Weekly graphic. [volume] (Kirksville, Adair Co., Missouri) 1880-1949, 1886-06-25
Tourists Letter.
NORTH PLATT, NEB., June 5.

q
the country through which we
have passed. Our party consists
of Mr.. W. II. Morgan and wife,
Mr.. E. d. Glasgow, wife and
brother and myself. We have
been on the road twenty-four days.
Three of them having been Sun
days, we have travelled but twenty
one days. All have enjoyed the
trip well and with the exception of
the first few days, which were
rainy, have had fine weather and
splendid roads.
We have met with no incident
or accident, so far, worthy of note
except an occurrence ON Grand
River bottom, where we camped
one night in one of those gloomy
places, that brought to mind the
haunts of the flames Boys"
During the night our horses
were heard to leaye the wagons.
A hasty inspection developed the
fact that they were going toward a
grove near by with some unknown
person holding the halters. A few
shots from Mr.. Morgan's revolver
quickly changed the program and
the horses were turned loose. We
could not learn whether any one
was hit but the excitement of that
night will long be remembered by
the party.
At no place on the route have
we found the farmers as far adj
vanced with their work as they
were in Adair county. AS late as
the 18th and Goth of May the farm
ers on the Grand River bottoms,
had just begun to plough, and on
the Missouri River bottoms, hun
dreds of acres had been abandoned
on account of the rains.
Corn here is the pricipal crop
and never before in my travels
have l seen such immense cribs
of corn, as on this trip. 1t is no
uncommon thing to see from one
to four thousand bushels on one
farm, and on one place in the Mis-
souri, River bottom farmer had
cribbed ten thousand bushels. In
Nebraska fully one third of the
corn is not Ill crib, but in huge
piles containing from 1000 to 1900
bushels each. Owing to the un-
usual amount of snow during the
| winter and rain this spring, it has
been greatly damaged. Good
}, corn in Nebraska. shelled and de-
livered was selling at 14cts to 15cts
per bushel, and corn that had been
} injured by laying in piles, though
good for feeding, was selling at
s cts to 10 cts per bushel.
One feature noticeable, since I
travelled over this country seven
years ago, is the absence of wheat.
Then it was the principal crop, but
has been largely abandoned on &C
count of its uncertainty. Instead
we see large fields of splendid
timothy and clover, which then
could not be grown successfully.
At Cozad we crossed to the
south side of the Platt river to
avoid the sand, instead of continu-
ing up the north side as we had
been advised at starting. Great
was our surprise to find this por-
ton of the Great American Des-
ert the finest portion of the state
we had yet passed over. A few
4 years ago it was considered be-
You'd the rain belt and unfit for
anything except grazing. Now we
found crops of wheat, oats and
rye looking splendidly, in fact we
found abount the only wheat here
that we have seen on the trip.
Here the wheat yields from 25 to
80 bushels per acre, and corn from
40 to 70, though this yield of corn
is not uncommon for Nebraska.
The Oldest settlers have been
here but five or six years, this por-
ton of the country having been
formerly avoided on account of its
;. lack of water. But there is no
scarcity of it now.
i We are now encamped just south
of the city of North Platt, lively
place of $500 inhabitants and the
county seat of Lincoln County,
situated near the confluence of the
North and South Plat, and about
midway between Kirksville and
Lander Valley, Wyoming Terrific
ry, whittier we are bound.
i We have now been twenty-four
days on the road, but expect to
make the remainder of the journey
in less time.
!: AT this place very little farming
is done, but here and there, scat
tered over the prairies, are i'm
mense herds of cattle, sheep and
ponies, indicating that we are
about leaving the agricultural
4 region
i The party are oil we'll and as
before stated have enjoyed the
"trip exceedingly and there has not
been a symptom of home sickness