Ladysmith news. [volume] (Ladysmith, Wis.) 1906-1907, 1906-09-01

house of a farmer who lives about ten
miles south of Lake Nebagamon, near
the Brule river, Wisconsin's celebra-
ted trout stream. The story of this
farmer is one that ought to be told, as
| it illustrates in clear and definite
manner the method adopted by one
man to get out Of the rut of day labor
self-reliant, prosperous tiller of the
soil.
This particular man-SO the story
runs-had been wage Garner from
early manhood to almost middle life,
and was not an Garner of high wages
at that He has worked in the woods,
in the saw mills, on the rivers, at any
kind of an occupation that would fur
nish him with sufficient money to
meet his obligations. 1t goes without
saying that he had not accumulated
| bank account and that, one year with
another, he had just about made "both
ends meet" He was a day laborer-
nothing more-depending on retaining
| health and strength to make living.
On "Fat of the Land"
About four years ago this man made
a homestead entry on government
land. He entered 100 acres of land
and established his residence there,
| building a shanty and clearing
small tract the first year. The first
winter he worked in the woods and
his wife cooked in the lumber camp
where he was employed. In the spring
they returned to their homestead and
have resided there continuously since
the man being employed in clearing
land and raising crops.
The result is they have lived off the
''fat of the land" for four years. They
have had milk, butter, poultry, eggs
and vegetables in abundance-many
things that they denied themselves
or used sparingly when they lived in
manufacturing cities and villages in
their days of wage earning. The wife
is a good cook and the table is sup
piled with many things that are lux
uries in the homes of well-to-do city
dWellers They have a telephone in
the house, horse and buggy with
which to visit their friends when the
spirit moves them so to do, and they
are more comfortably situated than
they ever were before in the whole
course of their lives.
Is Worth $4,000.
But that is not all. This farmer has
! about forty acres of land cleared and
under cultivation. He has a team OF
| horses, four COWS, farm machinery,
such as self-binder, mower, horse rake
and implements Of that character He
has not yet put up his permanent
buildings, for ne has devoted his time
to clearing land fitting it to support
the stock, which he purposes raising,
for he is contemplating devoting his
attention largely to animal husbandry.
He is working no harder now than he
did when he was earning $3.50 day,
and yet the property he has accumu-
lated while working for himself is
worth at a conservative figure $4,000.
This is not story of what man
can do on a. new WISCONSIN farm; it
is the story of what one man actually
has done. And it is but one of many.
The driver of the livery team who
acted as pilot on this trip pointed to
one farm after another during the
days journey and told the same story.
II thought" he said, chat these men
were fools when they came out here
and bought this land or made home
stead entries. I thought they would
starve to death or kill themselves
with hard work. But they are all alive
and prosperous They live better,
have better things to eat, and take
more comfort in life than the people
who live in town; and their property
is increasing in value all the time.
have changed my mind. The men who
stay in town and work for wages when
they could buy piece of land cheap
are the fools" This is the expert
opinion of a man who has seen the
evolution of a perfectly wild country
to a sparsely settled country within a
period that covers less than one-hali
Of a decade.
There is an abundance of land wait
ing for those who are willing to work
and have an ambition to become in
dependent. Such a man can find an
opening by which he can attain his
ambition He can do what thousands
of other men have done before him
men who are now living in Northern
Wisconsin in comfort; men who dc
not fear panics, or strikes, or lock
outs.
Farmers Deposit Money.
The prosperity of the Northern
Wisconsin farmer is testified to by
the fact that, whenever one goes
throughout the older settled portions
of this section, it is learned that from
rs to 80 per cent of the deposits in the
local banks is the money Of the farm
ers. This is not true in Douglas coun
ty, because until very recently there
: has been no agricultural industry in
this county to speak of. There are
many farmers in this county, it is true
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