The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1908-08-06
TWENTY YEARS CHANGE
IN THE GREAT NORTHWEST

ten wondered since how she ever got
through the night without losing hef
reason.
The next morning by seven O'Clock
the snow had quit falling, but the
wind still blew and IL was bitter cold
1t was easy and safe enough, how
ever. for one to make his way over
the snow drifts. and mother prepared
a big sack of dOughnuts and two
quart can of hot coffee With this
good cheer in my hands l ran all the
way to the school house and when
got there the coffee was cold and the
doughnuts were frozen But the
school children were all there safe
and sound, even if hungry, and the
smoke going out of the school house
chimney was sign for the entire
neigh borhOod of the safety of the
school long before anyone was able to
reach the school house
If the complete story of the great
blizzard of January IL, 1888, could be
compiled and published, it would con
stitue a tragic recital of death and
suffering almost unbelievable 10 one
who mas never felt the force and cold
of such q storm Scores Of people lost
their lives, many freezing 10 dean
within a few wards of their homes
Others lost their feet, hands, or legs
and many MANNED bodies are today
living testimonials to the fury OF the
elements on that fatal night For
weeks after this storm, you could see
portions OF the bodies of frozen cattle
sticking out of the snow from many
a ravine and hillside, and at Nigh;
~ Of
short yelp of the coyote could BE-
heard calling their fellows together
to feast upon the frozen caTcaSseS-
1t all constituted a winter TRAGEDY
which those who experienced II ca
never forget and which it is to be
hoped may never be repeated
But that was twenty years ago To
day the boys who were in school n
that time and who stayed on the
farms are all prosperous and happy
farmers with fine crops, good horses
fat cattle. and graneTies OverfiOwlng
with the product OF their feldS- As
an illustration of what they are dOinE,
one of them. who ten years ago was
Just beginning work for himself, told
me that he now had two quarter sec
tons OF land y horses. d fine bunch
of cattle, a good crop this year, and
that he owed no man dollar. More
than that he was selling from S15-Ou
to $4,000 worth of butter every week
more than enough to pay all of the
household eXDenses-sO that every
thing he made from the crops Wa
that much ahead, either to be deposit
ed at interest in the bank or to b"
used for the purchase of more land
This young man has his daily paper
i - -Tr,z- hi 70 a
phone puts him in touch with the town
II miles away, and business failures,
financial panics, bOycotts, lOck-Outs
nor any such things hold any terror
for him He is Independent. he knows
it, his future is safe, and he Is happy
Can any business or iabOring man in
the city say as much?
Land has gone up in this country
from $500 and $500 an acre ten years
ago to $1,000 and $4,000 an acre now
and the price is still rising In fact,
the high price of land may soon he
expected to do for Dakota what it
has done for the states of Iowa and
IIlfnsis, viz: drive the young man who
doesn't own any land either further
west or to the south to get his start
And that is one thing that Is going to
heIp Settle ND the UndeveIOPed cheap
lands in the south and make that sec
ton the richest in the country As
the price of land goes up in the
north, the northern farmers boy IS
going to look for something better
somewhere else When he does this
he is going to find that he can get
cheap land in the south and. what IS
more important. that for the same
amount of labor he can produce more
and live better in the south than he
can in the north When the country
at large finds this out, as 1t is going
to do. the future of the south will be
assured and the southern states Will
become the greatest agricultural and
truck farming section in the world
South Dakota, Aug l, 1908.