The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-03-30
SOUTH DAKOTA
CAUSE FOR PRIDE
THE TYPICAL AMERICAN STATE
80 PER CENT AMERICAN BORN.
Produces Greatest Amount Of Wealth per
Capita-Hand County, one Of the
Great Agricultural Sections of the
State, and It's Attractions to the
Homeseekers Now Flocking In.
BY HERBERT vANDERHooF.

! BY HERBERT vANDERHooF.
| While there are many reasons for the
pride with which the people Of South
Dakota have; in their state, there are
also few that possess general interest
for every American. One of these is
that 1t is the most American state in
the Union. According to the state CEN
sus of 1906 there are 455, 1S5 people in
the state, and OF these 80 per cent are
! American born. Here is another of the
| facts of Which the state is proud:
| There are 1886 homes in the state
and 57,2Ss of these are owned by the
occupants. while ,37,4s3 are without any
incumbrance ,.s... g. .
| These figures Indicate high state of
prosperity, and justly So There is not
another state in. the Union today that
! is contributing so much wealth per
capita to the national hoard as is South
Dakota During 1906 the value of the
agricultural products Of the state, in
| which is included live stock, was $116,-
| ,261. Chief in the items that go to
make up this vast total was wheat. While
there are other states that raised more
wheat, there Is none that raised so much
according to popula ton South Dakota
| produced 43,11o,000 bushels valued at
| $28, O21, 500, while the second crop in val
lie was corn, with 51,615,S72 bushels and
value Of $15,4S4,761. OF oats there were
$4,000, 900 bushels. barley 20, O000 900 BUSH
els, spelt 100000, flax and rye worth
! nearly $4,000, 900. dairy products worth
S7,Go0.o00, and hay worth $14,50O,OOO. The
1iyo of f1,o c4o+
10000 alone.
i Yet South Dakota hasn't begun to be
settled. Its area Of 10000 square miles
has only an average Of six persons to
the square mile. and this population is
mostly concentrated. in the eastern por~
ton OF the state. It is splendidly ;watered
by numerous streams and lakes, and thu:
n1ildness of the climate makes it. ideal
for both crops and ca tile (
South Dokota is the land of sunshine
1t has more days of sunshine during the
year than either Florida or California has.
and it possesses an equableness Of tenn
perature that few states can boast of.
Zero weather is seldom known. while in
summer the average temperat ure, as COM
piled by the: United States wea Their bu-
reau for a term of years, was only trihe
over 70 degrees for the month of July,
the hottest of the year.
- Extensions of the Railways
Within the past two years there has
been a steady stream of homeseekers
invading the state and either taking up
homesteadss on the free lands or else buy
ing lands in the plder Fsett1ed counties
in the eastern part Of the state. The
worlds fair at st. Louis did much to
bring the states claim to recognition
before the American people, and the ex-
hib1t of the states resources made there
turned the attention or farmers in the
eastern and middle western states toward
it. So :":at has been the influx of set
tiers vt the railways have been obliged
to & i their lines in order to care
for tho commerce that is being developed
AS result there are more miles Of line
to be built there this year than in any
other state except one, and every mile
of this new construction will find an i'm
mense tonnage awaiting it, 80
One of the counties that IS attra citing
many Of the new settlers is Hand, which
is located about midway between the
north and south Of the state and a
little east of the center. The soil is a.
heavy black loan, with a clay subsoH
and retains moisture, giving it to plant
life with wonderful efficiency. 1t is
land that produces great crops Of corn,
wheat, oats, millet, barley, potatoes and
all vegetables, while fruit of all kinds
yields abundantly.
l stopped at a handsome farmhouse
while riding through this country and
had dinner with it's owner. This man
has a farm of three quarter sections, and
his home has all the comforts and con-
veniences that one looks for in older set
tied localities. He came here from In
diana five years ago, and I was curious
to know the reasons that induced him to
move He told me.
First of ALL he said, lit the
cheap land I had a farm down in IN ]
diana on which l was making a good
living, but I wasn't making much head
way besides. Yet I had q big family
thing to give the children for a start
when their time came. 1 investigated
this section pretty thoroughly before
moved | found that I could buy land
here-land in every way superior to what
| had in lndiana-for about $40 an acre.
/ sold my Indiana land and came up here
and bought" %~
How have you made out?' asked. 3;
Move Was a Good One. -.. i
BEST move I ever made was his re-
sponse From my first years crop, and
with only portion of my land under
cultivation, I cleared enough to pay for
coro'f