unusual churches, both focal points of the Ukrainian settlement. SS.
PETER AND PAUL GREEK CATHOLIC CHURCH (R) has two steeples topped with
fourchée crosses. It is of the Greco-Slavonic branch of the Greek
Church. The RUSSIAN ORTHODOX GREEK CATHOLIC CHURCH (L) belongs to the
Russo-Greek branch; a cruciform building, it has three steeples, each
bearing the Greek schismatic cross of papal design, symbolizing the
Trinity, with the lowest member set obliquely to denote that the church
does not recognize the authority of the Pope. Both churches use the
Julian calendar and have similar services and holidays.
A bird-banding station established in Wilton in 1931 by Mrs. W. H. Gray
under the U. S. Biological Survey banded 5,805 birds of 86 species in
its first five years.
Left from Wilton via Main St. to the second largest LIGNITE STRIP MINE
of the Truax-Traer Co., =2 m.= Formerly one of the largest underground
lignite mines in the world (_see Tours 5 & 7_), in 1934-35 it yielded
185,381 tons of coal.
BISMARCK, =184.5 m.= (1,672 alt., 11,090 pop.) (_see_ BISMARCK).
_Points of Interest_: State Capitol, Liberty Memorial Building,
State Historical Society Museum, Roosevelt Cabin.
At 6th St. and Main Ave. is the junction with US 10 (_see Tour 8_),
which unites with US 83 between this point and STERLING, =209.5 m.=
(1,807 alt., 110 pop.).
MOFFIT, =219 m.= (1,738 alt., 130 pop.), is on the west shore of
LONG LAKE, now under development by the U. S. Biological Survey as a
migratory waterfowl refuge. The town is named for the Moffit family,
who were the first settlers.
As HAZELTON, =233 m.= (1,975 alt., 446 pop.), is neared it has the
appearance of an oil town, due to its numerous windmills which a
forerunner of the modern high-pressure salesman succeeded in selling in
the community. The town is named for Hazel Roop, the daughter of the
town site owner.
South of Hazelton the route enters a Russo-German farming area. The
odd, brilliant colors of some of the houses and farm buildings are
characteristic of the taste of these people. Diagonal stripes of
alternating bright colors form a favorite decorative scheme for barn
and granary doors. Since the American influence has made itself felt,
however, many gaily painted buildings have been dimmed by coats of
conservative white or buff paint.
TEMVIK, =242.5 m.= (1,925 alt., 75 pop.), is a small Russo-German
settlement.
LINTON, =251 m.= (1,706 alt., 1,192 pop.), was named for George W.
Lynn, an early settler. Protected by high, flat-topped hills, the
town is in a valley at the confluence of Beaver and Spring Creeks.
The most prominent building in town is the EMMONS COUNTY COURTHOUSE,
of modern design, constructed of North Dakota brick. Hand carving
on the spandrels above the first floor windows depicts the story of
progress in Emmons County. Several of the public buildings in Linton,
including the hospital and the Episcopal church, are constructed of
native sandstone quarried a short distance from the town. SEEMAN'S PARK
(_picnicking, swimming, camping_) on Beaver Creek, named for L. D.
Seeman, its donor, is a recreation and tourist camp.
Right from Linton on an improved county dirt road to the junction with
an unimproved road, =0.5 m.=; L. on this prairie road, unsuitable
for trailers, to what appears to be an almost perfect specimen of an
INDIAN TURTLE EFFIGY MOUND, =1.5 m.= The road passes directly over the
turtle's back, and from the top of the mound the outlines of the head
to the E. and the tail to the W. are clearly visible.
STRASBURG, =262 m.= (1,800 alt., 695 pop.), gets its typically German
name from a German settlement in Russia whence many of its settlers
came. It marks the dividing line between the Russo-German and Dutch
settlements of this vicinity. Both racial groups make up the population
of the town, which is the center of a large grain and dairy area.
Rising from the compact little village is the double spire of the
Roman Catholic church, which is attended by the largest rural Catholic
congregation in the State. The feast day of SS. Peter and Paul (_June
29_) is an annual occasion for celebration.
South of Strasburg the route passes through territory settled by
Hollanders, and the landscape is dotted with their neat, well-kept
farms. Although many of them are American-born, the native tongue is
retained in their homes. The Dutch Reformed Church forms the focal
point in their communities; many of their children attend college at
Holland, Mich., and members of the settlement annually go to Michigan
for the Holland Tulip Festival.
