In this fantasy I looked like Kevin Costner in Dances with Wolves. In reality, I was looking for new digs, a climate healthier than the overpriced acres of buggy floodplain my wife, Kitty, and I owned.
In my ancient Ford Bronco, I planned to crisscross North Dakota, searching the emptied, down-and-out spaces between its little cities for that sweet thing every American covets: a killer bargain in real estate.
THIS WAS THE BEST MOMENT to walk among them, right after the crash and thunder of their annual orgy, when the bulls have fought and fornicated to happy oblivion and the cows are pregnant. But not before taking a hard look into the face of North Dakota's history, and what may be its future.
Grasping a fistful of prairie grass like that shuffling caveman in Quest for Fire, I edged close enough to the herd of wild bison to smell the sweet musk on their shaggy coats. I'd been hearing that much of my beloved old state—where I spent three gloriously wanton years as a teenager—is marching back into its past as the Indian population grows and the white population declines, bison herds are resurrected, and prairie grass replaces wheat.
Jacob Wolf and two of his daughters were found murdered in a barn.
In the basement of the farmhouse there were five more bodies — the rest of Jacob’s family plus a chore boy, Jacob Hofer, son of a neighbor.
John Kraft called the authorities who soon zeroed-in on neighbor Henry Layer as chief suspect.
The Minot Daily News published a story in 2008 which describes the events of the murder, during which Jacob Wolf would be killed with his own shotgun, like this: The killings happened when Henry Layer, another neighbor, had an argument with Jacob Wolf about his dog biting one of Layer’s cows.
One of the worst crimes in state history occurred April 22, 1920 on a farm just north of Turtle Lake.
It was a gray, overcast day and light rain had been falling.
They were brutally murdered with shotgun blasts and a hatchet.
The only surviving family member was Emma Wolf, just nine months old, who had been confined to her crib for more than a day with the rest of her family dead.
There is more to Beulah for its residents than being a place to work- in Beulah there are an abundance of recreational opportunities. Located on the south side of Lake Sakakawea- this course is known for its black coal slag bunkers.