One of the great stories in Sheldon’s history is that of John T. Hickey. He came to this area in 1890 with a young family and farmed for 19 or 20 years before purchasing and running the Sheldon livery stable for several years towards the end of his life. Working around oxen, horses, and mules came naturally because he spent many years in his younger days as a teamster driving oxen while hauling freight between Fort Abercrombie and Winnipeg. He worked with Don Stevenson’s freight outfit that moved the material from Fort Abercrombie to build Fort Ransom and stayed with him while hauling goods and material to Fort Lincoln near Bismarck.
The most fascinating point of his life was while working as a civilian teamster under Lt. Col. Custer’s command at the Little Big Horn. When the army moved in those days a large wagon train filled with supplies trailed right along with them. As they neared the place where scouts told him a large camp of Indians was near, Custer left the noisy wagons and ordered that ammunition and supplies be placed on the backs of the mules.
Here Custer split his command into three groups, one he’d command, one under Captain Benteen, and one led by Major Reno. Hickey stayed with the Reno contingent and thereby missed the slaughter that Custer’s men suffered. So many details of this situation can’t be found, but Hickey can be called lucky.
Look for Part II of this story about Hickey on “Sheldon - Remembering Our Past.” Included now are pictures of Hickey’s grave marker in the Sheldon cemetery, his picture, and the headline from his obituary dated April 12, 1923. Next time I will share information his family sent me.
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