Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1874-01-15
LETTER FROM KANSAS,
ELLSWORTH, ELLSWORTH Co., Kan,
Iapuarv 1st 1874

We hafe iOI loiu all tnat we know aD0u
Kansas, we concluded to try your patti
ence with one more. First, we believe
Kansas to be one of the foremost State;
forfarming and stock growing in the
: Union, and there is no county in the
State offers greater inducements to Emf.
grants than Ellsworth county. Ellis.
worth, the county seat is very near the
center of the county, and also very neal
the center of the State, 223 miles from
Kansas City, Ais from Denver. Its ares
is thirty miles east and west and TWEEN.
ty-four north and south. The first thing
to be considered in going to any new
country is its healthfulness. 1t is a well
established fact that the State of Kansa:
ranks with the healthiest States in the
Union, and Ellsworth county is much
better located for health than many 9th
er counties in the State. We are abou
one thousand five hundred feet abov.
the level of the sea. The atmosphere i,
healthy. This county is better supplied
with pure running water, than any 9TH
er county we came through. TheSmoky-
hill river runs through the county from
Northwest to Southeast; is a very
pure and clear stream with gravel bot
tom. There are many creeks running
through the county that discharge their
waters into the SmOkyhill. From the
South, Bluff creek, Thompson creek,
Skunk creek, Ash creek, Turkey creek,
Little Wolf and Blood creeks. From
the North, Wilson, Cow, Buffalo, Oak,
Spring, Clear and Elm creeks.
All these creeks are thickly belted
with heavy growth of timber, and
great quantities of nice bottom land
And out on the plains there are hund-
reds Of good springs of water. There is
no stagnant water in the. county. There
are several csal pits opened in the coun-
ty producing a good quality of coal.
Stone for building is found in all parts
Of the county in great abundance. There
are many fine stone buildings now erec-
ted. There are also great beds of lime
stone that are being worked and which
give entire satisfaction. Clay for brick
is plenty. They were burning brick
near Ellsworth all summer. Built a
splendid Court House and stone Jail,
and brick school house that cost over
ten Thousand dollars. Ellsworth is the
great distributing point in Kansas. sO,-
900 head of cattle were sold to buyers
from Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming
this season and over two thousand cars
were shipped east in the single month of
October, over sixteen millions lbs. of
freight were SHIPPED east Ellsworth.
All kinds of vegetables has been tried
and successfully raised that will grow
in any of the States. 1 have seen the
largest and best melons of all kinds
grow here that l ever saw or tasted
and we can raise peanuts without much
trouble. Almost every one has all they
want. One man tried cotton and had a
good crop. Sweet potatoes grow here
as well as any place in the south.
Now my friends let us reason togeth-
er, Eknow your reasoning. One says
have farm that gives me good living
and why should 1 sell it and undergo
the disadvantages of new country? L
would answer that man in this way
You are bringing up family which
you feel desire to see well situa-
ted in life. Fetch them here and they
can all have better farms than you have.
Then you say 81 know there is a good
chance to get farm and intend to let
all my boys as they become men go an
seek home in the west" Now my
friend, my observations proves this to be
q bad plan. There are Il great many
young men who come here and get tir-
ed OF the country soon, and go back east.
L have talked with them. They could
give no reason only it is so lonesome
to be deprived of the fair. Now my
friend come yourself and bring your
boys and girls with you and then they
will be right at home. In fact we need |
the girls more than the boys. five had |
girls plenty, the boys would all stay
who comes, and this beautiful country |
would soon be settled up. Then you
say, 81 can't sell without sacrificing
my property,I have an offer of Seventy
five dollars per acre, just Seventy-five."
That kind of reasoning sounded all
right to me when l was in Ohio, but
since came here it has no weight at
all. Say you have so acres of land. 1t
brings you 5000. The 5000 will bring
you and your family here, where you
can buy better land at dollars per
acre than you now have, and have
5 years to pay it; or you can homestead
as much as you have and put up build
ings and have $4,000 to lay out in stock,
and one man can take care of them, and
money will very near double itself every
year in stock. But you say, 81 am too
DID," Before started for Kansas my
best friends tried to persuade me that i
was too old and they came very near
Don't think you are too
old if you have family. 1t might do
to say that if you were going to heavy
timbered country like Ohio was before
settled, where you must wage q war
with grub strees and stumps for an or
binary life time. But my dear friends
it is not like that. will tell you what
coming to Kansas is like. 1t is like
moving OIL an old farm in Ohio where
all the stumps and trees have returned
to their mother dust, and then been
sowed down in grass. Now you are not
too old to come to Kansas. l feel at
least 10 years younger than when left
Ohio. We do not ask you all to
leave Holmes county, but we think you i,
could turn off large swarm which
would be an advantage to both of the :
States.
w. B. LIVINGSTON.