The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-09-07

slightly inclined to the river and to the
north. The river undoubtedly once flowed
to the south and emptied into was the
upper water of the Minnesota river.
Moorhead has 4, 900 people, hotel costing
$3.50 600. 1t is $50 miles from Duluth due
west and 275 miles from St. Paul, and is the
crossing of the St. Paul & Manitoba, which
taps the great wheat fields to the north.
There are fine blocks mills grain elevators
and all the signs of steady, substantial
growth.
On the west bank of the Red is Fargo, ten
years ago hamlet, and now a city of 10000,
with town lots of prospective values, and the
late Observation-Disclosures electric lights,
street cars. $4,000 schoo-house, and fine
water-works. Here we strike the cheeky
real estate man and the ten-cent daily news
paper. From here on every town of over
five hundred has one or two $12-a-year four
page dalies, and editors VINO boom the towns
and country as though they had a subsidy
from the city council and the railroad. 1t
was the editor of the Fargo Argus (yclept by
the editor of the Fargo Republican as the
"Snorting rhinoceros of the Red river val
ley'') who was not invited to the press ex-
cursion, and so spent his wind abusing those
who dld go to- such an extreme as to anger
his fellow-citizens. He complimented the
Indianapolis papers as chose never
heard of in that region" but repented
in good style, and offered to subscribe $50
for a banquet to the press party on its re-
turn.
Fargo dates its growth from the success of
the Dalrymple farm, which proved that the
uplands of Dakota raise as good and abund-
ant wheat as the Red river valley Dakota
depends for its wealth upon wheat as Mon
tana does upon cattle. This immense wheat
field is a treeless, reckless, rolling prairie,
with butte or clay-hill formations west of the
Missouri river. 1t is 300 by 500 miles stand
i1,fr ir,o 1v, off Col
In 1870 its population was IA 900; now it is
100000, and the people of the southern por-
ton are clamoring to be set off as a State,
and the Northern Pacific settlers are fighting
them.
Dakota takes the lead in the amount of
land pre-empted by actual settlers, and in the
amount sold for cash. Last year %, 900 home
stead entries and II, 500 timber-culture en-
tries were made, and the cash sales were
So 600 900.
The wheat yield in Dollata in 1880 along
the railroad line was 100000 bushels; in
1882, u 600, 900 bushels.
The wheat is Scotch Fife spring wheat.
When good it grades as "No. 1, hard" and is
best adapted to the patent roller-mill pro-
cess of making -four. 1t is sown in late
March and early April and harvested in mid
die and late August. The work requires but
few weeks labor each year, and so is attrac-
tive aside from the profits.
Breaking" costs 50 rs in May and June;
"ba ok setting" tine burrows is done in July
and August at $3.50. After harvest the land
is 'cross plowed," and left to the winter
frost. In the spring fifty-two quarts of seed
are put on each acre by a broadcast seeder,
the wheat narrowed in, and in 100 days is
ready for harvest. Once subdued, the soil
is easily cul tivated. Corn is no crop east of
the Red riven; the season is too short.
The Dalrymple farm is cultivated as | have
described, and at an expense of one dollar an
acre less than on smaller estates A bushel
of wheat costs 30 to 40 cents at market, and
sells for from so to 80. This bonanza farm
was established in 1875 1t lies in three
tracts, covers $4,000 acres and has $1,000
acres Under pillow. 1t yielded in 1882 profit
of over 5000, 600 Each 1000 acres in wheat
has house and stables shops and boarding
establishment, under one foreman. These
lie to the north of the road, and from the
cars look like little villas on the treeess
plains. During harvest 400 men are reaping
and as many thrashing
The 115 reapers in line cut and bind Swath
a fifth of a mile wide and twenty miles
long each day. The site of the
farm is Casselton, twenty miles west
of Fargo. Mr.. G. w. Cass is one
of several owners of this farm. Mr.. Oliver
Dalrymple IS the successful wheat raiser and
manager after whom the farm is named
This enterprise showed what Dakota, with
Montana-a part of the Great American
Desert" of our early geograp hies-could do.
Settlers came in and took up the wheat
lands and in the last two years Fargo has
doubled in value and population.
THE ARID DAKOTA CAPITAL.
Bismarck has repeated the history of Far
go. 1t is twelve years old, the new capital,
and one of the pioneer towns of Dakota. 1t
is on the prairie bluffs, on the east bank OF
the Missouri, which is navigable to Fort Ben
ton, l, 200 miles above. We were taken in
carriages here and whirled out to the Capt.
toll site, a mile north of the town, where lots
are worth thousands. The dust was unspeak-
able. Water or ram is scarce. Artesan
wells 800 feet deep struck no water. Drink
ing water is brought from the Missouri by
water-works. Residents now pay twenty-five
cents barrel. Not a tree in the streets;
plenty of grass good air and good views.
Our reception by the citizens was cordial
one it was both wet and dry. Cottonwood
from the river bottoms at So a cord, and lig-
mite at 81 a ton, from the Little Missouri, or
eastern coal is the fuel here.
Ex-Presdent Hayes has farm just north
of the city devoted to thoroughbred stock.
From the river bluffs we had fine view OF
the great bridge, costing million, three main
spans of 400 feet and two shore spans of 120,
1t is so feet above high water. The expense is
in the approaches and projections and in the
control and rectifcation OF the treacherous
and muddy stream. South of the bridge,
across the river five miles from Bismarck is
Fort Abraham Lincoln, where Custer passed
the last two years of his
ill-starred life His plain rooms
were made beautiful with furs and
skins-the spoils of his rifle while buffalo
heads, elk and big-horn, prepared by him.
SELF gave the rooms a look of the regions
where Custer delighted to hunt wild beast or
savage
Across the river is Mandan four miles
west. Here are the river flats the railroad
shops and some struggling bottom trees. The