The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1882-09-21
GREAT AMERICAN DESERT.
The Gsand Transformation Scene Worked in
Western Kansas.

In a speech delivered on the state fair
grounds by Colonel Clark +. Carr, the fol-
lowing reference was made TO Western Kan
sas:
Upon the great plains beyond the hum
dredth meridian, which has been supposed
to be the dead line of agricultural products,
the people of Kansas are developing Il sys-
TEN of agriculture which in results sur
passes anything hitherto known upon the
continent. Ia the region where was once
pointed out upon the maps the great Ameri-
can desert are now being gathered in har-
vests more iuxurient and abundant than can
be produced upon The prairies of Illinois or
upon the richest loan that can be found in
any state of the union. The valleys and
basins o: the Rocky mountains have been
converted into vast watering pot, which
in lis almost unbounded extent of thousands
of square miles collects all the SHOWS of
winter and rains OF summer. OF this the
Arh1nsas river j. the spout and the artificial
bitches men have made, the perforated noz-
zle With AN authority which seems almost
equal to that ot Omnipotencc. man says,
"Let it rain" and the land is refreshed with
copious showers When there is enough he
| says, "!.et the rain cease" and his mandate
is obeyed. While in less favorable locations
| the crops are whitening and dying under the
constant burning sunshine Oh the one hand
| or are being overwhelmed and destroyed by
| increasing rain on the other: TO the farmer
upon the Arkansas river in Western Kansas
| il i "A matter Of little concern whether the
heavens above him be open or closed: ht
rests in the certainty that the great reser
| voirs among the mountains viii always con
tain an abundance, and he knows that h'
can have upon his land nil the life-giNint
water be requires. and that when be ha
enough instead o! his growing crops being
drowned out by excessive humidity he cal
| turn the water back into lis original chan
| mel! The most wonderful thing of all Is tina
this water is thick and heavy with darl
| sediment which j. richer than any fertilizer
that has been discovered. AMI EebeNer la
| waters his land he ut the same time enriche
il. lie has all the advantages enjoyed b!
the people who have lived in Tie valley o
the Nile, with none OF the disadvantages
| Instead Oh tnc Nbolt idHI bclbS uNtihoNc'
in one season Of the year, only such land Il
| watered a. is desirable. He j. more sure o
| bountifu crop than man in any .othe
locality because he is not subject 10 tn
yicissitudes of every other region. Givei
soil o: unsurpassed fertility, constant sun
shine and just the amount OF water needle,
and no more, with proper seeding and cul
tivation, the amo Int Of the crop which mus
be produced can he calculated witt muel
certainty and precision as any mathematical
problem. This wonderful development lie
mt the door of the great mining enterprise
| of the continent, where there il unhounde'
wealth and little toll, and it lies in the mids
of the great ranges upon which are myriad
OF cattle In the immediate vicinity. ther
must continue to be 4 vast number OF hun
gry men and beasts. TO bring to every farm
er's house IL market equal if no. superior L
that of any city IN the land. To foim an
conception of the wealth III store for tli
people who are to inbabit that region, on
must study the history OF ancieni Egypt. 9
pharoahs the ptoiemie>, The Harnesses an
the whole line Of ayna,tieS. The onulcnc
and splendor which ha> continued for age
in the country wstered by the Nile is to b
rcpeated in Western Kansas.