556 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



in places ready for the plow without 

 further drainage. With state ditches, 

 SOT.C of which are already approved 

 by the Drainage Commission, there will 

 be less danger of flooding than in what 

 are considered the best portions of the 

 Red River Valley. Much land on the 

 borders of this rich district north of 

 Upper Red Lake has been taken up as 

 homesteads recently. But to my mind 

 the best of it still remains to be home- 

 steaded, and the man who is willing 

 to undergo some hardships and re- 

 moteness for a year or two will be 

 well repaid for making his home in the 

 Upper Red Lake country. 



We found travel easy on "Beltrami 

 Prairie." Snow-shoeing was good and 

 a fair distance was made each day. 

 Prairie chickens were very plentiful, 

 both the pinnated and sharp tailed 

 species being observed in big flocks. 

 The tracks of foxes and coyotes wound 

 here and there, but it was not until 

 nearing the heads of creeks which 

 drain to the Rapid River that we ob- 

 served tracks of big game, then moose 

 tracks were abundant and we started 

 one which was feeding on the willows 

 along Miller creek. The caribou which 

 range in this locality had gone east 

 toward the headwaters of the Tama- 

 rack, so we did not see any of them 

 on our trip. 



The existence of caribou here has 

 been known for years, but owing to 

 the closed season and to the remote- 

 ness of their range, few of them have 

 been killed by hunters. The Indians 

 have shot a few, but since the swamp 

 has dried up and the mother caribou 

 no longer find safety during calving 

 time on little islands which used to 

 dot the great swamp, the wolves now 

 get practically every calf. 



After crossing "Beltrami Prairie" we 

 entered the hardwood, spruce and 

 cedar forests along the Rapid River, 

 and its tributaries. This is a district 

 of rich soil and heavy growth. What- 

 ever is found growing on a particular 

 piece of land seems to be producing all 

 it can. The trees are tall and the 

 timber yields heavily. It would be dif- 

 ficult to find better stands of poplar, 

 spruce or cedar than are to be seen 



here. There is also considerable ash, 

 birch and soft maple. 



Down the rapid, half way to the 

 "forks," the settlement begins in earn- 

 est and from there on forty miles 

 down to Clementson, where it empties 

 into the Rainy, settlers' cabins and 

 clearings line the beautiful banks. 



Wherever crops have been raised in 

 these clearings the yield and quality 

 have been wonderfully good. Wheat, 

 oats, barley, clover, timothy and root 

 crops yield as well as anywhere in the 

 state, and even tomatoes seem to be a 

 sure crop, which is an indication that 

 summer frosts are lacking. 



Between Baudette and the Rapid 

 River settlements there is a large area 

 of fertile land, much of which had a 

 heavy stand of spruce, cedar, tamarack 

 and birch, until the fire of 1910 swept 

 that locality. There are still patches of 

 green timber, but most of the forest 

 was killed. Some of the land is not 

 difficult to clear and nearly all of it is 

 good farming land when once cleared. 

 A good deal of it has been cut over 

 for pulp wood and cedar. The land 

 was practically all taken up primarily 

 for the timber and can now be bought 

 at very low figures by people desiring it 

 for farms. 



Along Rainy River there is a beauti- 

 ful country. The soil is not quite as rich 

 as on the Rapid River, but is never- 

 theless real good soil. Moreover, the 

 transportation facilities are already 

 fair and markets good along the Rainy. 

 On the Canadian side there are com- 

 paratively old settlements and the 

 farmers are well-to-do. They have not 

 known drouths, summer frosts or other 

 causes of crop failure in thirty years. 

 The proximity to Lake of the Woods 

 on the northwest. Rainy lake on the 

 eastward and Red Lake on the south- 

 west, temper the winds and keep them 

 above the point of frost danger through 

 the growing season. 



The man who watches the Rainy 

 River country for the next ten or fif- 

 teen years is going to see a surprising 

 development or I am badly mistaken. 



