Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1874-04-23
Communicated.


My Dear Reporter;-I am in the
center Of one Of the finest prairies Of
the whole Northwest-between the east
and west branches of the Des Moines
river. 81 miles south Of me is Fort
Dodge, on the river, a city of much
promise, and IS miles north Of me is
Algona village of thousand people.
the present terminus Of the VI. & st.
2. r. r. These are the nearest mar
ket towns for the farmers of this re-
gion, There IS however. a very pretty
village 6 miles south Of me, Of some
five or six hundred people, where the
farmers can 6uy anything they want &
sell few things This village Of Hum.
boldt is in the valley of the De.
MONIES which for beauty and fertility
can hardly be surpassed. Here, too,
on the top of a hill which slopes So
gently up from the river that train
OF cars might run up it, is Humboldt
College a fine four story, limestone
structure which affords chapel, library,
laboratory, recitation rooms and dor
mitories. 1t is an Independent Christ
ian college, committed to no sect in
particular, but to the work Of cduca-
ton in accordance with the doctrines
of the Bible. From the roof Of this
build ing is one of the finest views chat
ever mortal beheld, stretches on every
side for many miles. The NEST mag
nifcent prairie with here and there a
belt of timber following the streams.
The timber supplies fuel, though coal
can be had at either Algona or Fort
Dodge as cheap as one can get wood.
As for fences, in this region, they have
concluded not to have any. except foI
yards. They have a 9 herd law and
neighbors combine and employ a man
or woman to herd the cattle Of a whole
neighborhood during all the season OF
grass. In the winter the cattle NAV
roam as they please, though they usu-
ally stay very near where they are fec
and sheltered.
Cattle get fat in the summer. and dc
well with nothing more than the prai.
RE hay all winter There seems to be
no limit to stock range and all the hay
costs is the labor of securing it in the
Fall. There is therefore a most excel
lent chance for stock raising 1t is a
wonder to me that so beautiful coun-
try as this is not settled entirely full.
Yet there is not one tenth Of the land
occupied, section after section of it lies
yet just as it did fifty gears ago, swhen
the Indian wooed his dusky mate and
the wild fox dug his hole unscared. .
There is within the view from the col
lcge roof, a country. of the richest soil
in the world, and we'll watered, cana
BILE OF sustaining population Of 20,
600 people, and which has yet, hardly
a thousand. Whole square miles Of
land, which lays just right, and whose
soil is the very best, IS still unoccupied.
One. and perhaps the chief reason of
this lack Of population, is the fact that
for five miles on each side of the Das
MONIES river, every alternate section
was granted to the river improvement
Company. This was Is years ago, and
the company kept settlers out by refus-
ing to sell, and yet they did not I'M
porve the river. Invent back however
to govt and then was given in a SINH
Tar way to railroads, which have SINH
larly failed 50 far as this particular
LEGALITY Is concerned.
Then spectators have bought up
tracts of it and have held it so HIGH
that poor men could not reach it. and
SO went other where's. The Scarcity
Of timber is one objection also to many
people, and the long winter is another.
Until one is used to them, tie prairi,
winds are not pleasant These things
are, or have been, drawbacks to the
settling up Of this county, but it Is
bound to be occupied, for it is indeed a
goodly land Good land can be,bought
for SIS to So dollars per acre. Prob
ably some equally as good, though less
pleasantly situated, can be got for IS.
There are school houses here in ev-
cry settlement | preached last night
in one of them to a very respectable and
intelligent looking company Of Metho-
dists, Presbyterians and Congregation
ists-farmers. So there IS society and
civilization here.
You can hardly IMAGINE The exbiIsp-