The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1878-08-15
Letter from Kansas-A few Notes by Rev.
j. A. Hyden.


Of the many questions asked ne
through private correspondence, from
my native T.. Tennessee. Augusta l.
handsomely located in Butler county,
In what j. known as the Great Walnut
Valley, twelve miles from FL Dorado,
the present terminus ola branch Of the
A. 4. q 5. +. II. r., though It is sup
posed the railroad will be extended
down through this valley within a
year. People take sick aud die in this
country as In all other countries, yet In
my Judgment il is as healthy here as
any place ! was ever in. While you
are being burned up in Cleveland with
intolerable heat, we are being famed
by day with the glorious winds OF Kan
sas and sleeping under a quilt at night.
We have some good springs in this part
of the State, but our drinking water is
principally well water, obtained by
boring or digging from fifteen TO forty
feet, as good hard water as any man
ever drank. Good homes, partly i'm
proved, can be purchased at very rca-
sonable rates; but a man TO get along
in this country with anything like ease
or success, must have some money, and
must not think of coming here to play
the grown-up baby, but must put on the
man and have Unfortunately energy
and eternal pluck. The time for Ia
king up fine claims in this part OF the
State Is past, and yet If a man can get
here with some money, he can get good
homes easier and cheaper than the first
settlers, who got theirs by taking
claims, and not have to unergo the pri-
v%ations they did. 1t is cheaper for a
man to buy a flrst-class home in this
country with from $1,000 to 1900,
with from 50 to 100 acres subdued,
trees and orchard planted, a pretty
fair Kansas house built, and other o II
yeniences, than to have settled on the
raw prairie, paid his 5000 and made his
improvements. The present settlers
have the advantage over the original
settles in my judgment. All fruits
grow finely. This is a cheaper country
to live in than East Tenn.-sOciety bet
ter on the average here than there;
these are a reading, intelligent people
-nearly every man takes one OF two
newspapers. One of the great wants
Of this country is houses to live in,
though we have the very finest quality
of building stone in this State-can buy
lumber nearly as cheap here as you can
there, already dressed and matched to
put up. School and church advantages
good. Common school system in this
State is almost equal to any State IN
the Union. Your cousin John Rogers
is here in this county doing well, with
4 host Of friends around him, aud j. the
same genial gentleman as when he liv-
ed az Georgetown; sold his farm and
concluded to to some other part
Of the State, but when he came to look
around he found this to be the best
part of the State, and bought the
fine farm Oh Little Walnut" that Tom
Percell used to own. by the way,
Tom is a clever fellow, is making mon
ey and getting rich in this country.
The Mccoy boys are doing well. I'm
Gle Davy Wilson and sons have secured
good homes; old Mr.. Thompson, that
moved from the neighborhood of Cleye-
land, has IN of the best farms | ever
saw, and TO use his own language to
Mr. Warneckc, of your city, when he
was visiting this country last spring,
"was not worth n cent when he got
here" MI. VIM. Morrison is here also
doing well. As a rule the L. Tonnes
seeans are all doing well, and | am
really proud of them. | have the
pleasure Of preaching to some of them
almost every week. Crops of all kinds
abundant; had a fine season; You will
see by looking that Kansas raised more
wheat this year than any other State in
the Union; the crop is simply fabulous.
If | knew what would interest your
readers, | might write you again.
Yours Respectfully,
j. ALBERT liYDEN.
Augusta, Kas., Aug. l, 1873.