unday Bee.
FOR ALL THE NEWS THE
OMAHA DEE
DEST IN THE WEST
part Tuars
HALF-TONE
PAGM 1 TO 4.
The Omaha
J
VOL. XXXIX-NO. 34.
OMAIIA, SUNDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 6, 1910.
SINGLE COPY FIVE CENTS.
OMAHA WOMEN FIND INDEPENDENCE ON WILD RANCHES
School Teachers and Others Who Have Taken Claims for the Purpose of Escaping the Thralldom of ' Working for a Living on Depending on Husband or Father to Provide for Them
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Ift-f MftS?' ILW 7 -WTHB TtAM THAT "WOKKED" THE FATU. ' -CLAIM HOUSE AS IT IS TODAY
I'll ' G2yfOClA IVZTZS - rick, S. D. They drove across country ivith the rush and were paid all the expense of Improving and proving up, AXiJPt UWsl t .1 V
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ONSIDERABLY less than a century ago a daughter of a i
certain substantial New England family raised her voice
public and proclaimed a doctrine of Independence for
women, and she was socially ostracised, wnen sne aiea a
few years ago her biographers and the press of the world
"named her one of the greatest women of the century and an Inter-'
, , national educational institution was founded to perpetuate her
I teachings as a memorial to her life and work. "We are not the
superiors of men, but their equals," was the doctrine she taught,
but society did not take kindly to her teachings, and for many years
after its first proclamation "old maids" went on eating the bread ,
of dependence and young maids and wives did likewise, while bear
ing their share of the family responsibility and work.
Since there have been farms the wives and daughters have
' borne their part of even the most laborious of the farm work, and
It has been taken aa a matter of course. When war has been upon
the land the women have tilled the soil, cared for the stock and
kept things going, and today It Is no uncommon sight to see women
working in the fields, carrying water, milking from ten to a score
top
when the Rosebud country was opened she accompanied a
cousin and his family to the proposed site of the town of Her
rick, S. D. They drove across country with the rush and were
among the "sooners" of the new town. At the suggestion of
her cousin Mrs. Havlland had gone provided with stakes for
staking off a share of the town property, but when the wagon
finally came to a stop and the rush began she found it more
attractive viewing the rush from her security on the
of the load. When reminded that her chances were
flying she climbed down and staked off her -patch of ground
upon which she established a residence, ana wnen the rush was over
and the town finally blocked out her choice proved one of the most
fortunate. It was In the business section and among the most valu-
able In the settlement. On one lot she bad her home built, a single
room "soddy," with frame upper and roof, and here she lived with,
her son.
After the excitement of the first few days, during which many
disputes were settled by shooting, a meeting of the settlers was
called. There were forty children In the new community and Mrs.
Havlland was promptly elected teacher of the school, which was
established without delay. Of course there was no school house, bat
the new school mistress was equal to the demand and tendered the
use of her own little house. This was readily accepted and the
townspeople set about improvising school furniture. A few planks
and saw-horses served as benches and desks, and a most creditable
blackboard was devised by some ingenious one, although the source
from which the chalk was obtained Is still a mystery to the school
mistress. The little house had been crowded to accommodate the
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of cows, and even breaking their own horses and "riding herd,"
while woiufin's ability for carpentering Is proverbial, and there is ocant equipment for housekeeping, and the addition of school furnl
uo more popular poem in the language than that of "Maude Muller." ture, not to speak of the students, would have appalled a less
But whon one fine day a -lone woman was discovered farming on resourceful woman. But Mrs. Havlland was equal to this, too, and
her own hook who had deliberately and Quito Independent of
father, brother or husband taken up some land and was proceeding
to Improve It, the Immediate neighbors looked askance, and far
and wide her enterprise was heralded a something quite remark
able and a new tangent for women.
However, there Is nothing that succeeds like success, and be
fore long the woman homesteader was no longer a novelty. Quick
to recognize their opportunity, scores of women have taken up land
under the several plans afforded by the government, and within the
last five years hundreds of women have acquired independence on
farms cr ranches secured under the homesteadlng laws. And they
havj made the best kind of settlers, demonstrating that a woman
can make a home, and an inviting home at that, even under the
most adverse circumstances and encouraging others to establish
permanent residence In the new country. Not less than a score of
yet
rrontlerlng has many Inconveniences. In the morning a committee
of citizens came and moved her furniture outside and Installed the
school furniture, returning at the close of the session to move it
out again and replace the housekeeping effects. Of course it was
rather crowded when it rained, but this,; too, was all Incidental to
starting a town, and the children as well as the grownups' cheerfully
made the best of It. But a term of teaching under these conditions
was enough for the schoolmistress, and having gotten title to her
property she came to Omaha, where she entered the teaching force.
Thia was only the beginning of Mrs. Haviland's homesteadlng
experience. The land about Herrlck, now a thriving, prosperous
town, looked better than anything she had seen In New York and
she resolved to have a claim. Accordingly, when the Rosebud lands
were opened for settlement ahe registered, but when the drawing
came off her prim wis well up In the thirty-seven hundreds. Even
Omaha women are today living on such farms or reaping the benefit this did not discourage her, and looking about she decided to put
fvf fsrms so acquired. a straight filing over one of the many soldiers' declaratorles, that.
