This blogsite is undergoing a bit of
freshening up. Change is inevitable. It's been said the only
constant in this world is change. There are still some things to do
in remodeling, but this is a first step. I need more help from
Brandon before I call it done. I thought about establishing a
website, something which can be a little different, but I decided to
stay with this blogger site. To be added will be some links, plus
another category or two.
But this blog is not going to be about
change, just the opposite: some people don't want change in their
lives. Some of the great books, as far as I'm concerned, are about
old codgers who refuse modern ways. The book Monte Walsh tells
the story of a cowboy who wanted to keep on doing things the way he
always did. Jack Schaefer, the author, has a storekeeper asking
Monte why he threw a man out a closed window for repeatedly asking a
certain question. “What question?” the storekeeper wondered.
“Why, when was I going to turn my horse in on a goddamned
autymobile.” Schaefer is the one who also wrote Shane.
Elmer
Kelton wrote a good many highly respected western novels. He writes
in one, The Good Old Boys,
that Hewey Calloway “... lives in an impossible dream, trying to
remain changeless in a world where the only constant is change.” I
regret not having had the chance to meet Kelton. He regularly
attended the Western Writers conventions and had many admirers among
the other writers. Unfortunately, I joined up too late since he
passed away several years ago.
Luddites
were a group of British workers who between 1811 and 1816 rioted and
destroyed laborsaving textile machinery in the belief that such
machinery would diminish employment. Owners of the factories became
victimized by Luddites who wanted the old ways left intact. Once in
awhile the term luddite still gets resurrected and used in dialogue
of today.
On the
wall in front of my desk, at eye level, hangs an 11x14 picture of a
Buffalo Pitts steam engine entering a shallow ford on the Sheyenne
River. Hitched to it is a threshing machine. A loaded bundle wagon
stands behind, and on either side, in water, are a horse and buggy
and a team pulling a water wagon. I recently acquired it from Tom
Spiekermeier of Sheldon. The picture appeared in 1981 Sheldon
Community History with the caption “The Wall Bros. Threshing Crew
crossing the 'Froemke' Sheyenne River crossing south of Anselm, ND.
This is just west of where Argil Froemke now lives.”
In
searching archival newspapers I ran onto a few notations pertaining
to this very outfit in 1901: July 19 - “Fred Wall and brother
Alfred have bought a fine new threshing outfit and will make the
straw fly this fall.” August 2 – Harvest hands are getting $2.00
a day and that is about right.” August 9 – The whistle of the
steam engine is heard in the early morn – threshing is under way.”
and August 30 – Last Friday was a damp day and made threshing a
slow process, yet Fred Wall seems to have gotten there with both
feet. He threshed on that day 2121 bushels wheat, 90 bushels of
oats, and 32 bushels of barley. The total time in the field was 11
hours and five moves were made during the day. The separator was a
40-60 Nichols and Shepard, Red River Special and a Pitts 22 H.P.
engine.” Whether or not the picture was taken in 1901 can't be
determined from the information I have, but it is safe to assume at
the least it was taken in the early 1900's.
Earlier research on High-Low Water Trails between Forts Abercrombie and Ransom leads me to believe this would have been one of the fords used at the time of the bullwhacker and mule skinner freighting days between the two forts.
