Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-09-12

Davenport Democrat, 24:-.aIs there.
much land remaining in your district
Tor Presumption or homesteads, Nh.
LowryT inquired a reporter yesterday
OF our former townsman, Hon. Robert
Lowry, receiver OF. the Huron land dis
tf1ct IN Dakota, whom he happened to
meet in q convenient Office. And the
question was the means Of gaining in
formation OF considerable public inter
est.
Il can answer your question by Civ
ing You some particulars of the dis
trict.s was the reply.
when I.opened the Huron land Of
lice On the 9th of October, 1882, less than
two Years ago, shat district comprised
ABOUT 100000 acres of public land
Which had been declared opened to set
Element. 1t was included in the coun-
ties Of Beadle, Sphinx, Hanu, Hyde.
Hughes, Sully, Potter and Faux
eight counties-and you will be sur
prlsed when l tell you that on the list
OF this month every acre was sold, ex-
cept about 100000 acres, mostly in Pot
ter, Faulk and Sully countless
"You must have placed a gocdly sum
of money in Uncle Sans Treasury in
these two years, then" said the report.
er.
Necessarily so,"M Mr.. Lowry replied
"The total receipts from cash sales
amount toi;s1,553,o27.52, from fees and
commissions to s226,03o.69, and the
amount Of surveyors scrip s26S,6 22.71
making aigrand total of s2,027, 6SO.92
which has been received IN that office
in two yeats-and only 100000 acre
left for sale.Y
"But. Mr.. Lowry, if your business
proceeds at that rate, it will not b,
long before your Office closes, will it ?"
coffee close! Why, there is worl
enough left to keep that office running
for ten years. There are a great mum
Der of final proofs to be made of home
steads and prescriptions and Il. C.'s, a
we call tree clams-and they run TO
eight years. No, there is no prospec
Of the Office closing for some time yet:
"When you opened the Office, hoy
many people were in the district?"
, Il can't tell you. Thetown of Huro1
was founded in 1880, and when I wen
there its population numbered abou
1,0OO-now it is claimed that it has be
tween $500 and 5000 people. But tn
land district was very sparsely popula
5 ted-hardly settled at all. Now, Their
are $4,000 to 10000 people in the eigh
t counties. The lightest population is i
Sully, Potter and Faux counties, i
which there is some good land yet. S
+ you see how rapidly government land
t are taken, Dakota is The last t%erritor
, of good land in the United States, e,
+ cept a little in Kansas and Nebraska
J, How much OF the land in your di
! trict is owned by spectators?
q "Why, none! Spectators can't &C
, it. The most any man can get Of it
$50 acres-160 for homestead, 1850 fc
presumption and 16Oas atree claim, an
there can be but one tree claim in
section. Then, there is no railroa
grant Oh all the Huron district. Thu
< you see the land in the land district
taken for actual settlement, and til
$ only way in Which a Spectator tan &C
possession Of the land is to purchase
1 Of q settler, who must have spent Sc
l to 500 upon it before he can get th
patent for it. In the case of a home
q stead a man must live upon it for fv
years before he can get his decd for i
t and then it will cost him but S2S. ]
great many settlers, however, con
mute'-that is the settler himself come
4 to the office and pays for his claim !;
the rate of $s1.25 per acre, and owns i
without waiting to carry out the goN
eminent conditions"