Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-05-02
TRAVEL IN NORTH DAKOTAM .@..
THE PIONEER DAYS AND EARLY Il
INHABITANTS OF GRANDFORKS

came. the little town assumed on im-
.portance second only TO much older
towns on the Minnesota frontier, or
the ancient town OF Pembina on the
business\was very heavy that season.
and as There was a. good stage OF
water in the river, 1.-THE steamers In
ternational and Selkirk~ made regular
trips until cold: weather set in. The
latter part of the season.. however,
the water was too low to run above
Goose Rapids, hence that point was
the place of trans-shipment of river
freight, .. g.
A Trip Home.
About the first Of February 1872.
the freighting dropped off materially,
and there was but little to do at our
incident to the comfort Of the stage
stock and drivers. I had long con-
templated q visit to my old home at
st. Charles Minnesota, n az l had
money enough to make the trip l
decided to go, and leave Vinegar-Bit-
tiers Smith TO do the outside work.
The stage from the north arrived
about four o'clock in the afternoon,
and as Usual every seal was occupied,
the driver, one of whom was Mrs.
Doc. Kelly, our neighbor at kelly's
Point Station. Apparently there was
no place for me. I examined the
trunk rack in the rear, and s%peculated
on the strength of the bows support
ing the canvas top. but none of these
perches seemed .practicab bic. Finally.
the driver suggested that possibly room
might be found in the booth under his
seat, where the mail bags were stored.
I Immediately acted. on his suggestion
and crowded myself under the seat in
q space not much larger than a BUSH
eli basket. where ] lay doubled up like
Ia jack-knife for two hours and Il half.
For the first hour my cramped posi-
ton was bourn with the best grace
possible, and I tried to think that, I
was having q bully good time; but
finally we struck a piece of road that
raj full of chuck-holes and every time
the stage lurched forward Mrs. Kel]y's
heels would bang me in the face. and
caused much discomfort. I could not
move nor do anything to protect my
self. My position was o delicate.
II l placed my hands on her feet she
might misconstrue my motive. She
was not aware that she was tourturing
me. and even a gentle push of her
pedals might be indignantly resented;
l had no alternative but to submit and
take my punishment, which ! did with
the f%ortitude Of a saint. When the
stage arrived at Grand Forks l was
extricated. with the assistance of the
driver. from my uncomfortable quart
ers; but several days elapsed before
my muscles resumed their normal
elasticity, and the kinks in my anat-
bmy were ironed out.
Travel in the Valley.
During the night a blizzard set in
from the northwest and the tempera-
ture lowered to the thirties. Nearly
al the passengers refused to leave the
Stewart House the next morning, fear
ing the stage might lose its way on
the prairie and fail to reach Morgan's
station at Goose River. Pat Kelly.
driver, decided. to make the attempt
| with n team and an open sleigh, and
I volunteered to accompany him. We
pulled out at daylight. and as the wind
was in u pack the road was kept
without much trouble, although we
could not see much distance ahead. 1t
was singing cold, and in order to be
comfortable we trotted behind the
sleigh most"of the time. allowing the
team to jog along as fast as possible.
By 1 o'clock we reached Howard
Morgan'S at Goose River, where a
good dinner was disposed Of INC we
got thoroughly warm. At 2 o'clock,
with a fresh team driven by Three
fingered MIKE, we SldTlSu LOT 1lAl
River station kept by John and Mary
Griffin. This run was made in aver
age time, as the storm had subsidized
somewhat and the beaten. track was
more d~iscernable. After q change Of
teams and drivers. the last lap of the
days run was begun. Lame Jake was
the driver, and he was a most unique
character. He was very lame from
! some hip trouble. but his lameness
did not impair his, efficiency as a
driver. He was jolly and companion
able when not pestered by other
drivers who seemed to take pleasure
in teasing him. When wrathy his
temper was uncomfortable. n the
string Of bl~ood-curdling oaths at his
command was something horrible to
listen to. On one occasion when leav-
ing the Georgetown station he stopped
his team on the river to water them.
Passing the lines to Express Messen-
ger Sheppard. who sat OF the box
with him, Jake endeavored to get
! down from his seat, cut hat unhandy
leg of his caused a mis-step and quite
suddenly he found himself dangling
from the brakes n utterly helpless
to disengage himself, having fallen in
such a way'that the brake handle slip
ped under the surcingle which encirc-
led his body. n holding him in a
vice like grip. Jake struggled ener-
g~etically to free himself, every Sec
ond growing more wrathy. "Shep''
endeavored to assist him. and some Of