the lakes and hills of the TURTLE MOUNTAINS, a rolling plateau rising
300 to 400 ft. above the surrounding country. It stretches 40 m. to
the W. and about 30 m. N. and S., and is bisected by the international
boundary. The mountains were named by the Indians, to whom their
outline suggested the form of the sacred turtle. Rolla is the Rolette
County seat, and its name is believed to be a contraction of the
county name. At Rolla in 1889 was established the short-lived Rolla
University, which opened its doors to 45 students, and closed them when
lack of funds became pressing. During 15 years of his young manhood
John Burke (1859-1937), three times Governor of the State (1907-13),
former United States Treasurer (1913-21), and former chief justice of
the State supreme court (1935-37), lived in Rolla. Here is the office
of the secretary of the International Peace Garden, Inc. (_see below_),
where most of the business of the corporation is transacted.
At Rolla is the junction with ND 30, a graveled highway.
Right on this highway is ST. JOHN, =8 m.= (1,944 alt., 372 pop.), named
for the parish in eastern Quebec from which came the Rev. John Malo,
early missionary to the Indians. The town is a port of entry from
Canada and is the oldest white settlement on the eastern edge of the
mountains. Because of its position near some of the most attractive
lakes of the region, it has a fair tourist trade during the summer
months. St. John's Day, honoring St. John the Baptist, patron saint of
the French Canadians who settled the region, is celebrated June 24.
Left from St. John on ND 43, a graded dirt highway, to the junction
with a county road, =9 m.=; R. here =0.5 m.= to ST. CLAUDE STATE PARK,
established to commemorate the founding of one of the first permanent
white settlements in the Turtle Mountains. The colony grew up about a
school and church inaugurated by Father Malo in 1882. As it developed
it gradually moved S. and became the town of St. John.
At =13 m.= on ND 43 is the junction with a county road; R. here =1.8
m.= to the frame buildings of a STATE GAME AND FISH RESERVE, an
800-acre tract containing OAK, GRAVEL, and LONG LAKES. Five hundred
acres are fenced to confine herds of elk, deer, and buffalo. Impure
water in the lakes, caused by the recession of the water level, has
necessitated the abandonment of the fish hatchery near Gravel Lake. In
the MUSEUM across the road from the hatchery is a good mounted display
of the game birds, fish, and wild animals of the Turtle Mountains.
On ND 43 is LAKE UPSILON, =14.5 m.=, largest lake on the eastern side
of the mountains, named for its resemblance to the Greek letter "Y."
It is one of the most attractive and most popular lakes of the Turtle
Mountains group.
[Illustration:
FORT ABRAHAM LINCOLN STATE PARK
Above: Blockhouse of Fort McKeen]
[Illustration:
Below: Slant Indian Village Lodge
_Photos by Russell Reid_]
[Illustration:
MARQUIS DE MORES
(from an old drawing)]
[Illustration: BADLANDS
_Photo by Russell Reid_]
BELCOURT, =115.5 m.= (1,619 alt., 6,334 pop., including Indian
reservation), agency headquarters for the Turtle Mountain Indian
Reservation, lies in a shallow valley on the southeastern border of
the hills. It was named for the Rev. George Antoine Belcourt, a priest
prominent in the establishment of the community. The Indians, about 95
percent of whom are of mixed Chippewa Indian and French blood, make
their homes in crude cabins on small farms out in the reservation.
Academic and vocational training for the children is provided by the
large consolidated school in Belcourt. The Chippewa are woods Indians
who when first encountered by the whites dwelt in the region of the
Great Lakes. From here they pressed W., often warring with their
enemies the Sioux, until ultimately their hunting grounds included the
Turtle Mountain region. With the white occupation of the West their
range in North Dakota was reduced until finally it was limited to this
small and crowded reservation of 72 sq. m. (_See_ INDIANS AND THEIR
PREDECESSORS.)
Each year the Indians hold a sun dance (_June_; _approx. 5 m. NE. of
Belcourt_; _no set date or place_). The ceremony lasts for several
days. At the fairgrounds in Belcourt an Indian fair is conducted
(_Oct._).
Since 1896 the week of St. Ann has been the occasion of a retreat at
Belcourt for the people of the mountains, for whom St. Ann is the
patron saint. Many of the Indians bring their tipis in which they live
during the retreat. The week is culminated with the feast of St. Ann
(_July 26, if it falls on Sun. or on Sun. following that date_). On
the feast day a procession is held, with hundreds participating. Many
cures--none, however, authenticated by the Roman Catholic Church--have
been attributed to the shrine at the Belcourt church.
