The Colorado statesman., 1916-05-13

beans and potatoes. We cleared a few
acres for hay ground, removing the
sagebrush by hand, the women and
children welding grubbers as indus
triously as the men, though not as
sturdily. perhaps; and after grubbing
we plowed, narrowed and burned the
remaining brush
Suffering in the little community
was intense during the first winter.
There were only two frame houses.
Ffrewood had to be carried from three
to seven miles. Three of the horses
died from starvation, and the other
three were TOO weak to pull even an
empty wagon, Mr.. Jackson continued.
Yet the little group managed to keep
up their own and each others cour-
age, and after the first winter was
weathered, further problems and
hardships were more easily met and
overcome. Now, in addition to having
settled all the available claims, a
small Negro town is growing up at
Dearfield. where professional men.
tradespeople. artists and manufactur-
ers on small scale serve the needs
VI IhS
From the inception of the settle
ment Jackson and his colleagues tried
to advertise their movement for a Ne
gro farming community In such a way
that white people would not hear
about it and come in and take up the
land where it was hope1 that colored
farmers would settle. These efforts
were only successful in a measure,
and many of the best locations were
taken up by white settlers. At the
same time Mr.. Jackson speaks with
considerable satisfaction of the type
of white man who came into the COM
munity, and of the fact that most of
them have shown a willingness to sell
out their holdings at reasonable valu-
ations to prospective Negro settlers
Owing to the laws governing the
taking up of homesteads it was not
possible for the settlers to gather to-
gether and clear one common plot for
cultivation. Instead. the method of
cooperative help used was for a
group to collect on the homestead of
one settler after another and clear
away enough land on each claim to
start the prospective owner. In this
way each colonist soon had under cui-
tivation the amount of land required
by the government for proving up his
title to the homestead. After the
first few years, during which it was
absolutely necessary to devote all the
tillable land available to the cultiva-
tion of the commonest staples and for
age for the stock, the farmers gradu-
ally began to add various kinds of
vegetables and fruits. including the
inevitable watermelon, not only for
home consumption, but also as a sur
plus. was raised. for sale in the mar
kets of Denver. Then attention was
turned to improving the yield of the
crops. particularly hay. until now the
colony has passed from the stage of
bare self-sufficiency to increasing pros.
perity.
The scarcity and high price of coal
in Spain has become problem as we'll
as menace to all mar" featuring in
dustries in that country. With lessened
importations of British coal and soar
ing prices for freight more attention
is being paid to domestic coal, of
which there are large undeveloped de-.
posits. According to returns, 1885,
028 tons of coal were imported into
Spain and l67.795 tons of coke during
the first IL months of 1915. in contrast
to 2,313,630 tons of coal and 32S,lO7
tons of coke in 1914, a decrease of 49,
602 tons of coal and I6O312 tons of