Dakota Datebook: Belhammer saves child

May 31, 2019 — Gordon Keeney was aboard the steamboat Dakota when he witnessed a dramatic rescue attempt by a burly German immigrant. Seventy-six years later, Keeney’s written account was published in the Fargo Forum.

In 1874, the Dakota was steaming north down the Red River with a maximum load of 175 Canadian, Scotch, British and Irish passengers. Because of the crowded conditions below, Keeney w...