River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1904-01-21
DATE.
FELLOW.

| thursday, II, IA
Which remains not filed upon, if
anywhere near railway or market
town or the seashore, is not worth
taking up. That which is far away
from market or railway and not vet
filed on is left for the reason that no
one can afford to attempt to farm
here far from transportation facili-
ties. Some have tried this and
abandoned their holdings. This is
in reference to homesteading. AS
regards the filing upon timber under
the stone and timber act the sitta-
ton is about the same as that regard
ing homestead entries. All the avail,
able timber worth taking is covered
by some sort of a claim. Away
back in the hills and on the steep
sides of mountains there is vet gov
eminent timber. 1t is generally
poor as compared with the coast
timber and one who takes it must
wait years before he can expect to
dispose of it to advantage. We have
noticed that residents here do not
banker for timber claim. 1t is
the fellow who lives east. We have
been in many of the land agencies all
along and we haye not yet seen any
one apply for timber claim. Was
in the U. S. land office here at Sc
attic few days ago. A lawyer
came into the office to get a batch
of blanks for accomplishments. The
register remarked that there had
been SO much call for such blanks
he was about out of them. The
land on the coast is very hard to
clear up. 1t will not pay to clear
up some of it. This fact will make
settlements isolated. There is
similar condition east of the Cas-
cades. On large tracts of land it
will not pay to farm-the land is too
poor. Here and there-many miles
apart-are valleys with good land.
Here in each will be small com
munity, isolated from others. On
both sides Of the mountains the coun-
try is very billy. 1t is difficult to
transport freight to market or to the
railway. Under these conditions
people living in the country can
have few of the advantages of socie-
ty. They will be very lonesome.
More so from the fact that people
come from different localities and
settle here. Being strangers to each
other and having no neighborhood
sympathies in connection with other
families they care little about be-
coming acquainted.
Here is a condition that encour-
ages this isolation and aggravates it:
There are no township governments
in the state. The county is the low
est unit of government. Take into
consideration in this connection the
fact that the counties here are gen
orally very large and the communi-
ties located far apart and the effect
upon the people in relation to this
one of isolation will be the better
realized. (The county of Douglas, for
instance, has 135 government town
ships.) If the people had occasion
to get together at school meetings,
caucuses and town meetings, they
would have some inducement for
fellowship, which. as it is they have
not.
Five or six years ago there were
undoubtedly good opportunities open
here to secure good lands-as home
steads or cheap from the railway
company. All the government land
near the railways of any value is
taken. Spectators hold the railway
land and such besides as they could
get. They hold it SO high there are
few sales. Next year and the next
land will be lower. The boom has
become boomerang. X.
For Sale.
Four 2-year-old heifers, red short