The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1885-05-09
NO 10.
From Knaaann.
SuEsYMEAD RANCH, IvANPAH, GREENWOOD |
Co., KANSAS, April 20, 1886
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SUNNYMEAD RANCH, IvAHPAH, GREENWOOD i
Co., KANSAS, April %, 1885.
To the Lake Charles Echo:
From Lake Charles, La, to Reece,
Kansas, pretty good jump, and il
took Just forty-seven hours to make
it. Something less than half hours
ride behind a spanking team and,
presto, here we were transferred from
the pine woods, prairie and marsh Of
Calcasieu to the valley of Ivanpah
with its entourage Of Flint Hills, ris-
ing mountain-like about us. And on
a veritable model sheep ranch, Sunny
mead, the property Of MIR. B. Stanly
Brown, is by no means the largest of
ranches, but il will do. About
eighteen hundred merinos, compact
masses of them mildly staring you out
of countenance, not one OF them so
much as winking an eye, so 70 speak,
is an impressive spectacle. But that
is nothing to seeing them in motion,
an army of sheep on the march.
Coming up to this higher latitude, we
left Spring behind, but it has followed
is, and is now busily touching up the
great rocky Flint Hills with softest
green, and decking the Iyanpah bot
tom with delicate yerdnre and red-bud
blossoms in kindly promise Of future
luxuriance of leaf and flower. How
admirably Mother Nature managesl
And how consistently she works ont
the law of compensation. "Here" she
seems to say to the children of the
Sunny South, "you have wood in
superabundance; with little labor you
obtain wherevithal for food and cloth
ing, and II you choose, may rest salts.
fed with such portion" To these
hardy people her mandate goes forth,
"Work or perish.' To hear is TO
obey and the reward follows. Corn
and small grains, apples, pears and
peaches in profusion and Of superior
quality, esculents ditto; fine strong
horses, fat swine, sheep, too, and such
sheep they are, Razor back hogs are
an unknown species. All along the
clear flowing Ivanpal are neat cot
tages and handsome residences, the
headquarters of ranches. All are
painted, even the sheep sheds and
stables from ridge-comb to the tounda
tion. No shabby dwellings,, no poor
teams, or shackling vehicles have yet
met my eyes. | cannot help wonder
ing what these people would do in
Calcasieu parish, What success would
crown the same energy and labor therea
How would these great fiocks Of
merinos thrive on the grassy prairies
and pine woods yerdure of that sunny
land9 One cannot realize the unre-
mitting attention given to all stock
here without actually seeing it. The
amount of corn, oats, sorghum, even
beets and turnips, fed out is amazing
after the experience of the happy-go-
lucky methods of Texas and Lonisi-
ana, The winter just passed has been
the longest and most severe known
here for some years, and planting
season is unusually late. Frequent
rains too have prevented extensive
agricultural labor up to present date.
BY the by, the Kansas Zephyr is an
institution not to bo ignored Into
these admirably constituted homes it
breathes not so much as q gentle sigh,
but go forth, brace yourself we'll and
face it, Don't stand too straight or
yon will feel that there is chance of
being laid out flat on your back. The
best way Is to bend forward and 60 at
it aggressively, and keep at II until
the desired goal is attained, Now
tnrn about, and just here comes in the
compensation. You have only to let
yourself 60, 1t will do the rest for
you. r, L. %.