Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1885-05-05
THE GARDEN OF THE WORLD

Prom the " iniield News
Alexander Campbell, the great vain
pe,ist. who i'll an early day Travelled
and preached from his home in Nlr-
ginia TO the Mississippi river, was the
author, il j. said, of the expression
.the garden of the world, which lac
anpIied to Central Illinois. Such an
opinion NAV have been well founded
BIZ "A man who had never seen Kansas.
Now such AN opinion would be too
absurd 10 make IA wooden man laugh.
A man who has Travelled in Kansas
during the various seasons VIII II wv
scarcely risk his reputation by euio2i@-
| ing any state east OF the MISSISSIPPI.
Ii man would see the garden OF
the world" in all its various asPect-
and variations of upland and valley,
hill and dale, bluff aud woodland,
stone auarries and rich soils, let HIM
start az Manhattan or junction City,
in the valley of the kaw. Leaving
that VALLEY. with its "brOoks and
brac7" and Alpine glories, let nm
pass down the Neoshc, through Da-
VS.. Morris and Lyon counties 10 En-
poria. AT Emporia let him pass west
erly to the valley of the Arkansas at
Wichita. The country Is gorgeous
with It's wealth OF soil and products
of grain, grasses and TIMBER growth.
Every town is on the boom, with
| Wichita leading them all with the grit,
energy and enterprise OF double
strength dynamite. About 800 houses
now in process of erection al the same
time. with biennial doubling OF pop
ulation. That is Wichita.
II was a lovely morning in April,
when from Wichita we started down
the valley, with Winfield, Cowlcy
county. as the objective point. IL Is
bp, a two hour, ride i'll the beautiful
palace cars of the Santa Fe road. This
htchi.on, Topeka and Santa Fc con-
panv is one OF the most enlightened
and liberal roads in the state. Their
road bed. track and rolling stock al
WAYS in superior condition, continu-
ally win the love of the travelling pub
lie and become long drawn out and
active advertisement OF the region
through which they pass. Hence the
moment one leaves the road Of less
literally company, and finds hun
on the Santa Fe, 40 one need iuiorm
| him OF the fact. The wheels
run a great deal more glibly, the hours
are shorter, the coaches are cieaner,
sweeier, better attended and in every
way more comfortable. The towns
along the line grow more rapidly, the
houses are painted in livelier co!ors,
the door wards are better kept, the
birds sing more sweetly, the voices of
the farm animals are more cheerful,
the children about the homes and
school grounds play more joyously,
the farmers turn the soil with greater
aIacriiv. the towns and country have
more sunshine, the landscapes are
brighter and property more valuable.
Nor can any say that road thus III n
AGED. on the live and let live principle,
i less valuable a. an investment. be-
cause OF The enlightened libcrahty at
lis managers But on the other
hand. since the railroads are said 10
live on the tat Of The land, the iatter
the land the better the living: an! Us
ua!ly. in the long rus, those roads
ike be-, and pay best that do all they
can 10 promote the prosperity, growth
and v calth of the people among which
they pass.
We have spoken of the garden of
the world" Now if YOU desire 10 see
the Garden of Eden. YOU can find ii in
Scdgwick and Cowley counties. in a
Sou;heastcrly direction from Wichita.
The country j. beautifully undulat-
ing; no abrupt blntlS, no stag
nan: marshes: nicely drained
everywhere, by the gradual sl"p-
ing of the land, into the Arkan-
sas river The soil is rich, warm,
sandy loan, producing all the grains
and grasses of ;he temperate zones.
Wood and water are plentiful. The
water Is pure and hcslthtul in wells
and springs and running brooks. Aud
an item not found everywhere, the
broad bottom land farms are every
where undcrilowed by the waters of
the ncighboring river. The surface
dries quickly after heavy rains and l.
again ready for the pillow, yet. through
subsoii irrigation by the hand of ma
ture, the crops do not suffer from
drought. On such farms trees, and
crops make double the growth and
produce the most satisfactory results
and even the wild grasses start earlier
in the spring and hold their nutrition
II winter