Omaha daily bee., 1902-10-05
FARMS IN The NEW COUNTRY
Chances for HsmeI in Regions Recently
Opened to Settlers.
IRRIGATION WORKS WONDERS IN WEST
John Francis Of the q. a NJ. Writes
of Farms and Farming in
Nebraska, Colorado and
wyoming.

Jouu II ktublhA bdHeFhhtA abShN VI
the b. & NJ. contributed the following arti-
Gle on chances for homeseekers in the west
to last weeks issue Of The Twentieth Cen
fury Farmer, from which paper IL Is repro
duced:
1t was Mark Twain who said, "Once l
could have bought St Louis for $4,000, 900,
but l foolishly let the opportunity pass.
Now II could not be bought for hundreds
Of millions"
A gentleman from Texas is on record
with this remark, When 1 first went to
Texas l could have bought the whole of one
county for a pair OF leather boots. But l
didn't have the boots
Most Of ue are familiar with experiences
similar to these, but. perhaps, not so ex-
tensive. When to seize the opportunity In
the land buying business is a problem. To-
day there are sections Of the west where
land is plenty and population sparse. II
does not take e prophet nor the son OF a
prophet to forsee the developments Of
western land and the consequent change in
values from almost nothing to prices cor
responding to those of other productive
territories.
immigration is the most striking feature
and the most efficient agency in the de-
velopment of the United States. Colonial
ton Of new territory has ever been a won
derfully important fact. In the earliest
ages man constantly shifted his abode. The
hunting tribes were necessarily migratory,
In a more advanced state Of civilization
we read of the transit Of large and organ
lied bodies. The lost tribes OF Israel moved
across the entire continent OF Asia. Phoe-
nicia and Greece sent forth colonies. A
European population has been drawn across
the Atlantic, and the greatest fact in mod
ern history is the p~eopling OF this hemi-
sphere. Whether we study ancient me-
dieval or modern history. we are impressed
with the fact that the son do move-like-
wise the daughter.
immigration Always Heads Westward.
Where do homeseekers go? The answer
might be completely expressed in one
word-west. immigration columns have al
ways headed westward. The advice of the
great journalist. Go west, young man, /"
is as sound today as it was when first
written. The thing today is to locate the
portions of the west that are most likely
to be made more productive in the near fu-
ture and secure land there. 1t would be
impossible in this article to name all sec
lions Of the west that invite attention Of
the homeseeker today and that promise
good returns for Investment maze. Every
state in the transmissouri territory offers
some good opening that would be well worth
the while Of the homeseeker to consider.
BY way Of illustration attention may be
called to the North Platte valley in Ne
braska and the Big Horn basin in wyom-
ing.
Development of q New Country.
A new line Of railroad for 100 miles in
northwest Nebraska has made the North
| plafta yallav annaaeIhIa 70 the bopnazoalxar
Starting at Bridgeport, Cheyenne county.
Neb., II you will follow the line of
the new railroad through Cheyenne and
SCOTS Bluff counties to the Nebraska
Wyoming state line, thence northwest
through Wyoming to Guernsey. you will have
traversed a section of new country, con-
tanning nearly 400 square miles, offering
unusual inducements to the farmer, to the
stock raiser and the business man. The
east end of the Bridgeport-Guernsey line
runs through one of the richest arming,
d~airying and stock raising sections OF the
west. The west end enters a country rich
with mines, which are expected to give
employment to large numbers Of men and
furnish consumers for all the surplus pro-
duets OF the valley. The leading crops
grown in the North Platte valley and yield
of each follows:
| SOTn, 90 10 oU bushels an acre.
Wheat, 20 to 40 bushels an acre.
Oats, 40 to IS bushels an acre.
Barley, 40 to 80 bushels an acre.
Flax, 8 to IA bushels an acre.
Alfalfa seed, s to IL bushels an acre.
Potatoes. 100 to 300 bushels an acre.
Native hay. 1 to ~ tons an acre.
Alfalfa, 4 to 7 tons an acre.
Vegetables do we'll. Sugar beets do we'll,
yielding from twelve to twenty tons an
acre of good test beets. Fruits or all kinds.
so far as they have been grown, are of su-
perlor quality. In this same valley apples
and other fruits have taken premiums at
a number OF state fairs. Alfalfa is destined
to be one of the best paying crops grown
In the valley. Three crops may be cut
every season and sold at home for good
prices.
I know OF one man in the North Platte
valley who last year had the use Of 100
acres Of land for the breaking. He put it
all into corn. The crop was sold to stock
men at S1.10 a hundred and brought him
nearly $4,000. A. B. Fowler, near Guern-
sey. Wyo,, raised 1000 bushels OF potatoes
on twenty acres. and from ten acres he
raised enough garden truck to bring him
$500 cash. This was in addition to what
his family used and what he stored for
winter use. His total income last season
from thirty acres was nearly $4,000.
Grazing Lands Open for settlement.
The government lands to be had in the
North Platte valley are mostly grazing
lands. although there are some lands suit
able for agriculture. Cheyenne county, Ne
braska, has $50, 900 acres of free govern
ment lands; Scottsbluff county, 12O, 900
acres. and Laramie county, Wyoming,
1884, 293 acres. Filing fee for 100 acres
is S14, and within six months after filing
is made the applicant must establish a
residence upon the land. The applicant
must live there for five years, and it must
be his home exclusive OF any other home.
After residence of fourteen months com
mutation proof can be made and patent
issued upon payment Of s1.25 per acre.
The Big Horn basin in Wyoming contains
nearly 10000 square miles, somewhat more
than the entire area OF Massachusetts, and
Rhode Island. The adventures of Captain
Bonneville in 1882 and a few succeeding
years. given to the world by Washington
Irving. took place in what is now the Big
Horn basin. then known as the Grow
Country" Irving thus quotes a descrip-
ton OF the region given by a chief Of the
Crows at that time;