Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1886-07-03
ATWOOD. RAWLINs COUNT

EDITORS Herald: - Having this
spring and summer travelled over much
OF Nebraska and Kansas, may be O lit
tie scattering opinion OF the two new
states may not be considered unworthy
n place In yOur paper. My wander
ings comprise about p counties in
Kansas and 10 in Nebraska.
Including my travels Of this year
with those of former years they include
shat portion of the state east OF Clark
county and HaWlins, from the southern
to the northern boundry of this State.
The southwestern counties, 1 think,
have some stronger soil than any other
part OF the State. bat much bad land
also, a great deal OF sand, and is not SIS
good a grass country as the northwest
part of the State. ] think this the best
grazing country in the State, On the
high prairies here they have TO 90 from
$50 10 200 feet for waiter, but In the
valleys only 80 to 30 feet. The water
is pretty good as a rule.
There has been plenty Of rain here
so far this season. nothing having sur
fered for the y ant OF it The gTOuEd is
now thoroughly soaked from late rains
ThOse who have come here with q view
TO filling the soil and making homes
have good crops and are proving to the
world That this is q good farming cOuu-
try. The man who made good crops
in j linOis, Indiana or Ohio, makes
good crops here; but the man who all
ways found it either TOO wet or too dry
in those states find the same drawbacks
here, and these are ia the main, the
kind of men that are settling on the
frontier or rather '.naidng on it,
The wheat crop everywhere have
been is very poor and oats the same.
Winter wheat / don't think viii ever
dO well here; but i think it IS o good
spriag wheat country III the farmers
were here to grow it.
The s'clajm" taking business has
been and is tho great curse 10 this
country - not LOmesteading, but
s'claim" taking. Men residing In all
parts of Kansas and in nearly all the
northwestern states have been taking
ffclaims'' in western Kansas They,
many of them, own farms in eastern
Nebraska, in Iowa, Missouri, Illinois,
Wisconsin and eastern Kansas. i, q
few days ago saw eight men from Clay
county Nebraska, where Jour OF them
said, they owned farms which they had
taken under tie homestead law some
fifteen years ago. going southwest to
take s'cIaims." They had left their
1arns which they claim is magnificent
land, right in the busiest crop season to
take more sclaims - which / seriously
doubt if they are entitled TO under the
law. AS i said before s'claim" taking
business is the curse to western Kansas.
Men have taken up the larger part Of
the good land under the presumption
Jaw and Immediately after proving up
transferring it to the land sharks who
furnish the money to ''prOVe up" on.
This is the way things have been run
ming. This is the reason this country
has so little land broken. The same
can be said of Nebraska, but western
Nebraska is such o miserable fraud
that il matters little what they do with
the land. Southeastern Nebraska is q
good country but when You leave that
Section Won viii find but very little
more desirable country in the State.
This is the reason Kansas has out
stripped her so FAR in growth
The reported coal bed in Cheyenne
county has not yet been proven to be q
six foot vein, as stated in tne papers,
They are now sinking O shaft and
think they VIII find q good paying vein
oft coal. If good coal is found In pay
ing quantities in WanOs it VIII make o
city in few years.
Atwood is on the stand still tAis SUM
laer. Times are hard, and about the
only thing that brings money Into the
country IS travel there being so little
ground 30 cultivation that there is no
farm products Tor market. j think
Another year VIII bring a good farming
class If people here and then things
will boom. d. uAEMAN.
June 29ths 1856