Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1886-03-06

q mile more and the writer of this be-
came deathly sick in less than half the d
time it takes to tell it. But the dinner f
stand was in sight, and at the end of b
18 miles we took half hour for rest f
and dinner. 1t is against the law TO Z
sell whisky in Kansas, but the writer I
called for whisky all the same, and t
took big drink of what was set be- I
fore him, and paid for it, but if the '
seller had been arrested for selling '
whisky we could not have testified that i
we drank any whisky Oh his premises. 6
1t was sold for whisky, and it cured
our sea- sickness in ten minutes, and
that was our object in getting outside {
of it. The ride was resumed after dim
ner, and we reached COldwater at .
o'clock Saturday night, all in good
spirits except the tenderfoot lady, who
scattered the contents of her stomach
over the last three miles of road.
During the days ride we passed over
the finest lands in Barber and Conan
che counties, and in that section these
two counties and Harper county, rank
above all others. Barber county is al
most all red land, and to Missourian
looks worthless except tor brick max
ing. But this is said to be the very
best of land for wheat or corn, and the
land buyer needs no other recommen-
datiOn than to see the color OF the
ground. On the sides of the bluffs we
could see there was no bottom to the |
red soil, and consequently there is no
such thing as wearing out the land.
There are high mounds all through the |
southern part of the state, and these
are perhaps little higher in Barber
county than anywhere else. These
mounds or bluffs are capped with
vein of about two Or three feet of
gypsum, which is dissolved by long ex-
posure to rain and sunshine, and wash
es down the valleys, fertilizing lands
that are already as rich as need be. We
heard of several large yields of oats
and corn. One authentic case was
yield of 100 bushels of oats Oh an acre
of sod ground; and we heard OF one
man who raised 60 bushels of corn on
an acre of sod ground. We heard OF
several who said they had raised so
bushels to the acre. There is scarcely
any, if any ground at all, that has been
cultivated more than one year.
Coldwater is new town OF four or
five hundred inhabitants. Every
branch of trade is represented. All
goods are received from KinsIey, forty
miles north, on the railroad, and the
cost of freight is frightful.' The mean
est slake, that our miners throw away,
is sold for coal at cent pound. laid
down in Coldwater. There is but lit
tie timber in the county, and that is
scarcely worthy of the name. The
land is beautiful, rolling, high prairie,
covered with sod of buffalo grass.
This sod is so tough that buggy can
run over marshy places without cutting
through. The soil is all that could
be asked, except small strips here and
there which are little too sandy.
: These sandy places, if not too deep,
are said to produce better, in dry sea :
l sons, than the other lands. The cost
of living is not excessive, all things
considered. Good flour sells at So to
. So % per hundred; bacon, 124 cents
per pound, board, without lodging,
Il 81 so per week. Land two or three
s miles from Coldwater is selling at
$1,000 per quarter section. About
seven miles out of town it brings $500
!. or 800 per quarter section. Occa-
sionally better bargains can be secured
if one has the ready cash money to
: pick them up
We found two democratic paper
o being published at Coldwater, one, thu
Western Star, owned and run by MIR
9 VIM. M. Cash, an old Lexingtonian
!, who learned his trade in the Intelligen
Ger Office. He is getting out goo(
9 paper, has a fine circulation for tina
- new county, and what is very. impor
tant, is making money rapidly. Eli
u owns a fine quarter-section three mile
from town, and can stand in the street
u of the town andd see all over his farm
II He has refused several offers of 81 900
q for the land. Frank NJ. Cash owns tn
adjoining quarter-section, which is ;
= valuable claim. having stream of un
9 failing water running through ii
;. Franks sod house aud sod stable haT
, tumbled down,as emigrants passing b,
Is have stolen all the poles out of hi
1t roofs. Emierants steal every woodel
thing they can carry off.
,. One of the great drawbacks to tina
}, section is the scarcity of money
ic Every town that has five grocery store
ID will have about three land offices, ,wher
ic money can be borrowed on real estate
l. The money belongs to eastern capital
10 lists, and commands per cent. interes
'e per month, beside 4 per cent. commits
: sion. 1t is almost impossible to ge
1t change for large bill. Silver is wortt
" a premium. Even at A.tica, forty
II miles east of Medicine Lodge, we coult
y not buy railroad ticket, costing 81 81
is because the agent could not chang
re $40. We finally found man with tw
d S5 bills, and got the ticket.
T. We left Coldwater Tuesday NOR ming
of 23d, returning to the Lodge by some
a what different road. The stage con
re sisted of heavy spring wagon, wit
~ spring seats, all covered with canvas
e. The team was four mules. The frs
al team was lazy, and the driver worked
3 his passage by vigorously plying hi
of whip and doing some swearing tina
III almost took ones breath. AT the en-
le of twenty miles we got new team
al and it wanted to run all the time, ant
r. did run nearly all the way. Oar drive
Y. was handsome young man named {
ne B. Armstrong, but for the past thir
OF teen years has sailed under the nicb
name of "keno." lie came fror
# Ul{nOis and has heen drivino q stao