New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-09-03
LIFE IN THE NEW COUNTRY.
THE FORTUNES or UNION COLONY.

UNDER THE THATCH IN STORM.
GREELEY Colorado, Aug. Knight before
last was lovely The shone brightly and the gJi
in white dresses fingered with their beaus, the return
from singing school, admiring the heavens Bat about
midnight the wind arose. the covering Of felt on or roo
ad as precaution, and preparatory TO adding tar and
g1ave stripped off and sent flying the prairie
and the tapping of loose boards the tipping over OF
whatever tpabe made the night as hideons as the
when the King murdered by Macbeth &C0mpah!'
Had rain followed, and water poured down on Us t"o
who had been in haste to lodge I'm the paii'r '
Is to be, things would have been as Lively hSlue %
out, but came, and morning dawhed az 'io I'm
raw as IL we out at Some OF the i"'
sleep in the shanty and our stove stu Sianu @ 80
facing the East; and 20 a distant spectator ''V -
while breakfast was cooking, and wihe INC ' -.
furous,y ont Of the one Joint of pipe was shf " %
OF shalfdismantled steamer when I"o' '"e ~, ~
umphant over the storm of the night N.ei "ii' '"o
coae was snperb and the beefeak so tenGer as 10 DO
worthy of mention. Going down town iOnu 'no PoVp0
an ,bar and the houses standing, but there We're Due
60 and recent corners, who have not yet been pep
pered complained grievously One maa VINO hau tiaf-
eled all the day before to find corner STAKES eed the
concern swndle, while women, newly come, and with
none but borrowed bedding, found the night doletul
enough Many OF us what called nice folks used
TO good houses and decent breakfasts but to lodge the
first night here somehow, and while the wind blows,
is sad experience and as for the women, know or
nothing that takes the starch out quicker Our houses
there only dwelling which is completely finished
that is lathed pasered and painted but great many
are well under way. large proportion are ony
weather-boarded; some have no roofs and on tha'
night the wind poured in like a cataract, making the
saw horses dance and the boards clatter as II they
chartered. II is discussed among those who now
whether the wind blows harder here than in Illinois or
Iowa and many who seem TO know deny that 1t blows
as hard But must be confessed that there is pecu-
liar ercenes the breath Of this wind even It's faint
coming shril the piping in ships cordage;
in fact it is mountain wind and it well might be- for
we are on an elevation Of $500 feet, though nobody
would suspect it, valley broad and fair as
the charmed one of Genesee.
1t was too cold hang around town. for there are no
stoves set up where sit and tell stories OF grum-
b and came back and went to hoeing potatoes After
all there is nothing like work to support the heavy
hearted Potatoes selling in market at five cents
pound and they by no means plentiful which
shows that the ranchmen up the streams do not raise
much that they want 20 raise much money for small
crops Yesterday of our members brought In SACK
fun he had raised planted about the middle OF May ana
eight careessy selected, weighed eight pounds Finer
potatoes grown anywhere, and yet the tops
were still green At last it has been discovered that the
soil is poor First the fear that the SOIL was 30
poor would produce nothing; next that cattle could
live the dry grass next that rattesnakes or In
dams would drive out; but have fallen upon
greater fear than all, which is, that when we fairy
get to farming We shall raise much produce
that find market Tor IL.
II is be hoped that before reach thisplehora we
shall have snug houses, with bedrooms so far away
from kitchen that the who has liberty TO be lazy
the morning will not be awakened by the rafting OF
stove, and that it will be to tap the
door when breakfast is ready. As to overstOckng
the market dare say there is no possible danger.
because we have region OF country to supply as largo
as England and, besides the amount OF land that
can be cultivated is limited to about 100000 acres. But
say that this tlable land has power of produe
ton beyond anything 1 saw, unless ii be on the
Mississippi bottoms Potato vines completely cover the
ground corn-feld s a swamp and all kinds of garden
vegetables are uniformly large and of first quality
had commenced hoeng potatoes with my overcoat
gloves but the weather moderated and they
were laid aside. stated in my last letter that manure
this soil is likely to prove failure, and now must
mention another drawback which is, we have no weeds
To hoe potatoes and hour after hour In this nne
mellow soil is the most dseouragng and apparently use
less work / ever engaged in and have longed for
good of weeds that might cut right and left or to
see something among the hills that would obhge me
10 soop but all in vain To speak of wedding the garden
il an absurdity. Some time ago pgweed was round
and hOed and cared for properly but going thlther
few DAYS ago. il gone and either the hens or some
insect must have destroyed it, Still, will keep on
hoeng from habit and it is probably useful to stir the
soil aud let in the air though it cannot be more mellow
The only enemy to the potato, so far is the COLORADO
potato bug but patch the hens ana the sKunK5
keep them in check and the help of several
hens and pick up crumbs by the shanty door,
and there are birds similar to snipe, which through
The garden and along the ditch, hunting for the little
fishes OF the cucumber and squash bug, nothing has
yet been Our peas the Champion of England are
magnificent and the pods remarkably well filed
Sousshes have the table some days, and cucum
ber planted June 25 nearly grown The vines have
stocky growth like the Delaware grape, and when one
puts his hands among the leaves they are
found crisp and fresh as newiy-starched
muslin dress 1 hope 1 have seen the last OF
raising cucumbers in country where it rains,
or where the want of rain they hang back and the
bugs nearly asast they grow, when they
do bear half bitten, and where too, other vegea-
bes are scorched or drowned and there is progress
sometimes one way and sometimes another That is
Of sickly feeling has in seeing potato vines
which promised 80 much spread out weak In the dusty
garden while not a drop Of rain falls, though
there are showers all around; and lsbo-
rIous is the work to draw water from the
well with windass and to carry two pals of water,
which sops the pantaloons to water the pota-
toes pint 10 each hill, all Of which probably does no
good whatever To haul water in barrels with team TO
small piece of ground, Is said TO be imprac-
ticable and the amount required to water acre is
computed enormous. In case, TO the ditch
which laughs and dashes by, and let in such stream
we please 1t hher and thither, and spreads
over the whole ground the extent OF submergng
the tops OF the vegetables il will. Or, If much
ground is watered, whether would prepare for
blowing or would mOsten the uprisen green grain,
direct larger foods into channels which in proper places
overhow this otenes when the is setting and the
purple gold of the mountains is admired by
eve thence retire sumber, and through all the
watches night does its appointed work.
Just day dawned, after the night Of storm have
before mentioned was awakened by hundred streams,
and much Of the bed wrnglng wet Lying very still,