Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1915-04-21
Letter from Old Settler.
Alvarado, Mimi, April 9, 1915.

Tc Warren Sheaf:
As said in the letter to the Sheaf
for last week, that would write a
letter about the early pioneer days,
will write down as close as / can re-
member. Might mention again, that
/ came to Marshall County in May,
1879, and have continued to live here
ever since. I used to take my mail
at Farley at that time, which is War
rem now and is Ia miles from here.
A hard job to walk that far for the
mail and to wade in water in the
summer, and snow in the winter We
did not get daily mail then as we do
now, just once month or sometimes
twice month, I also took my mail
at Grand Forks, N. D. afterwards. It
could happen that letters from Nor
way addressed to us were returned
on account of not getting the mail
owing to the long distance to walk
However, made many trip by
walking to Warren and Grand Forks.
/ remember the first time town of
Oak Park was to draw it's town mon
ey. I was town treasurer at that
time, the first treasurer in town of
Oak Park, and held the office for
eleven years. [ had to walk to town
and as rule the water reached half
way up to my knees, and the weather
was SO hot and mosquitoes as numer-
Gus as the stars. By the time I
was at home again I felt I had
enough Of it, all tired out and for this
trip had sixty-one cents.
We were not safe then at any time
in the summer for the prairie fire, al
though the water was plentiful in
most Of the sloughs, and the grass so
tall that just tt e horns of the oxen
could be seen when driven through
the grass. Imagine when the fire
got into this. Everything would
burn up in short while and many
one barely succeeded saving their
houses and haystacks from the fire.
Once I came from Warren with a
load Of lumber. When going back
home I learned that the fire was out
again, I had the oxen to haul with,
when got down to lower Snake riv-
er where Alvarado is now, I saw it
was impossible for me to go across
the river and through the burning
woods, as trees all set on fire fell
across the road burning. 1 thought
In WGaId not be safe for my lumber.
to go ahead, SO I decided to leave my
load out on the prairie till after the
fire was over, and another trip had to
be made before [ could get the lun-
Der home. Oxen are not very swift
to travel, but a person had to be pa
tient in the olden days.
Women folks used to go to Ladies'
Aid in those days as they do now, but
there was not the horse to hitch to
the buggy or the automobile to go in,
but it was an OK, and he tried to do
as he pleased, as he would not go the
road he should, but the one he chose,
it was to get out and turn him
around to the right direction again,
and at last they would reach their
destina ton
We can look back upon the bygone
days to see the difference between
the winters we have had in the 10Th
century, to what we have had in the
18th, the early days we came up here
The snowfall was usually heavy all
winter, with drifts as high as the
houses. The first thing after a snow
storm or blizzard, which lasted for
two or three days, was to look around
to find out where the doors into the
, stables. would be. The shovels had
to be on hand then. Of course the
snow shoveling would last pretty
near all forenoon before all the doors,
the well and the haystack were dug
out and even the wood pile as a rule.
The cattle were driven to Snake river
for watering, 1 1-2 miles from here
and sometimes I hauled water for
the stock, had Z miles to the woods
and used to cut down most of the
trees all alone before I got help and
when I had the trees down they
would disappear in the deep snow,
then had to dig them up, hitch the
team on to the logs and get as near
the sleigh as possible and load up.
The day was pretty near gone when
[ was at home again.
This was in the winter time too,
when I was going to walk to Grand
Forks to get the doctor, I planned on
going to Manville, N. D., to catch the
train and then to Grand Forks, but
when I got there the train had left
one hour before I got there, so then
u started out walking and walked the
whole way in the deep snow. I felt
very much sick after this trip.
Will stop for this time as my let
ter might be too long but will write
some more about the olden days later
on. Adolf Eden.
EnTED FROM EArTNC