The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1874-06-18
Tho Fourth at Arkansas City.

poses 10 nave Il Sfanu ccicDfaiiou ""
the Hh of July. The indians have been
interviewed, and the Osages and Raws
have promised to make grand c"free
on horseback, in full war-paint and
holiday fantastic attire. Soldiers, gram
gers and everybody else have beeE in
yited. The editor of the 7rdreter
writes us, under date of June l1th. as
follows:
ARKANSAS CITY, June llth.
Hon. NJ. NJ. MURDOCH. SIR {:
Our peoples.are anxious to have you
address them here Oh the 4th of July
next, and have been requested to cx-
tend the invitation TO you. There Will
be large gathering, as many amusc-
meuts and attractive features will be
instituted, among others grand war
dance of the Usage and Kaw indians.
Try and come down. You have never
been here. and the trip. l think, will
justify you. Yours, e. w. SCOTT.
1t puzzles us TO assign aky reason
for the above invitation. Did brother
Scott ever hear Of us making a speech
"a 4th of July Grafton? We never at
tempted such rash thing but once,
and. while the occasion still fingers
pleasantly in our memory, we could
not be persuaded to make second at
tempt 10 elevate the bird and fling out
the colors. 1t was in 1864, up on ORA
COON creek, in Usage county, where a
few of our farmer friends and SUBJ
scribers, not desiring any ''heavy blow
out" and knowing that we pretended
to no "grcat shakes" invited us down
to make talk, to eat a good dinner
and enjoy first rate time, away from
the town people and their eternal style
and show. Our theme was "the war
aud its results" Didn't we fling the
old bird around lively, though, and
that symbol of our nationality and
unity, made of bunting and familiarly
called the "stars and stripes" how we
more than wore it out in our frantic
endeavors to make the occasion one
long to be remembered. We guess SO
in fact we know SO. That was before
the days of grangers, yet we were a
granger crowd to all intents and pur-
poses. And there sat our wife, then a
Youthful bride, with anxiety depicted
in her eyes, fearing failure. Well, it
was as good as show. The boys hur-
rahed and fired of their guns and
crackers, the older men patted us on
the shoulder aud said ''first rate, my
boy," the farmers wives-God bless
them-at the dinner, gave us the best
ofcvcrything and said they were proud
of us. But, Scott. You invite us to a
different task. Arkansas City is the
second town in the valley, her people
intelligent, cnterprising, and not know
ing us personally, would have no warm
side for us or excuse for our failures.
There is Professor Norton, one of the
finest linguists in the state, and class
zeal gentleman. and Prof. Kellogg, for
mcrly president OF our statg normal
school, a ripe scholar and thinker, and
such men to talk to-nO we can't go
to Arkansas City. AS to those red
painted rascals, by looking severe and
intermingling with our howlings an
incipient war whoop or two, as we
c!utched our hair and tore around the
plaiform-wc might impress them with
something of the sublimity of the &C.
casion; but worse than bare-boned
presumption would it be to travel fifty
five miles TO entertain the bona-fidc
citizens of Cowlcy county on an occa-
sion like the one to which we have
been SO kindly invited.
Sincerely hoping that our friends
will make the 4th of July, 1874, an oc-
casion long to be remembered, and that
the Great Ruler of the universe may
preserve and prosper this free and hap
DIV land of ours until her natal days,
when counted together, will aggregate
wears of time; that Arkansas City may
make metropolis second only TO
Wichita, and that her Trareler may be
found upon every road that leads to
or from her, we yet must, nevertheless,
respectfully decline the invitation to
be with our friends at the mouth OF
the Walnut on the 4th.