The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-06-18
LAYHHWKER JOTS

A jamestown man lost nine head of
cattle, all within half an hour, from
alfalfa bloat.
Goodland Republic: John Thomas. n
veteran of the civil war, brought real
curiosity to this office Monday. 1t was
a leather pocketbook, 120 years old, once
the property of his great grandfather,
Philip Albright, and dated September 8,
1887. 1t is an heirloom, having come
down from his grandfather and father.
The original owner lived in North Caro-
lima. The date was about the time of
the adoption of the constitution by the
state.
couple whose ages are II and 40
years, respectively, were married in Re
public county recently A few days
later the bride returned to her home in
Belleville with the story that she was
married while under a hypnotic infiu-
ence, that her mind was blank from the
day of her marriage until the time she
returned to Belleville. THE marriage
was the result of a want advertisement"
says the Telescope. and it adds: I'VE
always realized that want advertise
ments were great pullers, but never be-
fore realized that they had a hypnotic
power"
Bent Murdoch tells this mighty in
teresting bit of ancient history: Airly
Kansas settlers didn't always go hun
CRY: and 1t happened quite often that
they had something besides corn
bread and sorghum, bacon and dried
apples in their frontier homes. There
was not a winter in the sixties and
early seventies that plainsmen did not
visit the border settlements with wag-
on loads of buffalo meat. A choice
hind quarter sold for a dollar and
half or two dollars and there were
very few homes that did not have a
quarter or two of fine fat buffalo
meat hanging in the back shed or in
some other convenient place. Buff
falo meat is much darker colored than
beef. We can recall that there was
scarcely a family in FL Dorado that
did not have buffalo meat in the house
during the winter months. Then deer
were plentiful, while 1t was hardly
possible to drive north or northeast of
antelope. Capt. Zebulon M. Pike
camped on the South Fork of the Cot
tonwood river on his way to "discov-
er" Pixies Peak. and in his diary he
says he saw more kinds of game in
the Flint Hills than he had ever seen
before at one time. Along in the sew
entities. when there was not much do
ing business men shut up their shops
and went deer or prairie chicken
hunting. 1t was the thing for half a
dozen spring wagon loads of men and
women and bird dogs to go for a days
hunt. Starting early in the morning
they hunted till noon, when they all
met and had a fried prairie chicken
would kill as many as an hundred
chickens in a day and when they re-
turned home the town was literally
supplied with game. We recall that
three men killed 14S prairie chickens
in one day. Nobody in town went
hungry that night. Airly settlers were
not so slow. 1t was an easy matter
for two or three men to leave town in
a spring wagon after dinner and get
a Virginia deer or two. When the
creeks got on a tear, along during the
spring, it was common thing to
drive stakes across the mouth of a
ravine or draw. and catch fish by the
wagon load-when the high water
went out. The woods were full of
wild turkeys. squirrels. rabbits and
quail while wild geese and ducks were
more plentiful than they are now.
Then there were bee trees and wild
honey was often peddled through the
These peddlers sold buffalo
robes, buckskins and Indian mecca
sins. Coon skin caps and moccasins
were quite common in airly days and
people were often glad to get them
Out of town people often came to
church services in OK wagons. This is
written for the younger generation !
who may be interested in knowing
how airly Kansas settlers lived