April 25: 1888
Engineer G.H. Rittenhouse and Will Buchanan, drowned in the Missouri River. Having been on a skiff with five other men, they entered the middle of the stream, where they contacted a whirlpool, which caused them to loose control of the boat, and capsize.

April 26: 1921
Flanagan, who was 84 years old, and said to the last surviving white scout of Custer’s Seventh Cavalry, died in Mandan. He was also a Civil War Veteran. Funeral services were held under the auspices of the American legion.



April 27: 1897
April showers had lasted the entire week, making farm work near impossible. Flooding in the lowlands had made much of that land unusable, until it eventually dried out. There was a silver lining. With many small ponds and lakes having dried up in previous years, they were now once again full of water.

April 28: 1914
Proving the honor system. Denver Woods, serving a 13 year sentence at the state penitentiary for murder, was released on his honor to attend his mother’s funeral 500 miles away. Woods mother had previously appeared before the pardon board with the request that her son get a pardon so that she could see him before she died.

The pardon was denied; however, when she became ill, she asked Governor Hanna to be able to see her boy one last time, which the Governor agreed to. Woods would fail to reach his mother’s bed in time, but was able to attend the funeral. He would return to Bismarck by himself, where he was locked in his cell.

April 29: 1917
The citizens of Mandan were called upon to pledge their loyalty to the United States at a patriotic mass meeting.

April 30: 1886
The worst fire experience in Mandan in the last 16 years had swept through the timber southeast of the town. A large amount of driftwood had accumulated, and with high winds, made the fire tremendous. A few settler shacks were burned, and hundreds of acres of timber were destroyed.

May 1: 1898
Governor Briggs received a telegram from the War Department that stated that both battalions would be ordered to San Francisco, presumably to be sent to the Philippine Islands.

May 2: 1914
A horse quarantine was asked by the Cattle Owners’ association. A prevalence of the disease, dourine, had been reported throughout the state, which led to the quarantine request.