The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1866-05-17

MA I IL, 1866.
there were many opportunities offered fol
speculation in farms and unimproyed
lands. but most of the uncompromisife
Rebs, who were determined to sell at all
hazards, have done so, and left the State
A better state Of feeling now exists and
1 land owners are induced by the heavy
emigration to put up the prices of their
lands and improved farms They are still
cheap. however, when compared with lands
i of similar quality in Ohio and elsewhere.
After looking over this portion of the
! country, l returned by rail to Sedalia, and
| took a spanker (they call it a stage) for
the southwest, passing through Pettis.
Benton, Hickory, Polk and Green counties,
arriving in Springfield, the great center
I of trade and attraction for all southwest
ern Missouri before the completion of the
Pacific road; since the completion Of this
| road, Springfield has lost the heaviest por-
tion of her commercial interest. The town
OF Springfield is virtually dead, and will
so remain. until the completion Of the
South West Branch of the Pacific Road.
I The town has been a handsome and fiou-
| rishing place. but is now in dila apidated
/ condition. 1t is situated Oh the top of the
| Ozark Mountain, one thousand feet above
! the level of St. Louis. Yet it seems to be
! almost level, the ascent being so gradual.
able looking homes, out from the business
| portion of the tow II. amid fine shade trees,
vines and shrubhery. nearly all Of which
/ have neat out-houses for their servants.
giving it the air of Southern life. The
! business portion of the town is compactly
built. but mainly OF one and tWO-story
frame structures. agT -la
| In coming from .Seda1ia to this place.
one experiences all the variations incident
| to stage travel in a new country. such as
I carrying q rail, walking up the hills. bow
ing to those in front OF You, till politeness
becomes bore, and you think you viii
never indulge in such Il ridiculous habit
again. There is much fine prairie land i'll
the counties through which | passed in
coming to this place, but Improvements
are very rarely met With along the road.
/ they having been destroyed during the
war; other portions, especially in Polk
county, are very broken and stony. War
saw, the county seat Of Benton county. is
/ situated OH the Osage River and was 4
thriving business town before thewar, but
is now sadly used up, with but dim pros
poets for the future. Several Of the best
brick houses were burned, and Gen. Ere
mont tore down some Of the frame ones, to
| bridge the Usage, when he passed his army
over. In the spring of the year, when the
Usage is on a sweIl, small boats run up
from St. Louis to Warsaw, and sometimes
as far as Oceola, the county seat of St.
| Clair county, which must be quite a relief
| to the inhabitants, if they have any taste
for civilization, and L suppose they have,
for l asked a lady on the cars the other
day if she. resided in Missouri? and she
replied, eyes, I'm a Missouri Puke."
think the name is very appropriate when
/ applied to the natives; for instance, / met
an old gent and his wife in the cars, who
were going to Indiana to see a sick son :
the old man told me it was the first time
| he had been on a car, and he was afraid it
would make him sick. After riding seve-
raj miles, I appealed to the old chap to
know how he felt; said he. g / feel purity
| bad about it, but it haint made me puke
yitr'
This southwestern Missouri is destined
to be one of the finest and most desirable
portions of all the western country. It is
now rapidly filling up with different
class of people from those who formerly
inhabited it; men of intelligence, indus
| try and perseverance are coming here by
thousands, and they will, in the course of
a few years, begin to develope the mineral
and agricultural resources of this State,
/ in manner heretofore unthOught of by
| the natives. L ain not much of farmer
by practice, but my opinion is that farm
| ing cannot be made very profitable in this
portion of the State until there are rail-
road communication opened up with the
great mining regions of the West; towns
and cities built up, and all kinds manu-
featuring interests represented, there
by creating means of consumption
4 for products of the country. There is no
reason why stock raising cannot be made
/ very profitable here--cattle. sheep and
/ mules. can be kept at Little or TO expense
| there. being millions of acres of the best
/ grazing i'll the world, at the option of any
who see proper to use it. The climate here
/ is pleasant and healthy, water pure, clear
and abundant. / saw several good sized
| brooks emanating from springs. The in
! habitants claim this to be the fruit coun-
/ try in the world, but the world is large
and they have not seen it all; yet, [ am
convinced that all kinds of fruit known to
ourlatitude will produce abundantly here,
not being so Liable to injury by frost as in
many other places wild grapes and plums,
OF fine quality; grow, spontaneously.
1t is generally supposed in Ohio and else
where that it is unsafe for Northern men
to travel through this portion Of the State
[ desire to disabuse the minds ofmy friends
in WyandOt who entertain such an idea
| Gf there, are any such) in regard to the
state of society here have been over a
considerable portion of the State and have
felt as secure as / possibly could at home.
l was apprehensive before leavine Ohio,
that l might be molested, but [ find that
the worst class of men have left the State,
and the remaining Rebels, and their SYM
pathizers are disposed to conduct them
selves peaceably and attend to their own
business l find very vulgar and un-
necessary practice prevailing here, more
especially among the young men-that of
| carrying revolvers.. You can hardly see a
/ young man in the country any where
without one or two pistols strapped to his
person.. / find no fault with those engaged
in transporting merchandiz from the rail-
road to the interior, for they have to camp
out several nights during the trip, and
/ might need that kind of defense against
robbers, who infest all countries to a great
4 Or less extent.
Iwould say to my friends, that should
any of them contemplate emigrating to the
West. by all means visit this State, and
judge for yourselves. cah not see with
your eyes, sheither can judge as correctly
as those possessing more knowledge and
experience; but, for myself, can say, that
l saw thousands of acres of the most beau%
tifu1 country my eyes ever beheld, and
some day (though it may be many years
hence it. will all be made to blossom as
the rose, and : flow with milk and honey
How true is this, % Homes for all in Free
Missouri ~ L will return to st. Louis, go
up the Mississippi and cross into Iowa,
, then through Illinois, and back to Ohio
by which time think / will have taken
a pretty good prospecting tour and, know
more Of tlle West than ] did before start