Free trader-journal and Ottawa fair dealer. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1920-1927, 1921-07-09
TEXAS PAN HANDLE
REGION LAUDED BY
SOUTH OTTAWA MAN
w. e. PRlCHARD ENTHUSED OVER
DISTRICT THAT ONCE WAS
ONLY GRAZING LANDS AND
NOW is PRODUCTIVE FARMING
COMMUNITY.


nightmare OF alkali water cactus
thorns and transient sage brush, ac.
cording to letter received from w.
f.. Prichard, civil war veteran, and
retired South ottawa stockman. by
the Free Trader.Journal Mr. Prich.
ara, VINO looks twenty years younger
thah MS age and possesses the vital.
lily or a man Is, Is a staunch friend
OF the Texan South Plains, located in
The farm famed Pan Handle, and il
not given to idle boasting.
His letter follows:
Rails, Texas, June 20, 81.
Editors Free Trader.Journal,
Ottawa, H.
Gentlemen:
Having a little leisure this morning
thought possibly you and your
readers might be interested in read.
ing something about this new and
wonderful country. They call this
the South Plains" II is located Just
below the Pan Handle" about one
hundred miles directly south of Amar.
20 lilo. Rails is located in Crosby
county, In the heart OF a fine prairie
country, level and very fertile The
land Is chocolate colored, alluyial
SOIL, which handles easily and is very
productive. The crops grown here
are cotton, wheat. corn, oats, soudan
grass alfalfa, milo maize and sweet
clover. 1t goes without saying that
1t Is cattle country and a natural
hog country and all kinds of poultry
do exceptionally we'll There is no
lack OF turkeys down here
While you have been sweltering
with heat, We have been able to sleep
comfortably and need a light cover.
ing. II is warm in the sun during
the middle of the day, but in the
shade 1t Is always comfortable. Well
water is excellent and abundant, and
1t Is only necessary to bore 125 TO l66
feet to obtain a splendid supply of
water have never heard OF "a dry
well in the country
II have visited this country every
summer for the past five years, and
though 1t has only been settled seven
or eight years it has advanced marvel
\
OF Rails was erected about eight
years ago and it now has a population
or about twelve hundred people.
There are two banks, housed I'M good
brick buildings, with all modern fix.
lures; three grain elevators four cot
ton gins and numerous, up-to-date
stores, A fine. large brick school
building, new churches, and modern
bungalows give evidence of the pros
perity and progress of the people
The wheat harvest is now on in
full blast, and the three elevators are
aking IA. as mucil as $4,000 bushels Of
wheat In dnesday# Just 1owa the
price paid us 81 10 per bushel. but j
sold some last week for 81 30 A short
time ago one Of our renters shipped a
car load of hogs to Fort Worth and
received S8l5 per hundred. On the
same day the tops in Chicago brought
$500 On the 25th of June Fort
Worth was ten cents higher than Chi
cago. The reason for that is that
Fort Worth supplies very large ter
ritory tributary thereto with pork.
And again California has been taking
ply the people of the Pacific coast
with pork. Much of our wheat goes
to Galveston for export, as that is the
shortest route. 1t is like looking into
q Kaleidoscope assI sit in front of the
big windows of my hotel and see the
teams go by hauling wheat, Some
are good teams, sometimes having
three mules abreast, some four tan
dem and good many trucks; any
thing to get in and "geta de mon"
Il had quite an amusing experience
last week. | wanted to 60 to one Of
our farms where they were threshing
and being at the elveator thought
would ride out on one of the grain
wagons The first one that came in
was driven by lady weighing at
least two hundred pounds. | asked
her IL | might ride out on one of her
wagons and she granted my request
. When her load of grain had been
7 dumped in the elevator | put the seat
up, which was simply a plain board
cushioned with an empty gunny sack.
She slid it up to the front of the
wagon and we took our places, allow
! ing our feet to hang down in front of
the box, and thus we rode into the
country. She was a fine talker as
most ladies are, and enjoyed my
ride immensely. II is not unusual
to see women driving wagons, for ev-
erybody works here, and after all,
. this is the spirit that changes praries
into fertile farms and builds the cities
of the plains. 1t is the spirit of the
great southwest and its beneficient
results are manifest on every hand.
Very truly yours.