From the sheltered life of the wife of a New York attorney to in the language of the neighborhood, "did not look good." Her
"soonerlng" a town on the prairies of South Dakota, and then prov- choice proved fortunate, for the soldier did not materialise within
trig up by residence on a claim, is a far cry, but that was the expert- the stipulated time and she began "proving up." Her claim of 160
en re of Mrs. Emma B. Havlland, who Is now owner of one of the acres Is about four miles from Heirick, and she has had her title to
many choice farms of the Rosebud reservation. Mrs. Havlland la a It for nearly two years. At present 140 acres are under cultivation,
tetter at Windsor school, and expects eventually to farm her land; renter working the farm. There are eighty acres of winter wheat
thkVlls, when her son has finished college, and If she does not sell and next summer Mrs. Havlland proposes to put In twenty acres
out. which at present she has no Idea of doing. After the death of alfalfa and an equal acreage of potatoes. - Living springs afford
of her husband Mrs. Havlland and her young son came west, and abundant water supply. When it came to the improvement of the
claim the Herrlck lots proved well worth all they had
cost In effort and inconvenience. They more than
paid all the expense of improving and proving up,
being among the most desirable business property of
the town.
But there were some things thkt money could not
provide. . Mrs. Havlland had arranged for the build
ing of a one-room sod house, but when she arrived to
begin her residence she was appalled to find the sod
walls, covered with a canvas roof, through which the
rain had been falling for a week or more, dripped in
streams, making deep puddles over tlie dirt floor. But
the former school mistress was equal to this, too.
Making two solid piles of sod, she took the door from
its hinges and formed a little perch up off the wet
floor. A little shifting of the roof canvas shed the
water, insuring a dry place, and here she made a bed
at night and did her cooking for several days, until
better accommodations could be improvised. Fourteen
months of broken and seventeen months of continuous
residence gave her final title to her farm, for which
she has already refused $50 an acre.
Miss Mary Beecher of Leavenworth school has a
320-acre farm in eastern Colorado, about seven miles
from Flagler. The original 160 acres she took up un
der the old law, in June, 1897, and last September
she was granted an additional 160 acres. As
twenty acres are under cultivation, but breaking is being done and
the ground prepared for alfalfa, which Miss Beecher expects to make
her permanent crop. In other respects the claim Is better Improved
than the average. The house la a substantial, attractive little bunga-'
low, 16x26 feet, and Includes two rooms. It Is Miss Beecher proud
boast that the bouse Is painted and has a chimney, qualities worthy
of mention, as the "soddy," with a stovepipe through the roof or
protruding from one end, Is by far the roost numerous variety of
frontier residence. And Miss Beecher's progresslveness has already
manifested Itself In other ways than the substantial Improvement
of her own property. Although the residents of the community are
above the average and a good grade school Is In successful opera
tion, there was no high school, and to provide this necessity also,
that the. young people might have every possible advantage within
access of their homes, Miss Beecher set herself about the task of
providing for the instruction of the higher branches. It was evident
that if a union high school could be secured much better opportuni
ties might be offered at lees expense to all, and upon a union school
she set her heart. Fifty signatures were required In the petition to
the county and state superintendents, but when her petition was
turned in it bore seventy-five names, and this year four districts
have united In the union high school, which becomes a permanent
Institution. All such Improvements have reacted to Increase the
value of the land In the neighborhood and that about Miss Beecher's
claim has risen from $8.60 and $4 to $17.50 an acre, and is still
going up. v
About four miles from Andrews, Neb In Sioux county. Is a
little settlement of four houses, the home of a colony of former
Omahans. "Oallaway" It Is called by the neighbors, but the nsme
Is of the family, not the community. The family consists of two
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brothers, Emmett Gallaway and fc. W. Callaway, and family, and
MtHses Ousslo and Lulu Gallaway, their sisters. Mrs. Oallaway was
Miss Beard of Qmaha. They are homesteaders, having taken ther
land under the Kinkald act, and each has 640 acres. It has been
four years since Miss Gussle took up her claim adjoining those of
her brothers, and a year ago Miss Lulu joined the colony. The
houses, all warm, cozy little homes, are about ten feet apart, built
where the claims corner, and making possible practically one house
bold while complying fully with the requirements of the law. Mr.
and Mrs. C. W. Gallaway have recently completed a more pretentious
home, where Mrs. Gallaway with her small son lives, and superin
tend their farm while her husband holds a position as traveling sales
man, returning at required Intervals and as often as business will
permit. Mrs. Gallaway and the Misses Gallaway have proven most
successful farmers, so successful in fact that they expect to remain
on their land permanently. The claims are In the seml-arld region
and best suited for grazing purposes. For this reason only enough
has been put under cultivation to comply with the requirements of
tbe law. Other extensive Improvements have been made, however,
to facilitate the business of stock raising, which is their real In
dustry. Among these improvements is a lake of several acres which
was made by a system of dams, conserving tbe water to afford an
abundant supply for the cattle and enough for irrigating purposes.
Tbe women have also done a profitable business In milk and
(Coutlnued on Page Four.)
