Latah County Oral History Collection

Come over.

Edward Halseth: Well, that I wouldn't know that I wouldn't have the slightest idea how they. What they become. My father came first from Norway. My father came to Norway and my mother came from Oakdale, Norway. No, as near as I know, they met in Moscow. As far as I know. And what year that would be? I wouldn't have the slightest idea.

What do they. My father. Well, my father, he was put in much more of a. He was a blacksmith by trade from Norway. And when it comes to this country, he was a two sharpener. Sharpened tools of these mining. he used to work for, oh, for gay people and relations. They had mines up here. Bull and bullwhip as well as bow now.

But whereas Ruby Quick was vertical and then they just side of Oakwood and he used to work for them. Work out there. And of course, that is after we got married and that is after my folks were married and I was just a little guy at that time. But that's how he made his living. Besides, he had his own didn't cattle and stuff like that.

Sam Schrager: He, you know he come right out here to, to the West when he came over from Mallow there in the Midwest or.

Edward Halseth: I don't know, wherever he landed when he came to this country. But he is I remember he used to work in the mines in Colorado. Now what he done there, I don't know, but I suppose to to sharpening. I suppose it's the same as what you're doing down to these fellows are to loosen up here.

Sam Schrager: Your son was telling me, something about homesteading in Montana.

Edward Halseth: Well, I homestead man, that was you.

Sam Schrager: Right over. Okay, we'll hold that for a little later. You're still a young kid. Now, what I'm asking you about now. You were born, at. At, Janesville.

Edward Halseth: Well, now I can't be. I can't be specific on that for the simple reason that here that I'll try to get in adversity for good and not been able to get a but just taken it down everything. And, When they, As near as I ever got is from the. the sensitive and that's come out of all.

And I was supposed to been born in 1894, in Rimrock Prison. There's First County. Well, that's down here. The lowest. it's near as I remember. I was supposed to been born up into it, but they have no record. Amanda was up, and so I couldn't tell you were up.

Sam Schrager: Where's your father? Homesteading in Janesville at the same time he was working out, and.

Edward Halseth: He home today. That's where he's where his homestead is. Right there on the corner where you were going towards both were Elm. And make that turn right on the corners where he is home. That's what you tell him about the spirit of Mother Earth being baptized. And there's all of us. It's go to road. There was no school that.

No, no, with the word of, So that's as near as I can tell you anything about that. But,

Sam Schrager: What was the. Place like? You, grow up in a cabin or house or log cabin? What do you remember? Do you remember about how big it was and then what it was like was a one room.

Edward Halseth: Oh, No, no. Said to be two rooms listed away to two room, but it was a log log cabin, you know, log cabin. The was. And,

There is the Arthur book. He he got all of that because he's he was there when I was born. As far as Arthur is concerned. I just imagine, that's where they told me I had to have some of the ten years old, and I was to verify my birth. Well, there you are. I never even knew about this lady.

Never even heard of it.

Sam Schrager: Were you the first kid? That. Were you the, oldest in the family?

Edward Halseth: I'm the oldest of the boy. Oh, boy. I have a sister. Did it. I never had a sister, but she was gone. Both my. There's one brother left his uncle or at Auburn. That's one just as to left.

Sam Schrager: How which way did your father have cleared? at the time, was there much cleared, and the place.

Edward Halseth: Was just a matter, that's all. It was a and I don't know, I suppose probably 50, 60 acres of meadow, that's all. Well, but those ten days of cattle, there was no farming in that. Hey, again, that's all of it. And these mother sold cream or not cream or butter or some days it was no cream of butter.

So the butter for their store bill. So. So that's that's just about all I can tell you on that because that that's eight years ago. But. My memory that good way back to you to.

Sam Schrager: What about the the time that you mentioned that, you busted your leg? How'd that happen?

Edward Halseth: Oh, when I, when I went up in the timber to get some cattle, my oldest brother was, home with her and her cattle for good. And then they were eating the nail Gerber country when he came out. So I took his out and put on my horse. Stop was too long to put my foot in between the leathers that were service and that little white dog.

And he came out there that didn't run, had that horse, scared horse. He jumped aside. And of and the dog around out there in the brush. They finally found me out there in the rush of the scared leg here, broken. And there was no doctors. And then these doctors, but they were going back to Moscow. No. Must have further concerns.

And there were three or prospect three of homesteaders, old timers up to. They put me in the hay shoot out. They set my leg and I said, look at that.

Sam Schrager: they said, your leg.

Edward Halseth: they said, yeah, one of them. You do anybody ever pull it out and put a weight on, let it hang. That'll sit in the bed in the back of mine station. And the reason I laid in the hated is that my mother was sick. No, she wouldn't bet so on me. And there her brother was. Put me patient.

