Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1911-07-07

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muscle hardening labor so that where
ever they are when 1t comes to farm
work, they are second to none but
can be found in the lead. In all
modesty l will mention that during
the month l was with the threshing
machine in Oklahoma, l enjoyed the
distinction Of being the best bundle
pitcher of the crew. In Kansas l en-
joyed the same distinction with re-
gard to bundle pitching but when it
came to headed grain the native lads
had me beaten at first but l soon came
up alongside and kept abreast OF
them and when it came TO giving the
cylinder and the machine the proper
amount Of grain TO digest, l don t
know but what 1 had most of them
beat.
Leaving Oklahoma on one of the
last days of July made a trip out tC
Amarillo In the Pan Handle country
of Texas. After leaving the rough
and ridgy country along the western
boundary of Oklahoma, aud proceed
ing westward over the equally rough
and ridgy land along the eastern
| boundary of the Pan Handle, the
train grandually climbs to higher ele'
vations and by the time one is well
out upon the high table lands we ex'
perienced the sensation of being away
up high above the surrounding coun-
try. This of course is in one sense of
| the word fact, but being away in, or
one might say out, upon the plains,
no perceptable falling away of the
ground is noticeable and as far as the
eye can reach in any direction, the
scene Is that of level open table land,
quite properly called table land be-
cause one certainly gets the impress
sion that he is away up high as if on
some elevated platform The scene is
not lacking in impressiveness. If one
possesses soul at all, ones admira-
tion is stirred by the vastneSs Of the
wide expanse as Of an endless open
sea before him This wide expanse of
open prairie, serene and calm, seems
| to almost perceptably throb and pull
safe with life or some latent force
| which impresses one more and more
as one senses the magnitude of it all
as com pared with the palpable little
ness of self.
To those who might ask what l
think of the Pan Handle and also the
great southwest of Texas, with re-
CARDS to It's adaptability for farming,
| will say that it Is as pretty look
ing farming country as ever lay OUT
doors but l am afraid 1t would be too
dry. Not only would it be hard to
get water for the house and for the
stock but showers which would slim
ulate the growth Of grain, grass and
trees and everything which would be
essential to a thrifty home, would oc-
cur so rarely l am afraid, that they
would be events which would be
noted down on the fly leaf of the fam
lily bible and time would be reckoned
from that date, as for instance. John
ME had the measles two years and six
months after that shower we had on
the 18th of May 1907
After a short stay in Amarillo,
bought ticket for Hutchison, Kan
sas, over the Santa Fe road, and then
over various lines proceeded north
ward to Beloit, Mitchell county, Kan
sas, which Is only about 25 miles from
the Nebraska line. This trip brought
me out over the northwestern part of
Oklahoma and through the center Of
Kansas from south to north. What
! saw of northwestern Oklahoma
along the Santa Fe road was rough,
broken country, not mountainous nor
| it was broken with sharp and jagged
little gulches and draws and rough
ridges making it rather poor farming
country to my notion. 1t was quite a
relief to get up into Kansas and see
we'll titled farms and obvious signs of
prosperity on either side along the
road. By this comparison | do not
mean to run down Oklahoma at all.
There is no state in the Union that
Is better throughout all parts of it,.
There are parts Of Oklahoma which
contain some of the best land for
homes and agricultural purposes to be
found anywhere and there are por-
tions of Kansas which would make a
fit abode only for desert vermine.
My recollections of both Kansas
and Oklahoma will always be pleas
ant ones for the reason thai ! made
the acquaintance Of some very nice,
sociable people during my stay in
those states. The Casio household,
the people for whom worked during
my first months stay In Oklahoma,
treated me very kindly and always
made me feel at home on Sundays or
rainy days which would invariably
spend at their home, during the
month l worked with the threshing
crew. Shortly before leaving Okla
homa l was given the address Of a
man living near Beloit, Kansas, whose
name was Cullum, by relative of
his, and was told that Mr.. Cullum
could undoubtedly give me work II l
would go to him. or course wanted
to see Kansas and incidentally l also
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