The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1885-11-13
RURAL NOTES.
What Our Reporter Saw and Thought
During a Jaunt Through the Country.

profuse throughout their extent in the
summer season, because OF natural and
artificial a~dornments. The dead" of
autumn was all that could he seen to tell
the tale of u summers bloom and bios
som, but the region was not entirely de-
void of attractive features, az the gen.
eral topography of that locality is of it.
self Il feature of attraction, and the diver
sity of timber land, and prairie, and art
iticial groves, IN MedO especially, partly
conceals the nakedness of autumn. The
most striking fact in connection with
these towns is the wonderful develop
ment in II civil sense, within a period
dating back twenty years. Then but
those of the most meagre kind, built up
by occasional venturOus settlers, who
foresaw the mines of wealth, latent
within Blue Earth county's borders.
That their foresight was unerring has
been fully demonstrated since, for to-
day the opponents of thrift and prosper
ity are numberless within the vi.
cinity we write about. Strictly speak
ing, Medo rs the preferable for agricul-
tural pursuits, because nature did more
for it, seemingly, it being well wooded
and watered, and has, we think, a more
rolling surface, with a less number of
sloughs. But to say this, is not in the
least derogatory to Danville, which has
a reputation of being a favorable farm
ing precinct, which no M can gainsay.
Ii is u well known fact that the region
of country between the Little and Big
Cobb rivers has no superior in Blue
Earth county, which tract comprises the
major part Of these two towns and Beau
ford. The Little Cobb has its source in
the lakes and marshes of Waseca county,
and enters this county near the north
part of section Is, Medo, t~raversing sec-
tons Is, II, IL, 10, 3, 1, 5, q and 7 OF
that town, finding its outlet in the Big
Cobb in section IL, Beaufort. The lat
ter river enters Danville in section SO,
pa sing on through 35, "a, q, %, 22, q,
III, II, 20 and 10, aud enters Rogers
Lake in section Is, passing out again in
section :, thence through 8 and 5 in the
same town, and 81 and 80 in Medo. In
the southeast portion of the town, along
this stream, is a small body of timber,
and again in the northwest part, while
in Medo there is timber along nearly the
whole length of the Little Cobb. The
towns are well spotted with lakes, be-
sides, although these are not of a nature
To add much attractiveness to the cOun-
try, being of a marshy nature and shall
low. Like many of the prairie lakes OF
Southern Minnesota they are gradually
losing their lakeship, and IN time will
become mere quag mires, if they do not
entirely "sod over" and become utilized
as meadows, in part mt least.
The farm buildings in this locality
present the usual variety of structures,
but il is easily observable that the bet
ter ones predominant very largely. The
residences and barns erected within the
last three years are in number far
greater than in some other sections of
the county, and we we're informed that
several more large and substantial struc:
lures will he erected another season.
Neither of these towns contain II village,
but each has two postoflices, Medic and
Little Cobb in Medo and Danviile and
Sherman in Danville, The village of
Minnesota Lake, however, is located
about so rods from the south line of
Danville south of sections .3 and 81,
which provides the deniZens of that
town with Il convenient market place.
Wheat, stock and all kinds Of farm pro-
duce can he disposed of at that point at
prevailing prices, and all kinds of mer-
chandise il procnrable, which is a great
accommodation to the farmers there
about. The citizens of Medo are not 80
well provided for, their nearest market
place being ut least eight miles distant.
The produce from the western part of
the town is carried TO Mapleton mostly,
and the eastern part of the population
make Alma City and GAINESVILLE their
''point of trade" Minnesota Lake
drains largely from the south part Of the
town. Medic has long been known as
the banner wheat township of the
county, but with all the honor, faith in
that cereal has greatly weakened within
a half dozen years and stock raising has
become n prominent interest. Among
those who first commenced the produc-
ton VI stuuk are ", d. A~LcnerSOn, Lewis
Severson, ii. A. Aldrich and Chas. Rem
ington, all of whom have demonstrated
that it pays, and their fellow-townsmen
are rapidly coming to the front IN that
feature of farming. Danville has always
been u noted wheat section also, and
perhaps to-day adheres to the "primi-
live CROP as much as any town in the
county, but the farmers are awakening
there are many of them working into
blooded stock the herds of James Nc
Broom, Esq, was the only one we had
the pleasure of looking over. He has a
large drove of cattle, mostly full blood
and grade Durhams, a flock of about 100
fine wool sheep, and a number of noble
looking half Norman horses Of different
ages. We bad the pleasure of dining
with Mr.. Ms family, and was given an
interesting chapter Of pioneer incidents
concerning pioneer life in Danville.
Mr.. and Mrs. McBrOom were on
their present farm at the time OF the
Sioux massacre of '62. We were shown
the little log house which served as a
for flying refugees from the west
ern part of the county, they having har-
bored as high as 100 men, women and
children on n nlght-it being the men,
Orable Sunday on which occurred the
New Tim fight. IT is with regret that
we state that We visited other leading
farm homes of this town, but not find
ing the owners at home were unable to
ascertain sufficient facts 10 warrant a
proper mention.
The population of Danville is almost
exclusively German, which fact alone
bespeaks unbounded prosperity, as the
well known thrift of these people is in
corrigible. Medo's populace is more
the southeastern portion of the
being settled by Scandinavians
and the remainder has q mixed pOpu-
lace, in which the American element
predominates. Both towns are well
provided with school houses, and these
are well supported by the people. Few
have better school houses uni
than Danville, and the interest
in educational matters by the in
.abitants of the town IL far beyond what
is usually manifested in a neighborhood
exclusively German. There are
two or three church buildings in the
town. Medic contains n church edI-
ice, the Norwegian Lutheran. and sew
eral of the school houses are utilized for
religious purposes:
Finally, i'm recalling what we beheld,
would not be strict Justice to our con-
to simply enumerate that which
IS commendable. There is much i'm this
as is the case in every farming
community, to the farmers discredit.
places (only a few are the picture
Of abomination. Because of an utter
disregard of order and n%eatness. Fence
down, machinery lying hither and
thither, wood piles scattered over half
IN acre Of ground, hogs monarchs of all
The territory they a root" sheds
,aved in, manure piles almost Us high as
he Tower of Babel, weeds thick and
rank, tho dead and desolate buildings
for a little paint, all of which is a
guarantee that the inhabitant is a loser
n some direction or another, for "Order
IS Heavens aim," and whoever viO-
at IS any of natures edicts is sure of his
reward. If the farmer would stop to do
l little easy calculating he could readily |
convince himself that no labor brings
,s great returns as that devoted to the
are of machinery and other farm APP
Durtenances. Let us just make an esti-
to clinch our point. Suppose u
nan has 81 600 worth of various kinds of
arm indictments, and that he allows the |