Oh. That's all.

Sam Schrager: Is that how long you lay there?

Edward Halseth: Oh, I don't I a couple of weeks or so and over and over.

Sam Schrager: Yeah. Yeah.

Edward Halseth: Oh I thought I was six, seven years.

Sam Schrager: Old and longest that'll take.

Edward Halseth: Oh yeah. I'd love to stay with that man. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, just.

Sam Schrager: A little bit of shaver.

Edward Halseth: Just all I could do to hang on. Well said Lord, that those steps are too long to. I put in the straps. You know, that stuff is done. And of course, when he jumped to the side, I fell off. I got caught in the surf. I got caught in the leather bag, you know. And Rose.

Sam Schrager: Do you remember what your mother was sick with? Yeah. No, I.

Edward Halseth: Don't remember that. I wouldn't have slightest idea. From that.

Sam Schrager: Do you remember when you were a kid? What? What? April. Sleep, Do you remember when you were a kid? What? You ate? Mostly, but family ate.

Edward Halseth: What? They.

Sam Schrager: Yeah.

Edward Halseth: Oh, well, I suppose pork sausage and for. Potatoes. Something like that.

Sam Schrager: You raised your own. Your own hogs.

Edward Halseth: Oh, yeah. Yeah, it. Oh, the racial beef and stuff like that. But. And then they it's, Sure you had beef, but biggest percent of those cured pork, pork, ham, bacon. Then you put them base. right. But beef. Oh, you had beef, I recall. Chippie, you know that. Take a quarter and, fix it up, grind and hang it up to dry.

Which, if they say where your fork. Good tip. Or dried for good, might go. But then that that was only thing you.

Outside of anything, fancy them days? You didn't have anything fancy. It was. Well, sure you had French. What do you call a fancy now? Would be. It would be anything like fancy. You know what we had another. In other words, we used to eat, for, it, you know, that it.

Sam Schrager: What would you made? wheat?

Edward Halseth: No, it made out of milk and milk and flour and cooked up just like a moth. And sometimes, mother to have rice for for. Did you get rice for it? For you get a treat then. And a lot of times you got made out of cream, made out of cream. And that was the biggest treat in the world.

You go to Norway, that's a big a treat. You good? Yeah. So but it I mean you knew back.

Sam Schrager: Into the family. Did you hurt at all when your kid father you know.

Edward Halseth: That was. You know might say that that didn't mean love do run all over the to do you you want let it go slow did to do it. That means you've got if you want to do you go take a you to do if you want a lot about it. When we live. Don't do that. Maybe I don't know.

But what we did it was on a pork and beef and that I don't think my dad ever shot a deer in his life. And I know I never shot get the first shot. If you did so. But there was all kinds of minor meadow, especially in the spring of the year. Him. But then it there could be other said father lived on the venison and stuff, but the biggest percent of us pork be okay.

Sam Schrager: So I suppose you probably didn't fish much either.

Edward Halseth: well, of course, that's just, just me or the biology course that would go out fish and all this and that. But then none of us were that type fish in a hard rhythm. So it was no in them days, it wasn't too much.

Sam Schrager: What about that, time that you mentioned where in this big guy scared you when you're a kid?

Edward Halseth: That's up here on the Anderson crossing. Thank you so, so much to do weekend.

Sam Schrager: What happened again, Would you tell me what happened again?

Edward Halseth: Well, what happened was there was a sawmill up there that had quit. So on lumber and the name of the. So who was the waterfowl? No, I mean. And, my father had bought some lumber of them, and I said, oldest brother that had to get this lumber. Here. I went down there, we're feeding the horses, and I went down in the tunnel.

That's a portal of a tunnel. And there's a shack sitting on the portal to that tunnel. So I a curious kind of all was. Well, the portal was. So I went in there and there's all. Wheel. Well, he was in no miter, I guess is what he was. And a big Anderson is what to call him. He was inside.

And the minute I stepped on the plank with the equipment that I could back in the tunnel and go back. So we all know what the word, what what was going on, who was it? Because I scared the daylights out of me because I didn't know that anybody in there. So I went back up to where we had a horse and that old man, he comes over an old cap made out of an over over home.

The shoes are made out of overalls, patched up, made it all shoes. Capital, and we'll stick with him. Wonder what I wanted to do down there. Oh, I want my money. And we're not known as the the portal. Learn of the shack. Coconut and that whole island as he was there. So that's what it was. And he's put the word post in when working on patent for a perpetual motion.

