Democratic Sentinel, Volume 2, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 January 1879 — LAND OF THE DAKOTAS. [ARTICLE]

LAND OF THE DAKOTAS.

The Future Wheat-Fields of America. [Fargo (Dakota) Letter to Chicago Tribune.] Recent tourists, and especially the able special correspondents whom you sent here some weeks since, have written so much of this country, which only a few years since was regarded by a large majority of the American people as an uninhabitable waste, that I should despair of adding anything to the mass of valuable information already furnished were it not that it is not only a big but a truly wonderful country, and new discoveries and developments are constantly being made. He who comes here to-morrow will find something that escaped his predecessor of to-day. In fact, new countries, like new babies, are always developing something wonderful, and, as the last baby to put in an appearance in a household is sure to eclipse its predecessors on account of its beatfty and brightness, so Dakota, the youngest of Uncle Sam’s children, is decidedly the most promising of the lot. Everything here is on a scale never before thought of by the most imaginative dreamer. The prairies are larger and richer than any other. A gentleman to whom I appealed to-day for information as to the extent of the valley of the Red river of the North lying in this Territory remarked that he was unable to furnish correct data as to the area covered, but he was certain that tho whole of New Buglaml would be a mere speck compared to it and that he could show me single farms here that contained more acres than the State of Rhode Island. This, it must be confessed, was rather an extravagant estimate, but, as my informant had onlv been here a few weeks, I felt inclined to be charitable toward him, especially as he came from Chicago, where the people are educated to expect and realize extravagant results. As regards the farms, however, it may surprise some of your Eastern readers when I say that the Grandine farms, forty miles below here on Red river, contain 56,000 acres, and the proprietors have an elevator on the river at the. farms and one here; they also have a steamer and a number of barges for the purpose of bringing then' wheat to the railroad. Other farms, including those of Messrs. Cass, Cheney, and Dalrymple, -are also wonders in point of size. A snug little plantation of 10,00 C acres is also being put into cultivation about ninety miles west of here on the line of the Northern Pacific. This small patch is owned by Messrs. Adams and Russell, of New York, and managed by the latter gentleman, who says he hopes to increase its size soon, as he is negotiating for a number of additional tracts, and it is to be hoped that he will secure them, as it would be a pity to have the gentlemen hampered for room.

The counties are laid out on a scale to correspond with the farms. This (Cass) county is forty-two miles square, contains forty-nine townships, and 1,128,960 acres of land, more than fivesixths of which is unsurpassed for growing every species of crops adapted to this climate. Th§ country is traversed through its whole length by the Red river, and also contains numerous small streams that furnish abundant water for stock purposes. Wells of fine water are found everywhere by sinking from twenty to thirty-five feet, and small lakes of unsurpassed beauty, whose waters are clear as crystal, dot the prairies at frequent intervals. These miniature lakes will be of incalculable value to the settlers, as they guarantee a never-failing supply of water, which, owing to its interior origin, is of unsurpassed purity. Many of them also swarm with fish of the finest description. Notwithstanding the lateness of the season, there is a perfect rush for lands from buyers who have been attracted here. I learn from General Manager Sargent, who, by the way, has brought the road from obseurity.to popular notice, that the Northern Pacific Railroad’s land sales in October were 98,000 acres, and for September 62,000. Thus far the current month they have been unusually large. These sales, however, only include a part of the lands taken up, as there are millions of acres in that part of Dakota traversed by the Northern Pacific that are subject to entry under homestead and timber acts. These are being rapidly taken up for settlement by an industrious and intelligent class of emigrants from the older States, a very large percentage of whom are experienced farmers, and have the capital to enable them to render the farms available. Mechanics are also flocking here in large numbers, and so far they have found an open field for their services at remunerative prices. I am credibly informed that during the past summer and current fall the demand for both skilled and unskilled labor has exceeded the supply. This demand will be ‘largely increased next spring, as the heavy influx of immigration will cause unusual activity in building and other improvements. There will also be increased openings for commercial enterprises. The wheat lands of this district embrace an area of 300 miles north and south by 270 east and west, one-half of which are in Dakota, and the remainder in the Canadian Province of Manitoba, all of which is and will for years find its most direct outlet to market over the Northern Pacific railroad.

There is a prevalent idea in the States that the severity of Dakota’s climate renders it objectionable. This, lam satisfied, is a mistake. I never saw more delightful weather than the present winter, and the oldest settlers here say they suffer far less from cold here than in New England and some of the Central States, where the temperature, although much higher, is changeable, -and air more penetrating, while here it is dry, pure, and highly beneficial to persons suffering from lung diseases.