Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1879-02-27


on his mittens. Immigrants are com,
ing in by railroads frequently. Prairie
schooners appear and show the weary
traveller going to the far west seeking
cheap homes, passing by good lands
which can be bought cheap, near
school houses, churches and good
society. Enclosed please find letter
written by an able writer which will
be of much interest to those who in,
tend coming south and west.
Your old Friend,
ID. OLIVER.
[The following is the article re.
ferred to by Mr.. Oliver.l
There are many who believe that
the stream of immigration that has
been pouring Westward in such i'm
mense volumes during the past two
or three years has well.nigh ex.
hausted itself, and that Kansas can.
not reasonably hope for very large
accessions to her population By i'm,
migration in the immediate future.
But this is mistaken idea; all the
signs of the times indicate that the
wonderful immigration TO Kansas
asring the year has been but the
foreranner Of q vastly greater num-
Der soon to follow. "Hard times I"
is still the cry all over the East !;
production is in excess of consump
ton there is surplus of the pro,
ducts of mechanical skill, and there
are more laborers than labor-the
supply OF workmen is far in excess
of the work TO be done, and as q
consequence, many Thousands of
men arc out of employment, and
with no immediate prospect Of any
better state of affairs. Therefore,
when the spring comes, there will
be large exodus to other quarters,
and as the West holds cut the great
est Inducements, the attention of the
emigrant is turned in this direction.
He comes to the West in the hope of
lettering his condition; he knows
that prices of agriculture are very
low, but he knows that the fruitful
moss of the soil is without parallel,
and he reasons that the low prices
per bushel will be Offset by the mum
her of bushels. He knows that the
change cannot be for the worse, and
he hopes that it may be for better !;
n nlx hn L..
poet Of least of making a living on
tho prairie, while he knows he can
not do so in his present location. He
doesn't know that he will be able to
live here, but no does know that he
is Not able to live there, and hence
no turns to the West as forlorn
hope.
Thousands who were sent to Kan.
eas-driven we may say-by just
such fortune as this, now find them.
selves in comfortable circumstances.
independent of employs rs, with good
homes, good surroundings, and slow
Iy but surely growing rich. Those
who come next year and the year
after will fare equally as well, if only
they are prudent, and exercise the
same good judgment in the selection
af location that they would use in
tho selection of a horse or new
goat, Millions of acres of good land
just as good as any in the United
States-oan be had by the home-
seekers on terms so easy that any
man whc is able to move to the
West and snake claim" can obtain
it 10 the far western part Of Kan.
sss there is still an immense GUAM.
tity Of Government land which can
be Observation-Disclosures the Gov
eminent will give, free, in leo acre
lots, to all those who are willing ia
settle on it and remain FIVE years
and 10 all other parts of the State
there are great quantities that car
BIO bought from individual owners
at very low prices, or of any of the
land grant railroads on terms &C
favorable that the purchaser can pay
for It out of the products of the sol
without embarrassing himself. Bul
one of the great mistakes-in fac,
the great mistake, into which q large
proportion of emigrants fall is II
going too farm pushing away tc
the extreme frontier, where they ar,
without schools, churches, or society
and so far away from market tina
the products of their land are con
sumed in freight charges. 1t is tra,
that so much of the public land o.
the State has already been taken NJ
that in order to lind land subject t
Homestead entry" the settler mus
necessarily go into the extrem,
western couHties, but it is far bette
for him to stop nearer market, ever
if he has to pay good price for hi
land. We have written this fac
time sud again, for the benefit o
those who are coming to Kansas
aud we should like to see il repeated
by the newspapers eli over the eoun
try. When q home.seeker goes 8,
far away from market that ever,
thing he raises is eaten up by freight
the land, while he gets it for moth
ing,is dearer than the highest price,
land in . good location.
Good land in any of the organise,
counties of the State, where the set
tier may ct once enjoy the benefit o
schools, churches and sooiety an,
the advantages of civilization, ma,
be had at very low prices, ranginl
from three to six dollars- per acre
and when man buys it he buys Q
the same time ell those advantage
which, on the frontier, he can onl,
acquire by years of hard and patien
toll, and by the invastment Of, prob
ably, more money than would equs
the entire value of his land. An