The blowing mail was ominous. It was clear that a tragedy had occurred, and soon that would be confirmed through the lifeless body of a young pony mail carrier. His death most likely came swiftly, with multiple bullet wounds to the head. He would later be scalped; his gun andRead More →
Remembering the Town of Runkle More than a century ago, tiny towns dotted the Black Hills. Gold had been discovered and thousands would descend on the area looking to strike it rich. Mining camps would grow into full fledged towns, creating an ever growing need for efficient transportation for bothRead More →
One hundred and eighty years ago, a man, as well as legend, was born. Entering this world into a humble beginning, he would go onto become both a hero and a villain. However, without his loving wife, the man, the myth, George Armstrong Custer, may have been largely forgotten toRead More →
“A heart in the middle of Bismarck-Mandan, beating with the cadence of the Mandaree Singers. An older city within cities. Not a sister city. Not that, something else, perhaps a great matriarch.” That was the manner in which Ken Rogers described Chief Looking’s Village in 2003. The site had beenRead More →
Dustin WhiteEditor Two hundred years before the United States would be formed, families from three villages decided to come together to build a fortified village. The purpose of the new village was twofold. First, it provided defense, as it was protected largely by natural formations. Second, it provided access toRead More →
Dustin WhiteEditor History is a work in progress. As new pieces of information are discovered, the past continues to be written and rewritten. The tent citiesWith the Northern Pacific Railroad pushing westward, land speculators were busy ahead of the track, setting up townsites, with the hope that the railway wouldRead More →
A Past RestoredDustin White Steaming through Mandan, bell ringing, Northern Pacific 2660, was nearing the end of its life. It would only be in operation for around two decades, but during that time, it would become the pinnacle of steam power and locomotion. A Class A-3 locomotive, the 2660 wasRead More →
Dustin WhiteEditor When settling down, it can be easy to pass over North Dakota. While the state is currently experiencing a booming oil industry in the west, other potential opportunities often are not considered. Dr. Frederick J. Walsh, who was the playwright for “Old Four-Eyes,” a predecessor to the currentRead More →
Dustin WhiteEditor Half a year into the expedition, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark had finally made their way to present day North Dakota. Fall had settled in, and temperatures were plunging below zero. It was Oct. 14, 1804. The day was marked with turmoil. On Oct. 13, private John NewmanRead More →
Dustin WhiteEditor (The death of Sitting Bull stands as an important event of a tumultuous time. While it signals neither the beginning or the end, it did set off a string of incidents that, in part, led to an Indian Panic in the Dakotas. Today, the effects of such canRead More →