Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-07-31
The GlOries Of Kansas.

SATURDAY EVENING, JULY 81, I68O.
The Glories OF Kansas.
A. Depicted by . Young Jsrssyman who Has
Seen for Himself.
A young Trentonian writes to the Ca
zette from Thomson colony, near Salina,
Kansas, as follows:
Having received Just now some Tren-
ton papers, was led to contrast my home
here with a home in Trenton, as enjoyed
by the average mechanic, and concluded
that few lines on the subject might be
useful to some who are thinking of the
West, as did, as desirable location for a
home. l came here in March last with
others to work CO .operatively on section of
good land, one of the best in the vicinity, and
up to this date have not had any new po-
tatoes, cabbage or other vegetables, except
few string beans and very few peas.
We put in q acres of potatoes on a very
desirable piece of land, and the probability
is that we shall not obtain the quantity it
took for seed. This county { Saline is
considered one of the best in the state, and
yet fully twO-thirds of the settlers, who
are principally Eastern people, would glad
ly sell out and return if they had the op-
portunity-the writer included. It rained
the morning after my arrival sufficient to
make puddles, and l was assured that that
was the heaviest rain for over six months.
We have had occasional rains since, but
none to soak the ground over two or three
inches deep. The result is, that the plants
that came up vigorously have remained
stunted and worthless, or have died off.
The problem is, how to subsist through
the winter and take the risk of another
season like it, or how to get back to for
mcr scenes and privileges and thrift, with
pleasant surroundings of social and domes-
tic comforts. The land we occupy is, to
my thinking, as good as anybody could
desire, and holds moisture to a wonderful
degree, otherwise farmers could not sub
sist at all. But think of being without
vegetables through the heated term-and
that means a thermometer in the niDeties
in the shade through June, and about 100
through July 1t was 1O4 when we went
to Sunday school, one and half miles dis
tant; it showed 100 this after
noon in the house. 1 saw in one of
the issues of your paper that one of
our winds had reached you, and caused
some commOtiOn. Residents here smile at
such reports, for that is SO common here
people have to 90 some time to hunt
wagons and movable property of similar
nature, that the wind had transferred to
other farms. Insect life is abundant and
in variety wonderful. Snakes are plenty
too, and in variety. l killed one near the
door of the house few weeks ago, and
yesterday our youngest girl told us
that she saw one in the bedroom.
I found the striped creeper,
behind trunk, to be about four
feet long, and soon despatched it, as l
have good many others since coming here
The absence OF trees is great drawback,
lumber being very high, $25 per 200 feet
and upwards; no shade, no shelter, and no
fence until grown, for the average settler
cannot afford to pay for it. All the diff
culties incident to a new country would,
in comparatively few years, be overcome
here, if we could depend upon more fire.
quent rains but rs it is, the dryness facili-
tates the increase of the endless variety of
bugs and other insects and grasshOppers;
why, if were to tell the size of some l
have seen, my word would be doubted they
are SO very large.