Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1869-04-09
What an Eastern Nan -ays OF The West,
as Learned from 0bserYaljOu,

CORES lJnucnt ul lle liam -ulIc
Ga-d'e says " Thinking it might perhaps
be Of some interest to Your readers to know
something of the climate, soil. and Of the
ways Of life Of those who compose the great
er share Of the Inhabitants Of the Western
States, the remarks that ! may make will re-
late 10 what | have learned from personal OBJ
seryati0n. after travelling through the West
for six months. was induced 10 make this
tour Of observation to satisfy myself Of the
truthiulness OF newspaper articles, pamphlets
and circulars with which Eastern men are
surleltcd setting forth In CLOWN .oiors the
unsurpassed richness OF the soil and mineral
resources. the saluhrious and healthy climate
0f the undeyeloucd West. and from what
have seen am greatly disappointed. was
induced by reading a pamphlet sent broaa-
east over tile East by those interested in sell
ing their lands donated by the Government
% the Union Pacific Railroad. To take a trip
% Omaha and thence up the Platte Valley.
which any person would think from said
pamphlet 70 be the garden Of the world, when
in fact there is not in the whole West 50
poor q place for an Eastern man or any 9TH
er 70 settle as in the Platte Valley. The
land as you leave Omaha, say for about 30
miles, consists Of high rolling prairie with
very good soil, but entirely destitute Of run
ming water Those who have attempted to
IA arm are under the necessity of digging wells
from 90 to $50 feet, and when they strike
water it Is when they reach the quicksand
strata below the blue clay, and then the
wells soon become useless from the continual
falling in Of this sand, making the water al
most unfit for use, especially for culinary pur-
poses. \ pail full Of water, by standing a
short time, becomes thick at the bottom with
sand. Those living on the high bluff west Of
Omaha have to depend almost entirely upon
cistern water, which cannot be very certain
in country where rain is scarcely known
for months al a time Going still further up
the valley came to the Platte Valley prop
er, and crossing the Soup fork. in the vicin-
ity Of this tributary Of the Platte river,
there is some very fair land but soon YOU
strike that sandy country (this garden Of the
West,) and can ride upon the cars for hun
dreds Of miles without coming 10 the Jump
ing off place can see nothing but land and
sky, with only now and then a few scatter
ing cotton wood trees in some localities where
the fire which sweeps over these prairies
every fall has not reached, being prevented By
some slough or pond hole. The soil in this
valley is shallow, varying from 6 to u in
ches in depth, covering nothing but sand, to-
tally unfit for corn or wheat, only fit for
raising stock, which Is done in some locali-
ties where there is running water,-places
that are few and far between.
Now what inducement can it be for an
Eastern man to emigrate to this region, even
if he has the land given HIM? Lumber is
fR : 1nn NJ ,t-.,nI
(what they call wOod,) SIS a cord coal,
SOS a ton | would advise any who have
any idea of going West, not to place any re-
lance upon pamphlets, circulars, or what
any western man may tell them, for reasons
which will make plain before get through
but TO make a personal investigation for
themselves. and then not to be in too much
of a hurry about buying land. No one
knows anything about the West until he has
been here, or gets his information from some
friend who has, upon whom be can rely, hav-
ing no land to sell.
There is some good land in Nebraska, but
with the price of building material, price of
fuel, and the extravagant prices for family
expenses, it is altogether too far west for the
present. When we speak of going West, we
get the idea that we are going into a land
flowing with milk and honey, and for the low
price of 81 p per acre, or seemingly better
still, to get 4 homestead for nothing This
is played out. There is not a homestead nor
any land that can be bought for 81 %, that
a western man who has lived here long
enough to ''know the ropes, as the saying
here is, but that would consider any man
sane to avail himself of these terms. Gov
ernment lands anywhere within the pale of
civilization have been gobbled up by specula-
tors, and are now held at prices from Sc to
$50 per acre. | mean land fit for cultiya-
tion. And here let Inc say, that any East
ern man who thinks the West is all a garden
is woefully mistaken.
Now as TO Iowa, which consider one of
the best, and taking all things into consider
alton, perhaps the best, to emigrate to.
About one quarter of this state is composed
of low, wet land, called here swamp land
1t consists of basins formed by high bluffs or
lodges Of sand, forming natural basin, and
during the spring and fall, the snow melting
in spring and the rains in the fall, fill up so
as to make a pond-hole. This water re-
mains until the heat of summer drives it off
by evaporation and it Is seldom section of
land can be found-I mean section of GAO
aeres-but what there is more or less of this
slough land entirely worthless, (unless ca
pable of being drained,) but for muskrats,
which are SO plenty as to make their name
legion. l have priced land in this state, and
can find no land (raw prairie) which an
Eastern man. could buy less than say from
Sc to SIS. Lands lwithin 10 miles of a
railroad, which are ft for cultivation, can be
bought for about IS. Now this may seem
cheap. Well, let us see how this is :