Year: 1865




Ma. EDITOR Having travelled about this
county good deal since my last, will jot
down few Of my impressions in relation to
matters and things. like the country better
the more see Of it. Learning that there was
l.rgs Iact Of wild land lying southwest u
Rolla, ! went out to look at it, and it far sur
passed my expectations in regard to its capabl-
ties IN an excellent stock farming country. II
consists OF an elevated sort Of table land, slight
ly rolling ,Itmbered mostly with scattered oaks,
where any one can easily ride on q horse in all
direotous-and grown up thckly with wild
grass, As you approach the large streams, this
is gradually broken into ridges and hollows,
which paItake, many Of them, Of the nature Of
rayinCs at their mouth, but at their heads they
spread out into small praires Of rich, black soil,
aud in some places grown up to grass as high as
| could reach on horseback. Deer were very
plenty here. saw five in riding less than a
mile. The greatest draw back to settlement
would be scarcity OF water, as springs are few
and lar between bu. think it probable that
water might be reached at moderate depth, o,
the head OF these hollows, while for stock res
crgoig could be easily made for water, sufficient
ly large for any drouth, as the soil will hold wa
ter without the aid Of cement. There are ponds
in various places in hollows that are filled by
rains, and the water appears clear aud good
A curioas feature is the numerous sink-holes,
which are depressions in the soil, more or less
abrupt and OF various depths, and at the bot
tom Is a sort Of cave, where all the water Of the
surrounding hollow sinks into the earth, and
probably makes its appearance at a distance in
the form Of springs. The bedrock is mostly
Limestone, wherever you can find it but it usu-
ally lies very deep. There is the ruins Of few
settlements made previous to the war; but the
people were killed or driven of by the bush
whackers that infested this region so that now
nearly all the odd sections are Government
land open to entry, and the even sections being
railroad land, will probably soon be IN market.
s. there IS nothing to hinder this being an ex-
tenslye farming region, except the settlers to
labor on it.. Mill Greek runs directly through
this tract, and has few improved farms on the
bottoms and a good mill privilege, and these
could nearly all be bought at a reasonable price,
Us most of the natives will sell out and 90
farther west and know of no better place in
the country to start a New England settlement
than this, as there is plenty Of good land on
either side for hundreds of good farms, and
when the railroad is extended, there will be
station at the mouth Of Mill Creek, ten miles
from Rolla and the creek itself is about six
miles long, with fair road running to its
source.


For news there is considerable excitement about
a murder committed some fifteen miles from here.
About the first of October, two teamsters--an
old man and his on.n-law-started for Springs
field with loads of bacon and sugar few.
days ago suspicion was excited by part Of
their horses coming in alone, and party was
organized for general search, and we rode to-
wards Springfield, looking carefully for signs
and at a lonely place, far from any houses, saw
where the wagons were turned into the woods,
readily following the tracks which were made
when The soil was soft with rain, for about two
hundred yards, we found the wagons and the
young man lying dead beside them, shot twice
through the lett breast. A sea rch was made
all through the woods for many miles for the
old man. but without success. The loads wore
not molested-the horses we're unharnessed aud
'urred loose, 80 it appears the only motive for
the murder was malice. The young man was
said 10 be quarrelsome, aud had many enemies
but the old man was inohansive, and oil that he
could have been made way with for, would be to
prevent his telling Of the murderer Ii isa
mysterious affair. Two men have been arrested
on suspicion. The body was so decayed that ii
had to be buried on the 8 ,,ot.


There has been quite large land sale for
taxes, all last week-somo fifty thousand acres
being sold in this county alone, about three
fourths of it being wild and nonresident land,
and good share Of /. will never be redeemed as
1t was owned by rebels who have been killed in
the war, or have forgotten 10 come back.