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About The Alliance herald. (Alliance, Box Butte County, Neb.) 1902-1922 | View Entire Issue (July 8, 1909)
' - r Scenes of Alliance and Box Butte County I 'r Is -ca-5 "The Box Butte Plains," Written by Leonard S. Herron and The Nebraska Farmer of June 30, '09, Published in Almost in the northwestern corner of Nebraska at an altitude of 4,000 feet is a level stretch of country known as the Box Butte plains. These plains are pi tic tlcally identical with Box Uutto county since the level land forming tho plains is about1 equal in area to the county and does not extend much If nuy be yond the county line in any direction. On the east and south the plain is bor dered with sand hills. As ono stands on tho level lauds nnd looks toward these hills he might well imagine that he is in tho center of some great pie and that the rim of sand hills Is the ilaring crust whose border has been plain nnd is plainly visible for many miles in every direction. The level ncss of the country together with tho clearness of the atmosphere, due to the altitude, makes long vision possi ble and one must not lie too sure about distance until ho has conferred with some one who Is used to tho country. Tho main attraction which took us to northwestern Nebraska was the meeting of the Northwest Nebraska Llvo Stoek Growers' Association, but it was with a great deal of pleasure that wo accepted the invitation of Lloyd Thomas, secretary of the Alli ance Commercial Chili to take an tutu- jPP" ' ' '.---.' - "" 'jm COMIN THROUGH THE RYE. crimped into waves by the Angers of tho good housewife. On the north of the liox Butte plains is tho Niobrara Hirer with all its breaks and rugged bluffs, while away to the westward we were told the plain ends in low hills. AUiuneo is the principal town in this region. It is a thrivlug little city sit uated in the south east corner of Uox Butte county only about seven or eight miles from the sand hills on the east and a similar distance from those to the southward. It is a division point on the Burlington railroad from Kuu sas City to Bllliugs. Here al&o is where the line to Denver branches olt" and runs southward. At Bridgeport on the Denver line the ruad branches af?ain and one stem ruus up the North Tlatto valley to Guernsey, Wyo Tnis line also has its headquarters ut Alli ance, hence tho latter is a thriving railroad center. The m tin Hue of Uiu Uurllnglon comes into Alliance from the east but within the town it turns toward the nortlnvest aud follows a diagonal course across the county. Traveling from the east on the main line of the Burliugtou oue hus to pass through nearly -'U(J miles of tho heart of the Nebraska sand hl-l-i before com ing out onto the Box Butte plains. It Is certainly a pleasant relief from this monotony to suddenly leave all the sand duties behind and roll ulong over a level prarie covered vltli a oarptt of beautiful green. Likewise hi ap proaching Alliance from the south on the Denver line a ridge of chalk hills along the North Platte river, aud u belt of sand hills north of this must be passed over before the passenger is re warded with a view of the broad ex panse of level country. From the northwest the main line of the railroad from the Block Hills and Billings after much winding aud climbing ascends from the valley of the White river, crosses the headwaters of t le Niobrara and ascendlug slightly come out onto the plains of Box Butte county. The land within the county for the r mobile ride through the country sur rounding the city. Early in the morn inff we set out from town in a direction bearing to the nortlnvest. The coun try is becoming well sottlud near towu and tho price of land situated close in is rapidly increasing. Wo were told that only recently oue farm near Alli ance had sold for $15 per acre. All along the way there were llelds of potatoes and small grain. Tho crops were at various .tnges of ad vancement in tho different fle'tls. In some eases the potatoes were up sev eral inches ami were Wii.g cultivated wVllu in other llelds they hud only re cently been planted. The same was trne of the sm ill r;rain. Beside fields lu which the gruii was waving in the breeze there was grain just getting nicely hluitcd. The (Hff. ivnuc was one of I '.ruu'S U'Kl not of soil r tther Jenuntiy lying1 to the euit, f-i last year's breaking' Was especially good. Tho soil arounrt Alliance is a brown sandy loam, containing just enough sand to mako it work easily. It can not be called a sandy soil, however, and when wet It adheres quite tena ciously to anything that comes in con tact witti it. The surface soil varies somewhat in depth. There arc places where It is not mure than six inches deep, although these are comparative ly rare. In other places It is six feet or more in depth. Tho underlying m tterlal is n sort of magnesia clay, which is porous nnd does not appar ently Interfere with the growth of al filfa. Wo were informed that tho soil conditions in tho county