(92) NOTWITHSTANDING the great distance to market towns on the railroad, the settlers had about as good a market for what they had to sell as those living farther east. This market was furnished by the great cattle ranches on the Niobrara River and tributaries, and by the mining country that was opening up in the Black Hills. Beyond Holt County nothing was raised except cattle, horses, hay, and perhaps a few garden vegetables. Not much grain was raised as yet in Holt County, and none to spare. The ranchmen depended wholly on the farmers of Antelope County for their supplies of flour, mill feed, corn, and oats. The Black Hills country got part of their supplies from Sidney on the Union Pacific Railroad, which was nearer than Antelope County. But there was nothing raised around Sidney, and all the supplies found there had to be shipped to that place over the railroad. For these reasons, a great trade began to spring up with the country northwest, about the year 1873 or 1874, which continued to increase until the coming of the railroad. This northwest country, extending to the Black Hills, took all the surplus corn and oats raised in the county and much of the wheat and rye, the two latter being, of course, first ground by the mills of the county. This trade also furnished employment for many men and teams, as nearly, or quite, all the hauling was done by Antelope County people.

     The common belief that nearly all the first settlers of Antelope County lived in sod houses is erroneous. Not a sod house was seen or heard of in the county until it had been settled about four years. There were three kinds of dwellings known in the county in the early days -- the (93) log house, the dugout, and the frame house. The first frame house in the county was built by Jonas J. Irish on the northwest quarter of section 3, Grant township, in the spring of 1871, the material having been hauled from Sioux City. The dugouts were sometimes made in a bank, the front part being walled up with logs, and sometimes a front room of logs would be added, making the house half log and half dugout. Another style of dugout was made like a cave or outdoor cellar, the top, or roof, being of logs on which brush and hay were first placed, and the earth taken out of the excavation was thrown on top for a cover, making it rounded enough to shed rain perfectly. The dugouts, which were not numerous, were commonly occupied by bachelors, the women generally objecting to a life underground, even as a temporary expedient.

     The groves along the Elkhorn and the timber creeks furnished logs for building purposes in abundance for three or four years, when they began to grow scarce. Most of the houses built at first, therefore, were made of logs. Generally they were covered with a roof made of poles on which was placed fine straight brush, and over this sods and earth. The cracks were chinked and then plastered inside and out with clay, which filled all the crevices, making the houses warm and comfortable. Some of the best houses were covered with shingles, but as they had to be brought from so long a distance, earth roofs were by far the most common. There were at first no floors, as lumber was too high in price and had to be hauled too far. Lumber was used only for the doors and windows. The ground being used as a floor, it would wear out unevenly; about the door and around the stove, where most used, it would become hollowed out by constant use, and occasionally clay would be brought in and pounded down to level up the holes. Furniture was neither abundant nor expensive. Some people had chairs, bedsteads, and tables that they had brought with them, but more had none until they had furnished themselves with home-made substitutes. For chairs they provided themselves with three-legged (94) stools. Bedsteads were framed into the sides of the wall and covered with slats rived from the native timber, and on this the straw or hay tick and bedding were placed. The tables were made of the most convenient home material, or perhaps in part from a pine board brought for that purpose.

     Some time during the year 1871 a portable steam saw-mill was brought into the county by C. P. Mathewson of Norfolk and set to work on Judge Snider's homestead, on the southeast quarter of section 6, Burnett township. In May, 1872, a water-power saw-mill was built by George H. McGee on Clearwater Creek, on section 6 in Ord township. These saw-mills were a great convenience to the settlers, as they furnished lumber suitable for many purposes. They both continued running as long as a supply of logs could be had. In 1872 the mill at Snider's was sold to Jesse T. Bennett, who moved it to Oakdale in the fall of that year, where it continued to do business for several years, when, the supply of saw logs giving out, it was moved out of the county. McGee's mill still continued to do work for several years.

     A few of the settlers built log stables for their teams, but most of them used a stable built of poles and covered with hay or straw. These were warm and convenient if kept in good repair, and if the covering was sufficient properly to shed the rain. As the settlements began to spread out over the dry valleys and the rolling prairies, the logs gave out and sod houses began to come into use. A good sod house is the best and most comfortable of any that can be built by the settler of a new country in this climate. The walls should be at least three feet thick at the bottom, and not less than eighteen inches at the top. If properly constructed they will last for many years, especially if they have a shingle roof with eaves that project well over the sides. Such a house is absolutely frost proof, and, if plastered inside, it is clean and presents a neat appearance. It is warm in winter and cool in summer. The only lumber used is for floor, roof, doors, and windows. It seems almost (95) a pity that the day of the sod house has gone by. The old settlers who are here to-day in Antelope County are wont to refer back to the early times with pleasure and affection. It is doubtful if with all their convenient, modern surroundings they are as happy as in the early days with all the inevitable drawbacks and inconveniences. To illustrate the conditions that prevailed in those days the following quotations are made from an address delivered to the Pioneers September 21, 1886, by the secretary:

     "In those days hospitality was known and practiced. The stranger was never turned away. The land-seeker was kept without charge and told where to go to look for the best vacant land. If a house was to be built, the whole community for miles around turned out and did the work in a day. The settlers of a neighborhood helped each other in harvesting, threshing, and making hay. In going to mill or to market they went, two or more neighbors in company, so as to assist each other in fording streams and drawing loads up steep hills. Occasionally it was necessary to go to Sioux City or Fremont for supplies, there being as yet no road to Columbus or Yankton, and on such occasions several would go in company, camping out at night and sharing each other's beds and rations. Prior to the establishment of a post-office in the county, the mail was brought from Norfolk for the whole county by any one who happened to have business there. This was distributed along the way, and what remained on reaching Judge Snider's was left there for future distribution. At first one's coat pockets sufficed for a mail sack, but later, as the population increased, a grain sack was used. Whenever two or three made a trip to a distant town or to mill they took pleasure in transacting business and doing errands for their neighbors. Sometimes hunting parties were formed both for pleasure and profit. The proceeds of the chase were commonly distributed throughout the neighborhood. When there was a meeting or a Sunday school, everybody went. If in warm weather, boys and girls were barefoot, as were some of the men. The men (96) were dressed in jeans or blue or brown denims, the women in calico. People listened to the sermon and were glad to hear it. Everybody was invited to sing. The congregation was the choir; there were no jealousies, and no one felt slighted. What was a joy to one was a pleasure to all, and what was a grief to one family was a sorrow to the whole community.

     "When on the 14th of August, 1869, the first wedding was celebrated, at which Mr. Allen Hopkins and Miss Francis L. Riley and Mr. Elias Ives and Miss Nancy Freelove Hopkins were united in wedlock by C. P. Mathewson, Esq., of Norfolk, the few settlers then in the county looked upon it as a family affair in which all were interested. And again, when in the early part of May, 1870, Mrs. L. A. Kimball of Cedar Creek gave birth to a little girl, the first child born in the county, it was a happy event for the whole settlement. And then again, when on the 6th of October, 1870, death for the first time invaded the ranks of the little band of pioneers and Fanny Snider was laid away to rest in the one lonely grave near her father's house, the whole community was present to weep with the stricken family."

     The early pioneers showed a commendable spirit of brotherly love and helpfulness. It might be better if more of this spirit prevailed to-day.