The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-08-14
THE EAST.
HOW 1T LOOKS CONTRASTED
WITH THE WEST.
Advice to Western Farmers tn Stav
Where they Are.
DESCRIPTION OF INDIANA.
OHIO, VIRGINIA, ETC.
Miserable Soils Burned Up By
Drought.
THE EAST.

Judge Arthur Cough, one OF the
ablest and honestest men in Wiscon.
sin, writes as follows concerning a
trip he has just finished for his
health. twill be interesting reading
for our farmers and teach them con-
tentment with their lot.
Judge Cough writes his paper. the
Chippewa Falls Catholic Sentinel, as
follows:
Last April had a severe attack OF
la grippe, which brought me to the
brink of that bourne over which when
man passes he never returns. For
two months I wrestled with the dread
disease, getting sometimes better and
sometimes worse, and at last resolved
to try the effect of travel. / had
been led to believe. through circulars
sent out by southern and eastern land
companies, that beautiful farms were
to be had, very cheap. in the states of
pennsylvania, Maryland and the two
Virginias, and I concluded that if
such farms were to be had for the
prices mentioned, it would be a nice
thing TO exchange a life here in
northern Wisconsin for a life in one
OF those states, where the winters are
so much milder and shorter than thev
are with us. therefore set out in
the beginning of July, resolved to see
for myself what truth there was in
the story Of the cheap farms and
what effect railroad jostling would
have in shaking off the grippe. am
now home again, after journey of
nearly 1900 miles, through ten states,
much improved in health and with
considerable addition to my stock of
knowledge and experience. I made it
my business to become acquainted
with the state of the farming popula-
tion wherever went, the quality Of
the soil and the condition of the
crops, and the result Of my enquiries
leads me to believe that Wisconsin,
south Of the line of township 81, is
the banner agricultural state of the
union, east Of the Mississippi river,
and that Chippewa county is sur
passed by no county in Wisconsin,
within said limits.
l found the whole country, from the
middle of our own state to New Jer-
sey, suffering from drought; the
springs and streams dried up, the
grass and pastures burned brown, as
they will be with us in October, small
grain hardly worth harvesting and
corn short and in many places wilted
for lack Of moisture.
The southern part of our own state
and the northern part of Illinois
looked badly, until l went further
East. Sauk, Columbia and Dane
counties in Wisconsin and the border
counties of the sister state appeared
to suffer the most.
Northern Indiana is a veritable
desert. Except around Fort Wayne
there is nothing to be seen but sand,
scrub brush and dry swales. Here
and there at long intervals one sees
the shanty of a settler, but the crop
he is trying to raise makes the heart
sick to look at it. Further south,
along by Logansport, the corn looks
better, but the ever-present drought
is such that even the Wabash river is
almost dried up. East of this passed
through the natural gas belt and
could see from the cars the gas piped
from the wells burning. It seems
probable that natural gas will yet be
| discovered throughout the whole val
| ley of the Mississippi south Of the Wis
consin line.
Ohio in the northern part is like
Indiana, sandy and in many places
barren. East of Columbus the crops
are scarcely worth harvesting. West
| Of that city corn looked we'll but grass
seemed all burnt up. The Sciota river
| looked as filthy as barnyard pool,
and, all the small SIRENS were either
dried up or greatly reduced in volume.
| The Ohio river at Pitts burg was like
wise greatly reduced. We were then
in Pennsylvania and began to ascend
| the western spurs Of the Alleghanies.
The rest of the journey to Harrisburg,
| the capital Of the state. has small in
| ducements to offer to the farmer. The
| whole country forms raised plateau
or hogback, out Of which rise success
sion Of conical hills ranging from five
| hundred to one thousand feet high.
coal are found for which Pennsylvania
| is so noted, The valleys between
these buttes are Of very little use for
the purposes Of agriculture, and the
isolation is so great that one shudders
at the thought Of being cut of from
the rest of the world. Still, cabins
can be seen here and there and patch
es of tillage, but the efforts of the
cultivator appear to bring forth little
fruit. These wild hills which are
covered with dense growth Of small
trees and brush are the homes of wild
beasts and reptiles, and the man must
have bold heart who follows them
up the craggy rock and through the
woody gorges Of this wilderness. Near
the summit Of the hOgback one reach
es the city of Johnstown, made IA
nous by the destructive flood some
years ago. The town is built in a
narrow ravine between two hills along
the JOhstOwn river. The poor people
dwell on the fats by the riverside,
other higher up along the hills. There
appears to be considerable business
done here, and along the river for
some distance both ways. A few
miles further on the road reaches the
| highest point in the hills at curious
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