The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-05-09

| He was the first man to undertake
traction engine farming in this coun-
try and at one time was considered in
excellent financial shape, but the last
few years Of failure have caused him
| to discontinue such heavy operations
! Funeral arrangements will not be
| made until a son in California and q
daughter in Nebraska are heard from
Fike staked $4,000 in the last five
years on the chance that there would
! be enough rain and seasonable wealth
| er to give him bumper wheat crop.
Each year of the five something went
| wrong, either it didn't rain enough to
| start the wheat right, or it didn't
freeze enough to give it a good stand.
or the high winds blew most Of it out
| of the ground, or the drouth hindered
it from maturing; but there was
enough of a crop in the worst of the
five years to return him nearly all he
had ventured, and in several of the
years he made a profit of a mere $780,
900 or SO.
He had seventeen thousand acres in
wheat last year and it was planted
| with less cost than any other wheat
in the state. His traction plows tore
up the earth. narrowed it and seeded
1t, all in one operation, at the rate OF
one hundred acres a day. 1t cost him
$4,000 when the seventeen thousand
acres were in.
One popularity of Jim Fike was
that he was never in the least bit dis
couraged, no matter how it goes. He
was just as good natured and free with
good stories and picturesque oaths
when the weather won the bet as he
would be if gold dollars nodded at the
heads of his millions of wheat stalks
| Fike drove into Colby in May, 1885,
from Wilburn, Neb., with span OF
little ponies. He paid SIS for 160
! ing. He was the first clerk of the
county. He did more for the county
| than any other man in it. He gave
| work on his big wheat farms to peO-
pie who otherwise would have left the
county. He supported a hundred
| families.
Fike was at one time one of the
best known Democrats in Kansas and
| talked of as a candidate for gov
ernor some time ago. He had been 50
fought so hard against the weather
odds that hundreds of Republicans
and Democrats urged him to run and
promised to vote for him, but F'ike
only laughed and began planning for
more wheat.
master at Colby by President Cleve-
land, but was succeeded by a Republi-
can in 1889.
| After leaving the postoffice, FiEc
engaged in the hardware and imp.e-
ment business until 1894, when two
| OHltcO States 1<1nQ Offices OF western
Kansas were consolidated and located
at Colby. He was appointed register
and served for four years. About this
| time he bought an 800-acre alfalfa
ranch on Sappa creek, and began
| stock raising. ShOrthorn cattle were
his specially. The stock ranch and
pure bred cattle did not cause Fike
to lose his interest in politics. He was
Gelegate-at-large to the Democratic
national convention in Kansas City in
1900, and the following March was
elected member of the state
board of railroad commissioners. Sis
or seven years ago Fike began his
wheat raising operations. and at one
time had an acreage of $4,000 acres
Mr. Fike is survived by a widow
two sons and daughter. The daugh-
ter, Miss Blanche Fike, was visiting
at Falls City at the time of her faith
er's death. One of the sons, Harry b
Fike, is in the stock business at Good
ing, Idaho. The other son, Guy E., is
a conductor on the c., r. l. & p. rail-
road and lives at GoOdland.