Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1906-07-26

Durlng the month or June had Oc-
casion to pass through that part of
South Dakota west of the Missouri
river, and later eastward through the
state. During my stay west OF the
Missouri / became greatly interested
in the work of the farmers, especially
those men who have very recently
migrated into the state and who were
working some OF the virgin lands that
abound in the western section. Hith-
erto the wave of immigration had
been to the eastern. section of the
state, almost entirely, but during the
past two years the people of the
United States have come to a realiza-
ton of the fact that west of the Mis-
souri, are some of the greatest farm
lands in the world.
As | drove along the banks of the
Missouri came to a small farm house,
which, from the appearance of its con-
stluction, told me that the farmer was
a newcomer, Or that the house could
not have been more than two years
old. Back of that house, looking from
the road, I saw acres Of waving wheat
and freshly titled soil. The picture
was one seen only in the fertile coun.
ties of the great state of South Da-
kota, a picture that a man does not
soon forget.
stopped in front of this house. and.
tying my horse to tree, walked into
the fields where the farmer and his
men were at work and greeted them.
They showed me the hospitality for
which South Dakotans are noted.
Alighting from the seat he occupied
behind team of fine looking horses,
the farmer offered me the place of
honor.
well, hows the crop coming?"
asked.
See for yourself replied the farm
er, pointing to the fields
Looks mighty fine" I said.
Promises to be better than last
year said the man.
Been out here long?" l asked.
about two and half years." was
the answer.
HOWE you done?" asked
Well, / must say wonderful we'll
Long before came to this section of
the country I had. heard a good many
stories of the wonderful soil of South
Dakota, but i'm the state I came from,
Kentucky. why, we used to laugh at
these stories, believing that there
wasn't anything like our Kentucky
blue grass region.
Prosperity on the Farms.
"But since I've been here I've
changed my mind. The soil Of this
state is wonderful Last year I had
my first crop Of wheat to harvest, and
[ got thirty bushels of wheat to the
acre, and have got the money to show
for it in the way of bank account.
| came here with mighty few dollars,
two healthy sons, daughter and a
good wife. We looked for hardships,
but we've had comfort and happiness.
This is what I've found in South Da-
Kota.
Look at that field of wheat; forty
acres Of it. Look over that field of
young corn; look yonder at that field
of oats and over there at my vegeta-
bic patch. Don't you think all that
looks good to a man who c1yned a
few acres of land few years ago
and tried to raise enough tobacco
to support a family on? If it don't to
you, neighbor, it does to me. My wife,
boys and daughter wouldn't live any
place else. We're happy and getting
rich here, and if my crops are as good
this year as last, I'll buy more land
My conversation with this man
eEused me to look more closely into
the opportunities open to the immi-
grant in the state of South Dakota.
and a mile down the road I met an
other farmer busily engaged at work.
but not too busy to greet me and tell
me exactly the same story I heard
mile back. Everywhere peace, happi-
ness, contentment and prosperity
greeted me. Acre after acre of land,
titled and sowed with wheat, corn and
oats, and stocked with fine cattle.
A Great Corn Country.
What impressed me more than any
thing outside of wheat growing were
the thousands of acres of corn. AS
you cross the states Of Ohio, Illinois,
Indiana and Missouri you see millions
of acres of corn. In the state of South
Dakota alone there is grown more
corn than the combined states Of New
England and the middle Atlantic Sec
ton of the country.
OF course, there must be some rea-
son for this enormous growth, and 1t
is this: The soil of South Dakota is
as fertile as the best land in the
United States. Years ago, before the
foot of white man trod the soil of this
state, when the red man and the f,,1f
falo royed at will, the buffalo waxed
fat and strong on the grasses Of the
prairies of South Dakota, for they are
nutritious and sweet. The porous clay
subsoil of South Dakota retains the
moisture in quantities sufficient to feed
the crust of the earth and thereby
gives to vegetation that moisture SO
FROM FOREST RESERVE.