Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1902-08-02
Communicated.

NJ. r. r. then we turned northwest.
Running across the state of Nebraska,
then we struck South Dakota running
through a portion of the Black Hills,
which looked like anything else but a
! favorable place for a white man to
live. The great black rock and the
sandy soil looks just like the great
chunks of iron ore at the Iron Noun
tains in Missouri, it doesn't look to
me like a fit place foranything to live
We were glad to get out of there, and
switched across into Wyoming. but
found it very rough, hilly country.
We crossed Powder River at Clear
mont, and Little Horn at Sheridan,
then we struck Montana and soon
arrived at Fit Custer. This is all a
very rough country, with very light,
thin soil and the sage brush grows
very short and thin on the ground AT
Billings we changed cars and got on
the Northern Pacific e. r. Here we
found a very fine valley without any
water course. This valley was long
and wide, but no settlement only at
the little towns or stations.
Idont see what keeps the towns
up for they have no backing only the
railroad, and that generally gets all
the money there is in any thing they
handle. The conductor made some
funny remarks about my ticket as
was getting such long ride for such
a little money.
In this valley we could look ahead
and to one side and see great mounds
or hills made of sand. A gentleman
sitting by me said 'when the wind
changes it will move them to another
place." On each side of the valley
were great piers of mountains reach
| ing up neaNthe clouds.
After while we came to Helena
this is the capital of the state of Mon
tana, and should be called Stringtown
because it stands in long string of
buildings at the foot of the mountains
with the cemetery just in the edge of
the town. There are dwellings on
three sides of the cemetery. Here we
had to have two engines to manage
our train. We soon left the valley
and went into the mountains crossing
canyons that looked like there was
hardly no bottom to them and every
now and then the train would find a
hole in the ground and it would crawl
right into it and go out of sight for a
while and when it came out we would
be on the other side of the mountain.
That night we arrived at Spokane, a
beautiful city, but we couldn't see but
little Of it,, Next morning we got to
the Yakima valley where l left the
train. This is called the garden spot
OF Washington. This valley is we'll
settled and under the irrigation pro-
cess.
Land is very high in price selling
from $500 to 5000 per acre.
left the valley and got on top OF
the mountain going south, it is called
60 miles across this mountain. After
getting on top 1 found it very nice
with the exception of some canyons
here and there. They don't need IT.
rigation up there they get rain and
the soil is very different from that OF
the valleys, it is not 50 sandy and
holds the moisture. They told me
they had never had but one failure
, there and an old man told me he bad
; lived there % years and never knew
, it to be cold enough there to freeze
, potatoes in the ground until last
} winter. That climate is very cool anG
!, healthy in summer and one has t
sleep under cover at night the whole
year around. All kinds of products,
with the exception of corn, grow!
! there to good advantage, it is also &
) great fruit country.
People in Washington have no uS'
for cultivator or hoe. When they
7 make garden they pillow and harrow
the ground and plant the seed and lei
it go until picking time.
Land was very cheap when I was
there, could have bought good place
of 16O acres for from $1,000 to $3.50
with buildings and 100 acres unde
cultivation. They raise splendid
wheat barley and oats out there anC
have as good water as ever run out O
: the ground. 1t is very good place
for Sickly people. This place is-not
S where they have the rainy seasons i
is on the east side of the Cascad
mountains in Klickatat county OF
{ the south side of the state of Wash
ington.
I will have to go back to pick up
few things have passed by. 1t seem
: to me that Helena must be the place
e where they had to shoot a man i
$ order to start a graveyard as it is in
side the city limits. Near there
S where we crossed the Missouri river
S it was only a nice creek with mic
: clear water with very low banks, onl
a step from the top of the bank to til
: water, it looked SO much differen
i from where it empties in the Missi'
Q DIR. fENNER'S
IHEnkIFNT