The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-10-05

The members of our company were the
first of the large land operators to in
wade the new Northwest in search OF
lands for colonization purposes We had
year the start of the other fellows and
after long and careful investigation, we
decided that the country lying south and
east Of the Moose mountains in Assini-
boia was the best place in which to in
vest. We were influenced in this selec-
ton by the following racts:. The soil is
good, heavy black loan varying in
depth from one to five feet, with clay
subsoil. The top soil contains all the
constituents which are necessary to. in
sure the certainty of a large crop each
year of the wheat which makes Canada
famous.
The surface is gently rolling. There
are no large hills or deep valleys. The
large number Of small streams which rise
in the Moose mountains and traverse this
portion of Assiniboia insure safe drain
age and minimum of waste land.
Good water can be easily obtained any
where in this favored district by digging
wells from fifteen to fifty feet deep. In
many cases the water is soft and in al
cases the supply Is inexhaustible.
Numerous small towns Of from 100 to
800 inhabitants are scattered along the
different lines of railroad which traverse
these lands, the principal ones being
Carnduff, Carievale, Gainsboro. Oxbow,
Glen Even, Alameda, Estevan, Froby-
shire, Portal, Arcola,- Manor and Redvers
There are many other stations which
afford market places for the products OF
this region. The average distance of our
lands from railroad is about seven miles
ranging from the lands adjoining the
railroad to distance Of about fourteen
miles. The lands are about the same dis
lance from Lake Superior ports as
Jamestown, Devils Lake, N D., Austin
and Winena, Mimi, and that Mason City
Marshalltown and Des Moines, Iowa, are
from Chicago. Notwithstanding this is a
new country, freight rates compare fay-
orably with rates from the towns above
mentioned, if not lower than the rates
from the North Dakota towns.
This is not an untried country. Other
sections may be all right, but have not
been tested. The soil may look good when
other conditions may not be right. In
many localities where lands are being Of
fered, no one has farmed long enough
to know the results Experimenting in
getting home may be costly. There are
people living in our district who have been
farming there for fifteen years. They all
tell the same story. Wheat has averaged
about twenty -four bushels per acre, oats
fifty bushels per acre, barley forty bushels
per acre, rye thirty-five bushels per acre,
flax fifteen bushels per acre, while tim
othy, millet and other tame grasses have
done exceptionally well on the farms on
which they have been tried. The only
year in which this locality suffered from
drought was in 1900, when the crop was
practically cut down onehalf from the
G. 4l,O IL lou,
BILE the average Of the famous Red river
valley.
The government report on this section
of Western Canada is as follows:
The Center of the Wheat Belt.
"The eastern portion of Assiniboia, for a
distance Of some 120 miles west from its
eastern boundary, is practically a contin-
uation to the westward of the grain
growing areas of Manitoba, and although
the soil is somewhat lighter than the deep,
black loan Of the Red river valley, it is
very warm and productive.
About the center of the southern section
Of this portion of Assiniboia a marked
typographical feature, known as Moose
mountain, occurs. This hill, or range of
hills, which rises to a considerable eleva-
ton above the surrounding plains, is
some tnlrty miles IN length east ana west
and about fifteen miles north and south.
Parts of the hills are thickly wooded and
many small local water courses head
therein and run down to the surrounding
plains.
Between the hills and the boundary line
of the United States and Canada, and ex-
tending as far east as the boundary
of the province of Manitoba, is a district
exceedingly fertile, and looked upon as eX-
cellent for agriculture. During the past
two years a great number have made
their homes there, and they have been
very successful Many Of these were
Germans, who, having lived for some years