Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-11-15
KANSAS.
Some Facts and Observations Concerning
the Grasshopper state, by an Indepen-
dencP Man
TOPEKA, Kan, Nov. Sth. 1873.
lance, howevc

DEAR BULLETIN:-Quite large
number of your readers are interested
in the West, and frequently inquire
about the routes of travel, advantages of
different locations, prospects of immed-
late settlement, and improvement, es-
pecially whether they had better ex-
change their location in Buchanan
county. Iowa, for one in the West. Col
Lake has answered these queries ably
and thoroughly well in his letters to
your paper and lectures to your people,
so far as Colorado and the far west J"
is concerned. Still, they claim that his
word pictures of western life are not
applicable to Kansas This morning |
received three letters from farmers in
three different parts of Buchanan coun-
ty asking numerous questions on this
subject One of them suggests an an
swer through your paper, and as | have
not the time to write them individually,
this letter is sent to you.
lst. My advice would be to each, go
and see foryourself \ round trip tick
ct from independence to Kinsley, Kan
sas, will cost you $40, and will be
honored by the r. r. companies exact
ly according to the printed contract,
which you will be obliged to sign when
you get the ticket, and which you should
read carefully before signing This
ticket is received for fares. south to
Burlington, Iowa, over the B., G. r. &
y. r. r.. west to Creston, Iowa, over
the c., B. 4 Q. r. r., thence southwest
over the K, St. j. a. c. B. r. r.. to
Atchison, Kan. Thus far you will find
gentlemanly r. r. employees, and first
class accommodations. At Atchison
you get into the clutches of the Atchi-
son. Topeka & Santa Fe r. r. Under
the laws of Venice, Shylock could take
his pound of flesh, but no drop of Neni-
tian blood Kansas law may have some
such excellent provisions, but this cor
poration CA. r. e. F) manage to get all
that is nominated in the bond, and if
blood is spilled they are careful to see
that it is not theirs.
In preparing for this journey, get a
grip sack and pack it with clean linen,
towels. brushes. &C., also a large basket.
Pack this with lunch, plenty Of it. sub
stantial lunch. If you drink water in
South Kansas it will give you
an appetite for the substantials q have
not tried the whisky, which is nearly as
PLENTIFUL. Next, get good supply of
greenbacks. Even if you are Demo
crat you will find them necessary. Have
your wife send you p. O. money order
for fifty dollars to Topeka, and arrange
with one of the banks at Independence
to honor your drafts for two or three
hundred dollars. Add large, coarse,
heavy overcoat, a rubber blanket, one
that is bug and louise proof, a good re-
volver Swamp Angel, one hundred
cartridges. When you start do not
leave the lunch basket 1t will do to
leave the grip sack, as You will be likely
to lose that. but the lunch basket is a
necessity.
At certain seasons, Of certain years,
this is very beautiful country to look
at, and when the crops are good and the
signs of the political zodiac favorable,
farmers make money enough to pay the
taxes of the other years, when the
drouth, the hoppers, the fire or the fe
yer have prevented their making any
thing. This is one of the good years,
DuG UIlc TdliTudu kllSS slo uoWu oH tllo
pile, by high tariff, or by refusing to
carry freight at all, except certain
kinds, and at ruinous rates. A grain
buyer at Wichita told me every thing
was full of grain, and they would not
buy at any price. saw nice corn re-
fused at IS cents per bushel At Fort
Scott a man dumped load of nice coal
into the creek, because he could not
get cents per bushel for it.
There are some good schools in Kan
sas, but the ungraded schools of the
rural districts are poor enough, lacking
buildings, apparatus, books and good
teachers because they lack money.
Probably the finest school building in
the State, the State Normal, at Empor-
ia, was burned down a few days ago, by
pile of coal taking fire in the base
ment. The State Legislature discon-
tinued the appropriation for State Nor
NAL Schools, and this fire will probably
end the normal school problem in this
State, at least for the present.
Churches are quite plentiful; enough
of the various species to keep the 9TH
ers busy watching or fighting So the
Young Mems Association has to main
tain the brunt of the fight with the Adj
versary of Souls and his assistants, in
temperance and Hon. Robt. Ingersoll, of
Peoria, III.
Immigration has been very large this
season, and continues to be large 1t
may be that, as the country improves,
many of it's present disadvantages will
disappear. Competition may force cor