The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1907-03-15


when the idea was very prevalent in
the older Eastern states that the prai-
rieS OF Dakota We're not adapted to
permanent successful farming. and
that no amount OF Improvement would
ever make them profitable To the till
er OF the soil
The devastating prairie fires seemed
always to sw0op down upon the Ven
turesOme homeseeker who should at
tempt to wrest livelihood from the
soil, ana greedily devour all that hard
labor had accomplished In the win
ter the wind blew an icy blast, and in
the summer its hot brcath' parched
the soil and ruined the crops. The
rainfall was frequently scantv and al
ways uncertain, pure drinking water
was often not obtainable. the soil,
though apparently rich. had not the
sustaining qualities of that of Il tim
Der country, hardships faced the set
tier at every turn, and If ever he did
succeed in raising q good crop he was
so far from the markets that he could
not dispose of it favorably.
Such discouraging picture as this
could have few attra ctionS for the
farmers of the East. and settlers did
not come in large numbers into the
territory, which Is now the state of
South Dakota, until 1SS0-lSS3. al
though several OF the eastern counties
had fair population and few strip
ling cities before that time.
Railroads Bring Settlers.
The coming OF the railroads in the
'70s, during the time Of the rush of
goldseekers to the Black Hills inau-
gurated great homestead boom over
the entire eastern section, and set
tiers came in large numbers.
Then followed the inevitable period
of disaster, because these homestead
ers did not understand the nature OF
the soil and the climatic conditions.
Many OF them We're without means as
well as withOu; experience. and were
obliged TO run in debt for their farm
Ing machinery. seed, horses. cattle,
and the necessities of the household
The majority placed their sole reli-
ance upon wheat. and when the crop
failed, as 1t did on many occasions,
1t meant the loss OF their entire in
come
Hundreds gave up in despair and
sought homes elsewhere, for ii verify
seemed as ii all the tales of the IN
kindly elements in the prairie country,
which had been circulated in the
earlier days. We're entirely true Those
who remained gradually learned
through bitter experience that it was
best TO divide their farming interests
and plant other grains as we'll as
wheat and give attention to the rails
ing of cattle, sheep and hogs to their
poultry products, and TO dairyng Bet
ter farming machinery was manufac-
tured. and great care was taken to
improve farming methods. The re-
suits can be seen in the marvellous
prosperity of the past ten years or so.
Diversity Of interests.
Even yet there is room for vast
improvement, as it is very probable
that even the best farmers do not
get the fullest returns from the soil
that il is capable OF yielding, for
South Dakota soil is marvelously fer
tile. In the portion of the state
east Of the Missouri river the soil is
almost entirely glaciated and has
proved itself TO be we'll adapted to
the cultivation Of wheat. corn oats.
barley and flax. Mixed farming Is
region, although there are also large
ranches devoted to the raising of live
stock for market, and also finally
equipped dairy farms.
A good example of the diversity of
agricultural interests and the general
prosperity to be found In South Da-
kota cities and towns is to be seen
in Moody county. 1t lies on the east
| ern side OF the state, In the region
which received the first settlers. His
tory records that In the spring Of 1S5
hardy pioneers found their way into
the valley OF the Sioux river and es-
tablished themselves in little settle
ments between the Medary, in Brook
ings county, near the northern bour-
dary of Moody county, and the site
Of Sioux Falls to-day
The population grew slowly until the
homestead boom of 1880-1883 and
then large numbers of settlers came
into the county.
The Chicago. Milwaukee & st. Paul
crossed the county from east to west,
and also built along the Sioux river
from Sioux Falls Junction south. so
that gives the county excellent rail
road facilities, thus enabling the farm
ers to market their produce readily.
Population Growing.
According TO the census Of 1900 the
population Of Moody county numbered
1926, but during the six intervening
years there have been many who
have taken advantage of the excellent
opportunities which it offered to those
who desired to purchase fine farming
land at very reasonable prices. There
Masons to Celebrate