Supplies could be gotten from either the railhead at Fosston (reached in 1888) or at Park Rapids (reached in 1891). Both were served by the Great Northern, but supplies coming in to Park Rapids were cheaper because they did not have to be shipped as far as those bound for Fosston. Of course, the Carsons probably had old contacts in Park Rapids that would also have made it more attractive.
In 1894, Bemidji was badly placed as a distribution point. It was not centrally located in the county. There was no convenient water access for logs or freight or passengers. It had no railroad. It had no good trails. In spite of those disadvantages, the convenience and popularity of the Park Rapids Trail gave Bemidji a dominance as a distribution center which it never surrendered.
M.D. Titus took a boat ride on the Schoolcraft the other day that he did not enjoy very much as it was very unexpectedly. He was fording the Schoolcraft at Godbout's and had fastened the wagon box to the front bolster, thinking that would hold it from floating off, but when midway of the stream the water lifted the box, bolster and all off the running gear and it commenced a journey down river carring[sic] M.D., who was calling loudly for help. The neighbors living near by fished him and his wagon out and sent him on his way rejoicing.
The crossings of the Schoolcraft River were the places where the trail gave the most trouble. At both crossings the corduroy was unstable in wet weather, and both bridges could be washed out.
Cliff Miller in Mainly Logging, p.245, described the trail as crooked and winding, at first simply fording the rivers. The upper crossing of the Schoolcraft River, which gave so much trouble, was at first a ford at Skunk Camp. Skunk camp was just below the point where the stream from Frontenac Lake enters the Schoolcraft. Miller adds that toters "threw the dead and down out of the way just enough to get through."
ThePioneer had a general description of Beltrami County in its issue of Sept. 2, 1897. It had this to say about roads:
Practically all the highways in the county thus far laid out have been adopted on the theory that the poorest land furnishes the best road, and from Park Rapids to Fosston, via Bemidji, one would travel the greater part of the way, over a sandy and jack pine ridge, the road circling here and there to avoid marshes, or districts of heavy land. The distance from Bemidji to Fosston in particular is thus much enhanced over a straight line, Travelers taking this highway are not be any means favorably impressed with the country.
The old trails tended to follow the high ground. New surveyed roads followed section lines.
The trail did not cross the Mississippi, for it ended on the east side of the river where the Carson Brothers trading post stood. At first the river was crossed by means of a sandbar. Later, as the town began to develop on the other side, a bridge was built, though it caused some ridicule. On June 5, 1896, the Eagle carried the item:
SAVED! -- That handsome looking structure with a hump back that extends from the west bank of the Mississippi to the east and called a "bridge," is now almost out of danger of going out as the water in the river is falling.
The County Commissioners came to the rescue, though it took until the following April.
County Commissioners awarded the contract for building a bridge across the Mississippi River between Lake Irving and Lake Bemidji to G.E.Carson and John Steidle. Work will be commenced as soon as the water goes down.
None of the trails was easy, and the Park Rapids Trail was like the rest, with stumps, bogs, and floating corduroy. It probably came in for more criticism than the rest because its bad condition could be blamed on the merchants of Park Rapids, who were not keeping up their end of the contract. Wherever any fault lay, the bad condition of the trail was real enough. One settler, Charlotte Morsch, said of the Park Rapids Trail:
From Park Rapids on, the roads were especially rough, just logging roads through the woods. At one very rough spot the wagon tipped over, dumping everything on the ground. A heavy piece of furniture barely missed hitting the baby.
The vital needs of Bemidji and adjoining communities were met by draymen driving loaded wagons and sleds. While the stores needed kerosene, flour, clothes, tools and similar items for settlers, Donald Whiting suggests that his father-in-law, Peter Becker, who hauled over the Park Rapids Trail, may have carried "mostly whiskey." Considering the number of saloons in the area, whiskey was doubtless a vital supply. Whatever the load, it was a difficult drive.
Draymen usually took two days to make the trip. William Bartelson, who operated the Bemidji & Park Rapids Stage & Express Line, advertised in the Pioneer that the stage "Leaves Bemidji Monday's and Friday's, Park Rapids Tuesday's and Saturday's at 6:30 am, arriving at destination the same day." Later the mail was increased to three times a week.
Bartelson did not always have an easy trip. On April 4, 1896, the Pioneer reported:
Mail carrier Bartelson found a hard row to hoe coming from Park Rapids on Tuesday. He did not get into Bemidji until 11:00 o'clock at night, and then only after having performed the Herculean feat, so he said, of cutting his way through 200 trees that had blown down across the roadway.
