Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1890-11-07
A Western Trip.
GLADE MILLS, Oct p, 1890,

uLADE MlLLcs ONt Is AoS's
ED. Crrrzsx:-My companion in life AMI
myself having just returned from very
pleasant visit to some Of the Western
States. and presuming that some Of the
readers of your valuable paper may feel
some interest in at least some of our West
ern friends we propose with your per
mission to jot down few incidents of our
trip.
We visited friends near the cities oska-
looSa, Iowa; Sutawa and Emporia. Kansas;
and from reports expected to see our
friends wearing long faces on account Of
short crops, but were happy to find them
all well and rejoicing in the fact that their
crops were generally good, excepting corn,
and it is good half crop, and also that
they have large quantities of the old crops
on hands, and were receiving good prices
for all their productions. Corn brings 40
cents bushel and oats 80 cents. Hogs
bring 81 per hundred. Kansas seems to
have the pre-eminence, both in stock
raising and in variety of crops, many Of
the farmers having large crops of flax seed,
millet and castor beans. Flax seed brings
ST. 80 per bushel As an evidence of how
cheaply stock can be wintered in Kansas,
some of the ranchmen have let out their
stock to be wintered at 81 per month per
head.
They also have fine fruit in Kansas, and
apples bring 80 to 60 cents per bushel in
the orchards, and peaches were only 20 to
% cents per bushel.
Although times are good in Eastern
Kansas and Nebraska we heard the report
and saw the evidence of great destitutlon
in the western parts, and as one case
among many We met man from one of
the western cohntieS who had been living
there for eleven years, but was forced to
leave. He was driving one wagon with
his effects, his wife and children were in
another, and what l supposed a l4year-
old boy was on horse back driving up the
young horses and colts, of which he had Is
head. He was trying to finda place where
he could get work for his teams and feed
to keep his stock until the grass comes
next spring.
We also visited friends in Chicago, one
of them Charlie Crumpe. formerly of Sar
The luxuries of life that are sure to follow
hard work, good Judgment and industry,
and having son only nineteen years cf
age engaged at steady employment at S27
per week. Mr.. Crumpe and his estimable
lady took US in their carriage and gave US
about fifteen mile drive through the city.
We had the pleasure of viewing South
Park and Jackson Park and the site for the
Worlds Fair. The flowers in the parks
are magnificent. representing many manu-
factared articles, and animals. One is
called the calender, and on any day you
pass along you can see the day of the week
and of the month in plain figures; and one
is called the soils clock, and on any day
when the sun is shining you can see the
time of day. Chicago is undoubtedly hav-
ing boom in building. both in her sub
urbs and in her business centres. We Oh
served places where they We're taking
uoWH HHe iaIge UullulnSs eiSnt anu hlhe
stories high to build greater ones. Many
of the new buildings are fourteen stories
high
We also visited friend in Urieksville,
Ohio, one hundred miles from Pittsburg,
on the Panhandle route. The parts of
Indiana and Ohio we passed through in the
day time did not compare favorably with
Pennsylvania. The improvements and the
general appearance of the country were
rather poor, only in one respect were they
alike, and that was no fruit
We left home on the 22d of September
and returned on the 10Th of October very
thankful to our Heavenly Father
for his kind providence surrounding US,
having made twelve visits and several
calls, and in all travelled about 240O miles.
JOHN B. MAHAN