416 



KANSAS. 



The Assessors' returns on the 1st of March 

 show that there were, for the year previous, 

 1,204,274 apple-trees in bearing, and 3,448,- 

 915 not in bearing, the annual product being 

 valued at $1,445,128.80; 3,593,708 peach-trees 

 in bearing, and 3,681,690 not in bearing, value 

 of product $539,056.20; 825.717 cherry-trees, 

 of which 345,591 were in bearing, value of 

 product $138,239.60; 162,744 pear-trees, of 

 which 28,648 were in bearing; and 195,035 

 plum-trees, 58,919 in bearing. There were 

 also 3,304.67 acres of grapes, producing 22,- 

 413.65 gallons of wine, valued at $11,201.87; 

 1,715.81 acres of raspberries, 1,369.09 acres 

 of blackberries, and 450.40 acres of straw- 

 berries, the estimated value of the yield per 

 acre being $200, or $707,060 in all for small 

 fruits. 



The railroad statistics are as follows : 



Aggregate value of main track $12,198.940 00 



Aggregate value of side track 347,632 00 



Aggregate value of rolling-stock 1,905,531 63 



Aggregate value of tools, material, etc 173,389 84 



Aggregate value of buildings 836,065 00 



Total $15,555.609 47 



Average value per mile 7,075 72 



Total number of miles 2,198 69 



Important discoveries of lead deposits were 

 made in Cherokee County, on what is known 

 as Shot Creek, early in the spring. Shafts 

 were rapidly sunk, and two towns sprang into 

 existence in a few weeks Galena and Empire 



STATE CAPITOL, TOPEKA. 



City. The former has been declared a city of 

 the third class, and the latter a city of the 

 second class. On the 20th of July, less than 

 two months from the commencement of its 

 survey, an official census of Empire City 

 showed a population of 2,337. Successful 

 mining has been carried oif TrTand about both 

 cities, and the yield before the end of the year 

 was between 300,000 and 400,000 pounds per 

 week. 



The regular biennial session of the Legisla- 

 ture began at Topeka on the 9th of January, 

 and came to a close on the 7th of March. A 

 United States Senator was elected to succeed 

 the Hon. James M. Harvey. After several 

 ballots the choice fell upon Colonel Preston B. 

 Plumb, of Emporia, on the 31st of January. 

 Colonel Plumb was born in Delaware County, 

 Ohio, on the 12th of October, 1837, and after re- 

 ceiving an elementary education in the common 

 schools, entered a printing-office as an appren- 

 tice at the age of twelve years. In 1853 he be- 

 came one of the founders of the Xenia News, 

 and developed considerable ability as a politi- 

 cal writer. He went to Kansas during the ex- 

 citement of 1856, and was one of a party to lay 

 out the town of Mariposa. During the win- 

 ter of 1856-'57 he was foreman of the Herald 

 of Freedom, at Lawrence. In the course of the 

 year 1857, with four others, he founded the 

 town of Emporia, and established the Emporia 

 News, which became a leading exponent of the 

 principles of the Republican party in that sec- 

 tion. He also took a prominent part in active 

 politics, and was a leader among the Radical 

 Free-Soil men. He was a member of the Com- 

 mittee on Resolutions in the Free State Con- 

 vention of December, 1857, and was in active 

 service among the Free State forces during the 

 border troubles of that winter. He was a 

 member of the Constitutional Convention in 

 March, 1858, and of the 

 first nominating conven- 

 tion of his party in the 

 State in April following. 

 In the latter part of the 

 same year he retired 

 from his newspaper to 

 study law at Cleveland, 

 Ohio, and in the spring 

 of 1861 he opened a law 

 office in Emporia. The 

 following winter he was 

 a member of the Legis- 

 lature, and at the close 

 of the session was chosen 

 reporter of the Supreme 

 Court. In August, 1862, 

 he recruited two com- 

 panies of volunteers, 

 and entered the service 

 as a second-lieutenant. 

 By successive promo- 

 tions he advanced to the 

 position of colonel of a 

 regiment, and served to 



the end of the war. After his return he served 

 two terms in the Legislature, being Speaker of 

 the House in 1867. He resumed the practice 

 of law in 1868, and continued in it with de- 

 cided success until 1872, when he accepted 

 the position of president of the National Bank 

 of Emporia. He has also been largely inter- 

 ested in farming and stock-raising, has taken 

 part in railroad enterprises, and accumulated 

 a considerable fortune. Of late he has been 



