Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 113, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 October 1909 — Harry J. Murray Returns From Three Months’ Western Trip. [ARTICLE]

Harry J. Murray Returns From Three Months’ Western Trip.

Harry J. Murray returned Thursday from a three months" trip in the west. On July 15th, in company with Leeland Carson, he went to Missoula, Mont. Leland struck a good job in a clothing store there at SBO per month and is still there, but Harry went over into Washington and thence back to North Dakota, where for forty days he worked for G, W. Tanner, formerly of this county and a brother of Tom Tanner, of Gifford. “Bill,” as he was usually called here, is making good in North Dakota. He went there four or five years ago and resides on a farm not far from New Rockford. He owns 480 acres but hustling farmers out there do not seem content unless they farm a thousand or more acres and Bill had 1,200 acres of grain this year, including 200 acres of flax. His wheat about 16 bushels to the acre, which is a little better than the average crop for that state, Harry thinks that the average in the state is about 14 bushels. Mr. Tanner* runs a big Avery threshing rig, and according to the New Rochelle Transcript, a copy of which Harry brought home with him, he made a new state record for the number of oats threshed in a five hour run. His machine with eleven bundle teams and no pitcher in the field threshed out 2,819 bushels in five hours. The oats averaged 83 bushels to the acre. Harry says that farm wages for a man and his wife, with a tenement house to live in, is SSOO per year. He thinks some of going there again in the spring.