Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1880-04-14
Letter from Kansas.

BRooKvILLE, Saline Co., Kansas,
March 20, 1880
Editors Cttizen-In answer to the
many inquiries relative to the society,
the climate, wheat growing and stock
raising, and the advantages afforded
for making money in the State of
Kansas, a few facts might be fitting,
not only to the general reader, but to
those more directly interested.
The attention of the entire East for
the two years past has been directed
to the West-Kansas and Colorado.
Notwithstanding the bulk of society is
formed Of the best men and women of
the East, well educated and refined,
whom better days have dawned upon,
full of energy and enterprise, bright
with hope, endeavoring to rise to their
former station in life or enhance their
present comforts by more and valuable
acquisitions, yet there are some among
Us who are blight to any community.
Men from the ranks of every profess
sion, whose early training has received
it's finishing touch at some well-recog-
nized college or university, here cast
aside their professional airs and exper-
iment ON the nobility and dignity Of
manual labor. This class of men are
getting rich, some by raising stock
and others by wheat growing.
From the Missodri river west we
have a gradual rise until it reaches
several thousand feet above tidewater
These plains were formerly known as
the Wide Sandy Deserts. Our lands
consist of three distinct classes
Beautiful valleys, from one to ten
miles wide, alongside the beautiful
crystal streams, belted with fine tim
Der, such as walnut, oak, cottonwood
and alum, sufficient for fuel for many
years. These valley lands are black
muck soil, varying from one foot to
two feet in depth, and very fertile.
Then we have table lands, that rise
from ten to thirty feet higher, void of
timber, and sandy black muck SOIL
given to drouth more than our valleys,
but frst-class wheat lands. These
lands are covered with buffalo grass
and prairie blue grass.
Last, but not least, are our bluff
lands, rising to the height of four or
five hundred feet, broken and undu-
lated with fine little streams of water
running down almost from the sum-
mits. Every description of rock can
be found on our bluffs in great abund-
ance, including fine magnesia, lime,
sandstone, stone coal and iron ore.
These lands afford good pasture for
cattle and horses at all seasons. The
air is light and pure.
Our springs are early and winters
short, and mud is almost unknown in
in any portion of Kansas Summer is
not oppressive with heat, nor are our
winters very cold. This winter we
had three cold days before Christmas,
and about one week of cold weather
in this month.
In conclusion, ! would say to my
many correspondents not to come to
Kansas as many do, anticipating a
fortune to be picked up at once by get
ting these Government lands for almost
nothing, and sailing through this world
on bed of ease. First, you must
have money enough to keep yourself
and family for at least one year, and
enough to buy a team. Farming is
done here almost entirely by machin-
ery. We cut our cereals with the
headers and self-binders, SOW with the
drills, and plow with gang plows, so
that hired labor is almost dispensed
with altogether Our buildings are
put up generally of rough, undressed
rock, so that man cannot depend on
his labor only by improving a home
for himself.
Our winter is now over, the weather
fine, the grass is commencing to look
green, prairie clover is in full bloom,
the wheat crop is very promising, with
a very lage acreage sown. Emigration
has commenced pouring in, the white
wagon sheets can be seen daily jour
neying westward, and every train Of
passenger coaches is packed full. Still
there is room for thousands more.
Yours, etc,
r. A. HAZLETT.