Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1898-12-28
INTERESTING NOTES OF TRAVEL.
". Porter Writes Entertainiugly of His
IMP 10 aud Across the Big Lone Star
state to Attend the Farmers Congress.

". Porter Writes Entertaiaiugly of His
| irip TO aud Across the Big Lone Star
state 10 Attend the Farmers Congress.
EDITOR CENSOR: i had baen twice
appointed as delegate to the Farmers
National Congress; first ia 1890 nv
Governor Hoard, aud again by G ,vernor
ocohsid last year, and on both occasions
| was on visit to my native state OF
Maine, but last years appointment was
good for two yearn ard / started from
LAOrosse, December 2, for Fl. Worth.
Iexes, the ground covered with snow
ahd mereu y near zero. At Kansas
CITY, next marnitg, the snow WAS
deeper thsn in M,nr eso.a. ard SNOW
covered the grouLd until We reached
southern Kansas. A bright Young Ger
man going to Fleetwood informed me
she mad been first class cook in New
ioik Tor years at salary of $40 a
month. She had married the sleepv
looking switzer at her side, and thew
were both going to work on ranch for
800 month. Her husband speaks no
En- glish. L wondered whether the
bright, confiding girl would find in the
love and companionship of that dull.
hard- working Swiss farmer, full com
pensation for the loss of the five dollars
month, tneir combined efforts produce
less than hers.
On the way through Oklahoma, dele
gates from Pen nsylvsnia, Iowa, Color.
ado, Nebraska and Illinois become
acquainted with each other, and we had
an enjoyable time La the Oklahoma
strip we found newer and better build
lngs, steel wind mills and better stock.
good school houses and the telephone
at he'd Rock we photographed a huge
pie OF corn for feeding thous nds of
cattle near By. Fire guards six rods
VIDE ire burned. We pass several
c1rrels containing thousands of steers
and huge piles of corn for feeding them
The soil is red. and red soil. we are tod.
is good soil. Katfir corn is raised *
tensiVeig. At Perry City cotton bales
and waste first appear. Guthrie, we
are told. had no legal residents on one
night; the next night city of 10000
occupied the site We see poor horses
al along the route. Much cotton is vet
unpicked. In a weeks ride south of
here, saw very few hogs; saw only ore
dug out, not a sod house. and riding
through Indian Territory saw hardly
an Indian. For { ong way we rode
a ong the bank Of the Canadian river.
1t has magnificent bed, like many
rivers in the White Mountains, but there
Is little or no water in it. Its bed is as
wide as that of the Mississippi. Dozens
OF teams are crossing its treacherous
quicksands.
A Methodist preacher rides with us
and IS we'll informed regarding matters
Ia Indian Territory. He said the Cana.
dian Is covered with water in February
that many men and teams have been
drowned in the quicksands Whrre
teams cross safely today, there may be
hole ten feet deep tomorrow.
Indian Territory is all under prohibit
ton, even along the line of he railroad |
There are $4,000 fuil-blood Indians in
the territory, 1875, 900 mixed blood and
5000 whites, who Lease farms of the In |
dams for from five to eight years. Towns
are built on Indian lands. The white
schools are subscription schools. The
Oherokees have 1000 primary schools
The Methodists have three colleges in |
the territory. The five nations have
each legislature of it's own. The H.
dians of the territory will stand way
ahead of an equal number of negroes of
the south. Many of the Indians are
rich and educated in eastern colleges
Several are graduates of Harvard Our
minister companion I'll the wives
of these rich and o>.,.Jktua red men.
He says they are beautiful; that they
live in magnificent homes; will converse
lntelligently with you On any subj ct
are educated in music; play and sing
beautifully. The red men live some
twenty miles from the railroad Our
friend has twics been presiding elder,
once over district of 1900 and again
over one OF 5000 squa. miles
We ride along to Washita Valley; it
is very productive. An acre produc
one Sundred bushels OF corn or bale
of cotton: At Gainesville, in northern
Texas, $4,000 steers are being fed |
HI retof IRE they have been fed on cotton
seed hulls and cotton seed meal sprinkled
on the hulIs, that being their entire food
for 60 days; if fed on it 80 days they go
blind. This year 30 tank silos have
been erected and filed with sorghum
With silage added to cotton seed a
healthier ration will be given them and
blindness will not result.
At Ft. Worth we found the weather
warm, the streets dusty, and for three
days enjoyed northern October weather
Dec mbsr s, in the night, there came
six inches of wet snow, damp atmos-
phere, gale, aud many awoke chilled |
through. Nearly all of our party rcn
tracted severe colds. At Fit. Worth,
met Mr.. VIM. Rounds, brother of Mrs.
Stemen, of Vircqua. He is in the real
estate business and introduced me to
four other gentlemen, members of the
company, all five of them natives of
Vermont. Was assured that there
was quite Vermont colony in Ft.
Worth and that some of the best busl
ness men were natives of the Green
Mountain state. g. V. PORTER.