Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1885-02-19
"POPE's ESSAY ON NAN"
Translated into Dakota Lingo }

(Transated into Dakota Lingo.)
When God made man
He seemed to think it best
To make him IN the east
And let him travel west
He gave the man q start,
AS in Scripture we have seen,
By giving him an orchard
Down cast in Palestine;
But his Eden was too small,
And he longed for herds and llocks,
So God showed HIM near Jerusalem
Some awful hills and rocks;
Where he made scanty living,
Though he worked his level best,
So he left the Holy Land
For Europe farther west.
There his family grew large,
And the boys refused TO stay,
SO they fitted up a barge
And to America sailed away.
They were sturdy sons of toll,
And in spite of tears or smiles
They crossed the Atlantic ocean
And came west three thousand miles,
Where they found hilly country
Co'vavu o-ei VIM .v-,-- >.-a .----,--=-
With heavy work befofo MEM
And little time for case.
They were young and strong and plucky,
They did chop and burn and clear,
And thought themselves quite lucky
To till five acres In year;
For it took five yoke Of cattle
To plow through grubs and roots
And 1t took man to hold tina plow
Who stood six feet in boots.
And when the plow would pass the roots
II would cause the man to sin;
Poor fellow could not help but swear
AS the roots would thump his shin.
With rocks and grubs and stumps
This man kept up constant strife,
And to subdue eighty acres
Took one mans natural life;
And when he got so he could live
He was old enough to die, a.
He had spent his life in waiting
For the "Sweet bye and bye"
His family grew, his lands did not,
Their area was too small,
He could not give ten acre lot
To each and serve them ALL
Out of his farm he gave one son
THE eldest by the way)
A house and garden patch,
Where he could live, exist or stay,
BY "xorking out'' for other folks
Whenever they might ask,
Just as they happened to need a man
To do some heavy task.
So day by day the years wore on,
The routine was complete,
While he had health and worked each day
Lie could "make both ends mee,;''
But whea it rained or he was sick
No income had he then
Except the charity of those
Who help their "hired men,"
The second son had read his books,
And on the map had seen
The land of the Dakotas
Covered with living green,
Where broad, smooth, deep soil prairies
Stretch away for miles and miles,
Where Uncle Sam would give a farm.
Where farm machinery does the work,
Where riding is the style,
And sulky plow rips up the sod,
Straight away for mile on mile
Where one year counts for more than ten,
W here the man of push appears.
Where the son soon has better farm
Than his father makes in years.
This young man packs his little grin,
Kisses his dear Old mother,
And says he will not follow tracks
Made by his older brother;
He comes to Jamestown at once,
Stutsman's county seat.
He takes -emption near James River,
And says "lt can't be beat;'
In six months time he owns farm,
An even quarter section,
Has planted crops and built house
For the girl of his selection.
A timber culture claim he takes,
A homestead too close by it,
Four hundred eighty acres all,
And writes his friends to try it.
They come and settle all around
And become a happy people.
Bright homes and schools abound
And many tail church stecple;
And when his family grows up
They will not have to roam,
Because his farm is large enough
To make them all home.