lies along the eastern bank of the Little Missouri River, at the foot
of a steep wall of yellow clay cliffs. Now a center for tourists
attracted by its history and the scenic beauty of the surrounding
area, it was formerly such a bustling cattle town that on one occasion
a thousand Texas steers stampeded across the tracks and stopped a
train. In the same era, it is said, the more or less adequately named
son of the plains, Hell-Roaring Bill Jones, saw an old gentleman in a
derby get off the train here. Derbies and plug hats were especially
scorned by the cowboys, so with a grunt of disapproval Bill shot off
the offending bit of haberdashery. The gentleman hastened to reenter
the train, leaving his dismantled headgear to the West. But not so Bill
Jones: "Come back!" he roared in tones that compelled obedience. "We
don't want the blinkety-blank thing in Medora."
In 1879 a military camp named Little Missouri (_see below_) was
established here on the opposite river bank to protect workers of the
N. P. Ry. from Indian attacks. This typically rough frontier post saw
the arrival in 1883 of two notable young men of almost the same age.
Theodore Roosevelt, a young New York assemblyman of 25, traveling for
his health and also to forget the recent loss of both his mother and
wife, already displayed the rugged, direct personality which later
characterized the wielder of the "big stick." Because of his eastern
dress and his heavy glasses he became known as "the four-eyed dude
from New York", or, more briefly, "Four-eyes"--until one evening with
his naked fists he knocked out and disarmed a bully. Thereafter his
nickname was subtly changed to "Old Four-eyes."
The other young man was the Marquis de Mores, a handsome, spirited
Frenchman. Arriving in America about six months earlier with his
bride, the rich and charming Medora Von Hoffman of New York, he had
made a hunting trip to the West and, with characteristic dash, decided
to build a packing plant in the cattle country to capitalize on the
advantage of avoiding the cost of shipping live animals to eastern
abattoirs. Wealthy in his own right and backed by his millionaire
father-in-law, de Mores came to the wild Badlands to build the plant
that was to be the center of operations for the Northern Pacific
Refrigerator Car Co., incorporated to operate in five Territories and
nine States, and to do a general transportation business.
Because of some disagreement over contemplated real estate purchases
in Little Missouri, de Mores bought a huge tract of land on the east
side of the river, where he built his packing plant and with it a town,
named Medora for his wife.
In the middle eighties Medora, together with Mingusville (present
Wibaux, Mont.), had become the center of a new, rich, cattle-grazing
section. The round-up area extended to a radius of 75 m., and in some
round-ups as many as 100 men were employed. Large outfits ran probably
100,000 head, and ranchers like Roosevelt, who grazed 2,000 to 3,000
head, were considered small cattlemen.
Many factors operated against the success of de Mores' packing
plant, which opened in the fall of 1883. He himself was young, rash,
inexperienced, and often ill-advised. His friends found him honest and
confiding, and less open minds than his took advantage of him. There
were costly mistakes, and many hundreds of thousands were spent before
any meat was sold. Moreover, eastern packers undersold de Mores and
forced ruinously low prices. Since he had to depend on grass for feed,
he could supply his trade from his own stock only at certain seasons,
and at the other times had to buy from outside parties, who took
advantage of the situation to charge him high prices. A plan to feed
cattle at Medora never materialized. De Mores ran sheep, but hundreds
died. To cap it all, the public apparently did not like grass-fed meat.
Another ill-starred enterprise was the Medora-Deadwood stage line,
begun in the fall of 1884 with the idea of securing a mail contract
and some of the passenger and freight traffic going to the Black Hills
gold fields by way of Dickinson. The route from Medora to Deadwood was
shorter than that from Dickinson, but it was also rougher. De Mores'
horses were wild, and often broke up equipment. In addition, the mail
contract failed to materialize; the shift from placer to deep mining
lessened the flow of transients into the Hills; and after one trip over
the rough road, freight shippers usually chose the Dickinson route. The
line was ordered discontinued in the spring of 1886, ending another of
the marquis' dreams.
Many people of the Little Missouri Valley did not like de Mores. They
doubted his claim to the peerage, or, if they believed it, regarded
it as an affront to their almost belligerent democracy. Such things
as his special car on the N. P. Ry. and his occasional trips East or
abroad irked them. Worst of all, he began to fence his land--a glaring
infraction of wide-open range etiquette. His fences were cut; he had
them mended. They were cut open again. Things went from bad to worse.
Stories were carried to de Mores of threats against his life. He
appealed to the sheriff at Mandan for the arrest of the trouble makers.
