Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-09-03
WICHITA AND OKLAHOMA.
KINGFIsHER, L T., August 81. 1889.
To the Editor OF the Eagle

ita to Kingfisher City Is not with
out interest. The forest-like Fields OF
corn on either side of the railroad
through Kansas to the territory line
is something wonderful, and the
like can only be produced in south
ern Kansas. After reaching the line
you pass over fftyseyen miles Of an I'M
broken sea of wild prairie to the north
border of the Oklahoma country. How
different the fifty-seven miles you
have passed over: not furrow has been
been plowed except now and then fire.
guard around immense cattle pastures of
thousands of acres The Oklahoma line
reached, you begin to see the work of
the hardy pioneer. Around his cabin or
dug-out you will see wagons, carriages,
horses, cows with the family pig
and agricultural implements. The head
OF the family off at a distance gathering
hay for his stock during the winter,
while the faithful wife and daughters
are attending the clothes line and other
domestic duties.
No country on the face of the earth
has developed SO rapidly as has Okla
hOma in four months time. From the
lateness of the season no country can
compare with like results. Corn, sugar
cane and millet is to be seen everywhere
planted upon the sod for the first time.
The corn will average all the way from
fifteen to forty bushels per acre, and
much Of 1t is ripe for the sickle today.
Monstrous melons are a ''drug on the
market" They are as large and plenti-
full as they are in and around Wichita.
The writer saw yesterday one water
melon that weighed fifty-nine pounds.
A large area of wheat will be
sown this fall throughout Oklahoma.
That this is wheat country there can
be no doubt, as well as fruit country.
Everything grows to the fullest extent
of perfection that is put in the ground.
Timely rains and plenty of them have
blessed the first season in Oklahoma,
where the cattle syndicates have given
out that nothing would grow in the In
dian Territory except calves. This sea-
son has also demonstrated that this is
baby country, as large number have
been born within its limits during the
past four months The first one in King
fisher saw light some ten days ago, it be-
ing son of Mr.. and Mrs. Cline, the pop
ular proprietors Of the City laundry. The
mother and child are doing nicely.
| can only reflect that as Kansas made
Kansas City, Mo, so Oklahoma will make
Wichita. Most of the merchants of the
country today are small dealers, and
they are almost wholly dependent upon
Wichita for their supplies; a fact that
Wichita should be fully aware of and
prepare themselves to supply their wants.
What Wichita wants now, after having
made great strides in her packing inter
ests and car works during the past few
months, is wholesale hardware houses, a
wholesale drug house and wholesale
paper houses, dry goods and cloth
thing and tin mandatory. The
grocery trade may be said to be
fairly represented, but there should be
more houses Of each branch.
l believe the great majority of the Ok
lahoma people look upon Wichita and
the EAGLE as sort of god mother to
them, and they should not be disappoint-
ed in supplying their daily wants In
duce jobbing house to come to Wichita
lit to AL concerned. | can conceive
of 10 better opening for capital, brains
and experience than for any branch OF
iobbing business in Wichita today.
If an English syndicate is to gobble
all the mortgages in those
states American capital must seek the
commercial field and Wichita is the op-
portunity for business and safety in
hn
the hay crop, the sugar crop and the cat
tie pen need no further endorsements to
that end.
What Kingfsher wants is good, me-
hotel. There is not a hotel
or boarding house in either Of the three
towns worthy of the name. Ii is a fact
if some enterprising hotel man with
few thousand dollars wonld come here
and bulld hotel in Kingfsher City he
could soon make small fortune. 4 cor
ner lot would be given him of fifty or
one hundred feet, and in few months
the lots would bring from $500 to l,000
each.
The Rock Island road will be running
trains in here within the next six weeks.
The track is laid and in operation today
to within thirty-eight miles, and Were 1t
not for the bridge over the Cimarron
river it would not take four weeks to
complete the track to Kingtisher City
AS far as any contract has been let.
There is not a contract let beyond here,
not even for bridging the kingtsher, and
rot a few feel very sure that the
road will not cross this winter. and that
1t may take a turn to the southwest and
go down the Cheyenne line to or near
TT Reno. Several reasons are given for
this move on the part Of the railroad;
among them is the fact that the cities OF
kinCfisher and Lisbon have received
money for lots that should have been
left for the rlght-of-way and the lot
owners refuse to give them up land
rightly, too,) unless they get paid for
them. And then, again, it is said the
majority Of the homesteaders between
here and the Canadian river exact dam
age for the right-of-way across their
quarter sections, BY going up the Chey-
enne line the railroad would avoid any
trouble or expense for right-of-way. AS
railroad managers do not make known
their plans or purposes to the curious
public, only time will develop their
course from here on.
Major l.. ". Virgins, formerly OF
Wichita, is here getting up a township
map OF the north half OF the Kingfisher
land Office district and embracing all the
towns now laid out on the same map.
Each town will be shown as plated. The
map will be Of incalculable value, as it
also gives the name of each person who
has filed on 4 quarter section Of land en-
braced in this part OF the district, The
map exepds nine miles south of the land
Office and reaches the north line 10 the
Cherokee strip.