The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1873-11-06
Wichita.

] this road. tic distance is twenty-sevcI
miles, and the course nearly due south.
1 The only stations between. are Sedg-
wick CITY, the respectable Hest-egg of
a village, (for il has few dwellings!
and small business places. and neat
/ little church ediiicc.) ami Valley Cen
/ tire. a flag station-respectively ten and
sixteen miles from Newton. From
very little below Newton the road ira
verses bottom land all the way TO
! Wichita. which, although seemingly
level, has an unbroken. gentle declivity.
/ From near Scdgwick City TO Wichita
/ the railroad runs within mile or two
I Of the east bank of the little Arkansas,
and once or twice within half a mile
/ according to my measurement. do
/ not see how land could lie better for
cultivation.
/ The Little Arkansas has a narrow
skirting of timber all the way, and so
! has the Arkansas at and for many miles
above and below Wichita, mostly cot
! tOnwood.
! found at Wichita the best supply
of vegetables have seen and less evil
dence of the effect of drouth. than at
any place have visited west OF Jeffer-
son City. Irish potatoes are compar-
atively plenty there, large and fine, and
sell by wagon load at GO to 80 cents, ac-
cording to quality; sweet potatoes, IS
cents to 81 !; turnips, so cents; onions,
/ 80 cents; ruta bagas, 40 cents: corn 90
cents; castor beans, TO the production
of which considerable attention is given
in the Arkansas yalley.) Sl.25. / notice
that car load was shipped fromWich-
tia few days ago fer ST. Louis-a
Kansas prescription, perhaps, for the
ills of Missouri.
! saw several loads Of corn coming
/ into Wichita from the south side of the
river. and never saw q load in which
the ears were so uniformly large. One
farmer with whom | conversed, who
resides in the valley. about % miles
above Wichita, stated that in field of
one hundred acres of corn the average
yield of eighty acres was, this year, Sc
venty-tive bushels to the acre, and that
he had never had better crop. 1t was
raised in the bottom. The best crops
of Irish potatoes were raised in the
bottom. and of english turnips in the
second bottom.
The newness of the settlements. the
large tide of immigration to the vicin-
ity and through Wichita to the country
south of it, and the constant presence
of a great number of persons in the
cattle trade, creates large demand for
Hour, and noticed several stores that
deal in it extensively. 1t is shipped
there from Fort Scott, Atchison, To-
peka, Usage City, Emporia, Cotton
wood Falls, Elmsdale and Usage Mis-
sion, Kansas, aud from Pleasant Hill,
Missouri, the largest supply from any
one place going from Usage Mission.
The retail price is $3.50 per sack for
spring wheat.
Recurring again to the vegetable
market, dealer told me that his house
was continually filling orders for pota-
toes for Atchison, Topeka, &c, i'll that
direction, and for potatoes, cabbagcs
(Which also seem to be plenty there, }
and other vegetables, to Fort Dodge
l66 miles west of NGwtOn-and other
places new settlements in that vicin-
ity.
A population Of $500 to 1900 is
claimed for Wichita. | Judge it has,
at least, $500; and it is decidedly
live town. Every branch of mercantile
business is fully represented, quite a
number of abe stores indicating a large
business. And all the ordinary me
chanical trades are found there in full
blast. Wagon-making is carried on ex-
) tcnsively. and the wagons are very
tastefully gotten up. Brick of average
quality is made therc-prices 81 to s.
in yard, for common, and sSll for stocl,
used for fronts. In appearance they
are not equal to the pressed ochrc brick
, made at Usage City, which make a very
handsome wall.
J There is one merchant mill with two
) or three run of burrs, near Wichita.
Two weekly newspapers are publish.
ed there. Another feature worthy OF
note Is substantial bridge standing
, upon iron pillars. across the Arkansas
1t is private enterprise: and of course
charges toll.
. noticed two banks. The town has
two homeopathic physicians and q
, plenty of the allopathic school. The
Catholics, Methodists and Baptists have
church ediiices-the latter not quite fl.
nished: aud the Prcsbyterians and Is.
picopalians worship in rented halls.
The larger part Of the buildings are
frame, some of them large structures
but there are quite a number of stone
and brick. A three story brick build.
ing 100 feet front by so feet deep, re-
Gently built for hotel, with stores IN
first story, is yet unoccupied.
. Its "Upper-ten" hotel is the Douglass
Avenue House. which, considering the
rough employment of many of those
who are necessarily its patrons, is well
kept-tcrms So day. At the smaller
houses, generally, | guess. with bar
attached.) board and lodging is fur.
nished at $l.25 per day.
| visited the cattle pens, which,
was told. will contain from 5000 to
5000 head at one time, and whence. a
stated to me. thirty cars an sometimes
loaded in seventy minutes. About 25,-
600 head where shipped thence in the
last thirty days, and the business OF
shipment is undated. Carloading is
not an enviable employment. 1t can
not fail TO render men cruel and cal
lous.
Water. as elsewhere generally in the
Arkansas valley. is obtained by 3
driven tube and pump.
A heavy rain on the morning lreach'
ed Wichita. Oct. 18th, served to prove
that the place is not exempt from
mud; but it disappeared, mainly, il
. twenty-four hours. More anon.
, AnANS pEkpnnN