Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1883-06-21
Letter from Missouri.

EDIT bR NoRrHwKsT:-In your issue Of June III
see letter from my old friend j. +. Hall, from
which learn tina pc expected to locate on "LouI
Fork" in Nebraska, and p which he advises tn,
home seekers TO choose that part Of Nebraska An6
avoid Missouri. Now, while look upon this a
very bad adviee, and fear some Of my old friendl
may be hooked i'm thereby, am very certain II "a
an error OF the head and not Of the heart the par
Of my friend Hall.
Mr. Hall says he took run over three railroads In
Missouri and thinks very little Of the State on &C
count Of poor water and great deal OF the soil be-
ing underlaid with hard pan, and consequently will
not stand wet or CRY weather" Herein lies his mis-
take. The south and west half Of Missouri, has as
good water there is in the world. Surely my
friend Hall never had goblet Of the pure nectar
that flows out of the lee side Of the Ozark noun.
tains. The three north tiers Of counties all un-
derad by hard pan and they produce excellent crops
of wheat, and grass, both in wet and dry sea-
sons. The drainage is perfect, that wet season
can hinder the cultivation Of corn but little more
than the time 1t is raining and In this part Of the
state there has not been failure of crops on &C.
count of drouth for IA years. Indeed, the drouth
dry that usually occurs here in August is q
very fortunate dispensaton of providence. Were il
not for this drouth, the vast luxurant vegetation
would not ripen in year. Last year, for instance
we had ain from the Goth CT July until the Sd OF
September, and yet when we cut our corn, the ear
was ripe and the blades green and as fine corn
In farmers wagons In Chillicothe on the 9Th Of Au-
Pust as ever beheld. Now had 1t not been for that
season of rpening, those great stalks of corn, as
thick around as ye editors wrist, would have re.
mained green until now. My friend speaks In his
letter of visiting man by the name OF Johnston,
and says he is ''gentleman in every respect
Here again we ahead. Why we have more than
a dozen just such persons in Missouri. My old
friend Tommy Jones beats his man Johnston slick
and clean, for when he took me nome with him be
set up dimijohn of wine People in this part of the
state believe strongly In Missouri SO there is less
advertising of its merits than is the case with Kan
sas or Nebraska and hundreds OF people rush by to
the treeless bleak and sterile regions in the far
west, without stopping to see what may be nearer
home But we frequently see them on their way
back-they very laxative then. But every coun-
try has Its weak and strong points and prompted by
only good wishes for friend Hail. do regret that he
did not stop off and look over this part Of Missouri
more thoroughly, before condemning the State in
such n sweeping manner. And even now as an effort
TO snatch a brand from the burning, will say to
him: NV friend of other days. If you have not laid
down your money on the Loup forks, stop off at
Sampsel, find Paul Byrd, and learn OF him, for al
though he is meek and owly In statue he is full of
business and perfect gentleman" In this coun-
ry YOU can find plenty Of timber, plenty Of fruit,
plenty of stone, and an abundance of clear, cold
Water. have three clear, cold springs on my farm,
and mineral spring that has proved itself to be a
preventative of chicken and hog cholera ever since
the farm was improyed-over thirty years-and it
has proved in one to be cure for nervous and
kidney complaints effecting more in this respect
than the most thorough medical treatment. re-
member of travelling up the Loup Valley-it was in
1881 distinctly remember the piles of white sand
that doomed upon the right and the sage brush on
the left and how when fording the Loup, wading in
water above the wastebands, and trying to keep six
yoke of oxen down to their knittngfor to stop ten
minutes meant to have the action of the waiter settle
the wagon in the quick-sand-and how everiastingly
we had to fight those Of mosquitoes; and God
knows a more ravenous, vllainous tribe never met
in any country. But then we had SO much fun bak-
ing griddle cakes with green willow twgs and buffalo
chips. And Iwell remember the exciting debate
that come of on the west bank Of the river and the
arguments used bs thenegatiye.s Tbs questions as
find 1t put down in black and white IN my hotes of
travel" reads thusly: i"Resolved, that the LOup
valley offers sufficient stractiOn to warrant its set
tement and cultivation by the white people of Amer
ica." Negative carried. consider Livingston Co.,
No., as good body Of land as know of anywhere
in the United States. The east half of the county is
paraifie dotted over by groves and belts of timber
and there are a great many good springs of most
excellent water, while good wells can be had any
where in the county by digging from Is to 25 feet,
and people are boring with the best results, while
artificial lakes afford endless supply of good stock
water The west half Of the county is remarkably
we'll watered by springs and shallow wells, and was
originally more than two-thirds timber and the soil
is as good as can be found anywhere in the world.
DANIEL FINK.
Sampsel, Mo-, June IA, 1883.