The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1870-06-14
From the Cherokee Sentinel
FRONTIER LIFE.
A visit 10 Baxter, Kansas--Bar.
room Scencs--Quapaxy Dance,


Baxter is any thing but a place for
saints or sinners to rest in now. The
Richard Baxter who was born IN 1918,
who wrote the "Call to the Unconyer.
ted, who is The author Of the we'll
known lines,
l preach as never sure to preach again
And as dying manto dying men,
would shed agonizing tears could he see
the Kansas Baxter There is no talk of
dying here. New houses are going up
every-where-more than a hundred in
all-end while the town has 1000 visit !
crs participating in the festivities of the
day, the carpenter, the mason, and the
bricklayer continue their work. Here
tofore the buildings have been, mary of
them, of temporary character, Here
are fr;imes covered with cotton cloth,
ceilings everywhere made of cloth, large
stocks of goods with only cloth COW
ering, and tents on'all sides of you. The
people and the lusincss must be accom-
modated
There arc two or three hotcEs and
many restaurants. Colonel w. II. Graves
recently of Toledo, ,Ohio,is charging and
relitting big hotel, (which he will call the
Bateman House, and which will be fine
establishment, There seems to have
been no trouble here about the temper
ance question, and several similar ques-
tons. There are saloons on all sides,
several with ''polite lady waitcrs' in at
tendance, as bar-tending prostitutes are
called nowadays. In one of these "che-
bangs" or 'hurdy eurdies,' we counted
twenty tables, around each Of which men
were sitting playing cards for tue drinks.
In one corner, on an elevated platform,
sat fiddler and a piano, with unending
music. In the rear man under plug
hat was dealing faro to table full of 81
lent and anxious players. The talk with
the ladies was free enough. In another
place game of keno was going on, and
under tent there was minstrel per-
formance with two nearly naked and
loathsome women for dancing and gen
eral exhibition.
Those who have been in mining towns
say these scenes are familiar enough
Baxter Springs, on celebration week, was
not town after Richard Bsxter's own
heart. The Indians are an important
feature in the life of Baxter. The Qua
paws live Immediately south of town,
and stay in town-men, women and chill
dren. They seemed clean and behaved
themselves properly, The Quapaw dance,
around bonfire, called out quite a num-
Der of spectators About twenty Indi-
ans sat on the ground, and from them
issued melancholy, dronlng, thumning,
unmnsical- l-music-enough like that play
ed by the Japanese to suggest, once
more, that our Indians came across
j Behring's Straits, from the other side OF
the Pacific. Twenty more Indians, J oung
and old, with naked trunks and legs, did
the dancing. 1t was wretched stuff, and
we were glad when the barefooted and
bare-bodied simpletons had finished
The dance consists of few steps,, a
whirl, like the Shakers, ana that infer
nal Indian yell, made while screaming
and pat;ing the mouth-a howl which
Western men have appropriated to SO
great an extent that it often takes the
place of applause in public meetings,
while the civilized, hearty and inspiring
cheer is forgotten.