DUNSEITH, =131 m.= (1,715 alt., 484 pop.), scattered over level land
at the edge of the Turtle Mountains, is the southern entrance to these
hills. Its name means _city of peace_, and was selected to honor the
first white man in the vicinity and also the city of Dunseith in
Scotland. The town is the terminus of a G. N. Ry. branch from the main
line at York (_see Tour 6_).
The Dunseith Gristmill was built on Willow Creek in 1887 of lumber
hauled from Devils Lake by ox teams. It continued to grind for several
years after steam boilers and modern machinery had come into general
use, but in 1913 it was damaged by fire and has never been repaired.
Dunseith may have a buried treasure somewhere in the foothills. In 1893
its Turtle Mountain Bank was robbed, and the robber had time to bury
his loot in the hills before he was shot by a posse. The stolen money
was never found, and the bank was forced to close.
At Dunseith is the junction with ND 3, a graveled highway.
Right on this highway to the junction with a graveled road, =2 m.=
Right on this road to SAN HAVEN, =0.5 m.=, State tuberculosis
sanatorium, situated in a 2,500-acre game reserve on the southern slope
of the mountains overlooking a vast expanse of prairie.
North from the junction with the graveled road, ND 3 runs over ridges
and past little lakes, into the Turtle Mountains, whose hills are the
habitat of hundreds of deer in addition to many varieties of song and
game birds.
On ND 3 is the INTERNATIONAL PEACE GARDEN, =12.5 m.=, a memorial to
the peace which has prevailed between this country and Canada for more
than 120 years. The garden lies partly in North Dakota and partly in
Manitoba. On the international boundary stands a stone cairn with a
plaque bearing a pledge of peace:
"To God in His Glory
We two Nations do pledge ourselves
That so long as men shall live
We will not take up arms against one another."
A formal garden, one mile square, is planned (1938) on the
International Line. It will center about a peace fountain around which
a circular garden plot will form a visible ring of friendship between
the two nations. The memorial has attracted wide attention because
of its noble purpose, and several foreign countries have expressed a
desire to aid in its development. It is rededicated with appropriate
ceremonies each year (_1st wk. in Aug._).
To the S. and W. of the hills and also in the northeastern section of
the State a great number of the settlers were of Scottish descent,
and each year in connection with the ceremonies at the Peace Garden a
Highlanders' Frolic is held with old-fashioned Scotch music, dances,
and games.
West of Dunseith for 50 m. the route has not a single curve or jog.
At =138 m.= is the junction with a partly improved dirt road.
Right on this attractive road to BUTTE ST. PAUL PARK, =3 m.=, plainly
marked by Butte St. Paul (2,500 alt.), highest point on the southern
edge of the Turtle Mountains. A steep climb up the eastern slope leads
to the 15-foot stone cairn commemorating the work of the Rev. G. A.
Belcourt, missionary to the Indians, who on his first visit in 1853
placed a wooden cross where the cairn now stands. From the top of the
butte a beautiful scene stretches away to the tree-covered plateau on
the N. and E. and to the prairies on the S. and W.
BOTTINEAU, =148.5 m.= (1,645 alt., 1,332 pop.), was named for Pierre
Bottineau (c. 1812-1895), most noted of Dakota guides (_see_ HISTORY).
It lies beside tree-bordered OAK CREEK on a gently rolling plain.
Most of its settlers were of Scottish descent, but the western end
of the mountains was long nicknamed Little Norway, and until recent
years Norwegian was heard there more often than English. From 1883-84
a stagecoach line connected the town with the nearest railroad point,
Devils Lake (_see Tour 6_), =120 m.= to the SE., whence settlers hauled
supplies with oxen.
Originally Bottineau was situated a mile farther N. When the G. N. Ry.
survey was made, it became evident that the permanent site would be
farther S. Business houses were soon moved, but the Bottineau County
Courthouse could not be legally moved without recourse to legislation.
Accordingly, one morning the building was found reposing in the new
settlement. As no one was supposed to know how the transfer had been
effected, no one could be prosecuted, and the expense of returning
the building to its former site provided a convenient and practical
argument against that action.
A catastrophe long remembered by the early residents of Bottineau was
a huge prairie fire in 1886 that swept 500 sq. m. of territory NW. of
town, destroying hay and buildings.
The Indians of the region were not hostile to the white settlers, but
there were Indian scares now and then, and the white men were inclined
to be cautious. An old French settler living near Bottineau tells the
story of being lost with two companions. They asked some Indians for
directions, and were invited to a meal, which they accepted to avoid
giving offense. They were almost enjoying the meal, when an old squaw,
who had been stirring the stew which they had been eating, urged
hospitably, "Dig down deep; pup in bottom."
