The prairies are one of the greatest gifts to humankind, for on this
fertile and wide-open lands pioneers built a civilization and a culture,
which has fed millions. This book presents the challenges faced by the
first settlers along the Red River of Northern Minnesota. Here
homesteaders settled the unbroken lands of the frontier and experienced
seemingly endless obstacles in their quest to conquer the soil. Women
bore the brunt of the burden, but children and men were not exempt from
the agony of daily drudgery. Though the homestead was free, failure was
more common than success and the price paid in toil, sweat, tears and
broken bodies was great.