this road to the junction with a county highway, the Grenora-Alkabo
route, at =23 m.=; =R.= on this road; at 30 the route turns =L.=
and proceeds up a hill to WRITING ROCK STATE PARK, =30.3 m.= Of gray
granite, Writing Rock stands in a slight hollow on the crest of a hill,
commanding a wide view of the surrounding country. The top and two
sides of the rock are covered with hieroglyphs, consisting of lines,
dots, circles containing dots, and, near the top, a flying bird. Many
attempts have been made to decipher the writing, which apparently was
carved into the rock at several different periods. Whatever the meaning
of the inscriptions, the rock is regarded as sacred by Indians who,
even after the settlement of the State, made pilgrimages here from
the Fort Peck (Mont.) Reservation and other distant points. The site,
because of its elevation, served advantageously for smoke signals.
Several graves have been found in the vicinity, and excavations have
revealed hammers, hatchets, arrowheads, sea shells, elk teeth, and
beads of many shapes and colors. One grave is said to have yielded
beads that measured 52 ft. when strung.
The Indians have many legends associated with the rock. The one most
often heard is that told by Joe Lagweise and Tawiyaka, two old Sioux
Indians of the Qu'Appelle Agency in Saskatchewan, Canada, who as
young men visited Writing Rock and heard the story from an old man
camped there. Many years ago a party of eight warriors stopped for
the night near this rock, and just as they were falling asleep they
heard a voice calling in the distance. Fearful of an enemy attack,
they investigated but found nothing. The next morning they heard a
woman's voice calling, but still they found no one. In their search,
however, they saw this large rock with a picture on it, showing eight
Indians--themselves--with their packs lying on the ground. Unable to
understand this mystery, the warriors went on their way. On their
return they again passed the rock, and noticed that the inscription
had changed, and appeared to hold a picture of the future. When they
reached home they told their people of the mysterious rock, and the
entire village moved near it, only to find that the picture had again
changed, this time showing the village with its tipis. From that time
on the rock was believed to foretell the future until white men moved
it; whereupon it lost its power. An old Indian chief once pointed out
that the three lines on the rock indicated three graves near the stone,
one of which he said was that of a white child. It has been suggested
that the inscriptions may be the work of some race which lived in this
region before the Indian known to history.
Writing Rock is approximately 5 ft. high and 4 ft. thick, and weighs
an estimated 10 tons. A smaller rock, weighing about a ton, which
stood near a spring about a mile below Writing Rock, also contains
inscriptions, and has been moved to New Merrifield Hall at the
University of North Dakota for study.
Ten acres of land surrounding Writing Rock were acquired in 1936 by the
State Historical Society of North Dakota and will be developed as a
State park.
SIDE TOUR 4B
Junction US 85--New England--Mott--Carson--Flasher--Junction ND 6.
ND 21. Junction with US 85 to junction ND 6, 126.5 m.
N. P. Ry. branch line roughly parallels route from Mott to Flasher;
Milwaukee R. R. branch between New England and Elgin.
Graveled roadbed except for 11 m. of graded dirt.
Hotel and tourist camp facilities limited in most towns; many
natural camping places along the Cannonball River.
Traversing the northern part of the Missouri Slope, this route passes
through what was ranch land, now used for diversified farming. Most of
the land adjacent to the route is underlain with deposits of lignite,
and on many farms the winter's fuel is easily obtained by a little
digging. Dominating the general rolling terrain are jagged, mesa-like
hills capped with brown sandstone formations. Gentle, grass-covered
slopes, whose rich spring green turns to amber in the fall, rise to
steeper hillsides, above which jumbled, broken, weathered rocks lead to
the steep cliffs crowning the flat mesas.
Trees are few along this route, except for the tiny groves on
occasional farms, and the woods and bushes that edge the Cannonball
River and its tributary creeks.
ND 21 branches E. from US 85 (_see Tour 4_), 23.5 m. S. of Belfield
(_see Tour 8_). Dominating the landscape immediately E. of the junction
are the two high, flat-topped, coffin-shaped RAINY BUTTES (R). At =6
m.= the highway passes 2 m. N. of West Rainy Butte, and at =8 m.=
passes East Rainy Butte, which appears to be only a short distance from
the route, but actually is 6 m. S. The tops of these twin heights are
sometimes clouded in a faint gray mist, and according to Indian lore
they get rain at least once a day, despite the weather. Although this
is an exaggeration, it is nearly true, for at times when warm currents
of air strike the cold surface of the sides of the buttes the moisture
in the air is condensed, resulting in fogs or mists that usually veil
the heights. This phenomenon is also common to other buttes in this
area. There are evidences of Indian burials on the Rainy Buttes.