Wind was not all that held up the stage. A week later, April 14, the same newspaper reported "On account of bad roads and high water, it was impossible to get mail through to Park Rapids for a week."
May, 1896, was a bad month for weather. Henry Kolden in Blackduck reported eighteen days of rain. On May 8, 1896, the Eagle reported that "the 'Overland Mail' due here Thursday evening was delayed 20 hours on account of a washout on the Schoolcraft between here and Lake George." On May 14 the Pioneer reported: "On account of bad roads and high water, it was impossible to get mail through to Park Rapids for a week." On May 15 the Pioneer reported the corduroy at the Schoolcraft was afloat. On May 22 the Eagle also reported on the stage carrying the mail: "Wm. Bartleson had his horses stuck in the mud at the Schoolcraft Tuesday night. But for timely assistance he would not have been able to rescue them."
The trail's being almost altogether in Hubbard County while Bemidji was in Beltrami County meant some frustration, and the newspapers report again and again on difficulties with the road and the failure of Hubbard County to deal with them. Even in the winter they could look forward to problems after the thaw:
With the bridge across Dinner Creek and the Schoolcraft River in their present condition it is a certain fact that it will be almost impossible to get across during the high water in the spring, as the first freshet will undoubtedly wash away both bridges. These bridges could not be rebuilt as cheap at any other time as they could now and we should think that if Hubbard county appreciated our trade they would repair them at once. (Eagle, Feb. 12, 1897)
The Park RapidsEnterprise on May 22, 1896, agreed editorially:
. . .We have just gotten our friendly traffic relations with Bermidji [sic] in good order and now the whole plan seems liable to be done away with. The road from here north is in horrible shape all the way, and is now impassable at the crossing of the Schoolcraft river. . . The people in and around Bermidji are entirely dependent upon this road for their mail connections, and now that it is impassable, they feel justly indignant that Hubbard county has allowed it to become so.
The Enterprise describes the road as ". . . the long, rocky, hilly, stumpy, rutty, muddy road, impassable at one point for lack of a bridge between here and Bermidji. . . ." The fact that a stage road was being planned between the railhead at Walker on Leech Lake and Bemidji probably made Hubbard County take a greater interest in the Park Rapids Trail than they had in the ordinary course of business. There was competition. A road from Steamboat Landing by Midge Lake (Farris) and Grace Lake (Graceland) on to Bemidji carried freight from Walker and Leech Lake. The threatened road from Walker to the Park Rapids Trail at Lake George was also competition.
Whether the Enterprise moved the Hubbard County authorities or not, the same issue of the Eagle reported:
Later—Since the above was put in type Park Rapids has sent a large crew—four men—to work on their end of the road.
Perhaps too much was expected of four men, for a month later the Eagle was complaining again:
The bridge at the upper crossing of the Schoolcraft is reported to be in an unsafe condition for travel. This bridge is a short distance this side of Lake George and in Hubbard County, and our citizens think it is about time they were doing some work on the road between here and there if they want to hold the trade they now have from this place. The freighters from this place have had to do most of the repair work on that end of the road so far this year. (Eagle, June 31, 1896)
In May, the Pioneer reported "A large force of men were at work on the Schoolcraft bridge this week. It is expected to have the bridge open for traffic very soon." The work was reported completed a week later. Later the paper reported that a crew of men was repairing corduroy on the Schoolcraft River. Although this work was in Hubbard County, the paper does not report on who paid for the work. Corduroy was often a problem. On March 15, 1897 the report was "Part of the corduroy near Carr's Bridge floated away last week."
In 1896 the roads were so bad that they were reported on again and again—more in the Eagle than in the Pioneer. The very heavy rains of the spring, especially in the month of May, tore out bridges, floated the corduroy, and turned the wagon tracks that were the road into quagmires. 1897 seems to have been a better, that is a dryer, year. The Eagle of April 30, 1897, says, "The roads from here to the railroad are much better this year than last at this time." The rains did come. On July 16, 1897, the Eagle reported "The bridge across Grant Creek [between Bemidji and Moose] has been washed out." The water was high. Two items in the same issue tell how high: "Owing to the excessive high water there will not be a very big crop of hay this year, at present the meadows are covered with a foot of water."
The bridge at Carr's mill is again in such shape that it is impassible [sic]. The water in the Schoolcraft is three inches higher at present than it was after the spring thaw.
On July 13, 1897, readers of the Eagle were told of the difficulties the stage was having.
