The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1905-04-21
IA TTRACTED by the vast differ
IAN ence between this section and
~ the level unbroken prairie devoid

] in this locality long before the appear
ance of the railroad, when ordinary
prairie land could be gotten from the
government within a very few miles
of the largest cities in the state In
1880 Ransom county was duly and le-
gally organized and christened. and
from that day forward the population,
Notwithstanding the financial reverses
in the east, has steadily Increased till
they now have 1900 inhabitants.
mostly prosperous farmers and their
families, and in this connection they
! use the word farmers in distinction to
bonanza wheat-raisers and the tenants
of nonresident land owners.
At first log houses were constructed
from timber cut along the rivers, but
very soon lumber and other building
material was brought by team from the
nearest railroad station In 1882 there
was great rejoicing at the construction
of the Fargo & Southwestern railroad,
which, starting from Fargo, enters this
county at the northeastern corner,
crosses the same diagonally and passes
on to La Moure and Edgerly, connect
ing with other roads running both
north and south. We thus obtained
direct communication with Fargo,
often termed the gateway of the state,
and undoubtedly the most important
as well as the largest city In this Sec
ton, and at that point connection with
railroads running to all points of the
compass.
For reaching Minneapolis and ST.
Paul the facilities are unsurpassed, for
the main line of the Minneapolis. ST
Paul & Sault- Ste. Marie, commonly
called ''the 500 line" traverses the
county north and south, thus giving d.
rect communication with the trade
centers of the northwest on the one
hand and the Pacific slope on the other
When the country was first settled the
mail was brought overland by team,
but now they have daily mail each
way, both on the 800" and on the
Fargo & Southwestern. and the smaller
postoffices which have been establish
ed in different parts of the county off
the railroads are supplied by ''star
routes" starting from Lisbon, the
county seat.
Picture to yourself a rectangular
strip of sligtly undulating country
24X36 miles, traversed in different d.
rections by the Sheyenne and Maple
rivers and numerous creeks, the sur
face becoming more broken as you ap-
proach the different water courses, all
of which are skirted with timber; with
one railroad crossing ii from east to
west and another from north to south,
and you will have before you a good
representation of Ransom county,
North Dakota.
They are justly proud of the water
courses and the timber all along their
banks for, with the Maple river in the
nd h.
and west, and the Sheyenne river en-
tering the county in the northwestern
corner and traversing ii diagonally,
passing through the center of the coun-
~ and thus TO the southeastern corner,
there is no county in the state the
equal; for this means an abundance of
water for stock at all seasons of the
year and shelter in the timber during
the winter
There are some natural springs and
good pure cold water can usually be
obtained at depth of from Is TO 80
feet. although IN some instances great
er depth is necessary, when an abur-
dant supply OF water is always found.
Where there is any considerable
amount of stock to water, farmers
have windmills costing from $40 to
$50, which are capable of drawing wa
ter for hundreds of head of stock
The roads Of the county are among
the finest natural roads In the world.
There is no mud and very little work
keeps them in repair. The natural
prairie road is a hard. smooth surface,
and travel over 1t by team is easy.
There are no hills to climb, and farm
ers make trips of 30 and 40 miles a
day without difficulty: and with light
rigs frequent drives are made of from
so to 75 miles. During the marketing
season the average load for an or
0inQrV ff.0y to
2,4OO pounds Is so to 100 bushels of
wheat, thus reducing the cost of mar
keting our grain far below that of
states where the roads are rough and
hilly.
Stock
AS a stock country North Dakota
has perhaps no equal. Particularly is
this the case with reference to free
dom from live stock disease and the
small cost OF producing a marketable
horse, steer or hog.
An idea Of the cost to place on the
market three year old steer in this
county, as compared with those in the
states of Illinois. Iowa, Ohio, Indiana
or Michigan, can be had by noting the
different methods of raising the steer.
In all of the above states cattle are
and before they are taken to market
are stall fed with grain or mash. In
this state they do the same, but those
that make a business of raising stock
do not Cattle run out ali winter and
summer. Once in two or three months
they are rounded up. The fall after
the steer Is two or three years old he
is fat and ready for market. A well
known stockman of Iowa Is credited
by an agricultural journal as saying
that IL cost him on an average of $3.50
per head for each three year old he
placed on the market. and IL is safe to
say that the same steer could be got
ready for market for IS, and perhaps
less on the ranges of North Dakota
There are others who range their stock
only through the summer, and they
claim ii costs but IS to raise a mar
ketable steer.
There can be no doubt that this is
an excellent country for mutton. Sheep
Will fatten on the grass alone and with
little feed through the winter can
be made to bring the highest price in
the market in tn eearly spring. We
have not heard of a single flock of
sheep in this county, that has been
we'll cared for that has not yielded
good profit even at the low prices of
wool
The garden products of this state cam
not be excelied. In addition to rasp-
berries. strawberries and other garden
fruit, the list OF vegetables is long and
their yield enormous. There are cell
cry. onions, potatoes, cabbage, turnips,