And so that's what it had that seal up there. And his name was I was all I know. His name was Big Anderson wasn't I wasn't the only one he scared to death. Victoria.

Sam Schrager: Now this was this guy was live in, where was he? Did he.

Edward Halseth: Live there?

Sam Schrager: He lived right here in the Indian.

Edward Halseth: Let's check on the end of that. so he lived, didn't he?

Sam Schrager: Wasn't. He was worried about you getting in, looking at his machine, maybe.

Edward Halseth: Well, I suppose that's what he was looking at for that he's put to that is supposedly been working on this, perpetual motion in that tunnel that he came up to. And know what? I went up there snooping around.

Sam Schrager: Did you think he was mean? when he came back?

Edward Halseth: Well, I don't know about that. I don't I know he didn't have to be mean. All just to look somewhere to make you feel that was all that needed. You see a man come in there with an old hat with no, no cap just sitting on top. His head was made. Are all overalls in these shoes? But, overalls and a little clothes.

Just about 30. They could be. Why, you might start to figure, detective. And he was no little man either. He was a great big son who really well worth of work for you to consider the was that first up it did I wonder, because of back back in the old days. I think.

That's where you should get your old.

Sam Schrager: Oh well, I don't know. I you you know, something's not right. What do you know about that? About that, water. That water song in there. It was called the water series called Water Power Mill. And they could they saw much water with water power.

Edward Halseth: Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm sure even on that equipment right through the minute was from the machine room. It was all done by water power. and, At some of the boys who live up there, do I believe, left, the old man's generation. No, I'm not too sure it is a. Various,

Like, I think it was then,

Says two of them boys I believe lives in.

Sam Schrager: Do you think in Birkeland. Yeah. Yeah. Portage over. I was going to talk to Bill to, change. I want to ask you about, Gainesville. What was there besides, your place being right near there. What was in there. What was the town made up of?

Edward Halseth: Was local. That's all it was, was a store.

Sam Schrager: Or there was the store was just.

Edward Halseth: Just like if you had built you a shack out here. No, nobody, let alone could. And you had how? He got the mail. I don't know how we got the mail, but that's where we got available. Was a general and had a store. He had flour, sugar and coffee and things like that. And a fork to trade butter and eggs to him.

If you had taken a trade, Brother Nathan. Well, that's what he took to try and trade it in. Okay. Road. But that's all it was a general. There was nothing in there. I want to just that one minute. In fact, I just. I suppose the restaurant was home, and, I'm not too sure about that, but I just wanted what Lawrence was the name of the moment on it.

And so that's father to the father, the boys and Dewey right now. Hello, brother. Lawson, that a generation? Russ Lawrence is the father of these boys. Father lives in Dewey and he owned the store. And when the railroad come in, come in there. You put a saloon in the corner, little room. So that. But that was no town, right?

Sam Schrager: Did you family trade store much?

Edward Halseth: That. I want a place to do it. That's the only place for you to have to had a trade there. We'll go to Troy and do a little Troy take all day. And father Nick said no. Let's go to Troy. Team wagon or Troy and, What? What? Let's have Hathaways up on the feet and the wheels. So that's the only way that we go to trade it either there or go to Bovill.

But we didn't go to war traded restaurant in Troy. And. Jane.

Sam Schrager: So did you, ever going to Troy back when it was Vollmer with your father.

Edward Halseth: I no, I don't remember that I ever went went with him to the Troy.

No. And them days you didn't.

Sam Schrager: I've heard tell it there that there was a voice in that meadow. Was. Is that entered.

Edward Halseth: So go on.

Sam Schrager: And that's okay.

Edward Halseth: Well, let be put in.

Sam Schrager: Or just, you know, we don't take anything out but I but I, I'd heard there's a good one was that when the railroad came through as was.

Edward Halseth: Railroad and timber cruising and all that, that's one of the big, big, big boom lot of things is on the railroad. No, that that's right down the middle. JP to JP Joyner was the 1 to 0 that they had better but not to JP down or even on any of that.

That's that's a fact that.

Sam Schrager: Will. So that really changed the country That really changed everything when the railroad came through.

Edward Halseth: Well yeah. That's what they do. Yeah. Those days were held. Where is today? They put nothing there. Oh I think it was. It however was.

I don't remember what Lena's name was, but Lena was, was the old man that lived it there, his homestead. And there were several kids there, and there was nothing there at all unless timber crews and come in the water. Water, a lot of them.

Sam Schrager: The deputy warden, I don't.

Edward Halseth: I don't know, the PFI. Yeah. Went in there and bought all that timber. That's what my father. So you see, instead of selling them the timber, he sold it to Dennis Ward Smith out here. Hey, Ron. And then he took his money. Come down here. Well, a lot of them, they just sold the timber to take up and add the stuff.

