Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1895-12-26

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Dakota, contained about $4,000
rreat territory, bounded on the
3 the British possessions, on
1t by the states Of Minnesota
owa, on the south by the state
.braSka and on the west by Mon
and Wyoming, geographically
enter of the contineht OF Nortn
"ica, being midway betw zen the
great oceans and between the
If Of Mexico and Hudson's bay.
between the 43rd and the 10Th paral-
iels Of latitude and between the merld-
fans 96 and 1O4, west from Greenwich
ruth being nearly 43O miles and
'eme width. east and west being
q es People are accustomed to
* upon the country as the far
rth' and few of them reflect that
;lof Britain Norway and Sweden
o the north of our northern bound
nd that the notifications of tenn
ure made by the Japan current
Il Of the gulf stream that renders
lorth of Europe inhabitable.
the two states made of this great
# 1882 square miles, 47,569.6SO
about 5000 square miles less
the state of Minnesota. and is
the size of Indiana and Ohio
+her or nine times as large as
4e stare Of Massachusetts. Com
uencing at Fargo. which city l have
he honor to represent in this conven-
on. the Red river valley is entered.
his is a veritable prairie, 30 to GO
miles wide. a broad. level plain. high
enough for splendid drainage through
It's principal river and streams. The
sell is q deep. black loan over clay
mari subsoil and is the most fertile
IN the world. 1t produces 4 special
quality Of wheat. known the world
over as No. lard. The oats. barley,
fax and Vegetables from this section
are known for their superior quality
wherever they are handled, and there
are farmers in this valley who. in a
dozen years. have never failed to raise
q good crop OF Indian corn. The soil
is lighter. IS one journeys to the west
beyond the valley: but to the very
SlargiH Of the Bad Lands. beyond
"ki1son, 800 miles west Of the Red
l., the soil has capabilities which,
me accustomed to the lighter East
soils, seem almost marvellous. TAX
into consideration the soil alone,
- ,-cantral nrairie at the continent
may safely be said to be the richest
spot on earth. the very garden Of the
western hemisphere.
In the western part of the state Of
North Dakota the settlers not having
cOngregated there and the reliability
of the rainfall not being sufficient,
with present facilities and knowledge
of the adaptability Of the country, to
ensure yearly crops of grain, the stock
raisers and ranchmen have established
themselves. These stOckmen depend
entirely upon wild grasses Of the prai-
RE for the development and perfection
of their bands and herds of horses,
cattle and sheep, and the results ac-
complished by them are the finest
stock at minimum of expense.
The western lands, in a very large
area, are underlaid with coal deposits
and it is asserted by those who have
fully investigated the matter that
North Dakota has more acres of coal
lands than has any state in the Union.
The settlement of this splendid
northwestern prairie has only begun.
Not one-eighth Of the land Of North
Dakota is under cultivation. If the
land of the state was equally divided
among the present population there
would be more than one-third Of a
square mile for each man. woman
I'D child in the state. It's resources
almost untouched. The coal fields
not sufficiently developed to make
IRE than a slight impression on the
,st deposits. Creameries, starch fac
,ries and wooden mills are but JUS
citing into operation. Thousands OF
ms of fax straw are allowed to g
waste every year, because of thu
p. ack CT fibre mills to work it up.
] Fargo, the chief city of North Dako
ia. offers more inducements for thu
advantageous employment of capita
in modest amounts probably than an.
city in the wolld. There is city o
about ten thousand people, in the yer.
garden of thel world. 1t is city 0
such enterprise that, when its bushes
buildings and many of it's residence
were wiped out by fire in June, 1885
its citizens had the energy, in the fac
of panic then raging, to rebuild Il
more solid and substantial name
before the November snow of tina
year. 1t is a city Of schools, college
and churches, of electric lights an
of paved streets, with an elaborat
water and sewerage system, modern
up-to-date city. 1t has wholesal
houses in one or two lines, four soil
banks, three daily newspapers and
most prosperous community of reta
merchants. On it's streets, at an
time, can be counted a score or NOR
of well-to-do men who came to tn
country with nothing. 1t is the sea
of the State Agricultural college, a
institution to the support of which til
Uni I'd States government contribute
$4,000 annually. 1t has six railroad
entering it's lir.its, and with the spec
1al freight rates that have been aware
ed to ii. it is able to compete success
My with all its Eastern rivals
the distribution of all kinds Of gooG
= over territory containing n popul'
ton of more than 100000 souls. FC
+, tie country surrounding this city, n;
ture has done everything. Soil. "A
! mate, cheapness of land and of fFn
ing methods, make 1t the ideal farI
oaker's country. It's enterprlsing and OF
vergetic citizens have built II bcantif'
city at the margin Of the most ferti