The meeting of the first Grand Jury
was held in a schoolhouse at Burlington. Judge Francis presided and Steve
Whitbeck was appointed foreman of the jury. The trials were conducted in a
rather careless manner. As each juryman arrived he deposited his whiskey bottle
in a straw-stack behind the schoolhouse. The court opened and one by one, the
prisoners ranging from cattle thieves to murderers were brought before the
judge. “Are you guilty or not guilty?” asked the Judge. “Not Guilty,” replied
the prisoner. “This court is adjourned for consultation,” said the Judge. “And
to attend to the needs of nature,” added Steve. One by one the jury filed out
to the straw-stack. The Judge grew tired of waiting for the jury to reach a
decision, dismissed the prisoners, and joined the consultation himself.
When Minot was a third-class Post
Office, the Postmaster’s salary was derived from the cancellation of postage
stamps up to a certain amount. When the postmaster had cancelled sufficient
stamps to pay him his salary, he would ship the balance of the mail to
neighboring postmasters in order to enable them to earn their salary
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