This
past Monday night, a ground blizzard suddenly developed. The wind roared across the prairie sending
all loose snow airborne, reducing visibility to a few precious feet. I was home, but my husband was at a meeting and it took him a long time to make it through the elements until he was arrived safely. During storms of this nature, my mind
invariably turns to the pioneers and how they survived the cold and snowy
winters of northern Iowa. I never cease
to admire their adventurous spirits and survival skills.
I
thought it might be a goodtime to share a good winter story I stumbled upon
while doing research for another project.
In 1901 William Ingham presented a paper at the Old Settlers’ Meeting in
Bancroft. In the following excerpt from
that presentation, Ingham describes an elk hunting trip in the dead of
winter. Ingham is accompanied on this
adventure by Thos. C. Coville (Covel) and William S. Campbell with whom he
shared a cabin on the prairie.
While
at Fort Dodge in February, 1857, I met William S. Campbell, who had just come
from Pennsylvania. He seemed to be a
sturdy young fellow and well fitted to meet whatever might happen while out on
a tramp, so that I made him a proposal to join me in an elk hunting trip for
antlers, still hoping we might find the ones I had first seen on Black Cat
creek. On getting back to our cabin
plans were formed and everything gotten ready for Covel, Campbell and myself to
start out on the first warm day and go to Buffalo Grove, where a large band of
elk were reported to be wintering. A
fine morning soon came, so that about 11 o’clock we were off on our snow shoes,
each with his light snow sled loaded with an independent outfit, in order that
each could take care of himself in case of separation. The air was very still and uncomfortably
warm, until about 8:00 o’clock when we felt a sudden puff of air which repeated
several times from the northwest told us of what might be expected. I only had time to get the course to the
grove in plain sight with a pocket compass before the grove disappeared and
then we soon found ourselves in the midst of one of the grandest storms of the
winter with some seven or eight miles yet to go.
In a Blizzard
Our
course from now on was at right angles with the wind and nearly so with the
ridges of the crusted snow, so that we had no doubt about our ability to safely
reach the grove. We had gotten within
some three or four miles, after much work in keeping our sleds on their runners
as the gusts of wind would turn them over and over and perhaps have them on
their sides or upside down, and much of the time would hold them at right
angles with our course; this extra work added to the constant effort required
to hold up against the strong wind and not drift from our course, made it
tedious work. As this was Covel’s first
trial on snow shoes in a roaring blizzard in which we could hardly see each
other, he became confused and decided we were not on the right course and
wanted to turn and go with the wind.
When he stopped and refused to follow we told him we would not oblige
him to go any farther with us and that we had no time to lose and so must leave
him to his own fate with a good bye as we should not see him again. We started, with Campbell next to me who was
to watch and see if he followed. It was
a great relief when Campbell reported he had started on after us, after which
he fully recovered so that we heard nothing more about our being lost or anyone
else until he discovered the first signs of the grove at about 8 o’clock at
night. In fact we had gotten into the
grove before we really knew we were near it.
We had been told where to look for a new cabin built the fall before on
the east side of the grove which was soon found. We were not long in clearing away a place
inside in about two feet of snow for our camp.
As the cabin had not been plastered and did not have any floor we built
our fire against one end using shakes from the roof, chinking blocks and logs
from the gables to keep it up so that by morning it was rather a badly wrecked
affair.
Game Near Bancroft
During
the night the weather cleared so that we found the air in the morning clear and
cold. There was no game in the grove of
any kind, as had been reported to us earlier in the winter, so that from here
we went to Buffalo Fork and then followed it down to Edward Moll’s cabin at the
river without seeing any indications of elk or other game. There we stopped over night and in the
morning Covel told us he had had all the fun he wanted snow shoeing, and we
thought so too, and left him with Moll to hunt over the groves nearby. Campbell and I went west and then bore off
towards the lower end of the timber on the river above Mud creek. Before getting there we saw several foxes and
quite a number of wolves sitting about on the prairie, so we felt sure large
game was nearby. When about forty rods
from the river, one of Campbell’s snow shoe fastenings gave way so that he was
obliged to stop and fix it up. While he
was busy I was looking about and soon discovered a pair of antlers in motion
that reached up just above the bank of the river; this was good news for
Campbell, as he had never seen or shot a wild elk; when told that the elk was
for him and him alone to kill it did not seem to help him any in getting his
shoe properly fixed. When all was ready
we started on and soon noticed the elk was going off on the ice at a pretty
good pace. Watch was turned loose, when
he soon brought him to bay in the timber and began barking. We went quite close to the elk that had
stopped where the snow was shallow and firm, when Campbell fired his first shot
through the head too low down; this made him furious and when I saw him
plunging for Campbell, who had no time to lose in getting behind a tree just as
the buck struck it with his antlers, it was beginning to be decidedly
interesting. The dog Watch drew his
attention again, when he saw me and then Campbell had the chance of seeing me
scamper behind another smaller tree just in time as the old fellow’s antlers
made their appearance on either side, so that I could have easily caught them
and perhaps held him there against the tree until Campbell could have finished
his part of the work. Watch was now
called for loudly and drew his attention again when Campbell, who had loaded
his gun, made the second shot, striking very near the first, so as not to
injure the antlers; I told him to load up again and make another trial, which
he refused to do thinking two shots were his full share. As the elk would be likely to drop in a very
short time so that Campbell could say he killed him, I hesitated a few minutes
about firing. Night would soon be on us
and as we had considerable work to do in preparing for camp, we could not wait
long and so at Campbell’s request I went up close and shot him with my revolver
just as he was about to drop. While
dressing him the foxes and wolves began to gather and when done we were
surrounded by a hungry set.
Wolves Get the Meat
Campbell
found where a large tree had fallen and lodged in the crotch of another about
eight feet high. He went up on the
fallen tree and cut off some small limbs, leaving hooks, then he hung up the
quarters so that it would be impossible, as we thought, for the wolves to reach
the meat. The hide and head he carried
up still higher and put them in a safe place.
We now made our camp near by a large fallen tree so as to use it for a
back log, and while making a fire a wolf passed by not ten feet away, on looking
up there was another following close by; picking up the gun nearby I shot him
with the promise of no more shooting until our camp was made complete. The foxes and wolves kept coming so that the
night was made hideous by their howling and fighting. We fired several shots at random among them,
which only quieted them for a few minutes when they again went at it with
renewed energy, fully determined to have the meat which they seemed to claim
rightfully belonged to them as they had been waiting a long time to get it, and
time proved they did get it, for when we went after the head and skin we found
they had walked up the log and then humped and caught on as best they could
until they fell to the ground with a small piece they had broken off. Round and round they went, and kept it up
until all was gotten. A lynx had also
been a party at the feast.
How desolate it must have been out on there on that
prairie in the middle of a blizzard!
With no lights anywhere to break the darkness, Ingham and his companions
used their vast knowledge of nature to survive and thrive in this unsettled
region.
Be sure to keep snug and warm when the winter wind blows
in your neighborhood.
Until next time,
Kossuth County History Buff
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Very interesting. Ingham was quite the pioneer.
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