Father had only recently completed our soddy on his claim in southwest Nebraska in the year 1885 when his team of mules and his neighbor’s team of horses disappeared one night. The animals had been staked out so they could graze, and they had got loose or were stolen.
We searched all around for them. Father even borrowed a horse from a cowboy and rode for three days looking for them, but to no avail. Then Father and his neighbor posted a reward of $5 for their return. That evening some cowboys brought them in.
We learned later that the cowboys had hidden the horses and mules in a canyon about two miles away and waited for a reward to be offered.
Arthur Parsons
Pawnee Rock, Kansas
Back in 1955 a call went out from the editors of the then Capper’s Weekly asking for readers to send in articles on true pioneers. Hundreds of letters came pouring in from early settlers and their children, many now in their 80s and 90s, and from grandchildren of settlers, all with tales to tell. So many articles were received that a decision was made to create a book, and in 1956, the first My Folks title – My Folks Came in a Covered Wagon – hit the shelves. Nine other books have since been published in the My Folks series, all filled to the brim with true tales from Capper’s readers, and we are proud to make those stories available to our growing online community.
