The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1884-06-27
$ we'll known that farmers will

DdhOGtt.
Another noticeable feature along
this road is the large number Of
pastures. Hundreds Of acres are en-
closed with neat, we'll built wire
fences, and these are all we'll filled
with cattle and horses. The man
who says that Dakota can never he
a successful stock country has only
to ride over the Fargo & Southern
to disprove his own assertion.
On arriving at Wahpeton I pro-
cured team and rode thirty miles
along the line of the Wadena branch
of the Northern Pacific railroad to
the west side of Richland county. 1
drove over this same tract of country
two years ago, hence had good op-
portunity to draw comparisons. At
that time there was no railroad and
only few scattering houses, and
what little wheat there was, looked
; fine, and I afterwards heard that
there was Il paying crop, for the
price was high.
Now the railroad has been COM
pleted about year, and there is a
good sized wheat warehouse at each
of the stations of Mooreton, Barney
and Wyndmere, the only stations in
Richland county west of Wahpcton
on this line. There are many six
hundred and forty acre farms and
many fine farm buildings in the
twelve miles between Wahpeton and
Mooreton. West of Mooreton the
farms are smaller. All along the
road the wheat looks finely, and the
prospect for All average of twenty
bushels to the acre is most excellent.
l noticed many herds of cattle in
this country, also, though here they
were being herded by small boys,
and were not in pastures as along
the Red river.
Wyndmere, located near the center
of the north line of section IL, town
1872, range So, is not yet a year old,
but has some fifteen buildings, in
Guiding two stores, a blacksmith
shop, and saloon. The village also
claims half mile track and a base
ball club. 1 remained that night at
the house of Lowell d. Carlton, one
of the Carlton Bros, the pioneers of
that section. Both Of these gentle
men have fine farms of half a section
each, on the Wild Rice. nearly all of
which is under cultivation. They
claim that little rain is all that is
needed to give them and their neigh
bors Il yield oft twenty-five bushels an
acre, and review of their we'll titled
farms bears them out in their state
ment.
Richland county land as u gener-
al thing IS sold at a much lower
figure than Cass county land, and
the only reasons for it are these:
Cass county has had Il railroad rum
ming through it for ten years or
more, and is on the main line of the
Northern Pacific. In addition it
has been largely advertised by it's
large farmers and purchasers have
crowded around them. Richland
county has had railroad but two
and a half years, and this ran
through only small portion of the
east end of the county. Wahpeton had
but few houses in 1880 and no rail
road. Now Wahpeton has three rail-
roads, the same us Fargo, and about
two thousand inhabitants. With
three railroads, Richland county is
going to have rapid development,
and in from three to five years the
land will he rated as valuable as in
Cass county. There is in Richlan d
county scarcely the average amount
of light soil all producing good crops
and is preferred by many farmers to
the heavier land. The larger por-
tion of the land, however, is rich
black loan we'll adapted to wheat
raising. The Wild Rice runs
through the whole length of the
county, and affords good drainage.
l know of but two large farms in
Richland county, and they have not
been long under cultivation. In
five years there will be an average
of two farmers on a section, and 1
predict it will be one of the richest
and best cultivated counties in this
territory.
Saturday afternoon: arrived at
Wahpeton and had the good fortune
to meet Contractor Foley, of the
Fargo & Southern. He kindly in.
vited me to ride to Fargo on his en-
gine, and with him I mounted to his
favorite seat on the cow-catcher.
The road is not entirely surfaced,
but it is remarkably smooth, all the
rails on the main line being first
class steel. After stopping twenty
minutes for supper at the boarding
cars we proceeded on our way to
Fargo, over road and through a
country that Fargo land dealers will
want prospective buyers to travel,
for by 80 doing they cannot fail to
be impressed with the advantages
of Dakota as a farming country.
Two miles south of the city the
road turns abruptly to the west for
half mile. thus giving strangers a
fine view Of the city and an excel
lent opportunity to judge of its size
and Importance. In two and half
hours we arrived in Fargo, indebted
to Mr.. Foley for a most agreeable
ride and to Engineer Wadhom and
Fireman st. Peter for safe trip.
At this writing but ten miles of
rail remain to be laid to complete
the road to Ortonville. This road
will give Fargo third connecting
link with Chicago and st. Paul, and
it is to be hoped that 1t will enable