It left. But that. Then when the boom come, then when they got timber bought up, then they started that railroad.

Sam Schrager: Well, that's when your father sold the timber, right? Right. When Potlatch and Potlatch was coming in, he sold the place.

Edward Halseth: And sold everything.

Sam Schrager: He didn't sell Potlatch.

Edward Halseth: It it says above.

Sam Schrager: Jack, his potlatch wasn't paying good enough.

Edward Halseth: Well, he didn't see the figure on that. He just figured, like this was all he'd have left would be the stuff. And he had nothing to do it, I think. But anyway, with this stuff and he got $2,800 for and which Bob did, he gave him half of that for the timber and all he left in the stuff left there in one piece of wood.

They'd have to go in at the. But let's go to get it. Let's take a wood. So he sold his place. Come down here. Was this place here the same? Right. She got his place there. But there's the Raiders. Yeah, there's a lot of them left. It's all over the timber. And that's what they had had. There's nothing left.

But they made a living on the Barbie with the wood, with. The railroad. I don't know what, but up on the meadow of that metaverse, that is a big, big thing. That meadow over hay and had the stuff that meadow with that would do if you don't live that in the that left.

Right. And I'm Leonard up in the hill but the other.

Sam Schrager: One leaner still there, as I told.

Edward Halseth: They should know something about that country.

Sam Schrager: That that what.

Edward Halseth: Is that, a girl?

Sam Schrager: I think there's a man, but I don't know for sure. Do you know the the story about of her getting killed? The daughter Agnes leader.

Edward Halseth: Well, all I know is hearsay. Now that that's all I know.

Sam Schrager: What's the hearsay that you know what he was?

Edward Halseth: She was taken over to the to the mine over there and Haven and that there, mica mine. Oh, there you are. That's where she was shot. And I have to. And I ask that he shot himself right afterwards. supposed to. His name was Jesse. Do. Her name was Agnes. I went to school with that, so I knew her well.

Like, she just felt good. Jesse. He was enough to do an old upload to start up.

Sam Schrager: But.

Edward Halseth: The his name just.

As a build him. And he used to be a builder man his brother done in do little Another word that. Bill. Maybe the original bill. He may be passed on. I don't know, but there is a build element down here, dude. A and they are one of the oldest timers in there. That is, that's the weather.

This is the young one down here of this building. Was family or. I don't think it can be Bill because he. Because he'd be 100 year old. But he used to go round trip where and sell bear me and sell the hide and oh he had a show at one time, I guess, with two men traveling around with a turtle.

Oh, man. Yeah.

Sam Schrager: Did he just travel right around here? Did he go?

Edward Halseth: Oh, right around to his territory here, did I understand? I never seen it, but that's what it said. But I seen him have them on a pole, moving along out from his traps. I've seen that. But the old man, the real old man, he lived down on the. Oh, the pilot down at. Down in there. Just about where you cross over to go to work.

That's where the old man and he.

Sam Schrager: Yeah. Do you, do you go to school right there in the middle?

Edward Halseth: That work worked out. Those him and that's good. That school was all gone. The regular all gone.

Sam Schrager: What did they call that school there? They have.

Edward Halseth: A cognitive.

Sam Schrager: Cognitive. And there was a church there too.

Edward Halseth: They used that school attitude. Oh, there no church to use the school as a church goes in there. Everything. Everything was there within that school. But I went to school and that's where I got started. And as far as I know, I don't know who my first teacher was, but, I wouldn't have the slightest idea.

Sam Schrager: Was there many kids there in the school?

Edward Halseth: Oh, God. If you could do it all over the world, there's no good there. Which again. But they would have gone good for the kids. That goes there, you know, it. Oh, they were. That was from the hog Meadows and there. And I was over south of us there. There were several families live south of it. The winners of it.

Well, there were several two boys that their personal.

Recognition clearly. You know, clearly there was a she married a cook camp six. Related.

Sam Schrager: Then what was the the, the church that that was there. Was it was it Norwegian and Swedish mostly, or, everybody or what?

Edward Halseth: Most entertaining, I suppose. But it it was Scandinavian there, but, I spoke to Scandinavian. I suppose the minister was from, No, I don't know who the minister would the letter to be. The one that lived up to my mom. She was a minister later. That could have been him. I wouldn't know what what services they had.

Their pub was once or twice a year.

Sam Schrager: Remember? What? What it was,

Edward Halseth: I don't remember. I don't think we were. I don't know if we had any Christmas because I. You know, nothing to buy, period. And so to buy clothes. Was you lucky to have a do you have sometime?

