The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1920-04-09
N. ]. DOWNING AN EXAMPLE
OF BRAINS and BACKBONE
Without Hands or Feet "Cheer
Up" Evangelist Insists He Is
Not a Cripple.
STORY OF THE MAN WHO
WOULD NOT GIVE UP
Succeeds Despite Handleaps That
Make 6eosars Of Most Men, Over
coming Difficulty, Trial, Hard
ships and All Obstacles.
BY D. r. Miller

BY D. r. Miller
Difficulty. trial, hardship, obstacles
are all necessary factors in the evolu.
ton Of great soul. A triumph over
these obstacles In life's pathway fur.
nishes the theme of our soul stirring
literature.
II you want to meet a man, who
has been through them all and more.
handicaps that make beggars of most
men. yet who has succeeded, let me
introduce you to MI. Bowling of
RenVills County, NO, 1 mean of Ameri.
Ca
M. ]. Bowling was born In Hunting.
ton. Massachusetts fifty-four years
ago. Like many Of Americas great
men, his parents were poor. He was
left motherless at ten. He went west
with his father to st. Louis, thence
to Chicago. where the boy attended
school. sold papers and learned the
mysteries Of the great city. Wishing
to become a cowboy and kill Indians,
little Mike at the age Of twelve decid-
ed to shift for himself and left for
Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota,
and for two years worked as farm
hand
In the summer of 1880, he collect
ed large herd of cattle to herd dur
ing the season. During this summer,
with no company but his pony, he had
time to reflect, learn the ways of ma
ture and to plan his future He was
going to be stockman, get, an educa-
ton and have home.
The season of herding over, Mike
went to Candy to collect his pay. Can
by was the trading center of the farm
ers whose cattle he herded, Decem-
Der 4th, 1880, the boy was to go out
In the country six miles away to COM
plete his business. Be 1t remembered
that 1880 was known throughout the
Northwest as the big Snow Winter"
He rode out in the country with two
farmers In a lumber wagon and met
the unheralded. blizzard When it
reached it's height, the men could not
see their horses. The team could not
keep the road in racing across a
plowed field, the boy was jolted out
The rafting wagon and seventy mile
gale drowned his cries. He was alone
In the storm and knew that some
time that night his life. was likely to
end. Houses were scarce and he
walked for hours. At last stumbling
over a wood pile, he knew a house was
near. He threw sticks in all direc-
tons, hoping by sound to locate the
buildings. Failing In this, he moved
in circle, hoping again to locate
shelter. In his search, he came upon
strawstack. Its inviting shelter
could not be denied. So he burrowed
in In this stack he spent the rest of
The night. fighting the slumber that
toretells approaching death.
The storm over, the morning sun
sent its dazzling light into the small
mouth Of his burrow. The boy Mike
crawled out but found he could not
stand. He crawled to the farm house
less than hundred rods away and on
the door sill, he found a stick of wood.
He had missed his mark by inches.
This six inches was the margin be-
tween safety and disaster. Kind and
willing hands took him In and the
agonzing process of thawing out be-
gan
Again a storm and three days
elapsed before a doctor could be had
and when he arrived, he sadly shook
his head. With little hope the doctor
placed poor Mike on the kitchen table.
All went well as long as the chloro-
form lasted, then the boy had
to bear the completion Of the ampu-
tation without its benefits. When the
trimming was over, Mike was minus
both legs below the knees, the left
arm below the elbow, the greater part
of his thumb and right hand.
With these handicaps, poor Mike was
to make his way through life DIR.
J. w. Andrews OF Mankato, still liv-
ing, says this was his greatest piece
OF surgery.
The homeless Mike became q county
charge and was sent to Granite Falls
Here he met kind and loving folk
and was taken into the home of Ole
Lende, as one Of the family and here
he also attended school, walking on
his knees assisted by cane held in
his crippled right hand. Mike, though
loving Mrs. Lende as his second moth
er, did not care to longer be an obiAct
of charity, so he made a proposition
to the commissioners. II they would
get him some artificial limbs, and send
him two terms to Carleton college, he
would relieve them from further re-
sponsibility. His plea was taken up
by newly arrived Norwegian who
had both great faith and heart This
new arrival In America little dreamed
that this homeless, 1egless, handless
boy was to be his future son-in-law,
but such was the case, for In 1895 he
was married to Miss Jennie Borde-
witch.
Two hard. yet productive terms at
Carleton, then seven years teacher,
he decided to go out as business
man He sold life Insurance, owned
and edited newspaper; became Sec
rotary Of the National Republican Lea
gue during the Mckinley campaign;