Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1911-07-07
Cullum kindly invited me to spend
SUNDAYS and rainy days at their home.

Sundays and rainy days at their home
Let me tell you boys, my South Da
kota friends, that If you ever get fal
away from home and ramble around
like l am doing, you will appreciate
such kindness shown to you by strang
| ers.
was soon on the best OF good com.
rade terms with the lineup of the
| threshing crew | had no blanket
roll with me, but they invited me &c
share blankets with them. l told
| them they might call me Jack, this
| being made permissible by my second
initial j, as my given name Thorsten,
| did not seem to slip very easily from
| their tongues. AS they could not very
readily speak my given name, they
would have given ME 4 nickname
| any way had l not forestalled them in
choosing the sobriquet for Them.
The boss or the owner Of the ma
chine was prince to work for.
Every time we moved up to a new
setting and as we were preparing to
climb up on the stacks, his admoni-
| tion smilingly given, would invariab-
| ly be: "Go easy boys. Don't give her
too much" The farmers boarded the
! threshing crew and the meals that
we're served to us were simply swell.
1t was like dining at wedding recep-
tlon every day and eating angel food.
| 7 ctni1 uyifh tho fhrpShinT for
over month or until the boss pulled
home with his rig for the shed. Then
having about Sll5 to the good to swell
the erstwhile lean sides of my pocket
book, l secured a ticket over the r.
l. road to Colorado Springs, Colorado.
On this trip l had the pleasure Of
the company Of a young man whose
home was in eastern Kansas and who
had been working in the neighbor-
hood where we threshed. 1t was his
intention TO accompany me where
ever | went on the rest OF my tour
but after a stay of about two weeks
in Colorado, he received word from
his mother back ia eastern Kansas, Of
the sickness of some member Of the
family and urging him to come home.
was sorry to see him go because we
had become good friends, and | had
been wanting travelling pal ever
since l parted company with my Can
ton friends in New York in the fall of
1909. Passing along the northern
border of western Kansas and also
while going through eastern Colorado
we saw great deal of barren and
bleak looking open desert land.
Nearly all the way through eastern
Colorado the country is bleak and
barren. A gratifying picture was in
store for US when we reached Colora-
do Springs however. When the train
rounded the curve of one Of the foot
hills of the Rockies we came sudden
ly upon the Springs, clean, fresh and
cool, Nesting snugly in the lap of the
foothills with the magnificent dome
of Pixies Peak among other towering
sentinels of the Rockies standing ma
jestically on guard in the background.
Colorado Springs is a very pretty city
to my notion. 1t so clean, cool and
fresh looking and so homelike.
We arrived at Colorado Springs on
the last day of September. Next
morning we started out sight seeing
and after strolling around little we
boarded trolly CAR and went over to
Manitou, which it might be said lies
at the base of Pixies Peak, because it
is from there that Gh:o cog railway be-
gins its ascent Of nine miles to the
sum NIT of the Peak My companion
and l had no intention Of making the
ascent of Pixies Peak that morning
when we started on our ramble or we
would have made an earlier start and
the first thing in the morning. 1t
was about $50 in the morning while
we were aimlessly rambling along the
banks of Ruxton Creek which comes
tumbling down Engleman's Canyon,
that we decided to make the climb.
Pixies Peak Is 14l47 feet above sea
level. Of course we could have rid
den up to the top on the cog-railway
but we scorned that way of making
the ascent for any mountain climbing
that we did we would climb and not
ride.
Upon reaching the half way house,
where meals are served to the hungry
and weary mountain scaler, we par
took of hearty lunch and then. con-
tinued our climb upward and it was
pretty much up too, let me tell you.
When we got about two-thirds of the
way up the air was so rare and light
that with the strenuous exertion Of
climbing it was difficult to breathe.
My heart ripped off its beats with the
rapidity and roar Of an electric boiler
riviting hammer and it seemed that
it was liable at any moment to break
rib or two in my side by its clamor-
GUS pounding.
While making the last quarter lap
to the sum NIT we could only proceed
Is to 100 yards at time, then we
would have to stop to rest and get
our breath. My lungs we're so sore
from breathing the rare and cold air,
that it seemed at times that l could
not take another draught into them