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Telling the Stories of North Dakota
Published in the Summer 2022 edition of North Dakota Horizons magazine Over a thousand years ago, a Native American carved symbols into the rocks at what is now Writing Rock Historic Site in Divide County. These were not random symbols; each had purpose, meaning, and told a story. Humans have built their cultures, preserved and passed on knowledge, communicated ideas, and entertained with storytelling since the beginning of their existence. What began as oral tradition, evolved to stories written, acted and, in the modern world, also presented on film. Canticle Productions, a North Dakota-based film and theater production company, showcases stories that are as personal to North Dakota as the…
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Lewis and Clark in North Dakota
Published in the Cowboy Chronicle, Publication of the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame, June 2022 Captain William Clark wrote in his journal on August 3, 1806: “Last night the Musquetors were so troublesom that no one of the party slept half the night. For my part I did not sleep one hour. Those tormenting insects found their way into my beare and tormented me the whole night. They are not less noumerous or troublesom this morning at two miles passed the entranance of Jo. Fields Creek. “ The Lewis and Clark Expedition was on its way home. On the morning of August 2, 1806, Clark and his detachment from…
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The Last Cattle Drive
Up ahead Lloyd saw a rattler taking in the morning sun. Rattlesnakes were common out here in the summer so you “listened real close” for the rattles when you were out in the pasture. The Prairie Rattler may be smaller than other rattlesnakes, but it maintains a nasty disposition none the less. Here they were, about ready to cross one’s path with over hundred head of cattle and men on horseback. Before he could say a word out came Oliver’s lariat with a snap, catching the rattler and Lloyd by surprise. Oliver finished off the snake and gave Lloyd the rattles. What a day, and it had only just begun!…
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Murderer Lynched: A Frontier Community’s Wrath
She wasn’t even born when it happened, but like for so many in this community tucked away in western North Dakota, the story had a profound effect on her. She remembers as a young child hearing her parents quietly but earnestly talking in the kitchen about it. Even though the incident occurred almost a decade before this conversation, the little girl felt like it had just happened. A family of six, including four children, had been murdered and buried in their own farmyard by a young man who lived and worked in their community. She had bristled at the mention of murdered children. When they saw her peeking in and…
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Sakakawea: A Good and Best Woman
Published in The Cowboy Chronicle, July 2021, Volume 25 Issue 4 Much of what we accept as historical fact is often interpretation and legend created from a few known and recorded truths. It is frequently difficult to separate fact from fiction for many of the famous historical figures in our western heritage. The passing of one such person on December 20, 1812, was sadly noted by clerk John Luttig at Fort Manuel, a short lived (1812-1813) fur trading outpost along the Missouri River in what is now South Dakota. He wrote, “This evening, the wife of Charbonneau, a Snake squaw died of putrid fever. She was a good and best…
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The Cowboy Doctor
Printed in North Dakota Horizons Magazine Winter 2020 https://www.ndhorizons.com/articles/88/the-cowboy-doctor.aspx On a warm day in late July 1927, all of Dickinson shut down. Stores and businesses were empty, their doors closed. There was no heart to carry on business as usual. Crowding the cemetery people were saying goodbye to their beloved “Cowboy Doctor.” He didn’t just heal and console, he was a friend to almost every family in the region. He was remembered with overwhelming gratitude for his gift of love and 44 years of dedicated service to the people he came to cherish. The “Cowboy Doctor,” Victor Hugo Stickney, was born April 13, 1855. He was raised on the family…
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Returning Home: the Tragedy and Triumph of the Great American Buffalo
Published in: The Cowboy Chronicle Volume 24 Issue 6 November 2020 Publication of the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame With profound joy and a great sense of a spiritual connection they watched the animals step out of the trucks and onto Tribal lands once again, greeting them with traditional welcoming ceremonies. The buffalo and their way of life had been gone for generations, but the longing remained in the people’s souls. The relationship between the buffalo and native people is deep, personal, and ethereal. While the stories and sacred ceremonies had been retained, the youth could not completely understand the kindred relationship because they had not been able to…
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North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame Podcast
I was interviewed by Bill Palanuk, Media Director at the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame, after my article- “Little Misery”: The Rise and Fall of a Forgotten Badlands Town, was published. This aired on October 21, 2020 North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame Any time you pick up an issue of The Cowboy Chronicles newsletter, you have undoubtedly read articles written by Mary Pat Martell Jones. Mary’s passion for history is very evident in her articles and also on her fabulous website writinforthebrand.com which is maintained by her son Michael which she greatly appreciates.We’ll get to know Mary just a bit better today here on Cowboy Chronicles – The…
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“Little Misery”: The Rise and Fall of a Forgotten Badlands Town
Published in the Cowboy Chronicle Publication of the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame Volume 24 Issue 5 Newspapers from New York to Paris and London in the late 1870’s and early 1880’s were abuzz about the Dakota cattle boom on the northern plains of America. Books, such as James Brisbin’s The Beef Bonanza or How to get Rich on the Plains (1871) and Trans Missouri Stock Raising; the Pasture Lands of North America by Hiram Latham ( 1881), fueled the excitement for the expanding cattle industry. In 1879 The Bismarck Tribune proclaimed that that western North Dakota possessed “the best grazing lands in the world”. A writer for the…
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Just a Bit About the Bit
A good relationship between the horse and his rider is all about communication. A horse can sense fear, anger and competence, and will react accordingly. However, a good ride whether for work or pleasure, requires effective communication between the horse and rider. Since ancient times the bit, in one form or another, has been the instrument to help send these messages. The horse is the only animal we control by putting something inside their mouth. The ancient man’s experience of controlling a pack or riding animal before the domestication of the horse, was by various forms of nose pressure. This method would not work for the equine as its…
