Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1879-09-26

BELoTT, Kansas, Aug. 18th, 1877!

Letter from Kansas.
BELorr, Kansas, Aug. 18th, 1879.
To the ElitOr of the Free Press anu Times:
Many years ago, when | was child
sporting among the hills of the dear old
Green Mountain State" | began to
read your valuable paper and | well re
member with what delight its weekly
visits were hailed by the entire house
hold But that was long ago. Many
changes have come into my life since
then, and many hundred miles lie be
tween me and the home of my childhood !;
still my heart with its oldalleSiance often
turns yearningly toward my native State.
and when-as occasionally IT does-the
dear old FREE Press with its familiar
face finds its way to our distant Western
home upon the plains Of fair Kansas, the
olden thrill vibrates through tho heart
and its columns are eagerly scanned Tor
items of interest concerning persons,
places or things made familiar by early
and long association and sometimes Il
smile is evoked by the righteousness of
some WORD pictured scene, while again II
tear wells up from the heart rs | md
among the names Of those who have
passed AWAY" one or another so well
known and loved in former days. Change,
change 1t is written upon everything.
A few days ago a number OF the FREE
Press came to us, and as | laid 1t down
after careful perusal, l wondered if your
many readers, among whom count many
valued friends, would not be interested
in n letter from Kansas, the so-called
Pride of the West" | am well aware
how highly extolled in Eastern papers this
State has been, and while justly so in
many respects, in some, truth compels
me to say the statements are overdrawn.
But of course no one place can have
every attraction or possess all that is de-
sirable That the fnce of the country in
these river valleys is indeed surprisingly
beautiful none can deny.
wish, Mr. Editor l could lend you my
eyes for a little while and. taking You up
ON to the prairie just north of our EN-
bryo city, let you take in, as you might
at glance, the wide stretch of fertile
country which bounds the river Solomon
on either side for many miles both east
and west Back of us stretches the wide
open prairie with its fields of waving grain
and dotted here and there by thrifty look
ing farm houses, while at our feet lies
our fair young city, numbering,nearly two
thousand inhabitants, and boosting many
nice residences and fine public buildings,
among which are four commodious, we'll
finished churches Beyond this the river,
its zigzag course marked by the trees
which grow up on either side, and then
level fertile surface about mile i'll width,
which terminates abruptly i'll high bluff
ascending which, you find yourself upon
what is called the divide" between the
Solomon and Saline rivers. Could your
eyes behold this, am sure. You would be
lost in admiration or would exclaim rs /
do every time it greets my eyes. Beauti-
full, beautiful.
As look abroad and see the many evil
dences of thrift, industry and energy of
man, find it almost impossible to be-
lieve that ten years ago this was almost
an unbroken solitude, where the buffalo
roamed at will, and beside whose streams
the Indian built his camp-tires.
The prairie here is not an unbroken,
monotonous level, as l presume many
Eastern people think on the contrary it
is finely rolling, almost as much So rs
that of Michigan, but destitute of the
fine timber which graces that fair State.
A lady friend said, the other day, that I'M
til she came to Kansas she never under
stood that Eastern phrase, "Go west and
climb tree" Yet we are not quite des-
titute of this important feature quite
large quantity Of timber grows upon our
streams, though being mostly of cotton
wood and considerably bent and twisted,
it is but lily suited for building purposes.
1t, however, furnishes large amount of
wood
A few weeks ago, in company with some
friends, | took n trip to Cawker City, a
thriving little town.in the Solomon valley,
about twenty miles west of Beloit. We
started early in the morning, taking our
dinner with us, and more enjoyable ride
/ think | never experienced. The route
lies through the most beautiful country
i'll Northwestern Kansas, as fine prairie
rs the sun ever shone upon, intersected
every now and then by narrow belts of
timber growing upon the sides of the
small streams paving tribute to the river
Solomon. After riding twelve miles We
reach the quiet little town of Glen Elder,
situated upon one of these branches. The
town has received new impetus of late
by the C. b. U. z. railroad passing
through it and is building mp quite rapid
". Passing to the top of the high bluff
which lies back of this town, We come
within view Of the city of Cawker, lying,
fair and beautiful i'll the sunlight eight
mites array. Distances here are So de-
ceiving to the eye, it looks scarcely three,
but assure You as you ride along, the
illusion will be dispelled although the
loneliness of the landscape from this point
is SO great as to almost make one forget the
WEAKNESS of the journey. Having made
a little more than half the distance from
here, we turn aside from the main travel
led road to visit n natural curiosity
known far and near as the ''Great Spirit
Springs" As We approached 1t, the wind
being i'll the right quarter, We begin to
snuff the air us ''war horse scents the
battle from affair."" and are almost led
to believe that some sudden turn will
bring lis face to face with the briny
ocean. Surely that Is salt sea AIR. But
We are obliged to confess ourselves mis-
taken and nearer approach accounts
for the delusion. Upon reaching the
place we find that by some grand up
heaval of nature in the ages long gone
by, Il mound of some fifteen or twenty
feet in height and covering at its base
A space Of nearly an acre. has been thrown
up i'll the midst of this wide prairie, and
to the top, We find the far
famed spring to be small body of sat
irdter, varying i'll circumference at diff
ierent times from ninety to one hundred
md twenty feet, and whose depth, III the
center, has thus far been sounded III
vain. Beautiful sea weed has been pluck
ID from Its waters and shells picked from
the sands around it, Around this spring
he Indians used to dance to the Great
spirit" and into it they cast their dead.
Government still retains possession of
his wonder in nature, although the land
Ill about it has been taken by home
,teaders and there is talk Of hotels being
Quilt and parks laid out, which if carried
mt will make this very fashionable |