The Sidney herald., 1956-09-13

worked, / soon got the nickname o
THE Galloper," later changed Il
"The Galloping Swede," which hai
stuck with me all my life.
At Young's I heard about polite.
for the first time. He was strong
Republican, and / listened with rap
interest, eager to learn about the
workings of government. / believe
am a Republican today out of respect
for him. / didn't know the difference
then, but / certainly do now.
One day Mr.. Young said, Hugo
you're too good to be working for
someone else. You have the markings
of a successful rancher. Why don't
you file on that homestead land, just
south of here on the Montana yo-
ming borderT
When the land opened in the
spring of 1915, / filed on my 300
acre homestead, which is still in my
possession and very dear to me be-
cause it was the first bit of America
l owned. / often remark that all !
could raise were r~attlesnakes and
sagebrush, which is true, but / will
pay taxes on that land until ! die.
According to law, I had to estab-
lish residence on my homestead
within six months, so / borrowed
horses from a neighbor and went to
Powell, Wyoming to get enough lum-
Der to build a little cabin. / bought
secondhand furniture and utensils.
Before / had time to install doors
and windows, / took a job stringing
pipe between Frannie and Elk Basin,
Wyoming. We had some storms that
spring. / think one reason I'm heal
thy today is because / used to have
to shake the snow off my blankets
before / could get out of bed In
the mornings.
Teams on Credit
That spring, two neighbors sold
me two teams of horses on credit.
Friends gave me a harrow, plow, and
oats and barley for the horses. /
returned to my homestead more
proud and happy than l have ever
been with anything I've had. When
l sent pictures of myself and the
teams back to Sweden, everyone was
impressed with my great fortune in
America. In four years / had be-
come a landowner and possessed two
teamsl | used the horses for my farm
work and also to haul freight to Elk
Basin.
America entered World War I in
1917. AS soon as I could get my
affairs in order, / went to Billings
and enlisted in the Army, although
/ had not been here long enough to
become a citizen. I'm often asked
why / did. The reason was that /
had been here long enough to realize
and appreciate what a great country
I had found. / had decided this
would be my home as long as | was
alive. If America was good enough
for me to enjoy, it was surely good
enough for me to support and pro-
tect as best / could.
AS it turned out, joining the Army
was a lucky break for me. ! was
overseas and there, in Paris,
| met and married Matilda Langane,
who was in charge of a French
American Red Cross group and had
been one of Premier Georges Glenn
enceau's secretaries.
After the war, on July Is, 1919,
Matilda and l returned to the U. S.,
landing at Hoboken, N. j. AS soon
as I was ~processed out of the Army,
we took the $50 bonus and headed
West. We had just enough money
for the trip.
How disappointed Matilda must
nave been when we arrived at the
homestead! During my absence,
someone had stolen the house. Yes
Everything was gone except a dugout
,arn I'd made for the horses, a els
ern, the sagebrush, and the rattle
makes. / was glad I'd told her the
ruth about my place before we
we're married.