Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1873-01-22
Gbe frttman
For the Freeman.
Western Life.
STACYyILLF, Iowa, Jan. I'd. 1873

affairs than VlSitOr VINO hpeEus lew "eehs
at the most favorable season of the year.
To understand the advantages and disadyau-
tages of living in. this part of the country,
one must summer and winter here, and ex
perience the wind and the storm, as well as
the sunshine. Too many expect by emigrat-
ing to the &" fertile praries y to find the
position which a man once asked Mr.. Beech
er to obtain for him, :" An easy place where
be could make plenty of money" Mr.. Beech
er replied by reciting the many cares and
perplexlties to which men of all professions
and occupations are subjected and finally told
him he knew of no easy place except in the
grave.
This is no fairy land. The earth does not
produce spontaneously everything necessary
to supply the wants of man. If imaginative
people will lay aside such unreasonable no
tions, | will endeaYor to show both sides OF
the picture. FIRST, and most important, this
part of the State is very healthy. Lung
diseases. unless contracted elsewhere, are un-
known The young not wasting away
and falling around you. The aged are MT
shut up for years wishing that death might
come to relieve them of suffering. | cannot
but contrast this with the scenes of my
Eastern life. In little village of twenty
FIVE houses, the nearest to my home, ten died
of that terrible disease, consumption, within
period of fifteen years and most of these
were young. OF ten girls living in my own
l. ! l~,CS ~
Such in brief is the story of nearly every
New England town. Here those who are
free from lung disease expect to remain so,
and often times the cOnsumptlyes are restored
to health | met man at Rochester, Min
nesota, whose case was pronounced hopeless
by his physicians only few years ago. As
a last resort, and PARTLY to satisfy the sick
man, one suggested that he might walk from
has home near Chicago, to St. Paul, as he
could but die. Accordingly he started on
his long Journey, at first travelling with great
difficulty two or three miles day and stop
ping wherever he could find lodgings, but
his strength increased, and during the last
week he averaged twenty-five miles day with
less fatigue than he had suffered at first by
walking tenth of the distance. His recov-
cry was rapid and now probably he enjoys
as good health as the average of men.
Your Kansas correspondent says the fever
and agae have hem unusually prevalent SO
that there were hardly enough well ones to
take care of the sick The same may be
said OF many sections this year, but the
newspapers. fearing they may hinder immi-
grafton, suppress tie act or barely mention
it. The ." shakes " have undoubtedly shak-
en- more Individuals this summer than ever
before aud If a community has been free
from 1t so far little danger need be appre-
hen led in the future. The great central
States. Indiana. Illinois, Missouri, Kansas,
and perhaps few States farther south, suf-
fer the most. while in Northern Iowa and
Minnesota. except few towns on the Mis-
sissippi, the disease is hardly known. 1t is
not very pleasant to live where the thermom
eter goes thirty degrees below zero, and the
nd rushss over the praires like hurri-
cane, but if one must be shaken by some
thing. what IS more harmless than the wind
Health is the great boon to be sought after,
and give my testimony that the only two
years of my life which have been free from
sickness, have been spent here in Mitchell
County, Iowa.
Health is very desirable. What shall We
next seek for? Solomon says with all
thy gettings, get understanding" which il
- i+b oil ~
riches.' Modern theology is so pliable tina
it meets the wants OF all classes Well, t
be plain about this matter, you want It
know If you can get Iich out here in 81!
months. Certainly, many make fortunes il
SIX months, and lose every cent in half th
time. Many more are worth nothing whel
they come here aud nothing when they leave
but are rolling stones, gathering DO moss
But a general rule, the world over. 70
every rich man living in luxury you will fiu(
a dozen poor men working to support him
In this fertile country the majority are poor
if the income Is great, interests and taxes
are high enough t. correspond. There i
no object for young men without capital t,
Good wages are paid for six or seven months
but during the winter if one fuGs wor
enough to pay the expense of living he ma
tbink himself fortunate.
What is land worth and what are the pros
poets for land speculation? Wild land
worth from six to twelve dollars an acre
improved farms about twice as much, an
the prospect for spectators is not very fiat
tering, In fact, many of them speculate
the Dutchman did who offered peddler iy
dollars to guess what his dogs name wa;
" Well, call him up here, and will take
look at him, said the wagner "yatcI
Watch, come here and let the 1nan look 6
you" The peddler looked composedly
the dog for few minutes ana then guesse
his name was = Watch" 's And 50 the fiv
dollars is yours" said the sharp Dutchm4 4u
These land speculators are just about a
shrewd. They often pay as much for Ian
as it Will ever be worth, and pay high taxt
year after year, and then taking into eousid
Grafton the interest upon the money whc
woulI have been realized had it been investe
elsewhere, and you have the Dutehman
speculation over again. | am speaking
those WHO have bought second hand Thof
who bought land at government rates, 81 2
per acre. have made money, but governmen
land cannot he found in this State now, an
whoever buys at the present prices will {
we'll to settle in the vicinity and either Gu
tlvate it himself or employ some one + in
prove it under his direction.
In how many years can an industricu
pntarnris1nr man M u E,r hil La nd hu -oi...