Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1915-11-18

in Emmons county the first
year,; big, mealy boiled potatoes;
good bread, and "spiced roll"
(And, by the way, what has be-
come of the spiced roll. We
used to eat most of our pork in
that form in those days, and it
was excellent. But it is many a
year since have seen any of it,
The account of our first view
of Billsport has been published
before; but it will bear repetition.
A few miles from town we met
John Worst, and he told us that
when we got to certain place
(Tom Kelly's homestead) we
could see Williamsport. After
awhile we got there. About a
mile away were six implanted
buildings. | said to the little
shoemaker, There's Williams
port" He gazed at the object of
our journey and asked, where
the ellis the bloody town."
Well, to shorten a long story, l
resolved to try it, although con-
ditions didn't seem very encour-
aging. So, after stopping in
Williamsport a day or so, / re-
turned to Bismarck. The shoe
maker would have none of it, and
he lit out" the next morning af-
ter our arrival and never heard
of him afterward.
The next thing was to move.
Part OF our furniture had been
sold. What was left was loaded
on a wagon. Your mother and
her cousin, Lucy English, who
had come with us from Chicago,
in poor condition, and who re-
manned -four years and went
home the picture of health, were
perched on bed-springs and mat
tress away up on top of the big
load. Then came the measly
COW led by a head-strap and rope.
She was so deliberate in her
movements that she required as
sistance from the rear. So the
rope by which she was led was
run through the ring in the rod
OF the end-gate, and, as there was
no knot in the end of the rope,
when she stopped to lie down
yours truly, who brought up the
rear of the procession and held
the end of the rope, dropped it,
thus preventing her neck from
being "discombobulated."
1t seemed that everybody with
whom had become acquainted
in Emmons county on my first
trip had taken a notion to drive
to Bismarck that day. We met
EN- every little while. A short
distance out we met Bill Yeater.
He wasn't your Uncle Bill" then,
but quite spruce young chap in
his early thirties. Of course he
smiled vigorously and made a
few remarks" regarding "us" and
the COW. There was much dust,
and pretty nearly all of it was in
the pedestrians nose, eyes, ears
and mouth. Bossy got as far as
Cordon's farm, and resolved that
she'd take nary another step that
day. So we left her there about
a month. The green grass came
on rapidly, and when we took her
home she was if fine shape, as
she was young. The farmers
daughter had told your mother
that the COW would give us new
milk in less than a month; but |
say it more in sorrow than in
anger that thirteen long months
passed ere we pumped the ltaceal
fluid from that bovine.
But this article is growing un-
consciously long, and I'll have to
shorten it. Probably no other
newspaper in the state did more
moving than the Record. When
Sparks came in as Land Commits
sioner under President Cleveland
he was very strict with the set
tiers, and he became very unpop-
ular; so much so that he resigned.
My timber-claim and pre-emption
were in Buchanan Valley. /
could think up no way of making
legal residence on the latter save
by taking the paper there. There
was a postohice within a hun
dred yards of our shack on the
presumption. The paper was
published there from October,
1885, to May, 1886. The law
then required but six months
residence on a presumption; after
ward the time was extended to
fourteen months, and later the
presumption and tirnber-claim
privileges were abolished.
For several years the Record
was printed during the winter on
my homestead, about a mile and
three quarters northeast of Will
Transport. | will never forget
the first winter we were there.
When cold weather came we
found that our log house was not
properly built and that we'd
freeze if we tried to live in it.