USA > Minnesota > Jackson County > An illustrated history of Jackson County, Minnesota > Part 42
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"By the time night had fairly set in the wind was howling at a terrible rate,
cabin like water through a sieve, nearly putting out what little fire we dared to keep. There we prepared to pass the night as best we might. We prepared our fuel for the night, cooked and ate our supper, and then wrapped onr blankets tightly around us and sat around our diminutive tire watching with sleepless eyes the slow hours as they sped silently into eternity; and it looked as though we might be called to follow them to that silent shore. Sleep was out of the ques- tion, as we had all we could possibly do to keep from freezing-in fact, in all my experiences on the frontier and during three years in the army, I do not think I put in a more disagreeable night. But it finally wore away, as all nights will, De they ever so terrible, and morning came at last. The wind still blew at a terrible rate and the snow was blowing so badly that travel was out of the ques- tion. So we set about improving the con- ditions of our surroundings, expecting that we would be obliged to pass the day and another night where we were. About nine o'clock the wind subsided and we continued our journey. and about noon reached the home of Mr. Sloeum.
"I must admit I was pretty badly used up and did not care to go any farther. The sun reflected from the snow had affected my eyes so that I could scarcely see at all. Here was where we were to have found the traps. there being a blacksmith here who was to have made them, but they we're not ready. The next morning Mr. Dodson went on to Mankato, while I re- mained at Slocum's.
"We had reached Slocum's on Tuesday. and on Thursday evening William Wood and Nathaniel Frost came along with Mr. Wood's two yoke of oxen. another team and a span of horses and a sleigh. Two teamsters accompanied the Springfield
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men. Mr. Wood intended to attempt to get his goods home, for he knew that the people were almost on the verge of starva- ' tion for the want of them. Mr. Wood had attempted this some time before, but had I only succeeded in getting them a mile or two this side of Slocum's, where he had left them for several weeks in a covered sleigh, without any other protection. Mr. Wood desired me to return with him, which I concluded to do.
"So, on Friday morning we all started to make the attempt. Mr. Frost had re- covered from his frozen feet. so that he was able to accompany ns. On reaching Wood's sleigh we divided the load, plac- ing it on three sleighs or sleds, and com- menced our journey. By dint of shoveling snow, beating roads, and other devices, we succeeded in moving the load abont two miles before nightfall. The hired men became disgusted with the undertaking, and, taking their teams, made their way back to Slocum's. Wood. Frost and my- self replaced the load on Wood's sleigh. Then we made our camp by the side of the sleigh and passed a very comfortable night, for Wood had quite a stock of blan- kets for the Indian trade, upon which we drew for bedding. In the morning we also returned to Slocum's, and during the remainder of the day busied ourselves making handsleds and getting ready to re- new the journey on foot.
"The next morning we started out, each dragging a handsled, upon which was bound a hundred pound sack of flour. We also took an axe, a shovel, blankets. some bread and meat, a coffee pot and frying pan. During the fore part of the day we were able to make good progress, but during the afternoon the crust got soft and we could make but little headway, for. although the snow held up the sleds fairly well. it didn't hold us up. We made only about ten miles the first day, and at night
camped on a small creek. a branch of the Watonwan. The next morning we con- tinued our journey, intending to reach ('edar lake ; but a blinding snow storm set in and for a time it looked as though we would not be able to keep our course at all. At one time, 1. being somewhat fa- tigued, lagged a little behind the others and they were soon out of sight, and the wind blew so hard it covered their tracks almost as soon as made. Still. although I could neither see them nor their tracks, I supposed I was following after them till Mr. Frost came to me and told me that I was going in the wrong direction. Hle, looking with the storm, had been able to see farther than I. looking against it, and had looked back and discovered me traveling quite out of my course. Mr. Wood then remained stationary and Mr. Frost came after me : then, by Mr. Wood's hallooing occasionally, we were able to find him again. When once more together we proceeded on our way. Wood piloting us. as it seemed to me, by instinct as I could see nothing by which to keep our course. But then, he had been over the route several times and was probably able to recognize an occasional landmark.
