IN DAKOTA. 107 
for his success, | wanted to have him near me so [ 
could render him assistance, if necessary. I thought 
the matter over very carefully, and finally decided to 
have him buy 80 acres of railroad land. There was 
a quarter section near my farm that could be had for 
$5 an acre. I would buy half of it myself and Hardy 
could take the other half. His first payment would 
be $90, and there would be nothing more to pay, 
except a small amount of interest, for two years. 
He would be near a good market, and where I could 
help him if he should need it, and for the present 80 
acres would be enough. If he got able to take more 
land after a while no doubt he could get it. 
I told him what I had decided on as best for him 
to do—told him that by going farther out he could 
get a quarter-section of government land free, except 
the land office fees, and he might possibly get a tree- 
claim also, giving him 320 acres in all—and laid the 
case before him as fairly as I] could. He decided at 
once. 
“Tl take the 80 acres now, Tom,” he said. “ It 
will make us a good home—something we've been 
hoping and striving for along time. After we get 
that if we want more land I presume we can get it.” 
WAS IT BEST? 
Some readers will criticise my advice to Hardy, and 
say it would have been better for him to have gone 
out and taken government land. Possibly it might, 
but there would have been some risk in it. The man 

