For those of you interested in the early days of Elk and CQ counties, there's a newer listing on the KSHS site under Kansas Memories that you should check out (if you haven't already seen it). It's a 24 page booklet printed in 1886 touting/selling the two counties to would-be immigrants. The link to it is www.kansasmemory.org/item/225066. Would be interested in what you think of it.
If this has already been mentioned here on the forum, I apologize for repeating, but I don't recall it being talked about before.