The Red Cloud chief., 1879-11-27
Picturesque Features Of Kansas Farm

Captain Henry Hing ii TpkckA ha- in
S,rbuv's Hgnthly fpT November =
graphic sketeh If some lcngth under the
above caption. The introductory j. a.
follows
There j. no more eniirins scene than
the Kansas prairics IN spring. The eve
wander- out over gracefully swcrviHg
and unmonoionDu- line. "a what seems
the very limit If thing: YOU dare npl
conjecture whsrs Oh. earth nd. and the
sky begin-. II the graz were a bit more
forward. and the a~tmD,phsre had Dnly q
hint If fog in Il, y,a might hken the VIZ
ion Ia a sea and her thp-r blush
curve. would b. waves, and that quar-
Of newly plnwed furrUws a -h"al at f-h,
and Wonder tail. Obliqu. sycamore i
snapped and floating spar, and the n
little white hOu-. away off there by H.
self the vague sail If ~pnle approaching
ship. But the gra-s j. too -hOrt, and
the air too crisp and dry, for such a
Simile. B,-iies, We kuow thi- slope If
docper green Oh righ. J., early wheat,
just high enough for the slight breeze 10
stir IL prc,tily. a. il might stir 4 bahy's
hair and here on our left j. a quiyering
flame Of pclch-blD--Dm-. There are
laughing b0y- and girl- ahead of IL. too,
on their Way a. school; and directly we
shall toe o~ycrtaking frcqucn; wagons
loaded with lumber, ,hinglc- and VIII
dow-sash and then viii come the clr-
mentary in farm-making. and the latest
of the arriving ~~ettier-. And - the
picture gpe- on, repeating Itself for ZuN
mile. ur mor.-and beyond that YET J.
the surveyor, with hi spying and beck
oning compass.
The farm are large, YOU viii observe.
and growing larger, ., II they had
caught something 81 the nature "i th0-"
infinite skies; and n every turn r-c~
that pcrya-iyc and undcfiuah," odnr #
fresh-cut sod. What miles and miles of
black oyerlappin" line-. across The
emerald prairie whore the pl"w, ar
going. iiut there are liberal interval
not vet filed upon or opened up,
a, they name il out here and the farm
crs have a keen eve for convenient
ranges upon which their stock may
%rslzr, and where plenty Of hay may be
secured in il. season at the mcr" cost of
rcaping and stacking. it ha, been A.
~rrtcd that the kansan would not care
4 20 IL heaven unless hr could bc guar
aniccd an ample range 10 the west Of II.
Indeed, it i, only 10y rc~orting 10 figures
that one can reach "A comprehension OF
the aggregate extent of these long, mar
row, black strips Of .'prairir-hrcakiDg."
Not until You take your pencil and run
oycr the foOtinTs If the Assessors re-
turns, and find that in the last Year al
most a million acres We're added Ia the
cultivated area of the State, do luu lee
Tin Ia realize what the busy pl"w- are
accomplishing and when You come To
supplement this with the fact that dur
in" the same period, fully a hundred
thousand people came Ia kan-:Is /"
make new farms and homes, yuu will
understand how numerous, after all,
must he the buildings which look 80
sparse To You. and :" ycniurcS"m".
These buildingS, Icy tn" way. arc
sharply characteristic, not L. LAY anon
alnu~ for. really, they seem Ia hclou%
To- i condition of things which it J. dit-
iicult Ia reconcile with - much III "rIS-,
and wild lark> SonT~, and clear blue
~ky. The typical log-cahin of early
DAYS on the Wabash and Nangam"n II
seldom Ia Toe seen here, and it i used,
when YOU do see il, a. a stable or Il cow
she'd the man who made it-hc IF IN"
huttcrnut ~arh and ia" furnished aspect
left Kansas when the ''kcer> came.
and went .hack L. hi WIFE folks
ca>, Of the Mississippi. The dug-"ut i
here. il j. true: but the duw-out l. An in
diEenoI- affair. and an Improvement up
on the ancient log c~untrivancc IN this,
that il j. only a makc->hilt. AMI rapidly
give> WAY /" something better. And
then it j. modest, also ta> the swagger-
ing old ~log-cahin with its clay "chink-
inc" aud it, obese and ride
ulouS outside chimbly " never wa>D.
and has a pleasant effect oi
Shying al your approach; for it is
simply an opening made into 4 hillside
or convenient slope. you must know,
rooted over with turf several layers
thick ON a framework Of poles, and hav-
inc "A front |improviSed from 4 few
chance boards and >cantling> and half 4
dozen pancs of glass. Usually. canvas
or brown >hectinT Ia wa@"n-coyer. per
hap,) is nailed la the poles inside for a
ceiling. and the walls are rendered dry
and smooth with whitcwaSh; the floor l.
the mere hard earth, in most cases ear
pctcd with ~uuny-ba%s or an odd mat
tine Of braided corn-huSkS. They are
said Ia I've very comfortable hapitatiunS,
cool in summer and warm in winter:
and often these rude interiors are ar
ranged with ingenious and admirable
g., IL. .,..nf .r.a
set off with canny little porchcS, I"
which Towering vines are trained |
once saw III that WAS a mass Of morn
ing glorieS. through which the sunlight
leiSurclv sought the open door and
changed the -unny carpet Ia cloth 81
gold-wkile out upon the sod roof a
child in Scant calico frock, and bare
footed. stood gazing with wide eyes IT a
great Tapping hawk overhead.
However. most Of the farm dwellings
for a hundred miles or farther outward
are patterned after the country houses
of the better STYLES in the older States,
the predominant type being the >nug
white frame with green wiudow-shutter>
and a gracious touch of portico. The
kansans have 4 phenomenal genius for
homes. lhcN reverse Inc olu oTuer ol
pioneering. and make the home the
/ foundation. instead Of the outcome. 81
their struggle with nature; domestic
comfort and convenience are in their
plan the means. and not merely the end,
of life. Hence, neat and substantial
houses are generally built Ia start with,
and Judging Kansas by the usual test OF
farm residences. YOU would take her Il
be fifty wears old ut least, when in truth
this test of age and development here
contradicts itself; often the household
gods are attractively en>hrined in adj
vance of the first of the blowing.
These people. You will readily per
ceive. are none of Your plodding. thick
witted kind. sucked in 4 creed out.
worn" They are a new race, with :
new philosophy. Enter n of then
homes, and you will find a parlor will
threc-ply carpet on the floor. lace cur
tainS At the windows, pictures on thi
walls. a shelf of books. and. not unlike
~. a piano in the corner. AnC
they will talk TO you-the farmer
and his wife-ahout Emerson
and Huxley. -Deronda" and THAI
Lass q Lowrie's;'' about the Centen