Journey along the waters…

Journey along the waters…. . , River Routes , Our local rivers were used for transportation for centuries, first by Indians, later by white fur traders, explorers, trappers and hunters. From Red Lake, early travelers could canoe either to Lake Winnepeg via the Red Lake - Red River route or to Rainy River and the border lakes via the Tamarac - Sturgeon - Big Fork Rivers. The "Indian Portage" across four miles of wet bog between the Tamarac and Sturgeon Rivers challenged even the most hearty souls., In 1806, the Northwest Company had a post here on the northeast shore of Upper Red Lake, probably slightly inland along the north side of the Tamarac River., Before roads cut through this country, the sandy shoreline of Red Lake provided passage for many homesteaders trudging to their claims along the north shore of Upper Red Lake., Red Lake Steamboats , Log drives on the Tamarac, Battle and Blackduck Rivers brought logs into Red Lake. The logs were then towed across to the Red Lake River and floated downstream to Red River Valley sawmills., The last log drive in Minnesota was east of here on the Little Fork River in 1937. Turn-of-the-century steamboat traffic on Red Lakes was brisk. While four large steamboats towed 75,000,000 feet of logs in 1901, five smaller steamboats hauled lumberjacks, supplies and homesteaders. During the 1930s, two different boats sank at the mouth of the Tamarac River: the 110 foot logging tow boat named the Dahlberg and the 54 foot commercial fishing boat, the Chief., Homesteading the Red Lake Peatland , Mr. and Mrs. Albert Smith and son Dan at the Smith homestead on Upper Red Lake, about 1909. , 1896, Waskish area opened for homesteading and timber sales , 1910 - 1920, Ditches and roads constructed. About 30 families, mostly Czech immigrants, settle the north shore of Upper Red Lake , 1914, First bridge across the Tamarac River , 1916, Bureau of Indian Affairs build dam on the Red Lake River raising water levels of Red Lake. , 1920s, Many homesteaders attempt to farm the swampland but can't make a living. The number of settlers delinquent on ditch taxes increases. , 1931, 51% of land in Beltrami County is tax delinquent. , 1933, Congress enacts the Land Utilization Project (LUP) which authorizes the federal government to purchase unproductive lands from settlers and relocate them to more promising areas. , 1936, Over 300 local families relocate to more productive land., Settlers' Words… , "Where our log cabin stood there is now just a depression in the ground. Mother nature has taken it all back, along with several other deserted homesteads." Stanley Kuta (son of homesteaders Stanley and Marie Kuta, Bohemian immigrants.) lived in Waskish 1909 - 1917. Courtesy of Beltrami County Historical Society., "One day, Mrs. Bach, together with Mrs. Ole Olson, took some articles they had made to the Ladies Aid meeting at Quiring, about 18 miles from their home. They hitched a small horse to their sleigh and started out. The trip was going fine, but in the course of the afternoon, it started to snow, good and heavy, and as they had to be back home that night they started out as soon as possible. Mrs. Bach put her baby in the sleigh under a quilt and it wasn't very long before she had an extra quilt of snow covering her of about three inches. The wind commenced to blow and the snow began to drift making travel difficult for the horse, so that it became necessary for the two ladies to walk in front of the horse making a path. After much hardship, they finally arrived home about 11 o'clock that night." From Mrs. Peter Bach's statement, WPA Notebooks. Courtesy of Beltrami County Historical Society., "…But the continuing need on the homesteads was for cash, especially to pay the fearful ditch taxes that could amount to one-half of their annual income. So one by one, the young folks had gone off to work in Chicago, sending half their earnings back to the folks…" From On the Trail, 1981. Courtesy of Alfred J. Pretowske, "In 1913… there were 350 families taking their mail through the Waskish post office." "(But today,) the… country is desolate… and the same is true on (Ditch) 14 and the lakeshore - not a sign of their places any more." Account of retirement party for postmaster Mrs. Bertha (Peter) Halvarson, Bemidji Pioneer, 2/17/73. Courtesy of Beltrami County Historical Society.