AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
RALPH JOHN WESLEY HOWARD

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said, "Fasten them on you some place where they can’t come off or get lost and leave them there". I happened to remember my compass so I said, "lets see the map". We were near a big slough. "Now", I said, "According to the map, there is a section corner stone about one half mile east of the north edge of this slough". We found the corner and by starting a line by compass and pacing 1700 steps we could locate the next section corner. We got the numbers of three quarter sections that would do as well as any, and beat it back to file. Our applications were received and recorded on October 22, 1906. We returned to my homestead, the northwest quarter of 10-53-w3 meridian and started building a log shack.

While we were looking the country over, one day, I took my carbine and done some investigating alone. I hung a big deer that froze over night and I packed a small one to camp. After we had the shack nearly done, I had a little time while Will and Frank cut the roof poles. I went to the river a little more than one half-mile away and set a couple of traps.

That night, we had the roof on and Will said, "Tomorrow, I want to go to Lloydminster and catch a train to the States and bring us a car of horses and machinery in the spring". I said, "Okay, I’ll take you to Lloyd". We started with just the running gear of the wagon. We stopped half way to feed the horses oats and brew a pail of tea. Then I cut a load of dry wood and we reached Lloydminster after dark. Will’s train left about midnight with him aboard. In the morning, I sold my wood for three dollars. I bought a sash of glass for a window, a pound a tea, a pound of smoking tobacco, a fifty pound sack of flour and had forty cents left to winter on. I arrived back at my homestead about midnight in a snowstorm. Frank heard me coming and was up with a good fire going and a pail of tea, on the make. It was snowing in the morning and continued until mid-afternoon, then the sun came out. Frank said he’d russel some wood for the night and I said I would look at my traps. There was something in one, I wasn’t sure what. It was about the size of a large cat, but had a longer tail. It was soaking wet and covered with mud.

When I got back to the shack, Frank had the woodcut and I said to him, "I suppose we have got a fox". I hung whatever it was back from the fire until it dried off. Then I gently brushed and shook it out and the fur fluffed out and it was beautiful. It was not a silver fox. I skinned and stretched the pelt; it was a cross fox, less valuable than a silver or black fox, but more valuable than a red fox.