BISMARCK, ND — With war and glory on his mind, Dennis Hannafin — the “squatter governor” — spurred his friends faster. They were in a race to stake land ahead of the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1873.

His pioneer friends — John Warn, Jack Hale and Jesse McCoy — urged their wagons to wheel-breaking speed. Stopping only when they had to, they planned to stake their claims, make a small fortune, and, despite warnings, cross the Missouri River into the Great Sioux Nation.

Few trespassed over that invisible line: the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 was supposed to ensure lands west of the Missouri River belonged to the Great Sioux Nation.

“They were warned not to venture out alone ... but they paid no heed to the warning. They went as far west as Green River (Dickinson area) and came back to a p

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