North Dakota Prairie Raises Questions

Across the Fence #365

As we traveled mile after mile after mile after mile, across the flatlands of North Dakota, on our way back from Høstfest in Minot, this old Norwegian-American did some thinking and reflecting about the lives of our ancestors. I couldn’t help but wonder how the early settlers survived the experience, and wondered how we would fare if we found ourselves in their place.

In many parts, the land is so flat you can see the horizon in every direction, without even a small hill to obscure your view. A few patches of trees dot the landscape, but they’re often few and far between, especially when you’re used to the hills and valleys of Wisconsin’s Driftless Area.

Many Scandinavians headed west from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa, to find land on which to homestead. When I looked out at the wide-open landscape, I couldn’t help but wonder what their life was like and how they survived. It must have been a very isolated existence. Farms would have been few and far between. How did they get the supplies they needed in those early days? Even today it’s often a long journey between towns.

Those first settlers couldn’t have farmed too much land, because they didn’t have the use of tractors and large combines, like farmers do today. Now the land is filled with large fields, with few fences in sight. It would be hard to find a place where we could talk across the fence.

Winters must have been brutal. I know how the winds howl across Coon Prairie where we live. There’s nothing to slow down the wind and drifting snow in the winter. I can’t even imagine what winters must have been like for those early settlers in their log and sod houses on the wide-open plains? When winter arrived in all its fury, they must have been isolated until spring.

Many thoughts went through my mind as I looked out our bus windows and wondered about their lives: There were no telephones, radios or televisions. They had no electricity and all the modern appliances and conveniences we’re used to. Even wood to cook with must have been scarce. How did they go about getting water to drink, take baths, and wash clothes? It’s not that easy to drill a well, and from what I could see, streams and rivers were not as plentiful as in Vernon County where I live. Perhaps the early settlers tried to locate their farms near sources of water.

What did they do in the case of a medical emergency or accident? I imagine many people died or simply disappeared and vanished off the face of the earth. In genealogy, you often hear about an individual or family who headed west to seek their fortune and were never heard from again. I suspect some died from illness and accidents. Perhaps some froze or starved to death during the long winters.

At that time, in the mid-to-late 1800’s, Native Americans still occupied the territory. I can’t imagine them being very happy about all the white people taking over their homeland and hunting grounds. As more settlers arrived, they were forced off their land and life as they and their ancestors had known it for thousands of years, would never be the same. Dealing with unhappy Native Americans must have been a part of their life on the prairie.

Fast forward to today. How many of us could do what our ancestor’s generations did? I suspect very few of us would survive. We are too dependent on others and outside sources to provide the majority of the things we need to function on a daily basis. We panic if the electricity is disrupted for even a short time. It knocks out all the appliances that we depend on for survival and entertainment. I know all too well, how people complain if their TV has occasional blocking. Our ancestors certainly had bigger things to worry about.

What would we do if we found ourselves on a piece of land in an isolated area, with no cell phone, no computers, no television or radio, no stoves, refrigerators, washing machines, and no car? Our only possessions were a team of horses or oxen, and some bare necessities that we could fit into a wagon. How many people would know how to build a simple shelter and even survive one winter? That gives me great appreciation and admiration for those generations who did survive. They were tough and resourceful.

I think of my ancestors who pioneered small farms in Vernon County in the 1850’s. They must have been a tough bunch of Norwegians. Knowing how dependent I’ve become on modern conveniences, I wonder how long I’d survive if I suddenly found myself in the conditions they lived through?

Looking out across the North Dakota countryside, posed a lot of questions in my mind regarding the lives of our ancestors, whether they lived on Coon Prairie, or on the immense Dakota prairies. We live in the present with all our modern conveniences, but every once in a while, it’s good to remember the past and keep an appreciation for the people who lived during those times.

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