The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1905-06-29
ALBERTA IS GOOD
FARMING COUNTRY

Claresholm, Alberta, N. W. T. June
15-Editor Glacier: AS | have had
many inquiries as to what kind of 9
country this is, will try to give my
opinion of it. 1t is all or more thar
| expected to find, with as good pros
pect of crops as | ever saw. Boil
fall and spring wheat are looking fine.
People have only been sowing winter
wheat for couple Of years, and IL il
will stand what they say it did last
winter and look like it does now it IL
surely all right. 1t got down to forty
below at one time last winter and none
of the grain froze out.
1t is about a month later here than
in Wasco comfy, and being new coun.
try, everything is high, being on an
average of about half higher than
down there.
Am located about eight miles from
two good little towns, Clareholm and
Leavings, on the Colging and Edmon-
ton branch of the Canadian Pacific
road, both of them being about three
years old and having about five hun
dred population each, and growing
fast. Am six and half miles from
the railroad, and have half section
of land.
Am breaking sod at the present
writing and have about fifteen acres
broken. Will get fifty or sixty ready
for winter sowing, as one can plow all
summer, but can not do much as grain
is so high here at present. Have had
on average of one days rain a week
since we got here. Am laying off to
day on account of rain. Every one is
breaking here now. Five or six steam
plow outfits came in to Claresholm
this spring and the average Of winter
wheat will be doubled this fall.
Would not advise any one to come
to this place unless they have some
capital to buy railroad land, as home
steads are all gone that are any good.
They are going forty and fifty miles
east of this point now to get free gov
ernment lands. Railroad land Is sell
ing for five and ten dollars per acre
here in six payments; one-sixth down
and five payments at six per cent. in
terest, and by going further from the
railroad can be gotten for three dol
lars per acre. There il a great rush
for land, and hardly day passes that
some one does not come to our place
hunting land.
There is a good deal Of game here,
that is ducks, geese and prairie
chickens. Father has killed lynx,
catching it on the prairie and killing
1t with a rock. Three Of us ran down
a coyote Monday. We we're horse
back and ran him for three miles. |
finally overhauled him and threw Il
hammer and knocked him over, while
the dogs held until | finished him.
There is plenty Of trout in the
streams. We caught seventy one day
last week in two hours. We have to
fish here on week days, az there Is a
Sunday law and the mounted police
are always around when they are not
looked for.
This has been one of the greatest
stock countries on the face of the
earth. They are having the spring
round up now and came in near our
place last night. There are about
sixty men in the outfit and the prairie
is black around here with cattle. But
the days Of the big cattle companies
are over in this section, as the coun-
try is getting pretty well fenced up.
One company has two townships
fenced up on pasture, and they ship
cattle by the train load from this point.
The only ones who say this country is
no good for farming are the stockmen,
but who could blame themp
We are in settlement of people
mostly from the States, being people
from Washington, Oregon, Dakotas
and Minnesota, with few Canadians.
The country is settling with good
class Of people, most of them having
some capital. win close for this time
with promise of more next time.
w ~ NUEInNND