The Kansas herald of freedom., 1859-06-18
crs.,.y.s No,ss ON k.p.,,.

After description of his trip from
Osawatomie to Lawrence, he speak Of the
latter, as follows :-a S-s - 49,
The road from Prairie City to Lawrence
Us miles) passed over rolling country.
mainly prairie, crosses the great Santa Fe
trail, now horribly cut up by many heavy
wagons passing in bad weather, then takes
over high divide and along limestone
ridge which runs out into the valley >of
the Wakaruss, and affords magnificent
view Of the country for an area of twenty
miles in each direction, with the prairie
in good part cultivated, cleaning in sun
light on every bend, and the Wakarusa
with its belt of timber making its way
through them to join the Kaw, with its
still larger belt, on the north. Spacious
mounds or spurs oflimestone covered with
soil and grass rise to height of two or
three hundred feet on every side, on one
of'which, visible for many miles on every
side, a flag, when raised, used to give
warning of invasion and danger in the
troublous days now happily passed away.
At the base of one of these spurs, by the
side of the Kaw, sits LAWRENCE, clearly
discernible from distance of ten miles.
Descending from the ridge, and passed
over lower prairie two or three miles, we
cross the Wakarusa "a moderate creek,
hardly twenty yards wide, but very deep
and with high, steep banks) on a good
toll bridge, traverse its wide, wet bottom,
here in good part prairie-marsh, and pass
over two miles of superb prairie into the
renowned citadel of Free State principles,
the frst-born of Northern resolution that
Kansas should not be tamely yielded to
the Shareholders, and which does not
deny its parentage.
Lawrence can only grow with the more
thorough developmentof the surrounding
country. Across the Kaw on the north,
large Indian reservation (the Delaware)
impedes its progress, while town sites, and
very good ones, are so abundant in Kan
sas, that no location but one where navi-
gable water is abandoned for land trans
por.ation can be of very much account
| should say Lawrence has now FIVE hum
dred dwellings and perhaps 5000 in
habitants, and these figures are more like
ly to be over than under the mark. She
has a magnificent hotel (the Eldridge
House)-tie best, hear, between the
Missouri and the Sacramento-far better,
l fear, than its patronage will Justify
though it has nearly all that Lawrence
can give. She Is to have a great Uni.
vers!ty, for which part of the funds are
already provided, but I trust it will be
located some distance away, SO as to give
scope for model farm, and for perfect
development of the education of the
brain and the hands together. In our old
States, the cost of land is always assign
ed as reason for not blending labor with
study authoritatively and Systematically |;
here there can be no such excuse. l
trust the establishment of the Lawrence
University will not be unduly hurried,
but that it will be, whenever it does open
its doors to students, an institution wor-
thy of its name.
passed into the town over "Mount
Oread," considerable eminence on the
southwest, on whose summit the Free
State fortress of other days was construct
ed. tits now dilapidated, but is place
of considerable natural strength as de-
fensive position, and in the hands of the
grandsons of the men who defended Bun
ker Hill, would have cost something to
whoever might have taken it. As it was,
the Ruffians, though often in the neigh
borhood in overwhelming force, and anx-
ions enough for its destruction, never got
possession of it but once, ard then by
marching with Federal officers at their
head and Federal writs in their pockets.
For one, 1 regret that even these were
suffered to shield them, and thus allow
printing presses to be destroyed and houses
battered down and burned with immunity
did not speak long in Lawrence, for
trust words are not there needed. Hel
people have had practical illustrations o.
the great issues which divide the country
and are not likely soon to forget them
Ofcourse, her pioneers will die or be
come dispersed; new men will come in o.
rise up to fill their places, and "anothe
king arose who knew not Joseph" viii
find its parallel in her future.