No, I wouldn't know anything else to tell you.

Sam Schrager: What? How much? of this place was cleared when you owned about.

Edward Halseth: 70, 80 acres. It is here.

That's all it was. It is. Here. When he bought this. But. And then they. And on Harold and Cream sell a little hut in Vermont. Hey, they made a little grain. Beans. Beans look like that? Yeah.

Sam Schrager: Well, what was the early work that that you first, you know, early work that you started doing yourself when you, when you were.

Edward Halseth: Boy, what was it?

Sam Schrager: What kind of work did you start doing first when you were a kid growing up, when you started working on the place, what did you do.

Edward Halseth: On the place?

Sam Schrager: Yeah.

Edward Halseth: Oh, well, here it was more or less farming here, whatever that would be. But. Cultivating beans and stuff like that. Pitch bum. Field station. Right. Barnaby. Oh, good. Good.

And when you went out to work for somebody else, were you just. It was a pick and shovel. It was amazing. Them. It.

Sam Schrager: Did any of your family work on the on the railroad was coming down through here?

Edward Halseth: No, I had a cousin that worked on the NPR down in that fired, on the railroad out of Lewiston to Spokane. Till he finally become an engineer. But then, after we got done with it and, you know, to, you know, 1910 move in with them. Are you doing.

Sam Schrager: This correctly? That's my name to Sam, That's my name, too. Sam. But you there. Sam. Sam. It's right.

What do you remember the early winters being like? I don't know where. Yeah. Oh.

Edward Halseth: I know we used to have a lot of snow.

too cold winters that. A lot of snow. Yeah. Terrible school up here. And where did where the snow. They were school.

At about all of us. And then do.

Sam Schrager: Even these winters harder? Much harder than they are.

Edward Halseth: Well, no, not in a hard of doing a whole lot more. So when you got no, you had. Oh. Do you got any snow on us? Apparently used to be here in the olden days. Used to be a time till you had to even break the road out here. So I get the mail, Pearson. Same way with,

Yeah. When you go to kindergarten. You know that? Well, one thing about here, we. Kendrick, you drive a sled down at the point to the bridge, and then you hook onto a rig with wheels on the motor. Henry.

And that's where the mail carrier had to come out. He come out on wheels and get to the port of the. That's right down there. You had a hook on display. Make his trip around in the sleigh to get back down there. Then he's going to wheels you back to get it. So that put it to now, I used to get my mail up here by the road up here.

Now I guess right here. The door. There's a lot of different. Very good. That just happened in the last couple of months. In parallel, I want to go over 60 years now because it was built. To be a little different to you.

Sam Schrager: Remember going down to Genesee for the harvest?

Edward Halseth: Well, I don't remember too much about that, but, remember, son, down there was. I told you about homes down there, done work with Cameron. Kitchen brothers is quite good. That's the only time I remember much about. work for the government. Montana. Terrible. For about three years. Serving. Steak and scattered. Like that. And I got married. And I got married there.

So fun. After that, my.

Sam Schrager: it, true that your wife, who was homesteading for sale.

Edward Halseth: We got him. You know, I had homestead do. All right, so my homestead. And then we got married where she laid down. And I lived down to. We just. I just sold mine. And we got married, and we still got that at about. I don't know, about 14, 15 homes. The long in.

Sam Schrager: Which she homesteading out of her place. What's your story about that. I mean, did she come. She came here from Norway and took up homestead. That would happen.

Edward Halseth: She came from Norway to to, North Dakota for North Dakota, brother. So we year three years up here and then she had a brother here in Montana where she homesteaded, and the land was sold off the homestead. So he wrote to her to come out there and nobody she come out there and took the homestead up. And that's about all this.

That was like farm enough. We got married, we started farming, then had a half a do and and had a few failures. So this is fun. So you better come back out here.

Sam Schrager: Well, what's different about it is that you don't usually find a woman taking up a homestead. Oh.

Edward Halseth: Oh, you don't know. Oh I didn't, and that just lots and took people. That go set up on the prairie over themselves. Boy, I don't know where to go to set up there. You set that up there on the first to go out and work in the summertime, make the wages in the summertime, but then had to put so much time on your homestead set up there and the prairie.

Why a little part, a little shack and nobody would miles of here. So you put your time in and then go back to work. I don't two girls up there. It had to. Grow in the sand. And then I was up there. But I cut back in the northern part of the state. They found them froze to death.

Their bed. And that's how they wanted. They've been out and homesteading. I've been a. But to come back on the homestead for the for the winter, you see that work during the summer, you come back. I hired a guy and,

That was a cut back.

