Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1870-09-06
Letter from Kansas Radicalism of the
Kansans-The Country-stock Rails
lng-Osage Orange for Hedges.

EDITOR HERALD Again / drop
you a few lines from the frontier,
though, perhaps, it will be useless to
attempt to draw the attention of
your readers from the Rhine to the
Arkansas.
To begin with the weather, as one
usually opens conversation, we
have had such weather as | hear Of
from all parts of the world--a long
term of very hot, dry weather, sue
ceeded by heavy rains. The rains
came to late to affect the crops
either for good or i'll, the only prac.
tical effect being to make damp
work of the hay business.
A paper has just been started in
the county, called the Wichita W
dette. 1t is neat looking seven col
umn sheet. Tie prospects are good
for two railroads in the county, and
bridge across the Arkansas at Wi
chita within a year.
| saw an article in tie Herald,
some time ago, stating that many
Wisconsin men in Kansas had the
Wisconsin, feUer. Now there are sew
eral Wisconsin men and women in
this valley and | think none of them
are affected by that fever or any va
riety of inconsistencies. They are
all very enthusiastic in regard to
Kansas, and especially the Arkansas
valley. And the past has furnished
ample proof that the enthusiasm. OF
men in the far West is not that vain
and vaporing kind that ends in
words, but that earnest and practical
kind that has wrought wonders as
well as imagined them.
The extreme radicalism of most OF
the Kansans is noticeable. They
are radical on all the issues of the
day. This is not so strange, for it is
not characteristic of q natural con-
sentative to break away from the
things and places to which he has
been accustomed in the past and
cast in his lot among q new order of
things where every thing points to
the future consequently few of the
conservative class find their way out
here. On the other hand, the semi
barbarous roughs of the plains and
mountains are generally sympathi-
zers with the ex-slaveholding gentry
and advocates Of all their ideas and
institutions, including bowie knives
and revolvers. The contact with an
ignorant, degraded race, and the
manner eff treating that race, as well
as freedom from the restraints OF
law, has worked to produce this sim
ilarity of character and feeling.
Our broad prairies and bottoms
are, as yet, all unfenced, though all
the settlers are starting hedge rows
Of Usage orange. This plant thrives
well here and is said to make good
fence in three years. These prairies
never can compete with the woods Of
Missouri in raising hogs, but it seems
that with their extensive and boun.
teous pasturage and climate sc
mild that the winters of Wisconsin
are Arctic to it, the world has no
their superior in raising cattle o.
sheep. For q new country, this il
remarkably free from wolves anC
other wild animals, so that sheer
could be herded quite safely wher'
the range is unlimited.
1 The great Texan cattle trail passes
through here on its way to Abilene
About 100000 cattle have passed
over it this summer. Most of thu
stock in this vicinity is Texan
Oxen are from $65 to SIS q yoke
cows, FROM 81 to $40 ; ponies, from
$50 to $50. American horses ar,
scarce and dull of sale at about Wis
consin rates. Native" cattle ar
scarce and high.
There is no mill nearer Sedgewicl
than Eldorado, thirty-fve miles dis
tant. There are several good site
for water mills on the Little Arkan
sas, and it is probable that one O
them will be improved soon, for tn
demand is great. G. III.
sedgewick, Kansas, Aug. IA, 1870.