The Washburn leader., 1891-07-11

that thelaw exempting 5000 worth of per-
sonal property from taxation is not oper-
ative this year. Acting upon this decision
State Auditor Bray has notified JAIL county
auditors that the 5000 deduction is not to
be made. This will be a disappointment
to those who pected to. escape taxation.
Two soldiers and scitizen from Fort
kKeogh passed Washburn yesterday in a
fskif enroute to Sioux City, whence they
Iwilligo by rail to their former homes in
Pennsylvania. The soldiers bought their
time under new ruling of the war de-
partment, and are honorably discharged.
Rev. G. L. Hall, principal Of tie mission
school, accompanied by his wife and
Hannah E. Hall, his son Robert and Misses
H. B. IlsleY and j. L. Mercereau, left for a
months vacation in the east last Monday.
The party spent Sunday in Washburn and
Mr.. Hall preached at the school house in
the evening, delivering very interesting
sermon.
Barney Mckinley hitched up his high
stopper "John" Thursday evening and
invited US to ride with him out a short
distance into the country. We did so.
The first place visited was Assessor John
Nelson's, whose fields of waving grain were
pleasure to see. And by the way, we
may as we'll say right here that Mr.. Nelson
is building himself new story-and-a-half
dwelling house of goodly dimensions, but
through Johns native modesty, and his
natural disinclination to boast of what he
is doing, no mention has heretofore been
made of this very substantial improve
ment. We next called at Miss Ada Mus
sons cottage, and found her fields of wheat
put in on shares by N. j. Olson-keep-
ing pace with those of her neighbors and
promising an abundant yield. We then
paid a visit to our GENIAL friend, Fred
Merry, and found him at home as happy
and serene as snoring woodchuck. His
grain was sown late, but presents fine
stand, and Fred feels highly jubilant over
the prospects. His corn and potatoes are
well advanced, and large crop now seems
assured. Verify, this is land of promise.
Mrs. Fitzgerald has received two or three
letters from her husband since his depar-
ture on his health-seeking tour, and by the
tenor of them one would judge that our
sheriff was regaling himself on the best
the world can produce. One letter dated
at Denver tells of hail-storm few days
before when chunks of ice fell as large us
hens eggs, and the mountains covered with
snow. The next we hear of him he is ut
Montrose, Colorado, the Ell Dorado of the
western hemisphere, with fantastic visions
crowding his mind and sights too grand
for pen description dazzling his eyes on
every hand. But let us quote Fitzgerald
himself. Ne says: "Hon. NJ. L. Happen,
editor of the Enterprise, got livery and
drove me out into the country west of the
city, and showed me sights which did my
eyes good to look at. I saw hundreds of
acres of beautiful crops; hundreds of acres
of alfalfa-a sight I never saw before.
About half of this crop is cut and in stack,
and the sweet odor of the fields as you pass
is enough to make a sick man we'll. Then
I saw thousands of trees loaded down with
fruit of all kinds, such as plums, peaches,
pears, apples, cherries, grapes, mulberries,
and other varieties" We dare not trust
ourself with further description. Our
mouth is watering now for taste of those
fruits, and if Tom Fitzgerald doesn't come
home next week with cargo of the 'de-
licious," we'll massacre him on sight, or
transport him to Calamity Flats where
the foul odors of decayed manhood will fill
his nostrils and strangle him to death by
degrees.