The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-04-15
BILL NYE's LETTER.
He Visits the Scenes of His Journals
tic Childhood--Pious Agent
for City Lots.

for City Lots.
copyright, 1890, by Edgar ". Nye
Written at Salt Lake, IN the Territory Of
Utah, ans so on, GOhenevsr an oppOrtun-
ity occurred.
The past week has been one of great
personal interest, although it has had lit
tie effect on public affairs. l have been
visiting my old haunts in Colorado and
Wyoming, after about seven years Of alb
sence. l have also been in Utah, where
spring has come in the rich valley Of the
Jordan and the glossy blackbird, with
wing of fame, scoots gayly from bough
to bough, deity declaring his affections
right and left and acquiring more wives
than he can support, then clearing his
record by claiming to have had a reveal
ton which made it all right.
One cannot shut his eyes to the TACT
that there is great real estate activity TINS
spring in the west. 1t has taken the
place of mining and stock, Judge, and
everywhere you hear and see men with
their heads together plotting against the
poor rich man.
Yesterday in Salt Lake l saw the sign,
drugs and Real Estate.
presume it meant medicine and a
small residence lot in the cemetery.
In early days in Denver Henry 9.
Brown, then in the full flush and vigOr Of
manhood. had some talk with the agent
of the Atchison stage line for a ticket
back to Atchison, as he was heart broken
and homesick. He had a quarter section
of land with a heavy growth Of prairie
dogs on it, and he had almost persuaded
the agent to swap him a stage ticket for
this sage brush conservatory, when he
gently backed mi of the trade. Mr..
Brown then sat him down on the side
walk and cried bitterly.
just tell this to show how easily some
men weep. Atchison is at present so dead
that a good cowboy, with an able mule,
could tie to it's tail, and, putting his spurs
to the mule, Jerk loose the entire pelt at
any time, while Browns addition to Den
yer is worth anywhere from one and a
half to two millions of dollars. When
Mr.. Brown weeps now it is because his
gout. He. sold prairie dogs enough to
fence the land in so that it could not
blow into Cherry creek vale, and then he
set to work earnestly to wait for the
property to advance. Finding that he
could not sell the property at any price,
he, with great foresight, concluded to re-
tain it. Some men, with no special abil-
ity in other directions, have the greatest
genius for doing such things, whilst
others, with greater genius in other ways,
do not make money in this way.
A report got around some time ago
that | had made a misguess on some
property. This is partly true, only it was
my wife who speculated. She had never
specialized much before, though she had
tried other open air amusements. So
she snapped a cottage and lots in Hud-
son, Wis, for city lots in Minneapolis,
employing a man named Fnnton Parsley
to do the trading, look into the title and
do the square thing for her. He was a
real good man, with heavenly aspirations
and a real sorrow in his heart for the pre-
v~alence of sin. Still this sorrow did not
break in on his business. Well, the bust
ness was done by correspondence and Mr..
Pansleyionly charged a reasonable amount,
she giving him her new carriage to re-
numerate him for his brain fag. What
the other man raid him for disposing of
the lots l do not know. | was away at
the time and having no insect powder
with which to take his life, I spared him
to his bible class.
I did send a man over the lots, how
ever, when I returned. They were not
really in the city of Minneapolis; that is,
they were not near enough to worry any
body by the tumult of the town. In fact
they were in another county. You may
think I am lying about this, but the lots
are there, if you have any curiosity to
see them. They were not where they
were represented to be, and the machine
shops and gas works and court house
were quite a long distance away.
You could cut some hay on these lots,
but not quite enough to pay the interest
on the mortgage. Frogs build their nests
there in the spring and rear their young,
but people never go there. Two years
ago Senat r Washburn killed a bear on
one Of these lots, but that is all they have
I've produced, except a slight cOldness
On our part toward Mr.. Parsley. He
says he likes the carriage real we'll, and
anything he can do for US in the future in
dickering for city property will be done
with an alacrity that would almost make
ones head swim. l must add that / have
the permission to use this information, as
the victim seems to think there was some
thing kind Of amusing about it. Some
people think a thing funny which others
can hardly get any amusement out of.
What l wonder at is that he did not ask
for the team when he got the carriage.
Last week I visited Wyoming a good
deal and met many old friends, all of
whom shook me warmly by the hand as
soon as they saw me. I visited the cap
itol, and both houses and both houses ad-
~jOurned for an hour of respect to my
memory. 1 will never say anything
mean Of a member of the legislature again.
A speech of welcome was made by the
gentleman from Creek county, Mr.. KEEL
logg, the Demosthenes of the coming
State. He made statements about me
that day which in the paper read almost
as good and truthful as an epitaph.
Going over the hill, at Crow creek,
whose perfumed waters kiss the livery
stables and abattoirs at Camn CarIin.