The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1881-12-01

A few days ago ! made trip down
the Howard Branch, VISITING Eureka,
Climax, Piedmont Severy and Fancy
creek. was ont eleven days and some
nights. travelled in the cara, buggies, |
lumber wagons, buck-boards, and on |
foot part of the time. Some persons are
disposed to complain at the good safe
speed of the train on the Howard rail- |
road, but find it great improvement
over Walkers line: or u. s. buck |
board on frozen roods. The weather |
was shiny and cloudy, foggy, rainy, |
snowy, warm, cold and windy-never
had greater variety in the same length
of time.
In my rounds found another cheap
hotel; was taken in this time by big
name; had fair supper for cheap
one. but the bed shall never forget it
it was not as lively as one described be-
fore, for it was too cold. Warm wealth
err puts life into some beds. The under
part OF this bed was composed of few
straws, stats and springs: the upper
side of three very thin covers, almost
clean; and my poor head tried TO rest on
a very small, fiabby pillow. My expe-
rience on that bed was like Zekel's be-
fore Hulda's door:
81 turned fust on one side,
And then on tho t'Other,
And on the side felt the wust
could't ha' told ye, nuther."
Piedmont is a new town on the st.
Louis and San Francisco railroad. It
is. situated ON South Otter creek, just
where it breaks out from the Flint
Hills about fifteen miles south of
Eureka. 1t has a depot, section house,
coal chute, steam hay press, two small
stores, blacksmith shop and post Office.
A new store building is going up. Some
enterprising editor may want to know
that AZ this writing the place is destitute
of newspaper. There is a wide coun-
try, big, fiinty hills, beautiful little
stream of water and narrow, but fertile
valley of land, sparsely settled. There
is no telling what pluck and poverty
might do there with patent outside.
Just remember that Greenwood county
with a population of less than eleven
thousand. only has five or six newspa-
pers, which, of course, make an ample
living for twelve or fourteen men and
boys and four or five families.
Fancy creek heads up in the hills be
tween Verdigris and Fall rivers and
runs a short, but very crooked course
into the Little Walnut, which empties
itself into the Verdigris near Toronto.
I have knowG of this creek for
a number of years, but could
never learn the origin of its
name. The numerous mounds along
its way are covered with yellow sand
stone; and in one place, about fourteen
feet below the sandstone saw bed of
shale three or four feet thick literally
full of shells. Fhey had been so badly
crushed that it was almost impossible
to find good specimen among them.
captured a part of prOductus, l
think, an athyris, a cltORetes or two and
few more common mollusks. The
settlements along this little creek are
comparatively new.
MT. EHltlipS SStIicu HGIC ClCfcu years
ago. He says that when he pitched his
tent he owned team of horses, wagon
and harness, had wife and baby, and
fifty cents in money. He has had a
hard struggle, but has succeeded in i'm
proving and paying for his quarter sec.
ton, and now has three or four head OF
good horses, nearly fifty head of cattle
and as many hogs. He made good
} halfcrop of corn the last season ant
put up more than hundred tons o
hay A prairie fire, which swept ovel
/ this country early in September, destroy
ing the most of that rs well as his hedge
rows and part of his orchard. Every
} man along the creek suffered more OIL
less of loss.
Eureka is improving some, and con
| tidently expecting a big boom mex
, Spring. The Fort Scott and Wichits
Railroad is drawing nearer to them CIV
cry day. G. r. r.