on his own hook. He went to the "Red River settle- 

 ment," now Winnipeg, to procure supplies for the 

 new mission. The next year the elder Ayer went to 

 the settlement, taking with him Lyman and a younger 

 brother. Here the boy was left to attend school, 

 which comprised a six months' period the only 

 "schooling" Lyman ever had. 



Let no one get the impression that Lyman suffered 

 a lack of education because of this. He was consider- 

 ed one of the best educated men in the state, because 

 of his intensive study of books, and by observation. 



Four years later Lyman went to Crow* Wing, where 

 an Indian agency had just been established, and Belle 

 Prairie was selected as a good location for a school, 

 which was opened in the winter of 1849. 



A buffalo hunt in 1851 took Mr. Ayer as far west as 

 the Montana line. Returning to St. Paul, he disposed 

 of a consignment of fur and hides, bought a McCor- 

 mick harvester, went to Belle Prairie and began the 

 cultivation of land. During the following three win- 

 ters he taught school in the log school house construct- 

 ed previously at Belle Prairie, which was the first 

 school north of what was then St. Anthony, now Min- 

 neapolis. 



Mr. Ayer at that time had had some experience in 

 saw mill operating, and during the summer of 1858 he 

 set up a saw mill at what is now "Winnipeg. 



In 1859 Mr. Ayer was married to Laura A. Hill at 

 Belle Prairie. She had come out from Maine with her 

 parents. Soon after the couple went to Leach Lake, 

 where Mr. Ayer operated a sawmill for two years and 

 then moved to St. Cloud, where he taught school until 



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