Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1883-05-24
KANSAS LETTER,


dium of your paper wish to make
good in part my promise to write to
many good friends in Napoleon and
vicinity, something about Kansas as
bave only been able to do so person,
ally in few instances, my time being
we'll taken in getting in shape to live
and crop started. As there has been
so much written and so many varied
opinions expressed about "Sunny
Kansas, )" and Breezy Kansas it
would be mere presumption in me this
early to attempt more than a very
slight sketch of what is to be seen on
the surface of things here. 1t is said
by all here that this is an unusual late
spring, some three weeks or month
later than the average Yet we found
on our arrival here april lOth) many
indications of Spring. Cattle seemed
to be grazing on either hand and said
to have been living mainly on the pra.
ries for month or more. Oats were
all sown and up green, some corn
planted and up, potatoes and gardens
looking well and farmers on all sides
busy blowing and at this writing they
are still blowing, planting and sowing
and will be for some weeks to come,
there is large spring crop being put
out of corn, cane, millet &c. Farmers
work and act as if they had faith in
the soil. There is an immense crop of
sorgum being planted the present sea-
son. The Kansas Sugar Manufactur-
ing Co. is located here and has made
extensive outlays in buildings, machin-
cry and apparatus, some 100000 be-
sides have purchased and rented large
body of land and planting it in sor-
gum. They have been very success
full in the past in making an excellent
quality of syrup and sugar, and are
now adding more machinery and ap-
paratus for the more perfect manufac,
ture Of the same.
But while there is a great amount
of croplng done here land to probable
good success lp the main,) I will VEN
ture the opinion that this is more en-
phatical!y a grazing country and is fast
proving to be such, from the fact of
the great increase of cattle and sheep
which do well. Many train loads of
fine blooded cattle have been shipped
from the East to this point and farther
west in the short time l have been
here, and they sell at a high price.
Our town is 'alive and not dead" bust
ness men say ''trade is good" and
so it looks on the surface, as all appear
to be busy, merchant, mechanic, labor
er, farmer and all.
There is many new buildings going
up this season, some for business,
many more for residences, some very
fine. But l must hasten as to the
weather. So far it has been cool and
pleasant, little too cool at times for
the rapid advance of crops. One or
two very light frosts, good rain or
two each week, (and to put it SOFTLY }
as often little breezy with some sand
mixed. So you see have not made
up my "verdict" so emphatically on
Kansas as "Y. A. H." has on much
praised Dakota in your last issue (stlll
we may have some of the frontier pc
culiarities he speaks of in milder
form) but rather propose to defer
judgment and take evidence for a
year and then may venture an opinion,
but so far have no idea of consigning
Kansas to all the woes and torments
he has Dacota than l have of donning
it a second Eden. I fell more dis.
posed to invite our Fargo friend over
to Kansas and have the pleasure Of
better company.
d. RICHARDS.