Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1882-09-08

The Land of Promise and the People
In IL.
BRANDON, Sphinx Co., Dakota,l
August Is, 1882.

| III IL.
BRANDON, Sphinx Co., Dakota,
August Is, 1882.
To the Editor OF the Free Press and Times:
wish that some of your readers coul
be placed out here for few days this Sum
mer and could travel around and sec wha
there is to be seen. We venture to say tina
they would return to their homes convinced
that what has been said and written abo,l
the wonderful resources Of this territory wa
not very far from the truth, and satisfied
that this is Tie place for poor man 10 &c
him home, and we should soon sec then
back here, bag and baggage, to stay.
We could hardly ask for better weathe
than there has been this Summer thus far
just cool enough for comfort and occasiona
showers, though not us frequent or as har,
as last Summer. A good shower now woul,
not he amiss. Neither hail storms nor potatt
bugs hard thunder showers nor grasshop
pers, tornadoes nor cyclones, have visited us
though there was some damage douc by hal
up north of us and, around Ashton and il
other places cyclones have done their torribl'
work. Even Vermont has not ESCAPED
entirely, as we see in accounts from som,
places.
Harvesting is in progress here and splen
did fields of wheat oats and barley are fast
yielding their burden to the hands of the
reaper. Twenty, twenty-five, and ever
| thirty bushels OF wheat per acre are looked
for. Corn is doing well, but is not quite as
far advanced as last year at this time.
Some was planted over the second and third
time, and now there is not over half q stand,
| on an average, owing to the ravages of the
gopher or ground squirrel Then, too, some
| that was planted under furrow to prevent
the pests from finding it, did not come up
good That which was chopped in on the
| sod, or planted with corn planter looks
| the best. Garden Sass" cant be beat. New
peas in June, potatoes the second week in
July, onions from the seed large enough to
cook, pies made from rhubarb seed planted
in the Spring, and so on. We measured u
turnip the other day that was twenty -one
and half inches around, and the tops of
which covered an area of ten feet, and was
two feet in height
The first houses in this country were
usually built after II somewhat similar plan
US regards rooms. There were usually four
up stairs, down stairs, down cellar and out
doors. Some had more than this and several
had only the last two But these sod houses
and dug -ou,s" are giving place to more
commodous frame dwellings. Sod barns
still continue to be built, as they are cheaper
than lumber and answer the purpose quite
well; and sods can be had when money IS
not obtainable. But farmers are beginning
n h1tII ff1 Inn ,l,nr la &c .;.,I.l
has built one 3GXG0 with underground stable,
and there are other smaller ones.
We have had school in our new school
house, though it is not quite completed We
organized Sunday school Il few weeks ago
and had forty members We meet in the
school house. Are going 10 procure library
as soon rs we get the means. Mrs. o. 5.
Basiord received some neat bundles of papers
for the school from two little girls,
Louisa and Mary Gates, members of our old
Sunday school at Essex Centre. We have
preaching occasionally by Rev. O.. S. Bias
ford. His regular appointment sat Redted,
and he also breaches now and then at other
places. Last Sunday he went to Hitchcock
and Broadand, about twenty miles from
here
A party of us went over TO the "Jim"
river a-ishing II while ago. During n lull O.
III oppit AtiC WllltI uiSllIt'ly It1lltIllUtTs
having bite couple of us went across the
river TO gee the Indian Lookout" This is
mound thrown up on the bluff, perhaps
six feet or thercabouts in height and three or
four rods around the base and twelve or
fourteen feet across the top. Around the
edge lies row of buffalo bones placed in
regular order, and outside of these were stuck
some sticks about two feet apart. A tall
pole stands in the centre with the skull of
horse on the top. Whether this place was
used by the Indians as lookout, it being Il
little above the level of the prairie, or us Il
burial place, is not known. Some think it
was burial place, as human bones have
been found there. We came back to the
river and iished till nearly dark and then
went home. There is no doubt but what
there are large fish in the liver, as some have
been caught, but we caught none but what
we could easily get into the wagon.
Vermont is quite well represented in this
township. Beside the Basford brothers, of
whom there are five, and their families, and
the writer, there Is Jay and VIII Cheney
Though Will went back TO Vermont last
FalD, f. Cudworth. j. Van Orman, o.
jackson, J. Mack, o. ID, Town, Miss Scott,
and Mr.. Town, .. ID. Towns father, all of
whom have land. Horace Basford is build
ing him neat cottage. Rev. o. 5. Basford
has recently removed his house 4 mile on to
his presumption. Six yoke of oxen did the
job. Mr.. Cudworth has also moved his
house two miles. 1t took ten yoke of oxen
to draw it. Mr.. Van Orman is putting him
up blacksmith shop on his claim one mile
from here.
1t hardly seemed possible u little over
year ago that there could be such change
in the appearance of place as has taken
place here since then. At that time there
was nothing to be seen but bare prairie, with
the exception of few sod shanties and one
wood house. There were only three persons,
Joe, Fred and Horace Basford that Wintered
in this township the previous winter, and
only two in the next township east Now
it begins to look quite like civilized coun-
try, with houses scattered in oil directions,
and fields of grain and other crops breaking
the mono.ony of the prairie. Some have set
out trees and Others have planted the seed
and in few years young forests will be
scattered about US. Hundreds of acres have
been broken up aud if, in the future rs in
the past, kind Providence favors u.s. another
year will See still greater changes in the
country and prosperous condition for those
who have endured the har,lships incident To
the making for them home in this new
part of the world
ii. S. WooDwoErn.