When the deputy sheriff arrived, they bluffed him out, and de Mores,
thinking the deputy overpowered or perhaps killed, endeavored to make
the arrest. There was shooting, and when the smoke cleared, one man was
dead.
This was in June 1883. Twice dismissed by lower courts, the charge
against de Mores was finally brought in district court in Bismarck
in September 1885. He was acquitted. About a year after the trial,
realizing that his packing plant was not to be a success, he closed its
doors, and took his family to Europe. At the age of 38, while on an
expedition to Africa, he was ambushed and killed by native guides.
Except for his neighbor Roosevelt, the Badlands have never known a more
notable figure than this Frenchman with his dreams of their industrial
development.
Theodore Roosevelt was a frequent visitor at the de Mores' chateau
(_see below_) during the months he spent in Dakota Territory. On his
first hunting trip here in 1883 he was so attracted by the wild country
that he made arrangements to become a partner in a ranching enterprise,
and for the next six years he spent part of each year here, first at
the Maltese Cross, or Chimney Butte Ranch (_see_ BISMARCK), 7 m. up the
Little Missouri, and later at the Elkhorn, 35 m. downstream (_see Tour
10_). Both ranch sites are difficult to reach, and little is to be seen
at them other than the sites where the buildings stood.
Roosevelt's ranching ventures were not financially successful; he ran
small herds, and was interested more in the condition of his health
than that of his fortune. His keen delight in hunting and the rough
cowboy life, however, won him many friends. In the spring of 1884 he
acted as chairman of the local Stockmen's Association, and the same
year he was the principal speaker at Dickinson's first Fourth of July
celebration. One day a cowboy overheard someone say, "That fool Joe
Ferris [a Medora storekeeper] says Roosevelt is going to be President."
Seventeen years later the cowboy told this to Ferris; the death of
McKinley had just made Roosevelt President.
In company with the other stockmen of the valley, Roosevelt lost
heavily in the severe winter of 1886-87. It is said that scarcely a
rancher did not lose at least half his stock--the Hash-Knife, a large
outfit, lost 65,000 head.
Roosevelt's trips to the West thereafter were of shorter duration. One
of the strongest links that bound him to this country was his famous
Rough Riders, made up mainly of western men, who served under him
in the Spanish-American War. Roosevelt visited Medora in 1900, on a
campaign tour, and again in 1903, and was warmly received each time by
his old neighbors and friends.
Medora was briefly the home of Tom Mix, screen actor, who was married
here to Olive M. Stokes, Jan. 19, 1909. Mix, then a circus performer,
and Miss Stokes had just completed contracts with the Miller Brothers'
101 Ranch Wild West Show.
Right at the entrance to Main St. is the little buff brick ATHENAIS
CHAPEL, built for the marquise by her husband in 1884, and named for
their daughter. It was presented to the village in 1920 by members of
the de Mores family, and is still in use as the Roman Catholic church
of the community.
Fronting Main St. is the ROUGH RIDERS HOTEL, erected by de Mores in
1884. It served as headquarters for cattlemen and cowpunchers of the
day; and although it was built a year after Theodore Roosevelt came
to Dakota, the story is told that his first night in Medora was spent
here. Doubtless, however, he spent many nights in the hotel, which
suggested to him the name of his Spanish-American War regiment.
One block down Main St. (L) is a bronze STATUE OF MARQUIS DE MORES,
erected by the family in 1926. It stands in a small plot which is part
of De Mores State Park, three tracts comprising about 77 acres, deeded
to the State Historical Society of North Dakota in 1936 by Louis, Count
de Vallombrosa, eldest son of the marquis. On a second unit of the
park, in the northwestern part of town, is the SITE OF THE DE MORES
PACKING PLANT. The abandoned buildings, with mammoth refrigerators
and machinery and mysterious dark passages, long bore the legend,
"Rent free to any responsible party who will make use of them." Fire
destroyed them in 1907; all that remains today is a tall, gaunt, yellow
brick chimney.
Left from Medora on a winding graded county dirt road to the CUSTER
TRAIL RANCH, =5 m.=, named by its founders, Howard, Willis, and Alden
Eaton, for its position on the trail of the fatal military expedition
to the Little Big Horn in 1876. It is at the confluence of the Little
Missouri River and Davis Creek, where a Custer camp erected parapets
for protection from possible Indian attack. Deep ruts cut by the wagons
of the expedition are still visible near the ranch buildings. This
ranch was established in the late 1880's, and is the first of the "dude
ranches" which have become so popular in the West. The owners were
neighbors of Roosevelt, whose Chimney Butte Ranch was 2 m. upstream.
