Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1859-06-11

q limestone bottom not Tar below the sur
face Of their bedf but their banks are apt
10 be steep, and are continually growing
more so b1 fcason OF the water washing a.
way the earth which has been denuded OF
grass and worked loose by hoofs wheels
TraseIng by jerks like this Is not so plea
saTst as over macadamized road, yet our
day Wus n bright and pleasant one,
Thirty miles Of progress, twenty Of them
over prairie, brought us to Spring Hill, aI
hamlet Of Eve or six dwellings, including
store, but no tavern. Our horses needed to
feed and rest--for the wagon with its four
inmates was heavy drag over such going
80 we stopped aud tried to fnd refresh
ment, but with limited success. There was
no grain to SELL save q homeopathic dose
sold us for quarter by a passing wOgoDer,
and thankfully received; we gave this to our
steeds, RECALLED ourselves on crackers and
herring, and pushed on.
Our direct route led due south to Paoli,
county seat Of Lykins but persons we met
here assured us that there was no crossing
Bull Greek on this road, and that we must
bear away to the west through Marysville
(a village Of perhaps dozen houses, in
cludiDg a store and tavern J, so as to cross
at Rock Ford, three miles beyond, which
opened The only chance Of getting over
We did so, aud crossed In safety, with the
Usual jokes when we were fairly over but
confess that the wide mpetuous stream
SO impenetrable to the eye and so far above
lis average level wore vicious look to me
when we approached and plunged into it,
It's bottom is here hardly half a mile wide,
but is capitally wooded with Hickory, Oak,
Black Walnut, &c Emerging from it, we
rode over twelve miles more of high gently
rolling prairie, with wood in the ravines on
either side, which brought us to the village
Of Stanton (of twenty or thirty houses, in
cludiDg two stores and q tavernl which we
reached before sunset, having Travelled at
least fifty miles since we started 10 the morn
ing. Night and the Marais des Cygnes-
here brought us to halt-the creek being
at this time impassable--aHd we had to
forego our determination to reach Osawata-
mie before sleeping. So we halted at the
little tavern, where we found five or six
others bound to Osawatamie like ourselves,
at least one of whom had swan three creeks
since morning. Fifteen or twenty Others
drove up during the evening we had sup
per, neighborhood meeting and Repub-
lican talk at the school-house, and adjourned
to fill all the beds and floors of the tavern
as full as they could hold. The kind ac-
tive, efficient landlady did her best, which
was good enough and all were snugly be-
slowed except another editor and myself,
who accepted the kindly profered hospital
ity of Republican farmer, and were capi-
tally entertained at his house, half o mile
distant
As night fell, the lightning had begun to
CLEAN and fash nearly around the horizon !;
by 10 O'clock, the thunder rolled at IL,
high gale could be heard sweeping over
the prairies some moments before it reached
u.s. The lightning blazed almost necessarily
for hours yet the rainfall at Stanton was
very slight. But there were heavy showers
at MarysviIie, at Paoli. and almost every
where else around us, s till further raising the
streams, SO that many who had come part
way were unable TO reach Osawatamie next
day.
We were early on the bank "a mile from
Stanton) Of the Marais des Cygues, which
was running heavy driftwood and otherwise
mis-behaving itself. 1t had buried up the
ferry rope, without whose aid the boat could
not be propelled across its sweeping cur
rent one of the trees to which that rope
was attached was now nearly in the middle
Of the stream and there had been no cross
ing for day or two. Bat new rope had
been procured and somehow stretched a.
cross the stream whereby we were taken
across 10 our turn, after waiting somewhat
over an hour. A mile or so Of well tim
bered aud too well watered bottom brought
us again to prairie, over which we drove
rapidly into Osawatamie, which we reached
before 10 A. NJ.
Osawatamie is q village of at most $50
houses, situated in the forks Of the Marais
des Cygues aud Potawatamie, somewhat
smaller creek, which comes in from the
southwest. The location is pleasant and
favorable but not commanding one the
surrounding country is more considerably
cultivated than any had passed south Of
the Kaw. The two creeks supply abun-
dant and good timber an excellent steam
sawmili has taken the place of that which
the Border Rufians buraed a Touring
mill, tannery, brewery and a large hotel,
are being erected or completed, presume
there is larger town somewhere in what
is kaowB as Southern Kansas, though l do
not know which it is.
But Osawstsmie has a higher interest
than any other spot in Kansas, except pos
) sibly Lawrence, because of her honorable
emineuee in the struggle which has secured
Kansas 70 Free Labor She was long the
only settlement near the Missouri border
which was aEowedly, decidedly Free State
tue only Free State village that could be
reached by a nights march from Missouri.
TO be known as a Free-State man at Tope-
ka,- Wanbousee, Emporia, or any other post
Welliinland, involved struggles aud sacri.
foes :; to be one at Osawatamie, was to liv'
innigbtly and well-grounded apprehension
Of robbery, arson aud murder. The Pro
Slavery settlements in the neighborhoo'
were strong and malignant aud they ha'
only to drew upon Missouri at sight for an.
amount Of force, and the Draft would b
honored. Yet to surrtuder this oulpOs
was virtually to- give up all Kansas soutl
of the Marais des Cygnes and. though il
maintenance was sure to cost property anC
blood, il was not surrendered, for Or
JOIN BRowH was among its early settlers