Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1884-05-16
Nsscutunr., or pu,t

| ADOut Tie time the lSDEx went to press
last Friday there was perfect hegira tax
ing place from here, all bound for Nescu-
tunga, or bust. There were lawyers, doc
tors, tradesnen and philosophers there
were surveyors, chainmen, axe-men and
policemen; sturdy men Of toll and gentle
men of elegant leisure-all on the road to
Nescutunga- Wagons, carriages, mules AMI
broncos were pressed Tito service, and
these carried the anxious throng over the
long road to Nescnnlugal
Where and what is Nescutunga, do you
ask, innocent reader 1t is now but a bleak
and barren plain, ten miles from wood and
a quarter from water. IL is new town
site, located on the northwest quarter of
section %, township 80, range Is west. 1t
was laid out this week by the Nescutunga
Town Company, composed of the follow
ing Barber county citizens: Il. L. O'Bryan,
Eli Smith, DIR. G. L. Dunn, Scott Cnmmins,
Judge Shepler, John McFadden, Clay Nc
GrailI, Geo. Sanderson, j. w. McWilliams,
Price Firebaugh and John Cushion.
From what we can learn from those wt o
have been there, the town is laid out on a
gently rolling prairie, leading down to the
banks of the middle fork of the Nescutupga
river. The soil is rather too sandy for sue
cessful agriculture, but it is claimed that
its geographical position will certainly
make the town the county seat when Com
anche county is organized, If that ever oc-
ours.
The town has been laid out into cOnven-
lent blocks with large public square for
the court house and if it should be built
IT Will have plenty of room on every side.
A member OF the town company informs
us that there is no desire to resurrect the
old Comanche county organization but
that If any attempts made at organizing
the county it will be commenced at the
very foundation.
Several of the parties who went ont there
last week ito look around have returned:
and generally they are not enthusiastic
over the prospects of making fortune
there. Said one Of them to the INDEX:
Il can't see what inducement there is for
any one to go to Ncscutunga now. The
nearest railroad station is Kinsley, and at
the lowest calculation that is seventy miles,
and the road runs through the worst sand
hills In the state. All the timber within
twelve miles of the place has been taken
mp, and so it would be nearly out of the
question to talk of burning wood or coal in
winter. Prairie 'chips" are not substantial
fuel In winter. The population in the
country surrounding the proposed town is
so small that 10 mercantile business can
flon, ish now, or perhaps for some time to
come.
IL one is hunting for clIims, there are
plenty as good in Barber county, as can be
found anywhere near Nescntunga. In short
| can't think there will be any "boom"
there this year; though the parties who
have the matter of locating town in
charge, may be acting wisely. One thing
certain, though, it will do Barber county
no good, and will only have tendency to
take people through here who would other
wise locate and spend their money"
Others with. whom we have talked felt
confident that in few menths the county
would be organized and running as sue
cessfully as Harper or Barber.
Members of the Comanche Pool with
whom we have converscd are not alarmed
in the least over their prospects, and 10 not
appear to believe that any of the proposed
towns now being talked of in Comanche
county will interfere with the pool cattle
interests. They will not, as an organiza-
ton or as individuals, put an obstacle in
the way Of settlers going into the county,
locating towns or doing whatever they may
like in the way of bringing in inning ration.
Ii has never been the policy of the Com
anche Pool TO harrass settlers, or i'm any
way to Inconvenience them. The best Of
feeling prevails among the Pool people and
the Nescutunga settlers, and this feeling is
not likely to be changed.