The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1875-03-25

moved % Nebraska about : year ago. i
viii bs.found interesting and readabie1
Fremont is the County Seat Of Dodge
Co., and is lively, and enterprising
town. Ithas population Of twenty-five
hundred. There are six Churches, and
very fine brick School House. There are six
schools or departments with seven teach
ers employed. Latin and higher Mathe-
matics. Music, Penmanship, and Drawing
are successfully taught.
There are six Dry God Stores, twelve
Groceries, three Hardware Stores, four
Drug Stores, one Book Store, one Foun-
dry and Header Factory in operation, and
another Agricultural Factory just starting,
good Steam Grist Mill, two large Lum-
Der Yards, and an Opera House, two or
three Bakeries with Confectionery and
MT Stands, two Furniture Stores and two
Banks, two Elevators and several grain
Warehouses.
The grassphoppers devasted nearly
every County in the State, with the excep-
ton Of portions Of Burt, Douglas, Wash
ington, and Dodge Counties, where corn
and other crops were very good.
This winter Fremont has been the
place of meeting between Egypt and
Canaan. Farmers coming here with their
corn to sell, and farmers from the locust
regions coming to sell their wheat and
buy corn, getting IS to SO cts. for wheat,
and giving so to scots. for corn. In this way
thousands of bushels have been exchang-
ed from one wagon to another on the street.
There was light crop of wheat but the
farmers were obliged to dispose OF 1t
mostly early in the season, for debts that
were croydIng, and feed for teams, and
to buy fuel, which took in some cases
nearly all, not leaving enough for seed or
bread. There has been great amount
Of suffering here this winter. Only just
across the Platte in Saunders Co., fami-
lies have had to go to bed and into the
cellars to keep from freezing, burning
straw, hay, or weeds to cook what little
they had to eat Bread, and poorly fat
tened pork is and will be the chief diet Of
many homesteaders and net enough OF
even that, were it not for the aid received
from kind friends at the East, AMI Aid
Societies
Notwithstanding, the farmers in general
seem hopeful and brave, and are willing
70 try it again. Some wheat has already
been sown in this county.
Since the first Of January the winter has
been very cold, the thermometer low as
26 below zero, and for Is successive days
in January the mercury Was below zero
every morning There has been very Ait
tie snow, no real sleighing, though pro-
prietors of sundry sleighs and cutters
have INDUCED the delusion of occasional
sleigh rides. To-day, March 10th, is very
Geld and windy.
The Platte River is broad, shallow
stream with swift current. On the south
bank are perpendicular bluffs from 30 to
100 feet high. The bottom is Of quick
sand so it is of no use as q Water Power
1t really seems to be useless stream,
and has been great bother to people in
crossing it. South and opposite Of Ere
mont, there are two channels forming an
Island Of several hundred acres. Less
than three years ago bridges were built
across these channels, the road leading
through this Island Last spring one of
these bridges was carried out by the ice.
1t was rebuilt so as to be taken up be-
fore the ice should go out again. During
the few warm days of last week the
bridge was removed so the means Of
communication is cut off between this and
Sanders county until the ice goes and the
bridge is put back again.
The toll fare for team has been so cts
the round trip. Which is quite tax fol
the formers bringing grain to market. Al
times the steep hill is almost impossible
Teams can cross on the ice for few week
in midwinter
"GRAssHoPPER.'
p. S.-Has the grasshopper subjec,
been exhausted? If not and anyone wishes
to hear of them, we can furnish items
from facts and figures, drawn on the spot.