also commemorating other great events, all were of a religious nature. It has been said that to learn the rituals, live up to them, and to fully take part in the ceremonies of their highest secret society (that of "The White Buffalo"), would take a lifetime. All of the early explorers and travelers comment on their well planned villages, fortifications, their gardens, and good earth lodges. Many make special mention of how well their villages were policed. While ruins of ancient Mandan villages have been found all along the Missouri, from the mouth of the Heart River to the mouth of the Little Missouri, the most eminent investigators believe, that the main or first village was located near the mouth of the Knife river. Verendrye in 1738 found them near Shell creek, on what is now the Ft. Berthold Reservation; Lewis and Clark in 1804 met the first band near Mandan. The strongest fortified village, that Lewis records, was located on what is now Sec. 36, Twp. 144, Rge. 84, Mercer county. The Ahnahaways who were a branch of the Hidatsa, now called Grosventre, had a village north of Stanton. The Ricara or Ree villages were also along the Knife river north of Stanton. Another Hidatsa or Grosventre village was located on the present court house grounds. At the Hidatsa village north of Stanton Capt. Clark first met Sakakawea, then a girl of sixteen, who was the wife of an independent trader named Charbonneau. It was reported to Captain Lewis, that as a young girl she had been taken captive by Crow Indians, a branch of the Hidatsa tribe, in a raid on the Shoshone, her parent tribe. Charbonneau had purchased her from these visiting Crow Indians and made her his wife. When Lewis and Clark continued their westward journey, Sakakawea (the Bird Woman) was chosen as the guide to blaze the trail for them across the "Shining Mountains" to the shores of the Pacific as she was the only one at the villages near the Knife river who had crossed the continental divide before. The Small Pox Epidemic To our knowledge the saddest epoch in the history of our red family was during the year 1837. The great trade center at that time was Ft. Clark. Francis Chardon, a trader in this territory since 1828, was the factor at the time. Like most of the men of his vocation he kept a minute record of all his transactions, and also recorded any event of interest each day. Chardon's original journal is preserved in the manuscript division of the library of Congress. Several writers have given a descriptive account of the happenings at Ft.