North Dakota has produced several acclaimed journalists, including Velva native Eric Sevareid, who was a CBS Evening News correspondent and commentator. Among his earliest writings is his account of a canoe adventure as a young man.
In 1930, after graduating high school, he and Walter Port, paddled over 2,250 miles from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay in a secondhand canoe they named Sans Souci, French for “without care.” The Minneapolis Star newspaper sponsored their trip for $100. In return, the friends furnished the paper with articles about their voyage.
The pair’s journey took them through the swampy Bois des Sioux River where they waded up to their hips, fought insects, and struggled to discern the Bois des Sioux river channel. The friends “almost wept with relief” when they reached a point where the river ran in a clear stream. It marked the border between Minnesota and North Dakota. They could now tow the canoe, with Walt walking the Minnesota riverbank and Sevareid the North Dakota side! They replenished their food during a stop at Fairmount, North Dakota.
The stream became the Red River where it merged with the Ottertail River at Wahpeton. While on the Red, the pair made soup out of snapping turtles shot with their .22-caliber rifle. They also ate fried frog legs. They bemoaned the river’s winding path, slow current, snags and gravel bars.
They reached Fargo exactly one month after setting out. They stayed about 10 days, mostly because a fly bite had infected Walt’s hand. A friendly doctor tended to him. While in Fargo, the friends bought a new paddle, got haircuts, splurged on food and slept in beds with sheets!
On this date in 1930, the two pals were paddling away from Fargo, the second-largest city they would visit. The doctor told them: “Don’t let anyone, no matter who he is, convince you that your trip can’t be completed. You have youth and strength, and courage too, I hope, and with a little common sense you can do it.”
The friends’ goal was to reach Hudson Bay before freeze-up. Hundreds of miles lay before them, including Lake Winnipeg and the chain of lakes beyond.
As for the rest of the story, you can find that in Sevareid’s 1935 book, “Canoeing with the Cree.”
Dakota Datebook by Jack Dura
Sources:
- Sevareid, E. (1968). Canoeing with the Cree. Borealis Books, Minneapolis Historical Society Press: St. Paul, MN
- The Minneapolis Star. 1930, July 21. Page 7: Canoeists find paddling days in winding stream brings slow progress
- The Minneapolis Star. 1930, July 28. Page 6: Fly bite halts canoeists on trip to Hudson’s Bay
- The Minneapolis Star. 1930, August 4. Page 5: Voyageurs race cold in trip to Hudson Bay
- The Minneapolis Star. 1930, August 11. Page 2: Canoeists, taken for Indians, scare boys bathing in Red River
- The Minneapolis Tribune. 1935, March 17. Page 10: Minneapolis to Hudson Bay