HULL, =270.5 m.= (1,800 alt., 50 pop.), is one of the Dutch
communities, named for Hull, Iowa.
At =272.5 m.= is the junction with ND 11, a graveled highway.
Left on this highway is HAGUE, =5 m.= (1,899 alt., 125 pop.), named for
The Hague in the Netherlands. In a level farming area, it is one of
the market towns for the Dutch settlements, although its population is
principally Russo-German. The Roman Catholic church is the outstanding
building of the community.
US 83 crosses the North Dakota-South Dakota boundary at =278.5 m.=, 141
m. N. of Pierre, S. Dak. (_see S. Dak. Tour 12_).
SIDE TOUR 3A
Junction US 83--Garrison--Nishu--Elbowoods--Shell Creek--Van
Hook--Stanley. ND 37 & 8, county and reservation roads.
Junction with US 83 to US 2, 117 m.
Dry-weather, dirt, reservation roads most of route. Gravel 28 m. W.
of junction with US 83, and 28 m. between Van Hook and Stanley.
Limited accommodations on reservation.
ND 37, which runs through the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation,
branches W. from US 83 (_see Tour 3_) midway between Max and Coleharbor.
GARRISON, =7 m.= (1,920 alt., 1,024 pop.), named for nearby Garrison
Creek, was formerly the center of a large wheat area, and is now a
primary turkey market. Lignite is mined in the surrounding country.
At =20 m.= is the junction with ND 28 and a county graveled highway.
Straight ahead on the county highway to a small store and filling
station, where is the junction with an unimproved dirt road, =29
m.=; L. to enter the FORT BERTHOLD INDIAN RESERVATION at =33 m.=
Established in 1870 with an area of more than 2,000,000 acres, it
has now been reduced to 625,000. The region is principally rugged
and broken--typical Badlands, best suited for grazing, although the
eastern portion of the reservation contains some good farming land. The
population figures for 1936 list 600 Arikara, 711 Hidatsa, and 337
Mandans (although few of the latter are of pure blood), remnants of the
three agricultural Indian tribes that once occupied the Missouri River
Valley.
At =38 m.= is the junction with a dirt road, not suitable for trailers.
Left on this road to the junction with another dirt road, =3 m.=; R.
on this road to another junction at =4 m.=; L. to another junction
at =5 m.=; R. to a fence gate, =5.8 m.=; R. through the gate, pass a
small farmhouse to the SITE OF FORT BERTHOLD, =6 m.= Above the river
bottoms, overlooking a bend in the Missouri's course, are the ruins
of a trading post built in 1845 by Bartholomew Berthold, a Tyrolese.
He had traded in the river country for many years, and his success at
this new fort named for him made it one of the most important Missouri
River posts. Harassed by the warlike Sioux, the Hidatsa Indians left
their village at the mouth of the Knife River and came to live at Fort
Berthold, where, because of the bend in the river, they named their
new home Like-a-fish-hook Village. The Mandan Indians later joined the
Hidatsa at this site. From the first the history of Fort Berthold is a
tale of many assaults by wandering parties of Sioux. In 1864 a portion
of the second Sully expedition was sent to protect the outpost, and the
following year Fort Berthold became a military post. It was garrisoned
until 1867, when Fort Stevenson, 12 m. E., replaced it. The rough-hewn
log buildings which Berthold and his men erected were later replaced by
frame buildings, the dismantled remains and cellars of which are all
that mark the site today.
The GRAVES OF SON-OF-THE-STAR AND WHITE SHIELD, famed Arikara chiefs,
are marked by a cement monument about 250 yd. NW. of the fort site.
Both chiefs were friendly to the white men and helped them in their
conquest of the region. Son-of-the-Star was head of the Arikara tribe
during the trying times with the Sioux in 1876, and through his
reputation for gentleness and a lofty sense of justice stood high in
the estimation of both red and white leaders. The two graves are sacred
to the Arikara Indians.
A few yards SW. of the monument are the graves of more than 100 Indians
of the reservation who served as scouts or enlisted as soldiers with
the U. S. Army since the founding of the reservation in 1870. The white
marble slabs marking the individual graves stand in precise rows as an
army quietly at salute. Each Memorial Day the American Legion posts of
Elbowoods (Indian) and Garrison (white) hold joint services here.
