The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-06-16
KANSAS IN ANCIENT HISTORY.


yer of Kansas, is as distinctiveiy a
classic photographer. He delights in
the ancient and revels in the traditive.
A dust-obliterated and worm-beseiged
library to him is more than banquet
by night in Persian garden where,
under soft parti-colored, lights, the
sensuous music of fragrant fountains
and the tinkling timbrels. dark-eyed
dancing girls conspire to render half
divine the glowing scene, imaginatively
enhanced by the enkindling flame of
generous wines from far-famed Ispa-
han.
Ware is gone ON the early history
Of Kansas, or rather ON the adventures
and happenings of the times which
preceded those we know to be histori-
cal He once ran across an Old French
volume in the National library at
Washington containing an account by
TernauX COmpans of Coronado's trip.
He offered Spofford thousand dollar
certificate of deposit as security for
that book for ninety days, failing in
which he wrote out of it trasnlation
of the first cyclone in Kansas for the
Eagle. A Memphis editor having read
the account in the Eagle opened UP
correspondence with Ware on the sub
ject of Coronados and De Soto's eX-
petitions.
Some three years ago Ware was
making a tour of Europe. While in
Venice one day nosing around in a
neglected library he ran onto an old
Eenician Globe in the DOge'S palace
on which was mapped the land of
Quivera-kansaS. Our disciple of
curiOsa felicitas squatted right there
and with a stub of 4 Faber drew Il
facsimile Of that map on a page of
note paper. The other three pages
he filled up with letter, only such as
he can write, and posted map and let
ter To the editor of the Eagle. Its
arrival in Wichita found us in the heart
of the Rockies, casting for trout, where
after a time we received the precious
Illustrated missive.
Tempus fugit, but Ware keeps nosing
around after old books He has found
another, some ancient volume in
French, Spanish or in, probably, some
forgotten gibberiSh, which it seems
contains n claimed authenticated ac-
count Of Coronado's march from Vera
Cruz to Kansas, and also that of De
Soto's to the Mississippi.
If Genes new find is reliable COron-
ado and De Soto set out under the same
authority to traverse the interior of
the American continent with instruc-
ton to meet in the country of Quivera
kansas. This new-old book makes
it plain that De Soto bore northwest
crossing the Ohio river, meeting on the
prairies Of Illinois a great Indian ruler
by the name Of "Chicagua." Turning
west he crossed the upper Mississippi
and the Missouri rivers and then struck
out over the plains until he reached
the Arkansas river. Not finding Cor
onado'S command he turned southeast
encountering mOuntains-the OzarkS,-
after which he discovered the MisSis-
sippi river proper and from the west
bank. SO, SO much Of accepted history,
and poetical tradition is upset.
What at this juncture interests us,
or more particularly perplexes, is a
letter received from Ware this week
announcing that the map which he had
posted us from Italy and which over
took us eighty miles from nowhere.
has now become of the utmost i'm
portance to him and to the world of
Sayants, and Il miscellaneous assert
ment Of crankS, and that we muSr re-
turn it or he would be compelled 10 go
all the way back TO the Doge'S palace
in Venice for copy. For seventeen
mortal hours we waded through thou
sands Of letters and papers filed away,
in search of that map, which anybody
could draw in two minutes with his
eyes shut. Late last evening. when
just ready to give it up, the thing, the
letter containing ii, and another writ
ten from Florence, descriptive of tic
freScoS in Pompeii, turned up. ard
by the time these lines are IN print we
hope is safe in the hands of the artistic
genius who drew it. In conclusion we
only desire to remark if the honorable
peripetetic delineatOr now fails to have
Coronado and De Soto form a junction
on the Arkansaw somewhere in the
vicinity of Wichita he can spare him.
self the pains of writing us any more
illustrated letters about the travels of
some fellows who probably died in
ignorance of the great benefits of sub
irrigation and the prohibition law is
applied to agriculture along the Arkan-
saw in the land of Q1ivara