The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1908-07-09
Kansas Letter.

STOCKTON, KAs., July 3, 1908.
EDITOR REPoRTRR-They say bad
penny always returns,so here am again.
1t has been about two months since |
wrote my last letter. This has been
foggy morning but it is clearing off
now. Orr is harvesting. They had to
stop yesterday on the account Of rain
the night before. They were cut
ting wheat on our place but it was
too green in some places 40 they went
over to a neighbours wheat field to
commence on it. The wheat has filled
out wonderfully since the rains started
in. Some think our wheat will make 20
bushels, while others think it won't
make quite so much but we will get
year than we got off the whole thing
wheat land out last year for at the
seven men in crew. had them two
they think it will take them about 8
days to finish up, 80 that gives me
chance to make little money. have
to give my girl 81 day. But she is a
good girl and we'll experienced with
uouoCWoIh StS AcC uOUlltT ul6u WHGll SuS
was but eleven years old. But even
the girls only fifteen gets So a week.
They pay big wages on everything out
here. Orr gets $3.50 day for himself
and mules. The cheapest school teach
er we have gets $50 month. We just
have 6 months school and give $40
month. Well will tell few things
about our big flood we had out here on
the morning of June the u. In the
morning at 3 O'Clock, could see when
it would lightning that the creek was
bank full, so | called Orr and told him
and he could hardly believe it, 50 the
next morning when we woke up the
water had almost got up to our house
and it had fallen l J feet then. 1t was
up over my garden half way and all over
our potato patch, sweet corn and water
melon, muskmelons, cucumbers and field
corn but it did not dammage anything
like it did the corn and weeder. 1t
took our two rowed weeder back into
creek where it was about 20 feet deep,
took the neck Jokes and all the wrench
es and things Orr had in the box which
was nailed on it. lost all of my turk
eys but two. The neighbors all around
we're damaged so much worse than we
were, that We were thankful the way
things were. Orr went and helped Mr..
Turner, down below us here clean out
their house where the water had been
two feet deep in it. He said things
were a fright. They had to take refuge
in the hay loft. On down the creek
closer to the river the water came so
sudden and with such force that there
were several had to flee for their lives
and one man and his boy started to
turn his cattle out of the correll and
the water overlook them and they had
to take refuge in some trees for four
hours before anyone could get to them.
You see we were not expecting to see
so much water all at once as they say
it doesn't rain in Kansas and we did not
have our boats made. There were so
many hogs drowned and strayed away
until one man says he was damaged
$500 himself, besides taking his fences
out. Harvest came on so soon that one
half the people haven't got their fences
back again like they were, and in two
days after the first there was another
| flood but not so high as the first one.
Until now the people thst lived down
in tho draws are moving back upon the
hills farther, the corn is Strengthened up
and looking fine. l guess | have said
enough about water when there was d
inches in about live hours here one
night, it was an old fashioned cloud
burst. 1t took out the new county
bridge they just put in last summer, and
we had to go two miles out of way to
get to another bridge to get to town,
and when the water was the higsest it
was d feet over the west bridge and
that is the one we had been cross
ing. 1t also took house 24x24 feet
about J of mile and it got stuck in
sand bar or no telling just where it
would have landed. We have some of
the pictures Of it wish you could see
them. 1t stopped our mail man for three
days, and we did not get our daily from
Kansas City straight through for twelve
days. And | see by the paper that the
high water is everywhere has been
common thing. Well tomorrow is the 4th
and we will go to Stockton to celebrate,
but oh, how wish l was back to Leon
to help celebrate there this time, es-
pecially to see the dedication of that
new court house. | will think of you
people if cannot be there. We are