The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1906-08-02
NOT so ALLURiNG.
A Former Missourian Writes
About Oklahoma.

p. j. Underwood, who formerly
lived near Windsor, has tried Okla
homa ana found IL not 80 slluring.
he writes from Granite, Greer
county, to the Windsor Review, and
relates the following facts which may
well make one pause before risking
all In new country:
"This is a beautiful country, pretty
as one would wish to see, perfectly
level except the range oi Granite
mountains, which rise up out OF the
ground, II is claimed, to height OF
400 ieet. Crops look very promis-
ing at present; wheat is a fair crop
have seen better In Mo-, oats will
make good crop. ! heard before /
came here last spring that oats
made last year as high as 30 bu shells
per acre, but / have never found the
farmer that raised them. We ha We
had an extra good season so Tar, old
settlers tell me Ii is uncommon, and
l can tell by the talk and actions OF
the people that a good wheat crop
is uncommon also. My landlord
lives In Granite. He has ITO acres
OF wheat on the farm. l live enc
hall mile south Of town. There has
been but few days passed since wheat
began to head up to last week that
he didn't have some one out from
town looking at his crop OF wheat.
He would make two to three trips q
day very otter. He said he did not
want to discourage US Missourians,
but we would not find such season
as this every year Ihave seen two
kinds OF land here, one they call tight
land, which is nothing more than
gumbo, the other sandy. have
been told the sandy land will wear
out In four or fve years il IL is not
manured. The crops are often ruin
ed by the sand blowing until Il cut
II OF close to the ground. Corn on
tight land is no good and whe at and
oats very uncertain. II q man wants
to farm here he has got to depend
on cotton, milo maize and kaffir
corn. These are the main crops,
while cotton is king OF all.
"An implement dealer told me last
week that he had taken mortgages
from farmers In January and Febru-
ary on the crops that are to be
grown this season for tools to work
with. Now, 1; this is such money
making country, why are the farm.
ers 80 far behind? Interest on money
runs as high as "a per cent. 1 think
there are but few farms In this COM
munity but what are for sale.
Farms sell for 500 per acre up and
generally very poor improvements;
very seldom ever see a barn; some
have q shed to feed under, some only
q windbreak made Of boards about
five feet high. II man has force
enough Of his own to handle a good
cotton crop, I think he can make a
little money here, but II be has got
to rent and hire bis help be had bet
ter be some where else, for old cot
ton raisers tell me there is nothing
in it whore q man has got to hire all
bis help.
"I have not seen q stock buyer
since came here. Calves are very
cheap, no market for hogs only at
butcher shops, and farming tools
are very high.
Now, l will say this much In re-
gard to this country: While I am a
Kentuckian by birth, q Missourian
by adoption, and an Oklahoman BY
accident, II I owned 10 acres Of land
lin old Missouri would not give 1t
Iior 100 acres here to make . perma-
nsnt home on. We have drawbacks
here that can never be overcome.
There Il but very liStls good water.
The worst water think ever drank
lie In this country. Any kind OF .
postoak post sells for 10 cents each.
hedge posts 20ceets each, coal $500
Dor ton. The most Of any one thing
We have here and costs lees, IL wind.
We sure hsveplenty Of that, yet thai