The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1880-06-06

leaving Wcic ooiiSo" " si"eo ooa'S'
creek in the attempt to do so started down
| bank twenty feet high at an angle of "a
degree when about half way across accord.
| ing to custom the mules slipped aud re.
| fused to move after repeated epdeavors to
start them, held council of war, thought
and tried all the devices we had ever heard
of in regard to baulky mules, but all to no
purpose, muleish nature asserted itself
finally Tommy blind folded them, picked
up the rcins, spoke to them, when another
distinct phase of muleish character devel-
oped itself, they quietly walked out to the
surprise of all. There is certainly no ami.
nal in the world that possesses so much
individuality as the mule and when all
other themes give out, the mules is one to
last to the journeys end. On go
ing INTO camp Tor the night
found we were without hay. A purchasing
committee was sent out, but they found hay
was not to be had for love or money; but
some of the party were quite as determined
to have il without either. They waited pa.
tienty until the owner had retired; went
down and helped themselves. Unfortu-
nately, however, in coming back one of the
party was caught on barbed wire fence,
and in the efforts of his companions to re.
lease him, tore out the bosom Of his pants.
Breaktasted next morning on the Beaver,
with the wind blowing at forty miles an
hour, filed with sand and alksli, nearly
choking and binding US. The alkali in
the water cracked our hands and burnt our
throats fearfully. We stopped for dinner
at Danbury, Nebraska. After this duty
was performed we visited the school house,
the neatest and bes. arranged we had seen.
We camped that night six miles south of
Oberlin, in what is called a spring drain !;
we here struck sod house; we furnished
flour and prevailed on the woman who &C.
cupied it to make US some blscuit-the
| first warm bread we had tasted; we were
also fortunate in finding an unoccupied
dug-out which we took possession Of. Our
next stopping place was Oberlin, pretty
little town of two hundred inhabitants.
On going out to purchase supplies, found
prices considerably advanced as we contin-
ued to do the farther west we went. That
night we went into camp on Prairie Dog
creek. As wood was out Of the question,
We had our first experience with Buffalo
chips as fuel. 1t was at this place we had
our first pancakes with Tommy installed as
cook. The clipping Of the pancakes was
the most amusing sight ever saw, and this
is the way il IS done: after the first side is
cooked the spider is given peculiar
twist--the cake goes about three feet in the
air, turns three summersaults, falls on the
uncooked side as natural as you please.
This is quite a feat to accomplish when the
wind is blowing gale, but after much e1-
perience now consider myself an adept in
"fipping" pancakes.
At Shibboleth first slept on the ground
which / now prefer to feather bed We
next pitched our tent on Sandy creek, on
high divide, with regular scorching, hot
Kansas wind blowing We were burnt black,
and all the water we could find was as hotas
the wind. The sand was flying and blind
ing US, so it was impossible to cook any
thing and were obliged to content ourselves
with cold luncheon and the warm water
il would have been more agreeable,
reversed. We now concluded to change
quarters, drove seventeen miles to Saline
creek, there was no improvement on the
water but we managed to broil some meat
which was perfectly black and scratched
our threats like sand paper. Taking an
early start, we reached Grainfeld on the
Kansas and Pacific railroad and breakfasted
at the hotel While driving across the
divide we fell in with several teams haul
ing buffalo bones to Gralnfeld, where they
get IS per ton, from there they are sent to
St. Louis and ground for fertilizer? We
also met teams hauling wood it is
brought from a distance Of forty miles
and sells from to 10 dollars for com
mon wagon load, We also met a number
of freighters, that is men who haul goods
from Grainfeld TO Oberlin as their is no
railroad connection. In regard to the
scenery in this part Of the country, it is
nearly all undulating prairie more level in
Kansas than Nebraska People there are
becoming discouraged and selling out.
There has been no rain and the grain is as
dry as when first put into the ground.
Travelling through Kansas has not made
favorable impression on me. Would not
take all Kansas that is the part through
which have travelled, as a gift on condi-
ton that had to 1--we there.