The Black range. (Robinson, Socorro County, N.M.) 1882-1897, 1897-04-09

"THosE ARE NOT SO BAD, ARE rHEY?"
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 Seraggs kept his office Tho
day was warm and clear and the roads
dry, and the trip, though embracing
ten miles each way, was not y Disagree
able one. The two talked a great deal
as they went down, about one thingand
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 hundred miles OF il, and it is
safe to presume that it bore little enough
resemblance to paradise, with its one
street and four or five shaekling old
board buildings half buried in the sand
and alllali 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 IN edi-
torial for his paper, the Western
Breeze, on the multitarious 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 a chance to take a survey
of the Office and to observe the wonder
ful ears of corn and stalks OF milicb aud
wheat and oats that hung against the
walls as samples of the products Of the
surrounding country. lie wGs still
bdhluA bBOI J1tot MAY lLt4IrI-lb .l'ti-
mems when Mr. Scraggs brought his
sable 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: ''Those are not SO
bad, are they?"
John recalled his gaze from the sam
pies and, fixing it upon Mr. Scraggs, re-
piled;
mo, they are not bad"
81 should say not, " Scrares won't on;
mot had for a new country cursed with
drought hot winds, grasshoppers and
all that sort of thing. Ia! 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, We're all
wight. l tell yon, sir, there aiat moro
productive spot nowhere ON earth than
you find right mere in this county. And
yet lands cheap here. Away down
cheap, ! can sell You as good land as
ever lay out door for fifteen dollars an
acre It's tha farm, too, that that corn
grew on"
John listened to this speech in won
der Was it possible, he thought, that,
the country could be such as icraggs
said, and yet he not know ii? Scraggs
was a very honest, earnest-loolJing man,
and he spoke in such q free, matter-of-
fact way that it seemed impossible that
he was not speaking the truth After D,
short silence John said:
$40 you say that those samples Of
grain grew in this country, Mr..
Scraggs?"
81 do, certainly, and there is nothing
remarkable in it to us who know the
country and know what the land is.
darcsay you have heard wild stories
about this section and are i'll prepared
TO believe what tell you. However,
ask our farmers and they VIII tell you
the same story As | said, l can sell
you the best farm in the county for
fifteen dollars per acre, and it's worth
more than that to-day, and in a year
from now it will be worth twenty if
not twenty-five, Twill drive you out to