Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1904-09-15
A DAKOTA TRIP.
The crops. HartzelI and sasoom's
Trouble.

The crops. HsrtzelI and sasoom's
Trouble.
Having returned this morning from
a ten days trip in the two Dakotas,
and thinking little description of
conditions up there would be of in
terest to some, hence these lines. /
left Iowa at Sioux City and went up
through Yankton, Mitchell and Aber-
deem stopping day at Ipswich, then
going to Ortonville, Mimi, and to
Fargo, N. D., and Grand Forks and
Langdon, Cavalier county, next to
Canadian line, and the second county
from the east line of the state.
The damage to the wheat by rust is
now the most serious and important
topic of conversation in the northwest.
1t is very hard to place a reasonable
estimate on the damage until more
threshing is done. There was a crop
of straw sufficient for the greatest
wheat crop that great "bread basket
OF the country, so it is called, ever
produced. Just as the grain was form
ing the rust came and absolutely and
completely spoiled thousands of acres
so it was not worth cutting and dam
aged great deal more. The straw
where the rust struck it never became
the golden yellow color, but turned a
dark brown. In that that was only
partly spoiled the fields are some
times spotted, some parts not being
attacked, and of the straws only partly
spoiled, the heads only contain few
good kernels and some poor ones,
making the grade low. From what l
observed l should think that South
Dakota was hurt rather worse than
North Dakota and the Red River val
ley worse that back distance in the
interior. However, the damage reach
ed as far northwest as l went, although
it is much lighter in the north part of
Cavalier county than any other Sec
ton | saw. They claim there that the
wheat in the county will average tif-
teen bushels to the acre. Oats, barley
and flax are very good there. They
can raise lots more small grain there
to the acre on that cheap land than
we can raise here, but no corn. The
season is very late there. There is
perhaps One-third to one-fourth of the
crop that was still unharvested the
first of this week and little of the
oats still tOoIgreen to harvest.
There are several Audubon county
people interested in land in that coun-
ty. w. Burnside and his son in law,
Mr.. Wadsworth, are heavily inter.
ested. Others having land there are
A. Farquhar, A. F. Greenwaldt, Mrs.
S. AIRY, D. p. Repass, D. C. Mott, c.
S. White, Jas. G. White, V. S.
Culver and S. M. Gardner. Land
there sells at from twelve to thirty
dollars an acre.
People here are very much interest,
ed in Leslie Hertzell and Ed Bascom
who are in Jail now charged with
numbering a neighbor man of theirs.
The REPUBLICAN has republished sew,
eral articlec concerning the matter,
taken from the Langdon paper. On
visiting the place l am inclined to
think the public there is generally
predjudiced against the boys. There
are some local reasons there for this
prejudice, reasons which do not in
any way affect their guilt or limo
cence in this matter. On the question
of their guilt knowledge of the man
killed and his disposition, of his
threats against the lives of Hartzell
and Bascom and his actions the day
of the trouble, his going half mile
out of his way to get to cut their fence
and drive across their crops, that he
meant to have trouble there that day
that he went habitually armed, thai
he was of desperate disposition anG
many other things connected with the
case cause many to think the boys
only acted in self defense.
The matter will of course be fought
out in court. We hope they will have
a fair and impartial chance to show
their side. They are splendid youne
men and their Audubon county friend.
| sincerely regret their trouble.