The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1897-10-15
THE REGISTER RAMBLER
Resumes His Travels and Gives Brio Z
But Interesting Sketch Of
What He Saw
IN ELsM ORE TOWNSHIP.


the territory your Rambler visited
recently, and barring the dry and
dusty condition that made it neces
sary for US to masticate our allotted
share of the soil daily, we enjoyed the
courtesy and hospitality of the gene.
rOus citizens.
OF the streams that traverse the
township we can say very little as we
saw only the dry beds of others than
a slight indication of a tributary OF
the Marmaton in the northeast corner
of the township and Big Creek that
runs little west of south along most
of the west line and which has many
pools still sffording water for the
stock which in many cases, we are
informed, is hauled five miles or more
for watering stock, but at a number
of places we found a spring or more
frequently a well that afforded an
abundance Of water, and where such
a supply existed the generous owner
was free to divide with the less for
tunate.
The northern and central and south
ern portion is a gently undulating
prairie while in the vicinity of the
two streams mentioned broken and
stony tracks may be found. Over
Big creek we crossed several fine iron
bridges at each of which the ap-
proaches were we'll built and proper
ly filed. The railroad from Kansas
City to Parsons divides the township
little east of the center but for vot-
ing purposes it is divided into North
and South Elsmore. The town of
ElsmOre is located miles from Moran
and Savonburg miles farther south
and one mile from the south line of
the township and county. The citi-
zens as in other portions of the county
hail from almost every part of the
United States, but large
swEDE SETTLEMENT
is found in the northwest part of the
township, said by one of their num-
Der to be probably eleven miles loug
and three miles wide and extends
into Cottage Grove township. These
people are an industrious and frugal
class Of citizens as evidenced by the
many neatly kept farms, rOomy
houses, usually well painted, and sur
rounded by convenient and substan-
tial sheds and other buildings and
many good barns and the latter al
most invariably painted.
Among these people we find many
of the Older ones who "no read Eng
lish" but are ready to take good
paper for the younger ones of the
family whom we find are bright and /
progressive young citizens. One
bright mother, who could talk with
scarcely a trill of the Swede, apollo
gized for the slight brOgue of her four
little folks by the statement that they
taught them Swede first at home, for
many of those who had not been thus
taught had drifted away from it
when they at school learned the Eng
lish and could not even talk it with
those who came over the waters too
late in life to learn our language, and
the urchins prattled to each other
in perfectly understood terms In an
other language and would talk to us
in good English, we thought the
mothers plan an excellent one and
one that would result in giving to her
children a valuable accomplishment.
These people, we learn, have a
school system of their own, not to sup
plant our schools as some of those I'M
acquainted believe, but to supplement
them. They hold their Swede schools
at three points within their commu-
nifty, two months at each place,
some time during the year at their
own expense. OF their religious be-
liefs we did not gather sufficient in
TO relate other than at a
pOAhA AAtACS WOSb VI /.
there is a neat church building and
parsonage. In the parsonage their
stirring pastor, o. Moren, and his
family, were found gathered about the
table at the evening reading. The
form of church service is Lutheran.
Another band of worshippers, whom
we are told are more nearly affiliated
with or like our Baptists, met ia wor-
ship the evening we were in the vicin-
ity, and from the strains of music
heard we judge goodly audience met
there for worship. We understand
this portion is under the leadership
of Alfred johnson, pleasant young
man whom we met at his home.
OF the citizens who met us univer-
sally with courtesy it would be invid-
ious to mention and occupy too much
space, for all whom we met, land we
purposed that no non-subscriber