At =39 m.= is the junction with a dirt road, rutted and winding; not
suitable for trailers.
Left on this road to the MISSOURI RIVER, =2 m.=, known to the Mandans
as Mata (_division between two parts of land_), and to the Hidatsa as
Anati (_navigable water filled with earth_). A ferry (_65c per car, 10c
per person_) crosses the river. Here in the area adjacent to the route
live the Mandan Indians. Left to BEAVER CREEK STORE, =6 m.=, a tiny
trading post known locally as Ree. Right to the JAMES HOLDING EAGLE
FARM, =12 m.=, typical of the modern Mandan home, and far removed from
the earth lodges used by the Indians a century ago.
About 200 ft. L. of the farm is a circular depression believed by the
Mandans to be the SITE OF GRANDMOTHER'S LODGE. Grandmother, according
to legend, is The-Woman-Who-Never-Dies. She built her home on the first
bench of the river, and on the bottom land below planted her vast
cornfield, which the deer and blackbirds helped her cultivate. She now
lives in the moon, where prayers for favorable weather for crops are
addressed to her.
Within the hollow of the lodge site is what appears to be an ordinary
granite boulder. Beneath its edges are often found coins of large and
small denominations, given as offerings for good crops. The Mandans say
that many offerings are left by members of the Crow tribe of Montana,
distantly related to the Hidatsa. It is told that an earth girl married
the Man-From-the-Sky and went to live with him, but became homesick for
the earth, and attempted to leave the sky on a cord of buffalo hide.
Her husband discovered her hanging by the cord, and, angered by her
infidelity, threw a boulder at her. The rock crushed her to earth, and
today lies where it fell, in the circle of Grandmother's Lodge.
At =39.8 m.= is NISHU (Arikara, _arrow_), community center of the
Arikara (Ree) tribe. The few buildings of the community are scattered
across the level land between the river lowlands and the hills to the
N. Of particular interest is the circular log dance hall or MEDICINE
LODGE. At the appropriate seasons of the year are held the ancient
tribal ceremonies pertaining to the successful conduct of agricultural
and personal pursuits. In front of the medicine lodge is the boulder
which plays a prominent part in the annual cedar-tree ceremonial, a New
Year ritual usually held sometime in August. The cedar and the boulder
represent the Grandfather and Grandmother of the tribe, and the tree
is left standing beside the boulder until spring, when it is decorated
with children's moccasins and placed on the ice of the Missouri. When
the ice goes out the tree is borne downstream, to carry greetings
from the Arikara to their old village sites down the river. Other
ceremonials of religious significance include the Mother Corn ritual,
the sage dance of thanksgiving, and medicine ceremonies. Since they
are seasonal, no set date can be given for these occasions (_usually
open to public_). Arikara beadwork and other articles of handicraft are
sometimes available at the store in Nishu.
At =40 m.= the route turns R. and follows the only telephone line on
the reservation. The steep rolling country is occupied mainly by the
Arikara. Their farm homes are usually white frame buildings, although
occasionally there is a poorer log house. There are few barns on these
farms; the Indians seldom have milk cows, and they let their horses run
on the range throughout the entire year.
At =54 m.= is the junction with ND 8, a graded dirt road; straight
ahead on this is SACRED HEART MISSION, =54.5 m.=, a Roman Catholic
church and mission school established in 1889.
Left from the mission on a road lined with towering cottonwoods is
ELBOWOODS, =0.5 m.= (1,770 alt., 135 pop.), agency headquarters for the
reservation. Its name is derived from the elbow bend of the timber belt
along the Missouri at that point. The town centers about the square
of agency lawn. Most of the population is white. The town was settled
in 1891 when the agency was established. In addition to its regular
governmental functions, the agency operates a non-profit flour mill
and conducts an experimental farm to educate the Indians in modern
agricultural methods. Despite this, many Indians lease their farming
lands to white people. What is now the GOVERNMENT SCHOOL was built in
1876 as the Congregational mission, the first on the reservation.
Just SW. of the town are the Indian FAIRGROUNDS where three-day
celebrations, with rodeos and tribal dances, are held each year (_July
or Aug._).
