Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1870-09-03
KANSAS.
To the Editor and readers of the Ashtabaa TELEGRAM


Feeling altogether out of the fashion in not
having long since complied with the time hon
ored privilege and practice of the "American
Citizen" abroad, now avail myself of this
rainy day, to place myself right before the neo-
pie by writing letter to the local news paper
of my native County.
Perhaps | may pre- face my letter by saying
here that my object Is to tell my old classmates
and friends who may be interested, what
know about Kansas"-no new theme you will
say, for every person who has crossed her Dord-
ers has dane as | am doing now. Even though
he but crossed a single county or two, and That
on the cars, he must needs write II buncombe
letter concerning the state at large and mus
through malginty and ignorance has the pub
lie mind received as truth, much that Is false
more that ia foolish
But in spite of her many obstacles, in spite
of her Grasshoppers, her droughts, Kansas is
rising rapidly, aye marvelouslY, in wealth
and population, Said A. ID. Richard
son. "God never made more beautiful coun-
try than Kansas" Its surface Is undulating
and graceful here rising TO rock or0wned hill
ley to river or greek boEtlered with belt of
timber. beyond which are valleys and hills
again. As ] came near saying, the oFests of
the high hills are bordered with lime stone
few rods in width, which furnishes not only
lime but plenty of good building material,
fencing, etc, and truth to tell u Is necessary
provision for Kansas. is emphatcally not tim
bcr country. The soil is nearly every where
good, but especially rich in the valleys of the
numerous streams where often rode through
grass, last fall, as high as my head on horse
back Water Is eeFy abundant, the streams of
all sizes being clear, but hard, us is generally
the case in a lime stone country. The timber
is neither plenty nor of good quality, and Is
principally confined to the streams where the
annual prairie fires could not reach and des'
troy 1t as they did oil attempting to grow in
the high prairie, WHARF, IL now grows nicely II
upm oesipd for any considerable time. The
CLIMATE is subject to sudden changes, |, G., If il
is windy now itmay be las windier IN an hour,
for the winds are one of the disagreeable things
-IAppertaiung 10 KsTsas, which are never men,
tioned by land agents and their ilk. In SUM
mer. of course, the ipcessant saa breezes are
very pleasant and greatly modify the other
wise intense heat, but late In autumn and al
through the spring the chill, persistent winds
irritats the new conner with his parched skin
sore lips and red eyes. or the winter months
must cay never saw any SO pleasant as Jan
and Feb, last The roads were dry and hard
| the Seaihetsoftand mild Sc that grass actual
ly started in Jan. From an experience OF TIVE
summers here, judge that the weather is no
, more oppressive, though, PERHAPS, at time
warmer than In 0bia during the day but al
, most always cooler at night, The climate
generally dry and healtbGlTbey9pd any plac
I eyer lived IbelieVe"-fQr most persons, thougl
some are greatly troubled With ague and fever
. upti) they become accllmated The product
/. Of farm and garden are much the same as thos
? Of Northern Ny, and Ohio. go ha sH'Ns iaH
AS to the Grasshoppers-they are not.
= think, different fnom lhose Of any State, fpr Q
. aR old Missourian once said, "the grass-hoI
/, lpers.H you'll helieYe ib.aeipally crossed ~
q 2 line into Mo-" which shows thai they ore nc
. peculiar to Kansas alone, OF at least that the
" do not care for state boundaries as they ough
b Last year was the wet ygarss aPd this u