The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-05-29
THE TOWN COWBOY.


shoes; red neclsed cowboys, with French
heels, leather panties and profanity. clay
bank hair, golden teeth, keen shoulder
blades, rum. freckles, soggy old plague
infected cigars, white eyes, slab sided, ir-
resolute; the coyote, the town cowboy
not the one who works, but the dime novel
deadbeat, who ornaments the tottering
porch of the Live and Let Live saloon.
Today we came on the Santa Fe road
from Arkansas City to Winfield. There
was an Arkansas family consisting of a
mother and II children. They sat near
me and had the odor of basket of pups.
forgot to say that the father was with
them, but he did not seem to cut any
figure aside from making the II children
legitimate.
There were two Indians on board who
looked down on these people with silent
but merited contempt. They were bet
ter dressed, better hammered and better
filed with brains. The father held a
child over 80 miles because he was too
lazy to put it down. The mother had
been salivated and wore pink sunbon-
net. Nine of the children had been
weaned, and the old man could also eat
solid food, sit up and take notice.
Twas somewhat panied to receive
letter last week from my agent at Chi
cago in reference to the loss of some
property in a suburb of Chicago. A year
ago | got a number of lots there on the
representation of man who seemed to
be lovely character. I met him in
Cincinnati one night, where he asked me
for complimentary tickets to our unri-
vailed show. asked him with charming
naivete how many lots he would give
me for the tickets, for he had told me of
his Indiana addition to Chicago. He
finally sold me block, taking the net
receipts for the evening as payment.
One reason bought was that the i'm
provements he had made seemed to me
worth the price, for each block had new
sidewalks, etc. Last week letter in
formed me that my sidewalks had been
destroyed by prairie fire.
was dumfounded, for had thought
the lots to be near the Auditorium. In
fact, the gentle being who sold them to
me said that they were within sight of
that building.
Oh, how 1 hate to be betrayed that
way by total stranger!
was intending to build there mod
est little cot and thus have a quiet place
where | could live when visit Chicago
instead of paying Mr.. Bemis IS per day
for suit Of rooms at the Richelieu, but
am told now that if / lived there my
nearest voting place would be Valparaiso,
Ind, so have given it up.
Oh, how bitterly l referred to that
man when began to see his true nature.
l almost hated him. OF course did not
care to buy farm property in Indiana.
He knew that perfectly well, and SO now
he has lost my friendship.
The ground. too, is wet-real wet. An
wet, too. but he did not tell me about it,
although 1 told him that / wanted to
know all about it before 1 bought.
Recently learned that the census was
taken there during rooster fight, when
500 men came out from Valparaiso TO
evade the authorities.
l would give the mans name eright here
in the paper were it not for the pain it
might give his family.
On the map ne showed me was a large
factory in course of construction, a vim
egar works employing 500 men. but when
ne had sold all the lots he took down the
vinegar works and removed them to an
other suburb which he is now engaged
in selling.
Such things are simply contemplate.
and in me he has lost valuable and in
fuential friend. could have aided him
and advanced his interests If he had been
true TO me; but. no, he preferred TO cast
away my friendship and even sold FIVE
other blocks on the ground that / was
going TO move into the neighborhood and
make times easy there.
People say that no one has ever been
mere since the survey except a man VINO
goes there sometimes during the winter
TO steal the sidewalks. Curse him, say,
and curse the disayreeable man who sold
me the property. Fy upon such low.
reprehsnsibie methods.
Yesterday man wanted 20 take me
out in . buggy 10 lcek at so1ae lots IN
Arkansas City, Kan The wind was
blowing wildly and shrisking through the
rigging of oIJ- hotel. The coarse sand aid
gravel were blown against the window
like a shower or backshot Oar manager
stood looking ont unoa the clouds Of dust