Wichita eagle., 1886-12-30
A RURAL ROOSTER.
A Very Correct Estimate OF WICHITA
A Country Sorghum Lapper Sizes mp or Won
derf1l City.

A resident of one of our neighboring towns
came into Wichita Tuesda, evening, re-
manning all day yesterday. On taking the
train he found two-thirds of the passengers
bound for Wichita On taking seat IN the
reclining chair car he was accosted by very
large and very fat gentleman who lnterro-
gated him (the sorghum lapper) when the
following ensued:
Sorghum Lapper-How's Wichita'
Fat Man-Booming!
s What will be the population in
1901
A.-Fifty thousand.
S. L-Aint you OF little!
NTH bet YOU hundred dollars that
we have sixty thousand in '9O; Will bet you
hundred dollars that We have thirty thoa-
sand now and will 60 you thousand doiiars
that we gain ten thousand next year tioop
and will put up more business houses In Tie
vasr 1887 than are row on the town site OF
Wichita.
! gentleman occupying the next seat then
concluded it was his put in. I'll bet you
thousand dollars that there VIII De
more wholesale business IN "lcnita
hv ths end of next year
than there are in ell the other towns in han-
SAs.
When were you in Wichita last, enquired
the fat man Of S. l..
Last October, answered the meek looking
and now wholly subdued rural rooster.
T. MIL, you will have to get guide
to start you around or you Will got lose. 10
you know Dutch Billl
s. L.-Have heard Of him.
F. M.-He is worth million dollars, lives
in 0000 house, his barn costing more
money than any house in your town.
Inflated values, did you say! Not much
The Wichita EAGLE eau IN one issue raise
the price Of all the lots within three mics OF
Douglas avenue one hundred per cent lts
got the solid facts to do il with and some
morning it will do 1t.
Inflated? HI. an old codger came
over from the old country and Bought
$50, 900 worth of lots in the Garfield Uni
versity tract, just to help the college OUT.
He is rich, was friend OF Garfield, ana
member Of the Christian Church and didn't
care SO that he helped the college lie has
since sold twenty thousand dollars NoSth OF
lots, gave the college half Of what he
had left, and was yesterday offered S5o,Uo
for what he had left. Lots are selling on the
business streets for 81 600 a front foot. by
this time the train had pulled up to the
Wichita station and tie conversation ended.
Our rural friend went to bed scratching his
head but was awakened every half hour Id
the night by the arrival of another traln
load of corner lot hunters.
Next morning he started out to size up the
town. -Four five and six story brick blocks
were as thick as buffalo used to be IN early
times Twenty, thirty, forty and Hfty thous
and dollar residences were going up all over
the city, with factories OF sinoS
every corner. He was surprised
and amazed Nothing seems tt
be too rich for the blood Of the average
Wichitau. Hundreds of men were In tow
from all over the world buying property
building, or going into BUSINESS. Seeing
statement that so many hundreds OF tlouS
aDds OF dollars worth of real estate haf
| changed hands Oh q certain day, he Went IL
the recorders office and examined the rec
orls and he found the statement 10 be true
He inquired the price Of l25 feet on Mali
street, one block from the corner OF Man
street and Douglas avenue. | found that I
sold en- Christmas day for $4,000 cash. Ill
priced 80 feet on Douglas avenue one blocl
from the same corner, and found that l
could not be had for $4,000.
He met a prominent banker who he knew
in the early seventies, and ascertained tina
they had over million dollars on deposit
aud finally he met the EAGLE man. IN
EAGLE man, aS it ID toieraoly wei
known. is one of the mos
modest and unassuming gentlemen il
this region. he is known as the bosom frlen
OF all that is pure aud good and truthful.
That fat man, tsat Old Democrat, you me
o. the train last night, started here as
blacksmith. He had farm two miles OF
OF town, and has since cut it all up lato corr
, or lots and closed them out. His check
good for SlC0,0o0 any day. And that othe
, gentleman on the train was-a contractor
} He is building s35,020 home on Lawrenc
avenue. Do you see that four-story, hundre
feet brick and stone business house on tt
( corner! Well, that is TO be the blgge:
wholesale house in Kansas.
: How about railroads and Jay Goulds
cents Per hundred cut rates for st. LOUIS
At this the EAGLE man branched OF on Ii
:, seven or eight lines of railway already her
til, ten or q dozen coming, and the twelve
= fifteen yet 20 come, and our rural friend WI
taken out OF town III a comatose state, and
is doubtful if he viii ever recover.