The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1875-02-20
LETTER FROM KANSAS.
FORT SCOTT, Feb. 6

roads, you find yourself in a long little
town with the number of its population
greatly overestimated. The actual popula-
ton is about 3, $780, while they claim 6,O00
But for town Of little more than two years
it certainly has many metropolitan features.
1t has beautiful and commodious public
school building, with all the modern i'm
provements in furniture and architecture,
erected at cost of $1,000. There is 10
Gated there cotton compress, $50, 900
Touring mill, the slaughter-house of the
Texas and Atlantic Refrigerator Car Com
pany, a gigantic concern, the workings of
which l will tell you something in a future
letter; the ice-houses of the Arctic Ice Com
pany who have shipped there from the Mis-
sissippi at Hannibal, Missouri, about 49,
900 tons the present Winter; and quite a
number of credtable business houses
Nearly all religious denominations are rep
resented by respectable churches, which
are usually we'll filled with appreciative
audiences. But it will require the united
fort of church and schools to correct her
public morals. Public gambling houses are
situated on all streets, open at all times,
Sunday as well as Monday, and their where
abouts are indicated by flaming signs on
which are painted figures indicating the
games that may be enjoyed within. Dance
houses are advertised by illuminated figures
| in gaudy costumes and intemperance hangs
like cloud over the morning of her young
life. Certain it is that on Sunday nights
the music in the dance houses must drown
the voice of the preacher in his pulpit and
confuse the pious maiden as she reads her
prayer book.
Cotton is the principal article of mer
chandise there. Each day and night the
streets are thronged with teams of every
conceivable kind and people of every color
and race that have yet been seen on this
continent. The majority of the men are the
widest, most murderous looking beings one
could wish to see. The morals of the town
are much better now, however, than nine
months ago. Nine months ago it was
Indians and halfbre white men to ride
through the principal streets shooting into
windows, &c. Then the cattle boys" as
the herders and drovers are called, no mat
ter their forces, mount their little Mexican
ponies, and pursue them. A regular battle
ensues, and the "cattle boys " are gener-
ally victorious. Denison is located about
four miles from the border of the Indian
Territory, and as there is no whisky sold in
the Territory, the Indians and white vii
lains who inhabit that country go to Deni-
son to get that necessary fuid-hence so
much rioting.
AS is the case in all other new towns,
many fortunes have been made in Denison
by shrewd Eastern men since the town was
settled. Silver and gold is used there en-
tirely to-day.
Very many of the inhabitants of the
town live in tents or "dugouts IT. e., in
holes in the ground. 1t is common to see
a tent without window or floor with sign
over the door, indicating that within there
is saloon" "lodging- house." "bak
cry" "grocery, or whatever the place may
be. Once l remember seeing a sign over
the door of one of the "dugouts," or holes
in the ground, which read HeTLE"'
There was the latest-an underground
hotel. And spelled according to Texas
pronunciation. | wondered how a human
being could lie down to balmy sleep and
rosy dreams away down there in the slums,
among centipedes, lizards, turantulas and
snakes, where a ray of Gods blessed sun
shine seldom, if ever, enters, or if it does,
is some tardy sunbeam strayed from the
great polar center. So watched the door
of this hottie - in the morning, and saw
emerge therefrom some half dozen long,
lank, unshaveD, long haired men-one ne
gro, two Indians, one Mexican, and two
white men-each Of whom were loosely
clad in the showiest kind of curtain calico,
a broad brimmed hat with silver cord, and
| high boots with fringed red tops. Each
also had brace of large navy revolvers
strapped to his side. l also saw three
women, half-breeds of negro and Indian,
come out of this "ho,le " soon after, smok-
ing their pipes and chipping as happily as
lark on a May morning. They were pro-
badly all as happy as are Mr.. and Mrs.
Satoris in the gorgeous Green Room at the
White House.
But do not believe that Denison, or tie
"Infant Wonder" as the people there are
proud to call it, is destined to be large
city, for too many of her people are of that
class who follow up railroads, and remain
in one town only while the excitement lasts
and one half of her inhabitants will awake
some fine morning and find the other half
gone. The town is simply an offspring of
the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad,
and taken altogether, it is probably the live
liest, most energetic and wickedest town
of its size in the Union.
OF course you have been in Texas; but
Mr.. Editor, did you ever visit a Texas
dance house? If not | will endeavnr to
give you and your readers a brief descrip
ton of one.
AS you near the locality Of the dance
houses your hearing is greeted with the
notes of numerous rheumatic fi'ldles, &C
companied by the notes of piano, for. low
as these dens are, they, as Il general thing,
manage to afford broken back piano,
which is tortured by some dissipated look
ing musician who is forced to have recourse
to this mode of making bread and meat in
his declining years. The doors of the dens
stand open. The sounds of revelry, ard
the coarse laughter of the jewellers are
waited out upon the night air. The fumes
of liquor and heat and tobacco and stencil
issue forth in vast clouds from the doors
and windows, and can be seen in the gloom,
refusing to mingle with the surrounding
atmosphere, but forming separate chan
mel for itself as it ascends heavenwa.d
Enter one of these dens and take in Inc
surroundings. The room, low ceiling
apartment for the buildings are generally
of rough material and but one story high
is about fifty feet long and fifteen Wild"
Near the door stands the inevitable bar