Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1871-06-15
A Western Letter.
FORT SCOTT, KANSAS, June 5, 1871.

| FORT SCOTT, KANSAS, June 8, 1871.
Editor Rutland Herald This is 6
new town about five years old, and con-
tains, I should judge, about four thousand
inhabitants. A resident of the place
would state the population much larger
While it was the terminus Of the two
railroads now passing through here-the
Missouri River, Fort Scott and Gulf Rail
road, and the Missouri, Kansas and Texas
Railroad-it was very busy place, and
grew 80 rapidly that it is now ahead OF
the country, and is said to be dull. There
are, think, more stores here than in the
whole county of Rutland, and I can
hardly see where customers are found to
support them; yet they all appear to be
doing something. p ls- --.
There is plenty of coal underlying the
town, which will probably make man
ufacturing place of it. There is also a
gas well, called here the Burning WE'LL
about two miles from town, which is sim
liar to the wells of Erie, Penn, and Con-
neaut, Ohio, which produces gas in sufi-
oient quantities both to light the towns
and to furnish fuel for large number
of engines used for propelling machinery.
There are several Vermonters here.
Mr.. Anson E. Parmelee, the managing
proprietor of the Wilder House, is Bris-
tol boy, and he and his wife, who is a
Vermont girl, both ''know how to keep
hotel"
Bed bugs are found in this country, in
the checks and seams of cotton wood trees
growing in the woods, which goes to show
that they are not wholly domestic ami
NAL, but as cotton wood lumber is used
here extensively for building, they soon
become domesticated, but Mrs. P, has
banished them from the Wilder House,
and one can go to bed here, without fear
of being dragged out by them in the
night. The beds and rooms of the Wilder
House are clean, and the table is supplied
with the delicacies of the season and the
cookery is faultless. would advise all
yermonters visiting FORT Scott to stop at
this house, for Mr.. Parmelee will make
them feel at home, and do all that he can
to make their stay pleasant.
The country about here for radius of
fifteen or twenty miles is very poor, being
underlaid by sand rock, which in some
places is but few inches from the sur
face, the everything soil being too thin to
produce good crops.
There is a national cemetery about two
miles from town, where four hundred |
union and one hundred rebel soldiers are
buried. Being here decoration day, at.
tended the services at this cemetery, and
was surprised and indignant to see the
ladies' decorate alike the graves of the
union and rebel soldiers, thus apparently
giving the people to understand that it
was equally as honorable to die fighting
against as for the government.
The country along the railroad from
'edalia. Mo, to this place, except the last
fifteen or twenty miles, is very good. 1t
s prairie land interspersed with timber,
nd below Clinton, Mo, is very sparsely
ettled. Raw Prairie" as it is called, is
verth from five to twelve dollars per acre,
nd it will when improved make fine
arms.
l leave Fort Scott today for Indepen- |
ence, Montgomery county, Kansas, and ~
ill again write you from that place.
w. c. D. .