"We finally reached Cedar lake, where we made our camp in the south side of a grove. We got there some time before nightfall and had ample time to pre- pare for the night. We cut down quite a large tree and then shoveled the snow away on one side for some fifteen feet back from the log and made a good fire against the log. With plenty to eat and plenty of blankets to keep us warm, we were for once quite comfortable.
"The next day we started for the Des Moines, but had not gone over a mile when we found that we could not keep on on account of the snow flying so thick. As we could still see the timber we had left, we retraced our steps and soon reoccupied
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the camp we had se recently left. We prairie with the speed of the wind, leap- remained until the next morning. when, ing, bounding, rushing on their fiery way. By day the air would be filled with smoke and cinders and the atmosphere would be- come hazy: at night the heavens would be illumined by the blaze, and the bright lines of the raging fires could be seen, often miles in length. After the passing. the prairie would be left a blackened waste. the weather being fair. wo resumed our journey. As the crust was hard during the carly part of the day, we made good progress for some time, but before noon it got soft, and we were unable to pro- reed with our heavily laden sleds, so we left them and made our way toward the timber. We left the sleds about four miles from the settlement and must have been two hours in making the four miles. the snow being so soft and deep that it was almost impossible to make any prog- ress in wading through it. Before reach- ing the limber Mr. Wood left Frost and myself and went by the way of Church's house, as he had some mail for them. Frost and I went north of the grove and crossed the river opposite Woods' store. where we arrived about two o'clock p. m. on the 19th of March."
THE PRAIRIE FIRES.
Those who lived in Jackson county dur- ing the years of its carly settlement, and up into the eighties, will never forget the alarm caused by the approach of a prairie fire. Many of the present generation are skeptical of the dangers to life and property from this source. Others can but marvel at the conditions that made a prai- rie fire dangerous or even possible. But conditions in the early days differed great- ly from those of the present day. Then there were vast stretches of sparsely set- tled and unbroken prairie. covered with a dense growth of rank grass, which in the low places often grew to a great height. In the fall the grass died and formed a thick covering of highly in- flammable material, which "burned like a prairie fire" when it became ignited.
The few scattered settlers were in the greatest danger when one of these fires approached. Many settlers lost their whole belonging>. and but few escaped without los> from this source. "Firebreaks," made by plowing furrows around the buildings or hay stacks, sometimes served as a check to the flames, but with a strong head wind the flames often jumped hundreds of feet. and in such cases the breaks were no pro- tection. The favorite method of fighting fire was by "back-tiring." When one of the terrors of the prairie was seen ap- proaching with the wind. a fire would be set near the property to be saved. This. small at first, could be controlled and whipped out on the leeward side. leaving the flames to slowly eat their way wind- ward to meet the oncoming lurid destroy- er. Sometimes a space of sufficient width would thus be burned over in time to pro- vent the destruction. In case of a big con- tlagration fire fighting companies would be organized to go out and contend with the flames, using dampened sacks, quilts or whatever was handy, to whip ont the blaze.
Prairie fires continued a menace to the people of Jackson county many years, or until the county had become quite thickly settled and subdued. Seldom did an an- tuin pass in the early days without one or more disastrous conflagration in some part of the county. Several times the vil- lages were threatened with destruction,
When a heavy wind accompanied one of these conflagrations the effect was thril- ling. The flames would race over the and companies had to be formed to go out
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and fight the approaching fires. One such occasion was on October 4, 1872, when a fierce prairie fire approached Jackson from the north. Fire fighters overcame the flames before any serious damage was done, however.
Early in October, 1873, was a mammoth prairie fire which raged four days. There had been an immense growth of grass dur- ing the summer and the fires burned fiercely. The air was full of falling cin- ders and smoke for days. Although the fire was the largest that had been known for years and the wind was high, there was, fortunately, little loss to crops and buildings. The editor of the Jackson Re- public, October 11, 18:3, described the magnificence of the scene:
"The fire was continually coming near- er, until on Wednesday evening it rushed over the hill a mile or so south of town and ended its forward course in the ravine and skirting roads leading into town. On go- ing out a mile or two from the. village at a late hour we were favored, upon reaching the brow of the bluffs overlooking the prai- rie, with one of the most magnificent sights ever beheld. There before us lay the prai- rie as far as the eye could scan, a perfect sea of fire, with only here and there a dark spot where the flames were checked by the protected premises of some settler, around which might be seen moving, like some wierd specters before the blaze, the settler and his family as they watched and fought the fire."
