Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-12-06
AsPaRrAN MOTHER.


A Deeply Interesting Sketch of the Suc-
cessfuI Fight of q Minnesota Pioneer
Mother to Rear Her Family Against all
Obstacles and Her Noble Success.
Nine years ago there died farmer, af
ter brief illness, having recently opened
up prairie farm, and built nest for his
young brood. He left the homestead and
a few hundred dollars. His widow was
little woman of slender physique, who had
spent several years as a bed-ridden invalid
before coming to Minnesota. She had
four boys and two girls-the eldest lsd
of seventeen, the youngest only seven
years old.
A weaker woman would have accepted
the offers of kind friends to provide homes
for her children, but she drew her little
flock closer together, and, with undaunted
courage, faced her difficulties. The frosts
of autumn withered the prairie grass, and
the fierce tempests of flame ragged about
them. Winter frightened its icy grasp, and
| bowling billiards. enshrouded the prairie
cottage; but the home was bright and
| CHEEKY, and prairie hay filled the place of
| the coal that had burned on the
hearth in the Pennsylvania home.
| With spring and the melting of the SHOWS
came floods between them and the village.
Then came the spring work; and the sons
worked manfullyto get in a crop, and
looked forward with hope to the coming
harvest. But the Implying locusts swept
down in clouds upon them and the fruits
| OF their labors vanished in a day. The
| grasshoppers succeeded where fire, food
and bitter storm had failed. They drove
them from the farm, but the brave little
mother did not despair. She removed to
the village and rejoiced that her children
could have school privileges. She hus-
banded the little patrimony; she traded
the farm for more productive village prop
erty; she took young men into her
family to board, aud widened the Infiu-
| ence of her bright, cheerful home. She
baked bread and pastry for her neighbors.
Disease seized upon her Oldest daughter,
| and her recovery was forestalled by a
broken bone, so that for years she was a
constant care. But through all the mother
retained her bright cheerful demeanor and
her trust in God. Home was always the
| pleasantest place her boys could find. With
all her cares she found time to minister to
others. Her presence was always well
| come IN q sick room. No hand more light
than hers upon fevered brow; no eye
| more quick than hers to catch the changes
at the critical point of a disease; nor was
| she forgetful of the poer, less fortunate,
| or less prudent than herself.
Now the youngest of those children
is sixteen years of age. The old
est son is book-keeper in q
leading bank; the second son is q compe-
| tent miller; the third is trusted railroad
employe, and has nearly completed the
learning of a trade; the fourth is fireman
on locomotive, hoping soon to pull the
throttle for himself. All these sons are
clear-eyed, sober young men, who can
look their mother IN the eye. The older
daughter inherits the beauty and grace
which sorrow, time and care have not
effaced from the mothers face and figure.
The younger daughter is at the mothers
right hand, her stay and helper. The
adornments OF the home bear evidence
to the loyalty and affection of the sons.
Through all the years the mother has
kept the confidence of her children.
She has shared in their hopes
and aspirations, their disappointments
and their joys, and now as they begin to
form new ties and to think of homes for
themselves, her heart is large enough to
hold them all.
What safer place of investment is there
than the fdelidy of true hearted sons
What source of happiness is more unfail-
| ing than the affection OF grateful children
What service to the state is more noble
and more valuable than the training and
establishment of upright men and good
| citizens?
| I had rather be that mother and have
/ done her work than to own the wealth of
Vanderbilt or be president of Pacific rail
road.