The Andrew County Republican. [volume] (Savannah, Mo.) 1871-1876, 1875-07-02
THE EDITORIAL EXCURSION.

! ~ Santa e Il. IL, lfGhl AlcNl>on 10
| Grenada. Col.
! This excursion was gotten up by
! the officers of the company, to refutc e
some of the exaggerated graSsh0npcr
stories, that have been circulated over
many sections Of the country. and we
! think the project = decided success.
! Instead Of the great American Desert
with its barren wastes, we found
fruitful fields, valleys teemin@ with
life and activity, and blooming is the
rose.
After leaving Atchis0n the country
| for about so miles showed signs of
! grasshoppers, but the farmers seem
! to- have determination, having re-
| planted their crops with a fair pros
| pect of success. Beyond this we saw
nothing that Indicated the destruc-
| ton of crops.
Our route carried Us through the
valleys cf the COTTONWOOD and AT
kansas rivers. We found rich pro-
ductivc soil, plenty of good fine wa
Ter, and a dry fine atmosphere. AS Il
proof Of the productiveness of the
soil, many specimens of the products
were exhibited, and carried home II
parties in the excursion. These val
lcys this year have Oh excellent pros
pcct, excellent crops Of wheat, oats,
rye, corn and flax. together with a
full supply Of vegetables, some fruit,
| sc.
There is but one fault that we find
to the country over which we passed,
and tat is the scarcity of timber,
which we are informed by citizens is
more ims ginary than rcal coal is
! plenty and easily accessible. fencing
is not required, they having a herd
law, requiring stock to be hcrded,
and not ailoWingit to range promiscu
Ously over the prairies:, this however
docs not interfere with thC frec MAJ
ing. building stone is plenty, and of
good quality, and the soil is so. pro-
ductivc that timber can be readily
grown, and with good supply of
timber no country can beat tie Ar
kansas and Cottonwood valleys.
Stock raising can be successfully car
riCd on throughout the whole section
over which we passed, and in many
places we saw immense herds Of cat
tie quietly grazing Oh the prairies
We would not advise any one set
tied III the older States tCse2l cat and
cmigr2te, but we would say TO those
seeking homes, and having a desire
''tO &C, west" and grow up with the
country. that this part Of Kansas
presents many advantages not to be
found III the eastern or western States
either. In our opinion, better COM
binatIons of soil, climate and water
can nos 5e found in any place on the
globe.
Another great advantage possessed
by this cguntry is the character of It's
society. The settlers are cnterpris-
ing, thrifty, moral and generous. an
| item OF great weight in determining
the location of q permanent home: in
conclusion as tie preacher says, |
will suggest to those seeking hemes,
visit tie Cottonwood and Arkansas
valleys before locating:
| cannot close this articlc without
mentioning the Kindness and courte-
sy extended by the citizens along the
line as we'll as the officers and em-
plovecs of the road. AT Emporia a
magnificent dinner was given by the
citizens and served at the different
hotels of the city. 1t was our good
fortune to dine at the Windsor House,
the dinner consisted of roast meats Of
all kinds, vegetables raised this year,
together with the usual aXceteras. In
Justice TO The Other hotels | viii say
that the dinner at all was highly eu-
logised and, enjoyed at each Of them,
and taking it all together it reflected
great credit on the town. In the
eTening at G:2O we arrived at Wichi-
ta,. where we were met by thousands
Of the citizens and escorted through
the principal streets to the several
hotels, where provisions had been
made by the citizens for our enter
tainment. We were at the Douglas