Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-07-18

OWN A THOUSAND ACRES.
How the Moore Boys Grubbed and
Scrimped to Secure Land.

How the Moore Boys Grubbed and
Scrimped to Secure Land.
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star
MCPHERSON. Kan. July Is. 1894.
The man who does not believe that sub
stanttal reward will some to those who in
dustriously till the soil in central Kansas
and carefully and diligently husband their
resources should come to Mcpherson county
and tske drive ten miles southwest into
Groveiand township. He would find there
one thousand acres. undo. perfec; cuitiva-
ton. and teeming with every pro.,uct of
the farm that caa be raised In this region.
The visitation Of grasshoppers. chinch bugs.
drouth and hot winds. that have discOur-
aged the sternest D: Kansas pioneers and
caused them to give up the battle and re-
turn to their wifes people" In other states,
have not daunted the tireless energy and
determined spirit of George ana John
Moore, two old bachelors. who now claim
that they have solved the vexed problem,
Does farming in central Kansas pay?'
Twenty-oue years ago. wnen Mcpherson
county = howiiEg waste, inhabited by
prairie dogs. JACK rabbits and coyotes. the
Moore boys drove into this place. which
was a mere crossroads, with less than one
hundred inhabitants, and stated that they
section of Kansas. stretching from Topeka
20 the Rocky mountains was full OF claims,
and ali a man had to do was 10 squat on
a cdArser section and call 1t his own. The
government Lad E:OTe land than anything
Else, anl Vas anxious to give il away to
those VINO would settle upon and improve
1t. That was the mission of the Moore
boys, and in less than week they had Sc
lected tWo quarter sections adjoining in
That is now Groveiani township. and what
- today the garden spot of Mcpherson
county end central Kansas.
However. II prosperity could only come to
those who e,nuiased the habits of life and
way of living adopted by George and John
Moore there would be very few weil-to-do
farm ers IN Kansas, nor would the civiliZa-
ton of the state be the pride and boast of
the people. When the story of the lives of
these two men is told there will be no sur
prise that they have been able to pile up
wealth and add to their possessions. until
they are now owners of the finest tract
of 1.OOo acres of land in central Kansas.
The Moore boys were born in Marion
county. Arkansas. Their parents died when
they were just reaching manhood and left
them pennileSs- They had no advantages
for receiving an education except in the
log school houses in Arkansas, and these
We're limited to the primary branches
taught IN those primitive days; SO they de-
clied to come to Kansas and get a farm.
They Travelled all the way from Marion
county in an old-fashioned wagon. drawn
by yoke Of oxen. They carried in this old
the regulation stump pillow. of little value
on the praiTies of Kansas.
For month after selecting their claims
they lived in their wagon. BY this time
they had built sod shanty. which they
occupied until four years ago. when a two
room cottage was built for their future
abode. 1t was not long until these bach
elors discarded their oxen for several head
have anything to do with any Of their
neigbbors. They never attended the neigh
boring Sunday school or church, and they
never came to town unless they had some
thing to SELL They would not talk with
their neighbors about politics and other
topics, and they. have never yet cast a vote
In Mcpherson county. No one knows what
their political views arc. II they have any.
In later years they have. by the settle
ment of the country and the increased pop
ulation. been forced to adopt the habits
and manners and customs OF the people.
but 1t was not until the sentiment Of the
three years after they had located in
Groveland township a great many people
settled there. They came from eastern
states. and were highly cultured and edu-
Gated.
1t was a shock to their nerves to observe
the Moore boys going about their farm work
barefooted. stripped to the waist. and with
no garment on except pair of overalls.
The people OF the community met and held
an Indignation NEE ting. A farmer whose
daughters were compelled to witness this
new style of dress went to the men and
complained All the satisfaction he re-
ceived was that IL his daughters did not
want to look at them as they were attend
ing to their business In their own way they
could turn their heads and look in another
direction.
For several years the Moores followed this
custom Until six years ago they never sat
in a BARRIERS chair to have their hair
trimmed. They attended to that them
selves. and saved the price and put II away
In big iron safe which they kept In their
house. They have never shaved. They
were never known to pay y cents for
meal when in town. They occasionally buy
a pound Of crackers and ~ cents worth of
cheese and eat IT.. and II all Is not de-
voured they take 1t home with them for
another meal.
1t is this style of living that has made
these two men rich They personally farm
about 80 acres, but the balance of the
celve a good income. They have nothing
to do with their neighbors: in fact they are
dead to the world. and care nothing for the
good opinion of any ore. They are women
haters. and could not be induced to employ
a housekeeper. They do their own cooking
and washing, in a way. and a blind man
would know that he was within the pre-
cincts of bachelordom Ii dropped down
into their door-yard. for the odor is al
ways there. However, they are model
farmers. Two-thirds of their land is I'm a
splendid state of cultivation. while the
other third is in tame grasses. They have
crops and have become independently rich.
while others have fought the good fight.
given UP the battle and returned to their
native states