The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-08-21
Summer Heat on the Prairics.


! trails OF physical endurance, apt to
turn the heart Of a tenderfoot against
the beauty of his surroundings. The
sun swelters out one y ambition, waves
OF heat NOW down the green grass and
the yellow, scared corn puts hope be-
low par. Heat on the prairie West
is vastly different from that in New
York. 1t is less dangerous to human
life, but more deadly in it's effect upon
all vegetation. This is because Of the
absence Of humidity out here. The
wind finds full sweep over the wide
plains-oftcn it is u hot wind, too,
which is more detcsted than welcomed.
But it is breeze, nevertheless, and
If one face i, famed by O wind, he
can swcltcr through furnace heat
and survive.
Summer i'll prairie life bcgins in
July. The boom Of the cannon is al
ways welcome sound to the farmer.
for generally dry spell has then be-
gun, and rain. he believes, is sure to
follow the Fourth. This year farmers
OF Southern Kansas collected large
sums of money among themselves in
cannonading. Their hope was to bring
rain. AS night fell no clouds appear
cd. Groups of discouraged farmers
drove across the hot sod and talked
over the prospects Of corn crop. In
dced 1t seems poor enough unless
rain fell soon. At midnight the
clouds gathered and at one quarter
OF an inch Of water covered the glass
jar on the farm house roof. Next
morning one could not have noticed
the difference in the soil, for that
amount of rain does little good in a
drought. When the soil becomes well
heated heavy rainfall for two days
will do no more than moisten it.
Men here wear big straw hats and
loose thin clothiug. They would go
barefoot, but the earth is too hot for
their flesh to touch. Leaves from the
cottonwood tree are plucked doused
into pail of water and laid under the
hat crown. thus keeping the worst of
the heat from the head, for time, at
least. This scheme of keeping the
head cool is epeated several times in
[, the afternoon. when the sun is hottest.
In the afternoon, however, the wind
dies down on the prairie aud general
ly from to o'clock little work is
done in the open. The waves of heat
can be seen dancing across the open
plains, and birds and animals of all
kinds seek the shade. In the towns
nearly all business is brought to a
standstill on hot summer afternoon.
In the country little work is done, ex-
ccpt in harvest time.
Gathering in the whcatis one of the
most trying times to the prairie far
mer. From July l to August 10 is
the favorite and proper time to cut
and thresh the crop. Men have to be
imported from the East to do this
work and they are unsued to the rot
glare of the prairie Sun. 0ne by one
the farm hands fall under the shade
of a shock of wheat and lie in stu
por. Prostrations are many, but sun
strokes are few. The wind buoys
them up against a complete prostra-
tion, but they become so dizzy and
weak as not to be able to go on with
tho work. Then the farmer has to get
other hands or postpone the work
which is almost ruinous. Nowadays
however, with the improved machine
ry, sun-shades covering everything
and wise farmers do not work thei,
men in the afternoons, but resume G.
dusk and work by lantern light. Many
large farm houses to. day are equipped
with electric fans in the harvest time,
so that the farm hands may sleep in
the afternoon and work at night.
Stock find summer the period of
their suffering. AT one time in Kan
sas, Nebraska and other prairie States
the bleak winter killed the herds by
thousands, but now The blizzard seem:
to have lost power to harm. But the
hot summer sun empties the creeks Of
their water and there is no rain to re
fill them. Grass dries up and loose.
its sweet taste. Even worse than til {
CHI. blast of winter does the hot
wind penetrate the hide of the cattle
causing them to grow lean and die
This summer thousands of full grown
steers fell in Western Kansas simply
because they could get no water o,
fresh pasturages.
AS sumner progresses, in "a year
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