NEW ENGLAND, =14 m.= (2,593 alt., 911 pop.), its seven grain elevators
standing like sentinels overlooking its level site N. of the Cannonball
River, was founded in 1887. It was named and first settled by the
New England Colony Association, an organization from the New England
States headed by Thomas W. Bicknell (1834-1925), who was the author
of several histories dealing with Rhode Island. Streets of the new
town were laid out by plowing furrows in the prairie. Before the end
of the first summer 50 families had arrived, but from 1888 to 1911,
when the Milwaukee R. R. came in, New England was little more than a
trading post. Although originally founded by New Englanders, today it
is predominantly Scandinavian.
ND 22 forms the main street, at the southern end of which, in St.
Mary's Catholic schoolyard, is a SHRINE TO THE VIRGIN MARY, made of
huge slabs of petrified woods, scoria, odd rock formations from the
Badlands, and "cannonballs" (_see Side Tour 8C_) from the river. The
shrine was built by school children. Midway between the two schools on
Main St. is a modern, stuccoed MEMORIAL BUILDING, a community center
completed under the Works Progress Administration in 1936.
Between New England and =23 m.= ND 21 unites with ND 22.
At =18 m.= is the junction with a graveled county road.
Left on this road along the north bank of the Cannonball River
is HAVELOCK, =6 m.= (2,566 alt., 118 pop.), named for an English
stockholder in the Milwaukee R.R. In 1915 a small group of Moravians
settled here and erected a church, but by 1924 the colony had dwindled,
and the church was sold to the Congregationalists. The Moravians held
their immersion baptismal ceremonies in the Cannonball. Right from
Havelock (_inquire directions at post office_), =1 m.=, to a BURNING
COAL MINE, operated until 1934, when it was discovered to be afire. At
times smoke, accompanied by an unpleasant odor of sulphur, is emitted
from the mine.
At =23 m.= is the eastern junction of ND 21 and ND 22; L. here on ND
21. Rising ahead (R) is a series of conical hills, the TEPEE BUTTES,
resembling a giant Indian encampment. The highway parallels them their
entire length between =25 m.= and =28 m.=
At =36 m.= is the junction with a graveled county road.
Left on this road is REGENT, =0.8 m.= (2,461 alt., 308 pop.), named by
the railroad company when it was believed that its situation in the
center of the county would make it the county seat. The town is on
the south bank of the Cannonball. Richard Tooker (1902-), one of the
State's successful fiction writers, attended high school in Regent,
and had his first story published when only 15. He wrote more than 150
stories before his first novel, _Day of the Brown Horde_, appeared.
North of Regent at =1.3 m.= is the junction with a county road; R.
on this road to REGENT LAKE, =2.8 m.= (_camping_, _picnicking_,
_swimming_).
East of Regent on ND 21 the route proceeds for a few miles over a level
plain lying S. of the almost treeless Cannonball River valley.
MOTT, =51 m.= (2,399 alt., 1,036 pop.), is in the valley of the
Cannonball. On an elevation to the NW. the strikingly modern HETTINGER
COUNTY COURTHOUSE overlooks the river valley. The town is the terminal
of an N. P. Ry. branch, and is also on the Milwaukee. CENTRAL PARK
(_tourist camp_, _tennis courts_), is between 3rd and 4th Sts. Its
recreation facilities were built as an FERA project.
BURT, =58 m.= (2,358 alt., 125 pop.), originally known as Alton Post
Office, was named by the N. P. Ry. to honor A. M. Burt, superintendent
of the Dakota division. More than 500 poplars and Chinese elms are
planted in the town schoolyard.
At =63 m.= the highway crosses THIRTY MILE CREEK, one of the larger
tributaries of the north fork of the Cannonball.
At =68 m.= is the junction with a side road.
Left on this =0.1 m.= to a LIGNITE STRIP MINE, the largest of several
in this vicinity. It produces 8,000 tons annually, and rough hummocks
of earth are thrown up in the stripping process.
NEW LEIPZIG, =69 m.= (2,311 alt., 433 pop.), is a Russo-German
community, named for Leipzig in Germany, and is on both the Milwaukee
and N. P. branch lines where the two roads run parallel only 200 ft.
apart.
