Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1881-07-14
LETTER FROM THE WEST.
SIOUX FALLS, Dakota Ter, |

July ., 1881.
ED. NORTHWEST Il see you have pub
lished letters from all the towns around
Napoleon but this. 1 left Napoleon, Ohio,
on Monday, the 9th ult., and arrived in
Waterloo with my family at IL o'clock
noon, the next day. After visit of week
with the family of my lamented brother
Derry, I left on Monday morning for the
Territory. We passed through beautiful
country and many towns have sprung up
along the Il. r. in the last 10 years, among
Others is Fort Dodge, Lamars and Storm
Lake. We arrived in.Sioux City at l o.
clock p. m. Sioux City is place of near
ly 10000 inhabitants and nestles among
the hills on the bank of the muddy Mis-
souri, river. This city, like all river towns,
is considered hard place, but was here
over three hours ahd / never saw fight,
and it was the glorious 4th Of July. We
now take the Dakota Southern r. r. as far
as Elk Point, and again change cars for
Rosk Valley, where we remained all night,
and at o o'clock a. m, start tor Canton; ar
irving there we are again met with the re-
ply you are too late, the train is gone, and
as only one train runs from Canton to
Sioux Falls we have the choice to remain
here all day and night, hire a. team or
walk We hired team and drove across
the country, arriving here at O'Clock p.
III. Sioux Falls is the best built Of any
town out West, of its size; the population
is about 1000, a, bits inhabitants are very
industrious. The town is on the big Sioux
river, at the falls, from which it takes its
name. The falls answer double purposey
ofa natural curiosity and water power, and
is one OF the best water powers in tha
west; the tall is ll0 feet in less than half
mile, Here are some of the largest grist
mills 1 ever saw; the largest, the Queen
Bee Mills, has 10 run ofstone and capaci-
ty to turn out 1900 barrels of foEr every
"a hours. Talk of Roller, or Vocke Bros!
Think of them using 5000 bushels ofwheat
every day. The building is seven stories
high, built of cut stone and stah hds on the
edge Of the second falls, the water drops
through the fiues and falls so feet to the
river below. !
The country around here ia not settled
to any great eSssnt yet, but miles out Of
town the land is all taken up, near town
the land is owned by spectators and they
ask 800 per acre for the land; they are al
curse to any country. Itell you that some.
people in Ohio have the wrong idea when
they think the west is the place tor the
poor man. This is no country for poor
man at all, but man with money that
can stock his farm can make money. Nine
out of every ten can do better on 40 acres
in Ohio, than they can on16Oacres here. Corn
at best is worth but 20cts. here, and the
most of it is damaged SO as to render it un-
fit for market, and wheat is used up in
freight East, and as an old farmer said to
me: "Crops here are like tickets in lot
terry" if the grasshoppers come, no crop,
and if the rust strikes the wheat there is
no crop; this year it is the foods that pre-
vented the farmers from planting their
crops. So you see the only thing that will
win here is capital to buy a large track Of
land then stock it. I can't see why SO
many come west when wild land can be
had within or 10 miles of Napoleon for
500 per acre, and that is what they ask
here, nearly 1000 miles farther from mar
ket than Napoleon is. I don't take much
stock in Greely's advice, go west young
man, go west" would prefix his advice
With don't go, don't go. shall leave here
for Yankton, to-mo rrow, at 6 o'clock p. M.
D. HARTNETT