The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1889-03-28
A Winter in Dakota.
Correspondence of the Journal

time, and that iced over so there was never any
loose snow to blow. We had very little co.d
weather, making it favorable foI all cl9s~cs Of
people.
Farmers are combining throughout Dakota
for the purchase of goods and safe Of their
products. Coal that would cost - Ter ton is
thus secured at 81.
Much work is being done IN the temperance
cause to secure the admi> sion OF Dakota a> a
temperance state Although the people Of
most of the counties have repeated; voted for
temperance, yet the day has not come when tenn
perancc lodges are popular. Literary societies
are maintained in nearly every township. and
they valuable a~ could be expected in Il
new country where beer bottles aul dances
still hold an important position.
The little town of Canton sustain, eight
churches, and the county su>tans Teachers
Associations, which meet at some place in the
county every saturday. This is Il great inn
| provement on anything we had in Maine when
| left there. The association can not fail 70 be
great benefit to the romsnunty though do
not fully sympathize with many of the modern
methods
found this winter people who could apprc-
ciac truth even when little out of their usual
! line Of thought. The word method j. carried
to extremes by many teachers, while they ac
knowledge that children prompted BY curiosity
will learn the letters despite ali their vigilance
in keeping them in ignorance of the names Of
| the letters They seem to forget that We learn
most readily by comparing the same character
/ Il; ;t; ;
! to pupils learning the multiplication table i
wholly unfounded. A pupil who has learned TO
| count will readily ind out how many IN are,
! but il is a waste of time to allow him 10 solve
such problem the second time Any fact
| which is used in business as often a. M should
he thoroughly memorizcd at The start. The
| practice Of explaining and illustrating every
! new subject is a waste of time. | remember
having 4 supervisor of schools back in Maine
tell me that hi, must be done, end he bro
nounccd my work failure because did not
think a he did. The poor fellow dill not
realize that the true province of the teacher j,
to train the pupil in the art of .ing for tGc
gems Of knowledge.
With school of 80 TO 70 scholar. the past
winter | did not solve aS many pr'blcm> in
months is ! used TO every Gay in Vi tinc. and
i'll Il school of - to Is scholars at that | re-
member hearing scholars say: 'If the teacher
| will not work the questions What is the use in
going to school" Now that | have no school
| supervisors to lug have no trouble in nla,iu.
my pupils realize that A suggestion at the ri4ht
time i worth more TO them than volumes ~
crude knowledge. The above allu>ion to ~r!4a"l
supervisors is by ~ means general but it AZ
plies to two out Of five ot those | cam, in rol-
tact with in Maine.
/ started north from Canton Malci q. Two
Years ago gave YOU an account u 4 trip south,
starting from the same point. The land about
Canton is quite level, with no bliil on the I)it-
aota side of the river, hH there i quite 4 hIuf
ON the Iowa side.
Sioux Falls j. ON" Of the most lively CITIES in
the west. The trains We're the most crowded
in that Vicinity of any place on the inc nutc-
ed some fine buildings built on IT,, solid rock.
\ portion of the city il on The side Of quite
| Hill, giving them 600 drainage, While some
western cities are nearly tioo led in wet time.
| did not any buildings from the CAR Win-
dow more than three story, but wa informed
that there were higher ones in The town The
stone quarry and water power are WhAt giNr
| life to the town.
North of Sioux Falls the Nallcy is about two
miles Wide with >li.ht blum oil cap.h SIM. M
| Dell Rapids the river flows for some distance
through i channel in the Solid rock i should
Judge the channel to he 70 feet Of ninre iu
width and $ feet deep. should not thilh there