Several years before the establishment of New Leipzig the territory
to the S. was settled by a large group of Finns, of whom about a
dozen families now remain. Because the settlement has dwindled in
recent years, many native customs have disappeared, although a few
of the older people retain a superstitious belief in witchcraft, and
there are five or six _saunas_, or steam baths, in which water is
poured on hot stones in a tightly closed shelter. At butchering time
each autumn, rye and wheat flour are hulled, ground oats are mixed
with the blood of beeves, and baked in round, thin rings similar to
doughnuts. These rings are placed on long sticks, 30 or 40 at a time,
thoroughly hardened near a fire, then stored in barrels, with lime as a
preservative, for use throughout the winter and coming summer.
ELGIN, =74.5 m.= (2,330 alt., 505 pop.), with its many trees, is a
pleasant Russo-German town. Its first name, Shanley, was discarded when
the N. P. came through because of its similarity to Stanley. A new
name was being discussed by a group waiting for a train one day when a
member of the group, having looked at his watch, suggested the trade
name, Elgin, as a good town site name. His suggestion met with approval
of the railroad company. /#
Right from Elgin on an unimproved county road to the north fork of the
Cannonball River, =2 m.=, where are several suitable camping places
under the trees of the narrow river valley.
The road continues S. of the river. Sloping up from the stream,
MEDICINE BUTTE (L), =3 m.=, is a high hill topped with a large, almost
cubical block of sandstone used for many years as a PRAYER ROCK by
Indian tribes, and carved with picture symbols of human hands, buffalo
heads, bear paws, and other figures. It was the practice of the Indians
to leave offerings at the rock and return the following day, when, the
older Indians still relate, the pictures on the rock would tell them
whether their prayers were to be answered. Beads, pieces of pottery,
and other traces of votive offerings are still found near the stone. At
the foot of the hill to the W. is a circular area, approximately 80 yd.
in diameter, where it is believed that native worshipers danced while
encamped near the sacred hill. Little vegetation grows on the plot,
indicating that years of dancing packed the earth firmly.
At =76.5 m.= is the junction with ND 49, a graveled highway.
Left on this highway to HEART BUTTE (L), =17 m.=, known to the Sioux
as Ta canta wakpa Paha (_Heart River Butte_). From this elevation
the surrounding country is visible for 20 m. in all directions, and
in early days ranchers used the hill as a lookout when searching for
strayed cattle or horses. The wooded valley of the Heart River is 4 m.
to the S., although it appears much nearer. In the sandstone formation
atop the butte is a cave formed by wind and water erosion.
East of Elgin on ND 21 is the junction with a graveled county road,
=85.5 m.=
Right on this road is LEITH, =4 m.= (2,353 alt., 174 pop.), named for
Leith, Scotland. It is on the Milwaukee R. R.
South of Leith on an unimproved county road to the junction with
another dirt road, =6 m.=; R. on this road to another junction at =7
m.=, where a vast deposit of small sea shells covers approximately one
square mile to a depth of 4 ft., visible evidence that ages ago this
region was the bed of a large sea. Only a thin layer of rich black soil
covers the deposit, and in plowed fields the shells are easily seen.
The practical-minded farmers of this region have found a good use for
this gift of the prehistoric sea; they pulverize the shells and feed
them to their poultry to provide the calcium in their diet.
CARSON, =90.5 m.= (2,289 alt., 356 pop.), is a compact little town on
the slope of a hill, dominated by the large, white frame courthouse at
the high end of the main street. It is named for two early settlers,
Frank Carter and Simon Pederson.
Left from Carson an unimproved county road leads to the HEART RIVER,
=12 m.=
Right on the south bank of the stream to a good camping place, =1 m.=
The river, free from rocks at this point, is deep enough for swimming.
Across the river (L) to the G. A. Johnson home. On a slight rise in
the pasture back of the house is a row of evenly spaced piles of four
or five stones, about one-fourth mile long, placed at a right angle to
the brink of the hill. This is believed to have been an Indian BUFFALO
RUN, in which the Indians placed banners of red cloth or buckskin
between the piles, then drove the hunted buffalo toward them. The
animals, frightened by the banners, would swerve toward the crest of
the hill where in their rush they would stumble down the incline and
fall easy prey to the arrows and spears of the hunters.
At =103.5 m.= is the junction with ND 31, a graveled highway.
Right on this highway to the DOG TOOTH BUTTES (R), =2 m.= From a
distance their outlines indicate that they are well named. These buttes
were a landmark on the Bismarck-Deadwood trail during the Black Hills
gold rush from 1876 to 1884. The stagecoaches with their four-horse
teams, and the lumbering ox teams pulling heavily loaded freight
wagons, passed just SE. of here, leaving deep ruts which are still
visible where ND 31 crosses them immediately S. of the buttes.
