The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1872-03-09
Kansas city, nfIsso uri.

4 es,, Kansas city. Missouri.
We copy the following interesting letter
written by an old South Carolinian, from the
Charleston Courier. It is dated Kansas City
Missouri, February, 1879:
30 many friends in South Carolina have
.ns;an "sssen 70 me making Inquiries about thi'
esch separately. Therefore, I ask permission
through your columns, to make the folio wing
The ., Ksp,ss city the
only S.Voo are negroes. The whites are from
every state in the Union, and from Canada.
England, Ireland, Scotland, france, Ger.
many, many, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The
are Kentucky, Maryland and Virginia. There
are fewer from South Carolina than any
other. me assessed value Of all tho pro-
psHs5ty Per 2o feai cca and personal, in the oity is
xi1,ooo.o0o But this assessment ia put at
from one-third to one-half Of the actual
market value Of property, so that tho actual
alue Value is between $24. 100000 and $50, 600 900.
I. me aggregate OF the sales Of merchandise
year were built e65 dwellings, and 104 busine ess
houaes-in all 9G9-at q cost of S2.II3 600.
AZ an illustration of how business here
grows. take the packing OF cattle aud hogs in
.2oo head; Of hogs $4,000 head; 1871, of
cattle 45,5i3 head; OF hogs 6SGS3 head.
! mere are ten banks in actual operation, and
aoo1I thirty wholesale stores, which duplicate
tho chicago aud st. Louis prices. There are
nye daily newspapers. among which the
Times il tho leading Democratic. and the
journal, tho leading Republican paper, both
o! Mnioh abound from time to time with in
| teresting and important information, relative
| 70 this CITY and section. And any one con-
| slderlng move to this section conld not do
Wiser vne or more profitable aot than to take and
io"t ore OF ahese. or both. The prices Of both
month; tho weekly is seventy-fivo cents for
| six months. There ie q street railway in opo-
1ntlon, running = distance Of four miIes
-; mere are four other companies chartered,
are the various branches OF business that the
usual rate OF interest for money in sums of
si.ooo or more, is from fifteen to twenty per
cent,-sometlmes higher; and in small sums
| as two per cent. per month
the railroads having termini hero, and
wn,on run their cars into this city; each on its
owl own separate track, are seven. Then there is
prac!lcaliy two roads by one company; there
are In addition two others in the course of
construction, each having this place as ter
minus, minus, ana each having it's separate track.
course OF construction, there are companies
already org anized to build still three more
which will make fourteen railroads, each hay.
ing separate track, which, in a year or two,
will be III running order to and from this city
The hrst was only built in 1866. Our papers
enumerate sixteen different railroads run
ming into this city or terminating here, or
providing feeders for this market" confine
my statements to roads having each sepa-
rate track on which its trains run into the
CITY, Theso different railroads furnish to the
trade aud business OF this city five different
competing lines from here to New York.
Water transportation is furnished by the
memphis River, not only down to that Sin
land sea" the Mississippi, but above here for
q distance Of 1900 miles.
For distance Of 100 miles or moro in
every direction, and in many directions for u
mulch greater distance, the fertility OF the
sol! cannot be surpassed anywhere in the
United States.
The city is on the verge OF tho State of
the State line. 1t has mover had any OF tho
advantageous aids that attend the capitals of
States and County seats. II never was even
County scat. Yet its trade and business
House, which is the largest and finest in the
State outside OF st. Louis, it having cost
$l20, ,OO0. The city, moreover, is located in as
rough and broken ate as can we'll be ina
gined, much OF the city having been built on
high hills and deep ravines Some of the
bluffs are 200 feet above the bed OF the river
part OF the market square WAS made by
alling up ravine thirty or forty feet deep.
only two squares from the market the roofs
OF three-story houses are hardly as high as
the natural surface Of the earth ON adjoining
unimproved lots. Main street WAS osta
blished partly on q hillside, with a little
mountain on one hand and raviue ON the
other. Other parts Of the street are in the
bottom OF ravine. It was at first genuine
mountain rond, engineered around hills era-
dunlly to ravine, and thence down to the
boat landing.
The general direction Of tho Missouri River
is almost due Vest to the Western border of
the State OF Missouri, where it reaches an
elbow BY turning and running nearly North
for u considerable distance. This elbow is
Familiarity called big Bend" And in conse.
quence OF this elbow, this vicinity at an early
day assumed Importance in the trade with
the indians. whose territory and hunting
grounds, even until 1854, comprised all that
vast territory between the Western border of
Missouri and tho Rocky Mountains. The late
Hon. Thos. II. Benton predicted great CITY
at or near the 'Big Bond" Gen. Fremont
made this his starting point in his explora-
tions across the Rocky Mountains. A trade
sprang up ut an early day between the Mis-
eour River and Santa Fo, Mexico AS this
trade increased. it kept coming up the river
to one placo after another, each place in turn
being nearer the bend. Finally, this trade
estsblished itself at Westport, q town in this
tJackson) County, four miles from the rvor.
Nearly all Santa Fe freight was discharged at
Big Bend for Westport. whero merchants en-
gagged in the Santa Fe trade bad their bu,i-
ness headquarters. ~ last some OF these
began to thlnk it would be we'll to Open store