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Erstwhile "Happy Hunting
Grounds" of Indians Now
Teeming With Rich Crops
In Early Days Sioux and
Cheyenne Indians, Fond of
Valley on Account of Lush
Grass Along Banks of Platte
and Abundance of Game.
Exploiters have often
gUng the praises of lands
they were placing on the
market in such black-typed
phrases as "The Land of
Opportunity," "W here
' Riches Await You" or
similarly allusive slogans.
How often has the pros
pective homeseeker been
seduced by the cunning
wiles of the "ad" writer's
talent, paid out his hard
won savings for a piece of
this "Land of Opportunity"
only. to find that even the
raising of an umbrella on
the land could be done with
a great deal of difficulty.
Let it be known at the outset
i of this article that the lands de
scribed here are not being ex
ploited and that no brass-lunged
salesmen will be employed to
burden the air with high-sounding
words and alluring descrip
tions nor will 'boxcar" type ad
vertising in the newspapers to
urge homeseekers to make inves
tigations be printed.
Opportunity for Success.
In the great fertile regions of
northwestern Nebraska opportu
ne V awaits the homeseeker, but
'' .iirppxd ran ba roned and tied
-
' only by hard work and exercising '
the brain. There is no place
there for the man who sits down
' th4 waits for success to com to
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little has been said of the won
derful fertility of the North
Platte valley district.
Indians Liked District.
Unsung, except by the hardy
people who live there, the North
Platte valley has gone on year
after year furnishing more than
a liberal living to those who have
stayed by it.
In the early days the Sioux and
Cheyenne Indians were particu
larly fond of this valley. Because
of the nutritious grasses which
grew along the banks of Platte
river and its numerous smaller
mountain fe,d tributaries, it was
a paradise for game hunters and
vast herds of buffalo came there
to graze.
Each year the Indians made
the valley the goal of their hunt
ing expeditions. Erecting their
tepees,' they remained for long
periods obtaining their supplies
of skins and robes and meat for
the long winter ahead of them.
Because of the wealth of game,
the valley became known as a
veritable earthly Happy Hunting
Ground.
Inroads of Whites.
When the whites made inroads
into the west and gradually
pushed the Indians to one side,
the trail westward and to the
great northwest led through this
valley and became known as the
Oregon trail. Hunters, trappers
and scouts found hunting and
fishing ideal Expeditions going
through were fond of tarrying la
this land of plenty. Travelers
told amazing stories of its rich,
ness and fertility, and its reputa
tion was early established. Long
before the now more familiar
portions of Nebraska were known
the North Platte valley was
Known.
Becomes Cattle Country.
With the Indians and bison
gone, and expeditions westward
growing fewer, the cattlemen re
discovered the valley, and it then
became one of the best cattle
countries in the west With 15
or 20 inches of rainfall annually
WMk
and the waters of the Platte and
smaller streams, grass was in
abundance and the cattle grazing
was profitable.
Cattlemen ruled the country
for years before the arrival of
homeseekers who expected to get
their living from tilling the soiL
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THE BEE: OMAHA, SUNDAY, JUNE 19, 1921.
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They found the annual rainfaU
insufficient to assure any degree
of reliability of crops. However,
pioneers that they were, and de
termined to establish agriculture
in that section, they struggled on
against odds, particularly those
who had settled on lands away
from the rivers.
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Excellent Crops.
These men persevered and, de
spite their difficulties, were able
to attract the attention of the
government reclamation service
because of the excellence of their
crops. In 1905 the government
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finally officially recognized the
.importance of the valley as an
agricultural area and began sur
veying with the idea of establish
ing irrigation canals and thus as
suring the reliability of crops.
The government began work
and now the' valley is a network
of irrigation canals, furnishing
water to approximately 500,000
acres of rich farm lands west of
North Platte, on which crops are
unexcelled by those in any other
portion of Nebraska. These 'ca
nals for the most part are fed
from the Pathfinder dam in
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Wyoming, a part of the North
Platte irrigation project
Irrigation Projects.
There is also the Fort Laramie
canal, one of the biggest canals
of the whole project, which will
feed approximately 50,000 acres
of excellent land in western Ne
braska. Private concerns have also
carried out irrigation projects
and water in the valley is assured
for all seasons. And where once
the abundance of the crops could
only be hoped for crops are as
sured. Many farmt L have gettled on
thi irrigated and and today the
North Plat't4 valiey Is corCeded
to be the rost fertiie porti0n of
Nebraska. , Its agricultural prod
ucts are )Lot gused by any
other eti011 statistics prove,
and la 'ny nnet the valley
leads.
Vk$t Fertile Areas.
BecrL. tv. Irrigated dis-
and vast acreage of sugar
on d other sneclal crops the
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8fup contains much of the
r JTv MoTiraalrB land. I IT
course, in inese counues vnero
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are rough areas, but they are
negligible compared with the
vast fertile areas, of which 75 per
cent is tillable. Here are found
some of the. largest and most
highly cultivated ranch properties
in the state, as well as the small
est and most intensively culti
vated farms. Non-irrigated lands
range in price from $15 to ?100
an acre, while land values for ir
rigated farms range in . price
from $100 to $300 an acre.
Of the 72,296 acres of sugar
beets grown in Nebraska last
year 70,000 acres were grown in
the valley. Four sugar factories
are located In the valley.
Principal Crops.
The principal crops are sugar
beets, alfalfa, potatoes, small
grains of all kind and some corn.
Garden crops do well, and large
canning concerns have annual
contracts with growers of these
products. There are a few or
chards, for fruit growing is not
looked upon as favorably as other
pursuits, but small fruits are
most reliable and grown in abun
dance. Thousands of dairy cattle have
been shipped into Nebraska in the
llff HI
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riflst few vean .m -1
. I many oi mess &
fine specimen found Vom6S i
on valley daii;, and form
the nucleus Wexcellent herdsv;
Dairying to tll,, is
i: 2j. - . i
peaung, a t SqUires but small
capital to starind is profitable.
Hog JRaisi Profitable. ,
The raising,
is profitable an(I the i-..
ing cemerBBearfirirtisn an , t,
cellent mar&t-
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Previouslfthe one great dra1
back to the Intensive settlemei
of this Juntry, which Is 16 Oil
v was me insuiiicieat i
t ransporiauon lacuraesri
mere ne Deen g,, road gj.
W8VS all mna 4-....Mm(
was doil i,y go But trta
porting
K ducts to Any fa: away
market
and do
fat a great disadvantage
Intly farmers and stock.
Conse
men t
of a J
'e denied any seleetlbtt.
et -rj
Thl' ftroads are now opeV
,n8f d5 S passenger trains x
enoughl.eiKht trains to take
care of thi i rcitrht orisrinaAi
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