The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1882-08-31
EARLY REMIN1soEncEs or KAN
ReeOIIeetIons OF One of the Pioneer
Settlers OF Emporis,

4 ReeoIIeetIOns OF ONE of the Pionee
Settlers OF EmpOris,
sPRISeFfELD, Mo.,- Aug. 81.
EDS News: In The spring Of 1855
Isaac Alexander returned To Pfairi'
& City, Douglas county, Kansas, and Be
4 gan working upa boom" for a neS
town he had laid out at Cottonwood
Falls He coon induced o. r. WiIlet
and one Cloudy TO form partnership
for the pnEpose of putting 10 dam a
the Falls and erecting mill ibgEe
Then these men tried five or six Of b
young fesi1ws who were on the lookout
for COED chance tn make fortune
We. fitted up team, loaded wagon
with scrapes, picks, shovels, provisions
etc, and one fine morning the outfit
4 rolled out towards the s'exact center, Of
Kansas intent upon building 40 ia
town and country that would Oned4y
rival any OF them.
Each of us hired assistants was TO be
allowed to take "timbered claim on
the Cottonwood. right At the town, qEsd
4,r u few mouths Service be entitltd 70
stown share We were proud 81
of chaps as we capered about that WHITE
covered wagon and whoOped our OK
team along the cid Santa Fe trail. and
we each felt specially grateful TO Capt.
Alexander for being the Ineana of bring
ing Us right into aposition whereby We
oonld .,,aa1 v,flas Of. "A. oNnss =, nd pav,
members of . "town. company. Every
thing went on splendidly till We reached
the NeOshO just eastpf lEnporia. There
we found the river bank full and moth
ing to do but to go into camp aud wait
for the water TO Eecede. We were com
PEELED 10 remain al this place a'dAy and
st-haIf before We could cross, and by that
time several other teams had collected
at the ford. One fellow with a mule
team. who could not he delayed from
reaching Emporia by u given time,
forced his team into the swift and
treacherOus torrent about noon the sec
ond day, and ran a very close risk of
drowning the mules and himself, but he
succeeded in getting. across, and towards
evening all the others made the rifle"
and pulled an up into Emporia.
1t did not take long to view your
town at that time. The NEWS building
was only partially completed, temporary
steps leading up to the office on the
secnnd floor, while its partitions below
were being lsthed, and Ed. Bor,nn WIS
getting i'll stock of stoves aud hard
ware ON the first floor. Hurnsby s.
Firk lad u store on the corner south of
the NEWS building. and G. V. Eskridge
was clerkin for them, with H w. Flick
AS representative of the firm. On the
corner opposite, where the First Ma
tiOnal bank nov stands, was the Empo-
ria hotel, partially finished, and A. G.
Proctor had a Store little Farther south
on the sans side OF the street. There
were perhaps three or four other build.
ings ON Commercial street. with now
and then building scattered about as
residences. ~ ...-s
! Up the Cottonwood valley we went
past few new cabins built by SQUAT
tiers, although most of the quarter sec.
tions only possessed Foundation" or a
stake on the corneF containing the name
of the claimant with the date when he
made this Improvement" ~
We camped the following evening ON
the bank of the Cottonwood, three aor
four mills west of Emporia, aud rs the
mn yUhR ,t.,r,r - sla.ti.or 10 I.,,;,,r ..,,,,
through the tree tops and down the val
ley, thought it the most beautiful
scene had ever witnessed 1t was one
of those still, dreamy evenings, peculiar
la Kansas in The spring time, and the
fresh prairie grass just sprInging up, the
young leaves forming ON the trees, the
mellow light of the declining sun and
the chirping of the birds and frogs,
combined u make the spot lovely above
the power Of words to describe. Well
might those ''diScoverers''-th first
settlers in the Cottonwood .yalley-Be
proud-"f their prospective homes.
Cottonwood Falls did not quite come
up 10 oar anlicip: tions, of the sublime
picture of it by Capt. Alexander. There
was HDe log Cabin in the town, occupied
at the time by c s. Hills, and when our
worthy benefactor, Capt. A, was not cut
drumming up immigration he also made
this his headquarters. Charley Hills
led us down to the cataract, and wading
out To the middle of The stream, we looked
down over the precipicc, which here
amounted, sn The guide said, Ia at least
six inchesl Next day We were taken out
abnvc town TO select our claims MY
brother and concluded to unite our
fortunes on IL single quarter section,
and having been shown Nne on which
the Cottonwood river performed some of
its most elaborate curYatures. and EN-.
ahled u 10 fener in thirty or
forty acres by merely & saseIdngI
few poles acios, it az a point where il
doubled back. We blazed sappling, and
in>crIb-i the usual ";his claim taken"
etc NJw our Ertunes We're assured
This was tn b. our h"lne until the sale
of our lot in town would warrant our
leayiDgih chs, larln la engage in business
in the city. But right here, Mr. Editor,
is aniaf.er i'll 0sIratiou IF the uncertainty
Of rel esi The next day Willeit and
Cloudy get into IA quarrel over their mill
dam and each pulling their reyoIvers
at the same moment would doubtless
have bloited out what there was OF the
firm of Willelt & Goudy had not the
mill helpseparate,I them. But ssit was
it effectuslly CLOSED up the mill business
at Cottonwood Falls for that generation.
Willett returning with the team To Prai
RE City while Cloudy went to Kansas
City and started a SALOON.
Charley Hill, tried hard To induce
my br,nher and myself 10 remain at the
Falls. This .SAs about the period when
he performed the noted feat of s'paek.
I ing" fifty pound sack of -four from
Emporia TO Cottonwood Falls on his
back. 1t is too bad that one so enihusi.
sstic and resoluie as Charley Hills, and
who deserved so much for his noble
qualities and generous impulses, should
meet with disaster in his most cherished
undertakings. bui ne was al this time
attempting an impnssibility, and he
was at last compelled to give up his
town and fall back on EmpOria But
long before that day the writer had lost
zeal in town Speculation aad gone back
to his daily toll in the printing Office.
| RUsa
PIuEab at LeaVenWorth.
LEAyENwoRTH, Kas.,l Aug. "a
| very enthusiastic reception and serenade
was rendered to Senator Plumb in this
CITY this evening af The radiance ni