Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1883-05-24

pot wiero W5lOJE p SEES on Of Lu. Iwn,
spec al train, CONSISTING Of three Pa
man palace sleeping cars, day coacn
a smoking ear and baggage car, max
ing in al quite train. paIties then
retired to their respective borihs (Which
by the way were ali taken and some
found sleeping quarters in the day
coach) and just as The train was NOV
ing from the depo,. several ca non shot
were fired by way of paeting sa ute, and
Tor the first time the excursion proper
was en- route Tor Old Mexic,. Notwith-
Standing the putting Of the locomotive,
the rythmc rambling of the ears and
their, sometimes not very gentle, undu-
lations, the weary travellers sank into
refreshing slumber which was broken
only by the rising of the
sun above the eastern prairies, while
we were steaming into the town of Kin
sey. From this place westward the ell
ovation gradually increases, and the
surface becomes so level that it is one
vast plain, broken only by the Arkansas
River and a few genle.ly swelling hills
off to the south, vegetation is SERGE and
the country looks rather arid. The
next town of any Importance passed
was Dodge City, a place noted for cow
bOrs, saloons and dissipation generally,
but Notwithstanding its doubtful repu-
CatiOn this place has a look of thrift,
and there are many good and industri-
Gus people residing there.
Near noon we reached Garden City,
a town Of three or four hundred popula-
ton and the county seat of SequOyah
county. Conveyanees, consisting of
buggieS, spring wagons and some ium-
Der wagons from the surrounding coun-
try were in waiting to take our party
out to the irrigating bitches. Right
here we will diverge little and speak
OF Kansas irrigation. The Arkansas
river to some extent is a counterpart of
the river Nile of Egypt, During a por-
ton OF the year the river is but a broad
belt of sand SO dry and hard on the
surface that stock and teams can pass
over, but this sand is saturated with
water underneath to a depth of from
six to ten feet The banks of this Gu
riOuS river are very low, being from one
to three feet high. The river has it's
source IN the mountains and during
the months of June and July, when the
snow is melting on those regions, the
river is bank full for weeks at a time.
At four miles above Garden City, the
river Is tapped, so to speak, that is two
large bitches or canals are cut, capable
I Il 3
deep and twenty feet wide. One of
these bitches runs Just a little north of
town parallel with the river and waters
the bottom land, and the other runs
several miles above and waters q large
scope of level upland. From these
large bitches smaller ones are cut con-
Quoting the the water to individual
! farms and from these smaller ones to
others still more diminutive are dug
all over the cultivated fields, which,
like little veins and arteries, conduct
the life giving fluid to all parts of the
surface; And it is not only water that
these bitches conduct, for like the Nile
of Egypt, the Arkansas brings in it's
swelling current a rich alluVial form
alton which is deposited all over the
! ground and is as good as a coat of ma
success here - and we can see no
reason why it should not = this
valley of the Arkansas is destined to be
honeycombed with swarming humanity
and win eventually become one of the
richest and best parts of our state. Cap.
itnli,ts evidently have faith in this pro
ject or they would not have invested il
the large bitches which belong to 3
joint stock company and cost a gooC
round sum-
The average Garden Cityan girds W
his loins and reioices in his strength,
and well may he, for the onion in al
ages has been known to be the strong
est vegetable
Not that the Garden City is an onion
!, but that the onion is the chief product
That fragrant bulb grows here to per
lection. They have onions for the hOrs
es, onions for the COWS, onions for tn
chickens, onions for the babies, AMI
for every i'll that flesh is heir to. that
: soothing vegetable furnishes a balm II
gilead. | do not wish to be understood
to say that onions are the only article O
diet INDUCED in by the good people O
this place, on the contrary, every mem
, Der of our party can bear the strOnges
testimony that such is not the case
for on our return from the bitches W
found an elegant repast awaiting us
: neatly spread out on tables in tn
f church, and furnished by the good pee
pie of Garden City. That they ma
live long and happy in their gardel
home, is the wish of your correspondent
: This place is only about one year old
! and yet lots sell from S25 to $500, an
good water is Obtainable at a depth c
from four to ten feet. There is goo
deal of sage brush growing on the pra;
| ries hereabouts, and DIR. Mousley, o
Kinsley, told me that this is a sur
cure for the mountain fever. The
have a zephyr at Garden City oeca
sionally. a gentleman told me tina
? the wind blew so hard one evening tina
= he had to milk in a jug in order to say
particle of the lscteal fluid but mis-
trust that the man exaggerated.
3 About one O'Clock we took leave c
: these hOspitiable people and pursue
+. orr way westward, passing through tn