Claim.
	A journey made in the imagination many times is the journey from De Smet to Pa's claim site. Laura would have turned left outside the door and made her way south down the main street. At the end of the street she would have turned left again and followed the slightly higher ground between Silver Lake on her left and the Big Slough on her right (The locals say it 'Slew' by the way!) Silver Lake is no longer there. There seems to be a dispute between those who say it was artificially drained in the 1920's and those who say it happened naturally. The Big Slough is still there however with vast clumps of rushes intertwined with riverlets and small patches of open water. Several unidentified (for me) water birds can be heard in the Slough, but seldom seen. Pa's claim shanty is long gone but a small hill by the road marks its location. To get to the top of the hill means passing under several large trees. It is quite possible that there are the very trees planted by Pa and mentioned in Laura's book - but no one seems to have determined the exact age of the trees, a simple enough job for an expert. In the dry summer weather most of the grass and plants were turning yellow, but a rough square of much greener plants about half way down the hill shows a small area possibly cleared of stones. This might have been their vegetable garden. From the top of the hill Pa could have surveyed the whole of his land and observed any activity on the Slough or Silver Lake. It is easy to see why he would have chosen this plot for his claim.
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