The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1895-08-31
Back From Arkansas.

iull uSlOeo III q louS lluit Was u, L.. TIM
S aturday. Mr.. Finn had just arrived
from Arkansas and was in town to meet
his son, A. L. Finn, who arrived on the
evening freight with their car of house
hold goods, farm tools, horses, etc. The
Films were lnticed into Arkansas last
fall by the seductive land agents, pur-
chasing at that time $40 acres of prairie
land 60 miles southwest Of Little Rock.
By lots Of hard work they cut timber
and fenced the land with a good hog
tight fence, and all told put out about
were unable to realize a red cent on.
They paid IS al acre for the land aud
found out afterward that the Spectator
they bought it of paid $3.50 an acre for
it a short time before; and as near as
Mr.. Finn. could figure it out this
seems to be the practice there-selling
land to northern suckers at s. to $40 all
acre and buying it back in a year or
two at 50 and 50 an acre, Improvements
thrown in. Mr.. Finn said the natives
did considerable smiling and commented
freely at the amount Of hard work and
the improvements.
MIR. Finn said there was not so much
trouble in raising crops as in finding a
market for them, but the soil even on
the virgin prairie was very light and
had TO be fertilized. He said no one
seemed TO have any money and it was
next to an i%mpossibility to obtain cash
for anything raised. They raised great
quantities of vegetables but could not
dispose of any of them and there was no
market for corn. Horses were worth
less than here; no II had any money to
buy with. The climate was what sick
ened them the worst. Last fall and
winter he thought it delightful and was
very much pleased with the change. But
when summer camc it was hi and
repeat. His son lost 40 pounds since
July and they had all been sick the
greater part of the summer. He made
up his mind to get back to South Dakota
il they had to crawl Oh their hands and
knees. He said there were seventeen
families leaving his vicinity there at
ono time, all going back north; some to
Nebraska, some to Kansas and some here
Their neighbors were mostly negros.
shiftless like al! of their class, and they
would steal anything they could get
their hands on.
81 notice." Mr.. Finn said, that you
have a lady correspondent near Little
Rock who has seen but one tiny snake
One Of our horses was bitten one day
and we went out and killed over twenty
as large as my arm, and all as poisonous
as a RATHER. We must have killed one
hundred and fifty while there, mostly
moccasins which lie in pools of stagnant
water and which as everyone knows are
very poisonous.
at is ds pretty a country as one ever
sees to look at" said the younger Finn
in his car at the station Saturday night,
but no place for d northern nan tt
attempt to live by farming. The climate
is against the change for one thing ant
the utter dirth Of cash puts a damper OF
a man at once"
AS no exodus from Brule county tt
Arkansas is contemplated it is unneces
sary to detail all of the drawbacks thes,
men found there. 1t is enough to sa,
that every objection the GRAPHIC la
. found was verified to the letter. TIL,
editor of this paper has been South an,
knows it and if you do not think hi
statements are as reliable as interested
parties go down there, as Mr.. Finn ant
his son did, live a year. Better still, j
anyone has the Arkansas fever. an inter
view with the Firms will cure them yer,
quickly. 1t is IL much cheaper cure, to-
someone's else's costly experience.