Ransom County Notes:  The accompanying map has been highlighted to show two trails leading from the Pigeon Point station to Fort Ransom. The northernmost was known as the low-water trail and became the preferred route for travelers and freighters in dry periods when the Sheyenne River ran low and could be easily forded.  The southernmost or high-water trail added miles and time to the trip, an important consideration with slow moving oxen pulling most of the freight.  The Stevenson wagon train returning empty from Fort Ransom chose the high-water route and found themselves stalled in a three-day blizzard near Okiedan Butte.  It is not known why they didn’t use the low-water trail when they could have forded the river on frozen ice.  The reason is lost on the wind.