La Junta tribune., 1908-07-18
ROYAL MAIL STEAMSHIP SLAvoNrA }
l45O MILES FROM New YORK
IIfxE q. 1903.

L
JUNE %. 1903. }
DEAR TRIBUNE: will never have
more time to comply with your re-
quest to write a letter. than now.
l have been busy every hour since !
left La Junta, but on board vessel.
nv time is my own to employ
as choose. We set sail
from New York. June 18th. at
noon. on the steamship "Slavonia.
of the Cunard line. under the Eng
lish flag. Twill describe the snip
later. Just as we started to move
the Stars and Stripes were hauled
down and the Italian flag run up to
denote the port to which We sail.
After we were we'll out at sea. the
Italian flag WAS taken down. and we
have been sailing since without any
colors. The first four days. the
weather was fine and the sea
smooth, with scarcely any motion to
the vessel, but the fifth day the
weather was cloudy and now and
then little rain. with. some wind.
Last night our ship began to roll
and this morning finds the sea
rough" on the bulletin. with the
waves rolling quite high. breaking
occasionally over the saloon deck. ]
/ was sitting on the promenade deck
with ms back to the rail. trying to
pick up some of the phrases Of my
long lost German and French. when
all of sudden was doused with
wave that tried hard to climb over
the ship. and succeeded enough to
wet my head ard run down my
back, and as do not swear. even
when suddenly provoked. ! yelled
out, "Oh GoIly!" The calm sea had
become monotonous, and welcom-
ed this rough sea. for it brought a
little excitement. OF course. no.
body is sick. but l noticed few va
cant chairs at dinner time.
left La Junta Sunday morning
and stopped in Kansas City one day.
where l attended the formal open
ing of the National Bank Of Com
merce. which had closed December
Sd, during the panic. 1t is located
in its magnificent new quarters in
the Commerce building. the finest
banking building in Kansas City.
with q capital Of two million. and
Ex-Comptroller Vim. B. Ridgley at
it's head. Charles II. Moore. who
had Just been elected second vice
president. is an old friend of mine,
having been brought up boys to-
xether. He was assistant cashier
before the closing. OF course |
congratulated him.
The country as far as Garden City
was as dry and brown as midwin-
ter. There will be no wheat west
of Kinsley. and little else unless it
rains shortly. From Kinsley the
wheat grew better. and from Larned
through Kansas. Missouri. Illinois,
Indiana. and to the Atlantic. the
wheat crop is large. From Hutch
inson water was in every low place
and in tho burrows as far as Chica-
go. Corn in Kansas is doing fairly
well, save here and there where 1t is
drowned. In Missouri and Illinois.
the corn is late. What is up is weedy.
and much not yet up and consider
able land not plowed or planted.
The same is also true of Indiana.
With favorable weather and late
frosts. the crop will be good. but
early frosts and continued unfav-
orable season will be serious dam
age to the corn crop. Meadows
and pastures never were better, and
the growth Of vegetation and the
luxuriance Of orchards and woods
were delightful to the eve that had
seen only the bare earth and brown
ranges. There will be good fruit
crop in Kansas and throughout the
middle and eastern states. Cattle
and hogs are fat everywhere, but
fewer cattle than there used to be.
The farmers in Missouri, Iowa.
Illinois and Indiana are q little blue.
on account Of the wet weather. A
failure Of the corn crop, the oat
crop certain to be poor. would be a
serious damage to the farmer. but
with corn at sixty-fye cents and