Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-12-06

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baggageis checked to Topeka; he boards
the train, and at l 40 P. NJ. alights on
the depot grounds of the "a T. & f."
in the beautiful capitol city of Kansas.
He takes up quarters at the " Teffte
| House, the popular hotel Of Topeka, and
the gentlemanly proprietor assigned him
a commodious sample room, and the
the book business begins. Topeka is
made up of an educated community, and
her schools are always eager for good
books, consequently Mr. Ely doubles
the column of orders, and when the fol-
lowing morning finds him breakfasted,
he repairs to his room to pen to inquir-
ing farmers of Buchanan county some
facts and observations concerning the
grasshopper State" and the clutches" of
the "A, 7. & F." corporation. We will
pass over, for the time being, his obser-
vations, &C., addressed to the farmers,
and go with him through the balance
OF the trip.
Friday, at 2:15 P NJ, the west bound
express pulls out of Topeka, and the
long train goes laundering down the
great thoroughfare towards the far
famed Arkansas valley. Seated in one
Of the many first-class coaches is our
friend Ely, baggage checked, Kinsley
ticket in hand, frst-class accommoda-
tions, all for u cents mile, and he,
doubtless, thankful in heart that through
the wisdom of the "a, T. & F." corpor-
ation the Kinsley ticket was so wisely
reserved to the LAND explorer" Dur
ing conversation with a gentleman on
the train relative to the coal mining re-
gions above Usage City, he learns that
the gentleman is connected with the "A.
T. & f" corporation in the capacity of
engineer at the great tunnel being con-
structed through the mountains at Trim
idod, Colorado Mr.. Ely represents
some valuable works upon engineering,
surveying, &c, and the gentleman gives
a nice little order, which swells the pile
that is to be shipped to the "grasshop-
per State" The conditions of the tick
ct are that the holder cannot stop over
east of Cottonwood without forfeiting
the right to ride to Cottonwood on the
ticket The gentlemanly conductor
punched the ticket to Cottonwood, but
Mr.. Ely gets off at Emporia just the
same"-twenty miles east of Cotton
wood. The Fifth Avenue" is selected
and the good-natured landlord opens up
the best room in the house for the con-
venience of the commercial man" as
he termed the gentleman with the land
exploring ticket. Emporia is a fine
town of a few thousand inhabitants, but
unfortunately for the town, the State
Normal School building, located there,
had taken fire and burned down few
nights before the arrival OF Mr. Ely.
However, there is no great loss without
some small gain to somebody, and MIR.
| Ely was the right man in the right place.
Professor and teacher alike, as well as
students, had lost library, books and
all, and though / will not attempt to es-
innate the value of the orders taken
and number of books retailed, yet | can
truly say that | never saw such a book
business carried on by a land explorer"
before Monday came, and after con-
sulting the Emporia agent relative to
the Kinsley ticket, Mr. Ely became
thoroughly convinced that to return on
his ticket it would be necessary for him
to 90 as far west as Newton to have the
proper stamp applied to the back of the
ticket. $40 p NJ. he takes the west
bound express for Newton. The con-
ductor says, sir, you have forfeited
your right to ride to Cottonwood on the
ticket, and you will be obliged to pay
your fare" The fare to Cottonwood is
paid ($1.25), and at S:55 Mr. Ely arrives
in Newton. The depot agent is asked
to stamp the ticket, but Mr.. Ely is in
formed that the proper stamps have
been put up for the night; that there
will be ample time to get it stamped in
the morning, but that if the gentleman
prefers he will stamp it at once. Being
assured that there was no mistake about
the time being ample in the morning,
Mr. Ely repairs to the Howard House.
and finds good accommodations for the
night and an excellent breakfast in the
early morning. 7:25 A. NJ Tuesday
the east bound train takes away from
Newton the gentleman with the Kinsley
ticket, which he has again signed on the
back, stating that he was the original
and bona fide purchaser. 2:l5 p. NJ. he
dimes in the commodlous dining
room of the "a, 7. &. F." corpora
ton at Topeka. A berth is secured
in the through Palace sleeper to Bur-
lington At 5 p. NJ the sleeper is again
attached to the X c., St. j. & C. B.
Co.'S train at Atchison, and the train
passes eastward over the great bridge
again, out of the clutches of the A.,
T. & F. Corporation. The dining car is
attached. an elegant supper C'quail on
toast, from Quailville, oysters, select,
from Oysterville," &c) is served by the
dark complected gentry, long night
| e ,>o,ooP,l CHM, bar (cucb &c on1, tboco
can enjoy who have escaped from the
''clutches" of the "A" the ~. and the
'F.'), and Mr.. Ely awoke in Burlington,
and congratulated himself upon the good
fortune that he is again in Gods coun-
try, where Chicago papers are only "one
day old" He breakfasted at the lunch
stand in the waiting room of the c., B.
& @. depot, and then takes the same
Palace car of the B., c. r. & n. line
that carried him to Burlington when he
set out on his land exploring expedi-
ton to Kinsley;'' 12:45 p. NJ he arrives
at Cedar Rapids again, dimes in the eel
ebrated dining parlors of the Union De-
pot building; 1:15 p. NJ the Express
train on the Milwaukee Division of the
B., G.. r. & N. R'y leaves for the north
and at $40 p. NJ, e. H. Ely steps out
upon terra firma to find that the rays of
the same sun that shone down upon the
city of Independence nine days before
now shines down upon him, and the
same identical check which passed his
baggage without any charges for Eek
cess') from Independence to Atchison
has returned it to it's owner, who con
graduates himself that he has suffered
neither loss of life, limb or property
during the land exploring trip to Kins
ley" which, all told, has only cost $29..
) 65 railroad fare, while the same trip, ta.
ken by commercial man, a tourist,
or ''any other than land explorer,
would have reached up into the sixties
) Let us now return to the home of the
grasshopper: to the land where the best
of wheat is refused as gift, where corr
, brings less than nothing, where coal is
so plenty that it is used to dam ul
streams for mill purposes; where the
school houses are all burned down, anC
, where the inhabitants, one and all, sliI
} backward every year more than they
have gone ahead in the past ten years
In the commencement | said would re
: fer to the allusion made to Col. Lake.