Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1888-05-30
A Sketch of the West.

In the two last issues of the SPECTATOR
reference was made to Judge Grattan's run
ming trip to the West He was out there in
pursuance of a purpose to promote his own
Valley country, by furnishing information
of its pr aspects and advantages generally,
but more directly in aid of securing some
of the population of the West which is rep
resented as DESTROYS of making new homes
for themselves in the Southern States, with
the view of engaging in agriculture.
We requested Judge Grattan to give us a
sketch of his trip and the country as it ap-
appeared to him for publication. He has
done so and it will be read with much in
terest and for this favor, we beg to return
him our thanks.
eff the author of the Deserted Village liz
his traveller could paint him at each remove
dragging frightening chain, how much
deeper must the impression be open one
who has left behind him, scenes such a,
this fair Valley of ours affords l had
heard such glowing tales of western wealth
in beauty of scenery and fertility of sol
and material progress-that when 1 started
few days ago for a short trip through sew
eral of our Western States, / emptied my
mind so far as I could of all pride of home
associations, that might take in as much
| of the West as | could And having re.
turned, now wish, Mr.. Editor, to unbur.
den my mind to some extent, and if l shall
succeed in turning the anxious eyes of any
| of our adventurous young people back from
the West to our own beautiful Valley,
shall have succeeded in my desire. know
nothing of Central and Southern Illinois,
Iowa, Missouri, or Kansas, and can only
discount their pictures by the difference be.
tween what l saw and expected to see where
I was. After leaving the Valley on the G. &
O., 1 saw no good farming land, until
reached Mt. Sterling, Ky, the entrance Of
the Blue Grass country. The country along
the route, it is true, is fast building up, bu
not by farming industries, and the canyon
of the New River is almost continuous
village whose nights are made luminous by
the coke ovens, like street lamps, and where
ever and anon, the tall chimney of some
iron furnace standing sentinel along the
rivers bank throws its black shadow
across it's boiling waters, whose waves CLEAN
in the red light of the blazing furnace.
From Sterling to Winchester and thence
to Paris in the direction of Cincinnati, l OBJ
served the land excellent, the houses solid
comfortable and comley, the barns large
and commodious, the stock plentiful and
fat, the fences in good order, and the people
contented and happy; but upon inquiry,
found none of it was in the market, anC
if by reason of death and for division, one
of these farms was offered for sale, that il
brought from 800 to 5000 per acre. After
crossing the Ohio, from Cincinnati to In
dianapolis, outside OF the villages, the lane
is not rich, and the farmers do not show
outward signs of prosperity. There were
no new houses or barns, and the old ones
were small and had the appearance of wan
of care and thrift about them. The fences
were poor and low, although timber seemed
to be plentiful. saw no cattle-few cows
very few sheep, 3and rarely saw a man il
the field at work. Beyond Indianapolis
going north, the country improves some
what, but is low and fiat and too wet.
saw many swamps. and every farm that
showed any thrift could see evidence Of
drainage in piles of tiles that were await
ing the bitches. These of necessity, mus
cost very heavily. This land, after it il
drained properly, I should think, would be
productive. The houses were frame small
many of them implanted and looked dilap
idated. l saw no large barns, and no stock
about the small farm buildings did | see
and none in the fields. The fences here are
poor, along the road tolerable, but the cross
| fences not more than seven or eight rail-
high and not staked and ridered; don t
think l saw half-dozen that were in the
whole cent1e of the State. 1t would not b.
fair to Judge the whole country by its whea
| oro,> hot ie voriabln STANDARD anf
they have been frozen out, but their crop
through the section l passed, cannot be
half crop; the oats looked sickly, the corr
was not up. The country school-houses
saw did not impress me either by thei
number or splendor, and | think August
county is ahead of them there. l am salts
fled, if you expend what is necessary il
draining these lands, putting them unde
proper fence, Building such houses ant
barns and outhouses as We have, that yo'
will have brought up the prices Of thes
lands to more than the same qualify can b
bought for here 700 or 800 niles nearer dee
water, with good water and climate, noun
tain barriers against cyclones, and drain
age that defies malaria, population SCUM
in morals and religion, and civilization tina
has passed through the state of fermenta
ton and thrown off its scum.
The villages and towns are greatly supe
rior to and more beautiful than ours, indeed
the wealth and culture of the country seer
to have crowded to them, and there, tiaunt
ing in their gay colors like the butterfly
seem to have forgotten the dry shells the
have left behind them in the country.
: There may be, and doubtless are muc
finer and better regions than those | saw
but surely for these it would be folly fd
our young men to leave our country t
seek home among strangers there.