A bad fire raged in LaCrosse township on January 16, 1876, that came near wip- ing out the village of Heron Lake. It was started two or three miles west of the vil- lage, and, driven on by a terrific wind. read rapidly and in a few minutes as- ,med alarming proportions. The great- x'i excitement prevailed and many narrow scapes were reported. In the village anx- woas groups watched the progress of the
fire, which, fortunately, was overcome be- fore it reached the village.
October, 1879, will be remembered as the date of the most disastrous prairie fires that ever visited the county, so far as property loss is concerned. Fires raged in all parts of the county for two weeks and baffled the efforts of the settlers to over- come them. They swooped down upon what was supposed to be well protected property, which, under ordinary circum- stances, would have kept back the flames, but a high and continued south wind prov- ed too powerful a fan and large losses re- sulted.
In Petersburg township, on the 5th and ¿th, the settlers were out in full force, and by almost superhuman efforts only were they able to save their homes. As it was. E. T. Mather lost 17 tons of hay and Mr. Russell a grove of young timber. In Wis- consin Herman Miller and John Gerlach lost 26 tons of hay. In Enterprise James Taylor lost 25 tons of hay and Darius Benjamin 30 tons. The grove of young trees belonging to Dr. Brownell was also burned. The fires raged fiercely in Kim- ball. They burned a stable belonging to Charles Erickson and a number of hogs belonging to the same farmer. Charles Kendall lost several small pigs in the same fire. A stable and hay belonging to John Peterson were burned, as well as 15 tons of hay belonging to Mr. Schoewe and 'ser- eral tons belonging to R. H. Wade.
In Minneota Mr. Gilfillan lost several stacks of hay. In Hunter Fred Bedient lost all his property except the house. A. D. Palmer and H. K. Rue each had hay destroyed. The village of Lakefield, then just founded, was threatened with destruc- tion, but the citizens turned out and set back-fires and saved the town. Charles Malchow, of Heron Lake township, lost :00 bushels of oats, 120 bushels of wheat, some corn and a hen house, In West Her-
.
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HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
on Lake Evan Peterson lost his stable, from the dreaded prairie fire by the pio- grain and hay.
Fred Schuldt, of Rost. Jost 300 bushels of cats, 15 bushels of wheat. 100 bushels of barley and his granary and his reaper. In Sious Valley the loss was large and came with crushing effect on several par- ties. A flock of 94 sheep owned by Frank Benoit and others was burned to death while penned in a yard. The flames came with such fury that they could not be checked. The hay, grain and stable of Mr. Benoit were also burned. Jareb Pal- mer lost all his hay and a young grove. Charles H1. Greer lost everything except his house. In Ewington Sorem Iverson lost his stable and all his hay.
Four human lives were lost in one of the ever-dreaded prairie fires which visited Sioux Valley township on November 2, 1888. Mrs. Mollie O'Connor and her ba- by and her sister, Mrs. Katie Porter, wore three of the victims. They were visiting at the home of F. E. Murphy when they saw the fire and decided to hurry home. When about a half mile on their way the wind suddenly changed and drove the fire down upon them. They were unable to escape and were burned to death on the prairie.
Miss Julia O'Connor, who was teaching school in the Sawyer district. saw the fire approaching, and. realizing the danger. took her pupils out onto a nearby piece of plowed ground. where she kept them until the danger was past. Henry Ray was fighting fire near the school house. Notic- ing the flames approaching some unpro- tected stacks, he mounted a horse and set out to hack-fire. The nexi that was seen of him was when he was coming toward the party of school children with every particle of clothing except his boots burned off. Ile was horribly burned and died the novi day.
Such were the dangers encountered
neers of the county. With the later set- dement came the breaking up of the prai- rie, and the dangers were a thing of the past.
THE EDITOR ARRIVES. (By George C. Chambertin.)'
