Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-08-14
Women
Tell Stories
OF Early Days

SEs~BM&HXAlftestlng tales of. pioneer exper-
& SlNY9%ne IN North Dakota in the sos
features of entertainment at
&SsD e4hArtng given recently in the
sMe e gMs4a q Mrs. Han Georgesen, Mag
H. s!sannssssuHAfMsWhich the elderly women of
44eI were entertained in compli-
Miss Beatrice tombstone and
xS n n Working of Grand Forks.
ssSSss$g married in Grand Forks in
a. {Ss when licenses were not
d 3D. &&EHJohn Mclean, known as ma.
~ ~ M ReMh," said, in giving ! a brief
kSGeae1I$$sof her experiences since her
1sstr4aval IN the, Dakotas in the year
s4 Mclean was born at Strait
Ss3M4ssA ss Ontario, in 1866, and came to
Or with her parents in 1882,
TX 2 that year moving to the fam
tSSlx$sshoinestead, nine miles north of
sssNia The journey from Crookston
NNhE0sSsAAheir farm home took three days.
adRwhen they arrived at their desti-
IaAttonS they lived in a little shack on
the prairie with the ground for a
q and with the walls unprotected.
sA0urfng the first rain storm they were
saaEesoo!napelled to sit up during the night,
s II 3 the rain came through the ceiling,
MNS1etting the bed clothing. +
In the fall Of 1882 the family re-
to Crookston, where Mr.. Mon
skoe, Mrs. McLean's father, had seed
RSSed 80 acres Of wheat. When this
Sascrop was harvested Mrs. Mclean,
ssS1aensa young girl OF Is years. loaded
I'LL h wheat from the entire 80 acres.
ssMEhhey; returned again in the winter to
fasHheir homestead near Niagara, and
that winter melted snow to
gysaAfovtde drinking water for their stock,
ilESs A9hich consisted of three horses and
80 cows. Mrs. Mclean was married
M2hortly afterward.
Mrs. Phillips.
kMG4SLoneliness marked many of the
days spent on our homestead three
AaxNnlilles from Niagara, when first we
dame to North Dakota in 1883, and
eSASh addition, tea OF Indians added to
discomfort of those days." Mrs.
sSME0oan Phillips, Oldest guest, said in the
h photographed survey Of her pio-
@Aeer experiences. Mrs. Phillips was
Porn near Ithaca, N. T., in 1910. The
Hs8fail between Fort Totten and the Red
Make reservations ran directly past the
Nome of Mr.. and Mrs. Phillips, and it
AEas the habit OF the Indians who trav-
Med from n reservation to the 9TH
ha9rsto carry visibly the scalps of per-
hons whom they had killed, this to in
SIStcate the degree of their prowess.
The squaws often stopped for milk,
M 1rs. Phillips said. and because she
8f3SSsared to open the. doors. she served
MEM by way Of the window. Telling of
AsNthe3 incident which frightened her
most, Mrs. Phillips related her en-
ssSalGounter with six halfbreeds who came
40 her house when she was there
GlOne. They made q series Of omln-
!Ny1s signs, but before they took any
Rotion a buggy was heard coming on
The road in their direction. When the
halfbreeds turned to see who was ap-
preaching, Mrs. Phillips signalled for
the newcomer to hurry to her, and
bis arrival sent the halfbreeds on
who had4driven up was an old settler,
now familiar to many in that neigh
borhood, a Mr.. Wiltse. During their
stay on the farm, Mrs. Phillips said
that they were hailed out three times,
SAkhe last time being just three days
before they had planned to begin cut
ting the grain. and the result Was a
total loss. Bad billiards., too, were
among the hardships experienced by
Mr.. and Mrs. Phillips during their
demonstrating career
Mrs. Kirk.
a. Mrs. Kirk came to America inn1861
and a few days after landing was
married in Newark, N. j. In 1882 she
and her husband came to North Da-
kota. They landed at Larimore. then
the railroad terminus, and lived for
two weeks in a tent, unable to go far
Their on account of the muddy roads
resultant from the heavy SHOWS. The
first crop OF corn and potatoes was
exceptional, Mrs. Kirk stated, and she
cites the fact that they raised one
pumpkin which weighed 81 pounds.
During the second summer of their
residence there the railroad extended
to Niagara, n Mrs. Kirk baked
bread for the laborers on the road in
order that the work of building would
not be hindered. . ..a
5a Mrs. Mason.
Mrs. Ellen Mason was born in Vas
selboro, Maine, in 1912, and in 1882