Year: 1873

:


r- July, 1873.


ED. CHRoNICLE:-I find in your
issue of June 18th, a letter from H.
d. Niles, of Gibbon, this State, in
which the gentleman mas evidently
mistaken my intention. did not in-
tend to cast any reflections upon his
letter that he has written to the
CHRONICLE; bat what I have seen. OF
the Platt Valley, and from what I can
hear Of It. his descriptions are quite
correct, and it is very desirable place
to live.


C Mr.. Niles in his letter does not
claim to have ever seen the Republi-
can Valley, and 1 do not see where
gets his authority for the assertion
that the soil on the Republican is in
ferior to that Of the Platt; when the
contrary is the fact. The soil north
of the Plat is good, but the south
side bottom lands are very sandy and
the uplands for ten miles south fthe
river are nothing but sand, and ARE
worthless, and Mr.. Niles is the first
man that ever heard of that claimed
the PIstt Valley to be even equal to
that of the Republican. He also
states that the Republican Valley is
very narrow. I can show Mr. Miles
where the Republican Valley is only
eight and ten miles wide, and he can
not show me where it is less than
two miles wide.


Mr.. Niles also tells that it will
probably be five or six years before
we will have rail road, if the neces-
capital be forthcoming. In reply I
would say that the necessary capital
is ready and that the road will be
built within one year. So I am in
formed by very good good authority.
The agents of the rail road are now in
the valley looking after the interests
OF the, is to be, rail road.


He also informs US that we are out
of humanity's reach. In this county
there is a settler on every quarter sec
tion Of the valley. and some of the
high Prairie is taken and more of it
is being taken, their being no R. r.
lands here it is all settled by actual
settlers. While on the Platt River one
half the lands are r. r. lands and
consequently are not much settled;
and 1 am informed by those
that claim to know, that we have
more settlers on the Republican than
there is on the Platt Valley. Also
that we have three towns in Harlan
county, that either one Of them is
twice the size of Gibbon.


The gentleman wants to know
where I was during the storm Of the
18th of April, when half the cattle
was killed and many of the horses
and mules. and every body scared half
to death. Perhaps the storm was
dreadful on the Platt River-but I
was not writing for thai part of the
country, it was the Republican that
/ represented. Yet storm did COM
mence here on the 18th of April, wind
and little rain in the evening, not
enough to mention, and showed du-
ring the night, continuing three days,
and during that very hard storm ]
hauled and cut my own wood. Three
of my neighbors were out on hunt;
they drove fifteen miles home with a
load OF meat, on the worst day. There
were several parties from this vicinity
out hunting and camped out during
the storm, none Of them died nor did
they loose any stock. One man here
had about forty head Of cattle (half
starved) fifteed died, another about
two hundred head, lost fifty-five; |;
another about twelve hundred head
and did not loose any. No cattle died
during the storm that were taken care
of, and / have heard Of none being
lost that had enough to eat. But half
starved cattle would probably have
died anyhow.


I think the trouble with Mr.. Miles
was that he was badly scared. But let
me assure him there is nothing in
this country that will hurt him, and
that first class mechanics and profess
sional men are doing well here in the
Republican Valley. But there is
plenty Of snobs out of employment
AS Mr.. Niles tells you, plenty of
money is good thing in this coun-
try, I shall have to agree with him
there and I would say that none but
brave men should come to this coun-
try with or without money, for there
is a disease in this country called
home-sickness that proves almost fa-
tai in some cases. But if a man has
plenty Of grit and a little Yankee