In 1897 Ernest Thompson Seton, naturalist and author, while gathering
material for his books _Lives of the Hunted_ and _Coyotito_, spent the
month of September here with the Eatons. The ranch still has its quota
of summer visitors, but in the early 1900's the Eatons transferred
their activities to the vicinity of the Big Horn Mountains.
At =341.7 m.= the route crosses the bridge leading over the LITTLE
MISSOURI RIVER. Except in times of flood the stream, which is narrow
here, is shallow and sluggish.
At =341.8 m.= is the junction with an improved road.
Left on this road to the third unit (60 A.) of the De Mores State
Park, the DE MORES CHATEAU, =0.5 m.=, commanding an excellent view
of the river, the bluffs, and the village. The chateau is a 28-room,
2-story frame structure with a wide veranda, and windows guarded by
old-fashioned shutters.
Deserted by its wealthy young owners and their retinue of servants,
and subjected to the aging of half a century, it presents a vastly
different picture from that of 1883, when the ambitious Frenchman built
it for his red-haired bride.
Although the establishment of the packing plant was de Mores' chief
reason for being in Dakota, he and the marquise led an active social
life, entertaining settlers of the region and also many distinguished
guests from the East and from Europe, who came to hunt. An item in the
Bismarck _Tribune_ of Sept. 4, 1885, read:
"She Killed Three Bears
"The Marquise, wife of Marquis de Mores, has returned from her
hunt in the Rocky mountains, where she killed two cinnamon bears
and one large grizzly bear. The accomplished lady, who was a few
years ago one of New York City's popular society belles, is now the
queen of the Rocky mountains and the champion huntress of the great
northwest."
During their residence in America two children were born to the de
Mores, a son, Louis, and a daughter, Athenais. A third child, Paul,
was born in France soon after the family left Medora. The marquise
died in 1920 as the result of an injury received while serving as a
nurse in the World War. Although she returned to Medora only once
(1893), she removed nothing from the chateau to which she came as a
bride. It was left in the hands of a caretaker until its transfer
to the State historical society in 1936.
At =341.9 m.= (L) are the partly filled cellar holes that mark the
SITE OF LITTLE MISSOURI, Medora's predecessor. The story is told that,
during the heyday of the town, passengers on a train pausing opposite a
hotel here heard the sound of shots. Presently, to their horror, the
door opened and a group of cowboys carried out a limp body. Soon there
were more shots, and another body was brought out. Before the train
left the cowboys figured they had given the "dudes" an eyeful. The
"bodies" all belonged to the same man, and the shots had been aimed so
as to do no harm.
At =343 m.= is the junction with a graveled road.
Right on this road to the sandstone pillars marking the western
entrance to the South Roosevelt Regional State Park, =0.1 m.= (_see_
ROOSEVELT REGIONAL STATE PARKS).
At =347.5 m.= is the first glimpse of FLAT TOP BUTTE (L), sometimes
known as Square Butte, whose mesa-like top contains nearly a section
of land. On a slope of this butte occurred a skirmish between Sully's
punitive expedition of 1864 and a band of Hunkpapa and Sans Arc Sioux
led by Sitting Bull. Harried by a sniping fire from the Sioux, the
2,200 soldiers, on quarter rations because of insufficient supplies,
and burdened with an immigrant train of 600 people and 120 oxcarts,
had sweltered through a hot August day. Just as darkness was closing
over the Badlands they discovered a spring on the northeastern slope
of Flat Top Butte, only to have Sitting Bull, who realized their need
of the water, suddenly pour in a heavy fire from the nearby hills. The
firing continued intermittently all night. In the morning, however, the
Sioux withdrew and went hunting. Several Indians were killed during the
encounter and many soldiers wounded.
At =355.5 m.= the highway reaches the level prairie after a gradual
rise out of the Badlands. From here is visible (L) Sentinel Butte
(3,350 alt.), second highest point in the State, a large flat-topped
mesa in the distance. Right is the CAMEL'S HUMP, a peculiarly rounded,
grass-covered hill.
At =358 m.= is the village of SENTINEL BUTTE (2,706 alt., 219 pop.),
which was named for the nearby mesa to the S. The Sully expedition,
following its encounter with the Sioux at Flat Top, passed over the
present town site.
