River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1882-12-07
Local notices 10 cents per line.
rated, unless it is intended for meadow

Will yltlu tWu lOilS pei acre VI HiiO
clean hay, which us grain land would
be worthless; many unwittingly have
located on such land and were it not
that work is plenty and wages high
they could not support their families.
There is another class of land which is
as Lowell as that TO which have just
referred but it is about as rough as
frozen plowed field and would not
yield five hundred pounds of very poor
hay per acre; one might walk "A mile
in the month of July on such land and
not step on spear of grass; what lit
tie grass there is is in punches from
the size of mans fist to that of his
head and the spaces between produce
nothing but alkali. This kind of land
in an extra dry season will produce
about ten bushels of wheat per acre,
of an excellent quality, but in the or
binary season will be drowned out so
as to prevent stooling and when har-
vest comes the weeds are higher than
the wheat and the result is that the
best of it barely pays the cost of har-
vesting and much of it is not harvest
ed at all. There is still another class
of level land which is interspersed
with ''wash- basins '--depressions of
about foot-but very irregular in
size and shape varying from rod of
- @<,,. ho1 isacs no
invariably smooth meadow land and
the ground between is dry and smooth
closely covered with fine grass about
eight inches high. This land will
yield literally the finest quality of
wheat or oats. The objection to such
land is obvious; there is often much
land and time wasted in farming and
the basins are generally too small and
irregular to NOW. These three classes
of land generally form one large body
of land of from twenty to fifty miles,
the general surface being nearly level.
The A No. land is rolling and in
some places billy. There is no waste
land, the ground is always dry enough,
will stand drought better than the fiat
land, will produce the highest average
of wheat, oats and corn, the grass is
close and nutritious, generally enough
loose stone on the ridges for building
purposes, has small lakes of water,
and the water in wells and lakes is
soft. On the three first described
classes of land the water is hard, and
| there are no stones of any description
except on the third class and they are
so small and scattering that they are
more damage than advantage. The
fiat land lying ON the eastern border,
| looking beautiful and easy of cultiva-
| ton, is all taken. The rolling lands
lie west of the sandy range and are
fast settling up. The country is unu-
sually healthy. The population is
pretty evenly made up of Americans
and Germans. The air is extremely
pure. The principal pest is the mos
quito during the month of June. Flies
are not so bad either in the house or
on horses as in Wisconsin. There are
no rats and but few mice. Toads and
frogs are abundant in the early part of
the summer but do no apparent harm.
The grasshoppers did some light dam
age in few places. The yield of
| wheat on the rolling and third describ-
ed class OF land will average over
| twenty bushels per acre by measure
and about twenty-five by weight. The
second described class will run from
| five to ten bushels. Hard wheat sells
in Wahpeton for sic. and soft for 76c.
Oats are worth 30c. and potatoes Csc.
Horses are worth from 800 to 5000,
oxen 800 per yoke. and cows from
$50 to $50 each. The Wadena &
Black Hills railroad track is laid about
eight miles west of Wahpeton and is
being continued at the rate of about a
| mile day. Wahpeton has more than
doubled in population the past sum-
| mer and expects to treble next season.
Wages have ranged all the fall at So
per day for threshing hands and $4
per day for man and team, and skilled
workmen from So to SIS per day. Our
first snow fell on the 18th inst, and
more fell on the 18th and 2lst.
The above facts and figures are in
tended only for the southeast quarter
of the north half of Dakota, lying be-
tween the Red and James rivers, and
composed of about ten counties. The
level part is more beautiful to the
majority of people than the rolling
part, and the oft recurring mirage
adds much to it's attractions. On the
morning of the first of September last
this strange illusion appeared in all
its glory. The sun rose with moon
| like brightness, and the western hor-
| lion was a solid bank of blue-black
clouds. The timber on the Wild
Rice, eight miles distant, appeared
like an army of giants on dress parade
or grand review, within hailing dis
lance; the timber on Lake Taylor,
twelve miles distant, like its left wing
in hollow square; the city of Wah-
peton, IA miles distant, like great
military camp, and its towering eleva-
tor like signal station; the interyen-
ing houses and grain stacks like vi
dettes and their posts in uncomforta-
BILE proximity. Every elevated OBJ
ject appeared out of all proportion in
hight and in dazzling whiteness. The
scene lasted for about an hour, when
the colors and dimensions began to
change. All was still, not drum
was heard, nor a bugle note, as
| ~. =, 1,,.aoI~f,a+ x,,a o+artad ,,of n