The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1873-05-31
country have located on these hills, and

country have located on these hills. and
very excellent crops are now growing in
many places. The slopes along the base
OF the hills are unsurpassed for fertility by
any lands in the State, while at least four
fifths of the entire surface of the hills is
covered with wild grasses of various nutri-
ciOus varieties.
The most singular feature of this re-
markable region is that these hills are full
of water. In the dryest season, the soil,
or even the sand of the hllocks, is moist
; an inch or two below the surface, and there
are to be seen considerable number of
lakes or ponds, several acres in extent, and
always full! of pure, fresh water, Though
none of them have any visible outlet
There are also many living springs from
which little rivulets trckle down to the
slopes of the hills, until lost in the bottom
lands below. Some of these streams are
the size of mans arm, and bulrushes
may be seen growing in their waters
These hills are great resort for wild fowl,
and will soon become famous for dairyin-.
and fruit-growing.
This is a general description of the
the Arkansas Valley as it appears to the
author OF Resources of Kansas" man
thoroughly acquainted with it's features,
and himself a resident in it.
The Eastern terminus of the Atchison,
Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad is at Atchi-
| con on tba IJ;ceo,r; D;uor -
ern Kansas. The road runs in a south
westerly direction through Topeka, the
Capital of the State, to Newton, passing
through portion of country we'll known
as the " Garden of Kansas" large por-
ton of which is similar to the celebrated
bluegrass region of Kentucky. From
Newton it runs directly westward, and
enters the Arkansas Valley about thirty
miles from that town, at Hutchinson, in
the county of Reno. From that point it
opens up a region capable of furnishing
homes and food to one-half the total popu-
lation west of the Mississippi. The road
is at this time complete to the western
boundary of the State, and during 1878
will be finished into Colorado, tapping the
business Of that territory at its centre, and
giving direct Eastern outlet to that rich
territory.
1t will be seen that the Atchison, Tope-
ka and Santa Fe Railroad is an immense
enterprise, opening up the south wostern
quarter of the Continent. The character
Of tile road is of great Importance to the
settler. 1t is made to perform the duties
of through-line for all time. 1t is built
of 56-lb. iron, splice-joint oak ties,
Howe truss bridges, stone culverts, rock
ballast substantial station houses, etc.
But the point which has most Importance
is this: The road has fewer and lighter
grades in the west, SO that while on many
roads one engine has as much as it can
perform to draw IA to 1G loaded cars, the
same power here draws 80 to 40 cars. 1t
can thus haul your lumber, COAL grain,
cattle and other freight at one-half the
rates of other roads, and still make the
same profit with them.
Now, the great line of read with these
'u'1'hlaSeS tldfoiSes Luo cOuuIleS Oh W a.
baunsee, Usage, Lyon, Morris, Chase,
Marion, Butler, Mcpherson, Sedgwick,
Harvey, Reno, Rice, Barton, Stafford,
Pawnee, kiowa, Hodgerman, Ford, and
thence westerly through all the counties to
the western State line of the State. In
these counties it owns the enormous guam
tity of Three Million Acres of Land, be-
ing grant from the Government of the
United States. The grant consist of the
odd-numbered sections GAO acres) lying
within ten miles on either side of the road.
BY this arrangement the alternate, or even
numbered sections, not owned by the rail.
road are open to presumption and home
stead, though at higher price for the
former and one-half the quantity for the
latter, as distinguished from lands lying
outside of any railroad grant.
The character of the country from
Atchison to Emporia is fine rolling
prairie, frequently varied by the bottom
and valley lands Of the creeks and rivers
which the roads crosses. From Emporia
to Florence, with the exception of the
bottom and valley lands of Cottonwood
and Neosho Rivers, and their tributaries,
the country generally is quite rolling, and
is made up of "sloping," "relling," and
thigh rolling" prairie, and occasionally
somewhat broken. The bottom lands of
the Cottonwood are often separated from
the uplands by low bluffs, and along these
bluff there are projecting one or two beds
of rock from two or three feet thick,
each bed being made up of strata or layers
from one third of a foot to two feet thick.
This is the very finest quality of magnesia
limestone. and is the best building materi-
al in the west. Although the SUBMITS of
these occasional high rolls or ridges are
sometimes partially covered with small
stone or shale, yet the soil from the very
top to the base is of the richest mould, and
the best hay is made from grasses mown
from their sides. And it is upon these
higher lands that the cattle and sheen
most delight to Craze; here they find the
sweetest and most nutrcous grasses
hence this region is specially adapted for
stock-raisng, and particularlarly for sheep.
From Peabody to Hutchinson, at the
junction of Cow creek and the Arkansas
ii'ei ID iii"uo up VI lOhS, easy slopes or
gentle rolls, lying in either case generally
about right for drainage-all lying we'll
for easy tillage. Here are whole townships
of land in which not an acre can be found
that does not lie we'll for easy cultivation,
and take it as body, the soil is not sur
passed by any body of land of the same
extent in the State.
From Hutchinson to the west line of the
State, distance of 270 miles, this COM
pany's lands occupy the magnificent val
ley of the Arkansas, mentioned at the
beginning of these pages. This beautiful
valley, heretofore but little known on ac-
count of its great distance from market or
commercial tboroughfares, is now, since
the railroad has been built through it,
drawing the attention Of the whole count
ny, and its wide bottoms and rich rolling
and sloping uplands, are proving as pro.
ductive as they are attractive. The soil is
as deep here as it is in Illinois, and owing
to its rolling surface, its drainage is incom-
parably better, giving it the valuable char
acteristic of being equally good either in
4 very dry or in very moist season. 1t
does not heave SO much with the action of
the frost, and is superior in this, as we'll as