Golden Valley chronicle. (Beach, Billings County, N.D.) 1905-1916, 1908-05-15
DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN n. DAKOTA
Slope Country Has Come Into Its Own and Immense Natural
Stores Of Wealth Have as Yet Been Little More
Than Touched.

A truthful picture of the marvellous
development which the past decade
has witnessed in Western North Da-
kota has been elaborated upon by
Charles B. Cheney of the Minneapolis
Journal. The article should prove of
great interest to all Dakotans, and is
reproduced below in full:
And the desert shall blossom as
the rose.'
II ever this prophecy was fulfilled
1t has been in the sudden transforma-
ton of Western North Dakota from a
bleak cattle range to prosperous and
we'll peopled farming region, one of
the worlds greatest granaries.
Ten years ago the Missouri slope
and the Mouse river valley were
thought to be fit for nothing but, cat
tie and sheep grazing. Almost the sole
inhabitants were ranchmen whose
herds roamed over hundreds of thou
sands of acres. But the restless tide
OF humanity pushing ever westward in
the search for free land, broke past
the Red river valley, past the valley
of the "Jim," and began stalking claims
on the prairie tableland to the west.
The venturous homeseekers made q
success right from the start. The soil
repaid them richly, and yielded
abundant increase. Their crops did
not burn up from drouth. While the
rainfall was less than farther east, less
seemed to be required, and one year
after another the moisture came in
sufficient quantities to mature good
crops.
Opportunity did not knock at the
door in vain for these early settlers.
Going to this new country with little
or nothing, living in sod houses, and
putting up with hardships in those
first lonesome days, they won the
fight and now live in comfort with
fertile farms all their own and a flu
ture of independence assured After
them came the rush. Settlers poured
into McHency, Ward and Williams
counties by train loads, and later into
Mclean, Morton, Stark and Billings.
Last of all they followed the Milwau-
kee road into Adams and Bowman
counties and are going with it into
Montana.
The free land days are past. All
the land that is worth occupying has
been filed upon. Nearly every quar-
ter section in all this Western coun-
try is farm, with shanty or at least
a sod house, and in most cases a fam.
lily, though there are many claims still
occupied by bachelors and splnsters
who are still looking for their affini
ties. The land is rapidly advancing
| in value and sells at all the way from
| SIS to $35 an acre, according to the
improvements, amount under tillage
character of the soil and distance
from the railroad.
Big Little Cities.
AS the farms were taken, towns
sprang up in the night like weeds
but not like weeds to wilt under the
summer sun. They are not boom
towns. but are built on solid basis,
with business blocks of brick and
stone. There is not town in all that
western region that has built up yet
to the country lying around it. They
| all do business on scale that would
astonish men from old settled states.
The volume of business in a town of
800 people in Western North Dakota
is great enough for town of $500 in
Illinois or Iowa. AS Fargo claims to
be the biggest little city" in the
country, Minot may we'll claim to be
the newest city and the biggest new
town.
The wonderful growth and prosper
ity of this region will impress even
the most casual visitor. It is splen-
did object lesson in American push
and initiative, enough to fire one with
enthusiasm for the country and it's
wonderful opportunities.
The writer toured North Dakota 4
few days ago for the purpose of sizing
up a complicated political situation.
The trip was begun without any
thought further than the politics Of
the new state, but it is impossible to
ignore the business side of things.
The material evidences of sudden
growth and solid resources to back
it were obtruded on every side. Every
town visited was proud of it's pros
perity, the excellence of it's land, the
enterprise Of it's people. Every man
was a booster, and every statement
made was easy to prove. It was not
''hot air." There was too much evil
dence to get away from.
Rainfall Quite Sufficient.