Leon Reporter, Leon, Iowa
Thursday, October l5, l903

Geary, Okla., Oct. 9, l903

Editor Reporter:

I suppose some of my Iowa friends would visit me this summer but as they did not in consequence thereof my tongue has had such a long resting spell I will have to exercise it by writing to them through that never failing friend, the newspaper. The topics you can criticize to a finish if you so desire. The Great Geary Fair is a thing of the past. Had a good display of stock, also of fruit and vegetables, a baby show in which a half-breed Indian baby proved the handsomest. Three or four weeks ago they had the fruits, vegetables and cereals for the World's Fair on display at the post office, some were very fine indeed. J.D. said he saw four tomatoes that would fill a candy jar, but that is nothing. He told me this summer that over on Deer Creek, after the high waters subsided, there were great holes washed in under the bank of the Creek all you had to do was to reach your hand in and pull the big mud catfish out by the arm load, but aside from this I would like to follow up the exhibit car from Oklahoma to the World's Fair with the sorry looking vegetables and other stuff not fit to eat that is raised here every year. The cabbage I raised this year is highly seasoned before preparation for cooking. I went to the garden to get a head for dinner and proceeded to cut it off, out jumped l0 crickets, 2 or 3 crawly worms, but the lice stuck to it so I took that one to the cow and kicked the next one to see if it was any better, but there is a subsoil here in some places where you can raise decent looking vegetables. Watermelons and sweet potatoes grow immense, one about as large as the other. We have been here three years and in some parts of Oklahoma there falls no rain in July and August, now someone will dispute that but it is absolutely true. We had no rain in and around Geary for over two months although we could hear of heavy rains in other parts of the territory. I understand it was very dry all summer at Alva and if anyone imagines or believes that the wind does not blow here, I only wish that they could have been here the last of August and ten days in September. But maybe where you find a windy democrat it has no effect on him, but it might impoverish his brain if he was bald headed. I am afraid to step outside the house today, October 6th, for fear it will scatter what few brains I have left. When it blows strong enough to whip a big circus tent in tatters right over your head you do not have to be showed, the fact is evident. I guess I had better proceed to boom Oklahoma so that medicated democrat at Washita will comprehend the matter. Now the grasshoppers and crickets here grow so large it takes two chickens and an old hen to kill one, but today I killed a large centipede behind my bread jar by myself. I was scared into bravery. I have forgotten anymore boom. By the way J.D. visited Washata Junction or Clinton, as it is now called. The railroad boomed it to a finish. The papers stated that $l00,000 changed hands in one day, corner lots selling as high as $l,000. While he was there he noticed there were pumps without handles. He asked why it was and they told him the pumps were out of order. He said if they had have been on they would have pumped gypwater. He also said it was a good corn country for there is a kind of subsoil out there that produces good crops and will stand the drouth, and it is an unmitigated fact that there is a drouth in some part of Oklahoma every year, sometimes only l5 miles apart, and if it strikes the growing crops at certain times of the year it injures them more or less. At the present time here they cannot plow their ground to put in their wheat crop but they had fine rains at El Reno this week. Last summer they had fine rains northeast of Geary and a fine crop of blackberries was the result, the first ever raised near Geary. The Monday after the Fourth there were forty pickers all in one patch. Speaking of the Fourth of July reminds me that Leon will never have to celebrate as long as the 111 Alaskas hold forth. Tell Mike Springer to come and look over the new country again. He will scarcely recognize it with its well filled granaries, its great crops of corn and cotton, its fine dwellings and young orchards. Land he could have bought then sold for $4,000, others also did not see fit to speculate. We bought l60 acres of heired Indian land at $5.00 per acre, but that was at the first selling. Now they think it is all appraised too highly and you can buy improved farms for just a little more than unimproved inherited lands, but it doesn't rain in Blaine County. Soon land will be dear at any price. Some wheat was up but now it is dead or covered with sand. I am speaking of the surrounding part where I live not off l00 miles. Someone else can tell about that just so they tell the truth is enough. I had this letter ready for the paper by the time J.D. arrived in Iowa, so he could vouch for its truthfulness. But alas! His plans went astray and I think he was badly disappointed in not getting off as he intended. He had his laundry brought up, his clothing all sanded even to his new hat, for fear he would forget and wear his old one. Then M. Mayer or some other good friend at Leon would have to furnish him with a new one. He ordered his cars four days ahead to ship his cattle to Kansas City, had the boys bring in 54 head of cattle from the ranch l5 miles out on Saturday. He waited for his cars until Tuesday. None came by that time. He was pretty mad and sent both cattle and boys back to the ranch disgusted with the Choctaw system worse than ever. Do not know when he will try it again.

We were sorry to hear of Mr. Rambo's sudden death. I remember a field of fine growing corn was one of his chief delights and there he died.

Will close with a little more boom, but if published no better than it is written. It may prove a little bit tiresome. It is half past nine o'clock and STRONG is still down in town. Perhaps I will have to order a load of broom corn, yet will boom Geary until he comes home. Geary is five years old and a division point for three railroads. Bonds for $50,000 have been voted for a water works system; have had several applications for an ice plant and electric lights. The town has a population of 2,500. It has fifteen residences completed at this time, two wholesale beer houses, a $l0,000 school building, seven churches, a new $8,000 opera house, a flouring mill with 650 barrel capacity, pressed brick plant, artificial stone factory, telephone system, two newspapers, seven elevators, three banks, four hotels, cotton gin, cigar factory, bottling works, feed mill, fair association and secret organizations. I copied this from the Geary Journal. You see they didn't publish the number of saloons in the town and I haven't time nor inclination to count them. They will advertise themselves by Saturday night.

--KATE STRONG.

Copied by Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert