Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1914-01-01

| AID YER TISIN G
tie in Emmons county when spring
came, and the three talked over the
] starting of paper in Emmons
'Itounty. As result. Mrs. .Streeter
went to see Messrs. Mckenzie and
| Coffin. who we're. interested with
three others in the Williamsport
townsite and who were also agents
for the townsite. They agreed
with her to take certain advertising
indefinitely, and also to put up a frame
building IA by "a feet. the same to
become our property if we staid in
Williamsport and published paper
six months. Then she sold the two
cottages for part cash, sent the
money to me, and suggested that
go to type foundry and pick out a
list of material to be purchased, SO
that, in case, after returning to Bis
marck and going down into Emmons
county to look over the field, |
thought there was possibility Of
success. could send for it. She
said she disliked greatly to have me
take up permanently the old morn
ing newspaper grind.
Well, took her advice and re-
turned to Bismarck in April. 1884.
With the exception of M. H. Jewell,
every one of my printer friends in
Chicago and Bismarck had no faith
in the undertaking., because of the
country being SO new and having 30
few people. On the other hand, Mr..
jewell said: "Streeter, / think it's
a good move. Population or no
population, there'll be the usual
amount Of county printing; and, be-
sides. the preemption-proof publica-
lions will begin in a few months" In
those days there were three classes
of claims, and each qualified settler
could take pre-emption and prove
1t up at the end of six months, filing
on timber claim when he filed on
his prescription, or at any other
time, and then. after making proof
on his pre.emptlon, he could file on
la homestead. Unfortunately, a
great many of the pioneers lost their
prescriptions for the reason that
they could not raise the monev to
repay what they had borrowed for
payment in proving up, which was
$3.50 an acre inside Of the forty
mile limit Of the Northern Pacific
Railway and s1.25 outside of that
limit. The cities of the state had
numerous land-sharks who loaned
the muney with which to make pre-
emption proof. The settler .gener-
ally got-or thought he would get
a hundred dollars or so more than
the price of the land to the govern
ment; but in many instances he had
to pay bonus, commission, or
something or other tho complicated
for the victim to understand, and he
found there was nothing left after
he made payment for the land.
Many Of the claims were taken un-
der the mortgage. and not infre-
quently the settler found himself
called into court to fight suit for
the difference in amount between
what he had borrowed and the
amount at which the land had been
bid in by the MORTGAGE. The
writer knows of several instances
in this county where settlers, in
more recent years, have paid a good
sum per acre to buy back land out
of which they we're "honswogRled"
by some loan.shark in the early and
less financially favorable days.
| Asabove stated, there was in April.
1884. no stage line between Viii.
Transport and Bismarck. No one in
Bismarck that talked with. knew
just where Willianisport was s!tuat-
ed. About all they knew regarding
it was that it was in "The Syndicate
Township" ss 1876 was termed.
in which the townsite people owned
considerable land that they had pur-
chased with Northern Pacific pre-
ferred stock, then selling at a very
low figure. was advised to take
the Fort Yates stage and go down to
some point about east of The Syndi-
cate Township and then walk across.
took the advice. At Glencoe the
stage stopped at the residence of the
late Charles Robinson, where the
postoffice WIS located. He told me
it would be the part Of wisdom for
me to stop there. as the twenty
mile trim IN Wijliarncport uac cuor