Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-09-23

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he felt that he could face a great deal
more trouble than he then had, and
come off victorious.
Breakfast over, John harnessed up
the two horses to the old wagon, and he
and Mary drove off to the little town
where Scraggs kept his office. The
day was warm and clear and the roads
dry, and the trip, though embracing
ten miles each way, was not disagree
able one. The two talked great deal
as they went down, about one thing and
another, but neither of them limited at
the matter about which they were
making the trip. They grew quite
cheerful after they had been out
awhile, owing, no doubt, to the fresh
air and change of scenery.
Arriving at the town, which, by the
way, was called Paradise Park, though
there was nothing resembling a park
within a hundred miles of it, and it is
safe to presume that it bore little enough
resemblance to paradise, with its one
street and four or five Stacking old
board buildings half buried in the sand
and alkali drifts-arriving at this young
| metropolis of the west, John Green and
his wife had little difficulty in finding
| Solomon Scraggs' office, for it was the
most prominent building in the place,
being post Office, printing Office and
real estate and loan office all in one and
| all under the control and guidance Of
| Scraggs.
Mr.. Scraggs was in his office when
| the Greens entered, but being deeply
engaged at the time in writing an edi-
torial for his paper, the Western
Breeze, on the multifarious advantages
in coming to western Kansas to live
| and invest capital, John had to wait
some time before he had an opportuni-
ty of stating his business. In the mean
| time he had chance to take a survey
of the Office and to observe the wonder
full ears of corn and stalks of millet and
wheat and oats that hung against the
walls as samples of the products of the
surrounding country. He was still
gazing upon these magnificent speci-
mems when Mr.. Scraggs brought his
liable editorial' to a finish and whirl-
ing about in his chair caught John in
the act. Instantly a smile lighted up
the agents face, and rubbing his hands
together, he said: '"rhose are not SO
bad, are they?"
John recalled his gaze from the sam
pies and, fixing it upon Mr.. Scraggs, re-
piled:
tNo, they are not bad"
t'I should say not" Scraggs went on
'tnot bad for a new country cursed with
drought, hot winds, grasshoppers anc
all that sort of thing. Ha! ha! They
tell terrible stories about this country
and try powerful hard to scare people
away from here, but it won't work
We've got the soil, and we've got the
seasons, and SO long as we can produce
such stuff as you see there, were al
right. tell you, sir, there amt a more
productive spot nowhere on earth thai
YOU find right here in this county. Ant
yet lands cheap here. Away dow
cheap. 1 can sell you as good land a
ever lay out door for fifteen dollars al
, acre. It's the farm, too, that that corr
grew on
John listened to this speech in won
der. Was it possible, he thought, tina
the country could be such as Scragg
) said, and yet he not know it? Scragg
was very honest, earnest-looking man
and he spoke in such free, matter-ot
} fact way that it seemed impossible tina
t he was not speaking the truth. After
7 short silence John said:
l "Do you say that those samples O
d. grain grew in this country, MI
i, Scraggs?'
r 81 do, certainly, and there is nothin
l remarkable in it to US who know tn
r country and know what the land is.
:, daresay you have heard wild storie
c about this section and are i'll prepare
=, to believe what tell you. However
, ask our farmers and they will tell 20
the same story. AS 1 said, can Sc
you the best farm in the county &c
fifteen dollars per acre, and it's wort
moro than that to-day, and in yea
r from now it will be worth twenty
y not twenty-five. will drive you out t