The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1908-09-10

sires TO commute at the end Of Il months
or prior to the expiration OF five years
time. he must pay to the government the
balance due on the land In full.
Soil, Climate and Rainfall.
Tho character OF this land Is the same
as In Gregory county, where 100000 acres
were opened to settlement in 1904. 1t is
gently undulating prairie, thickly covered
with buffalo and salt grass and some blue
stem grass. The soil is a deep, rich, black
loan, very fertile and very productive.
The same soil in Gregory county along the
line Of Trip county opened four years ~
Is producing now from 16 to rs bushels OF
wheat per acre; from 90 to 70 bushels of
oats, and from 30 to 80 bushels of corn.
Flax yields around 10 to IL bushels per
acre. This Gregory county Rosebud and
which was opened in 1904 at 81 per acre
Is now selling at from $40 to $55 per acre
and some OF the choice quarters well To-
Gated are bringing even higher prices per
acre. Potatoes n all garden vegetables
yield especially heavy in this soil.
The rainfall Is about the same as I'm
Iowa and i~s'abundant for all agricultural
purposes. In the past two years almost
too much precipitation has fallen in west
ern Gregory county along the Trip coun-
ty line.
Railroad Extensions.
The Burlington system will construct O
line through Gregory from the Platte VAL
ley TO Pierre soon, having run a prelimin-
Try survey over the proposed route a few
weeks ago. The Northwestern line will be
pushed westward from Dallas shortly
after the opening and will traverse Trip
county n connect with the Pierre-Rapid
City line at Philip, g.. d. The Great
Northern system took soundings at
Wheeler, on the Missouri river opposite
Gregory county last summer and is pre-
pairing to run a line from the city of
Sioux Falls crossing the river at Wheeler
and tapping this vast stretch of fertile
country.
Profits One Can Make.
Land in Trip county now, in a raw and
u%nimproved state, where the Indians have
been permitted to patent and sell part of
their allotments, is selling at from $50 to
$50 per acre-before the opening.
After the country is opened and begins
to develop, within two years the price will
jump to s35 and $40 per acre for lands
with small improvements and perhaps
not a fourth of 1t under cultivation. The
building of railroads and the further de-
velopment of the country will send the
price to a much higher figure for good
improved land.
New Towns.
With the opening of Trip county to set
Element several new towns will spring
into existence, some of them perhaps to
become cities of several thousand inhabi-
tants.
Trip county Is a large slice of coun-
try, being 40 miles in breadth and 60 miles
in length, so that the needs of an agri-
,.1f,,.al u, n,,ntf nP fhat uf1a w,,,ak
necessarily be attended to. The govern
ment will set aside certain tracts for
townsIte purposes and will survey them
into lots and blocks and sell the lots at
auction at the, time of the opening. One
of these new towns will become the future
county seat of Trip county when it Is
organized.
Already two new towns have started up
In Trip county. They are both located
upon Indian land to which the government
has given a patent. Winona IS located
ten miles west of the line and Lamro is
on Dog Ear creek about the middle of the
county. Neither town has had very much
growth, Lamro being the larger and con-
sistIng OF only IA buildings. Fear that a
government townsite may be located near
to them has prevented investors from TAX
ing hold.
The Streams.
lTlPp COubly 4 "Sll "dlOIGus iC INVya
Paha river and Ponca creek drain the
southern portion, while Bull creek, No
Moccasin, White Thunder, Dog Ear, Cot
tonwood and Oak creeks drain the CEN
trail and northern portions. The White riv-
err forms the NORTHERN boundary. Most of
these streams have considerable small
timber along their banks. The valleys of
all these streams are wide gently sloping
stretches OF prairie and will shortly be-
come teeming agricultural centers.
What the Coming Opening Means.
The opening of Trip county, South Da-
kota. in October will mean the adding
Of LOCO, OC0 fertile acres to the agricultural
domain Of the United States: 1t will mean
the Iong-looked-f for opportunity of the
poor man with a family who has been
unable to lay by a "nest-egg," to get HIM
self a farm and home; 1t will mean thou
and of opportunities to ambitious men
and women, young and old, to start anew
in q and where there are no "favore
few" 1t will mean the building Of four
or five hustling new towns, some of them
perhaps cities Of several thousand people;
seekers unprecedented in the history of
the nation; 1t will mean a chance for
legitimate speculation in reality which
a keen business man can turn into quick
sales and big profits: it will mean the
starting all-at-once of a vast new COM
munity and the hance Of a lifetime for
many who have been denied the chance
before; 1t will mean money to the person
who takes advantage OF the opportunity
and the situation.