Free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1888-1908, 1904-03-12
KANSAS COMMENT.

on Sunday.
"a LAND SALE.-W. Overfield lately
sold twenty-five acres of land near
Hiawatha for $3.50, or S131 per acre.
OLDEST MASON Wilson, in Ellis
worth county, claims the oldest Mason
in the state in the person of A. Van
Nausdle, who joined the order in 1s49.
SCATTERED CORN SHocKs.-In the
Kaw valley corn shocks were scattered
and limbs blown from trees. The sand
storm came with the velocity of a tor
nado.
COMMITTEE SUCCEssFUL.-The COM
mittee appointed at Wichita to sell
$50, 900 worth of the Orient construc-
ton company stock completed its can
vass and succeeded in disposing of that
amount
DUST STORM on Wharf.-The dust
storm is reported from Junction City
as having done great damage to wheat
fields by blowing the dirt away from
the roots. like report comes from
Hutchinson.
FAMINE OF TEACHERs.-FOr the first
time in the history of Wichita there is
n famine of teachers in the public
schools. There is at present one va
cancy in the regular list and there are
no substitutes to fill the place.
ABILENE Is DRY.-For the first time
in years Abilene went dry" the
'-iointists'' having moved out their
goods and quit business. The action
Is the result of an effort of the Law
and Order League of the county to
close every joint.
To Enjoy HER PRIzE.-Mrs. n. Pers-
son. of lliawatha. has gone to Ores
den. Germany. few years ago, for
her excellent sketching and landscape
work, Mrs. Person was awarded a
four years scholarship in the Dresden
art school. She goes to take up this
work.
95TH BIRTHDAY.-MrsC c. NJ. Rice. or
"Auntie" Rice as she is known, cele-
brated her nipety=ffth birthday at
Hiawatha on February %, Washing
tons birthday. She was the subject
of much attention and was the recip-
lent of many presents on that day.
Mrs. Rice still retains her keen hear
ing, has fairly good eyesight and 4
brilliant mind. She insists that She
will be centenarian. She still re-
tains her wonderful memory.
DRILLING IN SAND HuIs.-An oil
man representing one of the big oil
concerns in Southeastern Kansas, has
leased several thousand acres of land
in the sand hills just north of Hutchin-
son, and has moved the big well drill
ing outfit of the Hutchinson, Kansas,
Salt Company there. Work will be
started and hole will be sunk 5000
feet at point on the south slope of
the hills, where evidences of oil have
recently been discovered
Now A PENsIoNER.-Jon Stafford,
of Dodge City, is said to be the oldest
employee of the Santa Fe He began
work for the Santa Fe in 1868, on the
charge of a construction gang and he
has never left the service since. For
fourteen years in succession he did not
even lose an hour in laying off. " At
eighty years of age he is still hale and
hearty and until recently has had
charge of the reading room at Dodge
City. He is now on the company S
pension roll.
DAMAGE DoNE.-Great damage to
farm buildings, stock and grain is re-
ported from Culver. Lincoln, Colbert,
Marquette, Ellsworth, Annapolis, Ora
ham, Ellis, Russell, Lallin, Hill City,
and other places. At Deerfeld, seven
miles from Laxin, the school children
Were kept in the school building until
after o'clock at night, until all dan.
ger was passed.
STARTED FIREs.-A bad prairie fire
started north of Ellsworth and burned
over strip of ten by five miles during
a strong wind.
GROUND 30,00O,OO BUsHELs-One
hundred and twenty-four mills in Kan.
sas report that that they have ground
23,235, 900 bushels of wheat in the eight
months beginning July l estimating
the amount for the last two weeks OF
February There are are more than
100 mills which have not reported, in.
Guiding ten, each of which are over
200 barrel capacity. 1t appears quite
certain that the Kansas mills have
used, in the aggregate, not less thar
30 million bushels of wheat in the first
eight months of the crop year.
Six OF ONE FAMnY.-At Burden
Cowley county, six of the same family
were buried in one day They lost
their lives at jackson, Utah, where
Whit Burlz was foreman of a construc
ton gang, With him was his brother
William and their children The work
train in switching bumped into two
cars loaded with dynamite, near which
We're the boarding cars. Over 80 PEG
PIE were killed.
SeMI-CENTENNIAL.-L viii
celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of it.