Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1888-01-12

country, but they did not raise any corn
last'year, and all they use Is shipped in;
it is worth l cent per pound; they
raised few buffalo chips, and that Is
about all the fuel they use. Coal IL
hard to get and worth $3.50 per ton at
Wallace. Some of the fand is level and
some of it little rolling: saw land on
my way out here that | would not give
40 acres of my land in Audubon county
for 100 of. found crops good all the
way through Iowa. crossed the Mis-
souri, river at Plattsmouth; corn was
good in Nebraska for some distance, but
the further west got the poorer it be-
came. asked man what his corn
would go, he said about 5 bushels to the
acre, that was in Nebraska. crossed
the Republican river at Scandal, Kans.,
they had little corn on the river bot
tom but none further west crossed
the Salmon river at Downs, Osborne
county, there they had some corn but
west of that, nothing that an Iowa man
would call corn; they have raised lit
tie corn fodder, millet and sugar cane.
Hay of any kind is worth $40 ton as
it is most all buffalo grass and very
scarce yet. Potatoes are worth S1.2o
a bushel; turnips 80 cents; flour, grocer
les and dry goods the same as in Iowa.
Around where | am stopping they have
dug some wells, and they go all the
way from 80 to 100 feet according to
the rise of the ground, but when they
get to water it is good and plenty Of it.
Creeks all dry, except where there are
springs and there the land is generally
rough and rocky.
At Colby, Thomas county, | run
across our old friend Geo. Myers, run
ming q hardware store and doing well The
has some town property and some land
close to Colby, another man and my
self each bought cook stove of him.
They have a railroad to Colby but none
to Sherman county yet, but expect to
get two or three in the spring" This is
wonderful country, we can see a great
distance; towns 20 and % miles away
can be seen plainly sometimes, and look
to be only few miles away. We see
many strange sights on the western
plains, the mirage in the distance,
sheets of water, islands, ships, trees
houses, castles and many other strange
things. You may not believe me but it
is true all the same.
A man can get $50 acres Of public
land; he can file presumption for 100
acres, providing he does not own 800
acres of land he has 33 months to prove
up in, but can prove up in six
months if he wishes; the price is 1925
per acre. He can take homestead Of
100 acres, but cannot hold homestead
and presumption at the same time. He
has to live on a homestead five years
but can also take tree claim Of 100
acres by setting ten acres Of it out in
timber. Tree claims are scarce, as they
can only take one tree claim in each
section: a man does not have to live Oh
a tree claim. Land here is worth from
800 to $1,000 as soon as they have
proved up. Lots of people come and
take claim, stay six months and prove
up and then go back. They mostly
charge 10 per cent for money to prove
up on, but money loaned on stock they
charge per cent month. have also
made trip to Colorado. Denver is a
fine city. There are many big fine
towns in Colorado. | have been to
Pixies Peak, and made Sam Lambert a
visit at Monument. | like Colorado
and may go there next summer. They
raise potatoes out there till you can't
rest. Yours Truly,
JOIN FREDRICKSON.
p S.-We have have plenty of snow
and cold weather in sunny Kansas.
One man was frozen to death near me.
We are like the prairie dogs-sit in a
hole in the ground. If | can sell my
hole in the ground shall go back to
Iowa.