The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1877-06-06

LONDON, SUMNER Co, KANSAS,

KANSAS LETTER.
LONDON, SUMNER Co., KANSAS,
Nay 16ta, 1877.
FRIEND PETERSON Having promised a
number of my friends in Lambertville and
West Amwell township that would write to
them and let them know how was getting
along in Kansas and what / thought of the
country, and not having time to write to each
one, thought would address them a few
lines through THE RECORD with your per-
mission).
I arrived in Kansas on the 18th of April
and found the weather pleasant and quite
warm for the month. left Topeka, The
State Capital, on the morning of the 10Th, on
the A. I. and Santa Fee r. r., for Wachita,
which is in Sedgwick county, and on the Ar
kansas River. / arrived there about $40 p.
NJ, and put up at the Valley House and, by
the way, it is temperance house, and doing
fine business in the way Of keeping board
ers, both transient and permanent. The ac-
commodations are good, and would recon-
mend any person coming from Lambertville
to Wachita TO stop at the VALLEY House,
and they will find pleasant place to rest
The charges are ACKNOWLEDGMENT per day to
transient boarders, $1.60 for two or moro
days, $1.10
Wachita is young but flourishing city of
5000 or 5000 inhabitants. 1t has only been
settled six or seven years and it has some as
fine business houses as you can find in Tren-
ton, N. J. You would be surprised to see the
agricultural implements that are shipped in
there in one day You would wonder what
they did with them, and if they could ever
find market for them all. But take walk
up through the business part of the city on
Friday and Saturday and you can easily see
where they 60 to. The principal streets are
completely jammed with farm-wagons and
horses. Some of them come forty and fifty
miles to purchase farming supplements 9TH
ers came to do their shopping. Farm produce
of all kinds, butter and eggs excepted, are
sold on the streets to the highest bidder l
attended horse sale there and found that
horses sold as high there as in N. j., that is,
good horses Ponies sell rom $50 to $50
COWS from $25 to $65 pork (live) 1915 and
and $500 per cwt. !; beef ilive) $3.50 to $500
per cwt beef-steal (best) 10 cents and down.
ward per pound. Dry goods can be purchas-
ed in Wachta as cheap as in Lambertville.-
Sugar and coffee are tri1e higher.
The country around Wachita is quite level,
and if you do not get too close to the river, in
the sand, it is good but most of the land on
the Arkansas River is most too sandy. 1t is
too much like the lower part Of New Jersey.
Leave the river, and go northeast and west
one or two miles, and you will find some of the
finest land l have ever seen-just sandy
enough to work nicely. After leaving the
river, northward, the land is more rolling
just enough to drain nicely.
l left Wachita on the morning of the 18th
of April, in the stage, for Belle Plain, in Sum-
ner Co. arrived there at noon-distance 20
miles There took dinner at the Civic House.
After dinner, / started out to find Mr.. VIM.
Lake, formerly of Lambertville. After one
hours ride, found him five miles N. w. of
Belle Plain, very pleasantly located, and get
ting ready to plant his corn crop. Mr.. Lake
invited me to make myself at home with him
for week at least and look around and see
the country. did so, and / liked the coun-
try SO we'll that concluded to hang up my
hat and stay awhile. have rented a farm
close by Mr.. Lakes. have put in thirty-one
acres OF corn, and if Providence permits, l
am going to stay here this season then can
tell you how like Kansas Some oordc here
and stay in some mean, sickly place, and 60
back and tell their friends that this is a mis-
cradle country, and that the grasshoppers are
eating everything up. Now in order to show
you that this is not the case, Mr.. William
Lake has about thirty acres of as nice wheat
average about twenty-five or thirty bushels
per acre. So much for the hopper story.
Farm land sells here from $3 to $25 per
acre, according to the improvements thereon.
Corn sells from thirty-five to fifty cents per
bushel wheat 81 rs to $3.50. One thing l
would say for the benefit of those who might
be thinking about coming to Kansas. If yotf
cannot have $500 or $500 to use when you get
here, you might as well stay where you are.
You will want team, and something to
live on while you crop is growing. This you
cannot get here without money. But a man
here with little money can soon get himself
home. The buildings are not as fine here
as in N. J., but the land is much finer. Pub
lie schools here are plenty and well cared for.
There is one on the adjoining farm, where
there is preaching every other Sabbath, anf
Sabbath-school in the morning and afternoon
of every Sabbath.
believe will not take up much more of
your valuable time in trying to read my
scribbling Please send me THE RECORD I'M
til otherwise ordered, as I must have the
Lambertvile news.
Respectfully,
JOHN BUREs.
P. SIN addition to the above would say
to all persons that are thinking about coming
to Kansas, who have families, not to bring
them with them, but come first and see how
they like the country themselves then If
they like it well enough to stay, they can send
for their families.