Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 123, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 May 1915 — ALBERT E. BRAND LIKES THE WEST [ARTICLE]

ALBERT E. BRAND LIKES THE WEST

Writes From Keisling, Wash., and Describes Country Passed Through On His Trip to the West. Kiesling, Wash., May 19, 1915. Dear Friends: I promised to write a letter tor The Republican so you could all read it. For the benefit of those of you who have never been west, I will describe briefly the country we passed through as we saw it along the line of the C. M. & St. Paul Ry. We left Chicago at 10:15 p. m. and at daylight were passing through Wisconsin with the Mississippi river on one side and high bluffs on the other. The scenery was fine but not a good place for farming. This lasted most of the way to St. Paul. We saw no good farming land until we reached South Dakota, where we saw large fields being prepared for spring seeding. We passed through North Dakota in the night and at daylight were passing through eastern Montana, where we saw little besides roeky hiMs and sage brush. We saw no good land in Montana, although we passed near some fertile valleys, but could not see them. After passing Three Forks ,we began to climb the mountains in earnest and it took two'big engines to pull eight coaches up the grade. The high point is reached at Donald, a short distance east of Butte, the elevation there being 6,322 feet above sea level. From there the descent is gradual until Spokane is reached, where the elevation is 1,900 feet. The scenery in the mountains is - great and must be seen to be appreciated. Snow-capped peaks in the distance, green valleys and wooded hills on every side. We passed Butte at dusk and at daylight were near the Idaho lines and still in the mountains. Wd saw some good timber in Idaho, but the best timber seems to be cut or ruined by Are. On reaching the Washington state line we again saw plowed fields and fine looking winter wheat. All vegetables fully as far advanced here as there and all kinds of grass and both winter and spring wheat do well here arid promise a bountiful crop. Fruit raising is one of the chief industries and all kinds seem to do well. The trees are more thrifty and the blossoms larger and more abundant than there. One can climb to the top of a hill and lopk for miles over a country dotted with orchards of apples, cherries, pears, plums and prunes. Com is raised to some extent but not so extensively as farther east and south. Almost everything that is raised in old Jasper can be raised here, but there are a few things that I miss. These are cockleburrs, potato bugs, rats and sparrows. I think all of these can be produced when once introduced, but no one seems in a hurry to start them. Spokane is a progressive city of something over 100,000 population, with water power more than sufficient to supply all electrical power used, and that is considerable, as several electric railroads center there. The Inland Empire electric line which runs through Kiesling passed over a gulch near us on a bridge 103 feet high and almost immediately runs through a cut 40 feet deep. Several cuts and fills of 20 to 30 feet occur in one mile. This shows the difficulties of railroad building, but western enterprise is equal to the occasion and when they want a road they build it. You will see by the above description that it is hilly here. That is one of the things one from there has to contend with, but the land is good, even at the top of the hills. No sand, but a heavy clay loam, and reminds me of Gdlhoa hill, 20 miles south of Rensselaer. The climate seems to he more uniform than in Indiana, not so extreme in any way. This spring is wetter than the average and insures abundant moisture for all crops. Will write more later. Yours truly,

A. E. BRAND.