aro quite uni form. After traveling some eight miles from Alliance wo turned about and re turned to the town by a differeut road. About Ave miles from Alliance on tho return trip we came to the farm of Mr. Joseph Barkhurst who has been tunning in liox mute county for over twenty years. It is said that his farm ing has been done along such sane lines that ho has never suffered a crop failure. Hero we sawtrecs aud blirub bery, showing the possibilities for im provement and development on the plains. In fact Mr. Barkliurst's home would compare favorably with many in the eastern part of Nebraska in the matter of adornment with trees and bhrubs. There was a fino little orch ard, too, and we were informed that It produced fruit last year beyond tho needs of the family. This homo was not in an especially favored location, hence It can bo considered typical of the tilings that may bo accomplished anywhere on the Box Butte plains b3' men who follow souud culture meth ods with persistence. When Uox Butte county becomes filled with this kind of homes it will have a real "back east" uppearauce and will send out products that will attract even more attention than Box Butte potatoes now do in the market centers Returning to Allla.ncfl we passed through the town and out into the Thin svfit -.- 't f HWKJiYP KSB2ZZZ2 Vir mu 1 roan -p-in-Vsu3-p-B-p-g-u----fs-hakBl2K t&itozMFVTrriU MiKS-j;--JfWWMlI3nM THEY RAISE POTATOES OUT THERE, plains and tho fnrmers are making them their principal crop, Last fall there wcro shipped from Uox Uutto county over 400 oars of thoso life pro- servers nsldo from many oars hold through tho wlutor and scut out this 8Pr-0ff. Small grain, also, Is well suit ed to the agricultural possibilities of this region. Corn will probably never bo extnnslrcly grown hero on account of. the altitude. Norertheless, It will undoubtedly be grown In increasing quantities In future years as strains nnd breeds aro dorelopeil with especial reference to their fitness for the con ditions nt high altitudes. This will certainly bo tho case If dairying con tinues to hold the place among farmers that It appears to bo gaining at the present tlino. The settlers nro not now keeping a great deal of llvo stock and their crops are of a unturo to exhaust the humus of their soil. In a few years they will have the humus problem to fnco. It docs not seem, however, that tho res toration of vegetable matter to the soil hero will be more difllcult than in other countries. Wo havu already al luded to tho success of alfalfa and bromu grass on these plains, and with rotations luclufllnir thene crops it should not be dilllcult to maintain the humus supply. There has been nn abunduneo of rain in Uox Uutto county this spring too much in fact. Crops are not so forward as they would bo If there had been less rain and mora sunshine. However, crop prospects could not well bo better and tho farmers are jubilant over tho outlook. Ilenl estate is changing hands so rapidly that It is not safe to venture a guess ns to tho owner of any . given pleco of land. Perhaps It wns sold only yesterday. Boosting for Box Butto From Columbus Telegram: T. J. O'Keefe and Editor Thomas came down from Alliance yesterday for a brief talk with Columbus real estate agents. Mr. O'Kcefu edited tho Alliance Herald to his own profit and to tho pleasure of the people. Last year he sold the paper to Mr. Thomas, and is now devoting his en tire attention to winning new citizens to Uox Butte county, the home of tho big po tato. That particular section of Nebraska appears to have been neglected at the time of tho mad rush for western lands a few years ago, but now it is reaping the. most aggressive influx of settlers any sec tion of the state has known. While the soil in that part of tho state grows every thing ihat will grow in any temperato zone, the big crop is potatoes, there being man) established record crops of potatoes yielding from $15 to $35 per acre net to tho fnrmers. Mr. O'Keefo is loud in praise of Columbus. He says he knows of no town in the state which is striking the Columbus gait, and he fears tho man ifold attractions here would win him quick if tils' home was in any other place than. jijs own bca.u.tifu.1 AlliBQW, HEniNGFORD HERALD. HEMINGFORD, UOX BUTTE COUNTY, NED., JULY 8, I909. conditions affecting plant gro.vtii. In every instance the early crops were the best. This illustrated the remark made to us by Mr. Thomas that the thing most needed lu Box Butte couu ty is good farmers. The older stock men of the country do not take to farming with a very noticeable avidity, and it seems that improvement in farm practices must come largely through the introduction of uew blood from eastern sections and through the edu cation of the rising generation. There were a number of good alfalfa fields In the neighborhood of Alliance. Some of these were even mire than cnmp-ir.ihle to alfalfa In the eastern p. rt of the state In every field tho HOME OF JOSEPH BARKIU'RSr. most part is very level. Here