The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1909-09-17
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"a 1~~SAASAgt ANs ASy 0SpL. ltd Inc TO
rum: The Mouse river loop loks 81
fine with its golden glow on the shock
: that we must even share the glory b,
: telling you.
: Here and there are straw mows tina
= win be shrines for the cattle shortly
: Il the fire fiend spares tnem
. And the hunter is abroad in the land
A little maid has just shown m,
some hne potatoes, which reminds mt
OF the beautiful gardens all around
MY neighbors are storing up navy
beans white and toothsome There ID
great patch OF the broad fiat bear
In another garden, and my pupils dis
puted as to what they were when the
beans were In bloom, for they had
never seen them before
Cucumbers and tomatoes are gather
ed In the washtub. MY neighbot, wild
ow Of soldier who fell in a skirmisf
near Chattanooga, in so. sets ripe to-
matoes from her garden, before me at
supper. Her children and grandchil-
idren rise up to call her blessed and
they cherish the last letter received
from the field, In which the brave sol :
der says If he falls, 1t win be with
his face TO the foe.
And the corn! Did you ask for corn T?
! Wen, we get our seed from the Al. c.,
and Il Is acclimated, so every patch
In the school gardens has a fringe Of
corn, and the pupils are planning q
local corn contest in October.
The corn patches at home are worth
seeing.
They are little like the corn / saw
grown at Burlington. the first county
seat of Ward county, by that fine old
| soldier, ]. L. Cotton, in 1890. Mr.. and
Mrs. Cotton were very proud Of ii, for
they had come to Mouse River, where
1t receives the De Lac in 1882. and
they had been making strenuous eff
forts to subdue the wilderness and
make 1t blossom like the rose.
But that corn was a poor relatin to
the present sturdy stalks which loom
away abve my head and carry ears
that Illinois cornbelt men praise.
In those days men thought they must
nave their corn patches in the open
coulees where you could get glimpses
OF the river-they never dreamed of
breaking UP the prairie.
And in the Mouse River loop herds
OF cattle great and small, roamed at
w during the summer, till fall. then
owners came riding from their pretty
homes In the woods by the river, all
the way from Portal In the northwest
OF Ward, round to Westhope in the
northwest of Bottineau, only there
were no towns then, except Towner
the gateway city, and Minot the magic
corner. The annual roundup was
worth seeing, and hearing, too. Town
er on a Saturday night saw great
herds OF cattle brought in by cowboys.
whose riding was worth seeing. and
there was little sleep for the towns
men, while steers were being thrust
through the stockyards and persuade
TO enter the cars that would take them
to South st. Paul or Chicago for the
Monday markets.
Ihen men hurried uptown for a mid
night lunch and listened as they ate,
Ior the sound of the whistle telling
the engine had come from Minot and
they hurried with fur coat and cap
down TO the caboose, glad If it were
long enough to let a fellow stretcn him
self out while he snatched a few hours
or sleep. And wonderful stories were
told on the long hours of Sunday, as
tnev slowly crept through Minnesota
woods and past the lakes. for poker
s>.-aleS @eTe lie rule and there were |
few members OF Gideon's band on the |
road then. Occasionally q. mans bluff |
was called, and ne was cleaned out
glad to come back as he could instead |
OF going on to Ohio or elsewhere to |
see the mother whose teachings had |
been SO long forgotten.
But others visited the stores of the |
big cities, and the theatres too. re- |
freshing themselves and bringing home
supplies for the ensuing year. as well
as Draws for the bonnie" For these
ranch homes often held a nice little
library good magazines and good
weekly papers piano. or more often
chamber organ. where the family
gathered for q song, as they often
said.
Indeed, and truly, life was often )
better thing among such people with |,
their busy, but not usually overworked
days, and their long evenings. than II
was among their old friends In the
cities, where Interruptions make effort
thin, and they were all so busy with I.
little things that there was no time IL ,
look at the big things, far less think
them over quietly, and grow.
But times change, and we change
with them.
Ihe rancher has gone from Mouse
River. The trapper whom r, d. bal
antyne pictured SO pleasantly in his
hudson Bay Territory talks has
vanished. The Indian who Used -
come down here In choke cherry time
Ind camp In Poplar grove. settins IN
totem pole In front OF one tent at
ne end OF q long double row OF tents. Z
las ceased to come.
And here Ia the famous loon fal1ad |
With homes; every quarter In this
ownship has 9 house on 1t. And there
IRE ftve little white school1auaisea Within | )
light OF the hill crest, where at
Jne OF these, at east. liz aiming at j
COUNTRY high school where the strona
eatuYes will be nature study ana ar-
'iculture, manual training ana aornss-
ic economy.
the pupils u this school had each :
garden plot 10x9 feet of well tilled1
and, ana they have raised corn. Dol
atoes, tomatoes, citrpns, turnips. car
OTIS, onions, peas. beans. sweet ysaas
aollyhocks peoples and cucumber vines
'yer the windows.
Insy have also had small beds OF al
AHA several kinds of. clover ana mil
e. the whole sheltered from strong
Westerly ana northwesterfy winds by
sreat banks of sunfiowers.
es. they had manual training In
lo0rs, the training of eye hard ana I
'raan IN CO. ordination. Indeed thew
ead all the better FOR the change oil