drainage is so inadequate that water stands on it a greater part of the year. The soil has a bluish-black color and contains a high percentage of vegetable matter, which is generally not thoroughly decompose when first cleared. With some open-ditch drainage, it raises exce! lent crops of hay, especially timothy, but much labor and expens are necessary to drain it sufficiently for corn and other grain crops. The land adjoining this low marsh land is usually a sandy loam o a clay loam, gently rolling and productive.

There exist within the area soils adapted to almost every crop suitable to the climate. The principal crops grown are corn, whea oats, hay, and potatoes. Some of the soils in the southeastern part of the settlement are especially adapted to white potatoes, and this crop is grown extensively.

NEW CARLISLE COLONY.

Historical.

This colony, confined almost wholly to Olive Township, extend from near Terre Coupe to Crumstown, a distance of about 8 miles It is divided by an impassable marsh or swamp into two sections The northern section of the colony, which was settled first, extends from the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad to the mars. or swamp about 4 miles south. This northern division of the colony was settled almost as thickly before the land south of the marsh w opened up as it is at the present time. The Poles did not begin to settle south of this marsh until about 1882, and since then about 40 families have come in and bought farms.

The colony is made up of German Poles, who began to settle ther about 1869, but the greatest volume of immigration to the section. arrived about 1870 and 1871 to escape military service in the France Prussian war.

The large tract of land where the settlement is now located was covered with timber and owned at this time by three lumbermen wh were operating sawmills. In 1869 or early in 1870 two or three Pol came to South Bend from Chicago in search of employment. Sout Bend was then only a small town and, the industries there bein small, they were unable to get work immediately. Learning of sawmill operated by a German about 10 miles from South Bend they secured work there and in a short time were joined by son of their friends, who found employment in this and other mills in th neighborhood. The Polish immigrants, who were employed as labe ers about the mills and as lumbermen, formed the nucleus of what ha now developed into a large and prosperous Polish agricultur settlement.

After most of the timber had been removed, one firm which owned great part of the timber tract north of the marsh became insolven and the land, together with other property was taken over by a loc banker who held mortgages on all the property. The land surfa was low and wet, but large ditches had already been cut throug portions of the tract, which had drained most of the neighborin land of surface water. This banker at once began to sell the land $10 per acre, allowing unlimited time for payment. Since practical all the timber of any value for lumber had been removed, the lan.

was thought to be almost valueless. The Poles who had been employed in the lumber camps began to buy this land because it was cheap and they could get favorable terms.

The first Pole to purchase was one of the sawmill hands, who bought in 1872 or 1873, and, as some of the mills were being closed and work was growing slack, several others did likewise, and within a very short time their friends from neighboring towns were beginning to come out and invest in land. Little trouble was experienced in securing purchasers. No advertising was necessary, the first purchasers were joined by their friends who wanted farms, and in turn these friends introduced others of their race.

Pioneer experiences.

The first ten years of the colony's existence were the most trying. About forty families bought land during that period. Between 1880 and 1890 the community experienced its greatest growth, when, it is estimated, fully fifty families came to the locality, the majority from industrial communities. It was in 1882 that that part of the colony south of the dividing marsh was begun. Most of these settlers were from South Bend, but some came from eastern States and from other industrial centers in the Middle West. All of these people had been employed in industries in this country for several years and had some money to begin with. The prevailing price for the low land was $10 per acre, but as the distance from the marsh increased the price rose steadily up to $50 per acre 3 or 4 miles out. The greater number of Poles bought low land at $10 per acre and began immediately to improve it.

Many of the colonists paid cash for their land, while others made only a small payment, generally from one-half to two-thirds of the purchase price and gave a mortgage on the land for the balance. Those who had too little money to buy a team and wagon frequently worked out until they could do this, usually buying the cheapest to be found. With the aid of the team they would clear their land and haul away the wood to market. The railroad and the manufacturing plants at South Bend used wood as fuel and there was a brisk demand. Had there not been a ready sale for the wood, the life of the early colonists would have been much harder; as it was their experience was very severe. Most of them paid what ready money they had toward their land and for teams and other equipment. Many had too little money to pay for capital equipment at the time of purchase. The first consideration was to build a house and barn. These were usually built as cheaply as possible and hence were far from comfortable.