At =6 m.= on ND 31 is RALEIGH (2,038 alt., 202 pop.), a German
community, originated as Dog Tooth Post Office on the Bismarck-Deadwood
trail. Purebred livestock is raised on many of the farms in this
vicinity.
Left at =8 m.= are THREE BUTTES. From the tallest of these peaks a
far-reaching view is presented. On a clear day Mandan, 50 m. to the
NE., is visible.
FLASHER, =108.5 m.= (1,905 alt., 346 pop.), its residence district
scattered over the south slope of a hill and its business street at the
foot, is a Russo-German community named for Mabel Flasher, niece and
secretary of William H. Brown, head of the land company that owned many
of the town sites along the N. P. Ry. branch.
At =126.5 m.= is the junction with ND 6 (_see Side Tour 8C_), 26 m. S.
of Mandan (_see Tour 8_).
TOUR 5
Junction US 81--Cavalier--Rolla--Belcourt--Dunseith--Bottineau--
Mohall--Crosby--(Scobey, Mont.). ND 5.
Junction with US 81 to Montana Line, 329 m.
Soo Ry. branch roughly parallels route from Flaxton to Montana
Line; G. N. Ry. branches touch route at intervals between junction
US 81 and Lignite, and branch parallels route between Lignite and
Crosby.
Graveled roadbed entire route.
Usual tourist accommodations in principal towns.
This route, paralleling the international boundary 10 to 15 miles to
the north, passes through some of the oldest and some of the newest
towns in the State. In the eastern section, where the country is more
productive and settlement first began, are towns established in the
1870's, while in the western area, where occupation was slower, are a
number of towns founded in the twentieth century. The route begins in
the low, level wheatlands of the Red River Valley, at one time the bed
of glacial Lake Agassiz, and soon doubles its altitude by rising 800
feet upon the broad, rough, less thickly settled Drift Prairie, which
stretches away approximately two-thirds of the distance across the
State. This wide section, which includes the wooded Turtle Mountains
and the level bottom of another glacial lake, Lake Souris, was once a
hunters' paradise--a prize which involved the Chippewa Indians, who
long held it, in frequent conflict with their enemies the Sioux. With
the coming of the whites the region saw new rivals, as the XY, North
West, and Hudson's Bay Companies struggled savagely and often bloodily
for domination of the fur trade. Most of the Chippewa in the State now
live on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation, through which the route
passes.
Over the bed of ancient Lake Souris, west of the hills, once roamed
hordes of buffalo; later, during early white settlement, this region
was the feeding ground of great numbers of horses and cattle. After
crossing the Souris (Mouse) River twice and the long, narrow Upper Des
Lacs Lake, the route ascends 300 to 400 feet to cross the Missouri
Plateau, an open, rugged country, marked here and there with the homes
of ranchers and farmers, and pitted by the strip mines extracting the
huge lignite coal deposits that underlie the plateau.
HAMILTON, =0.0 m.= (_see Tour 1_), is R. of ND 5 where it branches W.
from US 81 (_see Tour 1_).
At =5 m.= is the junction with ND 18, a graveled highway.
Right on this highway to the junction with a graveled spur, =5 m.=; R.
on this spur is BATHGATE, =8.5 m.= (828 alt., 292 pop.), pleasantly
situated in a bend of the TONGUE RIVER. At the southern side of town
on a 40-acre tract of meadow and hayland are the buildings of the
STATE SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND, established in 1908. Thirty-five to forty
children attend each year for a nine-month period.
CAVALIER, =9 m.= (894 alt., 850 pop.), Pembina County seat, was named
for Charles Cavileer, one of the first white men to make a home within
the borders of the present State. Usage has changed the spelling of the
name. The town was established in 1875 by settlers who came overland
from Missouri in a train of 10 covered wagons. The members of the train
intended settling in Manitoba, Canada; but, not liking the country
there, they returned to the United States, two of the families founding
the Tongue River Settlement, which later became Cavalier. They came
from Canada by way of Pembina over the old Fort Totten Trail, which
ran where Main St. now passes and was one of several trails used by
trappers, hunters, and traders as they journeyed between the hunting
grounds and the trading posts. Over these trails often moved long
caravans of creaking, fur-laden Red River oxcarts, on their long trek
to St. Paul. Some trains are said to have contained as many as 1,500
carts.
The jog in Cavalier's Main St. results from the fact that the land for
the street, contributed by two men who owned adjoining farms, did not
meet exactly. This complication was not discovered until after some
buildings had been erected, but by that time it would have been too
costly to change the route.
