The Dickinson press., 1913-08-23

1Or tue Dun0 county cen.
sus in 1890. sure indication of the
increasing population of the county.
The future. said Mr.. Simpson, de-
pends upon agricultural interests. 49,
riculture is the backbone of the world
and the one thing that has eventually
made all countries prosperous. No ae-
ricultural country has ever gone down,
unless it was from extravagance and
The speaker knew of no greater heri-
tage to leave Dunn county children than
some of the land of the county which
he considered would eventually be
worth from $50 to $10O per acre.
Mr.. Simpson said he did not want to
speak very long. He was there to Wis
it. He introduce d DR.. V. H. Stickney
as most estimable gentleman who
had lived in this part of the state for
80 years and was we'll known to the
pioneers.
DR. v. H. STICKNEY.
DR.. Stickney said in part:
Coming here in the early eighties
1888. the year that marked the COM
pletion of the Northern Paci6c-all the
active years of my life have been spent
in and about your neighboring county
to the south.
In the half decade between the years
1877 and 1888, civilization had pressed
its western bolder line across the terri
tories where now dwell 1.50O. 600
happy souls. The engineers and
builders of railroads had come and a
shining belt of steel stretched across
the continent above the 45th parallel
obedient to their tireless will.
Lured by the luxuriant grasses Of
,these broad pasture lands. the ranchers
came from the south with their herds.
For years this was the largest range
stock section in America.
Drifting in with the large herds,
came the cowboy of the older days.
He was a prince in chaps, the most
picturesque man of the century in
which he lived. He could ride harder,
look into the muzzle of gun with a
steadier gaze and shoot faster and
straiehter than any other man ever
knew. l can see him with his broad
Stetson. his silk handkerchief careless
ly knotted about his neck, his cartridge
belt and gun, his high heeled boots,
his flowing chaps, his jingline silver
spurs, his carved saddle and inlaid
bridle. He blew into our little town
at night, rode up and down our streets
at breakneck speed, shot up the place,
made the night hideous with his wild
yells and in the gray of the morning
he hit the trail for the round up wagon
or home ranch and there became a
peaceful and useful man. When he had
accumulated another stake he appeared
in our midst again.
The cowboy was the product of the
plain-Ioyal, fearless and as free as the
prairie winds that kissed his sunburned
cheeks.
Such were the early men of the
plains. the pioneers of the time when
we lived on the fringe of civilization.
Busy highways now mark the trend
of the old cattle trails and villages
have sprung up at the cross signs where
the mess wagon camped. Prosperous
farmsteads and fertile fields of waving
grain mark the places where the wild
stampede was checked and happy chill
dren are playing at the water holes,
sailing ships across the seas where the
cowboy whistled his soothing notes to
quiet the restless herd. A school house
has been built on the slope of the butte
where the prairie wolf howled his dis
NAL call to his mate across the wind
swept waste and fence has been
stretched across the trail where the rider
rode his lonesome line through the
drifting snow.
At this point of the address DR..
Stickney said that he had come to the
pleasant part of his duty, that of
presenting token of esteem to
one who had gone in and out of the
Oakdale country for quarter of CEN
tury. W. L. Richards was then pre-
sented with a watch charm as an ap-
probation of his friendship and ex-
cellent qualities of manhood.
W. L. RICHARDS
Mr.. Richards thanked the people very
kindly for the gift which he said he
should ever prize highly. He said he
was not speech maker but he told a
story that brought loud applause. At