ND 8 at =55 m.= passes SCATTER VILLAGE, a little group of filling
stations and garages that grew up around the approach to the highway
bridge across the Missouri.
At =56.5 m.= is the junction (R) with a dirt reservation road, on which
the route continues.
Left on ND 8 to FOUR BEARS BRIDGE, =1 m.=, the bridge with 19 names.
When it was built, the Mandans wished it named for their chief Four
Bears, subject of many paintings by the artist Catlin who visited this
section more than a century ago. The Hidatsa wished it named for their
chief Four Bears, who died a few years before the bridge was built.
Because of these tribal jealousies it was decided to name the southern
end of the bridge for the Mandan chief, and the northern end for the
Hidatsa chief. At each end of the span is a plaque bearing the names
of chiefs of both tribes given as associate titles to the bridge: for
the Mandans there are Charging Eagle, Red Buffalo Cow, Flying Eagle,
Black Eagle, and Waterchief; for the Hidatsa, Poor Wolf, Porcupine,
Crow Paunch, Big Brave, Crow-Flies-High, Big Hawk, and Old Dog. This
arrangement proved unsatisfactory to the Arikara, and a partial
compromise was effected by adding the names of five of their chiefs,
Bear Chief, Son-of-the-Star, White Shield, Peter Beauchamp, Sr., and
Bobtail Bull, as associates.
The dirt reservation road proceeds NW. along the river lowlands, enters
a reservation timber reserve at =60.5 m.=, and skirts the eastern
wooded shore of the Missouri before rising again to the benchland. At
=68 m.= is a store and filling station. The route now passes through
the area occupied by the Hidatsa, also known as the Minitari or Gros
Ventres (Fr., _big bellies_). Their homes are much like those of the
other two tribes. The Hidatsa and the Crow Indians of Montana at one
time were a single tribe. During a period of want one winter in the
eighteenth century, a buffalo was killed by the tribe, and the animal
satisfactorily divided until they came to the stomach. The division
of this organ led to a quarrel which split the group, and one faction
moved W. and became the Crow tribe.
SHELL CREEK, =79 m.=, is the Hidatsa community center. A few stores, a
dance hall, a handful of dwellings, and the central agency experimental
farm make up the town.
At =82 m.=, N. of Shell Creek, is the reservation boundary.
North of the boundary is VAN HOOK, =89 m.= (1,843 alt., 372 pop.),
named for a teamster who served the railroad surveyors. It is one of
the trade points adjacent to the reservation and has the only creamery
in the vicinity, a $20,000 cooperative plant. Here is a junction with
ND 8.
North of Van Hook on ND 8 is BELDEN, =104 m.= (2,250 alt., 25 pop.),
the center of a settlement of Finnish people who homesteaded here in
1903-4. The Finnish tongue is used in most of their homes, and they
also have the _sauna_ or steam bath without which no Finnish community
is complete. The peculiar European three-cornered head scarf is still
worn by many of the women. Most of the people have been naturalized and
are greatly interested in political trends. About one-third of them
are members of the United Farmers and Workers League of America, an
organization professing communistic doctrines. The radical views and
intensive political activity of these members of the community have
earned it a reputation as the communistic center of North Dakota.
At =117 m.= is the junction with US 2 at STANLEY (_see Tour 6_).
SIDE TOUR 3B
Junction US 83--Junction US 10. County dirt and graveled roads,
"The River Road."
Junction with US 83 to junction with US 10, 35 m.
Dry-weather dirt road except for 6 m. gravel between =29 m.= and US
10.
Drive carefully as route is hilly with many curves. Route parallels
Missouri River.
The River Road between Washburn and Bismarck approximates the overland
freighter trail established in the early 1870's between the end of the
Northern Pacific Railway at Bismarck and Fort Buford near the mouth of
the Yellowstone.
Lewis and Clark, when they came up the Missouri River on their
history-making expedition in 1804-5, sent outriders along this side
of the river. Along much the same route the freighter trail was
established in 1873 when the Northern Pacific brought to Bismarck goods
destined for Forts Stevenson, Berthold, and Buford, and this soon
became the main-traveled highway for soldiers, traders, and later for
ranchers and settlers. Today ruts cut into the prairie by heavily laden
wagons, plodding ox teams, and flying hoofs of couriers' horses are
still visible in many places along the road.
