Lise Erdrich

On this date in 1876, six-year-old Red Fox was c amped near the Little Bighorn when the 7th Cavalry arrived. Red Fox outlived Custer by nearly 100 years.

On this date in 1867, the Fort Ransom military post was established. The fort stood atop Grizzly Bear Hill, also known as the Bears' Den which is now a ski slope near the present-day town of Fort Ransom.

What are the odds of three men named Charles being killed by a single lightning strike at the same place and time?

Since pioneer days, the life of a North Dakota farmwife was often described as one of unrelenting hardship, drudgery, and isolation. On this date in 1930, the Bismarck Tribune announced plans for "a sort of paradise" for farmwives. Vacation camps with games, picnics, music programs, community singing, and recreation would be enjoyed in pleasant surroundings, "where cooking, dishwashing, laundering, and the other usual duties of the farm mother are taboo."

On this date in 1895, Red Thunder was in jail awaiting trial. Though no one had been killed, sensational reports of a so-called “Turtle Mountain War” stirred fear. Canadian troops mobilized along the border, but the U.S. declined to send forces, saying the Chippewa had legal rights in the area and the situation was exaggerated.

"Turtle Mountain" or "Turtle Mountains"? Tribal historian and linguist Pat Gourneau noted that Indigenous languages traditionally didn’t use the plural. The Turtle’s back, head, heart, and tail were referenced by Indigenous people as parts of one elevated landform. Travelers, explorers, and cartographers identified landmarks accordingly.

In Wahpeton, there is a regal-looking house built for Ellen Seely by renowned architect Eugene Schuler. Mrs. Seely came to town in 1881 to establish residency for a divorce in the Dakota Territory. Known locally as "Madame Seely," she was a Rockefeller in-law and an opera devotee. Her son, W.A. Seely, had arrived in Wahpeton earlier and prospered. To help pass the time, he built the Seely Opera House downtown. On this date in 1885, Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice had a successful run there.

On this date in May of 1884, another wild weekend began in Wahpeton. Some homeless individuals showed up at a house south of the Northern Pacific depot. The Wahpeton Times reported that one man "picked up a plate and knocked the mistress of the establishment down. She got up with a revolver in her hand, ordered the intruders out, and started shooting. The fly chaps flew, and it was thought that one of them went away with a perforated hide and took the train the next morning for the east."

On this date in 1892, Wahpeton papers reported that Gertrude Weber had traveled to St. Joseph, Missouri, in search of her husband. With help from local police, she found him working at a shoe factory. To avoid arrest, Mr. Weber pretended to be overjoyed to see his wife and agreed to return with her to Wahpeton. He asked for a few hours to settle his affairs and gather his belongings. He took Mrs. Weber to a hotel but then escaped by train with the notorious Madam Dollie Anderson. Mrs. Weber soon realized she had been doubly duped.

In April of 1904, Wahpeton had four newspapers, each with its own political slant. At the time, J.A. Rickert was a prominent figure in Richland County. He’d served as County Commissioner, County Treasurer, County Sheriff, and President of the Board of Education. Rickert owned a significant amount of property and was known for his success in both farming and business, including a mercantile store in Lidgerwood.