4/17/2010:
John L. Harvey and C.H. Olson of Cando travelled overseas to Europe in 1912 to procure horses for breeding. They obtained forty "fine specimens of horse flesh," Belgians and Percherons-draft horses that were a mix of hardiness and myth, each linked to medieval knights and war horses.
When the men returned, a large crowd greeted them. And on this date, the horses were settling into the rolling hills of the prairie as residents watched with anticipation, their hopes echoed in these words, printed in the Bismarck Tribune:
"The importance and value of bringing these fine horses to this country and state cannot be overestimated, and will only be fully realized in future years, when the standard of horses to be found in this community will be raised to a point that will attract the attention of outsiders."
Dakota Datebook written by Sarah Walker
Sources:
The Bismarck Daily Tribune, Thursday, April 18, 1912, p.2