Western Kansas world., 1885-05-23
An INTERCEPTED LETTER.
Its Contents Apply to Trego County,
Kansas Picture Boob.

MY DEAR YOUNG FRIEND: You write
that you have been fascinated by the
stories of life on the plains, and want to
turn cowboy. You are restless, you say.
under the conditions of restraint which
surround the older eastern cities. You
despise social convention and the mon.
strous hypocrisy it engenders. You look
more in sorrow than in anger on the mad
scramble for wealth-un Implying Moloch
as you call it-and the goddess struggle
for power. You sigh for the perfect free
dom of the saddle, and the exhilaration
of the prairie breeze. The picturesque
side of such a life is not unattractive.
a pair of corduroy trousers and similar
complement of Wellington boots. Other
necessaries can be bought after arriving
on the spot. Pistols and revolvers, you
add, would be no extra expense, as you
already have them. You are fond OF
sport, and an hours chase after buffalo
would be diverting; while an occasional
brush with Indians, giving opportunity
for personal combat, would suffuse a
delicious aroma over the romantic career.
This is what you write. We all labor
under hullucinations of some sort, and
You share an illusion common in certain
quarters.
But before write further, let me ask
you to throw away the arsenal which you
appear to possess, and advise you to get
the pistol pocket in your corduroy trou-
sers sewn up, or utilize it for the less
dangerous and more needful pocketbook.
After looking the ground over, you have
chosen Kansas as the best field for a
young man, and in this you have done
wisely, the more so since you have capital
to start with. Kansas is a better state
now than it was when Greeley wrote his
memorable advice, and you can make
money faster. do not want to discour-
age you, for your ambition to grow up
with the country is laudable one, but
your impression of the border is altogether
a mistake. In Kansas, at least, the day
has gone by when lot of cowboys could
ride up the main street and "clean out
the town." and the shoot-your-boot-heels-
off quadrille has likewise "gone glimmer-
ing" Shoot man in Kansas and you
must pay the penalty of the law; assault
or threaten him, you must do the same
thing, although you may swagger often
sively and get off with nothing worse than
a good thrashing. There are sheriffs and
jails and juries in the state, and it is we'll
to remember that the first act when their
services are needed, the second have thick
walls, and the third convict. exagger-
ate little, but you exaggerated too, so
we will cry quits and pass on.
I do not deny the charms of cattle
herder's life; indeed I have shared them,
and I wish that this instant Thurs
day I were rocking in the saddle on the
plains of - western Kansas, instead of
hived up in the house writing to you. I
do not deny the charms, say, but our
acquaintance being considerable, I should
not be doing my duty if 1 failed to tell
You that in this matter again you deceive
yourself. The charms of the life are
potent, but you forget the long and irk-
some solitude, and the care and exposure.
If you have courage and perseverance,
and a stout heart to make sacrifices, in
return for which competence will be ad-
equate exchange, why, come on, you will
do we'll in Kansas. Write to -, or
somebody else, for advice about location,
before starting out. But, whatever else
you do, throw aside those silly notions
about buffaloes and Indians and bandits,
and be the sensible young fellow know
you are. Then you may put your time
and money in the stock business, and
they will yield you big increase, and
after you have lived few months in
western Kansas you will thank me for my
letter, and bless your own stars that you
made no mistake.
I remain, my dear boy, ever yours,
G. E. T.