The Cooperstown courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., N.D.) 1902-1913, 1905-06-22
the Boss WHITES HOME.
CENTRAL1A, WASH.
JUNE 16, 1905.

CENTRALlA, WASH.
JUNE is, 1905.
Hello boys!
/ promised to write you
so will scribe off a few lines at
this time. We arrived at this
place Thursday morning at 2:1O
after very pleasant trip, moth
ing occurring enroute of any
special interest. I notice quite
a big improvement along the
route, more land being under
cultivation than whenM was here
four or five years ago. At Pasco,
WASH, we saw John Beier and
Joe Nelson for a minute. They
wore great big straw hats that
looked like one of bur North Da-
kota wheat stacks, they were
tanned up in good shape and
seemed to be havinga good time
and enjoying life. The country
where they are in is an irrigated
district and from the cars does
not strike me very favorably,
but they tell me that with plenty
of water, the land, which looks
like a mammoth prairie of red
sand and sage brush, is very
prolific. The Columbia river
runs through this section and I
expect the boys havea good time
fishing occasionally. Orry
Retzlaff has some land close to
Pasco at Kennewick and likes it
very much. Coming down the
Cascades to the coast country
the conditions are different nest
ling in the valleys are the towns,
surrounded by mountainous
hills, saw mill here and there
and little farms all over the val
leys, fruit orchards, etc. l cam
hardly imagine an energetic
Griggs county farmer, used to
the strenuous life, settling down
down on a little ten acre patch,
wearing out his pants at the
knees. grubbing around tree
stumps and picking small berries
for a living, spraying trees,
caterpillars and other
things to numerous to mention.
In my opinion a North Dakota
farmer is better off, will get
richer much faster, has more
possibilities and is healthier in
North Dakota than he would be
here. I notice the cemeteries
are a great deal. more thickly
settled here than there--but it
may be that people come here to
die and be buried under the
shadow off that grand old mount
ain, Rainier. TIA person can be
content with living a. life of
practical inactivity-thal is to
say to dub around on a few acre
patch and grow INDECENT and
Lacey this is the place I'd come.
If they want activity, riches, and
a life Of usefulness, North Dako.-
ia stands head and shoulders
above any country on earth.
Business men do well here, so
do people who have money to
buy improved places. but it is up
hill work for the poor man and l
would advise all those who have
the western fever and have moth.
ing but what they can realize on
only from the sale of their little
personal effects, to remain where
they are. Personally 1 like this
sound country, but I like the
business methods and the people
of North Dakota better. It
takes years to build up friends
like we have at home and it is
nice to think of the many warm
friends one has at home--and
they are all appreciated. If I
had my old friends here and a
good business I could enjoy it
here because this sound country
is so pretty to my eye, but it
would not satisfy me unless I
could lead a more strenuous life
than most people here seem to
lead. Centralia is very nice
place. there are some very good
stores, here and lots of them, the
town is scattered very widely
and to go from one end to the
other makes q fellow worry tired