Page:History of Stearns County, Minnesota; volume 1.pdf/9

 PREFACE.

While the lives of men and women who undertake the work of opening up a new country for the peaceful uses of husbandry may contain nothing that is thrilling and be devoid of romance, yet they contain lessons of fortitude and self-denial which are fruitful for those who come after them and profit by their early endeavors. It is no small sacrifice to leave homes of comfort in well-settled localities to live the lives of the pioneer on the far frontier, where comparative isolation is added to the hardships and discomforts due to a lack of even the mere necessities of life, all for the hope of what the future may have in store as a recompense. The changes in conditions have been so great during the years which have passed since Stearns county knew only the tread of the Indian that it is difficult to realize what a settler's life in those earlier days really meant. It can be only appreciably understood when the facts of pioneers settlement are presented from the experience of those who took part in it. Unfortunately too often the gathering of these experiences is postponed to too late a date, until those who were first on the ground have passed away, their lips closed forever. Such is the case with the present undertaking. Could the work have been done ten or even half a dozen years earlier, the results would have been much more satisfactory. During this interval many of the early settlers have gone ot their last rest—to mention only Capt. J. E. West, H. C. Waite, J. L. Wilson, Judge L. W. Collins, John Schaefer and Casper Casper—men who had been the real pioneers in the county, having an intimate personal knowledge of the very beginning of things, and were themselves the makers of history.

The aim of this work has been to gather facts, as full and as reliable in their nature as possible, for permanent preservation. To this end the public records have been carefully examined, the files of local papers searched for matters of interest, a wide correspondence carried on and individual interviews sought where general information or personal experiences could be obtained. I have made free use of such books and publications as contained suitable material for use in these pages, including the History of the Upper Mississippi Valley, Minnesota in Three Centuries, Flandrau's History of Minnesota, Folson's Fifty Years in the Northwest, Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota, Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars, the Minnesota Historical Society's Collections, and the Papers and Proceeding of the Old Settlers' Association of Stearns and adjoining counties.

Acknowledgments are due to many persons who have rendered valuable assistance and to whom I feel indebted for much of whatever may be of interest in his History. I will first name Mr. Arthur M. Gorman, secretary to the Hon. C. A. Lindbergh, member of congress from the Sixth district, to iii