Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1904-07-14
NINE THOUSAND ACRES OF
WHEAT SAFELY HARVESTED.
ON A SINGLE RANCH
r ifty-Acre Melon Patch for Ranchmen's
Neighbors-An Army of Field
Hands Required to Do the General
Work-Land Is Leased From
Indians.

I Bliss, Okla, July Harvest is on,
and all ground tillers are rejoicing
save those who have been unable to Sc
cure as much help as needed.
| The farm of all farms in Oklahoma
| is the ''101 Ranch" near here. partly
owned, partly leased and wholly oper-
! ated by Miller brothers. Nine thou
sand acres of it were put in wheat, all
OF which has been safely harvested
within the past two weeks. The farm
embraces not only these 5000 acres,
but 81 900 more.
OF the 10000 acres, 10000 acres are
in cultivation, 5000 in wheat, 900 in
corn, with the remaining 1000 divided
among cats: cane, kafir corn, alfalfa.
water-melons and the usual variety of
small products to be found on any farm
where the crops are diversified.
The 101 ranch is run by j. G. Miller,
George L. Miller and Zach Miller. the
three sons of the late George w. Miller.
who founded the company twenty-five
years ago.
Most of the land is owned by the
Ponca Indians and is leased from that
tribe By the Millers. BY a ruling of
the department of the interior the heirs
of dead Indians may sell land that
belonged to their deceased relatives
and divide the proceeds. The Millers
have bought nearly all the land thus
offered for sale and own 1890 acres in
their own right. Rest assured they
fr,I toh
of the tribe and are early upon the
spot with a liberal offer for the land
of any Indian who has been so unfor-
tunate as to cross to the happy hunt
ing-grounds.
The rest of the land is leased from
the tribe at yearly rental-some of
it under the head Of grass land for
grazing and some of it for cultivation.
1t is beautiful country, with broad,
rolling prairies in every direction, all
plentifully watered by the Salt Fork
river and numerous small creeks.
The wheat land lies along the bottom
of the Salt Fork, and the harvest now
just ending, shows that an extraordi-
nary crop has been produced this year.
Some parts of the country will yield
thirty-fve bushels to the acre; others,
of course, falling far below that figure,
some to the comparatively insignifi-
cant ten bushels to the acre.
The Millers have greatly diversified
their varieties of wheat, devoting the
largest number of acres to their own
White Wonder, variety produced by
them.
To care for this vast acreage re-
quires small army of men, no less
than 300 being upon the payroll at the
present time, though in the dull sea-
son fifty men handle the place. Forty
two binders were necessary to harvest
the crop. These required an equal
number of drivers, several repair men,
foremen, overseers, etc, to say nothing
of the infantry, as the Millers call the
men who put the bundles of grain into
the shock These alone number about
$50.
The machines are divided into crews,
containing from six to twenty-five
each, and are put to work in different
fields. Two hundred mules are re-
quired to handle these machines, to-
gether with the supply wagons that
accompany each crew. The two larg-
est fields contain in the neighborhood
of 5000 acres each, and in one of these
fields twenty-five binders were at work