Page:History of Goodhue County, Minnesota.djvu/238

 186 HISTORY OF GOODHUE COUNTY these pioneers raised a crop of wheat. Neither of them, however, became permanent residents of the township. In the fall of 1854 Jens Ottun made a claim and built a sod hut on section 33, where he commenced breaking the land in May, 1855. On May 27 there arrived A. K. Finseth, K. K. Finseth, H. K. Finseth and Ole J. Bakke. The Finseths purchased Mr. Ottun 's claim and that gentleman returned to Wanamingo, where he had pre- viously made a claim. Mr. Bakke staked out a homestead on section 33 and Mrs. Bakke soon afterward joined him, she being doubtless the first white woman settler in the township. That she had her share of pioneer discomforts, not to say alarms, is shown by a story of the early clays that is still told in the town- ship. It seems that in spite of the removal of the Indians, many red men were prowling through that portion of the county, and the squaws were particularly troublesome. One day while Mrs. Bakke had gone to draw a pail of water an Indian squaw entered her cabin, and evidently concluding thai the white baby would make a valuable addition to her family, snatched Mrs. Bakke's infant and started to run. Mrs. Bakke, upon her return. gave a cry of alarm and hastened into the woods after the fleeing squaw. The babj seriously impeded the progress of the red woman, who was more accustomed to carrying babies on her back than in her arms, and finally, in fright at the pursuit, she dropped the infanl and continued her flight. Mrs. Bakke recov- ered her child and no harm was done except for the fright that the poor mother had fell at this attempted pioneer kidnaping. In the month of June. 1855, Ole O. Houset set lied on section 23. Halvor Ennerson Vraalstad on section 27. and Thorbjorn Ennersoh Vraalstad on section 35. In the same year Ole 0. Xaeset and Erik Anderson settled on section 9, NTels Mikkelson Dalsbotten on section 10. and Mikkel Johnson on section 15. Some of these pioneers erected cabins and roofed them over, others erected walls but did not take time to finish the roofs, some lived in their covered immigrant wagons, others had even less shelter, the main object being to raise a crop during the summer months, leaving the question of permanent and com- fortable abode until the autumn time, when the harvest would be garnered in and there would be more time for home building. The supply of provisions which the settlers had brought with them was soon gone, and from time to time one of the colony was delegated to go to Red AYing or Hastings to procure the necessities of life. This journey of over thirty miles was long and tedious, and even dangerous, especially in winter, and even after trading points were reached the prices were so high as to be almost prohibitive. During the summer of 1855 many new claims were staked out. A few were occupied in the fall, but