I remained at Blue Earth City a week or two and then set out for my new home. Jackson, about the last of August, 1866. At that time the only public conveyance into this country was the Blue Earth City and Spirit Lake weekly or semi-weekly stage, by way of East Chain, Center Chain. Tenhassen and Emmet. to Spirit Lake. 1 was switched off at Emmet. where a weekly line commenced for Jackson. The next day was Thursday, the day for the Jackson stage. It not only rained. but it poured-it was before it had forgotten how to rain in this country. I looked anxiously for that stage. when -- imagine my disappointment-Frank Bailey, then a mere boy, rode up with the mail on horseback. That settled it for me for an- other week unless I could procure private conveyance, and horse teams were then oui of the question.
The postmaster, a Mr. Mattson. owned a pair of steers and some wagon wheels and 1 negotiated with him to take me io Jackson, sixteen miles distant. The next morning he took two boards and put on those wheels, placed my trunk thereon, and I mounted that for my seat. Mr. Mattson sat on the boards in front with a gad eight or ten feet long extended over his shoulder. He must have out that gad in Emmet timber, and if it had remained until the present time I will warrant there would have been two words of wood in that tree. As poor as I am today, I would give ten dollars for a picture of that rig
'In an address delivered before the old sol - tlers association at a plenie in Petersburg town- ship September 5, 1889.
SOME COUNTRY CHURCHES.
ROST
EAST BELMONT
PET
DELAFIELD
CHRISTIANIA
WEST BELMONT
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDAT KIML
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HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
as we set out on our trip through the tall prairie grass. Had any of you, twenty- three years ago last Saturday | September 1. 1866], been out here on some high point in this beautiful lown of Peters- burg you would have seen that little pro- cession moving majestically along through the tall grass, your humble servant perch- ed upon that trunk, fighting flying ants with both hands and emitting them by the mouthful.
We passed Mr. Barber's, just across the lowa line, and that was the last house un- til we reached Mr. Belknap's, a mile or two this side [southeast ] of Mr. Thomas'. Through the entire town of Petersburg, where now are fine farms with large wheat and corn fields on every hand, elegant residences and magnificent groves, there was not a single settler on the east side of the river. On the west side resided Rev. Peter Baker, Mr. Price, Mr. Cornish and perhaps one or two oth- ers. Farther up lived Mr. Samuel Hall, then the Camfields, and then Mr. [Jared] Palmer. This ineluded at that time about all the settlers between the state line and Jackson.
ADVENTURE IN A BLIZZARD.
A volume could be filled with the stor- ies of adventures in the terrible prairie winter storms in Jackson county alone. Many experiences are on record and hun- dreds more are retained in the memory of those who participated in them. Many people have lost their lives in blizzards in Jackson county, and many others escaped only because of pluck, endurance and hick. Of the many stories told I shall here re- produce only one or two, illustrative of the many.
south of Jackson. The head of the family and the ohler children were away from home working, and before the blizzard struck, the mother went to one of the neighbors, a mile away. The story con- tinues :
"Soon after four o'clock we began to do our evening chores. We had only be- gun when the wind suddenly turned into the northwest and began to blow a per- fect gale. Allie and I were told to hasten and bring up the cattle that were feeding in the cornstalks a short distance away. Before we had reached the field they seem- ed to have become conscious of danger, too, and. raising their heads and sniffing the air a moment, they stampeded for the stable, bellowing and snorting, running past us, each one trying to be the first under shelter. Before we reached the house again the wind was blowing fur- iously and the cold increasing. The horses and cattle were now driven to their places and tied as quickly as possible: then we began to carry hay from the hay stack to fill the hay pen in the stable, for now we knew that a blizzard was upon us and we would need hay enough to feed the cattle for two or three days. Father us- ually kept the hay pen filled with hay in case of a storm, but for some reason he had neglected to fill it since the last storm, and it was with great difficulty and con- siderable suffering that we got it again filled.
"When the chores were all done and everything made as comfortable as possi- ble out doors, we went to the house and gathered around the warm fire, while Dell, the oldest, began to prepare the evening meal. This she left every few minutes to go to the window to peer out into the storm for father and mother, whom she hoped a merciful Providence would guide home through the dreadful storm. Sup-
The following account of an adventure in one of the storms of the early seventies is told by a lady who was at the time a child and lived with the family six miles per was at last ready and we gathered
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about the table. every eve to the vacant places, and each heart filled with addi- tional fear. The meal was scarcely tast- od, except by Allie and I, and we were not as yet oll enough to fully realize the fear- ful circumstances. After supper was over the lamp was set in the window, so that father or mother or some of our neigh- bors, whom we knew to be away from home, might see it and thus find their way to the house; then we sat down by the fire to listen.
