The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-10-12

have no very poor men, no dependent
paupers, and I'll declare, as I think
it over, / can It think Of but one man in
the whole county who is not making
enough to live On comfortably and af-
ford a little bit to enjoy life with on
the side. Our wheat crop alone brought
in $500 apiece for every man, woman
Dakota last year, and while I haven't
any figures in my head on the fax crop,
[ expect it brought in half that much
more. 1t certainly did in Stutsman
county, and then you haven got the
best moneymaker of all, which we raise
here by the hundreds of thousands, and
that is the good, fat North Dakota
steer. There is no moneyearner on
earth like him. He will fatten better
on our native grass at nothing ton
than your eastern steer will on corn at
80 cents bushel.'
ESQ you see, he went on, 1--WE have
something of country here if you did
sit and dry up down in New York and
never heard Of the James river valley
before.'
And then he went on with the utmost
emphasis and cordiality to urge me
again, indeed to demand, that / stop
over week, two days, one day in
country that is a country.''
L told him that | had plans made all
the way out which, like a row of blocks,
would be all upset by throwing down the
first one, but had already made up
my mind to get back and see his coun-
1 try in October.
Thrifty Looking Farms.
| All this time we had been running be-
tween the same sort Of prosperous and
thrifty looking farms and miles and
miles of dark green wheat interspersed
with light green oats, and more and
more of that rich black soil of WHICH
[ now begin to see the beauty myself.
and, above all, here and there that ex-
quisite, delicate blue Of the fax field.
He seemed to know every foot OF the
ground, the names of all the farmers,
just how much land they owned, how
little they had begun with, and, in fact,
his mind was veritable encyclopaedia,
and he assured me as [ had no reason to
doubt that he knew the country for
he happened to know it along the rails
road. But now we began to approach
Jamestown. He showed me the impos-
ing group Of buildings constituting the
insane hospital on one side and the
large college building on the other but
beyond this l could see no signs Of tho
town.
"You IL see it presently he said.
"It's down in valley about ninety
feet deep, and it will all burst on you
at once and it is a. sight to remember
when it does.' And sure enough it
was. AS we ROUNDED the corner of the
bluff and ran down its edge into the val
ley, the wohle city all Of a sudden was
spread out before US, and l found it as
picturesque as he had described it and
more imposing than L could have
dreamed for a city Of but 1000 people.
And there were certainly all the signs
Of thrift which he had promised. Rows
and rows Of freight cars, acres and
blocks Of farm machinery. and north
and south from the station four squares
of handsome, substantial business blocks,
six hotels bidding for patronage, and the
streets full of active. hurrying people
who evidently had business to attend to
every one of them.
He took me up and down the platform
: while the train stood, pointing out the
business blocks and giving me touches
rious merchants and business men, and
, generally coming nearer convincing me
than I ever remember to have been be-
!; fore that l was in the midst of the best
and most prosperous and successful COM
munity to be seen anywhere, and as the
: train started he called out again to me,
Remember you are coming back in Oc-
so that you will not have to repeat any
of these stories [ have told without be-
ing able to convince everybody back in
? New York that you know what you are
, talking about. The only way to know a
, country is to see it, and you can't do
that from car window: And I'll show
l you the time Of your life in prairie
l chicken hunt. Goodby.'
: Mr.. Van Camp in conclusion. "If his
country is as irresistible as he is, [ may
: stay longer than a week. -