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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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A Wandering Man: Louis L’Amour
It was a love affair that ran the course of a lifetime. Whether it was consuming, creating, or collecting, the written word permeated every aspect of his life. He spent hours in the library. As a young man traveling and working all over the world, he would find time to read multiple books per week, boasting that between 1928 and 1942 he read more than 150 books a year. It was said, as a reader, his only match may have been Theodore Roosevelt who would often read up to three books a day. He attained a personal library of well over 10,000 books, journals, periodicals and maps, a vast and…
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The Wandering Man
This love affair lasted a lifetime; whether consuming, creating, or collecting, the written word permeated his life. He bragged that between 1928 and 1942 he read more than 150 books a year. He built a personal library of over 10,000 books, journals, and periodicals; a varied collection that surprised and delighted visitors. He was one of the world’s most prolific authors writing poetry, over 400 short stories, screenplays and more than 100 books. Sitting in his sick bed, Louis L’Amour was editing his final book the day he died in 1988. Some discounted his writing as just simple westerns, but his stories perfectly expressed the romance and authenticities of Western…
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Charles Franklin Martell: Pre-1940’s Ranching Division nominee 2019
In 1908 a young man left his family dairy farm in New York going west to fulfill his dream in western North Dakota. Charles Martell arrived with nothing, worked for his uncles and was on his own by 1914. He established a ranch headquarters known as “Horse Camp”, running several hundred head of horses and cattle. Martell learned to identify and purchase strong breeding stock and expertly break horses. The 1920’s saw local horse markets declining, but Martell found new profitable markets for local horses in New York. As farming practices became more mechanized the horse market again declined, so he shifted his focus to cattle. Martell’s ranch grew to…
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Lydia Langer: The Unexpected Candidate Amid 1930’s Political Scandal and Intrigue
SCANDAL ! Back room deals and a little back stabbing to maintain positions of power. Ah, the stuff of politics. In October 1934 some involved in this kind of political dance held a forum in Watford City to woo the ranchers, farmers, and independent minded residents. Surprising many was soft spoken Lydia Langer, the state’s recent first lady, now the Republican gubernatorial candidate. Traveling with congressional contenders in pursuit of their political desires, Lydia could not be farther away from how her life was anticipated to be. It was not the 1600 miles from New York to Bismarck; she could have been across oceans living a more expected life. Lydia Cady…
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Harold Schafer, Mr. Bubble and the Legacy of Medora
He was skeptical at first, but after a night of cleaning everything in his hotel room with a sample bottle he woke the supplier up in the middle of the night and ordered two boxcars full. ... “My obligation today is to see that Medora’s greatness can be carried on after my lifetime, that it’s future can be even better than it’s past”. Clearly Harold’s dream was realized and his goals are still being met today. What a great legacy Medora continues to be for Mr. Bubble.
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Biography of George W. Nohle
The Link children told the story about when Nohle’s cattle would get through the fences and out of one of his sections. They would chase the animals back in and then ride over to the Nohle ranch to report it. For their trouble they would earn a “shiny half dollar" which was a considerable reward in those days.
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Biography of Andrew J. Nohle
When Nohle began to establish himself the area was new and untamed. His cattle ranged up the Missouri River and over the region to the Canadian border. The Nohle Ranch became quite an achievement and an outstanding farm in the Yellowstone Valley.
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Biography of Charles Franklin Martell
In August, 1908 a young man traveled from his home in New York to North Dakota. He got off the stage operated by his uncle, George Nohle, and walked the last seven miles to his uncle’s ranch.
