The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1878-11-14

rect ou citneT sue II DdIiu Vi greer
marks the timber skirted edges OF tn,
streams. Nature has been lavish of he
charms. and Kansas, her youngest daugh
ter on this continent, is the belle of tn
nation. No pen can depict the beautie
OF this valley. Where was once treels s.
plain are now countless groves OF timbel
planted by the provideDt hand Of tn,
settler to protect his homestead from The
| winter winds, and for their cool shade
during the heat of the summer. To as
cend one OF these butfes and look down
on the country beneath reminds you Of
a huge checker board, to such an extent
Is the country fenced by hedges, while
cottages peep out from the groves 81
nestle amongst the orchards. Great
herds OF cattle are grazing where the
| prairie is still unbroken, and fiocks oil
sheep wander among the hills. As one
looks down upon this scene of beauty
and prosperity, they cannot help but sigh
to think IN two years there will not be {,
quarter secfiOn of all this country that
has not had its bosom torn and disfgured
by the plOw; that the beautiful forest
decked Town of Salina will be double its
present size, and that the thunder and
noise of her manufactures will disturb
the stiffness. All this will pass through
your mind, for though you may be no
prophet, You would have to he blind in
deed not to see what this steady stream
of emigration means, that is pouring its
ceaseless torrents into all these valleys,
and not only the valleys, but it oveTflows
and spreads away out upon the upland>
where the land was supposed to b.
worthless. but which only nroduccd
forty ard fifty bushels of wheat per acre
The railroads may run excursion trains
on certain days, but the people will, and
are making, an excursion train of every
one that rolls westward; they are ali
crowded. They pack the passenger
trains and climb aboard the treighls.
while every road is thronged with the
white covered W agons of the emigrants.
The ancient Goths and Nandals never
more thoroughly overran sunny Italy
Than these harbingers OF a power 10 come
do Kansas. They are not mere birds of
passage who will alight for time, and
:hen speed onward, but they have come TO
stay and have brought with them their
Lares and Peuates. What boundless
wealth lies dormant in the brains and
muscles OF these men and women? Before
their onward marcn, mountains, rivers
and deserts vanish, while borne east
ward is an ever increasing volume OF
wheat, sof corn, OF cattle, and everything
that goes TO make a nation great, happy
and populous. Here the tuilsome emf
grant finds the elysium OF his dreams !;
on the broad piairies of Saline county,
the sturdy yeoman finds the home which
he has SO often pictured to himsel. in his
far of cot in the Fatherland. No more
does he tremble lest some prescription
tear him from the bosom of his family,
and throw him for long weary years
into dark, gloomy barracks. or march
him out to obey the will of despot
The son of the Emerald Isle iorgets the
pangs of his parting with old Ireland, in
the calm content of a happy and pros
porous home. All nationalities meet and
gradually fuse into one. The pure
breeZes of freedom cleanse them of sec
lional strife. and they become in the
truest sense Americans. That vanguard
OF civilization so necessary TO the first
development of n new country, but of so
little use afterwards, the pioneer.
is rapidly fading away and push
ing westward, to 60 through
the same process again. In
their stead have come men OF energy
and capital. No. finer openings exist
than may still to be found here for
those who come determined to stand on
their merits, and wrest from the over
flowing lap OF Dame Nature home and
a competency. They must not come
with the expectation that wealth will be
showered upon them. For this class
there is no room. Of loaiers and clerks
there are enough but let them roll up
their sleeves and go TO work, and their
reward will be swift and sure. Saline
county contains an area of AGO, 500
acres, a territory twice as large as any
two of the smaller German states, which
support population of from fifty to
one hundred thousand people, and twice
as capable OF supporting such popula-
ton. In 1870 the county contained a
population OF 4, 2i6; at tine time the GEN.
sus was taken this spring, 1873, $3.50;
and il it were taken now would swell
this number to 10000, as the immigra-
ton has been very large during the past
six months. In 1876 the amount OF i'm
proved land was 65,410.12 acres; this
spring there were 1907 06 acres, a gain
OF 81, $50 6 during that time.
All OF the data given below was cor
rect up to this spring, when it was taken
There are 4.2i4 horses in the county
mules, $50; mich cows, 2,6SS; other
4 ~
wool, 1851 hogs, ll,952; animals sold
for slaughter. 5,946. Acres of winter
wheat, 67.740; spring wheat, 1891;
total, 7S,S5l; placing the yield OF wheat
at eighteen bushels per acre for winter
and twelve for spring, which is under
rather than over. would give for winter
wheat 1.2tS, 300 bushels, and of spring
ISL 1872. or grand total of 1850 l2 !
bushels as the wheat cropof Saline coun
ty in 1873. There was grown 9i4 acres |
Of rye: of oats. SOLO acres; of millei. |
etc., 2,01S acres; broom corn, l.201 |
acres. Welding Cos l-2 tons, worth S24.- |
l40: Indian corn. 1926 acres, yielding |
933, 0i0 bushels: acres OF irish potatoes, |
TAG. There are 1852 fruit trees in the /
county, and | .i2S acres of planted shade 4
trees. OF fence there are OF stone l.enS: !
rail. ). 500: hedge. lGi, S14: wire, l. ,i9l. |
and of board 6. IFS rods: while the total l
value If taxable properly is S2,50S. 800. /
In 1876 there were fiity-two school
in the county. ard there are 4
now abou; sixty, ranging in value from
$500 20 $50. coo The high school build
ng At Salina would do credit TO any city /
n the state. 1t is a magnificent three
story structure and cost $4,000. In
1876 the value of school property Wis
s7i,65S
STREAMS AND WATER.
Saline county can justly lay claim 10
,eing one of the best watereG counties in
he state. The Smoky Hill river passes
through the county on lis way from the
10 the sea. Its valley is !
road and fertile. and is well settled.
The Saline comes meandering in at the
northwest corner and joins her sister,