People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1894-12-20
From Arkansas.
AURORA, Ark, Dec. I, 1894.

AURORA, Ark, Dec. I, 1894.
EDITOR PEOPLES VOICE, Yelling
ton, Kansas:--I have promised to
write to so many of my Kansas
friends that l have about given up in
despair of getting around to all of
them, 50 if you will allow me a little
space in your valuable paper. l will
"hit 'em all at once"
When l first talked Of going to Ar
kansas my G. 0. p. friends told me
that Arkansas was away behind the
times and that they used cOOnSkinS
for money. That settled it. told
Elizabeth that a | had never heard
Of bankers having corner on COON
skins, we would 90 there. But To-!
when we got there we found it all a
mistake. 1t is a good deal like Kan
sas, not much money, cOOnSkin or any
other kind. We are in the Boston
mOuntainsin Madison county. There
are two kinds of land here, the bot
toms along the streams and rivers
and what is called "bench land" on
the mountains. The bottom land,
like all other counties, of course, is
the richest land, but these mountain
streams get on boom every year or
two, so that | think the bench
land the SureSt for crops, The
land for the most part is somewhat
rocky, some of it very much so, and
some almost clear of rocks altogether.
The land seems to be productive and
almost anything can be raised here
that will grow in any temperate eli
mate, corn, wheat, oats, tobacco,
fruit of all kinds, cabbage, beans,
peas, onions, tomatoes, both kinds of
potatoes, and, in fact, all kinds of
garden stuff, do well here. The old
settlers say corn and some of the gar
den stuff are failures, but so far as l
have noticed, it will compare pretty
faVOrably with what Kansas would
call a good crop. The crop being
shorter than usual and a complete
failure of the aCOrns will make it
hard for the farmers 10 get their hogs
fattened for market.
This seems to be a very healthy eli
mate. | notice tnat the compilations
of the people are clearer and not so
dark as that Of the native KanSan.
There are people here from almost
every state in the union. | suppose
1t would look as though We were a
good ways behind the times to the
average Sumner county man. We
plant our corn by hand, plOw with a
double shovel, harvest with a cradle.
spin, weave, etc. But the people as a
general thing are contented. They
raise almost everything they need
and do not need much money. We
are great on the "Swap" too.
l find as good a community, NOR
ally speaking, as have known any
where. We have good schools, but
not enough; only from three to FIVE
months in the year. A more Sociable
people never met. We are about all
on equality as far as the good things
OF this world are concerned, so that
there is no upper ten.
This is country where you can let
the children 60 barefoot the greater
part Of the year, but you must treat
your horses better, for they must
have shoes on the year around if they
travel the roads. There is an abun-
dance of lame here, deer, wild turkey
and plenty Of squirrel, quail, coon
and 'pOssum.
There is considerable government
land here open for homestead vet.
Anyone wishing to get away from
Kansas winds and is willing to take
the country as the Almighty made it,
L think can make a living here,
will say to my many friends in old
Sumner county that if they come this
way, they will almost always find me
at home, the wooden hinge of my
log house screeches" a little, but
they will be welcome all the same.
l was sorry to hear of the defeat OF
Jerry Simpson. How did it happen:
Did the Santa Fe railroad learn les
son by its defeat in 1872, and ship in a
larger acreage of ''niggerS" this year:
Yours truly,
). CROOKSHANKS.