The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1872-10-17
FROM NEBRASKA.
FILLMORE COUNTY, NEE

OctODer o, 1917. |
Dear Courier IL left Wapello ceun-
ty Aug. 18th, for Nebraska, intending
to go on to the Republican river, but
ON the way out I met with so many
persons returning from that section Of
the country. with such discouraging
accounts of poor crops and short grass,
that was induced to change my mind
and at Beatrice, learned there were
still HoInesteaiis asbe had in Fillmore
county. SO came here and found me !
half section, that for quality cannot be
beat; lying in Section 26, Township 5,
Range west ;-(by the way, that is the
only way you can find person in this
county, is by the Section, Township
and Range, they live on). We have
not got the timber and water advan-
tages here that there ia on the Repub-
lican, but we have q better soil as q
general thing, and here we have two
Railroads already built and in running
order, the B. Il NJ, north of us and the
st. Joe 4 Denver City, south of US.
/ am located five miles north of the
latter and six mile from Colrain Sta
tom and about seven from Davenport;
the Stations are in Thayer county !:
we are on the line. We have no coun-
ty seat as yet, but an effort is being
made to locate it, at two different
points; at Fairmont on the B. & NJ.
Railroad, and at Henry, ten miles
south, at the center Of the county /;
cannot say which will get it. -
| Horfesteads are scarce in this part
OF the county now; nearly all the
good ones have been taken: there are
quite number of eighty acre tracts
yet vacant, but the men that wore the
Blue" are entitled to 100 acres, and
they are hard to get now. The Rail.
road grant takes large amount of
good land that will not be settled for
some time to come.
l promised quite number of my
friends in Wapello to let them hear
from me, about the chances where /
settled. and 1 have taken the liberty,
to do so, through the columns Of your
most excellent paper, whose genial
countenance has not beamed upon me
since my arrival here, but which / |
hope will soon occur, now that am
settled and have me house and stable
built, well dug, and hay in stack /
and have only been here two weeks.
! built frame house, but my stable is
OF sod, they are the best here; most Of
people live in sod-houses, but do not
like them, they are too dirty.
| The worst disadvantage we have
here is the scarcity of fuel. Wood
has to be hauled from twelve to TWEEN.
ty miles, and for coal we have to nav
from $40 to sl4 per ton, and not many
homesteaders can afford that. The
crops-what there were in this section
were very good, but the hot winds
in July damaged them considerably, as
also the grasshoppers. Everything
appears to grow that people put in the
| ground. 1t will make an excellent
grain country, but is not very well
adapted to stock raising owing to the
limited amount of living water, and
the herd law. When man has not
stock enough to herd he has to lariat
them out aud they do not do so well.
Grazing is good; large herds Of cattle
are brought here from Texas and kept
on the Big Sandy, five miles south Of
us, and on the Little Blue, ten miles
still further south. We have water in
abundance by boring from G5 to 80
feet pure and good, and when once
reached never fails.
Corn is worth from 20 to % cents per
bushel; oats tho same; farther east ii
is still cheaper. Wheat from 10 to 90
cents. Potatoes 40 cents. Flour, So
to $3.50 per hundred. Meats of all
kinds are scarce except antelope, of
which there are plenty, but hard to
get. ] can see them almost any hour
in the day that look ont.
And now, in conclusion, let me say
to those who contemplate coming to
this country, to come prepared to live
one year out of what they bring with
them, and they will be all right, but
people who come here depending up
on making their living of the earlier
settlers, have hard time Of it, for
money is very scarce and hard to get.
Come prepared to do your own work.
land hold fast to your purse strings: i'll