Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1870-02-23
CORRESPONDENTS.
Letter from Kansas.


EDITOR CHRoNICLE:-How often
do we hear it remarked by travellers
stopping at our little station: "only
three days since we left Ohio where
the mud was half knee deep, and
raining every few days, and to find
such splendid roads, and fine sunshine
weather, is really surprising" In
fact we have had no rain since Nov
The roads have been dry and dusty
ever since about the first of Nov, ex-
eept a day or two when we had an
inch or so of snow. I do not think
there has fallen to exceed over five
inches of snow altogether this winter,
and none OF it remained but few
davs at a time. But for all we have
had such a limited amount of snow
aud rain the ground is in fine order
for blowing, and the farmers have
been busy for the last ten days cross
plowing preparatory to the sowing OF
their spring crops, which they gener-
allv desire to do the last of February
or the Ist of March. Small grain put
into the ground as early as this has
never been known to fail in this
country. 1t is partially on account of
having such mild and dry winters
that a man with one team is able TO
do so much more farming here than
in any other State 1 ever lived in. 1t
would be something unusual If the
weather did not permit him between
November and March to do all of his
stirring of old ground so as to have
his seeding all out of the way by the
lst of April, so as to be ready TO COM
mence breaking prairie in April,
which is as soon as prom able, because
it will not answer to break till after
the grass has started, as this is the
only way to kill the roots and prevent
its growing.
Our climate is not only agreeable
but it is certainly very healthy. What
pure champagne air we have it does
one good to breathe it, and it is only
necessary to state to prove its purity,
that we never think of salting meat
for fall and winter use; hang 1t up
and il will keep fresh and sweet all
winter. If / had friend afflicted
with that terrible disease, "cOnsump-
tion," l should certainly advise him
TO 90 to western Kansas. One young
man who left Pennington last April
in the last stage of consumption, and
some even thought he would not live
to get to Kansas, is smart enough to
husk more corn than one-half Of the
well folks, and eat enough to make a
well man sick; and if he stays here
he will probably never die with it; but
1 presume would not live in Ohio one
year il he should 90 back. Another
old gentleman who had been afflicted
with the same disease for over 20 years
and could not walk a mile without
stopping, can now walk eight, and he
looks as though be had renewed his
age.
The geology of this country is very
interesting and IshOuld like to speak
of il at length but will not at present.
There was a very interesting discove-
ry made by one of our members in
getting out rock for the foundation
for a store at Bavaria, namely: Very
plain human foot prints in the hard,
fsrruginous sandstone of our neigh bor-
hood. The stone is called surface
rock. and is almost as hard as iron
Two rocks were found that contained
the foot prints, and both about two
feet square and one foot thick. One
contains the impress of the right foot,
sunk about an inch and half as per-
feet as if made yesterday. The other
contains the impress of both feet. DIR.
Webb, of Topeka, has procured them
and taken them home. Everything
goes TO- prove, and very eonclusively
too, that this vast prairie was once q
! very heavy timbered country.
In many of the wells there has been
pieces of preserved wood of different
kinds. Impressions of oak, walnut
and other varieties of leaves have been
found over fifty feet under ground /;
and in one spring over one-half BUSH
el of walnuts; there being no walnut
trees growing at present within five
miles of the spring; the same man
dug a ditch in his garden about two
feet deep and unearthed walnuts that
had lain there for ages that grew from
the seed last year two feet high. In
digging my well i passed through a
strata Of wood ashes and charcoal over
8 feet in thickness; also found, over
Is feet below the surface, impressions
of very great variety of sea shells.
D. z. F.