The Newtown bee., 1909-11-05
HOME NEWS. FARMING CONDITIONS IN SOUTH
 DAKOTA. Land Values Increasing.

Oct0Der 10, l9U9.
 For the children of my native town and for the children of the ad- joining towns who are of the age to be interested in the study of geogra- phy this letter is more particularly written, and so it is that it will dwell upon things pertaining to the state of South Dakota. It would be extremely foolish for the writer to presume that in the brief stay of two or three or four weeks he can write much save in general way of the immensity of it's area and the almost boundlessness of It's agricultural pos abilities. Of course, as to it's area and population we have only to turn to the tabulated statistics to be found in our geographies to ascertain the facts, and that what you may read in this letter may impress itself more strongly on your minds, we suggest you read it with the geography be- fore you. Nearly all of what is now South Dakota was once included in that vast tract of country bought by the United States from France in the year 1895, and called the Louisiana Purchase, reaching from the Gulf of Mexico to where the British posses sions made the northern boundary. In 1872 the south portion was ad- mitted into the Union and became the state of Louisiana. The balance became the territory of Missouri, the part that lay east of the Missouri river, became, one part the territory of Michigan in 1884. another of Wis consin in 1886, another of Iowa in 1888 and another of Wisconsin in 1S49. Later as these territories be- came states each retained it's terri torial name. The part west of the Missouri river was included in what was then called the Mandan terri tory and latter became the territory of Nebraska in 1854, so that all through my boyhood study of geogra- phy, the vast area included in the Louisiana Purchase was known by the above territorial names, while the part that lay between the Mis- souri river and the western bound ary of Minnesota had no legal name and was known as the land Of the Dakotas until the year 1861, when Congress passed an act organizing the territory of Dakota, which in- cluded the present states of North and South Dakota and all the terri tory west to the Rocky Mountains. In 1868 there was partial cut down to the present limits of North and South Dakota, and in 1889 by act of Congress the territory was divided, enabling the two territories to frame constitutions preparatory to their admission as states. They were ad- mitted as states in November, 1889, by proclamation of President Harri- son. Located as South Dakota is, midway between the two oceans, be- North Dakota and Nebraska, with Minnesota and Iowa on the East, Montana and Wyoming on the West, it stands with outstretcherd arms, calling Come in and possess the land" With an area of 77,650 square miles,-larger than all of the New England states punched to- getner,-with land area of 76,S50 square mile ard a water area of only 800 square miles, with the general slope of the land south-eastward, turning the drainage of the whole state into the Missouri and Missis- sippi systems, except a small portion in the northeastern part of the state that is drained by the branches that lead in to the Red River of the North, with soil very similar to that of the central states, Ohio, Indi- ana, Illinois and Iowa, with an aver age of 30 inches of rainfall a year, South Dakota is bound to rank in the very near future as one of the fore most of our great agricultural states. The winters are cold, the mercury often dropping to 40 below zero, but the atmosphere is so dry one does not feel the cold as we do in the humid atmosphere of our New England states.
 Land values are rapidly increas- ing, and the daily papers of Sioux Falls are frequently reporting bona fide sales of farms at an advance of S20, s30 and $40 an acre above sales of three months ago. The area of of government land to be thrown upon the market has become very small. Just at this time the Stand ing Rock and Cheyenne River Reser- vations, which are located in the north central part of the state are open for settlement, and the registra- tion for chances commenced on 0cto- Der 4, are still in progress and will so continue until October 2S, and the drawing of lots will take place at Aberdeen, s. D. on October 25. There