The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1878-08-29
POLLY STRADER, TIE
TRAPPER

1 AWAI CAN aDOA NA4O AASANaS"t
bank OF one of those beautiful lakes
that abound in Minnesota, lived Mr..
Henry Strader, Pclly's father. he
had emigrated from Pennsylvania In
1856, and had made "cIsim" on the
| finest quarter-sectiOn OF land within
q circuit Of ten miles. According 10
the "presumptiOR laws" the person
who settles on unoccupied landi ana
observes certain fOrmRlities, has the
right to purchase that land from
the Government at any time be-
fore il is brought into market, at one
dollar and twenty-five cents an acre.
But II he does not buy it before the
day Of sale, it is sold at auction to the
highest bidder.
Mr.. Streder had three children,
Harry, his eldest, Polly and little
Jimmie. ALI the money that the
father could make by farming in sum-
meS 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 1t
necessary to make any provision for
buying It at once. But Mr.. Strader
was taken suddenly i'll aud died, and
the burden OF paying for the claim
and supporting the family, came upon
Harry, then only seventeen years Of
age. Not only upon Harry either,
for, from the time her father died,
Polly, who was just fifteen, resolved
to share every burden with her broth
er. She was stronger than many boys
OF her age, and had always been fond
of outdoor life. In fact, she was
he non unvov,1d no rn-hovT
ful of life, restless and energetic. She
had already learned 10 paddle canoe,
and as the prRirie-chickens would
come into the yard, she had become
an adept with the shotgun. The
neighbors used to say she was too
wild, that she never would be good
for anything.
But within q week after her father
died, she had taken q hoe and gone
into the field by the side of Harry.
All through the hot days she did her
part; and as the winter drew on, che
pEscticed with the rifle until she could
shoot about as well as her brother.
And through the long cold months
she tied on her snOW-shOes as regu-
IRrly as Harry did his, and by dlnt Of
helping her brother, and taking les
sons from him, she learned all the
craft of the trapper. She knew the
habits Of muskrat, mink and otter IS
well as any man In the region. Har-
~ used to make her face grow red,
Ometimes, by declaring that she was
q "gloriOus girl"
But the next spring came the COM
mencement of the war. / can not stop
to tell you of all the discussions that
were held in the Strader's cabin, on
the subject OF Hsrry's enlistment.
They ended in Polly's telling him to
90, that she would support the family,
aud that the land wouldn't come into
the market right of, anyway. And
whether right or wrong, Harry enlist
ed. That summer Polly succeeded in
cultlvating that portion OF the land
that was broken and fenced in such
way as to get tOlerRble 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 dis
charged on account OF his disability to
further service. To add to their dis
tress, came the startling intelligence
that the land was brought into mar
ket, and must be pre-empted before
the first OF January, or it would be
sold.
There was q merchant, five miles
away, by the name of Van Dyke, who
bought fqrs for the settlers, and
sold them proyigiOns. An utterly
mean man, there was no advantage
to be taken that Van Dyke did not
take. He was delighted to hear that
the land in the neighborhoOd was to
be sold, for he was perfectly satisfied
that the widow Strader could not
raise the two hundred dollars Deces-
sary to purchase her land, and he
chuckled as he thought OF the pros
pect of buying it at the Government
sale, and thus getting slI the improve
ments for nothing. Indeed, it was
shrewdly suspected that, as Van
Dyke had some influence with off,
GERS Of the land-Office, he had some
thing to do with the bringing Of the
land into the market at so early q
dsy for, as he was q mOney-lender
and speculstor, there were many
ways in which land sale would be
to his advantage.
Polly applied to Mr.. Van Dyke for
3 loan on q mortgage on the land, but
was refused. Hoping against hope,
she went to work to raise all the
money she could very early in the
fall. Leaving her mother and little
Jimmie to secure the crops, she com.
menced to trap. She started out at
daylight every morning, and wss a
picture for painter as she pushed off
her canoe. Her long hair lay on her
shoulders, her head was covered with
q regular trapper's cap, made Of wolf
skin, with the VOLTS tail hanging
down behind. She had been pretty
successful, but at the prices offered by
Mr.. Van Dyke, she had nothing like
enough to buy the land. Polly was
very high spirited, and she vowed
that Van Dyke should not have q
single skin that she captured. In
vain he sosgTed her that the price he
offered her was tine highest that
could be paid. "Mr. Van Dyke, you
have not money enough to buy my
furs."
At last came the news that Harry
was about to start for home. He had
been discharged, and was scarcely
| able to walk but st any rate it was 8
0OUlOEb 10 AuOE bhab Ac vas oOLniuB
home again. It was now the middle
OF November, but the sky was yet
clear, and the prRiriSs, scared
with the frost, looked like
fields of gold beneath the
autumn sun. And every night the
prsfTie fires made the sky glow in
every direction. Polly had made q
careful account of her resources, and
said that at least she had enough to
puy the forty acres on which the
house and the principal part of the
improvements were. That was one
consolation, at any rate. They would
not be without q home, If they did
have to lose tins meadow and timber
land that they PRICED 50 highly. Gne
morning as she was running bullets
and filing up her powder-hOrn, Mr..