The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1867-06-14
Polly Strader, the Female Trapper.

Away out upon the frontier, on the
bank Of one of those beautiful lakes
that abound in Minnesota. lived Hem
~ Strader. He had emigrated from
Pennsylvania in 1856. and had made n
claim on the most beautiful quarter
section Of land within a circuit of ten
miles You know that according to
the 'pre-emption laws, the person
Sho settles on unoccupied land, and
observes certain formalities, has the
right TO purchase that land from the
Government at any time before it is
brought into market, at one dollar
and twenty-five cents All acre But if
he does not buy it before the day Of
sale, it is sold at auction to the high
est bidder.
Mr. Strader had three children,
Harry, his eldest, Polly, about whom /
am going to tell, and little Jimmie. -
All the money the father could make
by farming in Summer and trapping
in Winter he spent in improving his
claim. As the land was not likely to
be advertised for sale for some years,
he did not think it necessary to make
any provisions for buying it at once,
But Mr. Strader was taken suddenly
i'll and died, and the burden of pay
ing for the claim and supporting the
family came upon Harry, then only
seventeen years Of age. Not wholly
upon Harry either, for from the time
her father died Polly, who was Just
fifteen, resolved to share every burden
with her brother
Within a week after her father died,
She had taken a hoe and gone into the
field By the side Of Harry. All through
the hot days she did her part; and as
Winter drew on, size practiced with
the rifle till she could shoot about rs
well as her brother
But the next Spring came the COM
mencement of the war. l cannot stop
to tell You of all the discussions that
were held in the Strader's cabin, on
the subject of Harry's enlistment
They ended in Polly's telling him to
go, that she would support the family,
and that the land wouldn't come into
market right off, any way, And,
whether right or wrong, Harry enlist
ed.
That year Polly succeeded in cult
waiting that portion of the land that
was broken and fenced, in such way
as to get tolerable crop But during
the Summer there came the sad news
that Harry was wounded, and must
lie for long time in the hospital, and
then, perhaps, be discharged on ac-
count of his disability to do further
service, To add to their distress,
came the startling intelligence that the
land was brought into market and
must be pre-empted before the first Of
january, or it would be sold.
There was n merchant, five miles
away, by the name of Van Dyke, who
bought furs Of the settlers, and sold
them provisions. An utterly mean
man. there was no advantage to be Ia
ken that Van Dyke did not take. He
was delighted to hear that the land IN
the noighborhood was to be sold, for
he was perfectly satisfied that the wild
ow Strader could not raise tho two
hundred dollars necessary to purchase
her land, and he chuckled as he
thought of the prospect of buying it at
the Government sale, and thus getting
all the improvements for nothing.
Polly applied to Mr. Van Dyke for a
loan on mortgage on the land. but
was refused. Hoping against hope
she went to work to raise all the mon
ey she could, very early in the Fall -
Leaving her mother and little Jimmie
to secure the crops, she commenced
TO trap. She started out at daylight
every morning, and was a picture ior
painter as she pushed off her canoe
Her long hair lay on her shoulders
her head was covered with regular
trapper's cap, made of wolf-akin with
the VOLTS tail hanging down behind.
She had been pretty successful, pu'
at the prices offered by Mr.. Van Dyke
She had nothing like enough to buy
the land. Polly was very high-spirIt,
ed and she vowed that the merchant
should not have a single skin she cap,
tured. In vain he assured her tha'
the price offered her was the highest
that could be paid