Left from the town on a graveled road to the junction with a county
dirt road, =3 m.=; L. here to a gate (L) at =4.3 m.=; follow rutted
trail to foot of southern slope of SENTINEL BUTTE, =5 m.= In a pass at
the top of this slope are two supposed graves of sentinels killed while
on guard. Conflicting stories are told of the sentinels' identity.
One Indian legend says romance was involved in the slaying of the
two; another, that they were Arikara scouts surprised by a Sioux war
party. Nearly 80 acres of grassland are on the flat top of Sentinel
Butte, and its precipitous sandstone cliff-sides rise 719 ft. above the
surrounding prairies. From the eastern rim of the butte on a clear day
is a panorama of the Badlands, with Flat Top Butte in the foreground,
and the diggings of several private lignite coal mines visible in the
slopes of the neighboring hills. To the S. and W. the plain stretches
away into the distance: nicely squared patches of green in the spring
and early summer, rippling areas of gold during harvest, and squares
of plowed black earth etched against patches of grimy yellow stubble in
the fall.
BEACH, =365.5 m.= (2,755 alt., 1,263 pop.), is named for Capt. Warren
Beach of the Eleventh Infantry, who accompanied the Stanley railroad
survey expedition in 1873. Beach is Golden Valley County seat, center
of a large agricultural area in western North Dakota and eastern
Montana, and a grain shipping point. John M. Baer, the political
cartoonist, was postmaster in Beach from 1913 to 1915, and later became
a North Dakota Congressman.
US 10 crosses the Montana Line, =368 m.=, 42 m. E. of Glendive Mont.
(_see Mont. Tour 1_).
SIDE TOUR 8A
Valley City--Oakes--South Dakota Line. ND 1.
Valley City to South Dakota Line, 75 m.
N. P. Ry. branch line roughly parallels route between Verona and
Oakes, North Western Ry. branch between Oakes and South Dakota Line.
Gravelled roadbed throughout.
Accommodations in principal towns
ND 1 south of Valley City traverses the rolling plain--part of the
Height of Land--that lies between the Sheyenne and the James Rivers.
The northern end of the route runs near the Sheyenne, while its
southern course roughly parallels the James. Near the southern border
of the State the highway runs across the level bed of glacial Lake
Dakota, a small part of which extended into present North Dakota. This
lake existed before Lake Agassiz, in the valley of the James River,
which was in existence before the second ice age. Along the entire
route pheasants are plentiful.
ND 1 branches S. from US 10 at Valley City (_see Tour 8_).
At =19 m.= is the junction with a graveled road.
Left on this road to BIRCH CREEK HISTORIC SITE (_picnic and camp
grounds adjoining_), =1 m.= In the late 1830's the Federal Government
sent its first exploratory expedition into this area under Jean N.
Nicollet and Lt. John C. Fremont. Their party camped in this coulee on
Birch Creek in 1839. In August 1863 a detachment of the Sibley Indian
expedition under Col. Samuel McPhail also camped here, naming the site
Camp Johnson for one of the officers. Later, in 1867-72, the Fort
Totten-Fort Ransom trail crossed the coulee.
HASTINGS, =19.5 m.= (1,453 alt., 125 pop.), was named by the N. P. Ry.
for Hastings, Minn., which in turn was named for Gen. Henry Hastings
Sibley (1811-1891), first Governor of Minnesota, and in 1863 commander
of an expedition against the Sioux.
At =23.5 m.= is the junction with ND 46, a graveled highway.
Left on this highway to the junction with an unimproved country trail,
=7 m.=; R. here =0.5 m.= to INYAN BOSDATA, or Standing Rock, one of two
rocks within the boundaries of North Dakota sacred to the Sioux tribes
(_see Side Tour 8C_). The Sioux are reticent concerning legends of the
stone, saying only that it is _waukan_ (mysterious). About 4 ft. high,
it is roughly shaped like an inverted cone, and stands atop a circular
mound, from which long, narrow mounds extend both E. and W. The
significance of the mound on which it stands is not definitely known,
but it is believed to be of ceremonial origin. Positions of skeletons
and types of artifacts found in the different strata of the few mounds
excavated in this area lead archeologists to believe that the mounds
were built for burial purposes. Discoveries in the oldest stratum
indicate that after the retreat of the glacier the race which built the
mounds was nomadic, living by the hunt and on edible tubers found in
the region, while artifacts found in later strata reveal that the race
had probably become agricultural and lived in permanent villages.
