A frequent sight in those days, always to be remembered, were the large flocks of wild geese that nested each summer around the lakes and sloughs and fed during the fall in the stubble fields. Sections of land were covered white as snow with the density of these flocks. Hunters often built "blinds"
in the fields and used decoys to attract the geese; but more often they would hunt with a horse and buggy- working in as close as possible to the flocks and when the geese started to rise on the wing, run under them and begin shooting broadcast. A bag of 25 or 30 geese was not an unusual occurrence. Canadian gray geese or "honkers" were also common.
There were many kinds of wild duck, including the Mallards (greenheads), pintails, teals, redheads, blue gills, canvasbacks, shovelers or spoonbills.
Also grouse, prairie chickens, Killdeers, Jacksnipes, cormorants, pelicans, crows, swans, blue herons, loons, grebes, coots, hawks, owls, screech owls, snowy owls, eagles, night hawks, buzzards, sand hill and whooping cranes. The quacking and squawking of the ducks and geese around the watering places during the nesting periods was almost deafening at times in the early years.
There were many kinds of birds: The Dakota song sparrow, the ground sparrow, the snow-blake, the bobolink, the buffalo-bird, the whip-por-will, the catbird, the robin, the meadow lark, several varieties of blackbirds, including the red-winged and yellow-headed kinds, lark bunting, often erroneously called the white-winged blackbird, the oriole, skylark, lapland longspur, bluebird, White winged junco, wren, thrush, blue jay, wild yellow canary, Franklin gull, and morning dove.
The common garter snake and the lizard were the only local representatives of the reptile family. Field mice were common but rats were unknown until later. Bats were often seen.
The Pasque flowers appear in early spring. Its blossoms soon gave the prairie the appearance of a dense, pale purple colored velvet carpet. To see these downy flowers pushing up through fresh falls of snow on protected hillsides was always a pleasant and welcome harbinger of spring for they brought delight to the prairies before the last winter winds had roared farewell.
Opinions differ as to how the Pasque flower received its name. Some say that before the Gregorian revision of the calendar that it was the most abundant flower at Eastertide; hence its name. Others claim that it was so named because a dye for coloring Easter eggs was obtained from it. Some call it Sone Lily. The Indians call it the Twinflowers because they say that when it appears spring is born. It is commonly but erroneously called the crocus.
Some of the plants that were used for medicines were: (roots only) Pasque flower, boneset or Indian sage, black or pussy willow, burdock, chokecherry, common yarrow, dandelion, horse mint, Indian psychic, poison ivy, ragweed, rosin plant, Seneca or snake root, the root of the cone flower, wild hops, wild mustard, wild peppermint.
Source: A History of Foster County 1983 Page 132