For the first few years the greater part of the winters and early springs were spent in clearing the land and draining it to prepare it for breaking. The cleared ground was planted to crops in the summer and often cared for by the women and smaller children while the heads of the families worked for others. Under these conditions, with all the land to be cleared, and money raised to meet payments and with the new land subject to crop failures, the living was not very abundant. Many were enabled only by sales of cord wood and opportunities for employment offered by the American farmers in neighboring communities to make ends meet. The women and children worked

with the men, and it was not unusual to see a woman chopping wood or helping her husband saw trees into logs. When the head of the family got outside work the women and children raised the crops. Notwithstanding the unfavorable conditions, the early settlers did not show any disposition to abandon the enterprise, and there were recruits every year. There have never been any desertions worthy of mention. A few families, not more than six or eight, left the colony after buying land. Some of these sold their farms and went back to industrial centers to find employment or to engage in business; others sold out at a profit and went farther west where land was cheap.

Present progress.

All the old settlers are well established and have paid for their farms. The majority have added to their purchases, and many of the first settlers have made money by buying cheap land, improving it, selling to newcomers at a profit, and then buying more unimproved land. By this process many have acquired large holdings of very valuable land. There are now (in 1909) about 140 families, 850 individuals, belonging to the Polish Catholic Church located in this community. All are agricultural families. Only about twelve are tenants, the others are landholders, and most of them have an absolutely clear title to their land. Of the families above mentioned. about twelve are Poles of the second generation who were reared in the neighborhood and who, in most instances, have succeeded their parents in the occupancy of the farm.

It is only within the past eight or ten years that the Poles have been settling in the community as tenant farmers, a condition brought about by the fact that the available supply of cheap land has been exhausted and by the consequent high price of improved lands. From one to three families have come to the farms in the community each year for the past ten years and many have bought land, but more money is required now than formerly; it is impossible under present conditions to operate a farm successfully without some capital. Land costs more, and the favorable terms of purchase under which the first settlers bought can not be obtained. More machinery and stock are necessary. It is doubtful if any newcomer could succeed without enough money to pay at least one-half of the purchase price of the land and from $600 to $2,000 additional to buy stock and farming implements. These conditions have caused many to rent land instead of buying it. All the settlers who have come within the past fifteen years have been people who had spent years in industrial pur suits and had saved enough money to make a substantial payment if not enough to pay all in cash.

Soil.

The soils of this particular area may be grouped in two general classes, muck and loam. The muck or "marsh" lands, they are locally called, constitute a very large part of this area. This land is very low, and before crops could be grown on it drainage was necessary. Large main drainage ditches have been cut through the area and smaller ditches tributary to these drain the farms. The pure muck soil is found in spots varying from a few acres to

eral square miles in area along all the streams in the vicinity. til thoroughly drained, it is fit only for pasture and hay. From o 3 tons per acre of low-grade marsh grass or timothy can be ›duced.

The texture of this soil improves with drainage and cultivation. usually represents deposits of partly decomposed organic matter xed with particles of soil. Where the land has been cleared and ained and oxidation has taken place, the soil has usually a deep ck color and is very productive. Underlying this muck soil is a osoil of very compact clay, varying in thickness from 12 inches to eet. Natural drainage is very poor on the muck, due to the nearss of this hardpan to the surface and the level contour, which perts little surface drainage.

ROLLING PRAIRIE.

The settlement in the vicinity of Rolling Prairie is like the one near is in that it is scattered over a considerable area. It lies in parts of ur townships in the northeast corner of Laporte County. The Cathc church, which is located about 4 or 44 miles northeast of the vilge of Rolling Prairie, is probably near the geographical center of the ttlement.

