The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1900-02-02
from this date the opposition to the set
tiers was Withdrawn.

ed that little produce was grown in 1917
and famine ensued. The people again
returned to Pembina, where they passed
the winter. subsisting as best they could
on the produce of the chase. The next
spring they went back to the lands,
ploughed and seeded them, and en,er-
tanned high hopes for bountiful harvest,
but were to be disappointed, as an army
of locusts made its appearance andin one
night destroyed every vestige Of verdure
in the fields. The locusts left their eggs
and in 1919 were more numerous than in
the preceding year, making agriculture
impossible. The settlers again took
refuge at Pembina, and Lord Selkirk i'm
ported 250 bushels of seed grain from
the United States at an expense of 1000
pounds, and this, which was sown in the
year OF 1920, produced bountiful crop
in the autumn of that year. Thus it may
be said that the first wheat that was ever
successfully grown and harvested in the
Red River valley was in the season OF
1920 by the Selkirkers.
The seed wheat was purchased at
Prairie du Chem, Michigan and shipped
on macklnaw boat, which was boat
built sharp at both ends, with narrow
treadway on each side for the men to
walk as they propelled the boat by poles
when possible, but had mast ready for
sail whenever favorable wind offered;
also oars were provided for deep water
rowing. This boat and cargo of wheat,
oats, barley, etc., was taken through by
water the entire distance, going up the
Minnesota river, then crossed the St.
Peters to Big Stone lake. Fortunately
there was water enough on the divide
between Big Stone and Lake Traverse to
float the boat and the larger part of the
cargo, thence INTO the Bois de Sioux and
Red River of the North, down which the
boat was sailed to the Selkirk settlement
near Fort Garry. This seed wheat we
are informed by good authority was
Scotch fife and it is probably the parent
of our farmers No. hard.
In August, 1851, Charles Cavileer ar
rived at Pembina. At that date the Red
River valley, except the Selkirk settle.
ment was bowling waste throughout
its whole length and breadth. Then
there we're only four white men in that
section namely, N. w. Kittson, Joseph
Rolette, George Morrison and Charles
Cavileer. There were 1900 or 1000
half-breeds and Mr.. Cavalier says as he
was born among the Wyandotte Indians
in Ohio and brought up near them, that
the Indians at Pembina were not much of
a curiosity to him, but the halfbreed was
a new phase of the genus, and to this
day, says he, 81 have not fully made up
my mind whether the cross between the
white man and the red man was much of
an improvement, as with but few excep.
tons the Indian blood predominates.'
The Selkirkers generally had large
families and old and young worked to-
gether on the homesteads. While like
other farmers they suffered from drouth,
grasshoppers and frosts, yet they usually
secured good crops, and saved reserve
tor two or three years, an amount of
seed, and sold the surplus to the Hud-
sons Bay Company. Occasionally they
would have poor crops and perhaps be
compelled to use their reserve and even
borrow from the Hudson's Bay Com
pany for seed and food. The company,
whose interest it was to be liberal, as
they depended upon these farmers for
their supplies of wheat for their support,
loaned willingly, but required the pay
ment from the succeeding crop. A gov
ernment never existed, in the opinion of
Mr.. Cavileer that got on better with set
tiers than the much abused Hudson's
Bay Company.
The old settlers told of a grasshopper
scourge at date forgotten by them, that
made clean sweep of every growing
thing, and that grasshoppers were piled
up by the winds and waves four feet deep
on the shores of Lake Manitoba and
Shoal Lake. They stated that after the
grasshoppers had done all the damage
they could, as everything was eaten, the
Catholic clergy got up a procession and
said prayers and on the next day the
hoppers quit hopping, took to their
wings and flew away to the northward
and were seen no more.
The settlers south Of the line had to
depend upon the Selkirk settlement for
their bread and butter. Old Father
Belcourt, Of st. Joseph, near the Pembina
mountain. a Catholic priest, and rustler
in all things for himself first and for his
people next built hull mill at his mis-
sion at St. Joseph and run it for few
years with oxen, and ground what little
wheat the breeds rpised. Having no
bolt to take the bran out ofthe -four, II
had to be run through selves Of eaten
husks and all. The breeds did not FIR.