Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1875-08-19
COMMUNICATION,
PRESTON, Jasper Co., Mo-, J
August 18th. 1917.

COMMUNICATION.
PRESTON, Jasper Co., Mo-,
August 10Th, 1875.
EDITOR TRANSCRIPT;
S1R:-Pesuming that a few items will
not be Objectionable to you nor your read.
ers, l send an outline of my journcyings
since leaving Austin, and make some state
ments that may be of interest concerning
this part Of the great Southwest. l took
the train at Austin Oh Sunday evening on
the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Minncso.
IA Railroad, and the next morning, after
getting breakfast at West Liberty, went on
to Columbus junction, w)>"rc I changed,
taking the S. W, branch Of thu. c., H. l
& F., for Leavcnworth, Kansas, took diu-
ncr at Ashland, where we crossed the Des
Moincs River, and arrived ut Trenton, Mo-,
in the evening. had to lie over there
for the next train. I arrived at Lcavcn-
worth at 1910 A. NJ. took the Missouri
Pacific for Kansas City, thence the Mo.
River TT. Scott s. Gulf, for TT. Scott,
where waited for tho through train for
Columbus, Kan, as the evening train is
merely an accommodation, running only
to Fl. Scott. took the stage at Colum
bus for Brownsville, distance ten miles,
the present terminus ofthe Memphis, Car
,hage e. n. W. Railroad, thence by rail
10 Carthage, County seat Of Jasper Coun
ty, Mo. Distances: from Austin to Co.
lumbus Junction, '220 miles; thence to
Lcavenworlh, 299 miles thence to Kansas
City, 80 miles; thence to Fit. Scott, 90
miles; thence to Columbus, 40 miles; from
Columbus to Carthage, 80 miles. A word
| with regard to the convcnicnces by the
above routes. think it safe to say that
no man can travel the same distance in
any direction and find Conductors, Ticket
Agents, &C., to be more accommodating
and gent!cmenly, Or more willing to give
| any desired information concerning routes,
! connections, &c, then found them to be
in my travels from Austin to this place.
good order, and all the routes are doing a
good business.
As l travelled through South Iowa, I
noticed that there had been great deal
Of rain. From Fairfield to Centerville, a
distance Of 60 miles, the crops with tie
exception Of wheat, which is not raised
in large quantities, may be said to be an
entire failure. One farmer told me tina,
there had not been three fair days in sue,
cession during the summer. In the vi
entity Of Gallatin, Mo-: and fiom there tc
Cameron. is a very pretty country, and tho
farmers appear to be thrifty and contcntcd
and the prospect for a good crop Of al
kinds was very promising AS l ncared
Plattsburg entered tho grasshopper dis
trict through which travelled about 81
miles. Some Of the farmers were trying
to raise c..Tn, which was planted after the
hoppcrs had lct;, but the prospect is any
thing but tlat:ering. 1t suggestcd the idea
Of valnly struggling against fate. Tht
prospect for crops, planted in the grass
hopper district, from Kansas City to For
Scott is much brighter. noticed severa
large fields OF castor beans in Kansas
there Is an oil mill at Fort Scott, but
! ain informed the net gain Of the enterprise
is not much, either for producer or manu-
facturer.
The coal business from Fort Scott soutl
and cast is very important branch Of in
dustry, and is yearly becoming better ant
more profitable.
A word with regard to the county. Be
fore the "la'e onplcasantness" the lant
was owned mostly in large tracts by set
tiers. but since the war it has been sold i,
smaller tracts, and the county is settle,
chiefly by cmigrants from the Nortler,
and Eastern States, all Of whom are intel
ligcnt and cnterprising citizens, but few
OF the old "na!.ycs" being left 1met on
who asked me where hailed from, l tol<
him Minnesota. "Minncsoty" said he
II don't know whar that's at" but near],
all the settlers in the county arc Of tn
better class from the North and East.
lam told by teachers that better quail
fcations arc required topass examination
here than in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, O
Minnesota. The school system is in
fiourisEing condition.
4 word with regard to the reliability @
this country as farming country. Tw
years ago the chinch bugs took the crop!
which otherwise would have been good
Last year the Grouth caused the failure G
the corn crop, but the wheat was cxccllcn
some fields yielding 81 bushels to the acr.
This year has been very rainy the table
arc completely turned against drouth
Kansas and Missouri. There has not bee
an entire failure, and old settlers say ths
it came nearer Al entire failure than eve
. before. Enough rain has fallen to secur
goods crops for three years if it could b
= utilized. Week before last occurred til
most destructive food and the highe:
water ever known here. 1t is estimate
that the damage in Spring River Vale
alone in this county, will not be less tina
two hundred thousand dollars. Owing
the wet weather great deal of grain W
in the field unstacked, hundreds Of acre
were stripped clean the grain being was]
cd away, considerable stock perishe,
bridges and fences were washed ava
and some lives were lost. Since til
heavy rains the weather has been dr.
In some counties in Southwestern Mi
J. souri,, the state of society, politically,
: different from what 1t is in this count
S and from what have been used to,
d witness the following, taken from the n