Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 54, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 March 1899 — A Deserted Mansion. [ARTICLE]

A Deserted Mansion.

Just across the river from St fttlchael’s Is one of the most fertile ftirms In Talbot County, Md. Some years ago a Mr. Oliver came to this country from England and purchased this large estate and began fanning. Here he lived for many years. He enlarged the house and filled Its rooms with the finest furniture and pictures. Mr. Oliver was an eccentric man, yet very popular with the neighboring farmers. But one day Mr. Oliver suddenly disappeared, locking the doors of his house and leaving his property in charge of the tenant. Mr. Oliver was last beard from in Virginia. Everything in his Talbot home is just as it was kept by Mr. Oliver years ago. The supper table was left standing in the middle of the floor, not a plate nor Any of the food having been removed. Even the rubber boots which Mr. Oliver had worn on the day of his departure are left sitting on the floor, and not a piece of the furniture has been removed from its original place. The interior of the house Is just as It was when the old bachelor resided there, save for the thick coating of dust. He left no instructions with his tenant for the disposition of his property, nor has any relative ever come forward to prove his claim to possession. The house is a massive structure of bricks said to have been imported from England. It is said that Mr. Oliver is still living in Virginia, and that he is aware of all that is going on at his farm.

Prince Albert, Sask., August 17, 1898. William McCreary, Esq., Immigration Commissioner, Winnipeg, Man.: Sir—We, the undersigned delegates from Kansas and Nebraska, U. S. A., in reporting the results of our trip to Dauphin, and subsequently to Regina, Prince Albert and the middle Saskatchewan country, beg to say that our tickets were limited to twenty-one days, and as we had other large regions to visit, we could only- spend a short time in the Dauphin country. We examined, however, the principal cultivated areas in the southern parts of township 25, range 19, the great wheat fields of Wishart, Buchanan, Owen, Smith, Ross, Sinclair, the Whitmores, Drinkwaters, etc., and, subsequently, others to the north, and never, in our experience, have we seen finer grain. The whole country is watered by numerous streams flowing from the slopes of Riding Mountain, and excellent well water is found everywhere, at from nine to eighteen feet. Extensive forests of spruce and tamarack cover the northern parts of the mountains, from which timber is manufactured in Dauphin and elsewhere, and sold at from sl2 a thousand at the mills. Wild hops and wild fruits are abundant, and ripen in the open air. Vegetation throughout is surprisingly luxuriant and, without hesitation, we would rank the whole region among the best graingrowing areas of the continent. The output of wheat last year was about 75,000 bushels, but this year it is estimated at over a million. Westward lie the homestead lands which now, and when fresh surveys are completed, will afford comfortable homes to thousands of diligent families. The great Gilbert Plains also we were unable to visit, where graingrowing has been conducted with the best results for years, and which will become a vast wheat field as soon as a branch railway reaches there. Settlement 1b speeding In all these regions, reminding us indeed of the early days in our own States; and as we have examined, since our visit to Dauphin, a portion of the great country lying south and east of Prince Albert we can readily imagine the tide of immigration which will soon flow into the Canadian West. (Signed.) GEORGE S. BENNETT, Hall’s Summit, Kan. 8. W. BENNETT, Hall’s Summit, Kan. B. F. BROOKS, Westphalia, Kan. JOHN FLANNERY, Stuart, Neb.