Los Angeles herald., 1909-12-19
BigneSS of the West
BY b. r. WINsLOW

tdSl htdIS a IGW ClOp VI oOOhb
the bigness of the west that makes it
marvel. Here is a portion of this past
seasons crop of big stories of the
things of the west
During corn growing time a Kansas
newspaper printed a startl ng dispatch
from the southern part OF that state
saying that a boy climbed a cornstalk
to see how the clouds looked and that
the stalk was growing faster than the
boy could climb down.
At the date of the dispatch the boy
was clear out of sight. Three men
were engaged to cut down the corn
stalk with axes to save the boy from
a horrible death from starvation, bur
the stalk grew so rapidly that they
could not hit twice in the same place
The boy was living on green corn alone
and had already thrown down over
four bushels of cobs.
The later fate of the boy is not
known. That is of minor Importance,
anyway. The great and burning ques-
tion Isl Does corn really grow that rast
in Kansas?
man whose word has never been
disputed with any degree or success
came east with this story from south
western Kansas: His two brothers were
working clearing out the weeds in
deserted pasture lot. After a trip TO
the farmhouse one of the brothers re-
turned to find the other missing.
"Where are you, Eb?" he shouted.
"Here 1 am" he heard the answering
voice of Eb, coming from somewhere
near the fence.
"Well, shake a weed, so I can tell
where you are" commanded the
brother.
They tell down east that If farmer
In the west plants his ground with
corn and takes first class care or IT,
he will get a hundred bushels to the
acre. and If he takes only mtddling care
of it he will get seventy-five bushels to
the acre, and IL he does not plant at
all he will get fifty.
It is also told in the east that west
ern farmers have been known to start
out in the spring and plow furrow
until fall and then turn around and
harvest back, while a man in Detroit
has a friend In Dakota who owned
farm on which he had to give
mortgage, and the mortgage was due
on one end before they could get 1t
recorded on the other.
Not so long ago, man, perhaps 1t
was the same man, was telling some
acduaintances about a pathetic scene
he witnessed on one of these big Da-
kota farms three years ogo. He SAID
he saw an entire family Frustrated with
grief; women yelling, children DaWllnS
and dogs barking. One man had his
camp outfit packed on seven four-mule
wagons, and was going around bidding
everybody good by
where was he going?" asked one or
the party.
"Half way across the farm to feed
the pigs" was the answer.
Some one wanted to know II he ever
got back to his family again, but the
narrator said II was not time for him
to get back yet.
One man, so 1t is said, started In 10
cut a tree off his place. When he had
cut away at one side for about ten
days he decided to take a look around
the tree, and when he got around on
the other side he found man who had
been cutting at that same tree for three
weeks and they had not heard the
sound of each others axes.
The quick growth of western cities Is
a. matter of common talk and the east
no longer doubts these tales. An en-
gineer of a train crossing the prairie
was surprised one day to see town
of considerable size just ahead, at
spot where there was nothing the DAY
before. He yelled over to his fireman.
asking what town it was, but the IRE
man was stumped, too. When ne
pulled into the station there were
nearly a thousand people waiting TO
see the first train come In. When
they pulled out, the conductor sta
toned a brakeman on the rear plat
form to watch out for any towns that
sprang up after the train got by.
They never have anything small or
ordinary out in that section at all.