The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-12-23
ONu)Y' SCBR|STMASD DAY
A TALE OF THE TIME WHEN MIN
NESOTA WAS ONLY A WILL
DERNESS
DINNER THAT WAS DELAYED
1t Was Next Day Before the Dainties
for the Feast Arrived 10 Cheer
the Frontier House.
wife.
DINNER THAT WAS DELAYED

Nearly four score years have I seen
come and go. Each has had rs Christ
mas, and each has been replete with its
joys and fond memories of the times
when my limbs were less palsied and my
mead less abundant in its covering of
white.
DID l say fond memories? They are
all fond memories, and though age with
ers, their Vividness is just as acute as
when was a youth, full with that vigor
which comes with the budding of man
hood, the stepping-stone to life's battles
Which happily an all-Wise Providence for
our own good has not seen fit to acquatnt
us with until we face them.
Tell you a story Yes my boy, nv life
is full of them, and as l look out over
this sea of civilization and fine houses
which in my memory was a wilderness
nlled with the pleasures of association
with the houndless forests and it's etching
of babbling brooks and far-f1owing riv-
ers, my mind conjures the most exciting
event in all my life.
Sixty years ago, long time but its
Viv1dness is not at all dulled by the pass
ing years. 1t was Christmas, teo, the day
you are now celebrating, sharp and cold,
one of those days that in my mind only
seems associated with the PAST in point OF
bitterness and numbing cold, but yet in
Vigorat1ng to an extent that put to shame
IIlS WSdlIISI u the present DAY. Inc IOT-
est was then our home, little clearing In
the boundless sea of tall pines our play
ground, while for sustinence the rod and
gun and crude filling of the soil fur
nished us with a daily substantial menu.
frightened on Christmas and; State occa
sions by a visit to the nearest trading
post for the little delicacies that our sur
roundings refused to furnish. 1t was the
securing of these delacacies for that
ChriSfn1C H9U iyf-y
brings to me the memory of the most
exciting period in all my history. and
which even now makes me shudder as
1 recount the happenings.
The strudy pioneer was then abroad in
the land, but while a potent factor in
this era OF civilization that you, my
children, now enjoy, his work then could
only be viewed in the light of a few
sparse settlements and clearlngs This
was my home on that Christmas day |
speak Of forty miles from the nearest
trading post and a score of miles distant
from those whom we might call neigh
bors.
The morrow was the anniversary of the
coming of the NaZarene, and to replen-
ish the larder for the feast that mother
always prepared, ], as the oldest of the
family, was intruSted with the important
mission of visiting the nearest trading
post and purchasing the necessary arti-
Giles, principal among which was the in
gradients for the Christmas pudding.
which mother always made. A team of
horses, an old yet substantial sled and
my fathers faithful rife, the latter for
protection and incidentally for the pur
pose of adding to our larder, formed nv
travelling outfit, while bundle of blan-
kets and furs for protection from the
cold completed my equipment
started out with light heart, my
mind buoyed up with the Importance Of
a mission that my father was ONLY wont
to undertake, and no thought of dancer
except to make glad on my return those
who in the roomy cabin awaited my COM
ing Forty miles Is a long distance to
cover, with a road of glistening white
but / undertook it with a will drawing
closer my coverings of fur and blankets
and giving little heed to the yelping of
wolves, which were heard as the shad-
ows of evening drew near.
Wolves then were a natural product Of
the vast Northwest, and their proWlings
with an occasional sortie on the live
stock of the scattered settlers, lent a
natural fear, born of experience, which
stories Of personal encounter told at the
hreside only served to excite With the
light of the day to keep me company I
gave little heed to their presence, but as
the shadows grew apace and my team
continued its unbroken trot over the
smooth snow their baying and short
wicked yelps sounded closer, causing me
to unsling my rifle and free my hands
and feet from their coverings of fur and
blankets which a thoughtful mother had
provided.
knew the habits of the bloodthirsty
beasts, and was aware that, while ar
rant towards, they would attack if hum
CRY, and with this thought haunting my
brain, gave the whip to the horses and
speeded on. Two hours late, 1 figured.
should see me at my destination and
ready for the return trip. The yelp Of
the wolves growing fainter, my fears
were Gained. and as the horses sped
along the whitened trail ] dozed and
thought of the morrow and the dinner
that awaited my return