Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1871-04-06
asisftllaufous.
Ohio Soldiers. Colony. y.

The following is sketch Of Col. VII.
sons speech before the Soldiers meet.
ing at Cincinnati on the oath ult.: sssss
Hespoke of his trip through the Fal
West, and gave a glowing description
of that country. He first touched upon
Kansas, speaking of the deserved fame
it had gained from the richness of its
soil. The Neosho Valley he was espe-
cially pleased with, and lamented that
the rapidity with which it was being
settled almost excluded the hope of the
Ohio Colony obtaining a portion of it.
The Kaw Reserve or Indian Reserve
tion, at the head of the Neosho valley
and river, was a very desirable site and
was not settled by Indians to any great
extent. One of the greatest objects of
curiosity that attracted his attention
upon this spot was a number of neat
stone houses, built in very pleasant
location, at a cost to the government Of
between $4O0 and 500 each, and intend
ed for the use of sMr. Lo, land his fam-
lilies. The Indians did use these houses,
but not in the manner anticipated by
their benefactors.. The savageS tore up
the floors and partitions of the build
ings, used them for firewoOd, and quar-
tered their horses in the comfortable
stable thus prepared. The uplands of
Kansas did not impress him as favor
ably as the low lands, the Colonel re-
marked, that he would Investigate this
part of the country very carefully be-
fore settling there. The State was rich
in minerals, but was afflicted with that
shameful swindle, subsidized railroads.
. nf NnI0rodn ha 10 sr,H Hsrplx - sr,r.
The great expanse of almost de60late
plains, having very few living human
inhabitants, was a remarkable feature
of this country, as also the immense
herds of buffaloes to be met with every
where. These animals were possessed
of senses akin to the human being.
When on the march they We're always
sure to have the calves and debiHtated
members of the mammoth familf sta
toned in the center of the herd, aud the
stout old bulls were on tine Outskirts
prepared to face all dangers that might
arise. They were very regular inatheir
habits; rose early, browsed until 4about
10 O'Clock, and then moved in one al,
most endless single file to the nearest
spring, where they quenched their:
thirst in regular rotation. After this
operation was completed, they went
tramping around the country Until
nightfaH, when they partook of their
grass SUPPER and ass saged their thirst
in the same manner as described above.
When the herd was asleep, senries,
whose vigilance could not be overcome,
were posted, and at the first intimntion
of danger the animals were on the alert
and ready for flight; The senAeless
slaughter of the buffaloes, by su6tel
States soldiers more especially, was to
be deprecated. Often q traveller would
come across hundreds ofe0fpses of those
animals which had been slain. and
their choicest parts alone remOvedxthe
rest being left to the wolves and buz-
yards. ~ f. O.. i,s.1it..s q q 5.,4
The beautiful antelopes, so ogplentifal
in this country, were most Remarkably
feet, and would often endeaYor to put
run the iron monsters, the adv nee
guards of Civilization. If was often
matter of but little difficulty to kill
these animals from the railway trains,
so closely, did they approach. The ex-
teAsive plains of Colorado contained, as
a general thing, good soil, and were no
longer, as was believed in the past,
deserts. OF Denver, a
town ofabout 5000 inhabitants, lying
at the base Of. the Rocky Mountains, he
had considerable to say. 1t was the
outgrowth of the most egregiOus swim
die of Pixies Peak in 1853, the upsh0t of
which was that hundreds of the dipped
gold seekers left their bones to shine
upon the vast plains, or returned to the
States broken down in health, spirits
and pocket. This city was now in an
fourishing condition, and
among its inhabitants were numbers of
the Pixies Peak victims. arlealia(
The Colonel described in very plain
manner the process of irrigation made
for the raising of crops in this
from account of the lack of rain
which prevails there. He then gave
some extensive. minute and valuable
coneexning the agricultural
products of this region Among other
facts, he said that in
the streets of Denver he had examined
specimens of oats far superior to those
raised in this State, and averaged 49
pounds to the bushei, and had seen one
heads of cabbage weighing 81
pounds to the head in the. same place.
OF the climate he spoke in terms Ax-
pressiyel ofsa full appreciation Of It's
healthfulness. The air was light and
dry, and to obtain sufficiency, all the
cells of the lungs were brought into re-
quisition, and the healthy action thus
was the most beneficial to per-
sons afflicted with consumption. Den
Yer was full of these aunfOrtunates at
the time of his visit, and it was believed
that in its incipient stages the climate
n
disease. The atmosphere was very de-
ceptive. One morning he desired a
friend, before breakfast, to take walk
with, him to the mountains, which
were; as he supposed, about two or three
miles away, His friend, after joking
with him for few moments, informed
him, to his utter establishment, that the
were twelve miles off. An
English tourist, stopping in the town
some time ago, started to visit another
at an early hour of the morn
ing, without consulting anybody about
the matter, He had proceeded about
three miles, when he gave up the trip
in disgust, and returning to his hotel,
inquired how far off the mountain was.
1t was u custom among the noun
taineers to drive their carts up an ac-
clivity with the utmost slowness, but
the moment they arrived on the sum-
NIT they whipped up their horses, and
dashed down the declivity with the
utmost speed. Upon one occasion Gen
Grant, Sherman and Sheridan We're
driven nine miles in thirty-seyen min
utes by the coach driver.
On another occasion Horace Greeley
was being driven over the mountains
to a village where. he had some busi-
ness to transact, and ventured TO re-
monstrate with the driver of the vehi-
Gle at the extreme slowness with which
he proceeded The free and indepen-s
dent mountaineer never needed the