Those in the eastern part of Montana, there's a whole part of the state. But anyway, these two girls, they come home, come to this town, hired this guy to take them out, and, they bought all the stuff that they figured they needed. Got everything that sold a guy, took them out, and there was a storm coming up.

So he asked them if they had everything that was needed, though, that mattress and everything. So the girls said yes, they had everything. So he took off and went back for town to get back before the storm was called. The storm and a good friend to find, a man to find a bill to find. They didn't have a match.

No. So in order, I don't remember what what the zero one of the severe storms up there, you know, to try to make it to to exist, bundled up in all their clothing and in the bedding and went to bed. And that's where they found it in the bed they had. And they read to the mother, and I believe the mother was.

Mother to Salt Lake City, Utah, that if they found a mother, that where they'd be that was updated. Read to Shelby.

Sam Schrager: Do you think that that your wife had any trouble homesteading? Was it? oh. That would be tough on, a woman to homestead.

Edward Halseth: She didn't have any trouble any more than the rest of them. She had a brother. Wouldn't have to go to out of place, so he'd look after that part of it, see that he had all that. Well, there's lots of good homestead out there that there are nobody I don't, so voted but wages and then days. You know my wife you got two daughters and have a week.

Sam Schrager: So doing what?

Edward Halseth: Housework for you. For me. Well, what was the best you ever got for her? She cooked on a farm. That's that's where I met her. Lower but cooked up fellow hours a week. That's right. Of a well six state farm and an engineer I farmer union and, home up in the variable she cooked.

Sam Schrager: Well, would you go out there for anyway? You get tired of Idaho?

Edward Halseth: No, I went after my brother was out there and I went up there and he worked for the government surveyor. So I went up there and got on a job with the government, arguing for punch of state run drive, an old mill, most anything, anything to do to make fun. I was made more money in them days. I one that's since $2 and $32.35 a day.

$0.35 a meal. I got them. And that's I put more money in the great for life and back. And I wanted that. I was in to camp like in 16 days, being one year that I never was upset again. Really, this is a good 16 days being a whole year that I was never outside. Okay? I was up there to send over division them, but actually Rocky Mount 60 miles and over.

Had no cars, no nothing. If you had any a place, you'd either put two in that pack on your back and take out a foot or a little. That way you got in stage or take your ID or something like that. but we were back in the mountains, back on a on what they call a sun River.

Yeah. We've been a great fall.

Sam Schrager: Never have been. I think.

Edward Halseth: some of there's a river comes out of the Rockies back. There was a big dam survey in for a big dam back here, and we were on the survey crew, and we were on the survey crew on a the sun River where they're putting another dam. And I worked there, run training most anything that they wanted to do.

But when we were serving on the Prairie Survey, the first canals and stuff like that, why is the punch steak? Roger. Mostly to most. Jerry I drove a mule team and then I'd run the sides out in the field there for steaks. took two years with them. But as far as making money, I made more of what I had to go to.

$0.35, the bank that I had no way to spend it. Oh, I think it was about all of us. And, yeah, the camp was play hard. No booze. Well, do the boy, good friends came.

Sam Schrager: Well, I mean, and every some guys could lose a lot of money playing cards. Do. Oh, yeah.

Edward Halseth: But, you were not allowed to gamble. You know, penny ante or no less than that. Over two bridges, something like that. They go to gambling where you'd be at, they pick you up. But you had that the first time they called you to do whatever little like that. But, there was only one guy that after they started building the dam to come in there, he was a guy that read on the stuff.

So you come in there and place a bunch of them that took after him, the record him he would have never lived to see. Daylight in igloo took $1,800 up one night, so they took after him, but they got out. Then they, you know.

Sam Schrager: It was like, who did?

Edward Halseth: I had a guy that died in my bunk. No doctor, no nothing. Or the word of the Lord. No, no, no what I don't.

Sam Schrager: What happened to in there? What? He they just get sick.

Edward Halseth: Well, so what happened? I was at that time I was praying for. I would work for the government. Then the same I would work for the contractor that had the government contract. And I was working right. And fighting. And I come in to get my treat one evening. And this I was forced to pick up the government mail and also the contract with me that I was not allowed to have anybody stay in the workhouse would make I come in that afternoon, come in for camp, welcome into town to get loaded for the next morning.

Okay. And the snow storm. And that night the no man come up to the bar. Got a big bag to get to come in. So I don't know, I as you get to me to that. well, I finally got the best. I made it all messed up then that's it. And he was sick and wanted to come in out of the storm, out of the well.

