Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1878-09-13

tSAsVN sAaes SuoSc was uVb SyVVV,VVV 0CteD OF
land in Michigan fit for cultvadon-shat it
WAS . low, swamp region-that it would not
be possible to lead . horse across the State
that there was not n acre in 1000 fit for
cultivation. Congress believed this report
and passed another law saying that the sol.
diers need not take this 100000 acres of
land from Michigan, but from Illinois. In
the face Of this early opinion against the.
value Of these lands, The census returns of
1870 showed that the state of Michigan
possessed at that time $50, 900 horses, and
this was the country over which
1t had been officially declared q horse
could not be led. In less than for,y.fve
years after the passage of this law the state
of Michigan had sent to the war thousands
Of soldiers-and good soldiers too-and
many Of them were cavalry mounted upon
horses raised in their own state. There
were now millions of acres of land under
cultivation in the state of Michigan and
railroads were running across it in all
directions. The governor went into these
"details to show how one had been the
general impression in regard to the unset.
tied lands Of the great vest. The same feel.
Ing prevailed largely to-day in reference to
the region of which our territory was q
part. Any geography Of q few years ago
would show Dakota as a part of the great
American desert. But the people would
live and learn. Let them now think
as they might our destiny was
ID our W hands and could
not be set aside by croakers or by grasshop-
pers. Neither one nor the other could set
aside the designs of Providence, and Proyi-
dence had q design in spreading out this
vast expanse of fertile country. Pluck, in
dustry and honesty would win. We should
quit trying to make something out of moth
ing, and make something out of the whole
which was ours. A portion Of this great
American desert had been recently visited
BY the speaker small fragment only-in
which he had seen q single farm of 10000
acres. Two successive crops upon this farm
had paid for it, and all the improvements.
all the horses, mules and cattle, all the ma
chinery necessary to work it, and there was
now left as the result Of those two years of
work, $3.50. 900 worth of property, which
had cost not a cent that was not taken from
the soil of the farm. The natural resources
were ours 70 use, and industry was the CO.
operative agent. The decree had gone forth
that by the sweat Of his brow man should
earn his bread, and if man would not sweat,
he should not eat. We would certainly
have our troubles, u trials, but persever.
ance. industry and honesty would surely
win.
East and north of the Missouri river,
there was 10000 acres of new land fit for
the pillow, stretching from the Canada
border too the great river. Nearly
all Of this was susceptible Of cultivation and
was being rapidly taken up. Five new
counties had been organized in Dakota du-
ring the past summer and all Of them con-
tanned the best land to be found in any re-
gion. Providence had in his wisdom held
back the tide of settlement until the time
had come and now. all could come within
our borders and possess the land.
Congress had for once done a wise thing
in setting apart the sixteenth and thirty-sec.
ond sections of every township for school
purposes. The meaning of this act was that
we were to..have a population equal to any
population for general intelligence, honesty
and prosperity. Nine thousand square
miles of our territory were dedicated to the
cause Of education and it was our solumn
duty to protect the fund to come from this
source. The speaker remarked that his
speech might not seem much like an agri-
cultural address, but in his opinion this was
. subject of vital importance to agricultur.
alists. When the state of Michigan was
admitted one section in every township was
set apart for school purposes. When the
speaker went. to Detroit there was not q
public school in the whole city and now it
had the finest free educational system to be
found. The last census returns showed
that Of the persons IN Michigan above
Concluded on I'd page.)