Kansas

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Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam,
Where the deer and the antelope play,
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day. ~ Brewster M. Higley

Kansas, officially the State of Kansas, is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka and its largest city is Wichita.

Home, home on the range,
Where the deer and the antelope play;
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day. ~ Brewster M. Higley
How often at night when the heavens are bright
With the light from the glittering stars,
Have I stood here amazed and asked as I gazed
If their glory exceeds that of ours. ~ Brewster M. Higley
They were nearly all frowsy-headed, boot-shod, and lonely-looking, fresh from the new state's farms, ranches, and raw young prairie towns. Before the war ended, Kansas furnished more men and boys to the Union forces in proportion to its population than any other state. And all of them were volunteers. ~ Harold Keith
Anderson Hall at Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore. We must be over the rainbow! ~ The Wizard of Oz
Fall leaves in Manhattan, KS

Quotes[edit]

  • One after another, countries such as Spain and Greece, states such as Wisconsin, Michigan, and Kansas, and American colonies such as Puerto Rico-are becoming laboratories for how much pain can be inflicted on a population for the purpose of satisfying creditors and ideologues.
    • Amy Goodman Democracy Now!: Twenty Years Covering the Movements Changing America (2016)
  • Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam,
    Where the deer and the antelope play,
    Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
    And the skies are not cloudy all day.
    • Brewster M. Higley, "A Home on the Range", first verse of the song version, as collected and recorded in Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads (1910) by John A. Lomax. Various minor changes have been made in this popular Western song over the years, but the lyrics have remained largely the same as in Higley's original poem, which he wrote somewhere before or near 1874. "Home on the Range" was adopted as the official state song of the State of Kansas on 30 June 1947.
  • Home, home on the range,
    Where the deer and the antelope play;
    Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
    And the skies are not cloudy all day.
    • Brewster M. Higley, "A Home on the Range", chorus of the song version, as collected and recorded in Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads (1910) by John A. Lomax.
  • Where the air is so pure, the zephyrs so free,
    The breezes so balmy and light,
    That I would not exchange my home on the range
    For all of the cities so bright.
    • Brewster M. Higley, "A Home on the Range", second verse of the song version, as collected and recorded in Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads (1910) by John A. Lomax.
  • The red man was pressed from this part of the West,
    He's likely no more to return
    To the banks of Red River where seldom if ever
    Their flickering camp-fires burn.
    • Brewster M. Higley, "A Home on the Range", third verse of the song version, as collected and recorded in Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads (1910) by John A. Lomax.
  • How often at night when the heavens are bright
    With the light from the glittering stars,
    Have I stood here amazed and asked as I gazed
    If their glory exceeds that of ours.
    • Brewster M. Higley, "A Home on the Range", fourth verse of the song version, as collected and recorded in Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads (1910) by John A. Lomax.
  • Oh, I love these wild flowers in this dear land of ours,
    The curlew I love to hear scream,
    And I love the white rocks and the antelope flocks
    That graze on the mountain-tops green.
    • Brewster M. Higley, "A Home on the Range", fifth verse of the song version, as collected and recorded in Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads (1910) by John A. Lomax.
  • Oh, give me a land where the bright diamond sand
    Flows leisurely down the stream;
    Where the graceful white swan goes gliding along
    Like a maid in a heavenly dream.
    • Brewster M. Higley, "A Home on the Range", sixth verse of the song version, as collected and recorded in Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads (1910) by John A. Lomax.
  • Ad Astra Per Aspera
    • To the stars through difficulties;" "a rough road leads to the stars;" or "Through hardships, to the stars," motto of the State of Kansas
  • Few Americans know how savagely the Civil War raged or how strange and varied were its issues in what is now Oklahoma and the neighboring states of Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas. Rifles for Watie was faithfully written against the historical backdrop of the conflict in this seldom-publicized, Far-Western theater.
    • Harold Keith, Rifles for Watie (1957), New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, hardcover, p. xi
  • "I jined up fer a frolic," laughed a tall fellow from Republic County with warts on his face. He turned to his messmate, a blond boy from Fort Scott. "Why did you come in?" "Wal, by Jack, because I thought the rebels was gonna take over the whole country." "I joined up because they told me the rebels was cuttin' out Union folks' tongues and killin' their babies. After I got here, I found out all it was over was wantin' to free the niggers," complained another, disgustedly. "I decided I'd jest as well be in the army as out in the besh. Now I'm about to decide I'd druther be in the bresh," snorted another. They were nearly all frowsy-headed, boot-shod, and lonely-looking, fresh from the new state's farms, ranches, and raw young prairie towns. Before the war ended, Kansas furnished more men and boys to the Union forces in proportion to its population than any other state. And all of them were volunteers.
    • Harold Keith, Rifles for Watie (1957), New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, hardcover, p. 22
  • "What's the farthest you ever walked on one trip?" Jeff asked. Noah gazed distractedly at the parched ground passing beneath their feet. Then his white teeth flashed briefly in his tanned, leathery face. "I guess it was two years ago when I hiked from Topeka, Kansas, to Galveston, Texas. Why?" Jeff shrugged. "Oh, no particular reason. I just wondered." They tramped fifty yards more in the broiling sunshine. "How come you walked clear from Kansas to Galveston?" Noah turned his somber face seriously toward Jeff. "You probably won't believe me, youngster, but I wanted to see the magnolias in bloom." Jeff caught his breath in surprise. Estimating fast, he reckoned it was roughly about nine hundred miles from Topeka to Galveston. If a fellow could stand all that walking, it would take about a month and a half to hoof it down there and another month and a half to hoof it back. Eighteen hundred miles just to see some flowers. Jeff stole another look at Noah. If anybody would do it, Noah Babbitt would be the man. Jeff said simply, "I believe you. Did you get to see them?" Noah nodded solemnly. "Shore did. An' they was worth every foot of the trip."
    • Harold Keith, Rifles for Watie (1957), New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, hardcover, p. 43-44
  • Restless, he climbed through the open window to keep from awakening his family and spread his blankets on the Bermuda outside. Sleeping outdoors on the ground was a habit he would have for many years. He settled back comfortably upon the blanket. The Kansas sky was spangled with blazing stars. They shone so brightly that he imagined he could almost hear the crackle of their fires. Down in the corral a cowbell tinkled faintly. He felt a slight movement at his side and saw that Ring had joined him and was lying close by, his head upon his forepaws. Reaching over with his hand, Jeff gave the big dog a couple of pats. Then he closed his eyes. Soon he began to breathe deeply and regularly.
    • Harold Keith, Rifles for Watie (1957), New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, hardcover, p. 332
  • At the People's College in Fort Scott, Kansas, my mother met Arthur Le Sueur, who with Helen Keller, Eugene Debs, and Charles Steinmetz had founded the greatest workers' school in the country. Thousands of farmers and hillbilly men, miners, and other workers took correspondence courses in workers' law and workers' English and workers' history.
  • Kansas suffers from two great robbers, the Sante Fe railroad and the loan sharks. The common people are robbed to enrich their masters.
  • When liberals' presidential nominees consistently fail to carry Kansas, liberals do not rush to read a book titled "What's the Matter With Liberals' Nominees?" No, the book they turned into a bestseller is titled "What's the Matter With Kansas?" Notice a pattern here?

External links[edit]

  • Encyclopedic article on Kansas on Wikipedia
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