Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-06-05

lap OF their pilgrimage for religious
freedom. g 't'd A.. Truly ~ motley crowd.
81 ~ 4 ~ n94~-n1 ma. 80 ~

49, tAOA ~ W ~
freedom. Truly, q motley crowd. y
Gasuter oF His Crate.
this cargo. and over these
pas.Dengers.tp urssr Elton was weilnieh
supreme. Upon his ship, one hun
dred sandsthirty feet long, thirty feet
wide and three feet deep. he was
chief clerk, chief counsellor, chief,
magistrate. AZ the boat slipped
swiftly along the winding river, he
WA q busy nan His was the hercu-
lean task Of making out invoices, tab
.nlating every piece of cargo aboard.
and lists, giving the names, ages and
occupations Of all the passengers. It
was not a rapid or a simple task. AT
fAfteen miles an hour, the ship all TOD
speedily covered the leagues between
her starting point and the boundary.
Woe to the putser II his papers were
not ready when the customs officers
appear AtSthe border. Often he toiled
continuously, twenty-four hours day
for two days at a time. But James
Elton faltered in doing his
duty: though once he humorously re-
on his lists, that he often>shad to guess
at II.
Yet wtthal, the voyage was pleas
antly interesting. They passed Grand
Forks, infantile It. IL true. but tho
metropolis Of the county. Leaving 1t
behind, onward they went. stopping
again only at Goose River and at
PeMbina- At. the former place, Ell
ton was always a busy man. There
the water was low-apparently dan
gerously- lows-and sometimes the
v1ftably scommot1on ensued. Death,
destruction and starvation fitted as
CHASTITY possibilities before the excit-
cd minds OF the passengers: Then
did the; puf8er broadcast his messages
of comfort, assuring the distracted
and fearful passengers that all would
soon be well-and always it was 80.
Relatively important as were Goose
River and Pembina. they were really
small and unattractive. Even Fl
Gary, the northern terminus, was de-
pressing to n who anticipated a re-
spectacle city. There was nothing of
the kind there only the garrisoned
fortidcations, a few struggling build
ings and many piles and docks
when the 'Dacotah.' southwark
bound, fepoesed the boundary, Purser
Elton breathed a sigh of relief. The
major portion of his work was over.
Necessarily the rate Of progress was
slower, up the river than down. and
h entire crew. he especially, re-
joiced in; rest. AS he scanned the
sores during these times of leisure.
herds OF antelope often appeared on
the prairies: Far in the distance no
could sometimes see the hazy out
lines of the Turtle mountains. In
their depths still dwelt the great bison
safe assyet from tho destroying touch
| Of civilization .s,P leaGant scenes, pleass
ant houfAaspleasant 3thoughts! Yes,
JarrseS- Elton Wa1 q contented man son
the upstream yoyageT
& Bitter Rivalry.
sAssyears went by, Interesting e4a
preiencesS&he22ei htm.@.AOne momen-
tous summer. 4 rival company appear
ed on the lrFtses,s Then indeed life be-
soGsns falf sois3ntsfcst. Composition
grew keen.er I'D keen.z.. uIfA tssse
Initiated dayga rival craft attempted
ftp arnsthe a'Dacotah.' AbUrtive as, 1t
was. this .~diagraceful prouedure mark
ed the. beginning Of the end. Elton
afterw1rd, grimly but happily .describ-
ed the rivals fate: q NO, they didn't
last long: one summer drove them
out Of business Once the company
tried a side-wheel craft, which Though
It promised much, proved to be a dis
NAL failure. Often Purser Elton was
custodian sof thousands of dollars of
cash or property. Occasionally he
transported bales of invaluable fur,
1.-The precious fruit Of the north. Yet
never vas he robbed. He laid no
claim toSAbeing lucky; he simply said
that the people were very honest
During the long cold winters his