and there is a draw, but there are uo steep hills of any magnitude. Last week we had the privilege of visiting north west Nebraska and we made our en trance to the Box Butte plains from the northwest corner as we journeyed from Crawford to Alliance. As soon as tho train was up out of the valley of the Niobrara we began to see num erous homes on the prairie. Every where stretched away the grass-covered plain. The abundant rains of this season have made the grass grow very thriftily, and we do not remem ber ever having seen such a wide ex panse of unbrokeu green. Every where the settlers ure coming onto these plains, building their homes and breaking up the sod to raise crops. A thin trull of smoke ou tho horizon marked a field where a traction engine with Its retinue of plows wus turuiug over the native sod in the first step of making a farm out of tho prairio The same level topography prevails along the railroad from the northwest corner of the county to the place where it enters the sandhills at the southeast corner. Alliance stands out ou a slightly elevated portion of the alfalfa has made a good growth, was of a good color and perfect stand. The success of ulfalfa on these plains augurs well for their future in crop I production for it solves the humus problem If the farners will only apply the solution. We saw very little corn, but the early-sown small grain com pared favorably with eastern sections of Nebrasku. One field of full rye on over lu the direction of the Ratid hills' region. When wo came close to the hills we could see that there was a well' defined line seperating the sand hills from the "hard lands." Some of the finest fields of grain we have seen this year were in th's neighborhood east of Alliance. About six miles out we visited the farm of Mr. Geo. Doug las who has been very successful in growing alfalfa. We do not think that we have 6een a better growth of alfalfa this year than was standing on Mr Douglas' fields almost rendy for the mower. It was almost waist-high and very thick. Certainly It wns u pleasure to look upon these fields and then away across the grass-covered plain toward Alliance, and beyond, and try to hnaglue what tills country will be when every quarter section has an ulfalfa Held such as these. We baw some flourishing brome grass on tho trip, too, which indicated the possibil ities of tame grass culture here. The country has a somewhat bare appearance as have all new countries where trees have not yet been plauted. Only a suiull percentage of the land hus as yet been broken up. Conse quently the plains have very much of a prairie complectlon. Everywhere there is u carpet of native green with here and there a variation in color that murks the location of a grain tieul. The black patches streaked with green nre potato fields where the crop is just getting under headway for its seasonal work of filling tho cel lars with "spuds.' Potatoes are a crop well udapted to the soil and climate of the Box Butte Will Retire from Ranch Johu Lcith is one of the many pros' perous ranchmen tiiat The Herald numbers among its friends. He called at our office yesterday to set his sub scription a year ahead, and incidental ly remarked to the editor that he had decided ou accouut of advancing age to retire from his ranch fifteen miles west of Alliance, and accordingly has listed the same for sale with the real estate firm of Dinccn, Rubendall & Young. His ranch is a money-making place, has two creeks on it, a ten acre grove, and other features that make it quite desirable for stock raising, or stock raising and farming combined. Wo believe that whoever gets it will be fortunate, as we believe it is bound to become more valuable as the years go by. Free Rooms For Girls. Hemingford Happenings. Charley Davison is building t large, barn ou his farm. E. L. Everett went to Alliance OU business Tuesday. C. Klemke and wlfo went to Seattle to attend tho fair Monday. M. I'. Solbcrg nnd family nro visiting at Carl Fostroin's at present. Mr. nnd Mrs. Burleigh went to Craw, ford to colcbrato Thursday. Quito n crowd went to Crawford Friday and Saturday to eclobrnto. Mrs. Alox Muirhcad went to Omaha Saturday to take medical treatment. Mr. nnd Mrs. Dailcy are tho proud parents of a baby boy born July 5U1. - Joe Kulin is layed up with a sore foot caused by running a nail into it. l'etc Jensen is building n large, new house ou his farm southeast of here Esther Necland returned from Creto Tuesday to slay awhile ou tho farm. Mr. McGogy from near Belmont was hero looking for lumber last week Mrs. Curry nnd son, Robert, went to Alliance Thursday to see Dr. Hand again. Mtb. Emery Abloy went to Seattle Thursday to visit relatives and take in tho fair. Mtb. Daisy Kohnnan was thrown from a horse Saturday and bruised up quite badly. D. W. Butler went to Alliance to spend tho 4th with his family, return- ing Tuesday. Ray Woods and GladyB Burleigh went to Alliance for a couple, of dayB' visit last week. Mrs. Rolla Johnson rotnrnod from Alliance Thursday where she bad been shopping a few days. Clair Mcwhirler from Alliauco is taking Mr. Douglas' place as operator at tho depot during his absence. Mrs, Anderson, mother of John. Au dcrson and Mrs. Strong, is hero for a short visit, coming Thursday last. Lillian Blanchard was here for an over night's stay with Mra Kulricr be fore going to her homo at Chudron. The eclobratiou at Henry Wluten'o on July 5th was attended by a large crowd and a good time was reported by all. Clark Olds and wife and Henry Ely wero among thoso going to Crawford Thursday to attend the Odd Fellows' meeting. 