1890 Life on the Raging Prairie

CARPENTER, THOMPSON, THOMARSON

Posted By: Linda Ziemann, transcriber (email)
Date: 6/16/2025 at 18:37:07

LeMars Sentinel, August 15, 1890 — Page 3

LIFE on the RAGING PRAIRIE.

Two of our LeMars business men, M.A. Carpenter and Hi Thompson are very “shy” about relating their out of town experiences. They went out on the prairie last Tuesday and paid a visit to Mr. E. Thomarson and started back to LeMars at a little after eight. The sun had gone down beyond the plains of Dakota, the chickens had all tucked their heads under their wings, and darkness reigned.

The boys started out with brave hearts; but they missed the cheerful rattle of the LeMars pavements under their buggy wheels and the swish, swish of the grass which disturbed the awful stillness of the black night out there on the billowy prairie made their nerves tremble and their hearts beat in great big spasmodic jumps as they thought about bears and wolves and great big ugly two-headed gophers with sharp teeth and horrid appetites!

Suddenly, they went co-plunk into a field of plowed ground. They did not know where they were. The lightenings began to light up the sky with weird and fitful flashes and the low rumble of distant thunder warned them that a night on the prairie might be fatal to installed wanderers.

What happened during that awful night will never be known until the recording angel makes his final report. Rumor has it that while wandering around on the trackless quarter section of breaking that the gleams of lightening revealed a house in the distance.

They walked along for about a mile, one leading the horse and the other marching on about two rods ahead. When they reached the house, they knocked loudly and called for help and yelled “Murder” and “Lost Child” and sang “Annie Rooney,” but no one came to the door with a gun. When they could not get in at the door, they hunted around for a window and discovered that they had been hammering on a stack of flax.

Along toward morning Mr. Thomarson heard a sound of lamentation near his house and went out to see what was the matter. There was Carpenter resigned to his fate. He had his boots and stockings off and his pants rolled up and had laid his coat, vest, hat, necktie and shirt under the buggy seat to keep them dry and was waiting for the shower to come up.

Hi was lighting matches and crawling around on his hands and knees looking for the road to LeMars. He took a good whiff of the sulphur frequently so as to prepare himself for his future state in case he did not live to see the sun rise.

Thomarson had great difficulty in making them to recognize him or believe that they were in Plymouth county. He could not fool them. No sir! They never saw him before in their lives and they were sure it could not be over three quarters of a mile to Yankton.

The boys are at home now, but don’t say anything to them about being out after dark, if you want them to cherish your memory with undying love and affection!