The STATE SCHOOL OF FORESTRY, in the northeastern part of Bottineau on
Oak Creek, offers a two-year junior college course in forestry. In the
botanical garden or arboretum are about 30 varieties of foreign trees,
obtained on a reciprocal basis from other countries, to be tried out in
this climate. Plantings established under direction of the school are
found on farms in every county in the State. The annual output of the
nursery at the present time (1938) is about 500,000 seedlings.
At Bottineau is the junction with a graveled highway called the Lake
Road, which leads NE. into the hills to Lake Metigoshe, one of the
State's best-known summer resorts.
Right on this road, at the southern approach to the bridge over Oak
Creek, to the junction with a trail, =1 m.=
Left on this unusually delightful 5-mile trail, along the western
bank of the creek. At about =0.5 m.= is the junction with a less
well-defined trail; L. here on the western side of the creek to a stone
cairn marking the SITE OF THE FIRST WHITE MAN'S HOME IN BOTTINEAU
COUNTY and the original site of the town of Bottineau, =1 m.= Farther
on the country becomes hilly, and at =2.3 m.= a faint wagon trail
leads R. through a wire gate down to the GORGE, a pleasant spot where
the creek flows through a heavily wooded ravine, an excellent place
for picnicking. Crossing the stream, the trail follows the eastern
side of the creek back toward town. At =2.5 m.= is the STATE GAME
FARM, temporarily (1938) used as the Bottineau Country Club; here is a
junction with the Lake Road (L) which may be followed S.; along the
side of the creek, a much more attractive route, at =4 m.= the trail
joins the Lake Road following the creek to the CCC DAM, =4.3 m.=, just
N. of the WILLOW VALE DAIRY FARM. Here the trail crosses to the western
side of the stream and rejoins the trail on which it began.
Right on the Lake Road to the 640-acre LAKE METIGOSHE STATE PARK, =14.5
m.= In the park lodge is the HENRY KLEBE COLLECTION (_open_) of Turtle
Mountain fossils, Indian artifacts, and geologic formations.
Left on the Lake Road =15 m.= to the center of activity on LAKE
METIGOSHE, largest and scenically one of the most attractive of the
Turtle Mountain lakes. It has 70 m. of shore line and extends across
the border into Canada. Its name comes from _metigoshe washegum_
(Chippewa, _clear water lake surrounded by oaks_). There are six
resort parks (_stores_, _hotels_, _cottages_, _bathing beaches_, _boat
landings_; _12-mile motorboat trip crosses into Canada, not permissible
to land on Canadian side_). About 1 m. from shore is MASONS' ISLAND,
where Masonic groups hold annual summer meetings. The Congregational
Conference of North Dakota has a summer Bible camp on the lake, and
the Great Plains Area of the Boy Scouts of America holds an annual
encampment here.
West of Bottineau the route proceeds over the extraordinarily level
country formed by the bed of glacial Lake Souris. At =156.5 m.= is the
junction with ND 14, a graveled highway.
Left on this highway is KRAMER, =9 m.= (1,460 alt., 190 pop.), believed
to have been named for one of the surveyors of the Soo Ry., which
passes through the town. The Kramer Equity Cooperative Elevator, with
a capacity of 110,000 bu., all under one roof, is one of the largest
cooperative elevators in the State.
Right from Kramer =2 m.= on an improved county highway to a junction
with a road; L. on this road to the junction with another road, =3
m.=; R. here to a permanent CCC CAMP, =4 m.=, whose workers construct
dams on the Souris River and work on the LOWER SOURIS MIGRATORY
WATERFOWL REFUGE, an area of 48,000 acres, largest project of the U. S.
Biological Survey in North Dakota (1938).
At =13 m.= on ND 14 the route crosses the Mouse or Souris River,
remnant of Lake Souris. At =14.5 m.= are the headquarters of the
refuge, where the ADMINISTRATION BUILDINGS are. The 100-foot
observation tower is used in studying bird life (_open, children must
be accompanied by adults_).
UPHAM, =18 m.= (1,461 alt., 257 pop.), is believed to have been named
by the G. N. Ry. town site company. Left from Upham at =22 m.= on an
improved county road to the largest dam being constructed on the lower
Souris Refuge, a retaining dike approximately 3 m. long.
At =165.5 m.= the highway dips slightly and crosses the Souris River,
here resembling a canal, and running almost bank full. At =175 m.= is
a junction with US 83; between this point and =192 m.= the two roads
coincide (_see Tour 3_).
