Litchfield enquirer., 1875-02-25
LYONS. Iowa. Feb. 18th. 1875.

LYONS, Iowa, Feb. 18th, 1875. MR. EDrroR.-In my bovhood days ! down East, I used to think that almost everybody who got safely through the measles, scarlet fever, small pox and kin dred evils. if no accident befel them, were elected to die of consumption, unless they 1 went West. But, since have been out West, one of the greatest marvels to me is the large percentage of persons who live to a good old age, as reported in the Death Lists of the Enquirer; and have l frequently called the attention of my ''bet- l ter two thirds and neighbors, as we'll as of the local papers, to the great longevity of the inhabitants of your towering hills, sparkling streams and beautiful lakelets. And, since you have been publishing the long lists of aged persons in different ! townships of your county now living, our wonderment has increased still more. You will not be SO much surprised at this, when | tell you that during my early sojourn. here, out of population of over 5000, to see a gray head was a novelty; and now, ! after a residence of almost a score of years, can recall scarcely a dozen In a population of over 1O,0O0 in the ''Twin
 cities of the Vest who have passed the
 allotted three score and ten. and but three
 who have reached fourscore. So when you report 4 persons from my native town 1 over 9O-14 (with my grandmother left out) over 80, and 46 over 70-I begin to l think those old hills better place to em- ! igrate to for health, than California or the \ far-famed South. I'm not sure but sta tistical record of the aged in your county would prove a good advertisement for Summer boarders," if it did not tend to keep more of your wandering boys at home.
 You report s and 12 below zero as very severe weather, but it is getting to be common thing with us to wake up in the morning and find the mercury sporting down among the POS, and unless accom- panied with with wind, we don't think of ''squealing." I went to church one Sun day morning and sat comfortably through the service without an overcoat, and was ! surprised to learn after church that the mercury had reached 24 below that morn ing. I did some extra buttouing to my coat before starting out again. We have had about 50 days of continuous cold weather-only one really thawing day yet some of our s'old inhabitants" report winters SO mild here, that not 8 day pass ed that one could not work outdoors com fortably with coat off-can you account for this change also, on the principle of ! "Radicalism?" But we are reminded that | it must be awful for the sufferers in the grasshopper region-with scanty clothing many barefooted-in houses an Eastern man would be ashamed to own for wood shed, with only dried grass and weeds to burn in a broken-down cook stove, mer- cury 30 and 30 below-and the long sweep of Prairie winds. Such are the reports brought to us from eye witnesses. thor oughly accredited and reliable. It cer- tainly is loud call for help, which the prevalent ought to take to heart That the Western states are also the necessi-
 ties of the case and are up and doing,
 while you of the East are being called on
 so loudly for help, you will infer from the
 following sample, clipped from Chicago
 paper:
 Iowa is doing her full share of sending ! will be saved from starvation. There
 seems to be no limit to her liberality, and those who give the most seem to be will 1 ing to give more. Warren county, for in-
 stance, one of the richest agricultural
 counties ill the State, peopled with an in-
 tellgent population, after giving all she
 thought she could to Kansas and Nebras.
 ka, on Saturday she sent nearly car load l of wheat, flour and meal to the Dakota sufferers. She Is thus not only taking care of her own sufferers, but she is feed ing thousands upon thousands outside,
 and all this she can do and not feel the
 burden. tell you Iowa is one of the
 grandest States in the Union. She always has enough and abundance to spare, and
 her hberality is as boundless as her broad
 acres.
 Some may fatter themselves that Con-
 gress and the State legislatures are doing
 so much that little more will be needed.
 It is said that If they could have heard our
 Lieut.. Governor (who is thoroughly con-
 versant with the subject but not noted for
 early plety, or late, either, for that mat
 ter) make things ''black and blue" when
 he read the Congressional measures re-
 quiring a census to be taken, they would
 have been more impressed than edifed,
 perhaps, as he raked down the d-d numb
 sculls at Washington, who didn't seem to
 know that. before they could get their
 machinery and red tape in motion, the half would starve and the balance would
 not be worth saving. It will doubtless
 come in tune and all be needed and some
 squandered.
 have just learned with painful inter-
 est of the death of the editor of the Win
 sted Herald. When boys together, we
 were on the most intimate terms: and
 though more than 8 score of years have
 passed the memory of the days and nights
 we spent t0gsther is still green and fresh
 before me, and awakeps thrills of pleasure
 as think of his volatile and genisl na
 ture and of the talks we used to have. He
 was amarvelous talker and your subscriber
 marvellous listener. anticipated great
 things from him. and can but feel sad that i he should have beeR cut of so suddenly
 in the pride of his strength. bsfese. as it
 seemed to me, he had found his true I sphere. But snch is life. A. B. l MARBLEDA1E Episcopaiians gave their
 pastor donation on the evening of ths I3d.-On the 9th there was a'.house warm
 ing" at Mir. Edward Hunts and good | 5onoo rsba~o xvoo a,, uy,sok ox Awa If kho