Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1896-11-12


is light except what is called bitter
mast which is not good until frost.
Bitter mast is the scorns from black
oak, jack oak and red oak, while the
sweet mast is from the post oak,
white oak, burr oak, chestnut oak,
hazel nuts, hickory nuts, etc. Wild
fruit seem to be abundant here such
as blackberries, rsspberrles, straw
berries, huckelberries, wild grapes
the winter grape the same as in Kan
sas, also what 10 known as the fox
grape which is as large as the Clinton
grape.
While lumber is cheap but few
people make any effort to have good
houses, principally log, a few box
houses, generally but two rooms aud
some OF them small. Stabling usual
ly of logs. Native lumber is worth
about one dollar per hundred. l
have something near fifty logs ready
for the sawmill and hope soon to
make some improvements in the way
Of house and stables.
Sheep do we'll and many farmers
have small hocks from twenty to
thirty head. Yet more might be kept
also more cattle by sowing some kind
Of grass for pasture. The tendency
is to make too small pastures and
then over stock them and kill them
out by close feeding.
Local price for corn is twenty-five
cents per bushel, wheat fifty cents,
oats twenty-five for spring oats for
winter thirty cents.
I find but very few who want to ex
change Arkansas land for western
Kansas land, and.those who do have
but small tracts from forty to eighty
acres. One man west of Grsnett has
sixty acres think who wants to trade
for western Kansas land. l seldom
fod any one who wants mortgsged
property, il they do the cucumber
ance must DO small.
The school system is good so far as
1 have found. Have just obtained a
copy of the school law and find so far
as have read very similar to Kan
sas school law. Terms in many places
are short from the fact that but one
half Of one per cent can be levied for
school purposes. New districts have
from three to five months school,
older ones more, the town and village
have from seven to nine month school,
just what the average wages are | am
unable to tell, would say they can not
be beyond Che dreams of Avorice"
as the mighty and fallen John j
would say. There are twelve Kansas
families in this immediate neighbor-
hood and more still coming to Ar
kansas, some passing on further
south and east beyond the Boosting
mountings" as a native said to me
some time ago. The climate seems
very healthy, water good but some
places hard to get. The county is
billy similar to the rough portions Of
Greenwood and Glenwood townships,
while in other places comparatively
level, but the hills are the prevailing
features.
Money scarce, times hard, many for
free silver with an occasional gold
bug republican or democrat. As a
rule the people are intensely religious
with all denominations represented.
1 see by F. O. Johnson's report of his
trip he. found much taDgle foot where
be was, but Benton county is dry as
the traditional born distilleries, but
no saloons or joints. So far as I have
seen the people are civil and social.
Now IL any one is pleased with this
description and want to exchange
Kansas land for land here and will
lot me know what they have I will do
what l Jan to make an exchange, or
will try to answer any question that
may wlsh to be- answered if you write
and send postage for return answer
Some are holding claims that can be
gotten cheap by one who can home
stead. This leaves us all reasonably
we'll also Mr.. and Mrs. D. Andrews
who came here with us. There are
nix Phillips county families of us
lere all within a short distance
dravett six miles, population 600 and
growing, Decatur Blk miles and like
wise growing, Bentonville the county
Ieat, twelve miles and about 5000