The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-09-18
THE PEOPLE WHO WENT WEST,
Tho Colony Which Horace Greedy Sent
Out Into the Desert.


Fourteen years ago Horace Greely was
chiefly instrumental in sending o colony
of 100 families to Colorado to make an
experiment in farming in that almost rain
less desert by means of irrigation. They
went forth from the eastern States under
the guidance of Mr.. Meeker-the same
man who was afterwards massacred by
the Indians. The colony located on the
Cache Ia Pondre creek, which is fed by
the melting SHOWS of Longs Peak. The
town Of Greedy was laid out in 1870 not
far from where the creek emptes into
the South Platte river, and 10 fifty five
miles north Of Denver and about the
same distance south of Cheyenne, aud is
some twenty or ghirty miles out in the
plain east of the mountain range. Sew.
eral other streams tlos out &C the Longs
Peak group of the Rocky mountains aud
empty into the Platte near Greedy.
The first year was devoted to erecting
shanties and digging long canal and
lateral bitches. The second year some
crop was raised; the third year every
green thing was devoured to the last
blade by the grasshopper plague. This
was in 1873. Many of tho colonists
becoming discouraged, sold out their
improvements for what they could get,
shook the dust of Greely off their feet,
and returned to their eastern homes.
But other bolder and tougher men took
the place of the despondcnt "tenderfeet."
The struggle for existence continued, but
in little while more abundant crops
began TO reward the efforts of the colo.
nists. The Greedy settlement IL now the
most prosperous and happy community
in the whole of Colorado and the town
is the handsomest in tho State.
The first canal constructed was twenty
feet wide and thirty miles long, and ca.
pable of watering 10000 acres of land.
Since then other canals have been con.
structed and large areas of country laid
under water. Greeley now contains
upward of 5000 inhabitants, living in
600 hundred nice houses, embowered in
shade trees and each with its fruitful
garden. One of the best hotels in tho
State ID there; Chicago man has estab.
lished National bank there are two
well conducted newspapers, several -four
mills and other manufactures, and Inst
year 80 much wheat was raised in the
country that good many thousand
bushels of surplus were shipped east for
market The Greeley colony having
set successful example, numerous other
colonies have followed in its foot steps
aud profited by it's mistakes. 1t is now
surrounded by such colony towns as Fort
Collins, Evans, Longmont, Pla.teville,
Loveland, Eaton, Windsor, Berthoud,
Boulder, and other towns all practicing
its methods.
A citizen of Greedy took me for
drive into the country to see farming by
irrigation. We passed through scores of
beautiful farms growing as fine crops as
ever saw in any country. There were
numerous wheat fields that will produce
more than thirty bushels per acre-not
small patches, but fields of twenty to 100
acres of magnificent wheat, other felds
were covered with oats, which will yield
forty to sixty bushels of excellent quail.
ty. There was great deal Of corn look.
ing fairly well, and which will produce
thirty or thirty-five bushels per acre.
Corn is the poorest crop grown, and the
best one is alfalfa, a species of clover,
which grows with wonderful luxuriauce,
producing three or four crops year, and
each cutting averaging two or two and a
half tons of hay to the acre. When I
took the ride the farmers were moving
alfalfa for the second i'ma,shis season.
and they will make hay again toward tho
last of August, and some OF them twict
before winter. Everybody testified to
the excellent character of this feed and
its nutritious quality for cattle and milk
COWS. 1t is fed to hogs, and fattens them
rapidly. Several farmers assured me
that one acre of alfalfn will produce as
much fodder as five or six acres OF clover,
timothy or blue grass in the Eastern
States. illinois, Kentucky and Indiana
are called Eastern States.
There is perfect furor for alfalfa in
Colorado, and thousands of acres we're
s0wn with it's seed this spring around
Denver and Greedy. Once fairly rooted
IN the ground it grows and produces for
nearly lifetime without renewing. One
of its peculiarities is that it strik - down
into the soil q tap root in search Vf water
to an astonishing depth. The roots of
five.year old alfalfa, are found TO have
penetrated ten feet: and in some INSTANCES
even deeper. It is the remarkable prop
erty of going deep down in search of
moisture that makes the plant 80 valua.
BILE IN these dry regions. Alfalfa Is un-
doubtedly the fodder of the future on
these arid plains wherever little irriga.
tion to give it start can be procured.
It is perfect success in Utah and Cali.
fornia, and is proving to be the same in
Colorado and New Mexico. The most
extensive system of irrigation at present
in the State is in the country around
Greeley for twenty o. thirty miles. The
quantity of land that can how be wet is
not far from 100000 acres, which ls more
than all the irrigated land In Utah at
the present time. The farms I. the
Greeley region mostly exceed eighty
acres and some several hundred. The
Utah farms of the Saints consist of
patches of dozen acres or a score at
most; but they are very carefully titled
and watered. -''t