The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1901-04-05
STORIES OF ! + +
! + THE SETTLERS
BY G. M. Dewey
To the West! To the West!
To the land of the free!
Where the rippling Neosho
Flows down to the sea;
Where a man is a man,
If he's willing to toll,
BY G. M. Dewey

And the humblest may gather
Thefruits of the soil.
1t was a great, urgent and resist
less wave of humanity that pushed
its way into the Usage lands in the
years of '68 and 10. Prior to this
the settlers that came were but the
first low wash of the mighty sea that
was so soon to follow.
These people came from many
foreign lands and from about all the
states and territories in this country.
They were people of all classes and
conditions in life and all apparently
intent upon one great object-secur-
ing a home in this new colorado of
the west.
And yet many of these protesting
to be "honest settlers" were nothing
but rank fakes and slick schemers
Men whose sole purpose was the
working of the other fellow but were
opposed to physical exercise for
themselves. The new town site and
corner lot man always had great bar
gains to sell-on paper.
The patent right men were just
dying to get an opportunity to make
one rich and happy-by purchasing
their machines. The fakir who
could so simply and easily trick
money out of the pockets Of the un-
wary into their own. The bank
rupt merchant, "busted" bankers,
clientless lawyers, quack doctors and
the modest money loaner, who &C
commodate the poor settler, would
loan him sums of money at 3 or 6
per cent per month on good chattel
security. All these were ever ready
to turn an ''honest" penny If it
could be done without honest labor.
AS soon as the thin guise of "settler"
was worn off these fellows, they
would light out for new fields and
pastures green.
Then there was the settler! The
hard working, honest, bona fde set
tier, who came to make a home, to
develop the country, till the soil and
build school houses and churches.
The man of honest endeavor, of hope
courage, and with determination to
stick to it though the heavens frown
and the grasshoppers destroy his
crops. He was the salt that saved
the whole outfit and his hard knock S
have saved the country several times
since. Long may he live to enjoy
the fruits of his labor.
Verv many of these settlers came
''overland" in wagons, travelling in
trains from other states in compan-
les of from five or six to twenty or
more wagons. These moving "out
fits" as they were called, were gen
orally made up at the starting point
but were often greatly increased on
the way by other outfits joining them.
The white topped prairie schooners
with the father and mother on the
front seat-the latter with a baby in
her lap and lot of tousley headed,
freckled faced youngsters, crowding
around the wagon, are familiar OBJ
ject even in these smoking times of
peace but no such trains are seen
now as were common thing then.
In the fall or during the winter,
camping was generally disagreeable
and there was much suffering among
the women and children, but in warm
weather camping was usually de-
lightful. During warm weather
when the grass was good the camp
for the night would be pitched upon
high ground or rolling hill in or
der to catch the evening breeze and
escape the mosquitoes and conven-
iently near timber and water.
Climber" in movers parlance,
meant the small groves and scatter
ing trees along the banks of the
streams. A large camp of movers
is an interesting and lively scene in
warm weather. If a good location,
the train may go into camp an hour
or two before sundown.
The wagons are parked around
the base of the hill. In front is the
wide expanse of undulating prairie,
''clothed in living green" and in the
rear is the fringe of timber and the
winding stream. The stock is out
on the grass and on the hill are the
blazing campfres, while gathered
around them are groups of men and
women, all apparently busy. Men
''choring" and the women baking
md cooking for supper and for the
,ext days supply of GRUB" The
freed from the cramped
Up wagons, are racing about in troops
,r playing ball.
Soon the appetizing smell of boil
ng coffee will cause the children to