Dewey County advocate. [volume] (Timber Lake, S.D.) 1910-1913, 1912-03-29
HOMESTEAD FLING
PROSPECTIVE sETTL Frs INTER.
EsTED IN MELLETTE AND
/ BENNETT COUNTY LANDS.
OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST
From the Capitol City, the Various
State institutions and From
Many Different Parts Of
the Sunshine state.

Murdo.-As the time approaches for
the fling on homesteads in Mellette
and Bennett counties the prospective
hbmesteaders are taking much inter
est in the conditions in this part OF
the state and the officers of the Murdo
Commercial club are kept busy an
swering the questions of those who
expect to move here.
In order that more favorable wealth
er and better roads might be more
likely to be encountered during the
filing, the commencement has been
postponed from April 1, as was first
announced, to April Is, after which
date those who drew numbers last fall
will appear at White River on the day
assigned to their particular number
and select their land.
White River is now town situated
in the geographical center OF Mellette
county and is the county seat of that
county. There is no railroad into the
town, the nearest railroad point being
Murdo, on the Chicago, Milwaukee &
st. Paul road, which is % miles due
north. The nearest town on the Chi
cago & Northwestern road is Winner,
which is SO miles southeast of White
River. Since Murdo Is the nearest
point it is to be expected that the
greater part OF the traffic will come
this way and already the hotels, res
taurants, liveries, garages and private
owners Of autos are beginning to pre-
pare to take care of the crowds, and a
number of outside parties have sent
word that they will be here with cars,
so that there will be no shortage Of
facilities for caring for the people.
Already some are beginning to come
out and will spend the next month
looking over the land SO that they may
be in readiness to make their selec-
tions with good knowledge of the
land on which they are filing.
Parties are given fifteen days in
which to complete their filing after
making selection. and in case they
decide not to file on the tract selected
they do not lose their homestead
right, but merely forfeit thier advan-
tage by reason of the number drawn.
Filings MAY be completed before the
register and receiver at the Chamber
lain land office or before any United
States commissioner, judge or clerk
of court, but in case the filing papers
are sworn to before any one other than
at the land office it is necessary that
they be mailed in time to reach the
land office before 1850 o'clock p. m.
on the 18th day after the selection
was made.
Most of the settlers will arrive sew
eral days before the date set for them
to make their selection, SO it will not
only give them an opportunity to look
over the land, but will avoid any posi-
bility of their being delayed. They
must make their selection on the day
set or lose all rights under their num-
Der. The names of those drawing
numbers will be called at the hour
set by the department and in case any
person does not respond to his num-
Der his name will be called again in
the evening after all of the other
numbers set for that dates have been
called. If any one does not appear at
that time he loses his right to any
advantage under his number.
The roads from Murdo to the land
are very good and the completion of
the $4,000 steel bridge across White
river, south of here, makes the cross
ing of that stream certain at all times.
This bridge was completed this win
ter, and the first teams crossed Feb
ruary 26. It is on the main road to
White River and to Wood, the only
other town in Mellette county. It Is
80 miles from Murdo to Wood, and
this road is said to be the best in the
homestead country.