The route is one of the most attractive in the State as it follows the
winding, wooded course of the Missouri where the high hills and buttes
along the river's edge contrast with the green meadows and wooded
lowlands of the river bottom. This region was once the home of three
Missouri Valley Indian tribes--Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara--and the
route passes three Mandan village sites.
The route branches W. from US 83 (_see Tour 3_) 10 m. N. of Wilton on a
county dirt road.
At =2 m.= is the junction with a dirt road.
Right on this road to WILDWOOD LAKE, =1 m.=, in an old channel of
the Missouri. The permanent summer camp of the Missouri Valley Area
Council, Boy Scouts of America, is on the eastern shore of the lake.
At =13 m.= a large farmhouse and a decrepit log hut with a sod roof (L)
mark the site of Painted Woods Post Office, one of the early Missouri
River settlements. Between the old post office and the river are the
PAINTED WOODS, so named by the Indians. According to legend, the woods
were a neutral ground between hostile tribes until a Mandan girl fell
in love with a Yanktonai Sioux warrior. She planned to leave her people
and go with him, but her kinsmen slew him in her embrace; as she knelt
by his bier, avenging Yanktonai arrows pierced her. The two tribes
began a bitter warfare. The bodies of the lovers were placed in the
branches of a tree in the woods, and the tree soon withered and became
white and bleached, like the bones in its branches. Yanktonai warriors,
coming to the woods to paint their faces and prepare for battle,
boastfully portrayed their victories on the tree, and in retaliation
the Mandans painted the surrounding trees with war paint to mock their
enemy.
At =19 m.= is the junction with a dirt road.
Right on this road to HALF MOON MANDAN INDIAN VILLAGE SITE (also known
as the Larson site), =1 m.=, unusual in that a ditch, still visible,
apparently divided the site in two parts and yet offered no means of
defense. A sunken area in the site may have been the village square,
and the circular hollows of the earth lodges are still visible in some
places despite cultivation of the vicinity.
SQUARE BUTTES, early landmarks, raise their flat-topped heights across
the river near the Larson site, and dominate the landscape for the
next 10 m. Their odd beauty, contrasting with the graceful slopes
of surrounding hills, has appealed to both red men and white. George
Catlin, the artist and explorer who spent eight years in this region
more than a century ago, painted a good oil of the Square Buttes.
At =22 m.= is the junction with a trail (L).
Up the steep bluffs here to DOUBLE DITCH INDIAN VILLAGE STATE PARK.
Archeologically designated as the Burgois site, it is also known to the
Indians as the ancient Village of Yellow Clay. The inner ditch of the
two from which the site receives its name is still traceable in its
entire course. The journals of the early French explorer, Verendrye,
tell that the village was surrounded by a rampart and protected by
an 18-foot palisade and a ditch 18 ft. wide and 15 ft, deep. The
cup-shaped depressions of the earth lodges, still visible, are as
large as 40 ft. in diameter. Excavations made here by the Peabody
Museum, Harvard University, disclosed fine specimens of agricultural
implements, religious pieces, and artifacts of warfare. Positions of
human skeletons found in the excavations indicate that shallow burial
was the custom of the Mandans occupying the site.
At =33 m.= the River Road passes through PIONEER PARK. On the flood
plain of the Missouri, between BURNT CREEK and the road, a picnic and
camp ground (_rustic shelters, tables, benches, chairs_) has been built
among the towering cottonwood trees.
At =33 m.= is a junction with a winding gravel road.
Left on this road to the top of the sheer bluffs to LOOKING VILLAGE,
=0.5 m.=, Mandan site named for Chief Looking. Now part of Pioneer
Park, the village is known as the Ward site, and several of the earth
lodges have been reconstructed under a CCC project. The natural
defenses of this village were exceptional. On a level, circular summit
almost completely cut off from the surrounding benchland, its eastern
side was well protected by a ditch, still visible, and a wall. To the
N., where the hill is less steep, a ditch and wall were also means of
protection.
Built-in log steps and a graded path lead up a round knoll overlooking
the river. On the western slope of this formation is a large granite
boulder believed to be a petroglyph, or picture rock, of some religious
significance. Close observation of the rock will reveal many small,
round impressions that may be a form of rock-writing known as cup
sculpture. From this point, and from the parking spaces near the Indian
village site, is a beautiful view up and down the Missouri.