The stage is having hard trips of late owing to the high water. Last Saturday Driver Smith had to abandon his wagon at the Schoolcraft and bring the mail down with a boat.
Then on May 30 the report was "Rain for three straight days and nights made the roads between Bemidji and Park Rapids and Fosston well nigh impassable."
The mail, which came out of Park Rapids, was of interest to everyone.
The tri-weekly mail is indeed a success at this stage of the game. They tried hard to make two trips last week but did not make but one. As it is however, Bill [Bartelson] has his hands full trying to get over the roads and bridges damaged by the exceeding high water. The cordurory [sic] at the upper crossing of the Schoolcraft is afloat and it was impossible for him to get his team over it. He however managed to get through with the mail the first trip this week (Eagle, May 15, 1896)
But there was also good news. "The post office has done the handsome thing by Bemidji people, and has granted the petition for tri-weekly mail to Park Rapids."
In the face of heavy rains the merchants of Park Rapids and Bemidji simply could not maintain fifty miles of muddy tracks through the wilderness. Corduroy in swamps was bound to float away in high water, and simple, primitive bridges would act according to their kind and float away in the spring freshets. The problems of driving wagons loaded with 3,000 pounds over such trails must have taxed the strength and ingenuity of every driver. The Park Rapids Trail was a lifeline, but at times one that was tenuous indeed.
Anyone driving horses knows there is more to worry about than high water, though rain may have had something to do with Charles Gillham's problems the same month:
Chas. Gillham had bad luck the last trip to Park Rapids. His horse give out and he broke his wagon and spilled a large quantity of roofing pitch over his load. He was eight days making the trip. (Eagle, May 30, 1896)
A.P.Blom arrived in June, 1895, and built on his claim, which was on the Fosston Trail just north of Bemidji. His daughter, Hedda Blom Mhyre, recalls:
After he got the barn built and everything, he kept on hauling supplies from Fosston to Bemidji. Bemidji was nothing but an Indian village with their wigwams all over; it was wild! In the middle of town there was a little store to sell to the Indians and my father was hauling supplies for that little store, and for himself. Dickinson was hauling supplies from Park Rapids to Bemidji and my father hauled from there too. It was winter, you know, and the snow was deep, but they kept on hauling anyway. It took over a week to go back and forth, driving the horses.
The snow could make problems, but the cold weather froze the swamps and allowed for free travel over the ice. On December 4, 1896, the Eagle reported "The freight teams went to Park Rapids over the Lake Road Wednesday - for the first time this winter."
Some merchants depended upon commercial haulers to bring their supplies in. R.H.Dickinson of Buena Vista carried his own, and as the Eagle reported on November 20, 1896 "Buena Vista merchant George LaBree sent teams to Park Rapids this week after goods." There could be problems. A week later the Eagle reported
The tote teams for George LaBree at Buena Vista got somewhat frisky and ran away between Park Rapids and Blue Lake and scattered merchandise among the jack pines—no serious injury was done.
In spite of its difficulties, the Park Rapids Trail was the most popular route from the railheads into Bemidji. Park Rapids was the closest point and the quickest trip (and therefore the cheapest) for most settlers and for most freight. The Eagle of April 24, 1896 seemed outraged that settlers did not know about the Park Rapids route.
If the route to Bermidji had of been advertised as it should be we would not hear prospectors making the remark that we are "out of the world" and there is not a direct route to our city.This was forcibly demonstrated when. . .[three men] of St. Paul arrived here via Crookston and Fosston. They were six days making the journey, when if they had come the direct route—via Park Rapids—they would have made the journey in two days with less than half the expense.
This city is not getting the immigration that it should just because the way to reach us has not been known. And furthermore, the above named gentlemen were told on starting out that the Park Rapids road was nothing but swamps and lakes and could not be traveled during the summer. That is a mistake as this road is not only passable at all seasons of the year, but is the shortest route to the railroad.
In 1898, the Great Northern completed its tracks from Deer River to Fosston, bringing the first railroad into Bemidji. A few months later, the Brainerd and Northern completed its line into Bemidji, then on into Blackduck (under the name Minnesota and International) in 1902. The primary trails for settlers and for freight -- the Park Rapids Trail as well as the Fosston Trail (and its extension, the Black Duck Road) and the Fosston County Road—had been supplanted. A business and a way of life—toting—had suddenly passed. Short hauls remained. But Bemidji was the beginning of the trip, not the destination. Bemidji, because of the railroads, had become the area's primary distribution point.