Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1903-08-27
NEWS FROM FARGO.
Good Letter from Verne &. Divine
Fine Description OF Country.

Fine Description OF Country.
To one who has never seen Dakota,
ii is place where hardships and i'll
luck abound and the absence of trees
fruits and other gifts OF nature
which we enjoy in the East make it
a very disagreeable place to live, and
where plenty of the worst kind of
weather, dust and dirt and bad drink
ing water are to be found.
On the contrary / find it an excell-
ent country. l can speak only OF
that region of North Dakota which
lies in the Red River valley, for that
| have seen as yet. On the opposite
side of the river the country is about
the same as here except that there is
perhaps greater amount of timbered
land. Oak and Pine are found in the
greatest quantities while Maple has
been planted to some extent. How
ever trees as large as those which
have been growing for good many
years in Michigan are not to be seen.
The soil is black and very fertile
and cannot remember of having
seen a stone since have been here,
the roads are excellent while dry but
a heavy rain makes them as bad as a
Michigan clay road, and there are no
hills which makes easy the task of
hauling grain to town, and accounts
for the fact that the railroads are the
shortest cnts between all towns for
they use no curves around hills and
valleys.
The nights are Very cool and at no
time does it get as warm as at home,
although at times it gets quite hot in
the middle of the day.
The farmers as well as the people
who inhabit the cities and towns, all
seem to have been very anxious to
have an abundance Of shade and ar
ound the houses one finds more trees
than in Michigon Box elders, Cotton
wood and Willow are the principle
kinds that are seen.
AS my uncles farm is a typical
North Dakota farm, a description OF
it will give some idea of what west
ern life is like. The buildings are To-
Gated eight miles west of Fargo, and
in passing from there to the farm we
pass but one house, however as rule
houses are nearer together than four
miles.
Here quantities of land are always
designated in sections. One seldom
hears the term acres" used This
farm, which is of medium size, con
tains two and one-half sections or six
teen hundred acres.
Only small amount, enough for
pasture is fenced in. BY the way,
the railroads are also open. Wire
fance here, | have observed, of the
same brand as is sold in Bedding
costs nearly three times as much as
Never Sleep charges for it.
Ten or twelve men are kept from
early spring until the ground freezes
in the fall. They are paid twenty
five to thirty dollars month and get
board girls doing homework receive
five dollars week. Extra harvest
hands who work through harvest and
threshing which may be six weeks or
three months are paid two dollars
day.
There are now twenty-five men
working on the place and not single
one claims North Dakota as his home
They came here from states as far as
Washington on the west and Ohio on
the east. The majority of them are
from points east of here. There are
men OF every description, Norweg
ians and Swedes are the most pro
while one sees many Germans
Danes and Irishmen. Some are
brought here by circumstances such
as being left here broke" by some
show which has exploded, while
others come to see the country and
make enough to pay the expenses of
the trip, and some are allured by the
attractive wages which the farmers
are usually glad to pay anyone they
IAN get, This year the country is
Hooded with men who want work
and nine out of ten have iourneyed by
rail through several states at cost
Of less than five dollars. Many of
them have never layed their hands on
a bundle of wheat before and never
,are to again. They are usually dis
appointed upon their arrival but soon
grow to like it and many come every
to toss bundles during har-
vest and return home for the winter.