St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1871-03-17
4 Ddi'H story jroW IOWd.

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\ oNrFNrFD SETTLER: FREES Ills MIND
WEBSTER CRY, Iowa, Oct. 1870.
/ was Interested in the discussion OF
your krn-as correspondents When |
read the last essay on Kansas, | was very
sue that some one would put i'll Il de-
murrer. 1t j. surprising to see with what
ABILITY western people take up any one
vii" has the audacity TO even question
these smoothly and beautifully told theo-
rics Of the wonderful and rapid growth
of the mighty West, a land flowing with
milk and honey, Il paradise, as it were,
a land where the toilin9, weary and down
troddcn Of all nations can find home
without money and without price. | am
4 New England man. think | know
something of New England people |
think | know something how they live
and how they earn that living. | think
| know something Of the advantages
which the people Of that section enjoy.
1t i true that the farms in New England
are not as large as the farms in the West :;
but which makes the most money ! which
cniovS lite the best which can Give their
children the best opportunity to tit them
selves for the active duties of lie are
questions which every man who think,
of lravn@ a comfortable home and launch
inI ont On 10 these western praIlirs should
consider. Ii H. gets his information from
western newspapers, which never tell but
one side Of the story, and that Greatly
exaggerated or from some pamphlet
"otlrn up 10y some ralIr"ad corporation,
or some land agency, who has land 10
sell say, if he relies ON This intorma-
ton, nlncly-nine times out of Il hundred
lie will be awfully deceived, and not find
the West anything ~ lie expected.
Tie land, instead of raising 30 bush
els OF wheat to the acre, will not yield
him but 10 TO l., his corn Will dwimdle
down from - bushels TO L. or 80 For
/ three years the harvest in this lection
has turned out us follows: Two years
AGO the gra>shoppcrs eat up all the crops
one wear ago the season was 81 wet that
about halt Il crop was raised ; this year
it has been - dry that the crop will not
he over half a crop. Next year and the
year after God only knows what will be
the cause but | venture To predict il,at
| there viii he Il cause, whereby wheat will
not average over II bushels 10 the acre
the state through and corn not over 81
! bushels per acre.
have Travelled over largc part OF
northern and northwestern Iowa and part
| of Nebraska, and think | know some
thing of what speak. have no land
10 sell, and do not wish to buy any,
though when | came 10 this state two
wears AGO, | cam. with the intention of
buy ing me one Of the beautiful prairie
homes which eastern people hear 80 much
about. The result OF my observation
WAS there was no part OF this country
that has been SO highly pictured and over
done and advertised, like some of the
patent medicines in vogue, rs this whole
western country. In the county of Ham
ilton, where | have resided for the last
year, and over the most of which | have
been, have yet to see the first GOOD farm
building. Now, if this is such Il rich
country, why have not the farmers who
have been here some ten years or more
grown rich and have some OF those de.
lightiul prairie homes, instead of these
miserable little things which they cal
houses, about lG by II, without any eel.
lar TO protect vegetables or any Other
catabIcS, with which farmers cellars are
usually well stored, and would be cspec-
tally valuable during our long, cold win
ter, that no one who has never been
through in northern Iowa knows any
thing about The truth is stated by youl
Kansas writer, that a large part of lhos,
who come here, after being here about ;
year, and realizing how greatly deceived
they have been, look about for some on,
Of whom they can make Il victim, anC
sell out and get out of this part of tho
country as soon as they can. ventur,
to say that there is not one in :, hundre,
who come here, and who has never beer
in the West before, but what will say, i
they speak the truth, that they had III
: idea OF this country, and If they coulc
only get what money back they brough
here. tie whole West might ''go to th'
devil" | don't know how many time
, | have heard this remark, but | have ye
to find an eastern man, whom | lav,
converSed with, who has not expressc,
himself in such or similar remark
, There is no real value to anything here
it is all fictitious, the whole of 1t, an,
only kept up by the most vigorous AM
: systematic blowing.
Every man here r land dealer ii
: some form or other all preach up an'
cry up their fertile soil Ask them villa
( amount of wheat they raise to the acre
; "Wcll, this year was a bad year didn'
raise but half Il crop" Ask them how
t it was last year. "Wcll, it was SO we
e we didn't raise a good crop" Ask then
d how it was the year before, ooh, tn