P a g e 4 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y To Kill Ground Squirrels and Prairie Dogs A Missoula county man writes to a home paper and gives the following recipe for killing ground squirrels. To get rid of ground squirrels procure a quart of bisulphide of carbon and round pieces of horse manure. Saturate a piece, set fire to it, roll it into the hole and close up the mouth of the hole with a clod or anything convenient. The River Press is fully satisfied that the same recipe can be effectively used in killing prairie dogs. Every farmer should make it his business to rid his place and adjacent lands of the pests; and the stockmen ought to combine in an effort to rid the ranges of prairie dogs, as they destroy large sections of valuable range country. The plan given above is cheap, effective and speedy. -The River Press Newspaper, Fort Benton, MT June 24, 1891 SPOTTED PUP 1 cup rice 2 cups water Handful of raisins ¼ cup molasses or sugar Cinnamon to taste 1 tablespoon vanilla Put everything in the pot and bring to a boil; stir frequently until water is absorbed by the rice. Good by itself or add a topping. P a r k e r H o m e s t e a d The Parker Homestead- A Kingdom of Hope. Like the cottonwoods that shelter this cabin, the Parker family who built it dug their roots deep, weathered many seasons of hardship, and drank what sustenance they could from the soil. The Parkers were among the thousands of Americans who took advantage of the Homestead Act of 1862 to stake their dreams on the arid Montana plains. Like so many other families, they notched out a living with sweat and optimism, and enjoyed little in the way of material comfort. In the 1890's, newlyweds Nelson and Rosa Ellen (Harwood) Parker refurbished a miner's shack on nearby Antelope Creek. A few years later they built a cabin for their growing family on the Jefferson River, but a spring flood washed that home away. The Parkers escaped in a rowboat, Rosa clutching the youngest of her three children between her knees. They vowed to move to dry ground. In 1910, Nelson filed a patent to homestead 160 acres here. They built this sod-roofed cabin, and hauled water from creeks and ditches for years before they could afford to dig a well. Eventually the Parkers built a larger home near Three Forks, and abandoned this cabin. In 1939, Orville and Josephine Jewett bought the place for their family of four children. The Jewetts farmed, hunted, trapped, and sheared sheep through the Depression and World War II. When they lived here, the cabin had three rooms, all painted with calcimine or white-wash. Bright linoleum covered wide-plank floors, curtains softened the windows, and the laughter of the Jewett's four children rang across the fields. The Parker Homestead lies along the Jefferson River southwest of Three Forks. It was formerly a state park but now lies on private property owned by a local family. Barber’s Itch: A type of fungus infection forming on the face of an adult male’s beard. It affects the hair follicles and causes itching and burning. Apply a mixture of equal parts of alcohol, peroxide of hydrogen, and 4 grains of bichloride of mercury.
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