The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-01-20

ton IOf III prairie IarIiss destitute OF TIM
Der, cannot be cultivated successfully,
then, except for stock.raising, Kansas viii
prove of but little value. Ii the prairie
farmer is TO be at the mercy of the owner
of timber, and tree tops for fuel are to be
sold at five dollars per cord, as in some
locations now, it will be long before the
Territory is changed into apopulousState.
Goal has been found at several points
already, living bare where it crops out OF
the bluffs, and indications Of Its presence
are abundant throughout the Territory
and the Usage orange grows in perfec-
ton, from which an impervious hedge is
formed the next year. &
"In such country, thus supplied,
aeither log cabin nor rail- fence should
ever be built For fences, the Usage or
aRge will probably be found. in general,
the cheapest, as well as the most beautiful
material. Yet in very many locations
stone fence can be constructed, as is be.
lieyed, at one dollar per rod; and this
has one great advantage over all others
it will stop the prairie fire."
BUILDING MATERIAL" Most of the
cabins in Kansas are pointed up or filled
TN between the logs, with this material.
1t dries SO hard as to ring to the stroke,
and We have no doubt that, with bricks
from this soil. dwellings much cheaper
aud much better than log cabins, can be
constructed.
"Should the settlers construct their
first dwellings either of stone or with
gravel walls, or from these adobes, they
would be dry and warm, and sickness
would in great measure be avoided.
"Sun-dried bricks have been extern
sively used in the large plains, both of
the Old and New World, where timber is
scarce, and they will form an available
material in Kansas. Still they have not
hitherto commended themselves to Amer
ican taste and judgment, and perhaps no
necessity for their use will ever be found
in Kansas
MARKETS." The price of horses, OK
en-, COWS, and mules, is about the same
as it is in Missouri, Ohio, and Kentucky.
The price of corn, wheat, and other
grains, is, on account of the drouth, ex-
tremely high corn, one dollar and fifty
cents per bushel; wheat -four, six to six
dollars and twenty five cents per cwt.,
and other things in proportion and at
these prices there is home market for
more than has been produced.
Such state of things will not con-
tinue, but a home market for the produc-
tons of Kansas viii be found, for long
period, at prices equal to those of the
States-and this will make fortunes for
those who will be content to enter at once
into the steady and systematic cultivation
of the soil, instead of being beguiled by
the more dazzling promise of the vari-
Gus speculations so common in newly
opened country
MINES AND MANUFAcTUREs.-" As
has been already stated, bituminous coal,
of an excellent quality, seems to abound
The limestone of the country is the car
boniferous limestone, and in the bluffs, in
various places, it crops out in veins from
fifteen to twenty inches thick and the
indications are, that the quantity is abun-
dant and widely diffused.
1T is the same formation as that on
the eastern side of the Missouri. The
strata, on both sides, dip slightly toward
the bed of the river, and on the east side
in Missouri, the beds of coal are thicker
and of better quality as we recede from
the river, until some beds in the interior
are twelve feet thick. Such was the in.
formation given us on the spot"