AKRA (Icelandic, _fields_), =14 m.= (980 alt., 30 pop.), is near the
southern edge of the Pembina Mountains (_see Side Tour 5A_), whose
wooded height ahead abruptly marks the western edge of the level Red
River Valley and the eastern edge of the Drift Prairie. The town is one
of a group of communities comprising what is believed to be the largest
Icelandic settlement in the United States (_see below_).
At =16 m.= is CAMP COMFORT, an acre of beautifully wooded grounds
(_good camping and picnicking facilities_). Camp Comfort marks the
point at which the old Hunters Trail of fur-trading days crossed the
Tongue River.
HALLSON, =18 m.= (1,020 alt., 10 pop.), founded in 1878 and named
for Johan Hallson, the first settler, is the oldest of the Icelandic
settlements (_see below_). At Hallson is the junction with ND 32, a
graveled highway.
Left on this highway is MOUNTAIN, =5 m.= (1,030 alt., 250 pop.), so
named because of its elevation. It is one of the larger Icelandic
towns. A log church here, built in 1886, is said to be the oldest
Icelandic church on the North American continent. When the Icelanders
first came to America in 1874, they settled at Gimli, Man., Canada.
Later, possibly because the rough topography of the country reminded
them of the fjords and cliffs of their native land, they colonized
here near the headwaters of the Little Tongue River. At present their
settlement includes the towns of Hallson, Mountain, Akra, Svold,
Hensel, and Gardar. From the first they have engaged in diversified
farming and therefore have usually known a fair degree of prosperity.
An artistic and deeply imaginative people, perhaps due to the Celtic
infusion received when their Norwegian ancestors fled to Ireland upon
the ascendency of Harald the Fair-Haired, they still retain many of
their old Icelandic traditions and arts, and their folklore is replete
with weird and highly colored sagas. They take great pleasure in
preserving their native culture, and often present plays and pageants
showing the dress and customs of Iceland.
Icelanders are particularly adept in gold and silver filigree work
and in hand-carving. Almost every home has its treasures brought from
far-off Iceland--beautifully hand-carved riding whips adorned with
silver and gold ferrules, toys and spoons made from cow-horn, and bread
boards carved with leaves and grapes.
The little community has produced many distinguished men, among whom
are Sveinbjorn Johnson (1883-), professor at law in the University of
Illinois and former State supreme court justice (1922-28); Stephen G.
Stephenson, poet honored by the Icelandic Government; Emil Walters
(1893-), whose paintings have been shown at Eastern art centers; and
Vilhjalmur Stefansson (1879-), scientist and explorer.
Recently large deposits of fuller's earth have been discovered near
Mountain. It is estimated that approximately 5,000,000 tons lie in
one 200-acre plot. This clay is used for reclaiming motor oil and for
purifying animal and vegetable oils. The deposit in this area lies
along the valleys of streams from the Canadian boundary to about 10 m.
S. of Mountain and W. for an unknown distance.
At =20 m.= is the junction (R) with ND 32 (_see Side Tour 5A_). At this
junction is OAK LAWN HISTORIC SITE, a small park owned by the State
historical society, in which is a weathered old LOG CHURCH, built in
1885 and for many years a landmark in the area.
At =23 m.= is the junction with a county road.
Left on this road is CONCRETE, =1 m.= (1,100 alt., 40 pop.), named by
Mrs. Webster Merrifield, whose husband, for many years president of the
State university at Grand Forks, was one of the owners of the cement
mines once operated here near the source of the Tongue River. At the
height of production 500 bbl. were turned out per day, but operations
were discontinued when a cheaper type of cement was imported.
Left at =43 m.= is a small AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENTAL STATION, a
substation of the State agricultural college at Fargo.
LANGDON, =44 m.= (1,612 alt., 1,221 pop.), became Cavalier County
seat in 1884, through the efforts, it is said, of a dozen bachelors
who, working hard and changing names and apparel often on election
day, voted all the sod shacks--whose owners were either absent or not
taking time to vote--for miles around. Originally called McHugh for a
prominent early settler, the town later adopted the name of Langdon in
honor of the man who made the survey for the local branch of the G. N.
Ry. and who presented the village with a bell for the school soon to be
built.
An unusual enterprise in Langdon is the Haymow Theater, a children's
organization which has presented plays annually for more than a quarter
of a century. Children of some of the first members of the company are
now taking part in the plays. Performances are held (_adm. 10c_) during
the summer in the loft of the R. T. BURKE BARN (_for directions inquire
at post office_).
CLYDE, =69 m.= (1,618 alt., 275 pop.), is named for the Clyde River in
Scotland.
At =86 m.= is a junction with ND 4 (_see Tour 2_), which to =92 m.=
unites with ND 5.