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Show CHAPTER IX. THE MISSOURI VALLEY. AT noon of a scorching day, our party landed from a Missouri Pa-cific train in Kansas City a modern Rome built on seventeen hills instead of seven. Its citizens have ambitious hopes equal to those of ancient Romans, but for commerce instead of war. Real estate is set on edge in Kansas City; so it logically follows there is twice the profit in it. So the citizens would seem to judge, from the prices they ask for lots. A new- comer, looking for an investment, was pointed to a cone- shaped tract by the owner who was willing to sell. " But is n't it too steep and rough ?" he asked. " Just what you want," was the reply; " see that lot down there?" pointing to a funnel- shaped plat some hundreds of feet below " well, the man that owns that will give you $ 5,000 for this hill to level up his lot with." Next day he was approached by the owner of the lower lot. " Is n't it too low and wet?" he asked. " Oh, my goodness, no ! D'you see that hill ? Well, the owner of that has got to level it, and he'll give you $ 1,000 for the privilege of dumping it on this lot." The " pil-grim " did not invest. Tli is is the metropolis of western Missouri and eastern Kansas, and adds immensely to the wealth and population of Jackson County the " Land of Zion," according to the revelations of Joe Smith. Hither in the spring of 1831, came the Mormon Prophet and followers, lo-cated the New Jerusalem at Independence, and prophesied a greater glory than earth had ever known. They notified the citizens that it was idle for them to open farms or build houses ; they were standing in the way of the Lord, who would sweep the land with destruction. But the Gentiles saw the matter in a different light ; they gathered their forces, and after a sharp fight, in which two were killed and many hurt, drove the Saints across the Missouri into Clay County, Jackson now contains a population equal to that of Utah, and five times as much wealth. It is indeed a goodly land. Prairie and grove alternate in pleasing variety ; every commanding knoll is the site of a neat hamlet, every little grove contains a tasteful farm- house, while the 9 V* |