mckinleymontana.com

by Gary Gollehon

[Editor's note: this is a transcription of a reminiscence recorded in the mid-70s by Martha Albers. Martha passed away in 1977, and the tapes fell into the possession of one of her renters, who eventually gave them to the Greenway County Historical Society.]

The year was 1910 and near the town of McKinley, but just a bit east out where there were more prairies than mountains, a couple, Martha and Henry, were married in Waukegan, Illinois. Henry was found to have active tuberculosis and was told by the doctors that he would not live out a year in Illinois, due to the damp climate. At the time Martha’s sister and husband were going to Montana to homestead and suggested we go with them, as the climate was high and dry, something benefical to Henry’s health condition. Henry and Martha decided to go with them, but did not have any money, Martha’s brother-in-law and another man hired a boxcar on the freight train to haul their goods to Montana and Henry “stowed away” in a place in the manger of the horse stall! At night he would get out and walk around so he wouldn’t get so crippled up. It took about three weeks to make it to Montana, where he filed on a Homestead to his liking, that was just a bit east of McKinley.

Martha and her sister stayed in Illinois and worked to get fare to come out to Montana. The first week in July they had made enough money and got their tickets and after about a week of traveling, reached a town 30 miles to the southeast of McKinley. Martha’s brother-in-law met her and her sister with a high spring buggy. He put my trunk in the back and he and his wife, my sister, sat in the buggy seat and Martha sat on the trunk. Martha had prettied herself with a nice low-necked dress, but didn’t have a hat to wear or an umbrella, but had to ride on the trunk all the way to the Homestead, just a bit east of McKinley. About half way out, they stopped at a watering hole, to water and feed the horses and to feed themselves and rest the horses. By that time Martha was so sunburned, tired and disgusted, as the land seemed so barren, compared to Waukegan! At about 9 p.m. Martha’s brother-in-law hollered “Whoa!, we’re home.” All she could see was two little tents and a pile of dirt. Henry came running out of one of the tents and carried Martha into the tent, where she slept good for the rest of the night. When she awoke the next morning, looking around she couldn’t see a single living soul as she thought she could see for a good ten miles in all directions. As she yearned for Waukegan, she noticed that Henry’s health was better in such a short time, so in order to make the best of things, she put on a pair of his jeans and worked with him picking rock.

Henry worked everywhere, herding sheep, digging cisterns and basements and doing anything to earn money for them to live. It was a hard life, as they didn’t have any money and no way of getting any. They had brought a 100 pound sack of corn meal and a 100 pound sack of navy beans with them. Rabbits that Henry shot or killed with a rock (Henry was real good at throwing a rock) were their main source of meat and they ate rabbit! Rabbit stew, baked rabbit, fried rabbit; any way rabbit was edible, they would eat it. At Thanksgiving, Henry and Martha didn’t have anything to eat and they couldn’t think of eating any more rabbit, corn bread or beans, so they decided to get an antelope. Martha and her sister and their husbands hitched up the team and the men got their guns and got into the back of the spring buggy and the women drove. Dropping the men off behind a knoll, the women circled ahead of the antelope and herded them towards the men, when they heard three shots ring out and going back to the men, found that they had three antelope; killed out of season, but they were hungry! Taking the antelope home, they dressed them out. The men got a big square box and dug a hole and put the box and ice from the Teton River in the hole and the couples had meat for the whole winter. For Thanksgiving they had antelope, beans and cornbread.

Winter was fast approaching and Martha and Henry knew that they would not survive the cold winds in the tents. so Henry and his brother-in-law dug into a big knoll and made a hole about 15 feet long and wide enough for two bedrooms and a place where they cooked and ate. The sides were dirt and so was the floor. They put a roof over it and had two small windows. That winter they stayed warm, but when it snowed they were covered and had to dig their way out! They could hear animals running over the roof and one night Martha says she was sure that a couple of coyotes had a fight on their roof!

Henry and his brother-in-law went out to find work and they got a job picking potatoes. Martha and her sister remained on the homestead, alone. They were down to nothing and had not gotten the mail at McKinley for at least two weeks, so they decided to walk to the Store and get what food they could afford and get the mail. They left for town early in the morning and took along a sack to carry home the small amount of groceries they could afford. Lyda, the store owner, made us a great dinner and told us we should start for home, as the sun goes down fast, once it starts going down. There were no roads or fences or no lights to follow. They walked and walked and knew they were far enough, but couldn’t find their home in the ground. Martha’s sister told Martha to stay put and she would go one direction as far as she could hear Martha’s voice, then come back and go in the opposite direction. Starting in one direction, caused the coyotes to start howling. Finally they found their home and made it safely to it as darkness fell.

Martha, Henry and her sister and brother-in-law decided to leave and go to Canada to work in the harvest fields. They felt they needed a “grubstake” and if they had $30 the Canadian government would let them across the line. As they left their homestead and somewhere on the way into McKinley, Henry lost his wallet and their money. They stayed in McKinley for the night in the barn and they slept in the manger with the horses. In the morning, they returned home; no “grubstake” for the winter, nothing but cornmeal and navy beans!

Martha had become pregnant and they decided they had to do something. They bought a little homestead shack and moved it out to their homestead. It wasn’t finished, just 2X4’s with tarpaper and slanted like a cow barn roof. They dug a basement an ptu it on a foundation of dirt. The following July our baby was born and Martha was so sick and burning up with fever. The next morning the doctor from McKinley came by and after a terrible siege of sickness, Martha made a miraculous recovery. The doctors told Henry and Martha that Martha should have no more children after being so sick, as it would mean certain death for Martha. 15 months later, when Martha found out she was four months pregnant and soon there was a son born to Martha and Henry. Those were the most frightening months for Martha and Henry; wondering if the doctor would be right with his diagnosis! The childbirth went well, but that was the end of bearing children for Martha. She decided to have no more children, as she was afraid that the doctor could be correct with his assumption that childbearing was a great risk to Martha!

As time passed, Henry and Martha had neighbors settle the land near us. These neighbors brought them ice cream, as they had milk cows and they also gave Martha a hen and some eggs to set. Martha raised 13 little chicks. One night their dog killed all but 5! The neighbors were good to look after Martha and Henry and their family, when they resided just a little east of McKinley.

The flu epidemic came along and Martha and Henry and the kids were all so sick. Martha walked to a neighbors and sent him for the Dr. who lived in McKinley. The Doctor came and told Martha and Henry that they should get someone to help them, but they didn’t know of anyone. A neighbor to the east of them stopped by one day. Seeing they were all sick, he went to McKinley and got some groceries and came back and made some soup for them and then went on home and sent his wife over to care for us during the day and he would come at night to care for us.

Martha and Henry eventually got better and decided they would have to return to Waukegan, so they could get jobs to repay all their bills. Martha and Henry had no food left and resorted to killing two pet pigeons from which they made soup! Henry went into McKinley to try to sell their horses, but no one had any money, so he just turned the seven head of horses loose. They took their pig to town and sold it and left their cat and dog and returned to Waukegan, where they lived with Martha’s sister, saving their money and paying off their bills that they owed in McKinley.

Martha and Henry returned to the Homestead at McKinley, trying to make a go of it, but ended up returning to Waukegan. They managed to pay off the homestead and kept it for the rest of their lives, renting it out and often they made the trek out from Waukegan to McKinley to visit the homestead that held so many memories for them and their family.