The Kansas herald of freedom., 1856-02-23

dane SpH68e. AscSi iesa'o-J'
the richest and deepest soil, probably. on
the continent. and with geology that
will to all time, supply the recruiting
elements for that, is deprived OF nayiga-
tion and manufacturing facilities -
with a climate, during part of the year,
as delightful as Eden. itself, yet. as
changeable andcapricious as the empire
of eontending forces that control it, va
rating from los or 8 down to e0". and
sometimes 28 OF 30e. below zero with
every essential as to surface and mate
rial for the best of roads, yet, as it were,
an utter impossibility to maintain bridges
on streams subject to such resistless in
undations possessing all the elements
of earthly eSmfort, but denied that easy
and invaluable connection with the rest
of the civilized world on which the per-
fection of human happiness so much de-
pends.
1t is true, time and Improvement will
remedy much of its present evils, and
supply many of its present wants, but
they cannot alter its geographical posi-
ton, nor throw tide water into the chan
mel of the Missouri, nor give volumeto the
Kaw or Kansas, or the smaller rivers OF
the Territory. Nor can they remove
the Rocky Mountains beyond the power
of inficting upoa us those sudden and
extreme changes of temperature, so un-
welcome. and oannoying an interruption
to our out door comfort. You will not.
l hope, con6ne your reading to the peru
sal Of this long letter of mine, but avail
youself of all the means of information
within your reach, and which are "le-
gion, for they are many" Writers on
Kansas are too much like lawyers who
hold their clients faultless, and only
speak of their honesty and virtue. We
are all disposed to lcok on the fair side of
things, because it is more pleasant for US,
and more polite to others; and because,
also, we wish to avoid the suspicion of
being snarling cynic; yet the friend
ship and confidence that have ever exist
ed between us, require the whole truth
to be told, at least as | understand it.
Occupying central position in sovast
continent as ours, with "a distance of
nearly TWO thousand miles from any of
the oceans ofltheearth, it can hardly be
expected to have sufficient supply of
rain, especially when most needed, that
is, the summer season of the year when
Vegetation most requires it. The frozan
regions of the arctic are not reputed the
best nurseries of our watery vapors =
while the wide spread and lofty range of
Rocky Mountains intercept their passage
from the West; we are, therefore, in
debted mainly to the South and East for
the clouds and rains SO much needed In
this arid climate. We need the proxim-
ity of the large lakes of the Northeastern
sections of the Union, and the beauty
and utility of the many thousands ofsmall
inland lakes of the North west, to diver
sify the landscape and give humidity and
refreshing GOODNESS to. our dry and often
heated atmosphere There is another
fact intimately connected with the mete-
orology ofthisterritory and by 1.-THE char
acter Of our climate /. materially affected.
allude to the high altitude Of its gen.
eral surface when compared TO the COM
mon level of the eastern and southern
States, as indicated bv the length and
rapidity of the Mississippi and Missouri
rivers. This relative elevation counter
acts the relative latitudinal position of
the Territory, and promotes those sud
den and extreme changes in the weather
which are SO annoying to our comfort and
disadvantageous to the farming interests.
We are on the western verge of that
great whirlpool of winds, ever playing
and often sweeping over the eastern part
of North America, and which is pro-
duced by the trade winds following the
sun across the Atlantic within the trop-
les, until they meet with the great
mountain backbone of the continent, then,
turning northerly, pass up on the east OF
the Rocky Mountains, until meeting with
the high lands and denser aerial regions
of the north, take an easterly direction
and from those northwesterly winds SO
prevalent in the northern and eastern
States. In the East. westerly winds pre-
vail three days out of four; here in the
Southwest, on more southern segment
of the great circle, the winds blow three
days out of four from the south, and
bring with them most of the rain and
clouds that visit this central and inland
country. It's true we have occasional
" some of those tremendous North
westers" with all their characteristic
force and obsfinacy. On the whole, the
climate is quite unlike any'which ! have
seen or felt before. At times it is ex-
tremely dry-extremely wet-extremely
hot, and extremely cold; indeed every
thing here is on the extremes. We have
the fairest and most beautiful weather,
and then again the worst of storms;-the
blandest air, and then the most relentles:
winds at times parched with drought
then deluged with "Noahdian floods. .
accompanied with unpattened thunder
and lightning on the most sublime and
magnificent scale. Our rains are moi
the result of science, or of well adjusted
physical machinery, working according
to any known and established principles
iof mechanism hut the resultof element