At =9 m.= on ND 46 is the junction with an unimproved dirt road; L.
here =1 m.= to CAMP WEISER HISTORIC SITE, named for Dr. J. S. Weiser,
surgeon with the First Minnesota Mounted Rangers, who was later killed
in the Battle of Big Mound (_see Tour 8_). This was an encampment of
the Sibley expedition the night of July 13-14, 1863.
At =30.5 m.= on ND 1 is the junction with a graveled road.
Left here is FORT RANSOM, =7 m.= (1,217 alt., 297 pop.), a quiet little
village hidden in the trees at the foot of the hill on which are the
RUINS OF OLD FORT RANSOM. Thousands of Civil War veterans, released
from service, turned to the West for opportunity, crossing the plains
to the gold fields in Montana and Idaho. To keep the hostile Sioux
in check and to guard the immigrant wagon trains on their overland
journeys, it was planned to establish a chain of forts across the
prairies. Fort Ransom was the first of this chain, built in 1867
by Gen. Alfred Terry and named for Gen. Thomas Ransom, a Civil War
officer. It was protected by sod and log breastworks 12 ft. high,
surrounded by a ditch 8 ft. deep, a protection never greatly needed,
for few Indians lived in the vicinity. In 1872 Fort Ransom was replaced
by Fort Seward at Jamestown (_see Tour 8_). Remains of the breastworks
of the fortification are visible.
Across the deep ravine running N. and W. of the fort a lookout post
was situated on BEAR DEN HILLOCK which the Sioux know as Matoti. On
the slope of this hill is a large glaciated _Writing Rock_, on the
surface of which are four deep grooves. These the Indians believe to
have been written by spirits. Two legends are told of the stone: one,
that a water sprite traced the markings with his finger, the other that
two young women spirits came daily to write messages to the tribes,
until the invasion of the white man, when they refused to send further
messages. Several tumuli of the mound builders are on this hill.
At =36.5 m.= on ND 1 is the junction with ND 27, a graveled highway.
Left here is LISBON, =18 m.= (1,187 alt., 1,650 pop.), Ransom County
seat, named by two settlers for their home cities, Lisbon, N. Y. and
Lisbon, Ill. The first settlers arrived in 1878, and two years later
the town site was platted. Situated at the foot of the hills bordering
the Sheyenne River, the town is scattered on both wooded banks of
the stream. The red-brick buildings of the STATE SOLDIERS HOME, in
landscaped grounds in the southern section of the town, accommodate 50
veterans. SANDAGER PARK in the northwestern part is a well-maintained
recreational center (_short boat trips up river available in summer;
reasonable fares_). W. D. Boyce (1860-1912), Lisbon newspaper publisher
during the 1880's, who became publisher of the _Saturday Blade_ in
Chicago, is credited with bringing the Boy Scout idea to the United
States from England, and a fine BOY SCOUT BUILDING AND PARK on Main St.
are a memorial to him. R. N. Stevens (1852-1925), a Lisbon attorney and
member of the State constitutional convention in 1889, later associated
with Alexander McKenzie in Alaska, is characterized as the crafty
attorney in Rex Beach's novel _The Spoilers_.
Left from Lisbon =1 m.= on ND 9 to OAKWOOD CEMETERY, the land for which
was a gift of William K. Thaw, a large landholder here in early days.
It contains the graves of many soldiers. In the center of the area is
a statue of a bugler in the pose of sounding taps, a memorial to the
Civil War dead.
At =22 m.= on ND 27 is the junction with a graveled road; R. here =2
m.= to the junction with another graveled road; L. to another junction
at =3 m.=; R. to the SITE OF CAMP HAYES, =4.8 m.= On the first bench
above the level Sheyenne River flood plain Gen. H. H. Sibley and his
Indian expedition camped a week in July 1863 while awaiting supplies
and mail from Fort Abercrombie. At each of his camps Sibley erected
breastworks of some type, and remains of the ravine trenches at this
site are still visible. Like giant, round anthills, several tumuli of
the mound builders project against the sky line on the hills bordering
the river opposite Camp Hayes. The largest of the hills along the river
here is OKIEDAN BUTTE, meaning _place where they all rushed together_,
famed in Sioux legend. At the foot of the hill, near a spring still
flowing, a Sisseton Sioux war party is said to have attacked and killed
a band of 30 Arikara Indians. At this same place in the early 1880's
Bvt. Gen. H. M. Creel of the U. S. Regulars reported having his command
entirely surrounded by so large a herd of bison that it stretched
beyond the vision of his field glasses, and took several hours in
passing.