Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1878-07-20
LETTER FROM KANSAS.
lola, ALLEN Co, Kansas,
July 9th. 1878.

attempts; ndu L not Deen living III new
country. which knew was not repre-
sen,ed right by all other communica-
tons | have read from this State, (now
if you think this worth publishing you
may do so, if not, either send it back or
burn it up) would not try to write.
have been in the State of Kansas
five months, and like it very nearly as
well as Virginia; a person living in the
country here does not see as much as
person living in Virginia, on account of
It's being so thinly settled; that is one
reason | dislike the country, but a per-
son living in town can have pleasure to
his hearts content, aud see more than
in an eastern village-you could have
in the little town of lola a palace of
pleasure for each evening, which is
good for the young. But l will now
pass from the village to what the farm
ers generally like TO hear, description
OF the surface and fertility of the soil;
first, people coming from the east ex
pect to find Kansas vast level prairie,
but people coming here with such ex-
pectations will find themselves mistaken,
as the surface is very rolling, and some
hills which look like artificial mounds
these are numerous all over the State;
the rolling land and these mounds rem
der the natural scenery grand beyond
description, as you can 90 to the top OF
one OF these mounds and see just as far
as the eve can reach-the peu is power
less to describe the grandeur Of an open
prairie scene; You might travel here, and
look ahead of you and see a hill, and
ask some one the distance from where
you are to the top of the hill in the dis
lance, and to your surprise find it to be
ten or twelve miles, you see the surface
is rolling between you and the point.
which it makes it look much farther {;
we can stand on hill in this town and
see the town of Hemboldt, eight miles
distant; YOU can see it very plainly. In
travelling through the various counties
OF the State You find the surface some
what different in each of them: same
are not very rolling and look more level
than Others, but again there are some
two or three counties that are rough
ard billy, and in these counties rock is
no scarcity, but on the other hand the
most plentiful thing TO be iound-but
rock is No scarcity all over the State.
The fertility of the soil is this: State
is hardly surpassed by any other State
in the Union; the color of the soil is
nearly the same here az it is on your
creek bottoms in Virginia, and is very
rich, as almost anything OF the growing
nature will grow here; TO give an exam
pie, heard reliable young gentleman
say some time ago (who had just come
back Oh visit from Sumner county,
one Of the western countieS) that the
this was just before harvest. He said
while on his visit be had an occasion to
ride through field of this wheat upon
an Indian pony, and while sitting upon
the back Of the little animal the wheat
came very nearly up to his breast; this
will give you some idea of the size the
wheat grows. We might now take
corn; there are two or three farms in
this county that there is known to have
been raised ninety bushels to the acre,
which would lie about eighteen barrels.
think this is true description so far
rs wheat and corn are concerned. a
man must not come TO Kansas with the
expectation of making fortune in a
wear or even IN half dozen years, nor
must he expect TO grow rich farming,
for he cannot, but You can make quite
respectable living, but the farmer
who Gets rich is the one that raises
stock Of every Descriptions. have seen
more good stock in Kansas than in any
other State have been in. \ prcttler
sight YOU never saw than To get up on
one of these mounds and look ont upon
tie prairie and see ST. many herds OF
cattle roaming at will over the green
pastures; these cattle are fat and large.
Then hogs We find all over the country
in great numbers, we see car load after
car load @ mp the railroad here to Kan
.sas City and ST. Louis, en- route for
some eastern market.
We might row look at the benefits
of the State Free School System; the
free school system of this State Is the
best of any State | know ot-we have
school here nine months out Of the year,
which is about "a month longer than we
used TO have it run back i'll Virginia !;
the schools are well supported with
fnrds from the taxes as well the land
belonging TO CERTAIN districts. don't
think there is any school land in this
county, but there is IN the adjoining
counties. Our teachers receive salary
from twenty-five TO one hundred dollars
per month, according to their certificate;
the professor of our school here in this
Town received one hundred dollars per
month, and he was one OF the best
teachers that ever went TO school 10.
So You see il is great benefit to have
q GOOD free school system, the poor as
well as the rich receive the Dentits OF
good education, and best of all is, It
costs nothing save the childs time at
his books. We have no other school
in the town-everybody goes to the
public school aud deem it an honor for
so doing.
The politics of this country are re-
publican-very nearly entirely republi-
but still there ale a good many
democrats here, but the strength of the
democratic party is not strong enough
TO pu. forth a candidate of its party;
they therefore nominate some man who
calls himself an independent, sometimes