The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-09-10

mile over bleak hill recognized q
variation on the ''snipe trick" by re
fecting that no one in full possession OF
dry wood ON the face OF that township
1 went back frozen and sat down on q
tuft to consider the wild fascinating
beauties Of running for territorial dele
gate in Oklahoma, type of which was
at the time trying TO snug up to him
self and shrink behind jimson weed
to escape the biting wind which swep,
over him, and kept his teeth chatter
ing.
Along about o'clock in the morning
"Kes" and 1 started out on a tour OF
| investigation. We found nothing but
grave, a small fence above the de-
parted. We went on, however, and
heard the distant clarion OF a cock.
We had left the territorial delegate
sleeping, and we now heard a signal
| ling whistle, and as we returned TO the
camp the silver simmer of dawn out
lined black figure on top hill, and
the signalling whistler having seen us,
and treasured himself, turned the sig
nal, apologetically. to careless sort Of
| tune
Before sun-up we set out again. We
had stopped, Of course, within a few
hundred yards of house. That was
small consolation then. The proprietor
of this house saw US coming and shin
ned up bill to avoid US. and we had
to go on. Further along the road,
which was continually dropping into
canyons and gullies, we found two
small boys sitting in an arbor IN front
long log cabin. We stopped here,
and found it was the home of Mr..
Fox, who had gone with his wife to
Arapahoe. The young man in charge
was Reuben Fox, and he got us a
breakfast We took some of our can
ned goods for the boys While the
meal was good one, / noticed that the
three smaller boys had an eager, mex
haustible inclination for a reddish
looking syrup in the center Of the table.
So great was their fondness for this
that inquired and found it was made
Of small tomatoes boiled in molasses,
and was regular, unfailing dish in
this home
Later some canned California pears
were sprung on the small boys, and as
they said these were the first they ever
tasted, we left them smacking their lips
with much wonder and satisfaction.
After making inquiries as to the way
wrong, too. In an early day some
one spent his time here making trails.
There are dozens Of them here leading
every which way. There is absolutely
alton. The next neighbor TO Fox is
thirty miles away. We took a general
direction and went ahead; found our
mistakes and had TO turn back. This
the day. 'Kes" had never been over
the road before and had to guess a good
deal Finally, after hours of driving
without seeing a soul, a small speck
appeared on a distant hill and upon it
a still smaller speck. Both specks
gradually grew larger. Then the
smaller jumped down from the larger.
''KeS" said it was an Indian on horse.
He told this, he said, by the fact that
the Indian got down on the right hand
side of his horse. White riders dis
mount on the left hand side. Finally
this Indian came UP and was asked the
distance to the Washita river, and the
red man after looking around at the
sun, q couldn't find why) and rejecting
a moment answered.: Seven miles
give me tobacco"
We were on the right road. The |
country was changing. The low land |
near Taloga is rich and the cereals |
raised there are fine. They have a
great deal of moisture there on account |
of the proximity Of the South and
North Canadian, and while the farms
in the valleys are more rich, the up
land farmers do very well. The In
dams say it has always rained along !
this valley. 1t is where Amos Chap
man and Jim Riley, the first men in
this country, located twenty years ago.
The cattle are found grazing on the I'M
hills The Kansas ranger is
here in great abundance. But these
men know little of Roger Mills county.
There is no intercourse between them.
No one, could find, except Flynn, had
ever seen the town of Cheyenne. What
was more, no one at Taloga cared to
see it. Forty miles out OF Taloga, 1
begun to see why TaloganS knew moth
ing about Roger Mills county. The
hills became higher the canyons deep
er; the distances greater. The hills
were piled up and up without end
against the horizon, many capped with
red sandstone. The milky haze Of
heat fioated over everything and
relentlessly. This is purely
cow" country. In Blaine county cot
ton led the list; in ID county cotton dis
and wheat and corn came
put; in Roger Mills county cotton sank
from sight and cattle reigned supreme.
Cereals are grown only in the valleys
As we approached Cheyenne, the
great hills became more rugged, some
# them towering like mountains. At
half past two O'Clock, after one OF the
hardest drives ever made in this terri
IL. .-=;--d u, iI,d "A H.. |