New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-06-02
THE NEW STATES
XIV.
80 1TnDTIF M KnTA
NORTH DAKOTA.
,,usrowN AND IT'S FLUCTUATIONS OF
- FORTUNE.
.ws xoRrHnRN PACIFIC AS A P1ONEER-LAND
SPECULATION - pAKorA's EpucA-
TIoNAL SYSTEM.
XIV.

fypoM A 3, ayr CORRESPONDENT oY TBE rhfecNH!
Copyright. 1859: Byhe NeT York IroUn''
Jamestown. North Dakota. May 20
ss.yth Dakotan cities differ from each other III
sseal and physical conditions as widely Us theS
Aher from the cities Of the South. Jamestown VT
J,mtoSn. Al you are permitted TO call 10 30
.oor an vov have established yourself on good
terms with il. Ia as unlike Farso as Fargo
unli)ce Sioux Falls AL the Southern c'Ues s"uie
common Apes RANGES, but in the Nortn' eSou iUV"'
as ~ IL were started under circumstances Pecul"'
O. ,tsslt Jamestown moro nearly resembles III
Eastern village than any other place navy seen'
There are rood reasons for this, It's CROWN mas
h..n s,ov, 7. has never intoxicated ITSELF WIN
that fatal poison the boom IL nhs he'er ""u
= raaoroI land offcc or any other srthclai ara
.a, a.. nomlation and stimulate its com.
7, has come along 80 where 1t Is by
.-.an., rrocesscs. more rapid in their movement
?. a., - no snre when everything along tho
m.-ot Oh. Northern Pacifc was leaping into
800. Init never so violent as to produce q
.,o,a,. reaction. There has been reaction
Jamestown isn't as noisy as 1t was four years
am pfopsrty IS by no means 50 high as ~ was
sh,p No perccptible growth has been made since
1874. The people have felt the chilling influence
~ hard times When they had their last iull
seop. the price OF wheat sank below profit point
Then There was drouth. Then there were losses
bv hail. Last year an August frost bhghted the
,nen,d grain Just rs it was about 20 be harvested.
Tbeso troubles hurt jamestown, as they hurt all
So-.h Dakota. They rendered dollars dolefully
scarce
IRA Northern Pacific lind grant made the rail
road possible Tho railroad made population pos
Sb,e. Bat what was thus a blessing WAS in
As II already
remarked In the course of this correspondence. the
sarly settlers of an agricultural region are never
the permanent settlers, whether railroad or q
prairie SCHOONER fetched them in, This fact true
everywhere was particularly and deplorably true
along the line OF this road 1t introduced into
tho country, in addition TO the two classes that
always lead the van OF settlement, nccrdo-wclls
and r. ughs twU other classes equally undesirable,
speculators and tenderfoot theorists When the
Northern Pacific reached the Missouri, IL failed.
and it's bonds sold by the pound. Those who
held them as it then appeared, had but ono chance
10 get their oney back, and That WAS by eNchang-
ing bonds for land, and then by selling the
land For thirteen cents worth OF bonds they could
take an even dollars worth Of land, and in this
way tens Of thousands of neres, lying right along
the railroad, were suddenly plnced tn the hands OF
men whose only object WINS TO dispose OF them rs
best they couM. They rushed IN oil kinds OF i'm
migration. They startled every poor man IN the
East with stories Of the immense profits 10 be mad"
in wheat fnrning They offered all sorts Of easy
terms TO purchaser Thousands came focknS
into the land grant district who knew no more
about a farm than q crow knows about tene-
nent.bouse. Spectators grabbed all the and they
could and doomed IL wildly. For time things
went well. Crops prOspered TIL" weather WAS SIN
suIarly beuignnnt during the growing season IRE
was plenty Of rain. and everybody. tenderfeetn
ne'er-do-wells and oil. made money hand over fist.
They were saDguine nt first. Now they became
crazy. They mortgAeeA everything they could get
hold Of 10 buy land To possess n BONANZA farm
Was evcrybody's dream. Property values rose to
5 ridiculous point Everybody plunged eagerly
Into debit Then came n drouth. The wheat crop
failed ADD wheat in which there WIS the hast en-
pense and greatest profit was ell anybody attempt
cd 70 raise Then all was gone. and a considerable"
portion Of them were utterly unable TO resist mis-
fortune. Many fed. Disguised. Another season
came around bat the success that was attained
did not enable those who had started wrong 70
gcs right third season came, and its results
were but litte better. They were good enough
for tho genuine farmers the hard-grained fellows
who had started IN with single yoke OF oxen,
plough, q bag Of seed and a good, earnest nerve
They made money every year, regardless OF frost
bail or drouth. But II wore away oil that re-
rnaiued Of the nerve and patience Of the gentle
man farmer. lie abandoned the fight, returned
10 the East, and cursed Dakota. Meanwhile. the
bottom had been kuocked out Of the boom every
where Real estate men were loaded 10 their eyes
With property taken under foreclosure Lots OF IL
they couldn't give away The banks and the store
keepers were running the country, and they ran IT.
Is the main with much generosity They have
enabled ell the farmers who are worth anything 20
tide over the dirk past.
But all over North Dakota the signs are clenr Of
better times. Feelings OF depression have given
way 20 those Of confidence and hope The people
know more than they did. They understand now
that turning is business and must be conducted
on. rgidly economical business principles There
10 every prospect now Of a splendid crop. Rain
has fallen all over the State plenttully, and unless
some accident interviews the yield OF 1880 will
reach In the two Dake,as at least $1,000
900 bushels. The people of the North have
learned another lesson - not 10 depend
wholly on their stnpie. They can raise
corn, Aax and barley, and they can
grow stock readily. They are giving their at
tcntion TO these diversfcations OF their product,
and the result has already been felt. An idea
tAlSt6 III btc I<tifO NibaJ bakOla ~ 700 cola ana
bleak for cattle in the winter. and that the period
during which they must be housed and fed is
100 long 20 admit Of profitable stock.raising.
This notion is certainly mistaken; on the con-
tery, the time. season by season, during which
naek are under cover here Is shorter by good
deal than In Ohio or Illinois. And this is the
stason an these natural prairie CRUISES that grow
In such profusion here cure rs they fall on the
slpund. They don't dry or wither In the least
I saw them six weeks ago, at the end Of the cold
soasoa square miles OF them, as full Of juice and
nutrition ss the greenest grass TINT grows. Their
average height. when grown to bay, Is nine inches
but In many regions they grow TO the height Of
three and four feet. and the stalk is perfectly
ssittle aud Us rich as u peach. Sheep and cattle
cat IL, from the highest blade 70 the root. The
winter weather here Is sunny and dry. with very
bitlc snow. II Is often the case that there are
not seven eiotdy DAYS from December 70 March,