Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1884-08-28
Dakota in Another Light.


this country through your paper,
will try to accommodate them 10
that respect, hoping that you VIII
give me elbow-room.
came to Dakota in the spring OF
's3, and although my stay has been
but short, | have learned some things
which | have never known to be
taught in an eastern school. Such
as the proper way to flip fap-jacks,
(pan-cakes) and the art of using a
nail as substitute for pants button.
| find that Dakota is bounded on
the north by the land of the desert
ers, on the east by the home of the
school-ma'am, on the south by the
land of grasshopper, and on the
west by the Rocky Mountains.
The principal streams of the ter
ritory are the Jim river and the Big
Muddy, either of which contains
more water than woman would
take to scald a dog. The country Is
entirely covered by timber, except
on the prairie, and there is but very
little else besides prairie which is
mostly covered by claim shanties,
prairie dogs and jackrabbits.
And if one were to judge from
the number of claim shanties visible
to the naked eye, he would be led
to suppose that the country is very
thickly settled, but as someone has
very knowingly said, "You might as
well try to find a pre-empter in his
shanty as a tree on timber claim
The products of the territory are
numerous and varied, ranging from
the "Irsh lemon grown on sod, to
the thrifty school ma'am who always
blossoms on leap years, but some
times gets nipped by an early frost.
Though the latter article is not so
extensively raised here as in Wis
consin, owing to the difficulty we
have in procuring sets; but what lit
tie Of the article is raised, always
sells at par or brings the highest
market price.
The soil is very fertile. SO pro-
ductive is it that one can raise canary
birds in three weeks by sowing bird
seed on sod; and potatoes so large
that single potato will last an Irish
man fourteen days (if he don't eat
it); and a single cabbage head will
make a barrel of sour-krout Gf the
barrel is not too large; which l
think is as much as can be said for
the fertility of any country.
The climate is delightful. The
mineral wealth is abundant. Any
thing can be found, from a golden
nugget to a granite boulder.
Society is mostly composed of the
"male persuasion," owing to the fact
that that class Of humanity who
wear their hair in a braid behind,
and false bangs in front, cannot ex-
list in the territory over six weeks
without becoming effected hy "healt
disease" A fact for which ] am
very sorry The natural features of
the country, and It's adal1al0n ta
agriculture are wonderful Yet oil
is not everyone who c0m Is 10 Dako.
n that becomes a successful farmer
For, coming TO Dakota is ike mat
rimony 1t is blessing to some, a
curse to others, risk for all, and
yet all are willing TO enter into it,.
And if You ever hear Of that man
coming to Dakota who took a bung
hole to the cooper shop and ordered
a barrel made to fit It, and who
thought his hens would not lay eggs
unless he built nests for them in the
tops Of the talIcst trees he could
find, you may note it down that that
man will never succeed on the prai-
ries of Dakota, but in six weeks
after his arrival here he will be back
east, telling his friends that he
wouldn't live in such q country, if
he were given the best claim this
side the COW stable.
But the man who comes to this
country, or any other new country,
without a good supply of that nee
essary muzziscow which buys the
baby a shirt and wins the hearts of
the old maids, Il he would have sue
cess must be of that stamp who is
willing to lay aside his chest" suit
of clothes, and to patch up his own
old oyeralIs with a piece of old flour
sack, across which may be printed
those words which are SO familiar
to every housekeeper, "wawented, p"
or put up expressly for family use, >
when every one may know that the
poor fellow has no family And he
must be willing to struggle on in
this way, contented with the hope
that things may take a turn by and
by, as the hap-jack said when 1t was
being oyerdoue on one side.
The red man and duskv maiden
who inbabit the western part of
this beautiful country, are soon to
be driven back into very narrow
limits, and that sayagry which once
characterized their race il hac,nin,r