Rensselaer Union, Volume 6, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 February 1874 — McPherson County. Kansas. [ARTICLE]

McPherson County. Kansas.

Sittle Valley, Kansas, 1 February 7tb, 1874. J Editors UiiipN:— The first settlements made by white men in this county wera-«on Smoky river and Sharps iii 1864 or 1865. Notwithstanding the attempts of predatory bands of hostile Indians to drive these people .from their homes, they did not suceed, and well-improved farms are existing landmarks which attest the toil and energy of those bold pioneers.— McPherson county was organized m 1870, since when immigration has poured in very fast, and at the election last fall abont six hundred votes were polled. Estimating the population at the usual rate of four persons for every voter, the inhabitants will exceed two thousand five hundred, and represent nearly every State in the Union. As at present constituted, the county is thirty miles Square. It is among the last counties organized in western Kansas, and is situated about one hundred milts west of Topeka, the capital of the State, and fifty miles west of EmpOria. The county seat is McPherson, located in the - geographical center of the county, and is in the midst of one of the most beautiful regions of country in the State. As yet the town is quite small, but it is growing and in a thriving condition. Our climate is mild and pleasant, being to a great degree exempt from the extremes of heat and cold. During the summer season, (as I am told by thosiS ’who have passed the summer hero), Winds blow almost continually, tempering the heat and rendering the nights pleasantly cool, while at the same time they refresh and invigorate the human system. The air is pure, dry and clear. Its dryness makes colds almost unknown. The clearness x)f the atmosphere is auoh

that perilous coming here from other States find themselves utterly unable to judge of distances, and, consequently, they are apt to greatly underestimate The surface of the country is rolling prairie, in many places nearly level, but rolling enough to drain well. Abrupt, rocky bluffs are found only on Smoky river, and but for a short distance in the county. There is no waste land here; almost the whole area can be made valuable for agricultural purposes. There are no swamps or other accumulations of stagnant water in the county. The soil is deep and rich, and is adapted to the growth of almost every variety of grain and fruit— Everything thrives here that can be grown in this latitude. Corn on the sod yields fitteen to twenty-five bushels to the acre, and on old ground from forty to sixty bushels. All sorts ot vegetables and vines do well and are easily raised on sod. Wheat succeeds well on old ground. Good water is obtained anywhere in the county, by digging a moderate depth, say fifty feet.— Good springs abound in many places. In the streams the water is clear, pure and sparkling. Good timber is not found in the county, notwithstanding the streams are nearly all skirted with brushwood. Wild fruit, such as plums and grapes, are quite plentiful in many places. The prairie is sodded with blue joint sage and buffalo grass, both nutritious, and the latter of which remains green all winter. The settlers are, as a class, intelligent, energetic and industrious.— No saloons or gambling houses have yet been established in the county, and the people are opposed to everything of an immoral character. Churches and schools are fostered and encouraged in the highest degree.

THOMAS E. ANTRIM.