Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-09-15

| CS 4 N vited me to visit her
| ~ at her home in Kan
] !: :: !: !: !: !:
| x sas, and to get there
In time for the Old
| - NSS~ Settlers an u
| ~ 4: ttSlS meeting. which is to
W. EkScCrIISB .AA be held at her house
| - next week Mrs.
| Granger says 1 may
| bring whole regi-
| " ment IL we will put
| UP with such accom-
| modations as she can
offer. I shall look for you to get here in
time to accept the Invitation so kindly ex-
tended. The girls are wild to have a taste
of ranch life in Kansas"
1t was this letter from Elaine that hast
ened my return from the visit to Mrs. Lane
on the boarding train, and, after a day with
the girls in Santa Fe. where they had been
| having a glorious time, we left Nora's
mother entirely recovered in health, and
| came to this town. where we are located
| for week. I use the word locate adj
visedly. Everybody locates here These
friends Of Elaine located here twenty-one
years ago. We located here four days ago.
| In that time We have had a simeon, a ST.
| rocco. q cyclone and a cloudburst. In fact
| the mercury has tried to do almost every
| thing but crawl out at the bottom of the
| tube. have heard much Of Kansas weather
and Kansas climate. and do not object to a
sample of them. but would be quite well
satisfied If they were presented in a less in
| tense manner.
1T makes me tired" said Rose. as she
| turned YEARLY away from gazing upon the
| landscape. There is too much of 1t. Liv-
| ing here all the time would be like trying to
play doll house in Repr sentative hail."
Il like it," Nora remarked, as we went
back to the surrey. II feel as though
never S could get my lungs full enough Of
How about the day we got here?" sug-
gested Dorothy. There was surely air
| enough going and to spare when the wood
shed caromed over the barn and the feath-
ers were nearly blown Off the chickens"
You just wait tin you hear some of the
old fellows who came here in 1873 tell sto-
| ries about the figh. winds of the early
| old Boreas had fun sweep across these
| plains" said Mrs Granger with a jolly
laugh. as she picked up the lines and CHR
ruped to her blooded horses. which sent US
| spinning down the hard road toward the
Granger ranch. eve must be getting back,
| too. for the hour is set for IL. and they will
| all be on time"
Suggested by the Luncheon.
At IL o'clock the guests began to arrive.
They all brought big baskets filled to over
flowing and 1t was amusing to hear the
women recall the stress of those early days
as they unpacked them.
Il brought a pot OF this choke cherry
| n,armalade. just to recall that picnic out on
| the Walnut. You remember It, Mrs. Gran
ger? We found those low bushes full of
| fruit of some kind that the children had
eaten until they were stained the color of
| grape jam. We thought they would all be
poisoned, and when we found that they
III
lighted to fird them milder than grape
| jam, and requiring less sugar.
This haunch Of venison cost me nearly
! its weight in gold" said a second, as she
Il tried my best to get antelope, but 1
don't suppose there is a live antelope out
side OF private park this side of Denver.
1 sent to my cousin in Pueblo for this"
And to think that twenty-one years ago
the antelope would come right up and feed
with our calves" said Mrs. Granger as
| she hustled around setting the long tables
| In the dining room.
Il wanted to get some buffalo meat"
| said another. but 1 might as well talk Of
fishing for whale in the Arkansas"
"Oh, that reminds me-" said another ma
| tron, and she flew out to her carriage re-
turning with a tall bundle which being
| undone brought to view q bouquet Of wild
| sunaowers In a curious-looking vase with
claw feet of silver. You ell remember
| what a splendid watermelon patch we had
on sod that first summer
On the claim south Of the river?" asked
| Mrs Granger.
Yes: Pa thought we could raise more
| over there than on the railroad land, and
| we had to live on 1t anyhow to hold It,
| Well. just about the tine that the water
| melons got big enough so that 1 thought /
| could have watermelon party-there
| wasn't but six women In the county then,
| you know-we heard an awful laundering
noise one night, ard pa he jumped up.
| thinking that the cattle had stampeded,
| and ran out toward the corral, but, bless you
| he didn't stay but minute, when he came
| shouting to me to bring his Winchester
quick! A big herd of buffalo had come
down on us, and they had torn up and
| stamped into the ground every stalk of our
| twenty acres of sod corn and all the gar
| den sass and watermelons well. They
| were just tearing up the earth when pa
| went out, and he couldn't see much, but
| he shot into the thickest of them and
| stampeded them in great shape. When
morning came We found that he had wound
| ed one so that 1t couldn't get away, and we
| killed it. 1t had awful big horns for
| buffalo. and this vase is made from one of
| Them Dora had 1t polished and set in sill
yer when she went to Paris to study paint
ing last year. Amt it pretty?"
| A Life of Hnrdships.
| 81 brought some dried apple mince pies,"
said one plump little woman. 1T isn't
| hardly the season for them, but thought
1t would be a reminder of how We had to
| maneuver for change OF diet In those
days" And so they chatted of this and
| that. speaking of che trials of those pioneer
years as though they had been a pleasant
experience. I asked one of the ladies' who
| spoke with a refined air and was unmis-
| takably a woman Of culture, If she had
| found the life very hard.
$50 hard" she said quickly, that
| would almost rather zee my daughter dead
| before me than know that she must go
| through the same trials and privations.
| do not regret them for myself l was not
gentle or patient in the old days, and my
pride revolted against the poverty and
privations of pioneer life. 1t was largely
| the fault of my rearing. had well-to-do
| parents, who objected to anything that
| savored of a career for girls, and when /
| married poor man. 1 was ill-eQuipped for
| the struggle for bread which ensued when
| We came to Kansas to take the soldiers
| claim that he had earned by service in
| the of the rebellion. We often went
hungry and cold, and when a season came
that We were able to get stock, and would
seem to be getting start, the severe
winter would catch us with not enough
| feed and We would be forced to see the cat
tie die for lack of sustenance and shelter.