Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1885-07-04

A Kansas Day.
Occasionally in the spring there comes
Ciay that seems to have all zones and
seasons condensed into its briet space.
Two or three such days are indeiiblv
fixed In my memory. The morning
may dawn upon us clear, cool. and poft'
with sparkling dew and the song of :
thousand meadow larks. The sun comes
gradually up above the clean cut hori.
zon. We feel no languor. It ia de.
light to live and breathe and move. The
sun mounts toward the zenith. and the
air begins te grow hot. It is insuffers-
bly, hot. There Is no tree, no hill. no
rock, to give q cooling shade. and the
deep blue sky contains no passing cloud
to give % moments respite from the
suns binding rays. We think regret
fully Of the umbrella that Yesterdays
wind t1rned inside out, and determine
to put up tent as soon as the weather
is cool enough to encourage the effort
But atmospheric stiffness never lasts
long In Kansas. The wind begins to
blow, and our sitting breath grows more
free. From the south the wind comes,
reaching our ears with a murmuring
sound before We feel 1t in our faces. The
prairie grass and fields of grain rise and
fall, first in waves, and then in heaving
pillows. The wind increases in force
and becomes sirocco, scorchlng our
faces worse than the hottest rays of the
sun could do. There is no dignity in
walking. We struggle with our skirts
and wraps. We tie our hats down, we
hold on to them with both hands, and
still they escape us, and we rush madly
after them. The clothes on the line at
the next door flap wildly around beat.
ing out their hens and splitting in every
weakened spot, while the washer-woman
is striving to keep her balance long
enough to res cue them before their total
destruction; lucky is she if they are not
snatched from her grasp and scattered
far over the prairie to be recovered
Great tumble-weeds come rolling like
hoops across the plain. Here comes q
market-basket escaped from the hand o
some urchin who for moment forgot to
be vigilant. We start to catch it for him,
but it eludes us, and goes jumping over
the prairie for half mile or more, and
is soon out of sight. A canvas. covered
carriage is seized by the wind and rolled
down the street. On the next house
comes toppling down the stove-pipe
chimney. Three or four "claim shan.
ties" are laid over on their sides, and
the builders of the large house in the
upper part of the town will have to be.
gin to. morrow putting up their frame
anew. We think about tornadoes and
cyclones, and then remark quietly, "this
isn't anything; just an ordinary straight
blow" Clouds of dust fill the air, pene-
trating the thickest wells, reddening our
eyes, and sitting through the cracks OF
doors and windows to the utter ruin OF
all good hou> excepting.
And here it comes. In the southeast
black cloud appears, moving rapidly.
We look anxiously to see if it is funnel
shaped, and few nervous persons re-
treat to their cellars, or caves (that is,
artificial excavations that serve as out
side cellars for some of the houses.) But
this is not tornado, only a Kansas
shower. First comes a cloud of dust,
sweeping with the rapidity of whirl-
wind, and yelling the town from sight
The lightning blinds our eyes, and
streaks the black sky with chains of
light. Housewives bring sheets and
pieces of old carpet to stop the cracks of
the doors and windows on the wind
ward eide, and "hurry" must be the
word, tor in a moment the rain is upon
us, not in drops, but in binding sheets
moving horizontally along. In few
moments the roadways are streams of
running water, the tubs and rain barrels
and cisterns are oveifowing. The far
mers exultingly exclaim, "this insures
the corn CROP" and the local editor
writes for his item column, what SLAM
derer said 'drouthy Kansas?"
It is no longer rain; it is sleet and hail.
Next comes rift in the clouds, perfect
arch of rainbow, and the clouds roll
away out of sight, leaving the clean
washed earth dotted with flowers. The
afternoon wanes. The winds are still.
The sun sinks in blaze of golden glory,
and almost with twilight the day is
ended. In the ocean of dark blne ether
above and round us, the moon and stars
are shining. 1t is the perfection of
glorious night. We linger in it's beauty,
unwilling that sleep should claim the
best hours of the twenty-four, but at last,
the thought of to-morrow's labors and
vicissitudes drives us to our couch. We
fall asleep, to awaken perhaps in a few
hours and find that the bed covering is
insufficient. We wrap ourselves in all
the blankets we can find, but are still
cold, and grow colder. The south wind
has given place to q norther, which
creeps in through the seams of the win
dows, lifts the carpet in pillows, and
drives us back to our warmest fannels,
and our rekindled fires.
In weather, as in almost all phases of
this prairie life, it is the unexpected
which usually happens. What adjective
is there, applicable to weather, that may
not be used in the superlative degree
here! do not wonder that this is called
sunny Kansas" but it is also windy
Kansas. Yes. it is drouthy Kansas, but
it is also fertile, beautiful Kansas.-July
atlantic.
STRANGER THAN FICTION.