Ipswich Tribune -

From the Ipswich Tribune Thursday, May 30, 1935 edition

LIFE IN SHANTY ON CLAIM

STORY OF PIONEER LADY

Part III

That year we broke up one hundred acres of prairie and I’ll never forget M. A. Slocum was assessor. He came around and asked me how many acres we had broken and I very proudly said one hundred and then he told me it would be assessed $1 per acre. I guess my countenance fell for he often guyed me about it afterwards. The winter of 1883 and ’84 we lived on our preemption, the shanty was what they called sodded up to make it warm. This was done by plowing sod and cutting it in...