The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1903-05-28
An Oklahoma Letter. .
sEGER, OKLAHOMA, May q, 1908

! SEGER, OKLAHOMA, May 81, 1903.
ED. REPORTER: AS am a reader of
your paper thought perhaps some OF
the people of Leon and surrounding
country would like to hear what we arc
doing in Washita county, Oklahoma. l
have only lived here a little over two
years and have not had any failures in
crops so far. This spring everything is
simply immense. First the fruit trees
are loaded with fruit of all kinds, april
cots, peaches, cherries, plums and APP
| pies. The wheat and oats are fine and |
see something here | never saw in old
Missouri that came up voluntar-
lily last fall are nicely headed out this
! spring, so you see by this our winter
was not very cold. Corn is a good
stand and if we don't get too much rain
| think the yield of everything that
Mother Earth produces will be grand.
TO say that it rains in Oklahoma is out
ting it mild, for it just pou,.s down. We
have had rather COO much rain this
spring. Sn, yes, there is one thing
%.lmost forgot, ard that is alfalfa. L
sowed a piece of ground last spring and
last summer ran the mower over it
three times to keep the weeds down and
at the present time it is above knee
high. Alfalfa seems to do we'll in this
climate; the soil is somewhat sandy and
grows alfalfa to a finish. From the
present outlook it will make three tons
to the acre. There is some alfalfa on
first sod in the new country and it does
. we'll there So think we can safely
count on alfalfa as a forage crop here.
AS for the Indians, they are very
quiet and peaccable, not bothering any
body We live three miles from Colony
} where there is a government school.
The government has spent several thou
sand dollars in erecting buildings so the
Indian children may be educated, and
they have nine months school. The old
Indians, both men and women, love
: something to drink that will make them
, booty. They get to feeling bad and
, then they will go to the stores and buy
bitters. Then the first thing you know
they are on a "high lonesome" There
may be some hopes of training the young
} Indians to a higher life but you might
: as we'll try to make white blackbird as
to try to reform these old Indians. They
) rent their allotments to white people at
from thirty to forty dollars per one hun
dred and sixty acres. The government
pays them every three months and by
} what they get in rent and from the gov
, ernmcnt they manage to keep soul and
body together. They don't seem to
) know the value of money. They will
spend the last cent for some little thing
they may take fancy to.
| see a letter written by someone at
Geary, Oklahoma, that seems to boom
: this country but. one can hardly tell
whether they mean what they say or
not. AS for the wind blowing any hard
er here than it does in Missouri or Iowa
fail to see the point. OF course, we
have some windy days but nothing to
I pare NlUu lllc luc ouSU i IldNc SGcll
in Missouri. AS for insects, the great
! est insect we have is the good old-fash-
toned democrat, and think we have the
best county in the territory. To put it
mild, we have from twelve to fourteen
/ hundred majority, SO you see it is six
4 teen democrats to one republican. !
hope you will pardon me for bringing in
this last for when commenced to write
! l just thought l would tell about our
soil and it's products, but as the demo-
Gratis are in the saddle in this part and
\ | am a full-fedged democrat | will close
for this time. Truly Yours,
VIM. S. KERN.