SOLON ROBINSON, 1840 149 



cation of their children, that they are unwilling to incur 

 any extra expense; and in many cases, the difficulty of 

 obtaining a teacher without taking any trouble, keeps a 

 neighborhood destitute of a school for a whole season. 



But enough at present; in my next, I have some idea 

 of drawing a picture of "making a new settlement in the 

 west," for the amusement of emigrants, or those that 

 intend to be such. Your old friend, 



Solon Robinson. 



Lake Court House, la., Oct. 20, 1840. 



To Western Emigrants — No. 3. 



[Albany Cultivator, 8:19-20; Jan., 1841] 



[November 1, 1840] 

 First Night on the Prairie. 

 Messrs. Editors — In my last I proposed to give some 

 account of the manner of making a new settlement. 

 Although the subject is not exactly such an one as is 

 calculated to add to the knowledge of those who are seek- 

 ing for something new in agriculture, it may be one from 

 which a numerous class of your readers may gather 

 something new to them, and I hope sufficiently interest- 

 ing to add to their amusement of a long winter evening. 

 And that, you know, is a strong inducement towards 

 causing many to read; and that should always be a 

 prominent object, to make a paper amusing as well as 

 useful, — in fact the two should be constantly blended. 

 The most useful articles are too often too dry to attract 

 the attention of the hard laboring man. An occasional 

 article then, which will amuse as well as instruct, and 

 which will tend to "lighten labor" by adding an hour of 

 enjoyment to the toil-worn laborer, will certainly have 

 answered a good end — such is my present purpose — but 

 if you consider it out of character for your journal, you 

 know how to dispose of it without giving offence to a real 

 friend. But to those who intend to set their faces west- 

 ward, I think an old settler's experience will be interest- 

 ing. I will begin with the First night on the Prairie. 



