Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1894-09-27
Correspondence
4 Minnesota Town.

/ inhabitants, built up mainly since 1880,
and is in the midst of rich farming
country, twenty-three miles from Fargo,
\. D., and Moosehead Mimi.
The city contains repair shops of
the railroad company, which usually
employ $50 men, national bank, six
saloons, four churches, Catholic, Con-
! gregatonal, Methodist and Norwegian
lutheran, three W heat elevators, several
hotels, four large country stores, good
jewelry store, three meat markets, two
tailor shops, three hardware stores, and
all he odds and ends that go to make up
an active place.
1t is a prairie town, not a tree within
ten miles that grew OF itself, and not one
that looks thrifty and vigorous; no hills.
The town grew because Of the railway,
it being a junction point where west
bound freight trains are made up, and
division point, where all train crews
| change.
1t has a steam fire engine and but one
| brick building school house. Insurance
rates are very highs per 800 on the
main business street There is a large
-four mill and elevator under process OF
construction, which will add much to the
prosperity of the place.
Many of the farmers are in debt.
| Coming here ten years ago, or less, with
no capital, they went into debt at once,
| and have held their own well; if they
borrowed money, they were robbed by
the lender Usury is very common,
though strictly against the law. Cases
where national bank (the worst
"shurlls" OF all in this section) has taken
$50 to extend a note for year are plenty,
and the note drawing 10 per cent. legal
interest, and in one case within my
knowledge. a bank took :il0 excess upon
a note OF $500.
Then the machinery Is cost,y, lumber
is high, and in a majority OF cases no
sheds are built for housing any
machinery, and in very short time that
which is thus left out of doors all the
time has to be replaced with others, and
the farmer pays he bill when he can.
They are ambitious. want large farms,
like large fields of wheat, even il the
average per acre is small. Drainage is
poor, and in many cases the best land on
the farm is wet that it cannot be
worked. Manure is something to be
got rid of somehow, but it is very
seldom used TO enrich the land. Flowing
is done by gang plows with three or
four horses, the driver having a seat, as
on moving machine \ harrow sixteen
feet wide is not All uncommon sight
There is no trouble with stones or stumps.
: 10 no, int, i,a hut
is stacked up in large stacks containing
fifteen or twenty tons.
Hail sometimes does a great deal of
damage, especially when the grain is ripe
or nearly 50. Not unfrequently viii hun
dreds Of acres of wheat be as completely
destroyed as il it burned up. Not
unfrequently does a farmer mortgage his
crop year ahead. He seldom uses oxen;
a great many can read no English, and in
many cases the oOn-keeper gets the
money that is due the grocer.
This is not a church going community
Many spend Sunday in hunting and fish
ing. A great deal is to be done here be-
fore the New England Sabbath will be
found. The schools are pretty good.
third two-story school house is now
being built in the city.
The last railroad strike did not fleet us
at all, but We We're lin it, in April when
the Great Northern strike was in opera
tion eight days without mail made one
think Of army days, while to hear the
talk Of the strikers and their friends, one
would think that they We're "the people"
while those not in sympathy were igno