Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1871-06-22
ued to gradually sink during the night,
and at 945 on Saturday morning he
breathed his last.
western Letter.
LAWRENCE, Kansas, June IL.

Editor Rtttland Heratd:-Ihis place
has grown very much for the last foul
wears, and is now about the size Of Rut
3 land, although it has five times as many
/ shops and stores and much better ani
| larger ones. can't see how the mer
chants all live, but they appear to be do
J ing something and are probably looking
for better times ahead when, increased
population will bring them more trade
They already have two railroads here
the Kansas Pacific and the Leavenworth
Lawrence and Galveston railroads. The
former runs from Kansas City, Mo-, across
this State to Denver, Col; the latter il
completed to Thayer, in Whasho County
and is now being built through Montgom
cry County towards the Indian Nation
but it is uncertain as yet where it's west
ern termination will be.
There ia also another road now being
graded from here to Pleasant Hill, Nilsson.
ri, to connect with the Missouri Pacific
which will give this place two competing
| IiueS W lIc ShSbs AduSd5 bdS ulT6du y
about thirteen hundred miles of railroads
completed and in operation, with numer.
Gus others projected, and several in pro-
cess of construction.
Railroads are built mostly in Thu
State by county and town bonds. A rail-
road Co, will get all the county bonds
they can for going through a particular
county, and will then black mail the
towns which they pass through by threats
of going around them and destroying them,
and thus extort from them more bonds
in many instances, think, than they will
ever pay. There is hardly a county or
town in Kansas, through which a rail-
road passes, that is not heavily bonded,
and some of the towns would not sell for
enough to pay their bonds.
Although railroads are desirable, I think
the bonding system pursued in this State
will be very detrimental in the end, and
cause great deal of trouble. Kansas is
a stock growing State and the population
outside of the villages,-pardon me, there
are no villages in Kansas, they are all
cities,-will always be sparse and the
taxes will fall heavily upon the people
and be burdensome.
came from Junction City by the Mis-
souri,, Kansas & Texas railroad, to Hum
bolt and thence by the Leavenworth, Law
renee & Galveston railroad to this place.
Mr.. f. @. White, the former Superinten-
dent of the Bennington & Rutland rail-
road, is now superintendent of one divi-
sion of the Missouri, Kansas s. Texas
railroad and resides at Junction City.
This road is pushing ahead very fast
through the Indian Nation and will reach
Texas sometime next year. When COM
pleted it will be the principal thorough
fare from Texas north, and will do very
large business.
While passing over the road between
Junction City and Humboldt, we saw the
farmers harvesting their wheat, many of
them having large fields which will pro-
duce from fifteen to twenty bushels per
acre.
The country between Hum boldt and this
place, as far as Ottawa in Franklin coun-
ty, is very poor and sparsely populated
Although they have had plenty of rain,
and it has been a very favorable. season
for crops. the wheat is very poor and
hardly worth harvesting. The land is
thin, being underlaid by hsrd-pan,
which comes so near the surface as to
make the land nearly worthless
The best wheat / seen in Kansas is up
on high limestone prairies in Riley ooun-
are better for corn. s... i
Vermonters who come to Kansas should
be particular in selecting lands, to select
none but limestone lands. They are much
better than any other and will in a few
years, sell at d much higher price.
Kansas is bound TO be great State, and
now is very favorable time to come here
would not, however, advise a Vermont
farmer who owns a good valley farm, and
is out of debt, to emigrate to Kansas.
But while riding over these beautiful, rich
prairies, 1 can but think how much
better it would be for men who
are living upon small, rocky, barren
farms in New England, to sell them for
what they can get for pastures, and come
here, or to some other of the new States
or Territories, where land is cheap, and
take and improve a new farm. knew a
great many men in Kansas in 1860, who
were living upon their claims end had
but little besides their lands, then
worth but two or three dollars per acre,
who o.day have valuable farms, with
large fields of grain, good houses, sur
rounded by orchards of peach and apple
or cherries, and are as well eff as our best
Vermont farmers. These instances are
not exceptional, for do not know of an
man, of good habits and fair
ability, who was here in 1860, that to-day
is not well situated and in very good cir
.-s
Kansas is no place for man who has
nothing but bis hands to depend upon, for
labor is cheaper here than in the East
but men who can get here with six or
eight hundred dollars can, in few years,
if industrious, place themselves and their
families beyond want. A person to come
here and settle upon and improve new
farm needs pluck and energy, and must
make up his mind to "rough it" for the
first few years, and be deprived of many
advantages and privileges which he en-
joyed East; and unless he has these es-
sential qualities for pioneering, he had
much better stay where he is, for should
he come here be would be homesick, and
would probably in few months return
East, much poorer and wiser man than
when he left. - ..----
There is no opening in Kansas for nom