398 



Missouri Agricultural Report. 



and Versailles bram-li of the Missouri I'acilic, ajul wliicli town is also 

 ou the Ivock Island raih'oatl. The rullowiug are extracts taken froni a 

 descriptive article written a few weeks later: 



"Ha-Ha-Tonka — it is IMissouri's wonderful playground. There's 

 something in this quaint Indian word, said to mean laughing waters, 

 which makes you want to know more of it The Ha-Ha-Tonka region 

 is in Camden county, on the southern slopes of the Ozarks. 



"The late R. M. Snyder, who on October 31, 1906, met his death in 

 an automobile accident in Kansas City, chose this wild and wonderful 

 spot, deep in the recesses of a rugged region and inaccessible to a marked 

 degree, as a place where he could build an ideal home far removed from 

 the marts of men. 



At Sunset — Members of Camping Party on Walls near Mansion. 



"Mr. Snyder commenced improving the place in March, 1905, and 

 at the time of his death the improvements were well under way, yet far 

 from completed. Everyone who visits Ha-Ha-Tonka is surprised at the 

 extent of the improvements planned, the estimated cost being $300,000. 

 The pay roll at one time amounted to $1,100 per week. 



"The location of the mansion — such it is called and so it is — is on 

 a high hill, once the site of an Indian burying ground. INIany skeletons 

 were unearthed when the excavation for the building was made, and 

 tomahawks and other implements of Indian warfare are yet found. 

 Standing on the rock wall on the south side of this building, one may^ 



