Game in the early daysThe following was printed in the Rose History in 19111:"In the days before white men came, Rock County was the home of several species of big game, including bison, elk and deer, and many fur bearing animals. On hunting and trapping expeditions the aborigines visited the county from time immemorial, and later, when settlement had been extended to the frontier regions, white trappers were wont to visit the streams with their traps and were richly rewarded. The bison was among the first of the big game to depart after the arrival of settlers. The very first settlers occasionally saw stray members of this noble animal of the prairies and many evidences of his former presence in the shape of wallows and his bleaching bones scattered over the prairie. The elk also departed early, although a few were seen by the Rock County pioneers. So late as May 1879, one traversed a portion of the county, having been seen crossing the farms of Messrs. Ellithorp and Green and making for the Rock River valley to the southeast. Deer remained in the county for a long period, and during the period of deep snow in the winter of 1880-81 quite a number were driven from their retreats and were seen; a few were captured. Soon after the well remembered October blizzard the report of the presence of three or four of the animals on the Mounds brought forth a dozen mounted huntsmen from Luverne, who, with a pack of fleet-footed dogs, were soon on the trail. The game was located, and after a pursuit of several miles one was brought to bay and shot by Sheriff Edwin Gillham. The next February one was captured by a farmer in Vienna Township, the frightened animal having fled to the farmhouse to escape dogs which were in pursuit. Beaver and other fur bearing animals were taken along the streams for many years after the county was settled. During the early ‘70s quite a number of beaver were trapped by the settlers along Beaver Creek in the township of the same name. A pioneer settler of the precinct tells me that at the mouths of the many deep holes, which are a feature of the stream, these cunning animals would cut down the willows and build formidable dams within a few days if unmolested. The local press, in the fall of 1876, reported Rock River lined with implements of destruction for the taking of the valuable pelts.From the Herald, Oct. 21, 1876: ‘An ancient and respectable family of beaver that have dammed the river above Rolfe’s ranch and made extensive preparations for passing the winter in quiet comfort are soon to be called on to furnish material for warm caps, collars, etc., while their paddle shaped caudal appendages will be made to yield delicious soup for R. Douglass, who has had an eye to their movements for some weeks.’ Beaver were taken along this stream up into the ‘80s. In the spring of 1885 ‘Rattlesnake Dick,’ a well known trapper of the frontier, stopped in Luverne and reported that from the preceding November he had taken more than 70 beaver between the mouth of Rock River and Luverne. In 10 days he took 18 of the animals between the village and Darling’s ford."Donations to the Rock County Historical Endowment Fund can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, P.O. Box 741, Luverne, MN 56156.Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.