1 Mr. and Mrd. Schumacher canto" here front Orleans, Nebr., Tuesday for a visit with their sister, Mrs. Henry Wintcn, Mrs. Sourwain came home from Marsland Thursday where she went a Couple of weeks ago to undergo a,n opcrntlotli Ed Wildy sojourned to Alliance Thursday where ho was married to Sylvanla Potmcsil from Kuunlngwatcr. They wont to the coast on a wedding tour. Neighboring Notes Scottsblufl is planning to secure an al falfa meal mill. At tho special election held in Morrill county last Tuesday to vot6 on tho propo sition to bond tho county for a sum suffi cient to erect a good, substantial court house at Bridgeport, tho proposition car ried by a majority of five votes in a total of 559. Oaf about two-thirds ot the total voto of the county was polled. County Clerk W. C. Mount of Box Butte county was in town last Tuesday looking up tho mortgages recorded to tho credit of Box Butte county residents and on which they will now bo required to pay taxes. He found a goodly number that will add ma terially to tho rcvenuo ot his county. Bridgeport News-Blade, July 2, Mrs. lohn King returned from a trip to Hot Springs, Alliance, and Denver Mon day, and went out to visit her parents at their homo at North Highland. Mr. King remained inAllianco for a few days. Bay ard Transcript, July 3. Ranch for Sale I will sell my ranch, consisting of 530 acres of deeded land and one school section. Two sections adjoin ing can bo secured as homesteads and included in the ranch. Most of tho laud is level and can ho tanned. Im provements consist of six miles of three wire fence, two windmills and good wolls, supply tanks, two fair houses, etc. Will, anil cheap, if taken soon. 2,000 casli; time tpsuit purchaser on balance, mortgage1 qn deeded land to ho given as security. Call on me If you aro interested. Jas. Potmesil. .Long Lake, Nebr.. 2 miles weal of P. 0. 28-3W Before ordering anything in tho line of office supplies of traveling salesmen or mail prder houses call up tho West ern Office Supply Co., and let them show you samples. Phono 58 or 340. Pure Bred Poultry. Choice R. C Leghorn cockerels for sale. Eggs 50 cents per setting. Call or write Mrs, Ai Gregory, ttiarRlandj Nebr. xS-tViyVv If you need help of any kind, tell ad many people as passible. There are more than 40,000 people who subscribe for The Omaha Bee. Vott dan tell them all for one cent per word per day Write today. 1 j BUYERS and We Get Them Together MUTTON, Hemingford KNEE DEEP, AND THEN SOME, IN THE ALFALFA FIELD OF MK. OFOKGE Don.LAS M Mi ALLIANCE. "Domestic Art" is a new department which the National Corn Exposition an nounces for this year, and a long list of prizes will be offered for sewing and work in home decoration. The womans depart ment this year will be known as the Do mestic Science and Art Department. To direct this important and interesting department, Miss Jessica Oesack has again been selected by the exposition manage ment and Miss Hesack has many plans for the young women. Though she is now "going to school" herself at Columbia Uni versity, New York City, Miss Hesack an nounces that she has made the same ar rangements as last year to take care of "her girls." When they come to Omaha in December to take the short course, and attend the exposition, they will be provid ed free of charge with high class dormitory accomodations where they can live for two weeks just as they would at the best girl's boarding school in the country. These dormitories, under the care of the church es of Omaha, are so located that young women take the car at the exposition grounds and get off at their temporary Lome without chance. Miss Hesack main tains an office in Omaha and her assistants are working out the plans while she is working in the laboratories and art depart ' meat at Columbia. Have you a farm to sell or exchange? It costs only a cent a word per day to run an advertisement in The Omaha Bee. It will reach over 40,000 sub scribers and is almost sure to find a buyer. Write today. The Old Reliable Hardware, Harness and Implement Firm I In order to make room for new goods will make special prices on Buggies, Spring and Farm Wagons Agent for the well known Deering Hay Tools and Harvesters and J. I. Case Threshing Machines. In HARNESS My motto: "How Good; Not, How Cheap." Antoin Uhxigr I EMINGFORD, NEBR. N. Livery and Feed in connection FROHNAPFEL Hemingford, Nebraska Funerals attended with Hearse