Fort Des Moines Had Newspaper

Well, there were only fifteen of the twenty wagons left when they did arrive at Fort Des Moines. They had lost some horses and oxen as well. They were anxious to get fresh horses and oxen and be on their way to Fort Dodge with a new stock of food and other things that needed to be replaced. The Fort had a hospital, a general store, and a few log cabins. Here is a picture of the first cabin built in Fort Des Moines.

 Nell was most surprised and extremely pleased to find that the fort had a newspaper. It was called the Des Moines Gazette. To Nell the newspaper however old it was was a connection to the outside world. It seemed she would never get to Cherokee to her new family. Everyone was wanting to read the newspaper needing to hear the news from around the country. Therefore, Nell had to wait her turn. She did visit with other ladies that lived in the fort. Their husbands were soldiers. She heard many stories from them that concerned her very much.

One of the things that she learned was that the government had signed a three year treaty with the Sac and Fox Indians that lived close by. A treaty is like a promise written down on paper and signed by government officials and the Chief of the tribe or tribes as it were.

 The natives were farmers and would trade vegetables and furs for things that the folks needed inside the fort.  Nell learned that folks that had started out going to California to get rich mining gold had decided that the land around the fort was beautiful. It had two rivers, beautiful trees and rich black dirt just perfect for farming. They illegally sneaked out at night and surveyed the land. They would light torches and climb trees and guesstimate how many feet apart they were to measure acres of land. Then they would squat or stay on that land and attempt to force the natives off that land. It kept the soldiers busy between keeping the peace with the Indians and the white people trying to steal their land.

When it got Nell's turn to read the paper she was more than amazed. The news although very old, probably several weeks old actually was so very interesting. She read every word, but when she got to the back of the paper she saw an ad that had been placed for a lady to move to a farm outside of Cherokee. A man named Nathan was in need of a woman to be a ma to his four children! Nell's hands were trembling as she quickly turned the paper to the first page to find the date of the paper. He had placed an ad after not hearing from her. What would she find after she finally got to Fort Cherokee? Would she have a family waiting for her or did Nathan already have a new wife and mother to his children.

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Fort Des Moines Hotel was built in 1919. It was a two story beauty which held many important political rallies, Presidents and famous actors stayed there, as well as many other conventions were held there. I attended a Nurse Of Hope Convention there in the 1970's with my sister who was named Nurse of Hope for Woodbury County. It was an honor to see her pinned and awarded the honor as well as listen to her speak encouraging nurses to care for folks in the last stage of their life. The hotel was a sight to behold. It was closed down for two years and has been remodeled and is a popular place for wedding receptions. Nell would be amazed. I don't have a picture of it in 2020.