The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1882-09-20
From Dakota.
WEsslNGroN, Dakota, Sept. 10.

WASHINGTON, Dakota, Sept. 10.
EpIroRs FREE TRADER Thinking a
short description OF this country might
not be undressing to some of the La
Sale county people, thought | would
give short description of 1t as II appears
to me and to everyone with whom have
talked, except land agents and chronic
grumOlers, who represent the two extremes.
One can see nothing hut land of milk
aud honey, while the other sees u country
which to HIM appears tit only for the abode
OF lizards, rattesnakos and tramps. Com.
ing across from Mitchell to Huson by
stage the other day we saw III the dis
lance what most of us supposed was man.
just before reaching the object one Of the
passengers, alighung from the stage, ask.
ed, "What are you, anyway" lie eNclaim'
ed in some establishment that he had al.
ways passed for fine specimen of the hu.
man species when he was living in the
states. "Well," exclaimed our passenger,
II thought you must be q land agent You
are the first thing | have seen IN this coun.
try that had the looks of man that
washed" You will hear as many differ.
ont opinions expressed of the country here
as there are persons. One will tell you Ger.
tain localities are too dry; the next man
you meet will tell you that it is altogether
too wet leaving one bewildered as to where
or who he Is. One man says II is a good
corn country but you cannot look for a
good crop of wheat, saying a, the same
time that they hardly ever raise more than
from twenty-five to forty bushels of wheat
to the acre. You can cross over to the
other side OF the street and enquire of the
man you see drumming has hands on dry
goods box, waiting tor something to turn
up, his opinion Of the prospects of the
country. Slowly and mechanically turn.
! ing his chew OF tobacco from one cheek
to the other he Will give you knowing
wink, tell you that it is u mighty good
place for man with capital but poor
man had better stay away from here. The
next man you meet Will be another enig-
ma, telling you this is good wheat coun-
| try, but he does not think 1t is very good
! place for corn; that corn does not do very
well in this country as il only yields from
forty to eighty bushels on first breaking.
Oats he thinks do reasonably well in this
country, but nothing extra, yielding usual.
" from fifty to one hundred bushels per
acre. You next enquire about the soil,
asking if there is any sand or gravel scat
tered through 1t near the surface. You
are told you could probably find gravel or
sand by digging twenty feet or more. If
you point out some 10 them where it has
been turned up by the plov they will reply
that "gophers dig deep in this country and
make sand and gravel fly, for fact"
Most of the able bodied men in this part
OF the country are turning their attention
to politics, at the same time trying to save
the country. One of them remarked the
other day: 1--WE are all republicans In
this country" One young man who had in
the recent past been noted tor his strong
democratic proclivities was forced to re-
mark: 81 believe we are. all republi.
cans IN this country showing how too
true was the old saying that circumstances
alter cases" There are great many La
Sale county people in this part of the ter
rltory, among whom are ex-Clrcult Clerk
Holmes and f. Z. Stevens, who are located
at Huson and appear to be doing a good
banking business al that point. Among
the old settlers at washington are E. II.
Vance, who appears to be dong good law
business, and Chas. Ferguson, jr. Both of
the boys have located claims nine miles
north of Washington, and are highly
pleased with their selections. The coun-
try is settling up very rapidly and bids
fair IN the near future to place itself well
up among tie great states of the north
west. u. Z. Z.