St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-01-25

but Mrs. Houghton is so far ahead of
all. She went there six years ago from
Wisconsin.
Her husband, II. E. Houghton. is a
LAWYER, and now state senator. The
boom was Just striking Washington at
that time, and Mrs. Houghton cot to in
yesting money on her own account. She
bought timber and coal lands and desert
acres, good if irrigated. Besides this.
she became interested in numerous
town sites, notably at Bonners Ferry
and Post Falls.
EVERYTHING has gone her way, and
she is now worth some S500,000, realized
from an original investment, it is said,
of but 500. Mrs. Houghton is not
boastful about her success, however.
and says that what she has done can be
done by other young women, and she
feels the great West is the place for the
young women of the crowded East,
whether they want to obtain wealth Oh
husbands.
Mrs. Houghton is but little more than
thirty years old. Though naturally one
of the most retiring of women, she has
otter been known to make long trips to
By rail to Tacoma and st. Paul to con-
suit with railroad officials and others in
regard to land deals. She has also made
many a.perilous trip by stage over the
wild and mountainous sections of East
ern Washington and Northern Idaho.
Where many men would hesitate to set
out on a journey because Of snow or
rough roads, Mr. Houghton sees III such
obstacles an incentive for her energy.
She has acquired nearly all her wealth
since 1887.
Stimulated by Mrs. Houghton's eX-
ample, many young ladies from the East
are locating on the public lands of that
state. About Olympia, Tacoma and
other towns of Eastern Washington
many of these young ladies have made
and are now making locations. Many of
them have come from the far East,
principally from New York and Boston.
They have taken up their lands under
the timber, presumption, or homestead
act mainly, and in some cases they have
gone out Into the woods, put Up cabins,
and make their nominal home in the
wilderness, while engaged for part of
the time in the towns from eight to a
| dozen miles away in teaching or type
writing.
Quite a number of them have very
good log cabins, well furnished and
truly comfortable. Lots of the girls can
shoot with the best marksmen OF the
sterner sex, and if you go into one OF
these cabins you will see sight that
will interest you in the highest degree
deer horns, q gun. skins of wild anil
mails, Indian relics, glittering specimens
of ore. are few of these things. The
young lady's cabin, however, differs
from that of the young man in being
more neatly kept. One of the young
women from the East is Miss Lulu Lam
son, of the Emerson high school, at
Tacoma. She went there two years ago
from New York city. She went to make
a winning, and with this in view did
not differ from scores of other young
ladies who arrived about the same time.
Miss Lamson began teaching at once,
and meantime took up a presumption
claim, and afterward homestead at
Wash0ugal, OIL the Columbia river, near
Fort Vancouver. She built a cabin, and
has lived there for part of year, as re-
quired by the land laws. Only small
fee is required by the government when
the initial papers are filed, and if the
claim be a presumption or timber
claim, only $3.50 or $1.25 an acre--ac-
cording as it is within or without the
railroad limit-will have to be paid to
complete the title and get patent. The
presumption claim requires the locator
to live upon the land at least six
months.
On homestead claim the locator
must live five years. but after that there
is no money to pay. People of little or
no means are therefore enabled to get
land, which, Oh account of the rapid
settlement of the country, speedily be-
comes quite valuable. OftentlmeS a
| single claim of 100 acres that has cost,
all told. not more than $500 or 5000, will
be sold for $4,000 TO $1,000 in year.
This gives the locator good start, and
if he or she is Shrewd a large sum can
sometimes be made in future opera
ton. These lands. however, are fast
being taken up, especially those that are
accessible and covered with good timber.
The lands that are TO be had are
mainly in outlying sections somewhat
remote from railways, and can be
reached only with some difficulty. AS
new wagon roads and railroads are be-
! ing pushed all the time, however. there
| are other opportunities for people who
wish to take land. Probably not less
than $50 young women have taken TIM
| Der lands along Puget sound during the
past year. In Eastern Washington
| probably 100 others have located lands.
| Just now there is growing interest in
| the arid or desert lands along the
| Columbia river. There are some large
enterprises for irrigating these lands,
and thousands of acres are being picked
up. In a short time probably tens of
thousands of acres of these lands, on
| which there is now nothing but cactus
| and sage brush, will be made highly
| product So long as there are timber
| claims to locate, however, the girls have
some hesitancy about going to the
| desert.
IN IOW.SPIRITS