The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1903-10-03

To The INTELLIGENCER:
No doubt many readers of your ps-
per would be glad to know what is 60
ing on in and near Hobart. The town
suffered from two different fires some
five weeks ago, as probably you have
learned from the papers, and about
one half of the business houses were
consumed. The fires happened just on
the eve OF our street fair, and at first
most every one thought u prosper
Gus western city had received a black
eye from which she would probably
not be able to receiver. But am glad
to say that the promoters Of the street
fair renewed their efforts to make th,
fair a success, and When The vast
crowds arrived they found everything
according to program for their amuse-
ment. They also saw several hundred
men %removeing the debris in order to
rebuild the burnt district, and he con-
tract let to for fine brick buildings to
take the place of the wooden ones just
burned. To-day there are twenty
seven two story brick buildings nearly
completed, and most every one of them
/, is already rented Besides there are
many others being torn down aud re-
moved in order to build brick ones in
, their place. 1t looks like each one is
trying to surpass the Others both in
speed and appearance. 1t seems
} strange when we look back only two
I short years ago this country was a vast
! wild prairie romed over by the Red
! man with cattle ranches here and there.
1t is nov IN so short a time transform
into athickly settled country. The old
maxim is the pen is mightier than the
sword, but the plowshare excells eth
er when it comes to developing a new
o country, for where the blue stem and
buffalo grass once had full sway, it has
been the means of killing 1t out, and
q lieu there of various kind of grains
have taken their place. This (Klowa)
country has reasons to be proud, for
the manager of the car exhibits who has
just LETT for Oklahoma City for an east
ern tour and will finally be unloaded
1T at the Worlds Fair. In a letter to
,r Hobart, Just on the eve of starting on
e his journey, stated that our collection
lie was the best he had received from any
at one county in this Territory. This
,e country is very healthy, we most al
ways have a good breeze, plenty Of
ram, and the nights usually are cool.
IS Cotton, wheat and oats seem to be
a. the leading crops. The present pros
I'd poets for cotton is good, and the indl-
cations are that it will command good
as price, picking has just commenced.
a. Hobart is a good cotton market as it
has two gins, also a very large cotton
MS oil mill which buys all the seed A
ne large compress is about completed and
the cotton bales will be reduced TO
about cne-third which will lesson the
=, freight, One great drawback to this
country IS the fuel and water. Coal is
worth from seven to eight and one-half
J dollars per ton. Water tastes Of salt
= and 'gip,' but in this Immediate neigh
borhood it is good. This new country
is divided into three counties, Kiowa,
Comanche and Caddo, and into two
districts, Lawton and Ell Reno, over
sixteen hundred have proved up at the
present time in the Ell Reno district but
no patents have been issued to them
no so far. While in the Lawton district
ic a great many had received theirs more
than two months ago. | noticed in
your paper that a great many old men
~ of Lafayette, CO. have crossed the river
n of death since came to Oklahoma,
among them Judge Robt, Hale and H.
ly G.. Branch who we're my correspondents
lg up to the time of their departure.
Their letters we're always full of iniOr-
at nation and were appreciated. One by
h. one the old land marks are passing
away, may peace be to their ashes.
D. MITCHELL.