The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1885-10-03

dairy country, but it can be greatly i'm
! proved, for a country so rich in cattle nee
not be so scarce in milk that it is sold mt II
cents n quart. But before they can succeed
in dairying they must have cool, deep Gel
lars, like their cisterns, and tame grass, o.
something better than the wild grass for fee,
for COWS. Another relic Of the wild age 0
the country is that the cows hold up the
milk. This think kind treatment and ear
" weaving the calf would remedy, especial
ly with young cows. But perhaps they inhe
rt the trick like the bucking mule. trieC
one of the latter and went very well thu
first day, but the second tried to take my
grip sack on the pommel Of the saddle anC
as soon as the beast felt its touch he bucked
could keep on with both hands, but wher
tried to hold on with one hand and carry
| the sack in the other went sprawling on to
the ground.
rode over the country about eight miles
to see man who had several hundred hors-
es to sell and had offers for several car loads
at 1913 head. On the same route met a
man who was collecting together lot to ship,
and on inquiring the price concluded, TAX
ing quality and size into account, could do
better to buy at home. saw several tiocks
of sheep, each having man with horse to
tend them. was told they were very low
in price and the owners anxious to sell. |
judged the fencing up of ranges and the
sheep owners not having enough land left for
grazing purposes had something to do with
dscouraging them. At any rate, had they
owned the land and had it fenced the dollar
and a half day it cost for man to tend the
sheep would have been saved.
The prairies would have looked better to
me had it not been for the weeds growing all
over them and the farms. But all along the
railroads and creeks the cookie bur appeared
to grow to perfection. thought they need
ed law against it like that in Illinois agains
Canada thistles.
AS had agreed to meet q man at Sweet
water on Tuesday, the 22d, | left my broth
er's on Monday and took the route VITA Fort
Worth to observation-disclosures 300 miles. |
travelled mostly in the night and early morn
ing, but from what | saw of the country |
thought had never seen one more barren
and worthless. Everything was dried up,
except the muskeet tree, which alone looked
green. The man met there was to show me
a section of land he had fenced near town
He was on hand with team and buggy and
was soon riding over the land After looking
it over, and where the sixty head of cattle on
the place got water, examined twenty acre
lot man was improving for garden and
fruit orchard.
Here became convinced OF the produc-
tiveness Of the soil without irrigation. | saw
peach trees and grape vines of larger growth
than could grow in Illinois and not showing
the least sign Of drouth, although they said
it had not rained drop for over 100 days,
the vines looking we'll, but the first and
largest crop was gone. The soil is rich,
reddish loan, does not dry up hard and
bake, but remains loose and mellow and |
judged would pillow up evenly including the
first breaking.
| called on Mr.. j. W. Posey, to whom |
had line of introduction from our towns
man, DR.. J. o. Harris who is agent for lands
in that country and who had frequently told
me of the productiyeness of the lands, but of
which had taken but little heed as ! con
sdered him interested and if he could not
give good account he had better not give
any. Mr.. Posey took me into his garden
where he had peach trees three years old in
bearing. His trees were like the others,
large of their age and looked healthy and
showing no sign of drouth Mr.. p had
plenty of good ripe water melons on the sec
Dnd growth of which | Toasted. and as good
rs ever ate in Illinois. Mr.. p. said he had
hem that weighed 100 lbs. had intended
to stay another day and gone out in the
country but my partner got dispatch from
home and we had to leave that evening
But while was there had a chance to
talk with several from the country. | learned
there was little attention paid to farming,
but all to stock-sheep add cattle-but most
ly to sheep. saw one man who had been
there five years and wanted to sell out. He
was from Illinois and went there for mis-
health and had got it, and no farming or
stock suited him. lie was not used to it and
did not like it and was not making it pay,
and to judge from his own story | should
not think he was. He said he had one hun
drcd and twenty hogs last spring and about
one hundred acrss fenced, but not hog tight,
and as he had melons and a garden he did
not wish to have destroyed he took his hogs
away seven or eight miles and dumped them
TO root hog or die hoping they would not
come back until his melons were over, and
they could get fat on muskeet beans
which grow in cluster on the muskeet tree,
q tree about the size Of ana looks very much
like peach tree. They grow two crops in a
year and cattle and hogs get fat on them, so
| am informed. But in this he was mistak-
en-. About fifty came back and he took his
shot gun and killed several and gave them
such scare that they left. He had about
one thousand sheep last winter, but nearly
half had died. Most all the lambs. he said,
had sort of epidemic, took cold in the head
and died Judging from the way he took
care of his hogs | think they died from ne
glect, want of shelter and feed during the
cold spells of last winter. for was told the
winter there was extreme for that coun-
try. My brother told me he had suffered
more from cold in Texas than he ever had
in Illinois or Minnesota, not because it Was
colder, but from being less hardened and less
regretted had not time to go out mile
or two and see farm in plain sight, started
by Californian from Los Angeles. | was
told he considered it as good fruit country
as California. and from the looks OF his place
at that distance he had quite a start, rs it
showed corn or sorghum in shocks and other
In the evening we started
home, and the brightest, clearest moonlight
4 Il