So I let him in. I gave him that a double bond. You see the double decker bunk, and I gave him the lower bunk, and I'd take the. So. And morning that I had to go on line. He said, well, Teamster. He said, Will you let me stay here? I said, I can't let you stay. So he broke down, started crying.

He was sick with his problem and he died anyway. But he says, I'm so sick I'd do anything good. Stay well, I said several. I said I'd like to stay here. Provide the two. Take these. Come lock the place up when you leave here and go to Frank restaurant and give them, man, and give him the keys. All right.

He knew that. I went with the condo. I went to the camp. Is that day on the road? The next day in camp. And the next day I come back and I come back. I drove up to the bunk house and he come out the door on his hands, knees from the floor. Oh, is this team sure I'm sick, I said.

What's the matter with you know, this is always is your. It is not my blood. That's what you had a doctor? No, I got no money for doctor. So that I think they know. And the. I said, what do you want to eat? I'll go get you some read. Oh is that I don't want. That is all I had left.

I'd like that little milk. I said, all right. I got the horses taking care of that. I'll take it down to this farmer and get to him. Go! Go down! I got the farmer. The milk. Got his farm. Get the milk! Him the milk. You know what downtown called the up. Doctor, as I said, you got no money.

I said I don't know anything about it either. I'm notified you and I'm going to notify the sheriff. I said up to you to come take care. So at that time, I got back up to the bunkhouse. I hear the sheriff of the dog. Both Nomadland and Goodman. I said, going to take him out to hospital. That was on for miles.

Over to Augusta to hospice and move in that says you have to take care of him. I said, I can't take care because I got to go back to camp in the morning. I said, the only thing I can do, I said, I'll take the midnight. That helped. He came to bed as he left to get somebody else.

Look at that. So I did. But hot pack on his stomach. That's all. I love all of us. A bunch of aspirin or morphine pills, I suppose. What? Again? But anyway, at midnight I went out in the barn and laid down in the barn, and at midnight these other boys had come up from downtown. Some farmers down there.

Well, the old teamster had gone. All right. He's gone. Yeah. He's gone. Well, he died. So I don't know much about. Lock her up and cover him up. Next morning I went down, called the sheriff, told her they gave me orders to lock her up, and I did. I got that done with him. The Lord on and what I.

I suppose that took him over in the bank to the river and a sand pile. Dug a hole and rolled him in. Cover him up. but the way that happened, that over there, nobody else knew what would come. And he used to be a contractor down here.

Sam Schrager: And,

Edward Halseth: Snake River and all the. So then did you know a man, a slave, one guy out of town did up there. All that done the hole along the canal and just dug a hole in the fill and roll them in and help him up. Another a funny business bank. The following on him. They'd learned about who killed him.

Nobody know.

Know it? It's a little different now.

Sam Schrager: Do you think that that country was much different than the country around here? And it was much tougher country? Were that country?

Edward Halseth: Well, anyone any new country? The same thing. I don't care where you go to that. Well, that what we were up to that was civilized to put it what it was before we ever happened. Why shoot of all time up to tell about a few you get on that was anybody and either the gun you or whichever the best shot so that all the country.

Oh I do country life up there. But I drove the cowboy and recovered after ten days. And that's how they when the government turned that land over to be home. Still, why shoot the cowboys? They had a big stockman had all that land, some of it fenced in. Some of it, had sheep sheds on some of it not.

Sam turned it over to be homesteaded. You seen them go to get their stuff out of the right now, but no, no, but, thing. But you could, settle down here in Lewis. Had to. Well, that goes that's, that,

Hello. That happened up just above the middle of town. I don't know where you live or whatever, but, setting the make up and all. Go set a long time. Then he started talking to him. That's. Oh, God. Lived around here. This that he was an old timer from open himself. He was. Don't tell me about all these old age houses.

He says the rope and the neck. Your neck ran over a pole over there with low number. So I said it wouldn't bother you, that of the six you'd. So it. Oh, right. What would different you right now there's left enough, enough here to tell me some other stories. Good, good of it.

They seen the tracks. We went through this guy and went through the store, come and got it and took off.

Sam Schrager: no. What do you know about him? About any of that kind of stuff around here in the early days? Any any. I guess one thing I've heard about it was the old, there were some guys disappeared, some Italian worker disappeared. You know, when they were building the railroad through. That's an old story. And I've heard back in around, the cuts, they figure they buried him through many cuts.

Edward Halseth: Well, that I wouldn't know that. But I do know this. That. That, you know, it was a hog meadow. Well, spread east of the Hog Manor. There's an old road goes up there to a big old lemonade. That was a big truck, you know, I guess I know, been over there, but it's. I understand now. It's a big dirt.

