The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1924-05-09

prairie; cattle and horses died of
starvation and the Canadian Indians
were literally starved out and died
of exposure and cold. Worse than
that was the after winter which fol-
lowed along in April and May. The
settlers had begun coming into Gull
bertson early in the winter and as
soon as the first signs of spring came
they began moving out onto their
claims.
GAS the amount of correspondence
increased during the winter, my wife
and l began seriously to think of this
new colony and decided that since
we had started it we should finish it
and accordingly the next spring we
came out. We found about 200 set
tiers snowbound in Culbertson when
we arrived in March. Prices were ex-
orbitant and accommodations were
few. However, we managed to sur
vive until spring really came and
then the movement to the prairie
really began. Hauling lumber and
supplies and building lasted all sum-
mer with new settlers coming all the
time. l have counted as many as So
teams coming and going in one day.
time to break the prairie and only
small garden plots were titled. But
the next spring the farmers settled
down to farm indeed and that fall
we harvested our first crop. The fall
lasted until nearly Christmas time.
which was indeed a blessing to tho
settlers.
Cup until the spring of 1909 the
that year the Homestead Act" was
passed which gave every settler the
right to 800 acres-so we were en-
riched by our surveys being held up.
Good crops, and hard work, made
the colony progress remarkably the
first ten years. Modern farm homes
and buildings everywhere dotted the
prairie; good roads were made and
everyone prospered.
I'm 1917 came drought which
asted for three years. At the time
If the outbreak of the war the farm
RS were feeling the strain of poor
rops. In every Liberty loan drive
We tried to do our part and made it
rule to double every quota In
921 we had another old-time crop
the stand was perfect and everyone
oped for a bumper yield. On the
welfth day of July came the most
errific hail storm ever seen in this
art of Montana: the crops were
wept from the fields so clearly that
ne doubted whether or not there
ad ever been anything planted on
ne bare, beaten ground. This put
lany of the settlers back cruelty for
lost of us were just catching up
'om our other setbacks.
II called mass meeting and we
ecided to stick it out and do the
est we could A relief committee
as organized and we were helped
Y the Danish church and others all
yer the United States with a relief
Ind of about $1,000. This was used
the way we saw most fit.
"Our schools, churches and gym
asiums have been kept up by the
ttlers through it all in order to
ing the younger generation up to
good citizens and Christians
Mr.. Madsen was born in Denmark
1861; he came to America in 1878
ling directly to Waterloo, Iowa.
He has always had passion for
Uniting and poetry and has been a
urnalist all his life; he writes poet
=, short stories, articles, and has
~ Stfcldl DOOhS. MOSL
his writing has been done in Dam
/, writing for the Danish papers,
The Pioneer, Chicago
sten, Ugeblodet, and the monthly
agazine, Scandinavia.
A collection of his paintings is on
'play in Grandview College, Des
Zines, Iowa. His speciality is the
hitting of portraits from photos of
,neers, writer's, and heroes who
We passed away He also does land
Ipe painting.
Before coming to Montana, Mr..
.dsen owned a large market farm
Clinton, Ia, and prior to that he
light in the Danish High schools in
chigan and Wisconsin.
Since 1908 he has been United
ties land commissioner. He has
yer passed up an opportunity to
p his colony and has aided them
become the flourishing settlement
t it is.