Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1892-12-26
SOME NORTH DAKOTA POINTS

I
/ things. One of these is a single farm,
/ that, from the top of an elevator,
could see six miles in a stretch. Ii
was in September, just after wheat
was cut, and nearly all of this long
range of the vision was covered with
thick shocks of wheat. Half mile
from the elevator, that stood beside
the railroad, was the set of buildings
of this vast wheat farm, house for
the manager, Mr.. Larimore, and be-
side it large one for boarding the
farm hands; barns, cattle sheds, COW
ers for implements, great stacks OF
straw, cottonwood and box elder
trees and other shrubbery. Together
these things made up great estab-
lishment, but the finest of it all was
the vast stretch Of the farm. 1t lies
in the rich, level Red River Valley,
though the town of LarimOre is full OF
trout five miles back from the Red
River itself. All this valley, reaching
from a few miles to thirty or forty
from the Red River, is the bottom of
a drained off lake, SO well defined that
it is known as the Agassiz Lake. At
the meeting of the glacier that once
overspread this entire country, this
lake was formed and remained awhile,
long enough for the foot or two of fine
black mud to settle over it's bottom,
that later being drained by continent
al changes, has left the wheat lands as
rich as butter in all the this valley.
West the margin of the old lake is dis
tinctly marked by bluffs, ridges of
gravel, and sand hills grassed over.
They say the same is true far over
east in Minnesota, and government
party said this past summer at Lari-
more that they had traced this old
lake shore for three hundred miles,
and was then examining it northwest
ward toward Canada. Lake Winni-
peg in that country is the remnant of
the old lake Agassiz.
Another sight was a remarkable
mirage. 1t was from our college town,
Wahpeton. Away to the southwest
on some sand hills, about twenty five
miles away. Usually, they are totally.
out of sight. But this time, in the
morning, these hills were in plain
sight, raised to such a height and bro't
so near that the very streaks of sand
were made visible to the unaided eye.
Between the town and the sand hills
seemed to be a lake of water with
houses and trees rising out oft, while
really there was nothing but the level
stretch of the miles and miles offarms
with their houses and shade trees. A
few times in year only, do such mar
vellous transformations occur.
We supposed no trees grew on these
vast stretches of North Dakota re-
gions, either natural Or transplanted.
But the river comes on heavily wood
ed-the Red, Wild, Sheyenne, Dako-
ia and other ones. Here in the town
and about many Of the farmhouses
they have set out cottonwood, box
elder and few other kinds of trees.
The cultivation of fruit trees has not
yet succeeded, though few raise
crab apples, currants, gooseberries,
plums and the like. Some of the farm
buildings have already large, fine
fifty feet high.
A disagreeable thing we find is a
continuous blowing Of the winds. If
they are not blowing from the north,
they are from the south, or east or
vest. A really still day, such as Of
jen comes in New England, is as rare
is a white blackbird. Most of the
lime they are not gentle zephyrs Ell
jher, but tearing, pulling, roaring
blasts. Said some one, looking at a
photograph of the college, taken with
he students standing in front of it,
The wind blew, didn't it?'' To be |
sure it did. The dresses of the girls |
md the coat tails of boys were proof |
sven OF it's direction. Twice since |
ate autumn have come real north
vesters, once with two or three inches
If light snow, when the air for hours
vas so full of the binding rush of fine
PARTICLES that one could not see two
DDS. This, they said, however, was
'nly zephyr. wait till the January
forms, when one at midday can hard
y see his hand before him! But we
ather not see that, even if we wait.
Such stories as they tell about real
lizzards. They have not had one for
wo or three winters, but one is in or
Ter at any time. Their worst storm
asst year was in March. One of my
tudents tells of one dozen or fifteen
ears ago, SO terrible that for three
avs they could not go from the house
0 the barn at his fathers farm. and