TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 LIFE ON THE PRAIRIE 4 Chapter 2 THE FRIGID WARNING 12 Chapter 3 FROZEN NIGHTMARE 18 Chapter 4 AFTERMATH 28 GLOSSARY 38 SOURCE NOTES 38 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 39 FURTHER INFORMATION 39 INDEX 40
THE PRAIRIE 1 LIFE ON THE PRAIRIE In the 1860s life on the US prairie was a new adventure for waves of settlers They came to live and farm in this midwestern region of the United States They came from all over the world but especially Europe Immigrants by the tens of thousands arrived from places such as Norway Sweden Germany and Russia They left behind their homes A family in Loup Valley Nebraska journeys to their homestead 4
They wanted a fresh start in a different place The Great Plains were flat and fertile Land stretched as far as the eye could see Life on the prairie was difficult And settlers continued to fight American Indians who were being forced to give up their ancestral lands In 1862 President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act For an 18 fee any adult US or foreign born black or white who was a US citizen or filing to become one could own land Each person could get 160 acres 65 hectares of land All they had to do was live on the land and farm it for five years 5