MOHALL, =202 m.= (1,646 alt., 676 pop.), seat of Renville County, was
named for M. O. Hall, publisher of the first newspaper. Platted in
1903 as the terminus of the railroad, its growth for the first few
months was rapid. The Renville County _Tribune_ of December 3 of that
year said that the G. N. Ry. agent estimated that during the preceding
week 125 carloads of material had been shipped into the new town, in
addition to 175 cars lying on sidetracks along the line and billed for
Mohall. Four tracks were crowded with cars and eight dray lines were
kept busy transferring the material to the lumberyards and points of
construction. One hundred and seventy-five carpenters were employed,
and then the demand was only half met. At that time the place had nine
grain buyers.
Dick Grace, motion picture stunt flier, lived here for a time.
A CCC CAMP with an enrollment of about 200 adjoins the town. At present
(1938) its members are assigned to work on the Upper Souris Migratory
Waterfowl Refuge (_see Tour 7_).
At =205 m.= the route passes between two farms lighted by natural gas
from wells drilled on the premises. Although natural gas in large
quantities has been found in Montana, and a number of small wells have
been opened in North Dakota, there has never been a sufficient amount
in this State to form the basis for a permanent commercial enterprise.
At =214 m.= the route leads down into the mile-wide Souris valley. The
stream here is lined with box elder, elm, and small fruit trees.
At =215 m.= is the junction with a graveled county road.
Right on this road to the 480-acre MOUSE RIVER PARK (_boating_,
_swimming_, _roller skating_, _golf_; _store_, _dining hall_,
_auditorium_, cottages), =2 m.=
At =229.5 m.= is a junction with US 52, a graveled highway, which
unites with ND 5 between this point and =257 m.= (_see Tour 7_).
At =258 m.= is the junction with a graveled county highway.
Left on this road is LIGNITE, =1 m.= (1,979 alt., 217 pop.), which was
to have been named Kincaid, for an agent of the G. N. Ry., but through
an error of the town site company was given the name intended for the
neighboring town, a lignite mining center, which was consequently named
Kincaid.
At =8 m.= BIG BUTTE (2,200 alt.), a large grassy hill, covers about
two sections of land, rising more than 200 ft. above the surrounding
prairie. At the foot of the butte was once a spring of excellent water,
frequented by Indians passing along the old White Earth Trail from the
Turtle Mountains to the Missouri River. Circles of stone and Indian
mounds are found on the northern side of the butte. In early days there
was a ranch with 300 head of horses near the spring, but the owner lost
all his stock to smugglers. Somewhere in the vicinity of Big Butte
may be the hiding place of $40,000. A story, not generally credited,
relates that in the late 1870's a Hudson's Bay Co. paymaster, on his
way to pay employees of the company at the several trading posts in the
territory, was robbed of this amount near Estevan, Canada. The robber
was apprehended in the neighborhood of Big Butte, but not before he
had found a place to cache his loot. Taken to Portal, he died under
torture while an attempt was being made to force his secret from him.
On the tanned side of his fur coat was found a diagram believed to
show the hiding place of the treasure, which has since been the object
of many searches. The accidental unearthing of a stone bearing the
inscription "1877" inspired fresh digging. At another time the Royal
Mounted Police of Calgary are said to have sent men to the locality
in an attempt to recover the money. So far, however, all efforts have
proved unsuccessful. Some believe the treasure was found and taken
away; others think it is still in the vicinity of Big Butte; and a few
skeptics disdain the idea that it was ever buried here at all.
At =268.5 m.= is the junction with a graveled road.
Right on this road is COLUMBUS, =0.5 m.= (1,930 alt., 516 pop.),
clumped together on the flat prairie. First settled in 1902, it was
moved to the railroad in 1906 when the Soo Ry. was extended through
this part of the State. The first postmaster, Columbus Larson, gave his
Christian name to this town, and his surname to the next town W.
At =269.5 m.= is a junction with ND 40, a graveled highway.
Left on this highway =3 m.= to a junction with an improved road; R.
here to the MONTANA-DAKOTA POWER PLANT, =2 m.=, in the heart of the
lignite coal field. The plant was opened 1928, and today is a $300,000
enterprise, supplying electrical energy to the towns of northeastern
Montana and northwestern North Dakota.
At =4 m.= on ND 40 is a junction with a second improved road; L. here
to the TRUAX-TRAER LIGNITE STRIP MINE, =4.5 m.=, the oldest strip mine
in North Dakota. The big shovels which have been stripping the earth
overburden since 1919 have piled ridges of earth so vast that they
resemble miniature mountains. The eight-cubic-yard shovel saw service
in the construction of the Panama Canal. It is supplemented by another
of four-cubic-yard capacity. About 150,000 tons of coal are taken out
annually. Huddled on a small piece of unbroken ground between the
artificial buttes are the frame homes and store buildings of the little
community of miners.
