The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1870-05-19

from LedCentCOTGh C1ty TO Fort G10SO4ly
l. E-Fort Baxter Springs
The Indian Territory The CEero-
kees-A Fine Country, &c.
CHoCTAw NATION,
INDIAN TERRITORY, April Is, 20.
Editor Netcs:-Dear Sir: Our party
of four left Leavenworth, Kan, April
20, en- route to Texas, via Fort Scott
Kansas, and Fort Gibson, Indian Ter
ritory. Our route through 1kansas 10
Fort Scott lay through a fine agricul=
tural country, well improved, and for
so new State, thickly settled. The
soil is very productive, and the climate
well adapted to all kinds of fruits that
grow In this latitude, and a great deal
of attention has been paid to the set
ting out of orchards. Land here is held
at from fifteen to twenty dollars per
acre, according to the amount of inn
prOvements upon it.
We reached Fort Scott on the 9Th,
found it to be town of 1000 or 5000
inhabitants, with a decidedly business
air, and town lots rapidly advancing
in price, as of course with true western
vanity they confidently expect it to
soon rival Chicago in commercial i'm
portance.
This place, by wagon road, is one
hundred and twenty-five miles from
Leavenworth, and by rail one hundred
from Kansas City. On the morning Of
the 9th we left this place, ''in thunder,
lightning and in rain," not to mention
mud, bound to Baxter Springs, sixty
FIVE miles distant. The country was
but thinly settled on this part of our
route, but the numerous emigration
now pouring into Kansas will settle it
up very rapidly, as a great portion
of it seems headed this way. Baxter
puts on airs, as they expect the Mo.
River, TT. Scott and Gulf Railroad to
be completed to this point soon, and
we were told that the citizens gave
$25O,OOO to get it to come here, and
that is probably more than all the real
estate in the place is worth.
On the 9Th we moved South, and
about four miles from Baxter crossed
the line of the Indian Territory, and
travelled the old military road to Ft.
Gibson, 100 miles distant. This Ter
ritory is principally inhabited by the
remnant of the old Eastern tribes, who
have been pushed back by the advanc-
ing tide of civilization, and here they
have made halt before taking their
final departure for the "Happy Hunt
ing Grounds" of their forefathers.
We have heard a great deal Of the
civilization and refinement of the Cher
okees, and that they owned their negro
slaves like Southern lords before the
war, and that must have been the only
evidence of it, for as that was swept
away by the Emancipation Proclama-
ton, we failed to see any other signs
of it in passing.through this nation. In
fact, we have come to the conclusion,
that there is something in the nature
of the Indian that disqualifies him for
the arts of peace, and very poorly
qualities him for the arts of war.
We have visited two-thirds of the
States and Territories Of the Union,
but we think the Indian Territory the
finest portion of Uncle Sans domain
we have yet seen. The soil is rich, it is
we'll watered, and well timbered, de-
lightful climate, with sufficient diver
sity of prairie and woodland, hill and
valley, to make it one of the most de-
sirable places for settlement in Amer
lea, and when our Government sees
the folly of treating with the Indians
as nations, and treats them as individ-
uals, and compels them to be citizens,
at least so far as respecting the laws is
concerned, and throws this land into
the market for Homestead and Pre-
emption entry, instead of giving TO
each individual Indian 10 miles square,
as it is said they now hold, there will
be a greater rush Of emigration here
than there ever was to Kansas or
Missouri. Yours respectfully,
Q. S. GLENN.