15. What part did Kansas take in the World War? 16. What is the prohibition amendment? The woman suffrage amendment? CHAPTER XV THE INDUSTRIES OF KANSAS =The Earliest Kansas Farmers.= Agriculture, the leading industry of our State, was for many years almost the only occupation of our people. The Indians were the first farmers in Kansas. The Comanches, in the western part of the State, were roving hunters, but the eastern Indians had permanent homes and tilled the soil. They were both hunters and farmers. A government agent in describing their mode of living says: “They raise annually small crops of corn, beans, and pumpkins. These they cultivate entirely with the hoe, in the simplest manner. Their crops are usually planted in April, and receive one dressing before they leave their villages for the summer hunt in May.” =Agriculture Taught to the Indians.= When Kansas was made an Indian country the National Government agreed in the treaties to supply the Indians with cattle, hogs, and farming implements, and to employ persons to teach them agriculture. In accordance with this agreement several government farms were established, and both the government farmers and the missionaries taught agriculture to the Indians. By the time Kansas was organized as a Territory, in 1854, there were a number of farms in the different reservations and at the missions, and the produce was such as to show that the soil of Kansas is remarkably fertile. =Agriculture During Territorial Days.= Most of the early settlers of Kansas were farmers, but during Territorial days the political and governmental troubles made much progress in farming impossible. The terrible season of 1860 made a dreary closing for this period, and confirmed in the minds of many eastern people the old idea that Kansas was fit only for Indians, buffaloes, and prairie dogs. [Illustration: HAND PLANTER.] =Agriculture During the Civil War.= The year following the drouth brought a good crop, but it also brought the beginning of the Civil War which absorbed the energies of the settlers for four years more. It was not until the close of the war, in 1865, that agriculture can be said to have had a real beginning in Kansas. But, in spite of the poverty and hardships of the war years, two things of especial significance were done that showed the interest of the pioneers in agriculture. During this period the Agricultural College at Manhattan was established, and the State Agricultural Society was formed. The object of the Society was “to promote the improvement of agriculture and its kindred arts throughout the State of Kansas.” Under its management a state fair was held at Leavenworth in 1863, and in that year the Legislature appropriated $1000 for the benefit of the Society. These events are worthy of note because they showed the enterprise of the people when their resources were small.