The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1898-03-03
.CZEcHs TO- HAVE COLONY.

5CZECHs TO. HAVE " u COLONY.
Large lhnd: OF Russian 3 arlners SEEK
Ing Homes In Kansas.
Among the bidders onthe lands along
the Kansas division Of the Union Pacific
railway is Charles Kuharick, Of New
York, who is the representative of q
large colony of Czechs Or Russians,
whom he expects to locate on Kansas
soil. Should the lands be sold IN d body
he will endeavor to purchase 100 1000
acres in the counties Of Trego, Ellis and
Russell, for his patrons. The Czechs
are all farmers from the thickly-settled
lands of Russia, and will welcome q
change to the open prairies Of western
Kansas. They will find there plenty Of
their brethren and will 60 to build up
one of the most important of the many
colonies. T..
: The latest detachment from the cars
dominious will join the largest colony
in the state-the Russians. They have
been working for prosperity for "a
years, and have found it. -: IT,:
One day the people who stood on the
depot platform at Topeka saw a queer
lot of immigrants alight from a west
bound train. They had sheepskin coats
with the wool outside, and strange caps
that looked. as if they might have been
relics Of the Mound Builders. It was in
1874 and 1875 that their wide breeches
and dubious petticoats made their first
appearance, and for many years after
the wide, faring, green wagons that
they built on the plans of the Russians
were common sight on the prairies
of Harvey and Mcpherson counties,
where the southern colony settled. The
counties of Marion. Butler, Reno, and
Barton also had settlers. from the Is, 900
who made up this gathering.
They named their towns Alexander
wohl, ,Hoffnungsthal, Guaduneau, and
other similar titles, that had meaning
in the Russian tongue, but were strange
enough to the Kansans. They built
their cabins close together and had a
large field on the edge of the settle
ment for waterpelons, which were their
principal article of diet in those days.
It is not recorded that the Russians ever
had dugouts, but their sod houses were
common. The huge brick ovens, as
strange as their apparel, made the
houses as much of a curiosity to the
people as the colonists themselves.
=. They had come from the mother coun-
try because of the treatment accorded
them by the state authorities, and found
that they could make money. Many of
them became wealthy, and all acquired
a competence. In the midst of rush
ing American population they spun raw
silk and wore the Cossack caps that had
been their custom on the banks of the
Molotchna.
Some of the American settlers around
them grew excited over politics, but
they did not. The Americans stood on
the street corners on Saturday after
noon and discussed the state admins
tration, but the Russian Mennonite
went on with his load of wheat to the
granary. When the dry weather came
they simply lived little cheaper and
plowed deeper. They won and came
out with money, where an American
would have been poor. They talked lit
tie, worked hard, and saved the pennies.
Their, settlements are models of pros
perity and the original $4,000 have been
Increased to many times: that number.
The next most important colony was
the one consisting of Catholic Russians,
who went along the lines Of the Union
Pacific into Russell and Ellis counties,
the same section where the new COLONY
proposes to locate. This section is O.
veritable piece of the Russian empire
set down in the midst of the state. The
colonists were from Saratov, a remote
section of Russia, and their appear
ance was even more strange than the
people OF the other colony presented.
The men had a custom of gathering on
the streets and singing lonesome songs
that"were very affecting to many who
heard them. They founded the town of
Hersgov, and have grown to be the most
important settlement in the western
end OF the state under one nationality.
Out on the plains of Ellis county are
their villages, of which the principal
ones are Catherinestadt, Pfeifer, and
Monjour. They follow the custom of
building their villages for the residence
OF all and their farms are located out
side. 10 them they go every day and re-
turn at night. Closely gathered, they
live and have their interests.a far from
those Of the people around them as pos
sible. =,
They arefreverent, and the priest, who
wears his sandals and robes at all times.
is their adviser and father. The church
is the principal building in the town. In
Monjour is one that cost $4,000, and is
one of the finest in the state, though it
stands in little village on the plains.
Besides the cost in money, much of the
work was contributed. Chicago Inter
Ocean,: r..
Art of Hog Driving.
The difficulty of driving single hog
was well illustrated the other afternoon
at about train time. Some men were
driving herd of swine to Amherst,
and as they approached the bridge, one
of the animals became obstreperous
and bolted toward the city, becoming
thereby separated from the rest of the
drove. The three or four men, assisted
by volunteers, placed themselves he