The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1882-07-06
WICHITA WAITS.
Sedgwick County tbs Banner Spot Of the ar
kansas vallsy---A Short History Of tao
Lccality---Fine crop Outlook.

WlCdtTA WAlkSs
Sedgwick County tbs Banner Spot Of the Ar
kansas Vallsy---A Short History Of tao
Lccality---Fine crop Outlook.
correspondence Of the Kansas City Times.l
WICHITA, KAN, June 29.-At Newton we
leave the main line of the Atchison, Topeka
and Santa Fe railroad and bear directly south
through the southern portion OF Harvey
county. and about seven miles by rail brings
las to the border of sedgwick county. one Of
the most fertile, and, perhaps the banner
county OF the Arkansas valley. At the north
line OF Sedgwick county we strike the Little
Arkansas river, one of the clearest and mo 81
beautiful rivers of the state. Strangers from
the east are at once struck by the heavy belt
of timber along the Little Arkansas, extend
ing from Sedgwick City TO its confluence
with the great Arkansas at Wichita. This
timber along the little river and at its mouth,
and the heavy belts Of cottonwood, ash.
blackberry, elmn, eataipa, hickory and other
woods indigenous TO the soil of the great
Arkansas valley, lends TO the enyirons OF
/ Wichita its greatest charms. The change
from treeless prairie 10 the beauty and
GOODNESS OF natural groves is indeed a re-
Ireshing one, and is novelty in Southwest.
ern Kansas. Wichita is one of the most de-
! lightful cities Of the state. One can hardly
realize as he walks the broad and shady
streets OF this busy city that scarcely de-
cadc has passed since Wschita was only a
trading post where Uncle Billy Grifienstein
traded gew gaws with the Usage Indians,
aud the only white men in the valley were
occasional buffalo hunters. Wichita to- day
contains busy and contenled population of
1000 souls, and is rapidly increasing in num-
bers, wealth and prosperity. The largest
town in the state west of Topeka. Wichita
Is, properly speaking, the metropolis of the
Arkansas valley. In 1873 Wichita was the
largest primary wheat market in the world
As many as 500 loads of wheat were fre-
quently unloaded in Wichita in single day.
Last year upwards of five million bushels of
corn was raised in Sedgwick county. This
crop, none of which sold for less than 30
| cents per bushel, cleared off many Il mort
gage, bought many new dress, and gave
Sedgwick county a large Balance of trade in
of grain were loaded at Wichita. and with
the present enormous wheat crop almost
safely garnered, the fine outlook for corn,
we may safely look 70, Wichita TO double in
population in the next two years. Already
she has attracted the attention of eastern
capital. and only last week heavy capitalists
from Connecticut invested largely in bust
,ct, L.
Emporia and Topeka. Wichita has the old
reliable Santa Fc, the completion of which
road To the town gave the town its first
boom and made il the great shipping point
of Southern Kansas for grain and cattle.
One Of the first men that met on the streets
of Wichita was Capt. Dave Payne, the head,
front and grit of the Oklah oma colony, just
as enthusiastic as ever over the opening of
the Indian territory. In Wichita and Sedg-
wick county few men stand higher in the
estimation OF the people than Dave Payne.
His Oklahoma colony has fully eco members
in Sedgwick county.
As good point for wooden factory or
general manufacturing, few places in the
west presen. more advantages than the city
OF Wichita. With two great railways already
end the St Louis, FIT. Scott and Wichita
railroad rapidly building and completed to
within about fifty miles, with other lines
projected and reaching westerly and south
westerly for the great cattle trade of western
and southwestern Kansas and the Pan-Han-
die of Texas, and railroad running north
erly skirling the banks of the Little Arkan-
sas to the thriving city Of Mcpherson, there
connecting with the Gould system. Wichi-
IA may in the very near future, be safely
counted On as the great railway center of
southwestern Kansas. Wichita has two
live and sagacious weekly newspapers, and
the Wichita DeHy Times, edited by the
erratie but brilliant ,Iell Shelton The Wich-
ita EAGLE and Beac0n are model weekly
newspapers. while the Daily Times is spicy
original and very wicked sheet, full of pith, |
pepper and enterprise.
Three large and roomy hotels cater to the |
travelling public. The Occidental is large |
aud elegant brick building and one OF the |
finest hotels in the west. Its table is mar
vel Of cleanliness and good things, and its
and clerks are gentlemen whom |
it is pleasure to meet. We met ex-Goy.
Glenn of Illinois as affable as of wore now
police magistrate OF Wichita, though the
city has city attorney and police court.
They are rusty for want of business. The
cowboy who once contributed to the Golfers
Of the Wichita police court and her many
rooms, is now only dream. and
to-day more orderly, sober and law-abid-
ing city than Wichita cannot be found with
IN the entire state of Kansas Wichita has
i've school buildings, three of them of brick
md about l 800 children OF school age, four
banks. six churches, eleven elevators, four
nils, four clothing stores, nine livery stables
TX dry goods stores, five hardware stores,
md seven grocery stores.
Col. NJ. Stewart and his partner are run
hing pork packing establishment and do
ng a rafting business. The gentlemen COM
losing the firm Of VI. Stewart & Co., are
ull of thrift and enterprise, and their bust
less is rapidly increasing.
Adding to this we may say that Wichita
5 political center, and in the coming con-
,ressional fight will back Henry c. Sluss in
opposition to all the balance of the state.
'iuss is brainy. modest lawyer, and is pop
lar IN old Sedgwiek.
Wichita has future cxcelled by few, i'll
my cities in The state of Kansas. A soil I'M
urpassed, and all the adyantages of IA good
ocaiity and genial climate, it is the great
aturai shipping point for the rich agrcui-
urai products Of the lower Arkansas valley.
'wenty years will see Wichita the largest
nd wealtbest city Of Kansas. Here capital
nd labor will vie with each other in ,ievel-
ping the rich soil and building up on the
id home of the osayes Il beautiful and
oufis lliur fitV