Rensselaer Union, Volume 5, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 April 1873 — From Kansas. [ARTICLE]

From Kansas.

Winfield, Cowley coirtity, KfL April Ist, 18/3. Editors Union: 1 This is a nice country. Timber isllot as plenty ns I have seen it, but woodTMitl-luiTiherare.notdear. Winfield Is a beautiful town, situated oil the east bank of Walnut river, ami is about as large' ns Rensselaer; hut there is more business transacted in the way of selling goods and buying produce in one day than in your place in n week. It is the county seat and growing rapidly, new buildings being constructed at an average of four a week. The buildings are mostly frame, though some are fine brick edifices. This county is well supplied with mills—there are five running now—one a fine four story stone with six run of burs. There is a splendid water power at this place without raeeor dam; it is Obtained by tunneling across a bend about 290 feet and—the fall is sufficient for a mill every two or three rods. Three saw mills run night and day to supply the demand for lumber. Building stone of best quality, square and nice, is delivered on the ground for £3 per cord.— Cowley county cast of Winfield is beautiful rolling prairie with stone cropping out in ledges and for this reason is not so good for farming purposes as that west of town on the opposite side of the river, yet anywhere within a mile of town the price of land is $75 to SBO an acre. Across the river is line table land of black loam and no stone to be found. The timber is confined to a narrow strip along tho river.

T arrived here the first of March and found farmers plowing. When I left Jasper county ice and snow was covering the ground. There lias been neither snow nor ice here since I came except a light Hurry from the north last week, when about half an Inch of snow fell and the ground froze about two inches deep. The cold only lasted three days, hut a great many potatoes that had been planted were destroyed in the ground. Now the weather is about like that in May With you. Health is good and doctors are making a very poor living at present; lawyers have nothing to do either; hut mechanics have more work than they can manage. There are twenty carpenters, live brick layers, five stone masons, five plasterers and two flue builders here, all busy and all have more work engaged than they can do for some time to come. March 31st a dust storm came rolling in from the west. —a phenomenon that has not been witnessed for six-teen—years-before. —When it struck , the town, signs, boxes, barrels, and every loose thing had to go. This happened at four o’clock in the evening and it became so dark as to make it necessary to light up with lamps. W ind blows some here but this can he borne better than so much snow, rain and mud. The prairie begins to look green in the distance and cattle now get a bite of fresh grass. Farmers have most of their graln sown and some have pilantcd a little corn; others are read} to plant. And yet this is said to be a late spring—six jveeks later than usual. To close. I would not advise any one to come here without money! This is a fine country, hut it takes money to live here. The law's of Kansas are such that nothing can be collected by suit. That is, a man may own liis thousands and yet not a cent can be collected from , Idm by law. For this reason there is not much trusting done. But come if you have plenty of money and want good, cheap lands. N. C. W. Enclosedwith the above letter j came a market report from which , we have room for only the following selections: A Teas $1.25 to $1.75 per pound; coffee 33J cts; sugar 14 to 20 cts; butter 25 ets; eggs 10 cts a dozen; green apples 82.50 , a bushel; potatoes $2.25; - beans $5; I corn 25 cts; oats 40 cts; wheat 82.50; j flour $6.50 per ewt; corn meal $1.10; wood $3 per cord; pine lumber $35 to $75 per M; native lumber S2O to $2-5 per M; lard, shoulders, sides and hams from 12J to 15 cents a pound. A friend in southeastern Kansas, Crawford county, writes a private letter also under date of April Ist, from which we take tho liberty torn ake the following extracts:' Last night it jained great torrents of water upon us and w r et the ground so thoroughly and flush we cannot plow to-day. According to sigus this is an extraordinary “dry moon,” its own drought being caused by emptying its surplus floods upon the earth! Superstitions are as rife here as anywhere, but I think a little more modest and polite than further East and among the scenes of my childhood in New England. We have sown oats, but this spring is backward, and the season, since December, fitful and irregular. The first eokf weather was from December 23d to New Years. The next from 20th of January to close of that month. In February we said “this is an early spring;” some plowed for oats; but the last of that month another cold snap gave surety that winter was not dead. When this was past grass grew cm the prairies, migrating birds winged the skies, clouds looked thawed and fleecy, reptiles piped in pools, and cattle spread themselves in lazy quiet to enjoy the noonday sun. About the middle of March a severe and unexpected change came, with snow and ice, which done more damage than any previous winter weather. I was at Girard lately (the county seat) and found business dull. Rents are cheap, and stores and rooms to rent. .. Produce brings merely nominal prices—salt pork 4to 5 cents a pound; corn slow at 12}, it must be choice and select at this price: oats .10 to 12 cents; wheat $1.40; and flour $5.50 to sf> per sack of 98 pounds; potatoes for food 36 to 40 cents a bushel, for seed $1.75 to $2; eggs 5 to 7 cents a dozen.