At =273 m.= is the junction with a graveled spur.
Left on this road is LARSON, =0.5 m.= (1,931 alt., 89 pop.), a small
Scandinavian town, named for the first postmaster of Columbus.
West of Larson the route ascends the hills of the Missouri Plateau. At
=278 m.= is the junction with a graveled road.
Left on this road to the BAUKOL-NOONAN COAL MINE, =1 m.=, third largest
lignite strip mine in the State. The mining operations cover an area of
1,040 acres adjacent to the town of Noonan, and the lignite vein, which
lies beneath a 30-foot overburden, averages 7 to 9 ft. in thickness.
The huge, molehill-like hummocks of earth tossed up by the giant steam
shovels spread fanwise from a central, electrically operated tipple.
Loading and screening facilities at the tipple permit the filling of
four cars at the same time, each with a different grade of coal. The
daily output of the mine, which runs full time during the fall and
winter months, is approximately 100 cars. During the 1935-36 season
more than 170,000 tons of coal were taken out.
NOONAN, =279 m.= (1,959 alt., 423 pop.), named for an early settler,
has its white buildings scattered over the northern slope of a small
hill. When the town was platted in 1906, contracts stipulated that
buildings should be painted white in order that the community might
live up to its advertised name of the _White City_.
CROSBY, =292.5 m.= (1,962 alt., 1,271 pop.), dominated by the dome
of the Divide County Courthouse at the northern end of Main St., was
named for a member of the town site company of Portal (_see Tour 7_).
It sprang up at the junction of the Soo and G. N. branch lines, a
strategic rail position that soon established it as a focal point for
trade in the northwestern corner of the State.
Straight ahead (N) from the fairgrounds on a graveled road to the
CROSBY CITY RECREATION PARK (_swimming pool_, _golf course_, _tennis
and horseshoe courts_, _ski jump_, _camping ground_), =5 m.=, developed
along the Canadian border.
At =301.5 m.= is a junction with US 85 (_see Tour 4_), which unites
with ND 5 to =311 m.=
FORTUNA, =315 m.= (2,190 alt., 196 pop.), a Scandinavian community,
named for the Roman goddess of fortune, was established in the summer
of 1913 when the branch line of the Soo Ry. was extended from Ambrose,
N. Dak., to Whitetail, Mont. The day lots were sold, temporary business
houses, which had been squatting a mile from the present site at a post
office called Norge, were put on wheels and rolled away to the new town
by night.
Right from Fortuna on a county road to the DEWITT SPRING, =1 m.=, whose
flow fills a two-inch pipe of water the year around. It has furnished
water for Fortuna since the founding of the village.
At =329 m.= the route crosses the Montana Line, 66 m. E. of Scobey,
Mont.
SIDE TOUR 5A
Junction ND 5--Walhalla--Leroy. ND 32, ND 55, and an unimproved
road.
Junction ND 5 to Leroy, 25 m.
Branch of G. N. Ry. touches at Walhalla.
Graveled roadbed except for 0.5 m. outside Leroy.
Accommodations in Walhalla.
This route runs through the Pembina Mountains, a scenic region rich in
historical associations. From Walhalla, one of the oldest towns in the
State, the route turns east to the settlement of the metis, descendants
of those French-Chippewa who conducted the famous Pembina hunts of the
middle nineteenth century.
ND 32 branches N. from ND 5 at Oak Lawn Historic Site (_see Tour 5_),
=0.0 m.=
At =8 m.= the graceful wooded PEMBINA MOUNTAINS are visible on the
horizon. The nearest elevation, 250 or 350 ft. higher than the country
to the E., is known as Second Pembina Mountain, and is a portion of the
Pembina Escarpment, a high ridge extending from Canada through North
Dakota into South Dakota and southwestern Minnesota. In the southern
part of North Dakota it is known as the Coteau des Prairies. First
Pembina Mountain, lying SE. of Second Mountain, is the prehistoric
delta of the Pembina River, formed when that stream drained the melting
ice sheet into Lake Agassiz (_see_ NATURAL SETTING _and Tour 1_). First
Pembina Mountain has an average height of 150 ft., and its eastern
edge shows the various shore lines of Lake Agassiz as it receded in
post-glacial times.
To the first white explorers and trappers the Pembina Mountains were
known as the Hair Hills, coveted hunting ground held by the Chippewa,
whose ownership was often hotly contested by the Sioux. During the
early nineteenth century white and half-breed hunters roamed the hills,
gathering furs to be loaded on lumbering, squeaking oxcarts and sent to
eastern trading posts.