Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1886-10-07
IN THE GREAT SOUTHWEST.
Many Millions of Free Acres-Nature and
Location of the Lands.


Location of the lands.
According to the estimates of the Registers Of
the land Offices fully .000 0)0 acres of Govern
ment lands are still unoccupied in Missouri. In
the Ironton district the vacant lands lie mainly
in Howell Q25, 600 acres), Texas (225,O0 acresj,
Oregon, Shannon, Ripley and Phelps counties
These lands 100000 acres in ALL are timbered,
Of a kind better suited TO grazing than to
agriculture, footing up over 100000 acres,
are found In the counties OF Crawford,
Miller, Pulaski, Camden, Hickory, St Clair
Benton, Laclede, Dallas, Polk, and Cedar
which comprise the Boonville district. Some
twenty counties in the southwest corner Of the
these Stone Christian, Taney Douglas and
Ozark, only. contain any large areas of Federal
land. The prairie lands OF this section are ex-
hausted, The remaining woodlands are rolling
and sometimes rough, but the soil is good.
State lands to the extent OF 10000 acres yet
unsold, as are, also, several thousand acres Of
swamp lands.
The United States owns about G, 400 900 acres
OF land in Arkansas, all open to homesteaders
OF this some $500 900 acres are in the Harrison
district, which includes Boone, Benton Baxter
Carroll, Fulton, Izard Madison, Marion, New
ton, Searcy, Stone, and Washington counties
None of these counties contains less than 100 600
while Benton has nearly 100000 acres These
lands are all timbered. and are in the main
hilly, although there are large areas OF rich val
Icy lands. In the Camden district, Nevada,
Hampstead and Ashley counties have vacant
prairie lands. Polk, Pike, BoI tgomery, Hot
Springs, Garland, Clark. and Howard counties
| are timbered, and contain 100000 acres
OF vacant lands, chiefly hilly, but with numer-
GUS valleys Unoccupied lands also exist in the
southern parts of Miller, Lafayette, and Column
bia Counties. The Dardanelle district, COM
Sebastian, Montgomery, and Saline Counties,
with 40, 600 to 600O0 acres Of vacant land each,
and Pope, YELL Scott, and Perry, with about
100000 acres each, is made up of alternate
mountains and lowiands, the latter being ex-
| tremely fertile. 1t is a timbered region. The
remaining Government lands in the State, some
100000 acres, nearly all OF which Is available,
are in the Little Rock district, and are divided
between prairie and timber. Beginning thirty
miles east Of Little Rock and extend
| ing west ninety to one hundred miles, with an
| average width Of twenty-seven miles, Is the
principal prairie Of the State. Much OF IL Is un-
occupied About ], SOC, 900 acres Of State lands
are undisposed Of, and OF these lands nearly
1,0O0,00J acres are free TO settlers who improve
them.
Kansas is not without attractions for the
homestesder, l1..t In the Topeka Coneordia, and ID
consequence remain unoccupied. Ottawa,
Saline, Lincoln, Ellsworth, Russell. Davis,
and Chase counties. In the salina dis:
rough land. Graham and Norton counties,
| in the Kirwin district, have about 3d.
600 acres Of medium lands. The oberlin
| district at the northwest, contains 1,600,U00
acres Of vacant land, chiefly in Thomas, Chey-
\ enne Sherman and Rawlins counties. 1t is
mostly prairie, with mixed & loan and sand an
| trict, Reno, Butler, Barber, Kinglnan and
/ Harper counties contain some 10000 acres OF
available land. Rice, Pawnee, Edwards, Bur
| ton, Stafford, Pratt, and part Of Ho.dgeman
| counties form the Larned district, and exclus-
/ i've OF the Usage Indian reservation Of 100000
| different land. At the southwest is the
| Garden City district made up OF the
counties Of Ford, Seward, Finney. Ham
which contains over 100000 acres OF vacant
land. Back from the Arkansas Valley, which
is from one to Ave miles wide and very fer
tile this section Is great rolling table land,
without timber. The soil is fair, being q sandy
loan with light clay subsoil resting on lime
stone. Irrigation IS largely practiced, and Is
North OF the last-named district is the Wa
keeney or Western land district, which com
prises all OF the State not included In the
| above dissertations, and contains nearly 1000.
600 acres of land open to free settlement This
region is ali prairie, and too dry for culti-