Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 21, Number 91, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 August 1900 — LARGEST SWAMP FARM IN THE WORLD [ARTICLE]

LARGEST SWAMP FARM IN THE WORLD

Is What A Press Correspondent Says of Gifford’s Farm. A Staff Correspondent of the Indianapolis Paper Describes the Fann. The Indianapolis Press of Monday, July 30th, has a three column article descriptive of Gifford’s great enterprises in this county. The article is illustrated by several pictures of farm and school houses and R R. stations on the farm, and also by an outline map of Jasper county, showing the position of the Gifford lands. The descriptive matter of the article, slightly abridged, is here given. (BY A STAFF CORRESPONDENT.) Gifford, Ind., July 30. —Nineteen miles direct line, riding the cow-catcher of a fast locomotive, whizzing at the rate of twentyfive miles an hour on a farmer’s own iron horse, and running every foot of the nineteen miles on his own railroad and over his own farm—you only get that ride but one place in Indiana. It is on the Gifford “swamp” farm in this (Jasper) county. The ordinary “big” farmer can hitch up his old plug hone and show the guests his crops and his rather elaborate acreage, but B. J, i Gifford, who is robbing the Kankakee and Iroquois Rivers of 33,000 acres of the best farm land in In diana, has to have his roundhouse men fire up a special iron horse, have his train dispatcher clear his, railroad track, and give his z en-' gineer and fireman the sign to “let her go.” The “special” was puffing away on the main track as an early breakfast was being eaten, and the sun was just beginning to dissipate the chill of a night on the Kankakee swamps, when the engineer pulled the throttle and started the “special’ down through 8,000 acres of tasselling corn and 6,500 acres of golden oats. The nineteen miles trip from the north to the south end of the 33,000 acre farm was one great, glorious panorama. Ten years ago, when AV- Gifford began his operations in Indiana most of this great tract was under water, varying from a thin layer to a .foot or more. This year over 15,000 acres of that former great tract of buffalo grass and swamp vegetation is under cultivation Next year several thousand more acres will be added, and it will be but a short time until the two great steam dredges will have en tirely confined the water so deep channels and the 33,000 acres will be converted into a garden. Besides placing on the Jasper County tax duplicate thousands of acres of land that would not otherwise be reclaimed for years, Mr. Gifford is giving Indiana a practical demonstration of the fact that the great Kankakee swamps can and will be drained and converted to beneficial uses.