Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1898-04-28


you heard of it?"
Heard of what? No, I've been on
my vacation and just got back"
on, well. that accounts for it, and
apoioslze. You know that last Thursday,
December ?, the name of one of the Oldest
.o"ns IN the West was wiped right off the
board. With one hand, you might say.
Nestport went glimmering. Kansas
oHy, gust took it in same as Il blind fish
would swallow bait And now it's Greater
Kansas Clty-big G. How does ii sound
You have been annexing suburb.
No" said the guest. severely mo.
that's easy. You don't catch it, West
port was the old town. 1t was in exist
ence long before there was any Kansas
city, 1t was the metropolis of that nook
OF missouri. 1t came night being the
county seat. 1t was the home of the f.
+: $. the +. f. KS. and the salt of the
earth from other sections. Why. Kansas
CITY IS new And yet the old town that
had the hrst show, that had everything
slVes up its name. it's records, its post
mark ana the county printing and be
comeS-Greater Kansas City. / suppose
you New York people have had 50 much
OF this Greater business in yours that
| you like to forget it
~ think ! should like 10 hear more of
| your story. said the clerk. in a manner
Wnich the guest took to be sincere.
ell you may not know it. but West
port was metropolis "a years ago 1t
| was Il town on the hills which overlooked
a country that would make your eyes
water: 1t was about five miles back from
me Missouri river. | reckon You don't
know, but GO years ago people who started
| towns IN the West were afraid of rivers
Steamboats, brought epidcmics up the
| river when there was an epidemic and
Inc people We're afraid of epidemics and
quiz the towns back from the river.
! THAT'S how Westport come to he five
| miles from the Missouri. And do you
KNOW the funny thing about it Is that the
landing for the steamboats, was called
Westport landing for years. Tho landing
was what is now Kansas City mean
Greater Kansas City. 1t was where peo-
| pie got of when Kansas fever was on
| Missouri.
Wei, this Westport Was the-what do
you can II the Quitting place for New
| MeNiCa and all that country in the South
| west which had to be reached by OK
teams. We seen a thousand Greascrs in
! " estport al one time. each yelling at a
| 10 or 12-yoke of oxen ana swearing an the
| Tune They We're going to the landing for
goods, or coming back. and they ALWAYS
| stopped in Westport To tar up and got
drunk I've seen the streets Of that town
| crowded for weeks with indian tribes
! mat came across the country. hun ireds
al miles, with their trnkets. which they
traded tor anything red that the stores
| had can name You now dozen firms
| the biggest in St. louis that got theil.
start by trading with indians ana Mexi-
/ cans.
Then there was the Santa IA stage
| line. 1t ran daily line between West
| port and Santa Fe. The stages didn't 90
/ 70 tn" river. no stree. They started from
i Nestport and they stopped there The
! arrival and departure of Il stage in those
! Gays was something like the arrival of a
| Dig steamship in this port ana more so
Tor You folks don't care il every ship on
the ocean was to come in. But the stage
| driver was a hero.
why when a teacher asked "A boy
Whdt h" was Solng To b. when he grew
/ up he always said stage driver The
! pthtrMiSc. was $40 for ono passage That's
| right: and it had to Ice gold every cent
/ OF it, You could stuff l. people inside
| ana stick from two to three on top. For
years the stages were crowded just that
way ana YOU can figure out what tie
company made.
clerk
No. not for while. They We're just
/ the same as a man who runs i hotel IN
stead Of retiring, they started anojh
/ me between NeStport and Stockton cal
/ think the fare on that line was about
500 in gold. and the company didn't have
enough stages hear people talk about
! gold mining ana about the good old davs
/ when man didn't care what he had
| W ny, man. there never was a time in This
country when your grdndf2ther ana mine
/ wasn't 0ut for the almighty dollar or
/ course. Their" We're more chances then
! IMAM now, but there We're not many
/ people
How long did it take 10 make the trip
! between Kansas tatN and Santa Pc?
/ ''Westport You mean. There wasn't
| any Kansas city then. j tell you. Why
about = days"
/ And between Westport and Stockholm"
| Nobody ever knew. Depended on the
! dryer-and the Indians If the driver
was in cahoots with the Indians the stage
never got in. But say in those days
when Wostport WAS the metropolis. I've
seen as many as a dozen steamboats, tied
M at the landing OF what is now Kansas
| city unloading for Wostport and the
Santa Fe trade. And they had all arrived
! the same day. Why, there were not
! enough boats then to do The business
| Now there amt two arrivals a year.
why. III tell Won what Westport did
! There was only one road from the river
! to the metropolis, and of course the
! heavy teamins cut il up nightly. Well.
! sir, to accommodate that trade the West
| port business men had . turnpike built
| from the town to the river That was
the first turnpike west of the Mississippi
| unless there IS a lie out. and it cost
money. OF course. there WAS a toll gate
at each end of the road So is to catch
! en- coming and going. hut it was not the
paying business YOU may think, When
ever the road would get in bad condition,
a mounted man or two would ride up 10
| the gatckecper. sWipc the cash and ride