Pioneering in Dakota - Prairie Fires
N 45° 27.379 W 097° 30.599
14T E 616500 N 5034723
Site of first recorded death by prairie fire in the Dakotas.
Waymark Code: WM122J
Location: South Dakota, United States
Date Posted: 12/21/2006
Views: 51
Pioneering was never easy. In Dakota, drought and grasshoppers, blizzards and prairie fires were all occupational hazards. In sparse timbered areas, settlers lived in dugouts and sod houses, enduring the hardships common to all frontiersmen.
Betsy Delager, a widow with five children, accompanied by her mother, Guri, migrated from Glenwood, Minnesota, to Day County in May 1884 by ox-drawn wagon. By 1886, they had a house, barn, well, several cows, and the vitally necessary plowed fire breaks.
On April 17, John Dodd, living 3 miles to the south, set a fire to burn out his slough. A strong wind took his fire out of control. It fired the haystacks near Betsy's barn.
Betsy and Guri, in seeking to save the livestock were trapped in the burning barn. Betsy ran out, her clothes aflame, and jumped into the well. The barn became Guri's funeral pyre.
The children had sought safety in the plowed fire break, and after the hot earth had cooled, helped their mother out of the well. Betsy lived through a long battle with burns. For 36 years this slight figure in a wheel chair was the symbol of the indomitable spirit which had brought her to Day County.
This marker is designed as a tribute to the courage of those who suffered tribulation and deprivation in the settlement of Day County.
Erected by the great-grandchildren of Guri, who 80 years later called South Dakota their home.
Marker Name: Pioneering in Dakota - Prairie Fires
Marker Type: Roadside
Marker Text: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:
A photo of the 'Marker' or 'Plaque' is required to identify the location, plus a picture of the 'Historic Site'. If you do not post a photo your log will be deleted.