During the time of homesteading, her family attempted to settle into farming, and met with many difficulties. Grasshoppers ate the wheat crop one year, leaving the family with no money. Wilder's father had to leave home in search of work. Her baby brother died, her older sister was blinded after a bout of scarlet fever. The family moved more than a dozen times in search of a good place to farm. They settled in South Dakota (then called Dakota Territory). Winters there were long and often brought dangerous blizzards, cutting the family off from sources of food and fuel.