"Twice the wind forced open the door. and we were compelled to prop it with heavy sticks of cordwood to keep it shut. Twice we thought some one was trying to force an entrance through the door, and with white and terrified faces my brother and Dell unbarred it. to tind nothing but the storm and the night-and. oh, what a night ! The air was so completely filled with snow. and it was so fearfully cold.
"One who has never been in a blizzard can have but the slightest conception of how dreadful they are. Before midnight we had burned all the wood that was cut and we were compelled to cut up the dry cordwood that had been saved for this purpose. This, together with the saw and "horse.' had been brought in when we did the chores. The work of converting this into stove-wood fell to my brother. It is many years since then and he died many years ago, but how plainly I can see him a> he looked that night, his dark blue eyes filled with anxiety and his delicate face tilled with fatigue and excitement.
"It is only natural that our imagina- tions should become peopled with fearful fancies on such a night ; these chased away all thought of sleep until after mid- night, and then. too tired and sleepy to sit in my chair. I was soon fast asleep on the floor. Dell discovered me, and I was awakened and told to go upstairs with Allie, whereupon I set up a wail of re-
monstrance, pleading to be allowed to sleep in mother's bed down stairs. As she was no longer expected home that night. 1 was finally allowed to do as 1 wished, and Allie and I were soon nesi- ling in mother's feather hed, while brother and Dell kept the fire burning and the hight in the window all night.
"Morning came at last. and our first thoughts were of father and mother, who might be lying stiff and cold beneath the drifts of snow like the one piled up against our window. The wind had abat- ed somewhat during the night, and we could catch glimpses of the trees that stood in front of the house a few feet away. As soon as we had breakfast my brother and Dell said they would try to find their way to the stable and feed the stock. So the door, which was drifted partly to the top. was opened and they climbed out over the drift into the storm. I was filled with a feeling of dread when I saw them go. for I feared they would never find their way back to the house; but my fears were needless, for they soon re- turned and said that the snow was drifted over the stable so they could not get in. as the shovel was inside. One of us soon thought of the fire shovel. It seemed an endless undertaking to shovel through a huge drift with a fire shovel. but the drift was found to be only a couple of fert through at the top of the door, and they decided to gain an entrance there instead of at the bottom. This was done by pushing the boards, which were stood up on end to form a door. to either side, after the snow had been shoveled away. The snow. piled over and above the straw stable, made it doubly warm. and the cat- tle were lying down. chewing their cuds. seemingly perfectly unconscious of the storm that raged without. Their man- gers wo filled with hay. Then we left them until three o'clock, when the fire
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shovel was again brought into use, the door shoveled out a second time, and the stock cared for for the night.
"It was ten o'clock the next day when we heard some one at the door, and father walked in. His clothing was blown full of snow, his beard, eyebrows and eyelashes filled with snow, and his face and some of his fingers frozen. When he entered he asked for mother, and when told where she was he wanted to go at once to see if she were still there or had started for home and been lost in the storm. But we persuaded him to first sit down and warm himself and tell us where he had been during the night. He then told us how the storm had overtaken him when but one-half a mile from the timber and how he had kept on, hoping to reach home, un- til the storm became so dense he could not see his oxen nor tell where he was. Knowing he was lost, he unhitched his tean, and, taking hold of the near one's bow, let them go where they would, trust- ing to the animals' instinct to lead him to shelter. On and on they went, blinded with snow, phuinging through drifts that were growing larger each minute-yet father clung to the bow with his frozen fingers, for he knew it would be death to let go even for a moment. They had trav- eled thus for an hour or so when the oxen suddenly stopped, and, feeling about him, father found That they had stopped on the sheltered side of a straw stack. Rub- bing some of the ice and snow out of his eyes, father looked around for buildings ; but it was impossible to see more than a few feet away, except when there was a full in the storm. It was during one of these that he thought he could discern the outline of a building a short distance away. During a longer lull he saw it more plainly, and, running toward it, he reached it in safety before the storm again shut it from sight. The storm gradually
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