Historical.

This settlement began about 1871 or 1872 and under circumstances ry similar to those prevailing in the community just east of it in St. seph County. It was at a time when the Poles of Prussia were emiating from that country in great numbers. Opportunities for indusial employment were not very favorable, and a few came to Rolling rairie from Chicago. They were given employment by large landolders. During the winter months they cleared land, and in the immer they were employed as farm laborers. In two years ten or velve families were settled in the neighborhood, and more were ming. They began farming by leasing woodland, clearing it, and utting it into cultivation.

At the time there were many farmers who owned large holdings of nimproved land which they wished to bring into cultivation. Few mericans were willing to do the hard work connected with clearing nd fencing the resulting farms, and the Poles readily secured mployment. They found it more profitable to clear land under the ase system or by contract, and very little clearing was done for a pecified wage per day or month. In some instances older settlers ook contracts to clear large tracts and then secured numbers of heir race from other communities or from abroad to help them. The newcomer was soon ready to take a contract for himself. Gen-· rally from one to three years were spent in working at clearing and loing farm work in the summer; then the immigrant would take a rop lease on several acres of woodland.

There were three forms of contracts, agreements, or leases under one of which practically all of the earlier immigrants worked before hey began to farm for themselves.

(1) The landlord gave the party contracting to clear the land a ixed price per hundred for all rails and posts split, which were for use on the farm, a definite price per cord for all firewood cut, and from $3

T

to $8 per acre for clearing the ground of all underbrush and piling and burning the brush. This was the form of contract under which st of the newcomers began, chiefly because the payment was in cash and the Pole needed money.

(2) As soon as the newcomer had made a small beginning he us ally signed a lease by which according to agreement he cleared at fenced the land and was given for this labor all the wood cut from the tract and a certain number of the subsequent crops, usually thre raised on it. However, in some cases only two crops were give and in others as many as five, depending on the quantity of timbere the land and the difficulty of clearing it.

(3) The landlord usually agreed to give the immigrant all the wood rails, and posts cut and three crops from the newly cleared land, ar it was further agreed that all the wood, rails, and posts were to be sol to the landlord at a price agreed upon. This was only a combinatie of some features of the first and second agreements mentioned above.

After getting work so that a cash income was assured the next s of the immigrant was to save enough to buy a team to haul the w to market and break the land cleared under the terms of the leas When the immigrant had provided himself with a team and had ac mulated a few hundred dollars from the sale of wood and crops, 2 soon invested it in a farm. Usually from three to ten years were sper in clearing land and farming under the crop-lease system before t Polish farmers bought farms or rented improved land for themselves

It will be readily seen that the life of the early Polish settler in th community was a hard one in the beginning. The housing accomm dations were poor, in most instances being log cabins or very cheap constructed frame houses. The work was hard and required physic strength and endurance. To save anything from the proceeds labor, the most rigid economy had to be practiced and it was nee sary to work constantly. The settlers' holdings were usually un proved and less convenient to public roads and markets than those their American neighbors, and a great deal of hard work was nee sary to clear and improve them. This was done on small capital, of it by the head and members of his family. At this time the kets were very poor and the roads were bad. There was a ready for cord wood, but it had to be hauled from 4 to 6 miles over a wretche road. There was no sale for surplus garden products, milk, or butter. in fact, no market for any produce but grain and live stock, and t prices paid for these were generally small.

Progress of the settlement.

For about fifteen years this settlement grew very rapidly. Notall those who came stayed. A few after, working long enough to save so money, went farther west to cheaper land. All who bought land h remained. At present there are 65 Polish families belonging to t church here, 18 of whom are of the second generation. Of the families, there are about 12 tenants, while the remainder own valua farms without incumbrances or have a valuable equity in real estat Many Polish immigrants who started twenty-five to thirty-five ago as laborers on farms in the neighborhood now own farms 80 to 3.

acres in extent, well improved and stocked, and have money in bank