The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-07-12
BRITISH LORDS SENI
YOUNGER SONS HRE
tngIishman Made a Town of
His Own
HI EVOLVED A SCHEME
Induced Young Men to Take
a Course in Agriculture
HI EVOLVED A SCHEME

On the border Of Harper county is a
prosperous farm where lives an English
widow and her TWO boys On all sides
stretches the bare prairie unmarked by
dwellings or traces of habitation; this
solitary honest ead is all that remains Of
the settlement of Runnymede.
The story OF Runnymede is one Of sin
gular romantic interest; it is an unwritten
| book with a unique poem. satirical be-
ginning an interesting middle part and
a tragic-comic ending. 1t is a book OF
which no sequel could well be written
Early in the eighties an English farmer
/ was living on a ranch near the site Of
the present farm. Imbibing the spirit Of
| western push, ne conceived the plan Of
having a general store and hotel upon
his ranch for the benefit of neighborinG
/ farmers, transient visitors. drummers
and incidentally himself. Later when a
railroad agent finally with his expansive
| spirit found a further outlet by estab-
| fishing a postoffice with memory of
English wolds and meads. he chose the
name OF Runnyneade for his settlement
Of one house and one store.
A little later another English immi-
grant was looking over the may Of Kan
sas seeking a place to locate and on see
ing the English name Runymede. he
set out for IT, His sensations upon reach
ing the place have not been recorded. They
may have been similar to those OF
teamster who entered a bank Of this city
last week to cash a check. Il can't give
no SAID this
check has no signature"
Dam said the man and walked out
giving no reply to the polite cashiers
beg pardon
But to return to the story This is
the opening chapter. This second Eng
lishman settled upon a ranch near Run
nymede and in his homesick moments
conceived plan Of great cleverness. Here
was a big ranch. with fields to be cult
waited horses TO be ridden. and game to be
hunted. He wrote back to England to
some influential friends and proposed to
receive young Englishmen Of family up
on his ranch and for tn sum of $500 per
to educate them in agricultural lines for
a years time. and at the end OF which
each would be prepared to fS~ for
himself To the English fathers the pros
pect was invldng. No doubt great ranch
es to be had for the asking lay idle In
Kansas. and best Of all the report reach
ed England that in the land OF the Sun
flowers, prohibition reigned. Here was
a chance to reform some youths who
during their fathers absence in India.
had acquired bad habits. SO in the sum
mer a party of young Englishmen reach
ed the agricultural reform school at Run
nymede.
AS it was summer a vacation was
natural and these boys enjoyed life. They
rode. hunted and introduced into the new
country their own English sports. Le-
gends are told of their racing down the
sidewalks of the principal streets Of near
by towns and OF carousals on the ranch. |
At all events at the expiration of the
year their knoyfedge Of agriculture was
purely theoretical in most cases.
During this time other English fsmi- |
lies came to Runnymede. built houses /
and settled. until the town was reported |
TO have a population Of three hundred.
The young men of family continued 10 |
enjoy life They got acquainted with |
girls on the farms and in the towns /
nearby and several love affairs ensued. /
Some of these ended happily. others were /
broken off. either by masculine fickleness /
or parental <jections from England.
In the meanwhile Runnymede was 4
growing. church was built and rec
tor conducted high church services; other
capitalists built a large hotel. while new
houses went up rapidly. Everywhere Eng /
fish customs prevailed.
In SO to 80 the hard times came and 1
the growth Of Runnymede was checked /
Crops failed and those of the people who /
could then returned 10 England The /
young ranchmen could not remain longer 4
at their sports. but were set adrift. In !
vain they tried to get employment; farm .
hands were not needed and at any event .
their regulations as workers were not /
well established.
one after another they left the place /
and those who tell the story OF Runny- F.
mede give no account OF their adven- 4
lures.
Farmer and householder drifted away
also: later the church was moved TO .
Harper and the hotel was moved TO the 4
territory, along with other boom shan
ties" Some OF the houses took SINH
lar journey. while the sturdy Kansas
IA rners who had watched the doings OF
their English neighbo7s with wonder and .
enjoyment. appropriated the Others. Thus
disappeared Runnymede TO remain known
only as a tradition told D. early set
tiers OF Kansas. MOLLIE WARREN.