The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-12-04
DREADFUL PICTURE
OF POVERTY AND SUFFERING.
A Procession of Teams and Wagons
from West to East.
Leaving the Ranless Region of Nebraska for
Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin.-No
Money.-Couldn't Even Mort
gage Land.
THREE CROPS IN THIRTEEN
YEARS-A SAD STORY.
Let the st. Paul immigration Convention Re-
move to Holt County, Nebraska.-Sad
Conditions to which to Apply
the Gold Standard.
New York Sun.

New York Sun.
Iemars, Iowa. Nov 5.-To the mid
land people there is presented nowadays
the novel spectacle oe fleets Of prairie
schooners headed eastward. The migra-
tion began in July, directly the failure
of crops was assured, has been going on
steadily since then, and will end only
when the blZzards of December make
travel impossible. The regions abandon
ed are the dry lands of Nebraska and
South Dakota. The opinions and expert
ences noted in this article were gathered
at a single haltng place of these schoon-
ers, a camp on the Missouri, on one of a
thousand possible roads from the aban-
doned farms. The period of observa-
ton extended through the month of Oc-
tober only. The number of movers inter-
viewed was siXty-seven, although many
others are known to have passed during
this month. Only few typical cases are
reported
Case 1, Oct. 1.-Two schooners, man.
wife and six children. miserable out
fit, and undoubtedly in sore need. The
woman was anxious to talk The man
at first was surly but finding no un-
friendly intention. he thawed a little, and
amiably damned the country, the people
who enticed him out there and his luck.
we COHlt lIOlH HUI COuliJ, ANSDIdShd
We went there from Iowa in '93 and we're
going to folks in Wisconsin. We're
never going back to Nebraska. We
couldn't live there at all. We had 100
acres planted, mostly In corn; we put in
a few acres of oats. We got 450 bushels
Of oats that we traded for wheat, so as
to have flour to make the trip on. The
corn all burnt up, every stalk of it. We
had no rain at all in July. When the
corn was one foot high we had a hot
J-;1 1oI OFT tho rpCt SrOt
about three feet high and then another
hot wind finished it-dried it right up.
Then there was no sale for truck. But
ter was seven cents all summer, and
eggs six cents. You see there wa MT no
money in the country. We tried to get a.
mortgage on the place; banks wouldn't
give cent. Tried to mortgage the
stock; couldn't get a cent. Tried to sell
the machinery; couldn't get cent. You
see there amt no money there to be got,
not even in the banks and stores; no
body's got any money but them irr1ga-
tion sharks!
''Oh. irrigation! They talk, and talk.
and talk irrigation, and get the poor
cusses of farmers to sign papers; and see
here, there'n never be any irrigation till
them sharks get all the land into their
own hands-that's the game. We had
six cows and we sold them coming along
the way. Seven dollars was the highest
we got for them. That's what were
moving on. If we'd waited another year
we couldn't have moved at all. Getting
poorer every year: same way with every
body. There's our neighbor. a widow,
got 800 acres clear: didn't raise 81 buShel:
been trying to raise a mortgage so as to
go back East to her folks: couldn't get
a cent So she's just walked away from
her farm and is doing washing in town.
Case 2, Oct. "A family consisting of
five persons-man. wife, boy of IS. boy
of about 10. girl of about s. all wretchedly
clothed: Live stock: Yellow dog. ter
rer cur. four horses and a colt in poor
condition. Two schooners.
We're going to Minnesota. We're from
Nebraska. Many moving out? Well,
Ihould remark There's a string-a reg
hlar processon-all the way across the
state, all moving east. From Boyd
county to Brown county everybodys
reared out When you come through
Nebraska you can travel through places
hundreds of miles square where there
used to be plenty of farms and not find
single house, unless it's a sod Farm
er have pulled out and their next neigh
bors or the movers have pulled the house
down and burned it for wood Nowhere
around in those counties it is not safe to
leave house alone, even for week. peo-
pie are so desperate. Only know 1 hain't
had a crop for three years. I'm from
Holt county"
Case 3. Oct IA poor outft-a single
team. one canvass-covered wagon con-
tanning furniture. man and wife and
young family.
Were from Keya Paha county, iining
Holt. We're coming to Iowa. We're
moving because we had to-. We were
tckled to death to have the chance. If
we'd stayed in Nebraska this winter we
couldn't never have moved. except in
the graveyard. They hain't got any poor
houses out there.
mo. we didn't abandon our land be-
cause We had no land. We was renting
Two years ago we had good crops enough
Last year [ had fifteen bushels of corn
10 the acre. This year l planted my 100
10 oats and wheat; got just 120 bushels of
zach.
"Oh. yes, it's wild country; wild
through Keya Paha and Holt counties
Nobody left in Holt. The country's
come to a sod house. but nobody living
in it.
Case 4, Oct. 15.-Three schooners. ten
horses. Animals sound: good wagons.
canvas clean and trim: the arch protect
ed by oilcloth and the two family wagons
warmly padded with carpet. The young
man in possession intelligent and alert.
clean shaven, comfortably dressed. The
young wife and six small children tidy
.We're going east. We hail from Doug
las county, S. D., seventy-five miles from
Yankton. We came away on account
of hard times. drought and no crops.
Douglas county is pretty we'll cleared out;
everybody getting out that can get out.
Can't tell whether there is any money to
be raised on land in Douglas this year or
not I didn't try; mortgs ged my place
when / took it two years ago, to make
improvements, and made good place of
Il, too But two years of dead failure