Dunseith

Prairie fires were a harsh reality of life in Dakota Territory. The blazes were often fast-moving and deadly. On this date in 1886, residents of the Bottineau area were dealing with the aftermath of a recent three-day prairie fire that burned about 500 square miles. A local history book recounts the fire as “probably the greatest forest and range fire in the history of the area.”

This personal experience narrative describes the memories of a then-3-year-old girl in San Haven Sanitarium near Dunseith, North Dakota.