Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1909-01-01
Out here we carry

rock river water. Out here we carry
artesian liquid.
My grandpa, Fred Gerber, can tell
you of an incident when a settler car
ried a 50 pound sack Of flour on his
shoulder, the entire distance from
Vermillion to a point not far from
Worthing or Canton. So far l haven't
undertaken,a strenuous task..like that
but I have walked IL miles without
stopping for refreshments. / may
add, that In the observance OF my du-
ties as an American citizen / walked
10 miles to cast my ballot. This was
when the voting precincts were not
organized on the Brule reservation.
1t was on this journey I was attacked
by a "Bossy" COW. l crossed a pas
ture and when inside and 40 rods from
nothing, my attention was drawn
toward the left. I could see the dirt
flying in the air. Looked like a big
%shoveling machine at work, such as
they use on the Panama canal. Then
the roaring commenced. l tried to
convince myself it was Lincoln Coun-
ty blowing her whistles to welcome
Uncle Sans big navy as they drop
ped anchor In. the Sioux, near Canton
It wouldn't work. The sins of the
past penetrated my conscience. l re-
GREETED owing the LEADER for sub
scription. Suddenly all was quiet
and, here she came, resembling an
African giuck-a-ma-gluok. l had a
perfect understanding Of the situation.
The dog was the only creature l de-
pended on for assistance. l yelled,
s'sic EN- Collie, sic en-" but 1 guess
the brute tho't, what was he to gain
In saving the life of another and loos-
ing his own, and went XII ying toward
the fence. My legs worked nicely I'M
til the pressure In the air chamber
begun to lower. I distanced the
Bossy the first 20 rods, but now she
seemed to be gaining. 1 felt like the
Irishman, $50 scared me heart was In
mouth" The speed was dne and
both of us doing u best, the dog
leading for the wire. The next ten
rods was a ane exhibition Of COW and
man. No Marathon runner ever went
down the pike In better shape than
yours truly. The COW had big horns
and We didn't, and horns work we'll
when q fellows climbing a fence.
Ten rods more were covered In this
way when a one eyed squint told me
that the enemy was gaining slowly.
There was something like 10 rods
more to cover and army legs never
weaken in the face Of danger and at
this moment. l saw the dog as he
ducked under the fence. This was the
only time In my life, that I wished Twas
dog. It Is impossible to describe
how I got over or thru the wire fence
and as / lay on the ground Rrasping
Tor breath, discovered ] was unhurt.
The happiest thought of my life came
TO me. / was to be awarded a con-
x~ressiOnal medal. "For glorious con-
duct, and the last man down at Bull
GOciaLconditions here are possible.
once Q vaSU prairie Is now
with houses and structures
On nearly every quarter section,
the appearance of an older
community. Most people In
new country are very sociable.
They manifest the spirit Of benevo-
Ience. There is no display of vanity,
40 classes. II you are poor In mater
|al goods you are not looked upon as a
peasant as In England. II you are
wealthy your sir name is not pratixed
with Lord. When humanity Guilt
Yates self denial, the world is made
School houses are numerous and
The youth given an opportunity to &C.
luire q common school education. A
Ichool house is located one-half mile
from here and q pupils are enrolled.
The scholars of this school do not
nave to travel over two and a half
miles.
The COW boy of the wild west is q
Of the past. He now de-
his energy to usefulness
md assists US in converting the In
liam washta good land ,Efor q more
noble purpose.
In the matter Of getting mall and
ordinary supplies, we are fairly we'll
lxed. We are not far from q post Of
Ice sud stores Mcclure Is four miles
rest, Cedar Forks is I miles north,
Ammons Is s miles north. east. Mail
3 delivered at the above offices by a
tar routs service from Pierre to
oresho, q distance Of ~ miles, giving
IL : tri-weekly service.
Our fuel and lumber Is purchased
Il Presho or TT. Pierre. The line
ask 1915 per ton for soft
oal and the farmers Elevator Co.
ell It for % per ton from the car.
rhs Elevator company has been try-i