Wichita eagle., 1886-12-01
MORTON COUNTY, KANSAS.

MOTION county, hauSaS, tloIHeIiy Nall
sas county, is in the extreme southwest cor
ner of the state. 1t is twenty-seven miles
square The climate in this particular sec
ton of country is all that any one can wish
for. The elevation Of Merton county is
about 2, 900 feet above the sea, Its loca-
ton is near enough to the range of the
Rocky Mountains to receive the benefits OF
a mountain breeze and be free from hot
winds and the extreme heat Of summer, so
apparent in many other sections Of a prairie
country. The winters arc reasonably mild
and of short duration.
Morton county is about in the same latl-
tude (between) as is Monterey, California,
on the Pacific coast, and Norfolk, Virginia,
on the eastern sea coast
The soil is a dark loan from two to six
feet deep, mixed with proportion of sand,
very rich and productive in quality, and
will spontaneously grow all kinds of crops
to full maturity, and in early season. The
soil is underlaid with stratum of gypsum
and clay.
The Cimarron river is the only stream of
water in the county that has continuous
flow and supply of water the year around.
While the best kind of pure water is easily
obtained in all portions of the county at a
reasonable depth by digging for it. The
water and streams are free from alkali.
The surface of the country is rather inclin-
ed to be level, and is generally in its natural
and undeveloped state, thickly covered with
buffalo grass, while almost every quarter
section of land in the county has been taken
up by some one during the past and pres
ent year Considerable sod is broken and
crops sown thereon, and by the cOpious |
rainfall throughout the growing season
fair crops have been grown upon the
newly broken sod, netting fair compen |
sation to the tiller of the soil for his re-
turn.
La Sanimas county, Colorado, with all
her fields of hard coal adjoins Morton
county, Kansas on the west, while other
newly developed coal fields in NO Mans
Land, still nearer by are being discovered
and operated, thus atfording cheap fuel and
good markets for Morton county, Kansas.
Access to cheap fuel and good markets, and
natural resource of country, is well worth
the consideration of a prospector in Kansas.
Good building stone is also to be had in
different portions Of Morton county, while
lumber from the Southwest can be had
near about as cheap as from the East. A
number Of contemplated new lines of rail
roads enroute to the coal fields are expected
through Morton county within the next
eighteen months.
Morton county, though in her infancy
has a number Of towns and villages. The
older of which is Richfeld, recently de
clared the county seat There are two
banks in Richfield and three
different newspaper publications,
two of which are opposite IN political
sense One is favorably inclined to Re
publican administration while the other
tends to Democratic principles. The third
is an independent publication taking
in amusingly the benefits of profit and
loss" as best it may occur. An exact es-
timation of the population of Morton
county is not attainable, as immigration is
rapidly filling up every uninhabited por-
ton of the county, with class of intelli-
gent and well to do people principally
from the east, and who are making speedy
for the comforts of happy
home
The nearest railroad point at present to
Morton county is Syracuse, on the Atchi
son, Topeka d Santa Fe railroad, from
which point daily stages run to Richfeld
and points en- route.
n 3. MCNEIL.