Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 January 1912 — WANT TO WED LAND [ARTICLE]

WANT TO WED LAND

Persons Failing to Draw Farms Would Marry. Lucky Ones in South Dakota Distribution Are Besieged by Unsuccessful Entrant*—One Man Writes Letter to Two Women. Omaha, Neb. —Ten thousand men and half as many women having failed to draw farms in the recent distribution of Indian lands in South Dakota, seem determined to marry 160 acres of land —at least, it looks that way from the number of offers of marriage now being received by those who were lucky enough to make a “strike” in the-big lottery. From appearances some of the disappointed men have simply gone through the list of winners and whenever there appeared the name of a woman as having drawn a farm have written her, offering their heart and their hands — the latter for use in “breaking" the 160 acres of land and making a home on it And a lot of the women seem to have followed the same plan. When Judge Witten, in charge of the land drawing at Gregory, S. D., advisedfrom the platform that the young m‘en who failed to draw a farm do their very best to draw a wife, he probably little expected that not only would 10,000 or 15,000 men tofte him at,, his word, but thousands of women would enter the lists for a helpmate. Miss Elizabeth Crowe of 1510 North Twenty-eighth street, Omaha, was one of the lucky ones and drew a fine farm. Now Miss Crowe can. have her pick of half a dozen or more men who

have asked to share in her good fortune. Every mail adds to the list of those who wish to assist her in developing her farm—lncidentally, as the head of the family. Miss Crowe received No. 2,282 —and within three or four days received four offers of marriage. One was from Wyoming, another from South Dakota and two from Nebraska. Miss Crowe is in the cloak department of a department store. That certain of the men are going into the business in a wholesale manner in order to Insure a “winning” is shown by an- incident which came to light in Norfolk, Neb. Two girls from that town, friends, went to Gregory, registered and each drew a fairly good number. Several days later one telephoned the other: “Come on over to my house. I’ve got something awfully good to tell you." “So have 1. I’ll come right away,” answered No. 2. She came. No. 1 met her at the gate. “It’s Just too funny for anything,” said she. “Here’s a man wants to marry me just because I drew a farm.” And she laughingly drew a letter from her belt. “Just listen to this,” and she read through an appeal for permission to cement on(te, marry her iind go to housekeeping on the homestead. The letter was from a farmer down in Kansas. i-. “Yes, that’s funny,” Baid No. 2, “but not near so funny as it would have been had I not received its mate”— and she, In turn, drew out a letter. It was identical, word for word, with that received by No. 1. And the signatures were the same. . “That man is getting himself in po-

sitton to have to fight a suit ft*’ breach of promise," agreed the two girl*. In Lincoln three men who drew; farms and' whose names appeared in the list printed in the newspapers have received offers of marriage from girls who were unsuccessful fn 'the ing. But two of these men already have wives. More than half of the 8,000 names drawn from the huge pile of envelopes at Gregory were of Nebraska and South Dakota people, with lowa a strong third. These are the people who are receiving the offers of marriage, the the writers of which are scattered frpm end to end of the country, with a large majority from the states adjoining South Dakota, where the free lands were located.