BUFFALO HERALD
August 26, 1887

INVITATION TO DAKOTA

Don't prate about our cyclones, our blizzards, and our storms;
Don't weary us with chestnuts on the way the wind performs;
These years were long ago called in - it's time we had our due -
It's time to drop these fairy tales and give us something new.

Come out and get acquainted ; don't stay at home and pout;
We only ask inspection to remove all honest doubt;
We have cattle by the thousand and corn and hay galore;
We could feed the half of Europe and still have plenty more.

Just come and see our wheat crop, our No. 1 hard red;
Of all the favored western states its place is at the head -
Our famous cattle ranches, too, the highest praise command,
And nowhere on this continent is better grazing land.

To our education system we can point with honest pride;
Graded schools and college buildings meet the eye on every side;
Churches raise as if by magic, and cultured homes appear,
Where once the humble shanty housed the sturdy pioneer.

Dakota Bell

This poem printed in 1887, by the Buffalo Herald is almost as fitting today as it was then. Visit North Dakota and experience the prairie for yourself. There is solitude in its' vast expanses. Where puffy little clouds float across the deep blue skies, and true serenity seems possible.