Lögberg-Heimskringla - 17.12.1993, Síða 2

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2 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • FöstLjidagur 17. desember 1993
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From the Memoirs of Hoigí Leonard Oisen
edited by Stofanta Morrts
In the days of the early
pioneers, prairie and
brush fires did a lot of
damage to the land. As early
as 1896 a devastating firc
roared in from the south,
pushed on by a southerly
wind of gaie forcc. This was at
a time when so many of the
men were out working in the
harvest fields and at other jobs
to earn a little extra cash to
carry on through thc long cold
winter. At ncarly all farms
womcn wcre alone at home
with their children. Haying
had been complcted, and only
the vcgctablcs had to bc
pickcd, which thc houscwifc
could wcll do with thc assis-
tancc of thc childrcn.
It was about noon Scpt-
cmbcr 20, whcn a cloud of
smokc was sccn in thc south.
Thc fire was then about whcre
Lakc Franccs now is. The soil
was so dry that all thc top soil
burncd right down to thc hard
clay. Forcsts with sizcablc
trccs, fit for homc building,
disappcarcd complctcly.
As thc firc ncarcd thc sct-
tlcmcnt, in mid aftcrnoon, thc
wind changcd to thc south-
cast, thus turning thc head
point of thc firc to the west
settlcment and dying out on a
burnt ovcr scction in thc
Seamo district. Towards
evening it clouded up and
some rain fell and rclcavcd thc
hazard of furthcr dcstruction.
Thc burned land rcmaincd
almost as a desert for ncarly a
half century with a gradual
growth of small brush and
grass covering up thc hard
clay and stones.
The spring of 1907 was a
very dry spring. Thcrc had
been very little snow that
previous wintcr. By April 14,
it was hot and I was help-
ing our neighbour Mundi
Stefanson saw his next win-
ter’s wood supply. As we
were about to brcak off for
lunch, smoke was seen and
appeared to be within a mile
or two away. Without stop-
. ping to eat, a team of horscs
were hitched up to a democ-
rat, and the gang drovc south
and found that thc fire was
approaching at a rapid pace.
Back the men came and put
somc barrels onto thc rig and
filled them with water from
the well, thrcw in some
cmpty grain bags and drove
south to meet thc oncoming
prairie menace.
For 14 hours thcy fought
thc fire, putting onc out whilc
another onc would break out
thcrc. Lunch was brought by
thc women and bitcs wcrc
catcn bctwccn spclls. No onc
could rccognizc thc mcn
whcn cvcning camc. Thcir
hair was singcd, thcir skin was
burncd and soot blackcncd.
Thcy werc tircd, but thcy man-
agcd to subdue thc flames
from doing any rcal major
damagc.
Thcsc two incidcnts givc a
fair picturc of thc hazards
cndurcd by thc pionccrs.
Thcrc wcrc no gradcd roads or
plowcd ficlds to stop the
flamcs. All was opcn country,
with bush and wide prairics in
betwccn.
Many fires wcrc started by
carly spring burning of
thc old grass, if done whilc
thc winter’s moisture was still
in thc ground, did not harm
thc roots, but cleared away
thc old bottom to give bctter
grazing for the livestock and
clcaner supply of grass for the
hay crop. Spring fires were
also started by the Metis who
burned away the stubble so
that the snake root (Seneca
Root) which was much
sought after for medicinal
purpose and brought a good
price, either dried or in the
green state. Early in June the
plants would shoot up little
white flowcrs that were hard
to find in heavy grass, hence
the idea of burning away thc
dead grass. These fires oftcn
got out off hand and would
spread into settled lands
doing much damage to the
grass roots, thus interfering
with thc summer’s growth of
grass.
Pioneer fires lead to pio-
necr farming and milking of
cows. In the early days the
cows were milked outside in a
corral. The barns were of log
construction with sod or hay
roofs which would leak when
it rained and were not fit for
milking purposes. It was bet-
ter to bare the inconvenience
of fly pest and mucky corrals
during and after rains.
Many ludicrous incidents
would happen at some of
thcse milking sessions. First
smudges had to bc made, this
was to set fire to a hcap of
brushwood and wet hay to
give off a heavy cloud of
smoke. This was done to scare
thc flies away to quiet the
cows down so that they would
stand still during the milking
process. To brush off the flies
the cows would use their tails,
swing their heads around to
lick off the flies or use their
fect to brush them off their
bcllics, and in so doing, often
inadvertcntly kick the milker’s
pail and upset the milker and
spill the milk over the person
sprawlcd on the ground.
John, a man who was work-
ing for Fred,
gavc a hand
to milk one
moming. It had
rained during
thc night and
the herd of
cows had wan-
dered further
than usual and
milking did not
start until well
after nine. The
sun was out
good and hot,
butthecowcor-
ral was one
mass of muck.
Smudges were
made to tiy and
pacify the cows
as the Bulldog
flies were very
bad. Milking
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proceeded in a normal man-
ner. There was one cow left
to milk. She was restless and
would not stand still. John
said, “I’ll milk her.” He sat
down on his three legged
stool and was about half fin-
ished when the cow kicked,
knocking John off balance.
John fell backward into a
puddle of gooey slime and
three quarters of a pail of
milk splashed over him. He
was a sight when he stood up
with the milk mixed with the
slime dripping down his face.
Then he got mad and started
to chase the cow. Every time
he raised the stool to hit the
cow he slipped and had
another spill. Finally
he calmed down and
walked away. He
would never sit down
to milk a cow after
that.
As the farmers pro-
gressed, new bams
were built and milking
was done in more con-
venient circumstances.
Much later milking
machines came into
use. The cows were
bred to become better
milkers, as pure bred
stock was purchased
to improve the herds.
Holsteins were the
main type to become
the best milk produc-
ers, while Shorthorns
and later more partic-
ularly Herfords, became the
best beef type of animal.
Fifty years ago a good
three year old steer
would fetch a price of $20. to
$25. In the 1970s a two year
old Herford would bring
about $250 to $300 in the
stockyards.
Oxen and horses that
were the mainstay of the
farmers have now become a
relic of the past, while trac-
tors and other types of
machinery has taken full
place in farm power, but
sadly fires still haunt farmers,
even though fire fighting has
been greatly modernized.
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