The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-04-16
LANDS IN COMMON
Cooperative Colony Of Chicago PEG
pie on Big Sioux Reserve.
FILE ON TWENTY-FIVE QUARTERS
store ana schools to Be Built aud
Tract Stocked by COM
mon Fund.
Snecial to The Journal.

Special to The Journal.
Pierre, S. D.; April 16.-One of the strik-
ing Illustrations of possible socialistic
development in the country west of Pierre
on the Big Sioux reservation is the organ
ization of cooperative colony composed
of Chicago people who have filed on TWEEN
ty-fve quarter sections of land ninety
miles west of Pierre. The organization s
known as the Baird Brown ranch, Messrs.
Baird and Brown being the head men in
the cooperative association which has
made the filings.
These came to Pierre last November
and looked over the ground, and since that
time they have organized socialistic
colony, and have interested twenty five
others in taking The land. They moved a
large portion OF their household goods
and lumber last week. Messrs. Brown, A.
Spensley, Jay Parker and three sons, Grin
Goodrich, c. S, Durkee and family, and
Robert Stephenson, composed the party
which left Pierre for the scene of opera
lions. They have taken about five miles
of river front of the Bad river. This in
cludes large amount of very fine bottom
land. From this they will extend their
filings north and south, the intention be-
ing to incorporate about six or seven sec
lions of land in one body. This will be
put under fence. r.....
The land of each homesteader will be
USED in common, and each one of the
members of the colony will contribute his
share towards stocking the ranch with
sheep. When their arrangements are
completed they expect to have their own
store, school and other institutions neces-
sary 10 complete civilized life. They
are cultured people and all are highly
pleased with their locations, and expect
eventually to make it a paying business
MI brown says they have had offers of
large capital from Chicago people to as
slst in the development of their plan, but
that they have turned these propositions
down! their intention being to make the
colony purely cooperative, and to make it
win without enlisting any capital what
ever save such as each member of the
colony sUbscribes.
This idea seems to have taken a firm
hold upon the majority of those who are
now making filings on the honest cad
lands west of Pierre. A colony of Jeffer-
son, Iowa, people have taken six sections
OF land IN a solid body southeast of Fort
llerre. They expect to add to these hold
ings and to use the land for stock pur-
poses Another large colony is being or
canned at Missouri Valley under the
leadership of +. L. Kiiby Of that place,
Representatives of the kilby colony were
IN the city on Saturday and Sunday They
expect to locate ten sections of land TWEEN
iy-hVe miles northwest of Pierre having
selected valley which suited them for a
large ranch. Many of these will be COM
posed Of Philippine veterans who will file
declaratory statements. Several other
smaller colonies have been started bv
people from other localities, and the pre-
vailing idea seems to be to. INCORPORATE
large bodies Of land under fence and use
1t for stock and dairying purposes
Ihose who have taken land west of
flerre were under the impression before
they arrived that the country now opened
to homestead entry is barren waste, but
cut OF about 100 men who have come here
TO ME in the last ten days, not to exceed
half dozen have gone away without
making an entry. 1t Is expected that dur
ing the months of May and June not less
| tran 900 filings will be made at the
Pierre land office on lands adjacent to this
! city. -.