The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1907-05-23
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NfTEREsTREAAUU AAO


wheat acreage sown than for many
years past, with the ground in first
class shape, regardless of the cold
weather and occasional SHOWS through
the seeding season. While the newly
sown wheat is slow at starting, ii ID
beginning to make showing on somo
of the earlier sown fields and no fear
is expressed that the grain in the
ground has been injured in any way
by the cold weather. With the wheat
seeding out of the way, the corn plant
ing will be commenced, and large
amount of corn and flax will bS put
in on breaking AT least a dozen pow
er breakers are tearing up the sod
within twenty-five miles of Pierre, and
most of this newly turned land will be
put into either corn or fax. West Of
the Missouri river the power plows
are also at work, and one man near
Midland is putting in six hundred
acres OF sod flax his first expert
ment in crop raising west of the Mis-
souri,. Several ranchers who have
been in Pierre the past few days say
the homesteaders are tearing up the
prairie all around them and getting in
small patches Of crops, principally
CCIH, lldH anu OlleT crops WHICH are
considered to be adapted to sod grow
ing. While the spring has beer un-
usually cold, and the precipitation be-
low normal, the amount OF moisture
in the ground has been and is suffi-
cient for cropping ard termination.
All interests are hoping that warmer
weather will soon start the crops to
growing, which they are not doing to
any great extent as yet.
The Northwestern railway improve
ments at Pierre are practically all
planned, and the yards which will be
located in East Pierre, call for eight
miles Of trackage IN addition to Ykat
is already in. They viii build rspAf
shop 50x120 feet In size; round
house with ten stalls, on basis Of ex-
tension to forty; an under-cut coaling
chute; and number of smaller build.
ings necessary to handle the business
Of the year. A seventy foot steel turn
table will be PLACED for the use Of
the service. All the buildings are to
be built Of brick with concrete foun-
dations, and will be heated with a
central hot air heating plant, and will
have complete power system of their
own. The new track from Pierre west
is being built evidently for heavy
trafi1c from the manner in which 1t il
being ballasted, and laid with heavy
steel, and while II Is not certain, II 10
rumored that the Minneapolis coast
trains over tho system Will be ssns .
through here instead Of by way of
Omaha. Such a change in their line
would relieve the heavy traffic over
the Union Pacific across Nebraska,
and give the Northwestern a longer
run on their own tracks instead of
over the leased line Whether that
plan will be carried out or not. ev-
erything which is being done here is
on scale which provides for future
extensions Of their plant, and the
tracks being laid also indicate the ex-
pectation Of heavy traffic over the new
line.
From letters being received at the
office Of the secretary of state the
last few days. the referendum petit
ton on the divorce law will require
culling after 1t reaches the office. De-
mands are beginning to come in from
parties who have signed the petition
asking that their names be stricken
OF before the petition is filed. II
these requests are to be granted, those
who are opposed to applying the ref
erendum have way opened to them
to seriously handicap that movement
by following the solicitors for peti-
tions for the referendum with anoth-
er asking for withdrawal AS most
people will sign any petition presented
to them, long list Of Withdrawals
could easily be secured requiring the
referendum people to greatly enlarge
their lists Of names in order to bo
certain of having enough on the list
to secure action.
Doane Robinson, secretary of the
State Historical society, has received
from p. F. Wickhame, of Alexandria,
a small limestone boulder, which was
found on one of his farms in Hanson
county. One side of 1T has been
smoothed off. and on 1t is crude
drawing of a white man, clearly cut
In the stone. Secretary Robinson be-
lieves 1t to have been the work of an
Indian attempting to copy the i'm
press Of a medal, and very likely that
Of Washington, as the general out
lnies somewhat resemble those Of a
HlcW Ol the L. III
the eraly history Of the country med
ais bearing a likeness Of the presidents
were distributed among the Indians
as marks of favor of the government,
and one of these was probably used as
copy for the work on the stone.
Two and a half townships were
taken up with new filings in the Pierre
land office for the month of April,
with $40 homesteads and II declara-
tories. This would mean a total of
$1,000 acres more of the public do
main taken up for the month For
the same month 2S sections, or nearly
a township, was. acquired through
final proof, Z final homesteads, SO
Communication proofs having been of
fered for the month. The contest bust
ness was heavy, a number of such