And then there when the village was a big one. Trust. And in there. And at that time, Janesville old rust lot has a saloon and of rail wops and all these guys are getting broken root of. So they started out one night and they got to fight that. They're used to the, the meadow. And some people got killed out there and they just dug a hole and little shake out there and roll them in and forgot about that just hearsay with me, you know, I don't know how to that age, but I never been there.

But that's what they claim. But that's out of that way. Why didn't the. Timber country little the prairie country boy God boy you that voice over there they they just didn't.

I seen folded up that cut back. So if I want to sit there next to the table. But when you dress and and, buckskin, buckskin and pants the buckskin.

I don't could use her, but I'll bet, too. He's a total bird, too. I know, right up in the cattle country, right up and, cut back and that's, that's all Indian flag. Nothing there. Yeah, we had a neighbor down there next to us. Down there that he could tell about the old days. There was a six shooter or the row, whatever that took first.

Sam Schrager: Did you, ever know a guy they called while they be around here?

Edward Halseth: Well, were.

Sam Schrager: While maybe there was a guy around here that used to wear a buckskin.

Unknown: I heard, you know, and no one.

Sam Schrager: Arthur Berkley, tell me one once about, where the Arthur.

Edward Halseth: You know, he should know because he's.

Sam Schrager: Well, yeah.

Edward Halseth: He's one of the oldest other guys.

Sam Schrager: He said there was a lawless bunch up on Shane Meadows.

Edward Halseth: Because he see that. That's north. North. They came up on the back up in the timber. I would know he is. He was one of the oldest settlers in that part of the country. Yeah. And But they didn't have the leaders there in that issue. Younger generation. I love to talk about it.

Sam Schrager: Well, you know, did did you ever hear anything about it?

Edward Halseth: Oh, you industrial worker of the world. I won't work. That's how I got my job. But redundancy. I was sitting on the sidewalk like, I'm up. That's a good job, Ross, to come up and say, I want to work. What do you pay? So no, he would along the line, no, not for that way. We didn't work. Come up to me so I could do other work.

I. I have no way to talk to him. Yes. That's all you had ever do. I don't that don't. Industrial workers world.

Sam Schrager: There was in the harvest field a.

Edward Halseth: Home field but a lot I bet I bet butlers and whatnot. There was this camera not before the stick a done what? Dropped out of the volunteers cleaning up. And that was it. We quit right now. And northeast to the northeast of Genesee. Did you ever contact this? also down here, Troy and Gorsuch? Well, I even if I may not be into them, they live there on a big trash crew.

One of their murder. Just on part of a murder. Just being involved, in the bottom. Oh, yeah, I just I w w just work for the world. Done that.

Sam Schrager: I thought that they was in the logging camps. I didn't, oh. Well.

Edward Halseth: Oh, well, them all have to, but, I was there. That's what I there, right? That's where I get my, They were up here to. I chased them out of the fellowship, and then I went up to, Oh, the state of Spokane just recently cannot there. So they. But the logging camps, you see, in the old days, you, you had to carry a blanket where you had to have a blanket.

Regardless, you didn't get a bed, no place where you would blanket. And that's when I w w got in the logging camps. The logging camps had to finish of bedding and to get to bed. But when we got traction, when I went up in Tennessee, I slept alongside of her home along the railroad track, and my blanket when I got through it, suppertime was worth it.

You know, chocolate. I love a blanket. Never sleep. That was I was driving. Would love it. But you don't do that. Oh, there's lots of difference in them days. And that's that's civilized. The comfort was in days before my. Just like our. Because I hate when you're older and I am like, gosh, you know, you could tell things that I never even knew that.

I'd say that there and there you go. You said their name.

Sam Schrager: oh. Brooklyn working boy. Yeah.

Edward Halseth: You know them guys? Hey.

Sam Schrager: Did you ever hear about. Did you ever hear about vigilantes in this country? Roof vigilantes in this country, back before your day. You know, the guys that that pretty much just run things, and you.

Edward Halseth: Know, that wouldn't be in here, though. This country. You see this? They say it was civilized. The biggest percent of these farmers that come in here as about 18. Well, 1886, seven years long in there. this American raider over there, there's,

You talk to Vince Carter? thank you.

Sam Schrager: the the other other guy that's been talking to people. He talked to him. He talked to Frank Carter.

Edward Halseth: And then we'll. Yeah. There. All times.

Sam Schrager: Yeah.

Edward Halseth: Good. Thank you. 80 to you. I think. and they're all they're all settlers over there. The first.

Sam Schrager: Is, you you burning wood in here? What do you.

Edward Halseth: Know? I spoke to Boomer.

Sam Schrager: I just wonder what.