Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1859-03-12
A Western Land Owner.

dote is extracted from the papers enti-
tied "Seven Years in We Western
Land" now in course of publication in
the ''Great Republic Monthly":-
The poor farmer from the Eastern
States disposes of his little dozen acres,
and with the proceeds thereof HES to
some rich prairie, and "pre-empts," !"
enters," Or squats' on some hun
dreds Of acres of the fertile black
mould Of our land of milk and ho (mO-
ney. Here, instead of a wild, rough
farm of stony, stumpy hills, and fields
OF barren, poverty-strieken soil, such
as he left behind him, he finds noble
expanse Of gentle undulating prairie,
free from obstructions, ready to receive
the plowshare and yield enormous crops
from year to year, without the expens-
i've process of an annual recuperation
by dressing and manuring. He straight
way becomes rich; in few years re-
visiting the old homestead and friends
he left at the East, in very different
state of finances from what he had
started out with on his unpromising
journey for the far frontier. He is now
a man of immense substance; the pro-
prietor Of countless herds of cattle; the
owner Of a town plot; the president Of
a railroad, and the cashier of a wild
cat bank.
It is but few days since I saw an
account of man of this kind, who had
recently purchased a slight addition to
his farm, to make it square, consisting
of fifty-three thousand acres. Howev-
er, it will be as well, perhaps, to set
that down as piece of newspaper
bombast But there is a similar Incl
dent, with which I am personally ac-
quainted:
A young man, the son of q Quaker
capitalist from the city of Brotherly
Love, landed one day in the busy little
burg Of Dubuque, and commenced Cir,
culating inquiries as TO whether there
was any land to be bought within forty
miles of that place at a reasonable fig
ure, intimating at the same time, his
wish to invest little surplus capital in
western speculations.
HIS intellectual and pecuniary calibre
being pretty correctly surmised by some
of the wags that abound in that vicini-
ty, he was referred to an old farmer
who lived few miles in the country,
being assured that he was lust the man
he wanted to see, as he wished to sell
out and go farther west.
Accordingly, our young Philadel-
phian set out forthwith, and after a
brisk drive of an hour or 50, found him.
self at his destination, which was a
rickety old log cabin about a dozen
feet square. Leaning over the crazy
gate in front Of this domicil was the
proprietor himself, leisurely smoking a
remarkably dirty stump of pipe, and
looking altogether about as hard a GUS
toner as you could find in month of
Sundays. A ragged felt hat covered
his grizzly hair and shaded his unshaven
face, while his limbs were covered with
a dllapidated suit Of butternut color,
cut in the peculiar style Of the country,
and his feet, like the " fine ould Irish
gintleman,'' scorned the presence Of
anything like leather A conversation
very soon sprang up between our friend
who wished to purchase and cur friend
who wanted to sell. Quoth the former
"Ah, Mr.. P, l suppose?''
"Yas, that's my name"
"Ah! good morning, good morning,
Mr.. p; very fine weather this, Mr.
P. I have understood from a
friend Of mine-an acquaintance of
yours-that you have a forty-acre lot
which you wished to sell, as You talked
of leaving this portion of the country"
"Yas, l want to sell now, mortal
But then, I don't want to let any of it
go unless l sell all I've got in this coun-
ty."
What is land valued at in this Vi
cinity, Mr.. P? That is, what
would you be willing to give, supposing
l wished to sell to you? %
oval, 1 would give you ten dollars
quick enough, | calclate; but then l
would take mighty sight less than that
for what little I've got. Sometimes I
think it's aguey about here, and I want
to get away"
''How much is the least you can take
for your land, Mr. P? Mark me
the very least, for do not wish to dicker
long"
oval, if you'll take the hnll ont off
my hands, and give me the cash, you
may have it for two dollars an acre
1t cost me more than that, and it's all
paid for, with nary cents incumbrance
On a single acre, either.''
"Two dollars? cheap enough! Mr..
P. I'll take it-every acre Of it,
Mr. P Do you understand me?
the land is mine. By the way, how
many acres arc there in all. Mr.. p"