In old pioneer days isolation was commonplace and here is a little anecdote to illustrate. As I read yesterday in the huge volume of Morton County’s Prairie Roots, I related to the section of WPA stories. A family of settlers during their first year experienced crop failure due to a hailstorm. The husband went east to the Red River Valley to work in the harvest, and during his absence the wife stayed on with their children. One day the dog started barking like never before and when she opened the door, there sat two Indian men on horseback. Their motions indicated they wanted a drink of water. Terrified, she gave them a drink and they rode off. As other Indians came by from time to time, she became somewhat used to having them as neighbors. Her children were always barefoot outside, and one day some Indian visitors must have felt sorry for them. They wanted to take the kids to their nearby camp and get them fitted for moccasins. She had heard too many tragic stories and rumors and refused to let her children go. The story ended well when the husband returned with enough money in his pocket to buy five cows.
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