Translated from 'Nordmændene i Amerika' by Martin Ulvestad. 1907. Custer County Bernt Mælum and Christian Andersen†, both from Lillehammer as well as Enok Sve from Ørkedalen were the first Norwegians in this county. They came from Union Co., S.D. and settled here at Capitol in 1884. Next after them came John Buan and Sivert Moltuen from Ørkedalen, James Garberg from Selbu and John Teigen from Jostedalen. They worked at cattle raising exclusively. To their nearest railroad station and marketplace at the beginning it was 150 miles, they had to go all the way to Miles City when there was a question of buying or selling anything. John Buan relates further: Sivert Moltuen and I left Union Co., S.D. the 14th May 1886. We had our families and some livestock with us and we each had a wagon. One day on the large Sioux Reservation between Fort Pierre and Black Hills we were surprised by the worst hailstorm I have ever seen. It came so rapidly that we could not even get the horses unhitched. Now there was an uproar! Women and children cried, the horses were in a rage and our livestock were driven away by the storm. When it was over we had to go several miles to find our livestock. We readhed here the 8th July after a journey of a little over 2 months. We had many Indian encounters both on the way and after our arrival, but they did nothing to us. When we settled here the area was full of Texas oxen and cowboys. These cowboys (drovers) were at that time just as dangerous as the Texas oxen, at least they were not at all mother's best children. In 1887, one cowboy was shot by another right by my house. Since then four murders have been committed here by these half-wild drovers who have also have had the habit of stealing horses and cattle. So, it has not been pleasant to live here. In1890 during the first Indian War, we were in constant fear of being attacked. We then built a fort - or more correctly we dug a big cave in a high bluff and entrenched ourselves as best we could. The settlement numbered 50 to 60 person, among them 8 male adults, that was all. One evening about a week before Christmas a message came from Camp Knock, S.Dak., warning us that the Indians could be expected at any time. That night we gathered at Bernt Mælum's an prepared for battle. The next day we moved into the fort we had made. But we were happy when we heard that the Indian chief Sitting Bull and many of his men had been killed and the rest had fled. He was killed the night after the aforementioned message reached us. But on the whole we now had reason to be content. We waited and hoped for victory and it was finished. Civilisation had set its mark here also,