The Sully County watchman. (Clifton, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1894, 1893-01-07
Testimony Of Sam Il. Clover
as to the Delightful
Weather Here.
Both Winter and Summer in
South Dakota Are Gen
orally Enjoyable.
Something OF the Crops OF
Which These Prairies
Are Capable.

Ine prdlrleS porn or only a citizen by
adoption, is more loyal to his native
heath than the denizen of almost any
other locality within our borders. If
you meet him abroad and ask him
where he halls from, he never slurs
the name of his state in answering
the query. You find that he is proud
of his western home, and after chat
ting with him for few minutes you
are very apt to catch his infectious
mood. The Dakotan is as broad and
liberal in his views as the prairies in
which ne has been nurtured.
He loves to talk of the big farms.
the big vegetables, and the big area
of his vigorous young state, and he
never tires of reiterating it's advan-
tages. He is born "boomer," with
an airy humor that is as fresh as the
Dakota breezes that play over the tall
grasses he tells about. His favOrite
subject is the climate and here in
truth he does not 60 astray. A more
glorious climate than that enjoyed by
the people of South Dakota is not to
be found in the country. The crisp,
exhilarating air imparts an ecstatic
vigor. How / recall those mad morn
ing rides across the prairie on my
spirited little broncho, when
In long delicious breaths dank the air,
= =
After the newcomer has worn off
the sense of loneliness and homesick-
ness this exhilarating air guarantees
him happiness. 1t is hard to imagine
anyone signing for the "freeze, thaw
and sneeZe" of eastern winters after a
season spent in Dakota's glorious
atmosphere, where even at 30 below
zero a man is far more comfortable in
his shack than he would be in stone
mansion on Commonwealth avenue.
Storms come, it is true, and lively
ones. When the wind blows from the
northwest, bringing with it fine par
ticles of snow, the Dakotan expert
ences taste Of what the fastener
designates a "blizzard"; but really
these are almost as rare as cyclones in
the east, and just as short lived,
while the succeeding days are always
brighter and filled with more sun
shine than ever before, as if Dame
Nature was trying to make amends
for her temporary display of temper
A mistaken idea prevails in the
east regarding the length of the
Dakota winters. During five years
residence in South Oak ota, l cannot
remember any bad weather-weather
l mean, of an extremely cold, stormy
nature-occurring much before the
first of January. From the close of
the Indian summer until Christmas,
the days were usually clear, bracing
and sunny, days that invited long
walks and plenty of active exercise,
and which sent one home at night
with a glorious appetite, unalloyed by
the ghost of a dyspeptic thought.
There is no rain, no mud, no Slush,
and consequently no colds in the,head
no malaria, and few cases of pneu-
monia. In Chicago / have suffered
more discomfort from the cold when
the thermometer marked 20 degrees
above zero than 1 have ever expert
enced in Dakota when the mercury
stood at 20 below. The pure, dry air,
even at very low temperature, can
be easily borne; it is the humid, pen
etrating atmosphere that chills the
marrow in ones bones.
Toward the latter end of March the
farmers are to be seen engaged IN out
door work, and after this time they
are rarely interrupted by the return
of frost or snow. The universal cul-
tiyation of the soil, the planting of
trees and other civilizing influences
have worked wonderful change in
the duration.of the seasons in the
prairie region, and old settlers assert
that seeding is now begun a month
earlier than in former years, when
the country was new and farmers
were scarce. The snow is usually all
gone by the first of April, and l have
picked the furry-coated crocus two
weeks prior to that date. On sunny
slopes the violet appears before the
frost is out of the ground, and by the
first of May vegetation is so far ad-
vanced that cattle find excellent graz.
ing on the ranges.
Summer in Dakota is not to be
dreaded as it is in the east and south
during the heated term. The day
may be warm, for it is generous sun
that perfects the crops and gives
Dakota her reputation for growing
the best wheat, the heaviest oats, the
brightest barley, the oiliest and rich.
est flax, and the choicest vegetables
produced in the union; but the
nights are always cool.
Two-thirds of the people of South
Dakota are engaged in agriculture