Dawson County, MT

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Submitted by:
Gene Hutson
fishrus@cableone.net


AS I REMEMBER

Edna Miller Doane

as told to

Mrs. Morris Kauffman

"Moving to Montana"



Since Edna Miller Doane was only six years old when she made the
covered wagon trip from northeastern North Dakota to the Thirteen Mile
Valley in Dawson County, the details that stand out in her memory are
naturally the ones that impressed a child, not necessarily what an adult
might remember.

One of their North dakota neighbors, Jacob J. Mullet Sr, had come to
Montana in 1903 in search of a tract of land suitable for settlement by a
number of families. He felt that he had found such a tract along the
Thirteen Mile Creek, thirty miles north of Glendive and brought back a 
favorable report to his neighbors. His oldest son, Joe Mullet and his
family moved to Montana yet that year, Mr. Mullet and his family the next
summer and now two more families were ready to move. Eli Chupp had
also come over earlier, and on October 1, his family and the Dan Miller
family started for the new home sites. Their caravan, as it started down 
the trail, consisted of a covered wagon, a hay rack, (each pulled by a
two-horse team), a herd of cattle, Mrs. Eli Chupp with her four children,
Mr. and Mrs. Dan Miller with five children and 18 year old Jacob Mullet Jr
who had returned to North Dakota to assist in moving preparations and to
act as guide along the way. (No convenient road maps-or convenient
roads then.)

As Mrs. Doane remembers, they had bunks along each side of the 
wagon, and at night a bed was fixed between the back wheels for her
parents. As they jogged along over the prairie, the children, except the
"cowboys", had to stay pretty much in the wagon so when camping time
came in the evening, they were ready for some exercise. One evening,
as they gave vent to their pent-up energies, one little tow-headed fellow,
about three years old, fell into the creek, but his older brother quickly
pulled him out, none the worse for the impromptu bath.

The oldest boy of each family, nine year old Ammon Chupp and eight
year old Mose Miller were the "cowboys" who drove the cattle. They made
the entire trip on horseback. A younger brother complains that when they
passed through a town he had to help with the cattle too, only he had to
do it without benifit of a steed.

One day as the party was stopped for dinner an Indian wagon came to 
their camp so the boys on horseback quickly skedaddled into the brush.
They had heard enough tales about Indians that they were taking no chances
on losing their saddle horses! However, the visit passed with no untoward
incident.

Their food along the way, as Mrs. Doane recalls, consisted largely of 
crackers, half moon pies (apple, baked before they started on their journey),
and milk. Since they were bringing their cows with them, they had plenty of
milk along the way. Mrs. Doane especially remembers the crackers since it
was her responsibility at each meal to get them. To get into the wagon, she
always climbed up over the wagon tongue and one time she was getting 
down backwards and her crackers spilled to the ground. She didn't want to 
get scolded and so, not knowing any better, she carefully put her crackers
back into the bowl and served them anyway. when they had started on their 
trip, they didn't stock up with a bunch of little two-pound cartons, but their
crackers were packed in big wooden boxes, more like apple boxes of recent
years.

They were blessed with beautiful Indian Summer weather during most of
their trip. One night however, the wind blew so hard they feared the wagon
might tip over so they parked it between a fence and a hay rack, but the
anticipated trouble didn't materialize.

When they arrived in the valley, the Dan Millers stayed with the Amos Miller
family (Amos and dan were brothers) until they could get their house built. 
This house still serves as the Jens Scarpholt residence, four and three-fourths
miles east of Bloomfield. Only Bloomfield wasn't there when the house was built.

The valley boasted no school when the Millers came because there had been
no need for one. And there was no school there for a few years there-after.
Edna started school on her ninth birthday, March 6th, 1907. This first school was 
held in a sod house across the road from the present home of David Chupp, 
(across from the Elmer Bortrager place). They had a three month term with 
Emma Miller (Edna's Aunt) as teacher. As Mrs. Doane put it, "She wasn't a 
teacher, but she taught." Educational requirements for teachers in the 
Dawson County of 1907 weren't very strict.

Mrs. Doane remembers that on the closing day of school that first term they
had a program and each of the children gave a speech or recitation. The three
speeches that she can recall give us a sample of what we might have enjoyed
had we been able to attend that event.

Her own was:

Little deeds of kindness,

Little words of love,

Make the mighty ocean,

And the heaven above.

the other speeches she can remember didn't offer quite such lofty sentiments.
The one proclaimed: "Here I stand so big and stout. I like Spec and saurkraut." And
the other: "I had a little dog, and his name was Rover, and when he died, he died
all over."

The next year the Red Top school house was built, and Roy Reed was their
teacher. 1908

All mail, groceries and other supplies had to be brought from Glendive. Such is
largely the case now, too; the difference is that in the early 1900s the trip required
two days. No fences interfered with their traveling so their trails followed the 
easiest routes. Neighbors took turns going to town, each bringing the mail and the
supplies that might be needed for the rest of the community. Thus they could get
their mail fairly regularly, yet no one had to make the trip very often.

After a few years Jacob Mullet Sr made application for a post office at his home,
one-half mile south of Greg Jones' home and named it Adams. Mrs. Doane still has
some post cards bearing the Adams address. One, addressed to her late husband,
Alfred Doane was dated January 24, 1909 and carried the message that the sender
"got a raise the first of the year and now gets $65.00 a month, but I may quit for I
think I can get better wages in the gas business. I will be nineteen years old next
Saturday."

Their farming was done with horses and Mrs. Doane observed that she too, had
had some experience plowing with a six-horse team.

In 1928 Mr. Miller became ill and finally decided he'd have to see a doctor so he
got one of the neighbors, Lester Brown, to take him to Glendive. He told his family
he would get a check-up and come right home, but they never saw him alive again.
He was kept in the hospital and within a few days he passed away. In less than a
year, his wife became ill and passed away also.

In 1935 Edna married Alfred Doane. Alfred had come to montana in 1906 from
Bloomfield, Nebraska and had homesteaded a few miles from the Miller homestead.
In 1941 they moved to a farm on Morgan Creek. Mr. Doane passed away in March
of 1962. He had reached Montana on St. Patrick's Day and his death came the day
after St. Patrick's Day, fifty six years later. Since his death, Mrs. Doane has 
continued to live on their Morgan Creek farm and their two sons do the farming.



Edna Miller Doane 1897 - 1971