The Topeka state journal., 1903-02-02
TO BE DONE.


Continued from First Page0
first season and Mary Anderson the
remainder. Mary was 19 years old at
that time. Robert Downing was re
sponsible utility man, and Cyril Searle,
George {. BOniface and Louis James
had leading parts We played one
night at Baltimore before the emperor
and empress Of Brazil. I accompanied
Mary Anderson on q tour of the south
and we took in all the big southern
towns She was a southern girl and re-
celVed an ovation everywhere L re
member at the close Of a matinee IN
savannah the women of the town form
ed IN two lines two blocks long and
she passed down the center and shook
hands with every one. She was a great
actress and fine woman. Her private
life shows that"
In 1873 Mr. Barnd's throat gave out
50 that he was compelled to leave the
stage Otherwise he says he would have
kept at it, as he liked the work. he
went back to Findlay, Ohio, for time
and then came 10 Kansas. He had
read many glowing descriptions OF Ness
county and determined to go there, but
ne left his family with friends at Con-
cordia until he could get a house built
for them That part of the state was
extremely new in those days and houses
OF any description were few and far
apart Two other young men who had
come with him We're going to Wichita
and he accompanied them, and they de-
termined to tramp overland to Ness
county and haul their few belongings on
sled by hand, as it was widWinteT and
the ground was covered with snow.
Their sled was a big coffee box with
runners under it, and in it they carried
small tent some blankets and pro-
visions. Sometimes they got chance
to sleep in dugouts and sometimes they
had to camp out and nearly perished.
Mr.. Barnd froze his feet so badly that
he could not get along without help
from the others. Their first night in
Ness county they slept in a shack four
teen feet square with twelve others.
The three took claims in the south
west part of Ness county. Settlers were
very few and the nearest pOStOfice was
13 miles away, so six settlers petitionad
the government for an office of their own
but the government established it only
on condition that it should be self-sus-
tanning. Barnd CARED the mail, making
the trip to the nearest office, 13 miles
away, once a week on foot The first
three months the settlers guaranteed
him 25 cents a trip. but after that he
got a dollar a trip Mr.. Barnd got
sod house built and brought on his fam
lily. They went through the usual hard
ships of pioneering until Barnd was
elected probate Judge of the county. Up
to that time the family had nothing III
the way of furniture in their sod house
except crude chairs and bedsteads made
from willow poles and a homemade ta-
bic.
Then the boom came on and like
many another Kansas man Mr.. Barnd
got rich" He figured that he was
worth $4,000 at one time, but his
wealth didn't keep up that figure. Still
he now owns stone business block in
Ness City in Which he runs an opera
house, and the Ness City News
In writing to his paper concerning
the senatorial election Mr.. Barnd says:
The principal work of the law-mak-
ers the second week was piling up the
nothing they had accomplished the
week previous. the only variation being
that a bill was passed ena abling the
members and employees to draw a por-
ton of their hard-earned and toll
stained salaries The most important
job, and thes one that has occupied al
most the entire attention of the legis-
lature since it assent bled-and even
some weeks before-was choosing
senator And the fellows who attended
the sessions really imagined they had
something to do with the business. But
they were mistaken.
They occupied no more important posi-
ton IN the game than the pieces upon the
checker board. Two or three Dersons-per-
haps half a dozen-sinply used the mem
bers as does the player of checkers, and
the ones who made the best com bina tions
won the game. When 1t was over the
pieces were unceremOniouslv brushed to
one side, and in all probability viii not be
thought OF again until the players need
them for another contest. The Caucuses
Tuesday and Wednesday evening were the
merest blinds to make the boys feel good
and believe with the fly that they were
the power that made the wheel 20 round .