Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1886-02-20

ed. In chat with Captain Hanna, he
gave us the latest wrinkles in the home
stead, presumption and timber. culture
laws, by which, we will add, we are en-
abled to brand as fallacies several points
which have generally been accepted as
true. One Of these is the fact that where
the applicant for homestead has made
actual settlement on the land ne desires
to enter, he is entitled to three months
from the date of settlement, instead of
80 days, as it is usually expressed, to ap-
pear in person at the local land Office,
and file application and affidavit, etc,
This misapprehension of facts is likely
to cause the loss of many claims. In
stating the time when final payment
must be made on a pre-emption, one
publication of some prominence has pub
ished it at thirty, instead of thirty-three
months, from the fling Of the declaratory
statement.
Another six months like the six
months Just passed will absorb all the
public lands in this district.
This is the western Kansas govern
ment land district. Its territory is COM
prised in the southern tier of govern
ment townships of the counties of Rocks,
Graham, Sheridan, Thomas and Sher-
man, and of the full counties of Ellis,
Rush, Ness, Trego, Cove, Lane, Scott,
st. John, Wichita, Greeley and Wallace.
In the counties of Ellis, Rush, Ness,
Trego, Cove and Lane, government lands
were taken largely during the great
movement westward in 1873 and 1879.
In fact, in Ellis and Rush, considerable
government land had been taken previ-
Gus to 1873. The tide westward in 1879
merely touched the counties of Scott
and st. John, leaving the four counties
to the west to be explored" when the
tide Of 1885 began to surge.
There are yet little more than one
and half million acres of government
land in the western Kansas land district.
The western Kansas government land
Office has been located at Wa-Keeney
since in the fall of 1879.
As early as this, there is considerable
contesting of claims on which entries
were made day or few days longer
than six months ago.
Additional restrictions are constantly
being thrown around the making of f.
nal proofs. This fact is magnet direct
ing the public gaze to the point that the
value of western Kansas lands is increas-
ing with constancy and rapidity.
In land official circles, the repeal of the
timber culture and presumption laws by
the present congress is looked for. This
is to be long session of congress, and
by the time that body gets this law
passed, all the desirable timber claims in
the western Kansas land district will
perhaps have been taken.
A timber claim must have been taken
eight years before it can be proved up on.
OF the $40 claims of this character in
this district, which have been taken more
than eight years, final proof has been
made on only four-all in Rush county.
In all, 8,612 timber claims have been
taken in this district. A good many OF
these which have not been taken more
than six or seven years have the neces-
sary quantity and quality of timber to
enable final proof to be made now, only
for that eight year clause. Among these
in Trego county, are the claims Of Ben.
G. Rich, Larry LIE Bron, B. Mapes, and
doubtless others of which we are not cog
INFANT. There are, it is fair to presume,
many timber claims in Ellis and Ness
countie upon which final proof will be
made before long. With the coming
summers measuring up with the two
last past, there would be no trouble in
propagating timber in western Kansas.
But it cannot yet be possessed quite as
easily as man at a Wa-Keeney hotel
proposed to get it. The day was some
what blustry. He remarked rather
rushingly: II don't like it very well on
the prairie; I'm going back on one of
the streams where I can take timber
claim with timber on it."
Through the extreme kindness of
County Treasurer Kelly, assisted by
Treasurer elect Gibbs, we are enabled
to make this exhibit of the actual num-
Der of acres of Kansas state school lands
now remaining unsold in Trego county
and the counties attached to her for ju-
dicial purposes: In Trego county, 1850;
in Cove county, 1000; in StJohn county,
6,4OO; in Wallace county, 25,6OO.
In the opinion of Register Hanna,
the agricultural portion of the govern
ment domain throughout the country will
be absorbed in from fifteen to twenty
years.
As an index to the farming status out
here, it is not out OF place to add that the
sale of agricultural implements in Wa
Keeney has increased rapidly and con-
stantly for the past two years.
But few good timber claims remain un-
taken in the western Kansas land district
east Of Wallace and Greeley counties. In
these two counties, about half this class
of claims are yet vacant.
The price of school lands ranges from
So to about $3.50 per acre. Even in the
extreme western counties, five dollars per
acre is not considered an extravagant
price.
Some farming has been done in this land
district as far west as the tide of immi-
grafton in 1873 and 1879 rolled west.
As far as the free ranging of cattle on
big scale in this land district is con-
cerned, it is confined chiefly to the coun-
ties of st. John, Wallace, Scott, Wichita
and Greeley.
The cunning prairie dogs hold the fort
yet as far east as Wa-Keeney. Their
towns are comparatively numerous