Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1902-11-20
EARLY FARMING ON THE SLOPE.

EARLY FARMING ON THE SLOPE.
Reports Of the First Farming Opera.
lions on the Missouri Slope in the
Early Seventies.
Some early farming experiences ON
the Missouri Slope are told by Robert
Macnider in the current issue of the
North Dakota Record, in an article, in
which he says:
I'm the early summer of the year
1877, Mr.. George Stark, at that time
vice president of the Northern Pacific
Railroad company, made trip of in
spection over the Dakota division. to
the territory of the line at Bismarck,
at which time met him, and, in con-
versation, he inquired as to what l
thought of the agricultural possibili-
ties Of the Missouri Slope county
There were no lands broken for farms
west of Casselton at that time. A gar
aen patch at Valley City, another at
Jamestown, a few acres planted to
corn and potatoes in and around Bis
marck was all we had to go by to fur
nish an opinion. had met Gen. Ha-
zen when he was in command of the
0oOpo az IOAC ouAolu liz was NSIy
staunch and outspoken in his opinion
that the country was unfit for settle
ment, and should be given up to the
indians and Buffalo. To be frank, nv
impression of the country at that time,
for farming country was not favor
able; still, was satisfied the soil was
good and productive, and if the climat-
C conditions would permit, the Missou-
ri valley would be settled and would
furnish homes to thousands of happy
people.
"My predictions of that date have
Oeen more than fulfilled. Lands that,
twenty years ago, were not considered
worth the taxes, are to-day being
snapped up at SIS to SIS per acre by
good class of farmers, who know their
business, are prosperous and have
come to stay. To test the value of the
land, l proposed to Mr.. Stark that he
break up half-section of land which
he owned south of the town of Apple
Creek, l agreeing to take charge of
accepted my offer and in the month
Of June, sent breaking outfit from
Minnesota belonging to the late Thos.
H. Garfield, who was at that time do
ing some farming in the Lake Park re-
sion, and broke up 800 acres.
'"The following spring l sowed the
whole field to oats, and, as luck would
have it we got five inches of rain dur
ing the month of April, which gave the
bats great start, and at harvest time
cut as fine field of oats as l ever
saw in the state of Wisconsin or Min
nesota, and threshed tifty-one bushels
(by weight) to the acre. The follow
Ing year, 1879, sowed the same piece
to wheat, and 100 acres of new break
| ing to oats. The wheat yielded twen-
| ty-one bushels to the acre and the oats
| forty bushels.
This was the first farming done in
the county of Burleigh, and, as it
proved successful, was strong mag
net in the future settlement of the Mis-
souri, Slope. After four years Mr..
Stark sold this section, and it passed
into the hands of some Chicago par
ties, who rented it from year to year
to tenants who did not take the best
If care of it, but took all they could get
out of the land.
Il saw the farm last week, after
Lwenty-four years of continuous crop
ping. 1t was sown to wheat and corn,
one hundred acres of corn promising to
yield forty to fifty bushels of ears; the
balance in wheat, which had been
headed, was in stacks, the tenant ex-
pecting to thresh from sixteen to
eighteen bushels to the acre. The
stubble, eighteen inches high, was as
strong and thick on the ground as it
was the first year cropped it"
Col. Lounsberry adds his recollec.
tons to the article, and says:
Hunter Collins" broke two acres in
Burleigh county in 1872. Dutch Mike
time. The editor of the Record broke
five acres in 1873. Oscar Ward also
broke a few acres about that time
Henry Carhoof and w. E. Cahall were
also among the early farmers, and
John w. Mitchell, too; but there was
no farm opened prior to the one OF
which Mr.. Macnider speaks. About
1882 there were five acres of oats on
the Stark farm, upon what had been
used for COW corral, and, of course
was richly MANFRED. The grain stood
upwards of five feet high and yielded
$50 bushels per acre. John H. Rich.
ards had 100 bushels of oats to the
acre that year on his homested claim,
near Bismarck, and the Record editor
had thirty-two bushels of wheat (sixty.
four pounds to the bushel) Corn was
grown from the first settlement, in
1872. 1t had been grown by the Indi-
ms every year, and in 1903, when Lew
is and Clarlle's exploring expedition
wintered on the Missouri river above
Bismarck, they found an abundance of
corn in the country"
But farming languished on the Mis-
souri, River Slope, because, after the
Indian outbreak Of 1876, every man
and team in the country went to work
for the quarternlaster's department Of
the United States army. putting up