Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1889-08-31
THOUGHTS FROM TACOMA,
A Letter Full of Interest to Trego
County People.
TACOMA, W. T., Aug. 16, 1889

very highly appreciated by myself and
family.
After a residence of about nine months
in Tacoma, I am prepared to say that I
like it here very well. We have beau
tiful city of twenty thousand inhabitants.
All lines of business are well represented,
both wholesale and retail. The city is
growing rapidly, and all the modern i'm
provements are keeping pace with the
rapid growth of the city. We have all
the modern improvements and conven-
fences which are supposed to be the nee
essary accompaniment of an advanced
state of civilization, such as churches,
schools, street cars, electric lights, free
whisky and "wilted illies;" and. if I may
be allowed to Judge, enough of each and
all of these to fully satisfy the rapidly
increasing demand of this far famed "City
of Destiny" With our w. G. T. o., Y.
NJ. c. A., our ministers on $4,000 salary,
Harry Morgan running low dive in the
interests of gambling, robbing, free whis-
key and the demi monde-the latter having
more power over the city authorities than
all the others combined-it is but fair to
assume that we are destined to "get there
Semanthe"
Small fruits and most all kinds of
vegetables seem to do we'll here, but this
being comparatively new country, there
are not enough raised to supply the de-
mand, the greater part being shipped
from Oregon and California. This is
destined to be good fruit country; but
as for attempting to clear off farm in
this land, among the tall cedars of Leb-
anon, I pray to be excused. Tall trees!
well should remark. There is not room
on the ground to pile the wood that can
be cut from them. You can't fell tree
without encroaching upon some Indian
reservation or an adjoining territory. A
man cut down tree the other day, and
while engaged in trimming the top, the
horn blew for dinner. He started at
once for the house, but when he got
there the family had been to supper and
gone to bed. No, thank you; when I
want farm will take prairie in NINE
The weather for the past months has
been all that could be desired-the finest
summer weather have ever seen. No
storms nor heavy winds. have seen no
lightning, and have only heard it thunder
twice since l came here.
Beautiful summer land" is this Puget
Sound country. But from the description
of a Puget Sound winter, in the language
of another, ~ sadly turn away and want
to read something funny" Along about
the first of November they open the
bottles of Heaven, throw away the corks,
and "let her 60 Gallagher" until spring
Fog everlasting, rain eternal, and mud
about the consistency of cream. L con-
TESS it is just too much for a Kansas
Prohibitionist. The man who wrote,
'As one listens to the patter
OF the soft rain overhead
Never spent winter in the Puget Sound
country. I think he lived in Kansas
during drouth. never knew until the
other day where that other crank lived
who wrote Beautiful Snow. He lived in
Tacoma. 1t was midsummer. He sat at
his open window gazing out across the
beautiful waters of Puget Sound. His
heart wandered back to the girl he left
behind him. Suddenly his eyes rested on
old mount Tacoma's snow-clad summit,
looking in the distance like great white
throne. OF course he did. I could have
written Beautiful Snow myself under
such circumstances But just let any
man try his hand on Beautiful Snow in
Kansas blizzard. Let him 90 out into
bus corral in the morning and ''tail 'em
up" for an hour before breakfast as an
appetizer, and then try his hand on
poetry. And as he listens to the bowling
OF the blizzard and the bawling of old
Lineback for another stalk of sour eor-
ghum, as she leans up against the wire
fence for shelter, he may get as far az,
"All down but nine, tail 'em up again"
but no farther.
Well, I have lost my narrative; I believe
was talking about Puget Sound win
ter. The face of nature here during
winter reminds one of the wifes face on
wash days-not your wife's nor mine, but
the other fellow's-cloudy, full OF. frowns
and decidedly sudsy. The sun tries in
vain to kiss away the frowns. A whole
family OF sons could not do it. My idea
OF winter in this country may differ
somewhat from the ever truthful land
agents stories. But they lie by 'inher-
tied tendency" and natural selection"
that is, they always sslect the best
while l only exaggerate little because