Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1903-05-08

[1ONESl, PENEl
RAMSEY COUNTY.
"A Good Write-up of the Banner Nsrth Da-
kota County.
Homessekers Edition Of St. Paul Globe.
Ramsey is a large county, and has
within it's borders the largest lake to
be found between the Red River and
the Rocky mountains. This is known
as Devils Lake, 50 named from an old
Indian legend, and it gives its name
to the. county seat, 4 iourishing little
city !df nearly 5000 people. The lake
is fed by cool springs, it's gravelly
beaches shaded by natural groves in
wnoae depths wild strawberries,
raspberrfess 1sazend other native
frdlis% ripeds1ehd1ess p~rofusion.
Devils Lake lies in North Dakota's
prairies amid her fields of grain,
sparkling and pure, like a diamond
in a golden setting. Upon the shores
Of this picturesque lake, I'M in the
shelter of one of its most inviting
groves: stands the auditorium of the
North Dakota Chautauqua association,
and scattered about through the trees
are the hotel and lodging houses for
transient guests, while a little farther
awaysare the cottages of the regular
summer visitors, and during the sum
mer season all the dim and shady
aisles of the woods are lighted with
the white walled tents Of visiting
campers come to enjoy the boating,
bathing and picnicking so rare in, a
prairie country.
The SURFACE Of Ramsey punty pre-
sents a most attractive ASH (ct.ao the
seeker for a prairie home-gently
rolling, watered by numerous spring
fed lakes, dattea,nwith groves of
natural and arti6ciaf timber, covered
in it's natural state with a heavy
growth of grassesjrsEEhat furnishes She
finest quality of hay and pasture-it
has no superior as a stock country,
With a deep loan soil, rich in all
the elements of plain food, a subsoi]
that retains the copious rains of spring
for use in summer 8 heat, SO the crol
failure from drouth is unknown; anG
everywhere under laid a depth 0,
from 10 to 40 feet with veins o.
gravel that furnish an inexhaustablt
supply eof pure water; no country
offers greater inducements to thu
agriculturist than Ramsey.
But few of the primitive habita'
tions .6f the early settlers are to be
seen. The sod house and lumbe,
shack have passed. Although tn,
county is yet new, and a large are'
remains uncultivated, the husband
mans efforts have been richly repaid
Comfortable and commodious farm
houses and warm, roomy outbuilding
are the rule.
Good roads extend in ever,
direction. School houses are numer
GUS, and the tourist can scarcely ge
ont Of sight Of a church spire.
The transcontinental line of tn
Great Northern railway ~traverses tn
county from east to west, and whel
the two'spurs 0 under construction
from Lakota and Devils Lake ar,
completed, there will be no point i,
Ramsey county more than 10 mile
from railroad.
The strongest evidence of .th'
wonderful agricultural advantage
Ramsey county possesses is. found i,
he. fact that the wealthiest citizen
A4e,farmers-the men who converted
s3he unbroken prairie of a few year
ago into the we'll titled, highly i'm
proved and profitable farms Of toda,
have Re reeasped the benefits of their ow,
:: labors.' And while many have profile,
by buying Ramsey county lands as
speculative investment, their gain
are not to be compared to those wo,
by tllllng the soil.
Think Of prairie land selling a
from $12 to $l5an acre, and %producin,
enough from the sod crop to pay tn,
whole purchase price, ard this not il
isolated cases, but so often that it ha
become almost a matter of course t,
expect At year after year.
And these results have been oh
tanned solely by raising small grains
What will be the value of such LAM
when the countyss population of 8. oot
is doubled, and stock feeding ant
tlairying given proper attention ? $50
$50, yes, 500 an acre Will not be- t,
high a price for land of almost mex
haustible fertility and such wonderful
productiveness. Wheat has yielded
as high as 43 bushels to the acre
fax, 80; oats between 80 and 30; bar
Icy, 60; while the fodder crops sucl
ne -as111L