The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-09-22
Sixteenth Anniversary Cele-
brated in Elaborate Style.
Neighboring Towns Joined in
the Holiday.
MANY NOVEL FEATURES
Flower Parade Pleases and Red
Men Amuse.
Real Indians Have War Dances
and Play Ball.

Horton, Sept 22.-Horton is feeling
very much grown up. She was sixteen
years old Saturday-sweet sixteen-old
enough to lengthen. out her dresses and
do her hair up on top of her head. She
celebrated the event by giving birth
day party to all the surrounding coun-
try and eight or ten thousand people
came to help her have a good time. She
entertained them all right, too.
A birthday party is no new thing for
Horton though. She has had one nearly
was a year old, SO she really knows how
to entertain.
Most of the towns of northwestern
Kansas had been established twenty or
thirty years before Horton was ever
thought of, yet she has outstrfpped the
majority of them. 1t was on Septem-
ber 29 1886, when the first town lot in
Horton was sold. That marked the be-
ginning of the town and that is the date
which has ever since been celebrated as
the towns birthday.
Horton is primarily a Rock Island
town. 1t was founded as the junction
of the Rock Islands western and south
western lines and here its principal
shops. west of the Missouri river were
located This accounts for it's phenOm-
email growth during its early years One
month after the first lot was sold its
first newspaper was started and on Sep
stember 20, 1887. ten days before it was
year old, it was made q city. of the
second class. On its second birthday its
population numbered nearly 5000.
Like most other western towns it was
doomed too much at first and unwar-
ranted enterprises were started. A
daily paper was started and a street
car line built. With the collapse of the
boom however, these enterprises went
down. The railroad shops. however,
kept the town, from suffering as other
towns did, and it has nourisEed during
the greater part of its existence.
The celebration Saturday was q very
successful one, although the wind and
dust combined to create discomfort for
the visitors. Horton people, however.
like to tell what big cefebra tions they
have had in the past, and most OF them
can recall events that have been more
magnificent than the one this year.
The special train which came down
from Pawnee City. Neb., brought in q
good sized crowd and all the regular
trains were crowded. The twentieth
of Horton is the time when the for
mer residents, especially the railroad
people. like to come back to their for
mer home once more In addition to
those who came on the trains. a great
many from the surrounding country
came in wagons. The vacant lots were
filled with farmers teams from all
over Brown and parts of jackson and
Atchison counties
| There were three bands to furnish
music for the crowd. and one of the
Inreo was giving d concert on the Dan0
stand erected at the intersection of the
principal streets most of the entire
day. The bands were the Pawnee City
band. the Rock Island band of Horton.
The latter was made up of about 20
girls ranging from about IA years up.
The main feature of the morning was
the parade. 1t was led by the Horton
fire department, and two of the main
features, preceding the flower section,
was the Magic City camp of Wood
men, all mounted on white horses, and
the Kickapoo tribe of Red Men in full
lures OF the Kickapoo section was the
medicine mans wagon 1t was an
old spring wagon, driven by a ''Kicka-
poo brave" Behind the. drivers seat
stood the medicine man. between q
box OF bottles and an immense hogs
head labeled fire water"
The flower parade was an extremely
creditable showing. The following were
the entries and decorations:
Mrs. Grant Mead, black and white
moOnfloWers.
Mrs. John Mccormick, white roses and
yellow chrysanthemums.
Mrs. Holly, yellow chrysanthemums.
Miss Vina Sprague, yellow poppies
with black centers. black team.
Mrs. Crockett, black and white poppies.
Mrs. F. M. Wilson. pink and green
snowballs, pony cart.
| Mrs. Brown, morning glories.
Mrs King, four shades of purple
chrysanthemums, bay horse.
/ Mrs. Wallace, natural floral float filled
with plums
Paul Sautter, mounted pink, green
| and black poppies.
Mabel Keats, mounted, pink roses
Misses Honnell, white and green wa
ter lilies.
Mr.. Cobbs, black and white poppfes.
Prizes of $50, $50 and $40 were given
for the best decorations. The first prize
was awarded to Miss Vina Sprague, the
second to Mrs. King and the third to
Mrs. F. M. Wilson.
Following the parade the following
announcement was made on the printed
programmes:
wild Bill is on a scouting expedition
from the Cimmaron to the Little Big
Horn and 1T is rumOred will cross this
| trail about 1880 a. m. The flying scouts
! of the Kickapoos have noted his ap-
| prOach and will make an attempt tc
capture and burn him at the stake.
Keep q sharp lookout for this event but
keep off the streets
/ The crowd on the streets was &c
dense, however. that wild Bilr' had a
hard time getting through and there
Kfckapoos'' would trampie the people
with their horses. The "scouts,' finally
got wind of wild BILL" and a running
| fight was kept up until the intersection
where another detachment of mounted
| Indian scouts ran in and q hand tc
hand tusle with wild Bilr' followed.
The fight looked like the real thing
A half dozen braves" were struggling
kind-joined in the dance. especially AZ
| fifteen or twenty more play Indians
on horses, and all were shooting. Il
/ looked SO real that some Pottawatomies
mot issitation Indians. but she real
An st q hundred IrdiaNs repS<sentins
ter 7Hild Bill was <sNsrswered ana
| tied to the stake. 1t was sally neces
sary for the police to arrest one OF tn,
real Indians and take him away.
i The Indian village was one of thu
chief attractions Of the celebration
about a hundred Indians. Representing
four tribes. Pottawatomies, Kickapoos
i IoWas and Sac and Foxes. were campet
on q vacant square. They had been fur
nished beef animal the night before
which they killed, roasted what mea
they wanted and hung up the balanc,
on long poles to dry.
i During the afternoon the Indian,
gave number Of dances All kinds an{
classes participated from the old gray
haired women to the young bucks ant
IsquAWA Yh0 'muaic" was furnished b,